Western Resistance

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:51 AM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2006

Art: Should Images of Mohammed In Hell Provoke Muslim Riots?

Representational artists have historically flourished in all societies, including those in the ancient cultures of the Middle East. Only Islam has had problems representing the human form, and though now photography and video are commonly employed in Islamic countries, the depictions of Mohammed are regarded as haram or forbidden.

The current barbaric behaviour of Muslims is being led by activists who wish to use the issue of 12 Danish cartoons to incite more hatred of the West's superiority in the fields of politics, society, and culture. We in the West should, according to these Islamist hate-mongers, respect their sensitivities about the "prophet", and give in to their unreasonable and brattish demands, and not show their so-called Prophet in images.

In Saudi Arabia, home of Mecca, do the religious authorities respect people's rights to be Christian? Are Bibles and crucifixes allowed through customs? No. But Saudi Arabia funds education programs in the West to inform and proselytise for Islam. In the West, our laws and constitutions protect Muslims' rights to practice their religion. Unlike the treatment of Christians in Saudi Arabia, where holding a Christian service can lead, and has led, to jail sentences.

Anyone eavesdropping from another world would assume that the Jyllands Posten cartoons are the first depictions of the "prophet" Mohammed. Before we look at how Mohammed was depicted in some branches of Islamic art, let us first look at part of an influential text written at the commencement of the 14th century by Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321), the Divina Commedia or Divine Comedy. This seminal work is an apocalyptic vision of hell, inspired by the sixth book of Virgil's Aeneid, yet bound together with an additional perspective of a Christian redemptive heaven.

In this epic poem, the work is divided into three parts, all of which have influenced Western illustrators from the Renaissance, when it was conjured up, to the modern era, from Sandro Botticelli to Salvador Dali. Of the three books, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, one in particular, the Inferno, has a particularly Western take on Mohammed (here called Mahomet):

Inferno: Canto XXVIII (extract)

A cask by losing centre-piece or cant
Was never shattered so, as I saw one
Rent from the chin to where one breaketh wind.

Between his legs were hanging down his entrails;
His heart was visible, and the dismal sack
That maketh excrement of what is eaten.

While I was all absorbed in seeing him,
He looked at me, and opened with his hands
His bosom, saying: "See now how I rend me;

How mutilated, see, is Mahomet;
In front of me doth Ali weeping go,
Cleft in the face from forelock unto chin;

And all the others whom thou here beholdest,
Disseminators of scandal and of schism
While living were, and therefore are cleft thus.

A devil is behind here, who doth cleave us
Thus cruelly, unto the falchion's edge
Putting again each one of all this ream...

Should all translations of the Divine Comedy, which exists in the Penguin Classics editions, be banned, and should bookshops housing them be burned by rampaging Mohammedans?

The most famous illustrations to the Divine Comedy were made by the prolific French draughtsman, Gustave Dore (1832-1883), and published in 1869. Dore's depiction of Dante and Virgil witnessing the sufferings of Mohammed and his nephew Ali is reproduced above. Ali ibn Abi Talib, whose face is split in two in Dante's Inferno, was the cousin and son-in-law of Mahomet, whose murder by Kharijite assassins in 661 AD sparked the schism between Shia and Sunni.

The British visionary and writer William Blake (1757 - 1827), whose poetry has recently been threatened with censorship, lest it offends "Muslim sensibilities" also depicted the "prophet" Mohammed. His depiction of Mahomet and Ali is reproduced below:

This watercolour drawing, entitled "The Schismatics and Sowers of Discord: Mahomet" was painted after 1824, at the end of Blake's life. It is now housed in the National Gallery of Victoria, where it was part of a bequest made in 1920.

As it is a "derogatory" image of Mohammed, and as State Governor Steve Bracks introduced a Racial and Religious Tolerance Act in 2001, which outlaws "conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of" a person, class of persons, on the grounds of their religious belief or activity, then the National Gallery should be prosecuted for displaying the image. This is, of course, if the state takes its idiotic laws seriously, despite the watercolour's historical value. Christian preachers from the Catch the Fire Ministries have been mercilessly hounded by Victoria's courts for less inflammatory behaviour.

Should Victoria's Muslims now light torches and burn the National Gallery of Victoria, if prosecutions under the state's dhimmi laws do not go ahead?

The image of Mohammed in Hell has been painted by Salvador Dali (left), for a collection of illustrations of the Divine Comedy, distributed in 1959 in Paris by publishers Les Heures Claires. This was not the only time that Dali had the audacity to disrespect "Muslim sensitivities". In 1963, he painted in oils a rather haphazard tableau of Mohammed receiving his "visions", now in the hands of a private collector. A black and white reproduction of the painting, which shows Mohammed's face, can be found by clicking here.

As Dali did not pander to Muslims' feelings, should they not rise up and storm the Dali Museum in Barcelona, and destroy all of the master's canvasses?

European artists have, since at least 20,000 BC, used their art to represent all aspects of life, from the banal and erotic to the sublime and the spiritual. The woodcut below was made by Dutch artist, Lucas van Leyden in 1508.

Should Holland be attacked for housing copies of this woodcut in its museums?

The image of Mohammed sometimes appears in Persian miniatures, as in the one depicted below, which illustrate the rather ludicrous tale of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on the back of a human-faced donkey called al-Burak. To avoid depicting the features of their prophet, the artist left him with a white hole instead of a face.

The same device was employed by another miniaturist, visible if you click here, where Mahomet's face is a blob of exposed paper, while those around have faces. Sometimes, Muslim artists in Persia depicted the entire body of Mohammed as a space of empty paper, as seen here. In another depiction of the silly ass story, Mohammed has a white unfeatured face, as depicted here.

But that was not always the case. The image below, depicting Mahomet at Medina, shows him with a face:

For Westerners, there has never until now been a time when we, in our own nations have had to censor ourselves when depicting the "prophet" Mohammed. The images of Mohammed range from the mundane (left), to the magnificent. The US charity, which acts like Freemasonry, a bit like Laurel and Hardy's "Sons of the Desert", the Korashriners, have regularly featured images of Mohammed, as seen here.

One of the last images I will show here is from a book by the renowned author Washington Irving (1783 - 1859), author of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Published posthumously in 1869 by G.P. Putnam & Sons New York, the book is entitled "Mahomet and his successors" and concerns the history of Islam.

Should all works by Washington Irving be banned? Should Tim Burton be jailed for making a film based on one of his stories?

In 1911, a film was made in Italy, based on Dante's Divine Comedy, called L'Inferno, directed by Francesco Bertolini. In this film, Mahomet is depicted entirely naked, with his hanging entrails covering the actor's modesty. The film has recently been restored, and is now available in DVD format, with a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

Should the DVD's distributors have their offices firebombed? Should all the albums and CDs of Tangerine Dream be publicly smashed and burned? Should all who are involved in such activities have a bounty set upon them, with a massive reward for the first to behead the infidel artists?

The answer to all of the questions that I raised above is in every case a resounding "NO!!!" We are inheritors of a tradition of philosophy and art that has enriched our souls and inspired our dreams. The culture we possess has lately been kind enough to allow Muslims to enter our lands freely, unlike historic examples from Spain, at Tours and in Vienna where their antecedents tried to invade by force.

We recently have seen acts of gross cowardice by the media in Britain and the United States (and Canada and Australia) where editors have been too fearful of potential reprisals from terrorist Muslims to publish a few cartoons. We should ignore the fear of death threats, and we should keep our traditions alive. The encroaching dragon of Political Correctness has sapped our moral fiber and our pride in our culture's heritage.

And all for the sake of a 7th century caravan-raiding, Jew-massacring, violent, sexually incontinent, paedophile "prophet" called Mohammed. We should get our lives back, and not be bullied by followers of this imbecilic fiend. And to those who say we should appease those who threaten us, they should basically be told to go screw themselves, because that's what they are doing to us, our heritage and our culture.

Italy: Muslims Whine Over Cartoon Of Mohammed In Hell

April 17 - Giraldus Cambrensis

An Italian Catholic monthly magazine, Studi Cattolici, has created a storm amongst the Muslim community in Italy, as in its March issue, it has featured Mohammed in Hell. I say featured, rather than depicted, as the cartoonist did not actually depict the so-called "prophet". Cleverly, they had Mohammed invisible behind a wall of flames.

Fresh after the issue of the Danish cartoons of Mohammed, which caused international condemnations and displays of Muslim intolerance and violence, with scores killed, the latest drawing has reignited a debate which most had thought had died down.

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published its 12 images of Mohammed after children's author Kare Blultgen, writing a book on Mohammed, found that illustrators were too scared to submit work for publication, for fear of reprisals by Muslim fanatics. The publication of the cartoons in September showed the world just how fanatical and barbaric many Muslims can be.

The issue only became an international furor this year, after Palestinian-born Danish cleric Abu Laban, together with his Lebanese-born sidekick Ahmed Akkari toured the Middle East to incite anger. They made matters worse by including three extra pictures, which had never been published. One of these was said to have shown Mohammed depicted as a pig. In fact, this picture was of a Frenchman participating in a pig-squealing competition, wearing a pig mask.

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported with some glee that Studi Cattolica had published the new cartoon.

Today's UK Daily Telegraph reported on the cartoon today, but in an extremely mendacious example of poor journalism. Malcolm Moore either has not seen the image, or is trying to sensationalise the issue, for he writes: "An Italian magazine has infuriated Muslims by publishing a cartoon showing the Prophet Mohammed cut in half and burning in Hell."

We are reproducing the original cartoon below, to disprove his opening statement. Mohammed is not shown. The image is a pastiche of more famous images of Mohammed in Hell, which we described earlier in an illustrated anthology. It is a send-up of illustrations depicting the famous work by Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321), called the Divina Commedia or Divine Comedy.

In book One, the Inferno in Canto 28, Mohammed (called Mahomet by Dante) is described cleft from his chin "to where one breaketh wind. Between his legs were hanging down his entrails; His heart was visible, and the dismal sack that maketh excrement of what is eaten. While I was all absorbed in seeing him, he looked at me, and opened with his hands his bosom, saying: "See now how I rend me; How mutilated, see, is Mahomet; In front of me doth Ali weeping go, cleft in the face from forelock unto chin; And all the others whom thou here beholdest, disseminators of scandal and of schism while living were, and therefore are cleft thus."

Mahomet is witnessed by Dante, accompanied by Virgil, his guide through the Inferno. Mohammed is disembowelled, and Ali, the figurehead of the Shia faith, has his face split in two. We depicted illustrations of this subject by Gustave Dore, Salvador Dali and WIlliam Blake.

The captions read, from left to right: "That one split in half from his head to his rump is Mohammed?"
"Yes, he is split because he brought division to society."
"While instead that other one with his pants down (or with burning coals) is Italian politics regarding Islam."

Studi Cattolici has links to the orthodox Catholic group Opus Dei. The magazine's editor, Cesare Cavalleri, said: "If, contrary to my intentions and those of the author, anyone felt offended in his religious feelings, I freely ask him in a Christian manner for forgiveness."

He had formerly stated: "We must not fear freedom of opinion, and had alluded to reactions from "the idiotic positions" of Islamists. he stated: "This is not a cartoon against Mohammed. It is a cartoon which addresses the loss of the West's identity. Why all the fuss over a cartoon which only represents that which has already been written centuries ago by Dante Alighieri?"

The Union of Italian Muslim Communities said the cartoon was "odious and racist". Is spokesman said: "The rage was just calmed and here, with an absurd and criminal logic, they go and stir things up."

Opus Dei distanced itself from the magazine, saying it was not an official publication of the group.

The Washington Times reports that Souad Sbai, of an associaion of Italian Muslim women said that Studi Cattolic should "step back, stop and lower the tone." She asked: "Wouldn't it be better to sit down around a table and talk about it, instead of provoking things? What can such an initiative mean?"

According to Arab News, Italy's Interior Ministry recently announced that it had foiled a terrorist attack, which had been planned against a church in Bologna, which is home to frescoes depicting "Mahomet" in Hell, inspired by Dante's work.

Italy: Truth in Art in Bologna Cathedral

April 21 - Jean de Valette

Bologna's Basilica of St. Petronio, the city's main Catholic church, is under serious threat of being vandalized by followers of the 7th century Arabian warlord, Mohammed. The imposing cathedral, almost 50 meters high and 132 meters long, is named in honor of the city's bishop, Petronia, (431 AD to 450 AD). Construction on the cathedral began in 1390 and was completed by 1500. One of the 15th century frescoes made by Renaissance artist, Giovanni da Modena, depicts a passage from Dante's ``Inferno'' where the warlord Mohammed is in his rightful place in hell for all the violence and destruction he committed during his lifetime, as well as the violent legacy he has left us to this very day.

Sadly, this sacred site and great piece of church architecture has been turned into a fortress. Muslims explain their anger on the grounds that the fresco is `offensive', and so given the bloody and violent nature of the Muslim totalitarian cult, police vigilantly patrol the area around the church.

In 2002, an Italian and four Muslims from Morocco were arrested in Bologna on suspicion of preparing to carry out terrorist acts. The fate of these men, and this case is not clear. And it's not known if other acts of violence have been plotted against the church since then.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)

Denmark: Theatre To Satirize Islamic Cartoon Drama

The man pictured at left is Flemming Jensen, a Danish playwright. According to today's Turkish Daily News, he is currently preparing a play, which will be performed on stage in Copenhagen in September.

The controversial cartoon images of the so-called Prophet Mohammed, initially published without fuss nor ceremony in leading Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten in September last year have led to riots and deaths in the Islamic world. The furore only began after a delegation of Islamist clerics from Denmark went on a mission to petition Middle Eastern leaders, also adding three fake images to incite a negative reaction.

Flemming Jensen's play is going to use humour to make its point. "What interests us is to shed light on the controversy surrounding these cartoons. Humor is the only weapon to deal with such a serious problem," he claimed.

Though the play will not feature the original depictions of Mohammed, Jenssen said "But we aren't going to censor ourselves and we aren't afraid."

Jenssen is used to handling controversial subject matter. Last year he staged a musical about the US invasion/liberation of Iraq, entitled "Let's Kick Ass", which was a commercial success.

Jenssen's take on the cartoon affair will be based on a re-adaptation of a play called "King of Hearts" by UK playwright Alistair Beaton, which concerns the "clash of civilisations". In true British style, Beaton is shitting himself about Muslim reactions. Jenssen says that Beaton, who admits his fear, insists on seeing all that Jenssen writes.

Jenssen states that the conflict over the cartoon issue needs to be addressed, but it will not be biased in favour of either side.

The play will be staged on September 21 at the Noerrebro Theatre in Copenhagen.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:54 PM | Comments (0)

Spain: Suspected Islamist Arrested In Malaga

We have reported on the arrests made in Spain's Costa del Sol, which took place in December last year. On December 9, seven Algerians with links to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) were arrested. These arrests followed on from raids throughout southern Spain on November 23, when 11 suspected members of this group were arrested. An Algerian suspected Islamist was arrested in Alicante on December 16 as he tried to flee the country.

More suspected members of GSPC were arrested in Lerida, Malaga, Nerja, Seville and on the Balearic islands on December 19, and on January 3 this year, a Moroccan man was arrested in Torremolinos, on the Costa del Sol.

Today, according to Focus-Fen, the blog Malaga and Reuters AlertNet, another man suspected of being an Islamist has been arrested earlier in the day at Malaga on the Costa del Sol.

Chafik Jalal, aged 44, is of Tunisian origin. He was found in the possession of two fake French identity cards and a forged French driving licence.

Jalal was linked to the Salafist group's Iraqi leader Abu Sufian, who was a senior member of a mosque in Malaga, the centre of police investigations. A statement from the Spanish Interior Ministry announced that Jalal provided false passports to recruits who were to go to Iraq, Chechnya or Kashmir to fight as insurgents.

On Christmas Eve, six of the sixteen individuals who had been arrested on Monday 16 December were jailed, awaiting trial.

In a separate inquiry into the actions of Islamists responsible for a suicide attack in Nassiriya, Iraq in 2003, twenty people were arrested on January 10 in Madrid, Catalunya and the Basque territory.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

Yemen: Islamist Killer Of US Missionaries Executed

News today from the BBC, from Reuters AlertNet, Associated Press via NBC15 Alabama and Fox News, also Sign on San Diego. An Islamist was today executed for the murder of three American Baptist missionaries. The three individuals, pictured above, were working in a Christian missionary hospital in Jibla, southern Yemen, 105 miles south of Sanaa, the capital. The killings were carried out on December 30, 2002 by the gunman, who cradled his Kalashnikov like a baby in his arms before shooting.

The three who died are pictured above: Martha Myers, 54, an obstetrician from Montgomery, Alabama, William Koehn, 60, hospital director, from Kansas, and administrator Kathleen Gariety, 53, from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. A fourth individual, Donald Caswell, 49, from Texas, was shot in the stomach and severely injured. All the victims worked for the American Missionary board, based in Richmond, Virginia.

The killer, Abed Abdulrazzak Kamel (pictured, left) was arrested almost immediately after the shooting and underwent trial in 2003, where he received the death sentence. Yesterday, president Ali Adullah Saleh ratified the sentence, and Kamel was shot by firing squad in the central prison at Ebb province, according to Saba news agency.

Police in Yemen have stated that Kamel may have had ties with Al-Qaeda. Although born in Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden's ancestral home is in Yemen. At Kamel's house, police discovered audio tapes of bin Laden speaking.

At the time of the killings, the president of Yemen condemned the killings and sent a note of condolence to George W. Bush. The hospital has operated in Jibla for thirty five years.

Lawyers for Kamel stated that he did not have links with Al-Qaeda, but on May 13, 2003 a week after Kamel was condemned and given his death sentence, a bomb exploded in the courthouse in Jibla, where he had stood trial. Several individuals, including a judge, were injured.

Officials claim that Kamel had links with a leader of Islah, the Islamist opposition party. As we reported, this man, Ali Ahmed Muhammad Jarallah, was executed by firing squad on November 27 last year, for killing the leader of the Yemeni Socialist Party on 28 December 2002, two days before the killings at the hospital in Jibla.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:21 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Five Suspected Islamists Shot Dead

Early today, five suspected Islamists have been shot dead and a sixth arrested, during dawn raids on two houses at Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, states the Times.

The individuals are believed to have been involved in an attempted suicide-assault on an oil processing plant in Abqaiq (a.k.a. Buqayq) in eastern Saudi Arabia, states the Interior Ministry's chief spokesman, Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki.

The two houses where the raids were staged are in eastern Riyadh, and both had been under surveillance. At a house in Yarmouk district, five people had been shot. The arrested man was apprehended at the second location. An intense shoot-out had taken place before the five suspects were killed. The gunfight lasted about two hours, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

Police announced that weapons and ammunition had been recovered from the first house.

The attack on Friday had been the first against Saudi Arabia's oil installations. Two of the three suicide attackers, who used vehicles rammed at the installation's gates, and who were killed in explosions were revealed by the Interior Ministry as Abdullah Abdul-Aziz al-Tweijri and Mohammed Saleh al-Gheith. These had belonged to a list of 15 terrorists wanted by the Saudi authorities. Only four on the list, issued in June 2005, remain alive.

On Saturday, Saudi Al-Qaeda announced on an internet posting that it had been responsible.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)

Australia: Muslim Convert, "Jihad Jack" Convicted

Pictured at left is Joseph Terrence Thomas, aged 32, a former Melbourne taxi driver and Muslim convert, who went on trial last year at Melbourne magistrates, accused of receiving funds from al Qaeda. He was accused of gaining money from the terror group, and providing resources in 2002 and 2003.

Thomas, known to the Australian press as "Jihad Jack" had spent two years in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Details of these escursions were initially held in a closed court, as magistrate Lisa Hannan ruled that it was "in the interests of national security" to hear this evidence in camera.

Thomas had claimed that while he was in Pakistan, he was placed in detention for five months in 2003 after being arrested in Karachi in June, and mistreated and threatened with harm while being interrogated by an American official known only as "Joe". Joe had threatened to crush Jack's testicles in a vice, and said that he could have his wife in Australia harmed, by having her breasts placed in a vice.

Jihad Jack made these allegations to Australian Federal Police (AFP) at the time, but has since added claims that he was told his wife Maryati would be raped, and that he could be detained indefinitely or killed, by his Pakistani and US interrogators. He also claimed a hood was placed over his head at one stage, and he was strangled.

Now, according to the Age, Joseph Terrence Thomas has been found guilty yesterday (Sunday 26) of receiving money from al-Qaeda. He is the first to be convicted under new anti-terror legislation.

On the charges of providing resources to al-Qaeda, the jury at the Supreme Court found him not guilty. He was said to have agreed to have acted as a "sleeper agent", ready to be activated, but the jury did not convict. However, on charges of receiving funds, he could spend up to 25 years in jail.

His lawyers announced that they would be appealing the decision, as an interview given to AFP had happened after he had been tortured, and it is further assumed they will claim that he did not have proper access to a lawyer at the interview with AFP.

He was upset and tearful when he came into the court, and bizarrely wanted his five-year old daughter Amatullah to be there. When his verdict was announced he showed no emotion.

He told the Age earlier that he had traveled to Afghanistan with the intention of seeing an Islamic state in practice, and had intended to fight for the Taliban, but had instead agreed to work for al-Qaeda.

He admitted tampering with a Taliban-issued visa on his passport to disguise the time he had spent in Afghanistan. He had been given $3,500 (US) to fly back to Australia by an al-Qaeda member, one Khaled bin Attash. Attash is believed to have been involved in the attack against USS Cole in Aden in 2000. Attash was apprehended by Pakistani authorities in May 2003.

Jihad Jack's wife is Indonesian, and he has three daughters in all. He is of Irish-Australian stock. His mother Patsy, a geriatrics nurse, pictured above, said her son had always been exploring religion, according to South Africa's Sunday Times.

At the age of 13, he took up ballet lessons, and later was part of a punk band called The Lobotomy Scars

He was raised as an Anglican, and had explored Buddhism before his conversion. He had his name changed by deed poll to "Jihad" before going intitially to Afghanistan in 2001.

Jihad Jack claims to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder. He said to the Age in an interview conducted before the verdict: "I might be naive and I might be an idealist, but I am not a dickhead who will help to hurt innocent people."

The Age provides an in-depth article by Ian Munro on the background to the case. Khaled bin Attash had suggested Jihad Jack could become involved in an attack upon Australia, saying in 2002: "Osama bin Laden wants a white boy." Attash had said he had $10,000 for anyone taking part in a terror attack.

In Afghanistan, Jihad was trained at the al-Farooq training camp, and had briefly fought "on the front line" for a week or so. Though he sported a beard at pre-trial hearings, he had appeared during the court hearings clean-shaven.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:10 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2006

Opinion: The 'Religion of Peace' for Inquisitive Minds

"The sword is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer: whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven, and at the day of judgment his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim."

---the 'Prophet' Mohammed

Tired of the western media's deplorable failure to properly explain the origins and essence of the 'Religion of Peace?' The people who control and work for these media often have good intentions and wish to avoid an escalation of the tension and animosity between the West and Muslim countries. They sincerely want peace... just like Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1938. They feel it's important to promote the idea that Islam is a 'religion of peace,' and, if you repeat it just enough times, then perhaps it will come true.

We all want peace, but don't be surprised when our cities are in ruins, nuked by Muslims. Pakistan has the bomb, and its military regime could be toppled at any moment by followers of Al-Qaida. Iran's psychotic regime wants the bomb, and will certainly get it in the near future. Even Hamas, the democratically-elected Palestinians terrorist regime, said it will nuke Israel when it gets the chance.

Sounds bizarre, right? If Muslim regimes would nuke Israel, their countries would also suffer. So, we can be sure they are bluffing, right? Wrong! Muslims do no value life the way we do. A 'martyr's' death, is the ultimate aspiration. Muslim leaders do not care if their own people suffer. They only have one goal --- Jihad and spreading their ideology, at any cost. To fully understand Islam, we must examine its roots in the 7th century. The media and some historians claim that, "Islam spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa." Has anyone ever asked the question how did it exactly 'spread'? The answer is below, and unless you have long been interested in world history, it will shock you.

1) In 611 A.D., a man in the Arabian Desert began hearing voices. This man, Mohammed, claims it's the angel Gabriel, who reveals God's holy plan. Mohammed anoints himself a prophet. Now, this is very odd. Neither any of the Old nor New Testament books were revealed by an angel. Angels only carry short messages; they do not dictate God's Holy Word. In the Bible, Scripture was always written down by a man inspired directly by God. The only other example in history of an angel 'revealing' a 'sacred' text is when the 'angel' Mormoni revealed the book of Mormon to John Smith in the state of New York in the 1830s. Angels are funny creatures; some are God's messengers, while others are fallen angels. I think you get my drift.

Second, before the 7th century there was no shortage of people claiming to be prophets and divinely inspired. Therefore, Christian elders and councils spent years, if not decades, scrutinizing alleged Scripture before a final decision was made on authenticity.

Mohammed got off easy. He didn't have to prove anything to anyone. Why? Read on...

2) If people won't believe you, or follow you... kill them. That's Mohammeds advice to all of us who have had trouble with unsympathetic or unruly co-workers, neighbors, hey, even family members. Murder is the essence of Islam, and it is how disagreements have long been settled. The current Shia-Sunni carnage in Iraq is shocking to westerners, but it's not to Muslims. The sad truth is that Shia and Sunni violence is inspired by Mohammed, and this is how he taught them to solve their differences with those who disagree. Islam does not preach "turn the other cheek" or "love your enemies."

In the early 7th century, a lot of people on the Arabian Peninsula thought Mohammed was crazy. They had seen lots of 'prophets' like him before. Indeed, his intolerant and fanatical claim to be a prophet was blasphemous to Jews and Christians, the two major religions in the region. The Christian Eastern Roman Empire, later known as Byzantium, held sway over much of the Middle East. Christian values of tolerance allowed many different religions to co-exist in peace. Mohammed was suddenly preaching a new religion; one of hate and intolerance. He claimed to know the Truth, and he was going to force that 'Truth' on everyone, one way or another....

3) The Arabian warlord Mohammed divided the world into two realms: Dar al-Harb (the land of war) and Dar al-Islam (land under Islamic rule). He began to raise an army, and he quickly conquered cities on the Arabian Peninsula. Those who were conquered had a choice --- either die or convert, though in some cases people could keep their faith if they agreed to onerous taxation. We're not talking about whether the sales tax is 6% or 8%; this taxation was the difference between your family starving or not.

In many ways, the founding of the warlord Mohammed's cult was nothing more than a rag-tag social revolution, calling for social equality and the promise of heaven for those who gave their lives in battle. Indeed, there are parallels between the warlord Mohammed's cult and the Russian Bolsheviks and communism. Both were led by messianic fanatics who used mass murder and repression to force the majority to convert. The warlord Mohammed, however, promised heaven in the next life; while the Bolsheviks wanted to create a heaven on earth.

By the time of his death in 632 the warlord Mohammed had participated in almost 70 battles. After his death, the rest of Islam's early history is quite simple, almost banal --- Murder, Mayhem, Destruction, the Dark Ages... The death machine created by Mohammed rolled throughout the Arab world, North Africa, eventually into Persia, Central Asia, North India, and into Europe, via Spain. Jerusalem fell in 638 to the Muslim invaders. The Christian and Jewish populations were massacred and repressed. Repulsed by Greek steel in Asia Minor, the Muslim hordes decided to enter Europe through the rear. They quickly overran Spain, and reached south France in the 720s, hoping to put all of Europe to the sword.

In 732, however, in the forests between Tours and Poitiers, the Frankish king Charles Martel and his infantrymen saved Europe when they defeated a Muslim army on horseback. This feat is almost unheard of in history! Infantry rarely have laid low such a vast cavalry. In 792, the Muslim mullahs in Occupied-Spain call for another Jihad against France, but after looting and burning parts of south France, they were defeated by Charlemagne. They invaded France again in 920 and 997, but were also repulsed. Still, they continued to raid the South of France and carry off women as sex slaves.

Highly advanced civilizations --- from Greek Byzantium in Asia Minor and the Mid East, to Sogdia in Central Asia, to the civilizations of North India --- were ravaged and destroyed by the illiterate and barbaric rabble from the cult of Mohammed. Institutions of culture and learning were deemed offensive to Islam and destroyed. As the blood of those defending their families and cities flowed, their women and children were often taken prisoner, sold and raped to produce more Mohammedans --- a practice that lasted up until the early 20th century in the Balkans when Christian women and children were often sent to the Istanbul. The Muslims destroyed nearly all vestiges of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and polytheist civilization in the occupied territories. Churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship were razed to the ground.

And the Palestinians like to talk about the 'Occupied Territories.' The entire Middle East, Turkey and North Africa have been occupied territories for 13 centuries. Free Byzantium Now!

4) By 800 A.D. the Muslims had already brought about the Dark Ages that plagued Europe for several centuries. They ruled from Spain to the Indus River, and obscurantism and ignorance flourished. When Muslims took Alexandria in Egypt in 641, they reduced the greatest library in the world to ashes. When they sacked the island of Rhodes a few years later, they carted off the last pieces of the Colossus as scrap metal. Again, all in the name of Allah!

Throughout this vast swath of Occupied Territories, some pockets of Christians and Jews managed to survive, but their plight was often miserable. Still, today many encourage myths of a benevolent Islamic attitude towards non-Muslims. Such cases did happen, but were the exception to the rule, and probably only because some Muslims didn't accept the ideology they were forced fed by the mullahs. Even today some Muslims are able to resist the brainwashing, but we must remember that they face the penalty of death if they ever abandon the 'religion of peace.'

5) In the 9th and 10th centuries, Muslims tried to conquer Italy, and captured parts of the south, as well as the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. In 846, Muslim raiders sack Rome and demand tribute from the Pope. Three years later, the Muslims try it again but a federation of Italian cities blasts them back to Baghdad. Sardinia and Corsica were soon liberated, but Muslim attacks on Italy lasted until the early 11th century. In 850, Christian priests and monks in Spain were executed en masse for, (now get this!), "insulting" the warlord Mohammed.

In 1012, Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, orders the destruction of all Christian and Jewish houses of worship in his lands, which includes Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the most prominent Christian holy sites, is razed to the ground. In 1015, Moslems conquer Sardinia once again, and they prepare yet another conquest of Europe. In 1095, Byzantine Emperors, whose country faces the brunt of the barbarian invasion, appealed to the Pope for assistance. The defense of Europe begins! The Crusades are launched.

6) Yes, we've just now reached the Crusades and we've already witnessed 400 years of Islamic terrorism, destruction and oppression. I will repeat--- FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM, DESTRUCTION, AND OPPRESSION.

Pope Urban II calls for the Crusades in 1095. Why then? Why so late? First, as we know all too well, Europeans are slow to act and often give invaders and bloody rulers the benefit of the doubt. You can imagine the 11th century debate at European courts, "But Islam is a religion of peace your Highness..." Thank Goodness the Pope had the courage to fight.

The Crusades... well, the rest is well known… Like any war, there were both noble and ignoble moments. Crimes were committed against the Jewish populations, and the Crusaders even sacked Christian cities, but in 1098, for the first time in almost 500 years, peace and freedom came to Jerusalem and nearby territories. Sadly, because of a lack of resolve among European kingdoms, Jerusalem was once again conquered by the Muslims in 1187.

Only in 1967 did heroic Jewish soldiers free the Holy City from defilement and blasphemy. And therefore, we must never ever consider giving it to the Palestinians....

Of course, that was not the end of the Islamic invasions of Europe. After the fall of Jerusalem, they spent the next 500 years trying to conquer Europe. When Byzantium fell in 1454, one of the greatest civilizations in world history was reduced to ashes. Beautiful churches were turned into mosques, and all sorts of massacres and abominations were committed as the country was blasted back to the Dark Ages. The Balkans also fell and groaned under Muslim occupation until the early 20th century.

The defense of Europe was left to the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Hungarians, whose populations faced constant Muslim slaughter. The Muslims also tried to conquer Europe through Italy and France, but the Maltese Knights and their powerful navy was always vigilant, guarding Europe's southern flank. Victory was always theirs. The Great Siege of Malta in 1565 saw a few thousand Knights against almost 80,000 Muslim invaders.

This text might sound like the interesting story of events long long ago. But each of these events touches our lives today. The Present Day is nothing more than the Sum of All Events Past. Please never forget that western civilization exists today in all its grandeur only thanks to these people --- Charles Martel, El Cid, Pope Urban II, the Crusaders, the Armenian armies who aided the Crusaders, the Maltese Knights, the Spanish forces of Aragon and Castile, the Hapsburg and Hungarian armies, the long-oppressed Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, and Croats. Detractors might want to point out the unsavory moments in their history, and we don't deny them. But don't forget --- had these people not taken a stand and defended our civilization we would all be followers of a slave ideology. Our countries would never have developed socially, politically, and scientifically, and we would be subjected to the misery and repression common in many Muslim states.

CONCLUSION

Islam's essence has not changed in the past 1400 years. It remains a violent and bloody ideology whose only goal is to force all mankind to submit to its fanatical teaching. Mohammed is not a 'prophet.' He was nothing more than an Arabian warlord, and is fair game for caricature.

POST SCRIPTUM: THE KORAN'S CALL TO HATRED AND MURDER:

[5.33] The punishment of those who wage war against God and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.

[5.51] O you [Muslims] who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

[17.16] And when We wish to destroy a town, (4) We send Our commandment to the people of it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction.

[17.17] And how many of the generations did We destroy after Nuh! and your Lord is sufficient as Knowing and Seeing with regard to His servants' faults.

[17.33] And do not kill any one whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause, and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided.

[17.58] And there is not a town but we will destroy it before the day of resurrection or chastise it with a severe chastisement; this is written in the Divine ordinance.

[47.4] So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make them prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom themselves until the war terminates

Posted by at 6:37 PM | Comments (2)

Iraq: Second Shi'a Shrine Bombed

The push for civil war continues: Another Shia shrine bombed as 60 killed in fresh Iraq violence

BAGHDAD: Sectarian tensions, already at a peak, were further inflamed on Saturday in Iraq when bombers blew up a car in the Shia holy city of Karbala and bombers blew up a well-known Shia tomb in Taz Khurmatu in northern Iraq, police said. At least 60 people, including 16 policemen, were killed in fresh violence across the country.

The car bomb in Karbala killed at least eight and wounded 25. The fresh attacks came after more than 140 people were killed nationwide in a surge of sectarian bloodletting triggered by the bombing on Wednesday of one of the holiest Shia shrines in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

The Karbala bombing targeted a busy shopping street in the west of the city, as a police patrol passed by. Akil Mohammed, 30, said he saw two people drive the car into the street.

In other violence, 12 farm labourers were shot to death in an orchard on Saturday morning in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. They included both Shias and Sunnis, a relative of the victims said.

But not everybody is in favor of intra-Islamic violence. Iran, the standard bearer of all things Shi'ite, is for killing infidels instead:

Iran accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating Wednesday's attack on one of Iraq's holiest Shia shrines, The Associated Press reported.

Referring to the U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd in southwestern Iran: "They invade the shrine and bomb there because they oppose God and justice,"

"These passive activities are the acts of a group of defeated Zionists and occupiers who intended to hit our emotions," he said.

Addressing the United States, he added: "You have to know that such an act will not save you from the anger of Muslim nations."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:07 AM | Comments (1)

Palestinian Abomination: The Danger to Christians

What would a Hamas Government might bring? Christians under cover

If Hamas installs strict Islamic religious rule, Palestinian Christians stand to become a legally subjugated minority inside Palestinian society

In a nod to religious Muslims, the only Palestinian beer brewery is putting the finishing touches on its first non-alcoholic beer

Palestinian educator Dr. Maria Khoury geared up for the winter chill with what was at the time a meaningless purchase: a black silk scarf with silver stripes to drape around her neck.

But now, on her daily excursions from the West Bank's Taiba to nearby Ramallah, the scarf serves as a political symbol of the changing times.

"Since Hamas took over, I cover my head in Ramallah," she says. "I don't feel comfortable."[...]

I have a problem with the article: it assumes that, as of this moment, Christians living under Islamic rule in Palestine are not second-class citizens. In fact, they already are. The danger to Christians is not being discriminated against--that's already happenning. The danger lies in a more vicious, unrelenting discrimination.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2006

Holland: Politicians Criticize Muslim Clerics For Hate-Mongering

The party CDA, or Christian Democrat Appeal, currently is led by Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen, and heads the coalition government. On Wednesday this week, according to Expatica, CDA Member of Parliament Ger Koopmans (pictured) met with Moroccan imams at a special meeting.

This meeting was convened after the party had issued statements, calling for imams to be sacked from their positions, blaming them for spreading hate. A call was also made for them to have their passports confiscated and driving licenses revoked.

Naturally these suggestions, which have not been viewed favourably within the other Dutch parties, met with stiff opposition from the Muslim clerics. They claimed that instead of inciting hatreds they are more worried about their leal position, and were more busy trying to quell radicalism. They challenged Koopmans to provide specific proof to back up the claims.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

Russia: Moscow Wants to Finish Iran Nuclear Plant Quickly

I'll say this about the Russians: whenever they embark in a short-sighted, suicidal policy, they pursue it with uncommon zeal: Russia wants to complete Iran nuclear plant swiftly

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia wants to complete building of a nuclear power station in Iran as soon as possible, the country's top nuclear official said on Saturday, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom, said during a visit to Tehran that the civilian nuclear plant at Bushehr in Iran would be completed as fast as possible. Russia is helping to build the plant.

"We don't see any political obstacles to completing Bushehr and we are interested in it (the station) being launched in the swiftest possible period," Kiriyenko said, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.[...]

Meanwhile, in Iran: Iran readies to fend off "enemy assaults" on capital

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25 - Radical Islamist militiamen affiliated to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps staged military exercises in the western suburbs of Tehran on Friday to defend the Iranian capital against "enemy assaults", a government-run news agency reported.

Some 2,500 members of the paramilitary Bassij took part in Friday morning's military drills in Qods (Jerusalem) Garrison in Tehran's Garm-Darreh district.

"In the military exercises, the Bassij forces destroyed the positions of enemy forces who had been ferried to Tehran by helicopters and mopped up the drop zone", Isca-News reported.

"The Bassij forces accomplished more than 90 percent of their mission", the report added.[...]

Had there been real 'enemy forces' of the kind that are 'dropped by Helicopter' the only way for the poorly-trained, overzealous Bassij to accomplish more thant 90 percent of its objectives would be to declare a mass-suicide mission. But that's another story.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:22 PM | Comments (2)

Indonesia: 27 Islamists Arrested For Interrogating, Threatening Foreigners

We have discussed the actions of the Front Pembela Islam, or Islamic Defenders' Front, before. This group, which has foreigners from the Middle East in prominent positions of leadership, normally likes to smash up places it deems "un-Islamic", such as bars, pool halls and had a prominent campaign against American businesses in 2001. It likes to involve itself in violent attempts to close down churches, and has been involved with threatening Christian aid workers after the Tsunami, and attacking Christians in their homes.

Founded in 1998, the group is headed by the Middle Eastern born and Saudi-educated Habib Rizieq Shihab (aka Muhammad Rizieq), who was jailed in 2003 for incitement. According to MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, the group finances itself through extortion from businesses. It now has 22 branches throughout the country.

Recently the Front Pembela Islam attacked the American Embassy in Jakarta, ostensibly in a protest against the Danish cartoons, even though the US has not had the pictures reproduced . Yesterday, 27 members of this and other groups were arrested in Bandung, West Java, for interrogating and threatening foreigners from the Holiday Inn Hotel, about the cartoons.

Normally, we do not reproduce entire articles from news sources, unless they are from the law-breaking nation of Iran. However, the issue of the Jakarta Post, where the following feature is taken, is an exception. An excellent news source, the website of the Jakarta Post unfortunately shifts its archives about, and within a few days, these become repositioned on its site.

So, with apologies to the newspaper's owners, we reproduce the entire article below.

Police arrest activists who targeted foreigners

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Police arrested at least 27 Muslim activists in Bandung on Friday for targeting foreigners during a protest against the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons first published by a Danish newspaper.

Muhammad Mukmin, the coordinator of the Anti-Apostasy Movement, a group involved in shutting down churches in West Java, was among those arrested, along with activists from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and other hard-line groups.

Police made the arrests outside the Holiday Inn Hotel on Jl. Juanda, Bandung, where the activists were searching for foreigners so they could distribute questionnaires to them.

"We just want to give out questionnaires containing five questions to survey (foreigners') opinions about the publication of the cartoons, about the stigma put on Muslims as terrorists, and about whether the media should be punished for publishing the cartoons," Mukim said.

"If they support the cartoons, we will have no other choice but to ask them to leave Indonesia," Mukmin said before being arrested.

Mukmin said the protesters had no plan to target foreigners after collecting data on them.

After the activists were detained a minor scuffle broke out when some refused to get into two trucks that were to take them to the Bandung Police headquarters. Police quelled the scuffle and the activists boarded the trucks.

Mukmin said the protesters had planned to go to the Homann Hotel on Jl. Asia Afrika after the Holiday Inn.

The arrests were made after the groups' leaders organized a public rally to protest the publication of the cartoons. Thousands of people from Bandung and neighboring areas joined the event.

The demonstrators marched to the Holiday Inn in two groups. Both were blocked from entering the hotel by hundreds of police officers, headed by Central Bandung Police chief Adj. Sr. Com. Masguntur Laupe.

"They have no authority to survey people like this. Who are they? What if everyone could do this to foreigners? How would this affect business?" Masguntur said.

Bandung Police chief Sr. Com. Edmon Ilyas said the activists were arrested for violating the 1998 Law on Public Gatherings because they did not have a permit to march. Their attempt to target foreigners meant they would be charged under the Criminal Code for disorderly behavior, he said.

Mukmin said he had sent a notification letter to the Bandung Police and the West Java Police headquarters about the demonstration on Friday morning.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:44 PM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2006

What Doesn't Offend the Muslims

Another piece by Isaac Schrodinger:

THE CROWD GATHERS around as tears flow down her cheeks. Her last day will be her worst. The assorted gang are allowed stones of a particular size: Not bigger than, nor smaller than one-third of, a human digit. Hence, the stones should be around one-half the size of an adult finger. The logic is to inflict the maximal pain. The objective is to stone the adulterous woman to death. . . .

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Koran Blasphemy Riots: 88 Muslims Acquitted, Christian Freed

The Pakistan Daily Times has announced today that the Christian man accused of burning pages of the Koran has been acquitted of blasphemy, a so-called crime which under the country's prejudicial legal system can carry the death penalty. Blasphemy for Pakistan only means blasphemy against Islam.

The Lahore Anti Terrorist court acquitted Yousaf Maseh of Sangla Hill on Thursday (yesterday), stating lack of evidence as grounds for acquittal.

Additionally, 88 Muslims, who were accused of burning churches in Sangla Hill, were similarly acquitted on grounds of insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

On February 18, 64 men were released on bail bonds of 50,000 rupees each, and ordered the release of 11 children under the age of legal responsibility.

We reported on this case when the anti-Christian rioting happened on November 12, 2005. Yousaf Maseh of Sangla Hill, a community 80 miles northeast of Lahore in the Punjab, had been gambling with two Muslims, and had won a large amount of money.

His gambling partners then accused him of burning pages of the Koran at a Quran Mahal, a repository where torn or damaged copies of the Koran were taken prior to restoration. No evidence was ever brought to prove the pages of the books were burned, least of all by Maseh.

With mosques announcing the "blasphemy", 1500 Muslims rampaged through the Christian quarter, where Christians comprise only 10% of the local population. We described the events:

Father Samson Dilawar, the Catholic parish priest of the church of Nazooli-i-Rooh said: ""I heard the mullahs had been telling people over loudspeakers, 'We are guardians of the Koran and it is our foremost duty to teach a lesson to those kafirs', then they came to my door."

Father Dilawar's residence had chemicals doused upon it, and it was set ablaze, along with St Anthony's primary school, the church, convent boarding house and medical centre. Statues of Christ had their feet snapped off, crucifixes were bent, and habits of nuns burned.

The rioters had been shouting insults, such as "kafirs", "chucha" (meaning non-Muslims and untouchables) and "kuta" (dogs).

Reverend Tajmal Pervez, of the Presbyterian church said that, in a century in which local Christians had been living in the region, this was the worse incident so far. All that remained of his church was a smouldering wreck. Three other churches on the outskirts of Sangla Hill were also attacked.

In December the visiting archbishop of Canterbury, head of the ANglican church condemned the event, and pointed out the iniquities of the country's blasphemy regulations.

Shortly before Christmas, a shaky peace deal between the Muslim and Christian communities was announced, but less than a week later, Christians began receiving death threats from Lashkar-e-Jhvangi an extreme Sunni group which foments sectarian violence aganst those who are not Sunni Muslims, including Shias and Christians. This group was involved with the beheading of Daniel Pearl in January 2002.

The acquittals of the 88 Muslims yesterday happened with the approval of Christian missionary representatives, who claimed that those apprehended were not the ones involved in the arson attacks.

What is unsatisfactory is the acquittal of Yousa Maseh for "insufficient evidence". This is not the same as freeing him and declaring him innocent. Local mosques used loudspeakers to incite the mob, and no-one from these mosques appears to be on trial.

This is only a speculation, but the reason that Mr Maseh was so easily found by the mob of being guilty of a crime (which never had evidence of burned Koran pages), and casts further doubt on the accusations against him, is the similarity of his name to another Christian man in a notorious case of "Koran burning" at Nowshera.

This other man, Yousaf Masih was freed, but had to live thenceforward in fear of his life. He had been accused of burning pages which bore verses from the Koran, but did so because he is illiterate and of low IQ, and was charged by his employers to burn "rubbish" on June 28, 2005. A small child saw him, and she reported him.

The Asia News stated that he had a weak heart, and was beaten by police. Following his release, and numerous death threats, he had had to live in hiding.

With this case being well known, it may have helped the Muslim rabble to identify the Yousaf Maseh of Sangla Hill to be found guilty. Maseh or Masih is a common surname among the Christians in Pakistan. However, they are a minority of only 3% of the national population.

As has been demonstrated in the current cartoon issue, where three "fake" pictures were added to a file of the pictures shown to leaders in the Middle East, trivial matters such as truth, evidence and verification are rarely needed to incite a Muslim riot.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)

Sudan: Muslim Elders' Council Makes Man Marry Goat

The BBC is usually too politically correct to deal with Muslim issues objectively. Once again they have tactfully made the description of the following case, which involves a Muslim council of elders, without using the word "Muslim".

Anyway, today they report the case of a man from Upper Nile State in Southern Sudan, who was caught having sex with a goat. The incident and its consequences were reported in the Juba Post, the only independent newspaper in Sudan, which is printed in the southern city of Juba and has an office in Khartoum. The paper is staffed by journalists who refuse to work for federal authority-controlled propaganda sheets, and has just started its second year of publication.

The goat belonged to one Mr Alifi, who on 13 February heard a noise at midnight, and went outside. There he found his animal being mounted by a Mr Tombe. When asked what he was up to, he said Tombe "fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up."

Alifi was advised by elders what he should do, and they told him not to involve the police. So he allowed the council of elders to decide Tombe's fate.

As Tombe was having "marital relations" with the poor goat, he was ordered to pay a dowry of 15,000 dinars, equivalent to $50 to the goat's former owner.

"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Alifi told the paper.

There is no news on whether there was a honeymoon for the couple, or if Mr Tombe intends in the future to add new "wives" to his unusual family set-up.

One hopes the poor creature is not suffering from goat-pox virus, which occasionally causes outbreaks among flocks in Sudan, particularly in the South.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:53 PM | Comments (0)

Nigeria: "This is Igbo Land, no More Muslims can Live Here"

Violence continues in Nigeria: Nigeria Counts 100 Deaths Over Danish Caricatures

ONITSHA, Nigeria, Feb. 23 - Dozens of charred, smoldering bodies littered the streets of this bustling commercial center on Thursday after three days of rioting in which Christian mobs wielding machetes, clubs and knives set upon their Muslim neighbors.

Rioters have killed scores of people here, mostly Muslims, after burning their homes, businesses and mosques in the worst violence yet linked to the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad first published in a Danish newspaper. The violence in Nigeria began with attacks on Christians in the northern part of the country last week by Muslims infuriated over the cartoons.

Now old ethnic and political tensions between Muslims in the north and Christians here in the south have been reignited, with at least 33 bodies still visible on the streets of Onitsha on Thursday and a local organization that has tried to collect the scattered corpses reporting that it has already picked up 80 others.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Oil Refinery Attacked by Suicide Bombers

The Counterterrorism Blog is all over the story: Terrorists Attack Saudi Oil Facility

One of the "nightmare scenarios" in the counterterrorism community apparently almost happened, with an attempted terrorist attack on a major oil refinery in Abqaiq (a.k.a. Buqayq) in eastern Saudi Arabia today. This is the first known terrorist attack on an oil facility in the Kingdom, after previous attacks only on company offices (see Reuters chronology). Reuters and Al-Arabiya report that the attack failed, with Saudi security forces killing the attackers, who used 3 cars in a bombing attempt. The AP quotes the Al-Arabiya report a pipeline was damaged in the attack, but no explosion in the refinery and no oil cutoff. MSNBC quotes Saudi security adviser Nawaf Obaid: "Three cars rammed the first of the three sets of gates protecting Abqaiq and when security shot at them all three cars exploded." The "Middle East Online" news site reports, "Residents of Abqaiq said that they heard two blasts near the plant and saw two burned-out cars outside. It was not immediately clear if the abortive attack was the work of suicide bombers. Dozens of security forces and civil defense vehicles were seen outside the plant in Abqaiq, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Dammam, the main city of the Eastern Province, and about the same distance from the oil hub of Dhahran." Oil prices shot up and European stock markets dropped in fear on the initial news of the attack.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

Opinion: Bush's Change of Heart

During the year-2000 U.S. Presidential campaign, then-Governor Bush campaigned as the pro-Israel candidate. He vowed to support Israel as an ally, rejecting the false philosophy of even-handedness in the Islamic-Israeli conflict. As he said in a speech to the B'nai B'rith International Convention:

Washington, D.C. (August 28, 2000) "My support for Israel is not conditioned upon progress in the [Arab-Israeli] peace process," Texas Governor George W. Bush told delegates to the B'nai B'rith International Convention 2000. The Republican presidential candidate reiterated his position that if he is elected the "special relation" between the United States and Israel "will continue even if Israel's neighbors cannot bring themselves to make peace."

In a 15-minute speech live via satellite, Bush asserted that "Israel wants peace . and like all Americans of goodwill, I want peace for Israel and the Middle East." But Washington should not impose specific policies on Jerusalem, the governor added. "America should not interfere in Israel's democratic process .and it won't when I take office."[...]

Governor Bush's support for Israel extended to Israel's need for territory to serve as a buffer. One of his favorite campaign anecdotes centered about his trip to Israel:

[...] I was able to learn a lot about the security needs of our strong friend and ally, Israel. It's hard to believe as a Texan how small Israel is, I mean, we're used to huge spaces. I just got off the campaign where I spent nearly everyday in a King Air trying to get from one stop to the other. Had I gotten on that same King Air and I took off out of Jerusalem it would have been no time before I'd be in either Jordan or in Syria. It's a small country and it was important for our Israeli host to remind our delegation of how really small it was so I got on a helicopter one day and flew with the foreign minister Ariel Sharon to see first hand how small the population was between, what has been over the course of history, enemy lines and population centers. We went to the Golan Heights where I was able to hear a general brief us on what the war was like to take the Golan Heights and then how important the Golan Heights are to the security of the people living in northern Israel.[...]

After winning the 2000 President election and taking office, President Bush was faithful to his promise. Until early 2002, the President received considerable flak in the press for not being "evenhanded" in the "Israeli-Palestine question". But the policy changed in April-May 2002, when the President castigated then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for not being "helpful" by pursuing terrorists a little too eagerly. National Review's Jay Nordlinger wrote about the change

The Bush administration's new stance on Israel is familiar, but also surreal. Every administration has treated Israel's determination to defend itself as an inconvenience; but this Bush administration seemed different, especially after Sept. 11: The president seemed to "get" that Israel was engaged in exactly what the U.S. now had to do.

Bush also seemed sure to fulfill a campaign promise: not to interfere unduly in the Arab-Israeli conflict, not to make demands on Israel that put it in a weaker position, and cost it lives.

But then the president decided that Israel's attempts to protect itself weren't "helpful." He dispatched his pitiful, uncomprehending envoy, Anthony Zinni, to the Middle East, to further, or restart, or talk about the "peace process." One TV newscaster said that Zinni arrived there "facing a mounting death toll." Gee, that's nothing compared with what the victims and their families face!

The administration, only a half-year into the war, seems to view the Arab-Israeli conflict as a problem for the U.S., above all. According to a "senior official," speaking to the New York Times, Colin Powell told Ariel Sharon to "get out of Ramallah and the other areas. The implication being, "This is the president's mission, the president's decided to send Zinni, and it's not going to be good if it's interpreted that your actions are undermining the president and his envoy in their attempts to end the violence."[...]

Since then, President Bush has consistently leaned on Israel in order to jump-start the mythical peace process. What prompted Bush's change?

The shift was caused his strategy for victory in the "War on Terror", what would later be known as the Forward Strategy of Freedom. The FSF operates under the assumptions that Islam is compatible with Democracy, and that, once Democracy is adopted, Muslim extremism will be defeated, and freedom will thrive. If you believe the assumptions are correct and the FSF is a sound strategy--I don't--how do you go about implementing it? The devil, as always, is in the details.

The Bush administration has tried several things: several media campaigns and approaching "moderate Muslims" (whatever that means.) Bush has proclaimed his love for the "great Religion" of Islam, and the invasion of Iraq was undertaking, in part, to make Iraq a democracy that would serve as an example other "Arab" (e.i., Muslim) nations would follow.

And then, there is the Jewish State of Israel, and its desire to protect its citizens. Whenever Israel kills Muslim murderers the Islamic Press reports and distorts the news, igniting hatred in the Muslim World. That hatred, however, is not only directed at Israel, but against the United States as well. It becomes harder for the United States to convince Muslims to adapt our ways.

That is how Israel's actions are "unhelpful." Israel's self-defense is unhelpful if your goal is implementing the FSF. In fact, Israel's existence is unhelpful to the sorry souls in the State Department trying to implement the Forward Strategy of Freedom. (So, wonder no more why the State Department is so anti-Israel and pro-Islam.)

The solution to this dilemma, of course, lies in rejecting the FSF and adopting an strategy of relentless, unapologetic self-defense. But sadly, that will have to wait. Our peoples still dream of peace, when there is no peace to be had, and our leaders still pursue broken dreams we should not have dreamt in the first place. It will be up to us to change the present state of affairs.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)

France: Leader of Muslim Kidnap Gang Arrested In Africa

We reported earlier on the horrific kidnapping and murder of a young Jewish man, who was found naked, tied to a tree, with cuts and burns across 80% of his body, in the suburb of Essonne, south of Paris.

Ilan Halimi had been caught in a honey-trap set by a vicious Muslim gang, who used a young attractive woman to seduce Ilan before he was abducted and held for ransom.

Yesterday, the UK Times reported on the claims made by Jewish leaders that the true anti-semitic and Islamist agenda of the kidnap gang had been deliberately suppressed by the police, to avoid inflaming passions among the volatile Muslim communities of the suburbs, who showed their commitment to French life last November by sustained riots, arson attacks and assaults on synagogues and individuals.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that all efforts would be made to bring justice to Ilan's family But Radio Shalom, a Jewish station, said that Ilan was "made to pay for the (Danish) cartoons of Muhammad and Abu Ghraib."

Initially police denied the racial aspects of the case, but on Monday six men and a woman in custody had charges of racial hatred added to their existing indictments.

Ilan Halimi's case was not the first committed by the gang. A 50-year old Jewish male said that he too had been lured to an estate where he had been knocked out with a pistol butt, but had been rescued after residents called the emergency services. He spent a week hospitalised after the event.

Ruth Halimi, Ilan's mother said: "We told the police that there had been at least three other attempted abductions of young Jews, but they persisted in considering the motives purely criminal because they are afraid of reviving a clash with the Muslims."

We reported that the apparent leader of the gang, Youssef Fofana, who called himself (in English) "Brain Of The Barbarians" had fled before he could be arrested.

Today's Telegraph reports that he has now been arrested in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), in West Africa. He is now going to be extradicted to France.

There are more details in today's edition of Le Figaro. Fofana has been in the country for nine days while his co-kidnappers were being arrested in Bagneaux, their locus operandi.

During an overnight interrogation starting on Wednesday evening, he admitted that he had taken part in the kidnapping of a Jewish man for money, but denied that the reasons had any "anti-semitic" dimension.

It is thought that Fofana, by fleeing to his native land, and swapping continents, had naively thought he could escape punishment. He spent his first night in Abidjan in the bed of of a prostitute in a hotel in a suburb of the city of Abidjan.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:02 AM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Islamist Leader In Detention Again

67 year old Qazi Hussain Ahmed (pictured) is the head of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ama (MMA), which comprises six Islamist parties.

We reported last October that Qazi Hussain Ahmed had vowed to instigate a revolution after the festival of Ramadan.

At that time, he was stating that Pakistan would soon be "rid of the shameful American culture of vulgarity , unemployment, graft and bribery, lawlessness prevailing under the Musharraf regime."

We noted that after Ramadan, no revolution had taken place. However, exposing the underlying fact that most of the so-called cartoon protests are really nothing to do with the cartoons, but an attempt to sow insurrection and hate, Sheikh Qazi has been stirring up dissent, under the guise of cartoon protests.

It appears that the irascible sheikh has been stirring up the cartoon protests to attempt to destabilise the government led by President Musharraf, from an article in Reuters.

Earlier today, Sheikh Qazi was detained for the second time this week, in an attempt to prevent him leading cartoon protests. He was held at Lahore, in the east of the nation, as police set up road blocks on the routes to Mansoor. A local government spokesman stated that "He cannot go out of his party office."

The insurrectionist sheikh had been kept under house arrest at his Lahore home, to stop him leading protests. Last night, several militants were detained, with MMA citing the figure as 50, the police stating there were only a dozen.

The MMA is planning a nationwide strike on March 3rd. Shortly after this, President Bush is expected to be visiting Pakistan.

There is a real duplicity about JeI and the MMA. The protests are bringing out people who are ostensibly against the depictions of their prophet Mohammed, but are being utilised to attempt to bring down the government of the nation, where no newspapers have reprinted the original offending images.

Meanwhile protests have been continuing in Multan, Peshawar, Karachi, and Bajaur, a tribal region on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

Two people were killed in the Punjab region during protests last week, causing the provincial authorities to ban demonstrations in that region. Three were killed in cartoon protests in Peshawar.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2006

Vatican City: Vatican Asks Muslims to Respect Christian Minorities

If this was Pope Benedict's only motivation for criticizing the Mohammad cartoons, then it was an utterly quixotic move. Because there is no way Muslims will change their behavior towards their Christian minorities. They will continue to use them as hostages--give us this concession, and that money, and maybe we'll let them repair that Church. Here is the story, don't miss the craven cowardice displayed by the Vatican's Secretary of State, which I have highlighted for you below: Vatican to Muslims: practice what you preach

PARIS (Reuters) - After backing calls by Muslims for respect for their religion in the Mohammad cartoons row, the Vatican is now urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities.

Roman Catholic leaders at first said Muslims were right to be outraged when Western newspapers reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet, including one with a bomb in his turban. Most Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous.

After criticizing both the cartoons and the violent protests in Muslim countries that followed, the Vatican this week linked the issue to its long-standing concern that the rights of other faiths are limited, sometimes severely, in Muslim countries.

Vatican prelates have been concerned by recent killings of two Catholic priests in Turkey and Nigeria. Turkish media linked the death there to the cartoons row. At least 146 Christians and Muslims have died in five days of religious riots in Nigeria.

"If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome.[...][emphasis mine--RD]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:48 PM | Comments (0)

Opinion: Anatomy of a Cartoon Protest

Guess writer Paolo Bassi draws lessons from the Cartoon Jihad:

Paolo Bassi, February 2006

The modern political and legal right to speak and write on any subject was not simply granted by benevolent European rulers - it was won over centuries by mass struggle and the sacrifice of courageous men and women who dared to challenge the power of their rulers. The United States Constitution and French Revolution enshrined free speech into law because it is the one right without which every other becomes meaningless. However, this most fundamental of freedoms is also the most fragile, being the first target of totalitarian regimes and tin-pot dictators everywhere. Would the Nazis have retained power in the 1930s had they not first silenced the German people? Today, could the mullahs rule in Iran or the petro-dollar princes in Arabia if unfettered freedom of speech existed? If history has taught us anything, it is that rights won over decades and centuries can be swept away in a few days. The rights that complacent pluralistic societies take for granted can be destroyed by a small, determined, belligerent minority through claiming victim-hood and then violence and intimidation. Free speech may well be guaranteed by the law in Holland but the shocking, ritualistic murder of film-maker Theo Van Gogh in 2004 by an Islamist will have caused at least some writers to think of their own safety before risking offense -- and that is bad enough. If such self censorship based on fear becomes the norm, the notion of free speech becomes a farce and democracy simply becomes as exercise in appeasement.

An international dispute of surreal proportions and violence has arisen over the publication in September 2005 of cartoons in the Jyllands Posten, a Danish paper, of Mohammad, the founder of Islam. The cartoons themselves are not particularly intelligent, interesting or linked to any important story. It is also quite possible the cartoons were intended to offend, since the same paper refused to print anti-Christian cartoons a few years earlier. This is a legitimate criticism of the Jyllands Posten, but its right to choose what it prints is inviolable - even if it appears arbitrary or selective. The cartoons initially triggered some peaceful protests, but no more. The Danish government did not intervene at first, regarding the cartoons as a purely private matter protected by free speech. The situation then lay dormant for a few months until muslim clerics from Denmark took the cartoons, along with some additions and embellishments of their own, to various Arab countries and re-ignited muslim anger - this time in the streets. In Damascus, muslim mobs attacked and burnt the Danish and Norwegian embassies. What is surprising is that the Damascus protesters were allowed such a free hand in a country as authoritarian as Syria, which brooks no internal disorder. The same thing happened a few days later in Beirut, where the protestors also attacked local Christians and their churches. The most tragic event was in Nigeria, where innocent Christians with no connection to the cartoons whatsoever were killed and their churches burned down by enraged muslims. In return, innocent muslims were also killed in Nigeria's Christian dominated areas. The cartoon protests have been erupting with such regularity and violence, that even muslim governments are becoming embarrassed. The notion that all the riots and deaths have been caused by genuine spontaneous anger over the cartoons of Mohammad simply does not pass the straight face test.

One of the main misunderstandings that the cartoons have revealed is the belief, real or convenient, that the actions of a private newspaper in Denmark are those of the Danish government, its people and the West in general. This belief maybe a cultural one, since little appears in arab newspapers that their governments disapprove of. The protestors have ignored repeated apologies by the Danish Government - an apology for something out of their hands. Naturally, Danish businesses have also been punished. One can only imagine the outrage if a European nation expelled muslims in retaliation for the video-taped execution of their hostages by Islamists. In the most bizarre response to the Mohammad cartoons - perhaps taking it cue from the Iranian President's call for Israel to be wiped off the map - an Iranian paper claimed to be testing free speech by inviting its readers to send in cartoons about the Jewish holocaust. It is not readily clear whose free speech they are testing, since in Iran most papers are heavily censored. What is disturbing is that this newspaper equated the most horrible crime in human history - documented, filmed and litigated beyond doubt -- with satirical cartoons about the founder of Islam. Exactly how does one draw cartoons about 10 million dead Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other 'less than Aryan' victims? It is too grotesque to even think about.

Finally lessons can be drawn from the protests against Salman Rushdie. The fear and passivity shown by western governments in the face of the death sentence on Rushdie only fueled the power of radical Islam in Europe. The shameful Rushdie affair must never be repeated. Europe must now unite, draw the line in the sand – no more retreat on human rights, no more appeasement. If we are free to criticize or mock other faiths, no exception must be made for Islam. With the valid exception of laws prohibiting racial or religious violence, the fear of offense, no matter how sincerely felt, must never be the standard by which we measure free speech. Europe cannot, Europe must not, lose this battle.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:44 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Backstabbing American and Europe

If you want to know what our faithful Saudi Friends think of us, read this piece from government-controlled Arab News: Nice Doggie!

Ever since the US began its so-called war on terror billions of dollars of investments belonging to Arabs and Muslims have fled the US economy. The main beneficiaries of this capital flight have been European countries.

In addition, billions of euros in contracts for goods and services that previously went to the US were diverted to the EU.

A consumer boycott of American products began and still remains until today with varying degrees of effectiveness.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

US: CAIR's Cartoon Jihad

Over at Frontpage Magazine, Joe Kaufman explains: CAIR's Looney Toons

All across the Muslim universe, otherwise known as Allahstan, a war is being waged to stifle the free speech of those in the modern and civilized world. Over the publishing of twelve cartoons, madmen are torching buildings, burning and tearing up national symbols, and threatening the mass murder of innocent human beings. All of this, of course, is foreign to us here in the U.S., as we have come to enjoy – and many times have taken for granted – an unrestrained press. But one American group in particular, CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), has had much past experience in what has come to be known as the "Cartoon Jihad." Unfortunately, this group has, for far too long, been on the wrong side of the animated tracks.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

Nigeria: Commentary on Statement by Rev. Peter Akinola

Below, reproduced in full, is the statement by Anglican Bishop Peter Akinola, speaking on behalf of the Christian Association of Nigeria. One sentence leaps at you, one sentence may change it all:

"C.A.N. may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue."

Speaking for myself, and not for Western Resistance, let me be clear. If it takes this kind of violence to stop the Islamic onslaught, so be it. Here is the text:

Having watched with sadness and dismay the recent development in some States in the Northern part of this Country where many Christian Churches and other property have been wantonly destroyed by some Islamic fundamentalists, the Christian Association of Nigeria is compelled to issue the following statements:

From all indications, it is very clear now that the sacrifices of the Christians in this country for peaceful co-existence with people of other faiths has been sadly misunderstood to be weakness.

We have for a long time now watched helplessly the killing, maiming and destruction of Christians and their property by Muslim fanatics and fundamentalists at the slightest or no provocation at all. We are not unaware of the fact that these religious extremists have the full backup and support of some influential Muslims who are yet to appreciate the value of peaceful co-existence.

That an incident in far away Denmark which does not claim to be representing Christianity could elicit such an unfortunate reaction here in Nigeria, leading to the destruction of Christian Churches, is not only embarrassing, but also disturbing and unfortunate.

It is no longer a hidden fact that a long standing agenda to make this Nigeria an Islamic nation is being surreptitiously pursued. The willingness of Muslim Youth to descend with violence on the innocent Christians from time to time is from all intents and purposes a design to actualize their dream.

It is sad to note that all acts of hostility meted against Christians by Muslims in the past have remained unaddressed with nobody paying compensations or the culprits brought to justice.

We do appreciate the fact that at this stage of our national development, peace is absolutely necessary for realizing our dreams and aspirations. It is in view of this that Christians in Nigeria agreed to participate in the forthcoming National Census as sacrifice for the peace and progress of this nation, in spite of our protest over the non-inclusion of Religion and Ethnicity as necessary demographic data.

May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation. Nigeria belongs to all of us - Christians, Muslims and members of other faiths. No amount of intimidation can change this time-honoured arrangement in this nation. C.A.N. may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue.

We now demand that further destruction of Christian Churches and property in this nation be permanently put to an end.

All levels of Government in this country should take adequate steps to protect the lives and property of Christians everywhere in this land as no further destructions will be tolerated or ignored.

The Federal Government and those States where Christian Churches have been destroyed are hereby urged to take urgent steps at rebuilding those structures and paying adequate compensation while assuring Christians of adequate protection in this country. These governments should now show in practical terms that Nigeria belongs to all of us by going beyond mere promises of rebuilding destroyed Churches and property as in the past to actual reconstruction, which will help the victims to quickly put this unfortunate incident behind them. A stitch in time saves nine.

Signed

Most Revd. Peter J. Akinola (CON, DD.) President, Christian Association of Nigeria

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:55 PM | Comments (0)

Bangladesh: US Condemns Marginalisation of Non-Muslim Minorities

Earlier, we brought details of how the Bangladeshi authorities were deliberately trying to prevent freedom of speech of ethnic minorities, the so-called Jummah peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Representatives of the Jummah peoples had spoken in May at a forum at the UN in New York, and were being summonsed to appear before the government. Bangladesh is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which should allow members of ethnic minorities to speak on their plight, without government censure.

The Jummah peoples have been victims of excessive violence and "land-grabs" made by Muslims who moved into the area, as we reported earlier.

Now, on a visit to Bangladesh, US Congressman Joseph Crowley