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April 30, 2006

Germany: Muslim Imams To Play Against Christian Priests At Soccer

According to the Times, next weekend will see an unusual game of seven-a-side soccer taking place in Berlin. The soccer World Cup will be kicking off in several cities across Germany on June 9, and next weekend's match is a sort of pre-season fixture.

The game was going to happen on a Friday, but the imams objected because Friday is the main prayer-day for Muslims. The organiser is a UK expatriate, Rev Christopher Jage-Bowler, who wants to have a Jewish rabbi to be the referee. 44-year old Jage-Bowler said: "It's been difficult to find a rabbi who will referee on the Sabbath, but we are trusting in God."

The game is tied in with a UK government workshop on racism in soccer, and black players will be at the British Embassy to talk about ways of involving more Muslims in the game.

The newspaper Tagesspiegel caused controversy in February when it displayed a cartoon in which the Iranian soccer team was depicted with bombs strapped around them (see picture).

The Times notes that a recent match in Leicester, Britain, was held for charity, with Christian and Islamic clergy pitted against each other. The Christians lost miserably, despite being loaned some more athletic imams in the second half. The imams won 6-0. A game also held by under-12s saw the Christians lose to the Muslims.

In Berlin, Imam Harun Bulat of the Sehitlik Mosque, which has a large Turkish following, agreed to Jage-Bowler's request to organise a game.

On March 21 in Amsterdam, a team of gay men had a football match against Muslims. Again, the Muslims slaughtered the opposition 4-0.

Do not expect the team of Christian clergy to win. There is something about Islam's attitudes which do not require too much consideration of those deemed to be the "opposition". Maybe if Christianity taught its members to forget about "loving their enemy" they would be more focused on winning at all costs.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:50 PM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Retrial Of Islamist "Caliph Of Cologne" Starts, Is Adjourned

We reported on November 30 that Metin Kaplan, the so-called "Caliph of Cologne" appeared in court in Istanbul, Turkey, to be told he was to face a retrial. He had been given a life sentence on June 20, 2005 for plotting to kill members of Turkey's ruling elite in 1998. The plan had been to fly a plane into the mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of secular Turkey, who overthrew the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924. The mausoleum is on a hilltop above Ankara, the capital.

In November, the judge at the Supreme Court ruled that Kaplan should face a retrial because of "deficiencies in procedures and investigation". Now, Associated Press via OhMyNews states that on Friday (28 April), Kaplan's retrial began.

Two witnesses, who had claimed that they had been tortured into making incriminating testimonies were summoned before the court. According to Kaplan's lawyer, Husnu Tuna, the trial was then adjourned until July 26. A request for Kaplan to be released from jail until the outcome of the trial was finalised was ruled out by the judge.

As we reported on November 23, Kaplan was formerly a member of an Islamist group called Hilafet Devleti ("Islamic State"). This group, also called the "Anatolian Federated Islamic State (AFID)" had been founded in Germany in 1984 by Kaplan's father Cemaleddin Kaplan. The Kaplans had fled Germany after a military coup in 1980.

When Cemaleddin Kaplan died in 1995, Metin took over, and when in 2001 the group was officially banned by German authorities, its activities were continued by followers, who set up a group called Caliphate State (Kalifatstaat).

But by that time, Kaplan was in jail. He was arrested on March 25, 1999, for killing a rival, Halil Ibrahim Sofu, in 1997. For this crime, Kaplan was imprisoned for four years. Upon his release, Kaplan continued to head Caliphate State, and to act as an imam in Cologne, where he had the nickname "The Caliph of Cologne". Caliphate State has 800 followers in Germany.

Turkey had been trying to have Kaplan extradited from Germany, but because of Turkey's death penalty this had been refused. When Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2002, the procedure became more viable. In November 2004, while the squat little Caliph was in an internet cafe, he was pounced upon by police, who took him to an airport and put him on a plane to Turkey.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:30 AM | Comments (0)

Book Review: Six Days of War

"The Temple Mount is in our hands."

With those words, it was announced to the world the holiest Jewish site was once again in Jewish hands. We can only imagine what people of the Jewish faith felt at that moment. But there were more than emotions during in those June days of 1967 as Israel struggled to survive. There were facts, ideologies, biases and fears shaping the landscape of war. Historian Michael Oren attempts to bring his readers all that.

Six Days of War, Oren's history of the six-day war succeds well beyond the standard re-telling of the war stories. (Although he is great at that.) His presentation of the geo-political considerations of each actor, and the worldviews behind those considerations, may well be without parallel. This book should be one of the first read not only by those looking to understand the "Arab-Israeli" conflict, but by those trying to understand the worldwide Jihad as well.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2006

Trinidad: Muslim Leader May Remain In Jail Until October

We have reported extensively on the Trinidadian Islamist group Jamaat al Muslimeen and its leader Abu Bakr (pictured). The group staged an attempted coup on Trinidad in 1990, during which 24 people died in the violence, and the then prime minister, Arthur N.R. Robinson, was shot in the leg.

Abu Bakr has been in jail since November 7 last year, following his arrest for comments he made at the Jamaat al Muslimeen mosque and compound in Murcapao Road, Port of Spain. He had said on November 4, at Friday prayers following the end of Ramadan, that unless wealthy Muslims paid him zakat (a tithe) that there would be bloodshed and war. A subsequent raid at the compound discovered a hand grenade, sniper rifle, and 500 rounds of ammunition were discovered.

Abu Bakr was originally charged with sedition and incitement of others to breach the peace, and on November 23 we reported that terrorism had been added to the list.

A series of four bomb attacks began with an attack last summer on July 22 in Port of Spain and injured 13 people, and ended on October 14 at a nightclub in the district of St James in Port of Spain. Suspicion fell on Bakr, and he was arrested. He was later released, and loudly protested his innocence.

On Friday December 22, while Bakr was in custody, two members of the Jamaat al-Muslimeen were discovered in possession of a large bomb at their home in Arima, 10 miles from Port of Spain.

We reported on March 12 that the current government of Trinidad & Tobago, led by Patrick Manning of the People's National Movement (PNM) has been cracking down on the group, following an increase in violence on the island. Several Jamaat members with gang connections have died in gun attacks since December.

On Thursday April 6, Abu Bakr appeared in court, but this was not in connection with the errorism, sedition and incitement charges. He was facing a retrial of a case that had foundered on March 16 2005. The case was stalled because the Director of Public Prosecutions was unavailable, and he was ordered to reappear on the following Monday.

On a previous court appearance from February 16, connected with the retrial, Bakr said that the government was trying to make him a pauper, for demanding financial restitution of $32 million for the group's 1990 coup.

Bakr reappeared in the Port of Spain Second Criminal Court at the Hall of Justice on Monday 10 April, but once again, the case did not go ahead. Justice Joan Charles adjourned the case until yesterday, the 28 April. He then told the judge that he wished to be tried on terrorism charges before he faced his retrial.

Abu Bakr appeared again in court yesterday, according to the Trinidad & Tobago Express.

The case for which he is facing retrial relates to statements he apparently made on June 4, 2003 in Citrine Drive, Diamond Vale, in Diego Martin. Bakr is accused of conspiracy to murder two former members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, Salim Rasheed (aka "Small Salim") and Zaki Abudiah, Bakr's son-in-law. The previous trial had ended after two and half months at the Hall of Justice when a nine-member jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Bakr is jointly accused with Brent Miller (aka "Big Brent"), David Millard (aka "Buffy"), and others known as "Dwight", "Crock", "Skins" and "Damian".

64-year old Bakr, who was a former policeman called Lennox Phillips, was told yesterday in a closed session of court that he will now have his trial date on the charges of conspiracy to murder scheduled for October 2, later this year.

Apparently, Bakr is attempting to have a British Queen's Counsel (QC) to defend him. Yesterday was his sixth appearance in court this year. If his court case on conspiracy charges is to be delayed until later this year, and as no date has been set for the trial on sedition, terror and incitement charges, it seems that Bakr will remain in jail until then, remanded in custody. With two trials ahead of him, rather than one, his chances of gaining bail are remote.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:58 PM | Comments (0)

A Senior Source In Iranian Army Outlines Iranian Retaliation Plan

Nothing much said about this source but his senior affiliation, yet the plan sounds much like you could suspect :

1- A missile strike directly targeting the US bases in the Persian Gulf and Iraq , as soon as nuclear installations are hit.

2- Suicide operations in a number of Arab and Muslim countries against US embassies and missions and US military bases and economic and oil installations related to US and British companies. The campaign might also target the economic and military installations of countries allied with the United States .

3- Launch attacks by the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards and Iraqi fighters loyal to Iran against US and British forces in Iraq , from border regions in central and southern Iraq .

4- Hezbollah to launch hundreds of rockets against military and economic targets in Israel .

According to the source, in case the US military attacks continue, more than 50 Shehab-3 missiles will be targeted against Israel and the al Quads Brigades will give the go-ahead for more than 50 terrorists cells in Canada, the US and Europe to attack civil and industrial targets in these countries.

But the plan as it goes has a fifth part, which sounds perhaps a bit too ominous or perchance more as deliberate bluff :

What about the last stage in the plan?

Here, the Iranian source hesitated before saying with worry; this stage might represent the beginning of a world war, given that extremists will seek to maximize civilian casualties by exploding germ and chemical bombs as well as dirty nuclear bombs across western and Arab cities.

But given Bush has recently expressed that a diplomatic solution must be found, it could be right; during the high pitches stand off against North Korea some years ago, the very same creep back scene took place after some estimated that in Seoul as much as 1 mio. people could die in the first 24 hours of a war with NK.

What does one do with those roque states ? Read it all at : Asharq

Posted by Charles Martel at 6:38 PM | Comments (0)

Canada: US Claims It Is A "Safe Haven" For Muslim Terrorists

News from the Globe & Mail, from the National Post and the Vancouver Sun reports that the United States State Department has claimed that Canada is now a "safe haven" for Muslim terrorists, who have exploited its loose immigration controls and poor counterterrorism enforcement.

In a 247 page report entitled Country Report on Terrorism concerns are expressed on the presence of "numerous" terror plotters in the country. The report highlights the problems between the two nations which developed following the case of Maher Arar, an Ottawa engineer. It states "The principal threat to the close U.S.-Canadian co-operative relationship remains the fallout from the Arar case. The Arar case underscores a greater concern for the United States: the presence in Canada of numerous suspected terrorists and terror supporters."

Judeoscope relates this case, when Maher Arar, who held joint Canadian/Syrian nationality, was arrested in New York in September, 2002 on suspicion of terrorism. Maher was on a stop-over, between travelling from Tunisia to Canada. The US authorities deported him to Syria under a policy called "extraordinary rendition", where he claimed he was tortured, setting the scene for a public outcry in Canada, and restrictions upon information-sharing between the two nations.

The current US report bemoans the fact that only one person has been arrested on terrorism charges since the attacks upon the US on 9/11, 2001.

In the report, the State Department praises Canada for performing "an important counterterrorism leadership role worldwide", due to its assistance in Afghanistan. However, its statement that Canada is a "safe haven" for terrorism, whereas in its report on Iraq it said that that country is "not currently a terrorist safe haven" has not been commented upon by Canadian officials.

A spokeswoman from the office of Stockwell Day, Canada's Public Safety Minister, said: "What I can tell you is that Canada's new government believes in maintaining a vigorous counterintelligence program to safeguard our nation's security." She said that officials were still reviewing the contents of the report and would not discuss its details at present.

The report describes five "terrorists and terror supporters". These are Mohamed Harkat, Mohamed Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei and Adil Charkaoui.

We described in October how four of these men were already in custody. Egyptians Mohammad Mahjoub and Mahmoud Jaballah and Syrian Hassan Almrei and a third, Mohammed Harkat (pictured) from Algeria were then being transferred to a federal penitentiary. Now they are being held at Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, the "Guantanamo of the north" on security certificates. Adil Charkaoui is free on bail.

We reported on October 26 that plans were afoot to deport Mohammed Harkat to his native Algeria, following promises from their government that he would not receive torture, but this obviously has not happened.

The report also noted that: "Canada is also home to the Khadr terrorist family." We described this family in December.

The report states that there were 11,000 separate terror attacks around the world in 2005, killing 14,600 people, compared to 2003, when there were 208 terrorist attacks, killing 625. In 2004, there were 3,168 terror attacks, killing 1,907 and injuring 6,704 people.

In 2005, 30% of all terror attacks happened in Iraq, and caused 55% of fatalities (8,300 people). 56 Americans were killed in terror attacks, with 47 of these in Iraq.

3,000 deaths were caused by 360 suicide bombings. And during 2005, an average of 30 terror attacks took place globally per day.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)

Whose Back Is Broken?

While Zawahiri claims that the US back is broken in Iraq, the opposite might be closer to the truth, though. As we are about to hear, terrorism took its toll on mankind last year, the numbers mentioned Here are probably in the lower end since what is eg. going on in Algeria and more places, more often that not qualifies :

Associated Press
First published: Saturday, April 29, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of al-Qaida lost some control of the terror network last year due to the arrests and deaths of top operational planners, but the group remains the most prominent terror threat facing the United States and its allies, the State Department said Friday.
In its annual report on worldwide terrorism, the department singled out Iran as the most active state sponsor of terrorism, saying that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence and Security directly have been involved in planning and support of terrorist acts.

Overall, the report tallied about 11,000 terror attacks around the world last year, resulting in more than 14,600 deaths. That is almost a fourfold increase in attacks from 2004, though the agency attributes the change largely on new ways of tallying the incidents.

At least 10,000 to 15,000 of the about 40,000 people killed or wounded worldwide were Muslims, most of them in Iraq.

About 3,500 of last year's attacks occurred in Iraq and about 8,300 of the deaths occurred there, accounting for a large part of the increase over 2004.

The report said Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists, but Shiite and Sunni extremist groups are trying to turn it into one. While the U.S. and its allies have thwarted some attacks and kidnappings by groups like al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, "the battle is far from over," it said.

The report said that Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders are scattered and on the run, and Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for the network. In addition, al-Qaida's relations with the Taliban that once ruled Afghanistan are growing weaker and the group's finances and logistics have been disrupted, the report said.

"Al-Qaida is not the organization it was four years ago," the report said.

However, "overall, we are in the first phase of a potentially long war," it said. "The enemy's proven ability to adapt means we will go through several more cycles of action/reaction before the war's outcome is no longer in doubt."

A new generation of extremists, some trained through the Internet, is emerging in cells, the report said.

Osama who has promised us that he will not be taken alive , should indeed ideally be kept on the run and under pressure. But more important of course is it to stop the whole organization, and looks like that this back is the most broken one.

Posted by Charles Martel at 5:35 PM | Comments (0)

Al Qaeda A Real Bio Terror Threat

Interpol out with a warning, we are not really prepared for this :

From the Khaleej Times

Al Qaeda bioterror threat remains real: Interpol (Reuters)

29 March 2006

SINGAPORE - Al Qaeda has the ability to carry out attacks using biochemicals and the threat of a strike remains real, a top Interpol official warned on Wednesday.

John Abbott, chairman of Interpol`s bioterrorism sub-committee, said national police forces and health services lacked preparation for an attack using dangerous toxins and had insufficient knowledge and powers to handle such an event.

"There is a threat. Al Qaeda have made it clear ... that they consider the use of chemical and biological agents as acceptable. There have been a few cases around the world in recent times which suggest that there is a capability," Abbott said.

"I think that any person who carefully considers the issues will recognise that it`s complacent to assume that we`re prepared for anything. Criminals and terrorists are innovative," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a bioterrorism conference attended by Asian law enforcement officials and health experts.

Security officials have long warned of the risk of an al Qaeda attack using biological weapons such as anthrax, ricin, botulinum toxin, smallpox, plague or Ebola.

Al Qaeda manuals on preparation of biowarfare agents were discovered at the group`s training camps in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion of the country in late 2001.

Interpol, the global police body, has stepped up training of police forces on how to handle possible attacks with biological agents, which often take some time to emerge as victims with symptoms of contamination or infection report to hospitals and doctors.

Abbott said many countries still lacked legislation that would enable their authorities to look into potential threats such as the movement of agents and pathogens within countries and across borders.

"It is necessary to criminalise certain activities. We don`t want to get in the way of bio-science development. What we want to do is stop people who have a desire to misuse the developments in bio-science from being able to do so."

France-based Interpol last year moved to establish a resource centre at its Lyon headquarters for sharing information between police, health officials and scientists and informing member countries about threats and best practice.

Posted by Charles Martel at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)

US: Black Muslim Leader On Attempted Murder Charge

We have detailed the complicated story of Yusuf Bey IV, the heir to the Black Muslim empire in Oakland, California. Now, with a hat-tip to Little Green Footballs, Yusuf Bey IV appears to have now gone one step too far in his blatant contempt for law and order. According to the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oroville Mercury Register, Bey has now been charged with attempted murder.

On Thursday night, he was thrown out of a strip club in downtown San Francisco, the New Century Theater on Larkin Street. He had arrived with four other men, and according to a police source: "They basically were being entertained by the women and they sort of become a little rambunctious and the management tells them to tone it down."

The club has upstairs private rooms, and Bey and his buddies were in one of these when another dispute arose. Bey's troupe asked for their money back for the private room admission fee, and returned downstairs, when one of Bey's associates tried to grope one of the female entertainers.

Lieutenant Leroy Lindo, the police source, said: "That's when the management said, 'It's time for you to go'. As they are leaving, one of the people in the group hauls off and hits a bouncer."

This erupted into a fight, which continued onto the street outside. Bey is said to have got into his car, a BMW with the registration plate "DR BEY", and then drove into one bouncer, narrowly missing another bouncer. His car was discovered in a nearby alley, shortly afterwards, and Bey was arrested.

A jail official said yesterday that Yusuf Bey IV is currently being held at the San Francisco County Jail for attempted murder.

Although he is now only 20 years old, Yusuf Bey IV was already on his way to becoming a hardened criminal. He is currently awaiting trial on a number of charges. These, and his attending strip clubs, give to the lie to his self-proclaimed Muslim "piety", and his condemning of the Yemeni Muslim store-owners for their hypocrisy for selling alcohol. He recently said of these: "In their home countries they'd be killed for selling alcohol."

Last year, in Solano County, he tried to get credit finance for purchase of a vehicle, using someone else's identification. He is awaiting a trial for charges of grand theft of a vehicle, obtaining property under false pretenses, and "other counts".

He is awaiting trial in connection with incidents which happened on the evening of Wednesday, November 23, when a group of a dozen or so well-dressed black men entered stores selling liquor in Oakland, and began to smash up the property within. The black men told the owners of the San Pablo Liquor stare and the New York Market not to sell alcohol to black men as they rampaged.

In the early hours of Monday 27 November, another shop, owned by a Yemeni Muslim, was set alight. Later that day, the store clerk was found locked in the trunk of a car in the parking lot of a branch of Safeway in El Cerrito.

Bey was identified with five other men from CCTV footage of the liquor-store vandalism and an arrest warrant was issued. On Thursday January 12, Yusuf Bey IV and others from the Black Muslims peaded not guilty on charges of vandalism, false imprisonment and hate crimes.

Last June, police were called when Yusuf Bey IV was arguing with a movie theater manager, where he was seen waving a toothpick in the man's face. Bey tried to leave without giving his name, and when he refused to cooperate with a female officer because of her gender, he was arrested. He was scheduled to appear at the Superior Court in Freemont on March 30, charged with resisting arrest. He had failed to turn up for this and previous court hearings , and a $5,000 warrant was issued for his arrest.

On April 6 he was arrested while driving his BMW near Your Black Muslim Bakery, one of the establishments formerly owned by his father, Yusuf Bey, founder of the Black Muslims. Yusuf Bey IV had his car towed away, but it seems he had got it back by Thursday evening, when he appears to have tried to use it as a murder weapon.

When the head of the Black Muslim Empire died in 2003 of stomach cancer, Yusuf Bey senior was himself awaiting charges of sexual assault of a minor. We gave a brief history of Yusuf Bey's empire and questionable tactics in November last year.

Born Joseph H. Stevens in Greeneville, Texas in 1935, Yusuf Bey senior moved with his parents to Oakland at the age of 5. He joined the US Air Force at age 17, and after four years he was honourably discharged. He became involved with the Nation of Islam in 1964, and became a devotee of Elijah Mohammed. He set up the Your Black Muslim Bakery in 1968 in Santa Barbara, before transferring its operations to East Bay in 1971.

As well as the lucrative bakery franchise, Bey owned laundries, housing, a school, a security firm, and retail businesses. He also bred several potential heirs. He had a weekly cable show running until shortly before his death called True Solutions, in which he espoused his doctrine of anti-white and anti-semitic Islam. At one stage, he even ran for the mayorship of Oakland.

Following Yusuf Bey's death, a turf war broke out between members of his family, with 51 year-old Waajid Aljawaad Bey, CEO of Your Black Muslim Bakery being murdered in 2004. His rotting corpse was recovered from a shallow grave in the Oakland Hills. In June last year, Yusuf senior's adopted son John Bey survived a gun ambush near his home, though he was wounded in the attack. On October 26, 24 year old Antar Bey, Yusuf Bey senior's son was shot dead at a gas station in Oakland.

After the violence which ensued from this turf war, late last year the then 19-year old Yusuf Bey IV assumed control of Your Black Muslim Bakery.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Muslim Bomb Suspects Deny Guilt

On 21 July, exactly a fortnight after devastating attacks against London Transport on 7/7, in which 52 people were killed by four British Muslims, further attempted attacks were made against London Transport. Despite causing minor damage, the failed suicide bombers did not manage to kill themselves, let alone anyone else. The four individuals then fled from their various locations, and all but one were visible on CCTV cameras.

Yesterday, according to the UK Telegraph, the four suspects appeared in court via a videolink to London's Old Bailey, and denied any involvement with the attacks. They, along with a fifth man, 32-year old Manfo Kwaku Asiedu of Finsbury Park, north London, pladed not guilty to charges of attempted murder.

Asiedu, a Ghanaian, was arrested in connection with a discarded rucksack found at Little Wormwood Scrubs on 23 July, two days after the attempted bomb attacks.

24-year old Yassin Hassan Omar, born in Somalia, was arrested in the Hay Mills area of Birmingham, after his parents recognised him from the CCTV image (top left in picture). He had apparently tried to blow up a train on the Waterloo Line underground, near Warren Street, north central London. Police used a Taser gun to stun him at his arrest. He had arrived in Britain agaed 12, when his family came as refugees. For the past six years he lived in New Southgate, north London, and apart from spells in prison, had received 24,000 pounds ($43,816 US) in housing benefit.

The porcine individual top right in the picture is 27-year old Muktar Said Ibrahim, who apparently tried to blow up a number 26 bus in Hackney Road in East London. He had come to Britain from Eritrea in 1996 when his family claimed refugee status. He finally became a British citizen in September 2004. He lived with his family in Stanmore, on the edge of North London, but was a resident of Stoke Newington, north London, before his arrest.

23-year old Ramzi Mohammed (bottom right in picture), from Kensington, pleaded not guilt to trying to detonate a bomb at the Oval tube station, south London.

27-year old Hussain Osman of Stockwell, south London (bottom left) pleaded not guilty to trying to blow up a train near Shepherds Bush station, west London. After the failed bombings, he fled to Italy, where he was arrested at his brother's apartment in Rome on 29 July. In custody in Italy, he claimed that the rucksack was packed with flour and was only meant to scare people. He originally came from Ethiopia. He was deported back to Britain on September 23. Also known as Hamdi Isaac, Osman had claimed earlier to be a Somali to obtain a British passport.

All five were additionally charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. According to Qatar's Peninula, a sixth man, 23-year old Adel Yahya from Tottenham, north London, was remanded to another hearing in June. He was charged with conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life, but did not enter a plea. According to the BBC, Yahya was arrested on Tuesday, 19 December after he arrived at Gatwick airport on a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It is widely believed that the reason why the rucksack bombs failed to explode is because the explosives they were made from, acetone peroxide, were created at the same time as those prepared for the 7/7 bombers. The rucksacks did not cause the devastation of the earlier attacks as the chemical rapidly deteriorates, and had consequently lost its "fizz".

In additional news, the Telegraph reports that a 20-year old man, Mohammed Atif Siddique or Asif Siddique, has been released without charge. We reported when he was arrested on April 13 in Alva, Clackmannanshire.

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

Pakistan: Conversions Through Intimidation Show Face of Islam

Do you want to know how the Religion of Peace expanded? Well, there is the kidnapping of non-Muslim women and forcing them to "marry" Muslim men, and then there is this: Where Christianity faces a fight to survive

A recent convert from Christianity to Islam, Bashir Masi knew nothing of his new faith.

He could not describe a single tenet of Islam, nor remember the Qalma, the Muslim declaration of faith, nor name his own children, who have adopted Muslim names.

He, his wife Amna and their six children, converted to Islam 15 days ago. "We are happy now we are Muslim," said Mr Masi, 45. "It is a great religion."

The Masis's conversion is typical of the vulnerability of Christians in Pakistan, many of whom live under the threat of persecution, death and who have suffered waves of violence directed against them and their churches.[...]

If Muslims ever become strong enough to be dominant in our countries, this will be our fate.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:48 AM | Comments (0)

US: Conservative Blogs Suffer Saudi-Based Cyberattack

As Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs said; "I wonder why we never see these kinds of attacks on "progressive" blogs?": Cyber Attack

According to a report on the conservative blog LittleGreenFootballs, the hosting service for a group of popular conservative blogs was hit on Friday with a Denial of Service Attack originating in Saudi Arabia.

Host Matters, the hosting company effected, posted announcements indicating that a specific website had been targeted. So far no website has been named, but the company has promised to remove the target website from their server until a solution can be found.

As a sidenote, a lot of the top US-based conservative blogs are hosted at Hosting Matters.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Muslim Council Will Kill Those Who Report Honor Killings

Dir is a region in North-West Frontier Province Pakistan, lying north of Peshawar and adjoining the border with Afghanistan. In 1996, Dir was split in half into two administrative regions, Upper Dir and Lower Dir.

Upper Dir is, socially, backwards beyond belief, and the roles of women are, as in other tribal regions, no better than chattels. It was recently reported that the literacy rate for women in the agency is only 6%. The overall literacy rate is only 21% in the region. Only some children attend school, and in 2001, a child was given the death sentence in Upper Dir. Ali Sher is now 15, and still in jail.

The local culture continues in spite of the national government, and often in defiance of its rulings. The most extreme example comes in a report from Pakistan's Daily Times. In Nihag-Dara district, Wari, as in many tribal areas of North-West Frontiier Province, the local law is upheld by elders of the Muslim village council, or jirga. 15 days ago, the jirga of Nihag-Dara, Upper Dir, announced a decision which said that honor-killing was a permissable act.

The Wari police state that 150 people attended this jirga, called by members of the Painda Dhel tribe. However, Malik Faiz Muhammad, one of the jirga members, claims 4,000 people, representing the entire region, were present. Some union council representatives also attended the jirga.

Nationally, honor-killing was outlawed officially a year ago, as we reported earlier, along with "compensation marriages" called vani in Punjab province, and swara in North-West Frontier province.

The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HCRP) recently stated that about 1,000 women are killed every year in Pakistan in these honor-killings, but such cases rarely get reported.

The announcement of the fatwas made by jirgas, such as those concerning swara (vani) marriages, where girls are given away in forced marriages as a compensation for a crime committed by a male relative, has created a reaction of disgust in the more civilised parts of Pakistan. The decision to condone honor killings has taken national reactions into consideration, as it also allows the killing of anyone who reports on a jirga decision on honor-killing.

Yesterday, Malik Faiz Muhammad said: "We stick to our verdict that honour killing is permissible and those who commit it will not be liable to any punishment. We will also not allow the aggrieved party to report the case to the police or file the case before a court. We will kill those who will violate the jirga verdict."

Muhammad said that the jirga itself would do its investigation of cases which would merit homor-killing, and would carry out the punishments without outside interference. He claimed that members of the jirga were prepared to sacrifice themselves to uphold the verdict.

The federal government has asked the North-West Frontier provincial government to investigate the jirga's decision. The senior policeman for the Upper Dir district said the government would not accept the "illegal" verdict of the jirga, and saying all similar cases would be registered and dealt with under federal law.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:26 AM | Comments (2)

April 28, 2006

Sweden: Islamic Association Demands Special Laws For Muslims

News from The Local and Associated Press via Nasdaq News reports that Mahmoud Aldebe, who is head of the Swedish Muslim Association, (SMF), has written to Sweden's parliamentary parties, demanding special laws for Muslims in Sweden.

The SMF is Sweden's largest Islamic group, which represents 70,000 Muslims. Aldebe (pictured) sent the letter yesterday, in which he said that imams should be allowed into state schools to give Muslim children separate lessons in Islam and also the languages of their parents' countries. He demanded that swimming lessons in schools should have boys and girls segregated, and also said that in cases of divorce for Muslims, these should be approved by an imam. He also demanded that separate burial grounds be provided for Muslims.

On the swimming pools issue, he advised that laws should force swimming pools to have female-only evenings once a week, because Muslim parents would not allow daughters to bathe with males for "ethical and religious reasons." He wrote: "Many Muslim girls finish their high school education without knowing how to swim at all."

Aldebe's letter was vehemently dismissed by Jens Orback, Sweden's integration and equality minister, who said: "We will not have separate laws in Sweden. In Sweden, we are all equal before the law. In Sweden, we have fought for a long time to achieve gender-neutral laws, and to propose that certain groups should not be treated like others is completely unacceptable.....We have freedom of speech, we have the right to opinions and we have the right to make proposals - but if a law is going to be changed, it must be the same for everyone."

Orback said he had spoken to representatives of the Swedish Muslim Council who said they did not agree with Aldebe's proposals. Speaking on Swedish TV's Rapport programme, Orback was asked if Aldebe's suggestions added fuel to the agenda of racists. He replied: "I think it is very problematic and unfortunate that people who have been in Sweden for so long make proposals such as this that are so opposed to our intentions, when we are fighting for women's rights and the right to divorce."

There are five Islamic organisations in Sweden. Abd al Haqq Kielan (formerly Leif Larsson) converted to Islam thirty years ago, who believes Islam should be integrated within Swedish society. He is now the chairman of the Swedish Islamic Association. He was scathing of Abdele's propositions, calling them "absurd", and suggested they would lead to a "sort of Mullah-rule that people are scared of."

"He is lucky if he speaks for 70 of his members," Keilan said. "If you open the gate for separate laws for different minorities, where will it end? We have to have one law for all citizens. That is so obvious that I don't understand how he can come up with such an idea."

Other Muslims criticised Aldebe's suggestions. Mariam Osman Sherifay, a lawmaker within the ruling Social Democratic Party, said: "If we are going to live here, we should adapt to the laws that exist - we should not have a separate law just because we have a different faith."

The leader of the Liberal Party, Lars Leijonborg, wrote: "Sweden has equality between men and women. To introduce exceptions for Muslims so that women can be oppressed with the support of the law is completely unacceptable to me."

Following the widespread condemnation of his proposals, Mahmoud Abdele earlier today changed his tune. Speaking on Swedish radio, he said that he only intended that Swedish laws should be altered to make Muslims feel safe in Swedish society.

Aldebe is being disingenuous, as he is known to advocate Sharia law in Sweden. His group, according to EuroIslam has the following objectives: "The specific missions of the SMR are the creation of mosques and Islamic schools, inform non-Muslims about Islam and to take an active part in public debate."

In 2004, he said that there was not "a single Muslim in Sweden who deserves to be called terrorist". He obviously was not then aware of Mirsad Bektasevic.

UPDATE: Saturday, 29 September: Sweden's The Local reports that another Islamic organisation, the Muslim Council of Sweden, an umbrella body for smaller Muslim groups, has joined condemnations of Mahmoud Aldebe's suggestions. Mehmet Kaplan, the Council's spokesman, told newspaper Svenska Dagbladet that: "This has absolutely no support in any of our organisations. It's a non-issue for us. I have also spoken to the vice-chairman of the Swedish Muslim Association and he didn't know anything about it either. This is sad. There are other important issues which are now being obscured."

Yesterday a crisis meeting was held by other Muslim groupings, who confirmed they did not support Aldebe's ideas.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)

Palestinian Sector: Muslims Threaten YMCA

The YMCA, or Young Men's Christian Association has been in existence for more than 150 years, since it was founded in London on June 6, 1844, by George Williams (1821 - 1905) a draper and Christian. The first YMCA hostel initially provide lodgings for migrant workers to London who were in need of accommodation. The YMCA movement became popular, and by 1854 had spread to 7 nations, including Canada and the US. In 1878, the first YMCA was opened in Jerusalem, and in 1890 had a Hebrew-speaking branch and an Arabic speaking branch in Jerusalem, and another in Jaffa (Haifa).

The YMCA's policy is to accept people regardless of their faith, and in modern-day Palestinian territories, there is an active branch of the YMCA in the town of Qalqilya on the edge of the West Bank, which lies now almost surrounded by the 8 meter high wall (pictured). This wall has turned the town from one formerly popular with Israelis, who shopped there, to a hub of Palestinian extremism.

News from today's UK Daily Telegraph reports that the YMCA at Qalqilya is under attack from Islamists in the local region. Muslim clerics are trying to close the branch. Recently, firebombs were thrown into the Qalqilya YMCA. A letter, written by Muslim clerics to the local council, demanding closure of the branch, stated: "The presence of this office will lead to negative consequences."

The deputy mayor of Qalqilya, Hashem al Masri, is a member of the Islamist group Hamas, and hates the notion of Christian influence in the region. He said that merely the group's name was a "challenge to the city...I know it is not civilized to attack it, but it is a challenge to the feeling of our people."

Despite its name, the YMCA is actively involved with work for local people, irrespective of their Muslim faith, and particularly in assisting children. The Qalqilya branch gives wheelchairs and prosthetics for kids, and has an annual budget of $85,000 for this purpose. Throughout the West Bank, the YMCA organisation has offices which employ 140 Palestinians, with 84 of these being Muslim.

We reported on the anti-Christian persecutions in Palestinian areas. 60 years ago, Christians numbered 20% of the population, but now make up only about 2%. With these attacks, the Christians have felt obliged to move away, to be replaced by Jewish settlers (there are 23 Israeli settlements in the area) and Muslims with large families.

Though the YMCA has a strict policy of non-proselytizing of Christian faith, Norris Lineweaver of YMCA West Jerusalem agreed that their name alone attracted negative attention: "The problems arise because of an unfortunate misunderstanding about our role. We are there simply to help the local councils, whether they are Muslim or Christian, with any youth development programmes they might have."

The West Bank YMCA would not speak to Tim Butcher, the Telegraph reporter, because of the current sensitivities. Marouf Zahran was the mayor of Qilqalya until ousted by Hamas last year, but said that the council and other groups made no effort to stop incitement against the YMCA.

One local YMCA worker said Christians and Muslims should cooperate, saying: "We live together - Muslims and Christians."

UPDATE: May 4. MEMRI has more details of the fatwa against the Qalqilia YMCA, which was signed by 40 clerics and dignitaries.

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

Indonesia: Muslim Sect Comments Land Minister In Hot Water

The man pictured left is Maftuh Basyuni, Indonesia's religious affairs minister. We reported on March 10 that Maftuh Basyuni had declared that the sect of Muslims known as the Ahmadi or Ahmadiyya (called Jemaah Ahmadiyah in Indonesia) should renounce their claim to call themselves Muslims. "If they refuse to do so, they should return to Islam by renouncing their beliefs," he said to Koran Tempo.

He also said that he intended to limit the number of religions which could deemed legally acceptable faiths - Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confuscianism.

In Indonesia, there are 200,000 members of the Ahmadiyah sect, which was founded in India in 1989. The sect eschews violence and claims that its founder, Hadrhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is the Mahdi, or a prophet. Traditionally Muslims believe that Mohammed is the last prophet, and therefore the Ahmadi have suffered discrimination and violence throughout the Muslim world.

In Pakistan, to propagate the Ahmadi faith is illegal under articles 298-B and 298-C of the penal code, and to breach these rules, a three-year prison sentence can be given. In Saudi Arabia, Amadiyya members are banned from attending the hajj at Mecca. In Bangladesh, violence and discrimination is led by factions ties to the Islami Oikya Jote, one of the four coalition government parties.

We reported in September that more than 1000 people converged upon the neighbourhood of Sukadana in West Java where an Ahmadiyyah community lives, and attacked buildings. No people were injured by the crowd, which nevertheless damaged more than 70 houses, and also six mosques. Only five of the attackers were arrested.

When Maftuh Basyuni said that Ahmaddiyah had no right to call themselves Muslims, there had been another attack upon an Ahmadi community in February, the previous month. This happened in Lombok, in Nusa Tenggara Barat. 100 Ahmadis were living as a result of the attacks, in which their homes were burned down, as refugees in Mataram. Some wanted asylum in Canada and Australia.

One of the refugees said to New Straits Times: "It's ridiculous to suggest that we form a new religion. We are Muslims who pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan, and believe in the same Quran."

The September attacks at Sukadana had followed a fatwa by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) which had in July reissued a fatwa which had originally been issued in 1984. This declared that all forms of pluralism and liberal interpretations of Islam were forbidden, and led to renewed attacks upon the Ahmadis and also the Islam Liberal Network, as well as increased hostilities towards Christians. The MUI fatwa chairman, Kiayi Ma'ruf Amin, claimed at the time of Maftuh's announcement that the Jemaah Ahmadiyah is outside the fold of Islam.

But now, according to AKI, Maftuh Basyuni is under fire for his condemnations of the sect, and a religious freedom campaign group, the Alliance of Religious Freedom has said they are planning to register a police complaint.

The Alliance of Religious Freedom asked the Religious Affairs Minister to apologise for his comments on April 17. This letter was co-signed by 300people including Islamic scholars, journalists, artists and members of NGOs. It gave Maftuh Basyuni one week in which to declare a retraction of his statement and to proclaim a commitment to religious pluralism in the country (which is enshrined in the nation's constitution), or face legal consequences. The deadline ran out this Tuesday (25 April).

Dawam Rahardjo, a Muslim scholar and "moderate" who heads the alliance, said that the group was going to go to the police, but did not have a date for such action. He said the Alliance would petition the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "A minister must protect all religious believers from discrimination," Dawam said.

Lawyer Uli Parulian Sihombing of the alliance said: "Based on the five principles of the Pancasila (constitution/state ideology), he must understand that Indonesia is a country which allows its citizens to choose their own religions and beliefs."

Another lawyer, Saor Siagian, said the statement by Maftuh could lead to infringement of minority faiths' rights. He said the group's lawyers were considering suing Maftuh Basyuni for defamation.

Dawam Rahardjo called upon the largest Indonesian Muslim groups, the Nahdlatul Ulama (with 40 million members) and Muhammadiyah (with 30 million), to also support the campaign to have the minister disciplined.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:25 PM | Comments (0)

Vienna: Iran Rejects Demand to Stop Uranium Enrichment

Going to the United Nations Security Council is the equivalent of sacrificing virgins to the sun god: it doesn't help a darn, but you still do it because "it is the right thing to do." I despair the United States is allowing an enemy obtain nukes because the American people is too morally confused to support stronger action: IAEA: Iran Defying Call to Stop Enrichment

VIENNA, Austria Apr 28, 2006 (AP)- Iran has defied a U.N. Security Council call to freeze uranium enrichment and is stonewalling efforts to determine if it is developing nuclear arms, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday in a report that strengthened Western calls for sanctions.

The United States and its allies reacted quickly, with Britain pledging to introduce a resolution next week for the council to issue a mandatory order for Iran to abandon uranium enrichment. Russia and China, however, have sought to avoid a showdown and opposed escalating pressures on Tehran.

President Bush said "the world is united and concerned" about what he called Iran's "desire to have not only a nuclear weapon but the capacity to make a nuclear weapon or the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon."

But, reflecting the lack of consensus on punishing Iran, he added, "I think the diplomatic options are just beginning."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was defiant, saying that whatever resolution the Security Council adopts, it cannot make Iran give up its nuclear program. "The Iranian nation won't give a damn about such useless resolutions," he told a cheering crowd in northwestern Iran.[..]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:01 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: F-16's Sale Scaled Back

Good. Lower-quality weapons to our eventual, if not current, enemies. Even if we are the ones selling them the planes: Pakistan scales back F-16 purchases from US

Pakistan has scaled back by half its ambitious planned purchase of new fighter planes from the US to help pay for the relief costs of last year's devastating earthquake.

Foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan announced on a visit to Washington that rather than buy new Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, Pakistan would purchase "a mix" of old and new planes. The plan would be "far less ambitious", he said without giving figures.

Western diplomats familiar with the US-Pakistan discussions said Pakistan was now likely to spend US$1.6bn-US$1.8bn on the F-16s, down from as much as U$3.5bn.

Note: Pakistan's real reason for scaling back the purchases is an attempt to "punish" the U.S. for its nuclear deal with India. The result, of course, will be a Pakistan who falls farther and farther behind India in the defense sphere.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2006

Indonesia: Non-Muslims Must Face Islamic Punishments In Aceh

We reported back in December that, a year after the devastating tsunami of 24 December 2004, the Islamic Sharia police, or Wilayatul Hisbah were busy arresting people for breaking Islamic rules on Aceh. They particularly blamed the evil nature of women for the tsunami, and one of the sharia judges from the Islamic courts, Dr Marluddin Jalil said: "The Holy Koran says that if women are good, then a country is good."

The Islamification of Indonesia really began in earnest in Aceh. We reported on March 15 that a couple were caught in a car together at night by members of the Wilyatul Hisbah near the village of Lambhuk (Lombok) in Banda Aceh. Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki, a leading figure in the Aceh liberation movement or GAM was in the car with a French aid worker. He was due to appear at the Sharia Court in Banda Aceh, but his companion, being a non-Muslim was exempt from punishment. Such "leniency" for non-Muslims is now set to end.

An article in AKI relates that, due to a ruling by state secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the Indonesian government, the rights of non-Muslims to escape the more extreme punishments of sharia law will be abolished, at least in one district of the province of Aceh.

Yusril announced that a new Islamic Court would be set up in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam district. Non-Muslims who are accused of crimes like theft and adultery will have choice but submit to sharia by-laws. Previously, non-Muslims accused of such offenses would have had the choice of being tried under the national Criminal Code, which has lesser penalties, and does not include punishments such as "stoning for adultery.

Several legislators complained about the subjection of non-Muslims to Islamic rules, (in a country whose constitution declares religious pluralism). But Yusril Ihza Mahendra would have none of that, saying a two-tier system would create legal uncertainty. he said: "Should such freedom be given, non-Muslims will certainly choose to be tried under the Criminal Code, because it carries more lenient punishment."

The Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and the Buddhist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have argued that non-Muslims should be iven a right of choice in such matters.

Yusril said that non-Muslims would only be exempt from sharia law in issues of domestic arrangements, such as wealth distribution and business and monetary affairs.

He added details about the Islamic Court would await the drawing up of more bylaws. "It is these that will decide who will be tried under which law," Yusril said. The court is one of the key elements of the current bill on Aceh's administration required under the landmark peace accord signed last August between separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government that ended a 29 year conflict in the province.

If this is the face of the future in Indonesia, it is not a pretty thing. About 12% of people in Indonesia are not Muslim, and it is an abuse of their rights, as well as a breach of the terms of Indonesia's constitution, to force Islamism upon non-Muslims.

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

Bangladesh: Last Two Leaders Of Islamist Terror Group Captured

News from Bangladesh Independent and the Bangladesh Daily Star reports that the last two fugitive members of the seven people comprising the Majlish-e-Shura or executive council of the terrorist group Jama'atul Muhahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were captured yesterday.

Previous members of the shura who have been captured were Abdul Awal, son-in-law of the chief of JMB who was captured from a Thakurgaon bus stand on November 18. Ataur Rahman Sunny was captured in Tejgaon, Dhaka on December 13. On 28 February, Khulna JMB chief Mohammad Rakib Hasan Russell alias Hafez Mahmud, 28 was captured near Baitul Mukarram mosque in Dhaka. Ataur Rahman Sunny's elder brother and head of JMB, Abdur Rahman, was captured in Sylhet in the northeast of the country on March 2. Bangla Bhai, the second in command of JMB, and leader of his own group, JMJB or Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (Vigilant Muslim Citizens, Bangladesh) was arrested on March 6. In an attempt to avoid arrest, Bangla Bhai tried to blow himself up at a house he was besieged in, in the village of Muktagacha, 70 miles north of Dhaka, the capital.

The remaining two members of JMB's Majlish-e-Shura were Khaled Saifullah, and Salahuddin. We reported on March 13 that Khaled Saifullah had norrowly escaped arrest from a house he had been staying at in at Comilla, near the eastern border with India. In the house, security officers discovered a cache of explosives, including 3 live bombs, grenades and detonator powder.

Khaled Saifullah had been JMB's district leader of the Rangpur-Dinajpur region. He was finally captured from the suburb of Konapara in Demra, at Dhaka, the capital in a pre-dawn raid. In the raid, his wife, three children and brother were also arrested, as well as the owner of the house.

Earlier, the other remaining Shura member, Salahuddin had been captured with six associates from Chittagong, in the south east of Bangladesh on Tuesday evening. He was arrested with six other people, and under interrogation, he gave security officers the address of Khaled Saifullah, which in turn led to his arrest a few hours later.

Both individuals had been on the run since August 17 year, when JMB and JMJB had organised a nationwide bombing campaign took place in 63 of the nation's 64 districts. More than 450 bombs went off, injuring at least 100 people and killing two.

Saifullah had been residing in an apartment in the house, posing as a businessman, for one and a half months. Saifullah would not respond at first to calls for him to surrender made by the RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), the paramilitary security group, who had evacuated other residents of the house and cordoned off the area. For a while, RAB members spoke to Saifullah and his brother using a mobile phone. Eventually, Saifullah opened the door, and then tried to jump a wall and escape. He was captured, and the remaining people in the apartment gave themselves up. A computer, CDs and Islamic books were taken away.

The previous day before Saifullah's capture, two JMB activists were arrested at Rupganj in Narayangang district. Mohammad Wasim, 25, and Ali Hossain, 25 were discovered with a large cache of explosives and bomb paraphernalia. This comprised 1 kg each of nitrogen benzene and potassium chlorate, 100 grams of lead azide, 500 grams each of sodium nitrate and sodium azide, 45 detonators, 11 integrated circuit (IC), 24 electric connectors and an explosive measuring scale.

Latest reports from the Bangladesh Daily Star assert that all seven members of the JMB Majlish-e-Shura have had links with Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the parties in the coalition government, or its student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir. We discussed in December the links between Jamaat-e-Islami and JMB and JMJB.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:52 PM | Comments (0)

Somalia: Islamic Courts And Anti-Terror Alliance Threaten More Violence

Today Somalinet reports that the tensions which have existed since a temporary truce between the militias allied to the Islamic Courts and those allied to the Anti-Terror Alliance are threatening to break out into open bloodshed again.

We reported on March 14 that Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, leader of the Union of Islamic Courts would take over the city of Mogadishu by force. Already the Islamic courts had been acting as vigilantes, destroying sports bars, closing cinemas, and even vandalising a film-dubbing studio. Their militias use violence, and also theft. In November, at least 12 people were killed in a shoot-out when they tried to close one cinema.

The Counter-Terror Alliance, headed by Abdi Nore Siad, was formed in February this year. This group was started to counter the endemic violence in Mogadishu. Between February 18 and Feb 22 this year, a battle between the ALliance and an Islamic militia led by Shiekh Sharif Sheikh Hassan of the Union of Islamic Courts led to 22 people being killed, and more than 120 wounded. The Union of Islamic Courts blame the Alliance as being backed by Ethiopia and the United states. As recently as yesterday, as reported by Somalinet Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed of the Union accused the Alliance of being funded by Israel, Ethiopia and Israel.

A week after Ahmed's announcement on March 14 that the Islamic Courts' militias were going to take Mogadishu by force, they began an insurgency. Islamic militiamen travelled to northern Mogadishu on buses, wearing civilian clothing and carrying concealed weapons. They came to one of the checkpoints at the residential neighbourhood of Galgalato, and jumped from the buses, seized three trucks with mounted machine guns.

A full-scale battle ensued, with Union and Alliance forces pitted against each other, and bringing in reinforcements. By the time a ceasefire was brokered five days later, at least 93 people had been killed, and more than 200 injured, many of them civilians, including children.

Since then there has been constant bickering and threats between the two sides. On April 1 we reported that an attack was made upon an Islamic Court. Two civilians, a man and a woman, were killed in the attack, and a third individual, a male civilian, was injured. The attack happened in a fiefdom of the warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow who is the Somali Trade Minister, and also a member of the Counter-Terror Alliance.

On April 19, following Friday prayers, Sheikh Nur Ollow of the Union of Islamic Courts told followers that it was time for a jihad to be waged against he warlords. Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Sulley said: "As it says in the Koran, the fight against those who are promoting hostility and fighting against Islam is a holy war. Any war against the warlords is a holy war and a sacrifice in the name of Allah."

"Let us eliminate these warlords and set up a peaceful administration supported by the vast majority of people in Mogadishu," he said. "Down with the agents of America and down with agents promoting Satanic teaching."

At that time, according to Reuters AlertNet, the two factions were regrouping for war. Shabelle News reported that Abdikasim Salad Hassan (pictured), former president of the government formed in Arte Dkibouti, expressed concern over the mounting tensions between the two groups. He urged citizens to organise and protest against the tyranny of the warlords, who have kept the nation in chaos since Said Barre, the former dictator, was ousted in 19991.

The same day, CBS News reported that the food crisis was worsening in Somalia, as a result of the clashes between warlords and Islamic militias. International aid groups are being forced to operate from neighbouring Kenya because of the threat of violence.

The situation has been uneasy between the Counter-Terror Alliance, which is includes warlords in its leadership, and the Union of Islamic Courts. Yesterday, Mercury News reported that a battle took place at a school in Mogadishu Wednesday, in which at least two people were killed. The fighting again took place in the fiefdom of Muse Sudi Yalahow, the Trade Minister. Islamic militias had taken control of the school, and Alliance members tried to reclaim it. One Islamic militiaman was killed in the fighting, and one teenage boy was killed in the crossfire.

On Sunday (23 April), seven people were killed in fighting between rival militias trying to gain control of a neighbourhood within Mogadishu.

Yesterday, Shabelle News and Somalinet reported that Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, leader of the Union of Islamic Courts held a press conference, in which he reaffirmed his commitment to the cause of the Islamic militias. "The Islamic courts are in favour of the local militias who were devoted to secure their settlement," he said.

Today's report from Somalinet claims that members of the Alliance are gathering weaponry. The Alliance have been purchasing pick-up trucks, and recruiting new fighters. They are concerned to fight the Islamic militias, who wish to establish theocratic rule in the country. They claim they wish to defeat "terrorist cells in the country". Members of Al Qaeda have been active in Mogadishu for more than a year, and it seems that their allegiance would be toward the Union of Islamic Courts. Western intelligence reports speak of the "creeping Talibanization" of the nation and state the Islamic Courts are potentially harbouring terrorists and training foreign fighters.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:50 PM | Comments (0)

Thailand: Islamic Schools To Become Relief Centers

News from ETNA News states that more than a hundred Islamic schools, or pondok, will be adapted to become relief centers for refugees from the violence of the insurgency in the Southern provinces. The redeployment of the schools, close to the border with Malaysia, was announced by the caretaker Education Minister, Chaturon Chaisang.

He announced today that 100 to 120 more pondok will be added to 70 which already run government aid programmes for victims of the violence connected with the current insurgency. More than 1,200 people have been killed since February 2004, which is driven by the desire of Muslim militants to return the three provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala (as well as two districts of Songkhla province) to their original status as an independent sultanate, called Pattani. In the eighteenth century, the Sultanate was invaded by Thailand, and was officially annexed into Thailand a century ago in 1906. Currently the population of these provinces is 80% Muslim.

The relief programme had been initiated last June, and a total of 5,667 villagers have been assisted. The budget for the operation has so far cost 600 million bhat, or $15 million US. Families eligible for relief include those who have had a family member missing for three or more months.

The first family to become recipients of aid was Somchai Neelapajit, a Muslim human rights lawyer, who disappeared on 12 March 2004. We reported on this on January 12 this year, when a senior policeman, Maj. Nguen Thongsuk, was charged with "coercion" with the lawyer's disappearance. He had been seen bundling Somchai into a car in a Bangkok car park, and was given a three year jail sentence.

On January 13 the then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (who stepped down on April 4) confirmed that Somchai had been murdered, but did not elucidate. At the time of his abduction, Somchai was chairman of the Muslim Lawyers Association and vice-chairman of the Human Rights Committee, and had taken on the role of defending individuals accused of involvement in the separatist insurgency.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:24 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: JI Islamist Sentenced To Seven Years' Jail

We reported back on January 2 on the start of the trial of a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member, Ahmad Rofiq Ridho, also known as Ahmad Taufiq Ridho.

Ridho (pictured) was accused of assisting Noordin Mohammed Top a JI senior member responsible for financing and recruiting for the terrorist organisation, responsible for the 2002 blast in Bali which killed 202 people, and also the 2005 Bali blast of October 1, which killed 26.

It was stated in the court that Ridho used money to provide accomodation for Top, and also to ferry Top on a motorcycle belonging to Joko Tri Priyanto. This happened after a Jemaah Islamiyah attack upon the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday September 9 2004. This attack cost 11 lives and wounded more than 200 people.

Ridho was accused of withholding information on the whereabouts of Noordin Mohammed Top and also possession of weapons. Today, Associated Press via the Hindu and the Jakarta Post report that Ridho has been found guilty of sheltering Noordin Mohammed Top, and also the charges of weapons possession.

Ridho was today not found guilty in South Jakarta District Court of plotting to kill Americans and other foreigners in Indonesia, with these charges dismissed. It was alleged that Ridho had gone on the lookout for potential targets for attack, including a Christian school.

The presiding judge, Ardiansah Dali, said: "The defendant ... has been found guilty of having and keeping illegal firearms, hand guns, ammunition or explosives. We also find him guilty of helping hide terror suspect Noordin Moh Top."

Before the trial, Ridho protested his innocence, saying: "I didn't do anything wrong."

During his trial, he admitted meeting Noordin Top, who was born in Malaysia, but denied hiding him.

Ridho had a famous brother, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi. This individual was a notorious JI member who escaped from a Philippines jail in July 2003. He had been arrested in January 2002 and in April had been sentenced to 17 years' jail for illegal possession of explosives and having fake passports. After 13 weeks on the run, he was killed in a gun battle near Pigkawayan in the Philippines on October 12, 2003. Photographs of his body can be found here.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:04 PM | Comments (0)

Iran: Ayatollahs Find President Not Islamic Enough

Oh, the beauty of it. It turns out Mad Mahmoud's (Ahmadinejad) decision to let women into soccer stadiums has angered the real power in Iran, the Ayatollahs. It seems Mad Mahmoud didn't read his Koran well enough, busy as he was promising the annihilation of Israel and the shaming of the West and all. This means the women-in-stadiums decision will be reversed: Iran clergy angry over women fans

Iran's religious right is voicing growing opposition to a decision to let women to watch football matches for the first time since the 1979 revolution.

Four grand ayatollahs and several MPs have protested against the move, saying it violates Islamic law for a woman to look at the body of a male stranger.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

US: Bipartisan Demagoguery and Oil Prices

The "oil debate" going on in the United States today is a national shame. Both major political parties are blaming "Big Oil", without daring look at OPEC, or for that matter, themselves. Worse still, the so-called solutions being proposed are not solutions at all, but feel-good, blame-the-bystander measures bound to make things worse. Thomas Sowell's most recent column touches most of the issues: Oily politicians

If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan demagoguery. Republican leaders have now joined the Democrats in blaming the oil companies for the fact that prices rise when demand expands more than supply.

Prices have been rising under these conditions for thousands of years, long before there were any oil companies. This has happened with everything from food to furs and it has happened among people in every part of the world.

What has also happened in recent times has been that higher gasoline prices bring outraged charges of "gouging" by Big Oil. Some of the most emotionally powerful political words and phrases are wholly undefined -- "exploitation," "greed," "social justice" and the perennial favorite, "gouging."[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Islamic Blasphemy Case Against Danish Newspapermen

Pakistan's delusional sense of its own international importance is exemplified by news from its Daily Times today. A lawyer, Iqbal Haider, who runs Awami Himayat Tehrik or People's Support Movement, has made a petition to the Pakistan Supreme Court, registering a case of blasphemy against a Danish newspaper. The case is registered under Pakistan's 1986 ruling, the Penal Code article 295-C:
Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of the Holy Prophet. Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

The lawyer is expecting Interpol to become involved in arresting those listed in his case, because of cartoons "insulting" the so-called prophet Mohammed, which were originally published in late September by Jyllands-Posten, a leading Danish newspaper. The lawyer seems unaware that Pakistan's own blasphemy laws contravene the International Declaration of Human Rights. But this is Pakistan we are talking about, where honor-killings were only made illegal last year. Anyone found guilty of killing someone for Muslim "honor" can legally bribe the victim's family and walk free, under a clause called "compoundability".

Those listed in the blasphemy allegations are Carsten Juste, the newspaper's editor, and Flemming Rose, the paper's cultural editor, as well one cartoonist. Others listed in the registered case are Google, Hotmail and Yahoo, as well as editors of newspapers in France, Italy, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands.

The Supreme Court ordered Haider to register the cases with the police, which he did on Tuesday, at a police station in Karachi.

Mushtaq Shah, chief of Karachi police operations, said: "At this stage we can't say whether or not Interpol will be contacted in this matter. We will first investigate and file our report to the government. This is for the higher authorities to decide what to do next."

On April 7, in a written report to the Supreme Court, Makhdoom Ali Khan, a government prosecutor, said that courts in Pakistan have no jurisdiction over cases committed abroad: "The courts in Pakistan...have jurisdiction to try a person for an offence within their territorial jurisdiction in Pakistan."

On March 3 we reported of Iqbal Haider's Supreme Court petition to have internet sites and service providers which allowed blasphemy to be banned from operating, citing article 184(3) of the national constitution.

Haider's current petition seems designed to create political capital for himself amongst his followers in Pakistan, though he would be an international laughing-stock for this act of legal hubris. Yesterday, Haider said: "It is now the government's job to contact the Interpol and bring the offenders to a court of law in Pakistan."

On March 8 we reported that Spain's socialist government was colluding with Pakistan to attempt to make blasphemy against the so-called Prophet (and paedophile) an offence under UN regulations, effectively outlawing any criticism of the perverted monster who founded Islam.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:12 AM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2006

Iraq: Translation of Muslim Idol al-Zarqawi's Video

Central Command has posted the transcript of Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's introductory video. In it, a portly al-Zarqawi (who knew Jihad was a fattening activity) rails against the infidels, the collaborationists, etc. Here are a few quotes, with commentary:

Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi appears, saying, "Where are the lions of Al-Anbar? Where are the lions of Salah-al-Din? Where are the men of Baghdad? Where are the knights of Nineva, and the heroes of Diyala? Where are the brave men of Kurdistan? Where are you lions of monotheism?"

Dear Fat Abu; they are all dead. Sincerely; "Ruy Diaz", named after El Cid.

"O, God! Remove disgrace and injustice from my nation! O, God! Restore back my nation's power and glory!

Fat Abu dreams of Caliphate.

"To the American administration, and at its head the Crusader Bush, and those who surround him from the Jews, the Crusaders, the rejectionists, the apostates and others, we say you will not lead a life of ease in the land of Islam. By God, you will not enjoy your life for as long we still have a beating vein and a blinking eye.

You know, there are ways of changing that state of affairs.

At any rate, here is Fat Abu's transcript, from the U.S. Central Command: What Extremists Say: Zarqawi Video.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:24 PM | Comments (0)

Sweden: Muslim Honor Killing - Killer Gets Only Four Years

A report from Sweden's The Local reports that an 18-year old, whom we shall call X, has been given four years' jail for killing a 20-year old Afghani in an "honor-killing". When he finishes his sentence, he will be deported from Sweden and banned from ever entering the nation again.

The short sentence is due to the fact hat he was 17 when he killed Abbas Rezai in Hoegsby, Smaland last year. The victim was killed in a brutal fashion - he had been beaten with an iron bar and a baseball bat, and doused in hot oil, and stabbed 23 times with a 29 centimetre blade.

The prosecutor, Kjell Yngvesson, claimed in the trial that X's parents and other members of the family had collaborated in the killing. X's mother and father were on trial as well, and Yngvesson asked for them to be given life sentences. It was stated that Abbas Rezai was murdered because he had been going out with the 16 year old sister of X.

Helena Karlsson, X's lawyer, claimed a fight had broken out, and that Abbas Rezai was killed as a consequence of this altercation. She said X had arrived in Sweden when he was 15 and said she was not pleased by the deportation order, saying "he has family here."

The mother of Abbas Rezai was awarded 113,000 Kroner ($15,000 US) compensation. It appears that the mother and father of X were acquitted.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Police Appeal For Help Identifying Islamists

On March 15, the police announced that it had finally arrested five people in connection with the protests which had taken place almost six weeks earlier, outside the Danish Embassy in Sloane Square in West London. We described this demonstration on February 3, the day of the protest.

What had shocked British citizens and politicians alike, and in turn the international community, was that although the demonstrators were carrying placards calling for the death of those who had "insulted" the "prophet" Mohammed, not a single person had been arrested.

Even now, the ineptitude of the British police is apparent, as only three people have been actually charged. Another man was arrested later. So after 11 weeks, and only 6 of the 100 or so demonstrators have been dealt with officially. On February 3, it was decided that to arrest a bunch of Muslims, who comprised members of Al Ghurabaa and others, would have created a bigger problem. The demonstrators had carried placards with slogans such as "Behead Those Who Insult Islam", and invoking a European 9/11. Protesters were openly shouting their support for Bin Laden.

Now, according to the Guardian, the police are seeking help from the public, to do the job they so miserably failed at on February 3. They are seeking to know the identity of the three people pictured below:

The police had taken video footage of the demonstrators, many of whom had covered their faces with Arabic tea towels, and blandly announced at the time that: "arrests, if necessary, would be made at the appropriate time."

These three pictured individuals are, according to the Metropolitan police "wanted in connection with serious public order offences which we believe may have been committed during the protest."

A unit called Operation Laverda was set up to review 60 hours of CCTV footage and to investigate 500 complaints from the public.

What is disgraceful about the case can be found in the BBC Newsnight footage, found here or here where a member of the public is seen trying to complain to a youthful policemen abut the nature of the demonstration. The policeman, who has no intention of arresting the protesters, even arguing their "right to protest" then turns on the citizen, and threatens that if he does not leave in his vehicle, he will be arrested on the spot.

The outrageous charade outside the Danish Embassy had been mounted in response to the publication of cartoons depicting the "prophet" Mohammed.

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

US: Lodi Muslim Trial - Son Guilty

We reported in March that after many false starts and failed bail applications, the trial of a Muslim father and son, connected to the Lodi Muslim community, had finally got underway.

Now, news has come of the verdicts of the trials, from the San Jose Mercury, the LA Times, Associated Press via the Seattle Times, the BBC and the New York Times that Hamid Hayat, the 23 year old son of Umer Hayat has been found guilty of supporting terrorism, by attending an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. Hamid Hayat (pictured) was also found guilty on three counts of lying to the FBI. His father Umer Hayat, who was being tried in the same courtroom by a different jury, has had a verdict of a mistrial.

48 year old Umer Hayat was also charged with two counts of lying to federal investigators. This relates to statements made to FBI agent Pedro Tenoch Aguilar on 3rd and 4th June, 2005, when he was asking them about Hamid's attending terror training camps in Pakistan. The father and son were arrested last June.

The Lodi Muslim community and its mosque were under attention from the FBI after doubts were raised about its founders, Muhammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed. These were deported back to their homeland of Pakistan, with Khan deported in August, and 38-year old Ahmed sent back in September.

When questioned by FBI agent Tenoch, Hamid had originally denied having attended a jihadist camp in Pakistan, and was questioned again after a polygraph reading indicated he had not told the truth. An account of the FBI affidavit can be found here.

After a brief interview with an FBI agent who showed Hamid some photographs, the polygraph examination was administered and his answers to the relevant questions were found to be indicative of deception. After approximately two more hours of questioning, Hamid admitted that he had, in fact, attended a jihadist training camp in Pakistan.

9. Hamid admitted that he attended a jihadist training camp in Pakistan for approximately 6 months in 2003-2004. Hamid stated that Al-Qaeda supports the camp and provides instructors for the camp. Hamid later confirmed this camp was run by Al-Qaeda. Hamid described the camp as providing structured paramilitary training, including weapons training, explosives training, interior room tactics, hand to hand combat, and strenuous exercise. Classroom instruction included ideological rhetoric detailing opposition towards the United States and other non-Muslim countries. Hamid stated that during his weapons training, photos of various high ranking U.S. political figures, including President Bush, would be pasted onto their targets. Hamid further stated that he and others at the camp were being trained on how to kill Americans. Hamid stated that although he did not participate in all the available instruction he was aware the other training was ongoing.

10. Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his Jihadi mission.

Now that Hamid at least has been found guilty, the sentencing will follow. He will face a minimum of 23 years' jail, as he is convicted on all charges, or he could face a maximum of 39 years' incarceration.

An account of all the main developments throughout the parallel trials can be found in a special section of the Sacramento Bee. Yesterday they reported that jurors were told to keep deliberating, as both panels were struggling to find unanimous verdicts.

Even after the verdict of guilty was passed on Hamid Hayat, defense lawyer Wazhma Mojaddidi denied that there was evidence to prove her client had attended the Rawalpindi training camp and promised to seek a retrial. She said: "Hamid Hayat never attended a terrorist training camp. This fight is not over."

She also said: "I do believe there were issues with this jury, that there were outside influences that affected their decision." This referred to the evidence of one Naseem Khan, an FBI informant known by the title "Wildcat". This man, who had become a naturalised citizen of the US in 2004 had been used to "target" the imams of the Lodi Muslim community, almost as an "agent-provocateur".

After eight days of deliberations, the jury in the case of Hamid's father, ice-cream seller Umer, the jury announced that it was deadlocked. Judge Burrell dismissed the jurors. The prosecution has not announced if it will seek a retrial for the father, who was only charged of lying.

Hamid Hayat will be sentenced later, at a trial hearing scheduled for July 14.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:43 AM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2006

Iran: Increased Child Prostitution In The Islamist Regime

News today from AKI reports that child prostitution in Iran is on the increase, according to sociologist Amanollah Gharaii Moghaddam. He told AKI that the reason for an increase in prostitution as a whole among young people in the nation is a consequence of the widespread unemployment and a failing economy. 28% of young people aged 15 to 29 are unemployed.

Other factors include restrictions on women, along with drug addiction and domestic violence, causing many young women to leave their homes. Amanollah Gharaii Moghaddam claims that girls as young as 12 are now selling their bodies on the streets of Iran's cities.

There are an estimated 300,000 prostitutes in Tehran, the capital, but the sociologist states: "the number isn't so high when compared to the four million unemployed only in Tehran and the five million drug addicts today in Iran."

He also criticises "short-term weddings", which are called sighe in Iran, but are also known as mut'ah elsewhere. We have discussed mut'ah marriages as they occur among Shias in Bahrain, and also how they have been abused in Singapore.

Speaking of these sighe weddings, Gharaii Moghaddam says: "Short-term marriages are a form of legalised prostitution. A state must not and cannot legitimise prostitution."

He suggested that the only solution would be "the creation of a million jobs a year for the unemployed and marginalised that would otherwise end up transforming Tehran into a big brothel."

Bahraini feminist Ghada Jamshir has condemned short-term marriages for encouraging child abuse in her country.

Amanollah Gharaii Moghaddam also states that many young Iranians , generally from poor regions in the east and south of Iran, end up in Pakistan and in the United Arab Emirates, where they end up in brothels. Smuggled out of the country by criminal gangs, an estimated 100,000 women have been sold to brothels in the Persian Gulf.

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

UK: Muslim Landlord Swindled Council Of Half A Million Pounds

In Oxford, a Muslim landlord and "pillar" of the local community has been jailed for four years for a scam which cost the local council's social services a grand total of 611,000 pounds ($1,092,166), embezzled between 2000 and 2004.

Mommed Faruq (pictured) came originally from Pakistan, where he has a large extended family. The 56-year old landlord had various properties, and would invite his relatives to arrive from Pakistan, where they would then pose as asylum seekers. He had two wives, Sheila Faruq and Khurshid Begum, and last year they were also convicted on charges of harbouring illegal immigrants and conspiracy to defraud. Also his 26-year old daughter, and his 45-year old brother Abdul Qayyum, were convicted last year, but reporting restrictions were imposed until a trial involving five others was completed today.

According to BBC TV local news, a total of 33 members of his extended family were brought into the UK. Faruq was sentenced last year on 28 September to three years jail for harbouring illegal immigrants, and four years' jail for conspiracy, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Being a landlord, Faruq would provide "emergency" accommodation for his relatives, who posed as asylum seekers. For this service he would charge 235 pounds ($420 US) per night. Then he would claim the costs back from the council, states the BBC.

Of the remaining five individuals convicted today, most received suspended sentences. None were recommended for deportation. This was because of human rights grounds (!) and the fact that the illegal immigrants now had children in this country (?).

Detective Chief Inpector Robert Mason, of the Thames Valley police said: "The investigation was particularly difficult due to its sheer scale and with thousands of documents which had to be painstakingly examined. We are looking to recover assets from Mr Faruq under the proceeds of Crime Act but this is still in the early stages. We are looking to recover a substantial sum of money."

A total of sixteen people have now been convicted in the scam. Personally I do not see why every single person involved in the scam is not deported.

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

UK: Home Office Allows Dangerous Foreign Criminals To Be At Large

We reported on October 31 last year of a major blunder on the part of the UK's Home Office, in which Charles Clarke (pictured), the Home Secretary did not extradite a terrorist wanted in an an Italian terror trial. This happened even though the 24-year old, Farj Hassan Faraj, had been in UK custody since 2002. The unnecessary obfuscation meant the terrorist remained in UK custody at UK taxpayer's expense, and as a consequence the trial in Italy collapsed. If the time between indictment and trial in Italy exceeds three years, no trial can be made.

But the news which is now being revealed about the incompetence of the Home Office, and its head, Charles Clarke, is truly astounding. As a result of idiocy, 1,023 foreign convicts, who should have been deported at the end of their prison sentences, have been set free in Britain, and have managed to disappear.

The figures are highly disturbing, especially considering the Home Office is charged to also protect against terrorism. Those now at large comprise:
3 murderers
9 rapists
5 paedophiles
7 convicted of other sex offences
57 convicted for violent offences
2 manslaughter
41 burglars
20 drug importers
54 convicted of assault
27 convicted of indecent assault

News is found in the BBC, and the Guardian.160 of those who were imprisoned were recommended for deportation as part of their sentencing, but of these, only 5 have been deported.

The matter came to light after an all-party group of MPs started asking questions last year in October. Today, Charles Clarke briefed reporters, and apologises for the errors, which happened between February 1999 and March 2006, but said that he would not resign. He said all efforts would be made to trace those who have since "disappeared".

But when asked if he believed all would be captured, he replied: "There are a large number of people involved. I can't say hand on heart that we will identify where each one of those is, but we are working on that very energetically."

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said he did not think Clarke should resign, but claimed he was "very, very shocked" by the disclosures.

David Davis, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said: "This astonishing admission by the Home Office is the latest in a long line of failures which have jeopardised the protection of the public....This serial incompetence beggars belief. The home secretary urgently needs to come to the House of Commons to explain the situation."

The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) has, since the errors were discovered, managed to track down 107 of the total, leading to 20 deportations.

10 years ago, there were 4,259 foreign prisoners in Britain's jails. Now, that figure has rocketed to 10,265, a staggering one in 8 prisoners being foreign.

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett said the situation was "astonishing" and said: "My view is that heads should roll. There are too many people in the system who simply don't care. I fully support Charles Clarke in getting to the bottom of this."

Mr Blair's spokesman said that the prime minister found the situation to be "deeply regrettable", but said: "It is unreasonable to expect ministers to know what is going on in every nook and cranny in their department."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:50 PM | Comments (1)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Holocaust Performed On Women

A fact that is too grave to be hastily overlooked, you don't like to title it a holocaust, well what do you call mio of women missing then ?

As I was preparing for this article, I asked a friend who is Jewish if it was appropriate to use the term "holocaust" to portray the worldwide violence against women. He was startled. But when I read him the figures in a 2004 policy paper published by the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, he said yes, without hesitation. One United Nations estimate says from 113 million to 200 million women around the world are demographically "missing." Every year, from 1.5 million to 3 million women and girls lose their lives as a result of gender-based violence or neglect.

Now I would call it a holocaust too. Read it all at IHT

Posted by Charles Martel at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

Greece: Rice's Diplomacy for Islamic Aggression

If you want more proof that our Forward Strategy of Freedom entails betraying our friends for the benefit of our mortal enemies, watch Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in action: Rice discusses Cyprus amid violent Greek protests

ATHENS, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Cyprus on Tuesday to support Turkey's efforts to join the European Union, during a visit to Athens marked by violent protests.

As Rice met her Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyanni and Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, riot police hurled teargas at demonstrators trying to march to the U.S. embassy.

Police said 9 protesters were arrested in the clashes, which wrecked at least 10 central Athens shops and 4 cars. No injuries were reported.

Rice, on a five-day trip to Europe that also includes Turkey and Bulgaria, said work needed to be done on Cyprus's 32-year division -- a source of tension in Greek-Turkish relations and a major stumbling block to Turkey's EU hopes.

"We do believe that there needs to be good will and effort by Turkey, but there also needs to be good will and effort by Cyprus," Rice told a news conference.

She urged Cyprus to help Turkey's EU accession and ease the isolation of the breakaway northern Cypriot enclave, which is recognised only by Ankara.

In other words, let's forget about that 1974 invasion thing, and let's reward Turkey for its aggression. Buying the love of your enemies by betraying your friends, how come we didn't think of that before? And also; the Greek Communists already hate us, let's make the Greek patriots hate us too!

I wish I could tell our Greek friends we are doing this in our self-interest. I would be ashamed of backstabbing them, but hey, nation-states engage in that kind of thing all the time, I'll try to get the policy changed in time. But the truth is, I'm ashamed twice over; I'm ashamed about the backstabbing and I'm ashamed this is not in our self-interest either. We are doing the same thing Russia is doing when it supports Iran and gets cozy with China; we are propping up our mortal enemies by betraying our friends.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 10:31 AM | Comments (1)

US: Michigan Professor In Row With Islamic Students

The Muslim Students' Association at Michigan State University is getting its explosive belts in a twist to demand that Dr Indrek Sven Wichman (pictured) a professor at the University be disciplined for an e-mail that he sent on 28 February when complaining about the MSA's protests about the Danish cartoons of the "prophet" Mohammed. This is the e-mail, unexpurgated, replete with typo errors:

Dear Moslem Association: As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intened to protest your protest. I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey!), burnings of Christian chirches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavain girls and women (called "whores" in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris France. This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many, many, many of my colleagues. I counsul you dissatisfied, agressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile "protests." If you do not like the values of the West - see the 1st Ammendment - you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans. Cordially, I. S. Wichman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Well he was not exactly praising them, and the comments about "slave-trading" would be offensive, if the issues of UAE child camel jockeys and the forcing of foreign maids into prostitution in Saudi Arabia were not actual cases of modern-day slavery. Not to mention that young girls are sold in markets in Pakistan. So why the fuss?

According to the Lansing State Journal, the odious group, many of whose founding members have been convicted on terrorism-related charges, the Council on American Islamic Relations has decided to step into the arena and mount a public campaign. After their recent notorious support for Islamic Jihad financier, professor Sami al-Arian, CAIR seems now to be looking to re-establish the myth that it promotes tolerance and acceptance. Which it does, but only if you happen to be one of their supporters.

MSA President, Farhan Abdul Azeez, has said that the e-mail was unacceptable from a senior member of a faculty, "especially considering Michigan State's commitment to trying to be inclusive and welcoming and diverse."

Professor Wichman has not been formally disciplined, but according to Terry Denbow, vice-president for University Relations, he has been warned against making "any future communication along these lines." Denbow said the e-mail expressed views "highly inappropriate, antithetical to the institution's values and positions and policies and, to me personally, worthy of an apology."

An investigation by the university found that the e-mail did not constitute a "threat to the integrity of the learning environment."

Late yesterday, Satish Upda, acting dean of MSU's College of Engineering said that Wichman only spoke for himself.

The student's association president went straight to the university authorities the day after receiving the e-mail, and instead of leaving it as an internal university issue, brought senior representatives of CAIR to meetings with university administrators. The MSA president and Dawud Walid, who is executive director of CAIR's Michigan branch, claimed they made the e-mail public because the university had not given them the satisfaction (i.e. draconian punishments) they required.

Dawud Walid said: "They should send out an official statement to the public distancing themselves from these types of statements and confirm for us that they did, in fact, do a formal investigation and that there is going to be some kind of disciplinary action against Dr. Wichman."

It is interesting that CAIR now decides that it is personally involved in the university's internal affairs. But what can one expect from an organisation built on lies and speeches demanding for the US to be subjugated under the rule of Islam?. Omar Ahmed, a co-founder of the group stated: "Those who stay in America should be open to society without melting, keeping Mosques open so anyone can come and learn about Islam. If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam ... Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

According to Freepress.com, Walid has said of the incident, in typically emotive CAIR-speak: "It was upsetting, yet sad....It's scary when you think about the power that this gentleman has." Not half as scary as the situation in the US if CAIR ever had the power over federal affairs as they would wish to have.

CAIR have published a statement on Official Wire, in which they quote Dawud Walid as saying: "It is unconscionable for a professor to use his university email account to foster a hostile learning environment for Muslim students. The university needs to take appropriate disciplinary action in this case to demonstrate through its actions that anti-Muslim bigotry will not be tolerated on campus."

What everyone should remember is that the Muslim Students Association were using their educational position to protest against freedom of speech, and inviting foreign politics into what is, essentially, a place of learning. CAIR should respect this, but judging from their history of involvement with terrorism, they cannot give two hoots about other people's freedoms.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:40 AM | Comments (0)

Ukraine: Crimean Tartars Embrace Jihad

Crimean Tatars, the descendants of the Moslem hordes who once sacked and pillaged the Greek Christian Byzantine cities on the Crimean peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea, are eager to follow in their ancestors' bloody footsteps.

``Crimean Tatar efforts to create an independent state have two main currents: one purely secular and nationalistic, while the other is run by a militant Islamic party, Hizb ut-Takhrir,'' said Alexei Dobychin, a leader of the ethnic Russian community organization, ``Proriv,'' (Breakthrough), reported the Russian newspaper, Izvestiya.

(Russians such as Dobychin have their own conflict with the Ukrainian central government in Kiev, and they would like to make Crimea their own state. The Crimea's population of 2 mil