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January 31, 2006

Buy Danish products:

For the past two years I have already made it a habit to buy a block of Rosenborg Danish import blue cheese every few weeks. It's great to crumble on salads and a fantastic light snack on crackers with sliced apple. Rosenborg can be found in most grocery stores in the United States, including Walmart.

Anyone who knows of other Danish products available in the US (or other regions in the world)to showcase, please email or leave a comment. Thanks.

Update:

Michelle Malkin has more on where to purchase Danish products

And more from Judith Apter Klinghoffer

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 2:59 PM | Comments (2)

Europe: EU Warns Saudi Arabia Over Danish Boycot

Could this be a proto-spine from the European Union? Or is this just another example of post-modern diplomacy, all talk and no action? Time will tell: EU warns Saudi Arabia that it could take Danish boycott to WTO

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has warned Saudi Arabia that it would take WTO action if the Riyadh government supported a boycott of Danish goods, the European Commission said Monday.

A Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad has led to tension between Denmark and some Muslim countries. Mandelson told the Saudi Minister of State that any Danish boycott would be a boycott of the European Union.

"He made it clear that if the Saudi government had encouraged the boycott, Commissioner Mandelson would regret having to take the issue to the WTO," said EU spokesman Peter Power.

The Saudi minister told Mandelson that the government had not encouraged the boycott.[...]

Note: Of course the Saudi Government encouraged the boycott.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

Cuba: Castro Claims "Nuclear Monopoly" Danger to the World

So, if the danger lies in too few countries having nuclear weapons, wouldn't the solution be for more countries to obtain them? Fidel Castro Alerts of World Danger

Havana, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) President Fidel Castro has cautioned that the planet is in danger because top world’s powers have a monopoly over nuclear weapons.

In an informal talk late Wednesday night with foreign and Cuban reporters at the capital’s Anti-imperialist Tribune, the Cuban leader commented on how these nations get all bent out of shape when another country like Iran wants to produce nuclear fuel for peaceful ends.

They are even talking about attacking Iran and imposing sanctions against this Persian state, he said.[...]

Do read the whole story, if you have the stomach for undiluted propaganda from Cuba's official propaganda "Press Agency."

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

A Message to the Danes

Isaac Schrodinger, an ex-Muslim, has a message for the Danes.

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)

Russia: Czar Putin Sabber-Rattles... Against America

Does Putin realizes he has a Jihad on his hands, as well as Mad Iranian Mullahs getting close to nukes, thanks to his own policies? (Boasting of nuclear missiles capables of penetrating any air defense is a jab at America, the only country with a rather crude missile defense system.) Czar Vlad is still trying to win the last war: Putin Boasts of New Missile's Capability

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted on Tuesday that Russia has missiles capable of penetrating any missile defense system, an apparent allusion the U.S. defense network, Russian news agencies reported.

"Russia last year tested missile systems that no one in the world has and won't have for a long time," he was quoted by the ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies as telling a news conference.

"These missile systems don't represent a response to a missile defense system, but they are immune to that. They are hypersonic and capable of changing their flight path."

Putin said he had shown the working principles of the missile systems to French President Jacques Chirac during a visit to a Russian military facility.[...]

Vladimir Putin tries to impress Jacques Chirac with his cute missiles, and hires Gerhard Schroeder to be the director of Russia's state-owned oil conglomerate. I'm telling you, Putin has gone mad on us, and he's trying to "beat" America, whatever that means on his mind.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:20 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2006

US: Sacramento Mosque in Gas Scare - Woman Wanted

A report from the Sacramento Bee states that earlier this afternoon, a "suspicious plume of fog" caused a mosque and its surrounding buildings to be evacuated.

The Jame Masjid at a 4th Street intersection in Sacramento, California, was virtually empty at 3 pm, with a solitary man praying inside. He said that woman, with red hair, aged between 30 and 50, entered the mosque. She wore black tights and a green scarf. She then apparently set off a fire extinguisher, releasing the suspicious plume of fog. The witness left the mosque straight after this.

Fire experts determined that the "gas cloud" was caused by a portable fire extinguisher. Police say they want to talk to the woman.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Interior Minister Urges "Decisive Stand" Over Cartoon Issue

Using Cartoon Row to shore up the Monarchy, the Saudi Interior Minister Urges the Cartoon Jihad on: Naif Urges Muslim Stand on Cartoons

TUNIS, 31 January 2006 - Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday called on Arab and Islamic countries to take a decisive stand on the issue of cartoons denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

"It's certainly insulting to all Muslims," Prince Naif told reporters about the 12 cartoons published by a Danish newspaper last September and reprinted in a Norwegian magazine in January. "Saudi Arabia's stand on this matter is very clear," he said. The Saudi Cabinet had earlier denounced the sacrilegious cartoons.[...]

In Islamic Law, remember, any representation of Mohammad is sacrilegious. And don't miss the obligatory cowardly socialists:

[...]Villy Soevndal, leader of the small opposition Socialist People's Party, said Denmark "cannot be a country where the prime minister goes into hiding while Denmark loses export money, Danish citizens are being threatened and Danish flags burned."

"Burn our flags? That cannot be! Let's surrender our principles instead." Not that the corporate officials of Arla foods have been better.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:24 PM | Comments (1)

Sudan: Islamist Leader Still Supports Terror

Today's Telegraph carries a portrait of 74-year old Hassan al-Turabi (pictured), who once was a leading figure in the Islamist regime of Omar al-Bashir. Turabi's personal ambitions and machinations caused a state of emergency to be imposed in December 1999. Since that time, Bashir has been sidelined and treated, deservedly, as a pariah, while the Islamist dictatorship of Bashir has made historic moves towards peace with with the non-Muslim south.

Bashir came to power undemocratically, staging a coup in 1989, when al-Turabi was his close ally. Hassan al-Turabi was leader of the ruling National Islamic Front and speaker of parliament, and was widely considered the "brains" of the government. In a nation of 40 million, Turabi decided that all of Islam should be modelled on 7th century Medina, from the time of Mohammed, and Sudan would be the first recreation of that model.

The fact that 10 million people, mostly from southern Sudan, were not Muslims was no hindrance on Turabi imposing harsh sharia law upon non-Muslim Christians and animists. The south was officially exempted from Sharia in 1991, but the damage from its initial brutal imposition led to an armed insurgency.

Now it is widely held that more than any other individual, Turabi stoked the injustices which fuelled the two decades of civil war between the north and south, and cost 2 million lives.

Turabi offered a sanctuary to Osama bin laden in 1991, with the terrorist staying for five years in Sudan. And of course Bin Laden was, for Turabi, a "businessman", and not a terrorist, and certainly not responsible for 9/11.

"It's just impossible. If you had known him personally, you would dismiss it right away," Turabi states. "He came as a contractor. He built a road and then he became interested in agriculture. The British used to come and see me and the Americans. All they talked about was bin Laden. I said no-one knows him here in Sudan. There are more dangerous Saudi Arabians who are in England, claiming asylum. I told them, 'Let him stay here', but they put pressure on the government to kick him out. The poor man, I saw him once or twice. He visited me here and then I met him once at his home. He's a very simple man."

Bin Laden was not the only terror fanatic supported by Turabi and offered sanctuary. Carlos the Jackal, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, lived in Khartoum from 1991 to 1996.

He also was responsible for helping to arm the notorious Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. This group has been in existence since 1986, and since 1987 it has been led by Joseph Kony, who has abducted 20,000 children, to be used as "expendable" troops, often forcing them to massacre their own relatives. A core group of 200 lead this rebel force, all armed by Sudan.

Exploiting Islamic taqqiya (deliberately lying) to is fullest, Turabi now claims that he has always championed freedom. On the issue of arming the LRA, he states "It's natural. In all wars people do the same. If there's a state of war between you and the other side, then you arm the other side's opposition don't you?" When questioned about child captives being murdered, Turabi says "They don't kill them by the way, they don't murder."

If Turabi had stayed committed to his less-intelligent ally, al-Bashir, perhaps there would have no peace deal with John Garang and the rebels in the South. The new constitution would never have been considered. It seems that almost all of the ideas implemented by Turabi are now being ditched by the government of Sudan. In October, Sudan gave permission for Ugandan forces to attack LRA forces anywhere in the south.

Turabi had a glowing career before he entered the murky world of political coups and Islamist dictatorships. He had a Masters degree in law from Kings College, London, and a doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris.

But his own greed for power was his undoing. In December 1999 his ambitions led to him being accused to trying to mount a coup. Bashir later said that Turabi had been running a parallel administration.. In September that year, Turabi had outwitted Bashir and gained the post of secretary-general of the ruling National Congress party.

The president reacted to a move instituted in parliament by Turabi, which would have curbed his powers. 48 hours before the parliament was due to vote on this, Bashir dissolved parliament, and initiated a state of emergency.

In January 2000 it appeared the two men were headed for a reconciliation, but by May Turabi was being accused of inciting army officers and Islamist militants against the government.

Turabi vowed to fight on, despite being sacked from his government post at the start of May 2000. He founded a new party, the Popular National Congress in June. In February of 2001, Turabi was placed under house arrest, and since then he has been in and out of prison.

He was again accused of masterminding a plot, and for this he was jailed in March 2004. He was said to have attempted a coup in September 2003. On his release he said he would probably be rearrested again soon.

But still Turabi tries to get into the limelight. On New Year's Day this year, he complained that the country was too full of foreigners (mainly aid workers trying to assist the human disasters created by the government he once belonged to).

The Islamist regime in the north is still an authoritarian environment, but since Turabi was ejected from government, the peace talks with the south have flourished. Turabi's lies and deception were valuable assets at the start of the Bashir coup in 1989. Since then, they have only been proved to be liabilities. The government of Sudan is far from perfect, but without Turabi's meddling and power-grabbing, the nation is slowly moving out of the darkness and back into international relations with its neighbours and the outside world. Such progress could never have happened with Turabi in the government, and his backwards vision of a 7th century Medina, rebuilt in the soil of the African continent.

But Turabi, who founded the Sudanese wing of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s, paints himself as the godfather of Islamism, a man whose pioneering work is now being realised around the world. "There is now an awakening all over the Muslim world, from Indonesia to Sudan and even in the northern hemisphere," he states. "The Muslims in London or Paris, once they were just working to earn a living, now their identity is reawakened."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:26 PM | Comments (0)

Qatar: Former President Clinton Condemns Mohammad Cartoons

Moral Cowardice, thy name is William Jefferson Clinton: Clinton warns of rising anti-Islamic feeling

DOHA (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton warned of rising anti-Islamic prejudice, comparing it to historic anti-Semitism as he condemned the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.

"So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?" he said at an economic conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.

"In Europe, most of the struggles we've had in the past 50 years have been to fight prejudices against Jews, to fight against anti-Semitism," he said.

Clinton described as "appalling" the 12 cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in September depicting Prophet Mohammed and causing uproar in the Muslim world.

"None of us are totally free of stereotypes about people of different races, different ethnic groups, and different religions ... there was this appalling example in northern Europe, in Denmark ... these totally outrageous cartoons against Islam," he said.[...]

Expect the political Left to continue to offer such multiculturalist response to Cartoon Row.

Hat tip: LGF.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:44 PM | Comments (1)

Somalia: Ransom Paid to Islamic Pirates

The pirate mastermind, like any good businessman, will put the proceeds right back into the business. There is no will, either in the U.S. or in the "international community" to put an end to Islamic Piracy: Somalia pirates release three Taiwan-owned vessels

NAIROBI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Somalia pirates have released three Taiwanese fishing vessels they hijacked last year after being paid $450,000, a shipping official said on Monday.

Two vessels had been in the hands of militia stationed in Kayoome Island near the port town of Kismayo in southern Somalia since last August. The third one was captured in November.

"According to our information, the owner agreed to pay $450,000 for all three vessels," Andrew Mwangura, programme coordinator at the Kenyan Seafarers Association, told Reuters.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:27 PM | Comments (0)

US: Discussing the Legacy of Jihad

At the risk of appearing, perhaps being, petty, I should say I have a major disagreement with Andrew G. Bostom, whose Frontpage Interview I'm about to link to: I believe his strategy for victory, which is already unacceptable both to our political elites and to most of our citizens, won't be enough, won't be nearly enough to allow the West to survive.

With that said, please take time to read his interview: The Legacy of Jihad

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

Palestinian Abomination: Islam's Warriors Raid Gaza E.U. Offices over Danish Cartoon Row

The anti-cartoon Jihad continues: Gaza EU offices raided by gunmen

Masked gunmen in Gaza have briefly stormed the local office of the EU.

They demanded an apology from Denmark and Norway over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have offended Muslims.

One of the gunmen said citizens of both countries should not enter Gaza until the apology is made.

The cartoons first appeared in September in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and were later reprinted in a Norwegian paper.[...]

How long before somebody is murdered over this?

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:27 AM | Comments (1)

Palestinian Abomination: Hamas Wants to Keep Aid Money

The Hamas wants to have its cake, and eat Jewish children too. They are now complaining about the humanitarian situation,etc. They also claim to be willing to have its spending "monitored." That, however, is a red herring; any money they receive for infrastructure and services is money not coming from their regular coffers. In the end, any money given to Hamas, just like any money given to Fatah was, will be money for terrorism: Hamas Asks Nations Not to Cut Aid

A Hamas leader asked the international community on Monday not to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority, insisting the money would go toward helping the Palestinian people and Hamas was willing to have its spending monitored.

Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, also said the Islamic militant group is ready to negotiate the terms of continued foreign aid with donor countries.

He spoke ahead of Monday's meeting of the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - to discuss the repercussions of Hamas' election victory. The United States and European nations have said they will cut off aid to a Hamas-led government unless the group recognizes Israel, renounces violence and adheres to interim peace deals with Israel.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:17 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2006

Iraq: Churches, Vatican Embassy Targeted by Mohammedan Terrorists

The anti-Christian Jihad within the larger Jihad continues: Churches targeted in Iraq blasts

Car bombs have exploded outside the Vatican embassy and near four churches in Iraq, killing at least three people.

The apparently co-ordinated attacks took place within 20 minutes of each other, Iraqi police said.

Three of the bombs went off in the capital Baghdad, while a further two were detonated in the northern oil city of Kirkuk.

All the fatalities reported were in Kirkuk, while at least nine people were wounded in the blasts.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:55 PM | Comments (1)

Muslim Ummah: Lybia, Syria, Kuwait, Palestinian Abomination Join Cartoon Insanity

The madness spreads in the Muslim world:

Libya closes Danish embassy to protest drawings

Syria adds voice to growing protest

State of Kuwaiti strongly condemns humiliation of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)

Palestinians want Danes out

Islam, we should all remember, is a religion of Peace.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:31 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: The "Logic" of Nuclear Negotiations

Don't sneeze, or you might miss the wonderful Mullah logic: Iran urges EU not to make "haste decision"

TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran on Sunday urged the European Union (EU) not to make "haste decision" to refer Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council, stressing that Tehran regards the UN nuclear watchdog as the sole authoritative body to solve the issue.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the only body that is capable of solving the Iranian nuclear issue, and we hope that the EU will not make haste decision," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told a weekly news briefing.

Iran leaves the door open for negotiations, and has been prepared to secure its nuclear rights through talks with the EU, Asefi said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reiterated that Iran would suspend all confidence-building measures if its nuclear file was sent to the Security Council.

"Our position is very clear. We will have to halt all voluntary cooperative measures if hauled to the UN Security Council,"Mottaki told a press conference.[...]

So what's this "wonderful logic" I'm raving about? Iran considers the IAEA the only legitimate authority to resolve the nuclear dispute. However, if they are referred to the IAEA, they will stop negotiating altogether! Isn't logic wonderful when you don't have to obey the law of non-contradiction?

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

Egypt: OIC, Arab League Want anti-Cartoon UN Resolution

Seriously. The Organization of Islamic States and the Arab League both want a U.N. resolution condemning the publication of anti-Mohammad cartoons in Scandinavia. They want a binding resolution that would impose sanctions on countries that promote "religious contempt": Muslims seek UN resolution over Danish cartoons

CAIRO - The Muslim world's two main political bodies said on Sunday they were seeking a UN resolution, backed by possible sanctions, to protect religions following the publication in Scandinavia of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Organisation of the Islamic Conference secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told reporters in Cairo that the international body would "ask the UN general assembly to pass a resolution banning attacks on religious beliefs."

The deputy secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmed Ben Helli, confirmed that contacts were under way for such a proposal to be made to the United Nations.

"Consultations are currently taking place at the highest level between Arab countries and the OIC to ask the UN to adopt a binding resolution banning contempt of religious beliefs and providing for sanctions to be imposed on contravening countries or institutions," he said.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:55 PM | Comments (1)

Palestinian Abomination: Hamas to Consolidate Power by 'Forming' Army

The call for a 'new' Army (Fatah has a de Facto Army) could mostly be a move to consolidate power; they will be substituting Fatah members with their own. It seems they are afraid Fatah, or a faction thereof, will attempt to gain power using using military arms. It could also be, however, that they are serious about forming a 'real' Army, and that the world should be worried, etc., in which case the simple, elegant solution, is to not give them money so they won't be in a position to form an Army: Hamas Preparing to Form an Army

(IsraelNN.com) Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal, who is based in Damascus, stated the organization is preparing to start an army.

Meshal stated that as long as the “occupation continues” Hamas has the right like any other country, to establish an army to defend itself. He added he is calling on other factions within the Palestinian Authority (PA) towards achieving the goal.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

Australia: Indonesian Muslims's Odd Asylum Claim

There should be a simple rule in Western countries when it comes to immigration: do not let Muslims in. Not even when they claim "they did not want to attack Christians." If that were accepted as a justification, pretty much every Indonesian Muslim could claim it, as anti-Christian organization is widespread: Asylum seekers 'forced' to attack Christians

A GROUP of West Timorese is seeking asylum in Australia from Indonesia claiming they have been pressured into carrying out attacks against Christians in their village.

Mustafa Ridwan, 23, a Muslim from Alor in West Timor, said he and his brothers Supardi, 39, and Mahmud, 30, and a nephew, 18, fled Indonesia because they did not want to be enlisted in anti-Christian campaigns.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2006

Norway: Government Bows to Muslim Pressure Over Mohammad Cartoons

How dare our citizens practice freedom of speech? Norway Apologizes for Cartoons Insulting Prophet Mohammed

The insult including cartoons on Prophet Mohammed that were published in the Danish daily Jyllands Posten spread to Norway, but received a different assessment.

As opposed to the Danish government's "insistence on insult," the government in Norway displayed an exemplary behavior.

Norwegians apologized from the Muslim world for the action of the newspaper Magazinet, the publisher of the cartoons in an attempt to "support the freedom of _expression."

Norway Foreign Ministry sent a letter to their ambassadors serving in the Middle East and wanted them to state the administration is distant to the Magazinet's publication.

The letter emphasized freedom of _expression is one of the pillars of the Norwegian society, but the freedom also includes tolerance towards various beliefs and thoughts.

The Danish government, to the contrary, had taken no action against the newspaper following the publication of the cartoon on the ground of freedom of _expression; moreover, the administration backed the incident in a report it presented to the United Nations.[...]

The Norwegian government is a Leftist Coalition.

The Danish government is a Right-Leaning Coalition. (Denmark's official website is currently down.)

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

Switzerland: Mohamed ElBaradei Wants U.S. to Give Nuclear Reactors to Iran

Because, as we all know, giving nuclear reactors to North Koread worked so well in convincing them to give up their nuke program: US should provide Iran with reactors: Elbaradei

UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei has called on the United States to provide Iran with nuclear reactors, and urged Tehran to declare a moratorium on enriching uranium for at least eight years.

He said eight or nine years would enable the country to earn the confidence of the international community that it was really interested in nuclear energy - not nuclear weapons.

The Iranians argue that they need to develop an enrichment capability because they cannot be assured of a guaranteed supply of fuel for a peaceful nuclear energy programme, ElBaradei said at a panel at the World Economic Forum on Friday.

"I would separate the issues of using nuclear technology for energy and to produce weapons," he said.[...]

There is no diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis. There has never been a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis. The United States should stop dreaming, and get on with it.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Struggling Against the Marathon

Women... and men... running... together... Allahu Akbar! Islamic activists detained ahead of Lahore mixed-sex marathon

Islamabad, Jan. 28 (PTI): Pakistani police detained hundreds of Islamic activists threatening to disrupt a mixed-sex marathon in Lahore tomorrow on the grounds that it was "un-Islamic," as authorities beefed up security for the race.

Thousands of police personnel have been deployed to ensure that the international marathon race planned by the Punjab Provincial Government goes ahead peacefully. The alliance of Islamic groups, Mutahida Majlis Ammal, (MMA) is opposing the race, saying Islam prohibits women from participating in such races.

While the police said 100 Islamic activists have been arrested, the MMA claimed that around 2000 of its activists have been detained over the past two days.

MMA leader Liaqat Baloc told reporters the police conducted raids on the houses of Jamaat-e-Islami workers and leaders in Lahore and arrested more than ten people today. A Jamaat-e-Islami spokesman said 500 people were arrested in Lahore alone.

Later on the (short) article, said Liaqat Baloc proclaims "the arrests cannot stop our struggle against the Marathon." Struggle against the Marathon. Amazing.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:13 PM | Comments (3)

Opinion: Yes Islam, Depictions of Muhammad are Freedom of Speech

A recent op-ed published by the website of Jihad TV begins: Has defaming Prophets become "Freedom of speech"?

Religion is people- People's ideologies and beliefs should be given great respect. And what journalists call "Freedom of expression" should not by any means hurt the feelings of people; from any religions or sects.

The Muslim world has long been accused of lacking freedom, freedom of expression or freedom of speech included. Looking at what the West today calls "Freedom of Speech" we’ll find that the term has become used as a tool to insult, disrespect and degrade religions in an unprecedented way.

Let me answer that question for you, Mr. Anonymous writer: yes, publishing depictions of that mass-murdering pedophilic madman Muhammad is indeed freedom of speech. I advise you to look up the meaning of freedom, in fact, here it is, as it appears in my Merrian-Webster's Collegiate dictionary:

freedom n 1. the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.

Say, if I were to republish this drawing...

...that would be freedom of speech. I would never do that, however (oops!, I did), since I believe pigs are smart, compassionate, and delicious animals, who in no way deserve such unflattering comparison.

(Cartoon by Tatiana Soskin, you can read her story, and that of the drawing, by following the link.)

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:12 AM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Amassador to Denmark Recalled Over Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons

The BBC, it pains me to say it, usually offers more detailed reporting than any American news organization. This is the fourth story I read this morning covering this incident, but the first one to mention Islam bans depictions, any depiction, of Muhammad. The others saw fit to omit that information: Saudis recall envoy in Danish row

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Denmark in a row about cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by a best-selling newspaper.

A Saudi government spokesman said the ambassador had been recalled for talks following Denmark's failure to deal with the insults to the Prophet.

Some of the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten last September depicted him as a stereotype of an Islamic terrorist.

The paper said it was testing the boundaries of expression about Islam.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:54 AM | Comments (0)

January 27, 2006

Israel: Behold, the Birth of Hamastan!

Benjamin Netanyahu is absolutely right about the absurdity of blanket concessions (not that negotiated concessions are much better), and I most sincerely hope this benefits him politically: Netanyahu warns of birth of Hamastan

Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu told the Likud faction in the Knesset Thursday, "Before our very eyes, Hamastan has been established, the step-child of Iran and the Taliban. It's in firing range of our airport, our highways and cities. This has to be a day of soul searching because the writing was on the wall. The policy of giving land for free gave a prize to terror and a winning card for Hamas.

"How are Olmert and Peres getting ready for this challenge? They are moving the fence 500 meters closer to the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway (Beit Iksa). They gave more land to the Hamas state. Any land given to Hamas will give more of a front to fire upon us.[...]

Cartoon (and link) from the great Cox and Forkum Editorial Cartoons.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:36 PM | Comments (0)

Vatican City: Vatican Exploring Whether to Include Muslims in Christian-Jewish Dialogue

For God's sake, no! That's worse than inaction; you will assume the "dialogue" will be conducted in good faith, when instead it will be a house of haunted mirrors, where you can only hurt yourself: Vatican May Reach Out to Other Religions

The Vatican is exploring whether to expand its Catholic-Jewish dialogue to include Muslims, although talks are at a very initial stage, a Vatican official said Friday.

Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald, who heads the Vatican's office for interreligious dialogue, made the comments after the World Jewish Congress said its chairman, Rabbi Israel Singer, had discussed the initiative with Fitzgerald and other high-ranking Vatican officials during a visit to Rome.

The main point of the talks was to intensify the Vatican's official dialogue with Jews, but they also included "specific possibilities to expand interfaith talks to also include representatives from the Islamic faith," the WJC said in a statement.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)

Colombia: False-Passport Ring Linked to Muslim Extremist Groups

When I visited Colombia, the going price for an American Passport was 5,000 dollars. Counterfeiting is a big, dangerous business in Colombia; the alleged entry of The Hamas and al-Qaeda into it just makes it worse: Colombia: Passport Ring Has al-Qaida Links

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia insisted Friday that a false-passport ring it dismantled may have links to al-Qaida and Hamas, despite U.S. doubts about the counterfeiters' connection to the terrorist groups. ADVERTISEMENT

Colombian officials said Thursday the gang supplied citizens from Pakistan, Jordan,
Iraq, Egypt and other countries with false passports and Colombian nationality without them ever setting foot in the country.

Acting Attorney General Jorge Armando Otalora said some of the 19 people arrested were wanted for working with al-Qaida and the militant Palestinian group.

U.S. officials expressed surprise at the announcement of the investigation, which they said involved people posing as members of Colombia's largest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:09 PM | Comments (0)

From the humor department:

Via The Onion

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

Israel: "Peace Negotiations" Delusion Hard to Shake Off

If a plurality of Israelis are open to negotiations, how long will it take the Europeans to begin pushing for yet another "Peace" conference? How long will it take President Bush to drop his tough line on the Hamas? Almost half Israelis say talk to Hamas - poll

JERUSALEM: Almost half of Israelis think Israel should talk to a Palestinian government dominated by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which won a parliamentary majority in elections, an opinion poll showed yesterday.

On Thursday, Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out any talks with a government involving Hamas, which is sworn to the Jewish state's destruction and has been behind dozens of suicide bombings.

The opinion poll in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper showed 48 Per cent of Israelis favoured talking to a Hamas-led Palestinian government, while 43 per cent were opposed.

The survey was conducted before preliminary election results were announced on Thursday.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)

US: Call to American Officials to Shun CAIR

Joe Kaufman has the goods on CAIR: AAH CALLS ON U.S. GOVERNMENT TO TREAT CAIR AS HAMAS

(Coral Springs, FL) Yesterday, after it was confirmed that the terrorist organization Hamas won an overwhelming majority of votes in the Palestinian election, the President of the United States, George W. Bush, said that the U.S. government would not deal with the group. He stated, "A political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of its platform is a party with which we will not deal."

In light of President Bush's statement, Americans Against Hate (AAH) calls on all local, state and federal government agencies and representatives to distance themselves from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization with deep roots in Hamas.

CAIR was founded in 1994 by three leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a group created by the number two leader in Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. IAP recently lost a $156 million lawsuit for the murder of a young American boy, David Boim, during a Hamas terror operation.

CAIR was founded with seed money ($5000) from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), a "charity" that was shut down by the U.S. government, shortly after 9/11, for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. After 9/11, CAIR used its website to solicit funds for HLF. The head of HLF, Ghassan Elashi, was convicted of terrorist activity. Elashi was a co-founder of CAIR's Texas chapter.[...]

Read it all, and by all means forward this to your elected representatives.

U.S. Senate: (Use "Find your Senators" feature.)

House of Representatives: (Use "Find your Representative" feature by entering zip code.)

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

Malaysia: Malaysian Government to Build Half a Bridge

So, you spend a truckload of money in an empty gesture. Is this suppossed to be a hardball negotiating tactic? (Unless they plan to kill the Singaporean leadership of laughter). There is a more serious implication, however; Singapore is a majority Chinese country, while Malaysia is majority Muslim. Singapore was part of Malaysia, but it was let go... because with Singapore Malaysia would not have been majority-Muslim at the start. Now that the higher Muslim birth rate and discriminatory laws against Malaysian Chinese have assured a Muslim Malaysia for the foreseeable future, the Muslim Malay leadership might be wondering whether "reunification" would be a good strategy to follow.

At any rate, here is the story: Malaysia plans 'crooked' bridge

Malaysia says it will go ahead with controversial plans to build a crooked bridge across half the strait it shares with Singapore.

It took the decision unilaterally after talks about replacing an existing causeway failed to produce agreement.

The plan for the bizarre bridge was first put forward by Malaysia's former leader Mahatir Mohammad.

The bridge is one of many issues to strain ties between Malaysia and Singapore since their union ended.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2006

Cyprus: Turkish "Action Plan" for Cyprus Meets Greek Skepticism

There is a solution to the "Cyprus Question": throw the Turks out: FM meets British counterpart, says Turkish proposals on Cyprus do not differ from those tabled last May

Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis discussed the issue of Cyprus with his British counterpart Jack Straw, who arrived in Athens on Thursday evening in the framework of a working visit. Earlier, Straw was received by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. Molyviatis noted that the Greek government examined the Turkish proposals on the issue of Cyprus very carefully.

"The conslusion is that in essence they do not differ from the proposals which had been tabled last May and which led nowhere," Molyviatis said.

"The thought of a quadripartite conference was revived," the foreign minister said, adding that "this framework is not suitable since the issue of Cyprus constitutes an international matter which is being discussed at the level of the United Nations."

Molyviatis recalled the statement by Commissioner Olli Rehn that Turkey has assumed obligations which it must fulfill and reiterated Greece's position on the reunification of Cyprus in such a way that all the inhabitants of the island will enjoy the benefits from accession to the European Union.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: "The Girls of Riyadh" Scandalizes the Country

If it is raising this much trouble, I look forward to reading the novel when it becomes available in English: Woman shocks Saudi world with 'The Girls of Riyadh'

RIYADH - Gay teen-agers, predatory lesbians, women drinking alcohol at weddings, husbands with unsavory sexual demands.

With characters like that, "The Girls of Riyadh" is not your run-of-the-mill depiction of life in Muslim Saudi Arabia, one of the world's most restricted and conservative societies.

Though technically banned here, Rajaa al-Sanie's frank and sometimes shocking insight into the closed world of Saudi women is making waves four months after its publication in Beirut.

Local press commentators have asked the young Saudi to disown the book for besmirching women in the conservative kingdom and interviewers on Saudi-owned satellite channels have accused her of portraying its men as boorish bores.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Muslim Jailed for Plotting to Kill Iraq War Hero

Contrary what the defense claims, incompetence is not a justification for conspiracy to commit murder: Man jailed for Iraq revenge plot

A man has been jailed for six years for plotting to "hunt down" and kill a British soldier.

London's Southwark Crown Court heard that British-born Abu Mansha had planned to kill or harm the soldier in revenge for his success in Iraq.[...]

And don't miss this bit:

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said information including the corporal's past address was in Mansha's handwriting, and he had requested information about a rich Jewish man and the Hindu owner of a cash-and-carry business.

What motivation could a Muslim fanatic have to target a rich Jewish man, and a Hindu businessman? I wonder.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)

Palestinian Abomination: HAMAS Wins Elections, World Whines

"The Glorious March of Democracy" continues: Hamas 'secures stunning victory'

There are strong indications that the Islamic militant group Hamas has won a stunning victory in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Final results are to be announced at about 1900 local time (1700GMT).

But Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei has already announced his resignation, as the ruling Fatah party conceded defeat.

A Hamas victory will pose a great dilemma for the international community as it tries to restart peace talks with Israel, correspondents say.[...]

Look, if the title of this entry and my introductory sentence sounds bitter, it is because I am bitter. I am bitter our strategy for victory consists of asking our enemies, nicely, to become like us. (This is utter foolishness; all they have to do to beat us is say 'no.') This HAMAS victory will be spinned, talked out, soothed, and meanwhile our soldiers will be killed, our people will continue to be in danger from terrorism, and the demographic time bomb will continue to tick, tick, tick in Europe.

I'll go drink Cafe con Leche or something.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:02 AM | Comments (2)

January 25, 2006

Saudi Arabia: Finding Comedy in the Muslim World

Something tells me this is not what Albert Brooks had in mind when he wrote his ultra-PC film: Saudi Comedian Turns Suicide Bomber

An article in the Saudi Gazette of June 21, 2005, titled "Saudi Suicide Bomber was a Comedian," reported that one of its on-air employees was martyred in a terror attack in Iraq: "Al-Majd channel acknowledged this week that Saudi suicide bomber Muhammad Shazzaf Al-Shehri, who attacked the Al-Hamra Oasis Village compound in Riyadh on May 12, 2003, was a math teacher and a hired comedian for the television station."

It further stated: "Just as the Ministry of Education was shocked to be informed that one of their own mathematics teachers was a suicide bomber, and just as King Saud University was also shocked that one of its former students and associates was a suicide bomber, Al-Majd channel also is shocked that one of its freelance comedians was a suicide bomber."[...]

Read the whole thing for a sample of Muhammad Shazzaf Al-Shehri's brand of comedy.

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

UK: BNP Boss Nick Griffin Trial Update

In my rather detached opinion, here from the distance of my lair in the Continental United States, British National Party Leader Nick Griffin is a racist, holocaust-denying nitwit whom, in an ideal world, would be toiling away as a clerk in a convenience store. But I still think it is a tragedy he is on trial for his opinions on Islam: Islam is 'wicked' says BNP boss

The leader of the British National Party (BNP) who is accused of stirring up racial hatred said he believed Islam was a "wicked, vicious faith".

But the 46-year-old said his comments were not a criticism of Muslim people, Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Mr Griffin and party activist Mark Collett are accused of using words or behaviour likely to stir up racial hatred in speeches in West Yorkshire.

The speeches were recorded by a BBC reporter and aired in a documentary.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Islamist Government Drops Charges Against Novelist - But Other Cases Remain

We reported on the case of acclaimed Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk (left), who was in court on 16 December, facing charges under Article 301 of Turkey's penal code, which prohibits anyone "who explicitly insults being a Turk, the Republic or Turkish Grand National Assembly", and carries penalties of up to three years in jail.

Pamuk's crime was to have said in an interview in February 2005: "one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and no one but me dares talk about it." The interview had appeared in the Swiss magazine Das Magazin.

On the day of Pamuk's trial, the judge Metin Aydin, adjourned the case until February 7 2006. He claimed that as the Penal Code had undergone a revision, he needed clarification from the Justice Department whether the case was being brought under the older or the revised version.

The responsibility was thereby placed squarely back in the hands of the government, which is currently the AKP or Justice and Development Party, led by prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The AKP is an Islamist party, and Erdogan was imprisoned for inciting religious hatred in 1998. He was given a 10 month sentence (but only served four months) for reciting a poem which included the lines:

"The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers..."

The AKP has recently sought to challenge rulings concerning Turkey's secular rules forbidding the wearing of Muslim headscarfs (hijabs) in universities. Erdogan's wife wears the hijab at public meetings.

It has increased taxes on alcohol, and imposed "alcohol-free" regions in some cities. Erdogan himself has supported the removal from the constitution of the ruling which prevents religious indoctrination for children under 12. He wishes children as young as 4 to receive Islamic education, taught at imam hatip seminaries, of which Erdogan is a graduate.

Turkey has been attempting to join the European Union, and the trial of Pamuk was cited by some as evidence that Turkey's administration was currently incompatible with standards of justice and freedom expected of nations negotiating entry.

The court hearing in December drew a crowd of protesters, angered at Pamuk's denigration of Turkey, and one woman managed to swat the novelist with a folder. Some demonstrators kicked and lunged at Pamuk's car as he was driven away.

The decision of the judge to pass responsibility for the case into the hands of Turkey's Justice Minister, Cemil Cicek. It appears that the government has decided to make no recommendations, and the case is now officially dropped, as reported in the print edition of Monday's Telegraph.

Comments on the case have come in two well-written articles, one by Hugh Eakin in the Slate and one by J Simpson in the Globe & Mail.

Eakin reminds that other cases against other authors are still pending. We have drawn attention to two of these other cases, those of editor Hrant Dink and Abdullah Yildiz. Yildiz published a book by Greek author Mara Meimaridi, entitled "The Witches of Smyrna", which apparently contains comments that Turks are dirty and have poor oral hygiene, who still awaits his trial under Article 301.

Hrant Dink (pictured, right) is editor of Turkish magazine Agos, and because he, like Orhan Pamuk, made mention of the massacre of 1 million Armenians around the time of World War1. On 7 October he was given a six month suspended sentence under Article 301. He is appealing against the sentence. He is also facing another similar charge at Sanliurfa, in southeastern Turkey, begun on 28 April 2005 and still unfinished, relating to comments made at a conference in 2002.

Hugh Eakin argues that Pamuk has managed to offend both the hardliners within Turkey but also European allies. He has exposed the deep Islam/secular tensions in Turkey in his novel Snow, offending the authorities, and he is alienating some of his non-Turkish supporters, because he is not conforming to the usual role of "dissident".

So in the end, Turkey's greatest writer has offended both Turkish hard-liners and German conservatives for failing to make his allegiances clear. But it is arguably Pamuk's mixed message—that Turkey desperately wants and needs Europe even as it thumbs its nose at fundamental European notions of justice and truth—that will prove most accurate in hindsight. Under the current regime, Turkey has become both more democratic and more comfortable with its Muslim heritage; during Ramadan last fall, the major public debate was about whether Muslims could break the fast with sex.

But the changes have happened too quickly, and under too much pressure from Brussels, for Turkish society to be really at ease with it all. And the most painful part of that transition, as postwar Europe itself has shown, may be coming to terms with history.

J SImpson commented:

Mr. Pamuk recently explained his situation to readers of The New Yorker as part of a "new global phenomenon," whereby newly enriched elites in developing countries both ape the West but defend themselves against charges of having abandoned their countries' traditions by "brandishing a virulent and intolerant nationalism."

It's happening to Mr. Pamuk in Turkey, and it should stop, for Turkey's sake.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:39 AM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2006

UK: "Mainstream" Muslim Leader Dies, Aged 83

Egyptian born and highly respected Muslim scholar and spiritual leader, Zaki Badawi, has died. The BBC reports his death, and presents a fair obituary.

Born in 1922, and founder of Britain's Muslim College, Zaki Badawi was an exceptional figure in the British Muslim world, as well as being an internationally-respected scholar. He made links with Christian and Jewish groups, and when Rushdie's fatwa was announced, he stated that the book should be the focus of anger, not Rushdie, saying: "Spurn the book, spare the man."

A former chief imam of the London Central Mosque in Regent's Park, London, he also established the Sharia Council, to give advice on social issues. He also campaigned against female circumcision. After 7/7, when a lot of anti-Muslim resentment abounded, and many Muslim women made almost provocative shows of wearing the hijab, Dr Badawi urged against such displays.

Unlike the attention-seeking members of the Muslim Council for Britain, who appear to have a political agenda, Badawi's balanced and common sense approach to faith and society earned the respect of political leaders, and in 2004 he was awarded an honorary knighthood.

He has been criticised by some as a hardliner, and by others as a moderate. He described himself thus, dismissing the title "moderate": "It implies I am somehow less of a Muslim. I call myself mainstream."

Tributes have been made by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said he had "a wonderful mix of spirituality and practicality," and Prince Charles who said Dr Badawi's death was "a blow personally and for the country."

As the most senior Islamic scholar in Britain, who criticised imams who could not speak English, and made sincere efforts to promote understandings between groups and faiths, he was the best representative of Islam we had. He has been in Britain long enough to have shown his agenda was straightforward.

I personally think he was a good man, and a positive influence in both the Muslim society and the society at large. His presence will, literally, be hard to imagine being replaced. Most of our other well-known Muslim leaders are either snide and untrustworthy, like Iqbal Sacranie, or verging on the lunatic, as in the case of Abu Hamza. Dr Zaki Badawi had academic status and political nous to be head and shoulders above these more primitive advocates of Islam.

An idea of his nature can be found in a Guardian interview from January 13, 2003, and a biography can be found here.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:57 PM | Comments (1)

Europe: European Council Report Claims U.S. Ousources Torture

More self-righteous miopia from the European Council: Report cites evidence that U.S. 'outsources' torture

A Swiss investigator for the Council of Europe issued an interim report Tuesday, concluding that there is evidence of a system of "outsourcing of torture" by the United States, although the review did not produce irrefutable proof of clandestine CIA prisons in Europe. The report, which relied heavily on previously published information that has already appeared in American and European newspapers, singled out other governments for their likely complicity. "It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware of the 'rendition' of more than a hundred persons," according to Dick Marty, the investigator whose report was made public Tuesday morning before a debate of the 46-nation Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

Spain: Suspected Islamist Arrested

Expatica today reports that a Moroccan man was arrested on Sunday in the town of Estepona in southern Spain.

The man, Mohamed Anouar Zaoudi was arrested as part of an operation which commenced in Catalonia on 10 January by police and intelligence agencies.

Zaoudi worked for the leader of a fundamentalist group, Mohamed Mrabet Fahsi. One of the 20 people arrested on Jan 10 was the leader of the mosque at Vilanova i la Geltru in Catalonia. Another man, 23-year old Omar Nakhcha, was arrested in another Catalan location on January 12, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, near Barcelona.

Zaoudi, like the others arrested this month, is accused of recruiting individuals to fight as insurgents in Iraq. Their arrest came after monitoring international operations of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) and the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Malaysia: Muslim Court Allows Apostate To Be Buried As Buddhist

Reports from the Malaysia Star and Associated Press via Al Jazeera describe the decision by a Syariah (Sharia or Islamic Law) court in Malaysia to allow a woman born into a Muslim family to be buried as a non-Muslim.

In any Western country such news would be unimportant, but in Malaysia's bizarre constitution, all Malays are deemed Muslim. The constitution, as we discussed earlier is contradictory.

Ostensibly people have the freedom to practice any religion. Article 11 gives citizens the right to profess and practise any religion they choose. Article 3 states that Islam is the official religion of the state, but Article 3 (1) of the constitution states that 'other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation'.

However, Article 121 (1A) of the constitution rules that the Islamic courts are not to be affected by decisions in a civil court.This clause states that civil courts have no jurisdiction on "any matter" which already falls within the scope of the Syariah or Islamic courts.

The case of people being classed as Muslims is complicated by the issue of apostasy. Cases where people have tried to leave Islam have to receive permission from an Islamic court, and such permission is universally denied. The Straits Times from Sept 20 2005 stated that a sharia court has never granted permission for a Malaysian Muslim to convert out of Islam.

When Lina Joy decided to officially apostasise, after her conversion to Christianity in the late 1980s, she took the case to a sharia court.

The court said in September last year she was free to practice the religion of her choosing, as is constitutionally stated, but her identity card states that she is a Muslim, and therefore cannot marry a Christian (and who thought apartheid was finished?).

Joy, originally named Azlina Jailani before her apostasy, first applied to the National Registration Department in February 1997 to have her status as "Muslim" removed from her identity card. In August, she was told that she did not have official Sharia permission to leave Islam. In 1998, she was allowed to register her new name, but she was still officially a "Muslim".

She took her case to the court of appeal, being heard in October 2004, and in September 19, 2005 it was rejected. The civil court ruled that she had to apply to the Sharia Court to apply to leave Islam.

The current news that a "designated" Muslim has been allowed by a Sharia court to be buried with Buddhist rites is being touted by Islamists as a sign that the current unjust system of law in the country is perfectly fair.

Muhamad Burok, president of the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association stated: "It shows that our two court systems - the Civil Court and Syariah Court - can exist in harmony, so the issue that the Constitution should be amended does not arise. The decision shows that everyone can get protection from all the courts."

This case, involving Nyonya Tahir (pictured above) comes on the heels of the scandal on December 28 where a Malaysian national hero, Manian Moorthy, who was a Hindu was declared in his last weeks of life by an Islamic court to be a Muslim, was buried Islamically, against the protests of his Hindu wife. The judge said that he had "no power" to change the decision of the Syariah courts on issues involving apostasy.  That case brought international condemnation.

So Muhamad Burok is being disingenuous if he thinks that the burial of Nyonya Tahir in a burial plot of her family's choosing makes up for glaring contradictions and bias against Muslim apostates contained in the constitution. In a democracy, where one can choose who leads the country at an election, the ability to abandon one particular faith and elect another should be a fundamental right.

Nyonya Tahir died on Thursday (19 Jan), aged 89 years. Her life began as a Muslim Malay, but she was raised as a Chinese by her Malay grandmother who had married a Chinese convert to Islam.

When Nyonya married Chiang Meng, a Chinese, in 1936 she was already living by Chinese customs, and after marriage practiced Buddhism. In Malaysia's Nazi-style ethnic labeling, all of their eight children were registered as Chinese.

Nyonya's identity card said she was a Muslim, and when she died the funeral was postponed by Islamic authorities, until the case was heard in court. Chiang Kwai Ying, Nyonya's daughter, said her mother had attempted to have her name officially changed but had been refused. The Islamic court ruled on Monday (yesterday) that Nyonya Tahir could be laid to rest according to Buddhist principles.

Burok said the ruling "gives great hope to non-Muslims that they can find justice in the Islamic system. We hope non-Muslims will now understand that their fears are not justified."

This is extremely doubtful. The only positive thing about this case (which was hurtful to the family by intruding at the time of a funeral) is that it has set a precedent. It is the first time someone designated officially as a Muslim has been allowed to apostasise officially, even though it happened posthumously, having been denied to her while she was alive and requested it.

It is also the first time that a Sharia court has heard evidence from non Muslims, Chiang Kwai Ying and Chiang Ah Fatt, two of Nyonya's children.

The problems of the constitution remain, despite this case. Never before have Sharia courts allowed apostasy, and as Wong Kim Kong of the Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism states: "There is no guarantee that what happened in Nyonya's case will happen again."

The issue of apostasy being handled by Islamic courts who do not allow apostasy, the automatic designation of Malays as Muslim, stated on identity cards issued at the age of 12 onwards, and the ability of Sharia courts to punish apostates with imprisonment is an injustice, to Muslims as well as non-Muslims. It makes Malaysia's claims to democracy appear like a huge, sick joke.

Many states have already adopted the Control and Restriction Bill, which gives a fine of 10,000 ringit ($2,653) or imprisonment for up to one year for "persuading, influencing a Muslim to leave Islam for another religion."

One can also be imrisoned by a sharia court for "belittling Islam", and this has been used to punish people who wish to apostasise from Islam, as in the case of the Sky Kingdom Sect, where individuals such as Kamariah Ali have battled for 7 years to be allowed to leave Islam, and have been imprisoned for their pains.

Islam, when legally sanctioned, is always tyrannical. Malaysia's fascistic identity card system and its despotic Islamists in the sharia courts are only proving how legally-institutionalised religion, with its powers unrestricted by civil courts of law, can never coexist with true democracy.

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

January 23, 2006

Bangladesh: Was JMB Islamist Leader Captured in India?

We reported on Saturday of a major manhunt in the western district of Kushtia, Bangladesh, which shares a border with the state of West Bengal in India. Following a tip-off, 2,000 security officers, accompanied by helicopters, scoured the region on Thursday 19 January, hunting for Abdur Rahman (pictured), head of the Islamic terrorist organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Bangla Bhai, who is active in JMB and also heads the Islamist group Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). The manhunt was called off in the early hours of Friday morning.

News comes today from various sources, who announce that a man who may be Abdur Rahman has been arrested in West Bengal, India. Reuters and New Kerala have the details.

A man was picked up at a hideout in Basarat in the southern district of 24 Parganas in West Bengal state on Sunday. He has been taken to New Delhi for questioning. Indian police confirmed that a man had been arrested, but would not confirm his identity. There has not been official confirmation from Bangladesh of whether the detained man is Abdur Rahman.

The man's arrest came after a man named Mohsin, who is a member of JMB, was arrested in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. His arrest led to the arrest of "Rahman" on Sunday.

Rahman, whose younger brother, Ataur, or Sunny, was arrested on December 13 has been in hiding, as has Bangla Bhai, since a nationwide attack on August 17 2005, where more than 400 bombs went off nearly simultaneously in 63 of the country's 64 districts. These bombs injured more than a hundred, and killed two people. At the scene of each bomb was literature, demanding the institution of an Islamic state, governed by sharia law.

Rahman narrowly evaded capture in November 2005, but was apparently tipped off about the raid on a house where he had been staying in Dhaka, the capital.

After Ramadan 2005, the attacks by JMB became worse, with 2 judges killed at Jhalakathi in the south on November 14, and a double suicide attack on court buildings at Chittagong and Gazipur on November 29 killing ten people and injuring more than twenty seriously. Two days later, another suicide attack at Gazipur courthouse claimed two innocent lives and injured twenty.

An arts and culture group in Netrakona district was hit by a suicide bomber on December 8, killing six and injuring 46.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:53 PM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Muslims Beat Christian Unconscious In Conversion Attempt

Once again the "Religion of Peace" displays a less peaceful side, and once again, physical violence is used in an attempt to persuade someone to join the faith. Compass Direct reports that in Adana, south-central Turkey, about 50 miles from both Cyprus and the Syrian border, a church leader was brutally attacked by five individuals who tried to make him renounce his faith and accept Islam.

The incident happened on Sunday, January 8, when Kamil Kiroglu, aged 29, was leaving his church around 5 pm. The assailants included four Turkish youths and an older man, their leader, who claimed to come from Turkmenistan.

They had arrived at the Adana Protestant church earlier, and the leader claimed he was a Christian who had "converted" the other four to Christianity, but did not know how to teach them.

There was a service that afternoon, and Kiroglu, who had formerly been a Muslim, invited them to ask questions at a meeting with tea for members of the congregation, after the service. The men insisted they wanted to talk alone, and remained after the other worshippers had left.

Kiroglu was intimidated by the group, whose leader claimed to have left a package "from al-Qaeda" in the church. Kiroglu fled, pursued by the group, one of whom was shouting "We don't want Christians in this country!"

The priest was knocked about, and kicked, losing consciousness at one stage. He got up and ran again, and was caught. The group were telling him to give up Christianity. One individual pressed a butcher's knife to his stomach, saying: "I'm asking you again, deny Jesus, or I will kill you now."

Then he received two more blows to the head and fell unconscious. The police were called. The "package" tuned out to be a large knife, wrapped and hidden beneath a bench.

Obviously the gang were not al-Qaeda, but the method of using violence to achieve conversions is all too common in various nations. Turkish police suggested local extremists are paying local youths to carry out such attacks, saying "maybe some people are giving these unruly youths money to do this."

There are only 3,500 Turkish Christians in the entire nation, spread about in 95 different church congregations.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

Western World: Media Silence on the Nature of Islam

It is thus, imperative, that we keep talking: Silence that speaks volumes

Remember when word came down from the Vatican that Pope John Paul II had watched Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and liked it? The anonymously sourced story sparked a media firestorm around the globe as reporters sought confirmation of the papal equivalent of two thumbs up. "It is as it was," we later learned the pope supposedly said. Which sounded like the perfect biblical movie blurb; but did the pontiff actually utter the words?

After some non-clarifying retractions from the Vatican, it was ultimately hard to say for sure — although not for journalistic want of trying. This natural curiosity stands in striking contrast to the media silence that has met a far more sensational, far more significant report of papal opinion: namely, that Pope Benedict XVI is said to believe that Islam is incapable of reform.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Islamist Arrested In US Airstrike Village

Despite the conflicting reports emanating from Pakistani officials at present, concerning the airstrike on January 13 in the hamlet of Damadola in the Bajaur Agency, a tribal district set alongside the Afghanistan border in Pakistan, a few reports so far appear to contain facts. The Pakistan government is being very secretive and contradictory in its assessments of the airstrike and its aftermath.

Apparently an airstrike by an unmanned US Predator drone crossed from Afghanistan to his a house where Ayman al-Zawahiri had been invited to attend. Even though al-Zawahiri was unable to attend, he sent al-Qaeda ambassadors to what appears to have been a terror summit. In the strike, three houses were destroyed, and 18 people were reported dead.

It appears that four al-Qaeda Islamists were killed in the strike, including Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar, aka Abu Khabab , a poisons and explosives trainer, who had a $5 million US bounty on his head.

Despite denials by Pakistan, the administration of Bajaur Agency released a statement, which said that ten to twelve "foreign extremists" had been invited to attend the village.

Now, according to Pakistan Times, AP via the Scotsman and the Guardian, a suspected al-Qaeda operative has been arrested by police in the hamlet of Damadola, scene of the controversial airstrike.

The man's name was not released, but according to a Pakistani security official who leaked the report, the individual is a relative of Faqir Mohammed. This cleric is deemed responsible for tamering with evidence, removing bodies of the "foreigners" from the blast site.

The official claimed a jirga (tribal council) would be held to discuss "the responsibility of sheltering foreigners and to set the punishment for the offence."

The act of overflying the border to perform an airstrike has been widely condemned by Muslim groups, with anti-American protests in Peshawar province and other parts of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, is currently visiting the US, where he has dismissed the US reports of al Qaeda leaders being killed in the attack as "bizarre".

Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition" he said : "There is no evidence, as of half an hour ago, that there were any other people there. The area does see movement of people from across the border. But, we have not found one body or one shred of evidence that these people were there."

Interestingly, Aziz said that only 13 people had been killed, despite villager's initial reports that 18 were dead. Perhaps there were at least four other bodies removed deliberately.

The protests against the US Hellfire missile attack have also included individuals expressing hostility to Presidant Musharraf,

Associated Press, via the Toronto Star reports today that protests have intensified near the scene of the strike. The opposition religious coailition (the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had led a convoy of 2000 marching to Damadola, but at Yukka, 30 miles from the village, police set up road blocks, and told protesters to go back.

No violence ensued, but the Muslim demonstrators chanted "Down with America" and "Down with Musharraf".

Mohammed Jalil, the top government official in the region, said "We have instructions from the government that these political leaders should not be allowed to go Bajur."

Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president of the MMA coalition, said "We were going to Bajur to condemn the attacks and to prove that Pakistanis are against such acts against our sovereignty."

67-year old Ahmad (pictured, top right), who is president of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, promised a "revolution" in Pakistan following the end of Ramadan (4 November) which, despite his best efforts, has yet to materialise.

Legislators in northwestern Pakistan also demanded today for Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador to Pakistan, to be expelled. The government's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Tasnin Aslam, said the government would resist the legislator's demands. She said Washington has launched an investigation into the affair.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:32 AM | Comments (0)

Malaysia: Islamic Fatwa Denounces "Black Metal" Music

Today, AP via Malaysia's Star states that the National Fatwa Council has made a ruling, saying Black Metal music is "unacceptable" for Muslims, as it can cause listeners to rebel against religion.

So-called Black Metal is heavy rock, but often uses occult images, and includes occult references in its lyrics. The AP states it emerged in Europe in the 1980s and has gained popularity in South-East Asia of late among underground rock fans.

One assumes it is akin to Death Metal, or Marilyn Manson's music, or even Ozzie Osbourne's work, but the bands listed in a recent BBC World Service report, who appeared at a concert in Kuala Lumpur on New Year's Eve, were all home-grown in South-East Asia.

The ruling came after requests from some Malaysians, after a controversial police operation at the New Years' concert led to the arrests of 380 people attending the event. The individuals were claimed by police, and also Malaysian media, as being suspected of drug use. Hardly any drugs were seized and revellers, such as a girl wearing a black T-shirt claimed to the BBC that she was told she was being arrested for inappropriate attire, claim police were "heavy-handed".

The actions of the police would be perhaps justifiable if there were 380 drugs convictions. The actions of the police, as described by the BBC, appear to be more concerned with prohibition of the listeners of the music, rather than prohibitions against drugs or other issues.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Somalia: Pirate Ship Captured by U.S. Navy

Way to go Navy: U.S. Navy Seizes Pirate Ship Off Somalia

The U.S. Navy boarded an apparent pirate ship in the Indian Ocean and detained 26 men for questioning, the Navy said Sunday. The 16 Indians and 10 Somali men were aboard a traditional dhow that was chased and seized Saturday by the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, said Lt. Leslie Hull-Ryde of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.

The dhow stopped fleeing after the Churchill twice fired warning shots during the chase, which ended 87 kilometers (54 miles) off the coast of Somalia, the Navy said. U.S. sailors boarded the dhow and seized a cache of small arms.

Somalia, of course, is a country dominated by our friends of the Religion of Peace.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)

Cuba: Castro Offers Iranian Islamists Rhetorical Support

Yet another Communist dictator support the Islamic Mullahcracy of Iran: Cuban leader expresses concern about Iranian nuclear dispute

HAVANA (AP) - Cuban President Fidel Castro expressed concern Saturday about the nuclear dispute between Iran and countries including the United States and France, urging all countries to refrain from using nuclear weapons.

The Cuban leader chided France for recent comments by President Jacques Chirac that his country could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack. Castro also accused the United States of searching for an excuse to attack Iran.

"It is very worrisome that this alliance of countries is proclaiming the right to use nuclear weapons against 'terrorist' states," Castro said in a live appearance on the daily Cuban TV public-affairs program Mesa Redonda, or Round Table.

"What's being spread is fear," he added.

Referring to the United States, Castro said there exists "a danger that they will attack Iran...with the most unjustifiable of pretexts and with nuclear weapons."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: $10 Million Donation To Islamic Jihad - Israel Hits Back

Today, Arutz Sheva reports on an announcement made last night by Israel's defense minister, Sha'ul Mofaz, in a speech delivered at the annual Herzliya Conference. He mentioned the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is currently touring Syria.

In Damascus on Friday, Ahmadinejad met with representatives of Hizbullah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in the presence of the Syrian Ba'athist dictator Bashar al-Assad.

We described some of the claims Ahmadinejad made at this meeting yesterday, where he spoke ominously of a "Final War" in the Middle East. Mofaz referred to this meeting as a "terror summit".

Mofaz (pictured, above) made the claim that Iran has bankrolled Hizbollah to the tune of $100 million per year. It was known that the Islamist regime supported and trained Hizbollah members, who are based in a disputed region of the Lebanon. But an additional claim was made by Sha'ul Mofaz - that $10 million went from Iran into the coffers of Islamic Jihad last year, a year in which the group (while on a supposed truce) killed six innocent Israeli citizens in a suicide blast at a market in Hadera, killed 5 more shoppers in Netanya, and have been implicated in other suicide attempts, such as the blast at Tel Aviv on Thursday, which injured 30 people.

The $10 million is twice as much as the amount given by Iran in 2004, Sha'ul Mofaz announced, adding "The regime of the president of Iran, Ahmadinejad, supports terrorism in the Middle East through the supply of rockets that threaten population centers in this country, sends money for terrorism, and supplies training and know-how to the Middle Eastern [terror] organizations."

Defence minister Mofaz hinted that it will not tolerate Iran's current resumption of its uranium enrichment program, saying Israel "must be prepared to defend itself, with all that that implies. An international effort must be promoted against Iran, which supports terrorism and denies the Holocaust."

Mofaz' speech was taken up by Al Jazeera, in a piece entitled: "Israel Hints At Attacking Iran". Google cites 250 other references to this speech.

"I believe everyone present here understand the extent to which the combination of an extremist regime with long-range ballistic capability, ongoing efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and support in terror constitutes a danger not only to Israel, but to the entire world. While Israel's strategic state is much better today in terms of our international standing and the relations with the United States, the country faces some imminent threats such as Iran's "nuclear armament" and the strengthening of terror. This is why 2006 will be a year of struggle, not a year of resolutions," Mofaz is quoted as saying.

Haaretz today reports Iran's response to Mofaz's speech. Hamid Reza Asefi, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said Israel was only trying to increase Western pressure to make it dismantle its nuclear program. Any attempt by Israel to mount a military strike would be a "fatal mistake" and Mofaz' comments were derided as a "childish game."

Mofaz stated on Friday "You, who are leading your country in an ideology of hatred, terror and antisemitism. You had better take a glance at history and see what became of tyrants like you who tried to annihilate the Jewish people. They only brought destruction upon their own people."

Mofaz called Ahmadinejad an "oppressor", saying: "Ahmedinejad, his hallucinatory statements, his criminal actions and his extreme views will bring disaster upon you. Do what you understand needs to be done in order to prevent this." Mofaz referred to the presidents of Iran and Syria as "representatives of the past".

UPI via Monsters & Criticcs states that Mofaz concluded his speech with these words: "Syria is under international pressure, while we have peace agreements with Arab states and the reality does not allow for the formation of an Arab coalition against Israel. The strength of the peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt contributes to stability in the region, which is why they must continue to be nurtured."

Meanwhile, Focus-fen and Arutz Sheva report that in the village of Silat a-Harta, north of Jenin in the West Bank this morning, police and Shin Bet agents arrested a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, one Hassan Jardaat. Jardaat leads a terror cell in northern Samaria which has committed several fatal attacks which caused the deaths of dozens of Israelis and injured hundreds more.

And in separate news, just out, BBC World Service says that a Palestinian has been killed today in the Gaza strip. A militant group, the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed that a group of their number were preparing to launch rockets from Gaza into Israel, but themselves came under an Israeli air attack. The BBC states it is not known if the dead person was a militant or a bystander.

And it is alleged that Hillary Clinton has also been receiving funds from Iranian Americans close to the regime, who wish for the US trade embargo against Iran to be rescinded......

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

US: Mexican Supremacist Group Drools Over Osama bin Laden

We have covered how for some white supremacists, hatred of the Jews trumps everything. It seems for the brown supremacists of La Voz de Aztlan, hatred of America trumps everything: Osama bin Laden: The "Pancho Villa" of Islam

Los Angeles, Alta California - 1/15/2002 - (ACN) "Villa is everywhere but Villa is nowhere" was the telegraphed message sent to Washington D. C. by General John J. Pershing after failing to capture the elusive and brilliant military strategist of the Mexican Revolution. Pershing and his Punitive Expedition, that included a young lieutenant by the name of George S. Patton, had gone deep into Mexico in search of General Francisco Villa after Villa and about 485 of his "Dorados del Norte" had successfully crossed the U.S./Mexico border and raided the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916 to collect a debt owed him by two unscrupulous, in Villa's own words, "judio" (jewish) brothers, Sam and Louis Ravel. The scammers had failed to deliver arms, ammunition and supplies they had been paid for with gold bars. The U.S. Army Punitive Expedition consisting of 10,000 troops went as far south as Parral, Chihuahua but gave up catching General Villa after an 11 month search. General Villa, "El Tigere del Norte", proved too evasive for John "Black Jack" Pershing. General Francisco Villa knew every rock, every stream, every cave, and every cactus of the immense sierra of Chihuahua.

Today, we are hearing similar accounts concerning the search for Osama bin Laden by the U.S. Special Forces expedition into Afghanistan under the command of General Tommy Franks.[...]

The mention of money-hungry Jews in the piece is not accidental. As Israpundit shows, the group La Voz de Aztlan speaks for (Mecha) is anti-semitic as well.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2006

Bangladesh: Massive Hunt For Main Islamists Called Off

News reports from the Bangladesh Independent, the Daily Star and Pakistan's Daily Times state that a major manhunt took place in Kushtia (red on map) district, in the west. Police had received information that Abdur Rahman, the leader of Islamic terror group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Bangla Bhai, who is a leader within JMB and also has his own Islamic terror group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB).

Bangla Bhai, who was formerly a teacher called Siddiqul Islam, is pictured above at a press conference at which his group was officially introduced to the media in May 2004. Bangla Bhai is wearing a green hat, at left. Abdur Rahman, a veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviets, is in the center of the picture. Bangla Bhai claimed he had been operating incognito for six years. In the month leading up to the press conference, JMJB was blamed for at least five murders and also instances of torture.

The manhunt, the biggest of its kind, had been initiated after information from a "reliable source" asserted that the two Islamist leaders were in Kushtia region. Ten suspected followers of the men were arrested during the operation, but despite its scale, in which helicopters hovered over two upazilas (boroughs), did not find the fugitives.

The sweep began early on Thursday, with 2,000 security officers taking part, from Rab (Rapid Action Battalion), the paramilitary security force, the police and military. By 1.30 am Friday morning, they gave up.

Kushtia shares in the west a border with the Indian state of West Bengal. A curfew was imposed until Friday evening in nine villages in the upazilas of Poradah and Khajanagar.

Some cynical observers have claimed that the fuss made about the operation was a ploy to draw attention away from current problems with the setting up of the Electoral Commission, whose members are expected to preside over the national election next year.

There has been better news for the police in Bangladesh, when a close associate of Bangla Bhai was arrested at a bus station in Charmatha, in the district of Bogra (green on map). His information led to another JMB individual, and also a large quantity of bomb-making ingredients (pictured below).

The arrested individuals are Ashraful Islam aka Arsad, aka Abbas Khan aka Arafat, aged 22, son of a deceased maulana (scholarly imam) and Abdul Mannan Pramanik alias Mansur.

Rab sources state that Ahraful Islam joined JMB in 2000 and by the end of 2003 he had been promoted Commander of Sherpur thana (parish) in Bogra district. From April 2004, he had worked with Bangla Bhai in Bagmara, states the Independent.

The explosives equipment was taken from the house of Mansur, who was arrested on the spot. The find included electronics devices, detonators, ammunition and explosives (pictured below). According to the Daily Star:

The seized chemicals include 1 kg gunpowder, 6.5 kg sulphur, 4.8 kg lead styphnate, 1 kg beeswax, 5 litre sulphuric acid, 200 gm silica gel, 50 gm chalk powder, 100 gm putty and 500 gm liquid adhesive, said a Rab press release yesterday.

The other materials recovered are 25 yards of wire double ply, one wrench, one cutting plyer, 800 gm nuts, bolts and springs, five jugs, three funnels, six pairs of gloves, two safety pipette fillers, five thermometers, one packet pH indicator (acid-base indicator) paper, one spirit lamp, four jars, three pairs of battery plate, 2.3 kg grenade pins, eight packets of highly inflammable chemical mixed cotton, seven tap insulating rolls, 18 containers, one kg steel and iron balls, 25 switches with circuit, 203 switches without circuit, 34 plastic bodies for switch, 250 indicator bulbs and a set of balance.

The Independent noted that early on Friday morning, two JMB members were arrested in the district of Faridpur (blue on map). One of these men, Amir Hossain, was the Faridpur district commander for the upazilas of Nagarkanda and Bhanga.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Hossain, who then led them to a man called Abdullah from Nagarkanda upazila. As well as being a local JMB leader, Abdullah is a director of an Islamic institution, the Al Manar Islami Sangstha and Manar Kindergarten. Hossain also teaches at the institution. Their interrogation continues.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Muslim Cleric Puts Koran On Trial

Time now to review the end of the second week of the trial of Egyptian-born Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza , at the Old Bailey in London.

The Times reports that on Thursday, copies of the Koran were handed out to jurors. The defence argued that some of the "offensive" statements made by Hamza in his videotaped sermons came straight out of the Koran.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, defending, said Hamza interpreted the Koran as giving an obligation to Muslims, to perform jihad and to fight in defence of their faith.

After describing the prosecution claims as "simplistic in the extreme". Fitzgerald said: "It is said he was preaching murder, but he was actually preaching from the Koran itself."

Fitzgerald quoted Chapter 2, verse 216 and Chapter 9 verse 111, which he claimed gave theological justification to the words which have now brought him before the court.

2:216 "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not."

9:111"Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph."

His comments about Jews came from the Hadiths, in which fighting between Jews and Muslims is predicted. In these collections of Mohammed's sayings, it is written that the trees will call out to the Muslims "there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."

Fitzgerald concluded: "Mr Hamza has said things that most people will find deeply offensive and hateful. But he is not on trial for describing England as a toilet. There is no crime of simply being offensive."

The Guardian yesterday described Fitzgerald's questioning of his client on Thursday. The defence counsel asked about his contacts with SPecial Branch and MI5 in the late 1990s.

Hamza claimed that Special Branch told him theu had commenced their surveillance on him in 1994. He had engaged in meetings with someone from MI5. He said he had asked officers of Special Branch: "My sermon, is it a problem?" Their response, he said, was: "You have freedom of speech. You don't have anything to worry about as long as we don't see blood on the streets."

Today, the Guardian describes the proceedings on Friday. Hamza said that he believed suicide bombings were a legitimate tool of war. "Bombing is a tactic of war if it is used for a good reason."

When Fitzgerald asked when suicide bombing could be used, he answered: "If it is the only way to stop enemies of Islam attacking and you have no other means of resisting oppression then that will be your only tactic of war. If it is targeting people or places where it is forbidden to target them then it is immoral. It is not a strategy, it is not an aim, it is a tool of war if there are no other means."

It was legitimate in Palestine, he said. "When they see tanks, bulldozers and soldiers are coming to knock down houses with people inside them ... yes, it is legitimate within the boundaries of Islam."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

India: More Islamists Arrested For Scientist's Murder

On December 29 a mathematics professor at India's Institute of Technology, M.C. Puri, was shot dead and four other scientists injured, leaving a lecture auditorium of the Indian Institute of Science.

On New Year's Day central security services announced that the attack was masterminded by Lashkar e-Taiba.

Today's Hindustan Times announces that two Lashkar e-Taiba terrorists were apprehended on Friday night in connection with the attack which killed Professor Puri.

The individuals, Afsar Pasha and Irfan, revealed under interrogation that they had buried weaponry. This led to the recovery of a quantity of arms, buried in soil at Chintami in Kolar district. Irfan was a maulvi, a Quran teacher.

A police source claimed: "We have seized 17 electronic detonators, 20 gelatine sticks, 120 gel sicks, three hand grenades, packets of iron pellets and books on Jehad."

Pasha, a mechanic, revealed that he had been involved in a bomb explosion in Dhaka in 2003. He had planned to lay explosives at some of the software companies, which thrive in the region, at Bangalore and Mangalore.

So far, there are four individuals who have now been arrested in connection with the attack on the Indian Institute of Science. A police source suggests that there may soon be three more to add to that list.

Lashkar e-Taiba is primarily concerned with wresting Kashmir from Indian control. It initially denied responsibility for the bombings at Delhi on October 29, but it now seems almost certain the blasts were the group's handiwork.

Meanwhile, there have been developments in the case of the Mumbai imam, who was arrested on January 14. 44-year old Maulana Ghulam Yahya Allah Baksh was imam at the Haj House Masjid in South Mumbai. He was charged under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 2004, for giving refuge to three Lashkar e-Taiba militants, Haji Mohammad Ramzan, Khursheed Amhad Lone and Arshad Badroo. The cleric assisted these to conceal weapons and materials for use in bomb manufacture.

Initially the imam was not believed to have been a fully fledged member of Lashkar e-Taiba. Express India stated on Thursday that the imam is now thought to have been in frequent contact with Salah-ud-din, the Bandipore-based commander of Lashkar e-Taiba in northern India, for the past year.

Police have found that he channelled substantial sums of money into the terror group's funds. He channelled 1,200,000 rupees in June, Rs 2,500,000 in July and Rs 5,000,000 in December, in 2005.

The imam had a 10 year passport made up in Kolkata in 1995, and travelled to Saudi Arabia. In September last year, he applied for a renewal of the passport, but his request was denied. Police are now requesting documents on this from the Security Branch.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

US: Women Create Database Of Islamist Regime's Forgotten Victims

Two women now living in Washington DC, US, have unveiled an online database of victims of the Iranian Islamic revolution, which began in 1979 and still has not finished.

The women, Ladan and Roya Boroumand, as reported by AP in Newsday and other sources such as the Toronto Star, have so far compiled 9400 cases of individuals executed by the Muslim despots who rule Iran.

The women have dedicated the site to one of its victims, Abdorrahman Boroumand, who was stabbed to death in 1991, in his apartment building in Paris, where he was living in exile. A leader of the Iranian Resistance, his murderers are believed to have been Iranian government agents.

Ten years after their father's murder they decided to begin compiling the database. They employed the services of individuals in various countries, contributing information, and scouring news reports and records. The site where the database can be found bears the name of their enterprise, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation.

They do not judge the victims, or decide if a person is guilty or innocent. For the sisters, all are victims.

45 year old Roya states: "We cannot replace an official investigation. That's why we always insist that what we're doing is symbolic. We just want to initiate a debate. This is the first step to encourage a truth and reconciliation commission."

"In the Third World and Iran we really have not had a democracy — we are used to just going ahead and pushing the dirt under the rug and not looking at it. If we want to have a real transition to democracy, we need to look at what has happened to us and what we have done," she said.

"No one really cared about the due process of law. No one cared about the prostitute being killed or the homosexual being killed. Everyone was really busy politicking," Roya Boroumand observed.

The database's public unveiling is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the release of 52 US embassy staff, who were held hostage by students (including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now the President of Iran) for 444 days.

Roya's sister, 48-year old Ladan, stated that at the beginning of the revolution, while the sisters were studying in France, they had great hopes for the new regime. But when they went to Iran their optimism turned to disillusionment, when they heard of rushed trials and mass executions.

"A sense of shame and guilt overwhelmed me," she said. She knows that currently the 9,400 individuals whose lives are commemorated mark the beginnings of a larger work. "We are really at the beginning of our work," she said.

The website database can be found here. With text in Farsi and English, the site is well designed. They call the database of victims Omid, the Iranian word for hope:

Omid: a Memorial in Defense of Human Rights is an electronic database of human rights violations in Iran. The Memorial is dedicated to the victims of the Islamic Republic since it was established in 1979. Omid's ultimate goal however is to be an impartial historical record that includes victims of human rights violations since December 10, 1948.

Omid is solely concerned with the impartial protection of human rights. It includes the names of the individuals whose human rights were violated in the process leading to their death, regardless of their deeds. Omid neither supports nor opposes the political views of the victims whose stories it records.

A project of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation (ABF), this virtual memorial provides an individual file for every victim, which details the human rights violations in his or her particular case. Visitors to the website may search the list in English or Farsi by using several criteria: the victim's name, gender, nationality, or religion; the date, place, or mode of execution; or the charges made against the victim.

The two sisters have done a magnificent job. There are one or two link problems on the introductory pages, but the database, which utilises the open source program Analyser, is very effective. The sisters have my respect, and their father would be proud of what they have achieved.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)

Syria: Iranian Islamist Talks Of "The Final War"

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has been sounding recently like a loony with claims about wanting to see Israel wiped off the map, and how he wishes for a "scientific" reappraisal of the Holocaust, to prove his claims that the 6 million Jewish victims were part of a "myth".

His apparent resumption of the uranium enrichment program is threatening to draw a ruling from the UN, with requests from the western countries to refer the matter to the Security Council. Currently, Iranian assets are being withdrawn from western banks, in the event of economic sanctions against his country.

We reported earlier on the bizarre ideas of his spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yasdi, an extreme fundamentalist Shia. Mesbah-Yasdi believes literally in Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th leader whom Shi'ites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed, disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic justice.

Ahmadinejad takes the myth seriously too: "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi," he said recently. The disturbing aspect of this messianic prophecy is that, for the Mahdi to appear, there first must be chaos in the world. Formerly a kidnapper of US Embassy hostages in 1979, Ahmadinejad certainly knows how to create international instability.

And now, Al Jazeera reports that his end-times messianic fantasies are infecting his speeches again. While on his second day of a tour of Syria, Ahmadinejad spoke to leaders of Palestinian terror group Hamas in Damascus yesterday.

He said that the Middle East conflict was "the locus of the final war". Urging Palestinians to reject Israel's withdrawal of the Gaza Strip (?), he said "Today, victory in Palestine has become a matter of life and death for the Islamic world and for Global Arrogance (the West)."

"Some point to the withdrawal of the occupiers from parts of Palestine, but this event has already been greatly detrimental to Muslims. If the occupiers stay on even one inch of Palestinian soil, the goal of Palestine will not be realised," he stated.

"We must not let our guard down now for even one moment against the enemies' plots. Belittling the goal of Palestine is a great plot that the e