There were a lot of tips today, so these are just a few of the headlines. There’s much more material below the fold.

• TNOYF Presents “Mohammed Brand Condoms”
• Muslims Storm Protestant School in Jakarta, Injuring 265 Students
• Bali Terrfausorist: “For Islam, Dying by Decapitation is a Blessing”
• Injured Pride Could Explain Libyan Actions
• Sir Salman Rushdie Criticises Britain’s ‘Air of Appeasement’ Toward Extremists
• Turkey: Secularism Battles It Out With Sharia
• Italy Puts the Army on the Streets to Fight Crime and Illegal Immigration
• New Internet ‘Clickable Crime Maps’ Will Show Families Every Incident in Their Neighbourhood
• Iran: Sixteen Christian Converts Arrested
• Netherlands: Former Mp Hirsi Ali Seeks Police Protection in Us
• Arab Princesses Accused of Human Trafficking in Belgium
• Hope? Change? Yes! Hope Obama Changes!
• Jordan Gets USD65mln Over Gulf War Environmental Impact
• Media: Scant Speech Freedom in Our Area, Al Arabiya Director
• Report: Al Qaeda Operative Killed During Missile Strike in Pakistan

Thanks to Barry Rubin, Dymphna, Fausta, Insubria, Steen, VH, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Details are below the fold.
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TNOYF Presents “Mohammed Brand Condoms”

Ever since last November’s “incident” in Sudan— when a British school teacher was arrested for insulting Islam by naming a teddy bear Mohammed- TNOYF has been intrigued by the power of the Mohammed Brand name. Here, we proudly present our first Mohammed Brand TV commercial, for Mohammed Brand Condoms.

The video commercial at TNOYF is highly recommended, although it is definitely NSFW.

Muslims Storm Protestant School in Jakarta, Injuring 265 Students

Over the week-end Muslim fanatics target a Christian school in the capital’s east side. Police evacuate the institute to protect students. Hundreds of police agents are now guarding it to prevent further violence.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Police evacuated the Christian Theological Arastamar Institute (STT SETIA) which is located in an eastern district of the Indonesian capital after it suffered damages during clashes between Christians and Muslims over the week-end. At least 1,500 students were moved to nearby police headquarters and a local Christian-based political party. The situation remains critical and further violence between opposite factions cannot be ruled out.

“The school foundation urged us to intervene to protect people,” said East Jakarta District Police Chief Senior Superintendent. “For this reason we moved everyone out.”

Last night hundreds of residents from the village of Kampung Pulo had taken up arms threatening to storm the school after being instigated by an imam at a local mosque who claimed that a bunch of Christian gangsters were coming to “protect” the school after it was attacked on Saturday by a Muslim mob, causing damage to the building and hurting hundreds.

In an attempt to solve the problem East Jakarta District Chief Murdani held a close door meeting with the warring parties to discuss the issue. At the same time though, he said that police would conduct a thorough investigation and check if the school’s legal status was in order and that it respected all building regulations. In case of violations he would issue orders to demolish the unlawful structures.

At present hundreds of agents are guarding the school and have orders to stop any act of violence and disarm people.

The Arastamar High School for Theology and Biblical Studies, locally known as STT SETIA, was established by Rev Mathew Mangentang in 1987.

The SST SETIA has more than 29 branches school across the country. In Jakarta alone it has thousands of students, including 265 who were injured in latest clashes.

Tensions between Christians and Muslims flared up on Saturday following rumours that a SETIA student had stolen a motorcycle that belonged to a Muslim from a neighbouring village.

Senny Manafe, a spokesperson for the school, rejected the accusation, claiming instead that the attacks were triggered by a trivial incident. In an attempt to chase a mouse in the street, a student threw a slipper against a house owned by a local Muslim. Outraged by the deed, the latter kicked and punched the student as people gathered drawn by the rumour that a Christian student had tried to steal the Muslim’s motorbike.

“Many students suffered various injuries to the head. Others were burnt by Molotov cocktails,” Manafe said.

The violence and charges against SETIA are the work of Risman Hadi, chairman of Muslim Brotherhood Forum of Kampung Pulo Village, who in the past opposed the opening and continued existence of the Christian institute.

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Bali Terrorist: “For Islam, Dying by Decapitation is a Blessing”

The perpetrators show no remorse for the deaths of more than 200 Western tourists on vacation in the island, and ask to be killed according to the dictates of sharia, which provides for decapitation. The sentence will be carried out in the next few weeks on an island in central Java.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — According to Islamic law, it is better “to die by decapitation than by gunshot”, and no “repentance or regret” must be shown over violence committed “in the name of holy war”. This is the “spiritual testament” of Imam Samudra, one of the three people responsible for the massacre in Bali in 2002, in which more than 200 people died. The three are awaiting judgment from the Indonesian authorities.

“Until I die, I will show no repentance for my actions”, the terrorist is believed to have said to his brother Lulu Jamaluddin during a recent conversation at the maximum-security prison on the island of Nusakambangan, in central Java. He also added that a holy war, conducted through “the use of bombs” and suicide bombing attacks, is “blessed by God”, for which reason he will never make “appeals to clemency” to avoid the death penalty.

According to a defense attorney, the men have asked for judgment to be carried out according to “the dictates of sharia”, which provides for death by decapitation: another sign of their effort to “promote the values of Islamic law until the end, even at the point of death: dying by decapitation is a blessing”. The lawyer also added that the island of Bali was chosen for the attack because it was under siege by hundreds of “infidels”, meaning American citizens and their closest allies, including the English and Australians, who crowd the island’s beaches and nightclubs every year.

From Jakarta, another lawyer for the three men has asked for the sentence to be overturned, because “the country’s supreme court did not follow the correct procedures to apply the death penalty”. This position was immediately rejected by Andul Hakim Ritonga, the deputy attorney general for the district, according to whom “everything was done according to the law” and only “the last bureaucratic formalities” remain to be arranged. He emphasizes that the site for the execution has already been chosen — the regency of Cilacap, in central Java — and that “we have submitted an official demand to Central Java Police and Bali Police HQ to make decisive actions to prepare their best shooters to do the job”.

The execution by firing squad should take place by the end of next month, before the beginning of the sacred month of Ramadan.

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Iran: Dissident Leader Visit Sparks Row With Italian Politicians

Tehran, 28 July (AKI) — Italian politicians across the spectrum have responded strongly to a hostile attack by an Iranian newspaper that described the government and its institutions as a “Mafioso Italian regime”.

Iranian newspaper, Kayhan, closely linked to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, attacked the Italian government and institutions for hosting leading dissident Maryam Rajavi last week.

It called the government a “Mafioso Italian regime”, in an article entitled “A cadaver in the Parliament of the Mafia”.

Italian Muslim MP, Souad Sbai from the conservative People of Freedom party responded to the editorial in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).

“Italy and its government are not Mafioso at all,” Sbai said.

“Ours is a democratic country where the rule of law is enforced, and the Parliament is doing well by listening to all the voices, above all the dissenting ones that come from Iranian civil society.”

“Our government strongly defends the sanctity of life and human rights, and cannot receive lessons from someone who carries out the death penalty.”

The dissenting voice to which Sbai referred was Rajavi, leader of the National Resistance Council of Iran, the political arm of the armed opposition People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran.

She spoke at a media conference at Italy’s lower house of Parliament on 23 July, to garner support so the PMOI is no longer listed in Europe as a terrorist organisation. The Iranian was invited by Italian MPs to make her remarks in Parliament.

During her speech, Rajavi criticised Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — the five permanent UN Security Council members — plus Germany who have been negotiating with Iran.

The Iranian newspaper was quick to attack Rajavi in the editorial, by saying “The Italian Mafioso regime, on the pretext of defending liberal and democratic movements, supports a terrorist group, that not even the United States, which supports this group covertly, has the courage to take off the list of criminal organisations.”

However, another Italian politician called the provocative Iranian attack an “aggressive reaction”.

“It’s an aggressive reaction that expresses the difficulty and worry of this (Iranian) regime, that being illiberal and totalitarian, does not find other ways of reacting than those of smearing and aggression,” said Elisabetta Zamparutti, and MP from the centre-left Democratic Party, in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Injured Pride Could Explain Libyan Actions

Middle East expert Reinhard Schulze says Libya’s actions towards Switzerland are a measure of the Gaddafi family’s importance and of national pride.

The professor of Islamic studies at Bern University believes the political crisis between Switzerland and Libya — triggered by the arrest in Geneva on July 15 of a son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi — is likely to continue for some weeks.

The Swiss foreign ministry has expressed concern about the detention of two Swiss nationals in Libya. Tripoli also ordered the closure of Swiss companies in Libya and ceased issuing travel visas for Swiss citizens.

There are about 40 Swiss expatriates — most of them have dual nationality — in Libya.

Tripoli wants an official apology for the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife. They were charged by a Geneva magistrate with inflicting physical injuries against two of their staff.

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Sir Salman Rushdie Criticises Britain’s ‘Air of Appeasement’ Toward Extremists

Sir Salman Rushdie has criticised what he called an “air of appeasement” towards Islamic fundamentalism in Britain.

Sir Salman, who spent almost a decade underground with a fatwa — or death threat — on his head from Islamic clerics Photo: GETTY/AFP

The Booker Prize-winning author, whose novel the Satanic Verses incensed the Islamic world, told BBC’s Newsnight: “There’s no such thing as a perfect culture. I think sometimes there’s an air of appeasement in this country which I don’t like.”

In an interview to promote his latest novel, The Enchantress of Florence, Sir Salman said Iran ‘might well be’ trying to make a nuclear bomb.

The writer also spoke of how ‘soft power’ including the internet and websites such as YouTube can defeat global tyranny, by bringing people and cultures together.

“The thing I was trying to say in this book, is the things we have in common are greater than the things which divide us,” he added.

Sir Salman, who spent almost a decade underground with a fatwa — or death threat — on his head from Islamic clerics, said he may write about the period in a future novel.

Asked whether it was appropriate for him to have accepted a knighthood from the Queen, he added: “I accepted an honour from the French — it would be absurd not to accept one from my own country. This is just what we give in this country. If it was another country, it would be another form of honour.”

           — Hat tip: Steen

Day of Decision for Turkey Over Future of Secular State

Turkey’s highest court is to make the toughest decision in its 46-year history this week: 11 judges must decide whether to outlaw the ruling party [AKP, “Justice and Development party”] and ban the President [Abdullah Gul, an Islamist whose wife wears the headscarf] the Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan, known for saying “our minarettes are our watchtowers, our cupola’s are the helmets and our believers are our soldiers” and adviseing Turkish immigrants in Europe not to assimilate: “Assimilation is a crime against humanity”] and 69 other elected officials, on the grounds that they pose a threat to the secular state.

For the prosecutor who launched the case in March, the government’s ultimate aim “is to establish a state system based on religious principles”, and the country is “in danger as it has never been before”.

The 160-page indictment, comprised mainly of speeches made by members of the AK Party, cites the party’s efforts this February to lift a ban on women’s headscarves in universities among the accusations.

The judges could reach a decision today, but that is unlikely. In similar cases brought against two other Islamic parties, in 1998 and 2002, the court took eight and 11 days to rule for closure.

           — Hat tip: VH

Turkey: Secularism Battles It Out With Sharia

A senior Turkish prosecutor has raised tensions on the eve of a landmark court case that could leave Turkey without a government and deeply divided by warning that it is in danger of an “intolerant” Islamic takeover.

In an interview with the Guardian, Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, chairman of the association of judges and prosecutors […] said the ruling Justice and Development party [AKP] was seeking a system of Sharia law that would destroy the country’s secular system.

He claimed that the government had exposed its true agenda in a series of measures, including attempts to establish halal standards in food production, signing bilateral agreements underwritten by “Islamic laws” with fellow Muslim countries, increasing religious education in state schools and trying to allow female students to wear headscarves at university.

“The basis of the case against the AKP is intolerance,” he said. “A Sharia system is, by its nature, intolerant of other thoughts, beliefs and practices.

Just like fascism in Italy or Nazism in Germany, Sharia is a sensitive issue in Turkey. With a small spark it can turn into a social movement. We had a Sharia-based system during Ottoman times and our society still has traces of it. We don’t want to go back to that.”

It [the AKP] has won the backing of senior European officials, who have condemned the attempted closure as anti-democratic and warned that it could damage Turkey’s European Union membership bid.

A decision is expected this week.

           — Hat tip: VH

Why Sunday’s Bombings Could Help Erdogan

“A few days ago, Turkish newspaper columnist Mehmed Ali Birand wrote: “Give the AKP a shot across the bows and give Erdogan a second chance.” That may turn out to be exactly the effect of Sunday’s bomb attack.”

           — Hat tip: VH

Muslim Faith Schools Cause Segregation, Say Teachers

‘Hell will freeze over’ before Muslim schools give children a liberal education, teachers were told today.

Faith schools threaten to cause religious segregation and must not be expanded, said Wesley Paxton from teachers’ union Voice.

His remarks follow government moves to give religious groups a greater role in education through an expansion of academies and an offer of state funding for private Muslim schools.

           — Hat tip: VH

Italy Puts the Army on the Streets to Fight Crime and Illegal Immigration

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa signed a decree that will send 4,000 soldiers on to the streets starting next week.

They will patrol, usually alongside police officers, in large cities such as Rome, Milan, Naples and Palermo. They will also help guard areas like the Vatican, Milan’s cathedral, train stations, embassies and other “sensitive targets” — sites that could be subject to terrorist attacks.

Other soldiers will help guard detention centres where illegal immigrants are sent after they arrive in Italy, mostly on its southern shores.

“This proves that we are determined to eliminate citizens’ fears,” La Russa said of the plan, which will remain in effect for at least six months.

But the opposition criticised it as token window-dressing and warned that it could boomerang, hurt the country’s image abroad and even scare tourists away from coming to Italy.

           — Hat tip: VH

New Internet ‘Clickable Crime Maps’ Will Show Families Every Incident in Their Neighbourhood

Maps will be released to the public showing how many violent attacks have taken place on every street, including how close they were to schools, pubs and cash points.

The Home Office said the project would for the first time give residents a true picture of the state of their community. [Because they don’t have the faintest idea:]

‘We need to make sure that people know what’s happening to crime in their neighbourhood, and how they can get involved and work with their neighbourhood police officers.’

‘It’s really important to enable our communities to understand what’s happening in their areas and to help them influence policing in their local communities.’ [because the police doesn’t have clickable maps:]

Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, said: ‘Yet again we see a Government that is out of ideas trying to steal Conservative policy. ‘Our proposals detailed in April will go much further by setting up quarterly beat meetings — along with directly elected commissioners — to restore real local accountability to policing.

           — Hat tip: VH

Italy: Gov’t Rejects Claims of Police Violence in Gypsy Camps

Rome, 29 July (AKI) — Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has denied claims made by a top human rights watchdog that police forces carried out violent raids against Roma-Gypsy camps.

“I reject with indignance, the accusations by (Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights) Thomas Hammarberg. They assert that violent acts were perpetrated against Roma encampments without effective protection by the police forces, and that they carried out violent raids against the settlements.” said Maroni on Tuesday, addressing the Lower House.

“These are outright lies, the police have never committed any act of violence of this nature. Commissioner Hammarberg, tell us what these acts are.”

A note by Maroni’s office, also rejected the claims by Hammarberg.

“It concerns us, the assertion that police authorities carried out violent raids against nomad (Roma-Gypsy) settlements,” read the note from the Italian government.

“The Italian government has already answered the memorandum sent by The Council of Europe following the visit to Rome by the Commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg, providing all the data that show how the worries about the lack of human rights are completely groundless.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Iran: Sixteen Christian Converts Arrested

Tehran, 29 July (AKI) — Sixteen Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity were arrested on Tuesday in Malakshahr, on the outskirts of the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

The six women, eight men and two adolescents who were arrested were assisting in a conversion ceremony and baptism of three new members of the church at a private house that had been transformed into an evangelical church.

The owners of the home, an elderly couple, were allegedly beaten up before they were locked up in an unmarked lorry.

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Netherlands: Former Mp Hirsi Ali Seeks Police Protection in Us

Amsterdam, 29 July (AKI) — A court in The Hague has approved a request by Somali-born ex-MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali for witnesses to be heard in her claim for the Dutch state to pay for her security in the US, Dutch media reported on Tuesday.

The Dutch government stopped paying for Hirsi Ali’s police protection after she moved to the US permanently last year.

An outspoken critic of Islam and advocate of women’s rights, Hirsi Ali had to live under police protection in the Netherlands after receiving death threats. She now works for a conservative US think-tank.

“Hirsi Ali clearly had protection in the Netherlands because she was in danger and probably still is,” a senior researcher at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations’ security programme, Bibi Van Ginkel, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Arab Princesses Accused of Human Trafficking in Belgium

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JULY 29 — An emir’s widow and her four daughters will have to answer to a charge of trafficking because they enslaved some twenty domestics on the fourth floor of luxury hotel Conrad in Brussels where they had been living for a few months. It was decided by the labour court which ruled after the denouncement of two maids who succeeded in escaping and giving alarm. The case is from July 1. The maids arrived with the princesses aboard a private jet and for months had been employed in conditions of super-exploitation. After the intervention of the police eleven workers received recognition of their status of victims of trafficking. The emir’s family, despite saying they want to cooperate with the Belgian justice, after the intervention of the policemen left the hotel and returned in the United Arab Emirates. According to the charges, the princesses, once the judges after having carried out the inquiry send back the dossiers to the court, risk from two to five years of imprisonment. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Hope? Change? Yes! Hope Obama Changes!

Barack Obama has been to the Middle East. He said he supported Israel and wanted peace.

So I guess everything’s ok, right? Well, if he’s elected president and follows through on these words that’ll be just fine.

But concern about an Obama presidency is hardly dispelled, except in the media systematically ignoring the real issues. Without getting into the debate over Iraq strategy, here are the serious problems:

1. Obama claims there is a “window of opportunity” for successful Israel-Palestinian negotiations. That’s nonsense. But won’t Obama pretend progress and “prove” he’s right: by demanding unilateral Israeli concessions? Equally, Palestinian intransigence won’t prompt him to admit they’re responsible for failure. This isn’t a window of opportunity but a doorway to disaster. Consider this simple question: If Israel withdrew from all the West Bank would anything really change? Would the Palestinians reciprocate, alter their line, stop terrorism, and accept the conflict’s end? No.

2. In this context, Obama’s emerging campaign theme is especially worrisome. He criticizes Bush for not jumping into a peace process from his term’s start. The reason, of course, was President Bill Clinton’s discovery that Palestinian leaders weren’t interested in peace. Obama doesn’t understand why the 1990s’ process failed or that you don’t commit the president’s prestige unless there’s a real chance for progress.

3. Obama thinks it “pro-Israel” to argue that Israel desperately needs peace with the Palestinians above all and that he’d do Israel a favor by pressuring it into concessions. But Israel only benefits from an agreement producing stability, the conflict’s end, no cross-border terrorism, and a moderate Palestinian state. Obama’s approach seems likely to turn into a peace-at-any-price scenario on the pretext of saving Israel in spite of itself. Obama thinks he knows best about Israel’s security needs.

[Eight more items listed in the Gloria Center article]

           — Hat tip: Barry Rubin

AP Falsely Reports Israel Building New Settlement

The AP falsely reported that Israel is building a new settlement on the West Bank and linked this to a wrong-headed spin on an important national leader visiting Israel.

No, not Obama! He’s still just a candidate. I’m referring to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Curiously, Brown’s visit was highlighted for its criticism of Israel by the AP though his trip was seen in Israel as incredibly supportive. Indeed, Brown made the most pro-Israel statements of any British leader since Margaret Thatcher left the scene. This was especially significant since Brown is the Labour party leader and given the incredibly hostile anti-Israel sentiment in the British media and academia.

           — Hat tip: Barry Rubin

Jordan Gets USD65mln Over Gulf War Environmental Impact

(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, APRIL 30 — The UN Security Council handed Jordan USD65 million in compensation for environmental damage caused by the first gulf war, an official said today. In total, Jordan is expecting to receive USD 160 million to be spent on project to rectify damage incurred on various sectors in the aftermath of the war, said minister of environment Khalid Irani. In total, Jordan was awarded a total of $161.9 million of the $4.3 billion claimed for damage to groundwater and terrestrial resources. Jordan’s claims for damage to agricultural, wetland and marine resources were denied. The funds must be spent strictly on project to rectify the damages, said Irani. The total amount is expected to be at the treasury coffers by August this year, said Irani, noting that the ministry has set up a special technical team to determine how the funds will be spent.(ANSAmed)

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Media: Scant Speech Freedom in Our Area, Al Arabiya Director

(ANSAmed) — MILAN, JUNE 30 — In the Arab world quite a lot media exist but not as much freedom of speech, and the reduced advertising market is also to blame as it forces newspapers and TV stations to depend on governments. The denunciation was launched during the Euromed conference by Nakhle El Hage, director of satellite channel Al Arabiya, which is based in the United Arab Emirates. “In the Arab world we have 400 satellite channels and thousands of dailies but I am afraid there is not as much freedom of speech,” El Hage said. “The fault is also of Western countries, which invest little in advertisements in our media. For example, the advertising market in Italy is equivalent to $30 billion against 2.8 billion of the entire Arab world,” the journalist said. El Hage also pointed out how “insufficient pressure is exerted” by Western governments to demand the release of the “numerous journalists held in prison in Arab countries”. “I am surprised, for example, that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is invited in Paris for the summit next month without conditions in this sense being posed,” the journalist concluded. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria

Report: Al Qaeda Operative Killed During Missile Strike in Pakistan

Intelligence officials are investigating reports that Al Qaeda’s top expert on chemical and biological weapons was among six people killed Monday in a missile strike on Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Al Qaeda operative Abu Khabab al-Masri’s wife told authorities that her husband died in the attack in South Waziristan, according to a Pakistani military intelligence official. The woman was wounded and hospitalized, he said.

U.S. officials told FOX News that al-Masri was a key trainer and expert in chemical and biological weapons, likely to have operational knowledge of a liquid explosive bomb plot thwarted two years ago. He is considered a “top 10” Al Qaeda target and was part of the original team with Usama Bin Laden who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

           — Hat tip: Dymphna

Dr. Richard Jansen, who contributed a guest-post about the Balkans here last weekend, returns with this overview of the history of Islam.

1400 Year Jihad Against the West
by Richard Jansen

July 28, 2008

After a few of the comments on my post on the Balkans, a few words on my formal and informal education may be in order. My doctoral degree was in biochemistry. After spending a thirty year career in both industry and the university as a research scientist in the field of nutritional biochemistry, since retirement and especially since the Bosnian war and the attack on our country by Islamic militants on September11, 2001, I have become a student of history. I take seriously that Santayana reminded us that those that who ignore history will pay for that ignorance. For those who already know what I write below, I apologize. For those who don’t know this history, or who need to be reminded, I hope the following will be helpful.

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The United States together with what used to be called the Christian West, Christendom, is under attack from Islamic forces with a worldwide reach. There is dispute as to whether this Islamic movement represents Islam per se, or a radical version of Islam. There is no doubt that these forces get their inspiration, motivation, and indeed instructions from the Koran and the life of Mohammed. This world-wide movement is known as Militant Islam. Other names being used are Radical Islam, Islamic Jihad, Global Jihad, Islamism and Islamo-fascism.

Our enemy sees this struggle as a religious war and refers to the United States with the word “Crusaders”, bringing back into our consciousness a religious war between Islam and Christianity that occurred nearly a millennium ago. The West, for understandable reasons, is slow to acknowledge that we are indeed in a religious war declared against Western Civilization by an Islamic movement based on the Koran and Islamic law. In contrast, Western Civilization is based on Judeo-Christian morality, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment combined with the inheritance from classical Rome and Athens.

This is a continuation of a 1400 year jihad against the Dar al Harb, the world of the infidels, by the Dar al Islam, the world of Islam. From 633 until 1683 Islam conquered Lebanon except for Mount Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, North Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, most of Eastern Christianity, and most of Spain. At the time of the Reformation Islamic armies had just conquered Hungary and were threatening Germany. In his book On War Against the Turk written in 1529 Martin Luther demonstrated that he had a good understanding of Islam and the threat it posed for all Christians and Christian lands. He understood that in Islamic lands Christians were not allowed to preach or confess Christ.
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Luther in 1529 had a better understanding of the threat to the Christian West posed by Islam than many do today. Unfortunately today many in the West either fail to understand or refuse to understand that we are now involved in a continuation of a 1400 year jihad or holy war against the West that was for the most part in abeyance from 1683 when the Ottoman Empire failed to take Vienna, until the resurgence of Islamic jihad in the 20th century following the upheavals of the First World War. This blog commemorates 1683.

In order to understand the religious wars that Militant Islam has declared on the West we first must go back to the time of Mohammed and his companions in the 7th century. The suras or chapters in the Koran were transcribed first in Mecca and then in Medina. In Mecca Mohammed courted the Jews but in Medina, after they failed to accept Mohammed as their last Prophet, he turned on them. Ibn Ishaq, in the first biography about Mohammed, wrote as follows about the surrender of the Jews at B. Qurayza; “Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still a market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in these trenches as they were brought to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka’b b Assad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all although some put the figure as high as 800”. This biography of Mohammed was written by a Muslim about one hundred years after Mohammed’s death.

When Mohammed died in 632 a dispute arose as to who should be the first Caliph, The Prophet had made no provision for his successor. One side favored keeping the leadership in Mohammed’s family by naming Ali, the husband of his daughter Fatima, as Caliph. The other side favored naming Abu Bakr, Mohammed’s loyal assistant, as Caliph. In the end Abu Bakr was named Caliph. Ali later became the 4th Caliph, and was killed in battle.

In a subsequent power struggle Ali’s son Husayn was killed in the Battle of Karbala. The followers of Ali and his son Husayn are known today as the Shi’a, i.e. The Party of Ali. The death of Husayn is commemorated in Karbala as the Shi’a holy day of Ashura.

Shi’a believe that Ali was the first legitimate Caliph. Those that believe that Abu Bakr and the Caliphs that immediately followed him are the first Caliphs are known as the Sunni, or the Tradition of Islam. The family line of Mohammed through Ali and Husayn became extinct in 873 when the last Shi’a Imam Mohammed al-Mahdi disappeared. The Shi’a are waiting for this twelfth Shi’a Imam to re-appear after having been hidden for over a millennium. Today 90% of Muslims in the World are Sunni and 10% are Shi’a.

The Shi’a are found mostly in Iran and Iraq. Theological differences are not large. They relate mostly to the legitimacy of the early Caliphs, the importance of the martyrdom of Ali and his son Husayn, and the concept of the “hidden Imam.” However, the rivalry between these two branches of Islam that has been waxing and waning for fourteen hundred years is becoming increasingly important in these days of asymmetric warfare and nuclear weapons.

By the time World War I began, Serbia and the rest of the Balkans had become free of Ottoman rule. When the war between Serbia and Austria started, Germany allied itself with Austria while Britain, France and Russia allied themselves with Serbia. The Ottoman Empire made a very bad choice by siding with Germany and Austria. When the war was over the victorious powers proceeded to carve up the Ottoman Empire, which already was known as “The Sick Man of Europe.”

Britain was granted Mandates over a newly created Iraq and Palestine, while France was granted Mandates over Lebanon and Syria. Britain through T.E. Lawrence apparently had promised Sharif Husayn of Mecca an Arab homeland in exchange for his help in fighting against the Ottoman Empire. However, Britain with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 had also promised the Jews a National Homeland in Palestine.

In 1919 the Emir Feisal, Sharif Husayn’s son signed an agreement with Chaim Weitzman, the head of the Zionist organization in which he agreed to recognize a Jewish state in Palestine if an Arab state under his authority as Caliph also was formed. This did not come to pass. The fact is none of the Arab states wanted this to happen. The British made Feisal King of Iraq and his brother Abdullah the Emir of Trans-Jordan, which was 80% of the Palestine Mandate, thus pretty much nullifying the 1917 Balfour promise to the Jews. Feisal and Abdullah were both eventually assassinated.

In Iran a military coup in 1921 established a military dictatorship under Reza Khan. In 1926 the Pahlavi dynasty was established with Reza Shah Pahlavi as a hereditary Shah. Egypt became independent from the British in 1922 and Fuad I became King. In 1936 he was succeeded by his son King Farouk. In Arabia Ibn Saud and his forces defeated Sharif Husayn of Mecca. In 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed. The stage was now set for the religious wars of the 20th century to begin. Two interlocking lines of Islamic thought, Salafism and Wahhabism, added fuel to the smoldering fire.

Salafism and Wahhabism

After World War I there was much unhappiness and frustration within the Muslim world in the Middle East. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Britain established hegemony over Egypt, France over Algeria and Morocco, and Italy over Libya. Arabs became aware of their own weaknesses as the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the “great war” of 1914-1918 and carved up by the Western Powers.

Iraq and Palestine became British mandates, and Lebanon and Syria became French mandates. Attaturk saved Anatolia from dissection and established the Republic of Turkey as a secular state. He abolished the Sultanate and the Caliphate thus ending 1400 years of a Caliphate, i.e. an Islamic ruler in a direct line from the political and spiritual rule of Mohammed himself. Jews at this time were moving into Palestine, and it is a core article of belief in Islam that any land that had once been Islamic must remain so.

Western Imperialism became the scapegoat for all the problems in the Muslim world.

There came a renewed longing for the “olden days”, the time of the Prophet and his companions. Salafism provided a theological and historical grounding for this longing. Salafism is a line of thought within Islam which hails the “righteous ancestors” as those who serve as examples of how Islam should be practiced. The term “righteous ancestors” refers to Mohammed, his companions and the first three generations of Muslims. The modern version of Salafism developed in Egypt in the late 19th century. Wahhabism is another closely related movement that is named after Mohammed ibn al Wahhab who lived in the 18th century. The movement claims inspiration and theological descent from ibn Tymiyya, 1263-1328, and is the state religion of Saudi Arabia.

Both Salafism and Wahhabism claim that Islam has gone wrong and strayed from the true path over the centuries. Both advocate emulating the Islam of Mohammed and his companions. This was a confident and aggressive Islam that within one hundred years after Mohammed’s death ruled all of the Arabian peninsula, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, much of Mesopotamia and Persia. Both Salafism and Wahhabism advocate that war should be waged on all unbelievers, i.e. all non-Muslims until they have become Muslim, submitted totally and unconditionally to Islam or have been killed. Islam requires jihad, fighting on behalf of Islam, as a religious duty. Salafism and Wahhabism also discouraged many religious practices that had developed over the centuries such as praying over tombs, invoking anyone in prayer other than Allah and making drawings of human beings.

Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt as a reform movement by Hassan al Banna in 1928. Although a Sufi himself, his views were heavily influenced by Salafism and Wahhabism. His movement strongly opposed the ascendancy of secular, primarily Western ideas in the Arab and Muslim world. Al Banna wanted to see a strong move back to the supremacy of Allah in human affairs. The credo of the Muslim Brotherhood is : “Allah is our objective, the Koran is our law, the Prophet is our leader, Jihad is our way, and dying for the sake of Allah is our highest hope.” The Muslim Brotherhood is worldwide, with branches in essentially all Arab countries and in the United States as well.

Members of the Brotherhood assassinated the Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmud Fahm Nokrashi in 1948. Shortly after Al Banna himself was murdered, presumably by a government agent. In 1954 a member of the Brotherhood attempted to assassinate President Nasser. Nasser’s successor Anwar as-Sadat released from prison members of the Brotherhood and said he would implement Shariah law in Egypt. He failed to do so and, in addition, signed a peace treaty with Israel. The Brotherhood murdered Sadat in 1981.

Sayyid Qutb

In many ways Sayyid Qutb is the father of the modern jihad movement against infidels and all unbelievers, in keeping with Mohammed and the Koran. He strongly opposed Western imperialism and materialism. The immorality and corruption of the Christian West appalled him. He believed in the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of mankind. In his mind the only hope for mankind was the universal adoption of the Shariah law in all countries. Qutb opposed most Western ideas, including both capitalism and socialism, as being materialistic in nature. In his view only Muslims who followed the Koran and Islamic law were truly Muslims. All others were unbelievers and should be dealt with accordingly. For him the Shariah law was a universal law, applicable to all, and an Islamic society was the only civilized society.

The following paragraph from his book Milestones, written while he was in prison, pretty well sums up his beliefs: “It is not the intention of Islam to force its beliefs on people, but Islam is not merely beliefs. As we have pointed out, Islam is a declaration of the freedom of man from servitude to other men. Thus it strives from the beginning to abolish all those systems and governments which are based on the rule of man over men and the servitude of one human being to another. When Islam releases people from this political pressure and presents to them its spiritual message, appealing to their reason, it gives them complete freedom to accept or not to accept its beliefs. However, this freedom does not mean that they can make their desires their gods, or that they can choose to remain in the servitude of other human beings, making some men lords over others. Whatever system is to be established in the world ought to be on the authority of Allah, deriving its laws from him alone. Thus every individual is free, under the protection of this universal system to adopt any belief he wishes to adopt. This is the only way ‘the religion’ can be purified for Allah alone. The word ‘religion’ includes more than belief; ‘religion’ actually means a way of life, and in Islam this is based on belief. But in an Islamic system there is room for all kinds of people to follow their own beliefs, while obeying the laws of the country which are themselves based on the divine authority.”

Sayyid Qutb was executed by hanging August 29, 1966.

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda, meaning in Arabic “the base”, began as a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi businessman, was a prime financial supporter of the fledgling organization. He became radicalized after Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when American forces located in the Islamic holy ground of Saudi Arabia. The government of Saudi Arabia expelled bin Laden in 1991 and he relocated in the Sudan.

Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa, or declaration of war, first published in Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based newspaper, in August, 1996. The fatwa was entitled “Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places.” On February 23, 1998 the World Islamic Front issued a statement entitled “Jihad against Jews and Crusaders.” This group consisted of : Shaykh Usamah Bin-Mohammed Bin-Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt, Abu-Yasir Rifa’i Ahmad Taha, Egyptian Islamic Group, Shaykh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan and Fazlul Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh. This was and is a declaration of war against the West and Israel. Unfortunately the West did not start to understand until September 11, 2001. Unfortunately too many people still do not understand.

For a fuller discussion, see this website.

In recent years CAIR and the various other American front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood have instituted a practice commonly known as “lawfare”. By suing prominent individuals who speak out against Islamization, the deep pockets of the Islamic groups are brought to bear against people who can ill afford the legal fight. Along with libel tourism and the full-court press in the media, it’s an effective way of silencing the critics of Islam.

Now one of the little guys is giving the Islamists a taste of their own medicine, and he’s a Muslim himself.

Jamal Miftah is a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He says that back in 2005 he spoke up condemn Islamic terrorism, and as a result was threatened and assaulted by various members of his mosque.

He has responded by filing suit against the Islamic Society of Tulsa, the local chapter of the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust, as well as a number of individuals — Farooq Ali, Javed Jaliwala, Sheryl Siddiqui, Sandra Rana, Tariq Masood, Muhammad Ashwait, Houssam Elsoueissi a/k/a Abu Waleed, Mujeeb Cheema and Ahmad Kabbani (directors and officers of the IST, or “Shura”), Abdullah Roe and Nooruddin Doe (believed to be members of the Tulsa Mosque), charging them with assault, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

BatesLine is keeping track of the progress of Mr. Miftah’s case. A few days ago a District Court judge denied a motion by IST to dismiss the suit.

This is a story we will be following with interest. It’s good to know that someone is using one of ISNA’s preferred weapons against them.

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Below are some excerpts drawn from Jamal Miftah’s amended petition (pdf format) as filed on April 2nd of this year:

9.		On or about July 15, 2005 six (6) Members of the Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST), including Jamal Miftah, delivered a letter to the Chairman and Members of the Governing Board (Shura) of that Society. Within the letter the six (6) members expressed concern over the “financial status” of the Society and asked that monthly accounts be posted and available to the members.
10.		Shortly thereafter the July 15, 2005 letter, another letter was delivered to the Shura. That letter made specific reference to cash donations to outside organizations and the need for financial transparency to “block undue accusations” and “ensure compliance with the laws of the land.”
11.		Shortly after a meeting between the Shura and the concerned members, Jamal Miftah followed up with another letter to the Shura, on or about August 23, 2005. Within that letter the Jamal Miftah reiterated his concern that the Society was operating in “grey areas” and raised further concern that cash payments made by the Shura amounted to “money laundering” and donations “can ultimately be funneled to undesirable organizations for illegal activities.” Jamal Miftah further made it clear to the Shura that he was concerned that this type of financial activity would damage Muslims in the USA and the World and “convey yet another wrong message to the world about Islam and Islamic organizations.” Jamal Miftah received no response and the Shura refused to adopt transparent accounting practices.
12.		The Shura is the Governing Body of the Islamic Society of Tulsa charged with executing the policies of the parent organization, the Islamic Society of North America on a local level.
13.		The Islamic Society of North America is responsible for formulating policy and teaching in North America and directs local Shuras to execute policy and practice consistent with its view.
14.		The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is largely funded by the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), which in turn is largely funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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		[…]
17.		Defendants IST, through its Shura, ISNA and NAIT were not in agreement with Plaintiff with regard for the need to avoid funneling cash donations to organizations with close links to Jihadist terrorists.
18.		Defendants IST, ISNA and NAIT constructed and implemented a policy of intimidating dissident Muslims, by assault, by defamation, by the withdrawal of business opportunities, by ostracizing family members in the USA and abroad, and by putting vocal dissidents in danger of assassination via official or vigilante action with false claims of apostasy.
19.		Defendants IST, its Shura, ISNA and NAIT all subscribe to the view that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for an apostate Muslim and unless he or she is mentally ill or has converted to another religion under duress.
20.		Defendants IST, its Shura, ISNA and NAIT are all aware that labeling a person “Anti-Islamic” or “Anti-Muslim” or a “Traitor to Islam” can logically result in that person’s assassination or execution.
21.		Defendants IST, its Shura, ISNA and NAIT identified Jamal Miftah as a dissident Muslim in need of “discipline” and or expulsion from the local Mosque.
22.		On or about October 29, 2006 Jamal Miftah wrote an “op-ed” piece published in the Tulsa World calling on Muslim clerics and youth to forsake and stand against terrorists whose “heinous crimes (are) not pardonable by any religion and strictly forbidden in Islam…”
23.		In the aforementioned op-ed piece Jamal Miftah also alleged that some mosques in the United States and around the world are being used to collect money for terrorists.
24.		In response to Plaintiff’s letter the Defendants, acting in concert, directly and through agents, executed a policy and practice common to IST, NAIT and ISNA designed to injure Jamal Miftah by encouraging an atmosphere where he would be physically intimidated at the Mosque, excluded from the Mosque and otherwise destroyed in his name and possibly body.
		For the assault:
26.		On or about November 18, 2006 Jamal Miftah went to the Tulsa Mosque owned and operated by the Defendants IST, ISNA and NAIT to offer his last prayer of the day (Ishaa prayer). Following prayers, the Iman of the Mosque, Ahmad Kabbani, a defendant herein, confronted Jamal Miftah in the Mosque and stated that he “should be ashamed” of the aforementioned op-ed piece, which was “anti-Islamic”.
27.		Following the lead of Ahmad Kabbani, Houssam Elsouesssi, a defendant herein, and two other members of the Mosque, Abdullah Roe and Nooruddin Doe, defendants herein, confronted Jamal Miftah.
28.		These defendants screamed and shouted at Jamal Miftah, alleging that he was “anti Muslim” and a “traitor to Islam,” in an apparent attempt to incite a riot within the walls of the Mosque.
29.		Abdullah Roe took his shoe off, waived [sic] said shoe and swung said shoe wildly at Jamal Miftah’s face, calling and shouting that that Jamal Miftah was “anti Muslim” and a “traitor to Islam.”
30.		Jamal Miftah was put in imminent fear of serious bodily harm as the aforementioned defendants and others forced him into a wall.
		For the defamation:
33.		The day after the assault noted above, Jamal Miftah received word through a member of the Mosque (not a defendant herein) that a Temporary Restraining Order had been issued against him, sworn to by Houssam Elsouessi, and that the restraining order would be removed if he issued a public apology for the op-ed piece, deemed to be “anti Muslim” and “anti Islamic” by the Shura.
		[…]
36.		On November 24, 2006 a local TV channel published the story of Jamal Miftah’s expulsion from the Mosque. Within that story the Mosque leadership alleged that Miftah was being expelled because he was “loud” and that he would be allowed to return when he apologized, privately, to the Members and Leadership of the Mosque.
37.		On November 29, 2006, Sandra Rana, a defendant herein, published a statement where she alleged that Jamal Miftah was physically removed from the Mosque after he threatened violence and cursed during a “discussion” of his published opinion. Rana stated that Jamal Miftah could attend prayers without restriction so long as acted in an “appropriate manner.”
		[…]
40.		By reason of the published statements of the Defendants, alleging that Jamal Miftah is “a traitor to Islam… anti Muslim… anti Islamic” Jamal Miftah’s life has been put in danger in the sense that he has been labeled apostate from the Muslim Religion by the Defendants and vulnerable to the death penalty in Muslim countries and/or vigilante justice in his adopted homeland.

Many thanks to the alert reader who tipped me to this case.

The recent referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty was a setback for those who would turn the EU into a single superstate. But it’s not a major setback — the functionaries of the EU are adept at sidestepping such petty annoyances as the will of their peoples — and we can expect the EU’s leaders to regroup and try a different tack.

The next difficulty facing the Lisbon Treaty is the attempt to enforce the “harmonization” of laws on the member states. Some countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany, will have no problem swallowing the entire EU pig, since their existing laws are already in synch with the draconian requirements of the Lisbon Treaty.

However, countries that have held on to some vestige of independence, common sense, and sovereignty may not agree so readily to surrender their own laws. One of the areas of strongest disagreement concerns immigration, and Denmark has the most restrictive immigration laws in Europe, putting it at odds with the mandarins of the EU.

A recent EU court decision concerning Ireland is raising hackles in Denmark. According to the EU Observer:

Danish immigration law under fire after EU court ruling

A recent EU court immigration ruling is causing headaches for the Danish centre-right government and may deliver a blow to the country’s immigration policies, which are amongst the most restrictive in Europe.

What’s instructive here is the assumption that Denmark will automatically cave, and allow the EU rulings to supersede Danish law. But how likely is that? Yes, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is aiming for a comfortable EU sinecure, will likely kowtow to Brussels. But what about the rest of the Danes?

The article continues:
– – – – – – – – –

The European Union’s highest court ruled last Friday (25 July) in a case of four couples living in Ireland that spouses of EU citizens who are not themselves EU citizens can not be prevented from living in the Republic.

Previously, under Irish law, a spouse from outside the European Union must have lived in another member state first in order to win residency rights. However the court ruled that this is in breach of EU law on the free movement of citizens.

Inspired by the new EU ruling, a number of couples turned up on Monday (28 July) at the Danish Ministry for Integration in Copenhagen demanding a review of the ministry’s rejection of their applications to settle as couples in Denmark.

This is like the gay marriage issue in the United States — the most permissive and activist judges in one state decree the laws, and activists in other states immediately demand that the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution be applied, so that the laws must be honored in their own jurisdictions. That’s one of the primary disadvantages of centralization — the rules established by unaccountable bureaucrats at the center ride roughshod over the will of the people in the localities.

Notice the amusing twist in the next excerpt:

Having been denied residence in Denmark, many such couples settle in the city of Malmo in Sweden, about half an hour’s drive from Copenhagen, as Sweden has less restrictive immigration laws.

That’s an understatement; Sweden has almost no immigration restrictions, and a generous welfare package awaits the new arrivals in Malmö. No wonder “persons of Swedish background” are rapidly becoming a minority in the city.

There are indications that the Danes are not yet ready to roll over for the EU as far as immigration is concerned:

In reaction, the Danish minister in charge of immigration, Birthe Ronn Hornbech, has now announced a review of the entire system of immigration in the country.

“The government must tell the EU system that it was a prerequisite for Danish EU membership to be able to run our immigration policies independently,” said the spokesperson on EU affairs of the right-wing Danish Peoples Party, Morten Messerschmidt, on Danish Radio.

The Liberal-Conservative minority government depends on the support of his party.

Yes, the Danish People’s Party is what stands in the way of complete European integration. Notice that the DPP is only “right-wing” here; apparently they have graduated from being “right-wing extremists” and are inching towards respectability.

Mr Messerschmidt suggested immigration should be covered by a Danish general exemption from EU justice policies, while legal experts have stated that the fundamental principle of free movement of citizens in the EU would supercede this.

So this is a contest of wills, between tiny but pugnacious Denmark on the one hand, and Megatron himself on the other. Who will win?

One suspects that Danish public opinion sides with Mr. Messerschmidt and the DPP:

Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published a comment on Tuesday (29 July) arguing that the EU court is doing the job of elected politicians.

“This practice is a democratic problem”, wrote Ralf Pittelkow, adviser to former Social Democratic Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

“The judges are crafting a lot of policies because the politicians allow them the margin to do so. Political decisions that ought to be the responsibility of elected representatives are left with the court”.

Denmark, as usual, is the place to watch. The Danes are the wellspring of Western resistance.

Hat tip: Henrik.

• Mideast: PNA, Dozens Hamas Activists Arrested in West Bank
• Spain: Rabat Insists; Ceuta, Melilla Are Moroccan, Minister
• Immigrants: Maroni, No General Amnesty
• West African Immigrants Clashed With Police At the Duomo in Naples
• Middle East: Jewish Activists Shut Down Hamas’ Military Wing Website
• Cinema: Film on Islamic-Coptic Relations Divides Egypt

Thanks to Contadina, Insubria, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Details are below the fold.
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Mideast: PNA, Dozens Hamas Activists Arrested in West Bank

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, JULY 28 — The security forces of the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) arrested today over fifty Hamas activists in various places on the West Bank, the Islamic movement said. The arrests are apparently a direct consequence to the strong tension between Hamas and al Fatah, the organisation led by Abbas, after last Friday’s attack in Gaza where five Hamas militants and a Palestinian girl were killed. The Islamic movement blamed al Fatah for the attack and arrested some 200 of its activists in Gaza. Al Fatah denied any involvement in the attack. Academics and students of Al-Najah University of Nablus as well as members of the local municipal council appear to be among the people arrested by the Palestinian Authority police. (ANSAmed).

Spain: Rabat Insists; Ceuta, Melilla Are Moroccan, Minister

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JULY 28 — Ceuta and Melilla ‘‘are Moroccan’’, although the Rabat government, which considers Spain ‘‘a friendly country’’, does not want to ‘‘enter in conflict’’ over the issue, Moroccan Economy Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said at the Europa Forum in Madrid today. ‘‘It is clear that for Morocco Ceuta and Melilla are Moroccan, it is enough to turn to history and geography in order to establish it,’’ Mezouar said, insisting on what he defined ‘‘evidence’’. At the same time the Economy minister said he was convinced that ‘‘the future between Morocco and Spain will be without cultural, geographic or any other type of border’’. ‘‘This is my belief and that of the political class of Morocco,’’ he added. The Maghreb country, Mezouar said, ‘‘is growing’’ and ‘‘within 10 or 20 years it will be on the same level as the European countries’’. It will be in the Euro-Mediterranean integration framework that Morocco will find it ‘‘easier to resolve this type of problems which we experience today’’, he said, referring to the territorial conflicts. Answering a question on the future of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Moroccan economy minister replied without saving criticism at Algeria, which he accused of aiming to ‘‘weaken Morocco’’ stirring an ‘‘unreal conflict’’ over Western Sahara, given that it ‘‘believes that with this and oil it will become a leading country’’ in the area. (ANSAmed).

WTO: Berlusconi, Concerns Continue EU to Ask Guarantees

(AGI) — Rome, July 28 — “In the light of the recent developments in trade negotiations in Geneva at the World Trade Organisation, Premier Silvio Berlusconi confirms the concerns of Italy for the absence of progress regarding the protection of Geographical Marks and access to industrial markets of developing countries”. This is stated in a note issued by the Prime Minister’s office. “The premier” the note continues “confirms the will of Italy to come to a deal which takes the expectations of developing countries into account. But Europe must work on a total result which also offers the Italian and European citizens adequate guarantees regarding the sacrifices they will have to make”.

Immigrants: Maroni, No General Amnesty

(AGI) — Brescia, 28 July — No general amnesty by the Government, is what Minister for the Interior Roberto Maroni has promised, in Brescia today to sign the first step for urban security with local authorities. “In the Pact for immigration and asylum presented by the French presidency which the Government agrees with one hundred per cent, it is stated that no State should grant general amnesties, but should consider them case by case.”

West African Immigrants Clashed With Police At the Duomo in Naples

After occupying the cathedral

They are demanding to be re-housed after the rundown building that they were living in burned down.

Here is a longer article, in Italian.

Middle East: Jewish Activists Shut Down Hamas’ Military Wing Website

Gaza City, 28 July (AKI) — The Islamist Hamas movement’s military wing claims its website was shut down on Sunday due to alleged pressure by the ‘Zionist Lobby’ on the Russian Internet company that hosts the site.

“The Zionist lobby worked around the clock to put pressure on the company which is hosting the site, instigating and accusing it of sponsoring and supporting terrorism,” said the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades in a statement posted to the disabled website.

“Recently, a Zionist parliamentary delegation including eleven Knesset members visited Russia…..and met with the Vice President of the Russian Federal Council Alexandre Rocha, who promised the Zionists to stop hosting [the] al-Qassam website service provided by the Russian company Data Force,” the statement said.

The al-Qassam Brigades said “the Zionists became angry” that the website — hosted by Moscow-based Internet service provider Dataforce — received so much attention and visits.

“After all these contacts and pressure, the company of Russian Data Force decided to stop providing services to the website, considering the website as a danger threat on the lives and the security of people in the world,” it said.

In the statement, the group vows to re-open the website and that “attacks and harrasment” will not deter them from continuing their “electronic resistance.”

“We are aware that the media battle is as important as the battlefield with the Zionist occupation,” the group said.

The al-Qassam brigades are considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union, The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Cinema: Film on Islamic-Coptic Relations Divides Egypt

(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JULY 28 — “Have you ever seen a Christian beggar?” One sheikh asks another, complaining a little after that of the fact that in Egypt the Christians control three-quarters of the wealth in the country. Almost at the same time, a Coptic priest asks a colleagues of him: “how many Christian ministers are there in the government?”. These are just some of the sweet and sour lines of “Hassan and Morkos”, the film by Rami Imam — just released in the Egyptian cinema theatres — which tackles with lightness the greatest taboo an Arab country can have: religion. Two mythical figures of Egyptian cinema, Omar Sharif and exhilarating comedian Adel Imam, father of the director, play Al Attar, a Muslim sheikh, and Boullos, a Coptic priest. Threatened by the religious fanaticism of their respective faiths, the two are imposed by the authorities to adopt new identities: thus Boullos becomes Hassan, a very devoted imam, while Al Attar (Omar Sherif) becomes Morkos, a Coptic businessman just returned from the United States. Soon the two, with their families, become neighbours and from then on a series of tragic-comical episodes would expose the ignorance and suspicion which often characterise the relations between Muslims and Christians in a country, Egypt, where the Copts are between 6% and 10% of a population that has already exceeded 80 million residents. And if publicly the most recurring words are “national unity” — because it is about citizens of a single nation — in private there is the wariness to regulate the relations between the two communities. With the arrival of the Islamic extremism in the mid-1970s and, mainly with the exile of Pope Shenouda III in September 1981 in the Monastery of Saint Pishoy (in Alexandriàs desert), which was ordered by President Sadat and lasted until 1985 when, three years after the assassination of the leader, when Hosni Mubarak freed the Patriarch, the relations between the Egyptians of the Muslim faith and the Copts strongly deteriorated, leading to a rise of Christian radicalism. The film has many defamers saying that “despite bringing to the public attention the religious question, it does not tackle in depth the reasons for the anger of the Christians and the hostility of the Muslims at each other”. According to critic Tarek Shennawi the role of the state is not shown. Shennawi actually says it is the state itself, guilty of tackling the social questions like a security problem, thus poisoning the relations between the two communities, that is behind the spreading of corruption of the security apparatuses which control the religious issues — moral degradation which pushes Christians and Muslims to a growing sectarian confrontation. Despite the attacks, “Hassan Wi Morkos” was leader in the box office with some 120,000 euro in the first two days of screening. (ANSAmed).

Below is an article from today’s Die Welt, translated into English through the tireless efforts of our Danish correspondent Kepiblanc.

It concerns the evolution of huge no-go zones in various German cities. You’ll notice that the construction of the largest mosque in Germany inside one of these areas did nothing to alleviate the problem. It’s also notable that the immigrant groups that are causing most of the trouble are not the Turks — who are the traditional foreigners in the area — but the more recently arrived and “stateless” Arabs:

In enemy territory

In several German cities the police barely dare to enter certain districts, because they are attacked immediately. A visit to a “dangerous place” in the Ruhr District.

Just take another step across Viehofer Street, and a border has been trespassed. It’s invisible; there are no warnings in the available maps of the city of Essen. But behind the line other laws are enforced. At Viehofer Street the “danger zone” begins. That’s what the local police calls the Northern part of the Essen downtown.

Every other week some dozen policemen in olive-green coveralls enter the area in company with employees from the city’s civil services. The exact number is secret, “so that the foe can’t adjust”, say the police.

The “danger zone” encompasses three dozen streets. The civil servants enter gloomy tea-houses and oriental cafés, normally disguised as “cultural societies”, kiosks, telephone shops, internet cafés. It is a twilight infrastructure of the Lebanese “community”, holding around 5,000 persons in Essen. The civil service demands lists of employees and licenses. They are met with little courtesy and sour expressions as if they were entering alien territory. The city of Essen tries to counter a phenomenon well known to other German cities. Policemen talk of “parallel worlds” and “rooms of fear”. When confronted with such terms, the immigration-politicians cringe. But the experienced civil servants can’t come up with better terms. They don’t dare to enter such areas without protection, otherwise they risk riots and physical assault.

In the northern downtown of Essen trouble and crime are the agenda of the day. Robbery in parks, drug trafficking, fencing of goods, fights, black-market workers. “It is unbelievable that such a lawless place has evolved” said the Essen chief police inspector, Ditmar Jensen, in April 2007. That’s why the area was designated a “danger zone” by the Nordrhein-Westphal police. Since then, the police have authorized harsher control.

This is an unusual strategy in Germany, but no longer a breach of taboo, due to the resistance the almost 270,000 civil servants from state and local police have to confront on a daily basis in many regions. “The problem with violence against the police has escalated in recent years. The police have to concentrate increasingly on self-protection” says national chief of police Konrad Freiberg to Die Welt. “When a fellow policeman goes on duty, he never knows what might happen to him”.

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According to the National Police, the number of violent episodes is 26,000 on a yearly basis, which means 60% more than in the 1980s. “People used to think that what the police did was all right. Today it’s automatically assumed that it’s wrong” says police commissar Stefan Kircher, who is in charge of the central precinct in Cologne. Kircher says that unauthorized persons interfere when papers are checked or arrest are made, and oppose the police. For some time now, the police have been trained how to behave in crowds of people. When a patrol enters a bar in order to arrest a criminal, another patrol of equal strength is needed to control the crowd. The police regret that many people seem to have developed a deviant understanding of law and order; increasing aggressiveness toward the police can be observed in all age groups and social classes. “It is not a problem limited to Berlin or the Ruhr district, it’s visible everywhere” says police spokesman Rüdiger Holecek.

Although native Germans dominate crime statistics, the police complain of increasing numbers of foreigners. “Some people, especially young foreigners, don’t respect the law-enforcement service,” says Freiberg. The experience with immigration makes the police feel an obligation to specify every incident in order to avoid accusations of bias against foreigners.

However, from the Berlin Police one can still hear the traditional, evasive language. There, not even when asked will the police admit the existence of special problem areas. “You can’t be so categorical,” they say. But police spokesman Holecek stresses that “in fact, the red alert is on all over Berlin”. Just look at the Marxloh district in Duisburg: “When a shield becomes a target” — a headline of the May issue of the National Police magazine “German Police”. In the article Holecek describes the flammable situation in Marxloh. “You have to talk about this, even if it’s not politically correct”, says Holecek.

Two policemen from Duisburg told him that when they tried to settle a dispute between some Turks and Lebanese at a road intersection in Marxloh they were suddenly surrounded and cut off from their patrol car. Drivers in the blocked line had to call police reinforcements on their cell phones.

Marxloh is officially designated “a district with a special challenge for renewal”; others call it “a social furnace”. Out of 18,000 citizens, a third are of foreign descent, most are Turks, and unemployment is high. With an enthusiastic city council and private initiative enormous efforts are being done to promote mutual understanding, and the biggest mosque in Germany is being erected without any conflict. At the same time, nevertheless, enormous differences in the perception of German law show up. Holecek quotes a Duisburg civil servant as saying, “what has been going on here for three or four years is a ticking time-bomb.”

Chief Inspector Andreas de Fries is all too familiar with the hunch that makes the little hairs on his neck start to rise when in the middle of the night he wants to see the papers of a suspect and suddenly, as from nowhere, he is surrounded by two dozen people who push and yell. “The voices come from all over, and suddenly you feel a stab in the back. So fast you can’t even see it,” says de Fries.

The 45-year old chief inspector is a big guy with a self-confident attitude. But in Duisburg-Marxloh a police uniform isn’t worth much. “ It was a development that sneaked up,” says police lieutenant Hans Schwerdtfeger, who worked with the traffic police at August Bebel Square for eleven years.

Both witnessed the Kurdish conflict in the nineties. They know a lot of the Turkish businessmen; they buy groceries from them. They adore the bridal attires on display in an exotic fashion-outlet in Weseler Street and they have personal friends within the community. All in all, Schwerdtfeger and de Fries like the people of Turkish descent in Marxloh.

But they worry about “stateless” people from Lebanon, Iraq or the Kurdish part of Turkey. “With the Turks and the Albanians the parents are helpful,” says Schwerdtfeger; usually, if a youngster makes trouble, a talk with the parent can solve the problem. But the youngsters who call themselves “Arabs” don’t acknowledge any borders or respect. There may be some hundreds in Marxloh and their behavior tends to engender a disgust for all foreigners. Eight-year-old boys kick old ladies, sexually harass women, throw water balloons at business windows, ignore traffic lights, and create havoc at road intersections. “They constantly provoke incidents, even in proximity to patrol cars,” says de Fries. As soon as you try to calm down the younger ones, the older, aggressive brothers show up. “This is our street,” they yell. Then it becomes dangerous. The Police President of Duisburg, Rolf Cebin, calls the problem by its name: “The gathering of various communities when the police show up is an increasing problem. One can’t avoid a sense of hostility towards the police.”

The National Police credit Cebin for her courage to say so and underscores that this gives inspiration to ethnic colleagues. She considers it her duty to change their social- and integration politics.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring city of Essen, the Northern downtown once again turns into “danger zone”. Just in the first four months since the new regulations came into force, 1,000 persons were controlled and 200 crimes registered. For half a year no more serious crime has occurred. Police spokesman Ulrich Fassbender is proud of this success, but dryly adds: “If we as police were less present, it would escalate immediately.”

An afterword from the translator:

Hmmm, typical Die Welt. As Blaise Pascal would say: “This letter is so long because I did not have the time to make it short.”

Hat tip: Steen.

Finally, a federal prosecutor who gets it.

Gordon Kromberg doesn’t waste everyone’s time by prosecuting “terror”. He recognizes that the problem is Islam, and even understands the crucial role played by taqiyya in any legal proceedings involving radical Muslims.

So no one should be surprised that Mr. Kromberg is being targeted by the usual suspects for his bias and Islamophobia. According to The New York Sun:

A Prosecutor Is Called ‘Relentless’

A federal prosecutor who has led a series of investigations into Islamic militants and Muslim groups based in Virginia, Gordon Kromberg, may soon be facing a trial of sorts himself, if defense lawyers get their way.

Attorneys for a former Florida college professor who pleaded guilty two years ago to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sami Al-Arian, are asking a federal judge to hold a hearing on whether anti-Muslim bias led to the government’s decision to obtain a new indictment of Al-Arian in June for contempt for refusing to testify before grand juries pursuing the Virginia organizations.

While the motion claims Muslim terrorism suspects are generally treated unfairly by the Justice Department, Al-Arian’s lawyers argue that Mr. Kromberg, 51, has a particularly egregious record of intemperate statements and actions in a series of terrorism-related cases and investigations.

“Defense attorneys have objected for years that Mr. Kromberg, the lead counsel in many of these cases, has been using the Eastern District of Virginia to mete out his own brand of justice for Muslim terrorism subjects, often openly displaying his personal animus,” Al-Arian’s lead counsel, Jonathan Turley, wrote. “This long and controversial record forms the backdrop for the allegation of selective and malicious prosecution in this case.”

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Al-Arian’s lawyers claim that in 2006, when Mr. Kromberg moved to obtain new testimony from the former professor following his guilty plea in Florida, the prosecutor “became agitated” in response to a defense lawyer’s request that the testimony be put off until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “They can kill each other during Ramadan. They can appear before the grand jury; all they can’t do is eat before sunset,” Mr. Kromberg responded, according to a declaration written by one of Al-Arian’s attorneys, Jack Fernandez. Mr. Fernandez said the prosecutor described the request for a postponement as “all part of the attempted Islamization of the American justice system.” Mr. Fernandez wrote that he viewed the comments as exhibiting “apparent bias against Muslims.”

Mr. Kromberg is speaking with refreshing common sense here. There’s no sign that Muslims ever restrain themselves from raping, pillaging, and killing people — even other Muslims — during Ramadan.

The notion that infidels must refrain from doing any unpleasant things to Muslims during Ramadan is a recent dhimmi invention. It’s encouraged by the Wormtongues of CAIR and ISNA who whisper into the ears of our public officials that the Muslim street will become enraged if we do such-and-such during Ramadan.

What a joke.

Mr. Fernandez also said Mr. Kromberg called the 57-month prison sentence Al-Arian received “a bonanza” for the Palestinian Arab activist. He had faced the potential of life in prison for acting as the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in America, but a trial in 2005 resulted in his acquittal on eight counts and a mistrial on nine others where jurors could not reach a verdict. Al-Arian’s lawyers contend that the dogged pursuit of their client is retribution for the outcome of the Tampa trial, which was widely seen as a failure for the government.

The new motion also asserts that Mr. Kromberg joked about the torture of a Virginia man then being held in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Abu Ali. The suspect’s lawyer, Salim Ali, said that when he asked Mr. Kromberg about the possibility of returning the young man to America, the prosecutor “smirked and stated that ‘he’s no good for us here, he has no fingernails left.’“

In a court declaration, Mr. Kromberg said that he had no recollection of making the statement and that he was arguing an appeal in another city when the comment was allegedly made.

Al-Arian’s lawyers are also pointing to the arguments Mr. Kromberg made in the trial of a Virginia cancer researcher and Muslim preacher, Ali al-Timimi, who was accused of exhorting others to wage war against America by joining the Taliban. In the case, Mr. Kromberg argued that the religious beliefs of the defendant and other witnesses made it acceptable to lie to kaffirs, or nonbelievers in Islam. “If you are a kaffir, Timimi believes in time of war, he’s supposed to lie to you,” the prosecutor told jurors. Al-Timimi was convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison.

“Kromberg argued to the jury that Timimi and the other Muslim witnesses — their testimony should be disregarded just on the basis of their religion,” al-Timimi’s defense lawyer, Edward MacMahon Jr., said. “I think it’s an outrageous thing to argue in the courtroom. Imagine that directed at any other religion.”

Imagine it! Imagine a requirement from the holy scripture of any other religion that believers must lie for the sake of their god. Go ahead, imagine it! It’s easy if you try.

A lawyer and former federal prosecutor who has squared off with Mr. Kromberg in court, Henry FitzGerald, said the prosecutor has acquired a reputation for leaving no stone unturned in cases relating to terrorism or funding for Islamic militant groups.

“Kromberg is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of everything that could be pursued in the way of forfeiture or prosecutions in this area. He’s just indefatigable, relentless, tireless,” Mr. FitzGerald said. “If you say he’s doing the country’s work to fight terrorism, that’s good, he’s a good fighter, but a lot of people say it’s overkill, he doesn’t listen to reasonable arguments. Everything is black until somebody takes him to court to prove it’s white.”

Mr. FitzGerald said Mr. Kromberg, while unusually persistent, does not take quixotic stances. “Kromberg’s not a dumb man. He’s smart. He’s not going to go out and take an utterly groundless case, raise hell with it, and get himself in trouble. He just goes straight ahead, doesn’t look left or right and pushes to the absolute limit,” Mr. FitzGerald said.

[…]

[Former federal terrorism prosecutor Andrew] McCarthy said Mr. Kromberg’s statements about Islam seemed directed not to ordinary followers but to the beliefs of certain radical Islamic extremists. “If he’s got an innate feeling of disapproval and hostility to that, I don’t see the slightest problem with that. I do too, and so do most Americans,” the ex-prosecutor said. “If he’s concerned about the Islamization of our legal process or the idea that we should be recognizing certain tenets of Islamic law as we conduct law enforcement… Gordon is not the only prosecutor ever to have taken that position.”

The idea that no prosecutor may have any negative feelings about Islam is absurd.

Instead of hunting Islamic terrorists, what if he were tracking, say, ex-Nazis? Would anti-Nazi bias exclude him from doing his job? Would he have to recuse himself if he had ever made any disparaging remarks about Adolf Hitler?

Many Muslim activists consider Mr. Kromberg to be a doppelganger of a journalist and author of books warning about the threat posed by Muslim radicals in America, Steven Emerson. The selective prosecution motion asks for a hearing to explore why the prosecutor’s statements “appear to track writings” by Mr. Emerson.

Well, DUH! Do you think maybe the guy reads?

Gordon Kromberg is being singled out because he’s an effective prosecutor of the enemies of the United States:

Some of the ire directed at Mr. Kromberg by the Muslim community stems from his vigorous prosecution of the so-called Paintball Eleven, a group of Muslims accused of training in Virginia to fight with a Pakistani militant group, Lashkar e-Taiba, against Indian forces in Kashmir. Nine of the eleven men were convicted at trial or pled guilty. Two were acquitted.

Mr. Kromberg later called one of the acquitted men, Sabri Benkahla, before grand juries and questioned him about his attendance and activities at jihad training camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Convinced that Benkahla’s answers were false, the prosecutor obtained an indictment of Benkahla for obstruction of justice and making false statements to the FBI and the grand juries.

Most of us would consider this evidence that Mr. Kromberg is doing his job well, but the Islamic lobby thinks he’s picking on Muslims:

As with Al-Arian, defense lawyers for Benkahla said the perjury charges amounted to an effort by Mr. Kromberg to retry the earlier case in which Benkahla was acquitted.

“When you look at the prosecutions together, there is a pattern that really doesn’t make Mr. Kromberg look very good,” a Muslim scholar from Maryland who has been subpoenaed in the IIIT probe, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, said. “It reminds me of the Red Scare. Communism was a serious problem for America, but some people seemed to think almost every liberal was a Communist. Mr. Kromberg and a handful of other people in the government seem to have the same approach when it comes to outspoken Muslims.”

The Islamists have learned from their brethren on the Left to tar anyone who opposes them with the McCarthy label. Racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, McCarthyism, Nazism, and bigotry are the preferred labels for anyone who dares to accuse Muslims of illegal behavior.

Read the whole NYS article for more information about Gordon Kromberg. One can’t help but wonder how long he will last in today’s official climate, which denies any connection between “Islam” or “jihad” and “terror”.

Hat tip: Robert Bové.

• Killing for Religion is Justified, Say Third of Muslim Students
• Swiss President “Seriously Worried” by Libya Row
• Italy: Emergency Over Illegal Immigrants, Ministers
• The BBC’s Contamination
• Indian Cities On High Alert After Blasts
• Release of Paperbound Version of “The Legacy of Jihad”
• Obama’s $845 Billion U.N. Plan Forwarded to U.S. Senate Floor
• Switzerland: Saudi Player Refuses to Play Against ‘Zionist Team’
• Islamic Terror Breeds in Iran
• Iraq’s Christians Form New Militias to Combat Islamic Extremists

Thanks to Insubria, JD, turn, Amil Imani, Steen, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Details are below the fold.
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Killing for religion is justified, say third of Muslim students

A third of Muslim students in Britain believe killing someone in the name of religion is justified, a new poll claims.

The survey found that extreme Islamist ideology has a profound influence on a significant minority of Muslims on campuses across the country.

The findings will concern police chiefs, the security services and ministers, who are struggling with radicalisation among Muslim communities.

The YouGov poll was conducted for the Right-wing think tank, the Centre for Social Cohesion, at 12 universities, including Imperial College and Kings College London. It also found:

• 40 per cent support the introduction of sharia into British law for Muslims
• a third back the notion of a worldwide Islamic caliphate (state) based on sharia law
• 40 per feel it is unacceptable for Muslim men and women to mix freely
• 24 per cent do not think men and women are equal in the eyes of Allah
• a quarter have little or no respect for homosexuals.

Although 53 per cent said that killing in the name of religion was never justified, compared with 94 per cent of non-Muslims, 32 per cent said that it was. Of these, 4 per cent said killing could be justified to “promote or preserve” religion, while 28 per cent said it was acceptable if that religion were under attack.

There was also sympathy for the view that Muslim soldiers in the Armed Forces should be allowed to opt out of operations in Muslim countries, with 57 per cent agreeing.

The report’s authors found that Islamic societies on campus, operating under the umbrella of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, exert a strong influence on many of Britain’s 90,000 Muslim students. A quarter of them belong to Islamic societies and their views are often more extreme.

While three-fifths of society members said that killing in the name of religion was acceptable, an equal number of non-member Muslims said it was never justified. The security services have identified Islamist activism at universities acts as a possible “gateway” to violent extremism. Several terrorists and sympathisers began their extremist careers on campuses.

The authors of the report, “Islam on Campus”, lay much of the blame for extremism among Muslim students on the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which seeks to build a worldwide Islamic state.

YouGov polled 600 Muslim students and 800 non-Muslim students at universities with a high number of Muslims

Swiss president “seriously worried” by Libya row

Swiss President Pascal Couchepin has said he is ready to meet Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi in a bid to ease bilateral tensions after Gaddafi’s son was arrested in a Geneva hotel.

Libya on Thursday said it would halt fuel supplies to its key oil customer Switzerland over the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi , 32, and his wife in a Geneva hotel last week for allegedly assaulting members of their staff.

ITALY: EMERGENCY OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, MINISTERS

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JULY 25 — The Italian Council of Ministers approved, upon the proposal of Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, “the extension in the entire national territory of the declaration of a state of emergency for the persistent and exceptional flow of non-EU citizens, with the aim of boosting the activities for the phenomenon’s opposing and management,” the final statement released by the government after the council’s session reads. A technical provision already adopted in the past which contributes to adopt “accelerated procedures for management of the new detention centres as well as interventions of ordinary maintenance in structures subject to every-day decline”, according to a statement of Viminale is the sense of the “spread of the declaration of state of emergency throughout the national territory” for the illegal immigration on which polemics has already aroused. (ANSAmed).

The BBC’s contamination

by Melanie Phillips

It is really quite obscene that the BBC repeatedly portrays the victims of mass murder — Americans, Israelis — as its perpetrators and its actual perpetrators as victims. The BBC is doing the work of the enemies of civilisation for them. In a less degraded political environment this would be raised in Parliament and the BBC called sharply to account for such infernal propaganda. The fact that this complainant received a pro-forma get-lost letter written for complaining Muslims — the letter went on to say that “The BBC is satisfied that, whilst asking some difficult questions about religious fundamentalism, it is not blasphemous” — shows all too clearly that BBC group-think has now fully absorbed the inversion of truth and lies, victim and victimiser, right and wrong that forms the Muslim culture of grievance, and has made it its own. Truly terrifying.

Indian cities on high alert after blasts

All metropolitan areas in India were on high alert Sunday after 17 blasts hit the western city of Ahmedabad within a little more than an hour, killing at least 29 people, according to police and government officials.

Another 88 were wounded in the Saturday night attacks, they added.

“I appeal to the people of Gujarat to remain calm and not let these terrorists be successful in instilling fear,” said Narendera Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, which encompasses Ahmedabad.

Women lash out at cabin crew with vodka bottle then try to open the door ‘for some fresh air’ … at 30,000 ft

The pilot of a holiday jet was forced to divert and make an unscheduled landing after two drunken British women attacked his cabin crew with a vodka bottle and tried to open an emergency exit in midair. Stewards and passengers wrestled with the pair, who had been caught smoking in the lavatory on the flight back from Kos in Greece.

Release of Paperbound Version of “The Legacy of Jihad”

by Andrew Bostom

The paperbound version of The Legacy of Jihad is now available (for only $13.57) at amazon.com.

You can read my updated Preface here.

And Professor Johannes J. G. Jansen’s review can be read here.

Obama’s $845 billion U.N. plan forwarded to U.S. Senate floor

‘Global Poverty Act’ to cost each citizen $2,500 or more

The U.S. Senate soon could debate whether you, your spouse and each of your children — as well as your in-laws, parents, grandparents, neighbors and everyone else in America — each will spend $2,500 or more to reduce poverty around the world.

The plan sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is estimated to cost the U.S. some $845 billion over the coming few years in an effort to raise the standard of living around the globe.

IMMIGRANTS: MARONI, DISPUTE OF WORST POLITICS

(AGI) — Rome, July 25 — The continuation of the state of emergency was decided on the continue activities against the arrival of illegal immigrants and to guarantee them adequate assistance. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said this, explaining the sense of the decision taken today by the cabinet. “The measure is similar to the one taken by the Prodi Government on February 14th, 2008, identical to the ordinance of the Prodi Government from March 16th, 2007, which in turn was a continuation of the ordinance of the Berlusconi Government from October 28th, 2005” which continued three identical measures taken by the Berlusconi Government on December 23rd, 2004, November 7th, 2003 and December 11th, 2002. “The only change in the previous ordinance” explained Maroni “is that today we have expanded the measure to the whole of Italy. We have arrived at the usual exaggerations, this measure is a favour to illegal immigrants who otherwise would have been placed in tents. We want to guarantee a human treatment to everyone”. Regarding the polemic statements made in the past hours by members of the centre-left, Maroni said that they this criticism is “based on bias and lies. The leftwing doesn’t have the honesty to say that this measure was also taken by previous governments”. The interior minister said that he called the Italian president to inform him of the measure, and that he has sent him all documentation. “For me the case is closed” Maroni added. Next week he will talk about the issue in Parliament, as requested: “but I think the dialogue with the opposition will be difficult if they have this

Switzerland: Saudi player refuses to play against ‘Zionist team’

Riyadh, 25 July (AKI) — A Saudi football star playing for a Swiss team has refused to play against an Israeli team for apparent political and religious reasons.

Hussein Abdulghani, who plays for Swiss premier league club Neuchatel Xamax, said he would not play a game against a ‘Zionist team’, reported Arabic language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi on Friday.

Italy: Berlusconi pledges more paramilitary police trainers for Iraq

Rome, 25 July (AKI) — Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to send more paramilitary police to Iraq to train their colleagues there.

Berlusconi made the pledge at a meeting late Thursday with Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki in Rome. Al-Maliki is on a two-day visit to Italy through Friday.

Islamic Terror Breeds in Iran

By Amil Imani

The Islamic Republic terror machine once again has taken off at the speed of light in Iran and exemplifies a depraved, clerical system of government, which legitimizes its depravity through terror, fear and intimidation of Iranian people. With the additional handpicking of the newly selected members of the Islamic “Majles,” the clergy have intensified their terror against the people of Iran and their insatiable appetite for another holocaust against the Jewish State, at all cost. The leaders of the Islamic Republic have gone completely mad.

Egyptian Islamic Preacher ‘Amr Khaled: Within 20 Years, Muslims Will Be Majority in Europe

Muslims in Europe Should Be “Ambassadors for Islam”

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian Islamic preacher Amr Khaled, which aired on Dream 2 TV on May 10, 2008.

To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1821.htm.

Interviewer: “How do you view the Islamic scene in Europe?”

Amr Khaled: “The most important thing is that there are 25-30 million Muslims in Europe. This figure has many implications.”

Interviewer: “There are 25-30 million Muslims in Europe.”

Khaled: “The Muslims keep having children, while the Europeans do not. This means that within 20 years, the Muslims will be a majority, which may have an exceptional influence on the decision-making. This makes other groups very angry, and they consider this to be very dangerous. These are the enemies of Islam, as we know full well.

“But the peoples of the West know nothing about the Muslims. Statistics show that 70% do not know who the Prophet of the Muslims is. The fact that Muhammad is the Prophet of the Muslims is not known to many people in the West. That’s just one example.”

Iraq’s Christians form new militias to combat Islamic extremists

Iraq’s Christians have taken up arms and formed new militias in a desperate effort to defend their beleaguered communities from an onslaught by Islamic extremists.

By Damien McElroy in Karamlis

In the five years since the Anglo-American invasion of 2003, murders and abductions have driven about half of the 800,000 Christians who once lived in Iraq to flee the country.

Checkpoints manned by civilians armed with heavy machine guns and assault rifles have received official backing in Christian villages on the Ninevah plain in northern Iraq, where their presence dates back to the missions of St Thomas the apostle.

Father Yusuf Yohannes combines the duties of parish priest with overseeing security from a converted post office in the village of Karamlis, 10 miles east of the local capital, Mosul. Informal patrols by his parishioners started last year but the effort is now a fully-fledged operation, with 250 employees and official approval from the US army base in Mosul.

“We are facing the threat of wipe-out,” he said. “I have not left this town in three years because of the danger. The situation here was like a bowl without a base for Christians, we were just tossed around. By establishing our own security we have the chance to stand steady again.”

I reported earlier this month about the abusive treatment meted out to Greenlanders — who are Danish citizens by birth — by Muslim immigrants in the Gellerupparken housing project in the suburbs of Århus. The Greenlanders’ fellow citizens responded by hanging Mohammed in effigy all across Denmark in protest.

Now comes word that SIOE chapters in Sweden and Denmark are planning a joint demonstration in Århus on August 23rd in further protest of the racist treatment of Greenlanders by Muslim thugs in Gellerupparken.

SIOE Sverige sent us the following email last night:

SIOE Sverige is joining with SIOE Denmark on the 23rd of August.

The full size image of the poster announcing the event is available at SIOE via the tab “Aarhus August demo poster”. Hit the tab to open the page and then click the image to display it full size. Or, you can click here.

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Please distribute this poster across the web and blogosphere. Print it and post it wherever you can. We need to get the word out.

If you truly care — be there!

The news is that Swedish people are traveling to Denmark to join with the Danish.

SIOE Sverige has also posted a new video that examines the Muslim immigration issue in both Sweden and Denmark: “Baby Polar Bears and Animal Behavior”.

My recent business trip took me to a large consumer-oriented corporation (LCOC) in a medium-sized American city. I work as a subcontractor for a software firm, and we were sent to LCOC to train the employees of another contracting company to do technical support for one of our software applications.

But this was no ordinary training. The new tech-support guys work for a company in India, and they will be taking over the help desk calls within LCOC for the software designed by my firm. An existing team within the IT department of LCOC currently handles the in-house support calls for our product, and most of these employees will lose their jobs when the Indian group takes over their functions.

So far, so good. Outsourcing to India is a normal phenomenon; everyone in the software design field is used to it. Those of us who have advanced programming skills and interface extensively with the customer — which group fortunately includes me — do not fear for their jobs, but others are not so lucky. Local TV news shows often feature sob stories from the unfortunate programmers or customer service reps who have lost their jobs to their counterparts in Mumbai or Chennai.

What makes the situation at LCOC different (at least to me; I haven’t run into it before) is that half of the Indian contracting team — the daytime support staff — are being imported into the USA, to work in the same city that houses the headquarters of LCOC.
– – – – – – – – –
Those who remain in India will be assigned to handle overnight support calls, which occur in their local daylight hours. The team in the USA will cover the daytime calls, and will be able to go on-site as required.

But they will not be employed by LCOC. They will remain employees (or contact workers) of the Indian firm, which will provide their services to LCOC at a fixed contractual rate. They will be paid about a third of the amount typically received by the laid-off people they replace. The local LCOC employee who was assigned to assist us in their training has been given several months’ notice of his own dismissal.

To recap: new outsourced workers are being imported in the United States to take the jobs previously held by American workers at a fraction of the cost. LCOC saves money big time, but for the laid-off workers the situation stinks.

Don’t get me wrong — I like Indians. All the Indians I have met personally are decent, friendly, well-educated people. The LCOC contractors are no exception. They speak fluent English — albeit with a thick accent which will undoubtedly make their work difficult for a while — and I’m sure they will eventually perform their tasks well.

And if America has to be overrun by foreigners, I would rather have Indians than Arabs or Mexicans.

The big question is: Why do we have to import foreigners to do these jobs?

These are not “jobs that Americans won’t do”. They’re good jobs, and Americans line up to apply for them.

And this is not regular outsourcing, in which the IT staff are laid off to allow a much cheaper crew in India to do the same job remotely.

These people are being brought into the country to replace Americans in their jobs so that the profit margin of a large corporation may be maintained or increased.

From a free-market, purely capitalistic standpoint, this operation makes sense. The obligation of the board of directors of LCOC is to maximize profits for the company’s shareholders, and not to assure Americans that they will retain their jobs. LCOC is not a social services agency.

But there’s still something about all this that bothers me.

I’m not an absolute capitalist — I believe that the destruction of communities and cultures for the sake of profit is immoral and misguided.

Importing foreigners into our country just to guarantee corporate profits is wrong. It does damage to our common culture, erodes our social fabric, and furthers the atomization of our society.

Maybe some free-market advocate can convince me that I’m mistaken, but I think all this is wrong.

Dymphna wrote last week about Jean-Marie Le Pen’s delightful bearding of Nicolas Sarkozy. Thanks to F. Desouche, a video of the speech with English subtitles is now available:

[post ends here]

Below is a guest-article by Dr. Richard Jansen of Colorado State University. It is a condensed account of the immense and tragic policy failure that comprises United States policy towards the Balkans. A fuller version is available at Dr. Jansen’s website.

Our Misguided Policy in the Balkans
by Richard Jansen

July 26, 2008

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17 this year with the backing of the United States.

Kosovo’s new Constitution took effect on June16, nine years almost to the day that the Kosovo war ended with UN resolution 1244. President Bush will welcome President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of the Republic of Kosovo to the White House on July 21, 2008. According to an announcement from the White House: “The President looks forward to meeting with President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaci during their first visit to the United States as leaders of an independent Kosovo. The visit will provide an opportunity for the President to discuss with President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaci his strong support for the efforts of the Kosovo Government to build a democratic, prosperous, multiethnic state with institutions that serve all of Kosovo’s citizens”

As reported by Yahoo News on July 17 His Grace ARTEMIJE, Bishop of Ras and Prizren, and pastor of Orthodox Christians in the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija issued the following statement: “On July 21, President George W. Bush is scheduled to meet with Hashim Thaci, styled by some ‘Prime Minister’ of the separatist Albanian Muslim administration in the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. As pastor of the Orthodox Christian people of Kosovo, I protest to the fullest possible degree the fact that President Bush would bring dishonor on his office and sully the good name of the American nation by receiving such an infamous terrorist, war criminal, and organized crime chieftain.” This is not good news. The Serbian Parliament is set to reject Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence and Russia has signaled that it will support Belgrade on this issue.

Yugoslavia — put together after the carnage of WWI — started to break up in 1990 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Slovenia left Yugoslavia easily but for Croatia and Bosnia it was a different story.

Croatia had been a Fascist state allied to Germany during World War II. Many Serbs had been killed by Croatians at that time and these matters had by no means been forgotten. Franjo Tudjman had become President on a tide of Croatian nationalism and Milosevic had been elected on a tide of Serbian nationalism. The two dictators wanted, respectively, a greater Croatia or a greater Serbia. Milosevic and Tudjman met in March 1991 and Tudjman proposed a division of Bosnia between them to avoid conflict. This and other negotiations failed and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia as it was currently constituted. A brutal war resulted with much killing and burning of houses on both sides with ethnic cleansing part of the war from the beginning. A UN brokered cease-fire occurred on January 2, 1992 with United States recognition coming in April of that year.

The independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina was recognized by the European community on April 6, 1992, in spite of the fact that the referendum in Bosnia on independence had been opposed and boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs who comprised one-third of the population. In addition, the arbitration commission authorized by the European Community had recommended against independence since its requirement that all ethnic groups support independence had not been met. The Bosnian government, led by Alije Izetbegovića, was essentially Muslim in nature. For the next three years it fought wars with both Croatia and Serbia. A variety of peace plans were developed, the most prominent of which was the Vance-Owen proposal. This plan essentially provided for a three-way division of Bosnia that reflected the warring ethnic groups: Croatian, Serbian and Muslim. The plan was not acceptable to the warring sides and was rejected.

Hostilities ended between Croatia and the Bosnian government in March 1994 with the establishment of a loose Bosnian-Croatian Federation, which has not yet to this day coalesced into a workable Federation.
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One outcome of the peace agreement was the influx of arms into Bosnia though Croatia for the use of the Bosnian government in fighting the Serbs. This was done with the tacit approval of the United States. The war with Serbia continued until United States intervention using air power brought Milosevic, Tudjman and Izetbegovića to the negotiating table in Dayton Ohio.

Here, under prodding from the United States the Dayton Peace Accord was signed which divided Bosnia in two halves, not completely severed, but not a unified government with real authority either. The two halves are the Bosnian-Croatian Federation with 51% of the territory and Republika Srpska with 49%. Since that time little if any progress has been made to unify Bosnia under one government and it is generally believed that if the UN peacekeepers were to leave war would break out again.

Following Dayton a strong Albanian Muslim insurgency developed in Kosovo seeking independence from Serbia and resulting in a civil war. Because of Serbian atrocities and for humanitarian reasons, the United States again intervened on behalf of the Muslim insurgency, and after 73 days of bombing the infrastructure of Serbia was seriously damaged. The war ended with an agreement between NATO and Yugoslavia on June 10, 1999, formalized by UN resolution 1244.

It is unfortunate that the situation in the Balkans has apparently not been considered by the Bush Administration to be part of the war on terror, i.e. the global Islamic jihad. Rather it is held apart as a separate diplomatic issue to be resolved by diplomacy.

Historically, the Balkans has always been understood to be a “tinder box” of religious and political tensions since at least the 1878 Congress of Berlin. The Balkans is an area of southeastern Europe where Islam had made its greatest advances against Christendom and where both Catholic and Orthodox Christianity came in direct contact and conflict with Islam. It is where Christian boys were taken away from their parents and made into the Janissaries, i.e. Islamic warriors for the Ottoman Empire.

The late Alije Izetbegovića, the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992, called for independence for Bosnia-Herzegovina leading to the Bosnia war. In 1970 in his Islamic Declaration he had written this: “The exhaustive definition of the Islamic Order is: the unity of religion and law, education and force, ideals and interests, spiritual society and State. The Muslim does not exist at all as an independent individual… There can be no peace or coexistence between Islamic faith and non-Islamic faith and institutions. The Islamic movement must and can take power as soon as it is morally and numerically strong enough not only to destroy the non-Islamic power but to build up the Islamic one.”

It is clear that Europe and the United States blithely ignored clear evidence of what was likely to happen in Bosnia. In his recent book entitled Islamic Terror and the Balkans, the historian Shaul Shay provides some much needed attention to the Balkans as a conduit for the spread of the Islamic jihad into Europe. After the collapse of Yugoslavia, Izetbegovića visited Tehran to expand and solidify relationships with Iran and to pursue his goal of an Islamic Bosnia. In response Iran promised a large amount of economic aid and military aid as well.

The Clinton administration approved the shipment of arms from Iran into Bosnia. Bin Laden and Zawahiri and their organizations in 1992 started to build an infrastructure to penetrate the Balkans and to establish jihadist training camps there. Shortly after, Bin Laden personally visited Bosnia and Albania to examine these terror networks. The Dayton Accords of December, 1995 stipulated that the Islamic Mujahadin must leave Bosnia but this did not happen.

In 1995 twenty-five radical Islamic organizations met to plan expanded jihadist activities in the Balkans. Also on the agenda was planning enhanced ways to penetrate Europe and turn Europe the dar al harb, i.e. the world of war, into Europe the dar al Islam or the world of Islam. Two of the 9/11 hijackers had links to Al Qaeda in the Balkans. After 9/11 there resulted an escalation of Islamic attacks against Serbs in Kosovo, southern Serbia and Macedonia, increased activity of the Albanian National Army (ANA) in Kosovo and Macedonia, and an escalation of violence in Bosnia-Herzegovina., As reported by Shay, Islamic charities in the Balkans, from Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Arab states, have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars as well as military equipment and supplies to jihadist organizations in the Balkans.

We are starting to pay the price for the military interventions of NATO in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990’s. UN resolution 1244 passed by the Security Council June 10, 1999 called for “substantial autonomy and meaningful self administration” for Kosovo, not independence. No one believes that Kosovo can survive as a separate country. Resolution 1244 also guaranteed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia including Kosovo. It also called for the return of all refugees to Kosovo. This has not happened and indeed more than half if not two thirds of the Christian Serbs living in Kosovo prior to 1999 have been ethnically purged.

Shaul Shay, referenced above, has this to say about Kosovo’s independence: “In the eyes of the radical Islamic circles, the establishment of an independent Islamic territory including Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania along the Adriatic Coast, is one of the most prominent achievements of Islam since the siege of Vienna in 1683. Islamic penetration into Europe through the Balkans is one of the main achievements of Islam in the twentieth century.”

Hopefully the United States will soon start to realize that the Islamic jihad in the Balkans in general and in Kosovo in particular is very much an integral part of the worldwide Islamic movement.

More information may be found here.

• Muslim Man Jailed for Hate Crime
• A Textbook Case of Intolerance
• Global Warming the Cult
• Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Goes On-Line On Facebook
• ‘The Europeans Are Chasing Illusions’
• Surveillance Law Vote ‘Betrayed Tenets of a Democratic State’
• Italy: State of Emergency Over Immigration
• Article Comparing Us, Russian Identity: “Is Russia the Better Brand?”

Thanks to Insubria, Pundita, VH, the Queen of Bohemia, Fjordman, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Details are below the fold.
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Muslim man jailed for hate crime

The Calgary Sun

Attacking a Jewish girl and the friends who came to her rescue has landed a Muslim man a one-year jail sentence.

Mustafa Taj must also serve a year of probation following his release for what provincial court Judge Bill Cummings ruled was a racially motivated assault.

“In this case, I’m satisfied that imprisonment is necessary,” Cummings said in accepting the Crown’s bid for a jail term.

Prosecutors Ken McCaffrey and Inayat Jetha had sought a sentence of up to two years for the hate crime.

Taj, 21, was convicted in May of attacking four teenagers the night of Nov. 3, 2006, while they waited for a C-Train at the Sunnyside LRT station.

Taj approached the group around 10:45 p.m. and asked “who’s Jewish.” Nichola Cordato, then 16, stated “me” and Taj grabbed her and said, “I’m Muslim and hate Jews.”

He then slapped her in the face and pulled her hair before her friends, Jessica Motta, Kayla Hungle and Daniel Ball attempted to intervene.

Hungle attempted to prevent Taj from further attacking Cordato and was punched in the face by him.

Motta then intervened and was punched in the face, pulled to the ground by her hair and kicked in the stomach and ribs.

When Ball tried to stop the assaults, he was thrown onto the C-Train tracks where he fell onto his back and was spat upon by Taj.

During the melee, Taj called Cordato a “Jewish piece of (crap).”

Before sentencing, McCaffrey called evidence of a similar assault a year earlier in which Taj approached a black male at an LRT station and assaulted him.

Keak Khor said Taj swore at him for being Sudanese and African before he and another man attacked him. Cummings agreed with the Crown the previous assault was also motivated by “bias, prejudice or hate.” Since Taj has been in custody on the assault charges since March 14, he was credited with double time for his remand custody, which leaves him another three months to serve.

A Textbook Case of Intolerance

Changing the world one schoolbook at a time.

By Anne Applebaum

Because they are so clearly designed for the convenience of large testing companies, I had always assumed that multiple-choice tests, the bane of any fourth grader’s existence, were a quintessentially American phenomenon. But apparently I was wrong. According to a report put out by the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom last week, it seems that Saudi Arabians find them useful, too. Here, for example, is a multiple-choice question that appears in a recent edition of a Saudi fourth-grade textbook, Monotheism and Jurisprudence, in a section that attempts to teach children to distinguish “true” from “false” belief in god:

Q. Is belief true in the following instances:

a) A man prays but hates those who are virtuous.

b) A man professes that there is no deity other than God but loves the unbelievers.

c) A man worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the unbelievers.

The correct answer, of course, is c). According to the Wahhabi imams who wrote this textbook, it isn’t enough just to worship god or just to love other believers—it is important to hate unbelievers as well. By the same token, b) is also wrong. Even a man who worships god cannot be said to have “true belief” if he loves unbelievers.

“Unbelievers,” in this context, are Christians and Jews. In fact, any child who sticks around in Saudi schools until ninth grade will eventually be taught that “Jews and Christians are enemies of believers.” They will also be taught that Jews conspire to “gain sole control of the world,” that the Christian crusades never ended, and that on Judgment Day “the rocks or the trees” will call out to Muslims to kill Jews.

These passages, it should be noted, are from new, “revised” Saudi textbooks. Following a similar analysis of earlier versions of these same textbooks in 2006, American diplomats immediately approached their Saudi counterparts about the more disturbing passages, and the Saudis agreed to conduct a “comprehensive revision … to weed out disparaging remarks towards religious groups.”

The promised revision—hailed, at the time, as a great diplomatic success—was supposed to be finished by the beginning of the 2008-09 school year and was accompanied by a Saudi PR campaign. Among other things, the Saudis sponsored an interfaith dialogue last week, one that all participants hailed as a great breakthrough—despite the fact that the actual meetings took place in Spain as it would be too embarrassing for Saudi Arabia to host Christian and Jewish religious leaders on its own soil. But although the beginning of the 2008-09 school year is nearly upon us, the only textbook revisions have been superficial, and the most disturbing part of the message—that faithful Muslims should hate Jews and Christians—remains.

Global Warming the Cult

And while Greenland sun bathes and prospers, there is a delicious story from Great Britain that combines two celebrity social causes of the last forty years, population control and global warming. Two physicians, John Guillebaud and Pip Hayes, writing in the British Medical Journal now call for limiting family size to two children, especially in the post-industrial cultures such as Europe and America, because our children generate more greenhouse emissions than the children of the Third World. Yes, the third child is presented as the culprit. Greenland melts because we have too many children. I was suspicious at first that this was a dead-on send-up, but upon close examination there does not seem to be any irony whatsoever in the proposal. Still, I find it impossible to read the following without breaking down laughing:

“But what about planned pregnancies? Should we now explain to UK couples who plan a family that stopping at two children, or at least having one less child than first intended, is the simplest and biggest contribution anyone can make to leaving a habitable planet for our grandchildren?

“We must not put pressure on people, but by providing information on the population and the environment, and appropriate contraception for everyone (and by their own example), doctors should help to bring family size into the arena of environmental ethics, analogous to avoiding patio heaters and high carbon cars.”

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood goes on-line on Facebook

Cairo, 25 July (AKI) — The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has launched a discussion forum on Facebook, the popular social networking website.

A group of young Muslims decided to put the Muslim Brotherhood on Facebook after they received the go-ahead to do so from the Brotherhood’s second-in-command, Muhammad Habib.

The creators of the project decided to call themselves an “electronic student cell of the Muslim Brotherhood” and their aim to to push for the return of an Islamic Caliphate [a Muslim state].”

More Suspects Sent away as Violent Crime Reports Surge

THE HAGUE, 26/07/08 — The number of violent crimes registered by police in the Netherlands increased by 18 percent between 2002 and 2007. But in the same period, more and more suspects escaped prosecution for no apparent reason.

Data published by the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) show that last year, the police registered 1.2 million crimes, about the same amount as in 2006. This meant a downward trend in registered crime observed since 2002 came to an end. This decline was however wholly due to fewer reports of ‘petty crime’ such as theft (minus 28 percent).

The registered number of violent crimes conversely increased by 18 percent between 2002 and 2007. But in 2007, over 41 percent of violent crime cases were thrown out by the Public Prosecutor (OM). In 2003, this was ‘just’ 33 percent. The percentage of dismissals has increased since.

“With respect to violent crimes, there has been a remarkably high amount of ‘policy dismissals’ since 2003,” confirmed CBS. In case of a policy dismissal a suspect is not prosecuted “in the general interest”, CBS stated. But what this means remains unclear.

The OM can dismiss a case on technical grounds — prosecution is not likely to lead to a conviction due to insufficient evidence — or as ‘policy dismissals’. The dismissal rate for violent crimes has been higher than for other crimes for many years.

As well as dismissing more violent crime cases for no apparent reason, the OM is also increasingly settling such cases outside the courts. In 2007, 19 percent of all settlements by the OM concerned violent crimes, versus 11 percent in 2000. The OM did receive relatively more violent crime cases from the police than minor crime cases, which distorts the figures somewhat.

‘The Europeans Are Chasing Illusions’

Dutch author Leon de Winter talks with SPIEGEL about his new novel, which is set in 2024, the threats mounting against Israel and the assimilation of Muslims in Europe.

SPIEGEL: Mr. de Winter, your new book — “The Right of Return” — is a novel, but it actually describes a political vision. In the book, it is the year 2024, and Israel has shrunk to just a few square kilometers around Tel Aviv, which is surrounded by enemies. Are you simply playing with some ideas here or is this a serious prediction?

Leon de Winter: Both. Israel is menaced by two threats. On the one hand, by the hatred of its enemies, which today is primarily stirred up by Iran, and on the other hand, by the erosion spreading throughout Israeli society. There are three groups that have little in common: the Orthodox Jews, the Israeli Arabs and the secular Jews, who currently make up the majority of the population. But this majority is dwindling. The conflict between these three lifestyles is every bit as much of a threat — if not even more dangerous — to the existence of Israel as its outside menaces.

Surveillance law vote ‘betrayed tenets of a democratic state’

Bangladeshi refugee and writer Tasneem Khalil explains why the Riksdag’s vote in favour of the surveillance law has him feeling let down by the country to which he fled to escape state-sanctioned domestic spying.

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin.

On a personal level, I find it ironic that on June 18th 2008, exactly one year after my family and I were granted political asylum in Sweden, the Riksdag passed a draconian surveillance law.

I’m sure people who have found refuge in Sweden after fleeing police states from around the globe can relate to my emotions. But I doubt that the 143 Riksdag members who voted in favour of the bill will ever be able to understand how I feel.

Swedes do not have to watch their back while walking the streets, or invent a coded language for talking to their wives over telephone, or use cryptic sentences in their emails.

Unlike them, I have suffered the pain inflicted by surveillance state at its worst.

Back in Bangladesh, my home country, I was under constant surveillance for months. I was followed by operatives, my phones were tapped, and my office computer was bugged.

The surveillance was followed by my detention and torture at the hands of the Bangladeshi military intelligence agency on May 11th, 2007.

Sweden: Court ties murder attempt to Islam

A court in Jönköping drew parallels between a murder attempt of a woman and the perpetrator’s attitude towards women, which according to the court is characterized by Arab culture and that the man is Muslim.

At the Discrimination Ombudsman they were surprised at the wording of the sentencing and several local Muslim associations are critical.

Italy: State of emergency over immigration

Rome: The Italian government announced a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday in reaction to a phenomenal increase in illegal immigration to the country’s south.

The Silvio Berlusconi government’s move is to provide local authorities with greater means to deal with the rising tide of illegals arriving by boat.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni plans to build new intake centres throughout the country, the daily La Repubblica reported.

Italy: Crime package against illegal immigrants

Silvio Berlusconi was re-elected in April promising to crack down on crime

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has won parliamentary backing for a crime package critics say discriminates against immigrants.

Under new laws approved by the Senate, illegal immigrants convicted of crimes will now face jail sentences a third longer than those for Italians.

Courts will be able to jail illegal immigrants for up to four years rather than simply deport them

Article comparing US, Russian identity: “Is Russia the Better Brand?”

“Through all the tumultuous change and flux associated with globalization and the hyper 24/7 economy, Russia — and a handful of other nations — has proven that cultural identity does not need to be sold out for a nation to succeed.”

New Zealander politician’s eloquent quote on multiculturalism

(which applies to the US too)

“Did we come here to build a new country with its own culture, or a resettlement of 50 different cultures from somewhere else?

“[We must] make up our mind. If we are to have a destiny and shared values and a New Zealand way, it is one or the other but it can’t be both.” (Mr. Peters appears to be of mixed Maori and Anglo-Saxon ancestry BTW.)

The Queen of Bohemia, who sent this link, adds:

“This quote is very poignant to me, as when I was a girl the question was settled, ‘We came here (America) to build a new country with its own culture.’ It became unsettled with the rise of the multi-cult.”

The essay below, written by Westerner, was originally posted on Lawrence Auster’s blog in October 2007. Last winter the author asked me to re-post it here at Gates of Vienna. In the thick of events I put it aside for later, and then forgot about it. Westerner wrote me again yesterday to remind me, so here it is.

But first I’d like to talk about Westerner’s proposed program in order to clarify my own stance towards it.

Parts of it — such as destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities — are prudent and desirable. Other prescriptions — such as the one calling for the destruction of Mecca and Medina — I find imprudent and immoral. This is not to say that such drastic steps can never be prudent or moral. The firebombing of Dresden, for example, was unthinkable in the fall of 1939, but by February of 1945 it had become quite thinkable.

When the survival of an entire people is at stake, no option can be ruled off the table. As we come closer and closer to that point, more and more unthinkable things will be thought about by more and more people.

But the West isn’t at that point yet. Whatever you may think of Westerner’s policy suggestions from a moral standpoint, they are — with the possible exception of the destruction of Iran’s nukes — politically impossible, and will remain so indefinitely.

Under the circumstances, prescriptions for what “we should do” are just so much air blowing past the lips of powerless people.

We must make it an invariable policy… we can easily seize the regions where most of that oil is located… We should then, using nuclear weapons, proceed to…

Who are “we” that might do these things? Define “we”.

We, that is the writers of this blog and anyone who is likely to read it, cannot do any of these things. Not only that, if “we” means the leaders of the United States or other Western countries, then it’s easy to see that “we” aren’t going to undertake them anytime soon, and certainly not in my lifetime.

I can devise cogent policies that are eminently intelligent, thoughtful, logical, and supremely just, but it won’t do me any good. The people who make the grand decisions are far from the world I inhabit, and think very differently than the people in my circle.

I’ve been banging this gong for a long time, but I’ll bang it one more time: We are a small group of like-minded people scattered throughout the Western world, gathered in loosely interconnected networks which have at most a modest influence on local affairs. We are largely excluded from any voice in the corridors of power.

When I move from the prescriptive to the normative in my writings, I recommend that the focus be on what is actually achievable for the distributed networks of the Counterjihad. Legislative initiatives, demonstrations, protests, lawsuits, lobbying our elected representatives, fundraising, publicity, recruiting, and improved communication — all those are achievable. As time goes by, our reach may extend, but for now grand policy remains beyond our grasp.

To his credit, Westerner acknowledges that his essay is designed not as an action plan, but as a way of making people aware of what he thinks must be done.

Now I’ll let him have his say:

Dealing With the Islamic Threat
by Westerner

In recent years, several knowledgeable writers — including Serge Trifkovic (The Sword of the Prophet) and Ibn Warraq (Why I am Not a Moslem) — have described what Islam is actually like, both in theory and in practice. It is not a religion of peace, but rather an intrinsically expansionist movement, and serious Moslems wish to establish the rule of Islam over the entire globe. They will accept temporary truces, but are resolutely determined to continue their struggle until total victory, and will utilize whatever methods are necessary to achieve that goal.

The nature of the Islamic state that they seek to impose on us is clear, both from their ideology and from their history. It will not include either freedom of speech, or freedom of the press, or freedom of religion, nor will it include equal rights for women. Those non-Moslems who are neither killed nor forcibly converted, will be dhimmis (lacking the normal rights of citizens, and subject to special taxes and humiliating treatment). Since Muhammad himself held slaves — and, indeed, enslaved formerly free persons — it will be blasphemous to allege that slavery is immoral. No vestige of our democratic system will endure.

However, although the writers mentioned above correctly state the nature of the Islamic threat to our country and our way of life, they do not say how we can counter that threat. The same is true of such other writers as Melanie Phillips (Londonistan) and Mark Steyn (America Alone).

Larry Auster is somewhat better, because he not only takes the Islamic threat seriously, but has a plan of action for defending our society. He suggests (quite sensibly) that we should defend ourselves against terrorism by refusing to accept immigrants from Moslem countries, and sending home those who are already here. He also suggests that we must destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities, and should prevent any other Moslem from acquiring nuclear weapons.

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However, although Auster’s suggestions are advisable, they are still inadequate. Even if an American president (and a sufficient number of congressmen) were to become convinced that Auster is correct — and even if the president proceeded to carry out those suggestions — the world would still contain a sizable number of Islamic states, most of which contain a large, powerful Islamic establishment dedicated to the spread of Islam throughout the world. Furthermore, many of those states possess enormous reserves of oil, and the wealth that those reserves lead to. In a few years, that American president would leave office, and sooner or later would be succeeded by a leader who is less convinced that Islam is a mortal threat to us and must be opposed by such firm measures. Auster’s suggestions, therefore, even if adopted, will only bring us a brief reprieve.

We cannot be safe unless Islam is crushed; that is, so reduced in strength that it can no longer threaten the free world. To some readers, this may seem impossible: How can a movement which boasts of 1.2 billion followers ever be crushed? But we should not despair. Remember, just a few decades ago, the Communists ruled far more territory — and a considerably larger fraction of the world’s population — than the Moslems do today. The West is far stronger than the Moslem world, and if we use our assets wisely and act boldly we can crush Islam permanently. Our overall strategy for doing so should include the following steps:

1.		We should start by thoroughly destroying the Iranian nuclear facilities. (Yes, we could triumph even if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, but only at a far greater cost.)
2.		Next, in order to protect our homeland from Moslem terrorists we must adopt a policy of not accepting any immigrants (or even tourists or students) from Islamic countries, and by deporting all foreign Moslems who are already here, whether illegally or legally. (It is not that most Moslems are terrorists, but rather that most terrorists are Moslems, and that by keeping Moslems out of our country we can greatly decrease the frequency of terrorist attacks in the United States.)
3.		We must make it an invariable policy that we will not permit any predominantly Moslem country to build or obtain weapons of mass destruction. (Pakistan obviously represents a special case, since it already possesses nuclear weapons. However, even though the present government is reasonably friendly to us, we cannot permit them to keep those weapons, nor the facilities producing them.)
4.		There are various ways in which we can eventually reduce our (and Europe’s) dependence on Middle Eastern oil. However, those programs will take decades to carry out. The only way in which we can quickly break both the financial power of the Moslem states and our dependence on their oil reserves is forcibly to seize the oil fields in the Middle East. The states bordering the Persian Gulf are all weak, and if we make up our mind to do so we can easily seize the regions where most of that oil is located, drive away the people who live there now, and produce the oil ourselves. These, of course, are acts of war, and would be immoral if done solely to enrich ourselves. However, the Moslem world is already at war with us, and we are fully justified in taking such actions to defend ourselves and our way of life.
5.		Our government must then embark on a policy of persistently denouncing Islam. We should repeatedly state and broadcast that Muhammad was not “the messenger of God,” but rather was a false prophet. We should also tell the world that he was a bloodthirsty tyrant, and a cruel, greedy, and lascivious man. (The truth of these statements is amply documented by ancient Arab writings.) Islam cannot be defeated if, in an attempt to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, we continue to ignore these truths and continue to speak of Islam and its founder respectfully.
6.		Finally, we must demonstrate — in an absolutely unmistakable way — that the Moslem religion is not favored by God. The most convincing way of doing this is by (after suitable warnings) totally destroying several Moslem holy sites, including Mecca and Medina. We should announce in advance the dates when those places will be destroyed, and that Allah is either unwilling or unable to protect them. We should then, using nuclear weapons, proceed to vaporize each of those sites in sequence. (In order to avoid unnecessary loss of life, the first two or three such sites should be sparsely populated, and the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina should be given a reasonable length of time to evacuate.)

Since most Moslems believe that the truth of Muhammad’s statements were demonstrated by his military victories, the total destruction of those cities cannot be reconciled with Islam. It is therefore probable that over the course of a century the number of Moslems in the world will drop drastically. Some Moslems will convert to other religions; some will become agnostics or atheists; and those who remain “Moslem” will break up into many small sects. In any event, bereft of military power, oil — and the diplomatic power that brings — and money, Islam will lose much of its appeal and will cease to be a menace.

It may be objected that this program involves the killing of a large number of people, many of them innocent. So do all wars. We did not choose this war; it has been forced on us. And just as we were justified in killing millions of Germans and Japanese to achieve victory in World War II, we are justified in killing large numbers of Moslems to maintain our independence and freedom from the Islamic menace. Note that our victory in World War II did not occur until about eight million Germans — and a similar number of Japanese — had been killed, a far greater number than would be killed by the program suggested here.

Of course, this program cannot be carried out by the United States — or any coalition of Western nations — until there is sufficient popular support for it. The purpose of this article is not to cause the immediate adoption of this program, but rather to create an understanding of what needs to be done. It is vital that when an American president is elected who understands the gravity of the Moslem threat, and is willing to take strong action to counter it, he uses that window of opportunity to deal a crushing blow to Islam, so that the threat does not continue.

If the current trend of events continues, within a generation or two the West is headed for a violent civilizational conflict without precedent in recent history. But, for the time being, regardless of what any of us think of Westerner’s ideas, they will not be implemented.

I asked earlier: Who are “we”?

It seems more and more likely, given the acclamation that repeatedly greets the Immanent Messiah of Hope and Change, that the answer is: We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

And then we’ll get what’s coming to us. As events unfold, some or all of the policies proposed by Westerner will likely be implemented.

The people who implement them, however, will not appeal to ordinary folk like you and me. Along with nuking Mecca and occupying the oil fields, they will remove what’s left of our civil liberties, militarize our societies, imprison and execute those who disagree with them, increase the power of the state, nationalize our economies, and enact powerful controls over the entire populace via the media, the schools, and all public institutions.

Because that’s what happens when drastic emergency situations arise, when an entire civilization as at stake. The people who undertake actions that kill or impoverish hundreds of millions of people are the same kind of people who do all those other nasty things. Men who are that ruthless will act just as ruthlessly to preserve and extend their own power. You can’t avoid it; it’s a package deal.

When the time comes, we won’t be doing those things. They will.