The debt crisis and austerity regime have been hard on retail businesses in Greece. About 25% of the country’s businesses have closed, and that number is expected to increase next year. The worst-hit areas include the major shopping streets in downtown Athens, some of which have business vacancy rates of 30%-40%.

In other news, U.S. Marines stationed in Afghanistan are being trained not to spit, urinate, or sleep with their boots in the direction of Mecca. Meanwhile, two Danish foreign aid workers were kidnapped in Somalia.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Gaia, Insubria, JP, Kitman, Nilk, Van Grungy, Winds of Jihad, 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.

The three main contenders for the most dangerous exporters of Islamic zealotry are Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. The Saudis provide funding and Wahhabism. The Turks provide a large population, and are a well-armed, technologically sophisticated regional power with an aggressively Islamic government. Pakistan, however, is the “Land of the Pure”, the first deliberately-constructed Islamic state in modern times. It is the home of some of the most virulent varieties of radical Islamic ideology and terrorist groups.

V.S. Naipaul saw the true nature of Pakistan clearly thirty-two years ago. The excerpt below is from the introduction to Section II, pp 88-91:

The idea of a separate Indian Muslim state, once it had been formulated, couldn’t have been resisted. The idea was put forward in 1930 by a revered poet, Sir Mohammed Iqbal (1876-1938), in a speech to the All-Indian Muslim League, the main Muslim political organization in undivided India.

Iqbal’s argument was like this. Islam is not only an ethical ideal; it is also “a certain kind of polity,” Religion for a Muslim is not a matter of private conscience or private practice, as Christianity can be for the man in Europe. There never was, Iqbal says, a specifically Christian polity; and in Europe after Luther the “universal ethics of Jesus” was “displaced by national systems of ethics and polity.” There cannot be a Luther in Islam because there is no Islamic church-order for a Muslim to revolt against. And there is also to be considered “the nature of the Holy Prophet’s religious experience, as disclosed in the Koran … It is individual experience creative of a social order.”

To accept Islam is to accept certain “legal concepts.” These concepts — revelatory, but not to be belittled for that reason — have “civic significance.” “The religious ideal of Islam, therefore, is organically related to the social order which it has created. The rejection of the one will eventually involve the rejection of the other. Therefore, the construction of a polity on national lines, if it means a displacement of the Islamic principle of solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim.”

Iqbal, in fact, is saying in a philosophical way that in an undivided India Islam will be in danger, will go the way of Christianity in Europe and cease to be itself. Muslims, to be true to Islam, need a Muslim polity, a Muslim state. The Muslims of India especially need such a state, Iqbal suggests; because “India is perhaps the only country in the world where Islam, as a people-building force, has worked at its best.” And Iqbal’s solution was simple: the Muslim majority areas of northwest India should be detached and consolidated into a single Muslim state.

Seventeen years later (and nine years after Iqbal’s death) it happened — and to the Muslim-majority northwest was added the Muslim majority eastern half of Bengal, a thousand miles away. But that Muslim state came with a communal holocaust on both sides of the new borders. Millions were killed and many millions more uprooted. And it was only afterwards that it became clear that that plan for the creation of Pakistan, apparently logical, meeting Muslim needs, had a simple, terrible flaw.

Muslim passions were strongest among those Muslims who felt most threatened, and they were in that part of the subcontinent which was to remain Indian. Not all of those Muslims, not a half, not a quarter, could migrate to Pakistan. The most experienced Muslim political organizations were rooted in Indian India rather than in Pakistan. Indian Muslim politicians, campaigners for Pakistan, who went to Pakistan became men who overnight had lost their constituencies. They became men of dwindling appeal and reputation, men without a cause, and they were not willing to risk elections in what had turned out to be a strange country. Political life didn’t develop in the new state; institutions and administration remained as they were in British days.

A special word began to be used in Pakistan for the migrants from India: mohajirs, foreigners. In the province of Sind, especially, where Karachi became a mohajir city, local resentment built up into separatist feeling.

In the new state only the armed forces flourished. They were seen at first as the defenders, and possible extenders, of the Islamic state. Then it became apparent that they were the state’s only organized group. They became masters, a country within a country. […]

The state withered. But faith didn’t. Failure only led back to the faith. The state had been founded as a homeland for Muslims. If the state failed, it wasn’t because the dream was flawed, or the faith flawed; it could only be because men had failed the faith. A purer and purer faith began to be called for. And in that quest for the Islamic absolute — the society of believers, where every action was instinct with worship — men lost sight of the political origins of their state. They forgot the secular ambitions of Mr. Jinnah, the state’s political founder, who (less philosophical than Iqbal) wanted only a state where Muslims wouldn’t be swamped by non-Muslims. Even Iqbal was laid aside. Extraordinary claims began to be made for Pakistan: it was founded as the land of the pure; it was to be the first truly Islamic state since the days of the Prophet and his close companions.

CBN’s Dale Hurd has visited Norway again, this time to talk to an Iraqi who made a film entitled Freedom, Equality, and the Muslim Brotherhood. We posted a subtitled video of the movie last February, which has unfortunately been taken down from YouTube in the interim.

Mr. Hurd touches the highlights of the film and discusses the way in which the Brotherhood has deceived Western leaders about its plan to take over Europe, and eventually the rest of the West, without resorting to violence:

Kidnapping continues to be a popular activity in the Muslim world. Al Qaeda has been blamed for the abduction of three Spanish aid workers in Algeria, and a Russian doctor was kidnapped by tribesmen in Yemen, who hope to use him to bargain for a prisoner exchange with the Yemeni government.

In other news, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has proposed that Norway’s oil wealth be used to help the Eurozone solve its debt crisis. The Norwegian government is concerned that any loans it makes to the EU might not be collateralized sufficiently, and would thus be risky.

Meanwhile, Mt. Etna in Sicily is in the midst of a spectacular eruption, throwing lava hundreds of feet into the air. The ash plume trailing from the volcano forced the closure of nearby Catania Airport.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Erick Stakelbeck, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, KGS, Kitman, Nilk, PJ, 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.

Below is the final article of a four-part series on history, human development, and Islam by our English correspondent Seneca III. A slightly different version of this essay was previously published at Crusader Rabbit.

Seneca III informs us that an extension of this series is in the works, and further installments are to be expected in the future.

by Seneca III

Sexuality comes in many guises, most of which will not surface in this essay in the interests of good taste (well, reasonably good taste!) and simple decency — in particular not those physically cruel, humiliating and positively inhumane practises to which some people subscribe. Such deviations distress me and it has already been difficult enough to write this essay in a form and manner just about suitable for public consumption without venturing into any of the darker corners of the human psyche.

Nevertheless I would recommended that anyone prone to prudishness or with a predilection to take offence at any but the most obscure references to the subject at hand should sign off now. Truly, I have no wish to distress you either.

That said…

“…It has long been held that chastity belts were in common usage amongst the gentry of the early Middle Ages. When the Knight or Lord went off to Outremer to besiege a town or two, and hack at a few necks in the process, the Lady remaining behind was locked into a certain type of activity-restricting iron girdle for reasons which, whilst rather obscure in this more enlightened age, may have had something to do with fidelity. Or whatever.

“Furthermore it is rumoured that skilled Lockpicks were in high demand during this milieu and made a quite a reasonable living in comparison with that of their fellow artisans, the Locksmiths. But why not? This, as you may be able to imagine, was not a risk-free profession on the basis that if found in ‘flagrante delicto’ by a somewhat tired and sandblasted Crusader his broadsword was likely to make the malfeasant’s eyes seriously water. Or so it is said. No first-hand reports have ever surfaced!”

…O.K., O.K., I know, the foregoing is complete and utter rubbish, both the legend itself and my vicarious meanderings on the subject, but I have stuck my neck out in order to make two points:

First, human sexuality is a subject that needs to be approached with at least a modicum of humour, otherwise it has a tendency to get serious, and when it does get serious it can turn quite nasty.

Secondly, most myths and legends, and even fairy tales and nursery rhymes, carry an underlying message. In their origins can often be found an idea, a story or even an example of wishful thinking that tells the reader or listener far more about the state of mind of the originator(s) and his or her situation than does the actual message. These mini-histories tend to be palimpsestic inasmuch as what is buried within can often be far more interesting and informative than that which is apparent on the surface.

In 1400 Konrad Kyeser von Eichstätt published ‘Bellifortis’, a book detailing the military technology of the time. Also in the book is a drawing captioned (in Latin) ‘These are hard iron britches of Florentine women which are closed at the front’, but he offers no supporting evidence or corroborating documents. This, for what it is worth, is the first known written account of chastity belts in the West, and succeeds the Crusades by a couple of centuries.

In 1889 one Alfred Pachinger, a German collector of antiquities, claimed to have found a chastity belt on the skeleton of a young woman who had been buried in Lintz, Austria, in the 16th century. The belt itself has since been ‘lost’ and researchers looking through the quite detailed Lintz town records have been unable to find any record of the woman’s burial. (The Teutonic mind-set does appear to surface quite frequently in this area of interest, doesn’t it? Now, why would that be I wonder?)

Modern metallurgical analysis has over the years brought into question the provenance (date and origin) of chastity belts displayed in the Musée de Cluny, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and the British Museum and they have all subsequently either been removed from the Renaissance collections or clearly and correctly dated to their place in the 18th and 19th centuries. No early medieval examples have ever been located or displayed.

All in all, even this limited amount of evidence would suggest that the idea of chastity belts is a creation of a more modern era, commencing most likely during the early Renaissance and on through to the period of Enlightenment, particularly from about the 1750s onwards, and reflects on one face the historical romanticism inherent in much of the art and literature of the time and, later, on the other face, the prurience of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

(One might even suspect that the earthy sexuality of the early Middle Ages led to a certain amount of pragmatism in such matters, although there is a saying from the period that goes “He who hath a castle on the frontier or a beautiful wife should sleep with his sword by his side.”)

Now, in the late 20th and early 21st century, the use of chastity belts is generally restricted to BDSM (Bondage, Domination & Sado-Masochism*) aficionados, although in February 2004 a woman’s steel chastity belt triggered the metal detector at Athens airport. She explained that her husband had forced her to wear the device to prevent an extramarital affair whilst she was on holiday. After careful consideration (examination, perhaps?) the pilot of the aircraft was kind enough to permit her to continue her journey. True!

Whilst not my personal cup of tea BDSM, as an aberration, is deserving of serious analysis because it clearly illustrates an abiding link between sexual activity and subjugation, a primitive conjunction that reaches an apogee of fulfilment in the Muslim male mind-set:

“Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from which you fear disobedience admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them.”

[Koran, Sura IV: ‘Women’.]

In the West consensual BDSM does not normally present a particular threat to anyone outside of its immediate circle of practitioners. My caveat here, however, would be that psychologically damaged voyeurs peering in from the outside could be driven to attempt the reality — and sometimes are — but fortunately in relative isolation, not as the result of a culture-wide way of life. But in the Islamic world it is different:

“Because of the frustrations and repressions which follow from the rigidly held sexual mores and prohibitions of his own society, the Arab is dangerous to women of other nationalities. Many Western girls working for big companies with branches in the Middle East have been indecently assaulted or raped. It is impossible for a woman to walk down a public street at night without serious risk. It is difficult enough for her to drive a car alone. Arab men in groups are constantly on patrol in their own cars, watching for prey, in cities such as Beirut and Tripoli”

[John Laffin, The Arab Mind (1975), Chapter 6: “As Arab men see women”.]

(You may have noted that this was written 36 years ago, before political correctness had strangled truth, and when Academia was populated by academics rather than by liberal-leftard deconstructionists.)

In ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ T.E. Lawrence wrote: “Woman became a machine for muscular exercise, while man’s psychic side could be slaked only amongst his peers.” Some months ago, a female political activist and former parliamentary candidate in Kuwait recommended the introduction of legislation to legalize the provision of enslaved female concubines for Muslim men, in a bid, she says, to protect those men from committing adultery or corruption.

The activist, Salwa Al-Mutairi, suggested apparently seriously in a video broadcast online that she had been informed by some clerics that affluent Muslim men who fear being seduced or tempted into immoral behaviour by the beauty of their female servants, or even of those servants ‘casting spells’ on them, would be better advised to purchase women from an ‘enslaved maid’ agency for sexual purposes. She suggested that special offices could be set up to provide concubines in the same way as domestic staff recruitment agencies currently provide housemaids.

“We want our youth to be protected from adultery,” said Al-Mutairi, suggesting that these maids could be bought as prisoners of war in war-stricken nations like Chechnya to be sold on later to devout merchants. “This is not religiously forbidden,” she added, indicating that Caliph Haroun Al-Rashid (766-809 AD) was married to one woman but possessed 200 concubines.

Yes, this really is the second decade of the 21st century, believe it or not, but certainly not in the caring-sharing Umma — wherever it is currently encamped. Followers of this series may wish to note the above reference to ‘clerics’ and, in the final analysis and also in the light of this exposure of the deep, primordial roots of Islamic gender abuse, I think that it is only fair that the penultimate word on this subject be given to a Muslim:

“Sex is our [the Arabs] eternal headache, the incubus that devours us day and night. If you ask me about the size of the sexual problem I will tell you that it exactly the same size as our cranium, so that there is not a single convolution in the Arab brain which is not tumescent with sex.”

[Nazar Qabbani, Syrian poet, ‘On Poetry, Sex and Revolution’, Beirut, 1972.]

But, I suppose, at the end of the day, and rather reluctantly, we shall have to leave the very last word to the French:

“De toutes les aberrations sexuelles, la plus singulière est peut-être encore la chastité” (“Of all the sexual aberrations, perhaps the most singular is chastity.”)

[Remy du Gourmont, La Physique de l’Amour: Essai sur l’Instinct Sexual (1903), chapter 18: “La question des aberrations.”]

Previous posts by Seneca III:

Here’s Ezra Levant talking about the new sharia dictatorship in Libya, and also the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia and Egypt. As he points out, the issue is not the accession of a new thug in Tripoli — that, after all, is business as usual in that part of the world — it’s the fact that the Western democracies used military force to install this particular thug, and are trumpeting the outcome as “freedom for Libya”.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:

Libya has just become an Islamic republic; that is, a sharia-based state. According to the early returns from today’s elections, Tunisia is headed in the same direction.

The article below discusses the projected success of the Tunisan party Ennahda, which it describes as “Islamist”. More precisely, Ennahda is a local chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia. So the Muslim Brotherhood in alliance with Al Qaeda has just formed a government in Libya, the Brotherhood is in the process of winning an election in Tunisia, and the Brotherhood will shortly be taking the reins in Egypt.

Syria is probably next. Bashar al-Assad would be well-advised to pay close attention to those ghastly videos of the last moments of Col. Muammar Qaddafi.

Here’s the story about Tunisia’s election from The Times of Malta:

Islamists Take Lead in Tunisian Poll

Early results from polling stations in Tunisia put the Islamist Ennahda Party in the lead in many constituencies today.

Electoral officials are counting votes in landmark elections that saw more than 90% of registered voters cast ballots.

Official results are not expected until later today or tomorrow.

Boubker Bethabet, secretary general of the country’s election commission, said more than 90% of the 4.1 million registered voters participated.

Radio Mosaique FM posted results from polling stations around the country, with many showing a commanding lead for Ennahda.

Tunisians voted yesterday to elect a constituent assembly in the first elections emerging from the uprisings around the Middle East known as the Arab Spring.

As I mentioned last week, Robert Spencer will be starting a tour of Australia at the end of November, sponsored by the Q Society.

A partial list of his whistle-stops has now been released: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Canberra, and Brisbane.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:

English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was interviewed today on BBC West Midlands radio about the EDL’s upcoming demonstration in Birmingham. Halfway through the segment a caller from the UAF (Unite Against Fascism) was given a chance to air his views on the EDL in an exchange with the program’s host:

UK: EDL Leader, Tommy Robinson Appears on BBC Radio West Midlands

Having just interviewed Waseem Zaffar, Labour Councillor for Lozells & East Handsworth ward, Birmingham, about his letter to the Home Secretary, Teresa May, requesting that the EDL demonstration, planned for Birmingham on Saturday 29th October be banned, Adrian Goldberg then spoke to Tommy Robinson, leader of the English Defence League to hear his side of the story.

Why Are the EDL Protesting in Birmingham Again?

Adrian Goldberg asked Tommy Robinson to explain what he plans to do in Victoria Square next week and why he is doing it? “We’re doing it…there’s a list of reasons, where do I start?” “There’s constant problems coming from the Birmingham area, I talk to Brummies on regular occasions about what’s happening within their communities.” Mr Robinson said with enthusiasm. “We’ve seen undercover mosque programmes, constantly, anytime it goes to Birmingham. You’ve seen the Madrasa schools, where it’s a ticking time bomb. What’s being taught in these Islamic Madrasa schools, across the country – it’s homophobic, it’s anti-Semitic, it’s anti-democratic and it’s anti-British and a whole generation are being turned against us. As we’ve seen they can’t even walk on the same side of the street as us.”

“So what is homophobic, anti-Semitic and anti-British?” Mr Goldberg enquired. “Their views on…you had a preacher at Birmingham University, come over to Birmingham University last year. He is on record as saying, that, when he is talking about adultery and homosexuality, that it is a public crime, it deserves a public punishment. Adultery is punishable by death, a slow and painful death by stoning – and he’s talking at Birmingham University!” Mr Robinson said.

Mr Goldberg responded: “That is a preacher (I’m not aware of this – but, I’m not disputing that it happened, I just don’t know) that’s a preacher that came to Birmingham, who is not of the Birmingham Muslim community.”

“You’ve just had six local Muslims arrested again.” Mr Robinson added. Mr Goldberg didn’t think that they should be commenting on people that had not yet been convicted, in keeping with the finest British tradition and that would ensure that they could carry on the conversation without being taken off the airwaves. Tommy agreed. Mr Goldberg asked whether Tommy believed that as a whole the Muslim community of Birmingham were homophobic, anti-Semitic and anti-British.

“No, I believe that if they are following the teachings of the Quran, then yeah, it’s homophobic, yes it’s anti-Semitic. Do not take Jews or Christians as your friends. It promotes death for homosexuals. It promotes a lot of hatred. There is so much hatred coming out of it. Kill the disbelievers wherever you find them. Strike fear into the heart of the disbeliever. All these things”

Mr Robinson went on: “But don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown up in Luton, in a multi-cultural town. Some of the best people I’ve met growing up are Muslim. Yeah? I know there’s great Muslims. No one needs to win that argument with me. What I’m saying is there is a serious problem with certain ideologies of Islam, that is happening across our country. Birmingham is being hit big with it. A lot of people are worried with what’s happening in their communities. The Islamists controlling their communities.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir

Mr Robinson continued: “You’ve got Hizb ut-Tahrir, constantly, one of the most extremist organisations in the world, they’re banned in most other European countries, constantly having rallies and marches, etc and seminars in Birmingham. “ I don’t know about that, I thought Hizb ut-Tahrir were actually banned in the UK as well Tommy?

Mr Robinson corrected Mr Goldberg: “No they’re not. No they’re not. They’re not banned. David Cameron keeps promising to ban them, but as we see it’s all talk every time with our politicians. And we don’t see anything like local Muslim MPs, like your man who was just on the radio. We don’t see him coming out calling for them to be banned, when they have their rallies, they have their marches! Mr Goldberg said that he was not aware of any Hizb ut-Tahrir rally or march in Birmingham at any point.

Anjem Choudary

Mr Goldberg mentioned a story ran on BBC West Midlands about Anjem Choudary, who he said represents what most people would regard as an extremist Muslim ideology.

Anjem Choudary believes that ultimately, homosexuality is a sin against god and should be treated, certainly in an Islamic state, with the harshest penalties. “When Anjem Choudary and some of his supporters gathered in Birmingham, in places like Sparkbrook and in Alum Rock, a group of local Muslim leaders got together the local Muslim community and very politely, but very firmly, they said to Anjem Choudary, we don’t want you here. You do not represent the views of Muslims in Birmingham. You will stir up trouble in our community and we don’t want you. That was the local Muslim community, standing strong, turning away extremists within their midst. That surely, is more representative of the Muslim community in Birmingham than the kind of image you’re propagating I would suggest.” Mr Goldberg put to Mr Robinson.

“OK. But when they do that, when they do that, you class them as ‘standing strong’ and ‘heroic moderates’ I guess. But when we stand against Anjem Choudary a lot of people want to class us as extremists. We do exactly what you just said in our communities. Just because we are non-Muslim, we completely go against what he said.” Tommy reminded Mr Goldberg why they originally came to Birmingham:

“We came to Birmingham because Anjem Choudary held an Islamic road show in Birmingham city centre, with hundreds of Muslims and had a big banner that read Jesus was a Muslim and they converted an 11 year old child, called Sean, without his parents, who was shopping in the city centre with his friends, they got him up on stage and they converted him, in the middle of Birmingham city centre to Islam. Now, the local Islamic community response to that was what? It was nothing! We come to Birmingham to try and highlight this issue, we came to Birmingham with placards that read ‘Muslim – no problem’, Extremist Muslim – big problem.”

Mr Goldberg said that he had seen a flag, amongst his followers at least, with his own eyes saying ‘Allah is a paedo’ (God is a paedophile). Mr Goldberg said he saw painted banners saying that. Mr Robinson said that he hadn’t seen any such painted banner, saying that people were shouting that. Mr Robinson admitted: “There is a lot of anger. There is a lot of frustration. Now, we’re trying to channel that anger, harness it and direct it in the right route. Which is peacefully protesting. If you look at how our demonstrations have gone since 2009. You can’t expect purity from an organisation that’s six months old, but we’re two years old now. Our demonstrations are peaceful now. We have a right to come to Birmingham. We have the right to highlight it and I am in no doubt at all that local Islamic youth will come out and attack us, as they do wherever we go in the country. That’s what happens. That’s what happened in Birmingham last time and when you see…and we are condemned straight away for it. And there is a lot of frustration. There’s a lot of anger and at times it will boil over. People are angry. People are angry at what’s happening to their country. Islamist control is destroying our communities and that’s what you’re seeing on the street.”

Coming Back to Birmingham

Finally, Mr Goldberg asked Mr Robinson: “When you last came to Birmingham, the EDL, because of the violence; and I accept that you would argue that you didn’t cause the violence, although I did see EDL supporters, also throwing bottles into the street, on New Street – there was violence on both sides that I witnessed. But you said that you would not come back to Birmingham. West Midlands Police said that you were no longer welcome in Birmingham. Why are you coming back?”

“Because nothing has changed in Birmingham. No one is listening. It’s not like we’ve any confidence that West Midlands Police force or local councillors are going to address the problems. They are not addressing them. They are pretending that they are not there. The black community and the white community in Birmingham are treated with iron fists. The Islamic community are treated with kid gloves and that’s just the way it is. And it’s not on, You can’t have a two-tier policing system. There can be no master race. And I’m sorry, but there is a master race in certain areas of this country and it’s Islam!”

Today’s edition of the Norwegian newspaper VG published an essay by Fjordman. The text, however, had been significantly redacted by the editors of VG without the author’s consent. To set the record straight, the complete article is reproduced below in English, followed by the original Norwegian.

We intend to demonstrate once again to the Norwegian newspapers that we can reach a wider readership than they can.

This is my most recent Norwegian article as it should have appeared in print. Today VG, the largest national newspaper in Norway, published this article in the paper edition, but they also cut out a couple of vital paragraphs without my knowledge or approval. My essay was not over-long, and I stayed within their normal limits.

The missing paragraphs referred to the fact that Mohammed had sex with a nine-year-old child (Aisha) and that modern Islamic theologians such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi support this policy today because it is a part of Mohammed’s Sunna, his personal example. Journalist Elisabeth Skarsbø Moen and others deleted this, accidentally-on-purpose. They also deleted my suggestion that NRK TV dare not show a drooling Yusuf al-Qaradawi in a wheelchair telling Muslims that pedophilia is OK, in contrast to the parody of me they have been broadcasting.

Why did they cut this out? Fear, plain and simple.

I composed this essay in response to Anders Giæver, who writes regular commentary for VG and has slimed me several times for my alleged “paranoia” about Islam and Muslims. So VG can harass me for having paranoia about pro-Islamic censorship, and when I reply they censor me with pro-Islamic censorship.

by Peder Jensen, also known as Fjordman

Translation: Cecilie, aided by Fjordman.

A commentator at VG (Verdens Gang, Norway’s largest national newspaper), Anders Giæver, has attacked me multiple times in his columns in that newspaper. On the one hand he describes me disdainfully as an average Norwegian, but also adds that I am “one of the most central promoters of Islam-hatred and Muslim-paranoia in Europe.”

Who has decided what constitutes paranoia? Mr. Giæver has read hardly any of the writings of Bat Ye’or about Eurabia, nor Robert Spencer’s website Jihad Watch, and has probably not understood what little he may have read. He is incapable of disproving a single factual piece of information I have published, nor my statement about Islam being impossible to reform or fit in with Western civilization. The only thing he has to show for himself, therefore, is personal attacks.

It is true that after the terrorist attacks of July 22nd I was exhausted. When I appeared in VG under my real name I seriously contemplated giving up my career as a writer. However, after the situation has calmed down a bit and I could think things through, I have decided to continue with undiminished force.

Right from the beginning I have been saying that terrorists, whether they come in the shape of Islamic Jihadists or Anders Behring Breivik, should not be allowed to decide what a free society can or cannot discuss, and I meant that. If that is the case, they should not to be allowed to dictate to people who are critical of Islam and mass immigration, either.

I will definitely not accept that the mass media should be allowed to threaten or harass me to make me shut up.

If one day I should stop my activities it will be through my personal choice, not one dictated by Anders Giæver, Marie Simonsen or other media bullies.

In its ethical guidance the “Vær Varsom” (“Be Careful”) poster, the Norwegian Press Association gives a person the right to reply to statements uttered about him in the press. I will in the future actively exercise this right, which means I will be more visible than ever.

If Norwegian newspapers refuse to publish my essays I will publish them on the Internet at Gates of Vienna, both in English and in Norwegian, as examples of press censorship. My book The Curious Civilization will also be published as planned in 2012.

The Islamic Council of Norway, which is coercively sponsored by native, non-Muslim Norwegian taxpayers, receives guidance from the European Council for Fatwa and Research about whether they should be for or against the death penalty for homosexuals.

The Council is headed by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is the spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi has among many other things boasted openly that Muslims will soon conquer Europe, and has praised the Nazi Holocaust.

Representatives for Jonas Gahr Støre’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have met members of the Brotherhood for talks in Oslo.

The author Walid al-Kubaisi describes al-Qaradawi as being “more dangerous than bin Laden” and describes how he issues fatwas ruling that it is allowed (halal) to marry children. I refer to the article “Islam and marriage with minors.” Muhammed himself married Aisha when she was only six, and consummated the marriage when she was nine and he was 54 years old (Bukhari 7.62.64). This has become part of his Sunna, or personal example, to be followed for all time.

In February 2006 a delegation was sent from Norway to the Middle East to beg for mercy from the mighty Yusuf al-Qaradawi because of the Mohammed cartoons. This was supported by the Norwegian government of PM Jens Stoltenberg.

Qaradawi then demanded a legal ban on criticism of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. This would imply submission to sharia law and that Europe and the Western world would from now on be under Islamic rule. That is what the international conflict over the Danish cartoons was really about.

Thomas Seltzer, a host of NRK3, has shown a caricature of me as a paraplegic writer in a wheelchair. I suppose this makes me Norway’s answer to Stephen Hawking, which I take as a compliment. Alternatively, one could be lead to believe that people in wheelchairs are slavering idiots, which is not particularly tasteful.

The difference between a humorist and a bully is that a true humorist makes fun of the powerful, not the weak. Seltzer does not dare to show a drooling Qaradawi in a wheelchair telling Muslims that pedophilia is OK.

I don’t take this very personally, given that Mr. Seltzer can scarcely be taken seriously. However, it does annoy me that he can force others to sponsor this through TV licensing, whether they want to or not.

Among the most important things one can do to get a more open debate in Norway today is to cancel all public funding for the press, as well as put an end to NRK [the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation] in its present form.

Fjordman lever videre

Av Peder Jensen, også kjent som Fjordman

VGs kommentator Anders Giæver har flere ganger angrepet meg i avisens spalter. På den ene siden beskriver han meg med forakt som en gjennomsnittsnordmann, men legger til at jeg er “en av de mest sentrale premissleverandørene for islamhatet og muslimparanoiaen i Europa.”

Hvem har bestemt hva som er paranoia? Herr Giæver har knapt lest noen av tekstene til Bat Ye’or om Eurabia eller Robert Spencers nettside Jihad Watch og har neppe forstått det lille han eventuelt har lest. Han er overhodet ikke i stand til å motbevise en eneste konkret opplysning jeg kommer med eller min påstand om at islam ikke kan reformeres eller forenes med vestlig sivilisasjon. Det eneste han har å fare med er derfor personangrep.

Det er riktig at jeg var sliten etter terrorangrepene 22. juli. Da jeg stod frem med fullt navn i VG vurderte jeg seriøst å gi meg som skribent. Etter å ha fått ting litt på avstand og tenkt igjennom saken vil jeg imidlertid fortsette med uforminsket styrke. Jeg har sagt helt fra begynnelsen av at terrorister, enten de kommer i form av islamske jihadister eller Anders Behring Breivik, ikke skal få bestemme hva et fritt samfunn skal diskutere, og det mente jeg. Da bør de heller ikke få lov til å diktere personer som er kritisk til islam og masseinnvandring.

Jeg vil definitivt ikke akseptere at massemediene skal true eller trakassere meg til å holde kjeft. Dersom jeg en gang slutter skal det være et valg jeg tar personlig, ikke et som dikteres av Anders Giæver, Marie Simonsen eller andre mediebøller.

De etiske retningslinjene i VærVarsom-plakaten til Norsk Presseforbund gir en person rett til å komme med tilsvar til påstander som fremmes om ham av pressen. Jeg kommer til å benytte meg aktivt av dette fremover, noe som betyr at jeg vil være mer synlig enn noensinne.

Dersom norske aviser ikke trykker mine kronikker vil jeg publisere dem på internett på Gates of Vienna både på engelsk og norsk som eksempler på pressesensur. Min bok The Curious Civilization vil også bli utgitt som planlagt i 2012.

Islamsk Råd Norge, som tvangssponses av innfødte, ikke-muslimske norske skattebetalere, mottar veiledning fra det europeiske fatwarådet om de skal være for eller imot dødsstraff for homofile. Rådet ledes av Yusuf al-Qaradawi, som er åndelig veileder for Det muslimske brorskapet. Qaradawi har blant mye annet skrytt åpenlyst av at muslimer snart skal erobre Europa og snakket pent om nazistenes Holocaust. Representanter for Jonas Gahr Støres Utenriksdepartement har møtt medlemmer av Brorskapet til samtaler i Oslo.

Forfatter Walid al-Kubaisi omtaler Qaradawi som “farligere enn bin Laden” og beskriver hvordan han gir fatwaer om at det er tillatt (halal) å gifte seg med barn. Se artikkelen “Islam og ekteskap med mindreårige”. Muhammed selv giftet seg med Aisha da hun var kun seks år og fullbyrdet ekteskapet seksuelt da hun var 9 og han 54 år gammel (Bukhari 7.62.64). Dette er blitt en del av hans Sunna eller personlige eksempel til etterfølgelse for evig og alltid.

I februar 2006 ble en delegasjon sendt fra Norge til Midtøsten for å be om nåde hos den mektige Yusuf al-Qaradawi på grunn av Muhammedkarikaturene. De ble støttet av den norske regjeringen til Jens Stoltenberg. Qaradawi fremsatte da krav om et lovforbud mot kritikk av islams grunnlegger Muhammed, noe som i praksis vil innebære en underkastelse til sharialover og at Europa og den vestlige verden fra nå av skal stå under islamsk herredømme. Det var dette den internasjonale striden om de danske tegningene egentlig dreiet seg om.

Thomas Seltzer, programleder på NRK3, har vist en karikatur av meg som multihandikappet skribent i rullestol. Jeg går ut ifra at dette i så fall gjør meg til Norges svar på Stephen Hawking, noe jeg tar som et kompliment. Alternativt kunne man tenke seg at det var en antydning om at folk i rullestol er lallende idioter, noe som ikke er spesielt smakfullt.

Forskjellen på en humorist og en bølle er at en sann humorist sparker oppover, ikke nedover. Seltzer tør ikke vise en siklende al-Qaradawi i rullestol si til muslimer at pedofili er OK.

Jeg tar meg ikke særlig nær av dette ettersom herr Seltzer knapt kan sies å ha injurierende kraft. Det irriterer meg derimot at han kan tvinge andre til å sponse slikt gjennom TV-lisensen, enten de vil dette eller ei. Noe av det viktigste man kan gjøre for å få en mer åpen debatt i dagens Norge er å legge ned pressestøtten samt å avvikle NRK i sin nåværende form.

The following video is a report from an Iranian TV news channel about the end of the Qaddafi regime and the new transitional government in Libya. The important thing to notice is the proclamation that Libyan law will be based on Islam, and any law that violates Islamic doctrine will be considered void.

Many thanks to Shab for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling. Warning: there are brief images of violence in some of the news footage in this clip:

Muammar Qaddafi’s son Saif is currently on the run, and may be severely wounded, according to some reports. But how badly does the British government want him to be caught? Saif allegedly has inside knowledge of all the sweetheart oil deals made between the British and Libya, including the one that Tony Blair brokered for the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Saif knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak…

In financial news, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy have told Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that Italy must act responsibly, and make the right decisions to put its fiscal house in order. The Dutch finance minister also chimed in, insisting that Italy must make budget cuts.

In other news, Saudi Arabia’s decision to limit the number of foreigners resident in the kingdom to 20% of the total population may cause up to three million people to lose their jobs.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, ESW, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Kitman, Mary Abdelmassih, 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.

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, which refused Fjordman’s first right-of-reply article, has accepted his second submission. Many thanks to Kepiblanc for translating it into English. The original Norwegian version, which has just been published at Aftenposten, is at the bottom of this post.

by Peder Jensen, a.k.a. Fjordman

I know that some people dislike me, which they are perfectly entitled to do. Yet it is important to remember that a civilized country ruled by law must function regardless of personal likes or dislikes. My unpleasant encounter with the Norwegian police raises fundamental questions regarding the handling of witnesses in major criminal investigations. You can still be interested in these issues even if you disagree with or dislike my writings.

Furthermore, it is meaningless to hold well-documented texts responsible for the actions of a disturbed person. Assuming that we take “psychological accountability” seriously, we should also hold those accountable who distribute the Koran — which very explicitly encourages violence against non-Muslims — and thus make them co-responsible for countless actions of Jihadist terrorism around the entire world. Is this happening?

In his terror manifesto, Anders Behring Breivik quoted numerous different people from all over the world, obviously without their knowledge or approval. Being quoted by persons one has never met is something beyond one’s control, but since I was the only Norwegian among those quoted there I realized that I sooner or later would have to discuss this matter with the authorities.

I first contacted the Norwegian Police Security Service [PST] by physically knocking on the door of their headquarters in Oslo. However, they didn’t want to talk to me and told me to send them an email instead. I suppose the security services have coffee breaks, too. Judging by the newspapers one could get the impression that the police were actively seeking me out, yet neither the police nor the press had the slightest idea who I was until on August 4th when I knocked on the door to Manglerud Police Station, accompanied by Knut Ditlev-Simonsen from the law firm Staff. As far as they were concerned I might as well have been Mickey Mouse.

Although I was not legally obliged to do so I answered most of their questions. The only form of indirect contact I have ever had with Breivik is that both of us posted comments on the website Document.no. It is true that he tried to contact at me some point in 2009 and sent me a handful of emails. As with everything else he said to others prior to his atrocities, they were hardly spectacular or sensational and contained no hint of future terror actions. Furthermore, I was totally uninterested in meeting with him. Apart from that, I don’t know anything about Breivik. Absolutely nothing.

After some hesitation I voluntarily gave the police access to my telephone log, which must be considered to be a very friendly gesture by a person who is not charged with anything and who himself knows that he was not involved in the criminal actions. Virtually the only one of the police requests that I turned down was giving them my computer, which I considered to be too serious a violation of my privacy. I was then physically followed by several police officers and forced to hand it over.

It was Bård Dyrdal, leader of the program for questioning witnesses after the 7/22 terror attacks, who announced the use of force against my person, supported by police attorneys Christian Hatlo and Pål-Fredrik Hjort Kraby. “He had the status of witness and we got a long and fair explanation from him to the questions we had,” Kraby told NRK [Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation].

This is correct. I held the status as a witness both before and afterwards and have never been suspected of or charged with a criminal act of any kind. For the record, after having studied all of my communications for several months, the police informed me by email in October that I am still not suspected of anything.

When Dyrdal announced that I would immediately be escorted by half a dozen police officers to my flat in order to search through my books, movies, photos, kitchen equipment and dirty laundry for hours and hours he declared that there was a lot of pressure in this case, which probably means that the police let the mass media dictate their actions in the case against Behring Breivik. There was no objective, professional justification for what they did to me.

They also confiscated a suitcase with clothes and socks that contained no electronic equipment at all. At a time when far too many rapes and other serious crimes remain unsolved in parts of the country one has to wonder whether it is the right decision by the police to spend several months on studying the socks of a person who has no criminal record .

There is absolutely nothing on my PC that could possibly connect me to the terror attacks. The only thing there that might be of interest to the police authorities — and then to the PST more than the regular police — are contacts I have with peaceful individuals in many countries who do not like Islam. This means that the Norwegian police disregarded all common legal procedures in order to confiscate a PC that can be used for nothing other than conducting illegal political surveillance.

The police justified their actions against me by using something called a third-party search [tredjemannsransaking], which would imply that evidence of Breivik’s terror attacks should exist in my flat and that there was a danger that this evidence could be lost or destroyed. This is ridiculous. I had contacted the police myself and answered their questions for many hours precisely because I had nothing to hide. Besides, at this point two weeks had passed since the terror attacks, plenty of time to get rid of any evidence had such evidence existed in the first place, which it didn’t.

I have never before heard of any Western democratic country where a voluntary witness who himself contacted the authorities, who was described by the police as being cooperative, who has no criminal record, did not know the perpetrator, and on top of everything else was nowhere near the crime scene when the crime took place have his apartment ransacked and his computer equipment confiscated.

When I told Lars Hedegaard of the International Free Press Society what kind of treatment I had been given as a witness, he responded that it reminded him of the situation in totalitarian states, like the ones we are all too familiar with from the twentieth century. “If someone had told me a few years ago that the free and proud Norway which we Danes admired during the German occupation would end up like this, I would have considered them insane.” Harsh words from a neighbor, and damaging to Norway’s international reputation.

If my case is not disputed, I fear that it may create a dangerous precedent. Worst case scenario, it could imply that the police can from now on ransack the apartment of citizens they dislike, especially if they say something Politically Incorrect, and confiscate their computer equipment, camera and clothes without charging them of having done anything criminal whatsoever. If this happens, we no longer have a crime police; we have a thought police. Do we want a society like that?

Rettsstaten etter 22/7

av Peder Jensen, også kjent som Fjordman

Jeg vet at det er folk som ikke liker meg. Det skal de få lov til, men det er viktig å huske på at en sivilisert rettsstat skal fungere uavhengig av om man liker vedkommende eller ei. Jeg mener at mitt ublide møte med norsk politi reiser prinsipielt viktige spørsmål knyttet til hvordan man skal behandle vitner i store kriminalsaker. Du kan interessere deg for dette selv om du er uenig med eller til og med misliker mine skriverier.

Det er også meningsløst å holde godt dokumenterte tekster ansvarlig for hva en forstyrret person gjør. Dersom vi skal ta «psykisk medvirkning» på alvor bør de som distribuerer Koranen, som i meget klare ordelag oppfordrer til vold mot ikke-muslimer, holdes ansvarlig for medvirkning til talløse jihadistiske terroraksjoner over hele verden. Skjer det?

I sitt terrormanifest siterte Anders Behring Breivik en rekke ulike mennesker fra hele verden, åpenbart uten deres viten eller samtykke. Å bli sitert av personer man aldri har møtt er noe man ikke selv kan ha kontroll over, men siden jeg var den eneste nordmannen blant dem som ble sitert der innså jeg at jeg før eller siden burde snakke med myndighetene om saken.

Jeg kontaktet først Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste (PST) ved fysisk å banke på deres hovedkontor i Oslo. De ville imidlertid ikke prate med meg og ba meg heller sende en e-post. De har vel kaffepauser i etterretningstjenesten også. I avisene kunne man få inntrykk av at politiet aktivt hentet meg inn til avhør, men hverken de eller pressen ante hvem jeg var inntil jeg 4. august troppet opp på Manglerud politistasjon sammen med Knut Ditlev-Simonsen fra Advokatfirmaet Staff. Jeg kunne like gjerne ha vært Mikke Mus for deres del.

Selv om jeg ikke var juridisk forpliktet til å si noe, svarte jeg på de fleste spørsmålene. Den eneste formen for indirekte kontakt jeg har hatt med Behring Breivik er at vi begge postet kommentarer på nettsiden Document.no. Det er riktig at han forsøkte å ta kontakt med meg på et tidspunkt i 2009 og sendte meg en håndfull e-poster. De er, som alt annet han sa til andre før hans ugjerninger, lite oppsiktsvekkende og litt intetsigende, uten det minste hint om fremtidige terroraksjoner. Jeg var dessuten totalt uinteressert i noe møte. Noe annet vet jeg ikke om Behring Breivik. Absolutt ingenting.

Litt nølende ga jeg frivillig politiet adgang til min telefonlogg, noe som er en betydelig utstrakt hånd fra en person som ikke er siktet for noe og som selv vet at han ikke har vært involvert i de kriminelle hendelsene. Men jeg nektet å følge politiets anmodning om å gi dem min datamaskin, noe jeg anså som en for sterk inngripen i mitt privatliv. Jeg ble deretter fotfulgt av flere politifolk og presset til å overlevere den.

Det var Bård Dyrdal, leder for vitneavhørsprosjektet om 22. juli-terroren, som gjennomførte tvangsvedtaket, støttet av politiadvokatene Christian Hatlo og Pål-Fredrik Hjort Kraby. «Han hadde status som vitne og vi fikk en lang og grei forklaring fra ham på de spørsmålene vi hadde,» sa Kraby til NRK.

Det er riktig, jeg hadde status som vitne både før og etterpå og har aldri noensinne vært mistenkt eller siktet for å ha begått en kriminell handling. For ordens skyld sier politiet pr. e-post i oktober, etter å ha studert all min kommunikasjon i flere måneder, at jeg fremdeles ikke er mistenkt for noe.

Dyrdal uttalte da han annonserte at jeg umiddelbart skulle eskorteres til min leilighet av et halvt dusin politifolk for å ransake mine bøker, filmer, fotografier, kjøkkentøy og skittentøy i timevis, at det er mye press i denne saken. I praksis betyr det sannsynligvis at politiet lar massemediene diktere deres handlinger i saken mot Behring Breivik. Det fantes ingen objektiv, faglig begrunnelse for det de gjorde mot meg.

De konfiskerte også en koffert med klær og sokker som ikke inneholdt noe elektronisk utstyr. På et tidspunkt da altfor mange voldtekter og andre grove forbrytelser står uoppklart i deler av landet kan man spørre seg om det er en riktig prioritering av politiet å bruke flere måneder på å studere sokkene til en person fullstendig uten kriminelt rulleblad.

Det finnes overhodet ingenting på min PC som kan knytte meg til terrorangrepene. Det eneste som kunne være av interesse der for politimyndighetene, og da mer for PST enn det vanlige politiet, er kontakter jeg har med fredelige mennesker i mange land som ikke liker islam. Det betyr at norsk politi satte til side vanlige rettsprinsipper for å beslaglegge en PC som ikke kan brukes til noe annet enn å drive ulovlig overvåking på rent politisk grunnlag.

Den begrunnelsen politiet brukte overfor meg er det som kalles tredjemannsransaking, noe som innebærer at bevis for Behring Breiviks terrorangrep måtte finnes i min leilighet og at det var fare for bevisforspillelse. Dette er latterlig. Jeg hadde selv kontaktet politiet og svart på spørsmål i mange timer, nettopp fordi jeg ikke har noe å skjule. Det var dessuten gått to uker siden terrorangrepene, rikelig tid til å fjerne bevis dersom det hadde eksistert, noe det ikke gjorde.

Jeg har aldri hørt om et vestlig demokratisk land der et frivillig vitne, som selv tok kontakt med myndighetene og av politiet er omtalt som samarbeidsvillig, som ikke har noe kriminelt rulleblad, ikke kjente gjerningsmannen og som attpåtil ikke var i nærheten av åstedet da forbrytelsen skjedde, får sin leilighet ransaket og sitt datautstyr konfiskert.

Da jeg fortalte Lars Hedegaard fra The International Free Press Society hva slags behandling jeg hadde fått som vitne, var hans reaksjon at det jeg har vært utsatt for i denne saken minner om tilstandene i totalitære stater som vi dessverre kjenner altfor godt fra det 20. århundre. «Hvis noen for bare noen år siden hadde sagt at det stolte og frie Norge, som vi dansker så opp til under den tyske okkupasjonen, ville ende opp slik ville jeg ha betegnet dem som utilregnelige.» Dette er harde ord fra en nabo og skadelig for Norges internasjonale omdømme.

Jeg frykter at behandlingen av meg i denne saken kan skape en farlig presedens som i verste fall innebærer at politiet fra nå av kan ransake leiligheten til borgere de ikke liker oppsynet til, spesielt hvis de sier noe politisk ukorrekt, og konfiskere deres datautstyr, kamera og klær uten å sikte dem for å ha gjort noe kriminelt overhodet. Da har vi ikke lenger et kriminalpoliti, vi har fått et meningspoliti. Ønsker vi å ha et slikt samfunn?

Djemila Benhabib is the author of Ma vie à contre-Coran (“My life against the Koran”). She is the daughter of a Greek Cypriot mother and an Algerian father, and was raised in Oran, Algeria. She now lives in Quebec, and the interview below is from a Quebec television program.

Many thanks to Bear for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling: