The video below, entitled “Fireworkers for Freedom”, appears to be the official Danish response to today’s foiled plot for mass murder and mayhem at the offices of Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen.
The text at the end reads:
Happy New Year 2011
God preserve Denmark
The latest reports say that only four were “Swedes”; the other was a “Dane”. The Swedish and Danish intelligence services had been following the plot for a long time, and allowed it to mature to the point where the evidence would be sufficient to guarantee convictions on terrorism charges.
Below are several news articles from various MSM sources about the foiled attack, followed by an interesting parallel story that fits right in with today’s news.
First, from the Associated Press (notice the use of the word “Prophet” in the headline):
5 Arrested in Plot to Attack Prophet Cartoon Paper
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Police in Denmark and Sweden halted an imminent terrorist attack Wednesday by arresting five men who planned to shoot as many people as possible in a building housing the newsroom of a paper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, officials said.
Denmark’s intelligence service said that after months of surveillance it arrested four men in two raids in suburbs of the capital, Copenhagen, and seized a submachine gun, a silencer and ammunition. Swedish police said they arrested a 37-year-old Swedish citizen of Tunisian origin living in Stockholm.
“An imminent terror attack has been foiled,” said Jakob Scharf, head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or PET. He described some the suspects as “militant Islamists with relations to international terror networks” and said that more arrests were possible.
PET said it seized a 44-year-old Tunisian, a 29-year-old Lebanese-born man and a 30-year-old who were living in Sweden and had entered Denmark late Tuesday or early Wednesday. The fourth person detained was a 26-year-old Iraqi asylum-seeker living in Copenhagen.
[…]
Danish and Swedish police, who appeared at a joint new conference with Loekke Rasmussen in Copenhagen, said they had been tailing the suspects for several months.
Anders Danielsson, the head of Sweden’s security police, said they had followed a car rented by the suspects from Stockholm to the Danish border.
“We knew that there were weapons in the car,” he said.
Zubair Butt Hussain, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Denmark, called the plan “extremely worrying.”
The organization “absolutely condemns any act of terrorism regardless of the motives and motivations that may lie behind,” Hussain said.
[…]
The head of Sweden’s security police, Anders Danielsson, said that “it has been possible to avert a serious terror crime in Denmark through efficient and close cooperation between PET and the (Swedish) security police.”
Next, from The Local:
The head of Denmark’s PET intelligence service said that his officers had detained four men while a spokeswoman for Swedish intelligence agency Säpo said a fifth man had been arrested in Stockholm in connection with the same plot against the Copenhagen-based Jyllands-Posten daily.
Several of the suspects could be described “as militant Islamists with connections to international terror networks,” PET supremo Jakob Scharf said in a statement.
“These arrests have successfully stopped an imminent terror attack, where several of the suspects … were going to force their way into the (building which houses the Jyllands-Posten) in Copenhagen and kill as many people as possible,” he said.
[…]
The first three men all lived in Sweden and travelled to Denmark overnight to Wednesday.
According to Jyllands-Posten’s online edition, the group had travelled to Denmark in a car rented in the Stockholm suburb of Kista.
Säpo spokeswoman Katarina Sevcik said that the group arrested on Wednesday “have up to now no known connection to the events of December 11th”, and had not given Sweden cause to amend the level of terror threat.
The PET said last month that had “renewed indications that terrorist groups abroad are looking to send terrorists to Denmark to commit terrorist attacks.”
“Denmark and Danish interests are a priority terrorist targets,” the agency said at the time.
The agency had left the level of terror threat unchanged, but stressed “there is still a serious terror threat against Denmark.”
A slightly different version from The Daily Mail:
Denmark’s PET security police said the suspects had planned to enter a Copenhagen office block housing several newspapers including offices of the daily Jyllands-Posten to ‘kill as many as possible of those around’.
‘On the basis of the investigation, it is the PET’s assessment that the detainees were preparing a terror attack against a newspaper, which according to the PET’s information was Jyllands-Posten,’ it said.
‘It is likewise the PET’s view that the attack was due to be carried out in the coming days.’
[…]
The Danish justice minister said those detained had a ‘militant Islamic background’ and called the plan the most serious such attempt in Denmark so far.
[…]
SAPO said police were investigating whether any of the latest suspects was preparing attacks in Sweden.
The final article has nothing directly to do with the terror plot or today’s arrests.
In an interesting twist, Islam In Europe reports on a WikiLeaks cable whose release just happens to coincide with the news about the latest terror plot against Denmark. It seems that the U.S. government twisted Denmark’s arm just a bit to try to keep Jyllands-Posten from republishing the Motoons:
WikiLeaks: US Embassy Pressured Danish Paper Not to Reprint Mohammed Cartoons
Norwegian paper Aftenposten recently started going through the entire Wikileaks archive. Its recent finding (EN): the US Embassy in Copenhagen was very concerned when it heard Jyllands-Posten intended to reprint the cartoons a year after its first publishing:
Post’s public affairs counselor learned from a “Jyllands-Posten” journalist (strictly protect) last week that the paper was considering several options to commemorate the cartoons’ first anniversary September 30, including re-publishing the original cartoons or running new ones on the subject.
The American ambassador, James P. Cain, turned to the Danish government, who refused to interfere. So he called Jyllands-Posten directly:
With that, the Ambassador telephoned “Jyllands-Posten” editor-in-chief Carsten Juste, and asked straight out about his paper’s intentions for commemorating the anniversary. Juste told the Ambassador that he and his team had been considering re-publication, but concluded that such a move would be unwise, especially so soon after the controversy caused by the Pope’s Regensburg remarks. The Ambassador welcomed this news, noting that none of us wanted a repeat of the crisis earlier this year.
The Ambassador’s conclusion: The Danes give their newspapers too much freedom…
Five “Swedes” have been arrested for plotting violent revenge against the publisher of the Danish Mohammed cartoons. Four of the suspects were arrested in Denmark and one in Sweden on suspicion of planning a terror attack on the offices of Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen.
I’ll be posting some news articles shortly, but in the meantime here is a news clip from Swedish TV. Many thanks to Kitman for subtitling this video:
Henrik Ræder Clausen has written a review of Sam Solomon’s new book at Europe News. It is republished here with his permission.
The profound problem of Muslim immigration
Modern Day Trojan Horse: The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration
by Sam Solomon & Elias Al Maqdisi ANM Publishers, 2009, 139 pp., $14.95
Reviewed by Henrik R. Clausen
As the West has accepted extensive immigration from Islamic countries, unexpected social and political problems have followed. While rising crime rates, rampant unemployment and a heavy load on our much-appreciated welfare systems are severe problems in itself, a distinct and dramatically more significant problem is the subtle subversion of our free and democratic societies, also known as “Stealth Jihad”.
The retired Islamic scholar Sam Solomon, in this compact book Al-Hijra, The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration, connects the dots and explains why seemingly unrelated incidents are in fact rooted in Islamic tradition and are steps on the path to create a fully Islamized society.
To demonstrate how this functions, Sam Solomon dives into his exhaustive knowledge of Islamic history and law. As with scholars of Islam everywhere, he derives his conclusions from Islamic scripture, the life of Muhammad in particular, and shows how historically immigration has slowly but steadily lead to formerly Jewish or Christian societies submitting to Islam. The primary example in the book is Muhammad’s takeover of Yathrib, today known as Medina, and how the concepts and strategies developed for the conquest of a relatively insignificant Arab city are being duplicated by Islamic leaders worldwide, with the same goal: Expanding Islamic conquest ever further.
The depth of knowledge and connections described in Al-Hijra constitute both a strength and a weakness. Most important is the strength: Sam Solomon uses his Islamic scholarship to reveal the justifications and machinations being applied to undermine and attack the very notion of a secular society. This is important information that everyone involved in these matters deserve to have.
The weakness is that the book frequently becomes hard to follow. Understanding Islamic terms like Darura (necessity), Takweem (empowerment), I’dad (readying) etcetera are important in order to counter the undercurrent of Islamization, yet the denseness of the presentation makes the lines of thought hard to follow for the unprepared. One does well in having some knowledge of Islamic thought before reading Al-Hijra.
That said, this book is indispensable for a very simple reason: It presents information otherwise not available to the uninitiated Westerner, and mercilessly reveals the twisted logic of Islamist activists, their justifications, methods and ultimate goal: a fully Shariah-compliant society. By pointing out the scriptural justifications and inner logic of seemingly benign and unrelated Muslim demands, it provides an invaluable tool for identifying and countering the stealth jihad destabilizing our societies. Dismantling this threat peacefully requires knowledge as provided by Sam Solomon.
Review opinion:
Unique book with invaluable understanding of matters. Well worth tackling despite dense prose.
Rating: 5/6
First up is the book cover: A wooden horse associates directly to the Trojan Horse, the stratagem that according to legend was applied by the Greeks to finally conquer the city of Troy. The use of this archetypical image is sure to evoke emotional responses by many, but it also points to an important fact:
The subversion against our societies is executed by relatively few immigrants. Most immigrants from Islamic countries do not come to the West in order to transform free Western countries into semblances of the autocracies or theocracies they have fled from. They seek better living conditions, employment, a better future — but they do so without the intention to change their religion, and this is where things get complicated.
Retaining faith in Islam and Islamic scholars will lead the immigrants to tacitly support the subversive aims of Islamists who have also come to the West, initially as a relatively small fraction of millions of Islamic immigrants. These Islamic leaders and scholars use the Islamic teachings to destroy confidence in Western democracies, and they are astonishingly effective in achieving that aim.
Explaining how this seemingly irrational development can take place requires some history. This first and foremost means the life and conduct of Muhammad, the perfect example for the pious Muslim even today. The authority of Muhammad is absolute in Islam, be it in form of Quranic commands or the examples of conduct recorded in hadith collections, known in Islam as the ‘Sunna’. Hijra, immigration, was a key element in Muhammad’s takeover of Yathrib, today known as Medina.
Unfortunately, the concept of Hijra is not limited in time or space to 7th century Arabia. The command as given is absolute, and remains an obligation on Muslims. One of many hadith quotes Muhammad for this:
I charge you with five of what Allah has charged me with: to assemble, to listen, to obey, to immigrate and to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah.
Thus, immigration is step four out of a five step plan. Sam Solomon elaborates:
So Hijra or migration is binding on all Muslims for numerous reasons; the most important being that migration is preparatory to jihad with an aim and objective of securing victory for Islam and Muslims either in another country or generally as a community.
Those who do not desire to live in an Islamic theocracy had better take heed. Over the last decade we have observed how jihad has come to the West in various forms. The most obvious is the violent, such as train bombings in London and Madrid, and more recently even in immigration-friendly Sweden where a cartoon drawn by Lars Vilks has become a pretext for detonating bombs during Christmas shopping.
However, more important than the flagship violent jihad is the so-called ‘Stealth Jihad’, where Islamic law (Shariah) is quietly being implemented in our societies, usually in seemingly benign aspects of life, but leading to a constant affirmation of Islamic identity being more important to Muslims than honest integration in the host societies. Sam Solomon quotes extensively from scripture and interpretation, pointing out how Islam in itself constitutes a barrier to integration.
The strange concept of ‘necessity’
The Islamic doctrine of ‘necessity’ is a strange twist in these problems. For a Muslim is permitted to ignore any and all Islamic rules if ‘necessity’ dictates it, even to the point of openly denying his or her religion, a move also known as ‘Taqiyya’. Ignoring Islamic rules regarding halal/haram (permitted/forbidden) enables Muslims to work as shop clerks handling pork and alcohol if needed to make a living.
Later, when the Islamic community feels strong enough, cases are seen where Muslim shop workers start protesting having to handle these ‘unclean’ items, and demand an exception due to their ‘religious needs’. Demands for gender-segregated swimming halls, prayer breaks, prayer rooms and eventually mosques follow similar patterns, where items that were initially not a concern suddenly become demands voiced with strong conviction of their necessity. Employers and public institutions tend to yield to such Islamic demands, not noticing that this is a slippery slope towards implementation of Shariah.
Shariah — a totalitarian system of state
As has been pointed out by Robert R. Reilly (The Closing of the Muslim Mind) and others, Islam as a theological system has, step by step, lost the connection to Hellenic thought and ideals, respect for reason, the notion of causality (that laws of nature govern the physical world), the notion of individual responsibility, and has devolved into a Rule of Will, commonly known as ‘despotism’. Instrumental in this rule is the Shariah, as established and interpreted by the Islamic clergy.
Islam today consists mainly of its legal code, the Shariah. Islamic law is derived from the life and actions of Muhammad. Codifying his life into law has been a major undertaking by Islamic scholars through the centuries, resulting in detailed manuals of conduct like Reliance of the Traveller, which describe in detail how a pious Muslim is supposed to behave. This all-regulated way of organizing a society is also known as ‘totalitarian’ (Wikipedia):
Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible.
Totalitarian models for organizing societies have been tried in the 20th century, most notably in Italy, where the totalitarian model of society was a cornerstone of fascism:
The new state was to provide the “total representation of the nation and total guidance of national goals.” He described totalitarianism as a society in which the ideology of the state had influence, if not power, over most of its citizens. According to Benito Mussolini, this system politicizes everything spiritual and human:
Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
All Western attempts at establishing a totalitarian state have failed miserably. In the Islamic Middle East, however, the religious authority of Muhammad, combined with extensive enforcement on every level of society, regulating every aspect of human behaviour is largely successful, largely due to the religious prestige associated with interpreting Islamic law accurately.
The grand ambition of Islamists is to implement this system everywhere in the world.
Now, living under a totalitarian system might sound awful. Everyone is obligated to spy on everyone else, and those most zealous in enforcing the rules are held in highest regard, with actual living circumstances in the totalitarian system not being an issue of debate, for obvious reasons. Instead, such systems have intricate pecking orders, where the top cadres get to pick on the lower cadres, who pick on ordinary citizens, who in turn need some kind of enemy to pick on. As Wafa Sultan described in her book A God Who Hates, this is very much the case in Islam.
Easing the burdens: Tay’seer and Darura
Converts to Islam face a bewildering set of rules and norms to adhere to. One might think that breaking these rules would cause the failing Muslim to effectively become an apostate, but here the doctrine of Tay’seer (‘easing of burdens’) comes to the rescue. If the burdens imposed by Islam are too difficult to bear, the Muslim can depend on Allah to ease the burdens of those unable to bear them, or until bearing them becomes possible.
Rejecting the lifestyle of non-Muslims is one of those difficult challenges, in particular for converts who usually would come out of a Christian or secular background, be accustomed to having a beer or a glass of wine, to women having equal rights with men, and to religion being a private matter. Changing the mindset from one of reason to one of irrational religious zeal takes great effort, and has a great potential for conflict. The application of Tay’seer permits this transition to be quite gradual, but must also be seen in light of the polar opposite, the doctrine of Darura (‘need’).
The doctrines of Tay’seer and Darura add up to a rather confusing whole. Muslims in principle have an obligation to live in accordance with the Shariah, but host societies who find those customs bizarre, unreasonable and wildly impractical are likely to refuse implementation of all but a few minor elements of Shariah. Sam Solomon describes this contradictory situation:
So under the darura (necessities), the forbidden becomes lawful, the exception becomes the rule and the rule as we know it is suspended until the circumstances change or the objectives are achieved. Hence this principle is applied to overcome every obstacle by Muslims in a non-Muslim country from visa regulations, to obtaining nationality of the host country, to ushering in Islamic Shariah slowly […]
The unsettling implication of this that Muslims, at large, cannot be trusted to respect secular law, even if superficially it would appear that they do.
Be prepared: Tamkeen and I’dad
Now for something disturbing: the Islamic concepts of tamkeen and i’dad. Tamkeen (‘empowerment’) is the strengthening of Islamic identity (as opposed to assimilating into the host society), and is a fundamental precondition for establishing Islamic rule. Without a significant number of persons identifying with being Muslims, having faith in Islamic scripture and its interpreters, Islamic leaders would have no cadres to base their authority upon, and thus no chance to seize power and establish Islamic rule in the land.
The next step, i’dad, is the practical preparation for seizing power in the land. This means building and strengthening Islamic infrastructure in the land, building networks and making Muslims proudly display their Islamic identity in public. I’dad also constitutes the practical preparation for the final physical effort to establish Islamic rule in the land, executed by a well-prepared army of soldiers fighting in the Cause of Allah, also known as jihad. Physical fighting would be a foregone conclusion at this point. For that reason, military training and accumulating weapon stocks are natural parts of i’dad. Logically, finding weapons in mosques or other Islamic buildings is a stark sign of warning to the host societies.
A logical and practical conclusion
The main text of the book ends on page 97 with a concluding chapter so short and clear I will repeat in full. It reads:
Islam is neither a religion nor a faith in a personal way, as defined and understood in the West. It is a whole encompassing political system, barged in religious outfit, addressing every aspect of the life of its adherents.
So when Muslim immigrants refuse assimilation and despise integration, it is done as a political move expressed religiously. Hence it would be in the interest of the host society and its national security to examine all requests, from a socio-political angle. For every Islamic doctrine is a political dictate aiming to establish itself by undoing the existing systems to control, rule and dominate in every area.
It must be mandatory for all immigrants, and particularly Muslim immigrants, to sign an undertaking with built-in punitive charges, that they would:
| 1. | Abide by the law of the land. | |
| 2. | Do their utmost to be integrated and assimilated with the host society. | |
| 3. | Regard religion as a personal matter of free will and choice. | |
| 4. | Embrace the equality of genders in all aspects. | |
| 5. | Regard and treat the discriminatory and violent doctrines and teachings of the Shariah as inapplicable and ineffective for today. | |
| 6. | Accept the equality of all Muslims and non-Muslims. | |
| 7. | Uphold the separation of state and religion. | |
| 8. | Value and uphold the right of every individual to choose the religion of his or her choice, irrespective of the religion of the next of kin or community they might have belonged to by birth, or by association of any kind. |
Closing thoughts
George Orwell in his novel 1984 described how the Western world might have fallen to the totalitarian temptation, as did F. A. Hayek in “The Road to Serfdom”. This decay of our free societies into totalitarianism has not taken place on its own, but might come about through religious authority and pressure.
Sam Solomon describes the mechanisms used for this purpose, and is clear about what we must do to stop it. It is the task of our politicians to take heed and do so. Sam Solomon, as usual, is unrivalled in his profound understanding of the problems. Reading and re-reading the compact books of Sam Solomon is an excellent way to gain the knowledge needed for this task.
Most readers will be familiar with the spectacle of mass Muslim prayer on the streets of Paris’ 18th Arrondissement. The following video, however, shows the breathtaking scope of the Islamic occupation of certain districts of Paris.
Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for titling and YouTubing this video:
We reported last week about a Muslim schoolboy in Spain who was so traumatized by his teacher’s mention of ham that his parents filed a complaint with the police.
In a moment of sanity that has become all too rare in the West today, the local prosecutor in Spain has summarily thrown out the case. He even went so far as to criticize the abusive nature of the complaint. How long will such a racist Islamophobe be allowed to retain his office?
Here’s the report from The Olive Press:
Muslim ham complaint thrown out
A PROSECUTOR has thrown out a complaint made by a Muslim family against a geography teacher who mentioned pork in their son’s class.
The teacher was explaining how cold climate in Granada highlands helps to preserve local Serrano ham.
The Children’s Prosecutor of Algeciras, Juan Cisneros, described the complaining pupil’s attitude as ‘abusive, sectarian, capricious and inadmissible’ and ordered the denouncement to be archived.
He said: “There is not even the minimal indication of any type of crime.”
The prosecutor went on to condemn the media storm created by the pupil’s parents and their opponents. He described the public’s interest in the case as ‘worrying’.
One of the WikiLeaks cables reveals a US embassy report from Syria describing the actions of a Syrian sheikh in fomenting the riots during the Mohammed cartoon crisis in 2006. The sheikh’s name is redacted from the cable’s text, but he is said to be “influential”
In other news, the descendants of John Wilkes Booth are pushing for DNA testing to determine whether President Lincoln’s assassin was in fact the man killed in that barn in Virginia in 1865, or whether it was someone else. Some theorists believe that Booth escaped, fled to the frontier, and lived there for several decades after the assassination.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, CSP, DF, Esther, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JD, Kitman, McR, Nilk, RB, Srdja Trifkovic, TSJ, Zenster, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
As a follow-up to his earlier work on the case against Guramit Singh, Nick has posted additional information about the changes to the laws involved. The portion of the statute used against Mr. Singh was modified — after 9/11! — to add “religiously aggravated harassment” as a type of offense.
Nick’s post from The Frozen North is below.
It appears that the Cambridgeshire Constabulary have arrested Guramit Singh using legislation created in the months following the terrorist attacks on America on September 11th, 2001. Singh has been arrested on suspicion of intentionally causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. The relevant legislation here is Section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which defines ‘religiously aggravated’:
28 Meaning of “[racially or religiously aggravated]”. (1) An offence is [racially or religiously aggravated] for the purposes of sections 29 to 32 below if— (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrates towards the victim of the offence hostility based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a [racial or religious group]; or (b) the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a [racial or religious group] based on their membership of that group. (2) In subsection (1)(a) above—
- “membership”, in relation to a [racial or religious group], includes association with members of that group;
- “presumed” means presumed by the offender.
(3) It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) above whether or not the offender’s hostility is also based, to any extent, [on any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph.] (4) In this section “racial group” means a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins. [(5) In this section “religious group” means a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief.]
Note that Section 28 sub-section (1) refers to Sections 29-32 of the Act. Section 31 deals with public order offences committed under the legislation cited by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary in connection with Mr. Singh’s arrest:
31 [Racially or religiously aggravated] public order offences. (1) A person is guilty of an offence under this section if he commits— (a) an offence under section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986 (fear or provocation of violence); (b) an offence under section 4A of that Act (intentional harassment, alarm or distress); or (c) an offence under section 5 of that Act (harassment, alarm or distress), which is [racially or religiously aggravated] for the purposes of this section.
Here is Section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as it was originally enacted:
28 Meaning of “racially aggravated” (1) An offence is racially aggravated for the purposes of sections 29 to 32 below if— (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrates towards the victim of the offence hostility based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a racial group; or (b) the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a racial group based on their membership of that group. (2) In subsection (1)(a) above—
- “membership”, in relation to a racial group, includes association with members of that group;
- “presumed” means presumed by the offender.
(3) It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) above whether or not the offender’s hostility is also based, to any extent, on— (a) the fact or presumption that any person or group of persons belongs to any religious group; or (b) any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph. (4) In this section “racial group” means a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins.
This has been amended in order to create ‘religiously aggravated’ public order offences. And here’s the thing: this was done in accordance with the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Here is Section 39 of that Act:
39 Religiously aggravated offences (1) Part 2 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37) is amended as set out in subsections (2) to (6). (2) In the cross-heading preceding section 28 for “Racially-aggravated” substitute “ Racially or religiously aggravated”. (3) In section 28 (meaning of racially aggravated)— (a) in the sidenote and subsection (1) for “racially aggravated” substitute “ racially or religiously aggravated”; (b) in subsections (1) and (2) for “racial group” substitute “ racial or religious group”; (c) in subsection (3) for the words from “on” to the end of the subsection substitute “ on any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph.” (4) In section 28 after subsection (4) insert— “(5) In this section “religious group” means a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief.” (5) In each of the provisions listed in subsection (6)— (a) in the sidenote for “Racially-aggravated” substitute “ Racially or religiously aggravated”; (b) in subsection (1) for “racially aggravated” substitute “ racially or religiously aggravated”. (6) The provisions are— (a) section 29 (assaults); (b) section 30 (criminal damage); (c) section 31 (public order offences); (d) section 32 (harassment etc.).
How perverse to see someone arrested after an EDL event in Peterborough in 2010 on the strength of legislation brought into existence after the terrorist attack carried out by Mohammad Atta and his fellow travellers on September 11th 2001!
Our Austrian correspondent ESW sends this report about the breaking news of Al Qaeda’s threats against Copts in Austria.
by ESW
Today the Austrian tabloid ÖSTERREICH reports that a new Al Qaeda spin-off, Al Daula Al Iraqiyah Al Islamiyah (Islamic State of Iraq), has released a list of death threats against more than a hundred Coptic Christian human rights activists worldwide, including fifteen Copts living in Austria, five of whom are Austrian citizens.
William Tadros is one of the persons mentioned in the list. In an interview with ÖSTERREICH, Tadros reports that he informed the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Terrorism Prevention when he found out that his name was on the death list. “Al Qaeda wants to kill us because of what we are doing for the Christian minority in Egypt.”
FPÖ party leader Heinz-Christian Strache has written a letter to interior minister Maria Fekter asking her “not to remain inactive when Coptic Christians, who trust in our safety, are being threatened. The Ministry of Interior must act before there are victims!”
The new Al Qaeda group claimed responsibility for the massacre in a church in Baghdad in late October, which left more than 50 dead, as well as the recent suicide attack in Stockholm. The Baghdad massacre took place in direct correlation with the Egyptian Copts because they did not comply with a demand made by this Al Qaeda group. These two attacks prove that this group must be taken seriously. International intelligence services have added Al Daula Al Iraqiyah Al Islamiyah to their watch lists.
The exiled Copts are a danger and menace to the Islamists because of the Copts’ increasingly effective information campaign about the cultural genocide against Christians taking place in the Islamic world. Now that the Jews have successfully been expelled from Islamic countries, the Coptic Christians are next in line. It is the Islamists’ goal to establish a monocultural bloc ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans.
The group’s website cites the following: “For this reason, the war ministry of the Islamic Iraqi Republic announces that all Christian centers, organizations and clubs with all of its members are deemed justifiable targets for our mujaheddin.” However, those in charge of the death list are targeting the entire free world. It is their explicit goal to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in Iraq and to act against all Jews and Christians worldwide. The group’s homepage is found in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Tadros will “not be deterred by those threats. We will continue to fight for the rights of Christians.”
Housing prices in the UK are expected to continue falling in 2011, with experts predicting that the average price will drop about 2%. Housing is not the only area in which reduced economic activity is expected: retailers expect the January 1 rise in VAT to depress their sales during the coming year.
In other economic news, the Greek government’s austerity budget for 2011 has prompted the communists to urge workers to start “a real war” to “overthrow the regime” and set up “a government of the people” — and also repudiate the country’s debt to the EU and the IMF.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to AJ, C. Cantoni, DF, DW, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JD, KGS, Nilk, Takuan Seiyo, TV, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Yesterday we were honored to be named as one of the winners of Doug Ross’ 2010 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards. This puts us in some illustrious company, because, as Mr. Ross says, they are “the most prestigious new media awards anywhere. Or at least in the 993 area code.”
Thank you, Mr. Ross!
There’s only one hitch (if it indeed can be called a hitch): our award was for “Best European Blog”.
It makes me a bit nervous every time Gates of Vienna is classified as a “European blog”. It’s not just that our good fortune might irritate the real European blogs. It’s not only the thought that Politically Incorrect, Snaphanen, or Europe News might take out a contract on us.
No, what worries me is that I might have to start acting the part. Must I wear a little beret? Bathe less often? Eat Emmenthaler? Stop pronouncing my r’s? Put diacritical marks over my vowels?
Fie on that!
You’d be surprised at some of the company we’re keeping in the Fabulous 50. Among the other winners are Matt Drudge, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and — wait for it — George Soros.
Do we really want to be in the same club as Soros?
Oh, well — Fausta is in there, too, so it can’t be all bad…
We reported last week on the arrest of Guramit Singh, the spokesman for the English Defence League. Mr. Singh is now facing a “hate speech” charge in court.
Nick is a regular reader and commenter here at Gates of Vienna. He dug into the legal background of the case against Mr. Singh, and posted the results at The Frozen North. With Nick’s kind permission, his report is republished below.
Guramit Singh was arrested on 21st December on suspicion of intentionally causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. This followed an EDL protest in Peterborough on 11th December.
The offence in question is defined in Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986. The ‘religiously aggravated’ component of the charge is defined in Part II of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The term ‘religiously aggravated’ is defined in Section 28 of the Act and its application to the public order offence which Mr. Singh has been charged with is defined in Section 31 of the Act.
If one researches the basic offence which Mr. Singh is charged with, one finds that it did not exist when the Public Order Act 1986 was enacted. At that time, in accordance with Section 5 of the Act, one could be found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour within earshot of someone likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby. Upon summary conviction, one could receive a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale.
This changed with the enactment of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Section 154 of that Act defined a new offence, that of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress. This was then inserted into the Public Order Act 1986 as Section 4A, and it is this legislation that has been cited by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the arrest of Guramit Singh. Note that if one is found guilty of this offence then one is liable to a prison term of up to six months, a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
One finds then that if Mr. Singh had been charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 he would have faced a fine of up to £1000. Since he has been charged under Section 4A of the Act, Mr. Singh faces a fine of up to £5000 or up to six months in prison, or both.
The offence is made even more serious by the inclusion of the term ‘religiously aggravated’. As Section 31, sub-section (4) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 states, if one is found guilty of an offence under Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 which is ‘religiously aggravated’ then one faces, on summary conviction, up to six months in prison or a fine of up to the statutory maximum, or both. On conviction on indictment however, one faces a prison term of up to two years, or a fine, or both.
Sub-section (6) of Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 also indicates that on trial on indictment, even if one is found not guilty of intentionally causing ‘religiously aggravated’ harassment, alarm or distress one can still be found guilty of the basic offence as defined in Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986.
Since Guramit Singh was at an EDL event when he did whatever the Cambridgeshire Constabulary thought contravened the aforementioned legislation, anyone who might be at an EDL event in the future would do well to make sure they understand the relevant laws. After all, they could be next.
Of the twelve “Britons” arrested in the Christmas Bomb Plot, three have now been released without charge, while the other nine are remanded in custody until they appear in court next month.
This case has the relatively low Mohammed Coefficient of 33⅓%.
According to The Telegraph:
Christmas Bomb Plot: Nine Remanded in Custody Over Terror Charges
Nine men were remanded in custody today charged with conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK and other terrorism offences.
Gurukanth Desai, 28, Omar Sharif Latif, 26, and Abdul Malik Miah, 24, from Cardiff, and Mohammed Moksudur Rahman Chowdhury, 20, and Shah Mohammed Lutfar Rahman, 28, from London, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Chief magistrate Howard Riddle remanded them to appear at the Old Bailey on January 14.
The four men from Stoke-on-Trent were later also remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on January 14.
They were Nazam Hussain, 25, Usman Khan, 19, Mohibur Rahman, 26, and Abul Bosher Mohammed Shahjahan, 26.
The suspects were held a week ago during a series of dawn raids by counter-terrorism officers.
In all 12 men were held during the raids by unarmed police on December 20 in London, Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham.
Two men from Cardiff and one from London were released without charge.
The remaining nine suspects were charged last night with conspiring to cause an explosion or explosions in the UK ‘‘of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property’’ between October 1 and November 20 this year.
They are also accused of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism between October 1 and December 20, including by downloading and researching materials and methods; carrying out reconnaissance and agreeing potential targets, and igniting and testing incendiary material.