Author Archives: Baron Bodissey

Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/12/2015

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Eurozone finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on a new bailout plan for Greece, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is ready to compromise. Meanwhile, both the Netherlands and Sweden are experiencing unacceptably low levels of inflation, verging into actual deflation. The Swedish central bank responded by announcing a program of quantitative easing, and the stock market rallied as a result.

In other news, the FBI says it will launch a new investigation into the fatal shooting of three Muslims in Chapel Hill yesterday, to determine whether any hate was involved.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Mithrandir, Papa Whiskey, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

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.

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The Real Causes of “Man-Caused Disasters”

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Michael Mukasey served as Attorney General in the latter part of the George W. Bush administration. He was one of the featured speakers at yesterday’s Defeat Jihad Summit sponsored by the Center for Security Policy.

Below is a video of Mr. Mukasey’s remarks on Islamic violence, Koranic doctrine, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for editing and excerpting this clip:

It’s a Long Way Down From Your High Horse

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JLH has taken a break from translating German to compose this timely allegory.

Don’t Get up on Your High Horse — It’s a Long Way Down

by JLH

President Obama’s recent and timely reminder of horrors only 1,000 years in our past has not gone unheeded. Some of us have read historical novels and we know what a nice fellow Salah-al-Din was and how well he got along with Richard Lion-Heart. He didn’t have to be polite about it. After all, the Crusaders were invading his sovereign territory, just because some namby-pamby Christians were complaining about genocide. Well, we all know how things like that can be exaggerated. Just look at the Holocaust. And that random shooting at some ethnic deli in Paris.

And don’t let the names fool you. Knights Hospitaller might sound good, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t handle a sword.

But we have a bigger problem right here and right now. Even as we congratulate ourselves that we have learned from the Enlightenment and the history of democracy in the Western World, and have every intention of avoiding the excesses of those ravening Crusaders from our past, something truly sinister is looming in what has been called the oldest, continuously functioning democracy in the world. It started quite a while after the Greek experiment, but unlike the Greek, was never interrupted by conquest or transitory dictatorships. Some have regarded its early form as quite rudimentary, in its employment of the quasi judicial-legislative body called the Thing, which seemed to operate as a blend of enlightened lobbying and the Swiss version of direct democracy.

I speak, of course, of Iceland, which had applied for membership in the EU, but backed away and is still on its own, even though its main trading partners are the EU and Norway, the land of its origins. The sinister development, which has been widely ignored, but was obviously foreseen by our president and most likely his religious mentors — the Reverend Wright, CAIR and, of course, Valerie Jarrett — is the unforeseen rise, after 1,000 dormant years, of the Norse religion. It has recently been announced that the organization Ásatrúarfélagið has begun construction of a temple to be dedicated to Thor, Odin and Frigg, that is, the CEO, the Hit-Man and the Big Mama of Norse religion. Two of the three are represented in the English names of the days of the week as Wednesday (Woden’s Day) and Thursday (Thor’s Day). Friday is dedicated to Freya, the goddess of love, but as Odin’s wife, the fertility mother and the most powerful woman in Asgard, and Frigg is arguably her alter ego.

For those who have not brushed up on the Viking era, the predecessors of our present-day Icelanders and co-devotees of the Norse religion were the residents of what are now Denmark, Norway and Sweden, who for reasons that are still being argued took to the seas to seek their fortunes through both trading and raiding. Both functions are attested by the variety of styles and sizes in their sturdy, clinker-built, sail- and oar-driven ships which crisscrossed the Baltic and North Seas, followed inland waterways south from Kiev to the Black Sea, poured out of the North Sea to cruise the coasts of Ireland, Britain, France and Spain and even into the Mediterranean Sea. Wherever one of the notorious, dragon-necked long ships appeared offshore, trembling townspeople and monks beseeched: “Oh Lord, spare us the fury of the Norsemen!” Possibly they sounded like the Christians, Jews, Yazidis and Kurds in Muslim territory today.

Even a thousand years later, as our president has reminded us, we cannot escape the opprobrium of those rascally Crusaders, one of whom actually bragged about wading through pools of pagan blood! (Wait…Why does that sound familiar?) And now we face the resurrection of the religion that fueled the Viking Age.

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After 100 Years, a New Islam Law for Austria: Part 4

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February 12, the Day of Reckoning

This is the conclusion of a four-part series on the new Islam Law. Previously: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Introduction to Part 4

by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

On January 15, the parliamentary constitutional committee convened for the first time on the topic of the Law on Islam. This meeting included representatives of all parties in parliament as well as one expert nominated by each party. The Freedom Party called on Christian Zeitz for his expertise, while Team Stronach relied on Harald Fiegl to testify. Both decisions turned out to be good ones, as their testimony could not be refuted by anyone on committee, nor by the minister in charge of the drafting of the initial law.

Below are two news articles from the period, as translated by JLH. First, from the Austrian News Agency:

FPÖ Member Stefan: Islam Act: Back to the Start — The Act Does Not Achieve its Purpose

January 13, 2015

Expert Hearing in Parliament confirms the misgivings of the Austrian Freedom Party

Vienna: “Today’s expert hearing in Parliament has confirmed our reservations. The Islam Act in its present form does not achieve its goal. That is, it addresses only religious communities, but not the hundreds of organizations and Muslims per se. In order for the law’s provisions to include and be effective for all Muslims, the organizations would all have to be dissolved. And from what can be said as of now, that will not happen. The result will be that the organizations will continue as before and the law can simply not be applied to them,” says FPÖ spokesman Magister Harald Stefan.

“And even in the unlikely event — the probability is at nil — that the organizations are dissolved, even then the Islam Act would not be fulfilling its purpose, i.e., putting limits on radical Islam, thus enabling supervision and protecting all liberal Muslims loyal to the democratic rule of law, our constitution and human rights from Islamists,” admonishes Stefan. Furthermore, a number of special rights for Muslims would be introduced, and Stefan rejects that too.

“The wrong focus with halfhearted measures. Even if the idea of an Islam Act is good and justified, the execution has not succeeded. For the Islam Act, it can only be ‘Back to the beginning,’” says Stefan.

Secondly, from ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation):

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/11/2015

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The United States, Britain, and France have closed their embassies in Yemen and evacuated diplomatic personnel. All three countries plus Italy have advised their citizens to stay away from Yemen, due to the ongoing political crisis. The situation in the country has been chaotic since the Sunni government was toppled a few months ago and replaced by a Shi’ite regime under the Houthi rebels.

In other news, Fouad Belkacem, a top jihad leader and the head of Sharia4Belgium, has been sentenced to twelve years in prison.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Col. Bunny, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

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.

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Major Stephen Coughlin on Abrogation

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The Center for Security Policy hosted a Defeat Jihad Summit in Washington D.C. today. Among the speakers were Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Representatives Steven King and Mike Pompeo, Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, Danish free speech advocate Lars Hedegaard, and Major (ret.) Stephen Coughlin.

The video below shows Maj. Coughlin’s brief but comprehensive explanation of the Doctrine of Abrogation as practiced in Islamic law. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for excerpting this clip:

Watch the full six-hour video here.

The more lengthy explanation of abrogation below is adapted from previous briefings by Maj. Coughlin. As always, his material is scrupulously sourced.

The Doctrine of Abrogation

At the very pinnacle of Islamic law is the Koran, which is the uncreated word of God as revealed through his prophet. Every word in the Koran comes from God himself, and is inerrant. Yet the Koran sometimes contradicts itself. These seemingly intractable differences are reconciled through the doctrine of “abrogation”.

So what is abrogation?

This is what Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee has to say about abrogation in Islamic Jurisprudence:[1]

The law was laid down in the period of the Prophet (peace be unto him) gradually and in stages. The aim was to bring a society steeped in immorality to observe the highest standards of morality. This could not be done abruptly. It was done in stages, and doing so necessitated repeal and abrogation of certain laws.

As you can see, Nyazee acknowledges that the Koran contradicts itself. Upon discovering this fact, someone who knows very little about Islam might say, “The Koran contradicts itself. Doesn’t this mean it’s broken?” But it is well understood in Islam that the Koran contradicts itself. This fact is explained, and taken into account. There are methods for dealing with it.

This becomes significant when non-Muslims approach a Muslim cultural expert or “moderate” to ask about certain verses of the Koran that are cited by radicals to justify their violent jihad. The cultural expert or “moderate” will respond with something like this: “You (infidel) must read from the entire body of the Koran to understand the true meaning. Those radicals cherry-pick from the back of the Koran.”

With this reply the cultural expert gives the impression that he does not agree with the radicals, but he never actually says that what they cherry-pick is wrong.

So what is the Koranic basis for the doctrine of abrogation?

It is a Qur’an which We have divided into parts from time to time, in order that thou mightest recite it to men at intervals: We have Revealed it by stages. (Qur’an 17:106)

Concerning this verse, the Qur’an commentator Yusuf Ali says:[2]

The marvel is that these parts, revealed at different times and in different circumstances, should fit together so closely and consistently as they do. All revelation is progressive. The previous revelations were also progressive. Each of them marked a stage in the world’s spiritual history. Man’s mind does not take in more than his spiritual state will have prepared him for. Allah’s revelation comes as a light to illuminate our difficulties and show us the way in actual situations that arise.

Here’s another verse covering the same subject:

When We substitute one revelation for another – and Allah knows best what He reveals in stages — They say, “Thou art but a forger”: But most of them understand not. (Qur’an 16:101)

And once again, a comment by Yusuf Ali:[3]

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After 100 Years, a New Islam Law for Austria: Part 3

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Reactions to the Proposed Islam Law

This is the third in a four-part series on the new Islam Law. Previously: Part 1, Part 2.

Introduction to Part 3

by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

At first, the IGGiÖ (Die islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich, Islamic Faith Community in Austria) was thrilled about the new draft law. However, after carefully perusing the contents, the representatives came to the conclusion that the law was not as pro-Islam as they had hoped for. As a result, the IGGiÖ and its Shura Council rejected the draft law.

Here’s the report from ORF. I’m grateful to JLH for the translation:

Islam Act — IGGiÖ Rejects the Draft

After consideration by its Shura Council, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGiÖ) has definitively rejected the government draft for a new Islam Act.

A similar position taken by the Supreme Council — the governing body, so-to-speak, of the IGGiÖ — confirmed the Shura Council, which is more or less the “parliament” of the religious society. To be sure, there is acknowledgment of improvements in comparison to the draft result of the review procedure, but the IGGiÖ maintains its criticism as voiced in the review process.

Primacy of Austrian Law “Natural”

The IGGiÖ states: “The specific statement of the primacy of Austrian law in the text of the law comes against the background that no other religious law is formulated this way, as a kind of suspicion of lack of loyalty among Muslims. And yet, the primacy of Austrian law for Muslims in Austria is a natural thing, which they have confirmed in the constitution of the IGGiÖ.”

To be sure, the governmental template passed by the ministerial council allocates the IGGiÖ its own segment, but this does not obviate the criticism of a “failed concept in the draft.” In the spirit of the Islam Act of 1912, what is required is a law for the IGGiÖ — the Islamic religious community — which includes the four Sunni and three Shi’ite paths of Islam. “Otherwise,” says the announcement, “Muslims cannot identify with this law.” Other religious societies should be dealt with in their own law, just as there is no “Christian Act” for various Christian denominations.

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“A Cowardly Cuddling of Islam”

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Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) in the Netherlands, debated the Dutch prime minister in parliament today (video, in Dutch). Below is the English translation of his speech.

Geert Wilders in Parliamentary Debate with Dutch Prime Minister: “We See a Cowardly Cuddling of Islam”

Madam Speaker,

Exactly four weeks ago today, I stood here on behalf of the PVV group and expressed my anger about the incompetent anti-terrorism policies of the cabinet. I called on the government to wake up. To recognize Islam as the cause of the terror and the misery. To close our borders. To halt Islamization. To let Jihadists leave or a least imprison them. And to never allow them to return to the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, four weeks have passed and no progress has been made. Nothing has improved, the situation only became worse. The Netherlands is facing the biggest threat since World War II and the government policies are still being characterized by amateurism and an incredibly dangerous political correctness.

When last summer Muslims paraded with ISIS flags through the streets of The Hague and screamed “Death to the Jews”, there was no cabinet minister to be seen, and the Mayor of The Hague, a VVD member, refused to return from his holiday in France. And now, when without any violence there is a protest against a mosque in Leiden, Minister Asscher hurries to Leiden and within three minutes the Mayor of Leiden expressed his indignation.

What we see are double standards, a selective indignation, a cowardly cuddling of Islam.

Meanwhile, the government is providing extra support to Islam in the Netherlands. As if nothing has happened. As if the problem in our country is that we have not enough Islam in the Netherlands. In Gouda they are now allowed to build a mega-mosque. With a genuine apartheid wall around it, so that the Muslim men with their beards do not have to confront any female legs. Ludicrous!

This country seems to be governed by lunatics. And the judiciary is equally crazy. You know that my party is of the opinion that jihadis should be allowed to leave. Good riddance. Away from here. Deprive them of their nationality and let them never return.

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Islamophobia Turns Deadly in Chapel Hill

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Update: Here’s a video of the statement made by the suspect’s wife, followed by statement from the victims’ family (hat tip Vlad).

Three Muslims have been shot to death by a non-Muslim in Chapel Hill near UNC:

3 Muslim Students Shot to Death in Apartment Near UNC Chapel Hill

By Saeed Ahmed, CNN

(CNN) A 46-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of three Muslim students in an apartment near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus.

Police haven’t said what may have compelled the accused, Craig Stephen Hicks, to allegedly carry out the attack Tuesday evening. He turned himself into police later in the night.

But given the victims’ religion and comments the alleged shooter apparently left on a Facebook page, many social media users wondered what role, if any, the victims’ faith played.

Based on his online footprint, Mr. Hicks is an atheist. I see this incident as an opportunity for the Powers That Be to crack down on the atheist wing of the Counterjihad, which is not as big as the Christian portion, but still considerable.

Anders Behring Breivik was described as a “Christian terrorist” by the media after his massacre on Utøya in 2011, despite his own statements in his “manifesto” declaring himself to be an atheist. Mr. Hicks plainly can’t be used in that fashion — his atheism was too militant and public. He has expressed his disdain for Christians online, posting “a picture from United Atheists of America asking ‘why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues’.”

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/10/2015

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Two young men were arrested today on terrorism charges in Fairfield, a suburb of Sydney. A knife and a flag were said to be among objects seized from a residence. No Mohammed Coefficient or cultural enrichment index has yet been released by Australian authorities. However, they reassured the public that the incident had nothing to do with Islam. Nothing whatsoever. Honest. Cross our hearts and hope to die.

In other news, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told an audience in Zurich that “Islam is Europe’s indigenous religion.”

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, K, KU, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

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.

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A Reality Check

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The following essay by Nick McAvelly was originally published at Patriot’s Corner in a slightly different form.

A Reality Check
by Nick McAvelly

“It is impossible to engage in intellectual discourse with National Socialism because it is not an intellectually defensible program. It is false to speak of a National Socialist philosophy, for if there were such an entity, one would have to try by means of analysis and discussion either to prove its validity or to combat it. In actuality, however, we face a totally different situation. At its very inception this movement depended on the deception and betrayal of one’s fellow man; even at that time it was inwardly corrupt and could support itself only by constant lies.” (The White Rose, 2nd pamphlet.)

“If it were possible for any nation to fathom another people’s bitter experience through a book, how much easier its future fate would become and how many calamities and mistakes it could avoid. But it is very difficult. There always is this fallacious belief: ‘It would not be the same here; here such things are impossible.’ Alas, all the evil of the twentieth century is possible everywhere on earth.” (Solzhenitsyn, A. The Gulag Archipelago, Harvill Press, p. x)

“For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me.
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.”
(Job 3:25-26 NKJV)

A multicultural utopia is a theoretical and practical impossibility that can only be defended using fallacies and lies. Each and every time a terrorist attack is carried out by devout Muslims yelling out the takbir, the assertion that all cultural values are compatible is refuted. Yet some people maintain that Islam is a religion of peace and its doctrines and practices are compatible with our own traditional Judeo-Christian heritage, because after all, not all Muslims are terrorists. That may be true, but it is completely irrelevant.

A categorical proposition is a statement which relates members of one group to members of another. It has a subject term and a predicate term, and it can be expressed in the following standard forms: All S are P, No S are P, Some S are P and Some S are not P.

One attribute of categorical propositions is quantity; this refers to whether the proposition makes a claim about every member of the class denoted by the subject term. The propositions ‘All S are P’ and ‘No S are P’ both say something about all members of the class denoted by the subject term S, so those propositions are said to be universal. The propositions ‘Some S are P’ and ‘Some S are not P’ say something about one or more (but not all) members of the class denoted by the subject term S, so those propositions are said to be particular.

Another attribute of categorical propositions is quality. A categorical proposition claims that some or all the members of the class denoted by the subject term are also members of the class denoted by the predicate term, which is affirmative, or that they are not, which is negative. So the propositions ‘All S are P’ and ‘Some S are P’ are affirmative and the propositions ‘No S are P’ and ‘Some S are not P’ are negative.

The four standard form categorical propositions have traditionally been referred to using the first four vowels of the Roman alphabet. The universal affirmative proposition (All S are P) is called an A proposition, the universal negative (No S are P) is an E proposition, the particular affirmative (Some S are P) is an I proposition and the particular negative (Some S are not P) is an O proposition.

The logical relationship between the four standard form categorical propositions can be shown using the square of opposition:

If someone says that not all Muslims are terrorists, they are asserting that, where the subject term is “Muslims” and the predicate term is “terrorists”, the A proposition (All S are P) is false. What are we to make of this?


The A proposition – All S are P

As we can see from the square of opposition, the A proposition “All Muslims are terrorists” is a contradictory of the O proposition “Some Muslims are not terrorists”. Since they are contradictories, both propositions cannot be true at the same time, and both propositions cannot be false. So if the A proposition “All Muslims are terrorists” is false, then the O proposition “Some Muslims are not terrorists” must be true.

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Making Sense of Retrograde Motion

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Vlad Tepes has perfected the art of the Hybrid Text-Video Essay. He takes short video excerpts and intersperses them with his own text, using the clips as examples to illustrate what he’s discussing. In a recent hybrid essay, he features four clips featuring (1) Eric Holder, (2) Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton, (3) President Obama, and (4) Bill Warner.

“That’s an odd mix, Baron,” you say. “How does he make all that fit together?”

Well, you’ll have to watch the videos to see for yourself. But here are some excerpts from his accompanying text:

Adding the missing puzzle piece on Obama’s peculiar lexicon

Often, when consistent observations do not fit any acceptable theory, the public or pundits will feel they have to make up a complicated puzzle piece that allows observations to fit with an accepted paradigm. Authority hates a vacuum and humanity hates an unknown. And often one can tell that this was what took place because the solution is clumsy, counter-intuitive and impossibly complex.

One of my favorite examples of this was the Catholic Church propagation of the notion of ‘retrograde motion’ of the planets to try and explain why, when observing the motions of the planets, they did not always move in perfect circles around the Earth as the legally mandated theory of the day insisted they must, but instead, occasionally moved what appeared to be backwards for a bit as their orbits around the Sun were viewed from the Earth. The Church at one point had a giant clockwork machine made that more or less replicated these motions to show how they happened in fact.

(To the Church’s credit, they allowed observations to be made and attempted to adjust their model to account for these observations and even though conclusion based reasoning is anathema to science, it is still an order of magnitude more valuable than Islam which kills the observer when reality fails to reflect belief.)

Once the theory was changed from an Earth centered universe to a Sun centered solar system within an arm of a spiral galaxy, pretty much all observed motions of planets and stars fit theory near enough to perfect for accurate predictions to be made.

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A Typical Week in Dhimmi Britain

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Prompted by last Sunday’s culturally-enriched gathering at Downing Street, Paul Weston sends the following observations on the dire situation of Modern Multicultural Britain.

A Typical Week in Dhimmi Britain
by Paul Weston

It is amazing — in a rather horrifying way — to track the antics of the Religion of Peace in what was once Great Britain. News over the last few days serve only to reinforce my belief that British politicians and media journalists have already submitted before Allah, or have large off-shore bank accounts bulging with treacherous blood money as a reward for betraying their country.

If this sounds a bit far-fetched, consider the peculiar behaviour exhibited by our supposedly impartial journalists over the weekend. The EDL held a march in Dudley on Saturday, protesting about the building of yet another mega-mosque which the vast majority of local people are firmly against. Some 1,000 plus patriotic Brits turned out for the event. A peaceful march ensued and a number of speakers outlined why it was not really a good idea to add another propaganda centre for Islam in the town.

Around fifty delightful young chaps from David Cameron’s UAF friends and Antifa also turned out, all dressed in black with balaclavas thoughtfully covering their scowling and hate-contorted faces lest cameras catch their violent behaviour carried out in the name of “anti-racism” — which is something of a misnomer when one considers the virulent racial hatred they feel toward the native British.

Of these fifty upstanding examples of decency and compassion, thirty were arrested (see video) after they attacked the police. Curiously though, all the media headlines were along the lines of “Thirty arrested at EDL demonstration in Dudley”, leading the low-information reader to assume all those arrested were from the EDL. In point of fact, no EDL supporters were arrested at all.

The Birmingham Mail was guilty of blatant propaganda here, but rather foolishly allowed their comment board to remain open. Within a few hours hundreds of people pointed out their story was a tissue of lies and disinformation. Some questioned the ethics of modern day Birmingham Mail journalists and publicly mused as to whether the propaganda they pumped out was in line with the integrity one expects from those who purportedly exist to tell us the unvarnished truth.

Having been caught in-flagrante as it were, the Birmingham Mail took the only course of action available to such an honourable edifice of truth telling… and deleted all the comments whilst making no attempt whatsoever to edit the article in order to reflect truth and objectivity. The editor is a chap called David Brookes who may be contacted at David.Brookes@trinitymirror.com should readers wish to drop him a line…

On Sunday another demonstration occurred, this time held by thousands of Muslims outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s temporary London pied-a-terre in Downing Street. Some people have noticed how hard it is to get large numbers of Muslims onto British streets to state “Not In My Name” regarding paedophile rape gangs, beheaders of British soldiers or blowers-up of London tube trains, and sure enough this large gathering had nothing to say about such errant Muslim behaviour. They were more concerned about abolishing free speech you see, particularly with regard to free speech about lovely, peaceful old Mo by those rascals at Charlie Hebdo magazine.

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After 100 Years, a New Islam Law for Austria: Part 2

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Critique of the draft law by Wiener Akademikerbund

This is the second in a four-part series on the new Islam Law. Previously: Part 1.

Introduction to Part 2

by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

In order to understand the process of lawmaking in Austria, here is a short and very simplified overview:

The government presents a draft law, which is then forwarded to Parliament and discussed in committee. There are usually one to two hearings before the law — sometimes after being amended — goes to a plenary session and is then voted into law.

Before the government votes on the draft law, it is usually preceded by more or less lengthy discussions which include those affected by the law. In the case of the new draft law on Islam, the initial discussions, lasting nearly two years, aimed at comprising “Austrians as well as Muslims from all walks of life.” This is blatantly false, however, since the Wiener Akademikerbund (WAB) was excluded from any deliberations.

Nevertheless, as soon as the initial law was presented in draft form, anyone, including the WAB, was permitted to comment officially on the Law, before it was voted on by the government. The WAB seized this opportunity and presented a lengthy paper with a scathing analysis of the failings of this law (Islamgesetz 1912, Änderung in German only, all comments and critique presented to Parliament).

Below is the Commentary on the Draft Law by the Wiener Akademikerbund as translated by Rembrandt Clancy. The original German version is available here. Following the WAB paper is a news article from an Austrian daily that is relevant to the deficiencies of the proposed Islam Law.

Wiener Akademikerbund
A-11080 Wien, Schlösselgasse 11/I www.wienerakademikerbund.at

Commentary on the Draft of a Federal Law Amending the Islam Law of 1912

For some years, the Wiener Akademikerbund has been comprehensively and systematically engaged both with the doctrines of Islam, its constitution [Verfaßtheit], legal foundation and development in Austria, and with the effects of its implementation and its expansion, especially in Europe. The Wiener Akademikerbund considers itself called upon to accept the invitation to participate in the process of assessment and consultation which was issued as the draft was being published on 2 October 2014.

Contents:

1.   Synopsis
2.   Background
3.   Initial situation prior to the implementation of the project for a new Islam Act. The constitution [Verfaßtheit] of real Islam in Austria.
4.   The necessity for a new Islam Act. Support for the legislative project and identification with the “spirit of the law”, as it is expressed in the draft at hand.
5.   Rationale for the indispensability of the measures to be taken in connection with the three central reform points of the draft.
6.   The draft’s central structural error and its far-reaching consequences.
7.   Proposal for the direction to be taken in repairing the cited defect.
8.   Important technical details by which the draft should be improved and/or supplemented.
 

1. Synopsis

The more than 100-year history of Islam legislation in Austria began in 1912 with an act of tolerance unique in the world, and with an “outstretched hand”. Since then, many deficiencies and imperfections have slipped in through dealings with the “real Islam”. Today, there is reason to assume that the Islamic Religious Community in Austria has no valid legal basis. And a proliferation of non-transparent mosque organizations is taking the principle of religious freedom to the point of absurdity.

The project to renew the Islam Act is overdue and most necessary. The Wiener Akademikerbund identifies with the “spirit of the law” which undergirds this project. Longstanding demands of the Wiener Akademikerbund are reflected in the draft text: disclosure of the tenets of the faith, a ban on financing and radical influence from foreign sources, as well as the dissolving of the religious operations of the associations that are exempt from any supervision or responsibility.

The draft, however, has a serious legal defect that is likely to undo all the intentions of the project. The defect is the result of complex causes and is, at first glance, barely recognizable. It will be analyzed in minute detail in the present commentary. A specific suggestion for a remedy will indicate a way out of the dilemma. Additionally, detailed suggestions for improvement and reform will be made, which are suited to increase the likelihood of accomplishing the goals of the planned Islam law.

2. Background

Without knowing the history of the origin and development of the concrete legal issues, it is no more possible to understand the need for a new Islam law than it is to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the draft that is now before us.

After the final repulse of the Ottoman expansion in the Balkans by the European forces of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg monarchy, Bosnia and Herzegovina were made protectorates of Austria by the Berlin Congress of 1878. Not until 1909 were they accepted into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In 1910, this acceptance was formalized by a special status conferred by Emperor Franz Joseph. The monarchy was affording the land a respectable economic prosperity, and was at pains to preserve the religious peace as well as the social structures frequently linked with the Muslim elites. As a special mark of equality, Islam was therefore to be awarded the status of a legally recognized religious community throughout the entire empire. This took place “with the agreement of both Houses of the Imperial Assembly” in the Islam Act of July 15, 1912.

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