Netherlands Wants No Explicit Statement on Freedom of Speech
The Netherlands will not ask for an EU statement that explicitly defends freedom of expression. This freedom in fact has limitations, suggested Premier Jan Peter Balkenende in the Lower House.
The Netherlands is seeking support from the EU in relation to the possible consequences of the Koran film that MP Geert Wilders wants to show on or around 28 March. The formal Dutch position is that both freedom of expression and freedom of religion must be respected.
The Netherlands hopes that its view can be incorporated in a joint EU statement if the film leads to violence. Balkenende does not want this statement drawn up yet. "A statement beforehand is problematic, as we do not know what the contents of the film is," he told the Lower House in a debate.
The premier plans to say to his EU colleagues at the Spring European Council today that a centuries-long battle was waged for freedom of speech and "that we need to cherish this." At the same time, this freedom is "no absolute right" but a right to which "responsibility" is attached.
The conservatives (VVD) called on the premier to ask the EU to state in the declaration that freedom of speech is only restricted by the ban on discrimination and incitement to violence. "Insulting or 'decency' do not come under this," said VVD MP Han ten Broeke. But Balkenende disagreed.
Balkenende repeated his already frequently expressed fear that "groups in Islamic countries" may misuse the film for "horrible things." He said however that the cabinet's position on Wilders' film - it cannot be banned although the government totally rejects it - is being well received in Islamic countries.
The secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has given Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to understand that Wilders' film "will have serious repercussions that could get out of hand and be difficult to control." This statement appears in a OIC report discussed yesterday at the IOC summit conference in Senegal. Wilders is referred to eleven times, with a whole paragraph on his film - "a highly provocative documentary."
Pertinent Links:
1) Netherlands Wants No Explicit Statement on Freedom of Speech
Friday, March 14, 2008
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: DUTCH ELITES ACCEPT THEIR STATUS OF 'UNCLEAN' [FILTH???] BEQUEATHED TO THEM BY THEIR MOSLEM OVERLORDS
Integration Minister Also Accepts Refusal to Shake Hands
THE HAGUE, 14/03/08 - Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar does not see it as her job to interfere in Amsterdam, where Islamic public officials are permitted to refuse to shake hands with women.
Amsterdam's Labour (PvdA) Mayor Job Cohen permits 'street coaches' to refuse to shake hands with women on the basis of their religion. "Cohen is free to make his own decisions"," Vogelaar (PvdA) wrote yesterday in a letter to parliament.
Street coaches are (Islamic) citizens who assist the police in combating nuisance by (Islamic) youths. Cohen and Achmed Marcouch, the leader of Slotervaart district council, recently stated that street coaches in Slotervaart, even though they are public servants, do not have to shake hands with women. This ran into opposition from PvdA leader Wouter Bos, but he has meanwhile withdrawn his opposition.
"Shaking hands is the norm. Period," Bos said recently. But this week, he found that there could be "exceptions" after all. Vogelaar, too, considers that public servants "must due to their position be prepared to shake hands with everyone" because this is the social custom in the Netherlands, but that exceptions are no problem.
Pertinent Links:
1) Integration Minister Also Accepts Refusal to Shake Hands
THE HAGUE, 14/03/08 - Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar does not see it as her job to interfere in Amsterdam, where Islamic public officials are permitted to refuse to shake hands with women.
Amsterdam's Labour (PvdA) Mayor Job Cohen permits 'street coaches' to refuse to shake hands with women on the basis of their religion. "Cohen is free to make his own decisions"," Vogelaar (PvdA) wrote yesterday in a letter to parliament.
Street coaches are (Islamic) citizens who assist the police in combating nuisance by (Islamic) youths. Cohen and Achmed Marcouch, the leader of Slotervaart district council, recently stated that street coaches in Slotervaart, even though they are public servants, do not have to shake hands with women. This ran into opposition from PvdA leader Wouter Bos, but he has meanwhile withdrawn his opposition.
"Shaking hands is the norm. Period," Bos said recently. But this week, he found that there could be "exceptions" after all. Vogelaar, too, considers that public servants "must due to their position be prepared to shake hands with everyone" because this is the social custom in the Netherlands, but that exceptions are no problem.
Pertinent Links:
1) Integration Minister Also Accepts Refusal to Shake Hands
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: DUTCH DHIMMIS ARE BESIDES THEMSELVES
Dutch Establishment Threatens to Prosecute Wilders and Claim Damages
From the desk of Thomas Landen
Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who is making a 10-minute movie about Islam entitled Fitna (Arabic for “ordeal”), has felt compelled to cancel the March 28 press conference where he intended to show his film. The Nieuwspoort press center in The Hague, which is run by a board of journalists, publishers and government press officers, demanded that Wilders pay 400,000 euros for extra safety measures. “Apparently, you have to be a millionaire to organize such an event,” Mr Wilders said. “Even if I had the money I am not going to spend it on a press conference.”
No Dutch broadcaster, public or private, has been willing to show the film. There are indications that Fitna will also be banned on Youtube, which removed a clip featuring Mr Wilders two week ago, on so-called “ethical grounds”.
Dutch international companies, fearing a boycott of their products by Muslims, have announced that they intend to hold Mr Wilders responsible for a loss of profits and markets in the event of a boycott. They have asked Gerard Spong, one of the top lawyers in the Netherlands, to see whether a court case claiming damages from Wilders will be possible. Mr Spong and several other lawyers have already lodged some fifty formal complaints against the politician for “incitement to racial hatred and discrimination of Muslims” because Mr Wilders expressed the opinion that the Koran is “a fascist book which should be banned in the Netherlands.”
Last November, when Wilders announced he was going to make a movie expressing his view on Islam and the Koran, Doekle Terpstra, a member of the board of directors of the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever, told the Dutch media that “Geert Wilders is evil, and evil has to be stopped.” The Unilever director, anticipating a worldwide Muslim boycott of Unilever products (brands such as Axe, Ben and Jerry’s, Best Foods, Brooke Bond, Colman’s, Cif, Dove, Glidat Strauss, Heartbrand, Hellmann’s, Imperial Margarine, Knorr, Lipton, Pepsodent, Sunsilk, Unox, Vaseline, etc.), called upon the Dutch to “rise in order to stop Wilders from preaching his evil message.”
Mr Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament, has been living under police protection for almost four years. Muslim fanatics have threatened to assassinate him for his outspoken criticism of Islam. The politician has no fixed residence and has to live in army barracks or other heavily secured premises.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Dutch Establishment Threatens to Prosecute Wilders and Claim Damages
DAR AL ISLAM-CHINA: A CHINESE MOSLEMA INTENDED TO BLOW UP AN AIRPLANE - I AM SURE THE CHINESE WERE UNAFRAID TO TORTURE HER TO GET THE DETAILS
Muslim woman aimed to blow up Chinese plane: official media
Chinese authorities have alleged a 19-year-old Muslim woman aboard a commercial airliner heading for Beijing planned to blow the plane up, state press reported Thursday.
The woman intended to explode a petrol bomb in the toilet of a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi city in the country's far northwest on Friday last week, the official Xinhua news agency and the Global Times said.
The reports were the most detailed to emerge about the incident, amid claims by rights groups and dissidents that the Chinese government was exaggerating a terror threat in its Muslim-populated Xinjiang region to justify a crackdown.
Thursday's reports, similar accounts of which were carried in other state-run Chinese media outlets, said the toilet was directly above the plane's wing where the fuel tanks were located.
"This (attack) had been under preparation for a long period, the planning was very detailed and was closely linked to terrorist activities," the Global Times said, citing an unnamed official with knowledge of the case.
The plan was "clearly a terrorist plot," and police were interrogating the girl involved to find out who helped her plan the attack, he reportedly said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim woman aimed to blow up Chinese plane: official media
Chinese authorities have alleged a 19-year-old Muslim woman aboard a commercial airliner heading for Beijing planned to blow the plane up, state press reported Thursday.
The woman intended to explode a petrol bomb in the toilet of a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi city in the country's far northwest on Friday last week, the official Xinhua news agency and the Global Times said.
The reports were the most detailed to emerge about the incident, amid claims by rights groups and dissidents that the Chinese government was exaggerating a terror threat in its Muslim-populated Xinjiang region to justify a crackdown.
Thursday's reports, similar accounts of which were carried in other state-run Chinese media outlets, said the toilet was directly above the plane's wing where the fuel tanks were located.
"This (attack) had been under preparation for a long period, the planning was very detailed and was closely linked to terrorist activities," the Global Times said, citing an unnamed official with knowledge of the case.
The plan was "clearly a terrorist plot," and police were interrogating the girl involved to find out who helped her plan the attack, he reportedly said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim woman aimed to blow up Chinese plane: official media
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: AN ISRAELI ARAB SHOOTS SISTER, AN HONOR KILLING, IS CONGRATULATED BY HIS FAMILY
Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
by Sharon Roffe-Ofir
Police arrest 24-year-old man from Naura, an Israeli-Arab town in northern Israel, who shot his 19-year old sister to preserve 'family’s honor.' Family members arrived to congratulate shooter
...
The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.
The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.
Chief Superintendent of the Afula Police Department, Orli Malka, stated that “the young woman was clever enough to play dead so that her brother would stop kicking her.” The shooter than called MDA medics and phone the police emergency hotline. "I just shot my sister,” he said, all the while keeping vigil over what he assumed was his sister’s lifeless corpse.
The young man than informed his family that he had shot his sister and was warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated by his brother and other family members.
The shocked father [Yeah, the father was shocked because his dishonored daughter wasn't dead & he had to pretend he cared...ed A.I.] rode along with his critically injured daughter to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, where she was initially treated before being transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
A Rambam hospital spokesperson said that the young woman suffered head injuries, and had undergone surgery early Tuesday morning. She remains in recovery, and doctors are still uncertain as to the severity of her condition and whether or not her life remains in danger.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
by Sharon Roffe-Ofir
Police arrest 24-year-old man from Naura, an Israeli-Arab town in northern Israel, who shot his 19-year old sister to preserve 'family’s honor.' Family members arrived to congratulate shooter
...
The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.
The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.
Chief Superintendent of the Afula Police Department, Orli Malka, stated that “the young woman was clever enough to play dead so that her brother would stop kicking her.” The shooter than called MDA medics and phone the police emergency hotline. "I just shot my sister,” he said, all the while keeping vigil over what he assumed was his sister’s lifeless corpse.
The young man than informed his family that he had shot his sister and was warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated by his brother and other family members.
The shocked father [Yeah, the father was shocked because his dishonored daughter wasn't dead & he had to pretend he cared...ed A.I.] rode along with his critically injured daughter to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, where she was initially treated before being transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
A Rambam hospital spokesperson said that the young woman suffered head injuries, and had undergone surgery early Tuesday morning. She remains in recovery, and doctors are still uncertain as to the severity of her condition and whether or not her life remains in danger.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAQ: AL QAEDA RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH [MURDER?] OF CHALDEAN ARCHBISHOP OF MOSUL
Al Qaeda Blamed For Bishop's Death; Kidnappers Demanded One Million Ransom
Kidnappers of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was found dead in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, demanded a $1 million ransom as part of an operation blamed on the al Qaeda terror network, police said Friday, March 14.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al Qaeda Blamed For Bishop's Death; Kidnappers Demanded One Million Ransom
Kidnappers of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was found dead in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, demanded a $1 million ransom as part of an operation blamed on the al Qaeda terror network, police said Friday, March 14.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al Qaeda Blamed For Bishop's Death; Kidnappers Demanded One Million Ransom
DAR AL ISLAM-ALGERIA: RELEASE OUR JIHADIST BRETHERNS IN EXCHANGE FOR THESE AUSTRIANS - - - WILL THEY DELIVER THE AUSTRIANS IN PIECES?!?
Al-Qaeda posts photo of Austrian hostages and issues ultimatum
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on Friday released a photo showing the two Austrian tourists that were kidnapped on 29 February in Tunisia and also issued an ultimatum.
The photo, which was published on Islamist websites on the Internet, showed the two Austrians dressed in robes and surrounded by their captors who were armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The terrorists also gave a three day ultimatum on the tourists.
"We announce with this statement that we ask Austria to release some of our men who are in prison in Tunisia and Algeria in exchange for the release of these two tourists," the militant group said.
They also said that they had given a list of the names of the group's prisoners to Vienna and that they would give the Austrian authorities three days, beginning Thursday, to respond.
The two hostages, who went missing last month during a trip to Tunisia, have been identified as Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda posts photo of Austrian hostages and issues ultimatum
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on Friday released a photo showing the two Austrian tourists that were kidnapped on 29 February in Tunisia and also issued an ultimatum.
The photo, which was published on Islamist websites on the Internet, showed the two Austrians dressed in robes and surrounded by their captors who were armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The terrorists also gave a three day ultimatum on the tourists.
"We announce with this statement that we ask Austria to release some of our men who are in prison in Tunisia and Algeria in exchange for the release of these two tourists," the militant group said.
They also said that they had given a list of the names of the group's prisoners to Vienna and that they would give the Austrian authorities three days, beginning Thursday, to respond.
The two hostages, who went missing last month during a trip to Tunisia, have been identified as Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda posts photo of Austrian hostages and issues ultimatum
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAQ: CHALDEAN ARCHBISHOP OF MOSUL BURIED ON FRIDAY
Thousands attend funeral of kidnapped Chaldean archbishop
Thousands of people attended the funeral of the kidnapped Chaldean archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho in the northern Iraqi Christian village of Kremlis on Friday. Rahho was kidnapped on 29 February after leaving his church in a shootout that led to the deaths of his driver and two bodyguards. His body was found in a shallow grave on Thursday in Kremlis, which lies about 28 kilometres east of Mosul.According to the Voices of Iraq news agency, the funeral began on Friday morning and ended in the afternoon. After the service, the coffin bearing Rahho's body was lowered into a crypt at the back of the Mar Aada church in Kremlis.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Thousands attend funeral of kidnapped Chaldean archbishop
Thousands of people attended the funeral of the kidnapped Chaldean archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho in the northern Iraqi Christian village of Kremlis on Friday. Rahho was kidnapped on 29 February after leaving his church in a shootout that led to the deaths of his driver and two bodyguards. His body was found in a shallow grave on Thursday in Kremlis, which lies about 28 kilometres east of Mosul.According to the Voices of Iraq news agency, the funeral began on Friday morning and ended in the afternoon. After the service, the coffin bearing Rahho's body was lowered into a crypt at the back of the Mar Aada church in Kremlis.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Thousands attend funeral of kidnapped Chaldean archbishop
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE CONTINUES TO THINK THEY CAN MAKE NICE WITH CHINA
Gates appears to hedge on U.S. 'hedge' strategy for China
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week appeared to reverse his predecessor’s policy of building up forces in the Pacific to counter a future hostile China.
Asked about bolstering military ties to democracies in Asia, Australia and Indonesia and developing interoperable capabilities as a hedge against China, Gates said: “I don't see our improving military relationships in the region in the context of any other country, including China.”
Gates said U.S. activities in the Pacific range from countering piracy and terrorism to crime and humanitarian relief. “These expanding relationships don't necessarily have to be directed against anybody,” he said. “They are a set of bilateral relationships that are aimed at improving our coordination and the closeness of our relationships for a variety of reasons, including those that I've just indicated.”
U.S. officials have said in the past that the U.S. military buildup in the Pacific is designed to position U.S. forces in Asia to respond to a conflict over Taiwan or to help defend other U.S. allies in Asia from any threat posed by China.
It is possible, but unlikely, that Gates was mirroring Chinese-style strategic misdirection by not stating publicly that the U.S. force build up in Asia is meant to counter China.
Defense officials said Gates spent more time discussing China than Pakistan, India’s longtime rival, during meetings.
Gates said he would like to use the same strategy of “many years of arms negotiations” with the Soviet Union as a means to “gain a real appreciation and understanding of how each other looked at strategic modernization programs and deployments and plans and so on.”
“We would like to have the same kind of dialogue with China,” he said.
...
It appears that the U.S. government is filled with a bunch of blithering idiots, regardless of party affiliation, that think you can 'make nice' with enemies...
Pertinent Links:
1) Gates appears to hedge on U.S. 'hedge' strategy for China
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week appeared to reverse his predecessor’s policy of building up forces in the Pacific to counter a future hostile China.
Asked about bolstering military ties to democracies in Asia, Australia and Indonesia and developing interoperable capabilities as a hedge against China, Gates said: “I don't see our improving military relationships in the region in the context of any other country, including China.”
Gates said U.S. activities in the Pacific range from countering piracy and terrorism to crime and humanitarian relief. “These expanding relationships don't necessarily have to be directed against anybody,” he said. “They are a set of bilateral relationships that are aimed at improving our coordination and the closeness of our relationships for a variety of reasons, including those that I've just indicated.”
U.S. officials have said in the past that the U.S. military buildup in the Pacific is designed to position U.S. forces in Asia to respond to a conflict over Taiwan or to help defend other U.S. allies in Asia from any threat posed by China.
It is possible, but unlikely, that Gates was mirroring Chinese-style strategic misdirection by not stating publicly that the U.S. force build up in Asia is meant to counter China.
Defense officials said Gates spent more time discussing China than Pakistan, India’s longtime rival, during meetings.
Gates said he would like to use the same strategy of “many years of arms negotiations” with the Soviet Union as a means to “gain a real appreciation and understanding of how each other looked at strategic modernization programs and deployments and plans and so on.”
“We would like to have the same kind of dialogue with China,” he said.
...
It appears that the U.S. government is filled with a bunch of blithering idiots, regardless of party affiliation, that think you can 'make nice' with enemies...
Pertinent Links:
1) Gates appears to hedge on U.S. 'hedge' strategy for China
DAR AL HARB-EURABIA: AL QAEDA IS BEING FINANCED BY CRIMINAL GANGS IN BELGIUM & FROM OTHER E.U. STATES
Euro-gangs financing north African Al Qaida network
CAIRO — Morocco's intelligence community has concluded that an Al Qaida network received hundreds of thousands of euros from criminal gangs in Belgium and other European Union states. They said the gangs relayed funds from bank robberies and Internet scams conducted throughout Europe.
"Most of the funding for and orders to this cell came from Europe," an official said. "The links are very clear."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Euro-gangs financing north African Al Qaida network
CAIRO — Morocco's intelligence community has concluded that an Al Qaida network received hundreds of thousands of euros from criminal gangs in Belgium and other European Union states. They said the gangs relayed funds from bank robberies and Internet scams conducted throughout Europe.
"Most of the funding for and orders to this cell came from Europe," an official said. "The links are very clear."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Euro-gangs financing north African Al Qaida network
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.: SAVAGE'S LAWYERS, ALONE WITH REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS, TO INVESTIGATE C.A.I.R. FINANCING
Savage lawyers target CAIR's paymasters
Muslim group bankrolled by Arab states tied to 9/11
Preparing an appeal of a dismissed lawsuit against the Council of American-Islamic Relations, talk radio host Michael Savage and his legal team have taken a new tack, investigating CAIR's foreign financial backers, WND has learned.
CAIR is registered as a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under IRS code section 501(c)(3), which restricts "lobbying on behalf of a foreign government." CAIR's website claims that it receives no foreign government support.
However, CAIR's headquarters near the U.S. Capitol until recently was owned by the ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the ruler's foundation has pledged $50 million to capitalize a long-term CAIR public-relations campaign.
"This should start to get interesting," said a member of Savage's legal team.
...
Meantime, WND has learned that the Republican leadership in Congress is seeking hearings to also investigate CAIR's foreign financing.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Savage lawyers target CAIR's paymasters
Muslim group bankrolled by Arab states tied to 9/11
Preparing an appeal of a dismissed lawsuit against the Council of American-Islamic Relations, talk radio host Michael Savage and his legal team have taken a new tack, investigating CAIR's foreign financial backers, WND has learned.
CAIR is registered as a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under IRS code section 501(c)(3), which restricts "lobbying on behalf of a foreign government." CAIR's website claims that it receives no foreign government support.
However, CAIR's headquarters near the U.S. Capitol until recently was owned by the ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the ruler's foundation has pledged $50 million to capitalize a long-term CAIR public-relations campaign.
"This should start to get interesting," said a member of Savage's legal team.
...
Meantime, WND has learned that the Republican leadership in Congress is seeking hearings to also investigate CAIR's foreign financing.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Savage lawyers target CAIR's paymasters
DAR AL HARB-EURABIA-GERMANY: TURKS IN GERMANY DON'T FEEL WELCOME - - - WHAT A SURPRISE...NOT ! ! !
Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
A new poll finds that the majority of people of Turkish descent living in the country feel unwelcomed by Germans. A full 78 percent say that Angela Merkel is not their chancellor.
...
The whiners should move back to their hellhole of a country...
Pertinent Links:
1) Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
A new poll finds that the majority of people of Turkish descent living in the country feel unwelcomed by Germans. A full 78 percent say that Angela Merkel is not their chancellor.
...
The whiners should move back to their hellhole of a country...
Pertinent Links:
1) Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
DAR AL HARB-EURABIA-GERMANY: CULTURE MINISTERS IN GERMANY WANT THE DHIMMI POPULATIONS TO RECEIVE LESSONS ON ISLAM, ALONG WITH THEIR MOSLEM OVERLORDS
'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
By Beate Lakotta
German-language Islam instruction for Muslim schoolchildren helps with integration and the development of language skills. Now the culture ministers of Germany's states want to introduce the subject for all students.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
By Beate Lakotta
German-language Islam instruction for Muslim schoolchildren helps with integration and the development of language skills. Now the culture ministers of Germany's states want to introduce the subject for all students.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A./ISRAEL: AMERICANS PUT ISRAEL IN THE TOP 5 MOST FAVORED COUNTRIES
Poll: More Americans are pro-Israeli
by Yitzhak Benhorin
New Gallup survey reveals Israel is one of five countries Americans feel most favorably about; Palestinian Authority ranks near bottom along with Iran, North Korea
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Poll: More Americans are pro-Israeli
by Yitzhak Benhorin
New Gallup survey reveals Israel is one of five countries Americans feel most favorably about; Palestinian Authority ranks near bottom along with Iran, North Korea
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Poll: More Americans are pro-Israeli
DAR AL ISLAM: A TURBAN & ROBE WEARING, SCIMITAR WAVING MOSLEM SANTA CLAUS
Muslim Santa Claus created to help poor children
Amman, 14 March (AKI) - A Jordanian charity has created an Islamic Santa Claus to help poor and disadvantaged children.
The organisation believes such a character can exist without affecting the cultural identity of the Muslim world.
The project was discussed by Amal Issa from the organisation when she appeared on the Arab television station al-Arabiya on Friday.
Under the proposal, the Muslim Santa Claus, to be called Abu al Aid has Islamic characteristics and dress, and is 'big' like the western one.
"We thought that our society needed a figure similar to that of Santa Claus, who can help us with the social work we do," said Issa.
"We need a character who is similar to the one in the West, but one that has Arab characteristics and wears the typical dress of our region."
Abu al Aid has been registered in Jordan's ministry of culture office so that the Muslim Santa can be considered a modern figure in Jordanian culture.
"Moreover, we have decided to raise our own finance so we can buy the presents for Abu al Aid to distribute to orphan children and the poor." said Miada Qablawi, also a member of the womens group.
"To make this project official, we have created a charitable organisation, in order to bring joy to many children."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim Santa Claus created to help poor children
Amman, 14 March (AKI) - A Jordanian charity has created an Islamic Santa Claus to help poor and disadvantaged children.
The organisation believes such a character can exist without affecting the cultural identity of the Muslim world.
The project was discussed by Amal Issa from the organisation when she appeared on the Arab television station al-Arabiya on Friday.
Under the proposal, the Muslim Santa Claus, to be called Abu al Aid has Islamic characteristics and dress, and is 'big' like the western one.
"We thought that our society needed a figure similar to that of Santa Claus, who can help us with the social work we do," said Issa.
"We need a character who is similar to the one in the West, but one that has Arab characteristics and wears the typical dress of our region."
Abu al Aid has been registered in Jordan's ministry of culture office so that the Muslim Santa can be considered a modern figure in Jordanian culture.
"Moreover, we have decided to raise our own finance so we can buy the presents for Abu al Aid to distribute to orphan children and the poor." said Miada Qablawi, also a member of the womens group.
"To make this project official, we have created a charitable organisation, in order to bring joy to many children."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim Santa Claus created to help poor children
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAQ: THE CHALDEAN ARCHBISHOP OF MOSUL IS DEAD - - - ISLAM, 'THE RELIGION OF PEACE' IS RESPONSIBLE
The archbishop of Mosul is dead
Bishop of Arbil: "A heavy Cross for our Church, ahead of Easter". The cause of death is still unknown. The pope's expression of sorrow.
...
The difficult negotiations for his release carried forward over the past 14 days of his kidnapping had immediately raised concern because of the total absence of direct contact with the hostage. The conditions posed by the kidnappers - sources in Mosul tell AsiaNews - in addition to an outrageous ransom on the order of millions of dollars, had also included the provision of weapons and the liberation of Arab prisoners held in Kurdish prisons.
...
and
The blood tribute of the diocese of Mosul
With the killing of Archbishop Rahho, the Sunni stronghold confirms its place as the most dangerous area for the Christian community. According to an autopsy, the bishop has been dead for five days. In 2007 alone, 47 Christians were killed in Iraq.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The archbishop of Mosul is dead
2) The blood tribute of the diocese of Mosul
Bishop of Arbil: "A heavy Cross for our Church, ahead of Easter". The cause of death is still unknown. The pope's expression of sorrow.
...
The difficult negotiations for his release carried forward over the past 14 days of his kidnapping had immediately raised concern because of the total absence of direct contact with the hostage. The conditions posed by the kidnappers - sources in Mosul tell AsiaNews - in addition to an outrageous ransom on the order of millions of dollars, had also included the provision of weapons and the liberation of Arab prisoners held in Kurdish prisons.
...
and
The blood tribute of the diocese of Mosul
With the killing of Archbishop Rahho, the Sunni stronghold confirms its place as the most dangerous area for the Christian community. According to an autopsy, the bishop has been dead for five days. In 2007 alone, 47 Christians were killed in Iraq.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The archbishop of Mosul is dead
2) The blood tribute of the diocese of Mosul
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-BELGIUM/MOROCCO: A DOUBLE AGENT [MOSLEM OF COURSE] WITHIN BELGIAN INTELLIGENCE
Storm in Belgium over Moroccan spy
By Yacine Le Forestier
BRUSSELS. Abdelkader Belliraj’s links with Belgian intelligence raises serious questions about nature of ‘golden informant’. Was he following orders or did he fool the Belgians? The arrest of an Islamist in Morocco has Belgian authorities wondering if they have been duped by a "double agent" alleged to have acted as an informer while planning several deadly attacks.
The growing storm is swirling around Abdelkader Belliraj, 50, a Belgian and Moroccan national who was arrested last month in Morocco on suspicions of having led an Al Qaeda-linked group of 35 Islamic extremists.
He is also a prime suspect in six unexplained killings in Belgium at the end of the 1980s.
Although the Moroccan accusations were at first met with scepticism in Belgium, authorities now consider them credible.
"Their investigation seems to be quite extensive and serious," a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors, Lieve Pellens, said after a recent visit of a team of Belgian police to Morocco.
But the case took a new twist when it emerged that Belliraj was probably for years a paid informer for Belgium's domestic intelligence services, the State Security.
The head of the agency, Alain Winants, implicitly acknowledged that was the case recently by filing a complaint after the "highly classified" information was revealed in the press.
The revelation has reignited a simmering row among Belgian authorities, with federal police investigators accusing the State Security of not being careful enough in recruiting its informers and not keeping other services informed.
...
How many of such "double agents" are working within the F.B.I., C.I.A., H.L.S., etc...etc...etc...?!?!?
At the rate our government was hiring moslems after the 9-11 attacks, I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't dozens of such "doubel agents"...
Of course, the "powers that be" are looking & will look the other way, they are way too politically correct for our own good...
Pertinent Links:
1) Storm in Belgium over Moroccan spy
By Yacine Le Forestier
BRUSSELS. Abdelkader Belliraj’s links with Belgian intelligence raises serious questions about nature of ‘golden informant’. Was he following orders or did he fool the Belgians? The arrest of an Islamist in Morocco has Belgian authorities wondering if they have been duped by a "double agent" alleged to have acted as an informer while planning several deadly attacks.
The growing storm is swirling around Abdelkader Belliraj, 50, a Belgian and Moroccan national who was arrested last month in Morocco on suspicions of having led an Al Qaeda-linked group of 35 Islamic extremists.
He is also a prime suspect in six unexplained killings in Belgium at the end of the 1980s.
Although the Moroccan accusations were at first met with scepticism in Belgium, authorities now consider them credible.
"Their investigation seems to be quite extensive and serious," a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors, Lieve Pellens, said after a recent visit of a team of Belgian police to Morocco.
But the case took a new twist when it emerged that Belliraj was probably for years a paid informer for Belgium's domestic intelligence services, the State Security.
The head of the agency, Alain Winants, implicitly acknowledged that was the case recently by filing a complaint after the "highly classified" information was revealed in the press.
The revelation has reignited a simmering row among Belgian authorities, with federal police investigators accusing the State Security of not being careful enough in recruiting its informers and not keeping other services informed.
...
How many of such "double agents" are working within the F.B.I., C.I.A., H.L.S., etc...etc...etc...?!?!?
At the rate our government was hiring moslems after the 9-11 attacks, I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't dozens of such "doubel agents"...
Of course, the "powers that be" are looking & will look the other way, they are way too politically correct for our own good...
Pertinent Links:
1) Storm in Belgium over Moroccan spy
DAR AL HARB-U.K.: BRITAIN'S BROKEN HEART & SOME MOSLEM RESPONSES
Britain’s broken heart
Daily Mail, 10 March 2008
by Melanie Phillips
Britain currently seems to be in a state of permanent uproar about its national identity.
Home-grown Brits don’t seem to know what it is any more, while immigrants flock to these shores in vast numbers to claim it for themselves.
The Prime Minister frets about recreating a sense of national solidarity which he thinks has been lost. Accordingly, he has proposed erecting hurdles for immigrants to jump before they can join the British national project.
...
According to weekend leaks, this will suggest that schoolchildren should swear an oath to the Queen and promise to obey the law in ceremonies similar to those for new immigrants.
We don’t yet know whether the review will in fact say this. But it sits with the view often expressed by ministers —who look enviously at the way every American pledges allegiance to the Stars and Stripes —that similar loyalty oaths to our own national symbols will make people identify with Britishness.
This, I’m afraid, gets the argument totally back to front. Their flag doesn’t make Americans patriotic. They rally to it so emotionally because they have enormous pride and belief in their country.
That’s because they believe that America’s defining characteristics of freedom and equality, based on Judeo- Christian ethics, are simply superior to anything else. So they love their country for what it represents and, accordingly, are prepared to fight and to die for it. That is the essence of a shared sense of national purpose.
Just to state this about America is to realise the depth of the problem in this once-great United Kingdom. This country has simply lost belief in itself.
...
there are now two Britains. There is the Britain that loves and would defend to the death its own historic national identity — and the Britain that either wants to destroy it or refuses to acknowledge that it is under such threat. And it is the latter which currently wields the levers of power.
...
and now the response of a moslem in Britain, pay special attention to whom he/she pledges his/hers allegiance (the same can be said for every single moslem in America, without exception):
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Britain’s broken heart
2) The war within the west
Daily Mail, 10 March 2008
by Melanie Phillips
Britain currently seems to be in a state of permanent uproar about its national identity.
Home-grown Brits don’t seem to know what it is any more, while immigrants flock to these shores in vast numbers to claim it for themselves.
The Prime Minister frets about recreating a sense of national solidarity which he thinks has been lost. Accordingly, he has proposed erecting hurdles for immigrants to jump before they can join the British national project.
...
According to weekend leaks, this will suggest that schoolchildren should swear an oath to the Queen and promise to obey the law in ceremonies similar to those for new immigrants.
We don’t yet know whether the review will in fact say this. But it sits with the view often expressed by ministers —who look enviously at the way every American pledges allegiance to the Stars and Stripes —that similar loyalty oaths to our own national symbols will make people identify with Britishness.
This, I’m afraid, gets the argument totally back to front. Their flag doesn’t make Americans patriotic. They rally to it so emotionally because they have enormous pride and belief in their country.
That’s because they believe that America’s defining characteristics of freedom and equality, based on Judeo- Christian ethics, are simply superior to anything else. So they love their country for what it represents and, accordingly, are prepared to fight and to die for it. That is the essence of a shared sense of national purpose.
Just to state this about America is to realise the depth of the problem in this once-great United Kingdom. This country has simply lost belief in itself.
...
there are now two Britains. There is the Britain that loves and would defend to the death its own historic national identity — and the Britain that either wants to destroy it or refuses to acknowledge that it is under such threat. And it is the latter which currently wields the levers of power.
...
and now the response of a moslem in Britain, pay special attention to whom he/she pledges his/hers allegiance (the same can be said for every single moslem in America, without exception):
I was reading your article in the DM which was left behind on the tube, regarding your views on allegiance. I don't but the DM you see.
I agree that we should not be asked to show allegiance to the Queen. After all the Queen doesn't have any real powers anyway. As a Muslim, why should I show allegiance to a non Muslim. Those who wish to show allegiance to her are welcome to do so. That's there business. IF I vote in the general elections, I don't show allegiance to the person I might vote for even if it's a Muslim politician.
As far as allegiance to the country, what does that mean? After all, if we obey the law isn't that enough? As a Muslim I feel I've done all that is required of me and can people stop telling me to go back to where I come from. I was born in Scotland, is that what they mean as I now live in England???
My allegiance is to the God of Adam\Noah\Abraham\Moses\Jesus\Muhammad peace and blessing of Allah be upon them.
There are of course some people such as the media and politicians who strive hard to allienate people from this country, particularly in regard to Islamphobic comments of which you have been a strong adherent for many years. I believe if people such as yourself were to be a bit more rational in your views and think clearly about some of the nonsense that you and others spout, that would make a greater contribution to
obtaining cohesion within society. Having said that, I'm sure their are many people who see through your many hateful comments over the years. It's like taking painkillers, where after a time their affect reduces. Similarly your views are probably being ignored each time you open your mouth.
Over the past few months as I travel to work, I have been wearing the arab scarf, which by the way I have noticed non Muslims are also wearing, to show my identity as a Muslim. I never did that before. Hence I would say that the more you alienate
people like me, the more stronger my identity, at least visually, will become. Anyone, including you who don't like it, can lump it. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it. This is what sticks in the throat of people like you, and their is very little you CAN do to make me a Muslim change my way of life. This is what makes you say the hateful things you say. Not surprisingly in your article didn't fail in making a dig at Islam and Muslims. You are, if nothing else, consistently seethed in hate. There will be a Day of Judgement. I would like to be there when you are judged.
Allahu Akbar.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Britain’s broken heart
2) The war within the west
DAR AL HARB-VATICAN: ANGLICAN BISHOP IS "NAIVE" WHEN IT COMES TO SHARI'AH
Vatican official says Anglican head naive on Sharia
By Philip Pullella
The Vatican's top man for relations with Islam on Tuesday criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury as mistaken and "naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain were unavoidable.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, in a wide-ranging discussion with reporters about Christian-Muslim relations, also said he was confident that a new, permanent body between the Vatican and Muslims would help defuse misunderstandings in the future.
"I think it was a mistake, a mistake because, above all, one has to ask what type of Sharia. And then, it was a bit naive," Tauran said in answer to a question at a breakfast meeting.
...
"One can understand his good intentions but it seems to me he did not take into consideration either them (the Muslims), the English juridical system, or the reality of Sharia," said Tauran, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
...
Tauran said: "It is not just a question of good will. There are juridical aspects that are not reconcilable (with Sharia)".
...
Tauran will be the Vatican's top man in a permanent official dialogue with Muslims to improve often difficult relations and heal wounds still open from a controversial papal speech in 2006.
The Catholic-Muslim Forum, agreed last week, will meet in Rome in November with 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side. Pope Benedict will address the group, due to meet formally every two years.
Catholic-Muslim relations nosedived in 2006 after Benedict delivered a lecture in Regensburg, Germany, that was taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational.
Asked if meeting every two years was too little, Tauran said committees would meet more often and have an emergency mechanism.
"There will be a sort of hot line always available if we need to talk and meet about a problem or take an initiative," he said.
Pertinent Links:
1) Vatican official says Anglican head naive on Sharia
By Philip Pullella
The Vatican's top man for relations with Islam on Tuesday criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury as mistaken and "naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain were unavoidable.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, in a wide-ranging discussion with reporters about Christian-Muslim relations, also said he was confident that a new, permanent body between the Vatican and Muslims would help defuse misunderstandings in the future.
"I think it was a mistake, a mistake because, above all, one has to ask what type of Sharia. And then, it was a bit naive," Tauran said in answer to a question at a breakfast meeting.
...
"One can understand his good intentions but it seems to me he did not take into consideration either them (the Muslims), the English juridical system, or the reality of Sharia," said Tauran, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
...
Tauran said: "It is not just a question of good will. There are juridical aspects that are not reconcilable (with Sharia)".
...
Tauran will be the Vatican's top man in a permanent official dialogue with Muslims to improve often difficult relations and heal wounds still open from a controversial papal speech in 2006.
The Catholic-Muslim Forum, agreed last week, will meet in Rome in November with 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side. Pope Benedict will address the group, due to meet formally every two years.
Catholic-Muslim relations nosedived in 2006 after Benedict delivered a lecture in Regensburg, Germany, that was taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational.
Asked if meeting every two years was too little, Tauran said committees would meet more often and have an emergency mechanism.
"There will be a sort of hot line always available if we need to talk and meet about a problem or take an initiative," he said.
Pertinent Links:
1) Vatican official says Anglican head naive on Sharia
DAR AL HARB-U.K.: COUNCIL OF EX-MOSLEMS IN BRITAIN FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM, WHILE BRITISH GOVERNMENT STOOPS LOWER UNDER ITS DHIMMI YOKE
It's time to take a stand against Islam and Sharia
Maryam Namazie, the head of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain, says that rights are for individuals, not religions or beliefs
Picture this, says Maryam Namazie: “A child is swathed in cloth from head to toe every day. Everything but her face and hands are covered for fear that a man might find her attractive. At school she learns that she is worth less than a boy. She is not allowed to dance or swim or feel the sun on her skin or the wind in her hair. This is clearly unacceptable, yet it is accepted when it is done in the name of religion.”
Namazie is the founder of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain (CEMB) which started life in the middle of last year. On Monday - in celebration of the centenary of International Women's Day - she spoke at a conference on Political Islam and Women's Rights, and launched a campaign against Sharia.
Iranian Muslim by birth, Namazie, 41, is friendly and softly spoken. But she does not mince her words. It takes nerve to start an organisation for people who have rejected Islam. In Islamic law, apostasy is punishable by death. Namazie receives periodic threats, usually on her mobile phone: “One said, 'You are going to be decapitated'...I went to the police. They were very attentive at first because they thought it might be linked to the attempted bombings in Glasgow . But when they realised it wasn't, they never bothered contacting me again.” Doesn't she worry about her safety? “Yes, I do, frequently. I worry about whether I will live, especially now I am a mother. If I see someone looking at me strangely, I wonder.” Why doesn't she use a pseudonym? “They can find out who you are anyway. And the point of the Council of Ex-Muslims is to stand up and be counted.” She doesn't really like the label ex-Muslim and would prefer not to frame her identity in religious terms but, she says, it is like gays “coming out” 30 years ago: something has to become public if you are to break taboos. The CEMB has more than 100 members with inquiries from people who do not dare to join. “Some have horrendous stories but do not put them on the website because they are afraid.”
Namazie's grandfather was a mullah and her father was brought up a strict Muslim. Both of her parents (now living in America) remain Muslim. When Namazie told her father about the launch of the CEMB, she remembers that he said: “Oh no, Grandpa is going to be turning in his grave.” “So I told him that what I am doing benefits Muslims, too, because if you live in a secular society, you can be a Muslim, a Sikh, a Christian or an atheist and be treated equally.” Namazie's opposition to state religion is informed by her own experience. She was 12 when the Iranian revolution “was hijacked by the Ayatollahs” and her country became the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“I had never worn the veil and was at a mixed school. Suddenly a strange man appeared in the playground. He was bearded and had been sent to separate the sexes - but we ran circles round him.” She can still picture, too, the face of “the Hezbollah” who stopped her in the street because her head was uncovered. “I was 12 or 13. It was really scary.” Worse happened to others: “There were beatings and acid was thrown in women's faces, and there were executions on television every day,” she says. Then her school was closed “for Islamicisation”.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) It's time to take a stand against Islam and Sharia
Maryam Namazie, the head of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain, says that rights are for individuals, not religions or beliefs
Picture this, says Maryam Namazie: “A child is swathed in cloth from head to toe every day. Everything but her face and hands are covered for fear that a man might find her attractive. At school she learns that she is worth less than a boy. She is not allowed to dance or swim or feel the sun on her skin or the wind in her hair. This is clearly unacceptable, yet it is accepted when it is done in the name of religion.”
Namazie is the founder of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain (CEMB) which started life in the middle of last year. On Monday - in celebration of the centenary of International Women's Day - she spoke at a conference on Political Islam and Women's Rights, and launched a campaign against Sharia.
Iranian Muslim by birth, Namazie, 41, is friendly and softly spoken. But she does not mince her words. It takes nerve to start an organisation for people who have rejected Islam. In Islamic law, apostasy is punishable by death. Namazie receives periodic threats, usually on her mobile phone: “One said, 'You are going to be decapitated'...I went to the police. They were very attentive at first because they thought it might be linked to the attempted bombings in Glasgow . But when they realised it wasn't, they never bothered contacting me again.” Doesn't she worry about her safety? “Yes, I do, frequently. I worry about whether I will live, especially now I am a mother. If I see someone looking at me strangely, I wonder.” Why doesn't she use a pseudonym? “They can find out who you are anyway. And the point of the Council of Ex-Muslims is to stand up and be counted.” She doesn't really like the label ex-Muslim and would prefer not to frame her identity in religious terms but, she says, it is like gays “coming out” 30 years ago: something has to become public if you are to break taboos. The CEMB has more than 100 members with inquiries from people who do not dare to join. “Some have horrendous stories but do not put them on the website because they are afraid.”
Namazie's grandfather was a mullah and her father was brought up a strict Muslim. Both of her parents (now living in America) remain Muslim. When Namazie told her father about the launch of the CEMB, she remembers that he said: “Oh no, Grandpa is going to be turning in his grave.” “So I told him that what I am doing benefits Muslims, too, because if you live in a secular society, you can be a Muslim, a Sikh, a Christian or an atheist and be treated equally.” Namazie's opposition to state religion is informed by her own experience. She was 12 when the Iranian revolution “was hijacked by the Ayatollahs” and her country became the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“I had never worn the veil and was at a mixed school. Suddenly a strange man appeared in the playground. He was bearded and had been sent to separate the sexes - but we ran circles round him.” She can still picture, too, the face of “the Hezbollah” who stopped her in the street because her head was uncovered. “I was 12 or 13. It was really scary.” Worse happened to others: “There were beatings and acid was thrown in women's faces, and there were executions on television every day,” she says. Then her school was closed “for Islamicisation”.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) It's time to take a stand against Islam and Sharia
DAR AL HARB-FRANCE: NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY A LA SARKOZY
France's nuclear diplomacy
By Michelle M. Smith and Charles D. Ferguson
The recent war games in the Gulf with France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are connected to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's nuclear diplomacy. Sarkozy has been leveraging France's leading civilian nuclear technology to gain diplomatic, commercial and military advantages with countries in the Middle East, as well parts of Africa and Asia.
In response, nonproliferation experts have voiced their unease at the idea of exporting potentially nuclear bomb-usable technologies to proliferation-prone regions. In particular, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, recently expressed concern that Sarkozy's aggressive sales campaign in the Muslim world was moving "too fast." A number of German politicians have advised France to "weigh the risks," especially when it comes to nuclear deals with the Libyan regime of Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Despite these fears, Sarkozy's nuclear energy proselytizing will not convert any new countries to acquiring nuclear weapons any time soon, if ever, and France will face financial and technical hurdles in building many nuclear power plants in these countries.
Since taking office last May, Sarkozy has signed deals worth billions of dollars to build nuclear power reactors or offer technical advice to a number of Arab states, including Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia and Turkey also have considered the purchase of such technology from France. Although the French nuclear group Areva reported strong annual profits in 2007 and pledged to double in size within the next five years, serious constraints limit the realization of the global promises made by Sarkozy and Areva's chief executive, Anne Lauvergeon. Aside from the obvious political and financial barriers that complicate the construction of nuclear power plants, many practical difficulties stand between France and its ambitious goals in the developing world.
With the exception of a regional uranium enrichment consortium proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, few of the states Sarkozy visited have plans to develop indigenous enrichment facilities. Overall, this is good news for nonproliferation because as long as individual countries do not enrich their own uranium, they are much less likely to acquire bomb-usable materials.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) France's nuclear diplomacy
By Michelle M. Smith and Charles D. Ferguson
The recent war games in the Gulf with France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are connected to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's nuclear diplomacy. Sarkozy has been leveraging France's leading civilian nuclear technology to gain diplomatic, commercial and military advantages with countries in the Middle East, as well parts of Africa and Asia.
In response, nonproliferation experts have voiced their unease at the idea of exporting potentially nuclear bomb-usable technologies to proliferation-prone regions. In particular, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, recently expressed concern that Sarkozy's aggressive sales campaign in the Muslim world was moving "too fast." A number of German politicians have advised France to "weigh the risks," especially when it comes to nuclear deals with the Libyan regime of Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Despite these fears, Sarkozy's nuclear energy proselytizing will not convert any new countries to acquiring nuclear weapons any time soon, if ever, and France will face financial and technical hurdles in building many nuclear power plants in these countries.
Since taking office last May, Sarkozy has signed deals worth billions of dollars to build nuclear power reactors or offer technical advice to a number of Arab states, including Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia and Turkey also have considered the purchase of such technology from France. Although the French nuclear group Areva reported strong annual profits in 2007 and pledged to double in size within the next five years, serious constraints limit the realization of the global promises made by Sarkozy and Areva's chief executive, Anne Lauvergeon. Aside from the obvious political and financial barriers that complicate the construction of nuclear power plants, many practical difficulties stand between France and its ambitious goals in the developing world.
With the exception of a regional uranium enrichment consortium proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, few of the states Sarkozy visited have plans to develop indigenous enrichment facilities. Overall, this is good news for nonproliferation because as long as individual countries do not enrich their own uranium, they are much less likely to acquire bomb-usable materials.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) France's nuclear diplomacy
DAR AL HARB-U.K.: "HEAD TO TOE BAG" PLAGUE OF BRITAIN
Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of secular Britain
By Jane Perlez
Increasingly, Muslim women in Britain take their children to school and run errands covered head to toe in flowing black gowns that allow only a slit for their eyes.
Like little else, their appearance has unnerved Britons, testing the limits of tolerance in this stridently secular nation. Many veiled women say they are targets of abuse. At the same time, efforts are growing to place legal curbs on the full Muslim veil, known as the niqab.
The past year has seen numerous examples: A lawyer dressed in a niqab was told by an immigration judge that she could not represent a client because, he said, he could not hear her. A teacher wearing a niqab was told by a provincial school to go home. A student who was barred from wearing a niqab took her case to the courts, and lost. In fact, the British education authorities are proposing a ban on the niqab in schools altogether.
David Sexton, a columnist for The Evening Standard, wrote recently that Britain has been "too deferential" toward the veil. "I find such garb, in the context of a London street, first ridiculous and then directly offensive," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of secular Britain
By Jane Perlez
Increasingly, Muslim women in Britain take their children to school and run errands covered head to toe in flowing black gowns that allow only a slit for their eyes.
Like little else, their appearance has unnerved Britons, testing the limits of tolerance in this stridently secular nation. Many veiled women say they are targets of abuse. At the same time, efforts are growing to place legal curbs on the full Muslim veil, known as the niqab.
The past year has seen numerous examples: A lawyer dressed in a niqab was told by an immigration judge that she could not represent a client because, he said, he could not hear her. A teacher wearing a niqab was told by a provincial school to go home. A student who was barred from wearing a niqab took her case to the courts, and lost. In fact, the British education authorities are proposing a ban on the niqab in schools altogether.
David Sexton, a columnist for The Evening Standard, wrote recently that Britain has been "too deferential" toward the veil. "I find such garb, in the context of a London street, first ridiculous and then directly offensive," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of secular Britain
DAR AL HARB-U.S./RUSSIA/KOSOVO: RUSSIA & THE U.S. AT ODDS OVER KOSOVO
No reversal of independence, say US and EU
The United States and Russia have again clashed in the United Nations Security Council over Kosovo 's recent independence.
The US is adamant independence move cannot be reversed, while Russia has demanded more talks to discuss the issue.
Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians declared independence on 17 February with the support of western powers, despite opposition from Belgrade and Moscow.
“Any attempts which ignore the reality and what has happened will not have our support,” said US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. “What has happened in Kosovo cannot be annulled."
But Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there was no final solution for Kosovo unless it was negotiated between Belgrade and Pristina and approved by the Security Council.
“We don’t accept that a new reality has been established," said Churkin. "It is a virtual reality which will not be recognised as international reality until we reach a unified stand."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) No reversal of independence, say US and EU
The United States and Russia have again clashed in the United Nations Security Council over Kosovo 's recent independence.
The US is adamant independence move cannot be reversed, while Russia has demanded more talks to discuss the issue.
Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians declared independence on 17 February with the support of western powers, despite opposition from Belgrade and Moscow.
“Any attempts which ignore the reality and what has happened will not have our support,” said US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. “What has happened in Kosovo cannot be annulled."
But Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there was no final solution for Kosovo unless it was negotiated between Belgrade and Pristina and approved by the Security Council.
“We don’t accept that a new reality has been established," said Churkin. "It is a virtual reality which will not be recognised as international reality until we reach a unified stand."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) No reversal of independence, say US and EU
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-INDIANA: ANOTHER MOSLEM IN CONGRESS
Andre Carson becomes second Muslim elected to U.S. Congress
Indiana voters on Tuesday elected a Muslim to the U.S. Congress, only the second of that faith chosen in U.S. history.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Andre Carson becomes second Muslim elected to U.S. Congress
Indiana voters on Tuesday elected a Muslim to the U.S. Congress, only the second of that faith chosen in U.S. history.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Andre Carson becomes second Muslim elected to U.S. Congress
DAR AL ISLAM: UMMAH WILL BECOME A WORLD POWER VIA UNITY
Islamic world will become global power though unity: Supreme Leader
The Islamic world could become a major global power through unity and promotion of all-out cooperation, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.
...
"The world of Islam can become a global power through unity and promotion of political, economic, cultural and scientific cooperation," stressed the supreme leader.
Criticizing Washington for using force against other countries, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Submission to hegemony of world arrogance is the cause of their backwardness."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic world will become global power though unity: Supreme Leader
The Islamic world could become a major global power through unity and promotion of all-out cooperation, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.
...
"The world of Islam can become a global power through unity and promotion of political, economic, cultural and scientific cooperation," stressed the supreme leader.
Criticizing Washington for using force against other countries, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Submission to hegemony of world arrogance is the cause of their backwardness."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic world will become global power though unity: Supreme Leader
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAN: SCHOOLS BOOKS IN IRAN TEACH ISLAM - - - JIHAD, SUICIDE [HOMICIDE BOMBING], WEST & ISRAEL = "ARROGANT ONES"
Iran Schoolbooks Teach Jihad, Martyrdom, Study Shows
by Fred Lucas
When third grade school children in Iran turn to page 113 of their textbook "Let's Read," they find a passage that says, "At that time, the Israeli officer pounded (three-year-old) Muhammad's head with the rifle's stock and his warm blood sprinkled upon his (six-year-old brother) Khaled's hands."
The Iranian textbook was published in 2004, before the controversial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of Iran in 2005. In another third-grade text, "Gifts of Heavan," an illustration of a monster wearing the Star of David is seen going through a tidy Muslim town leaving garbage everywhere.
While those examples could seem shocking to some, it gets worse, said Arnon Groiss, director of research at the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, who recently completed a study of 115 Iranian school textbooks. (Most of the books reviewed in the study had been published in 2004.)
"Indoctrination is less felt in the lower grades and increases in the higher grades," Groiss said, speaking at a forum Monday on the topic at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.
The books are part of an overall indoctrination effort aimed at school children. This effort includes rewritten Iranian history and the inclusion of Jihadist political views in science and geography texts, he said.
The seventh grade text "Islamic Culture and Religious Instruction," which refers to the West and Israel as the "Arrogant Ones," tells students that war is unavoidable and victory is guaranteed "in order to continue with all our power our revolution against the Arrogant Ones and the oppressors."
An eighth grade text says the "army of Islam would make the Arrogant Ones fall in holy Jihad and heavy attack."
"This is a form of child abuse rejected by all civilized countries," said Groiss, who for 30 years was an Arab-language journalist and is currently deputy director at Israel Broadcasting Authorities Arabic Radio. "This pictures a regime bent on global war to the point of self-destruction."
On page 20 of the high school textbook "Humanities," the United States is described as an "imperialist country" that "does not refrain from massacring people, from burying alive soldiers of the opposite side and from using mass-destruction weapons. It makes use of atomic bombs. ... It creates the greatest dictatorships and the violent and torturous security-oriented regimes, and defends them."
...
"To the Iranian youth, America is the most popular country," said Arya, a member of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran - an international group of one-time Iranian citizens pushing for the establishment of a liberal democracy in that country. However, even a small number influenced by the books could be damaging, he said.
"The Islamist regime does not need to be 100 percent successful, only a small portion," Arya said. "If 10 percent are exposed, that's 5 million. If 1 percent is exposed, that's 500,000. If it's a half of a percent, that's 250,000. That's more troops than we have in Iraq."
Pertinent Links:
1) Iran Schoolbooks Teach Jihad, Martyrdom, Study Shows
by Fred Lucas
When third grade school children in Iran turn to page 113 of their textbook "Let's Read," they find a passage that says, "At that time, the Israeli officer pounded (three-year-old) Muhammad's head with the rifle's stock and his warm blood sprinkled upon his (six-year-old brother) Khaled's hands."
The Iranian textbook was published in 2004, before the controversial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of Iran in 2005. In another third-grade text, "Gifts of Heavan," an illustration of a monster wearing the Star of David is seen going through a tidy Muslim town leaving garbage everywhere.
While those examples could seem shocking to some, it gets worse, said Arnon Groiss, director of research at the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, who recently completed a study of 115 Iranian school textbooks. (Most of the books reviewed in the study had been published in 2004.)
"Indoctrination is less felt in the lower grades and increases in the higher grades," Groiss said, speaking at a forum Monday on the topic at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.
The books are part of an overall indoctrination effort aimed at school children. This effort includes rewritten Iranian history and the inclusion of Jihadist political views in science and geography texts, he said.
The seventh grade text "Islamic Culture and Religious Instruction," which refers to the West and Israel as the "Arrogant Ones," tells students that war is unavoidable and victory is guaranteed "in order to continue with all our power our revolution against the Arrogant Ones and the oppressors."
An eighth grade text says the "army of Islam would make the Arrogant Ones fall in holy Jihad and heavy attack."
"This is a form of child abuse rejected by all civilized countries," said Groiss, who for 30 years was an Arab-language journalist and is currently deputy director at Israel Broadcasting Authorities Arabic Radio. "This pictures a regime bent on global war to the point of self-destruction."
On page 20 of the high school textbook "Humanities," the United States is described as an "imperialist country" that "does not refrain from massacring people, from burying alive soldiers of the opposite side and from using mass-destruction weapons. It makes use of atomic bombs. ... It creates the greatest dictatorships and the violent and torturous security-oriented regimes, and defends them."
...
"To the Iranian youth, America is the most popular country," said Arya, a member of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran - an international group of one-time Iranian citizens pushing for the establishment of a liberal democracy in that country. However, even a small number influenced by the books could be damaging, he said.
"The Islamist regime does not need to be 100 percent successful, only a small portion," Arya said. "If 10 percent are exposed, that's 5 million. If 1 percent is exposed, that's 500,000. If it's a half of a percent, that's 250,000. That's more troops than we have in Iraq."
Pertinent Links:
1) Iran Schoolbooks Teach Jihad, Martyrdom, Study Shows
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: MOSLEMS CAN PRAY IN SCHOOLS ON THEIR BREAKS - - - SOON, THEY WILL RECEIVE SPECIAL BREAKS FOR PRAYERS
Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
An administrative court in Berlin ruled that Muslim students should be allowed to pray in schools during their breaks, a paper said Wednesday.
Berliner Zeitung paper said that the rule taken Tuesday came after a 14-year-old Muslim student sued his school for not allowing him to pray.
Spokesman of the court said the student and seven other Muslim pupils used to pray during the breaks and that the school's administration called their parents to tell them to stop doing so, stating the state's utilities should not witness such use.
The ruling does not apply to the said student only, but to all Muslim students across Germany, he added.
He stressed that practicing religious rituals is an important part of the religious freedom and that praying in school during breaks does not harm the school or its teachers nor does it cause any inconvenience or hamper the educational process.
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
An administrative court in Berlin ruled that Muslim students should be allowed to pray in schools during their breaks, a paper said Wednesday.
Berliner Zeitung paper said that the rule taken Tuesday came after a 14-year-old Muslim student sued his school for not allowing him to pray.
Spokesman of the court said the student and seven other Muslim pupils used to pray during the breaks and that the school's administration called their parents to tell them to stop doing so, stating the state's utilities should not witness such use.
The ruling does not apply to the said student only, but to all Muslim students across Germany, he added.
He stressed that practicing religious rituals is an important part of the religious freedom and that praying in school during breaks does not harm the school or its teachers nor does it cause any inconvenience or hamper the educational process.
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
DAR AL HARB-U.K.: FOUR JIHADISTS INFILTRATED THE MET
Terror moles at the Met
MI5 target four cops in undercover op
By Ryan Sabey
A NEST of Al-Qaeda terror spies has been uncovered in Britain's top police force.
MI5 agents have identified FOUR London Met officers after searching for a cell of fanatics passing Scotland Yard's secrets.
The spooks homed in on the officers in the past few weeks after working with anti-terror police to uncover "sleeper" agents in London's Met.
The News of the World has obtained the names of two of the men pinpointed during a painstaking Spooks-style undercover operation.
All four are Asians living in the capital and are feared to have links both with Islamic extremists in Britain and worldwide terror groups—including al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The suspected spies are believed to have used methods similar to those employed by the IRA in the 1970s as they infiltrated the police and the Army in Northern Ireland.
A Scotland Yard source told us: "If there are people within the police force feeding information to terror groups this needs to be stopped.
"Since the names came to light there has been a non-stop effort to find out everything about their backgrounds."
MI5 chiefs believe the suspected moles have been planted as sleepers—agents under deep cover—to keep al-Qaeda informed of anti-terror raids.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Terror moles at the Met
MI5 target four cops in undercover op
By Ryan Sabey
A NEST of Al-Qaeda terror spies has been uncovered in Britain's top police force.
MI5 agents have identified FOUR London Met officers after searching for a cell of fanatics passing Scotland Yard's secrets.
The spooks homed in on the officers in the past few weeks after working with anti-terror police to uncover "sleeper" agents in London's Met.
The News of the World has obtained the names of two of the men pinpointed during a painstaking Spooks-style undercover operation.
All four are Asians living in the capital and are feared to have links both with Islamic extremists in Britain and worldwide terror groups—including al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The suspected spies are believed to have used methods similar to those employed by the IRA in the 1970s as they infiltrated the police and the Army in Northern Ireland.
A Scotland Yard source told us: "If there are people within the police force feeding information to terror groups this needs to be stopped.
"Since the names came to light there has been a non-stop effort to find out everything about their backgrounds."
MI5 chiefs believe the suspected moles have been planted as sleepers—agents under deep cover—to keep al-Qaeda informed of anti-terror raids.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Terror moles at the Met
DAR AL HARB-U.K.: FORCED MARRIAGES IN THE U.K.
3,000 women a year forced into marriage in UK, study finds
by Jo Revill and Anushka Asthana
At least 3,000 young women in Britain are the victims of forced marriages each year, with the scale of the problem far bigger than originally thought, according to a groundbreaking report out this week.
The first study ever conducted in the UK into the prevalence of the custom shows that there are far more victims, spread across different ethnic minority communities, than official figures suggest.
Teachers should be given a key role in talking confidentially to young girls whom they believe may be at risk of being coerced into marriages, particularly if there is suspicion that an older sister has been married off against her will, the report recommends.
But there also needs to be more determined effort within communities to end the practice, so that forced marriages become a matter of shame and humiliation for parents, instead of being a matter of pride.
The Home Office-funded study calls on authorities to take the institution more seriously, so that it is treated as an issue of illegality, domestic violence and bullying.
The study, which looked at cases in Luton, a town with a large south Asian community, found at least 300 cases where victims had contacted community organisations. Yet the government's forced marriage unit, set up to tackle the problem three years ago, handles only 300 cases a year nationwide.
The report concludes that at least 10 times that number, and possibly far more that, are taking place, without any agencies ever finding out, although forced marriages are illegal under British law.
The government has ordered a national count of missing schoolgirls amid fears that hundreds have been forced into marriage, or are living in fear of so-called "honour" violence.
Researcher Nazia Khanum, who carried out the study, said: "There is this wall of silence around forced marriages."
"Of course, there are thousands of arranged marriages happening in Britain each year but that is very different, as both partners in these are willing participants."
"We are talking about girls being very much coerced into those marriages, often not knowing beforehand who their husbands will be, and then having little or no rights once they are married. Most of them feel there is simply no one they can turn to."
...
and
Forced marriage 'morally and legally wrong' - Church of England
by Daniel Blake
Forced marriage is "morally and legally wrong", the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council said on Monday in response to a Home Office consultation on ‘marriage to partners from overseas’.
A Home Office-funded study published this week revealed that forced marriages are far more widespread in the UK than official figures suggest. The study, which looked only at Luton, found that local community organisations were dealing with 300 forced marriage cases, far exceeding the findings of a previous study which stated that the Government’s forced marriage unit responds to 300 cases a year across the whole of the UK.
The Rt Rev Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark, said, “The practice of forcing one of the partners to marry in order to be able to sponsor a marriage visa and gain immigration advantage cannot be justified and is to be strongly condemned,” said the bishop.
“We support policy that is most likely to give protection to those who most need it.”
The Church of England voiced its support for the study’s recommendation to raise the minimum age that someone may sponsor a marriage partner from abroad or be sponsored as a spouse to 21 years.
The study also raised concerns that the substantial number of children disappearing from school registers each year is down to forced marriages.
Bishop Butler stressed that the idea of personal consent was key to the Christian understandings of marriage.
"The Christian description of marriage as a voluntary union for life between one woman and one man, to the exclusion of all others, has its roots in the early biblical stories in Genesis," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 3,000 women a year forced into marriage in UK, study finds
2) Forced marriage 'morally and legally wrong' - Church of England
by Jo Revill and Anushka Asthana
At least 3,000 young women in Britain are the victims of forced marriages each year, with the scale of the problem far bigger than originally thought, according to a groundbreaking report out this week.
The first study ever conducted in the UK into the prevalence of the custom shows that there are far more victims, spread across different ethnic minority communities, than official figures suggest.
Teachers should be given a key role in talking confidentially to young girls whom they believe may be at risk of being coerced into marriages, particularly if there is suspicion that an older sister has been married off against her will, the report recommends.
But there also needs to be more determined effort within communities to end the practice, so that forced marriages become a matter of shame and humiliation for parents, instead of being a matter of pride.
The Home Office-funded study calls on authorities to take the institution more seriously, so that it is treated as an issue of illegality, domestic violence and bullying.
The study, which looked at cases in Luton, a town with a large south Asian community, found at least 300 cases where victims had contacted community organisations. Yet the government's forced marriage unit, set up to tackle the problem three years ago, handles only 300 cases a year nationwide.
The report concludes that at least 10 times that number, and possibly far more that, are taking place, without any agencies ever finding out, although forced marriages are illegal under British law.
The government has ordered a national count of missing schoolgirls amid fears that hundreds have been forced into marriage, or are living in fear of so-called "honour" violence.
Researcher Nazia Khanum, who carried out the study, said: "There is this wall of silence around forced marriages."
"Of course, there are thousands of arranged marriages happening in Britain each year but that is very different, as both partners in these are willing participants."
"We are talking about girls being very much coerced into those marriages, often not knowing beforehand who their husbands will be, and then having little or no rights once they are married. Most of them feel there is simply no one they can turn to."
...
and
Forced marriage 'morally and legally wrong' - Church of England
by Daniel Blake
Forced marriage is "morally and legally wrong", the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council said on Monday in response to a Home Office consultation on ‘marriage to partners from overseas’.
A Home Office-funded study published this week revealed that forced marriages are far more widespread in the UK than official figures suggest. The study, which looked only at Luton, found that local community organisations were dealing with 300 forced marriage cases, far exceeding the findings of a previous study which stated that the Government’s forced marriage unit responds to 300 cases a year across the whole of the UK.
The Rt Rev Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark, said, “The practice of forcing one of the partners to marry in order to be able to sponsor a marriage visa and gain immigration advantage cannot be justified and is to be strongly condemned,” said the bishop.
“We support policy that is most likely to give protection to those who most need it.”
The Church of England voiced its support for the study’s recommendation to raise the minimum age that someone may sponsor a marriage partner from abroad or be sponsored as a spouse to 21 years.
The study also raised concerns that the substantial number of children disappearing from school registers each year is down to forced marriages.
Bishop Butler stressed that the idea of personal consent was key to the Christian understandings of marriage.
"The Christian description of marriage as a voluntary union for life between one woman and one man, to the exclusion of all others, has its roots in the early biblical stories in Genesis," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 3,000 women a year forced into marriage in UK, study finds
2) Forced marriage 'morally and legally wrong' - Church of England
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAN: MUGHNIYEH GETS A STAMP - - - IS IT A BEFORE OR AFTER SHOT?!? THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW...
Stamp commemorates slain Hezbollah military chief
A new stamp to commemorate militant Lebanese group Hezbollah's slain military chief, Imad Mughniyeh (photo), will go on sale in Iran this week.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Stamp commemorates slain Hezbollah military chief
A new stamp to commemorate militant Lebanese group Hezbollah's slain military chief, Imad Mughniyeh (photo), will go on sale in Iran this week.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Stamp commemorates slain Hezbollah military chief
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-AUSTRALIA/TUNISIA/ALGERIA: TWO KIDNAPPED AUSSIES TAKEN TO ALGERIA?!?
Al-Qaeda claims to have taken Austrian captives to Algeria
Algiers, 11 March(AKI) - Al-Qaeda's North African arm has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in Tunisia and said they had now been taken to neighbouring Algeria, according to pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.
The al-Qaeda militants also vowed to kill the hostages if Algerian security services tried to free them by force.
On Monday, the Arab television network, al-Jazeera received a phone call reportedly from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claiming the kidnapping of Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber on 22 February was revenge for the Israeli raids in Gaza in late February and early March.
Ebner and Kloiber arrived to the Tunisian port of La Goulette-Tunis on 10 February from the northern Italian city of Genoa on a tour of the Saharan region.
On Tuesday, more details of the kidnapping emerged.
"A brigade from the mujahadeen managed to infiltrate in Tunisian territory and kidnap two Austrian tourists on 22 February," read a note allegedly sent from the militants.
The militants also provided the passport numbers of the captives and say that they were both in good health.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda claims to have taken Austrian captives to Algeria
Algiers, 11 March(AKI) - Al-Qaeda's North African arm has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in Tunisia and said they had now been taken to neighbouring Algeria, according to pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.
The al-Qaeda militants also vowed to kill the hostages if Algerian security services tried to free them by force.
On Monday, the Arab television network, al-Jazeera received a phone call reportedly from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claiming the kidnapping of Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber on 22 February was revenge for the Israeli raids in Gaza in late February and early March.
Ebner and Kloiber arrived to the Tunisian port of La Goulette-Tunis on 10 February from the northern Italian city of Genoa on a tour of the Saharan region.
On Tuesday, more details of the kidnapping emerged.
"A brigade from the mujahadeen managed to infiltrate in Tunisian territory and kidnap two Austrian tourists on 22 February," read a note allegedly sent from the militants.
The militants also provided the passport numbers of the captives and say that they were both in good health.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda claims to have taken Austrian captives to Algeria
Britain: A Central Front in the War Against Islamist Terrorism
...
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Britain: A Central Front in the War Against Islamist Terrorism
...
It is important that we recognise an uncomfortable truth: terrorist attacks we have seen against the UK are not simply random plots by disparate and fragmented groups. The majority of these attacks, successful or otherwise, have taken place because Al Qaida has a clear determination to mount terrorist attacks against the United Kingdom. This remains the case today, and there is no sign of it reducing. So although MI5 and the police are investigating plots, and thwarting them, on a continuing basis, we do not view them in isolation. Al Qaida is conducting a deliberate campaign against us. It is the expression of a hostility towards the UK which existed long before September 11, 2001. It is evident in the wills and letters left behind by actual and would-be bombers. And it regularly forms part of Al Qaida's broadcast messages…. [T]errorists are methodically and intentionally targeting young people and children in this country. They are radicalising, indoctrinating and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism. This year, we have seen individuals as young as 15 and 16 implicated in terrorist-related activity.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Britain: A Central Front in the War Against Islamist Terrorism
DAR AL ISLAM-AFGHANISTAN/AL QAEDA: "WE SEEK BETTER RELATIONS WITH THE WORLD/IRAN" SAYS MULLAH OMAR - - - AL QAEDA SUPPORTERS ARE PISSED
Al-Qaida supporters lash out at Taliban for straying from global jihad
Al-Qaida supporters on the Web have unleashed an unprecedented flood of criticism of Afghanistan's Taliban, once seen by extremists as the model of an Islamic state.
Now extremists accuse the Taliban of straying from the path of global jihad after its leader Mullah Omar issued a statement saying he seeks good relations with the world and even sympathizes with Shi'ite Iran.
In February, the Taliban announced it wanted to maintain good and "legitimate" relations with neighboring countries. Then, last week online militants were outraged when the movement expressed solidarity with Iran, condemning the latest round of sanctions imposed on Teheran by the UN Security Council over its nuclear enrichment.
The Shi'ite Islamic state of Iran is viewed as anathema by the Sunni militants of the al-Qaida and other extremist movements.
"This is the worst statement I have ever read ... the disaster of defending the (Iranian) regime is on par with the Crusaders in Afghanistan and Iraq," wrote poster Miskeen, whose name translates literally as "the wretched" and who is labeled as one of the more influential writers on an al-Qaida linked Web site.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaida supporters lash out at Taliban for straying from global jihad
Al-Qaida supporters on the Web have unleashed an unprecedented flood of criticism of Afghanistan's Taliban, once seen by extremists as the model of an Islamic state.
Now extremists accuse the Taliban of straying from the path of global jihad after its leader Mullah Omar issued a statement saying he seeks good relations with the world and even sympathizes with Shi'ite Iran.
In February, the Taliban announced it wanted to maintain good and "legitimate" relations with neighboring countries. Then, last week online militants were outraged when the movement expressed solidarity with Iran, condemning the latest round of sanctions imposed on Teheran by the UN Security Council over its nuclear enrichment.
The Shi'ite Islamic state of Iran is viewed as anathema by the Sunni militants of the al-Qaida and other extremist movements.
"This is the worst statement I have ever read ... the disaster of defending the (Iranian) regime is on par with the Crusaders in Afghanistan and Iraq," wrote poster Miskeen, whose name translates literally as "the wretched" and who is labeled as one of the more influential writers on an al-Qaida linked Web site.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaida supporters lash out at Taliban for straying from global jihad
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: FITNA HAS NOT YET AIRED, BUT MOSLEMS ARE ALREADY RAMPAGING - - - AHHHH THE RELIGION OF PIECES & HEAD CHOPPINGS
Backlash begins even before Dutch legislator's anti-Qur'an film airs
Mike Corder, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Protesters already have torched Dutch flags in Afghanistan ahead of a new Dutch film portraying Islam's holy book as a "fascist" text that incites violence and preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.
A Dutch cabinet minister postponed his trip to Somalia on Friday due to "specific threats" linked to the film, and the Dutch government has urged legislator Geert Wilders to scrap his film for the safety of its citizens abroad.
But Wilders said Monday he has begun negotiations with Dutch broadcasters about airing the 15-minute film, "Fitna." He said he will only allow them to show it in its entirety, and if they refuse, he plans to show it to the media and post it on the Internet.
"We have never learned to be intolerant toward people who are intolerant toward us, toward cultures that are intolerant toward us," he said in a recent Associated Press interview.
The right-wing legislator previously warned of a "tsunami" of Islam swamping the Netherlands and said Muslims should tear up half of the Qur'an if they want to live here.
Wilders has lived under round-the-clock security since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical enraged by his short film, "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Qur'anic texts engraved on their flesh.
The film "Fitna" - an Arabic word meaning discord - puts the centuries-old Dutch traditions of religious tolerance and freedom of speech on a collision course.
If it airs, Dutch Muslims are expected to file criminal complaints for racial or religious vilification. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to charge Wilders with any offence.
"Our law is very clear - anybody can make a film. We have freedom of expression and you cannot restrict that," says Moroccan-born Sadik Harchaoui, chief of the Forum Institute for Multicultural Development.
"Can you offend people? The answer is yes. I'm not saying you should do it or it is desirable, but you can," he added. "But if the film is insulting and preaches hate, then the law has to take action."
The Dutch government says it cannot ban the film but is attempting to distance itself from Wilders, the leader of the Freedom party, which holds nine of parliament's 150 seats.
"It is our responsibility to make clear to everyone that the views and actions of this one elected representative are not those of the government," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters last week. "We defend the core values of freedom and respect. We guarantee freedom of expression and of religion, for Muslims as for everyone else."
Already the film has provoked reactions from Damascus, Tehran and other capitals of predominantly Muslim countries.
Mike Corder, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Protesters already have torched Dutch flags in Afghanistan ahead of a new Dutch film portraying Islam's holy book as a "fascist" text that incites violence and preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.
A Dutch cabinet minister postponed his trip to Somalia on Friday due to "specific threats" linked to the film, and the Dutch government has urged legislator Geert Wilders to scrap his film for the safety of its citizens abroad.
But Wilders said Monday he has begun negotiations with Dutch broadcasters about airing the 15-minute film, "Fitna." He said he will only allow them to show it in its entirety, and if they refuse, he plans to show it to the media and post it on the Internet.
"We have never learned to be intolerant toward people who are intolerant toward us, toward cultures that are intolerant toward us," he said in a recent Associated Press interview.
The right-wing legislator previously warned of a "tsunami" of Islam swamping the Netherlands and said Muslims should tear up half of the Qur'an if they want to live here.
Wilders has lived under round-the-clock security since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical enraged by his short film, "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Qur'anic texts engraved on their flesh.
The film "Fitna" - an Arabic word meaning discord - puts the centuries-old Dutch traditions of religious tolerance and freedom of speech on a collision course.
If it airs, Dutch Muslims are expected to file criminal complaints for racial or religious vilification. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to charge Wilders with any offence.
"Our law is very clear - anybody can make a film. We have freedom of expression and you cannot restrict that," says Moroccan-born Sadik Harchaoui, chief of the Forum Institute for Multicultural Development.
"Can you offend people? The answer is yes. I'm not saying you should do it or it is desirable, but you can," he added. "But if the film is insulting and preaches hate, then the law has to take action."
The Dutch government says it cannot ban the film but is attempting to distance itself from Wilders, the leader of the Freedom party, which holds nine of parliament's 150 seats.
"It is our responsibility to make clear to everyone that the views and actions of this one elected representative are not those of the government," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters last week. "We defend the core values of freedom and respect. We guarantee freedom of expression and of religion, for Muslims as for everyone else."
Already the film has provoked reactions from Damascus, Tehran and other capitals of predominantly Muslim countries.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Backlash begins even before Dutch legislator's anti-Qur'an film airs
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.: WHY DO WE HAVE TO REPAIR OUR IMAGE?!? I THINK MOSLEMS SHOULD REPAIR THEIR IMAGE FIRST - - - THEY ARE WAGING JIHAD
New envoy hopes to better explain U.S. to Muslim world
From Elise Labott and Charley Keyes
An American Muslim, appointed new U.S. envoy, headed off Monday with the goal of repairing the battered image of the United States in the Muslim world.
Sada Cumber, special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, hopes to improve U. S. image.
Sada Cumber, a Pakistani native, is the new special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, a caucus of 57 Muslim nations.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a reception for conference countries at the State Department that Cumber will help the United States explain itself to the Muslim world.
Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life. "Our growing Muslim population is a great and welcome addition to our country," she said at a gathering of diplomats from conference member countries at the State Department. [Only in your multi-culti wet dreams...ed. A.I.]
Cumber, an entrepreneur living in Texas, was most recently chairman and CEO of SozoTek, a wireless imaging company. He said he plans to travel extensively and use his business background and experience to build bridges between the United States and the Muslim world.
"As an American Muslim, I believe I am in a unique position to promote dialogue," he said before leaving Washington for an Organization of Islamic Conference meeting later this week in Senegal. The Jeddah-based conference is the world's largest pan-Islamic group.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) New envoy hopes to better explain U.S. to Muslim world
From Elise Labott and Charley Keyes
An American Muslim, appointed new U.S. envoy, headed off Monday with the goal of repairing the battered image of the United States in the Muslim world.
Sada Cumber, special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, hopes to improve U. S. image.
Sada Cumber, a Pakistani native, is the new special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, a caucus of 57 Muslim nations.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a reception for conference countries at the State Department that Cumber will help the United States explain itself to the Muslim world.
Rice said Islam is an important part of the American fabric of life. "Our growing Muslim population is a great and welcome addition to our country," she said at a gathering of diplomats from conference member countries at the State Department. [Only in your multi-culti wet dreams...ed. A.I.]
Cumber, an entrepreneur living in Texas, was most recently chairman and CEO of SozoTek, a wireless imaging company. He said he plans to travel extensively and use his business background and experience to build bridges between the United States and the Muslim world.
"As an American Muslim, I believe I am in a unique position to promote dialogue," he said before leaving Washington for an Organization of Islamic Conference meeting later this week in Senegal. The Jeddah-based conference is the world's largest pan-Islamic group.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) New envoy hopes to better explain U.S. to Muslim world
DAR AL HARB: WHAT DRUGS IS SECRETARY RICE USING?!?
Human Rights, Liberty Are Values Practiced by Most Muslims, Says Rice
by Patrick Goodenough
International Editor
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the appointment of Washington's first-ever special envoy to the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference will help to promote principles that Muslims and non-Muslims alike "hold dear," such as human rights, liberty and the rule of law.
"These are not American values or Western values," she told OIC ambassadors in Washington on Monday. "They are universal values, values that are lived and practiced by the majority of Muslims in the world, many of whom are citizens of democracies."
Fourteen of the OIC's 57 members qualify as "electoral democracies," according to criteria applied by Freedom House in its latest report on freedom in the world. None are Arab states.
And only six of the 57 -- Benin, Guyana, Indonesia, Mali, Senegal and Suriname -- are deemed "free" according to a Freedom House evaluation that scores nations for both political rights and civil liberties, and classifies them as "free," "partly free" or "not free."
Sada Cumber, the man appointed by President Bush to serve as the first U.S. envoy to the OIC, acknowledged that he will have his work cut out for him.
"I will be advocating American interest on a range of hard issues from Iraq to Palestinian issue to nuclear issues," he told the OIC ambassadors and others gathered at the State Department ceremony.
"While I do not expect to always reach consensus on ever issue, but I do hope and pray and desire that we can foster a climate of mutual respect and trust," the Pakistani-born Texas businessman added.
Rice told the ceremony that the envoy's appointment was part of a broader administration effort to increase its engagement with Muslims worldwide.
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Pertinent Links:
1) Human Rights, Liberty Are Values Practiced by Most Muslims, Says Rice
by Patrick Goodenough
International Editor
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the appointment of Washington's first-ever special envoy to the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference will help to promote principles that Muslims and non-Muslims alike "hold dear," such as human rights, liberty and the rule of law.
"These are not American values or Western values," she told OIC ambassadors in Washington on Monday. "They are universal values, values that are lived and practiced by the majority of Muslims in the world, many of whom are citizens of democracies."
Fourteen of the OIC's 57 members qualify as "electoral democracies," according to criteria applied by Freedom House in its latest report on freedom in the world. None are Arab states.
And only six of the 57 -- Benin, Guyana, Indonesia, Mali, Senegal and Suriname -- are deemed "free" according to a Freedom House evaluation that scores nations for both political rights and civil liberties, and classifies them as "free," "partly free" or "not free."
Sada Cumber, the man appointed by President Bush to serve as the first U.S. envoy to the OIC, acknowledged that he will have his work cut out for him.
"I will be advocating American interest on a range of hard issues from Iraq to Palestinian issue to nuclear issues," he told the OIC ambassadors and others gathered at the State Department ceremony.
"While I do not expect to always reach consensus on ever issue, but I do hope and pray and desire that we can foster a climate of mutual respect and trust," the Pakistani-born Texas businessman added.
Rice told the ceremony that the envoy's appointment was part of a broader administration effort to increase its engagement with Muslims worldwide.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Human Rights, Liberty Are Values Practiced by Most Muslims, Says Rice
DAR AL ISLAM-AFGHANISTAN: DENYING SAFE HAVEN TO THE TALIBAN
ROYAL MARINES TRICK TALIBAN
by PETER HARRISON
Hundreds of Royal Marines have been involved in a massive operation across uncharted Afghan territory attacking the Taliban.
More than 600 members of the Taunton-based 40 Commando fought alongside other troops in the area around Sapwan Kala in the Upper Sangin Valley of the Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan.
Under Operation Ghartse Dagger, British forces were responding to intelligence reports which suggested insurgents fleeing Musa Qal'eh after its fall at the end of last year had moved into the area to regroup after their defeat.
Major Dan Cheesman RM, the officer commanding Bravo Company, said: "Our intent was twofold: demonstrate once more to the Taliban that the Government and ISAF are stronger than them; and convince the people that the Government and ISAF are stronger than the Taliban.
"The operation was designed to deny the Taliban a possible safe haven and to prevent them regaining the ability to mount attacks against Sangin, which has seen considerable redevelopment since security improved under the Royal Marines."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) ROYAL MARINES TRICK TALIBAN
by PETER HARRISON
Hundreds of Royal Marines have been involved in a massive operation across uncharted Afghan territory attacking the Taliban.
More than 600 members of the Taunton-based 40 Commando fought alongside other troops in the area around Sapwan Kala in the Upper Sangin Valley of the Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan.
Under Operation Ghartse Dagger, British forces were responding to intelligence reports which suggested insurgents fleeing Musa Qal'eh after its fall at the end of last year had moved into the area to regroup after their defeat.
Major Dan Cheesman RM, the officer commanding Bravo Company, said: "Our intent was twofold: demonstrate once more to the Taliban that the Government and ISAF are stronger than them; and convince the people that the Government and ISAF are stronger than the Taliban.
"The operation was designed to deny the Taliban a possible safe haven and to prevent them regaining the ability to mount attacks against Sangin, which has seen considerable redevelopment since security improved under the Royal Marines."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) ROYAL MARINES TRICK TALIBAN
DAR AL HARB-AUSTRALIA: A COMMITTEE ON HOW TO BETTER DHIMMIFY AUSTRALIANS
Muslim leaders back advisory body plan
Muslim community leaders strongly support moves to improve the image of Islamic society in Australia.
Sporting stars, academics and businesspeople will be among those asked to sit on a new advisory body proposed by the federal government, News Ltd reports.
The delegation would set out to find ways of dissolving public misconceptions of Muslims as being overly religious.
A previous advisory body was abolished by the former Howard government after a trouble-plagued 12 months.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim leaders back advisory body plan
Muslim community leaders strongly support moves to improve the image of Islamic society in Australia.
Sporting stars, academics and businesspeople will be among those asked to sit on a new advisory body proposed by the federal government, News Ltd reports.
The delegation would set out to find ways of dissolving public misconceptions of Muslims as being overly religious.
A previous advisory body was abolished by the former Howard government after a trouble-plagued 12 months.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim leaders back advisory body plan
DAR AL ISLAM-EGYPT: AL QAEDA, EGYPT, FABRICATED DOCUMENTS & JIHAD
al-Qaida: Egypt Faked Islamic `revision'
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF
An Al-Qaida spokesman alleged Monday that Egypt's security service fabricated a document in which a former militant leader purportedly renounces violence and rejects armed struggle as a way to establish an Islamic state.
Abu Yahia Al-Libi, who rose to prominence in the terrorist network after escaping from Afghanistan's Bagram prison in 2005, claimed in a video posted on the Internet that the jailed Egyptian militant Sayed Imam was not the author of the document issued last year.
Egypt's "security apparatus, the era's master of deception," was behind the document, al-Libi said in a 39-minute video that carried the logo of al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media wing.
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities.
...
Now why would the Egyptian authorities lie?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) al-Qaida: Egypt Faked Islamic `revision'
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF
An Al-Qaida spokesman alleged Monday that Egypt's security service fabricated a document in which a former militant leader purportedly renounces violence and rejects armed struggle as a way to establish an Islamic state.
Abu Yahia Al-Libi, who rose to prominence in the terrorist network after escaping from Afghanistan's Bagram prison in 2005, claimed in a video posted on the Internet that the jailed Egyptian militant Sayed Imam was not the author of the document issued last year.
Egypt's "security apparatus, the era's master of deception," was behind the document, al-Libi said in a 39-minute video that carried the logo of al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media wing.
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities.
...
Now why would the Egyptian authorities lie?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) al-Qaida: Egypt Faked Islamic `revision'
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM: "ISLAM 'STRUGGLES WITH CONFLICT, PHOBIA' " ALL OF WHICH THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR - - - LET THEM STRUGGLE
Islam 'struggles with conflict, phobia'
ISLAMIC leaders from around the globe are at a two day summit in Dakar, struggling to counter wars in their midst and feeling unloved and unfairly treated by the West.
US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, never ending conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and strife in Sudan's Darfur region weigh heavily on the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference as its leaders gather in the Senegalese capital.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told foreign ministers at a pre-summit meeting that the leaders of the 1.3 billion Muslims must work on the "pressing issues confronting" them such as the death and destruction in the various countries at war.
But one foreign minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: "We should be able to do something about this conflict. We all want to do something. But our membership and the respective interests involved are too wide for us to take the right action."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islam 'struggles with conflict, phobia'
ISLAMIC leaders from around the globe are at a two day summit in Dakar, struggling to counter wars in their midst and feeling unloved and unfairly treated by the West.
US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, never ending conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and strife in Sudan's Darfur region weigh heavily on the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference as its leaders gather in the Senegalese capital.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told foreign ministers at a pre-summit meeting that the leaders of the 1.3 billion Muslims must work on the "pressing issues confronting" them such as the death and destruction in the various countries at war.
But one foreign minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: "We should be able to do something about this conflict. We all want to do something. But our membership and the respective interests involved are too wide for us to take the right action."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islam 'struggles with conflict, phobia'
Thursday, March 06, 2008
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: VOLUNTARY DHIMMITUDE IN THE DUTCH MEDIA - - - WE WILL NOT BROADCAST THE GEERT WILDERS MOVIE FITNA
No-one wants to broadcast Wilders' film
No Dutch public or commercial television station is willing to broadcast MP Geert Wilder’s anti-Koran film, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday.
The paper says Wilders insists the entire 10 to 15-minute feature be screened, a condition no broadcaster is willing to meet.
‘We would not do that with a film produced by the Christian Democrats or the Liberals and also not for [Geert Wilder’s party] PVV,’ Herman van Gelderen, head of NRCV programme Netwerk said. ‘We are also extremely cautious about encouraging hatred and discrimination.’
Nova editor Carel Kuyl told the paper that Wilders was willing to allow a preview of his film on the condition programme chiefs agreed to broadcast it anyway. That is ‘bizarre’, Kuyl was quoted as saying.
Wilders will now launch his film, titled Fitna, on the internet later this month.
...
No Dutch public or commercial television station is willing to broadcast MP Geert Wilder’s anti-Koran film, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday.
The paper says Wilders insists the entire 10 to 15-minute feature be screened, a condition no broadcaster is willing to meet.
‘We would not do that with a film produced by the Christian Democrats or the Liberals and also not for [Geert Wilder’s party] PVV,’ Herman van Gelderen, head of NRCV programme Netwerk said. ‘We are also extremely cautious about encouraging hatred and discrimination.’
Nova editor Carel Kuyl told the paper that Wilders was willing to allow a preview of his film on the condition programme chiefs agreed to broadcast it anyway. That is ‘bizarre’, Kuyl was quoted as saying.
Wilders will now launch his film, titled Fitna, on the internet later this month.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) No-one wants to broadcast Wilders' film
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: "THE GOVERNMENT IS FUNDAMENTALLY IN DISAGREEMENT WITH WILDERS"
30 Muslim Ambassadors Meet Dutch PM Over Anti-Islam Film
THE HAGUE (AFP)--The Dutch foreign minister met ambassadors from 30 Muslim countries Wednesday to discuss the imminent broadcast of an anti-Islam film made by a far-right Dutch parliamentarian, his office said.
The talks, held at the request of the 50-strong Organization for the Islamic Conference, came as several Muslim countries threatened an economic boycott of the Netherlands if the film is shown.
"There was a meeting this morning, requested by the OIC, to hear the Dutch government's point of view on Geert Wilders' film," a spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said.
Thirty ambassadors, based either in the Netherlands or in neighboring Belgium, attended the meeting.
The Dutch government has twice tried and failed to convince Wilders - the leader of the far-right Freedom Party - not to broadcast his film, fearing a repeat of the worldwide protests which met the publication of satirical Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.
The Taliban in Afghanistan already have threatened retaliation against the 1, 660 Dutch soldiers in the country if the film is broadcast.
Verhagen pointed out that the "the government is fundamentally in disagreement with Wilders" and that "in the internal Dutch debate, both freedom of expression and religious liberty have their place."
Wilders, announcing his film project last autumn, said he was going to expose the Koran's "fascist" nature, which he compared to Hitler's "Mein Kampf".
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 30 Muslim Ambassadors Meet Dutch PM Over Anti-Islam Film
THE HAGUE (AFP)--The Dutch foreign minister met ambassadors from 30 Muslim countries Wednesday to discuss the imminent broadcast of an anti-Islam film made by a far-right Dutch parliamentarian, his office said.
The talks, held at the request of the 50-strong Organization for the Islamic Conference, came as several Muslim countries threatened an economic boycott of the Netherlands if the film is shown.
"There was a meeting this morning, requested by the OIC, to hear the Dutch government's point of view on Geert Wilders' film," a spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said.
Thirty ambassadors, based either in the Netherlands or in neighboring Belgium, attended the meeting.
The Dutch government has twice tried and failed to convince Wilders - the leader of the far-right Freedom Party - not to broadcast his film, fearing a repeat of the worldwide protests which met the publication of satirical Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.
The Taliban in Afghanistan already have threatened retaliation against the 1, 660 Dutch soldiers in the country if the film is broadcast.
Verhagen pointed out that the "the government is fundamentally in disagreement with Wilders" and that "in the internal Dutch debate, both freedom of expression and religious liberty have their place."
Wilders, announcing his film project last autumn, said he was going to expose the Koran's "fascist" nature, which he compared to Hitler's "Mein Kampf".
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 30 Muslim Ambassadors Meet Dutch PM Over Anti-Islam Film
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-CONNECTICUT: 'MODERATE' MOSLEM CONVERT CONVICTED OF SPYING & SUPPORT FOR TERRORISTS
Ex-U.S. sailor convicted on terrorism charges
By Jason Szep
BOSTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. Navy sailor stationed in the Middle East was convicted on Wednesday of spying and providing material support to terrorists.
A federal jury in Connecticut convicted Hassan Abujihaad, 32, formerly known as Paul Hall, of providing classified information to a London-based publication called Azzam Publications while knowing that it would be used in a conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.
Abujihaad, arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 7, 2007, is due to be sentenced on May 23 and faces a maximum term of 25 years in prison, said Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in New Haven, Connecticut.
Prosecutors accused Azzam of engaging in a conspiracy to provide material support and communications links to people involved in terrorism, including the disclosure of a U.S. Navy battle group's movements in 2001.
"The evidence in this case showed that Hassan Abujihaad provided classified information to terrorists which could have been used to kill American sailors," Julie Myers, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the spying occurred months after suicide bombers attacked the U.S.S. Cole during a refueling stop in Yemen in October 2000, killing 17 sailors and injuring dozens.
Charges were brought in Connecticut because Azzam Web sites were hosted for a time on servers in the state.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Ex-U.S. sailor convicted on terrorism charges
By Jason Szep
BOSTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. Navy sailor stationed in the Middle East was convicted on Wednesday of spying and providing material support to terrorists.
A federal jury in Connecticut convicted Hassan Abujihaad, 32, formerly known as Paul Hall, of providing classified information to a London-based publication called Azzam Publications while knowing that it would be used in a conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.
Abujihaad, arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 7, 2007, is due to be sentenced on May 23 and faces a maximum term of 25 years in prison, said Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in New Haven, Connecticut.
Prosecutors accused Azzam of engaging in a conspiracy to provide material support and communications links to people involved in terrorism, including the disclosure of a U.S. Navy battle group's movements in 2001.
"The evidence in this case showed that Hassan Abujihaad provided classified information to terrorists which could have been used to kill American sailors," Julie Myers, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the spying occurred months after suicide bombers attacked the U.S.S. Cole during a refueling stop in Yemen in October 2000, killing 17 sailors and injuring dozens.
Charges were brought in Connecticut because Azzam Web sites were hosted for a time on servers in the state.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Ex-U.S. sailor convicted on terrorism charges
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: WE WILL NEED FRENCH LESSONS ON HOW TO GROVEL PROPERLY AFTER GEERT WILDERS RELEASES FITNA---OUR MOSLEM OVERLORDS WILL BE ANGRY
Dutch PM seeks French help over anti-Islam film
PARIS (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende asked France Wednesday to show solidarity with his country if there is any fallout over an anti-Islamic film made by a Dutch right-wing politician.
Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who has called for the Koran to be banned, has made a film in which he presents his views about Islam's holy text and is in negotiations with TV stations over its broadcast.
Balkenende has warned that Dutch citizens and businesses risk attack because of the film and Wednesday asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for backing.
"We have indicated that if necessary we will need diplomatic support," Balkenende told reporters after the meeting, without going into further detail of what this might entail.
"We know nothing for now about the content (of the film). We will have to wait and see," he said, adding: "Mr. Wilders's point of view does not reflect that of the Dutch government and we are totally opposed to his vision of Islam."
Wilders has accused Balkenende of worrying more about the reaction of the Islamic world instead of defending Dutch democratic values and rights. "Let me make one thing clear: the film will be broadcast," Wilders said last week.
Media reported he expected it to air in March or April.
...
PARIS (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende asked France Wednesday to show solidarity with his country if there is any fallout over an anti-Islamic film made by a Dutch right-wing politician.
Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who has called for the Koran to be banned, has made a film in which he presents his views about Islam's holy text and is in negotiations with TV stations over its broadcast.
Balkenende has warned that Dutch citizens and businesses risk attack because of the film and Wednesday asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for backing.
"We have indicated that if necessary we will need diplomatic support," Balkenende told reporters after the meeting, without going into further detail of what this might entail.
"We know nothing for now about the content (of the film). We will have to wait and see," he said, adding: "Mr. Wilders's point of view does not reflect that of the Dutch government and we are totally opposed to his vision of Islam."
Wilders has accused Balkenende of worrying more about the reaction of the Islamic world instead of defending Dutch democratic values and rights. "Let me make one thing clear: the film will be broadcast," Wilders said last week.
Media reported he expected it to air in March or April.
...
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-MASSACHUSETTS: HARVARD ENGAGES IN SAUDI GENDER APARTHEID - HARVARD, WHORES FOR SAUDI PETRO DOLLARS
At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
BOSTON: In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex.
The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.
“I think that it’s incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that’s supposed to be for everyone,” said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in Harvard Crimson critical of the new hours.
Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument.
“The majority should be willing to compromise,” she said. “I think that’s just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others.”
The trial policy went into effect on February 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women’s Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said.
“We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honour them whenever possible,” he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
BOSTON: In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex.
The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.
“I think that it’s incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that’s supposed to be for everyone,” said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in Harvard Crimson critical of the new hours.
Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument.
“The majority should be willing to compromise,” she said. “I think that’s just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others.”
The trial policy went into effect on February 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women’s Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said.
“We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honour them whenever possible,” he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
DAR AL ISLAM-IRAN: MOTTAKI THREATENS THE WEST --- NOT A GOOD IDEA TO HURT FEELINGS OF 1.5 BILLION MOSLEMS - WE CHOP OFF HEADS, HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?!?
Insulting Muslims not a good idea
LONDON, March 6 (IranMania) - The Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says there should be a clear line between freedom of expression and insulting religious sanctities, PressTV reported.
...
The Iranian minister told journalists in Geneva that existing human rights standards should be amended to consider religious sensitivities.
Shortcomings to already existing human rights regulations should be addressed as they do not contain laws against religious defamation, said Mottaki who is in Geneva to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting.
"Hurting the sentiments of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world is not a good idea," said Mottaki.
Pertinent Links:
1) Insulting Muslims not a good idea
LONDON, March 6 (IranMania) - The Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says there should be a clear line between freedom of expression and insulting religious sanctities, PressTV reported.
...
The Iranian minister told journalists in Geneva that existing human rights standards should be amended to consider religious sensitivities.
Shortcomings to already existing human rights regulations should be addressed as they do not contain laws against religious defamation, said Mottaki who is in Geneva to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting.
"Hurting the sentiments of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world is not a good idea," said Mottaki.
Pertinent Links:
1) Insulting Muslims not a good idea
DAR AL HARB-FRANCE: 'MODERATE' MOSLEM OVERLORDS THROWING THEIR WEIGHT AROUND IN EURABIA
Islamic group calls for boycott of event
By Angela Doland
PARIS -- Israeli writers will be the toast of the Salon du Livre international book fair this month, but some Arab intellectuals argue that honoring Israel's literature has brought dishonor upon France.
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has urged its 50 member states to boycott the March 14-19 event. The fair's organizer said that he regrets the uproar: He wanted to honor books, not take sides in international politics.
"I'm not a government minister. My job is to bring literature to readers," Serge Eyrolles said. "I'm very surprised by how political this is getting."
Each year, the international fair puts the spotlight on one country. This year, it is inviting 39 writers from Israel, including David Grossman, Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua and Aharon Appelfeld. A similar controversy is brewing about the May book fair in Turin, Italy, which is also highlighting Israeli works.
The Islamic organization said its boycott call was a "response to the special standing (the fair) gives to Israel despite its atrocities, oppression and imposed starvation and siege against the Palestinian people."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic group calls for boycott of event
By Angela Doland
PARIS -- Israeli writers will be the toast of the Salon du Livre international book fair this month, but some Arab intellectuals argue that honoring Israel's literature has brought dishonor upon France.
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has urged its 50 member states to boycott the March 14-19 event. The fair's organizer said that he regrets the uproar: He wanted to honor books, not take sides in international politics.
"I'm not a government minister. My job is to bring literature to readers," Serge Eyrolles said. "I'm very surprised by how political this is getting."
Each year, the international fair puts the spotlight on one country. This year, it is inviting 39 writers from Israel, including David Grossman, Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua and Aharon Appelfeld. A similar controversy is brewing about the May book fair in Turin, Italy, which is also highlighting Israeli works.
The Islamic organization said its boycott call was a "response to the special standing (the fair) gives to Israel despite its atrocities, oppression and imposed starvation and siege against the Palestinian people."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic group calls for boycott of event
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