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 has said that democracy will suffer in Bangladesh if the government does not protect minority rights, according to Bangladesh's Daily Star.

"In the homework of democracy, the duty of the majority is to protect the minorities' rights," he told journalists after a meeting with Ahmadiyya leaders at Bakshibazar in the city.

Joseph F Crowley, co-chair of congressional Bangladeshi Caucus who arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a three-day visit, also held a meeting with the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) leaders and Mahanagar Sarbojaneen Puja Committee at the Dhakeswari National Temple.

Earlier, Crowley placed wreath at the Central Shaheed Minar on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.

He appreciated the religious harmony and practice of democracy in Bangladesh, but said the government should take appropriate measures on the allegations of the minority communities in Bangladesh.

On what he learnt about the concerns of the minorities, Crowley said they are sensing threat from the majority within Bangladesh. "I think, probably, it is minority within the majority that makes that."

The minorities are also concerned about their inability to express themselves through publications which is a violation of human rights, he added.

"It is important for the US to maintain the relations with Bangladesh," Crowley said, adding that his country wants to help positively the democracy in Bangladesh to flourish.

Meer Mobashsher Ali, nayeb-e-ameer of National Ahmadiyya Jamaat, while briefing journalists after their meeting with Crowley said the congressman enquired if media reports on the attacks on the Ahmadiyyas are true. "We told him that the media in Bangladesh is quite free and the reports of Ahmadiyya repression is true," he said.

The Ahmadiyya are a sect of peaceful Muslims who are nonetheless persecuted around the Muslim world, and are banned from going to Mecca. In Bangladesh, as we reported earlier, members of the Islami Oikya Jote, one of the four parties in the coalition government, have been deliberately stoking the unrest and violence against these "heretical" Muslims.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:10 AM | Comments (2)

Ummah: Sales Of Islamic Cola Soar During Protests

News from India Telegraph states that during the recent protests against the Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, one company, based in the United Arab Emirates have been making a killing, if not literally.

While for many protesting Muslims, hatred of everything Western has been at an all time high, with even Ronald MacDonald being abused for being a non-Muslim (see below), the sales of Mecca Cola have seen a surge in popularity, with its sales during the cartoon crisis tripling.

Taoufik Mathlouthi, CEO of Mecca Cola states: "Growth came with these Danish caricatures. It’s crazy but our sales multiplied by three ... We cannot supply all the demand we have right now."

Iran has a product called Zam Zam Cola, whose name capitalises on the famed holy Zam Zam water which was drunk by Mohammed, and whose spring near Mecca is regularly visited by Hajj pilgrims.

A British company which marketed a "Muslim" product called Qibla Cola went into receivership last September, shortly after it set up a factory.

Sales figures for Zam Zam Cola are not known, but it would be better that no-one tries to drink the bottled so-called Zam Zam water, which was on sale in Britain last year. The "holy water" turned out to be dangerously toxic.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

Opinion: What the Koran Says

An anonymous friend analyzes the message of the Koran:

Dear Reader,

Below are texts from the Koran. Go check. Open the book, take a look, and be convinced. Make up your own mind. If you already harbor some suspicion and distrust of Islam, this text will help reinforce your views. If you view Islam with sympathy, or would like to give it the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best, well, I am sure you will try to dismiss these Koranic passages as inconsequential. That's your right. Thank God, we don't live in a Muslim country and we are free to think as we wish. But many violent events of the past five years, (if not the past 25; if not the past 1300 years!) have been inspired by these passages. Denying the power and authority of these texts in the minds of Muslims is irresponsible. We have a right and duty to protect ourselves, our families, our countries, and our civilization from those who want to destroy it.

I want to emphasize that this analysis of the Koran should not be used
to incite hatred in any way toward Muslims. It is strictly mean to be
informative; pointing our historical facts, and helping the public
understand what Muslims believe, or are prone to believe. We have to
remember that people in so-called Muslim lands have been forced to
follow this ideology from the very beginning in the 7th century. They
are not free to make up their minds. Just like other totalitarian
sects and ideologies, they are victims of a violent ideology that
threatens brutal physical punishment for those who deviate. But sadly,
the fact remains fact --- they believe in this violent ideology, and
will act on it.

Since it's in our nature to give people the benefit of the doubt,
let's say that perhaps only a small percent of the one billion Muslims
in the world accept such a literal interpretation of the Koran. But
let us not forget that history is full of small fanatical groups that
have made lots of troubles. Just think of the Nazis and Bolsheviks. In
both cases, a small fanatical band hijacked an entire nation and
forced its ideology on an unsuspecting people. Indeed, such is the
case with Muslim countries. But the indoctrination and brainwashing
has gone on for almost 1,400 years. The brutality and violence runs
deep for these populations, many of whom were Christians before the
7th century Islamic repression began.

And should some try to make the argument that all religions have their
extremists, remember the scale of Muslim violence is unprecedented in
the history of sectarian violence. For those old enough to remember,
the 20th century conflict between Protestant and Catholic in North
Ireland, which was accompanied by terrorism on both sides, now seems
like child's play compared to what Islam has cooked up.

In Orwellian tradition, some mainstream western media keep repeating
that Islam is the religion of peace, tolerance, and learning. A casual
glance at world history over the past 1300 years shows that from the
very first days, war and conquest have been the essence of Islam. In
fact, it's more accurate to describe it as a violent ideology bent on
conquest. Its attempted conquest of Europe, Asia and Africa was
launched as soon as Islam arose in the 7th century. Remember, in the
7th century large parts of the Middle East were Christian, ruled by
the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium. As the warlord
prophet Mohammed raised an army and began chipping away at the
peripheral territories of Byzantium, most of the population was
slaughtered or converted by the sword of Islam. From the early 8th
century until the end of the 15th century, Spain groaned under Islamic
repression and brutality. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Italy was
constantly sacked by Muslims. The Balkans groaned under Islamic
repressions from the 15th century right up until the early 20th
century. The Crusades (which began in the 1090s) were a very late
attempt to stop the Muslim onslaught --- to defend Europe, to defend
Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land who were constantly being murdered
and robbed by Muslims, as well as defend the Christians of the Middle
East and Asia Minor.

Fast forward to the 20th century... since the Islamists came to power
in Iran in 1979 we once again see that Islam remains a violent and
bloody ideology; not to mention a totalitarian ideology like Nazi
Germany, or Soviet communism. Below are passages which inspire
Muslims... remember, most Muslims take this book to be the literal,
sacred word of their god, Allah, and they are willing to give their
lives to fulfill its call...

The headlines are mine, as are the footnotes. Since the translation is
not in simple English, I sometimes use brackets to clarify Who is Who
in the text. The numbers to the left denote the passage in the Koran.
I encourage you to find 30 minutes and read to the end; sadly, it gets
progressively worse. I think you will find this very helpful to get a
better understanding of Islam.

DESTROYING CHRISTENDOM

[30.2] The Romans (1) are vanquished,
[30.3] In a near land, and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome,
[30.4] Within a few years. Allah's is the command before and after;
and on that day the believers [Muslims] shall rejoice,

1) BY THE "ROMANS... IN A NEAR LAND" THE AUTHOR MOST LIKELY MEANS
BYZANTIUM, THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE THAT WAS THE MOST ADVANCED IN THE
WORLD FROM THE 5TH CENTURY A.D. UNTIL ITS DESTRUCTION BY A RELENTLESS
MUSLIM ONSLUAGHT IN THE MID 15TH CENTURY. ISLAM BEGAN ITS ASSAULT
AGAINST BYZANTIUM AS SOON AS IT APPEARED IN THE ARABIAN DESERT IN THE
7TH CENTURY. IN THE 15TH CENTURY, WEST EUROPE STOOD BY THE SIDELINES
AND WATCHED AS MUSLIMS REPLACED A FLOURISHING CIVILIZATION WITH THEIR
REPRESSIVE AND BRUTAL SOCIAL ORDER. AFTER THIS CONQUEST, MUSLIM ARMIES
PLANNED TO CONQUER ALL OF EUROPE, BUT THEY WERE STOPPED BY THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC ORDER, THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN, ALSO KNOWN AS THE MALTESE
KNIGHTS.

MOST DISTURBING FOR OUR ERA, HOWEVER... MUSLIMS MIGHT ALSO INTERPRET
THIS PASSAGE AS A CALL TO DESTROY THE VATICAN, OR THE EUROPEAN UNION,
WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY THE TREATY OF ROME.

DESTROYING ISRAEL

[17.2] And We gave Musa the Book and made it a guidance to the
children of Israel, saying: Do not take a protector besides Me;
[17.3] The offspring of those whom We bore with Nuh; surely he was a
grateful servant.
[17.4] And We had made known to the children of Israel in the Book:
Most certainly you [the Children of Israel] will make mischief in the
land twice, and most certainly you will behave insolently with great
insolence.
[17.5] So when the promise for the first of the two came, We sent over
you [the Children of Israel] Our servants, of mighty prowess, so they
went to and fro among the houses, and it was a promise to be
accomplished. (2)
[17.6] Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and
aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band.
[17.7] If you [Muslims] do good, you will do good for your own souls,
and if you do evil, it shall be for them [the Children of Israel]. So
when the second promise came We raised another people that they may
bring you [the Children of Israel] to grief, and that they may enter
the temple as they entered it the first time, and that they might
destroy whatever they gained ascendancy over with utter destruction.
(2)

2) BOTH THESE PASSAGES ARE CLEARLY A CALL FOR THE SLAUGHTER OF THE JEWS.

[17.101] And certainly We gave Musa nine clear signs; so ask the
children of Israel. When he came to them [the Children of Israel],
Firon [a Jewish elder] said to him: Most surely I deem you, O Musa, to
be a man deprived of reason.
[17.102] Musa said: Truly you know that none but the Lord of the
heavens and the earth has sent down these as clear proof and most
surely I believe you, O Firon, to be given over to destruction.
[17.103] So he desired to destroy them out of the earth, but We
drowned him [Firon] and those with him all together; [obviously the
Jews in that town; 3]
[17.104] And We said to the Israelites after him [most likely those
Jews who were spared]: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the
next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in
judgment.

3) OVERALL, THESE PASSAGES ARE THE FIRST RECORDED BLOODY POGROM
AGAINST JEWS. ISLAM IS INHERENTLY ANTI-SEMITIC, AND OPENLY CALLS FOR
THE GENOCIDE OF THE JEWS. NO SURPRISE THAT THE NAZIS AND THE SOVIETS,
BOTH PRODUCTS OF THE SECULAR AGE OF 'ENLIGHTENMENT' IN EUROPE AND WHO
ALSO SOUGHT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWS, ALWAYS FOUND MUCH SYMPATHY IN
MUSLIM COUNTRIES.

DESTROYING NON-MUSLIMS

[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.
[17.18] Whoever desires this present life, We hasten to him therein
what We please for whomsoever We desire, then We assign to him the
hell; he shall enter it despised, driven away.
[17.19] And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he
ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving
shall surely be accepted.

[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.

4) IT'S CLEAR THAT ISLAM IS NOT ONLY A 'RELIGION,' BUT IT'S ALSO A
BLUEPRINT FOR CONQUEST AND PILLAGING. NO OTHER RELIGION IN THE WORLD
SPEAKS SO HIGHLY OF DESTRUCTION AND CONQUEST.

[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. (5) That shall be so; and if
Allah had pleased He would certainly have exacted what is due from
them, but that He may try some of you by means of others; and as for
those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will by no means allow
their deeds to perish.

5) ONCE AGAIN WE SEE THE VIOLENT NATURE OF ISLAM; ITS GLORIFICATION OF
WAR AND DESTRUCTION. THERE'S NO "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF" OR
"LOVE YOUR ENEMIES" OR "TURN THE OTHER CHEEK." QUITE THE OPPOSITE;
ISLAM BOOSTS HOW RIGHTEROUS IT IS TO KILL THE UNBELIEVER.

MORE HATRED TOWARDS JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

[2.135] And the unbelievers say: If you be Jews or Christians, you
are on the right course. [Islam's] Answer to this: No! We [Muslims]
follow the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanif, and he was not one of the
polytheists [Christians, who also revere saints].

[2.140] No! Do you believe that Ibrahim and Ismail and Yaqoub and the
tribes were Jews or Christians? Say: Are you better knowing or Allah?
And who is more unjust than he who conceals a testimony that he has
from Allah? And Allah is not at all heedless of what you do.
[3.67] Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright
(man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. (6)
[5.51] O you [Muslims] who believe! do not take the Jews and the
Christians for friends; they are friends of each other (7); and
whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of
them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.
[9.30] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians
say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their
mouths; they imitate those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy
them [Christians and Jews]; how they are turned away! (8)
6) WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT ABRAHAM WAS A MUSLIM!

7) AMEN! JEWS AND CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE FRIENDS.

8) IT'S CLEAR THAT JEWS AND CHRISTIANS ARE A DESPISED BUNCH IN THE
EYES OF THE RIGHTEOUS MUSLIM. ISLAM WILL ALWAYS SEE CHRISTIANS AND
HEWS AS THE ENEMY, FIT ONLY FOR DESTRUCTION. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO
ARE CHRISTIANS --- THE KORAN MAKES THE BLASPHEMOUS CLAIM THAT CHRIST
IS NOT THE SON OF GOD.

AND LASTLY, I WILL QUOTE FROM THE VERY END OF THE NEW TESTAMENT'S BOOK
OF REVELATION: "AND I SOLEMNLY DECLARE TO EVERYONE: IF ANYONE ADDS
ANYTHING TO WHAT IS WRITTEN HERE, GOD WILL ADD TO THAT PERSON THE
PLAGUES DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOK."

SIX CENTURIES AFTER CHRIST, THE KORAN WAS JUST SUCH AN EARTHLY ATTEMPT
TO MANUFACTURE A HOLY REVELATION.

AND ONE LAST THOUGHT. CHRISTIANITY LEAVES ALL JUDGEMENT AND PUNISHMENT
UP TO GOD. FROM THE MOMENT A CHRISTIAN IS BORN, HE OR SHE IS TAUGHT TO
LOVE, EVEN ONE'S ENEMIES, AND LEAVE JUDGEMENT OF SUCH PEOPLE UP TO
GOD. THE KORAN MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THE MUSLIM BELIEVER IS RAISED TO BE
AN ACTIVE INSTRUMENT IN SO-CALLED DIVINE PUNISHMENT; WHERE GIVING YOUR
LIFE TO KILL THE UN-BELIEVER IS A GREAT VIRTUE.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:32 AM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2006

Bangladesh: Leading Islamists Given 40 Years' Jail Sentences In Absentia

We reported on February 9 that three people were given jail sentences of 40 years' each for the murder of two judges in a bomb incident which happened in the southern district of Jhalakathi on November 14.

Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun, who threw the bomb at a minibus carrying the judges to work, was given a jail sentence of 40 years for their murder, as also were Ataur (Sunny) Rahman and Abdul Awul, senior operatives in the Islamist terror organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, or JMB. The three appeared in court and confessed to the presiding judge at the Speedy Trial Tribunal in the town of Barisal that they had been involved in the plot to kill the two judges.

Four other individuals were also named in the court case in absentia, as they have eluded capture, and their trials were set to continue. Another man accused at the time of being involved with the plot, Sultan Hossain Khan, denied his involvement.

On Monday, the court in Barisal acquitted Sultan Hossain Khan, who had been accused of renting out a house for the JMB suicide bombers, states Bangladesh Independent.

The four individuals who were on trial in absentia were also found guilty, and given sentences of 40 years each. These individuals are Abdur Rahman (pictured above with red beard), the titular head of JMB, and Bangla Bhai (pictured right, with green hat), who is part of JMB but also has his own terror group, the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), and two others named Mullah Omar and Amjad Hossain.

On October 29, the government announced that Bangla Bhai, real name Siddiqul Islam, had been charge-sheeted on four counts of murder, and other charges. These were not connected with his sentencing yesterday. At that time, the government also announced a bounty of 5 million Taka, equivalent to $72,239 US, on each man's head.

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

Burma: Riots Against Muslims

It appears that it is not only Christians who are currently attacking Muslims, as they are in Nigeria. Buddhists in Myanmar or Burma as it is more commonly known, went on a rampage last week. The reasons are altogether different from the situation in Nigeria. Voice of America reports that last week crowds of Buddhists staged violent protests against Muslims.

These began in Sinbyukyun town in central Burma, in Magwe Division. These disturbances spread to the town of Chauk nearby. The reasons given by VOA News was that they happened in response to violence inflicted on Buddhists by individuals from the Muslim community.

Several mosques and homes were destroyed in Muslim communities, and now security forces are said to be on high alert.

Burma/Myanmar is a shadowy country, where foreign journalists are not free to travel, and few outsiders are allowed into the country, save a few tourists who are expected to stick to state-arranged itineraries.

The Democratic Voice of Burma gives more information. The anti-government site states that the riots may have been orchestrated by the authorities.

The riots happened close to the time when Indonesian and Malaysian leaders were due to arrive in Burma.

Ostensibly, the unrest was triggered after a Burmese woman was allegedly raped by three Muslim men at SInbyukyun on 16 February. Two days later, three men at Pwinbyu were the first victims of the mob violence, which involved about 300 people, with a third of them armed with machetes, who surrounded and attacked a mosque..

Prior to this, there had apparently been no conflict between the two communities.

The rioting at Chauk was said to have been triggered by an argument over a business deal. The disturbance here was on a larger scale, with thousands of people arriving to destroy all Muslim-owned shops in the town, and the two mosques there. The authorities imposed a curfew and stationed soldiers and police at the scene.

In Arakan State in northwestern Burma, the situation is similarly bad, according to DVB. Sittwe (Akyab) University was temporarily closed on 18 February, and reopened the following day. However, on 19 February, three women students from the university were pelted with stones thrown by Muslim men, receiving injuries, and violence flared up again.

DVB reports that Amnesty International has accused Burma's junta of abusing Muslims' human rights, depriving the Rohingya Muslims of Arakan State of their ancestral lands and placing them in forced labour. The report was published last May, and states that for many of these Muslims, whose ancestors have lived in the region for generations, the harsh citizenship laws have been discriminatory. These have placed many Rohingyas as "aliens".

Many Muslims fled to Burma in the early 1990s from India, Bangladesh and Malaysia after being persecuted by their respective nations' armies, but most of the refugees were repatriated under the aegis of the UN.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:34 PM | Comments (0)

Nigeria: Christians Rampage Against Muslims in Reprisals for Saturday Violence

Some Christians won't take the Jihad laying down. Expect more things like this to happen in the near future: Anti-Muslim Riot in Nigeria Turns Deadly

LAGOS, Nigeria - Christian mobs rampaged through a southern Nigerian city Tuesday, burning mosques and killing several people in an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence that followed deadly protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad over the weekend. ADVERTISEMENT

Residents and witnesses in the southern, predominantly Christian city of Onitsha said several Muslims with origins in the north were beaten to death by mobs which also burned two mosques there.

"The mosque at the main market has been burnt and I've counted at least six dead bodies on the streets," Izzy Uzor, an Onitsha resident and businessman, told The Associated Press by telephone. "The whole town is in a frenzy and people are running in all directions."

The violence appeared to be in reprisal for anti-Christian violence Saturday in the mostly Muslim northern city of Maiduguri in which thousands of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad attacked Christians and burned churches, killing at least 18 people.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: Muslim Cleric Denies Approving Of Nuclear Weapons

We reported on the announcement made by hardline cleric Mohsen Gharavian (pictured, right) to the effect that he sanctioned the use of nuclear weapons against the enemies of Islam.

Today, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that the cleric has now disassociated himself from the comments, claiming he was "misinterpreted". This is the article in full:

Islam forbids use of nuclear weapons: Theological scholar

Qom, Feb 21, IRNA

Hojatoleslam Mohsen Gharavian, a scholar at Qom Seminary, on Monday rejected rumors appearing on some websites quoting him as saying that the use of nuclear weapons is allowed according to the Islamic tenets.

The British weekly "Sunday Telegraph" in its last edition wrote that religious leaders in Iran have issued a new fatwa (religious decree) that permits the use of atomic weapons against enemies.

The theologian, who was talking in an exclusive interview with IRNA, added, "We do not seek nuclear weapons and the Islamic religion encourages coexistence along with peace and friendship."

Recalling his statement, Gharavian reiterated, "I said if the enemies plan to launch attacks on our vital sites, we have the capacity to defend ourselves and take retaliatory measures against them.

"Unfortunately, these websites have tried to misquote me," he reiterated.

He said Iran is doing its best to promote spirituality and humanistic and Islamic values and never wages a war.

The religious figure said the distortion of his remarks betrayed the enemies' desperation.

"I have just stated an idea, but it is obvious that the Islamic Republic of Iran plans to settle its nuclear case through negotiations. The enemies aim to create pretexts and misuse the issue through hue and cry."

Whether he is telling the truth or just promoting taqqiya (Islam-approved lying to unbelievers) is unknown. A detailed analysis of the original quoted comments from the cleric can be found on the Iran Press Service

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Islamists Sentenced To Death

Associated Press, via the Tucson Citizen reports that 11 Islamists who tried to assassinate an army general in Pakistan have today been sentenced to death by an anti-terror court in Karachi.

In June 2004, militants with assault rifles and bombs attacked the motorcade of Lt. Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hayat. The general surived the assault, but 10 people died in the attack, six soldiers, three police officers and one bystander. Subsequently the general was raised to second in command of the military.

The eleven individuals who were tried were not daunted by the verdict, crying out God is Great" in the courtroom. "This sentence cannot put us down. We are in higher spirits," they claimed.

One, the ringleader known as Atta-ur Rahman said to journalists: "If one Atta-ur Rahman dies, many more will come to replace me in this way of jihad."

Rahman is head of the Jundallah or "God's Brigade", a group which in January this year kidnapped nine Iranian soldiers.

Jundallah is one of the groups outlawed by the UK Government, which also has links with militant Muslims in the Palestinian regions.

In June 2004, some of the Jundallah activists were linked with a madrassa in Orangi Town, Karachi.

Following the sentencing by Judge Feroz Mahmood Bhatti, the convicted men's lawyer, Mushtaq Ahmed, announced that they would appeal against the verdict.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:44 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

US: A Look at the Muslim Divestment Strategy Against Israel

Divestment campaings are not born, they are made; Frontpage Magazine has the story: Divestment: The How-To Manual

Remember that old adage, "When all else fails, read the manual"? Well, Arab enemies of Israel have turned that concept into a reality. Thanks to a "Divestment Manual," recently published on an Arab website, we can now read a step-by-step instruction booklet educating divestment supporters as to how they can literally franchise divestment movements across the USA and abroad.

And that is exactly what divestment supporters seem to have done. Acting as a hitherto unrecognized fifth column, insinuating themselves deeply into our society, divestment activists have initiated a series of divestment movements that pretend to be grassroots opposition to Israeli "oppression." In reality, these are a top-down implementation of Arab anti-Israel strategy.

First in universities, then in main line churches, and now in the Green Party, anti-Israel left-wing activists are taking their instruction from this manual and launching divestment campaigns "by the book." The almost cookie-cutter character of these campaigns is strong evidence that their perpetrators have followed the Arab manual's instructions step by step. The same is true of the academic boycotts of Israel in the USA and the UK.

This congruence of procedure in these different divestment programs, due to the use of this Arab divestment manual, shows us a rather grim and dangerous side to the anti-Israel divestment programs. The divestment leaders' decision to implement, as 'franchisees' so to speak, the Arab organized and sponsored divestment program indicates that these leaders are quite literally in league with the Arab anti-Israel propaganda offices that created and published the manual. Therefore these leaders are knowingly working to advance the Arab campaign to weaken, and ultimately to destroy, Israel. The end game of the Arab anti-Israel efforts, as many Arab leaders have made clear over the past 70 years, is the destruction of Israel and the genocide of its Jews.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

Vatican City: Bishop Slams Silence Over Muslim anti-Christian Violence

The silence has two main sources: a desire to promote "peace" at any cost, and gutless fear. Neither justification deserves our respect: VATICAN: LEADING BISHOP CONDEMNS SILENCE OVER ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

Rome, 20 Feb. (AKI) - A leading Italian bishop has slammed as "unacceptable" the silence of states and international organisations over the fate of Christian minorities in Muslim states in an interview published on Monday. Auxiliary bishop Rino Fisichella of Rome told Italy's best-selling daily Corriere della Sera that, "not only is the destiny of Christian minorities living in the Muslim world at stake, but everyone's freedom, the way they can exercise such freedom and the civility of international relations." Fisichella, who is also the dean of the Lateran Pontifical University, added that it was the duty of state governments and international organisation "to implement the principle of reciprocity."

Fisichella's interview followed violent anti-Christian protests over the weekend. On Saturday, violence against Christian targets in Nigeria left 16 people dead while on Friday, some 150 people staged a demonstration in front of the Danish embassy in Tehran and set a crucifix on fire.

The episodes came after weeks of Muslim protests against cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed published in European papers.

Commenting the demonstrations, Fisichella said that, "these episodes stress how difficult it is for Muslim socities to accept the principle of religious freedom which is for us a acquired right."

"It's hard to understand why these societies fear freedom and are afraid of Christians who preach fraternity and forgiveness," added the bishop.

In a reference to the murder on 5 February of an Italian priest, Andrea Santoro, in Turkey, allegedly killed by a Muslim radical, Fisichella also noted that, "it is impossible to put on the same level a cartoon and the murder of a priest."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

France: Murder of Jewish Man By Muslim Gang - 3 Await Charges

Details are starting to emerge of the horrific killing of a young Jewish man. Both Yahoo (in French) and YNET News (in English) describe how a 23 year old Parisian Jew was found naked, tied to a tree, with burns and cuts over 80% of his body, on Monday 13th Fenruary, in the region near the station of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, in the suburb of Essonne, Ile de la Cite. The man, Ilan Halimi. died on the way to hospital.

Ilan had met a good-looking woman who came to the cellular phone shop where he worked. They swapped telephone numbers, and after a few conversations they arranged a rendezvous on January 20.

Subsequently, Ilan's family were contacted, with a demand made of them for 400,000 Euros, equivalent to $476,000 US. The family could not accumulate the sum required, and the kidnappers reduced the ransom to 5,000 Euros ($6,000). The kidnappers quoted verses from the Koran to the family, and said they should raise money from the synagogue, hinting at an antisemitic motive for the kidnapping. Contact with the family then abruptly ceased, a week and a half ago.

This weekend, three people have been arrested and placed "under examinaion", a French legal term meaning pre-indictment, with two believed to have acted as lures for a Muslim gang.

The French newspaper Le Figaro reported today that Audrey Lorleach, aged 24, and Almane Diallo, aged 32, were placed in detention yesterday. As of Sunday evening, the leader of the gang (pictured above) is still on the loose.

The third suspect "under examination", 24-year old Murielle Izouard, has been imprisoned, and is due to meet a juge (a legal attorney/judge) on Wednesday. Audrey Lorleach, a blonde, was used as a honeytrap by the kidnappers, and Almane Diallo, a pawnbroker who is suspected of acting as an intermediary for the gang, have been put under interrogation on suspicion of "association with criminals with a view to commit kidnap, extortion, and acts of torture, barbarity and homicide."

Audrey Lorleach is additionally put under examination for "complicity in kidnapping, and not reporting of a crime".

Her friend, Murielle Izouard was set under examination for "non-denunciation of a crime", with the juge estimating that Ilan would still be alive, had she reported the kidnapping.

Feelings about the case are, understandably, running high, particularly amongst Paris' Jewish community. The vehicle of a driver who found himself in the middle of a memorial cortege in Paris in memory of Ilan Halimi, had its windows smashed by several dozen of the procession earlier today.

The procession, arranged by Jewish group B'nai Brith, had arranged the memorial march to leave la Republique at 5 pm. The event was attended by hundreds of individuals, headed for la Nation.

At Ilan's funeral on Friday, some 500 people paid their respects in the Jewish cemetery of Pantin.

"All avenues are being explored, we are searching everywhere" stated a police spokesperson, regarding the hunt for the 26-year old leader of the gang, whose face we show above. His real name is Youssef Fofana, who gave himself the English nickname, "Leader of the barbarians".

Since Thursday, around 15 suspects have been arrested, of which 14 were apprehended in France, the majority from the city of Tertre de Bagneux, in Hauts-de-Seine, and another was taken in Brussels, Belgium.

The deputy of the gang and the "lure", a young woman of north African origin who had been involved in Ilan's ambush, are also being hunted.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

Trinidad & Tobago: Muslim Leader's Son Shot Dead

We have reported extensively on the Islamist group Jamaat al Muslimeen, which was involved in an attemted coup on the island of Trinidad in 1990. During this coup attempt, 114 members of the group stormed the TV station and 24 people were killed.

The head of the group, 64-year old Yasin Abu Bakr, is currently on trial on charges of sedition and terrorism, and awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder.

On Christmas Day, two members of Jamaat al Muslimeen were found in possession of a large bomb. Earlier, the group had come under suspicion for a series of four bomb attacks in and around Port of Spain, the capital, between July 12 and October 14, 2005.

News today from Trinidad Express and Associated Press via My Telus states that the son of Hassan Ali, a prominent imam from Jamaat al Muslimeen, was murdered on Friday night in La Horquetta, Arima.

Zaffar Ali (pictured), aged 18, was in the driver's seat of a car, when a gunman approached, around 7 pm, and fired four shots. Police stated today that they think his killer was from the G-Unit street gang. This gang began its life in Port of Spain and spread to eastern regions of the island.

Imam Hassan Ali said he wished for no revenge actions, saying retaliations could trigger an all-out war between the Jamaat and the G-Unit mob.

Stories of Zaffar Ali's presence in the region are conflicing. The police account states that Zaffar Ali was looking to meet a woman companion, and finding her not at home, had gone looking for her. He was ambushed by a group of individuals, one of whom shot him.

But his father states that Zaffar Ali was set up. He said that Zaffar was in Tacoma Boulevard, La Horquetta, because "All my son went to do was help out a brother in prison. The individual asked him to go and collect money from his family to pay his bail. That individual was either used as a set-up or he himself set up my son to be killed."

Apparently, Ali's family did not report the shooting immediately. A police spokesman told the Express that "We get a sense that they did not want the police involved, that they wanted to handle the matter themselves because no one made any report to the La Horquetta Station."

We reported on January 03 that a Libyan-trained member of the Jamaat's 1990 coup, Andre "Baldhead" Bynoe, aka Rasheed Abdul Karim, was shot dead in the street in a part of Port of Spain known as Hellyard, in Beetham Gardens.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:04 PM | Comments (0)

Spain: Minister Asks Pope To Engage In Muslim Dialogue

From today's Turkish Daily News, a report that Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, has requested Pope Benedict XVI to support an initiative aimed at improving Western-Arab understanding.

Last year, Spain and Turkey began the initiative and this month asked for calm and "respect" after violent Muslim demonstrations against the notorious "cartoons" of the Prophet Mohammed.

Moratinos made the request during a visit to the Vatican. He met with the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Angelo Sodano and Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's foreign minister.

Pope Benedict has condemned the cartoons, stating that freedom of speech is not a freedom to offend a person's religion.

The Pope is due to visit Valencia, Spain, in July, but it appears the Pope is not happy with Spain's decision to legalise gay marriages in 2005.

I do not know what to think about this. The Pope can hardly say "it is OK to insult Islam", as that could initiate wholesale slaughter of Christians in countries where Islam and Christianity share the same territory, as in Nigeria and Indonesia.

But he is the most senior representative of any of the Christian churches' faiths, so his involvement in an Islam/Western dialogue would be seen as a positive step towards defusing the explosions of petulance currently being enacted by Muslims around the globe.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Forty Per Cent Of Muslims Want Sharia Law in Britain

The results of an opinion poll carried out by ICM, and reported in the Sunday Telegraph, in Manchester Online and other sites, reveals a disturbing picture of Muslims' perceptions of life in Britain.

Last week we described details of a YouGov poll into attitudes towards Muslims and Muslim extremism. That poll found that, among 1,600 respondents, 67% felt that relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities will worsen.

The ICM poll, conducted from a base of 500 Muslims, found that followers of Islam similarly view a worsening of relations. Exactly half stated that relations between "white Britons" and Muslims were worsening. Less than 20% felt things were getting better between Muslims and "kaffirs".

Though 99% of respondents claimed that the four Islamists who killed 52 people on 7th July last year on London Transport were wrong to have committed such an act, 20% still felt they had sympathy with the bombers' "feelings and motives." 75% denied any sympathy with the assailants' mindset.

What is perhaps the greatest surprise is that 40% wished to see sharia law introduced into parts of Britain. 41% opposed the introduction of sharia.

Sadiq Khan (pictured) is Labour MP for Tooting, southwest London, and was one of the members of an official taskforce set up after the bombings of 7/7.

He described the poll results as "alarming". He stated: "Vast numbers of Muslims feel disengaged and alienated from mainstream British society."

"We must redouble our efforts to bring Muslims on board with the mainstream community. For all the efforts made since last July, things do not have appear to have got better."

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the antisemitic and homophobic secretary general of the Muslim Council for Britain, put his own spin on the results. Sacranie, who supports terrorists such as the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Yassin, and wanted to invite Osama bin laden to Britain in 1996, pointed out that "This poll confirms the widespread opposition among British Muslims to the so-called war on terror."

He does not appear to have made comments on the other, truly disturbing, aspects of the poll findings, such as four out of ten Muslims desiring sharia.

The Conservative MP, and shadow home secretary David Davis noted that the battle of ideas in parts of the Muslim community had "a long way to go". He said that "it is absolutely vital that we reinforce the voice of moderate Islam wherever possible."

Charles Clarke also made a statement to the effect that all faiths should feel they belong in UK society. "Today's survey indicates we still have a long way to go... [but] we are committed to working with all faiths to ensure we achieve that end," he said.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:18 PM | Comments (0)

India: Minister Offers $10m For Head of Cartoonist

In a demonstration of the sheer insanity of the current Muslim world, a minister in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has made an offer of the equivalent of 10 million US dollars for the person who beheads one of the cartoonists who depicted the paedophile and mass-murderer, the prophet Mohammed, states the Sunday Times today.

Yaqoob Qureshi is minister of minority welfare in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet, and made the announcement during a rally against the Danish cartoons in his constituency in Meerut, northeast of Delhi, the capital. He said he would give in addition, the weight of the killer in gold.

The Times of India reports that Quereshi is a leading figure in the Samajwadi Party, and explains how this mullah intends to gain the money. He claimed at the rally that he would be getting it off women. (A tactic used by Mohammed on Khadija, his first wife). Apparently, the women of Meerut would be willing to give their gold ornaments to provide the gold. Presumably, he canvassed these women first to garner their approval.

Speaking at a rally of 25,000 individuals, he said: "Whosoever it is, be it a Pakistani, an Iraqi or an American." A moment later he added, "The money will be paid by the people of Meerut."

In Pakistan, after Friday prayers in the city of Peshawar, in the northwest, a Muslim cleric said he would give 1 million US dollars, and a car, to anyone who kills a cartoonist. The cleric, Mohammed Yousaf Qureshi, has not been arrested for inciting murder.

The Guardian stated that the Peshawar cleric's offer was not in dollars, but was 1.5 million rupees, or 17,000 dollars US. He is imam at the Mohabat Khan mosque.

The Observer on its front page today carries a report on one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, who is now living in a succession of safe houses in Denmark, following death threats. Westergaard is responsible for the image of Mohammed with a turban as a bomb, which can be found with the other illustrations here.

The article, on the printed edition and not on its website, quotes the Glasgow Herald newspaper, which gained information on the cartoonist via an intermediary.

Asked if he had expected the controversy the caricatures would spark, he replied simply: "no,no." And when asked if he regretted drawing the cartoon or its publication, he said again "No".

The inspiration for the drawings was he said, "terrorism - which gets its spiritual ammunition from Islam." The artist defended his caricature as "a protest against the fact that we perhaps are going to have double standards [in Denmark and Western Europe] for freedom of expression and freedom of the press."

Asked if he thought artists had the right to say whatever they wanted, he replied simply: "Yes!" He was also asked what he thought he had learned from the experience. "The world is always a dangerous place, but what alternatives do we have?"

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: Muslim Cartoon Protesters Storm US Embassy

Associated Press, via Hindustan Times reports that in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, about 400 Muslims attacked the US Embassy today.

Either the Muslims involved were particularly stupid, or particularly rabid, for the US has not condoned the publication of the Danish cartoons which initiated the world-wide conflagration. These Muslims were apparently protesting against the images, first published in Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten.

The protesters used sticks and stones, broke windows, and several individuals were injured. The protesters carried a banner emblazoned with the slogan: "We are ready to attack the enemies of the Prophet."

An image of George W Bush and a US flag were burned. US embassy spokesperson said the actions of the rabble were deplorable, and called their deeds, acts of "thuggery".

Previous Indonesian demonstrations against the cartoons were carried out by the Front Pembela Islam, or Islamic Defender's Front, an Islamist vigilante group, which specialises in attacking Christians in their homes. Ruy Diaz in the previous entry quotes a Japanese source confirming that today's attacks were carried out by this group, which was founded in 1998 and has vigliante squads in 22 Indonesian provinces. Many of the group's leaders come from the Middle East, and their paramilitary wing, the Laskar Pembela Islam regularly smash up bars, clubs and pool halls. They were active in an anti-American campaign in 2001.

The disgusting behaviour of Muslims protesting ostensibly against the cartoons is turning into a free-for-all, where any non-Muslim organisation or group of people is regarded as a legitimate target. In Germany on Friday 10th, a daily newspaper, Der Taggespiegel depicted the Iranian football team as suicide bombers. As a result, on the 14th, the German embassy in Tehran was attacked by the Bassij, President Ahmadinejad's vigilantes, with a picture here.

In Pakistan the "cartoon protests" are merely a front to attack Musharraf's policies. A cleric has offered a $16,700 reward for the murderer of the cartoonists responsible, yet has not been arrested. On the 14th Feb, in Lahore, even Ronald MacDonald became a victim of the mob (pictured).

In Hong Kong yesterday, Chinese Muslims stayed at home, but foreign Muslim workers decided to make their feelings of rage (yawn) apparent for the world to see. The Jews and Israel had nothing to do with the original publication of the cartoons, but for these antisemitic morons, little issues like the truth hardly matter (see picture below).

In Nairobi last week, a western couple was attacked during a cartoon demo, merely because they were "western".

In Nigeria, Christians were indiscriminately attacked by rampaging Muslims yesterday, in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state in the northeast of the nation. Eleven churches were destroyed in the "cartoon protests", and one person was "necklaced", having a tyre placed around him, then petrol, which was ignited. Many of the victims were attacked inside churches.

Sky News reports that in the Maiduguri attacks, sixteen people were killed by the mob. Three children and a Catholic priest were killed. This is not the first Catholic priest to have been killed in these senseless displays of Islamic lunacy. But why should three innocent children be made responsible in any way for the issue of the cartoons?

The Telegraph reports that so far, a total of at least 41 people have died as a result of Muslim protests against the cartoons, with at least 27 people dying this weekend in Nigeria and in Libya.

The mentality of the Muslim rabble goes back to the early days of Islam. After Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph, was assassinated in 644 AD, the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, was butchered by a rampaging mob of Muslims in 656 AD. Islam, at its very heart, is a sick and violent faith. The mindless displays of barbarity witnessed now are not new phenomena. They are integral to Islam.

This sort of behaviour, manipulated by Islamic radicals, only shows that from now on, Islam can never be described as the "Religion of Peace" without employing a super-sized portion of irony.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: Muslims Protesters Attack U.S. Embassy

Islam, Religion of Embassy Attacking: Muslims Assault U.S. Embassy in Indonesia

(AP) Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several people were injured.[...]

Had they broken through the gates, I wonder if the U.S. government would have authorized the Marines to open fire on them. Because if that happens killing the bastards is the only moral thing to do.

[...]In Jakarta, about 400 people marched to the heavily fortified U.S. mission in the center of the city, behind a banner reading "We are ready to attack the enemies of the Prophet."

Protesters throwing stones and brandishing wooden staves tried to break through the gates. They set fire to U.S. flags and a poster of President Bush and smashed the windows of a guard outpost before dispersing after a few minutes.

The U.S. Embassy called the attacks deplorable, describing them as acts of "thuggery."[...]

Update: A Japanese website reports the protest was organized by the Islamic Defenders Front.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)

China: Official Wishes to Control Muslim Population Growth

The Chinese Communists actually believe the nonsense that lower population growth is necessary for economic development. (In the short term, yes, in the long term, it leads to economic and political disaster.) But chances are they are also worried about the growth of the Muslim population: More Birth Control Sought in China Region

SHANGHAI, China Feb 17, 2006 (AP)— A Chinese official has called for tougher birth control in the western region home to a Muslim ethnic group, saying population growth is hindering the area's economic development.

The proposal by Nur Bakri, a deputy Communist Party secretary in the Xinjiang region, was criticized by an activist who said it could lead to further human rights violations against the Muslim Uighur ethnic group.

Bakri said in a speech this week that population control efforts focused on Uighur-majority farming and herding areas would redouble over the next five years.

"The results of economic development will be canceled out by increases in population unless population size can be controlled," Bakri was quoted by the official http://www.tianshannet.com Web site as saying at a Monday conference on population planning.

Exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer said birth control policies already are strictly enforced in Xinjiang and questioned why rural areas were being singled out for special attention.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Satirising Islamic Intolerance

We have seen how the BBC and the printed media in Britain have no backbone when it comes to facing down the extremists in the UK, and have refused to print the Mohammed cartoons which have led to the deaths of innocent individuals.

British citizens, with only the internet to inform them of what actually provoked the undignified and malicious campaigns against freedom of speech, are left in the dark about the cartoons. Many probably imagine they were created to deliberately disparage Islam, rather than being part of an exercise to show how artists were imposing self-censorship because of fears of Muslim over-reaction.

Only the Spectator, with a low circulation, briefly published the cartoons at the start of this month on its website (subscription required).

But one satirical publication, Private Eye, edited by Ian Hislop, has been milking the over-reactions of Muslims to great comic effect, and its little spoof articles and cartoons have come as a breath of fresh air in the oppressive atmosphere gripping other media outlets. This is one of their spoof articles.

Like the best humour, "many a truth is spoken in jest."

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

UK: March Against Islamist Suppression Of Free Speech

Next weekend, on Saturday, 25 March, there will be a rally and march at Trafalgar Square, which has been reserved for the period between 2 pm and 4 pm.

We have seen peaceful rallies by Muslims who openly oppose our freedom of expression. Hopefully this will be a chance for those who do not believe in having our laws and our way of life threatened by imams and extremists, who wish to trash our legal rights, to express their feelings.

We have also seen disgusting displays by extremists led by former al-Muhajiroun members, who openly called for the beheading and murder of those who "insulted" the prophet Mohammed.

All those who can attend are urged to do so. This is not a march against Muslims, this is a protest about our freedoms, which are threatened by many Muslim leaders, and appeasers of extremism, such as Ken Livingstone.

For more information see here.

Should anyone wish to photocopy images of the "offensive" cartoons to distribute at the rally, we have provided all of the 12 images of the Danish cartoons HERE.

Feel free to reproduce any material from our website to make fliers, as the right to free expression is a fundamental right under British law, which should be protected. This fundamental right is being threatened by policies of fear and appeasement enacted by our printed media and the BBC, who are too cowardly and PC to allow people to judge for themselves how "offensive" these images are.

For those of a braver nature, our own cartoon is also available here, but we do not recommend distributing this at the rally.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)

Belgium: Six Moroccan Islamists Jailed

On Thursday (16th Feb), six members of the Islamist terror group, the Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain, or GICM, which was the entity responsible for the train bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004, were given jail sentences, states Expatica.

The Madrid train bombings (pictured) cost the lives of 191 individuals. GICM was also behind the bombings which took place in Casablanca, Morocco on 16 May, 2003, killing 45.

Two individuals were sentenced to jail terms of seven years, and the four others were given sentences of five to six years.

The men belonged to a GICM cell, based in the Flemish town of Maaseik. They had been under surveillance for some time, before their arrests between March and July 2004.

The trial of the men commenced on November 16, 2005. Originally 13 individuals were placed on trial at the Palais de Justice in Brussels.

The court decided that Lahoussine El Haski, Mostafa Louahani and Abdelkader Hakimi were leaders of the GICM cell.

Lahoussine El Haski was described as the "theologian" and fundraiser of the cell, and had been involved with jihadist activities in Afghanistan. He received seven years' jail.

Abdelkader Hakimi was responsible for assembling the cell. He had been in Afghanistan and also Bosnia. He also received seven years.

Mosafa Louahani received a six year sentence, and was responsible for sending jihadists to Afghanistan.

All the individuals who were convicted were involved in utilising false passports and giving shelter to terrorists. The individuals all have Belgian nationality, but were of Moroccan origin.

GICM was founded some time in the late 1990s and as well as being iinvlolved in training operations in Afghanistan, the group trafficks in guns and weaponry and forged documents. The group has links with other terror groups from North Africa. The Dutch killer of film-maker Theo van Gogh, Mohamed Bouyeri, was a member of GICM.

Khalid Bouloudou was given a sentence of five years for making forged passports and assisting the leaders of GICM, states Ba.no.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:39 AM | Comments (0)

Iran: Islamic Clerics Approve Of Use of Nuclear Weapons

In a disturbing move, a fatwa has been issued by Iran's senior hardline clerics, which approves of the use of nuclear weapons against its "enemies". As has become so evident from the pronouncements of Iran's insane leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the biggest perceived "enemies" of Islam are Jews, and the nation of Israel.

The Telegraph today reports that the fatwa was announced by Mohsen Gharavian. He is a follower of the arch-conservative cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi (pictured), the spiritual leader who gave his support to Ahmadinejad in July, helping him to secure the presidency. Mesbah-Yazdi is leader of the Haqqani seminary at the holy city of Qom, founded by the shadowy Hojjatieh Society.

As we reported earlier, Mesbah-Yazdi believes that to speed up the arrival of the "Muslim Messiah", Abul-Qassem, the 12th Imam or Mahdi, then firstly there must be chaos in the world. The drive to possess nuclear weaponry, combined with a fatwa condoning the use of nuclear weapons, is a signal that Iran's leadership seriously wishes to implement nuclear chaos, and probably will attempt to attack Israel to achieve this.

Mohsen Gharavian, who also lectures at the Haqqani seminary, stated: "for the first time that the use of nuclear weapons may not constitute a problem, according to Sharia....When the entire world is armed with nuclear weapons, it is permissible to use these weapons as a counter-measure. According to Sharia too, only the goal is important."

Ahmadinejad employs the services of a vigilante group, the Bassij to enforce his laws, and to instigate protests against Western embassies. Recently, bus drivers mounted a strike in Iran which is still in progress, and were treated to an unprecedented crackdown. Currently, more than 1,000 drivers are in jail. The leader of the bus driver's union, Massoud Osanlou, was taken from his home by members of the Bassij, and part of his tongue was cut out, as a warning to stay silent.

It appears, from the Telegraph article, that the US administration has been seeking from Congress the allocation of $75 million funds to support pro-democracy movements in Iran.

Plans are afoot to use internet and satellite TV to bring home to Iranians the message of democracy. But there are simultaneously plans being discussed in the Pentagon to blitz Iran's nuclear sites before the goal of creating nuclear weapons can be achieved. Such a two-pronged approach to the Iranian problem was previously not supported by the US State Department, but now it appears they approve of a two-track means of defusing the threat to democracy and peace posed by the insane Ahmadinejad.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:03 AM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2006

Nigeria: Cartoon Jihad Explodes into Anti-Christian Murder

The Religion of Peace shows its peaceful side in Nigeria:
Nigeria cartoon protests kill 16

At least 16 people have been killed in northern Nigeria during protests by Muslims over the cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.

Most of the deaths occurred in rioting in Maiduguri, capital of north-eastern Borno state. One person died in similar riots in north-central Katsina state.

Witnesses said most of the dead were from Maiduguri's minority Christians. Eleven churches were also torched.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:59 PM | Comments (0)

Egypt: Teaching Hatred to the Muslim Youth

How do Egyptian Muslims develop their hatred for Coptic Christians and Jews? Why, they are taught to hate by their respected leaders of course: Anti-Christian and Anti-Semitic Book At A Cairo Book Fair

A number of anti-Semitic and anti-Christian publications were on display at the recent Cairo International Book Fair. Sample images of these books are still displayed at www.baladynet.net, an Islamic news site apparently hosted by an American Internet Service provider. According to the blog www.freecopts.blogspot.com, these publications are also sold throughout Egypt. Publications on display included "It is not holy," (referring to the Holy Bible) and "Why they broke the Cross," (attacking Christian beliefs).

Other titles were the role of the crusade church in the fall of Islamic Caliphate, an encouragement to convert to Islam to enjoy security, a publication titled "Christians of Egypt; how many and who are they?" This was described by the blog writer as a "hateful publication inciting Muslims against the Copts, Egypt's indigenous people."

Another publication was called, "Who killed the dog?" This, the blog writer commented, referred to "the murder of Egyptian intellectual Farag Foda (www.meforum.org/article/395), a free-thinking Muslim intellectual who was killed because of his anti- fanatic attitude. This book is considered a direct incitement to kill other Egyptian intellectuals who take the same position."

Another book was called "Islamic Enlightment," described by the blog writer as "a hate- filled periodical that incites hatred against Jews, Christians and non-Muslims in general." Another publication was named "O ye filthy gypsies," described by the blogger as "A message to the Diaspora Christians."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

Lybia: Interior Minister Suspended Over Riots, Italian Minister Resigns

The Cartoon Jihad continues: Libya suspends minister over riot

Libya has suspended its interior minister following protests outside an Italian consulate which led to the deaths of at least 10 people.

The parliamentary secretariat said in a statement that Nasr al-Mabrouk would be referred for investigation in to the clashes between police and protesters.

Other officials connected to the riots have also been suspended and referred for investigation, the statement added.[...]

Somebody has to take the fall; it is not as if the Colonel is going to take responsibility.

There have been worldwide protests since the publication of the cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper last September.

Islam bans any depiction of Muhammad or Allah.

Mr Calderoli, a member of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, said earlier in the week he was distributing T-shirts decorated with the controversial cartoons.

It was "time to put an end to this story that we need to dialogue with these people," he said in an interview.

He said on Saturday he had decided to resign "out of a sense of responsibility" and not because it had been demanded by the government and the opposition.

What kind of far-right politician is Mr. Calderoli? For goodness's sake, don't resign; wait until you are sacked, then milk the story for all it's worth. It is not as if the Muslims can be bought off by polite gestures. Even our right-wing fanatics are moderate!

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

UK: Planned Muslim Rally In London Today

As we described earlier, a group of 300 imams, under the umbrella title of the Muslim Action Committee (MAB) have called for a rally today, between Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.

These leaders claim to be "moderate", but want to rip up Britain's legal system, so that Muslims are classed as a "race" even though they are not a race, but followers of a religion.

Last week there was another demonstration, against the Muslim cartoons, and against Islamophobia, which was held in Trafalgar Square. Last Saturday's protest, which was organised by MAB (Muslim Association for Britain) intended to attract 30,000 people, but in the end only 4,000 arrived.

The demo at Trafalgar Square had stewards patrolling the crowd, to ensure no-one carried offensive placards such as those at an earlier demo at Sloane Street, outside the Danish Embassy, where signs called for beheadings of those who insult Islam, and invoking attacks like 9/11 for Europe.

The media widely reported last weekend's event as "peaceful", but it has become clear that some of the protesters were not peaceful at all.

The Ilford Recorder reports that one Muslim leader, Asghar Bukhari, nearly had violence enacted against him by 10 or so individuals whose faces were covered. Bukhari, aged 35, lives in Ilford, east London, and is chair of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, had given a speech at that rally.

Then he faced the wrath of 10 individuals with their heads covered in balaclavas. He states:

"I saw someone with his face covered and I thought it was a woman, but then he spoke and called me a hypocrite. I realised it was a man. I asked him why he was calling me that, and he said I wasn't helping the cause. I then asked him what he had done to help 'the cause'. He started spouting his beliefs at me."

Following a brief verbal confrontation, Mr Bukhari turned his back on the man who started shouting "hypocrite".

It was then that Mr Bukhari saw the 10 balaclava-clad men running towards him. He said: "I was so lucky that there were people there who stopped them from getting to me. I just thank God."

It remains to be seen whether or not the full complement of supporters attend, and whether or not there will be angry scenes and placards calling for death and murder. We will keep you informed.

UPDATE: It appears from a breaking news report in the Sun that the figures are nowhere near the 100,000 individuals planned by the 300 imams of MAC to descend upon the capital.

More than 10,000 people have arrived, and apparently, the crowds are being roused by speakers on podiums to anger. Anger is always the trigger for indiscriminate venting in Islamic demonstrations, as has been witnessed in international protests. Yesterday, nine people in Libya were killed in the city of Benghazi in an attempt to storm the Italian embassy, angered by Roberto Calderoli of the Northern League wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the cartoon images. It is reported now on BBC World Service that Calderoli has resigned.

In Nigeria, churches in Nigeria and Christian properties have been set on fire by anti-cartoon demonstrators in the state of Bornu.

A good photo-article of demonstrations in Karachi, Bangladesh and Hong Kong can be found on Der Spiegel.

I certainly doubt that stewards will be able to control a rabble, if sub-groups decide to rampage against their own chosen targets. According to View London there are only 400 stewards in attendance. More news as it comes.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:26 AM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

Iran: Withdrawal of British Troops from Basra Demanded

I think this would be the definition of 'chutzpah', if only that wonderful word were not Jewish: Iran calls on UK troops to pull out of Basra

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister called on Britain on Friday to pull its troops out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, saying their presence was destabilising the city.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran demands the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra," Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters through an interpreter during a visit to Lebanon.

"We believe that the presence of the British military forces in Basra has led to the destabilisation of the security situation in the city," he said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair swiftly rebuffed Tehran, saying British soldiers were in Iraq under a United Nations mandate and warned Iran not to try to divert attention from international concern over its nuclear programme.

Mottaki also said the British presence had also negatively affected the security situation in southern Iran itself.

He was apparently referring to a spate of recent bomb attacks in southern Iran.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:56 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Church of England Still Anti-Israel

The Church of England continues its descent into oblivion with empty, cowardly acts like their proposed boycott of firms who do business with Israel. If only they showed similar zeal in defense of Christians being oppressed by Muslims all over the world: Church's Israel policy criticised

A Church of England decision to review its investments in firms whose products are used by Israel in the occupied territories has been criticised.

Britain's most senior Jewish leader said the Synod's vote was "ill-judged" and would "hurt Israel without helping the Palestinians".

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks told the Jewish Chronicle the move could damage Jewish-Christian relations in the UK.

The Church said the decision was only advice to its ethical advisory group.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:39 PM | Comments (0)

Tampa: Fundraiser for Terrorist Supporter

Moderate Islam strikes again; fundraiser for Sami al-Arian to be held, CAIR to participate: FUNDRAISER FOR SAMI AL-ARIAN'S RELEASE TO BE HELD TOMORROW IN TAMPA MOSQUE

(Coral Springs, FL) According to an e-mail that was sent out by Ahmed Bedier, the Spokesman for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), a fundraiser will be taking place tomorrow for the release of terrorist Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian is currently awaiting a second trial for his role as a leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The event will be held at Masjid Al-Qassam (a.k.a. Islamic Community of Tampa), the mosque Al-Arian helped create.

Speaking at the event will be Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the national CAIR headquarters. Also speaking will be Eric Erfan Vickers, the former Executive Director of the American Muslim Council (AMC). Vickers resigned from his position at AMC, after he was exposed for calling the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster "an act of divine retribution against Israel."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:05 PM | Comments (0)

Op-ed: On Democracy and Language

Insufferable windbag who happens to be a blogger Dean Esmay wrote the following trying to whitewash the electoral victory of The Hamas: Hamas, Palestine, and Legitimate Elections

The terrorist militat [sic] group Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament this week. There is a good deal of handwringing [sic] (and some gloating) over this, none of which strike me [sic] as all that justified.

There is no question that this was a legitimate democratic election. Does that make Palestine a democracy now? No, no, no. Political scientists have a number of tests for what counts as either an electoral or a liberal democracy, and at this point Palestine qualifies as neither. They have done, however, had their first legitimate democratic election. Now it must be seen what the newly-elected, Hamas-dominated parliament actually does with their power, and to what extent the exercise of political power changes them. It will also remain to be seen whether they will allow future elections, and step down if they are defeated in same. The moment that happens, we will be able to say without doubt they are a democracy, by the way, and not really until then; a peaceful transfer of power from one elected political party to another elected political party is one of the major reqirements [sic] for proving a nation is a democracy.[...][emphasis mine-RD]

Among the pathetic appeals to authority "Political scientists have a number of tests..." an interesting question arises: what is Democracy and how should it be defined?

My Merriam-Webster's Dictionary offers a clear definition:

1 a: A government by the people: esp : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly or indirectly through a system of representation usu. Involving periodically held free elections

"Political scientists"--they are not scientists, but certainly political--and their acolytes, however, often find this definition too restrictive. In some cases they will want to modify some of the clauses in the definition, such as the one involving holding free elections. In such a world Cuba is a "true" Democracy, because its healthcare system is "free." Zimbabwe is a "true" Democracy, because the whites are getting what's coming to them, etc.

In other cases, the classical definition of Democracy is deemed too wide. A case in point is the election of the Hamas in what I call the Palestinian Abomination; (e.i., it is not a state, it is not a terrorist organization; it is an abomination.) Since the elections were democratic and the transition of power was semi-peaceful, people trying to maintain the illusion Democracy will necessarily lead to peace do not want to call The Abomination a democracy, thus a few extra tests are asked for. All these dueling definitions create considerable semantic confusion.

Whenever a clear, well-established definition becomes muddled, a question should be asked: how did it happened, and who benefits from it? In this instance, as is often the case, the muddling came from intellectuals (the aforementioned political scientists) who want to use the good name of Democracy to fuel their pet political projects. The people who benefit are the totalitarians and Islamic supremacists whose political visions are helped by the confusion and paralysis that plagues the West.

Let's go back to the Palestinian Abomination elections, and the larger "Peace Process" attempting to end the Israeli-Palestinian war. The same people who claim Democracy would lead to moderation, upon seeing democratically-fueled radicalization, use special pleading "it is not true Democracy", instead of abandoning their discredited premise. Fatah, don't get me wrong, is a violent terrorist organization whose only coherent objective is the destruction of Israel. In that aspect their only claim to moderation comes from their rhetoric directed to the West, and the methods to be used in the destruction of the "Zionist entity." Fatah advocates cunning over overwhelming violence. The Hamas, on the other hand, advocates direct, overwhelming violence over cunning, and the Palestinians loved them for it. They were also loved for advocating a "pure" Islamic State and eliminating the corruption engendered by the "secular" rule of Fatah. Thus, when presented with cunning and watered-down secularism on the one hand, and overwhelming violence and pure Islam on the other, the Palestinians chose violence over cunning. This is a direct challenge to the theory that Democracy leads to Peace, but I'm yet to see advocates of the theory with egg on their faces come forward and admit that, at least in this case, they were wrong.

I don't think this will happen. Special pleading, for most of them, will be the easy way out. But the rest of us should be wary of those tactics. Thus;

Democracy should be defined as "rule by the people", as it has been for the past 2, 500 years, and nothing more.

If you want to argue Democracy (see above) leads to "liberal democracy"; for goodness's sake, use the non-confusing term, liberal society.

Similarly, if you think Castro's regime is the greatest thing this side of Paradise, don't call it "true Democracy"; Fidel Castro himself calls it Socialism.

And finally, if you think promoting Democracy in the Muslim world would lead to a victory over terrorism; before anything else, get yourself an education on Islamic theology and history and get back to me on that one. Failing that, at least don't go using petty semantic games trying to deny the evidence before your very eyes.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

US: UAE Port Takeover Protests Gather Steam

The following story is making the rounds in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere: Lawmakers urges White House to review Arab port takeover

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. lawmakers formally asked the Bush administration Thursday to reconsider its approval of a sale giving a company in the United Arab Emirates control over significant operations at six major American ports.

The lawmakers, including four senators and three House members, sharply criticized the UAE as inconsistent in its support of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.

They also said the country was a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya and was one of only three nations that had recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government.

"Outsourcing the operations of our largest ports to a country with a dubious record on terrorism is a homeland security and commerce accident waiting to happen," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. "The administration needs to take another look at this deal."[...]

Senator Schumer is a douchebag, but he is right on this. The UAE is a viciously pro-Jihad Muslim (the term "Arab" in most of these discussions is misleading) country, and it would be extremely easy for the Jihadis to infiltrate Dubai Ports, a government-owned firm. According to Michelle Malkin, it is up to the President to stop the deal. We'll see what happens on this score.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2006

Spain: Al Qaeda Islamist Has Sentence Slashed By 15 Years

We reported on September 26 2005 that Syrian-born Islamist, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas (pictured) was jailed for 27 years for conspiring with others to cause the attacks on the US on 9/11, 2001.

Yarkas, who also used the alias Abu Dahdah, was given 12 years for heading a terrorist group, with 15 years added for "conspiracy to commit murder" at Spain's High Court in Madrid.

Now, however, EFE via Expatica states that federal prosecutors have recommended that the 15 year sentence for "conspiracy to commit murder", applied for his alleged involvement with 9/11, should be waived.

The prosecutors acknowledged, following an appeal by Yarkas, that it was not proven beyond doubt that he had taken part in organising the 9/11 attacks against New York and Washington targets.

17 other defendants stood trial with Yarkas on terror charges. Now Yarkas will only be serving the 12 year sentence for heading a terrorist organisation.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:21 PM | Comments (0)

Spain: Islamist To Be Extradited From Britain

EFE via Expatica, the BBC and also the UK Telegraph today report that a Tunisian man currently in detention in Britain yesterday lost his petition in the High Court to appeal against extradition to Spain on terrorism charges.

45-year old Hedi Ben Youseff Boudhiba, also known as "Fathi", is believed to have had links with the Hamburg-based al-Qaeda terror cell involved in the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. He is alleged by Spanish authorities to have supplied money and forged documents, including passports, to those who planned the September 11 attacks.

He is said to be taking his appeal to the House of Lords. His lawyers have argued that he is mentally disabled, with a mental age of eight.

Judge Baltasar Garzon, Spain's leading terror expert, has also claimed that Boudibha was involved in the network alleged to have plotted to use the deadly toxin ricin, extracted from the castor oil plant, in London in January 2003.

He was arrested in August 2004 at Liverpool airport while trying to board a plane to Barcelona. He appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court in June 2005, where an extradition order was made against him. He challenged the ruling on mental health grounds. Yesterday, Lady Justice Smith, sitting with Mr Justice Newman, stated: "Spain is a civilised country. The evidence shows that, if he is extradited, proper examination will be made to ascertain whether he is fit to stand trial."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: Islamist Sentenced To Death

Today's TMCNet.com reports that a court in Malaku province in Indonesia has handed down a death sentence on an Islamist militant who was involved with sectarian attacks which saw 8 people killed.

The individual, Asep Jaya, or Asep Djaja, who also went under the alias Dahlan, was found guilty of killing people in two attacks. In the first attack, which took place in the village of Wamkana in South Buru on May 5, 2004, two villagers were killed, as we reported earlier.

Asep was also part of a commando unit, said to comprise 8 individuals, who attacked a police security post in the village of Loki on the island of Seram, the largest island in the Malaku chain (the Moluccas). This gun assault happened on May 15 2005, in which five policemen and one civilian was killed. The police had been asleep at the time of the attack.

The attack was mounted with the assistance of three speedboats. When arrested, Asep had a minimum of 10,000 live bullet rounds in his possession. Asep and others in this assault had apparently unergone training in the Moro region of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

Kharlison Harianja, a district court judge in Ambon, found Asep guilty on Monday (13 Feb), of involvement in terrorist acts and for the illegal possession of firearms. Asep has denied his guilt and has initiated an appeal.

The Malaku islands were the scene of a sectarian war mounted by Islamists against Christians between 1999 and 2002, in which more than 9,000 people were killed. Recently, attempt to revive the conflict have resurfaced.

The Moluccas (Malaku islands) were originally Christian, but since the 1970s, Indonesia's policies of "transmigration" brought a large influx of Muslims to the islands. The Moluccan war was mainly led by a group called Laskar Jihad, led by Jaffar Umar Thalib who escaped conviction for his war crimes.

The attacks for which Asep has been found guilty were part of an attempt by Islamist terrorists to revive the sectarian conflict.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:12 PM | Comments (0)

France: French Government Calls Iran's Nuclear Program "a Cover"

Well, duh, welcome to reality. The question remains, dear French government, what are you going to do about it? France Says Iran's Atomic Program Is a Military Cover

PARIS, Feb. 16 — France plainly accused Iran today of pursuing a nuclear program that can only be intended for military purposes, just a two days after Iran said it had resumed enrichment for civilian purposes.

The declaration by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy raised the pressure on Iran, ahead of talks next week in Brussels and Moscow with European Union and Russian officials, as Iran tries to avert a showdown at the Security Council in March.

"Today, it's simple; no civilian nuclear program can explain the Iranian nuclear program. So, it's an Iranian clandestine military nuclear program," Mr. Douste-Blazy said on a morning news show on France 2 television.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Steyn: Tears for Europe

In his latest column, Mark Steyn revisits the Demographic death spiral of Europe. It is hard to read, so brace yourselves: Mark Steyn: Salute Danna Vale

MY interest in demography dates back to September 11, 2001, when a demographic group I hadn't hitherto given much thought managed to get my attention. I don't mean the, ah, unfortunate business with the planes and buildings and so forth, but the open cheering of the attacks by their co-religionists in Montreal, Yorkshire, Copenhagen and elsewhere. How many people knew there were fast-growing and culturally confident Muslim populations in Scandinavia?

Demography doesn't explain everything but it accounts for a good 90 per cent. The "who" is the best indicator of the what-where-when-and-why. Go on, pick a subject. Will Japan's economy return to the heady days of the 1980s when US businesses cowered in terror? Answer: No. Japan is exactly the same as it was in its heyday except for one fact: it stopped breeding and its population aged. Will China be the hyperpower of the 21st century? Answer: No. Its population will get old before it gets rich.

Check back with me in a century and we'll see who's right on that one. But here's one we know the answer to: Why is this newspaper published in the language of a tiny island on the other side of the earth? Why does Australia have an English Queen, English common law, English institutions? Because England was the first nation to conquer infant mortality.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

Miami: Bomb Threat at Miami-Dade College

We do live in interesting times.

At about 4:25 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) today, I was at the library of Miami-Dade College's Interamerican Campus. The "evacuate" alarm sounded, but the voice-over message was odd: it was informing us there had been a false alarm and it was now safe to return to the building. The voice-over was interrupted by a "live" male voice telling everybody to leave the building, that it was not a drill.

I gathered my things slowly, as I was tired, and reluctanlty exited the building. I went to my vehicle, parked in the MDC parking lot outside the buildings where I continued to do what I was doing (studying and watching pretty girls when they passed by.)

After a while, things became serious, as quite a bundle of police officers began arriving at the scene. They moved everybody to the professor's parking lot. I was asked to leave my car.

We were in the dark for a while as police officers were not talking about the nature of the threat. Then they asked us to move farther away, at which point I asked a young police officer whether it was a bomb threat. "Yes", he said.

We had to wait some more, informing the people showing up late, but professors and students, what was going on.

At 5:44 p.m. there was a small explosion, which we guessed was initiated by the bomb squad.

At 5:53 p.m. the building was decleared "cleared", then I left, as my professor had left earlier.

And now I'm here, telling you the story, and ready to hunt you some Islam-related news and commentary. But before I forget, let me get some cursing off my chest:

If somebody made that bomb threat, may they rot in jail for a decade or so, hijo de la gran....

I feel better, stay tuned.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:29 PM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2006

Germany: Iran's Anti Soccer Cartoon Jihad Develops

So many cartoons, so little time! Iran's own little Cartoon Jihad gathers steam: Iran demands apology for German soccer cartoon

Reuters - The Iranian embassy in Germany has demanded a written apology from a Berlin newspaper that printed a cartoon of Iranian soccer players dressed as suicide bombers and threatened legal action if none is forthcoming.

The sketch, published on Friday by Der Tagesspiegel, shows four moustachioed soccer players wearing Iran shirts with explosives strapped to their chests next to four German soldiers in a soccer stadium.

A caption above read: "Why the German army should definitely be used during the soccer World Cup!", referring to a debate in Germany about whether to use troops to help with security during the month-long tournament which begins June 9.

Stephan-Andreas Casdorff, the daily's managing editor, said on Monday he regretted the reaction to the drawing but did not consider an apology necessary.

We'll see what Mr. Casdorff says when the death treaths begin.... Oh never mind:

The cartoon's artist had received three death threats and had been forced to leave his apartment, he said, adding that the police was investigating the threats.

Meanwhile, in Iran: German embassy comes under attack in Iran capital

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 14 - Radical Islamists attacked the German embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, protesting the printing of insulting cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in European dailies.

Dozens of members of the Bassij, an off-shoot of the Revolutionary Guards, hurled stones at the embassy building shattering several windows.

No, no, and no! The Bassij militia is not an offshoot of anything, but an integral part of Iran's military command. They won't do anything like that without receiving orders to do so.

They chanted, "Death to America", "Death to Israel", and "Fascist Germany is the slave of the Zionists", demanding the closure of the embassy.

Several U.S. and Israeli flags were set on fire outside the embassy compound.

Ah, the magic of the marketplace. They burned American and Israeli flags, but not German ones, because there were not German flags on hand. But not to worry; as we speak, Farid the Persian flag maker has added a third shift in his Flags for Burning factory.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:02 PM | Comments (0)

UK Islam: Faces of Fanaticism Part Two

In part one, the activities of Abu Hamza were described, and how the weaknesses in Britain's judicial system allowed him to preach for death and jihad unchecked. Hamza also may have influenced the 7/7 bombers, three of whom are said to have attended his sermons at Finsbury Park mosque. This weekend's Sunday Times reports that the man pictured here, Abdullah al-Faisal, will be eligible for early release from prison next week.

He was mentioned because the Sunday Times discovered that Hamid Ali, of the Al-Madina Masjid mosque in Tunstall Road, Beeston had described the bombers of 7/7, who killed 52 people in London Transport last year, as al-Faisal's "children".

The Al-Madina mosque is where Mohammed Siddique Khan, the leader of the four-man cell had worshipped. Shehzad Tanweer, another bomber, had also attended the mosque.

The Sunday Times sent an undercover reporter, of Bangladeshi origin, to attend the mosque to find out what lay beneath the public surface. To the world, the mosque is a place of worship. In reality, it is a temple to terrorism. After the 7/7 attacks, imam Hamid Ali declared publicly that those responsible for the bombings should be punished.

Now, he is saying statements within the mosque of a different nature, such as: "What they [the bombers] did was good. They have warned that we are here, we Muslims. People have taken notice that we are here. They died so that people would take notice . . . big meetings and conferences make no change at all. With this, at least people's ears have pricked up."

Ali, obviously practicing Islamic taqqiya (where Islam justifies an individual lying to "unbelievers") said that "Sheikh" Abdullah al-Faisal had visited the mosque three times to give lectures, and that Mohammed Siddique Khan had attended these events. He claimed that Khan possessed many of al-Faisal's audio tapes.

So who is Abdullah al-Faisal, and will the UK government be foolish to allow him to be given an early parole from prison?

42-year old al-Faisal was the worst type of Muslim - the convert looking for status. He was born in Jamaica as Trevor William Forest, and came to Britain in the early 1990s, after spending several years in Saudi Arabia. He had lived with his wife and five children in Stratford, east London until he was arrested.

On 24 February 2003, al-Faisal was convicted on three counts of racial incitement and three of "soliciting murder" (under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act) by a unanimous verdict from the jury. The Telegraph at the time stated that his trial was attended by a jury from which Hindus and Jews were excluded, a travesty of normal court procedures.

Al-Faisal, who had started life in a home in Jamaica where his parents were in the Salvation Army, and helped the poor on that island, had left home at the age of 16. He had gone to South America, and then he had travelled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he studied Islam.

He was sponsored by Saudi religious authorities, who paid for him to come to Britain in 1991, where he became the imam of Brixton mosque, south London. In the eleven years that he lived in Britain, he received state benefits while planning to disrupt the society which fed him. During his trial the judge, Peter Beaumont, received a letter from Scotland, in which he was offered a bribe of 50,000 pounds.

Al-Faisal was preaching at several mosques in Britain. At the Brixton mosque, Zaccarias Moussaui, implicated in the 9/11 US attacks, attended. The shoe bomber Richard Reid also was a regular visitor at this mosque.

Al-Faisal gave sermons at a mosque in Tipton in the west Midlands. It is said that the "Tipton terrorist", Munir Ali, was radicalised by his sermons. Ali went to fight in Afghanistan and has now vanished without trace.

Al-Faisal's sermons were recorded and sold. DVDs have been made recently by Amar Iqbal, an Islamist from Ashton-Under-Lyne near Manchester. These are still being distributed to this day,

The audio tapes of his sermons had led to his arrest. Police were investigating al Qaeda links with UK terrorists. In Dorset, in the southwest of England, a man was arrested on charges including rape. In his car, two of the racist imam's audiotapes were discovered. As a result, al-Faisal's home was searched.

During his trial, the contents of these tapes were described by the prosecution, and they are horrific in their malevolence. He suggested that nuclear power stations could be fuelled with bodies of Hindus, slaughtered for their "oppression" of Muslims in Kashmir.

Listeners to his sermons were told to wage war on "unbelievers" and mothers to bring up their sons not as "wimps" but with a jihad mentality and to give toy guns, tanks and helicopter gunships as presents.

America, he declared, was the great Satan. But Britain, France, Italy and Germany were also numbered among Islam's greatest enemies.

In one sermon he advanced "19 reasons why there can never be peace with the Jews", accusing them of being racist, rotten to the core, sexually perverse and experts in temptation and sedition.

In evidence, he cited the death of Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut killed in the Columbia shuttle disaster, as a "splendid example" of Jewish deceit because he died on a Saturday when Jews were not supposed to be at work.

His tapes were sold at Islamic bookshops, and formed the mainstay of the prosecution's case against him. He claimed in one taped sermon that "might is right"

The Times claims that he was a close associate of Earnest James Ujaama. In the US in April 2003, James Ujaama pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to support the Taliban. Ujaama and Abu Hamza and Haroon Rashid Aswat were involved in trying to set up a jihadi training camp in Bly, Oregon.

Considering Al-Faisal's influence as a preacher who has encouraged individuals who have gone on to take part in jihadi operations and also appears to have incited at least two of the bombers who attacked London Transport last year, the notion of releasing al-Faisal early from his sentence seems unbelievable.

One hopes the Home Office will recommend that he serves his full seven year jail term. Already, the distributors of DVDs of al-Faisal's sermons, which carry statements such as British law is "put together by the henchmen of Satan, people who are gays and devil worshippers," are preparing to take over production of these DVDs when he is released.

A prison sentence is a sentence. That it should be routinely halved makes a mockery of the initial sentencing at time of conviction. Considering the widespread and malicious influence of this man, even while he is behind bars, to allow him early release from jail would potentially endanger lives.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, should exert his powers and prevent this man from entering the community. There were discussions at the time of al-Faisal's trial that immigration authorities were considering his residential status. Even if deported, al-Faisal will become involved with supporters of international terrorism. Clarke should ensure he remains in prison for a further three years, in the interests of both national security and international security.

Keywords: Abdullah al-Faisal, Abdullah el-Faisal

For more information on the content of these sermons, see HERE

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:39 PM | Comments (0)

Denmark: Gorvernment Launches Disinformation Website on Islam

How do I know it is a disinformation website? Because if they were telling the truth about Islam, muslims would be howlering: Danish Broadcast Launches Online Islam Page

COPENHAGEN, February 14, 2006 (IslamOline.net & News Agencies) – The Danish Broadcast Corporation News (DR) launched on Monday, February 13, a new online section on Islam and the Muslim minority in Denmark.

"We believe that our audience needs to know more about Islam and Muslims," the page's editor Ulrik Aarhus told IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, February 14.

I haven't seen the website, and I don't understand Danish, but it is a law of nature that, at the present time, no Western government will tell the truth about Islam.

"They need information on Islamic history, civilization and culture for that Danes can better understand Muslims and Islam."

Disinformation, he will provide disinformation. The proof is in the next paragraph.

Aarhus said the current turmoil over the Danish cartoons that lampooned Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is largely because "we do not know each other."[...]

And there it is. What a sad day when the taxes your government takes from you are used to blind you to the danger posed by your mortal enemies.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:24 PM | Comments (1)

February 13, 2006

Religion of Peace?

Whether images of Muhammad are actually forbidden or not by Islam is really not of Western concern, but doesn't the Muslims realized that committing violence in protest actually cements the impression of Islam as a violent religion in non-Muslims' eyes?

Posted by Xingzhe at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)

Saudi Arabia: Al Gore, Treasonous Worm

Former Vice President Al Gore, in front of a Saudi audience and likely receiving tens of thousands of dollars, continues his descent into open treason: Gore decries treatment of Arabs post 9-11

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."[...]

This, of course, is not the first time a prominent American politician does something like this.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:59 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2006

UK Islam: Faces Of Fanaticism Part One

Last week, the Egyptian born Muslim cleric Abu Hamza was jailed for seven years on February 7 for soliciting to murder. It was then revealed by Scotland Yard that Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, where Hamza had preached, had a cache of starting pistols, a stun gun, forged passports and forged driving licenses, which were concealed behind a ceiling tile. These items had been discovered during a raid by police in 2003, but details had been suppressed until after the trial.

The cleric's harsh-featured lawyer, Mudrassa Anri, claimed after the trial that Hamza had been given clearance to preach, and in meetings had even been given codenames by MI5, one of Britain's two intelligence agencies.

Yesterday, the Times stated that an Algerian spy, employed by MI5 to report on activities at Finsbury Park mosque, has confirmed the suggestion that MI5 did not view Hamza as a serious threat.

Three newspapers claimed after the trial that three of the individuals who set off bombs on London Transport on the 7th July last year had on occasion attended Hamza's lectures at the Finsbury Park mosque.

Reda Hassiane, the MI5 "plant" at the mosque between July 1999 and November 2000, claimed that he was told by the intelligence agency that it was "not interested" in prosecuting Hamza for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred, the crimes for which he was convicted last week.

"I told them Abu Hamza was brainwashing people and sending them to terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, that he was preaching jihad and murder and that he was involved in the provision of false passports. I told them he was a chief terrorist," he claimed. "They told me not to bother, that they weren't interested."

Hassiane is currently attempting to see if he has legal grounds to sue MI5 for physical and mental damage.

Yesterday, New Zealand's National Ledger carried a report by Jim Kouri, a senior police officer, detailing the ways in which Hamza, widely depicted as Captain Hook, a figure of fun, actually had a private army to carry out his wishes. These included taking over other mosques in Britain.

Several clerics told stories of being threatened by gangs claiming to be members of Abu Hamza's Supporters of Sharia group. Some of the clerics were beaten inside their own mosques, and worshippers were bullied into finding new places to pray -- and the police refused to intervene, they claim.

One police official, under condition of anonymity, said that law enforcement executives in Britain were overly cautious about their interaction with Muslim leaders and their mosques.

Two rival imams have said that they had to receive hospital treatment after being attacked by Hamza's henchmen. They claim that when they reported the incidents to Scotland Yard, their complaints were virtually ignored.

A former estates manager at the Finsbury Park Mosque, 66-year old Fazli Ali, has said to London police: "Hamza and his cronies threatened me several times. I was head of security but they even threatened to kill me. Ours was a peaceful place but he wanted to turn it into a political arena."

The report claims that more than 100 Muslims were sent by Hamza to locations in the Middle East, where they took part in al-Qaeda training camps. The UK police do not know what happened to these individuals.

The case of Abu Hamza highlights how one monster, who incited people to kill Jews and unbelievers, could be condoned by the UK authorities for a long time, causing in the process untold damage to the so-called "War on Terror" which the UK professes to support.

The report also suggests that similar things are currently happening in the US, where a climate of political correctness is preventing law enforcement officers from dealing with internal affairs of mosques. US Senators state that the US Bureau of Prisons employs the services of the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GISS). This is currently being investigated for possibly funding terrorists. The US Bureau of Prisons also is involved with the Islamic Society of North America which has board members who are connected to terror groups.

A softly-softly approach to imams and mosques who support terror has proved, through the example of Abu Hamza, to achieve nothing, either in terms of ensuring good multicultural relations with Muslims, or in combatting the spread of the convoluted webs of terror.

It appears that the only way to deal with those who incite murder and support terror is to adopt a "zero-tolerance" approach, and to ignore the apologists of Muslim terror, such as CAIR and in Britain organisations such as the Muslim Council for Britain.

Britain's approach to terror in mosques is alienating the public, and America should be aware of this, and not fall into the same trap. There should be no "negotiating"with, and no tolerance of, the apostles of terror.

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

UK: Poll Shows That British Citizens Are Angered By Islamic Demonstrations

UK: Poll Shows That British Citizens Are Angered By Islamic Demonstrations

Today's Sunday Times reveals the results of a poll conducted by You-Gov for the newspaper, and they do not bode well for those who believe in multiculturalism.

Using a base of 1,600 respondents, the poll suggests widespread anger at protests which were held in London last Friday (February 03) and also across the Muslim world about the Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

86% believed such protests were a "gross overreaction", and more than half (56%) believed it was right to publish the cartoons. Only 29% thought they should not be reprinted.

58% were angered by the demonstration by members of al Ghurabaa/the Saviour sect last Friday in London, in which placards called for the beheading of those who insult the prophet, and invoked threats of a European 9/11 event. 76% thought those carrying such placards should have been arrested. In the event, the only two people who were arrested were non-Muslims distributing copies of the actual cartoons.

80% of respondents thought the authorities display "too much tolerance" of Muslims who call for extremism, and 67% believe senior policemen are too "politically correct".

Regarding Abu Hamza, who has said it is "all right" to kill Kafirs (unbelievers), 67% thought he should have been arrested sooner, and 69% thought he should have been given a jail term "significantly longer" than the seven years he received.

Whereas the current anti-terrorism bill has dropped the proposed detention of terror suspects for 90 days without charge, 44% think it should be reinstated, whereas 42% said that it was acceptable to detain suspects for 28 days without charge.

On foreign individuals who incite racial and religious hatred, 81% of people believe they should be deported to their countries of origin, whether or not they may have their lives put in danger by returning.

87% of respondents believed further Islamist terror attacks like 7/7 will happen again.

Only 17%, less then one fifth of the total, believed Muslims and non-Muslims will be living peacefully together in Britain.

67% think tensions between the Islamic and non-Muslim communities will get worse in Britain, and while 34% thought Western nations can live peacefully alongside Muslim nations, more people (45%) thought that this would not be happening.

From reactions I have gauged on Britain's streets, the pessimism about our Muslim citizens, reflected in this poll, seems to be very real indeed. Government pundits and policy makers should take note.

Despite the pronouncements of politicians about harmony between faiths, the behaviour of Muslim extremists has soured the public's perceptions of Islam.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:21 PM | Comments (0)

Israel: "Mohammed Is A Pig" Mosque Graffiti Sparks Riots

In a bizarre incident, Israel's security forces apologised for graffiti written on a mosque in Bnai Elias, in Samaria. The graffiti said "Mohammed is a Pig". As a result of this "provocation", the traditional anti-semitic hatred from local Arabs exploded into indiscriminate violence.

There were riots this afternoon, and an Israeli woman driving her car was hit in the head by a rock hurled by stone-throwing rabble as she drove on the Azoun bypass road, states Arutz Sheva. The innocent woman was able to continue driving to Kamei Shomron, where she was given first aid and sent to a hospital. Four other Israelis were treated for shock after being stoned.

In Bnai Elias, Fundak and Azoun, hundreds of Muslims used indiscriminate violence, throwing stones and cinder blocks at Israeli citizens and security forces. In Azoun, IDF members were attacked with cinder blocks, and retaliated by shooting at protesters' legs. Three of the rabble were wounded.

In an amazing act of nobility, the IDF apologised for the graffiti. "The IDF apologizes for the incident and declares that the state is obligated to preserve the dignity of all religions and freedom of worship," its statement said.

The barbarians who rioted claimed that a car bearing Israeli number plates had stopped outside the mosque, and individuals had sprayed the "offensive" (but true) statement on the wall of the mosque, at around 4.30 a.m. local time.

Muslims showed their inability to make a peaceful demonstration in Jerusalem today, in a "protest" against the Danish cartoons. To prove their point about Denmark, the barbarians threw stones at police. Shock grenades were fired back at the thugs, breaking up their collective temper tantrum.

It does not surprise me that Muslim Arabs behaved like animals, and indiscriminately attacked people who had nothing to do with the perceived offences - it only illustrates what barbarism their religion inspires.

But when Palestinians appear in mosques, as in the case of the imam, Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris, who compares all Jews to a cancer and to AIDS in his Friday Prayer sermons and Jews do not call for his death, I cannot understand why IDF bothered to apologise. Mudeiris (pictured) has said: "Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew."

IDF also helped to erase the graffiti. IDF get top marks for their diplomacy, but I doubt if their chivalry was appreciated by the lowlife scum throwing rocks.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:18 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: Another Cartoon Controvery Brews

Why shouldn't they try to stir a second cartoon Jihad? The media and governments of the West, with notable exceptions, have cowered in fear before their Islamic overlords: Another cartoon controversy angers Iran

TEHRAN: A football cartoon printed in a German newspaper has caused anger in Iran even as the world is grappling with the controversy created by publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in Western media.

The new controversial cartoon shows the Iranian national team standing in a World Cup stadium with bombs strapped to their jerseys has caused anger in Iran.

The cartoon, which was printed in the Friday edition of Berlin's Tagesspiegel, also depicts German soldiers standing in the stadium with a caption saying, "Why at the World Cup of all places does the German army have to be on duty?"

The Iranian newspaper 90 has called the cartoon "shameless" and called on the Iranian football federation to lodge an official protest.

"It is now clear that the Germans are under the influence of the Zionists (Israel) and have lowered themselves to become their scarecrows," wrote 90.[...]

I have been unable to locate the cartoon so far.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:11 PM | Comments (0)

World: al-Reuters Defends Islamic Violence

This is the most naked, disgusting piece of propaganda masquerading as news I have ever seen. The friend who sent it writes; "I wonder how
hard Reuters tried to find not just idiots who would say such things,
but people so dishonest, morally depraved and lacking any sense of
pride in their civilization." Unfortunately, I don't think they had to try that hard. Here is the mother of all dishonest news stories: Mohammad cartoon protests aren't unique to Islam

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The violence linked to cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad is not unique to Islam, experts say, and the protests reflect political and cultural passions more than the faith's core values.

Looking for distinct features that would make Islam liable for the cartoon-related violence around the world does little to explain it, said the Rev. Patrick Gaffney, an anthropologist and expert on Islam at the University of Notre Dame.

"There are parallel behaviors in every tradition," he said. "Buddhism has a violent strain despite its pacifism ... You think about Hinduism and nonviolence but (Mohandas) Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu."[...]

What is different about Islam, Father Gaffney, is that "the violent strain" is the religion itself, inspired by the doctrines of Jihad and the legal system of Shar'ia. There are no similar institutions in any other major religion.

Ruediger Seesemann, a professor of religion at Northwestern University, said the present situation has exploded because beyond whatever offense the cartoons carry, "Muslims feel under siege."

On top of the "physical occupation of Iraq," he said, the cartoon controversy came "at a moment of time when it's the straw that broke the camel's back."

And here I was thinking it was the Muslims doing the siege, not the besieged.

"It is often said in the media that Islam prohibits images of the Prophet," Seesemann said. "This is not correct. Muslims themselves have portrayed the Prophet.

This is when you know the good professor is utterly dishonest. Although opinions differ and there have been "bad" Muslims that have ignored the prohibitions, a plain reading of Islamic Law shows pictures are prohibited. As my copy of The Reliance of the Traveller puts it:

w50.2 The reason for the unlawfulness of pictorial representations is that it imitates the creative act of Allah Most High, as is indicated by the hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim that 'A'isha (Allah be well pleased with her) said, "The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) returned from a trip, and I had draped a cloth with pictures on it over a small closet. When he saw it, re ripped it down, his face colored, and he said,

"A'isha, the people most severely tortured by Allah on the Day of Judgement will be those who try to imitate what Allah has created,[...]'"

How come a professor of Religion at Northwestern University doesn't know that? The op-ed article continues:

Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan, said in a commentary on his Web site that the current controversy "must be understood in historical context."

"Most Muslim societies have spent the past two centuries either under European rule or heavy European influence and most colonial masters and their helpmates among the missionaries were not shy about letting local people know exactly how barbaric they thought the Muslim faith was," he wrote.[...]

It is all about colonialism! (According to the previous commenter, it was all about discrimination and the Iraq war.) Juan Cole's commentary gets physically disgusting after those two paragraphs, read it at your own peril. Now let's go to our next professor:

John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University and author of "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam," agrees that there is nothing in the faith that makes its adherents prone to reacting differently to ridicule.

Martin Luther King Jr., he said, once called riots the voice of the voiceless.

"From my point of view this is a lot more about the context in which this is occurring than about the blasphemy," he said in an interview.[...]

Yeah, the context is called Islamic supremacism and Western cowardice, you over-educated moron. (Only a highly educated "intellectual" could say something that stupid.) And notice how the Martin Luther King quote is designed to justify the violence, and condemn European societies. These professors as well as author Michael Conlon, are enemies; let's not forget that fact.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2006

World: Kofi Annan, Shill for Mohammad

This pretty much shows whose side Kofi is on: Annan urges media not to publish Mohammad cartoons

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan scolded the media on Thursday for continuing to publish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad and defended an attempt by Islamic nations to have a new U.N. human-rights council address religious defamation.

But of course. Use the U.N. to attack Western freedoms, again.

Annan also said he had no knowledge about U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's assertion on Wednesday that Iran and Syria had gone out of their way "to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes."

"I have no evidence to that effect," Annan told reporters after arriving at U.N. headquarters. "This is so widespread, and it is unfortunate (and) we all need to take steps to calm the situation."

In other words: the Americans are lying. Disgusting piece of crap.

A Danish paper last September first published the cartoons, which included one of the Prophet Mohammad with a turban resembling a bomb.

In the past week, publications around the world have reproduced the cartoons after they sparked fury from Muslims and violent protests at Danish embassies and other European targets in the Middle East. Many Muslims regard any image of the Prophet as blasphemous.

"Honestly, I do not understand why any newspaper will publish the cartoons today," Annan said. "It is insensitive. It is offensive. It is provocative and you see what has happened around the world."

Freedom. The word you are looking for is Freedom.

Annan said this did not mean he opposed freedom of the press, but he said it did entail "exercising responsibility and judgment" and media should not "pour oil on the fire."[...]

He is not against freedom of speech, he is just saying it entails 'responsibility'. Basically, he is against freedom of speech.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)

France: Government Apologizes for Muhammad Cartoons

"Bonjour, ye cheese eating surrender monkeys"... this refers to the government, not the people. The French people are starting to see the light: France apologizes for publishing Prophet Mohammad cartoons

DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- France has apologized for the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in some French newspapers, the official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday.

"We in France understand that these publications are raising Muslims' anger and that attacking any people's faith lacks any feelings of responsibility," said French ambassador to Syria Jean-Francios Girault in a meeting with Syrian Minister of Religious Trusts Ziyad al-Ayoubi.

"We therefore call for reason to prevail and to decrease tension against what happened," he added.

For his part, Ayoubi said that it was the people's right to protest over what insults their religious belief in a peaceful way, but that it was not the right to violate the laws, religions and ethics.

He also called for cooperation in issuing an international law prohibiting offenses against religious symbols of all religions.[...]

"Freedom of speech? We don't need no stinkin' freedom of speech!"

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

Cuba: Castro and Mahathir

Castro's strategic dance with the Islamic world continues: Cuban Propaganda Article

"MAHATHIR is a very capable person, very respectable; he is a great statesman who has won a place in history by confronting the problems created by the prevailing world system."

Fidel bids farewell to MahathirPresident Fidel Castro expressed these sentiments upon seeing off Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, who last night concluded a three-day visit to Cuba as an invitee to the 7th International Conference of Economists on Globalization and Problems of Development, an important event during which he gave a special address.[...]

Repeat after me: "Globalization is evil... globalization is evil...."

Shortly before arriving at the José Martí international airport, the distinguished guest participated in a press conference in which he commented that the issue of peace is not brought up in elections and as a result candidates contrary to that noble sentiment are elected. He gave the examples of the governments of Australia, the UK, and the United States, who were re-elected to office despite lying in order to go to war on Iraq.[...]

Cuba, on the other hand, never faces that problem, as only one candidate runs in its "elections." Malaysia doesn't have that problem either, as the Muslim candidate is guaranteed to win due to the Muslims's demographic advantage. The issue of "Peace" always comes up in the Malaysian elections: the Chinese better submit, or the Muslim Malays give them some "Peace", Islamic style.

Remember how I told you about Mahathir's Peace Jihad? It seems I was right.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Christian Traitors To Join Muslims In Protest

Today, there will be a demonstration in London, organised by Muslim groups which claim to be moderate. We have already described how the senior members of the Muslim Council for Britain, Iqbal Sacranie and Inayat Bunglawala, are recorded as being supporters of terrorists.

The demonstrations are being supported by London's appeasing mayor, who thinks that the terrorism-supporting cleric, Yusuf al-Qaradawi is on a par with Pope John XXIII, convenor of the second Vatican Council.

Today, the Scotsman reports that Christian groups are also going to be present, to "present a united front" against Islamophobia. These sad individuals have bought into the lie that Islam is a religion of peace, and are making no protests against Islam's obvious "Occidentophobia" (fear of the West).

These Christians seem to think it is their Christian duty to support a faith which has lately shown nothing but intolerance of Christians and their values, and historically (under rules made by the paedophile prophet, Mohammed) forced Christians and Jews to pay jizyah, a tax applied to non-Muslims.

But there is a fly in the ointment. The Scotsman states "there are fears that football thugs and extremists may try to hijack the mass event."

The Muslims and their Christian sidekicks will already be gathering at Trafalgar Square.

Whether this event turns into a riot and whether or not we will see a repeat of last Friday's demonstrations, where placards calling for death of those who insult the prophet were held aloft by members of pro-terror group, Al-Ghurabaa, remains to be seen.

We will keep you informed.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail exposes the terror links within the MAB (Muslim Association of Britain) who are co-managing today's rally. Mohammed Kassem Sawalha of MAB, for example, has been named in a US court as a former senior agent of Hamas, responsible for terrorist activities in the West Bank in the 1990s. MAB also has historical links with AL Qaeda, and the terror group Islamic Jihad. MAB was founded in 1997 by Kamal el-Helbawy, who was at the time the European spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood.

UPDATE: The organisers had expected 30,000 to attend. In practice, only a few thousand arrived, and the rally was peaceful, with stewards ensuring only their own placards were on display. There was not a single arrest. Channel 4 showed the demonstrators milling about aimlessly. It also showed certain white individuals being escorted away from the streets surrounding Trafalgar Square.

According to Bloomberg there were no more than 4,500 people present, less than one sixth of the expected turnout.

It is to my eternal shame that I used to have articles published in the Guardian, before I became, to quote the words of lard-ball blogger Dean Esmay a "frothing Islamophobe". They have a report of the protest here. But seeing how they have erroneously "analysed" the cartoon issue, as demonstrated here, I am glad I have severed my contacts with the paper.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2006

UK: Mosque Has Its Windows Smashed

According to the UK Independent, a mosque in Swindon, Wiltshire, in the southwest of Britain, had windows smashed.

The vandalism was discovered on Wednesday when worshippers arrived for morning prayers. Mr Mansoor Khan of the Thames Down Islamic Association Centre claimed that the vandal(s) had acted out of ignorance. "The people who have done this do not have enough information," he said.

He said no protests had happened about the Danish cartoons of Mohammed in Swindon, but admitted that worshippers from the mosque had sent a petition of protest to the Danish Embassy.

Swindon has had mosques attacked before.

Perhaps Muslims do not realise this, but Wiltshire is a centre of pig-farming, as is Denmark. The name Swindon literally means "Swine Town". Why do Muslims want to live in places associated with haram, but delicious, pigs?

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:56 PM | Comments (0)

Malaysia: Islam Is Ready To End Its History Of Violent Conflict

The former president of Iran, Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami, was talking today at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, states Associated Press, via KrisTV.com and also the Washington Post.

Khatami (right in picture) who was widely regarded as a "moderate" and "reformer" by Iranian standards, was ousted in August 2005 by the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left in picture).

The conference was entitled "Who speaks For Islam, Who Speaks For The West". Khatami, who is a respected scholar in the Islamic world, told his audience that after two centuries of conflict between Islam and the West, this conflict "can only see ever-escalating violence, whether in the form of war and occupation and repression, or in the form of terror and destruction".

He claimed that Islam is ready for an era of progressive and democratic Islamic governments, saying: "After about two centuries of dispute between tradition and modernity in the world of Islam (there is) a high level of mental preparation for the acceptance of a major transformation in the mind and lives of Muslims."

He spoke of the need for "democratic governments that pursue national interests and create the grounds for achieving greater science and technology."

Khatami called for "a new world that wants to understand and utilize religion in a way that it is not incompatible with freedom and progress."

He is shown at left with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, prime minister of Malaysia, and Timothy Garton Ash, a British delegate.

Perhaps Malaysia is the wrong country in which to announce such proposals, despite its reputation as a moderate Muslim nation. 60% of Malaysia's citizens are Muslims, but Islam is entrenched in the nation's laws and constitution. These allow Sharia courts to rule people's lives unchallenged, with civil courts unable to challenge or contradict sharia decisions, and where no living person has yet been given permission by the Islamic courts to apostasise from Islam.

And to further show how sneering of basic freedoms Malaysia's governing system can be, today's Malaysia Today reports that a ban has now been imposed. This ban prevents circulation of any of the Jyllands Posten cartoons, and even possessing them. In addition, the Malaysian government has shut down a local newspaper, the Sarawak Tribune, after a non-Muslim editor published the pictures last week.

In a short statement confirming its order to shut down the Sarawak Tribune, the government of the mainly-Muslim nation said it had issued the ban to ensure racial harmony.

It is now an offence to publish, import, produce, manufacture, circulate, distribute or possess caricatures that may "jeopardise public harmony and safety, which may cause chaos, or endanger public peace or national interest", it said.

If, as has been claimed, Islam really is a "religion of peace" then that notion was dispelled today by worldwide protests against the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. In Nairobi, protesters turned to theft and racial assault to prove their religious convictions. Their hijacking of two vehicles led to the death of one protester.

The blogsite The Jawa Report has a photo spread of events which took place in various locations today. Those demonstrating all seem to be dressed in traditional Muslim attire, with plenty of hijabs (scarves) and nikabs (veils) on display. And the messages on their banner show no signs of any "peaceful" intent. These Muslims, who probably have never seen the cartoons, have no intention of making peace with the West.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:29 PM | Comments (0)

Belgium: Poor Turnout At Muslim Cartoon Protest

At 2.30 this afternoon, a gathering of Muslims convened in front of the Brussels Court, to protest against the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. The protest group Oumma had estimated 2,000 would attend, but only a hundred turned up.

A demonstration will take place in London tomorrow, supported by the mayor Ken Livingstone, and another will be held in London on 18 February, which is expected to have 100,000 attending.

Why have the Belgian protests been so muted, compared to numbers attending in Britain?

There is a simple reason. No British newspaper has had the courage to show the cartoons. Belgium, by contrast, has showed these cartoons. Anyone seeing them would appreciate there is nothing excessively offensive in their portrayal, in the eyes of Westerners.

In the countries of the Middle East, Kenya and South Africa (which has had a court ruling preventing publication), Indonesia, Bangladesh and elsewhere where people are rioting in numbers, no-one has had the chance to see the pictures.

In Belgium, one paper showed all the cartoons unexpurgated, while others used the novel approach of providing "dot to dot" versions, which people could fill out themselves.

One embassy however, whose national identity has not been revealed, has announced it is going to officially lodge a legal complaint to Belgium for allowing the publication of the images.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:35 PM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Bones Of Islamists' Victims Uncovered

We wrote earlier of the Turkish Hezbollah, an Islamist group which is not related to the Iranian-funded Shia group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Turkish Hezbollah is comprised mainly of Kurds, and is a Sunni institution.

Founded in southeastern Turkey at the beginning of the 1990s, Turkish Hezbollah which opposes the "secular" establishment of Turkey, lost the support of its political allies by the end of the decade. Following the government's shooting of its then leader, Huseyin Velioglu on January 17, 2000, a massive crackdown was enacted, with 900 arrests.

The crackdown brought horrific revelations, as videotapes were found showing members of the group torturing and killing kidnap victims. Dozens of bodies were found.

Today's Turkish News reveals that two skeletons have been uncovered in the garden of a home in the town of Cizre, southeastern Turkey. The skeletons are believed to belong to victims of Turkish Hezbollah.

The garden belonged to a convicted Hezbollah member. In 2000, a search of the house had revealed a large cache of weapons. The current search was initiated after a tip-off.

The discovery of these bones now brings the total number of known victims of Turkish Hezbollah to more than 70.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:51 PM | Comments (0)

US: Training Jihadis in Tampa

How are Jihadis created? Their parents send them to "wholesome youth camps", where they are indoctrinated. Joe Kaufman explains: Tampa Jihadi Olympics

From March 11th through the 12th, the Muslim American Society of Tampa will be holding its MAS Olympics 2006. The two-day event will comprise of the standard kids sports - basketball, football, soccer, volleyball - things certainly that would appear wholesome and not present the general public with any grounds for pause. However, given this group’s propagation of radical Islamist beliefs, there are a number of reasons why this event should concern everyone who cares about the welfare of children and the safety and security of the United States.

The Muslim American Society of Tampa (MAS-Tampa) was incorporated as a "Domestic Non-Profit," in October of 2003. The registered agent of the group was/is Mohamed Moharram, and he has since acted as MAS-Tampa's President. The group was created as a subsidiary of the national Muslim American Society (MAS), which was founded ten years earlier.

According to its website, MAS is "a charitable, religious, social, cultural, educational, and not-for-profit organization… a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplifts the individual, the family, and the society." However, to those involved in the war against terrorism, MAS is nothing more than an American arm to the violent Muslim Brotherhood, the organization from which such groups as Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Egyptian and Palestinian Islamic Jihads were brought into being.[...]

And don't miss a telling picture, in the front page of the Americans Against Hate website:

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

Kenya: One Dead In Muslim Cartoon Riots

A further example of the mob mentality of Muslims protesting against the publication in Denmark of cartoon images of Mohammed comes from SABC News.

In Nairobi, as thousands turned up to protest against their paedophile prophet being represented in graphic form, following exhortations at mosques during Friday prayers, banners were waved, stating "Islam is coming to Denmark". (Just about the same time as civilization leaves Kenya, I suppose).

The march went ahead peacefully at first, as the Muslims walked to the foreign affairs ministry, but became a violent riot when some protesters tried to get to the Danish Embassy.

Police opened fire at the rabble, and one protester was shot in the leg. A vehicle was "commandeered" by the mob, but this vehicle then overturned, crushing one protester on the spot.

To show that Islam is the "religion of peace", a white western couple was beaten up by the rioters, and needed the assistance of Muslim elders to be escorted away.

In South Africa, there were thousands of protesters in Durban at midday, following Friday Prayers. They gathered at Grey Street mosque and then went to the city hall.

In Pretoria, hundreds marched to the Danish Embassy building at Hatfield, and demanded an immediate apology from Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the prime minister.

More details on the Nairobi mob show that the protesters did not commandeer just one vehicle. The eaststandard states that two vehicles were hijacked, even though only one protester had been shot. There were so many protesters in one stolen vehicle, a pick-up truck, that it overturned on Waiyaki Way. As well as killing one protester, several others were injured when the stolen vehicle crashed.

I thought stealing was a crime in Islam? Why should two "westerners" be beaten up? Is this moral Muslim behaviour?

Perhaps one should remember that the second and third Caliphs were killed, with the latter Uthman, being killed by a Muslim lynch mob in 656 AD. Mob behaviour and violence have been Islam's handmaidens since the foundation of the faith.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

India: Now Buddhists Are Threatened By Angry Muslims

The ancestral home of Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is in India, but now very few Buddhists remain in the subcontinent. A small community exists in Kargil in the northern state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Today's Rediff.com reports that a curfew has been imposed in the towns of Kargil and Leh, which adjoin the border with Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The reason for the curfew is that tensions between local Buddhist and Muslim communities threaten to erupt into violence.

An alleged (but so far unsubstantiated) desecration of a copy of the Koran and a mosque have been claimed, in the town of Leh. Instead of relying on the authorities to sort out the truth of such allegations, Shia Muslims have held protests, which have included a procession, culminating in ransacking the office of the deputy superintendent of the local police.

Basharat Ahmad Dhar, the divisional commissioner of Kashmir has said: "We have called out the army in the twin towns of Kargil and Leh to assist the local police in strict enforcement of the curfew restrictions to bring the situation under control. Right now the situation is tense, but peaceful."

Kargil district magistrate Asfandyar Khan said that the additional deputy commissioner of Kargil was among a number of people injured, and was currently hospitalised. "Several of agitators and cops were injured when the police intervened to quell the ransacking mob," he said.

It seems that for many Muslims, a mere allegation is enough to cause riots, as we are witnessing in the cartoon protests currently being stage-managed by political Islamists around the globe.

In Pakistan in November, the burning of several churches followed a false allegation that a Christian, Yousaf Maseh, had burned copies of the Koran.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:14 AM | Comments (1)

Norway: Editor Caves In, Apologises For Muslim Cartoons

The Danish illustrations of Mohammed, which originally appeared in Jyllands Posten have been reprinted by Norway, in the weekly journal Magazinet, as we reported on January 12.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry apologised at the end of January to the "Muslim world" for Magazinet's publication of the offending cartoons.

Now, the editor of Magazinet has made a formal apology. Vebjorn Selbekk (right in the picture) met with Muslim representatives from the Islamic Council of Norway in the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion.

"I personally address the Muslim community to say that I am sorry that your religious feelings are offended by what we did on Jan. 10 when Magazinet published a facsimile of the Danish drawings from Jyllands-Posten. It was never our intention to hurt anyone," Selbekk said.

He claimed not to know how offensive the cartoons would be, and gave credit to the Norwegian Muslim community for its restraint in its conduct.

Mohammed Hamdan, (left in picture) said the Koran preached forgiveness (when it is not calling for murder of infidels).

This is all rather sickening, I am afraid.

It seems that Muslim communities can scream and shout like spoiled children, and when they threaten violence, they are indulged by others, and end up getting their way.

We at Western Resistance will never be apologising for our cartoon, as it illustrates a historical fact - that Prophet Mohammed had sex with a nine year old girl.

We will never approve of abuse of children, and it is our public duty to inform people that Islam was founded by a murderer and a paedophile. Threaten me (the artist) with death if you like, but we speak the truth, no matter how much that truth may hurt.

Taqqiya is not our style.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:33 AM | Comments (0)

UK: Muslims Complain About Sex Dolls

The Manchester Central Mosque is getting its burka in a twist about a male inflatable sex doll, in a further sign of the total inability of Muslim leaders to take a joke or have a sense of humour, states Sky News, originally from the UK Independent.

The doll, created by erotic product retailer, Ann Summers (a company, not an individual) is called "Mustafa Shag", which is claimed to be the "ideal escort for your hen-night adventures".

The cause of such concern is that the name is the same as a title of Mohammed. It is all right for European jails to be loaded with petty criminals called Mustafa, and how many terrorists (e.g. Mohammed Atta) have been called Mohammed?

Such a complaint proves itself unsustainable when one examines the mosque's request.

In a letter from the mosque, it was written "You have no idea how much hurt, anguish and disgust this obnoxious phrase has caused to Muslim men, women and children. We are asking you to please relent on compassionate grounds."

One wonders where children will be seeing such a doll - in Mummy's bedroom while Daddy is at work?

Such pathetic sensitivity and emotional blackmailing is not being listened to by the Ann Summers group, whose CEO Jacqueline Gold sensibly responded: "We don't want to offend, but this feels like political correctness gone mad. If anyone has a better name for a blow-up doll, please let us know."

How about "Allah's Rod?" or "Mohammed - The Messenger (guaranteed to deliver)", or "Osama- the virginity-harmer".

Anyway, we cannot deprive you of a picture of Mustafa Shag, even though he looks distinctly unerotic, and rather malformed, or underformed where it counts. Click here to see Mustafa's moulded manhood. He seems, however, to follow Mohammed's shaving instructions, and has no pubic hair.

This doll is of the type which has to be inflated with a pump. There must be money to be made from a sex doll which, in typical Mohammedan style, can blow itself up.....

Surely it is time for Muslims in the West to abandon their 7th century morality and childish over-sensitivity, for if they cannot, then really they should abandon the West and return to the playpens and kindergartens they came from.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:01 AM | Comments (0)

Bangladesh: Muslims Call For Death Of Cartoonists

Today, according to the Irish Evening Echo, more than 5,000 Muslims protested in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, voicing their threats against cartoonists whose work appeared in Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten.

The sad truth is that unless these people had been surfing the net, they will not have found copies of the cartoons. Like people who try to ban films which they have never seen, the protesters seem to have no idea how tame the Jyllands Posten cartoons are.

Banners carried the following slogans: "Death to those who degrade our beloved prophet!", "Hang culprits" and also demanded the expulsion of EU ambassadors from Muslim countries.

Most of those protesting were from the international organisation, Hizb ut-Tahrir, which campaigns to establish a Caliphate and ultimately world domination. Hizb ut-Tahrir maintains on all its English language websites that it disapproves of violence. Such a demonstration, with calls for assassinations, proves how dishonest Hizb ut-Tahrir actually is, and explains why it is banned in many Muslim countries.

Mohiuddin Ahmed, a local leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, said "We have to fight against such an anti-Muslim campaign".

The leader of the corrupt coalition government, Khaled Zia, condemned the cartoons in a statement, but said she did not approve of violence, even though her party, the Bangladesh National Party is certainly no stranger to violence. Members of its youth wing, the Jubo Dal have been involved with murders, attacks upon journalists, and drug-running.

There is mounting evidence that junior parties in the coalition government have been supporting the current wave of terrorist violence committed by Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh and also the persecution of the Muslim group the Ahmadiyyas, who are regarded by Muslim extremists as "heretical" even though they practice a code of non-violence and respect for life.

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

February 9, 2006

Sweden: Site Shut Down for Publishing Mohammad Cartoons

Stockholm Syndrome from Stockholm: Disgusting

According to Dagens Nyheter, the Swedish security services (Sapo), in collusion with Foreign Minister Leila Freivalds, have forced the website SD-Kuriren offline for publishing the Jyllands-Posten cartoons (SD-Kuriren is the house organ of the hard-right Swedish Democrats).

"We think that this was the best decision after we were contacted by the Foreign Ministry and Sapo," Anna Larsson, vice president of hosting compant Levonline, told DN. Freivalds told DN that "it is terrible that a small group of extremists are exposing Swedes to danger [by reprinting the cartoons]."

First they came for the 'hard right' (I don't know whether that's true) Sweedish Democrats. How long before they come for everyone else?

This story may well related to this other one, also concerning the Swedish Democrats: Far-Right Swedish Party Publishes Mohammed Cartoons

Sweden's far right extremist party the Sweden Democrats have decided to publish cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in their online newspaper.[...]

[...]The Foreign Minister added that this could endanger the lives of Swedish nationals abroad.

Dear Swedish Foreign Minister;

If you are afraid for the lives of Swedish nationals living abroad, get yourself an army capable of defending them.

Most sincerely;

"Ruy Diaz"

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:05 PM | Comments (0)

Bangladesh: Islamist Leaders Get Forty Years' Jail

On November 14 last year, two judges, Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pandey, were killed in a bomb attack in Bangladesh's southern district of Jhalakathi. The attack was carried out by a young man named Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun. Today, the bomber (who had a second explosive strapped to his leg, which he tried to detonate in custody in a suicide attack) was given a sentence of 40 years' jail for his part in the attack.

Also in the court today in Barisal were two senior leaders of the Islamist terror organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Ataur (Sunny) Rahman (pictured above) was arrested on December 14. Younger brother of Abdur Rahman, the leader of JMB, Sunny had been captured at Tejgaon in Dhaka, the capital.

Abdul Awul (below right), the son-in-law of Abdur Rahman, had been arrested at a bus stand in Thakurgaon on November 18th, following a tip-off.

Four other individuals, including Abdur Rahman, were charged in absentia, and another accused, called Sultan Khan has denied the charges. For Sultan and the other four, the trial will continue.

The Daily Star states that Awul and Rahman were brought to the court in the morning under high security, and initially only Bangladesh TV journalists were allowed to attend. After a ruling by the judge, other journalists were allowed to attend.

Awul, Sunny Rahman and Mamun confessed to the killings of the two judges. Mamun was found guilty of the murder, and Rahman and Awul were found guilty of aiding and abetting the homicides. All three were each given sentences of 40 years' imprisonment.

After the verdict, Rahman said they were being punished for trying to establish Islam. "We are not sorry for what we have done. We've dedicated our lives to working for Islam," he told the press.

On August 17 last year, JMB was involved with a nationwide bombing campaign, in which more than 400 bombs were set off in 63 of the nation's 64 districts, killing two and injuring more than 100 people. At the scene of each blast were notes which declared that Bangladesh should be ruled by SHaria (Islamic) law. Since then, courthouses have been bombed by JMB, with police and legal officials subsequently threatened with bombings.

After Ramadan, suicide attacks were made against courthouses. The first of these happened on November 29 at Gazipur and Chittagong, killing 10 people. Shortly after this, the Gazipur courthouse was hit by another suicide bomb attack, which killed 2 people on December 1.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:23 PM | Comments (0)

UK Muslims Prefer To Protest Against Cartoons Rather Than London Bombings

After the attack upon London Transport last year, when on July 7, four young Muslims casually murdered 52 people and maimed dozens more, there were a few token words of criticism by a few Muslim "leaders". But there were no mass demonstrations.

Following that event, the Blair government went into appeasement overdrive. The matronly MP, Hazel Blears was sent on a fact-finding campaign which obviously collected no facts, as she declared that "Islam is a religion of peace and love." The media carried stories of Muslims who were insulted and verbally abused after the 7/7 attacks, and Muslims were widely portrayed as "victims".

Now, the Muslim community leaders have exposed their total contempt for the lives of those people who died in Britain's capital on that dull July day. No mass protests against Muslim extremists, but the so-called "moderate" leaders say that they will gather 100,000 for a march through London to protest against the Danish cartoons.

Of course, cartoons are more important to these manipulators of the media than a mere 52 infidels being ripped apart. The organisers of a demonstration to be held on 18 February have said that 100,000 will attend from across the country. MAC, or Muslim Action Committee is a newly formed group which had a meeting in Birmingham.

The Telegraph and the BBC report on the meeting, in which calls were made for changes to the Race Relations Act and also the Press Commission Code, so that Muslims can prosecute or censor anyone who insults their faith.

Shaikh Faiz Saddiqi, previously a non-entity in the news, said the meeting, at which 300 religious leaders attended, was the biggest such gathering he had witnessed in the 25 years since he arrived as an immigrant.

He stated that the leaders agreed to try to have the law changed, so that Muslims were included as a "racial group", even though a religion is a religion, and not a race.

The MAC, the majority of whose members were not born in Britain, are arrogantly trying to change the host country's laws, to assign to themselves the same categorisation as Jews, the group which seems to be vilified by Islamic clerics more than any other group.

The demonstration on 18 February will be preceded by another demonstration this Saturday, the 11th February. This is being organised by the Muslim Association for Britain, which has previously published pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli propaganda on its website. The demonstration this weekend is supported by, among others, the Mayor of London, who also publicly eulogised Sheikh Qaradawi, even though the Qatari scholar supports the bombing of Israeli citizens and the murder of homosexuals.

This is their announcement:

Date: 11th February 2006. Time: 1pm - 5pm. Venue: Trafalgar Square, London.

Public figures from across the political spectrum are expected to unite this Saturday at a rally against Islamophobia in Trafalgar Square. The action is taking place in the wake of the cartoon controversy.
United Message:

The first message we want to send to the country is that of the legitimate voice of the Muslim community as opposed to those that hijacked last week's demonstration outside the Danish embassy. We are people of peace and are trying to do our best also in bridging the gap between Islam and the West.

Secondly, to Europe, the lesson from the cartoon is not that Western newspapers come under the fold of Islamic law. It is actually that orientalist and Islamophobic caricatures are unacceptable, irresponsible, and lead to a more polarised world. Jewish leaders and figures like Bill Clinton have likened it to the characterisation of Jews over the centuries. We know where that ended up.

Thirdly, to the Muslim world, we wish to send a message of calm. It may appear to them that there is a great Western conspiracy against their faith, but there are a large number of people who are on the side of reconciliation, and we hope that comes out loud and clear on Saturday.

Malawi-born Sacranie is a homophobe and an anti-semite, refusing to attend the Holocaust Memorial Day, but available last year to attend a memorial service for the founder of terrorist organisation Hamas, Sheikh Yassin.

Inayat Bunglawala, another senior leader of the MCB has previously praised Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the blind mullah who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993 as "courageous". He has called bin Laden a "scholar" and called for people to support him.

Perhaps it is time that Britain took a leaf out of the Danes' book, and severed its links with Muslim leaders. Because these guys seem to care more about changing our laws to suit their own agendas than they do about the victims of 7/7.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

US: Guarding Against the Unguardable

Michelle Malkin has a round-up of Cartoon Jihad stories, but I want to concentrate in one from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in fact, I'll just comment on a small quote from this story: Showing of Danish flag roils town

As militant Muslims from Indonesia to the West Bank torched and trampled the Danish flag this past week to protest political cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, Stoughton's Town Manager Mark Stankiewicz grew increasingly upset.

So in a small act of solidarity with Denmark and of support for free speech, Stankiewicz bought two Danish flags on Monday and raised one of the red-and-white banners outside the Town Hall that morning, flying it on the pole beneath the US flag.

The symbolic gesture was short-lived, as Stankiewicz lowered the flag the next afternoon after a local veteran complained that it was improper to fly the flags of two countries on one pole. He declined to release the name of the veteran.

But many people in town saw the foreign flag display as insensitive and inflammatory. Several town employees told Stankiewicz they did not agree with his decision and worried the flag could provoke violence against Town Hall in light of the attacks against Danish and other European embassies throughout the Middle East. Stankiewicz described their concerns as an "overreaction."

(Commentary: Duh!)

The Stoughton No Place for Hate Committee, a local antidiscrimination group, plans to discuss the episode at its meeting tonight because of fears that residents might be hurt or insulted.

'There's always that chance that there will be people who are offended, and we want to guard against that," said Karon Skinner-Catrone, chairperson of the 10-person group, some of whom are town officials.

Does Ms. Skinner-Catrone realizes how stupifyingly moronic that comment is? It is impossible to guard against the chance 'somebody' will be offended. By golly, I'm offended by her comments, so, that's it, she was unable to prevent me from becoming offended. This is the kind of wobbly, immoral and dangerous attitude that prevents us from implementing an effective defense of our civilization. Muslim sensitivities be dammed: I'm supporting Denmark.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

US: Tax Dollars for Da'wa in California

Political issues not directly concerning Islam are usually outside the scope of this blog. Contrary to a common assumption, we are not all right-wing warmongering shills. But I want to make an exception on the issue of school choice. Something like 90% of America's children are educated in the government-run monopoly that is 'Public' 'Education'. I urge readers to educate themselves on this issue; it is more important than, for example, the 'oil issue' that the good people at Jihad Watch keep promoting. (There is no point of concentrating your efforts on an issue that has not even short-term nor medium-term solution.) But there is a solution to something like this horror, via Frontpage Magazine: California Schools Proselytize for Allah

If your child is unfortunate enough to study in California, he or she will be taught Islam is a fountain of modernity, liberty, and feminism. More importantly, he will be taught every aspect of the Islamic faith is historically accurate.

The Houghton-Mifflin textbook, currently in use in many schools, lists one Shabbir Mansuri, Founding Director of Council on Islamic Education, as its consultant. Mansuri is a businessman with a degree in chemical engineering, and not an academic. That did not prevent the California State Board of Education (SBE) from inviting Mansuri to a closed-door meeting, apparently to advise the board on Hindu edits, on January 6, 2006.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)

Yemen: Newspapers Closed Over Cartoon Jihad

The madness metastasizes: Second Yemen paper shut for printing Islam cartoons

SANAA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Yemen closed down on Wednesday a second newspaper that reprinted controversial caricatures of Prophet Mohammad, an official at the information ministry said.

The official said the English-language Yemen Observer would be shut until further notice. The newspaper published the inflammatory cartoons last week, he added.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

US: Terrorists Have Not Stopped, we Have Stopped Them

Let's not forget that: Bush Describes Foiled Al Qaeda Plot Against L.A.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush today, in a speech to shore up public support for the war on terrorism, provided fresh details of a foiled plot in 2002 by Al Qaeda to hijack an airplane and fly it into the Library Tower in Los Angeles, using Asian recruits armed with shoe bombs.

In remarks to the National Guard Association here, Bush cited that effort as just one of many manifestations of Al Qaeda's determination to attack the United States again, as he urged Americans to remain vigilant and back the war effort.

Later in the day, National Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend was scheduled to provide additional details on the so-called "West Coast plot." The plot's existence has long been known, although details surrounding it have remained murky.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Shia and Sunni Muslims in Conflict - 22 Dead

News from AP via NewsPress states that a suicide bomber approached a Shia procession in northwestern Pakistan earlier today, and detonated his explosives.

At least 22 people were killed in the blast, and dozens injured. The event happened at the main Shia mosque in Hangu, 125 miles southwest of Islamabad..

The bombing was followed by extensive rioting, with shops and cars burned by Shia protesters. Only 40% of the town's bazaar area was left intact after the rampages of the rioters.

The army tried to restore order, and imposed a curfew.

Sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni has been going on for some time in Pakistan, where in the general population the Shias comprise only 20% of the nation's Muslims. Much of the conflict occurs in the north of the country.

According to CNN the Shia procession by the mosque was to celebrate Ashura, a high point in the Shia calendar, marking the murder of Imam Hossein by the army of Yazeed, more than 1300 years ago. This event created the schism in Islam, separating Shia (supporters of Imam Hossein, or Imam Ali) from Sunni.

Another violent event to prove to the world that Islam can never be a "religion of peace," if Muslim sects in a Muslim nation can act in this way toward their co-religionists.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:16 AM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2006

Denmark: Muslim Imams Are "Not To Be Trusted"

We reported earlier that the Danish Muslim cleric, Palestinian-born Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, the chairman of the Islamic Belief Society, had toured the Middle East at the end of 2005 and in January. There he drummed up support for a Muslim backlash against Denmark. He not only showed 12 cartoons which appeared in September in the Danish best-selling paper Jyllands Posten, but also included three highly offensive images in his 43-page dossier, which was presented to the Mufti of Egypt and other Muslim leaders.

His act of treachery toward the nation which has given him residency has now created its own backlash. As someone claiming to be the most senior Muslim cleric in Denmark, Abu Laban's appalling behaviour has now caused the Danish government to rule out Muslim clerics from negotiations on Muslim integration, states the Times.

The seriousness and the malice of Abu Laban's mission has been noted, and today, the Integration Minister, Rikke Hvilshoj, said in parliament: "I think we have a clear picture today that it’s not the imams we should be placing our trust in if we want integration in Denmark to work."

The Danish government has decided that since the eruption of worldwide Muslim hostility (based on a mis-representation of the truth), it is important to include ethnic minorities in the culture, and to create policies encouraging integration.

There are 180,000 Muslims from a total population of 5.4 million in the kingdom. The Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has said that the imams who toured the Middle East used "double speak" - telling Muslim nations to boycott Danish goods and telling the Danes that they opposed such a boycott.

"Some people are speaking with two tongues. The Government watches the news circulated in Arabic countries very carefully so we can catch these false stories and correct them immediately," Rasmussen stated.

And as the nations whose newspapers which have published the cartoons of Mohammed now number more than 30, Jyllands Posten has thrown down the gauntlet to a press organ of the Iranian regime, which has accused the Danish government of "double standards".

Iranian paper Hamshahri has announced a competition for readers to submit cartoons about the Holocaust. Jyllands Posten has said that it will publish the Iranian cartoons when they appear. The paper had claimed the West had double standards, running down Islam while not wishing to be seen as anti-semitic.

Flemming Rose, the cultural editor who initially commissioned the illustrations of Mohammed, said "My newspaper is trying to establish a contact with the Iranian newspaper, and we would run the cartoons the same day as they publish them."

In other news, the cartoons of Mohammed have now been admitted as a "motivating factor" by the 16 year old Muslim youth who shot dead an Italian Catholic priest, Father Andrea Santoro, in the eastern town of Trabzon, Turkey. In a second day of interrogation, he has claimed the act was done to avenge the publication of the cartoons.

In Gaza, observers from Europe were forced to leave Hebron after an attack upon their offices.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:21 PM | Comments (0)

Google Blogspot Cowers to Muslims Sensitivities

Via Gates of Vienna.

Google's Bloghosting reacts to Muslims' complaints about a blog that criticizes Islam by creating a warning page letting everyone know they don't endorse the contents of that blog. I wonder if Google will create the same warning if I complain to them about certain liberal or anti-Christian blogs I don't agree with. Somehow I doubt it. Sniveling cowards.

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

Norway: Cartoon Issue Causes Skepticism Of Islam

Today's Aftenposten reports that in Norway, the current protests against cartoons has caused virtually half of those polled to say that they are now more skeptical about Islam.

A survey, carried out for Noway's best-selling newspaper, VG, and carried out by pollsters InFact, found 47.8% of respondents were more skeptical of Islam. 36.7% said their opinion had not changed after the cartoon protests. Only 6.5 % said they had become "less skeptical" about the faith.

30.8% said that they were now more mistrusting of Norwegian Muslims, though more than half (53.6%) replied that they were still holding the same opinions of Muslims in Norway, and only 6.8% said they were more trusting of this group.

70% of respondents said they thought that Norway-based Muslims would have a "harder time" following the international protests about the cartoons.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:15 PM | Comments (1)

UK: Islamist Cleric, Abu Hamza, Is Jailed, Guns Found At Mosque

Yesterday the radical Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza, real name Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, was found guilty of incitement to murder, and was given a jail sentence of 7 years. As he has already spent some time in detention, and due to Britain's bizarre habit of halving prisoners' sentences in practice, Hamza could be out of jail in two years.

Mr Justice Hughes, the trial judge, told the jury before they gave their verdicts that Hamza had spoken in his sermons "with great anger, directed at virtually every country and at a very large number of people."

After the jury unanimously found him guilty on six of his nine charges of soliciting murder and three counts of inciting racial hatred, Justice Hughes told him "You used your authority to legitimise anger and to encourage your audiences to believe that it gave rise to a duty to murder. You commended suicide bombing, you encouraged them to kill in the cause you set out for them."

The judge noted that Hamza had "created a real danger to the lives of innocent people in different parts of the world", states the Times today.

The Times (and two other papers) have claimed that three of the suicide bombers of 7/7 last year, who killed 52 people between them in their attacks on London Transport, had been members of Hamza's Finsbury Park Mosque. Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer and Jermaine Lindsay all visited the mosque to hear Hamza's sermons.

Hamza's legal team, led by the hard-faced Mudrassa Anri, had attempted to have the trial halted, claiming the current cartoon row was prejudicing the case. The request was denied. After the case Arani said she would be appealing against the sentence. "Abu Hamza considers himself to be a prisoner of faith. He is subjected to slow martyrdom. We confirm he will appeal against the conviction," she said.

The Telegraph reports the surprising news that Scotland Yard has only now revealed publicly that they found an assortment of items during a raid at the Finsbury Park Mosque in 2003.

These included three starting pistols, which could easily be reassigned to firing live rounds, a stun gun, knives, CS gas and chemical and nuclear warfare protective suits. Also, hidden behind ceiling tiles, dozens of forged documents were discovered, including driving licences, passports (pictured above).

"It is the kind of material which could have been used at training camps, probably in the UK," a senior police source said. "Hamza clearly had a controlling influence at the mosque and the location where we found this equipment would have made it very difficult for him not to know it was there."

The jury were not told of the Finsbury Park Mosque's links with Zacarias Moussaoui, currently on trial in New York for his part in the 9/11 Twin Towers attack, nor shoe bombers Richard Reid and Saajid Badat, and Algerian Kamel Bourgass, who murdered Detective Constable Stephen Oake in 2003.

Whatever the hijab-clad apologist Mudassar Arani may say, Hamza is a monster, an embarrassment to both moderate Muslims and to Britain as a nation.

Last night on BBC's Newsnight, it was said that questions are now being raised with the police, about the 10 volume edition of the "Enclyclopedia of Afghani Jihad". This had been seized by police in a raid at Hamza's home previously, in 2002. Bizarrely, the police had then given the volumes back to Hamza, but yesterday he was convicted of its possession.

During the trial sentencing, the judge said he was "satisfied" that one volume of this "encyclopedia" was missing because it had been loaned out. The Encyclopedia recommended terrorist attacks on landmarks, including London's Big Ben, Paris' Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.

Hamza was given a sentence of three years for possession of this document, to run concurrently with the seven year sentence for soliciting murder.

The issue of radical Islam has now become a source of serious concern in parliament, especially following the outrageous displays outside the Danish Embassy of Muslim protesters on Friday, in which banners were displayed calling for death, butchery and a "European 9/11".

The Times makes a comparison between Hamza and Nick Griffin, head of the ultra-right British National Party (BNP). Griffin was acquitted on Friday of inciting racial hatred. Such comparisons are unnecessary. Griffin is an anti-Islamist, but he has not incited murder. As we reported earlier, Hamza's sermons explicitly condoned murder. Hamza's favourite targets whom he thought were deserving of death were Jews.

Lord Janner of Braunstone, vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, said "If the sentence meant seven years, that would be adequate and appropriate, but as it is likely to mean about two years, it is totally inadequate. I believe that what he has done has been a very serious series of racist offences."

We documented earlier some of Hamza's comments, such as "Killing an adulterer, even if he is a Muslim is OK. Killing a Kaffir (unbeliever) who is fighting you is OK. Killing a Kaffir for any reason you can say it is OK even if there is no reason for it."

Hamza had also said Allah that had described Jews as offspring of monkeys. He claimed Jews were the "first monkey and the first ape", claimed Darwin's grandfather was a Jew, which was why Charles Darwin "wanted to establish a link between human beings and monkeys."

An MP3 clip of the Darwin statement can be found here, and an audio of his open contempt for Jews can be found here.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:56 AM | Comments (0)

February 7, 2006

Turkey: Father Santoro's Murderer Caught

It seems the 'youth' who apparently killed Father Andrea Santoro did not do it for the prostitutes, as an early unsubstantiated rumor, run by the Vatican, implied, but he murdered for Mohammad instead: TURKEY: SUSPECTED PRIEST KILLER ARRESTED

Istanbul, 7 Feb. (AKI) - Turkish police have arrested a 16-year-old student suspected of killing an Italian Catholic priest in the port of Trabzon on Sunday. Public Prosecutor Burhan Cobanoglu identified the youngster only as O.A. and said he was arrested at a relative's home in Trabzon, private NTV television reported. Father Andrea Santoro, 60, was shot in the back twice as he knelt in his church on the Black Sea coast and witnesses say his killer yelled Allahu Akbar(Allah is Great) before firing. Reports say the suspect is being questioned and is expected to appear in court later in the day

Father Santoro's body is due to be flown back to Italy on Tuesday for his funeral later this week in Rome.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)

Europe: Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the Cartoon Jihad

Her sparring with the hapless Der Spiegel interviewers is as close a match as one between a lion and a monkey, when the monkey is tied up. Even then, you cannot stop watching: 'Everyone Is Afraid to Criticize Islam'

SPIEGEL: Hirsi Ali, you have called the Prophet Muhammad a tyrant and a pervert. Theo van Gogh, the director of your film "Submission," which is critical of Islam, was murdered by Islamists. You yourself are under police protection. Can you understand how the Danish cartoonists feel at this point?

Hirsi Ali: They probably feel numb. On the one hand, a voice in their heads is encouraging them not to sell out their freedom of speech. At the same time, they're experiencing the shocking sensation of what it's like to lose your own personal freedom. One mustn't forget that they're part of the postwar generation, and that all they've experienced is peace and prosperity. And now they suddenly have to fight for their own human rights once again.

SPIEGEL: Why have the protests escalated to such an extent?

Hirsi Ali: There is no freedom of speech in those Arab countries where the demonstrations and public outrage are being staged. The reason many people flee to Europe from these places is precisely because they have criticized religion, the political establishment and society. Totalitarian Islamic regimes are in a deep crisis. Globalization means that they're exposed to considerable change, and they also fear the reformist forces developing among émigrés in the West. They'll use threatening gestures against the West, and the success they achieve with their threats, to intimidate these people.

SPIEGEL: Was apologizing for the cartoons the wrong thing to do?

Hirsi Ali: Once again, the West pursued the principle of turning first one cheek, then the other. In fact, it's already a tradition. In 1980, privately owned British broadcaster ITV aired a documentary about the stoning of a Saudi Arabian princess who had allegedly committed adultery. The government in Riyadh intervened and the British government issued an apology. We saw the same kowtowing response in 1987 when (Dutch comedian) Rudi Carrell derided (Iranian revolutionary leader) Ayatollah Khomeini in a comedy skit (that was aired on German television). In 2000, a play about the youngest wife of the Prophet Mohammed, titled "Aisha," was cancelled before it ever opened in Rotterdam. Then there was the van Gogh murder and now the cartoons. We are constantly apologizing, and we don't notice how much abuse we're taking. Meanwhile, the other side doesn't give an inch.[...]

Update: This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't check your own website before posting. Charles Martel had covered the story already. Regardless, do read the interview!

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)

US: Muslim Cartoon Protest: T-Shirts Of Mohammed As Elvis

A press release from Send2Press states that a New York-based group, claiming to support Human Rights organisations, has produced a new image to add to the controversy - the "Velvet Prophet".

The image is going to be given, free of charge, handpainted original Velvet Prophets, painted on black velvet, to: Jemayaah Islamiya, the Arab European League, the Muslim Council of Britain, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Islamic Defenders Front, Islamic Circle of North America and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The group which would perhaps need such a painting most on its office walls, the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), founded by supporters of terrorism, has somehow been omitted from the list. CAIR likes to use its Saudi funding to launch unnecessary legal suits against those who expose its true agenda, or do not find CAIR to be a "worthwhile" or "American" enterprise, so perhaps they are being wise.

Sales of the Velvet Prophet T-shirts (pictured) are hoped to raise money for organisations which protect freedom of speech, such as: Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Universist Movement, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Foundation.

On the Velvet Prophet website, the manufacturers of the paintings and T-shirts state:

Velvet Prophet paintings protest the presence of a medieval culture in the 21st Century. We witnessed a clash of civilizations when Jyllands-Posten published cartoons critical of Islam. Both mainstream and radical Islamists responded with violence ranging from violence to the human right of free expression to physical violence. We cannot allow the modern world to be held hostage by an ideological anachronism. The Islamic World understands that the free exchange of ideas would inevitably lead to the demise of an inferior culture. Their response represented the temper tantrums of a child who simply does not want to grow up. Child psychology tells us not to give in to their demands.

"There isn't an inch to give, nothing to negotiate and no concessions to offer. Those of us who believe in enlightenment and free speech also have unalterable principles which we will not give up. We have to listen all the time to piratical-looking mullahs calling our Jewish friends pigs and demanding the censorship of The Satanic Verses and we find this fantastically insulting, but we don't behave like babies. They are making a puerile spectacle of themselves.

We should say, how dare you behave in this way? They can put themselves under laws and taboos if they wish, but it is nothing to do with me or anybody else. They are completely out of order."

As well as showing what a despicable man Mohammed was, the fact that such executions took place demonstrate that for many, he was a laughing stock in his own life-time.

And for many of us infidels, his preposterous claims to be a prophet should always remain a source of ridicule and laughter.

I personally cannot respect an individual who sexually molested a nine-year old child (see here for info), nor can I respect anyone who attempts to defend or hero-worship one who indulged in such disgraceful activities.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:12 PM | Comments (0)

Russia: Catch that pro-Islam Bias!

A friend with a deep interest in all things Russian sent me two links I would not usually read myself. They are two versions of the same story, one from Bloomberg and the other one from the The Moscow Times. I will not point out the pro-Islam bias in the Muscovite newspaper; instead I will left it out to the reader to find it him/herself. Be careful, don't blink, or you'll miss it.

Please post the answer in the comments.

Bloomberg Story: St. Petersburg's Hermitage Plans $100 Million Expansion by 2009

Moscow Times Story: $100M Expansion to Boost Hermitage

Update: Come on guys, must I do everything myself? (Yes, yes I must.) Here the Bloomberg ending to the article:

Among items moved into the first building and shown to the public for the first time are a dozen gold-leafed, czarist carriages, 12th-century Russian church frescoes and 6th- and 8th- century palace frescoes from Panjikant, an important city of the Sogdia civilization destroyed by Islamic armies.

The Moscow Times story (full story no longer available), on the other hand, removed the word 'Islamic' from the article, thus removing the stain of historical truth from the Great Peaceful Religion of Islam, may we all bow before it. With that simple act, the Moscow Times editor denied his readers accurate and important information. Shame on him or her.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

US: Understanding the Nature of Mohammad

MA Khan of Islam Watch understand what the cartoon Jihad is all about; it is all about the nature of Mohammad, and the nature of Islam:
Cartoon Saga: Can Prophet Muhammad Command Unqualified Respect from the Westerners?

Publication of a number of caricature cartoons of prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper has set on a raging controversy and violent protests from Muslims at every corner of the World. As the Muslim world wages civil as well as violent protests in unison – the Western world has taken a divisive stand. Government of countries like Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France, where the cartoons have been published and reprinted, have distanced themselves on the ground of their failure to interfere and influence the independent press in their secular and democratic society. On the other hand, certain countries of the West, including the United States and United Kingdom, have taken a meek stand of appeasing the Muslim outrage.

The US State Department termed cartoons "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims" and their publication "not acceptable," warning that press freedom "must be coupled with press responsibility."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the decision to republish the cartoons was "insensitive ... disrespectful ... and wrong."

Only a number of newspapers in Europe came to the defense of their sister publications, insisting on their right to free expression, whilst others have expressed a more cautious views on the controversy.

This controversy created such a stunning impact that it led Denmark Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to hold an hour-long meeting with 76 foreign diplomats in a bid to defuse the crisis, but repeated at the end that his government could not apologize on behalf of the press.

As this controversy is in a motion of continued intensification in the days to come, it is an opportune moment for the Westerners as well as the Muslims to reflect on if the Prophet of Islam deserves to command unqualified respect from the Westerners in the light of the theological doctrine he had set forward some 14 centuries ago. It should be considered that Muslims are expecting such unqualified respect for the prophet on the Islamic theological ground which prohibits depiction of their prophet in any form. It will hence be most appropriate to consider the desired respect for the prophet from the Westerners in the light of same Islamic theological doctrine, which comprises of the edicts of the Koran and deeds and traditions of the Prophet.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:21 PM | Comments (0)

One of the fake Drawings busted

In addition to the 12 drawings of JP, the imans who travelled to stir up things in the moslem world, brought along with them other images.

The original to one of these images has been tracked down.

See for yourself at : NeanderNews.

Posted by Charles Martel at 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2006

Yemen: Jail Break Of 23 Islamists, Including USS Cole's Bombers

News from the Independent, from UPI via World Peace Herald and AP via WTOP.com relates that 23 prisoners have escaped from a jail in Yemen. Among them are Al Qaeda operatives believed to have been behind the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. The mastermind of the operation is Jamal al-Badawi (pictured), who also was in the group which tunneled its way out of prison last week.

The attack on the USS Cole, using an explosives-filled boat, cost the lives of 17 US servicemen on Oct 12, 2002, as it was undergoing a refueling in the port of Aden, southern Yemen.

Interpol released an international security alert, or "orange notice" on Sunday, saying that at least 13 of those who escaped are Al Qaeda members.

Jamal al-Badawi was sentenced to death for his part in the attack in September 2004.

The prisoners had constructed a 140 yard tunnel, with the help of "co-conspirators outside", the Interpol report stated. Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeiee was named in the report as another jail-breaker, who is thought to have made an attack on a French tanker, the Limburg, in 2002. In this attack, a Bulgarian crewman was killed, and the Limbourg spilled 90.000 barrels of oil into the sea off the Yemeni coast.

A month after the Limburg attack, Al-Rabeiee was convicted of attacking a US oil company helicopter and setting off explosives at a civil aviation authority building.

The escape happened a day before a trial of 15 individuals for terrorist offences, including Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, suspected of involvement with the USS Cole and Limburg attacks.

18 of those who escaped have been convicted already, stated an official Yemeni statement.

There are suspicions that the Yemeni authorities may have colluded with, or turned a blind eye to the escape, to avoid handing individuals over to the United States.

The head of the opposition Nasserite Movement, Mohammed Sabry, has suggested the escape happened because the security agencies are weak. "This incident harmed Yemen's reputation and placed it in an embarrassing situation before the international community, especially that the escapees were involved in the attacks on Limburg and USS Cole," he said.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

Muslim Cartoons: In Russia, A Danish Lawyer Is Shot

In a Moscow cafe earlier today (Monday), a Danish lawyer was shot by a man from the Muslim Caucasus region, states the Scotsman. These are all the details available so far, but I will update as the picture becomes clearer.

The southern region of the Caucasus has been the scene of violent sectarian conflict, most violently in Chechnya, spearheaded by a majority Muslim population, many of whom wish to secede entirely from Russia. On October 13 last year in Nalchik, Kabardino Balkaria, at 150 Islamist militants launched gun attacks against public buildings. At least 100 people died, mostly the insurgents.

The prime minister of Chechnya has announced that all Danish humanitarian organisations will be expelled.

In Iraq, Danish troops were shot at in Qurnah, southern Iraq, as they helped child victims of a car accident.

In Iran, it was announced that all economic ties with Denmark will be severed. In Tehran, a mob of a couple of hundred people threw rocks and Molotov cocktails the Austrian embassy. Austria currently holds the presidency of the EU. Despite the earlier condemnations of the Danish cartoons by the EU commissioner for human rights, Franco Frattini, which he made on December 26, before the recent eruptions of violence, the EU is being condemned by protesters.

In Gaza, where previously the terror groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas had fired gunshots in the air beside the European Commission headquarters, today Palestinian demonstrators threw stones and pulled the EU flag from its mounting.

Some politicians in Lebanon have blamed Syria for sending activists to burn down the Danish consulate in Beirut yesterday. An official apology was today sent to Denmark for the arson attack.

But the Scotsman reports that one man in Gaza, Ahmed Abu Dayya, is very happy about the situation. He ordered 100 Danish and Norwegian flags just as the situation began to escalate. Now he is doing a roaring trade, dispensing them to be burned, trampled and mangled.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

Self censorship in action - Proud and Pravda.

A Swedish Publishing house,"Liber forlag", has decided to stop printing a schoolbook meant for children in 4-5-6 grade.

This was decided after a School in Varberg - Sweden - had removed the book from its classes on religion.

The Book features pictures of Muhammad from a 1300 A.D. Persian source and a 1200 A.D. Iraqi source, or should I write year 600 and 700 hundred after Muhammad ?

The publishing house defend their action by citing that the book was made in 1993, and is out of date by now.

Yes we all know that Abrahamaeic faiths change faster than Intel and AMD chips, dont we ?

Via Polemiken Blog

Posted by Charles Martel at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

The Tribalistic Mentality

The thing that most disturbs me about the Islamic shaped mentality? That some completely innocent person who didn't have anything to do with whatever perceived insult or crime against Islam can be targeted, simply for being associated with the same country or religion.

From Jihadwatch, a story about Iraqi jihadists threatening to "cut into pieces" any Danish citizen they come across.

Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)

"Everyone Is Afraid to Criticize Islam"

A just published interview with Hirsi Ali in German Magazine Der Spiegel:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch politician forced to go into hiding after the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, responds to the Danish cartoon scandal, arguing that if Europe doesn't stand up to extremists, a culture of self-censorship of criticism of Islam that pervades in Holland will spread in Europe. Auf Wiedersehen, free speech.

Auf wiedersehn means more like: "see you again later". I am not so sure if we say goodbye to free speech that we will ever see it again.

SPIEGEL: Hirsi Ali, you have called the Prophet Muhammad a tyrant and a pervert. Theo van Gogh, the director of your film "Submission," which is critical of Islam, was murdered by Islamists. You yourself are under police protection. Can you understand how the Danish cartoonists feel at this point?

DPA
Hirsi Ali: "The cartoons should be displayed everywhere."
Hirsi Ali: They probably feel numb. On the one hand, a voice in their heads is encouraging them not to sell out their freedom of speech. At the same time, they're experiencing the shocking sensation of what it's like to lose your own personal freedom. One mustn't forget that they're part of the postwar generation, and that all they've experienced is peace and prosperity. And now they suddenly have to fight for their own human rights once again.

Well as for most of the drawers, rumour has it they are currently hiding and trying to stop the publishing of the pictures, before the threat to their lives increases.

I think a lot of us are tired of constantly having something as simple as our right to freedom, with all entailments, under constant threat. With two nukes aimed at the city I live and grew up in - they probably still are, I would not say that we grew up with peace and freedom as granted though.

SPIEGEL: Was apologizing for the cartoons the wrong thing to do?

Hirsi Ali: Once again, the West pursued the principle of turning first one cheek, then the other. In fact, it's already a tradition. In 1980, privately owned British broadcaster ITV aired a documentary about the stoning of a Saudi Arabian princess who had allegedly committed adultery. The government in Riyadh intervened and the British government issued an apology. We saw the same kowtowing response in 1987 when (Dutch comedian) Rudi Carrell derided (Iranian revolutionary leader) Ayatollah Khomeini in a comedy skit (that was aired on German television). In 2000, a play about the youngest wife of the Prophet Mohammed, titled "Aisha," was cancelled before it ever opened in Rotterdam. Then there was the van Gogh murder and now the cartoons. We are constantly apologizing, and we don't notice how much abuse we're taking. Meanwhile, the other side doesn't give an inch.

So right, they cry, we buy them candy. With parents like that who needs character building ?

SPIEGEL: But Muslims, like any religious community, should also be able to protect themselves against slander and insult.

Hirsi Ali: That's exactly the reflex I was just talking about: offering the other cheek. Not a day passes, in Europe and elsewhere, when radical imams aren't preaching hatred in their mosques. They call Jews and Christians inferior, and we say they're just exercising their freedom of speech. When will the Europeans realize that the Islamists don't allow their critics the same right? After the West prostrates itself, they'll be more than happy to say that Allah has made the infidels spineless

When ? yes when I prefer to think when they move their ignorant asses to the library and start to read about islam, but then I am not even so sure about that would be enough, so what could be the modern equivalent of the invasion of Poland ?
And given they can turn even a tactical defeat into a great victory, yes one can imagine they must be well up in the air, if they win a real victory and make us the ones doing the bootlicking,

SPIEGEL: Many have criticized the film as being too radical and too offensive.

AP
Police at the scene of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh's murder.
Hirsi Ali: The criticism of van Gogh was legitimate. But when someone has to die for his world view, what he may have done wrong is no longer the issue. That's when we have to stand up for our basic rights. Otherwise we are just reinforcing the killer and conceding that there was a good reason to kill this person.

Now I guess we agree about that once people are dead, so how about agreeing before they die, Clinton, Straw, anyone ?

SPIEGEL: You too have been accused for your dogged criticism of Islam.

Hirsi Ali: Oddly enough, my critics never specify how far I can go. How can you address problems if you're not even allowed to clearly define them? Like the fact that Muslim women at home are kept locked up, are raped and are married off against their will -- and that in a country in which our far too passive intellectuals are so proud of their freedom!

Indeed freedom becomes a worthless word as long as we accept that oppression and tyranny goes on right under our nose, without taking the necesary action. The lethargy imposed selfhate and fear of getting ones hand dirty when saving a person being beaten to a piece of jelly on top of a pool of blood.

Cowardice on a moral motivation, remains nothing but cowardice with a factual immoral outcome. The woman oppressed, tied and beaten, threatened on her life, can´t use their washing hands and speaking loud for anything.

Here is the link to the FULL INTERVIEW again.

Posted by Charles Martel at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Infidel Drugs to be Boycotted

"First, do no harm"... to the image of the Holy Prophet! Pakistan medical assn to boycott European drugs over cartoons

MULTAN, Pakistan (AFX) - The Pakistan Medical Association has vowed not to prescribe medicines from firms based in some European countries where controversial cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammed were published, said Shahid Rao, the body's general secretary for Punjab province.

The association will boycott drugs from Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and France to protest the 'blasphemous' drawings, Rao said.

'We have taken a unanimous decision and it will be immediately implemented in Pakistan,' Rao told AFP.

'Doctors in the country are very motivated on this issue,' he said. 'We would use alternate medicines in future till a public apology comes from these countries.'[...]

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:48 PM | Comments (1)

Turkey: American Actors in Anti-Semitic, Anti-American Movie

Over at Frontpage Magazine Debbie Schlussel has the story: Gary Busey's Blood Libel

Thanks Gary Busey! (And Billy Zane, too.)

The whacked out former star of failed, dumb reality show "I'm with Busey" repeats the age-old anti-Semitic blood libel, that Jews steal others' organs, blood, etc. for some ill purpose--in this case by playing an evil Jewish doctor. We have a suggestion for all Jewish-American doctors: Since Gary Busey defamed you, refuse him as a patient.

In a new Turkish movie, "Kurtlar vadisi - Irak" ("Valley of the Wolves--Iraq") U.S. soldiers are portrayed as brutal murderers who "kill dozens of innocent people with random machine gun fire, shoot the groom in the head, and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison - where a Jewish doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv," according to AP. Gary Busey plays the Jewish-American doctor.[...]

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

US: More Anti-Islamic Creativity

The beautiful and razor-sharp American commentater and broadcaster Michelle Malkin has created a small movie, entitled "First, they came for" which she has posted on her website. She created it, she says, during a night when she could not sleep.

It is short, but powerful in both its message and its content. Give the link above a click, and decide for yourself. Muslims be warned - it contains images from Jyllands Posten of the paedophile prophet.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Why do they do it ?

Why do the moslems kill us? Terrorize us? Behead us?

The answer is here.

Its in the Quran!

Posted by Charles Martel at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

Internet: Website Invites Infidels To Insult Muslim "Prophet"

If Muslims protesting around the world seriously believe that their threats of violence do anything to promote that taqiya mantra that "Islam is a Religion of Peace", they should also realise that many ordinary infidel folks are also outraged by current Islamic behaviour. These infidels, who perhaps were quiet in 1989 when the evil Ayatollah Khomeini declared his death sentence against Salman Rushdie (leading to the stabbing of the Japanese translator of Rushdie's Satanic Verses), have started to draw.

Many of the drawings being done in people's garrets around the globe are now being uploaded onto a site called Draw Mohammed.

Some of the pictures are of poor quality, and some are quite sublime, like this one which depicts Mohammed and his child-bride Aisha.

Another example of illustration from the site is depicted above.

The cartoon situation is very sad for the majority of peaceful Muslims around the world who feel their prophet is being portrayed as a father of murder, terrorism and paedophilia.

But the truth hurts. As recorded in the hadiths, Mohammed was not a peaceful man, and he approved of having those who insulted him decapitated. He also had sex on a regular basis with a nine-year old child, his last "wife", Aisha.

The sad truth is, the religion was founded by a man who committed murder, banditry, and condoned the rape of women after their husbands had become prisoners of war and slaughtered.

As a sizeable minority of Muslims are now showing themselves wedded to notions of violence and revenge, I hope the cowardly mainstream press will stop peddling the whitewashed appraisal of Mohammed as a man of peace, because quite frankly, such an appraisal is unhistorical, and un-Islamic.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

Cartoons: Muslim Mayhem - Five People Dead So Far

The situation on the protests against depictions of Prophet Mohammed have led to violence. At the weekend, in Syria the Danish and Norwegian embassies were set on firein Damascus, and on Sunday in Lebanon the Danish Embassy in Beirut was set alight by a mob who pushed through police security. The Lebanese interior minister resigned almost immediately after the torching of the embassy.

In Trabjon, northeast Turkey, an Italian Catholic priest, Andrea Santore, was shot dead by a Muslim youth, states the BBC, but whether his death was connected to the cartoon affair is unknown.

But today, the BBC reports that a man died in the Beirut embassy protest. One protester had jumped from a third floor to escape the flames and was killed.

In Puntland, Somalia, a 14 year old boy was shot dead by police after a mob attacked officers earlier today. In Laghman province, Afghanistan, a police station was attacked by an out-of-control group of protesters, resulting in police firing back, and killing three protesters.

In Somalia, a crowd of 200 or so protesters stormed the Danish embassy and broke windows.

In Indonesia, at Surabaya, the second largest city, the US consulate was attacked, despite the US press' reluctance to print the cartoons.

In Delhi, India, hundreds of students went on the rampage, prompting the authorities to fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, a general strike was called over the cartoons.

In Thailand, the Danish flag was trampled outside the Danish embassy in Bangkok.

This is the not the fault of the Danish government, nor its people, nor even Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper which originally printed the pictures back in September 2005, only once. The matter was deliberately exacerbated by a 60 year old Danish Muslim cleric, of Palestinian origin. As we described earlier, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban went on tours of the Middle East displaying in addition to the 12 printed cartoons, three extra images, which were never printed in any Danish newspaper. These three fabrications depicted Mohammed as a paedophile, as a pig, and showing a Muslim being raped by a dog.

For these Muslim mobs around the world, a little detail like the truth appears irrelevant.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:36 AM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Priest Killed to the Yell of "Allahu Akbar"

You mean to tell me everybody forgot to tell that boy Islam is a religion of Peace? Catholic Priest Shot to Death in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey -- A teenage boy shot and killed the Italian Roman Catholic priest of a church in the Black Sea port city of Trabzon on Sunday, shouting "God is great" as he escaped, according to police and witnesses.

Officers were searching for the boy aged around 14 or 15, according to a police official who declined to be identified because of rules that bar Turkish civil servants from speaking to journalists without prior authorization.[...]

And don't miss this Vatican representative, like a good Dhimmi, trying to put a pro-Islam story out there without no evidence to show for it: Prostitution mafia may be involved in priest's murder

The Vatican's Istanbul representative, Monsignor Georges Marovic, has stated that the murder yesterday of Andrea Sentore, a Roman Catholic priest in Trabzon, could be connected to the prostitution mafia in Trabzon. Speaking about the incident, Monsignor Marovic said "Our priest in Trabzon was working to help save the women who had come to Turkey from very poor ex-Soviet countries like Moldavia, who had fallen into the trap of prostitution. He was working in this area. Which is why the prostitution mafia may have killed him."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:45 AM | Comments (1)

South Africa: Publication of Mohammad Cartoons Banned by Court

The Mugabe-loving South African government strikes again: South Africa court bars Mohammad cartoons

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court has granted a request by a Muslim group to bar publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad which have caused outrage among Muslims worldwide, an editor's group said on Saturday.

The South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF) said the judge's order covered most major media companies in the country and amounted to "pre-publication censorship" by the court.

"Freedom to decide what gets into the publication has been taken away from the editor and put on the shoulders of the court," SANEF Chairman Joe Thloloe said.

The Sunday Times newspaper, one of those covered by the ruling, said it had not decided whether to publish the cartoons but had refused a request by the Council of Muslim Theologians to promise not to use the images.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:38 AM | Comments (0)

Israel: Islamic Jihad Bomb-Maker Put Out Of Business

Reuters reports that Adnan Bustan, aged 28, the head of Islamic Jihad's bombs and explosives unit, and Jihad al-Sawafiri, aged 31, were killed in a pinpoint airstrike in Gaza yesterday. Two missiles hit two vehicles, shortly after a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli woman to death and wounded five others on a minibus in central Israel.

On Friday, rockets fired from Gaza had injured three Israelis, including a baby. The bloodshed in Israel/Palestinian territories is increasing. Hours before yesterday's raid, three Islamist militants were killed by shots fired from a helicopter gunship.

Adnan Bustan's explosives campaigns have recently caused loss of life in Hadera, and Netanya, where 6 and 5 civilians were killed respectively, and many more maimed and injured. At the New Year, Islamic JIhad and Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade vowed to break the truce which has been officially in place.

In response to the "loss" of their explosives terror expert, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, Abu Dujana, has said: "We will burn the ground and respond everywhere," and Abu Quasi of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade said: "Every Zionist, soldier and civilian, will be a target for our attacks."

Nice people.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2006

Holland: Now Jews Are Targeted In Islamist Cartoons

The Arab European League, based in Holland and Belgium, has decided to enter the cartoon affray, state both Ynet News, Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post. But instead of having cartoons aimed at Denmark or Jyllands-Posten, the barbarians at the Arab European League have decided to use the current situation to launch an insidious attack on Jews. The cartoons are blatant in their contempt for Jews who died in the Holocaust.

The pictures, by the AEL's talentless cartoonist Nabucho are primitive and crude, and their idiot creator cannot even spell Auschwitz. In a reference to Belgium's notorious serial killer, Marcel Dutroux, Hitler is shown in bed with Anne Frank, saying "Write this one in your diary, Anne".

Spielberg is shown with a "Holocaust" script, phoning Peter Jackson to say "I need your help on this one, Peter", while Jackson responds "I don't think I have that much imagination Steven, sorry." The cartoon can be found here.

In the other picture, two large nosed individuals stand beside a pile of skeletal corpses under a sign saying "Auswitch" (sic). One, who appears to represent the interim Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, is saying "We have to get to the 6,000,000 somehow". The other man, poking a body says "I don't think they are Jews". This pointless piece of hatred can be found here.

This is how AEL justified the scribblings, which they call a "freedom of speech" campaign:

After the lectures that Arabs and Muslims received from Europeans on Freedom of Speech and on Tolerance. And after that many European newspapers republished the Danish cartoons on the Prophet Mohammed. AEL decided to enter the cartoon business and to use our right to artistic expression.

Just like the newspapers in Europe claim that they only want to defend the freedom of speech and do not desire to stigmatise Muslims,we also do stress that our cartoons are not meant as an offence to anybody and ought not to be taken as a statement against any group, community or historical fact.

The UK Independent describes other insensitive and anti-semitic cartoons appearing on Muslim sites, with a comment by Ralph Steadman:

"I can draw whatever comes into my mind if whatever comes into my mind is legitimate. If it does not incite violence or cause people to get hurt or endangered, I can produce that drawing and make it what it is."

Ynet News relates that Dyab Abou Jahjah, the founder of the Islamist group, said on the program Nova Saturday on Dutch TV: "Europe has its sacred cows, even if they're not religious sacred cows."

The AEL espouses nonviolence but has gained a reputation for extremist views, and opposes Muslims integrating with non-Muslims. It promotes the participation of Muslims in political dialogue in European countries, but is internally divided as to whether or not to participate in elections directly.

It stood in Belgian elections in 1999 and 2003 under different names but failed to get more than one percent of the vote. The Dutch arm has had problems finding a leader and has said it has no immediate plans to participate in elections.

The Jerusalem Post reproduces the Spielberg cartoon, which AEL entitles "Science Fiction". They quote the Anti-Defamation League, who say:

While invoking the supposed 'freedom of the press' in their countries, Arab and Muslim leaders have refused to take any action to stem the drumbeat of anti-Semitism in widely circulated newspapers, many state-sponsored"

"One would hope that leaders of the Arab and Muslims would turn all of the anger being aimed at the European press into a larger lesson for their own people about the power of images." the statement claimed.

Unsurprisingly, this exercise in anti-semitism and Holocaust denial has been given a seal of approval from the Islamofascist regime in Iran, according to IRNA. Normally I just take the crap from IRNA and post it unexpurgated. Here is just a sample of Jahjah's skewed reasonings:

"Muslims and others in Europe cannot say everything they often want to say and they risk being arrested and prosecuted if they do. Muslims and other religious people cannot express their disgust from homosexuality and clearly state that they believe it's a sickness and a deviation without being persecuted for being homophobic. People in Europe are not allowed to do a free historical examination of the Second World War and the holocaust and freely express an opinion on it that is different from the dominating dogmatic line. Any attempt to have deviant historical examination of the holocaust will earn you the title of revisionist, anti-Semitic and a jail sentence."

And in view of Jahjah's note that homosexuality is a "sickness", why do his buddies in Iran choose slaughter as its remedy? Oh, I forgot. They belong to the "Religion of Peace".

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:20 PM | Comments (0)

Open letter to the western civilization.

"Without deviation, without exception, without any ifs, buts, or whereases, freedom of speech means you shall not do something to people for views they have, express, speak, or write."

Hugo LaFayette Black

My dear fellow westerners and lovers of freedom every where, why do I feel I have to quote what is above quoted ?
Asked half a year ago, it would probably have appeared a meaningless questioning of a fact solid carved in stone.
But place the hand on your heart, and ask yourself if we can say the same this very day.

During the weekend several embassies belonging to various
Scandinavian countries were razed and burned.
The question now is when ? When will someone die due to this and how many ?
All this has happened due to the now infamous 12 drawings of Muhammad, which caused former US president Clinton to Say this - and I quote:

"These totally outrageous cartoons against Islam"

Similar, though not as strong condemnations have been issued from Jack Straw; who labelled it "disrespectful" that some European newspapers decided to print them. Even the US. State Department, apparently in discrete coordination with the White House, has been out bashing this abomination of apparent insult.
But before we continue there are certain facts and issues we need to consider, and consider deeply.

1. First of all, and this is very important to understand! So forgive me the CAPS;

THE DRAWINGS WERE NOT DRAWN, NOR PUBLISHED TO INSULT ANYBODY!

The drawings were made because when a Danish author, Kaare Bluitgen was looking for someone to illustrate a book about the life of Muhammad, he found that several Cartoonists refused, citing fear for their life.
Jyllands-Posten, then took up the story and contacted cartoonists, all over Denmark, and once having found 12 willing, decided to publish those.
As Culture editor Flemming Rose often has stressed, no one had imagined the response we now see, nor was it his impression that making images of Muhammad was totally against the teachings of Islam, since you would see drawings of him everywhere eg. in Teheran and the fact that Shias make drawings of Muhammad was not the top issue in disputes Shia vs Sunni. Equally Muhammad has been drawn many times in muslim history as the collection which can be seen here. shows us.

What the editorial staff at JP wanted was to raise the subject of freedom of expression and raise a debate over the fact that Cartoonists were fearing for their life over making drawings of Muhammad.
As you an see for yourself Here. One of the drawings are actually not about Muhammad, but more about a cartoonist sweating his drops of condensed fear while watching over his shoulder as he drawing the image the image of Muhammad.
And that picture tells more about why the images were ever made than does the words of Clinton, or the rage of muslims.
Finally let me Translate the words of Flemming Rose himself, who spend 14 years as a correspondent in Russia and what was back then the USSR.

"I will not say that I am afraid. During the last 4 months I have been pondering upon this matter and I stand in full serenity. After all, my worldview has been shaped by those dissidents I came to know in the former Soviet Union.
People like Andrei Sakharov, Boris Weil and Jelena Bonner insisted during the 70s and 80s upon behaving as free individuals in an unfree society.
They were proponents of values, which the freedom of expression and the dignity of the individual were the central among.
Those values have been integrated into the way I look upon the world
In my mind There is no doubt that it is important not to yield under the pressure, even under threat"

2. The drawings were actually sober and there hardly goes a day without objectively more offensive satire is being published in somewhere on the earth.
Bear in mind the rage took almost 4 months before this "feeling of insult" even began to take off to its current level, the drawings became known to the muslim world already in the first two weeks.

3. Given the fact these images were sober, and was a reaction towards a sneaking tendency to impose self-censorship out of fear of risking your life or physical well being, bending to the muslims demands equals bending to the black mailer or should we say hostage taker? This would constitute a move which effectively is likely to guarantee that the black mail goes on with ever inflated demands.
It would furthermore mean that Moslems will have been granted a special consideration that not even the native religion of this part of the world, Christianity, has.

Editor Flemming Rose, Jyllandsposten

"Some Muslims try to impose their religious taboos in the public domain," said Mr. Rose. "In my book, that's not asking for my respect,it's asking for my submission."

New York Times

4. The fact that Muhammad himself had a couple of poets killed, and ordered those who insulted him or Allah to be killed. And the fact that Muslims now are crying for exactly the same punishment to befell the cartoonists and editors, that actually illustrate to us that the drawings are not really an insult, nor are they exaggerations, they are nearer about the truth.
That these images sparked a international conflict was never the intention, nor should the factual images be sufficient. Given the incubation time of 4 months, the role of slander and hearsay rumours like the "Danish Government are going to ban the Quran", "Danes are going to burn the Quran". circulating in Arab media as well as on internet and through SMS, certainly played a role also. Studying the actions of "local" imans, which activated eg. These hardworking moslems one is left to wonder if 12 cartoons really are the full reason or if this have not gone well out of proportion.

"Asking me whether I regret publishing the cartoons is like asking a rape victim if she regrets wearing a short skirt Friday night at the discotheque."

Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's culture editor

I have come to the end of this letter, but I hope that we have not come, to the beginning of the end, the end of our freedom of speech.

But when Clinton goes as far as he does, when other politicians do their best to condemn, not the threat upon lives, not the hysteria of the Arab world, but the paper that published cartoons that had they but been satiric on behalf on any other person than Muhammad, would have annoyed noone - absolutely noone.

When the whimsical sensation of "insult", ranks higher than the truth and freedom of expression.

When it falls first to sacrifice a cornerstone in democracy, to appease a religious absolutism, and it falls second to exert what historically is known to be the best.

When providing anger, that is already inflated beyond whats reasonable, with a figleaf, full sympathy, is more important than to examine and atleast make a balanced judgement.

Finally, but most tragically; when it is per factum expected that a free press shut up, rather than speak the truth, when it is under the very threat of death itself. When this is the fact, and what is the reality behind that fact, and both are on the verge of being totally ignored.

Then! It does not bode well, and it is beyond any doubt time to wake up and ask some tough and important questions.

Yours Sincerely

Charles Martel

Posted by Charles Martel at 8:34 PM | Comments (0)

US: Pete Fisher On "The Spoiled Brat Islam"

Once again, one of our favourite columnists, Pete Fisher, has posted a searing indictment of Islam at American Daily. Never one to mince his words, Pete has decided to speak his mind on the current petulant excesses committed by Muslims who, as we have shown earlier, have been fed disinformation by the Danish/Palestinian cleric, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban.

But it seems the cartoons genuinely are just a pretext for many extreme Islamists to attack symbols of the West in the most barbaric and undignified manner possible. Here is how Pete Fisher describes the reactions of those Muslims who claim not to be extremists:

Where are the Muslims who claim they do not believe like this? They are silent as usual, with exception of a small press release here and about claiming different. They are not vowing death to Muslims who have defiled the name of Mohammed, or waging jihad against those who take the name of Allah in vain while cutting someone's head off or torching their property. Which tells me that no matter what they tell me about Islam, their intention is no different than the others, just not as obvious.

So how do we as a global entity deal with this Problem Child? In my mind Islam MUST be confined to a particular area in the world, sort of like putting a dunce cap on a kid and having him stand in a corner. Europe did this with Christianity after the Protestants and Catholics went to war. They decreed that there would be no more religious wars and any offending nation would be dealt with severely. Why would it be unacceptable to do this with Islam? With the US, China, Russia, Canada, Australia, and Europe united in this single cause it could be done. History has shown it worked once before, so we should give it a try. Place Mecca and Medina as the first strike targets, as well as outlawing anyone to practice Islam in the West. This way, if they decide to continue Jihad, they can go at it amongst themselves. By removing the physical threat of Muslims from Western society we can live more peacefully and deal with our own issues.

Maybe the solutions posed are not entirely serious, but his assessment of the nature of this "Problem Child" is spot-on.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

Lebanon: Christians, Church Attacked by Angry Muslim Mob

Wait a minute, I thought this was just about Denmark, what do Christian Lebanese have done to the vaunted "Religion of Peace", well known for its legendary "tolerance". I guess this justifies some of the dhimmi comments by Cardinal Silvestrini. (It doesn't justify all of his comments; there was no reason to praise censorship.)

Here is the unsurprising story: Christians Attacked.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

UK: A Tale of Two Protests

Who is the graver danger to U.K. society, pro-hunting middle-aged men or anti-free speech Islamic fanatics? According to British Police's behavior, the answer may not be obvious. EU Referendum has the story: Lest we Forget

Flashback: 15 September 2004: A demonstration against the fox hunting Bill, outside Parliament:

Instantly, the police responded with a flail of truncheons. For a moment, they resembled beaters driving birds towards guns. They were scenes more associated with the clash of police and shaven-headed football hooligans or dreadlocked anti-capitalist demonstrators rather than men in flat caps and women in quilted waistcoats.[...]

(Hat tip: The Corner.)

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:07 PM | Comments (1)

Vatican City: Cardinal Condemns Mohammad Cartoons

Utter moral cowardice from Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, a diplomat. I'll try to keep a tab on Vatican pronouncements on this issue, but it sure doesn't look encouraging right now: Vatican cardinal criticizes cartoons satirizing prophet Mohammed

ROME (CNS) - A Vatican cardinal sharply criticized the publication of newspaper cartoons satirizing the prophet Mohammed, saying the caricatures have offended the religious sentiments of millions of Muslims.

Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, a leader for many years in the Vatican's diplomatic service, said the cartoons demonstrated a growing trend to make fun of religious symbols in general.

"Freedom of satire that offends the sentiments of others becomes an abuse -- and in this case it has affected the sentiments of entire populations in their highest symbols," the cardinal told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera Feb. 3.

The cardinal said Christianity has similar sensitivities.

"One can understand satire about a priest but not about God. With reference to Islam, we could understand satire on the uses and customs and behavior, but not about the Quran, Allah and the Prophet," he said.[...]

Update: Cardinal Silvestrini is the Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, so it sure as heck looks like this was a statement born out of fear for Christians living in Muslim countries.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

Lebanon: Danish Embassy Torched over Cartoon Jihad

This time it happenned in "Moderate Muslim Country" Lebanon: Caricature Row: Western Governments Protest As Embassies Burn

PRAGUE, 5 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As anger in the Muslim world about the publication of a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad continues to flare, political leaders across Europe and the United States have condemned Syria for failing to prevent protestors from setting fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus.

Syrian riot police later used tear gas and water cannons to prevent protesters from storming the French Embassy.

"Syria's failure to provide protection to diplomatic premises, in the face of warnings that violence was planned, is inexcusable."

Syria's Minister for Islamic Endowments Muhammad Ziyad al-Ayubi had tried, in vain, to convince the protestors to disperse. "Children of this dear nation, you have expressed yourselves more than enough," he said through a loudspeaker. "Go back to your homes, empty these squares, keep our country as it has always been -- in peace and security."

However, European ministers believe the Syrian authorities should have done more. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said that it "is completely unacceptable that the embassy was not protected by the Syrians."

Islam, the religion of embassy torching.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

US: Author Edward Cline Reflects on the Cartoon Jihad

Edward Cline has a new article in Capitalism Magazine which offers the clearest explanation yet of what's at stake in the Muslim anti-cartoon Jihad: Free Speech vs. Blasphemy: Thoughts on the Danish Cartoons of Mohammed

[...]The pit felt at the bottom of many stomachs over this new demand of the Muslims is fear: fear of mindless retribution, of death and destruction. It causes those who feel it to shut up in the name of "respect" for Muslim beliefs. This is the true nature of the "respect" of major American news organizations, such as CBS, when it refused to show a single cartoon.

The pit felt at the bottom of other stomachs is resolve, of a determination to stand up now for the freedom to say what one thinks, with the knowledge that if the West capitulates to Muslim demands, it will have surrendered the key freedom that permits the fight for all the other freedoms. Many European newspapers have defied Muslim "sensibilities" and reprinted the cartoons.

Islamic spokesmen called this action a "provocation." But what is it that is being "provoked"? Violence. Property destruction. Kidnappings. Murders. The initiation of physical force and terror. All in the name of Mohammed and Allah. Hardly the behavior of a "pacific" religion that would persuade one that it just wants to "get along."

Implied in the claim that images of Mohammed constitute blasphemy, is that anyone who creates such an image is guilty of blasphemy. What the Muslims are demanding is that non-Muslims accept that religious tenet. Thus, "respect" by non-Muslims of the tenet, at the price of surrendering the right to criticize Islam, means virtual conversion to Islam, a major step in the direction of actual conversion.[...]

(A note about fiction: Mr. Cline's novels, like his prose, rouse and inspire. Higher praise for fiction I cannot offer.)

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

February 4, 2006

UK: Scottish Feminist Attacks Islamic Tyranny

I have found broadcaster and author Muriel Gray (pictured) always intelligent, but sometimes tiresome and dogmatic. However, I thoroughly salute her clarity and insight when she analyses the current affair of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. In a piece from the Scottish Sunday Herald, entitled "How can we have respect for Islam when we are too fearful to criticise it?", she accurately describes the origin of the cartoon row, and how it reflects a deeper intolerance by Islam of the West.

She wryly notes that the 9/11 assassins spent their last night alive celebrating not any of the cultural events on offer in the US, but instead imbibed the sleaze in a lap-dancing bar. She says that the West is being told that it misunderstands Islam, but argues that Islam too does not understand the West.

I advise you to read the article in its entirety, but this extract shows what the climate of fear, imposed upon creatives in art and publishing, has done. She has placed the blame for this climate of fear, where intolerant fundamentalists can call for death of individuals, no matter where they live, upon the shoulders of Ayatollah Khomeini, and his fatwa of 1989 against Salman Rushdie. She writes:

This paper's belief in freedom of speech is paramount. The decision not to reprint the cartoons, not to declare ourselves another Spartacus in support of our European colleagues, was taken, at least partly, out of consideration for the safety of the staff, and the safety of Scottish people here and abroad, and I fully support it. But the extremists, who created the fear that made that decision a foregone conclusion, must understand that if they think the UK press have done this out of respect, they are so very wrong. They have undoubtedly won this battle hands down. Well done. We are afraid. But do they think people neutered and silenced by fear are going to work at embracing their culture, their religion or their values? Clearly, they don't care. The danger of this backlashing on to our innocent Muslim fellow citizens is a distinct possibility and the thought makes me sick to the stomach. It looks as though those of us aching for the misery of all this hatred to end are in for a long wait."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

Images Offensive To Islam: What Is Acceptable To Muslims?

The reproduction of some fairly tame images of Mohammed have been seized upon by extremists across the Muslim and the Western world, even though, as we described earlier, the issue was inflamed by a Danish cleric's disinformation campaign. Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban took additional pictures to the Middle East, which were highly insulting to Muslims but had never been printed in a Danish newspaper, and were of dubious provenance.

The super-charged hysteria has today caused both the Danish and Norwegian Embassies in Damascus, Syria to be set alight by Islamist protesters, states CNN.

The New Zealand Herald reports that two papers from New Zealand, the Wellington Dominion Post and Christchurch The Press, have printed the pictures, but have now been under fire from local Muslim "leaders".

The Independent, a paper with a strong Muslim bias, described how today there were protests outside the Danish Embassy in Knightsbridge, London, a rerun of yesterday's shocking displays. They say a protester posing as a suicide bomber joined the throng, and afterwards two men were arrested "after police found leaflets, including cartoons of the prophet Mohamed".

In Denmark, people protested in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, and 150 were arrested across the nation, and in Turkey Islamist leader Recep Tayep Erdogan has condemned the cartoons, and protesters in Istanbul burned a Danish flag.

In Nablus in the West Bank, anti-Danish slogans were chanted by protesters, and in Nazareth there were similar demonstrations.

In Indonesia, a Danish flag was burned by Islamofascists from the Front Pembela Islam, or the Islamic Defenders Front (picture here), who regularly use violence to attack and intimidate Christians. The same group protested outside the Danish Embassy in Jakarta yesterday, according to Voice of America, where about 70 members threw eggs at the building.

In Iran, Islamist leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that he would be withdrawing from trade with nations which have published the newspapers, states KUNA.

So we are not allowed to portray the prophet? The punishment for insulting the prophet was death, as practiced during his lifetime, states the extremist group Al-Ghurabaa, which has printed on its website an article entitled charmingly Kill those who insult the prophet.

At the time of the Messenger Muhammad there were individuals like these who dishonoured and insulted him upon whom the Islamic judgement was executed. Such people were not tolerated in the past and throughout the history of Islam were dealt with according to the Shariah.

Ka'ab ibn Ashraf was assassinated by Muhammad ibn Maslamah for harming the Messenger Muhammad saw) by his words, Abu Raafi' was killed by Abu Ateeq as the Messenger ordered in the most evil of ways for swearing at the( prophet, Khalid bin Sufyaan was killed by Abdullah bin Anees who cut off his head and brought it to the prophet for harming the Messenger Muhammad by his insults, Al-Asmaa bintu Marwaan was killed by Umayr bin Adi' al-Khatmi, a blind man, for writing poetry against the prophet and insulting him in it, Al-Aswad al-Ansi was killed by Fairuz al-Daylami and his family for insulting the Messenger Muhammad (saw) and claiming to be a prophet himself. This is the judgement of Islam upon those who violate, dishonour and insult the Messenger Muhammad.

But the depiction of the prophet Mohammed has not always been regarded as forbidden.

The image at right is a 14th century Persian miniature, depicting the angel Gabriel (winged) speaking with Mohammed, who is depicted in a relaxed pose. This and other examples of traditional Muslim imagery showing the Prophet Mohammed, can be found at Zombietime. These images make me wary of the mad hysterics being displayed at the present time.

So it is an offence to depict Mohammed if one is a Westerner, but not an offence if one is a devotional Muslim? It seems that the reaction to the Jyllands-Posten has now taken on a new dimension, and is becoming an excuse to vilify the west. Though some extremists in the Muslim world are encouraging others to be burning flags, effigies and embassies, it seems that the majority of decent peaceful Muslims are confused at what is being said. If one is a Muslim in America, the mainstream national press and TV have been reluctant to display the images.

So US non-Muslims and Muslims alike are not being shown what the fuss was about, to decide for themselves. Cigar-sucking and dress-staining Bill Clinton has condemned the Jyllands Posten paper for commissioning the images. The Jyllands-Posten cartoons are gentle compared to the additional three crude and hateful examples which Danish cleric Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban displayed to Middle Eastern clerics.

So if death is invoked for "insulting the prophet", then perhaps artists who wish to stay alive should be focusing their talents on other examples of Islamist danger, such as clerical figures. And who else better to send up than the insidious and evil kidnapper and mass-murderer, the late Ayatollah Khomeini?

The picture below was done by a London artist associate, in 1985. The original was sold anonymously at a London auction in 1989, after the old bastard declared his fatwa against Salman Rushdie for producing "The Satanic Verses". The artist kindly gave me a print of a print of a print, a few years back. So in honour of an anonymous artist who was previously unable to publicly display this work for more than twenty years, for fear of being killed, here is his picture.

Because it is only truly offensive to depict the prophet, this picture should be totally acceptable to the rioters in Jakarta, Turkey, London and Denmark, should it not?

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

Palestinian Abomination: Hamas Plans to Visit Latin American Countries

The Hamas plans to visit at least four countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela. What is interesting about those countries is that they have the most leftist governments in all Latin America (really, truly leftist governments); Venezuela and Bolivia in particular have rabid anti-American as their leaders. This looks like another step in the growing Marxist-Islamic alliance: Hamas plans visit to South American nations

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Leaders from the Palestinian movement Hamas are planning a South American tour, including visits to Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, Venezuela's vice-president said yesterday.

Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel said he did not foresee any political problems with the visit by Hamas, even though many Western nations are still weighing whether to cut aid to Palestinians after the Islamic militant group's decisive victory in last week's parliamentary elections.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:33 PM | Comments (0)

Opinion: Heroism and Decency

Radio Blogger Hugh Hewitt is a person I respect. Had a mad leftist or a raging racist made a similar argument (and they have) I would have dismissed it as crazy talk. But the argument Hewitt uses is not a fringe one; on the contrary, it is a common argument. So common in fact that in its basic form it qualifies as conventional wisdom. I, therefore, must respond. But before responding, here is Mr. Hewitt's full post:A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind

he furor over the Danish cartoons is sparking an odd reaction among some commentators in the West who see no contradiction in condemning the idiocy of Joel Stein or the repulsiveness of Tom Toles while urging solidarity with the idiot newspapermen in Denmark who thought it a good idea to not just illustrate Mohammed, but to include some illustrations designed to offend. Like Toles and Stein, they sought a cheap reaction, and getting it, are alarmed that anyone could be judgmental of their efforts.

Of course the thugs who threaten violence against the idiots are evil, and the reaction across radical Islam is every bit as chilling and outrageous as the 1989 fatwa against Rushdie.

But I think the third course between the cartoonist provocateurs and the radicals waving guns at the EU employees in Gaza is to denounce without ambiguity or excuse the latter but at the same time to delineate a very bright line between what the West stands for and the churlishness of the caroonist provocateurs.

Our country's founding document includes in its opening paragraph the explanation for why the Declaration is necessary: "a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that [we] should declare the causes which impel [us] to the Separation."

The cartoons were in bad taste, an unnecessary affront to many of the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, just as Joel Stein affronted the military, the families and friends of the military, and as Toles did the same to the wounded, and their families, friends and admirers. Of course each of them had the absolute right to publish their screed, and the Danish (and now Norwegian) governments must reply to demands that these papers be punished with a steely refusal to be dictated to as to their culture of free expression and the protection of the vulgar and the stupid.

But don't cheer the vulgar and the stupid.

There are hundreds of thousands of American troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe among Muslim peoples who they are trying to befriend. The jihadists like nothing more than evidence that these troops represent a West intent on a new crusade and a new domination of Muslims. Idiot cartoonists make our troops' jobs more difficult, and the jihadists' mission easier.

We rightly condemn and must continue to condemn every anti-Semitic outburst from the president of Iran and every anti-Semitic cartoon published in the hate press of the Middle East. Those condemnations loose some of their force among some of the world if we rush to defend those cartoons that can objectively be seen as anti-Muslim.

The jihadists are the enemy, not the Muslim world. Refusing to recognize how idiot cartoonists can indeed offend Muslims who are not only not Islamofascists but also our allies and even our fellow citizens is to refuse Muslims the right to at least the same level of disgust that Christians display when they denounce stupid NBC series like The Book of Daniel or shows like Will & Grace.

From the president's remarks at the National Day of Prayer yesterday:

"In our country, we recognize our fellow citizens are free to profess any faith they choose, or no faith at all. You are equally American if you're a Hebrew -- a Jew or a Christian or Muslim. You're equally American if you choose not to have faith. It is important America never forgets the great freedom to worship as you so choose. (Applause.)

What I've found in our country, that whatever our faith, millions of Americans answer the universal call to love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. Over the past five years, we've been inspired by the ways that millions of Americans have answered that call. In the face of terrorist attacks and devastating natural disasters here and around the world, the American people have shown their faith in action again and again. After Katrina, volunteers from churches and mosques and synagogues and other faith-based and community groups opened up their hearts and their homes to the displaced. We saw an outpouring of compassion after the earthquake in Pakistan and the tsunami that devastated entire communities. We live up to God's calling when we provide help for HIV/AIDS victims on the continent of Africa and around the world."

Cartoonists seeking to offend need to be defended against violence, but they don't deserve praise and certainly not praise for their gift to the jihadists.

Decency, and a respect for the opinions of mankind, oght still to be highly valued.

So, what's wrong with this rousing call to tolerance, what's wrong with respecting 'the opinions of mankind'?

'Opinions', or as they ought to be called in this context, 'ideas', have consequences. Ideas are supremely important; it is said that faith moves mountains, but it is ideas that rule the world.

So, what is one to say about an idea that says members of one religion should wage war on all other religions until 'the one true religion' rules the world?

What is one to say about the idea that dying fighting on the cause of your God will provide you with 'virgins of great beauty'?

What is one to say about the idea that conversion from said one true religion should be punished by death?

The examples could go on.

Mr. Hewitt speaks of decency, but let's not talk about decency, where there is no decency to be found. Muhammad's life is a life filled with indecency: mass murder, rape, pedophilia, and delusion; that was the life of the founder of Islam. That indecency is multiplied a billion fold when Muhammad's follower, nearly a fifth of humanity, proclaim him to be a perfect moral example, and follow in his footsteps. So, really, let's not talk about decency.

Mr. Hewitt dismisses the cartoonists as idiots. Fine, that's his right. But I say this to you, with all the passion I can muster: the cartoonists are not heroes because they speak their minds, any human, however evil, can do that. But they are heroes. They have shown courage in facing the hatred; they are heroes because they are telling the truth.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Gloucester Muslim Leader Criticises Freedom of Speech

The head of the Muslim Community for Gloucester has shown his total contempt for freedom of speech, according to the Gloucester Citizen. Shabbir Ahmed Bham said: "We should not allow our valued freedoms in the West to be abused by those deliberately seeking to provoke hatred and division between communities.

"Muslims respect and love the Prophet as being dearer to them than their own families. A civil society has to recognise rights and sensitivities of others around them. It is important to remember that there is no such thing as unlimited freedom of speech," he said.

"It is important that freedom of speech does not spill into expression of hatred of others. It is becoming a worry that the trend of defiance in the name of freedom of speech is being exercised deliberately to hurt and anger Muslims the world over.

"Publishing and printing extremely offensive caricatures of the beloved Prophet of Islam, in this case, worryingly reflects the emergence of an increasingly xenophobic tone being adopted towards Muslims in parts of the Western media. This man's organisation has a website, and there is a page on its website which shows exactly where the attitudes of the Muslim Community for Gloucester lie.

The potential shoe-bomber, Sajid Badat, a friend of Richard Reid, came from Gloucester. The website of the Muslim Community of Gloucester seems to be supporting Badat (pictured), as it states: "If you wish to send a message to Qari Hafiz Sajid Badat, or to the Badat Family, please write to us at support@mcgonline.org.uk (We may not be able to acknowledge your message, but we promise that all messages will be passed on.)" Badat, portrayed as a studious and non-violent individual, recently set off a bomb at his jail in Whitemoor Prison, Cambridge.

The Muslims of Gloucester have over the past few years become strident in their displays of "separation" from non-Muslims. Most young Muslim women attending the University of Gloucestershire's campuses in the city are shrouded in black abayas, hijabs (headscarves) and sometimes nikabs (veils), while many young Muslim men wear the white dresses and skullcaps usually associated with elders from Pakistan.

Personally I don't give a stuff what Shabbir Ahmed Bham thinks about the cartoons, but if he is going to go public and condemn their publication, I would like to hear if he is going to stand up and denounce the demonstrations which took place outside the Danish embassy in London, where protesters called for the murder of the illustrators, and threatened Europe with a 9/11 style retribution.

If Shabbir Ahmed Bham does not condemn such calls for murder, then I suggest that he is part of the Islamic problem currently spreading like a hantavirus, and not a part of any solution. When he made his statement, violent measures were already being threatened by Hamas and others. He did not condemn these, but once again peddled the notion that our freedoms of expression and freedoms of speech should be curtailed when it comes to issues concerning "Muslim sensibilities".

Perhaps there is a need for Gloucester's Muslim community and leadership to be put under a microscope by the UK intelligence services. The UK government's communications headquarters, GCHQ at Cheltenham, lies a mere 7 miles away. Maybe some of its attention should be focusing on what is going on close to its home.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

Syria: Muslim Protestors Torch Danish, Norwegian Embassies

Islam, religion of torched embassies: Syria: Danish embassy set ablaze over cartoons

Thousands protested in Israel and all over the world Saturday against the Prophet Muhammad cartoons published in a Danish newspaper.

That's right, Israeli Muslims are still Muslim.

In Syria outraged demonstrators stormed the Danish Embassy in Damascus and set fire to the building in protest of offensive caricatures of Islam's prophet. Thick, black smoke was still rising from the three-story building as firefighters struggled tried to put out the flames.

The protest started out peacefully but as anger escalated, people broke through police barriers and used the concrete barricades protecting the embassy as ladders to climb inside the building and set it on fire. "With our blood and souls we defend you, O Prophet of God," They chanted.

Mohammad, it should be noted, has been dead for over 1,300 years.

Some removed the Danish flag and replaced it with a green flag printed with the words "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." The building also houses the embassies of Chile and Sweden.

Later it was reported that the Norwegian embassy was also set ablaze.

It seems Norway's Supreme Act of Appeasement did not work out as hoped.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)

US: Halal Food Distributor Ends Relationship with Arla Foods

I wonder how many Muslim-owned small companies are doing the same: Link

Cicero, Il. Feb. 1, 2006 - Ziyad Brothers Importing, one of the largest distributors of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food products, announced today it SUSPENDED all business with Denmark-based Arla Foods.

Nemer Ziyad, vice president of Ziyad Brothers Importing, said the decision is in response to the insulting and offensive caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed published by Denmark's leading newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, and the growing controversy.

"I am furious with what the newspaper did. I am disappointed with the hesitation of the Government of Denmark to speak out against this. I support free speech, but I believe that we must speak out when free speech crosses the line and incites hatred, as the publication of these extremely offensive cartoons has done," Ziyad said.

"We have enjoyed a relationship with Arla Foods, acting as the exclusive distributor of three of its most popular products here in the United States. We are encouraged that this issue may be resolved, but until it is properly resolved, we must take this action"

Meanwhile, here at Western Resistance we have been trying our darnest to have our humble blog boycotted by Muslim countries. Please help us in our quest by spreading the word about this truthful Mohammad cartoon.

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

Egypt: Tragedy As Ship Carrying Muslim Pilgrims Sinks

We reported on the sinking of a passenger ferry in the Suez Canal on October 17, 2005. Then, the ship the MV Pride of Al Salam 95 collided with another boat and slowly sank, allowing the majority of its passengers to be rescued. Only two people died in that incident, from among 1350 pilgrims returning from Haj.

Now, a similar event has happened, but the loss of life is high, estimated as probably 900 people drowned. The ferry the MV AL Salam Boccaccio 98, which is owned by the same comapany as the Pride of Al Salam 95, Elsala Maritime, disappeared off radar screens without warning late on Thursday night, in the Red Sea. There were close to 1300 people on board.

Yahoo News was one of the first to report the disappearance of the Al Salam Boccaccio, stating that about 180 people in lifeboats had been rescued. According to BBC World Service, 200 in 5 lifeboats were saved, but dozens of dead bodies so far have been recovered from the water.

The ferry (pictured above) was 35 years old, and today's Telegraph states that extra decks had been built onto the ship, to accommodate more ferry passengers. Stormy weather is now seen as the possible reason for the boat's sinking, and the Telegraph notes that such extra decks make a ship vulnerable in bad weather.

At first there was a fear that terrorists had attacked the ship, but those fears have been dismissed. Most of the passengers were Egyptian workers and pilgrims returning from the Haj at Mecca. The boat is thought to have sank 40 miles from the Egyptian port of Hurghada. Now investigators are looking into the possibility that there may not have been enough lifeboats provided. It is unknown if passengers had access to life jackets, and the waters are cold enough at this time to cause a person to die of hypothermic shock within hours.

Where the boat sank, the waters are up to 3,000 feet deep. Most passengers would have been sleeping at the time of the boat's sinking, between 12 midnight and 2 am.

There are questions which need to be asked of Elsala Maritime. For one boat to be lost in a collision event is one thing. To lose a second boat in less than just over 3 months is more than careless. Both ships were more than thirty years old. Registered in Panama, the Boccaccio was formerly an Italian vessel sold off in 1998.

The UK MInistry of Defence said that their coordination centre at RAF Kinloss in Scotland had picked up a distress signal before midnight on Thursday, and had alerted the Egyptian authorities.

This is a truly terrible disaster, and sad that perhaps another 900 casualties will be added to the 345 lives lost at the "stoning of the devil" ceremony last month.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:35 AM | Comments (0)

Yemen: Twenty-Three al-Qaeda Prisoners Escape

Yemen's Open Prison Policy continues: 23 al-Qaeda suspects escape from Yemen prison

Sana'a Twenty-three suspected al-Qaeda members escaped from a high-security prison in the Yemeni capital Sana'a Friday, dealing a major blow to efforts to contain terror activities.

Security sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the fugitives had been jailed at the headquarters of the Political Security Organisation (intelligence).

Interior ministry officials told dpa an investigation into the incident was opened to find out whether the escapees received help from inside or outside the facility.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:33 AM | Comments (0)

February 3, 2006

Saudi Arabia: Saudis Looking for Nuclear Weapons?

Yet another reason to destroy Iran's nuclear program: Saudi Arabia: Seeking Protection From a Nuclear Iran

Saudi Arabia on Feb. 2 accused the West of having a double standard on nuclear technology, under which Israel can maintain an arsenal of nuclear warheads while others in the region are prevented from doing the same. The Saudis are not really worried about Israel; rather, they are concerned about Iran's efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon, especially given the growing Persian Shiite influence in Iraq, the country that hitherto served as a buffer between Saudi Arabia and Iran. These deepening concerns could result in a Saudi-Pakistani alignment of sorts on the nuclear issues, as Islamabad has its own concerns about a nuclear Iran.[...]

This is what happens when a mad theocracy gets nuclear weapons; another mad theocracy feels threatened, and begins to look for nukes themselves.

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

The Cartoons - New Band Out to sing the looney tune

The Cartoons have for years been the name of a crazy Danish pop band, not to be taken particular serious, but amusing to both watch and listen to. Now if you google cartoons and Denmark, something completely different turns up.

The Furore of the muhammad drawings remains alive and kicking following the Friday prayers around the Arab world and Europe.
In Denmark 180 moslems and exmoslems, will form an organization to counter "Islamic Faith Community" which has been primus motor in bringing the cartoon case to the attention of the Moslem world.
One of the leading forces is Worldly moslem and MP for the Social liberal party Naser Khader And Abu Laban, leading voice in "islamic Faith Community", spend a good amount of his sermon thundering against Naser Khader, one of the reasons being that he does not hesitate asking "disdained" and "insulted" imans, questions like this one :

"Why are there no complaints, when it comes to terror committed in the name of Islam"

Same Abu Laban and other members of "islamic Faith Community" have been caught Lying and for sneaking images of dubious origin along with the original 12 drawings, which have caused government support party; Danish people´s party To push successfully the government, to look into if it is possible to expel any of the imans.

Abu Laban, the busy bee, also featured in the BBC programme, Hard Talk. According to Danish newspaper Politiken where he was pitted against Editor Chief of "Jutlands Posten";Flemming Rose for a debate about the drawings and freedom of speech, My translation of a selection to follow:

( Asked why the paper wrote in its apology that it was not its intention to insult anybody ? Rose replies: )

"I am not an expert"

"But do you know that it is blasphemy, to make images of the prophet?", Host Stephen Sackur asked.

"That is not true", Rose replied and remarked that in Teheran one can buy posters featuring Muhammad.

Then Sackur asks Laban if he is not grateful for living in a country where there is freedom of speech ?

To which he replied "yes"

Sackur went on "You had your point of view oresented in Denmark, but you were not satisfied with that right ? So you send out a delegation to make this a international matter"

Abu Laban replied "that moslems in Denmark are viewed as pupils, that must sit still and listen to what the teacher says. But the teacher in this case did not practise as he preach"

Rose Breaks in : "There is no teacher/pupil relationship, quite on the contrary".
"Moslems in Denmark are in fact by these drawings being treated like anyone else"
"We are making satire over you as we do with the queen and politicians" he said.

At the end of the Programme Rose was asked if he feared for his life and well being considering what happened to Theo Van Gogh.

That he was not, he replied. And it would unfortunate in particular, if he should be afraid because he put spotlight on the issue of freedom of speech.

And indeed how right he is, that would be most unfortunate, and not only that. In this case it would be Talibanization of not only a Ghetto area in Europe, but of a cornerstone in our democracy, the freedom of press which means the right to satire and tell the ugly truth, even if it is about a prophet with 1.4 bio followers.

Posted by Charles Martel at 7:22 PM | Comments (0)

US: Ibn Warraq on our Duty as Free Peoples

In light of the clarity and forcefulness of this piece, I can only second Robert Spencer; if you read nothing else, read this today: Democracy in a Cartoon

The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case."

The cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten raise the most important question of our times: freedom of expression. Are we in the west going to cave into pressure from societies with a medieval mindset, or are we going to defend our most precious freedom -- freedom of expression, a freedom for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives?

A democracy cannot survive long without freedom of expression, the freedom to argue, to dissent, even to insult and offend. It is a freedom sorely lacking in the Islamic world, and without it Islam will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. Without this fundamental freedom, Islam will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)

US: CAIR and the IAP; Tracing the Tentacles of Jihad Ideology

Joe Kaufman unravels the Islamist Web. My first question, of course, is why does it take a non-journalist, without the ample resources of a Newspaper, to report the unsettling truth. My second, even more important question, is why does the U.S. Government, which does knows about it, treats CAIR as a legitimate Civil Rights Organization, and not the terrorist protectors that they are: Death of a Terror Lobby

[...]In the early 90's, a young group of Muslim activists had assumed leadership of the IAP, which at this point also went by the name American Muslim Society. In June of 1994, the organization took a dramatic turn, when it created a splinter group called CAIR. Concerning the three founders of CAIR: the President of the IAP, Omar Ahmad, became CAIR's Chairman of the Board; the IAP Public Relations Director, Nihad Awad, became CAIR's Executive Director; and the IAP’s Rafiq Jaber took over as IAP President.

According to those involved, CAIR was created as a "civil liberties" group, so while the IAP was praising Hamas attacks via its magazines and videos, CAIR was defending the civil liberties of terrorists, such as the spiritual leader of the '93 bombing of the World Trade Center, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and Marzook, who would soon be deported from the United States. The two groups worked well together, in that they complimented each other, but apparently that relationship is no more, as after 24 years in existence, according to Rehab, the IAP is no more. Could this be possible?[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)

US: State Department Calls Mohammed Cartoons Offensive

The State Department makes me want to puke. And, Mr. President Bush sir, if you don't come out forcefully in favor of freedom of speech, I might well stay home election day, and read some more books in the months before the election, and I will invite my friends to do the same. Considering I'm a reliably Republican voter and a Party activist you may consider your political self-interest, if nothing else. I don't think I can actually go to the polls and vote for the Disgusting Dhimmi Democrats, but I sure as hell can stay home: U.S. Calls Muhammad Drawings 'Offensive'

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims."

While recognizing the importance of freedom of the press and expression, State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said these rights must be coupled with press responsibility.

"Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Hironimus said. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and for their religious beliefs and practices."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:42 PM | Comments (2)

UK: Islamist Scum Call For Killings On London Streets

I do not know who arranged the march, but I suspect that the Saviour Sect/Al Ghurabaa and other remnants of terrorist group Al Muhajiroun are involved. Do I have to say anything other than that these protests happened today, outside the Danish Embassy in London.




















Remember 9/11 - calls for All Qaeda to become involved? Why are these evil violent people not arrested for sedition or incitement to murder? Two poor examples of democracy, Peter Mandelson (who was sacked twice from Blair's cabinet for corruption) and the former member of the Church of Scientology, Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, have been on BBC World Service radio since last night condemning the printing of the Danish cartoons. I would prefer to see them condemning such hideous displays of threatened violence.

Update: See BBC for more details of the event. Suffice it to say that the anti-semite and former supporter of Osama bin Laden, Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council for Britain has put his dainty toes into the waters of controversy. He told the BBC that any kind of cartoon which was derogatory to a race or group in a stereotypical way was "unacceptable". He said "Of course Europe has the right to freedom of speech, and of course newspapers have the right to publish offensive cartoons. This was really a question about exercising good judgment. Knowing full well the nature of these cartoons, they were offensive, deeply offensive to millions of Muslims, these newspaper editors should have exercised better judgment."

Except, as we pointed out earlier, the outrage was deliberately stirred up by Danish cleric Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, who took a 43-page dossier on the cartoons around the Middle East after the cartoons had been published, and adding to these three images of a deliberately offensive nature.

While such disinformation is being spread, people in the Muslim world and the West, and particularly in the UK and the US, should be shown the original 12 pictures, just so they are understanding exactly what is being discussed. To view all 12 original cartoons, click here.

The radical group AL Ghurabaa has printed on its website an article entitled Kill those who insult the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Nice....

A selection:

Shortly after these incidents the people began to realise that insulting the Messenger of Allah (saw) was not something to be taken lightly.

The insulting of the Messenger Muhammad (saw) is something that the Muslims cannot and will not tolerate and the punishment in Islam for the one who does so is death. This is the sunnah of the prophet and the verdict of Islam upon such people, one that any Muslim is able execute. The response of the Muslims all over the world shows us the inability to deal with such people, the kuffar are attacking our Messenger and are allowed to get away with it whilst the Muslims have no power to do anything about it. The leaders of the Muslim world have no care for the deen of Islam as they are busy cementing their seats content with their power and wealth. Where are the Muhammad ibn Maslamah's of our ummah who will defend the honour of our beloved Messenger and rise the banner of Tawheed high?

So Islam is not the religion of peace, as interpreted by these thugs. They quote from the Quran, 4.101 that "the kaafireen (disbelievers) are ever unto you your open enemies." Very nice....

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:29 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: More Christians Attacked By Muslims in Poso

Poso in Central Sulawesi has seen various attacks against Christians. Three schoolgirls were beheaded and another critically injured by machete-wielding (suspected) Muslims on October 29, 2005, two 17-year old girls were shot at point blank range in the head on November 8, and later that month in Central Sulawesi, a teenage girl was shot dead in Palu, and another was killed with a machete blow to the neck.

These attacks, including a bomb attack in Poso on October 27, seemed to indicate a reemergence of the dark days of the previous Muslim/Chrisian sectarian conflict of 2000 to 2001, which saw 1,000 people killed in the island of Sulawesi. This was part of a wider war in the Moluccas, which killed 9,000 people between 1999 and 2002, mostly as a result of actions by Laskar Jihad.

On December 30, a nail-filled bomb killed six Christians, and injured 43 others in the southern region of the town of Palu, regional capital of Central Sulawesi.

Today's WorldNetDaily reports that two more Christians have again been attacked. "Santoso", a farmer and pastor at a village church, was attacked after holding a prayer session with Muslims on a farm outside Poso.

He was on a motorbike, as was his friend, when the attack happened, perpetrated by a Muslim who had been hiding in foliage. He swung to decapitate Santoso (pictured above), but missed and smashed out 10 teeth and injured his tongue. His friend had his fingers sliced off.

Santoso, who has been attacked twice before, was sent by medical staff from Voice of the Martyrs to Java where he was given tooth implants in a series of three operations.

Indonesia is currently trying to "re-educate" members of Laskar Jihad who instigated the Moluccan war, but its leader Jaffar Umar Thalib, responsible for thousands of killings, and forced circumcisions of around 2,000 men and women, was acquitted in 2003 of "sowing hatred" against Christians.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:31 AM | Comments (3)

Muslim Cartoons: The Dishonesty Of Denmark's Muslim Leadership

There is a whole raft of articles about the current brouhaha over the 12 cartoons initially commissioned and printed by Jyllands Posten, the right-wing Danish newspaper. But these will be discussed in full later today.

What is far more important is the news covered by the Counterterrorism blog and also in the print edition of today's UK Telegraph (page 20) but not in its online edition.

The Telegraph's David Rennie states:

The cartoons row grew yesterday with sharp questions asked about a group of Danish imams who toured the Middle East denouncing their own country for allowing images of the prophet Mohammed to be published.

The group created a 43-page dossier on what they said was rampant racism and Islamophobia in Denmark and took it to politicians and leading clerics in Egypt and Lebanon in a series of trips late last year.

The Danish media have tried to question the Muslim delegates on how they came to include three extra, obscene cartoons in the dossier, in addition to the 12 images that started the row when they were published by a Danish newspaper in September.

The extra cartoons, whose origins remain obscure, show Mohammed with a pig's snout, a dog raping a praying Muslim and Mohammed as a "paedophile demon"

If the 11 countries which initially reacted with horror and demanded apologies for the cartoons were shown images never published in the Danish paper, then we have here evidence of an anti-Western plot, and the Danish authorities should work now to expel these clerics from their country. If a Dane becomes killed as a result of disinformation spread by the clerics, then they should be tried for treason.

The man behind all this is Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, (pictured above), described by the Washington Post as a "prominent Muslim". We reported earlier this month on how Abu Laban was posthumously condemning murdered film-maker Theo van Gogh for producing his film "Submission". Laban, a 60 year old Palestinian, was then condemning freedom of speech, saying that it should be limited when it came to issues of Islam and nudity.

The images were shown to Egypt's Grand Mufti. Lorenzo Vidino of the Counter-terrorism Blog states that Laban's delegation visited Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, and Sunni Islam's most influential scholar, Yusuf al Qaradawi.

Interestingly, Qaradawi is now calling for a day of anger over the cartoons, according to the online Telegraph. If he was shown obscene pictures, perhaps Sheikh Qaradawi is acting under a false impression of just HOW Islam was insulted.

The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet has been behind the investigations, and discovered the 43-page dossier. It appears that lives are going to be lost over this issue, compounding the seriousness of Abu Laban's dishonesty. As Lorenzo Vidino says:

In any case, the action was a deliberate malicious and irresponsible deed carried out by a notorious Islamist who in another situation had said that "mockery against Mohamed deserves death penalty." And in a quintessential exercise in taqiya, Abu Laban has praised the boycott of Danish goods on al Jazeera, while condemning it on Danish TV.

The Telegraph reports that Ahmed Akkari, one of Laban's delegates, has said that the three extra cartoons were sent to Danish Muslims, and in the dossier were separated by several photocopied letters to Danish ministers and officials. When Kaare Quist of Ekstra Bladet tried to ask the Muslim group if it could talk to the three supposed recipients of the "extra" cartoons, he was refused.

Mr Akkari denied that Muslims were unable to accept any portrayals of the prophet Mohammed without reacting in outrage. There were reference books in libraries in Denmark carrying ancient Persian images of the Prophet that caused no offence but the satrical nature of the newspaper cartons was deeply offensive, he added.

But apart from the image of a bomb/turban, there are no really nasty images of Mohammed in the collection of cartoons, which we have reproduced here. The following image is totally harmless, for example:

However, should you wish to see the three added images which probably set if not, the world, but the Danish Embassy in Syria on fire, they can be found, with others in an anthology of images of Mohammed, by Zombietime, here.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:37 AM | Comments (0)

February 2, 2006

A Truly Offensive Picture?

With all the fuss about the Danish cartoons, there is only one way to respond - to start scribbling.

This is perhaps offensive, but what can be more offensive than this:

Bukhari Hadith Vol VII, Book 62, Number 64: "Narrated Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death)."

To see the picture from the main page, click on the link below. If you are Muslim, you may prefer not to view it. It is a new illustration, and was not part of the Jyllands-Posten collection, which we discussed below.

Bukhari Hadith Vol VII, Book 62, Number 65: "Narrated Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old. Hisham said: I have been informed that 'Aisha remained with the Prophet for nine years (i.e. till his death)."

Tabari Hadith: IX:131: (Aisha narrated) "My mother came to me while I was being swung on a swing between two branches and got me down. My nurse wiped my face with some water and started leading me. When I was at the door she stopped so I could catch my breath. I was then brought in while the Messenger was sitting on a bed in our house. My mother made me sit on his lap. Then the men and women got up and left. The Prophet consummated his marriage with me in my house when I was nine years old."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:10 PM | Comments (5)

Palestinian Abomination: Fatah Fanatics 'Close' EU Gaza Office

Now that they are about to be out of power, Fatah fanatics compete against the Hamas for most disgusting Palestinian group: Gunmen close EU's Gaza office in cartoon dispute

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian gunmen shut down the European Union's office Thursday in Gaza City, Palestinian security sources said, demanding an apology in a row over European newspapers running cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammad.

The gunmen left a notice on the EU office's door that the building would remain closed until Europeans apologize to Muslims, many of whom consider the cartoons offensive.

Mask-wearing members of the militant group Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of former Palestinian ruling party Fatah, fired bullets into the air, and a man read the group's demands.

Palestinian officials said the gunmen were threatening to kidnap European workers if the European Union did not apologize.[...]

You heard that right, they are threatening kidnappings. Over cartoons. And don't miss this bit over the firing of France Soir's publisher:

Afterward, France Soir's publisher, Raymond Lakah, fired the paper's editorial director, Jacques Lefranc, according to the influential daily Le Monde. (Full story)

Le Monde reported that the publisher, whom it described as Franco-Egyptian, issued a statement saying he had decided to fire Lefranc as president and director of the newspaper in "a strong sign of respect to the intimate convictions and beliefs of each individual."

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

Jordan: Jordanian Newspaper Reprints Mohammad Cartoons... to Incite the Masses

Hey, wait a minute, isn't publishing images of Mohammad blasphemy, regardless of the circumstances? The Jordanian Newspaper must burn! Jordanian paper runs prophet cartoons

A Jordanian newspaper today took the step of publishing the Danish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad that have outraged Muslims, saying it was reprinting them to show readers “the extent of the Danish offence".

The Arabic weekly Shihan ran three of the 12 cartoons, including the one that depicts Muhammed as wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse.

The headline said: "This is how the Danish newspaper portrayed Prophet Muhammad, may God's blessing and peace be upon him."

The drawings first appeared in a Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, in September.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:23 AM | Comments (1)

Iran: Nuclear Tests to be Held by March 20th?

Regime Change Iran reports the Iranian regime plans a nuclear test. If that is the case, this only underscores the need to destroy the Iranian nuclear program as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary.

Hat tip: Joshua Pundit.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

UK: Islamic Leader Defends His Racist Son, Warns Of Riots

When a law student, Abdul-Muqtadir Mustaqim was stopped by police officers while driving his Vauxhall Astra on August 23, 2004, the man decided to be offensive, and in his abuse called one officer a "fucking racist pillock" (a pillock is UK slang for a testicle).

Mustaqim, according to today's Milton Keynes Today, was convicted in March 2005 at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court, where District Judge Williams found him guilty of "threatening, intimidating and abusive behaviour", and gave him a 12 month conditional discharge. WIlliams also branded the law student as a racist.

The young man, a son of cleric Sahib Bleher, was in court again this week, wasting tax-payers' money with an appeal to a Crown Court, which upheld the original conviction.

But Mustaqim's father is the general secretary of the Islamic Party of Britain, Dr Sahib Bleher, who has been sounding off on the internet about how such incidents will probably create a situation like the Paris riots.

"I am not whipping the matter up. I am saying if you carry on in this way, don't be surprised by the result which happened in France. It may on one occasion
result in an even worse situation. What they are doing through the courts is saying that police brutality is fine as long as you do not say anything. That is the wrong message to send to the youth," he wrote.

Police brutality? The issue is being investigated now by the Police Complaints Commission, who are expected to reach a decision in the coming months.

Before this so-called "leader" goes around making unsubstantiated claims about "police brutality", perhaps he should wait for the results of the inquiry. Once again, any excuse is made to justify rioting.

Perhaps Dr Bleher should realise that his son is a racist (poor parenting?) and that despite being angry about being stopped, Mustaqim should have been polite, rather than abusive. And despite his denials, Bleher IS whipping up the issue, by writing of threats of riots.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:02 AM | Comments (5)

Europe: Muslim Cartoons Published in UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy

The undignified fuss about the "offensive" cartoons of the "prophet" Mohammed has now escalated out of any sense of proportion.

The cartoons were printed in September by Jyllands-Posten, but now Muslim nations have threatened boycotts and there are even death threats made against Danish citizens travelling in the Middle East.

If the Muslim community in Denmark had not made such whining and childish shows of hostility, the matter would probably have died down by the end of October.

The ability of Muslims to threaten death, and to have mass demonstrations (1 million in Karachi) over something so trivial as illustrations, yet retaining a total inability to condemn Muslim atrocities such as 9/11 or 7/7 with such mass protests, has created a situation where European editors have now decided that enough is enough.

In the UK, the Spectator has become the first UK publication to reproduce the pictures, and today's Telegraph states that Germany's Die Welt has printed one of the pictures on its front cover.

In Italy, La Stampa has reproduced the same image of Mohammed in a turban/bomb. In Spain, the newspaper ABC has published the original page from Jyllands-Posten, containing all 12 controversial images.

In France, the images were printed in France Soir, owned by Raymond Lakah, an Eqyptian. Lakah, who is desperately trying to sell the paper, has shown his support for freedom of speech by sacking the editor, Jacques Lefranc. The National Federation of the Muslims of France has vowed to sue France Soir, for "hurting the feelings of 1.2 billion Muslims".

No attempts to sue anyone for the hurt caused by Muslim terrorism, of course.

The cover of France Soir (above) carries the headline "YES, one has the right to caricature God" and in the speech bubble, Christ says to Mohammed "No need to get rattled, Mohamed, we have ALL been caricatured here."

In the US, the San Francisco Gate has published the turban/bomb image.

And just to give you the chance to view for yourself, whether or not such pictures merit death threats against Danish citizens, here they all are, unexpurgated.
Click on the extended link below to see all 12 cartoons, and hear more of the Muslim over-reactions.

And in a postscript - we must not forget the Dutch. The politician Geert Wilders, who is currently living in hiding since the death of Theo Van Gogh revealed he was on a Muslim "death-list", has published the cartoons on his website. And the left-leaning newspaper Volkskrant has also published the pictures.

And Muslims in Finland have decided to go on the offensive, boycotting Danish goods, according to South Africa's Sunday Times.

And the Palestinian vermin have been threatening the EU, according to the BBC World Service, where 40 members of Islamic Jihad, accompanied by a contigent of Hamas and a smaller troupe of Fatah surrounded the offices of the EU in Gaza, and fired guns in the air. The terrorist group has announced that the offices are "closed until further notice". They have said that if European newspapers continue to publish the pictures, the offices will "be attacked". According to International Herald Tribune there were only a dozen gunmen. All French citizens have been told to leave Gaza.

Hamid Karzai, the Afghanistan president, has shown his true colours by condemning the publication of these cartoons.

Even in Jordan, three of the cartoons have been published by a tabloid newspaper, al-Shihan. However, since publication, the owner of this paper has recalled all copies, and has promised "severe punishment" for those responsible, according to AKI. In Tehran, the Austrian ambassador has been given a dressing down by the Islamist junta, because Austria currently holds the EU presidency.

Today Ynet News reports that in Nablus, a German citizen, who teaches Palestinian children English, identified only as "Christoffe" was kidnapped from a hotel lobby by members of Al Aqsa Martyrs' brigade. He was told it was because of the cartoon issue. He was held for a short period, and subsequently released.

Ynet states that the dozens of Palestinians who surrounded the EU ofices in Gaza have stated: "We'll abduct and hurt all citizens of the European countries who hurt Islam's feelings and honor."

Religion of Peace? My arse....

More pictures, please, Western artists. Send them to us, and we will publish the good ones.

UPDATE: The Guardian Unlimited has announced that the Swiss have joined the fun. The newspaperLe Temps printed a selection of the drawings today in its printed edition, as did La Tribune de Geneve. Neither paper published the images on their websites. Spanish newspaper El Mundo has also printed all 12 pictures.

Despite the sacking last night of France Soir's chief editor, the paper today carried this message: "Imagine a society that added up all the prohibitions of different religions. What would remain of the freedom to think, to speak and even to come and go? We know societies like that all too well. The Iran of the mullahs, for example. But yesterday, it was the France of the Inquisitions, the burning stakes and the Saint Bartholomew's Day (a 16th century massacre of Protestants)."

Following the sacking of France Soir's editor, Jacques Lefranc, the man who was set to replace him, Eric Faveau has resigned from France Soir, and has also resigned from Presse Alliance, the group which publishes France Soir, states the BBC.

And as is typical for Pakistan, there have been demonstrations in Multan and Lahore by hundreds of students, burning flags and effigies of the Danish prime minister. Such barbarism is little different from making wax dolls and sticking pins in them.

Religion of Peace? My arse....

An update for Saturday 4 February can be found here

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:08 AM | Comments (2)

February 1, 2006

India: Muslim Tennis Player Sania Mirza Can Wear Skirt

According to the Muslim Personal Law Board, it is acceptable for a woman to wear any clothes if her profession demands it. Hopefully young Ms. Mirza won't get murdered now: Sania's skirt exempt from fatwa

Sania Mirza's short skirt has finally got approval. Muslim law-makers say their women can step out of the purdah for professional reasons.

What's worrying them now are socio-economic vices that are creeping in and this has come to light after the committee on social reforms for Muslims submitted its report to the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board in Lucknow.

The Muslim Personal Law Board - the topmost law making body of the Muslims - believes that while purdah is essential for Muslim women, they are free to wear any clothes, if their profession demands.

This has come as good news for the likes of Sania Mirza who need to wear short skirts to play tennis.

For more information on Sania Mirza, see this Western Resistance search: sania mirza

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:26 PM | Comments (1)

UK: Religious "Hate" Bill Defeated

But it took a 'stealth' operation by the opposition to defeat the measure. Long-term, it will take major political changes to defend the freedom we take for granted: A victory for freedom and a warning to Blair

Tuesday's defeat of the Government over the Religious Hatred Bill was a simple victory for freedom, and a tribute to all the people, secular and religious, who have lobbied and prayed against the measure. It was also a great parliamentary moment.

What happened was a classic opposition operation, with Labour rebels, Lib Dems and Conservatives conspiring to deceive the Government. Notably, the Lib Dems quietly recalled their MPs from the Dunfermline by-election campaign, while the Tories did not pull in their members for fear of alerting the Government.[...]

The defeat should not only cause the Government to think again about its illiberal proposals to curb free speech. It should also compel them to show more respect for the institution that once was the bastion of that liberty.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:14 PM | Comments (1)

France: French Muslims to Sue Newspaper for Reprinting Mohammad Cartoons

That didn't take long: More Muslim Madness

PARIS, February 1, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) - French Muslim leaders on Wednesday, February 1, denounced in unison the reprinting of a series of explosive cartoons blasphemous to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by a French daily and vowed to take the case to French courts.

"We call on French Muslims to peacefully protest this aggression on the Prophet of Islam," the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM) said in a statement after a meeting chaired by its head Dalil Boubackeur.

Boubakeur's call was echoed by Lhaj Thami Breze, the head of the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF), who blasted the provocative and unnecessary publication.

Paris daily France Soir said it had decided to reprint them "not from an appetite for gratuitous provocation, but because they constitute the subject of a controversy on a global scale which has done nothing to maintain balance and mutual limits in democracy, respect of religious beliefs and freedom of expression."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: Uranium Enrichment Resumes, Failed Diplomacy Continues

The CNN headline reads " World gives Iran 'final chance'". Well sure, I'm just waiting for that day, oh happy day, when the United States will give Iran its Final, Final Chance. Because if we don't, no one else will do it. Reads the CNN story:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The international community has given Iran a "final opportunity" to meet its nuclear obligations, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said.

Straw met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki for more than an hour Wednesday. The pair also met Tuesday at a conference on Afghanistan in London.

"He (Mottaki) really needs to see this agreed position by the leaders of the international community, not as a threat but as an opportunity ... a final opportunity for Iran to put itself back on track," Straw told BBC radio.

"Mottaki was warned not to walk away from the IAEA additional protocol or to make threats," a British Foreign Office spokesman said, referring to demands by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. "This was not in Iran's interest."

Later, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons that it was important to "send a signal of strength" to Iran.[...]

Well Tony, if you want to send "a signal of strenght" shouldn't you start doing so by telling your Foreign Secretary, "for God's sake, don't say the military option is off the table?"

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

Malkin: Fight the Bullies of Islam

Michelle Malkin's latest column gets to the heart of the matter; helping Denmark in her hour of need is a matter of defending our liberty: Fight the bullies of Islam

Something very important is happening in Denmark - a showdown over freedom, tolerance, and their wolfish menaces in religious clothing. So, please, turn off "American Idol," put down the Game Boy for a moment, and pay attention. This does affect you.

Last October, a Danish newspaper called the Jyllands-Posten published a dozen cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. The illustrations included various depictions of the prophet Muhammad, some innocuous (Muhammad walking in a pasture) and a few with provocative references to radical Islamic terrorism. One showed Muhammad with a bomb in his turban; another had Muhammad wielding a sword in front of two, wide-eyed Muslim women covered in black abayas; another featured a cartoonist hunched over his desk, sweating in fear, as he drew Muhammad in suicide bomb-like apparel.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)

Vatican City: Cardinal Speaks Out on the Demographic Implosion

The tale of politicians hiding behind unreasonable hopes is sadly familiar. Still, I'm just overjoyed somebody at the Vatican is watching the numbers. Hopefully effective action will follow: Vatican Cardinal: "We are realizing the worst prophecies of aging and demographic implosion"

ROME, January 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The UK Ambassador to the Vatican got an earful from a Vatican Cardinal at a Rome conference ten days ago for refusing to acknowledge facts about fertility decline and its serious implications.

Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the President of the Pontifical Council on the Family was the keynote speaker at the conference titled "The Family in the New Economy: Reflections on the Margins on Centesimus Annus". The conference, sponsored by the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, was also addressed by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, a Senior Fellow in Economics at the Institute.

Morse presented the facts on the below-replacement fertility rates for the whole of Europe and the dire social and economic consequences that would ensue. In an article based on her talk she wrote: "The fertility rates in the western industrialized countries are well below the replacement rate of 2.1 babies per woman. For the European Union as a whole, the estimated 2005 fertility rate was 1.47 babies per woman. In some countries, the rate is even lower. However, in France, approximately one birth in three is to a Muslim family. Stripped of the Muslim influence, the fertility rate of the native-born or traditionally European French would be 1.2, similar to the rates in Italy and Spain."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)

France: French Newspaper Reproduces Mohammad Cartoons

Well done, France Soir, whatever you are. More like this is needed: France enters Muslim cartoon row

A French newspaper has reproduced a set of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad that have caused outrage in the Muslim world.

France Soir said it had published the cartoons to show that "religious dogma" had no place in a secular society.

Their original publication in a Danish paper last September has led to boycotts and protests against Denmark in several Arab nations.

Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet Muhammad or Allah.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:30 AM | Comments (0)