A Rosetta Stone for Ehsan Jami, Part 2

Rosetta Stone for Ehsan JamiAs I reported a couple of days ago, we’ve launched a Rosetta Stone project for Ehsan Jami’s movie An Interview With Mohammed. For those who haven’t seen it yet, the video may be viewed here or here.

Four more languages have come in from the translators and can be found at the bottom of this post: Italian, Romanian, Serbian, and Swedish. These are added to Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, and Norwegian, which were posted early yesterday morning.

The ultimate goal is to produce as many subtitled copies of the video in as many languages as possible and upload them to YouTube, LiveLeak, and other online video services. This is a subversive movie, and a viral effort to propagate it is warranted.

I hope to have an .SRT subtitling file in hand in the next few days to help would-be subtitlers produce their versions of the video. Anyone who knows how to subtitle and wants to help should contact me (unspiek[at]chromatism.net) and let me know your availability. A high-quality version of the video can be made available for subtitling purposes.

Among the languages still lacking translators are Albanian, Croatian, Farsi, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Maltese, Portuguese, Slovakian, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish, and Urdu. Anyone who can help with these will be heartily welcomed onto the Rosetta Stone team.

Many thanks to the translators, Gaia, Armance, Witch King of Angmar, and Henrik W. for Italian, Romanian, Serbian, and Swedish, respectively. The four new languages are below the fold, and the permanent page with all the available translations is here.
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Italian Version

Translated by Gaia

  Un’Intervista con Mohammed
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Molte grazie per questa intervista. Come ti devo chiamare? Signor Mohammed o hai un cognome?
 
Mo:   Salam o alaikom
Mo andrà benissimo. Mohammed è un pò lungo. Ho notato che tutto è abbreviato al giorno d’oggi. Tante cose sono cambiate. Sto viaggiando molto ultimamente
 
Jami:   Ti piacciono le cose che hai visto? …
 
Mo:   Così così. È facile girare attualmente…in quel modo è facile incontrare gente diversa in luoghi differenti…e di conseguenza, c’è molto più potenziale per la comprensione
 
Jami:   … eh… Mo… parlando della comprensione… Come sai, ci sono molte discussioni a proposito dell’Islam in occidente, Islam e la democrazia e naturalmente come il tuo modo di vivere si riflette sui musulmani che vivono oggi giorno. Allora, incominciamo dall’inizio della tua vita e più dopo vorrei conoscere il tuo punto di vista sull’ Islam di oggi.
 
Mo:   Capisco che ci sia stata una certa confusione negli ultimi… euh… 1400 anni. Ciò mi dà l’opportunità di chiarire alcune cose.
 
Jami:   È questo un tentativo di riscrivere la storia?
 
Mo:   Ogni personaggio storico è stato caricato con i fatti e gli esempi difficili. I fatti non si possono cambiare, gli esempi tuttavia si possono cambiare.
 
Jami:   Ma nella tua storia è duro separare i fatti dagli esempi
 
Mo:   Sì, quella è la mia tragedia: Sono l’autore, il giocatore ed anche il testimone del mio proprio dramma
 
Jami:   Quale dramma è più tragico? Il tuo o la situazione tragica di milioni di musulmani? In questa tragedia sei il direttore. Ma i giocatori hanno continuato a giocare dopo che sei andato in pensione
 
Mo:   È vero. Ma non ho mai completamente lasciato la scena. Iniziamo e lasciamo quindi il Rasul Allah, rilasciando la gente da quello che ero e quello che non voglio mai essere più. È questo quello che tu chiami emancipazione. O divento troppo complicato?
 
Jami:   Bene, chiariamo le cose. Cominciamo dall’inizio. Come si chiamavano tua madre e tuo padre?
 
Mo:   Il nome di mio padre era Abdallah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib ed il nome di mia madre era Aminah bint Wahab
 
Jami:   Che genere di uomo era tuo padre? E che genere di donna era tua madre?
 
Mo:   Ho poca memoria della mia madre. È morta quando avevo 6 anni purtroppo. Non ho mai conosciuto mio padre. È morto prima che fossi nato. Ero in effetti un orfano
 
Jami:   Mi dispiace
 
Mo:   Sono stato cresciuto da mio nonno Abd Al-Muttalib fino all’età di 8 e più tardi da mio zio Abd Talib. Mi ricordo che e 
Jami:   Hai avuto un’infanzia piacevole dunque?
 
Mo:   Direi di si …
 
Jami:   Hai sempre saputo che saresti stato qualche giorno un profeta?
 
Mo:   Avevo avuto alcuni sogni a proposito. Ma non conoscevo il significato allora
 
Jami:   Ti ricordi che cosa volevi diventare da grande?
 
Mo:   Beh, quello era molto tempo fa. Mio zio mi raccontava le grandi storie di un uomo chiamato Gesù ed i suoi 11… guerrieri o qualcosa di simile. In verita 
Jami:   Sono sicuro che la gente cristiana è soddisfatta di sentire che voi due siete amici. Se va bene per te, vorrei andare avanti nel tempo. Immaginiamo che ora hai circa venti anni . Hai avuto una formazione?
 
Mo:   No, ma ero vispo. La vita era la mia formazione. Ero stanco di vivere senza prospettive. Ho voluto fare qualcosa per l’umanità. E naturalmente cercavo una buona moglie. Ho visto tante cose interessanti lungo il mio cammino. Ed ho imparato tante cose. Poi ho incontrato Khadidja. Aveva un commercio di caravan. Era una signora bella. Mi ha impiegato come capo di uno dei suoi caravan. A 25 anni l’ ho sposata. Era 15 anni più anziana di me.
 
Jami:   Cio 
Mo:   In amore, amico mio, l’età non significa nulla. Quando si e 
Jami:   Bene, ovviamente hai un gran cuore?
 
Mo:   non esageriamo. Avevo anche una grande portafoglio vuoto
 
Jami:   Ma hai avuto più di 20 mogli ad un certo punto. Sahih Bukhari, uno dei tuoi apostoli, ha detto che usavi andare in giro ed avere rapporti sessuali con tutte le tue mogli in una notte. Perbacco!. È vero?
 
Mo:   sì, qualcosa di simile. Ma ho pensato che volevi ragionare in modo cronologico … La mia prima moglie Khadidja era una donna ricca e di conseguenza, è stata più attraente per me
 
Jami:   era la tua banca?
 
Mo:   sì, certamente. Una banca con tutto il necessario. Credimi, tutti sognano di sposare una banca. Ed in quei giorni. ancor più d’ora. Il matrimonio era commercio. Matrimonio era politica
 
Jami:   E Aisha? Avevi 52 anni quando ti sei sposato con una ragazzina di 7 anni e con cui hai avuto rapporti sessuali quando aveva 9 anni. Come spieghi questo?
 
Mo:   È più complesso di quello che tu e molta gente possano pensare.
 
Jami:   Bene, ho una citazione da Aisha e la cito dal Hadith dove lei dice: “Che il profeta mi ha sposato quando avevo sei anni ed ha consumato il matrimonio quando avevo nove anni ed da allora sono rimasta con lui per nove anni finchè l’apostolo di Allah è morto”….. dunque, spiegami ciò.
 
Mo:   Suo padre Abu Bakr, era uno dei miei alleati più vicini. Dopo la morte di Khadidja, il mio cuore era a pezzi. Ero un uomo solo. Suo padre era abbastanza gentile a lasciarmi sposarla. Ed era una ragazza tanto forte.
 
Jami:   Ma le hai chiesto se volesse sposarti?
 
Mo:   No, non l’ho fatto. Suo padre mi ha dato il suo permesso. Quello era sufficiente. Inoltre, era così giovane. Non era in grado di prendere una decisione. Tutto ciò era normale in quei giorni e purtroppo in alcuni luoghi su questo pianeta e sempre normale anche nel 21 secolo
 
Jami:   E quando lei aveva 9 anni, le hai chiesto di avere il sesso con te?
 
Mo:   Erano tempi diversi. Era una società tribale. Molte cose erano differenti all’epoca. La mentalità era diversa. La vita era differente. La gente era differente ed io ero differente… E non dovresti dimenticare che, io, come Rasul Allah avevo un privilegio erotico speciale che gli uomini comuni non avevano. Avevo poteri terreni. Ed ero soltanto un’essere umano.
 
Jami:   Sto dicendo questo perché nei paesi islamici, queste pratiche ancora accadono spesso. Che cosa vuoi dire ai musulmani che praticano tali cose?
 
Mo:   Non provare questo a casa. No, ma seriamente. Capisco che per la gente che vive oggi è duro capire che cosa succedeva in quel periodo. Ma i musulmani devono capire che stiamo vivendo in una nuova era. Non sono particolamente fiero delle cose che ho fatto. Molte cose che erano normali a quei tempi per gli uomini di oggi sarebbero primitive o disumane. Così il mio messaggio alla società musulmana è, non sposare o non avere sesso con una ragazza quando non è pronta o quando non lo vuole. A mio parere, l’uomo e la donna sono uguali e devono essere trattati così. Si puo 
Jami:   … Dice Mohammed nell’anno di nostro signore 2008
 
Mo:   Preferirei denominarlo l’anno 1429 se non ti dispiace
 
Jami:   Parliamo di altri argomenti delicati. C’è molto antisemitismo nei paesi islamici. La storia dice che hai ucciso oltre 600 ebrei e che ti sei sposato con una ragazza ebrea dopo aver ucciso i suoi genitori. Puoi spiegarmi la ragione per ciò?
 
Mo:   Ah, gli ebrei. Un problema eterno. Come potevo essere l’ultimo profeta di Allah, quando gli ebrei ed i cristiani non ne volevano sapere della mia religione. Il conflitto era puramente commerciale. Ed ho voluto semplicemente modellare una forma leggera di giudaismo. Non avrei potuto farlo diversamente. Non c’era più spazio per il giudaismo. Gli ebrei sono sempre stati così … testardi, e non potevano accettare che non ci fosse posto per loro.
Per cominciare, tutta la gente è creata da Dio. Come ho detto, ho viaggiato molto ultimamente sulla terra. E posso dire che è incredibile quante cose la gente ha in comune. Tutti hanno i loro sogni e timori.
 
Jami:   Vuoi dire che non hai niente contro gli ebrei… per esempio?
 
Mo:   Ho imparato a capire il significato della tolleranza e dell’amore. Eravamo in guerra in quell’epoca. Così è abbastanza normale uccidere il tuo nemico. Ma soltanto coloro che portano le armi, naturalmente. Le cose che sono accadute erano sbagliate.. Per secoli i civili sono stati attacati. I crociati sono responsabili. Ma anche Saladin. Civili musulmani sono stati uccisi in Bosnia. I musulmani hanno ucciso la gente non colpevole in Darfur, il genocidio della gente armena ed gli attentati nelle metropolitane… Io pensavo che fosse vietato per i cristiani ed i musulmani di uccidere i civili… per qualunque motivo…
 
Jami:   Questi sono tutti fatti. Ma sei d’accordo con me che a causa di quello che hai fatto agli ebrei ed a causa di quello che avevi detto riguardo a loro , i musulmani oggi in effetti odiano gli ebrei?
 
Mo:   Giudica le persone per il modo in cui trattano gli altri. Non fare mai ad altri cio 
Jami:   Non vuoi accettare la responsabilità del genocidio a Medina dove centinaia di ebrei sono stati uccisi? Non avevano armi. Ti erano state cosegnate. Non hai avuto nessuna misericordia
 
Mo:   Tu confondi me ed il mio Dio con i cristiani. L’uccidere ed essere ucciso è inoltre una forma di misericordia. Se avessi dimostrato misericordia, lo stato islamico non sarebbe mai esistito.
 
Jami:   Così la creazione dello stato islamico è quindi il tuo più grande risultato?
 
Mo:   Obiettivamente parlando, l’Islam è l’unica verità.
 
Jami:   C’ è una verità. soggettiva?
 
Mo:   Si, la verità di moralità e misericordia. In questo caso il genocidio è immorale e senza misericordia.
 
Jami:   Che ne pensi di coloro che lasciano l’Islam?
 
Mo:   (sospiri) Questo è il tuo caso, vero?
 
Jami:   Eh… si… sono un’apostata pure… ma in generale… come dovrebbero essere trattati gli apostati?
 
Mo:   Non mi riguardano più gli apostati … Se scelgono di lasciare l’Islam… bene … Certo mi dispiace. Ma sono liberi di farlo. Se vogliono bruciare nell’inferno… problema loro.
 
Jami:   Allora perché non hai detto questo 1400 anni fa? Hai fatto uccidere la gente quando non credevano più nell’Islam?
E che cosa dici ai musulmani o agli imam che dicono che l’apostasia è crimine ed è punibile con la morte?
 
Mo:   Senza l’opzione di non credere la fede non significherebbe niente. Poiché se viene imposta alla gente non è più fede. Direi che la gente che perseguita gli altri perché non credono nella stesse cose sia e 
Jami:   Ho delle domande personali da farti. Che cosa ne pensi delle persone come Geert Wilders o Salman Rushdie? Li conosci?
 
Mo:   Non li conosco molto bene, ma non mi piace che i musulmani li minacciano di morte. Cio 
Jami:   Cominci a cambiare
 
Mo:   Lo fanno tutti. Non possiamo cambiare i fatti. Ma le regole possone cambiare. Possono adeguarsi a tempi diversi.
 
Jami:   Non erano le regole di Allah?
 
Mo:   Non conosco esattamente la volontà di Allah. Nessuno la conosce.
 
Jami:   Ti metti in pericolo, presto avrai bisogno delle guardie del corpo. E bruceranno immagini
 
Mo:   Per questo motivo ho proibito i musulmani di creare un’immagine di me. Non mi sottovalutare, i musulmani hanno paura di me. Il terrore è la base da cui Allah mi ha creato e anche il resto
 
Jami:   Che cosa accadrebbe se non avesimo piu 
Mo:   Allora finirà la mia storia. Avrò fatto la mia parte in modo onesto. Quella è la vera emancipazione reale dei Dei e dei profeti. A questo punto si liberano dalla loro carica eterna. Il tuo film è un piccolo passo verso quell’emancipazione. Così e 
Jami:   Pensi che quando questo film verra 
Mo:   Non sopravvalutare la tua piccola produzione economica. Ma… non si sa mai. Spero che i miei colleghi fratelli e sorelle reagiranno con dignità. È solo un film, ed anche a buon mercato. Non si parla di un successone. Possiamo creare un piccolo scandalo alla conclusione dell’intervista forse aumenterà la sua fama.
 
Jami:   Che cosa suggerisci?
 
Mo:   Tolgo la maschera? No, sto scherzando. Lasciamo stare. Potrebbe offendere i musulmani antiquati. I miei capelli non stanno bene oggi.
 
Jami:   Bene, Mo, ti ringrazio ancora per il tuo tempo! E 
Mo:   Il piacere è tutto mio.



Romanian Version

Translated by Armance

  Un interviu cu Mahomed
 
Jami:   Salaam aleikum!
Multumesc mult pentru interviu. Cum ar trebui sa va spun? Domnul Mahomed sau aveti si un nume de familie?
 
Mo:   Salaam aleikum.
Mo ar fi perfect. Mahomed e cam prea lung. Am observat ca totul e prescurtat în vremurile astea. S-au schimbat multe lucruri. Am calatorit mult în ultimul timp…
 
Jami:   Ti-a placut ce ai vazut?
 
Mo:   Într-un fel… E usor sa te plimbi în vremurile astea… si e usor sa întâlnesti oameni diferiti în locuri diferite… Un potential imens de întelegere…
 
Jami:   Ei, bine… Mo… vorbind despre întelegere… Asa cum probabil stii, sunt multe discutii despre islam în Occident, despre islam si democratie si, bineînteles, felul în care se reflecta felul tau de viata asupra musulmanilor de astazi. Asa ca vom porni de la începutul vietii tale si mai târziu mi-ar placea sa aflu parerea ta despre islam.
 
Mo:   Stiu ca a fost ceva confuzie în ultimii… uf… 1400 de ani. Asa ca am un prilej sa clarific lucrurile.
 
Jami:   Este o încercare de a rescrie istoria?
 
Mo:   Fiecarui personaj istoric i s-au pus în cârca fapte si standarde dificile. Faptele nu pot fi rescrise, dar standardele, da.
 
Jami:   Dar în istoria ta e greu sa separi faptele de standarde.
 
Mo:   Da, asta e tragedia mea: sînt autorul, actorul si totodata martorul propriei piese.
 
Jami:   A cui piesa este mai tragica? A ta sau a milioanelor de musulmani? În aceasta tragedie tu esti regizorul. Dar actorii au continuat sa joace dupa ce ai plecat.
 
Mo:   E adevarat. Dar niciodata nu am parasit complet scena. Hai sa începem, si sa parasim, asadar, ideea de Rasul Allah, sa-i eliberam pe oameni de ceea ce eu am fost si nu mai vreau sa fiu din nou. Voi numiti asta emancipare. Sau devin prea complicat?
 
Jami:   Hai sa încercam sa clarificam lucrurile.
Sa începem cu începutul.
Cum se numesc mama si tatal tau?
 
Mo:   Tatal meu se numeste Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, iar mama — Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Ce fel de om a fost tatal tau? Si ce fel de femeie mama ta?
 
Mo:   Nu-mi amintesc multe lucruri despre mama. Când aveam 6 ani, din pacate, s-a prapadit. Pe tata nu l-am cunoscut deloc, a murit înainte sa ma nasc. Am fost, de fapt, un orfan.
 
Jami:   Îmi pare rau sa aud asta.
 
Mo:   Am fost crescut de bunicul meu, Abd al-Moettalib, pâna am împlinit 8 ani si, mai târziu, de unchiul Aboe Talib. A fost o perioada frumoasa. Ma jucam afara cu alti copii si vorbeam ore în sir cu unchiul. Era cel mai bun tata pe care si-l poate dori un baiat.
 
Jami:   Asadar, ai avut o copilarie frumoasa?
 
Mo:   Cred ca se poate spune asa…
 
Jami:   Ai stiu dintotdeauna ca într-o zi vei fi profet?
 
Mo:   Am avut câteva vise despre asta. Dar, atunci, nu stiam ce înseamna…
 
Jami:   Îti amintesti ce-ti doreai sa fii când o sa cresti mare?
 
Mo:   Hmm, a trecut mult timp de atunci. Unchiul obisnuia sa-mi spuna povesti despre un barbat pe nume Isus si cei 11… luptatori ai sai, sau asa ceva. Îmi doream mult sa fiu ca el. Si cred ca asteptarea mi s-a împlinit. L-am întâlnit.
Suntem prieteni buni. Ne plimbam mult împreuna. Câteodata jucam poker. Amândoi trisam, dupa care murim de râs. Nu jucam pe bani, bineînteles.
 
Jami:   Sunt convins ca crestinii sunt bucurosi sa auda ca va întelegeti. Daca esti de acord, as vrea sa ne grabim putin.
Acum ai 20 de ani. Ai fost la scoala?
 
Mo:   Nu, dar am avut scoala vietii. Viata a fost educatia mea. Ma saturasem sa traiesc fara perspectiva. Doream sa fac ceva pentru omenire. Si, desigur, sa-mi gasesc o sotie buna. Am vazut atâtea lucruri interesante pe drumul meu. Si am învatat atâtea. Apoi am întâlnit-o pe Kadidja. Se ocupa de comertul cu caravane. M-a angajat ca sef al uneia dintre caravane. Ne-am casatorit când eu aveam 25 de ani. Ea era cu 15 ani mai mare.
 
Jami:   Asta nu te-a deranjat?
 
Mo:   În dragoste, prietene, vârsta nu înseamna nimic. Când esti îndragostit, totul devine posibil.
 
Jami:   Asadar, ai o inima mare?
 
Mo:   Sa nu exageram. Pe atunci aveam si o punga mare, goala.
 
Jami:   Dar la un moment dat ai avut mai mult de 20 de sotii. Sahih Bukari, unul dintre discipolii tai, spunea ca obisnuiai sa treci noaptea pe la fiecare ca sa faceti dragoste. Ohoo! E adevarat?
 
Mo:   Da, ceva de genul asta. Dar credeam ca vrei sa punem lucrurile în ordine cronologica… Prima mea sotie, Kadidja, era o femeie bogata, asa ca a devenit si mai atragatoare pentru mine.
 
Jami:   Era banca ta?
 
Mo:   Cu siguranta. O banca cu tot ce trebuie. Crede-ma, oricine a visat la un moment dat sa se casatoreasca cu o banca. Inclusiv în vremurile acelea. Chiar mai mult decât acum. Casatoria era o afacere. Casatoria era politica.
 
Jami:   Dar despre Aisa, ce spui?
Aveai 52 de ani, te-ai casatorit cu o fetita de 7 ani si ai facut sex cu ea când a împlinit 9 ani. Ai vreo explicatie?
 
Mo:   E mai complicat decât crezi tu si multi altii.
 
Jami:   Am un citat al Aisei, citez dintr-un hadit, iar ea spune: Profetul s-a casatorit cu mine când aveam 6 ani si a consumat casatoria când aveam 9 ani, apoi am stat cu el noua ani pâna când Apostolul lui Allah a murit. Asa ca te rog, explica-mi asta…
 
Mo:   Tatal ei, Abu Bakr, era unul dintre cei mai apropiati aliati ai mei. Dupa moartea Kadidjei, inima mea era frânta. Eram un barbat singur. Tatal ei a fost atât de bun încât m-a lasat sa ma însor cu ea. Iar ea era o fata atât de puternica…
 
Jami:   Dar ai întrebat-o daca vrea sa se casatoreasca cu tine?
 
Mo:   Nu. Tatal ei si-a dat consimtamântul. Era suficient. Pe deasupra, ea era prea tânara. Nu putea sa decida singura. Era un fapt obisnuit în acele timpuri, si, din pacate, înca este în unele locuri de pe planeta, acum, în secolul 21.
 
Jami:   Si când a împlinit 9 ani, ai întrebat-o daca vrea sa faca sex cu tine?
 
Mo:   Erau vremuri diferite si o societate tribala. Multe lucruri erau altfel atunci. Mentalitatile erau altfel. Viata era altfel. Oamenii erau altfel si eu eram altfel…
Si nu trebuie sa uiti ca eu, Rasul Allah, aveam privilegii erotice de care barbatii obisnuiti nu se bucurau. Aveam puterea lumeasca. Si eram doar un om.
 
Jami:   Îti spun asta pentru ca astfel de practici sunt înca raspândite în tarile islamice. Ce-ai vrea sa le spui musulmanilor care înca fac astfel de lucruri?
 
Mo:   Nu încercati asta acasa. Acum, serios vorbind. Înteleg ca oamenilor de astazi le este greu sa înteleaga ce se petrecea în acele timpuri. Musulmanii trebuie sa înteleaga ca traim într-o alta epoca. Ceea ce am facut nu e neaparat un lucru de care sa fiu mândru. Multe lucruri considerate normale atunci ar fi numite de oamenii moderni primitive sau inumane. Asa ca mesajul meu catre societatea musulmana este acesta: nu va casatoriti si nu faceti sex cu o fata daca ea nu este pregatita sau nu vrea. Dupa parerea mea, femeia este egala cu barbatul si trebuie tratata ca atare. Poti sa fii musulman doar prin libera alegere si poti sa te casatoresti doar prin libera alegere.
 
Jami:   …Spune Mahomed în anul Domnului 2008.
 
Mo:   As prefera sa-i spun anul 1429, daca nu te superi.
 
Jami:   Sa vorbim despre alte subiecte delicate. Exista mult antisemitism în tarile islamice. Povestea spune ca ai omorât peste 600 de evrei si te-ai casatorit cu o fata evreica dupa ce i-ai ucis parintii. Poti sa-mi explici de ce?
 
Mo:   Ah, evreii. Eterna problema. Cum as putea sa fiu ultimul profet al lui Allah, daca evreii si crestinii nu se alatura religiei mele? Conflictul a fost, pur si simplu, o afacere. Si am vrut doar sa formez o varianta mai usoara a iudaismului. N-as fi putut sa fac altfel, nu mai era loc pentru iudaism. Evreii sunt întotdeauna atât de… încapatânati, n-au putut sa accepte ca nu mai era loc pentru ei.
Trebuie spus de la început ca toti oamenii sunt creati de Dumnezeu. Am umblat mult pe Pamânt în ultima vreme. Si pot sa spun ca este uimitor câte au în comun oamenii. Toti au aceleasi vise si temeri.
 
Jami:   Vrei sa spui ca nu ai nimic împotriva evreilor… de exemplu?
 
Mo:   Am învatat sa înteleg sensul tolerantei si al iubirii. Pe vremea aceea, eram în razboi. Si e normal sa-ti omori dusmanul. Dar numai pe cei înarmati, desigur. A fost o greseala ce s-a întâmplat. Civilii au devenit tinte vreme de secole. Cruciatii au procedat asa. Dar si Saladin. Civilii musulmani au fost omorâti în Bosnia. Musulmanii au omorât oameni inocenti în Darfor, genocidul armenilor si bombele de la metrou… Am crezut ca este interzis pentru crestini si musulmani sa omoare civili… nu conteaza împrejurarile…
 
Jami:   Acestea sunt faptele. Dar esti de acord cu mine ca din pricina a ceea ce le-ai facut evreilor si a ceea ce ai spus despre ei, musulmanii de astazi îi urasc pe evrei?
 
Mo:   Judeca-i pe oameni dupa cum îi trateaza pe altii. Ce tie nu-ti place altuia nu-i face. Multe lucruri din Coran sunt simbolice. Dumnezeu le-a dat oamenilor creier, nu-i asa? Asa ca bazeaza-te pe propria judecata morala. Si în Vechiul Testament exista multa cruzime. Dar nu multi crestini o înteleg literal… Stiu ca s-a spus despre Coran ca este cuvântul exact al lui Dumnezeu. Este. Dar mai mult în sensul poetic al cuvântului. Sau cel putin eu asa îl vad.
 
Jami:   Nu-ti asumi responsabilitatea pentru genocidul din Medina unde sute de evrei au fost omorâti? Ei nu aveau arme. Ti-au fost încredintati. N-ai avut pic de mila.
 
Mo:   Ne confunzi pe mine si pe Dumnezeul meu cu crestinii. Sa omori si sa fii omorât — e si asta o forma de mila. Daca as fi aratat mila, în împrejurarea asta sau în altele, statul islamic n-ar fi existat niciodata.
 
Jami:   Deci crearea statului islamic e cea mai mare realizare a ta?
 
Mo:   Obiectiv vorbind, islamul e singurul adevar.
 
Jami:   Exista si un adevar subiectiv?
 
Mo:   Da, adevarul moralei si al milei. Din aceasta perspectiva, genocidul este imoral si nemilos.
 
Jami:   Ce spui despre cei care renunta la islam?
 
Mo:   (ofteaza) Asta te cam priveste, nu-i asa?
 
Jami:   Mda… Si eu sunt un apostat… dar în general vorbind… cum ar trebui tratati apostatii?
 
Mo:   Chestiunea apostatilor nu ma mai priveste… daca aleg sa paraseasca islamul… asta e. Sigur ca-mi pare rau daca o fac. Nu ma întelege gresit. Dar sunt liberi sa aleaga. Daca vor sa arda în iad… din partea mea, n-au decât…
 
Jami:   Atunci de ce n-ai spus asta acum 1400 de ani? Când ai cerut sa fie omorâti cei care nu mai cred în islam?
Si ce le spui musulmanilor sau imamilor care afirma ca apostazia este o crima si trebuie pedepsita cu moartea?
 
Mo:   Fara posibilitatea de a alege, credinta nu mai înseamna nimic. Daca este impusa nu mai e credinta adevarata. As spune ca aceia care-i persecuta pe altii fiindca nu cred în acelasi lucru ca ei sunt nebuni si nu merita sa se numeasca musulmani.
 
Jami:   As vrea sa-ti pun câteva întrebari personale.
Ce crezi despre oameni ca Geert Wilders si Salman Rushdie? Îi cunosti?
 
Mo:   Nu-i cunosc prea bine, dar nu-mi place când musulmanii îi ameninta cu moartea. E absolut gresit. Nu-mi pasa ce spun.Ei cu ale lor, eu, cu ale mele. Ei au parerea lor, eu — pe a mea. Cred ca gresesc total. Dar cred ca asta nu te surprinde…
 
Jami:   Începi sa te schimbi…
 
Mo:   Orice si oricine se schimba. Putem sa schimbam lucrurile. Si standardele se pot schimba. Putem sa le adaptam unor alte vremuri.
 
Jami:   Dar nu erau standardele lui Allah?
 
Mo:   Nu stiu exact care este vointa lui Allah. Nimeni nu stie.
 
Jami:   Te pui în pericol, în curând o sa ai nevoie de bodyguarzi. Si vor arde imagini cu tine.
 
Mo:   De-asta le-am si interzis musulmanilor sa faca vreo imagine de-a mea. Nu ma subestima, musulmanilor le e teama de mine. Teroarea e solul din care ne-a plamadit Allah, pe mine si pe restul.
 
Jami:   Ce se întâmpla daca nu mai simtim teama de Allah?
 
Mo:   Atunci se sfârseste povestea mea. Atunci rolul meu s-a încheiat. Aceasta este adevarata emancipare a Dumnezeilor si profetilor. Atunci, ei sunt eliberati de sarcina lor vesnica. Filmul tau e un mic pas spre aceasta emancipare. Asa mor profetii. Dar acesta e si felul în care renasc.
 
Jami:   Crezi ca atunci când voi lansa acest film, comunitatea musulmana va reactiona calm?
 
Mo:   Nu supraestima productia ta cu buget mic. Dar… nu se stie niciodata. Sper ca fratii si surorile mele vor reactiona cu demnitate. E doar un film. Si înca unul ieftin. Nu e un blockbuster. Sau putem sa cream un mic scandal la sfârsitul interviului, poate ar fi bine pentru audienta.
 
Jami:   Ce propui?
 
Mo:   Sa-mi scot masca? Nu, glumesc. S-o lasam la locul ei. Ar putea sa-i ofenseze pe unii musulmani de moda veche.. Oricum, am si eu zilele mele proaste.
 
Jami:   Ei bine, Mo, multumesc din nou ca ti-ai facut timp! A fost o placere sa stam de vorba.
 
Mo:   Placerea a fost de partea mea.



Serbian Version

Translated by the Witch King of Angmar

  Intervju sa Muhamedom
 
Jami:   Salam alejkum. Hvala puno za ovaj intervju. Kako da vas nazovem? Gospodin Muhamed ili imate prezime?
 
Mo:   Salam alejkum. Mo je sasvim u redu…Muhamed je malo podugačko. Primećujem da je danas sve u skraćenicama. Dosta se toga promenilo. U poslednje vreme dosta putujem…
 
Jami:   Jel’ vam se dopalo to što ste videli?
 
Mo:   Ne neki način. Lako je kretati se danas, upoynati razne ljude na raznim mestima. Puno potencijala ya rayumevanje
 
Jami:   Ehm…Mo…Kad već o tome pričamo…Kao što verovatno znate, puno se priča o islamu na zapadu, islamu i demokratiji I kako vaš način života utiče na muslimane danas. Počećemo od početka vašeg života, azatim bih želeo da znam kako gledate na islam danas.
 
Mo:   Vidim da je bilo dosta zabune tokom prethodnih…hmm, 1400 godina. Imam priliku da razjasnim neke dileme.
 
Jami:   Je li ovo pokušaj da se iznova napiše istorija?
 
Mo:   Svaka istorijska ličnost je opterećena činjenicama i standardima. Činjenice se ne mogu ponovvo napisati ali standardi mogu.
 
Jami:   Ali u vašoj istoriji je teško razdvojiti činjenice od standarda.
 
Mo:   Da, to je moja tragedija, ja sam autor, glumac i svedok svoje drame.
 
Jami:   Čija je drama tragičnija, vaša ili ona u kojoj je milione muslimana? U ovoj tragediji vi ste režiser. Ali glumci su nastavili da glume i nakon vašeg povlačenja
 
Mo:   Istina. Ali nikada nisam otisao u potpunosti. Počnimo, ostavimo ono oko “Alahovog poslanika”, što zapravo nikada nisam hteo da budem, i pustimo ljude na miru. Ili je to previše komplikovano?
 
Jami:   Da razjasnimo stvari, počnimo od početka. Kako vam se zovu otac i majka?
 
Mo:   Otac mi se zove Abdallah ibn Abd al-Mutalib, a majka Amina bint Vahab.
 
Jami:   Kakav je čovek bio vaš otac, a kakva žena vaša majka?
 
Mo:   Slabo se se
Am majke, umrla je kada sam imao 6 godina, a oca nisam upoznao uopšte. Umro je pre neogo što sam se rodio. Ja sam zapravo siroče.
 
Jami:   Žao mi je što to čujem.
 
Mo:   Do osme godine me je odgajio deda Abd al-Mutalib a posle ujak Abu Talib. Bilo je to lepo vreme, igrao sam se sa drugom decom, satima pričao sa ujakom. Bio je otac kakav se samo poželeti mogao.
 
Jami:   Znači, imali ste lepo detinjstvo?
 
Mo:   Može se reći…
 
Jami:   Da li ste ivek znali da ćete biti prorok jednog dana?
 
Mo:   Imao sam snove o tome, ali nisam u to vreme znao šta znače.
 
Jami:   Sećate li se šta ste hteli da budete kad porastete?
 
Mo:   Davno je to bilo. Ujak mi je pričao priče o čoveku po imenu Isus i njegovih 11 ratnika ili tako nešto. Stvarno sam hteo da budem kao on. I mislim da sam uspeo. Upoznao sam ga dobri smo drugari, igramo poker s vremena na vreme. Obojica pomalo varamo I posle se šalimo tim povodom. Ne igramo u novac, razume se.
 
Jami:   Siguran sam da je hrišćanima drago da se vas dvojica slažete. Ako smem, krenu bih malo unapred, u vaše dvadesete. Jeste li imali obrazovanje?
 
Mo:   Ne, ali sam naučio školu života. Bio sam umoran od besperspektivnog života. Hteo sam da nešto učinim za ljude. I naravno, da se oženim. Video sam I naučio dosta zanimljivih stvari. Onda sam upoznao Kadižu. Ona je organizovala trgovačke karavane, bila je izuzetna žena. Zaposlila me je kao vođu jednog od karavana. Sa 25 godina sam je oženio. Bila je 15 godina starija od mene.
 
Jami:   Zar vam to nije smetalo?
 
Mo:   U ljubavi nisu bitne godine. Kada ste zaljubljeni sve je moguće.
 
Jami:   Izgleda da imate veliko srce
 
Mo:   Nemojmo preterivati. Osim toga, imao sam I veliku praznu torbu.
 
Jami:   Ali zar niste u jednom trenutku imali preko 20 žena? Sahih Buhari, jedan od vaših učenika je rekao da ste mogli da imate seksualne odnose sa svakom tokom jedne noći. Je li to istina?
 
Mo:   Uglavnom jeste…Ali zar niste hteli da idemo hronološki? Moja prva supruga Kadiža je bila imućna žena i samim tim i privlačnija.
 
Jami:   Jer vam ona na neki način bila banka?
 
Mo:   Jeste, i to bogata. Verujte mi, svi sanjaju da se bogato venčaju. U to vreme i više nego danas. Brak je bio poslovna i politička stvar.
 
Jami:   Šta je sa Ajšom? Imali ste 52 godine kada ste je uzeli, a ona 7, a brak ste konzumirali kada je imala 9 godina. Kako to objašnjavate?
 
Mo:   To je složenije pitanje nego što vi i drugi ljudi mislite.
 
Jami:   Ajša kaže, po Hadisima, da ju je “Proro oženio kada je imala 6 godina I konzumirao brak kada sam imala 9 sve dok Apostol nije umro”. Molim vas, objasnite.
 
Mo:   Njen otac, Abu Bakr je bio jedan od mojih glavnih saveznika. Nakon smrti Kadiže bio sam slomljen, usamljen. Njen otac je bio ljubazan da dozvoli da je oženim. I bila je tako jaka devojka
 
Jami:   Jeste li je pitali ?
 
Mo:   Nisam. Njen otac je dao dozvolu, to je bilo dovoljno. Osim toga, bila je tako mlada. Nije mogla sama da odlučuje. To je bilo normalno tada ina žalost je još uvek na nekim mestima i 21. veku.
 
Jami:   A kada je imala 9 godina, jeste li je pitali da li smete sa njom da vodite ljubav?
 
Mo:   Bilo je to drugo vreme, vreme plemenskog društva. Mnoge sus tvari bile drugačije, mentalitet je bio drugačiji, život, ljudi, pa ija…Ne zaboravite ida sam bio Alahov poslanik ida sam imao specijalne erotske privilegije koje obični ljudi nisu imali. Imao sam i ja ljudske potrebe
 
Jami:   Ovo kažem zato što je u islamskim zemljama to I dalje praksa. Šta biste poručili muslimanima koji to rade?
 
Mo:   Ne radite to kod kuće. Šalu na stranu, razumem da je ljudima danas teško da razumeju šta se događalo tada. Ali muslimani moraju da shvate da živimo u drugom vremenu. Ne ponosim se svim što sam tada uradio. Mnoge stvari koje su tada izgledale normalne danas se čine nazadnim i nehumanim. Moja poruka muslimanskim društvima je da se ne venčavaju I ne stupaju u seksualne odnose pre nego što budu spremni ili pre nego što žena bude htela. Po mom mišljenju, muškarci i žene su ravnopravni i kao takve ih treba tretirati. Može se biti musliman samo po slobodnoj volji i ženiti se I udavati samo po slobodnoj volji.
 
Jami:   Reče Muhamed, leta gospodnjeg 2008…
 
Mo:   Više mi se sviđa da kažem da je 1429 godina, ako nemate ništa protiv…
 
Jami:   Da popričamo o ostalim delikatnim pitanjima. U islamskim zemljama ima dosta antisemitizma. Priča ste da ste ubili 600 Jevreja i da ste uzeli Jevrejku za ženunakon što ste joj ubili roditelje. Možete li da objasnite ovo?
 
Mo:   Ah, Jeveji. Stalni problem. Kako bih mogao biti poslednji prorok Alahov ako Jevreji i hrišćani nisu hteli da mi se pridruže. Konflikte je bio čisto poslovne prirode. Ja sam samo hteo da osnujem laganiju formu Judaizma. Jevreji su uvek tako tvrdoglavi, ne prihvataju da za njih nema mesta. Na primer, svi su ljudi od Boga stvoreni, kao što rekoh…Išao sam dosta po svetu u poslednje vreme i mogu vam reći da je pravo čudo kako ljudi imaju toliko toga zajedničkog. Imaju svoje snove I strahove
 
Jami:   Hoćete da kažete da ništa nemate protiv Jevreja?
 
Mo:   Naučio sam šta znači ljubav i tolerancija. Bili smo u ratu tada I bilo je normalno ubijati neprijatelja. Naravno, samo one koji nose oružje. Ono što se desilo je bilo pogrešno, vekovima su civili bili meta. To su radili i krstaši i Saladin. Muslimanski civili su bili ubojani u Bosni. Muslimani su ubijali nevine u Darfuru, tokom jermenskog genocida i bombama u podzemnoj železnici. Milsio sam da je hrišćanima i muslimanima zabranjeno da ubijaju civile…
 
Jami:   Ovo je sve tačno. Ali, da li se slažete sa mnom da zbog vaših akcija prema Jevrejima I zbog onoga što ste o njima govorili muslimani danas mrze Jevreje?
 
Mo:   Sudite o ljudima po tome kako tretiraju druge. Ne radite drugima ono što ne želite da drugi rade vama. Mnoge stvari u Kuranu su simbolične. Bog je ljudima dao mozak, zar ne? Donesite svoj sopstveni moralni sud. U Starom zavetu postoje brojne okrutne stvari i hrišćani ih uglavnom ne shvataju bukvalno. Znam da se kaže da je Kuran doslovna reč Božja. I jeste, ali više u poetskom smislu. Ja to bar tako vidim.
 
Jami:   Zar odbijate odgovornost za genocid u Medini gde je ubijeno na stotine Jevreja? Nisu imali oružje, predali su se. Niste im ukazali milost.
 
Mo:   Mešate mene I mog Boga sa hrišćanima. Ubiti I biti ubijen je takođe jedan vid milosti. Da sam tu i na drugim mestima pokazao milost ne bi nikada bilo islamske države.
 
Jami:   Znači, vaša najveća zasluga je stvaranje islamske države?
 
Mo:   Objektivno govoreći, islam je jedina istina
 
Jami:   Postoji li subjektivna istina?
 
Mo:   Da, istina morala i milosti. U tom slučaju genocid je nemoralan i nemilosrdan.
 
Jami:   Šta je sa onima koji napuste islam?
 
Mo:   (uzdah) To je vama blisko, zar ne?
 
Jami:   Hmm, da…Ja sam takođe apostata…Ali, uopšteno govoreći, kako treba tretirati apostate?
 
Mo:   Oni me se više ne tiču. Ako hoće da napuste islam, neka ih…Žao mi je ako to urade. Nemojte me pogrešno shvatiti…Oni su slobodni da to učine…Ako žele da gore u paklu, neka ih…
 
Jami:   Zašto onda to niste rekli pre 1400 godina? Ubijali ste ljude koji više nisu verovali u islam. Šta ćete da kažete muslimanima i posebno imamima koji kažu da je apostazije zločin koji se kažnjava smrću?
 
Mo:   Bez izbora da se ne veruje vera ne bi imala nikakvo značenje. Ukoliko je nametnuta, to nije prava vera. Ja kažem da su ljudi koji proganjaju druge zbog toga što ne veruju isto kao i oni ludi i nisu dostojni da se nazivaju muslimanima.
 
Jami:   Imam i neka lična pitanja…Šta mislite o ljudima kao što su Gert Vilders ili Salman Ruždi? Poznajete li ih?
 
Mo:   Ne poznajem ih najbolje ali mi se ne sviđa to što im muslimani prete smrću. To je pogrešno. Ne zanima me šta ta dvojica kažu. Oni imaju svoje mišljenje, ja svoje. Ja mislim da potpuno greše, ali to je za očekivati…
 
Jami:   Počinjete da se menjate…
 
Mo:   Svi se menjaju, stalno. Činjenice ne možemo da promenimo, ali standarde da. Prilagodimo ih novom vremenu…
 
Jami:   Zar to nisu Alahovi standardi?
 
Mo:   Ne znam šta je Alahova volja, niko to ne zna.
 
Jami:   Izlažete se opasnosti, biće vam potrebni telohranitelji. Počeće da vam pale slike.
 
Mo:   Zbog toga sam zabranio muslimanima da me slikaju. Ne potcenjujte me, muslimani me se boje. Teror je osnov na kome me je Alah sačinio, kao i sve druge.
 
Jami:   Šta ukoliko ne bude više straha od alahovog terora?
 
Mo:   Onda je to kraj moje priče, ispunio sam svoju ulogu. To je prava emancipacija Bogova I proroka. Oni su onda razrešeni svoje večne obaveze. Vaš film je mali korak ka tome. Tako proroci umiru, I istovremeno bivaju ponovo rođeni.
 
Jami:   Milsite li da će muslimani reagovati mirno kada ovaj film bude pušten u promet?
 
Mo:   Ne precenjujte vašu niskobudžetnu produkciju. Ali nikada se ne zna…Nadam se da će moja braća i sestre reagovati dostojanstveno. Ovo je samo film, i to niskobudžetan. Nije blokbaster. Ili, ako hoćete, možemo da napravimo skandal na kraju da bismo podigli gledanost.
 
Jami:   Šta predlažete?
 
Mo:   Da skinem masku? Ne, šalim se, zadržimo je. Neki staromodni muslimani se mogu uvrediti. Uostalom, frizura mi je loša.
 
Jami:   Mo, hvala vam na vremenu, bilo mi je zadovoljstvo.
 
Mo:   Meni takođe.



Swedish Version

Translated by Henrik W.

  En intervju med Mohammed
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Tack så hemskt mycket för den här intervjun. Vad ska jag kalla dig? Herr Mohammed, eller har du ett efternamn?
 
Mo:   Fred vare med dig.
Mo blir bra. Mohammed är lite för långt. Jag har märkt att allting är förkortat numera. En hel del har ju ändrats. Jag har rest runt mycket på sistone…
 
Jami:   Tyckte du om det har sett?
 
Mo:   På sätt och vis. Det är resa nuförtiden… på så sätt är det lätt att träffa olika människor på olika platser… Det finns gott om potential för förståelse på det sättet.
 
Jami:   Öh, eh, Mo… när vi talar om förståelse… Som du vet är det mycket diskussioner om islam i västvärlden, islam och demokrati och förstås hur ditt eget live påverkar muslimer idag. Så vi börjar från början med ditt liv och fortsätter med att prata om din syn på islam av idag senare.
 
Mo:   Jag har förstått att det har blivit en del förvirring de senaste… eh… 1400 åren. Detta ger mig ett tillfälle att reda ut saker och ting.
 
Jami:   Är det här ett försök att skriva om historien?
 
Mo:   Alla historiska personligheter har varit tyngda av olika fakta och tolkingar[p1]. Fakta går inte att skriva om, men tolkningarna går.
 
Jami:   Men i din historia är det svårt att skilja på fakta och tolkningar.
 
Mo:   Ja, det är min olycka: jag är författaren till, spelaren och åskådaren av mitt eget drama.
 
Jami:   Vems drama är mer tragiskt? Ditt eller den tragiska situationen för millioner muslimer? I den tragedin är du regissören. Men skådespelarna fortsatte spela efter att du dragit dig tillbaka.
 
Mo:   Sant. Men jag har aldrig lämnat scenen helt. Låt oss börja och lämna därför Rasul Allah guds sändebud och befria folk från vad jag var och aldrig vill vara igen. Det är vad du kallar befrielse. Eller är jag för komplicerad nu?
 
Jami:   Låt oss försöka klargöra saker. Vi börjar från början. Vad hette din mor och far?
 
Mo:   Min fars namn var Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib och min mors namn var Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Vilken sorts man var din far? Och vilken sorts kvinna var din mor?
 
Mo:   Jag har få minnen av min mor. Hon gick tyvärr hädan när jag var sex år. Min far kände jag aldrig överhuvudtaget. Han dog innan jag föddes. I faktiskt föräldrarlös.
 
Jami:   Jag beklagar.
 
Mo:   Jag uppfostrades av min farfar Abd al-Moettalib till dess jag var åtta, och efter det av min farbror Aboe Talib. Det var en trevlig tid jag minns med glädje. Leka utomhus med andra barn och tala med min farbror i timmar. Han var den bäste far ett barn kan ha.
 
Jami:   Så du hade en bra barndom?
 
Mo:   Det kan man väl saga…
 
Jami:   Visste du alltid att du skulle bli en profet någon gang?
 
Mo:   Jag hade drömmar om det ibland. Fast jag visste inte vad de betydde då…
 
Jami:   Kommer du ihåg vad du ville bli när du blir stor?
 
Mo:   Det är länge sedan. Jo, min farbror brukade berätta fantastiska historier om en man som hetter Jesus och hans elva… krigare eller något sådant. Jag ville verkligen bli som honom. Och jag tror jag har levt upp till förväntningarna. Jag har träffat honom. Vi är faktiskt goda vänner. Vi brukar göra saker ihop. Vi spelar poker ibland. Vi fuskar båda två och skrattar åt det efteråt. Vi spelar ju förstås inte om pengar.
 
Jami:   Jag är säker på att de kristna är glada att höra att ni två kommer överens. Om det är okej för din del skulle jag vilja gå framåt i tiden en bit.
Så du är i tjugoårsålden nu. Fick du någon utbildning?
 
Mo:   Nä, men jag var gatusmart. Livet var min utbildning. Jag var trött på att leva utan perspektiv. Jag vill göra något för mänskligheten. Och höll utkik efter en bra fru, förstås. Jag har sett så många intressanta saker under min bana. Och lärt mig så mycket. Sen mötte jag Khadidja. Hon var i karavanbranschen. Helt bedårande. Hon hyrde mig som ledare för en av hennes karavaner. Jag gifte mig med henne när jag var 25. Hon var 15 år äldre än mig.
 
Jami:   Störde du dig inte over det?
 
Mo:   Kärleken har inga åldersgränser, min vän. Allt är möjligt när du är förälskad.
 
Jami:   Du har uppebarligen ett stort hjärta?
 
Mo:   Vi ska inte överdriva. Jag hade en stor tom plånbok också.
 
Jami:   Men du hade mer än 20 fruar vid ett tillfälle. Sahih Bukari, en av dina apostlar, sa att du brukade ha sex med alla dina fruar på en natt. Häftigt. Är det sant?
 
Mo:   Ja, något i den stilen. Men jag trodde du vill gå igenom saker i ordning… Min första fru Khadidja var en rik kvinna och därför var hon attraktiv för mig.
 
Jami:   Hon var din bank?
 
Mo:   Oh, ja. En bank med allt. Tro mig, alla har drömt o matt gifta sig med en bank vid något tillfälle. Och på den tiden. Till och med mer än nu. Äktenskapet var affärer. Äktenskapet var politik.
 
Jami:   Och Aisha?
Du var 52 år och du gifte dig med en flicka på sju år och hade sex med henne när hon fyllde nio. Hur förklar du det?
 
Mo:   Det är mer komplext än du och många andra tror.
 
Jami:   Nu har jag ett citat av Aisha och jag citerar direkt från Hadidtherna där hon säger: profeten gifte sig med mig när jag var sex år och fullbordade äktenskapet när jag var nio och sedan stannade jag hos honom i nio år till dess Allahs apostel dog. Du får gärna förklara för mig.
 
Mo:   Henne far, Aboe Bakr, var en av mina närmaste förtrogna. Efter Khadidjas död var jag helt förkrossad. Jag var ensam. Hennes far var vänlig nog att låta henne gifta sig med mig. Och hon var en så stark flicka…
 
Jami:   Men frågade du om hon ville gifta sig med dig?
 
Mo:   Nä, det gjorde jag inte. Hennes far tillät det. Det var nog. Och så var hon så ung. Hon kunde inte fatta sitt eget beslut. Det var vanligt på den tiden och är tyvärr vanlig på vissa ställen på den här planeten även på 2000-talet.
 
Jami:   Och frågade du henne om att ha sex med dig när hon var nio år?
 
Mo:   Det var en annan tid. Det var ett stamsamhälle. Många saker var helt annorlunda då. Åsikterna var andra. Livet var annorlunda. Folk var annorlunda och jag var annorlunda.
Och så ska du inte glömma bort att jag, Rasul Allah guds sändebud, hade speciella erotiska förmåner som vanliga män inte har. Jag hade världslig makt. Och jag var bara människa.
 
Jami:   Jag sager det för att sådana saker forfarande hander i stor omfattning i muslimska länder. Vad har du att säga till de muslimer som gör sådant?
 
Mo:   Ger er inte på det. Nä, allvarligt… Jag förstår att det är svårt för folk som lever idag att fårstå hur det var då. Men muslimer måste förstå att vi lever i en ny tid. Jag är inte nödvändigtvis stolt över vad jag gjorde. Många saker som var helt normala då skulle upplevas som bakåtsträvande och inhumana idag. Mitt budskap till det muslimska samhället är; gift inte bort eller ha sex med flickor som inte är redo eller vill det. Jag tycker att män och kvinnor är jämlika och måste behandlas så. Du kan bara vara muslim frivilligt och bara gifta dig frivilligt.
 
Jami:   Så säger Mohammed i herrens år 2008…
 
Mo:   Jag föredrar att kalla det för 1429, om du inte misstycker.
 
Jami:   Låt oss prata om andra känsliga frågor. Det finns mycket antisemitism i muslimska länder. Det sägs att du dödade över 600 judar och gifte dig med en judisk flicka efter att ha dödat hennes föräldrar. Kan du förklara varför för mig?
 
Mo:   Åh, judar. Ett evigt problem. Hur kunde jag vara Allahs siste profet om judar och kristna inte ville tro på min religion? Den konflikten var rent affärsmässig. Jag ville bara skapa en lättform av judendomen. Jag kunde inte göra annat, det fanns ingen mer plats åt judendomen. Judar är alltid så… envisa, de kunde inte förlika sig med att det inte fanns plats åt dem.
Till att börja med är alla skapade av gud. Som jag sa… jag har vandrat runt i världen mycket på sistone. Och jag kan säga: det är förvånansvärt hur mycket folk har gemensamt. De har alla drömmar och farhågor.
 
Jami:   Menar du att du inte har något emot judar…till exempel?
 
Mo:   Jag har lärt mig att förstå innebörden av tolerans och kärlek. Vi var i krig då. Så det var normalt att döda fienden. Fast bara dem som är beväpnade, förstås. Därför var det som hände fel. Civila blev måltavlor i århundraden. Korsfararna gjorde det. Men Saladin också. Muslimska civila dödades i Bosnien. Muslimer dödade oskyldiga i Darfur, folkmordet på armenier och bomber i förorterna… jag trodde det var förbjudet för kristna och muslimer att döda civila, oavsett vad.
 
Jami:   Detta är fakta. Men håller du med mig om att det du gjorde och sa om judar lett till att muslimer idag faktiskt hatar dem?
 
Mo:   Döm folk efter hur de behandlar andra. Gör aldrig mot andra vad du inte vill att de ska göra mot dig. Många saker i koranen är symbolika. Gud gav folk en hjärna, eller hur. Så döm själv. I bibelns gamla testament finns det gott om grymheter. Få kristna tar det bokstavligt… Jag vet att jag sa att koranen är guds ord bokstavligen. Det är den. Men mest i den poetiska innebörden av uttrycket. Så ser jag det i alla fall.
 
Jami:   Vägrar du att ta på dig ansvaret för massakern i Medina där hundratals judar dödades? De var obeväpande och utlämande åt dig. Du hade inget förbarmande.
 
Mo:   Du förväxlar mig och min gud med de kristna. Dö och döda är också en form av förbarmande. Hade jag visat förbarmande här och annars hade det aldrig blivit någon islamisk stat.
 
Jami:   Så skapandet av den islamiska staten är din störst bedrift?
 
Mo:   Objektivt sett är islam den enda sanningen.
 
Jami:   Är det en subjektiv sanning också?
 
Mo:   Ja, motalens och barmhärtighetens sanning. På det sättet är folkmord ormoaliskt och obarmhärtigt.
 
Jami:   Hur är det med dem som lämnar islam?
 
Mo:   (suck) Det är lite av din sak, eller hur?
 
Jami:   Öh, jo… jag är en avfälling också… men generellt.. hur ska avfällingar behandlas?
 
Mo:   Avfällingar är inte min huvudvärk längre. Vill de lämna islam… bra… Jag är ledsen att de gör det. Förstå mig. Men de är fria att göra det. Om de vill brinna i helvetet… så är det okej för min del.
 
Jami:   Så varför sa du inte det för 1400 år sedan? Du dödade ju folk som inte trodde på islam längre?
Och vad säger du till muslimer och imamer som påstår att lämna religionen är ett brott och skall bestraffas med döden?
 
Mo:   Utan valet att inte tro skulle inte tron ha någon mening. Om den är påtvingad är det ingen sann tro. Jag skulle säga att de som förföljer andra för att de inte tror på samma sak är galna och inte förtjänar att bli kallade muslimer.
 
Jami:   Jag skulle vilja ställa ett par personliga frågor.
Vad anser du om folk som Geert Wilders eller Salman Rushdie? Har du hört talas om dem?
 
Mo:   Jag vet inte så mycket om dem, men jag ogillar att muslimer hotar dem med döden. Det är helt fel. Jag bryr mig inte om vad de säger. De gör sin sak. Jag har min. De har sin åsikt. Jag har min. Jag tycker de har helt fel. Men det kommer väl inte som någon överraskning för dig…
 
Jami:   Har du börjat ändra på dig?
 
Mo:   Alla gör det. Alltid. Vi kan återställa fakta. Reglerna kan ändras. Anpassas till nya tider.
 
Jami:   Var inte det Allahs regler?
 
Mo:   Jag vet inte vad Allahs vilja är i detalj. Det gör ingen.
 
Jami:   Du utsätter dig själv för risk, snart kommer du behöva livvakter. Och de kommer bränna bilder av dig.
 
Mo:   Det är anledningen till att jag förbjöd muslimer göra bilder av mig. Underskatta inte mig, muslimer är rädda för mig. Rädsla är den grund från vilken Allah skapat mig och alla andra.
 
Jami:   Vad hander om vi inte är rädda för Allah längre?
 
Mo:   Då tar min saga slut. Då har jag verkligen spelat ut min roll. Det är gudars och profeters verkliga befrielse. Då blir de befriade från sin eviga uppgift. Din film är ett litet steg på vägen mot den befrielsen. Och det är så profeter dör. Och så vi återföds.
 
Jami:   Tror du det muslimska samfundet kommer reagera lungt när jag släpper den här filmen?
 
Mo:   Överskatta inte din lilla lågbudgetproduktion. Men… man vet aldrig. Jag hoppas att mina medbröder och systrar kommer reagera med värdighet. Det är bara en film. Och en billig en. Ingen jättehit. Eller så kan vi skapa en skandal på slutet för att dra upp tittarsiffrorna.
 
Jami:   Vad föreslår du?
 
Mo:   Ta av mig masken? Nä, skämtar bara. Låt oss behålla den på. Jag skulle kunna stöta några gammaldags muslimer. Och så är jag så okammad idag.
 
Jami:   Nå, tack för din tid igen, Mo! Det var ett nöje att prata med dig.
 
Mo:   Det var så lite så.



Previous posts about Ehsan Jami:

2007   Sep   8   Ex-Muslims Against… Ex-Muslims!
2008   Mar   27   Another Prophet-Insulting Dutch Movie
    Apr   1   Ehsan Jami Succumbs to Government Intimidation
        17   Ehsan Jami Closes His Organization
    Sep   19   Ehsan Jami’s New Movie
    Nov   29   An Interview With the Prophet
    Dec   8   Ehsan Jami’s Movie Debuts in the Hague
        9   An Interview With Muhammed
        14   Another Boycott of Dutch Products
        19   A Rosetta Stone for Ehsan Jami, Part 1

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/19/2008

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/19/2008The rioting in Malmö has picked up steam:

Some 100 youths ran amok for the second straight night, setting cars and garbage bins ablaze and throwing stones at police, police said.

It seems that the Swedes at last have their very own Intifada. Break out the keffiyehs!

Thanks to Amil Imani, Islam in Action, JD, Lionheart, TB, Tuan Jim, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – –

USA
BHO’s Jobs-Creation Scam
Clouds Still Hover Over Presidential Election
Code Pink Embraces Shoe-Thrower
Egyptian Student Gets 15 Years in Fla. Terror Case
Holder Omitted Blagojevich Link From AG Questionnaire
Illegal Fatally Beats Woman Who Gives Him Home
Iranian Woman Convicted of Trying to Obtain Night-Vision Goggles
Obama’s Pick for SEC ‘Gave Bernard Madoff’s Son a Job’
Treasury: New York Firm is Front for Iranian Bank
Vandals Decapitate Shepherd in Nativity Display
Video: New Gun Laws Coming to Los Angeles
 
Europe and the EU
Denmark: Teenager Stabbed Outside School
Extreme-Right Hungarian Guard to be Dismantled
Greece: Chaos in Athens as Tensions Peak
Melanie Phillips: Labour Finally Admits Married Parents Are Best for Children…
Sweden: Gävle Goat’s Little Brother Torched
Sweden: Rioting Breaks Out in Malmö Suburb
The Czech Presidency Answers the Most Frequently Asked Questions
UK, Luton: Drug Cartel Jailed
UK: ‘Lord Road Rage’: Peer of the Realm With £315m Fortune ‘Went Berserk’ in Attack on Motorist
UK: Good Samaritan Teenager Held for Hours
UK: Man Who Battered Alzheimer’s Wife to Death Weeks Before Golden Wedding Anniversary Walks Free From Court
UK: Thug Jailed After Stabbing Police Officer and His Dog During Arrest
 
Israel and the Palestinians
Argentina Seizes Assets of Former Iranian Diplomat
Former General: Israel Can’t Defeat Iran
Olmert Wants to Meet With Syria’s Leader
 
Middle East
Iraqi Journalist ‘Regrets’ Hurling Shoes at Bush
Iraqis Who ‘Executed’ British Soldiers Can Face War Crimes Trial, Judge Rules
 
South Asia
Indonesia Religious Tolerance Down
Malaysia: Catholic Newspaper Faces Ban for Writing “Allah”
New Indian ‘FBI’ to Help Combat Terrorism
 
Far East
A Proud Achievement for Korea
Japan to Accept 30 Myanmar Refugees Residing in Thailand
Philippine Communist Insurgents Declare Christmas Ceasefire
 
Immigration
Indians Trafficked Into Finland as Members of Film Crew
‘Relax Restrictions’ for Asylum Seekers With Swedish Kids
 
Culture Wars
9-Year-Old Called Drug Dealer Over Cough Drops
Next Taxpayer Bailout: Abortion Industry?
Support Plummets for Plan to Criminalize Christianity
 
General
Cereal Production Sets New Record in 2008: UN Agency
If Del Boy Was Around Today, He’d be Trading in Carbon Offsets
OPEC Loses Its Muscle

USA


BHO’s Jobs-Creation Scam

Government’s whole approach to unemployment is upside-down. To improve the well-being of people, the emphasis should be on full production, not full employment. You move toward full production as you produce more goods and services that people want.

If full employment were the horse instead of the cart, government could just put unemployed people to work building pyramids in the Mojave Desert. After a few years, it could have them tear down those pyramids, then start all over again. Obviously, nothing would be accomplished, but we would have full employment.

The point is that merely creating jobs does not produce wealth. An economy will fail if people are employed in jobs that do not produce goods and services the public wants to buy — on a voluntary basis. The old Soviet Union had full employment, but the people had no wealth. Worse, they had no freedom.

Is full employment possible in a free market? Theoretically, yes — but only if government stayed completely out of the marketplace, which it never has done. While full employment may not be possible other than in theory, one thing is certain: The closer you get to full production, the closer you get to full employment.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Clouds Still Hover Over Presidential Election

by Amil Imani

[..]

As our republic embarks on a new presidential term of office, it faces a new kind of constitutional crisis. This new crisis to the republic plus an atmosphere of distrust arises from corrupted, power hungry politicians and their accomplices, the big media. Special interest abuses and partisan bias in the administration of justice are shameful acts of the servants of the people who have forgotten they have taken a sacred oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

When individuals make mistakes, the consequences are limited. However, when our elected officials make mistakes, the results can be catastrophic. It is disheartening to see the world’s best hope for freedom and democracy, the United States of America, make a gross mistake at this crucial juncture. Once again, America is at a critical point and facing troubles from within and in several hotspots of the world.

The Constitution of the United States clearly states three requirements to become the President of the United States.

           — Hat tip: Amil Imani [Return to headlines]



Code Pink Embraces Shoe-Thrower

Following the lead of Iraqi shoe-thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi, Code Pink on Thursday launched its own protest using footwear.

The anti-war group known for disrupting congressional hearings featuring prominent Bush administration officials gathered in Washington Thursday to put hundreds of shoes in front of the White House. The group also hung shoes outside a Marine Corps recruiting station in Berkeley, Calif.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Egyptian Student Gets 15 Years in Fla. Terror Case

When two Muslim students were arrested late last year in South Carolina CAIR called it racial and religious profiling. Well the judge has called it terrorism and has sentenced one of them to 15 years in jail.

           — Hat tip: Islam in Action [Return to headlines]



Holder Omitted Blagojevich Link From AG Questionnaire

Before Eric Holder was President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be attorney general, he was Gov. Blagojevich’s pick to sort out a mess involving Illinois’ long-dormant casino license.

Blagojevich and Holder appeared together at a March 24, 2004, news conference to announce Holder’s role as “special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board” — a post that was to pay Holder and his Washington, D.C. law firm up to $300,000.

Holder, however, omitted that event from his 47-page response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire made public this week — an oversight he plans to correct after a Chicago Sun-Times inquiry, Obama’s transition team indicated late Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Illegal Fatally Beats Woman Who Gives Him Home

12-time deportee repays compassionate stranger with murder

An illegal alien — who has been deported more than a dozen times — is being charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating a woman to death when she took him in, gave him work and treated him like family.

Paulette Locklear, 64, and several members of her church built a small house on her property in Fayetteville, N.C., for 45-year-old Julio Cesar Ramos of Honduras, North Carolina’s WRAL-TV reported.

Locklear’s nephew, Jeremy Brewington, said Locklear reached out to Ramos.

“The family just helped him any way we could,” Brewington said. “He would come and help us work, and we would pay him. He’s just been sort of part of the family for a long time.” Locklear’s brother, Paul Brewington, said Ramos was homeless and living in the woods when his sister gave him a place to stay, according to the report.

“We just started helping him and giving him food and giving him clothes and stuff,” he said. “That’s what she was doing to this fellow — just giving him a helping hand.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Iranian Woman Convicted of Trying to Obtain Night-Vision Goggles

FORT LAUDERDALE — After representing herself at trial, an Iranian woman was convicted Thursday of trying to export U.S.-made night-vision goggles to Iran.

Sharhazad Mir Gholikhan, 31, vowed to appeal the verdict returned by a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? — Click Here. after roughly 12 hours of deliberation: guilty of three export violations and not guilty of three related conspiracy charges.

Federal prosecutors said Gholikhan and her former husband, Mahmoud Seif, tried to illegally procure 3,500 sets of the military-grade goggles for Iran.

Authorities arrested the couple after a 2004 meeting in Vienna, Austria, where they had obtained a sample device from a U.S. government informant posing as an arms broker.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Obama’s Pick for SEC ‘Gave Bernard Madoff’s Son a Job’

Barack Obama’s choice to head the country’s heavily criticised stock market watchdog appointed one of Bernard Madoff’s sons in a previous job, it has emerged.

Mary Schapiro — set to be named head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today — is currently chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).

In 2001, she employed Mark Madoff to serve on the board of the National Adjudicatory Council — the division which reviews disciplinary decisions made by Finra, according to the Times.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Rescue Loans Guided by Raters Who Graded Subprimes AAA

Bernanke bases hundreds of billions in emergency lending on word of firms that gave top grades to toxic securities

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is basing hundreds of billions in emergency lending on credit ratings from companies that gave AAA grades to toxic securities.

The Fed has purchased $308.5 billion in commercial paper and lent $631.8 billion under eight credit programs, most of which require appraisals of short-term debt and loan collateral by “major nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations.” That, in effect, means Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.

It is foolhardy to rely on the three New York-based companies, said Keith Allman, chief executive officer of Enstruct Corp., which trains investors in financial modeling and asset valuation. The major raters issued top marks to $3.2 trillion in subprime mortgage-backed securities at the root of the financial crisis.

“They’re outsourcing the credit assessment to a group of people whose recent performance has been unbelievably bad,” said Allman, the New York-based author of three books on structured finance and a former vice president in Citigroup Inc.’s securitized markets unit. “If their goal is to not take a loss on these assets, they should be hiring independent analysts.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Treasury: New York Firm is Front for Iranian Bank

WASHINGTON — In the latest and perhaps most unusual attempt by the Bush administration to choke off Iran’s access to the global financial system, the Treasury Department on Wednesday designated a New York real-estate partnership as a front company for Bank Melli, one of Iran’s biggest state-owned banks.

In a related action, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York filed a civil complaint Wednesday seeking a forfeiture of the alleged straw company’s 40 percent ownership stake in a 36-story building on Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center. The U.S. government had already seized more than $3.1 million in two bank accounts in the U.S.

The Treasury alleged in a statement that Bank Melli had established Assa Corp. as a straw company in order to hold the ownership stake in the prime real estate.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Vandals Decapitate Shepherd in Nativity Display

KINGSPORT — Kingsport police are looking for the person or persons who decapitated one of the shepherds in a Nativity scene at Church Circle.

The vandalized shepherd has been returned to storage for the remainder of the Christmas season, according to Kingsport Jaycees President Curt Rose. This is the first major incident involving the Nativity scene since a few years back when someone stole the baby Jesus statue, Rose said. “Unfortunately, it seems like there are indviduals who would want to disrupt the Christmas cheer.”

While the person who stole the Jesus statue was eventually captured and the statue returned, whoever is responsible for the shepherd’s decapitation has not been caught.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Video: New Gun Laws Coming to Los Angeles

‘There is no need for this type of weapon … in the hands of anybody but law enforcement’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Denmark: Teenager Stabbed Outside School

[Note from the Baron: no indication here whether these are immigrant “youths”. Danish readers may be able to guess, based on the neighborhood.]

A 14-year-old boy is said to be in a serious condition after being stabbed outside a school in the Copenhagen suburb of Herlev.

According to reports, 5-6 boys were waiting outside the Hammersgård School in Herlev when the boy and a couple of his friends came out.

It is as yet unclear what caused the fighting between the two groups, which resulted in one of the boys being stabbed in the stomach.

Apart from the boy who had been stabbed, both groups of boys had left the area by the time police arrived.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



Extreme-Right Hungarian Guard to be Dismantled

BUDAPEST (AFP)—-A Budapest court ordered late Tuesday the dismantling of the far-right Hungarian Guard organisation, for racial discrimination against the Roma minority.

The Hungarian Guard Traditional and Cultural Association “means to create a climate of fear, while its activities — the marching of its members in Roma-populated settlements and the speeches of its leaders — constitute a breach of the rights of other citizens,” the Municipal Court of Budapest said .

The organisation, which was formed in August 2007, rejects equal rights for the Roma and creates resentment against them, the court added.

The decision was not legally binding and the organisation has said it will appeal.

“The Hungarian Guard cannot be dissolved, the Hungarian Guard will continue to work to save the nation and society, and we will appeal the court’s decision,” noted association president Gabor Vona.

Members of the Hungarian Guard movement, in black and white uniforms emblazoned with a coat of arms similar to that of Hungary’s fascist party during World War II, have staged regular marches through Roma settlements in the countryside for the past year.

Vona argued that the offshoot movement acted independently of the main association, but the court rejected this argument, noting that, “in creating a movement, the Hungarian Guard set up a framework for activities that are illegal.”

The Guard association has launched a campaign against “gypsy crimes” and held vigils for “the victims of Roma crimes”, prompting outrage from minority politicians, Roma and Jewish groups.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Greece: Chaos in Athens as Tensions Peak

Mounting tensions between police and protesters climaxed in central Athens yesterday, as masked youths hurled firebombs at police while news that a high school student had been shot in the hand in a western suburb fueled anger.

Officers fought running battles with rioters, who pelted them with stones and firebombs and set fire to trash bins and cars. In Syntagma Square, riot police guarded a new Christmas tree, erected by municipal authorities to replace the original burnt the week before.

Groups of self-styled anarchists entered the Athens University law school from which smoke was reported to be rising in the late afternoon. Meanwhile, around 5,000 schoolchildren and other demonstrators staged a mostly peaceful march through the center.

In Peristeri, western Athens, local residents gathered to protest after a 16-year-old boy was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the hand. The boy, whose father is a teacher and a unionist affiliated with the Communist Party (KKE), reportedly suffered the injury on Wednesday night when unidentified assailants fired at him while he was standing with friends on a street corner. Witnesses claimed two shots were fired, the first of which hit the boy’s hand. The boy’s father Constantinos Paplomatas spoke of “a murder attempt… by sinister forces.” A police spokesman said that no officers had been in the area at the time.

Responding to the news, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that such incidents highlight “the fragile and valuable nature of social equilibrium which it is the government’s chief priority to maintain.” The KKE has planned a protest rally in Peristeri to begin at noon today…..

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Many reports have already stated that there were no police in the vicinity of this last incident at that the boy was actually treated for a wound that came from an air-rifle.]

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Melanie Phillips: Labour Finally Admits Married Parents Are Best for Children…

…but it’s still funding the destruction of society

Put the flags out! The government has finally admitted that children are best served by being brought up by their own two married parents. Well, you don?t say. For more than two decades, this statement of the blindingly obvious has been denied by the left-wingers who control our culture. Instead, they insisted that there was no such thing as a broken family, that all types of household were as good as each other for bringing up children …

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Gävle Goat’s Little Brother Torched

It has become something of a Swedish Christmas tradition for the famous Gävle goat to be burned by vandals. But while that goat has so far survived intact this year, its smaller and less famous brother in Lycksele, northern Sweden, has been destroyed.

Fire officers were called to the straw goat in the town’s main square at half past midnight on Thursday night.

“It is true that the goat has burned. The fire brigade attended and hosed it down,” said Dan Andersson of Umeå police.

A number of towns in Sweden erect straw goats in their main squares over the Christmas period. The straw goat of Gävle, first erected in 1966, has been burned many times in the run-up to Christmas.

Pyromaniacs in Lycksele “appear to be taking over the Gävle tradition,” said Andersson, who expressed disappointment that the ornament had been destroyed.

“It wasn’t enormous, but it’s a shame it couldn’t be allowed to survive,” he said.

The goat’s association with the yuletide season is believed to derive from pagan Scandinavian religion. In the 18th century the Christmas goat fulfilled a role similar to that of Santa Claus. These days, straw goats are used by many as seasonal decorations.

People keen to see whether the Gävle goat makes it to Christmas can now follow its fate via webcam.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Rioting Breaks Out in Malmö Suburb

Scores of young people rioted on Thursday night in Rosengård, the Malmö suburb in which tensions have been running high since the recent closure of an Islamic cultural centre.

Some 100 youths ran amok for the second straight night, setting cars and garbage bins ablaze and throwing stones at police, police said.

“We’ve had a very difficult evening. There have been fires burning since this afternoon in garbage bins and cars, there’s extensive damage to public property, and there’s been stonethrowing and bomb threats against police,” police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford told AFP.

One person was arrested during the riots, she said.

Westford said the troubles were linked to the recent closure of an Islamic cultural centre in Malmö’s heavily-immigrant populated neighbourhood Rosengård.

The owner of the building wanted to use the space for other purposes, and the Islamic centre, which housed a mosque among other things, moved out and handed over the keys.

But a group of young people squatted the office space on November 24th, and police intervened early this week to remove the occupants and empty the offices.

Police guarded the location until Wednesday, and once they left youths tried to occupy the building again.

Riots broke out on Wednesday night, when youths set fires in the area and threw stones and bottles at police. Seventeen youths were detained during those clashes.

“The origin of the riots is the occupation of the building. But that’s not really the reason now, now other troublemakers have just joined in, taking advantage of the situation,” Westford said.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



The Czech Presidency Answers the Most Frequently Asked Questions

…4. How important is the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty for the Czech EU Presidency? And, in this context, how do you perceive the criticism from President Václav Klaus? The ratification process for the Lisbon Treaty continues: at European level, following the Irish request, the summit guaranteed the sovereignty of the Member States in security and tax policy matters. Therefore, Ireland has the possibility to repeat the referendum that took place in June 2008 when the Irish voters refused the document since it lacked these safeguards. This may happen during the Czech Presidency.

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic has given its opinion on the six points concerning the Lisbon Treaty referred to it by the Senate and did not find them in conflict with the Czech Constitution. This made it possible to continue the ratification process in both chambers of the Parliament. The Chamber of Deputies is expected to give its opinion on the document on 3 February 2009. At the same time, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) recommends to press for a priority adoption of the international treaties on the US anti-missile shield.

I do not see the differing opinions on the Lisbon Treaty, or direct criticism of it, as something destructive — on the contrary. I believe that even the arguments of the ‘devil’s advocates’ can only be beneficial for the debate about the future of the European Union. Indeed, public opinion polls show that the impact of an open exchange of views on the perception of the Lisbon Treaty is rather positive..…

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



UK, Luton: Drug Cartel Jailed

Three men who formed a major Class A drug cartel have been caged for a total of 28-and-a-half years.

L-R: Imran Anwar, Ghulam Ghaus and Shamim KhanImran Anwar, 36, of Portland Road, Luton, had pleaded not guilty but convicted at an earlier hearing of conspiring to supply Heroin and Crack Cocaine.

Co-defendants Ghulam Ghause, 34, of Dunstable Road, Luton, and Shamin Khan, 35, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

All three were sentenced by Judge Peter Wright at Luton Crown Court on Thursday.

He said the prison sentences were to reflect how seriously the courts took the supply of Class A drugs and the damage they do to society.

Anwar, said to be the ringleader of the gang, was sentenced to 14 years, Ghaus said to be his right-hand man to eight years and Khan said to be at the bottom of the cartel six-and-a-half-years.

           — Hat tip: Lionheart [Return to headlines]



UK: ‘Lord Road Rage’: Peer of the Realm With £315m Fortune ‘Went Berserk’ in Attack on Motorist

One was a peer of the realm with an estimated £315million fortune, the other a council engineer.

When the Mercedes-Benz driven by Baron Kirkham of Old Cantley almost collided with Keith Pearce’s Fiat Punto, what followed did little to bridge the gap in their social status.

[…]

He is alleged to have approached Mr Pearce shouting and swearing, before attacking him.

Mr Pearce, 50, said the businessman shouted at him: ‘What the f****** hell do you think you are doing?’

Lord Kirkham allegedly had both his hands raised ‘like claws’ and went for the other man’s face, pushing his thumbs into his eyes.

Mr Pearce said: ‘Momentarily I lost vision. I presume he used his thumbs.

‘I had no chance to defend myself. I pushed him away then he attacked me again.’

He said he pushed the peer away once more before he was punched two or three times on the chin and face.

‘It was all over in just two or three minutes,’ he said.

Mr Pearce grabbed hold of Lord Kirkham’s jacket and put his arms around his neck to try and restrain him, only for the peer to start scratching his face.

The two wrestled to the ground and only parted after an onlooker told them to ‘pack it in’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Astrazeneca Row as Corruption Claims Engulf Nobel Prize

The integrity of the Nobel prize was called into question last night after it emerged that a member of the jury also sat on the board of a pharmaceuticals giant that benefited from the award of this year’s prize for medicine.

Prosecutors were studying whether AstraZeneca, the London-based multi-national pharmaceutical company, could have exerted undue influence on the award.

The joint winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine, Harald zur Hausen, was recognised for his work on the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer. AstraZeneca has a stake in two lucrative vaccines against the virus.

Two senior figures in the process that chose Mr zur Hausen have strong links with the pharmaceutical company, which has also recently begun sponsoring the Nobel website and pro-motional subsidiary. The company strongly denies any wrongdoing.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Did Rachel’s Killer Commit 109 Sex Attacks?

Chilling past of psychopath with a lust for butchering blonde mothers

He was an angelic schoolboy who grew into a monster.

This is Robert Clive Napper, serial rapist and triple killer.

Yesterday, he admitted killing Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common in July 1992 — and brought to a close one of the most tragic and baffling mysteries in living memory.

Today it can be revealed that the man with a terrifying love of killing young mothers in front of their children, has been linked to 109 sex attacks.

In a dramatic finale to a slaughter which has haunted Britain for 16 years, the 42-year-old former warehouseman was sent to Broadmoor for what everyone expects will be the rest of his life.

His conviction for her manslaughter destroyed any lingering, misguided belief that Colin Stagg, formerly the chief and only suspect, had anything to do with the crime.

It also exposed a shocking catalogue of police blunders and failures which meant that Rachel and a young mother and daughter killed by Napper need not have died.

[…]

But solving the case also uncovered the blunders.

First, police missed a critical opportunity to arrest Napper in 1989 when he confessed to his mother that he had raped someone.

Then they failed to identify him as a suspect for a further series of rapes — and refused to link him to the Wimbledon Common murder despite glaringly obvious similarities.

Their misguided “obsession” with Stagg was compounded by what one senior legal figure described yesterday as the “mesmerising” influence of Paul Britton, the controversial forensic psychologist who compiled a profile of Rachel’s likely killer.

The startling list of mistakes topped a disastrous day for Scotland Yard’s reputation.

Senior officers were forced to make an unprecedented public apology to Stagg, currently enjoying a £706,000 compensation payout.

Astonishingly, there was no such apology to Rachel’s family — even though detectives were compelled to admit that had Napper been apprehended back in 1989, Rachel need not have died.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Good Samaritan Teenager Held for Hours

A kind-hearted teenager was interrogated for two hours and threatened with a criminal record by police after he attempted to help elderly residents left stranded by icy weather.

Philip Barnes, 17, went to the aid of the residents on an estate in Kendal, Cumbria, who were unable to leave their homes because the footpaths outside had not been gritted.

Determined to accomplish his act of kindness, the teenager and his friends spent hours driving around town looking for grit for the paths around the estate in Cedar Grove.

He finally found some at a railway station and went ahead with the gritting.

[…]

‘Two days later I was contacted by the police who said they had CCTV of me stealing the grit and said I was being considered for prosecution. I could not believe it.

Philip added: ‘They came to my house and questioned me for two hours.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: It’s Hard to Think of a Less Worthy Bailout Than Indian-Owned Jaguar

Could there be any less worthy case for a Government bailout than Jaguar-Land Rover? It is hard to think of one. The firm is foreign-owned, having been bought by the Indian conglomerate Tata for £1.5billion earlier this year when it already was clear the world was heading towards recession.

Moreover, Tata was buying a company notorious for manufacturing fuel-guzzling motors at a time when the oil price was soaring and when the Treasury was planning to impose punitive taxes on such ‘Chelsea tractors’.

But having already used £37billion of taxpayers’ cash in an attempt to kickstart the banking system and untold more billions trying to keep banks lending to each other, it will be hard for Labour to resist providing some help to a company which employs 15,000 and is a large and prestigious exporter.

[…]

However, this is particularly difficult in the case of the Indian group Tata which appears to want ownership without responsibility. It should be pointed out that the owners are no paupers.

Last year, admittedly in very different economic conditions, they made £3.4billion of profits on global sales of £40billion.

Tens of thousands of British jobs have been lost to Bangalore and elsewhere thanks to one of its subsidiaries, Tata Consulting Services (which provides sophisticated computer jobs).

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Intel Chiefs Raise Defenses

LONDON — Britain’s intelligence chiefs — Sir John Scarlett of MI6, Jonathan Evans of MI5 and David Pepper of the Government Communications Headquarters — each have been provided with the ultimate Christmas present, a mobile fortress fitted with more gadgets than ever given to James Bond, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Their defenses are being raised because of the belief in al-Qaida’s intention to bring terror to the streets of Great Britain and concern that those dangers will reach extreme levels during the Christmas season.

[…]

The new vehicles, with top speeds of 150 miles an hour, were built in secret in a high security workshop at BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany. The blueprints were kept under lock and key, and engineers who hand-built each limousine were security cleared by German intelligence and MI5 vetting officers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Man Who Battered Alzheimer’s Wife to Death Weeks Before Golden Wedding Anniversary Walks Free From Court

A pensioner who battered his elderly, frail wife to death walked free from court today.

Joan Holland’s body had 126 separate injuries when police found her naked and bleeding at the family home in Lancashire.

Neighbours heard her husband James of nearly 50 years repeatedly hitting her and calling her a ‘stupid f****** bitch’ in the months before he killed her on January 7.

Retired miner Holland, 75, was described in court by his daughter as ‘overbearing’ and someone whose wishes had to be complied with.

He admitted manslaughter — which carries a maximum life punishment — and was today given a 51 weeks sentence suspended for two years.

[…]

At 11pm the night he killed the mother of his only child, a neighbour heard Holland swearing at her, then a loud bang followed by Mrs Holland screaming.

The banging continued until 3am the following morning.

And after inflicting multiple injuries on her — including stabbing her in the head and hands with scissors — Holland waited for several hours before calling an ambulance.

When police arrived at 4am they discovered the killer had spent time covering his tracks.

He tried to wash blood away from several parts of the house and claimed he found her collapsed when he got up to use the toilet.

Holland should have faced a murder trial but pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month.

The Crown accepted that he did not intend to kill or cause Mrs Holland ‘really serious harm’ — the test for whether a defendant is charged with murder.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Thug Jailed After Stabbing Police Officer and His Dog During Arrest

A man who repeatedly stabbed a police officer and his dog in a vicious attack was jailed for nine years today.

Essa Suleiman, 26, attacked PC Neil Sampson and his dog Anya as they tried to arrest him in January this year.

The policeman suffered stab wounds to his head, face and leg and the dog was stabbed in the chest during the attack, while another officer was also assaulted.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Argentina Seizes Assets of Former Iranian Diplomat

(IsraelNN.com) An Argentinean court issued an order on Tuesday for the immediate seizure of assets in that country identified as belonging to a one-time Iranian diplomat who was a central figure in deadly terrorist bombings of Jewish targets in Buenos Aires.

The order was part of a civil lawsuit brought against the perpetrators of the 1994 bombing of the Jewish-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and wounded 300. A survivor of the attack is seeking approximately one million dollars in damages from Iran and its agents who were involved in orchestrating the operation, which was carried out by cells of Hizbullah in South America.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Former General: Israel Can’t Defeat Iran

Former National Security Council Chairman Giora Eiland warns against Israeli strike in Iran; Israel does not possess military capabilities that would enable Jewish State to completely destroy Tehran’s nuclear program, he says

Israeli officials have been repeatedly warning that Israel may end up attacking Iran, yet former National Security Council Chairman Giora Eiland says such strike would not eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program.

Speaking at a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, Eiland says Israel cannot defeat Iran’s regime via a military operation.

“To our regret, there is no Israeli military capability that would enable us to reach a situation whereby Iran’s nuclear capabilities are destroyed without the possibility of recovery,” he said. “The maximal achievement that Israel can accomplish is to disrupt and suspend Iran’s nuclear program.”

“The million dollar question” is the extent of a sufficient suspension period, Eiland said.

The former general said that Israel “cannot defeat Iran,” adding that an Israeli military operation or aerial strike cannot force Iran to capitulate or end its nuclear development efforts.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Olmert Wants to Meet With Syria’s Leader

In talks without pressing Damascus to cut ties with Iran, terrorists

[Comments from JD: Olmert and ilk are traitors for looking to yield territory that has been used TWICE to launch attacks on Israel. This is the height of stupidity.]

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would like to reach an agreement with Syria before he leaves office in February, and he is even willing to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to diplomatic sources speaking to WND.

Olmert is scheduled to travel to Turkey for a meeting Monday with the country’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss Israel’s indirect negotiations with Syria aimed at an Israeli retreat from part or most of the strategic Golan Heights. The Golan is mountainous territory looking down on Israeli population centers twice used by Damascus to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iraqi Journalist ‘Regrets’ Hurling Shoes at Bush

Muntadar al-Zeidi, who was imprisoned after Sunday’s incident, wrote to the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to express his “regret” for an “ugly act”.

He faces a possible prison sentence of two years for insulting a foreign leader. The journalist’s brother says Mr Zeidi has already been beaten in prison — a charge denied by the Iraqi authorities.

“It is too late now to regret the big and ugly act that I perpetrated,” said Mr Zeidi’s letter, according to Mr Maliki’s spokesman Yassin Majid.

His meek tone was very different from the vituperative words he used to Mr Bush’s face: “This is your farewell kiss, you dog!” he then exclaimed.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Iraqis Who ‘Executed’ British Soldiers Can Face War Crimes Trial, Judge Rules

Two Iraqis accused of killing British soldiers in cold blood can be lawfully handed over to the authorities in Baghdad for trial for war crimes — despite “a real risk” they could face the death penalty, the High Court ruled today.

Faisal Al-Saadoon, 56, and Khalaf Mufdhi, 58, detained by British forces in Basra, were given until 4pm on Monday next week to challenge the unprecedented ruling in the Court of Appeal.

Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Silber, sitting in London, ordered the Government not to remove them “outside British custody” before that deadline.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Indonesia Religious Tolerance Down

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Frankly I’m surprised to see NU taking such an honest approach — they’ve generally been one of the most “mainstream” organizations — but I wasn’t expecting something quite like this.]

JAKARTA: Religious tolerance has had a bleak year in Indonesia, according to a new study by a think-tank linked to the country’s largest Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama. In its report on the state of religious pluralism released last week, the Wahid Institute said that 234 violations of religious freedom occurred in the first 11 months of this year, a 19 per cent increase from last year.

Figures from earlier years were unavailable because the four-year-old institute did not carry out detailed studies before last year. The institute was set up to promote moderate Islam and named after former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid.

This year’s figures included violent attacks in the name of religion, conflicts over places of worship, and religion-inspired regulations that suppressed freedom of expression.

Almost 90 per cent of Indonesia’s population of 236 million are Muslims, with Christians, Buddhists and Hindus legally allowed to practise their faith.

But while analysts note that tensions between those of different faiths do exist, they say recent violations of religious freedom have been worsened by political jostling.

Ahead of next year’s polls, politicians have been loath to come down too hard on religious groups, even those which may use violence. The politicians do not want to alienate the growing pool of religious conservatives, the analysts say.

This is especially so in the case of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the success of his coalition will probably depend again on the support of some Islamic parties, they say.

This led Wahid Institute researcher Rumadi to warn: ‘We must stay alert that religious issues may be used as a tool for political bargaining.’

The Wahid Institute report pointed to two major events that highlighted the worsening state of religious pluralism.

First of all was the passing of the recent anti- pornography law, which critics say will threaten art and traditional culture — from temple statues in Bali to penis sheaths on tribesmen in Papua province.

The hereditary sultan of Yogyakarta yesterday said he opposed the new law. Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, a candidate for the presidential elections, said the law was ‘the most terrible thing in the process of building our nation’.

Senior political analyst Arbi Sanit said the law was a sign of the government catering to religious fundamentalists.

Mr Arbi, who teaches at the University of Indonesia, said the Islamic radical parties initiated the move. ‘They were trying to court Muslim support… but the government didn’t dare object to this as they didn’t want to look bad.’

Second, said the Wahid Institute, was the government’s weak effort to handle the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has had a history of terrorising society in the name of religion.

In June, FPI radicals attacked some 200 Christians, moderate Muslims and members of the minority Ahmadiyah sect who were rallying to promote religious tolerance.

Days later, the government issued a decree ordering the long-persecuted Ahmadiyah sect to stop spreading its faith, but did not ban the FPI.

University of Indonesia senior political science lecturer Maswadi Rauf said the government was ‘trapped in the middle, between two different ideologies’.

Terrorism specialist Sidney Jones said ‘poorly managed communal tensions’, which can tear apart Indonesia’s social fabric, are now the country’s biggest threat.

‘Unless Jakarta takes a tougher stance against vigilantes and in favour of religious freedom and minority rights, internal security problems are likely to increase,’ Ms Jones wrote in an article for the Jakarta Post earlier this year.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Indonesia: Forces Start Anti-Terror Drill

JAKARTA — INDONESIAN security forces launched a major anti-terror drill on Friday ahead of the Christmas holidays, a period when the Southeast Asian nation previously suffered bomb attacks. Indonesia has not suffered a major attack for three years, but it is still considered at risk from Islamic militants.

‘It is still fresh in our memory, tragedies in Indonesia,’ Indonesian Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told an opening ceremony in Jakarta, noting as well recent militant attacks in Mumbai.

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, but has large minorities of other religions including Christians and there were a series of bomb attacks on churches on Christmas eve in 2000.

The exercise involving more than 6,500 personnel will be conducted in the waters of the busy Malacca Strait, as well as hotels and transport hubs in major cities and in Bali.

The three-day drill includes a simulation of a hotel siege following the deadly attacks in Mumbai, where hotels were major targets.

TV footage showed heavily armed, balaclava-clad police scaling down the side of a hotel in Bandung in West Java to rescue hostages.

Raids often involving Detachment 88, an anti-terrorism unit funded and trained by the United States and Australia, have led to the arrest of hundreds of militants suspects in Indonesia.

But illustrating the dangers the country still faces, police recently foiled a plan to bomb an oil storage facility in north Jakarta, and in July police found bombs stored in the ceiling of a house in Palembang, Sumatra, and linked the group involved to the regional militant organisation Jemaah Islamiah.

Jemaah Islamiah has been blamed for deadly attacks in recent years in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. — REUTERS

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Indonesia: Politicians Divided on New Islamic Coalition

Some Islam-based parties are pushing for a political coalition to win next year’s elections, but others are questioning the relevance of such a sectarian alliance to nurture Indonesia’s democracy and pluralism.

The Islamic coalition, similar to the axis force that won Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid the presidency in 1999, is driven to reform the poor image and performance of the majority of Islam-based parties in the post-reform era.

It will also act as a strong political vehicle for Muslim politicians who require significant support in order to nominate a presidential candidate under a strict new law.

Parties have been under pressure to merge since the law ruled that only a party or coalition of parties with 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, or 25 percent of popular votes in the legislative elections, would be able to contest the presidential election.

All Islamic-based parties garnered less than 10 percent of votes during the 2004 legislative elections. Only the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP) managed to grab about 10 percent of the votes each.

Recent surveys found all Islamic parties, except for the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), would see a significant drop in votes in the 2009 elections.

“We need to form a strategic coalition to make ourselves heard. This coalition of Islam-based parties will have the same platform for strategic issues relevant to the Islamic community as a whole,” Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, who initiated the alliance, said at a discussion Thursday.

The discussion, hosted by the Center for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilizations (CDCC) which is also led by Din, was attended by representatives from major Islam-based parties and organizations.

They included National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, Azrul Azwar of the PPP, Hamdan Zoelva of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and Busroh Zarnubi of the Star Reform Party (PBR).

At a separate forum Thursday the National Sun Party (PMB), founded by Muhammadiyah figures and activists, declared Din its presidential candidate.

“Pak Din is what the nation needs. He is an excellent alternative candidate,” PMB chairman Imam Addaruqutni said in a speech announcing his party’s presidential nomination.

Din, speaking at the CDCC discussion, said a strategic coalition is needed for Islam-based parties so they can offer an alternative and challenge the nationalist parties, especially Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), in the upcoming elections.

The PDI-P has nominated Megawati Soekarnoputri as its presidential candidate while Golkar will likely back a re-election bid for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Hamdan and Azrul said their parties would support the Islamic coalition to promote stronger action for the interests of Muslims.

Amidhan, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Tuty Alawiyah, a former religious affairs minister and current chair of a national communication forum for Islamic gatherings, agreed that the discussion should be immediately followed up by action to push for the coalition.

Muhaimin welcomed the establishment of an Islamic coalition, but could not say whether the PKB would join the alliance.

“We need this coalition not for the 2009 elections but for the longer term,” he said without elaborating.

Busroh quickly criticized the Din-proposed coalition, saying the pluralist country did not need sectarian politics.

“It will break up the country. Why do we need a dichotomy of Islam and nationalists while most of us are Muslims?,” he said.

Opposition was also voiced by the PKS which questioned the relevance of such a sectarian political approach.

“What we need most is a strong government to accelerate our development. I doubt that such a coalition will contribute to that objective,” senior PKS politician Mahfudz Siddiq said in a text message to The Jakarta Post.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Malaysia: Catholic Newspaper Faces Ban for Writing “Allah”

A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia is facing a ban for using the word “Allah” to describe the Christian god.

Unless the government changes its mind, the Herald Catholic Weekly has only two weeks left to run before its licence expires at the end of the year.

The deputy home minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said: “Until December 31 we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till then. Let them wait.”

Malaysia is a semi-authoritarian country with strict media laws which has been ruled by the same government since independence from Britain 51 years ago.

Almost 60 per cent of the population are ethnic Malay Muslims and the remainder are ethnic Chinese or Indians following a variety of religions. These large ethnic and religious minorities claim that the government is attempting to stir Malay Muslim sentiment in attempt to deflect its unpopularity and maintain power.

“The Catholic Herald’s ‘Allah’ is seen as a threat to national security,” said Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



New Indian ‘FBI’ to Help Combat Terrorism

India’s parliament has passed a new law creating a version of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation — a nationwide police force operating across state boundaries.

The law is one a bunch of measures designed to quell public alarm after the Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 170 people.

Civil rights campaigners in the subcontinent are furious that the parliament has also revived old rules allowing police to hold suspects for up to 180 days without charge.

Indian broadcasters meanwhile agreed on a new set of rules regarding their coverage of breaking crises — following accusations that their coverage of the attacks inadvertently helped the Mumbai terrorists.

With Indians in equal measure worried about the chances of another attack and derisive of their government’s handling of the Mumbai shootings, the ruling Congress party has reason to fear a coming election.

Already fighting a stiff challenge from the Right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress is keen to burnish its security credentials.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Far East


A Proud Achievement for Korea

The Zaytun Unit, which has been stationed in northern Iraq, arrived back in Korea on Friday. It has been four years and three months since they were deployed there. Troop levels stood at 3,800 at one time. The total number of Korean troops stationed there over those years totaled 19,000, making it Korea’s largest overseas troop deployment since the Vietnam War……

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Japan to Accept 30 Myanmar Refugees Residing in Thailand

The Japanese government has announced that it will accept 30 refugees from the war-torn nation of Myanmar from fiscal 2010, the first time an Asian country has formally accepted refugees who reside in another nation after fleeing their home country.

The decision was made by an inter-governmental panel on the topic by 11 ministries and agencies at a meeting on Friday. There are plans to possibly increase the number accepted in the future.

The 30 will be selected during the next fiscal year, with cooperation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).

Under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, interviews for prospective refugees can usually only be carried out within Japan. When candidates are refugees who are living in another country after fleeing their home nation, however, the law allows government representatives to go to the refugees’ country of residence. They are currently living in Thailand.

Japan accepts refugees who have been recommended by the UNHCR as needing protection, and are deemed as families capable of fitting into Japanese society. The government will give them Japanese language lessons and job placement and training….

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Philippine Communist Insurgents Declare Christmas Ceasefire

MANILA (AFP)—Communist insurgents in the Philippines Friday said they would declare a five-day ceasefire over the Christmas and New Year holidays but also encompassing their anniversary Dec. 26. The unilateral ceasefire would cover Dec. 24 to 26 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, “in unity with the Filipino people’s holiday traditions,” said a statement by the Communist Party of the Philippines, or CPP. This would be longer than the government’s own unilateral Christmas and New Year ceasefire that only covers Dec. 24 to Dec. 25 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. The longer unilateral ceasefire “would also serve to allow the holding of mass gatherings in the more than a hundred guerrilla fronts across the country to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the CPP Dec. 26,” the rebel group said in their statement. Leftist groups with ties to the CPP will take part in these celebrations in the coming days, the statement added. In the past, the government has suspended military operations against rebels on Christmas and New Year’s Day and eve as a gesture to the largely-Christian populace that considers these days to be religious holidays. However, the military has usually been on red alert Dec. 26 as the communist rebels often mark their anniversary by beginning attacks on government installations. The CPP and its 5,000-strong guerrilla arm, the New People’s Army, or NPA, have been waging an almost 40-year Maoist insurgency. In late November, the CPP turned down efforts to revive the stalled peace negotiations with the government. Maoist guerrillas murdered 94 civilians in the Philippines in the first 10 months of the year, the government has said.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Philippines: Sahiron, Jemaah Islamiyah Leader Killed in Clashes?

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military said it was highly probable that Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron and a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant were killed in recent encounters in Sulu.

Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said there were indications that Sahiron was killed after he fell off his horse, which was shot by automatic gunfire from government troops during an encounter in Talipao last Dec. 7.

“There is a very high probability that Radulan Sahiron was killed and one JI, but we can not confirm and validate it as of the moment,” Allaga said.

Allaga added they were not able to retrieve the supposed body of Sahiron to confirm his death.

“The reason we came up with that conclusion is because in the (Abu Sayyaf) camp that was attacked by the troops, we saw the horse of Radulan lying on the ground, and he usually rides on (that) horse,” Allaga said.

The attack in Talipao also killed nine soldiers, he added.

On the identity of the slain JI militant, Allaga said they are still verifying the reports.

The reports also indicated three JI militants were among the Abu Sayyaf when troops launched the attack.

Allaga identified the high value targets as Umar Patek, Marwan and Zulkipli.

He stressed intelligence reports kept pouring in pointing that Sahiron was killed during the encounter.

Sahiron is among the high-ranking leaders of Abu Sayyaf wanted by the US government for the kidnapping of 21 tourists in the island resort of Sipadan, among other high profile kidnapping of foreigners.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, Gen. Alexander Yano earlier revealed intelligence efforts to validate reports of the killing of a JI operative in the encounter.

Yano said there are reliable reports that “a high value” al-Qaeda-linked JI operative was among the five terrorists killed by government troops during the assault on the suspected hideout of Sahiron.

Yano, however, did not elaborate on the identity of the so-called high value target killed by troops during the encounter since they have not retrieved any dead body at the site.

Anti-terror Task Force Comet chief Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban also did not substantiate reports that a JI militant was among those killed during the assault.

Sabban said troops in the area failed to retrieve the bodies of the slain JI terrorist or any of the Abu Sayyaf bandits since they had been dragged away by their fleeing comrades.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Indians Trafficked Into Finland as Members of Film Crew

Investigations into the illegal entry of Indians into Finland are nearing closure. An international crime ring is suspected of organising the trafficking of Indian nationals into Finland.

The ring is thought to have attempted to smuggle hundreds of Indian nationals into Finland and also to have arranged for their onward travel into other parts of Europe.

A 39-year old Indian man thought to be the ringleader has been held in detention in Finland since September.

The group sought 129 visa applications, of which 117 were granted for applicants all born in the 1980’s and resident in the Punjab state in northwest India. The visas were allegedly sought for members of a film crew that would be working on a feature film and music videos.

Preliminary investigations indicate that 18 of the visa recipients arrived in Finland, eight of them illegally. Of the other alleged film crew members, dozens were apprehended in other countries such as France and the Czech Republic.

The vast majority of those who arrived in Finland were turned away. Three of them became asylum seekers and have already received residence permits. They reportedly paid money to an Indian trafficker in order to gain entry into Italy and Spain.

The preliminary investigation is expected to conclude next week, and charges should be laid at the latest on January 8.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



‘Relax Restrictions’ for Asylum Seekers With Swedish Kids

Sweden’s Migration Minister Tobias Billström has vowed to ease residency restrictions for asylum seekers who have started families with Swedish partners.

While an asylum seeker who has children with a Swede already has the right to permanent residency in Sweden, the person in question must first return to his or her home country to seek a permit, a process that can take up to half a year.

Under the current regulations, mothers with newborn children have often been left with no other option than to leave Sweden with a newborn child in order to apply for a residence permit.

But now Migration Minister Tobias Billström has said he will endeavour to “fasttrack” a new law that would enable the migration authorities to make exceptions to the law.

In an interview with Sveriges Radio, Billström said he expected the amended law to come into force in Spring 2010.

Previously, the minister had indicated that he would await the outcome of an official inquiry before giving his backing to a legislative amendment.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


9-Year-Old Called Drug Dealer Over Cough Drops

A Florida elementary school accused a 9-year-old student of selling drugs for sharing cough drops with friends.

Officials at Patterson Elementary School in Clay County decided, however, not to discipline Khalin Rivenbark, who met with the girl and her father Wednesday.

The accusation arose one day earlier when the child got into trouble after her father put some Halls Defense Vitamin C cough drops in her school bag when she was recovering from a cold, she told Jacksonville’s WJXT-TV

She later shared some with friends.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Next Taxpayer Bailout: Abortion Industry?

Will Barack Obama provide the abortion industry with a bailout of its own, costing taxpayers billions of dollars?

The Obama-Biden Transition Project posted a plan on its website called “Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration.” It is signed by a coalition of 66 groups including Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Organization for Women and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The outline lists proposed steps for Obama’s first 100 days in office including the following:

  • Increase funding for Title X (which funds Planned Parenthood) to $700 million from the current $300 million
  • Expand coverage of taxpayer-funded abortions under Medicaid
  • Promote sex education in schools and communities at cost of $50 million
  • Provide birth control at colleges
  • Expand taxpayer-funded abortions to federal employees, military facilities, the Peace Corps and federal prisoners
  • Increase funding for Title V Maternal and Child Health services to $850 million from $666 million
  • Provide international abortion providers with $1 billion
  • Increase funding for the CDC’s school HIV and STD prevention programs from $40.2 million to $66.6 million
  • Increase funding for substance abuse and mental health services programs for pregnant women and mothers from $12 million to $70 million
  • De-fund abstinence only programs
  • Re-examine Bush administration policies that block or limit women’s access to emergency contraception
  • Pass the Freedom of Choice Act
  • Select judicial nominees who “demonstrate a commitment to justice civil rights, equal rights, individual liberties, and the fundamental constitutional right to privacy, including the right to have an abortion.”

Obama’s transition office is also trying to find ways to undo Bush administration policies dealing with abortion.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Support Plummets for Plan to Criminalize Christianity

The Islamic nations whose leaders want Christianity criminalized sustained a severe blow at the United Nations today when the momentum on their religion “anti-defamation” proposal suddenly shifted.

WND previously reported on the plan that has been in the works since 1999, sponsored by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The “anti-defamation” law was proposed ostensibly to protect religions from criticism and attack.

However, the plan mentions only Islam as needing protection.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, has assembled a petition opposing the plan that has been signed by about 400,000 people already. He said today’s U.N. General Assembly vote, which was 86 yes, 53 no and 42 abstentions, was a dramatic shift from the vote from one year ago, which was 108 yes, 51 no, and 25 abstentions.

Because of the circuitous route to adoption in the labyrinth of the U.N., a General Assembly vote such as today’s does not automatically mean adoption. Nor does it mean the proposal will disappear.

But Sekulow told WND that the change was “huge.”

“To have basically over a 20 percent shift, this is a significant loss of momentum for the OIC,” he said, “and a clear message the world opinion is going against this special status for Islam.”

He said his organization, along with a sister group, the European Center for Law and Justice, which has a special seat at the U.N., would continue to work to build opposition to the plan.

“We hope it comes down to the OIC as the only countries supporting this, and even those will start peeling away. This was a huge victory,” he said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

General


Cereal Production Sets New Record in 2008: UN Agency

ROME — Cereal production has set a new record in 2008 at 2.24 billion tonnes, a 5.4 percent increase over last year, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

Developed countries account for most of the increase, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a report, adding that output in poor countries had risen only “marginally”.

While international grain prices have continued to fall in recent months, food prices remain high in developing countries, the Rome-based agency said….

….Despite the record production, 33 countries “are estimated to be in need of external assistance as a result of crop failures, conflict or insecurity and high domestic food prices,” the report said.

It singled out Zimbabwe, where the FAO estimates some 5.1 million people face food insecurity, and North Korea, where “an estimated 8.7 million people, or around 40 percent of the population, urgently need food assistance.”

In Zimbabwe, a devastating cholera outbreak “poses an additional serious threat to health and nutrition of the vulnerable population,” the FAO said.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



If Del Boy Was Around Today, He’d be Trading in Carbon Offsets

From the New York Times, December 12: Soviet scientists on board an icebreaker drifting just 300 miles from the North Pole have concluded that the world is getting hotter.

Warm-water fish are appearing in increasing numbers in Arctic seas as temperatures have risen, melting the ice caps.

The Russian explorers believe that very soon ships will be able to sail right across the Pole.

This news will be welcomed by “global warming” campaigners — except that it first appeared on December 12, 1938, and has just been republished on a website run by a former TV meteorologist, who treats the whole “climate change” racket with a healthy dose of sea salt.

The Soviet scientists also concluded that the warmer weather was almost certainly down to the rays of the sun.

And they added it would be rash to prophesy the duration of these higher temperatures, since the Ice Age was followed immediately by a period of much hotter summers than they were experiencing in the Thirties — the warmest decade of the 20th century, as it turned out.

A few short years later, by 1947, the ice caps were restored to their former glory and Britain experienced one of the harshest winters on record, lasting well into March.

We’re going through another one this year. November was the coldest for three decades.

We even had snow in October, on the day the Commons was debating its ludicrous, self-important “climate change” bill.

That was the same month China’s official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its “worst snowfall ever”.

Across the world, temperatures have plummeted. There was snow in Las Vegas this week. Much of North America has been hit by an ice-storm.

In Canada, there’s 30 per cent more ice than last year and the polar bears, who are supposed to be on the brink of extinction, are breeding at an alarming rate.

None of this has in any way deterred the “global warming” fascists. They dismiss this glaring, incontrovertible evidence as a “blip” and continue to insist the world is burning up.

[…]

In an increasingly secular Britain, “climate change” is the new religion. You don’t get much fuss about “global warming” in the Islamic world.

And it’s no coincidence that so many of those most active in the great “global warming” crusade used to sign up to communism and the more extreme, headbanging fringes of Far Left politics.

Mainstream politicians clamber on the solar-powered bandwagon because it allows them to posture as self-righteous friends of the Earth, while giving them licence to raise taxes, spend public money and impose ever tighter controls on the population as a whole.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



OPEC Loses Its Muscle

Despite bluster about cutting production, cartel unable to marshal members to halt price slide.

Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi arrived at the Sheraton, a big glass-and-steel building in the hills above the city, he told the waiting scrum of reporters that OPEC planned to cut production by a big number. Sure enough, on Dec. 17, OPEC announced cuts that amounted to 2.2 million barrels a day. Unimpressed, the market for crude drifted lower, to around $40.

This was the fourth meeting of OPEC since September. Two of them were hastily convened emergency sessions. Before Oran, the organization had announced 2 million barrels in cuts over the last three months. None of this has been enough to stem a plunge from the July peak of $147 per barrel. Despite the big cuts of Dec. 17, OPEC’s hopes are modest. Its target may be $75 a barrel, but a delegate from the Gulf doubted the price would exceed $55 in the first half of 2009. “OPEC is turning into an increasingly irrelevant organization,” said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Neil McMahon on a recent conference call.

Why is OPEC’s reputation taking such a hit? The market views it as having let things get out of control when prices were surging. Now the cartel can’t seem to contain a downward slide, either. “I don’t think they even have compliance on [the cuts] they’ve already done,” says John Hall, a London-based analyst attending the conference. OPEC adopts production quotas for each of its members, but it rarely adheres to them. OPEC delegates reckon the 1.5 million- barrel-per-day cut announced in October reduced production by only 1 million barrels — nearly all of it from Saudi Arabia.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Russia Balks at the G-Word

In most European countries it is a crime to deny the historical fact of a Nazi genocide against the Jews.

On the other hand, in Turkey it is a crime to assert that the events of 1915-1916 in Anatolia constitute an Ottoman genocide against the Armenians.

Ukrainian famineAnd now comes Russia. Holodomor is the Ukrainian term for the devastating famine in 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. Although billed as the time a “terrible humanitarian tragedy” by Stalin’s apologists, it has long been accepted by historians as a calculated strategy by the Soviet regime to break the back of Ukrainian national resistance.

Russia, however, isn’t buying it. Tuan Jim, who sent us the tip for this story, included this comment:

Am I the only one who sees parallels between Russia’s justification here and Turkey’s justifications for denying the Armenian genocide?

Here’s the article from Itar-Tass:

Russia Blocks Ukrainian Famine-Genocide Resolution

UNITED NATIONS, December 19 (Itar-Tass) — Russia blocked Ukraine-initiated UN resolution claiming Holodomor in the Soviet Union in early 1930s was famine-genocide aimed against Ukrainians, rather than a common tragedy of many nations in the country.

“We succeeded to block the inclusion of the item into the agenda of the current UN General Assembly,” Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday, adding the United States and Great Britain backed the Ukrainian motion, which “ended in nothing.”

Note that the Russian gas pipeline into the Europe seems to have paid off diplomatically. The Russians are convincing “explainers”:
– – – – – – – –

Churkin said Russian representatives were active in explaining the history of Holodomor to foreign partners. As a result, nine EU countries did not sign the Ukrainian declaration, although “EU members usually act in a consolidated manner”, according to Churkin.

“An overwhelming majority supported the Russian position,” the ambassador said.

He described the Ukrainian initiative to portray Holodomor as genocide against Ukrainians as “an attempt to sow mistrust and hostility between the Russians and Ukrainians. We have a common past and the famine in the ‘30s hit not only Ukraine. Therefore, we (Russia) do not plan to apologize and call it genocide,” he said.

There is ample historical evidence to support the assertion that the Ukrainian famine was a deliberate act. It was the result of a calculated policy by the Politburo to destroy resistance to collectivization among the small landholders and the peasantry, and to force the entire rural population into the kolkhozy (the collective farms), where many of them starved to death.

The only argument against calling the Holodomor a genocide is the claim that it was directed at a class — the kulaks and other remaining “reactionary” landowners — and not an ethnic group. The fact that many people died of starvation in Kazakhstan and other SSRs, as well as in Russia proper, is adduced to support this thesis.

But the bulk of the victims were in the Ukraine. Ukrainian national resistance to collectivization was strong, and millions of Ukrainians died as a result of Stalin’s deliberate actions.

Call it what you will, the Holodomor was a man-made monstrosity whose scope matched and possibly exceeded the Holocaust of the Jews.

“I Don’t Care About Your Opinions”

The Czech Republic has just assumed the presidency of the EU, and the Czechs are making the Mandarins of Brussels a little bit nervous by insisting on listening to the voices of the people of Europe, particularly the Irish voices which voted “no” to the Lisbon Treaty.

A couple of weeks ago an EU delegation led by MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit paid a visit to Václav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, in Prague.

Readers of a certain age will remember Daniel Cohn-Bendit as “Danny the Red”, the young Communist revolutionary and veteran of ’68. During the ferment of the late 1960s, when I was living in England, Cohn-Bendit was synonymous with revolution, and aimed to overthrow the existing power structure. Whenever I see his name, I think of the Red Brigades or the Bader-Meinhof Gang. He was an archetype of the youthful revolutionary vanguard, a leader of the proletarian struggle.

However, times have changed. Daniel Cohn-Bendit is a no longer a wild-haired revolutionary, but a grizzled member of the European Socialist establishment. When he went to see Václav Klaus, it was to lay down the law: Mr. Klaus is obliged to recognize the supremacy of the European Union Politburo, and give up any lingering foolishness about liberty and Czech sovereignty. This is 2008, and not 1989.

But Václav Klaus persists in his intransigence, and refuses to fly the EU flag over Hradcany Castle. This aroused Mr. Cohn-Bendit’s anger, and he took the Czech president to task for his impertinence. Unbeknownst to the participants, however, the meeting was tape-recorded, and widely reported in the Czech media.

MEP Nigel Farage took umbrage at Danny the Red and his fellow EUniks for their bully-boy behavior. Here’s a video of the exchanges that took place in the European Parliament. According to the YouTube notes:

Nigel Farage raises the issue of the verbal attacks on Czech President Václav Klaus at the Prague meeting with the European Parliament “Conference of Presidents” on 5 December 2008.

See for yourself:


For excerpts from the transcript please go to this link (pdf): http://www.maltafly.com/images/excerp…

On Klaus’ website, in Czech: http://www.klaus.cz/klaus2/asp/clanek…

There’s more information available via The Telegraph:
– – – – – – – –

As described to me by someone present, President Klaus greeted the MEPs with his usual genial courtesy. Whatever his own views, he assured them, his countrymen would conduct their presidency in fully “communautaire” fashion. Cohn-Bendit then staged his ambush. Brusquely plonking down his EU flag., which he observed sarcastically was so much in evidence around the palace, he warned that the Czechs would be expected to put through the EU’s “climate change package” without interference.

[…]

He then moved on to the Lisbon Treaty. “I don’t care about your opinions on it,” he said. If the Czech Parliament approves the treaty in February, he demanded, “Will you respect the will of the representatives of the people?”

That’s the EU in a nutshell: it doesn’t care about your opinion. A “no” vote is irrelevant: the aristocrats of Brussels know better than you do what is good for you. They will act accordingly, regardless of what you think.

Needless to say, Nicolas Sarkozy sided with Danny against the upstart Czechs. Again, according to The Telegraph:

The French president sided with federalist Euro-MPs who are engaged in a bitter feud with Václav Klaus, the Czech president and a Eurosceptic.

[…]

“It was a wound, it was an outrage to see that flags had been taken down from public buildings,” said President Sarkozy, the current holder of the EU’s six-month rotating presidency which he hands over to the Czech Republic in January.

“Mr Poettering can count on the full support of the French president.”

But Mr. Klaus is putting up an admirable resistance to Imperial Brussels:

“There is no law binding the Czech Republic to hang the EU flag over Prague Castle. Prague Castle is a symbol of the Czech state and not the EU,” [the Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg] said.

“It is not up to the head of another state to criticise the Czech president over flags.”

And Nigel Farage is explicit in his comparisons:

Nigel Farage, the leader of UK Independence Party, compared the EU flag demand to the behaviour of Nazi or Soviet officials, both dictatorships that had occupied Prague and its Castle in the past.

“The manner in which Cohn-Bendit demanded that President Klaus fly the EU flag over his castle could easily have been done by a German official of over 70 years ago or a Soviet official of 20 years ago,” he said.

Is such resistance futile? Will everyone be assimilated?

The EU brings a formidable pressure to bear on member states that refuse to cooperate with the grand European scheme. But that pressure is primarily economic — the EU has no military enforcement capability, unless it can persuade the United States to supply the muscle and bomb recalcitrant countries into compliance.

We are entering a period in which the economic options of all Western governments will be severely curtailed. It remains to be seen how much centrifugal force is thus released by sudden changes in the dynamics of political power.



Hat tips: Tuan Jim and TB.

A Rosetta Stone for Ehsan Jami, Part 1

Rosetta Stone for Ehsan JamiI reported last week on the premiere in the Hague of Ehsan Jami’s movie An Interview With Mohammed. Mr. Jami is an apostate from Islam, and his movie is very different from Geert Wilders’ Fitna. It’s an understated approach from a Muslim insider’s point of view, rather than a direct frontal attack on Islam itself.

Even so, the movie garnered predictable censure from the usual suspects, and also a predictable apology from the Dutch government to the world’s 7.3 quadrillion Muslims. The Islamic reaction to An Interview With Mohammed has been more muted than Mr. Wilders received, perhaps because the critical nature of the film is less open and obvious, or maybe because Ehsan Jami is less well-known than Geert Wilders and did not generate as much outraged anticipation as preceded Fitna.

For those of you who missed the premiere last week, here’s the video of An Interview With Mohammed:



This is a subtle work. Don’t underestimate Ehsan Jami. He is being subversive here, undermining Islam from within. His ahadith are precisely chosen in order to produce the intended effect: uneasiness about the barbaric and outmoded culture that has been permanently enshrined in Islamic scripture.

Fitna was intended for a non-Muslim audience, and is confrontational and combative. In contrast, Mr. Jami’s film is intended for Muslims, particularly modernized secular Muslims, and it won’t be as easy for them to simply dismiss it.

The film is quite insidious, and it’s a shrewd move, a small stiletto of information warfare thrust into the soft underbelly of Islam. The Ummah is most vulnerable in those areas where its adherents, in close contact with the West, have become somewhat secularized and modernized. They’re not quite lapsed Muslims or apostates yet, but they’re not really in tune with the mores of the 7th century, either. Many in the younger generation are attracted to the same relaxed, hip lifestyle that has so corrupted the youth among the kuffar. This is the audience that Ehsan Jami’s masked Mo is directed at.

Fitna may serve to wake up those receptive citizens of the West who have not yet understood the dire threat posed by Islam. But An Interview With Mohammed has the potential to erode support for Wahhabism within the same demographic where the Salafists do most of their recruiting: the disaffected second- or third-generation Muslims of the West. It uses the vernacular of popular Western culture to offer them a different view their religion. In doing so, it can help them to re-cognize Islam.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *


It’s important that An Interview With Mohammed be widely propagated. For this reason, I have initiated another Rosetta Stone project to broaden the reach of Mr. Jami’s work. As with our previous efforts on behalf of Lionheart and Fitna, a corps of volunteer translators has been assembled and mobilized to translate the script into many languages as possible. Our eventual intention is to use these translations to create subtitled versions of the movie which can be posted on YouTube and other online video services.

Ehsan Jami kindly sent me a copy of the script, so this time we’re working from an official version. I emailed the translators two days ago, and as of tonight have received five completed translations: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, and Norwegian. In addition, I expect to receive Czech, French, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Swedish, and am hoping for Tagalog and Arabic.

Unfortunately, this time around I’m having trouble finding translators for Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Polish, Portuguese, and Slovenian. Others on my wish list are Albanian, Farsi, Greek, Maltese, Slovakian, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and any of the Baltic languages.

So if you know anyone who would be willing to translate 2307 words into one or more of those languages, please refer them to me, unspiek(at)chromatism.net.

As I did with Fitna, I’m collecting all the translations and posting them in a plain HTML webpage. As new languages come in, I’ll post updates here and also add them to the permanent page.

Many thanks to Henrik Ræder Clausen for correcting the typos in the English version, and for translating it into Danish. Thanks also to VH, KGS, Holger Danske, and NI for Dutch, Finnish, German, and Norwegian, respectively.

The English script plus the five translations are below the fold.
– – – – – – – –



English Version

Provided by Ehsan Jami

  An Interview With Mohammed
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Thank you very much for this interview. How should I call you? Mister Mohammed or do you have a last name?
 
Mo:   Salam o alaikom
Mo will do fine.. Mohammed is a bit long. I noticed that everything is abbreviated these days. Well a lot of things changed. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately…
 
Jami:   Did you like what you saw…
 
Mo:   Sort of. It’s easy to get around these days… that way it’s easy to meet different people in different places… There is a lot of potential for understanding that way…
 
Jami:   Well… eh… Mo… talking about understanding… Well, as you may know, there is a lot of discussions about Islam in the west, Islam and democracy and of course how your way of life reflects on the Muslims living today. So we are going to start at the beginning of your life and later on I would like to know what your view is on Islam today.
 
Mo:   I understand that there is some confusion in the last…euh…1400 years. This gives me the opportunity to set things straight.
 
Jami:   Is this an attempt to rewrite history?
 
Mo:   Every historical character has been burdened with difficult facts and standards. Facts are not rewritable,standards however can be.
 
Jami:   But in your history it is hard separate the facts from standards .
 
Mo:   Yes, that is my tragedy: I am the author, player and also the witness of my own drama.
 
Jami:   Whose drama is more tragic? That of you or the tragic situation in millions of Muslims ? In this tragedy you are the director. But the players played on after you retired.
 
Mo:   True. But I never completely left the scene. Let us start, and leave therefore the Rasul Allah and release people of what I was and of what I never want to be anymore. This is what you call emancipation. Or am I getting too complicated?
 
Jami:   Well, lets try to make things more clear.
We start at the beginning.
Whats the name of your mother and father?
 
Mo:   My father’s name is Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and my mother’s name is Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   What kind of man was your father? And what kind of woman was your mother?
 
Mo:   I have little memory of my mother. When I was 6, she passed away unfortunately.
My father I never knew at all. He died before I was born. I was in fact an orphan.
 
Jami:   I am sorry to hear that.
 
Mo:   I was raised by my grandfather Abd al-Muttalib till the age of 8 and later on by my uncle Abd Talib. It was a pleasant time I can remember. Playing outside with other children and talking hours with my uncle. He was the best father a boy could ask for.
 
Jami:   so you had a nice childhood?
 
Mo:   I guess you could say so…
 
Jami:   Did you always knew that you would be a prophet someday?
 
Mo:   I did had some dreams about it. But I didn’t know what it meant at the time…
 
Jami:   Can you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?
 
Mo:   Well, that is long time ago. Well, My uncle used to tell me great stories about a man named Jesus and his 11… warriors or something. I really wanted to be like him. And I think I lived up to the expectations. I met him .
We are actually good friends. We hang out a lot together. We play poker sometimes. We both cheat a bit and have a laugh about afterwards. We don’t play for money of course.
 
Jami:   I am sure the Christian people are pleased to hear that the two of you get along.. If it’s OK with you, I would like to rush forward through time.
So now you are in your twenties. Did you had an education?

 

Mo:   No, but I was streetwise. Life was my education. I was tired of living with no perspective. I wanted to do something for mankind. And of course looking for a good wife. I have seen so many interesting things on my way. And I learned so many things. Then I met Khadidja. She was in to trade caravans. She was a lovely lady. She hired me as leader of one of her caravans. At the age of 25, I married her. She was 15 years older than me.
 
Jami:   Didn’t that bother you?
 
Mo:   In love my friend, age has no meaning. When you are in love, everything is possible.
 
Jami:   Well, you have obviously a large heart?
 
Mo:   we do not have to exaggerate. I had also a large empty purse.
 
Jami:   But you did have more than 20 wifes at one point. Sahih Bukhari, one of your apostle’s said that you used to go around and have sexual relations with all your wifes in one night. Wow. Is this true?
 
Mo:   yes, something like that. But I thought you wanted to go through things chronologically… My first wife Khadidja was a wealthy woman and as a result, she became more attractive for me.
 
Jami:   was she your bank?
 
Mo:   yes, certainly. A bank with everything in it. Belief me, everyone has at one point dreamed of marrying a bank. And in those days. Even more than now. Marriage was business. Marriage was politics.
 
Jami:   And what about Aisha?
You were 52 years old and you marry a girl at the age 7 and having sex with her at the age of 9. How do you explain that?
 
Mo:   It’s more complex than you and many people think.
 
Jami:   Well, I have a quote from Aisha and I quote from Hadith and she said: “That the Prophet married me when I was six years old and he consummated his marriage when I was nine years old, and then I stayed with him for nine years till Allah’s Apostle died.” So by all means, please explain to me..
 
Mo:   Her father Abu Bakr, was one of my closest allies. After the death of Khadidja, my heart was broken. I was a lonely man. Her father was kind enough to let her marry me. And she was such strong, girl..
 
Jami:   But did you ask if she wanted to marry you?
 
Mo:   No I didn’t. Her father gave permission for it. That was enough. Besides, she was so young. She couldn’t make her own decision. That was common in those days, and unfortunately in some places on this planet it still is in the 21th century.
 
Jami:   And when she was 9 years old, did you ask her to have sex with you?
 
Mo:   These were different times. It was a tribal society. Many things were different back then. Mentalities were different. Life was different. People were different and I was different…
And you should not forget, that I, Rasul Allah had special erotic privilege that common men did not have. I had worldly powers. And I was only human.
 
Jami:   I am saying this because in the Islamic countries, these practices still happen a lot. What do you want to say to Muslims that do such of things?
 
Mo:   Don’t try this at home. No, but seriously. I understand for people living today is hard to understand what was going on that period of time. But Muslims must understand that we are living in a new age. What I did, is not something I am necessarily proud of.. Many things that were normal in those days modern men would call backward or inhumane. So my message to the Muslim society is, don’t marry or have sex with a girl when she is not ready or when she doesn’t want it.. In my opinion, man and woman are equal and so they must treated so. You can only be a Muslim by free will and you can only marry by free will.
 
Jami:   …Says Mohammed in year of our lord 2008
 
Mo:   I’d prefer to call it the year 1429 if you don’t mind
 
Jami:   Let talk about other delicate matters. There is a lot of anti-Semitism in the Islamic countries. The story goes that you killed over 600 Jews and you married with a Jewish girl after you killed her parents. Can you explain to me the reason why?
 
Mo:   Ah, Jews. An eternal problem. How could I be the last prophet of Allah, when the Jews and Christians would not join my religion. The conflict was purely business. And I wanted simply to shape a light form of Judaism. I couldn’t do it differently, there was no more space for Judaism. Jews are always so…stubborn, they could not accept that there was no place for them.
For start, All people are created by God. As I said… I walked around on the earth a lot lately. And I can say. It’s astonishing how much people have in common. They all have their dreams and fears.
 
Jami:   Do you mean you have nothing against Jews… for instance?
 
Mo:   I have learned to understand the meaning of tolerance and love. We were in war in that time. So it’s quite normal to kill your enemy. But only those who carry arms, of course. So what happened was wrong. For centuries civilians were targeted. The crusaders did it. But also Saladin. Muslim civilians were killed in Bosnia. Muslims killed innocent people in Darfur, the genocide of Armenian people and bombings in subways… I thought it was forbidden for Christians and Muslims to kill civilians… no matter what…
 
Jami:   These are all facts. But do you agree with me that because of what you did to the Jews and because of what you said about them, the Muslims today in fact hate the Jews?
 
Mo:   Judge people according how they treat others. Never do to others what you don’t want them to do to you. Many things in the quran are symbolic. God gave people brains, didn’t he. So make your own moral judgment. In the old testament of the bible there are also a lot of cruel things. Not many Christians take that literally… I know it is said that the Koran is literally the word of God. It is. But more in the poetic sense of the word. Or that’s how I see it anyway.
 
Jami:   Do you want to take no responsibility for the genocide in Medina where hundreds of Jews have been killed? They had no weapons. They had been handed over to you. You had no mercy.
 
Mo:   You confuse me and my God with Christians. Kill and to be killed, are also a form of mercy. If I had shown here and elsewhere mercy, the Islamic state had never come about.
 
Jami:   So creating the Islamic state is therefore your largest benefit?
 
Mo:   Objectively spoken is Islam the only truth.
 
Jami:   Is the there also a subjective truth?
 
Mo:   yes, the truth of morality and mercy. In this matter the genocide is immoral and merciless.
 
Jami:   What about those who leave Islam?
 
Mo:   (sighs) That’s a bit your thing, isn’t it?
 
Jami:   Eh… yeah… I’m an apostate as well… but in general… how should apostates be treated?
 
Mo:   Apostates are none of my business any more… If they choose to leave Islam… fine… I’m sorry if they do. Don’t get me wrong. But they are free to do so. If they want to burn in hell… fine with me…
 
Jami:   Then why didn’t you say this 1400 years ago? You had people killed when they didn’t believe in Islam anymore?
And what do you say to Muslims or imam’s that say that apostasy is a crime and is punishable by death?
 
Mo:   Without the option not to believe faith would mean nothing. Because if it’s imposed on people it is no longer true faith. I would say people that persecute others for not believing the same thing as they do are crazy and not worthy to be called a Muslim.
 
Jami:   I have some personal questions that I would like to ask.
What do you think of people like Geert Wilders or Salman Rushdie? Do you know them?
 
Mo:   I don’t know them very well, but I don’t like Muslims threatening them with death. That is totally wrong. I don’t care what they say. They have their thing. I have my own thing. They have their opinion. I have mine. I think they are totally wrong. But that won’t come as a surprise to you…
 
Jami:   You start to change
 
Mo:   Everyone and everybody does. Always. We can make the facts no longer undone. The standards we can change. Adapt it to new times.
 
Jami:   Weren’t those standards of Allah?
 
Mo:   I don’t exactly know what the will of Allah is. Nobody knows that.
 
Jami:   You endanger yourself, soon you will need bodyguards. And they will burn you images.
 
Mo:   For this reason I prohibited Muslims to make an image of me. Do not underestimate me, the Muslims are afraid of me. Terror is the ground from which Allah has formed me and the rest.
 
Jami:   What happens if we no longer will fear the terror of Allah?
 
Mo:   Then an end comes to my tale. Then I have genuinely done my part. That is the real emancipation of Gods and prophets. They are then released of their eternal charge. Your film is a small step to that emancipation. And This is how the prophets dies. And this is the way how they become also reborn
 
Jami:   Do you think that when I release this movie, the Muslim community will respond calm?
 
Mo:   Don’t overestimate your little low budget production. But… you never know. I hope my fellow brothers and sisters would react with dignity. It’s just a film. And a very cheap one. It’s not a blockbuster. Or we can create a little scandal at the end of the interview maybe that’s good for the rates.
 
Jami:   What do you suggest?
 
Mo:   Taking off my mask? No just kidding. Let’s leave it on. It might offend some old fashioned Muslims. I have my bad hair day anyway.
 
Jami:   Well, Mo, thanks again for your time! It was a pleasure to talk to you.
 
Mo:   The pleasure is all mine.



Danish Version

Translated by Henrik Ræder Clausen

    Et interview med Muhammed  
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Først mange tak for at du vil deltage i dette interview. Hvad skal jeg kalde dig? Hr. Muhammed, eller har du et efternavn?
 
Mo:   Salam o alaikom
’Mo’ er udmærket. Muhammed er lidt langt, og jeg har lagt mærke til at alt bliver forkortet i disse dage. Mange ting har ændret sig. Jeg har rejst en del på det seneste.
 
Jami:   Var du glad for, hvad du så?
 
Mo:   På en måde. Det er nemt at komme omkring i disse tider, og nemt at møde forskellige mennesker rundt omkring… Det giver et stort potentiale for forståelse.
 
Jami:   Øh, ehm, Mo… Nu vi taler om ‘forståelse’… Som du nok har bemærket, er der en del debat om islam i vesten, om islam og demokrati, og naturligvis om, hvordan din livsstil har indflydelse på muslimer i dag. Jeg foreslår at vi først taler lidt om dit liv, og derefter vil jeg gerne vide lidt om dit syn på islam i dag.
 
Mo:   Jeg kan forstå, at der har været en vis forvirring de seneste, tja, 1400 år. Jeg vil gerne bruge denne anledning til at sætte et par ting på plads.
 
Jami:   Er det et forsøg på at omskrive historien?
 
Mo:   Alle historiske personer har måttet bære på vanskelige fakta og normer. Fakta kan ikke ændres, men det kan normer.
 
Jami:   Men i din historie er det svært at adskille fakta fra normer.
 
Mo:   Ja, det er min tragedie: Jeg er forfatter, skuespiller og vidne til mit eget drama.
 
Jami:   Ehm, hvis drama er egentlig den største tragedie her? Dit eget eller millioner af muslimers tragiske situation? Du har selv været instruktør til denne tragedie, som andre har ført videre efter din tilbagetrækning.
 
Mo:   Det er sandt. Men jeg har aldrig helt forladt scenen. Lad os tage fat med at lægge Rasul Allah bag mig, og sætte folk fri af, hvad jeg var, og hvad jeg aldrig ønsker at blive igen. Det kan kaldes frigørelse. Eller udtrykker jeg mig for indviklet?
 
Jami:   Tja, lad os prøve at rede trådene ud og starte ved begyndelsen. Hvad hed din mor og din far?
 
Mo:   Min fars navn er Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, og min mors navn er Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Hvilken slags mand var din far? Og hvilken slags kvinde var din mor?
 
Mo:   Jeg husker ikke meget om min mor. Hun døde desværre da jeg var seks år gammel. Min far har jeg aldrig kendt. Han døde før jeg blev født. Jeg var faktisk forældreløs.
 
Jami:   Det gør mig ondt at høre…
 
Mo:   Min bedstefar Abd Al-Muttalib tog sig af min opvækst indtil jeg var otte år,,, og derefter af min onkel Abd Talib. Det var en behagelig tid, husker jeg. Jeg legede i timevis med andre børn, og talte i timevis med min onkel. Han var den bedste far, man kunne ønske sig.
 
Jami:   Så du havde en god barndom?
 
Mo:   Det kan man godt sige…
 
Jami:   Vidste du altid, at du en dag ville blive en profet?
 
Mo:   Jeg havde nogle drømme om det. Men dengang vidste jeg ikke, hvad det betød.
 
Jami:   Husker du selv, hvad du ønskede at blive, da du blev stor?
 
Mo:   Tja, det er jo længe siden… Min onkel plejede at fortælle storslåede historier om en mand ved navn Jesus og hans 11 … krigere, ellerr hvad det nu var. Jeg ville virkelig gerne være som ham. Og jeg tror, jeg har levet op til forventningerne. Jeg har mødt ham.
Faktisk er vi meget gode venner. Vi ses tit og spiller poker. Vi snyder lidt og griner om det bagefter. Vi spiller naturligvis ikke om penge.
 
Jami:   Jeg er helt sikker på at de kristne vil være glade for at i kommer godt ud af det med hinanden. Hvis du ikke har noget imod det, vil jeg gerne gå frem i tiden.
Til da du var i tyverne. Fik du en uddanelse?
 
Mo:   Næh, men livet gav mig min uddannelse. Jeg brød mig ikke om at leve uden perspektiv i tilværelsen. Jeg ville gøre noget for menneskeheden. Og naturligvis så jeg mig om efter en god kone. Jeg har set mange spændende ting undervejs, og lært meget. Så mødte jeg Khadidja, der var handlende med karavaner. En dejlig kvinde. Hun hyrede mig til at lede hendes karavaner. Da jeg var 25, giftede jeg mig med hende. Hun var 15 år ældre end mig.
 
Jami:   Øh, generede det dig ikke?
 
Mo:   I kærlighed, min gode ven, har alder ingen betydning. Når du er forelsket er alt muligt.
 
Jami:   Du har åbenlyst et stort hjerte?
 
Mo:   Nu ingen grund til at overdrive. Jeg havde også en stor og meget tom tegnebog.
 
Jami:   Men på et tidspunkt havde du mere end 20 koner. Sahih Bukhari, en af dine apostle, fortalte at du gik rundt og havde seksuelle forhold til alle dine koner på en aften. Wow. Kan det virkelig passe?
 
Mo:   Ja, noget i den retning. Men jeg troede, du ville gå kronologisk frem? Min første kone, Khadidja, var en rig kvinde, og det gjorde hende mere attraktiv for mig.
 
Jami:   Var hun din bank?
 
Mo:   Bestemt, ja. En bank med alting. Tro mig, alle har på et tidspunkt drømt om at gifte sig med en bank. Sådan var det dengang, og endnu mere i dag. Ægteskab var forretning. Ægteskab var politik.
 
Jami:   Hvad så med Aisha?
Du var 52 år gammel, giftede dig med en pige på syv, og havde sex med hende, da hun var ni. Hvordan kan du forklare det?
 
Mo:   Det er mere indviklet end du og mange andre mennesker tror…
 
Jami:   Virkelig? Jeg har et citat fra Aisha, som jeg gengiver fra hadith. Hun sagde: “Profeten giftede sig med mig da jeg var seks år gammel og fuldbyrdede ægteskabet da jeg var ni år gammel, og jeg blev sammen med ham i ni år, indtil Allahs apostel døde.” Vil du være så venlig at forklare det for mig?
 
Mo:   Hendes far, Abu Bakr, var en af mine nærmeste allierede. Efter Khadidja døde var mit hjerte knust. Jeg var en ensom mand. Hendes far var så venlig at lade mig gifte sig med hende. Og hun var sådan en stærk pige!
 
Jami:   Men spurgte du, om hun ville giftes med dig?
 
Mo:   Nej, det gjorde jeg ikke. Hendes far gav tilladelse til det, og det var nok. I øvrigt var hun jo så ung, og kunne ikke selv bestemme den slags. Det var almindeligt dengang, og desværre gør man stadig sådan nogle steder selv i det 21. århundrede.
 
Jami:   Og da hun var ni år gammel, spurgte du så om hun ville have sex med dig?
 
Mo:   Det var andre tider! Det var et stammesamfund. Mange ting var anderledes dengang. Mentaliteten var anderledes. Livet var anderledes. Mennesker var anderledes, og jeg var anderledes…
Og du må ikke glemme at jeg, Allahs budbringer, fik særlige erotiske privilegier som almindelige mennesker ikke fik. Jeg havde verdslig magt. Og jeg var jo kun et menneske.
 
Jami:   Jeg siger det, fordi i islamiske lande sker den slags ting stadig meget. Hvad har du at sige til muslimer, der gør den slags?
 
Mo:   Lad være med at prøve det hjemme. Nej, alvorlig talt. Jeg forstår at for mennesker i dag er det svært at forstå, hvad der foregik dengang. Men muslimer er nødt til at forstå at vi lever i en ny tid. Hvad jeg gjorde dengang er ikke nødvendigvis noget, jeg er stolt af. Mange ting, der var normale dengang, vil moderne mennesker kalde gammeldags eller inhumane. Så mit budskab til det islamiske samfund i dag er: Lad være med at gifte jer med piger eller have sex med dem, når de ikke er klar eller ikke selv vil. Min mening er, at mænd og kvinder er lige, og skal behandles lige. Du kan kun være muslim af fri vilje, og du kan kun gifte dig af fri vilje.
 
Jami:   Siger Muhammed i det Herrens år 2008.
 
Mo:   Undskyld, men jeg vil foretrække at kalde det år 1429.
 
Jami:   Lad os tale om nogle andre følsomme ting. Der er en udbredt antisemitisme i islamiske lande. Historien siger, at du dræbte over 600 jøder, og giftede dig med en jødisk kvinde efter at have dræbt hendes forældre. Kan du forklare, hvorfor du gjorde det?
 
Mo:   Åh, jøder. Et evigt problem. Hvordan kunne jeg nogensinde blive Allahs sidste profet, hvis jøder og kristne ikke ville tilslutte sig min religion? Konflikten havde forretningsmæssige årsager. Og jeg som blot ville skabe en forenklet udgave af jødedommen. Jeg kunne ikke gøre det anderledes, der var ikke mere plads til jødedom. Jøder er altid så … stædige, de kunne ikke acceptere at der ikke var plads til dem.
Til at starte med, alle mennesker er skabt af Gud. Som jeg sagde… Jeg har været vidt omkring på jorden på det seneste. Og det må jeg sige. Det er imponerende, så meget mennesker har til fælles. Det har deres drømme, de har deres frygt.
 
Jami:   Mener du dermed, at du ikke har noget imod jøder, for eksempel?
 
Mo:   Jeg har lært at forstå betydningen af tolerance og kærlighed. Vi var i krig dengang. Så er det ganske normalt at dræbe din fjende. Men kun de bevæbnede, naturligvis. Så hvad der skete dengang var forkert. I århundreder blev der ført krig mod civile. Korsfarerne gjorde det. Og Saladin. Muslimske civile blev dræbt i Bosnien. Muslimer dræbte uskyldige i Darfur, i det Armenske folkemord, ved bombeangreb i undergrundsbanen. Jeg troede det var forbudt for muslimer og kristne at dræbe civile, uanset omstændighederne.
 
Jami:   Det er alt sammen fakta. Men er du enig med mig i at på grund af det, du gjorde mod jøderne og det, du har sagt om dem, er muslimer af i dag jødehadere?
 
Mo:   Man skal bedømme mennesker på, hvordan de behandler andre. Specielt skal man aldrig gøre mod andre, som man ikke vil have dem til at gøre mod en selv. Mange ting i koranen er symbolske. Gud gav mennesket en hjerne, gjorde han ikke? Så du selv kan dømme moralsk. I det Gamle Testamente i Bibelen står der også mange onde ting. Det er der ikke mange kristne, der tager bogstavligt. Jeg ved at det siges, at koranen er Guds bogstavlige ord. Men det har egentlig mere en poetisk betydning. Sådan ser jeg i hvert fald på det.
 
Jami:   Tager du ikke ansvaret for folkemordet i Medina, hvor hundreder af jøder blev dræbt? De var ubevæbnede. De var krigsfanger i din varetægt. Du havde ingen nåde.
 
Mo:   Du forveksler mig og min Gud med kristne. Dræb og bliv dræbt er også en form for nåde. Hvis jeg havde vist ‘nåde’ ville en islamisk stat aldrig kunnet opstå.
 
Jami:   Så skabelsen af den islamiske stat er den største fordel?
 
Mo:   Objektivt talt er islam den eneste sandhed.
 
Jami:   Er der også en subjektiv sandhed?
 
Mo:   Ja, sandheden om moral om nåde. Målt med disse alen var folkemordet umoralsk og nådesløst.
 
Jami:   Hvad med dem, der forlader islam?
 
Mo:   (sukker) Det er vist en personlig ting, ikke?
 
Jami:   Øj, jo… Jeg har selv forladt islam. Men generelt set — hvordan bør frafaldne behandles?
 
Mo:   Frafaldne er ikke mit problem længere. Hvis de vælger at forlade islam — fint. Jeg vil være ked af det, det er klart. Men de har deres frihed til at gøre det. Hvis de virkelig ønsker at brænde i helvede — fint for mig.
 
Jami:   Hvorfor sagde du ikke det for 1400 år siden? Du fik da folk slået ihjel, når de ikke længere troede på islam?
Og hvad siger du til muslimer eller imamer, der siger at frafald er en forbrydelse, der skal straffes med døden?
 
Mo:   Uden mulighed for ikke at tro ville tro ikke have nogen mening. For hvis den påtvinges folk er det ikke længere tro. Jeg ville sige at folk, der forfølger andre for ikke at tro det samme som dem selv er gale, og ikke værdige til at blive kaldt muslimer.
 
Jami:   Jeg har nogle personlige spørgsmål, jeg også gerne vil stille.
Hvad mener du om folk som Geert Wilders og Salman Rushdie? Kender du dem?
 
Mo:   Jeg kender dem ikke særlig godt, men jeg bryder mig ikke om, at muslimer truer med at slå dem ihjel. Jeg er ligeglad med, hvad de siger. Det er deres sag. Jeg har min sag. De har deres holdning, jeg har min. Jeg mener, at de tager fuldstændigt fejl. Men det vil nok næppe overraske dig…
 
Jami:   Du er ved at forandre dig…
 
Mo:   Alle og enhver forandrer sig. Altid. Vi kan ikke ændre på de ting, der er sket. Men vi kan ændre normerne. Tilpasse dem til nye tider.
 
Jami:   Var det ikke Allahs normer?
 
Mo:   Jeg ved egentlig ikke, hvad Allahs vilje er. Det er der ikke nogen, der gør.
 
Jami:   Det er da farligt for dig at sige sådan. Du vil snart få brug for bodyguards. Og de vil give sig til at brænde dit billede.
 
Mo:   Det var netop derfor, jeg forbød muslimer at lave billeder af mig. Du må ikke undervurdere mig, muslimerne er bange for mig. Terror er det middel, Allah har brugt til at forme mig og alt det andet.
 
Jami:   Hvad sker der, hvis vi ikke længere frygter Allahs terror?
 
Mo:   Så vil min fortælling være forbi. Så har jeg overstået min del. Det er den virkelige frigørelse for Gud og profeter. De bliver dermed gjort fri af deres evige opgave. Din film er et lille skridt retning af den frigørelse. Det er sådan, profeter dør, og den måde, de genfødes.
 
Jami:   Tror du, at det muslimske samfund vil reagere roligt på at jeg udgiver denne film?
 
Mo:   Nu må du ikke overvurdere din lille lavbudget-produktion. Men… Man ved aldrig. Jeg håber, mine søstre og brødre vil reagere værdigt. Det er bare en film. En meget billig film. Det er ikke et kæmpehit. Eller måske skulle vi lave en lille skandale sidst i interviewet, der vil være godt for seertallet?
 
Jami:   Hvad tænker du på?
 
Mo:   At tage min maske af? Nej, det var min spøg- Lad den hellere blive siddende, så jeg ikke fornærmer nogle reaktionære muslimer. Mit hår er alligevel grimt i dag.
 
Jami:   Tak, Mo, og tak igen for at bruge din tid!. Det var en glæde at tale med dig.
 
Mo:   Glæden er helt på min side.



Dutch Version

Translated by VH

  Een interview met Mohammed
 
Jami:   Salam o aleikum.
Ik wil U bijzonder danken voor dit interview.
Hoe mag ik U aanspreken? Mijnheer Mohammed? Of heeft U nog een achternaam?
 
Mo:   Salam o aleikum.
”Mo” is prima … Mohammed is wat lang.
Het viel mij op dat iedereen alles afkort tegenwoordig. Tsja, er is veel veranderd. Ik reis veel de laatste tijd …
 
Jami:   Beviel hetgeen U zag?
 
Mo:   Min of meer. Het is gemakkelijk je te verplaatsen tegenwoordig … op die manier is het gemakkelijk verschillende mensen op verschillende plaatsen te ontmoeten … Daardoor is er een groot potentieel voor begrip.
 
Jami:   Goed … eh … Mo … nu wij het over begrip hebben … Zoals U zal weten, is er nogal wat discussie over de islam in het Westen, islam en democratie, en natuurlijk over hoe Uw leven dat van hedendaagse moslims beïnvloedt. Dus wil ik beginnen met Uw eerste levensjaren en daarna zou ik van U willen weten wat Uw visie op de hedendaagse islam is.
 
Mo:   Ik begrijp dat er nogal wat misverstanden zijn de laatste … eeh … 1400 jaar. Dit geeft mij de gelegenheid een en ander recht te zetten.
 
Jami:   Is dit een poging de geschiedenis te herschrijven?
 
Mo:   Iedere historische figuur draagt de last van complexe feiten en standaarden met zich mee. Feiten zijn niet herschrijfbaar, standaarden echter wel.
 
Jami:   Maar in Uw geschiedenis is het lastig feiten van standaarden te onderscheiden.
 
Mo:   Ja, dat is mijn tragedie: Ik ben de auteur, de speler en ook nog eens de toeschouwer van mijn eigen drama.
 
Jami:   Wiens drama is meer tragisch? Dat van U of dat van millioenen moslims? In deze tragedie bent U de regisseur. Maar de spelers speelden door nadat U zich terugtrok.
 
Mo:   Zeker. Maar ik ben nooit helemaal weg geweest. Laat ons beginnen, en daarvoor de Rasul Allah even achterwege laten en de mensen losmaken van wat ik was en van wat ik nooit meer wil zijn. Dit is wat je emancipatie noemt. Of wordt ik nu te ingewikkeld.
 
Jami:   Nou, laten wij proberen een en ander op te helderen. Wij beginnen bij het begin. Wat is de naam van Uw moeder en vader?
 
Mo:   Mijn vader is Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib en mijn moeders naam is Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Wat voor soort man was Uw vader? En wat voor type vrouw was Uw moeder?
 
Mo:   Ik heb maar weinig herinneringen aan mijn moeder. Toen ik 6 was overleed ze helaas. Mijn vader heb ik zelfs helemaal niet gekend. Hij overleed voor ik geboren werd. Eigenlijk was ik een wees.
 
Jami:   Het spijt me dat te horen.
 
Mo:   Ik ben opgevoed door mijn grootvader Abd al-Moettalib, tot mijn achtste, en daarna door mijn oom Aboe Talib. Dat was een leuke tijd kan ik me herinneren. Buiten spelen met andere kinderen en uitstapjes met mijn oom. Hij was de beste vader die je je kon wensen.
 
Jami:   Dus U had een gelukkige jeugd?
 
Mo:   Ja, dat kan je wel zeggen.
 
Jami:   Wist U altijd al dat U ooit een profeet zou worden?
 
Mo:   Ik heb er wel eens van gedroomd. Maar ik wist toen nog niet wat dat inhield …
 
Jami:   Kunt U zich herinneren wat U wilde worden als U groot was?
 
Mo:   Nou, dat is heel lang geleden. Ja, mijn oom vertelde mij altijd prachtige verhalen van een man die Jezus heette en zijn 11 … strijders of zoiets. Ik wilde heel graag zijn zoals hij. En ik denk dat ik aan die verwachtingen voldaan heb. Ik heb hem ontmoet. Wij zijn zelfs goede vrienden. Wij gaan veel met elkaar om. Wij spelen soms een potje poker. Wij spelen allebei dan een beetje vals en hebben daar achteraf veel lol om. Wij spelen niet om geld natuurlijk …
 
Jami:   Ik weet zeker dat christelijke mensen het erg leuk vinden dat jullie het zo goed met elkaar kunnen vinden … Als U het goed vindt, wil ik graag even een stuk verder door de tijd. Heeft U een opleiding?
 
Mo:   Nee, maar ik was een straatjongen. Ik ben geschoold door het leven. Ik was moe van een leven zonder perspectief. Ik wilde iets betekenen voor de mensheid. En natuurlijk een goede vrouw vinden. Ik heb veel interessante ervaringen opgedaan. En ik heb heel veel geleerd. Ik ontmoette Chadodja. Zij zat in de karavanen business. Zij was een prachtige vrouw. ZIj huurde mij in als aanvoerder van één van haar karavanen. Toen ik 25 was trouwde ik met haar. Zij was 15 jaar ouder dan ik.
 
Jami:   Zat U daar niet mee?
 
Mo:   In de liefde, mijn vriend, doet leeftijd er niet toe. Als je verliefd bent kan alles.
 
Jami:   Nou, U heeft kennelijk een groot hart.
 
Mo:   Nu moet u niet overdrijven, ik had óók een lege portemonnee.
 
Jami:   Maar U had meer dan 20 vrouwen op een gegeven moment. Sahih Bukari, een van Uw apostels, beweerde dat U rondging en dan met allen de liefde bedreef in één nacht. Wow, is dat echt waar?
 
Mo:   Jah, zo ongeveer. Maar ik dacht dat u alles chronologisch wilde behandelen … Mijn eerste vrouw, Khadidja, was een rijke vrouw en dat trok mij in haar aan.
 
Jami:   Was zij Uw Bank?
 
Mo:   Ja, zeker. Een Bank met alles erop en eraan. Geloof me, iedereen heeft er ooit van gedroomd met een Bank te trouwen. En in die tijd zelfs meer dan nu. Trouwen was zaken doen. Huwelijk was politiek.
 
Jami:   En Aisja dan? U was 52 jaar en trouwde een meisje van 7 en had sex met haar toen ze 9 was. Hoe kunt U dat uitleggen?
 
Mo:   Dat zit ingewikkelder inelkaar dan u en veel anderen denken.
 
Jami:   Nou, ik heb een citaat hier van Aisja uit de Hadith waar zij zegt: dat de Profeet met mij trouwde toen ik zes was en hij consumeerde zijn huwelijk toen ik negen was, en ik bleef negen jaar bij hem tot Allah’s Apostel overleed. Verklaart U dit eens nader, leg mij dit eens uit.
 
Mo:   Haar vader, Aboe Bakr, was een van mijn trouwste bondgenoten. Na de dood van Chadidja was mijn hart gebroken. Ik was een eenzaam man. Haar vader was zo goed haar met mij te laten trouwen. En zij was een flinke meid …
 
Jami:   Maar heeft U haar gevraagd of zij met U wilde trouwen?
 
Mo:   Nee, dat heb ik niet. Haar vader gaf toestemming. Dat was voldoende. Trouwens, zij was te jong. Zij kon nog niet zelf beslissen. Dat was normaal in die dagen, en helaas is het op deze planeet hier en daar nog steeds zo in de 21e eeuw.
 
Jami:   En toen zij 9 jaar was, vroeg U haar om sex met U te hebben?
 
Mo:   Dat waren andere tijden. Het was een tribale samenleving. Veel was anders toen. De mentalitiet was anders. Het leven was anders. Mensen waren anders en ik was anders …
En u moet niet vergeten, dat ik, Rasul Allah, een bijzonder erotisch privilege had dat gewone mensen niet toekwam. Ik had wereldlijke macht. En ik was maar een mens.
 
Jami:   Ik zeg dit omdat in islamitische landen deze gebruiken nog steeds veel voor komen. Wat wilt U tegen moslims zeggen die nog steeds zulke dingen doen?
 
Mo:   Probeer dit niet zelf thuis uit. Nee, even serieus, ik begrijp dat voor mensen die nu leven het lastig te begrijpen is wat zich in die tijd plaats vond. Maar moslims moeten begrijpen dat we in andere tijden leven. Wat ik toen deed, is niet iets waar ik bijzonder trots op ben. Veel dingen die toen normaal waren zouden moderne mensen achterlijk of barbaars vinden. Dus mijn boodschap aan de moslim gemeenschap is, ga niet trouwen of naar bed met een meisje die daar niet aan toe is of niet wil. Naar mijn mening zijn mannen en vrouwen gelijkwaardig en dienen ook zo behandeld te worden. Je kan alleen maar een moslim zijn uit vrije wil, en je kan alleen trouwen uit vrije wil.
 
Jami:   … Zegt Mohammed in het jaar onzes Heren 2008
 
Mo:   Ik noem dit liever het jaar 1429 als u het niet erg vind.
 
Jami:   Laten wij het eens over delicate zaken hebben. Er is veel antisemitisme in islamitische landen. Het verhaal gaat dat U meer dan 600 joden heeft gedood en een joods meisje trouewde nadat U haar ouders had vernoord. Kunt u mij uitleggen waarom?
 
Mo:   Hah, Joden, een eeuwig probleem. Hou zou ik nu de laatste profeet van Allah kunnen zijn als de joden en christenen niet met mijn religie willen meedoen? Het conflict was puur zakelijk. En ik wilde gewoon een lichtere versie van Judaisme vormgeven. Ik kon niet anders. Er was geen plaats meer voor Judaisme. Joden waren altijd zo … eigenwijs, zij konden niet accepteren dat er voor hen geen plaats meer was.
Om te beginnen zijn alle mensen door God geschapen. Zoals ik al zei … Ik heb veel rongezwalkt op de aardbol en recentelijk erg veel. Het is verbazingwekkend hoeveel mensen gemeen hebben. Allen hebben hun dromen en angsten.
 
Jami:   Meent U dat U niets tegen joden heeft … bijvoorbeeld?
 
Mo:   Ik heb de bedoeling van tolerantie en liefde geleerd te begrijpen. Wij voerden oorlog toen. Dus is het normaal dat je de vijand doodt. Maar alleen diegenen die gewapend zijn, uiteraard. Dus wat plaatsvond was verkeerd. Eeuwenlang zijn burgers het doelwit geweest. De kruisvaarders deden het. Maar Saladin ook. Moslim burgers werden vermoord in Bosnië. Moslims vermoordden onschuldige mensen in Darfur, de genocide op Armeniërs en de bommen in de metro’s … Ik dacht dat het verboden was voor christenen en moslims om burgers te vermoorden … om welke reden dan ook.
 
Jami:   Dit zijn allemaal feiten, maar bent U het met me eens dat door hetgeen U de joden aandeed en wat U over hen zei, de moslims tegenwoordig de joden in feite haten?
 
Mo:   Beoordeel mensen op hetgeen zij anderen aandoen. Doe nooit aan anderen wat u niet wilt dat u geschiedt. Veel zaken in de Koran zijn symbolisch. God gaf mensen hersens, is het niet? Vorm dus uw eigen oordeel. In het Oude Testament of de Bijbel komt ook veel wreedheid voor. Er zijn niet veel christenen die dat letterlijk nemen … Ik weet dat wordt gezegd dat de Koran letterlijk het woord van God is. Maar meer in poetische betekenis. Dat is hoe ik het zie, hoe dan ook.
 
Jami:   Bent U bereid de verantwoordelijkheid te dragen voor de genocide in Medina waar honderden joden werden vermoord? Zij waren ongewapend. Zij waren aan U overgeleverd. U kende geen genade.
 
Mo:   Jij verwart mij en mijn God met christenen. Doden en gedood worden is ook een vorm van genade. Indien ik hier en daar genade had getoond was er niets van een islamitische staat gekomen.
 
Jami:   Dus het creëren van een islamitische staat is Uw grootste verdienste?
 
Mo:   Objectief gesproken is islam de enige waarheid.
 
Jami:   Is er ook een subjectieve waarheid dan?
 
Mo:   Zeker, de waarheid van moraal en genade. In dit licht is genocide immoreel en genadeloos.
 
Jami:   Hoe zit het met hen die de islam verlaten?
 
Mo:   (zucht) Dat is een beetje jouw ding, is het niet?
 
Jami:   Eh … ja … ik ben ook een afvallige … maar in het algemeen, hoe moeten afvalligen worden behandeld?
 
Mo:   Afvalligen zijn niet meer mijn zaak … Als zij de islam verkiezen te verlaten … prima … Het spijt mij als zij dat doen. Maar begrijp me niet verkeerd, het staat hen vrij die keuze te maken. Als zij in de hel willen branden … ik vind het prima.
 
Jami:   Waarom heeft u dit niet 1400 geleden gezegd? U liet mensen vermoorden die niet meer in de islam geloofden? En wat zegt U tegen moslims of imams die beweren dat afvalligheid een misdaad is waar de doodstraf op staat?
 
Mo:   Zonder de mogelijkheid niet te geloven zou geloof waardeloos zijn. Want als het mensen wordt opgelegd is het niet langer een echt geloof. Ik zou zeggen dat mensen die anderen vervolgen omdat zij niet in hetzelfde geloven als zij, dat die niet goed snik zijn en onwaardig om moslim genoemd te worden.
 
Jami:   Ik zou U graag wat persoonlijke vragen willen stellen.
Wat vindt U van mensen als Geert Wilders of Salman Rushdi? Kent U ze?
 
Mo:   Ik ken ze niet zo goed, maar hou er niet van als moslims ze met de dood bedreigen. Dat is compleet fout. Het kan mij niets schelen wat zij zeggen. Zij hebben hun ding, ik het mijne. Zij hebben hun mening, ik de mijne. Ik denk dat zij het mis hebben. Maar dat zal voor u geen verrassing zijn.
 
Jami:   U begint wat te veranderen.
 
Mo:   Jan en alleman doen dat. Altijd. Wij kunnen feiten niet langer ongedaan maken. De standaarden kunnen wij veranderen. Aangepast aan nieuwe tijden.
 
Jami:   Waren dat niet de standaarden van Allah?
 
Mo:   Ik weet niet precies wat de wil van Allah is. Niemand weet dat.
 
Jami:   U brengt Uzelf in gevaar, straks heeft U persoonsbeveiliging nodig. En zullen zij Uw beeldtenis in brand steken.
 
Mo:   Precies om die reden heb ik moslims verboden mij af te beelden. Onderschat mij niet, moslims zijn bang voor mij. Terreur is de basis waarop Allah mij en de rest gevormd heeft.
 
Jami:   Wat gebeurt er als wij niet de terreur van Allah vrezen?
 
Mo:   Dan is het afgelopen met mijn vertelsel. Dan heb ik oprecht mijn best gedaan. Dat is de ware emancipatie van Goden en profeten. Zij zijn dan verlost van hun eeuwige aanklacht. Uw film is een kleine stap op weg naar die emancipatie. Dit is hoe profeten sterven. En dit is de manier waarop ze ook herboren worden.
 
Jami:   Denkt U dat wanneer ik een film uitbreng de moslim gemeenschap met kalmte zal reageren?
 
Mo:   Overschat uw kleine low budget filmpje niet. Maar toch … je weet nooit. Ik hoop dat mijn mede broeders en zusters waardig zullen reageren. Het is maar een film. Ook nog eens een goedkope. Het is geen kaskraker. Maar we kunnen ook een klein schandaaltje veroorzaken aan het eind van dit interview, misschien is dat goed voor de recette.
 
Jami:   Wat wilt U voorstellen?
 
Mo:   Mijn masker aftrekken! Nah, grapje. Laat maar zitten. Dat beledigt misschien en paar ouderwetse moslims. En mijn haar zit ook al niet mee vandaag.
 
Jami:   Nou, Mo, wederom veel dank voor Uw tijd! Het was een genoegen U te spreken.
 
Mo:   Het genoegen is geheel mijnerzijds.



Finnish Version

Translated by KGS and the Finnish team

  Muhammedin Haastattelu
 
Jami:   Salaam aleikum
Kiitos paljon haastattelustanne. Millä nimellä kutsun teitä? Herra Muhammediksi vai onko teillä sukunimeä?
 
Mo:   Salaam aleikum.
”Mo” käy hyvin. Mohammed on vähän pitkä. Kaikki on nykyisin lyhyempää. Moni asia on muuttunut. Olen matkustellut viime aikoina paljon…
 
Jami:   Piditkö näkemästäsi?
 
Mo:   Tavallaan. Nykyään on helppo matkustaa… siinä mielessä on helppo tavata ihmisiä eri paikoissa… Asioiden ymmärtäminen on tehty helpommaksi…
 
Jami:   Noh… Mo, ymmärtämisestä puheen ollen… Kuten tietänet, lännessä puhutaan paljon islamista, islamista ja demokratiasta ja kuinka elämäsi heijastuu nykyajan muslimien elinoloihin. Joten aloitetaanpa lapsuudestasi ja sen jälkeen haluaisin tietää, mitä mieltä olet nykyajan islamista.
 
Mo:   Ymmärtääkseni viimeisen… ee… 1.400 vuoden aikana on tapahtunut sekaannuksia. Nyt minä voin oikaista käsityksiä.
 
Jami:   Yritätkö uudelleen kirjoittaa historiaa?
 
Mo:   Kaikilla historian merkkihenkilöillä on rasitteensa ja tulkitsijansa. Tosiasioita ei voi kirjoittaa uusiksi, tulkinnat voidaan.
 
Jami:   Menneisyydestäsi on vaikea erottaa tosiasioita ja tulkintoja toisistaan.
 
Mo:   Kyllä, se on tragedia: olen oman näytelmäni käsikirjoittaja, näyttelijä ja ainoa katsoja.
 
Jami:   Kumman näytelmä on traagisempi? Sinun vai miljoonien muslimien? Olet tämän näytelmän ohjaaja. Näyttelijät jatkavat rooliaan vaikka olet jäänyt eläkkeelle.
 
Mo:   Totta. En kuitenkaan täysin poistunut lavalta. Aloitetaanpa ja unohdetaan elämäkertani (Rasul Allah) ja kerrotaan kuka olin ja mitä en enää halua olla. Tätä kutsutaan emansipaatioksi. Vai meneekö tämä nyt monimutkaiseksi?
 
Jami:   Yritetään pitää asiat selkeinä. Aloitetaan aivan alusta. Keitä olivat äitisi ja isäsi?
 
Mo:   Isäni oli Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ja äitini nimi oli Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Minkälainen isäsi oli? Entäpä äitisi?
 
Mo:   Äidistäni muistan vain vähän. Ollessani kuusi hän menehtyi, valitettavasti. Isääni en tuntenut ollenkaan. Hän kuoli ennen syntymääni. Kasvoin tosiasiassa orpona.
 
Jami:   Olen pahoillani.
 
Mo:   Minut kasvatti isoäitini Abd al-Moettalib kahdeksaan ikävuoteeni saakka ja siitä eteenpäin setäni Aboe Talib. Muistelen lämmöllä niitä aikoja. Tuntikausien ulkoleikkejä ja keskusteluja setäni kanssa. Hän oli paras mahdollinen isä pikkupojalle.
 
Jami:   Sinulla oli siis mukava lapsuus?
 
Mo:   Kyllä niin voi sanoa…
 
Jami:   Tiesitkö tulevasi profeetaksi jonain päivänä?
 
Mo:   Todellakin unelmoin siitä. Mutta en tiennyt mitä se tarkoittaa…
 
Jami:   Muistatko miksi halusit tulla isona?
 
Mo:   Tuota, siitä on jo kauan aikaa. No, enoni kertoi minulle tarinoita miehestä nimeltä Jeesus ja hänen 11… sotilaastaan tai jotain sellaista. Halusin tulla hänen kaltaisekseen. Luulenpa päässeeni tavoitteeseeni. Olen tavannut hänet. Olemme oikeastaan hyviä ystäviä. Vietämme paljon aikaa yhdessä. Pelaamme pokeria. Molemmat huijaamme vähän ja naureskelemme asialle jälkeenpäin. Emme tietenkään pelaa rahasta.
 
Jami:   Olen varma, että kristittyjä miellyttää kuulla, että tulette hyvin juttuun keskenänne. Jos sopii, mennään ajassa eteenpäin.

Olet nyt parikymppinen. Saitko mitään koulutusta?
 

Mo:   En, olin katujen kasvatti. Elämä opetti minua. Halusin laajemman näkökulman asioihin. Halusin muuttaa ihmiskuntaa. Ja tietysti löytää hyvän vaimon. Olen nähnyt monia mielenkiintoisia asioita elämäni aikana. Ja oppinut paljon. Sitten tapasin Chadidjan. Hän oli kauppias. Ihastuttava nainen. Hän pestasi minut yhden karavaaninsa johtoon. Ollessani 25 menimme naimisiin. Hän oli minua 15 vuotta vanhempi.
 
Jami:   Haittasiko se sinua?
 
Mo:   Rakkaus, ystäväni, ei tunne rajoja. Kun olet rakastunut, kaikki on mahdollista.
 
Jami:   No, sinulla ilmeisesti on hyvä sydän?
 
Mo:   Eipäs nyt liioitella. Minulla oli myös matti kukkarossa.
 
Jami:   Sinulla oli jossain vaiheessa yli 20 vaimoa. Sahih Bukari, eräs apostoleistasi, kertoi sinun harrastaneen seksiä yhden yön aikana kaikkien vaimojesi kanssa. Huhhuh. Onko se totta?
 
Mo:   Kyllä jotain sen suuntaista. Luulin, että käymme asioita läpi aikajärjestyksessä… Ensimmäinen vaimoni Khadidja oli rikas nainen ja siksi olin kiinnostunut hänestä.
 
Jami:   Toimiko hän pankkiirinasi?
 
Mo:   Kyllä, totta kai. Täyden palvelun pankkiiri. Usko pois, jokainen unelmoi jossain vaiheessa naivansa pankkiirin. Ainakin silloin. Ainakin enemmän kuin nykyään. Avioliitto on osa politiikkaa.
 
Jami:   Entäpä Aisha. Olit 52 vuotias ja nait seitsemän vuotiaan tytön ja harrastitte seksiä hänen ollessaan yhdeksän. Mitä tapahtui?
 
Mo:   Se on paljon monimutkaisempi juttu kuin sinä ja ihmiset kuvittelevat.
 
Jami:   Minäpä lainaan Aishaa suoraan Hadithista: Profeetta meni kanssani avioon ollessani kuusivuotias ja aloitimme avioelämän ollessani yhdeksän, ja olimme naimisissa yhdeksän vuotta kunnes Allahin apostoli kuoli. Joten, ole hyvä ja selitä meille…
 
Mo:   Hänen isänsä Aboe Bakr, oli yksi läheisistä liittolaisistani. Chadidjan kuoleman jälkeen sydämeni murtui. Olin yksinäinen. Hänen isänsä oli jalomielinen ja antoi minun avioitua. Ja hän oli vahva tyttö.
 
Jami:   Kysytkö, mitä mieltä morsian oli?
 
Mo:   En. Hänen isänsä antoi luvan. Se riitti. Sitäpaitsi hänhän oli lapsi. Ei hän voinut päättää asioistaan. Se oli tapana siihen aikaan ja valitettavasti jossain päin maailmaa edelleen vielä 2000-luvulla.
 
Jami:   Kun hän oli yhdeksän, pyysitkö häneltä seksiä?
 
Mo:   Silloin oli eri ajat. Elimme heimoyhdyskunnissa. Moni asia oli eri tavalla. Asioihin suhtauduttiin eri tavalla. Elämä oli erilaista. Ihmiset olivat erilaisia, ja minä olin erilainen…
Ja pitää muistaa, että minä, Rasul Allah, olin lahjakas. Olin taitava puhumaan. Ja loppujen lopuksi, ihminenhän minäkin vain olin.
 
Jami:   Otan tämän esille siksi, että islamilaisessa maailmassa tätä tapahtuu edelleen jatkuvasti. Mitä sanoisit nykyajan muslimeille tästä asiasta?
 
Mo:   Älkää yrittäkö tätä kotonanne. Ei vaan, vakavasti puhuen. Ymmärrän, että nykyihmisen on vaikea käsittää millaisessa maailmassa silloin elimme. Mutta muslimien täytyy ymmärtää, että ajat ovat toiset. En ole ylpeä siitä, mitä tein. Monia sen aikaisia tapoja voidaan pitää takapajuisina tai epäinhimillisinä. Haluan sanoa muslimeille, että älkää menkö naimisiin tytön kanssa älkääkä väkipakolla. Minun mielestäni mies ja nainen ovat tasa-arvoisia, ja niin heitä tulee kohdella. Ihminen voi olla muslimi vain omasta tahdostaan ja hän voi mennä naimisiin vain omasta tahdostaan.
 
Jami:   …sanoo Muhammed herran vuonna 2008.
 
Mo:   Parempi olisi sanoa vuonna 1429, jos se ei sinua haittaa.
 
Jami:   Puhutaanpa muista vaikeista asioista. Islamilaista maailmaa vaivaa vaikea anti-semitismi. Kerrotaan sinun tappaneen yli 600 juutalaista ja avioiduit juutalaisen kanssa tapettuaan ensin hänen vanhempansa. Voitko selittää, miksi?
 
Mo:   Niin, juutalaiset. Ikuinen ongelma. Kuinka voin olla Allahin viimeinen profeetta, kun juutalaiset ja kristityt jatkavat kääntymättä muslimeiksi? Ongelma oli puhtaasti taloudellinen. Halusin vain vähentää juutalaisten vaikutusvaltaa. Ei sitä voinut tehdä toisin, juutalaisille ei ollut tilaa. Juutalaiset ovat aina niin… itsepäisiä, eivätkä hyväksy, ettei heille ole paikkaa.
Ensiksi, Jumala loi kaikki ihmiset. Kuten sanoin… Olen reissannut paljon viime aikoina. Ja on hämmästyttävää, kuinka samankaltaisia ihmiset ovat. Kaikilla on unelmansa ja pelkonsa.
 
Jami:   Tarkoitatko, ettei sinulla ole mitään juutalaisia vastaan?
 
Mo:   Olen oppinut ymmärtämään sietämisen ja rakkauden merkityksen. Silloin sodimme keskenämme. On luonnollista tappaa vihollinen. Mutta vain sotilaat, tietenkin. Mitä tein, oli väärin. Satojen vuosien ajan siviileitä on tapettu. Ristiretkeläisetkin tappoivat. Mutta myös Saladdin. Muslimit tappoivat syyttömiä Bosniassa. Muslimit tappoivat syyttömiä Darfurissa, Armenian kansanmurha ja metropommitukset… Luulin, etteivät kristityt ja muslimit saa tappaa siviileitä… ja vielä mitä…
 
Jami:   Kaikki tämä on totta. Oletko kanssani samaa mieltä, että se mitä teit juutalaisille ja mitä sanoit heistä, on syynä siihen, että muslimit edelleen tosiasiassa vihaavat juutalaisia?
 
Mo:   Ihmistä pitää arvioida sen mukaan, miten hän kohtelee muita. Älä koskaan tee muille mitä et halua muiden tekevän sinulle. Moni asia Koraanissa on kuvaannollinen. Jumala loi ihmiselle aivot, vai mitä? Joten luokaa omat moraaliset sääntönne. Raamatun Vanhassa testamentissakin on paljon julmuutta. Eivätkä kristityt noudata sääntöjä kirjaimellisesti. Tiedän, että Koraani on jumalan sanaa. Mutta enemmänkin tyyliltään. Tai niin minä sen koen.
 
Jami:   Etkö kanna vastuuta Medinan tapahtumista, joissa kuoli satoja juutalaisia? He olivat aseettomia. Heidät suorastaa ojennettiin sinulle. Sinä et tuntenut armoa.
 
Mo:   Sekoitat minut ja jumalani kristittyihin. Tapa ja tule tapetuksi on myös eräänlaista armoa. Jos olisi ollut silloin ja muualla armollinen, islamilaista maailmaa ei olisi koskaan syntynyt.
 
Jami:   Onko islamilaisen maailman luominen suurin saavutuksesi?
 
Mo:   Objektiivisesti arvioituna Islam on totuus.
 
Jami:   Onko myös subjektiivista totuutta?
 
Mo:   Kyllä, moraalin ja armon totuus. Kansanmurha on moraaliton ja armoton.
 
Jami:   Entäpä ne, jotka luopuvat Islamista?
 
Mo:   Eikös se ole teidän asianne?
 
Jami:   Niin… minäkin olen käännynnäinen… kuinka käännynnäisiä pitäisi kohdella?
 
Mo:   Käännynnäiset eivät ole huolen aiheeni. Jos luopuu Islamista… hyvä… olen pahoillani heidän puolestaan. Älä käsitä väärin. He saavat luopua uskostaan. Jos haluavat helvetiin. Kyllä se minulle sopii.
 
Jami:   Mikset sanonut tätä 1.400 vuotta sitten? Tehän tapoitte ne, jotka luopuivat islamista? Mitä sanoisitte muslimeille ja imaameille, jotka opettavat edelleen, että islamista luopuminen on rikos, josta rangaistaan kuolemalla?
 
Mo:   Jos ei ole mahdollisuutta olla uskomatta, uskolla ei ole mitään merkitystä. Jos uskoon pakotetaan, kyse ei ole oikeasta uskosta. Ne, jotka syyttävät toisia vääräuskoisuudesta ovat hulluja, eivätkä he ole sen arvoisia, että heitä voisi kutsua muslimeiksi.
 
Jami:   Haluan kysyä henkilökohtaisia asioita. Mitä sinä pidät Geert Wildersistä tai Salman Rushdiesta? Tunnetko heidät?
 
Mo:   En kovin hyvin, mutta muslimien on väärin uhata heitä kuolemalla. Se on täysin väärin. Eikä sillä ole merkitystä, mitä he ovat sanoneet. Heillä on omat asiansa, minulla omani. Heillä on omat mielipiteensä ja minulla omani. Minusta he ovat väärässä. Mutta sen ei pitäisi yllättää ketään…
 
Jami:   Alat muuttua.
 
Mo:   Kaikki ja jokainen muuttuvat. Jatkuvasti. Tosiasioita ei voi enää pitää pimennossa. Tulkintoja voimme muuttaa. Soveltaa niitä uusiin aikakausiin.
 
Jami:   Eivätkö tulkinnat tule Allahilta?
 
Mo:   En tiedä tarkasti Allahin tahtoa. Kukaan ei voi tietää.
 
Jami:   Vaarannat henkesi, tarvitset pian henkivartijoita. Ja kuviasi poltetaan.
 
Mo:   Siksipä kielsin muslimeita tekemästä kuvaa minusta itsestäni. Älä aliarvioi minua, muslimit pelkäävät minua. Allahin tapa johtaa minua ja muita ihmisiä perustuu pelkoon.
 
Jami:   Mitä tapahtuu, jos emme enää pelkää Allahia?
 
Mo:   Sitten minun tarinani päättyy. Olen todellakin tehnyt osani. Se olisi todellinen vapautuminen jumalista ja profeetoista. Vapautumista jumalten ikuisista määräyksistä. Tämä haastattelu on pieni askel siihen suuntaan. Näin profetiat kuolevat. Ja näin ne myös syntyvät uudelleen.
 
Jami:   Kun julkaisen tämän haastattelun, suhtautuvatko muslimit siihen rauhallisesti?
 
Mo:   Älä yliarvioi pienen budjetin tuotantosi mahdollisuuksia. Mutta… kuka sen tietää. Toivon, että uskonsisareni ja —veljeni suhtautuisivat tähän ylpeydellä. Tämä on vain videon pätkä. Ja halvalla tehty. Tai, luomme skandaalin haastattelun lopuksi nostamaan tämän videon arvoa.
 
Jami:   Mitä ehdotat?
 
Mo:   Otanko pois naamarini? Ehei, leikkinä leikkinä. Pidän sen päälläni. Se voisi loukata joitain vanhanaikaisia muslimeja. Tukkani on muutenkin huonosti.
 
Jami:   No, kiitos vielä kerran Mo ajastasi. Oli ilo keskustella kanssasi.
 
Mo:   Ilo on minun puolellani.



German Version

Translated by Holger Danske

  Ein Interview mit Mohammed
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Vielen Dank für dieses Interview. Wie soll ich Sie nennen? Mister Mohammad oder haben sie einen Nachnamen?
 
Mo:   Salam o alaikom.
Mo wird ausreichen..Mohammad ist etwas lang. Ich habe festgestellt, daß heutzutage alles abgekürzt wird. Nun, eine Menge hat sich geändert.Ich war viel auf Reisen in letzter Zeit..
 
Jami:   Mochten Sie, was Sie gesehen haben..?
 
Mo:   Gewissermaßen. Es ist heutzutage leicht, herumzukommen..so ist es einfach, verschiedene Leute an verschiedenen Orten zu treffen..so gibt es ein großes Potential für das Verständnis..
 
Jami:   Nun..eh..Mo..wenn wir über Verständnis reden..wie Sie ja wissen gibt es eine Menge Diskussionen über den Islam im Westen, den Islam und Demokratie und natürlich wie Ihre Lebensweise die muslimische Lebensweise wiederspiegelt. Lassen Sie uns mit dem Anfang Ihres Lebens beginnen, und später würde ich dann gerne wissen, wie Ihr heutiger Standpunkt zum Islam ist.
 
Mo:   Ich verstehe, daß es eine gewisse Verwirrung in den letzten…euh..1400 Jahren gibt. Dies gibt mir die Möglichkeit, die Dinge glatt zu ziehen.
 
Jami:   Ist das ein Versuch, die Geschichte neu zu schreiben?
 
Mo:   Jeder historischer Charakter ist mit verschiedenen Tatsachen und Normen belastet worden. Tatsachen sind nicht neu schreibbar, Normen hingegen schon.
 
Jami:   Aber in Ihrer Geschichte ist es schwierig, die Tatsachen von den Normen zu trennen.
 
Mo:   Ja, das ist meine Tragödie: Ich bin der Autor,Mitspieler und auch Zeuge meines eigenen Dramas.
 
Jami:   Wessen Drama ist tragischer? Das Ihre oder die tragische Situation von Millionen Muslimen? In dieser Tragödie sind Sie der Regisseur. Aber die Schauspieler spielten weiter, nachdem Sie sich zurückgezogen hatten.
 
Mo:   Wahr. Aber ich habe nie ganz die Szene verlassen. Lassen Sie uns anfangen, und belassen Sie es deshalb bei Rasul Allah und entlassen sie die Leute von dem, was ich war und was ich nie wieder sein möchte. Dies ist daß, was Sie Emanzipation nennen. Oder werde ich zu kompliziert?
 
Jami:   Dann lassen Sie uns versuchen, die Dinge klarer zu machen. Wir beginnen am Anfang. Wie ist der Name Ihrer Mutter und Ihres Vaters?
 
Mo:   Der Name meines Vaters ist Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, und der Name meiner Mutter ist Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Was für ein Mensch war Ihr Vater? Und was für ein Mensch war Ihre Mutter?
 
Mo:   Ich habe nur wenig Erinnerungen an meine Mutter. Unglücklicherweise starb sie, als ich 6 war. Meinen Vater kannte ich überhaupt nicht. Er starb, bevor ich geboren wurde. Tatsächlich war ich eine Waise.
 
Jami:   Das tut mir leid zu hören.
 
Mo:   Ich wurde von meinem Großvater Abd al-Muttalib aufgezogen, bis ich 8 war, und danach von meinem Onkel Abd Talib. Ich erinnere mich, daß dies eine schöne Zeit war. Draußen spielen mit anderen Kindern und stundenlang mit meinem Onkel unterhalten. Er war der beste Vater, den sich ein Junge wünschen könnte.
 
Jami:   Also hatten Sie eine schöne Kindheit?
 
Mo:   Ich denke, das kann man sagen..
 
Jami:   Wußten Sie schon immer, daß Sie eines Tages ein Prophet sein würden?
 
Mo:   Ich hatte einige Träume darüber. Aber ich wußte damals nicht, was sie bedeuteten..
 
Jami:   Können Sie sich erinnern, was Sie werden wollten, wenn Sie erwachsen sind?
 
Mo:   Nun, das ist schon lange her. Mein Onkel erzählte mir oft großartige Geschichten über einen Mann namens Jesus und seine 11…Krieger oder so. Ich wollte wirklich sein wie er. Und ich denke, daß ich auf diese Erwartungen hin lebte. Ich traf ihn.
Wir sind tatsächlich gute Freunde. Wir hängen oft zusammen rum. Wir spielen manchmal Poker. Wir schummeln beide ein wenig und lachen danach darüber. Natürlich spielen wir nicht um Geld.
 
Jami:   Ich bin sicher, daß die Christen sehr erfreut sind, daß Sie beide miteinander auskommen. Wenn es für Sie ok ist, würde ich gern in der Zeit nach vorne springen. Also jetzt sind Sie in Ihren Zwanzigern. Bekamen Sie eine Ausbildung?
 
Mo:   Nein, aber ich kannte mich auf der Straße aus. Das Leben war meine Ausbildung. Ich war ein Leben ohne Perspektive leid. Ich wollte etwas für die Menschheit tun. Und natürlich nach einer guten Frau suchen. Ich habe so viele interessante Dinge auf meinem Weg gesehen. Und so viele Dinge gelernt. Dann traf ich Kahdidja. Sie handelte mit Karawanen. Sie war eine bezaubernde Dame. Im Alter von 25 heiratete ich sie. Sie war 15 Jahre älter als ich.
 
Jami:   Störte Sie das nicht?
 
Mo:   In der Liebe, mein Freund, hat das Alter nichts zu sagen. Wenn Du verliebt bist, ist alles möglich.
 
Jami:   Und Sie haben offensichtlich ein großes Herz?
 
Mo:   Wir müssen nicht übertreiben. Ich hatte ebenso eine große leere Geldbörse.
 
Jami:   Aber sie hatten zu einer Zeit mehr als 20 Ehefrauen. Sahih Bukhari, einer Ihrer Apostel, hat gesagt, daß sie umhergingen und Sex mit jeder Ihrer Ehefrauen in einer Nacht hatten. Wow, ist das wahr?
 
Mo:   Ja, so in der Art. Aber ich dachte, Sie möchten chronologisch vorgehen..meine erste Frau Khadidja war eine reiche Frau, und als Ergebnis wurde sie dadurch für mich attraktiver.
 
Jami:   Sie war Ihre Bank?
 
Mo:   Ja, sicherlich. Eine Bank mit allem darin. Glauben Sie mir, jeder hat zu einem Zeitpunkt mal davon geträumt, eine Bank zu heiraten. Zu dieser Zeit. Und heutzutage sogar noch mehr. Heirat war ein Geschäft. Heirat war Politik.
 
Jami:   Und was war mit Aisha? Sie waren 52 Jahre alt und heirateten ein Mädchen im Alter von 7 und hatten Sex mit ihr, als sie 9 Jahre alt war. Wie erklären Sie das?
 
Mo:   Es ist komplexer, als Sie und viele Leute denken.
 
Jami:   Also, ich habe ein Zitat von Aisha, ich zitiere aus dem Hadith und sie sagte:” daß der Prophet mich heiratete als ich 6 Jahre alt war, und er vollzog die Ehe, als ich 9 Jahre alt war, und dann blieb ich bei ihm für 9 Jahre, bis der Gesandte Allahs starb.” Also unter allen Umständen, bitte erklären Sie mir das.
 
Mo:   Ihr Vater, Abu Bakr, war einer meiner nahesten Verbündeten. Nach dem Tod von Khadidja war mein Herz gebrochen. Ich war ein einsamer Mann. Ihr Vater war gütig genug, sie mich heiraten zu lassen. Und sie war so ein starkes Mädchen.
 
Jami:   Aber haben Sie gefragt, ob sie Sie heiraten wollte?
 
Mo:   Nein hab ich nicht. Ihr Vater gab dafür die Erlaubnis. Nebenbei war sie doch so jung. Sie konnte keine eigenen Entscheidungen treffen. Das war gewöhnlich so in diesen Tagen, und unglücklicherweise ist dies im 21ten Jahrhundert immer noch so an einigen Stellen auf dem Planeten.
 
Jami:   Und als sie 9 Jahre alt war, da haben Sie sie gefragt, ob sie Sex mit Ihnen hat?
 
Mo:   Das waren andere Zeiten. Es war eine Stammes-Gesellschaft. Viele Dinge waren damals anders. Die Mentalitäten waren anders. Das Leben war anders. Die Leute waren anders und ich war anders..und Sie sollten nicht vergessen, daß ich, Rasul Allah, besondere erotische Privilegien hatte, die gewöhnliche Männer nicht hatten. Ich hatte weltliche Macht. Und ich war nur ein Mensch.
 
Jami:   Ich sage dies, weil in islamischen Ländern diese Praktiken immer noch oft stattfinden. Was möchten Sie Muslimen sagen, die solche Dinge tun?
 
Mo:   Versucht das nicht selbst zu Hause. Nein, ernsthaft. Ich verstehe, daß es für die Menschen heutzutage schwierig ist zu begreifen, was zu dieser Zeitperiode los war. Aber die Muslime müssen verstehen, daß wir in einem neuen Zeitalter leben. Was ich getan habe ist nicht etwas, auf das ich notwendigerweise stolz bin.. viele Dinge, die zu dieser Zeit normal waren, würde ein moderner Mann zurückgeblieben oder inhuman nennen. Also ist meine Botschaft an die muslimische Gemeinschaft: heiratet nicht oder habt kein Sex mit einem Mädchen, wenn sie nicht dafür bereit ist oder wenn sie es nicht möchte.. meiner Meinung nach sind Mann und Frau gleich und müssen so behandelt werden. Du kannst nur ein Muslim nach freiem Willen sein, und du kannst nur nach freiem Willen heiraten.
 
Jami:   ..sagt Mohammad im Jahre des Herrn 2008
 
Mo:   Ich bevorzuge, es das Jahr 1429 zu nennen, wenn Sie nichts dagegen haben.
 
Jami:   Lassen Sie uns über andere sensible Angelegenheiten sprechen. Es gibt eine Menge Anti-Semitismus in islamischen Ländern. Es gibt eine Geschichte, nach der Sie über 600 Juden töteten und daß Sie ein jüdisches Mädchen heirateten, nachdem Sie ihre Eltern getötet hatten. Können Sie mir die Gründe dafür erklären?
 
Mo:   Ah, Juden. Ein ewiges Problem. Wie könnte ich der letzte Prophet Allahs sein, wenn die Juden und Christen nicht meiner Religion beitreten würden. Der Konflikt war rein geschäftlich. Und ich wollte ganz einfach eine leichte Form des Judaismus formen. Ich konnte nichts anderes tun, es gab keinen Raum für Judaismus. Juden sind immer so…stur, sie konnten nicht akzeptieren, daß es keinen Platz mehr für sie gab.
Am Anfang sind alle Völker von Allah geschaffen worden. Wie ich sagte..ich bin viel auf der Erde rumgekommen in letzter Zeit. Und ich kann berichten, es ist erstaunlich, wieviel die Leute gemeinsam haben. Sie haben alle ihre Träume und Ängste.
 
Jami:   Sie meinen, Sie haben nichts gegen, beispielsweise, die Juden?
 
Mo:   Ich habe den Sinn von Toleranz und Liebe gelernt. Wir waren damals im Krieg. Es war ganz normal, seinen Feind zu töten. Natürlich nur die, die Waffen tragen. Was passierte, war also falsch. Zivilisten sind über Jahrhunderte das Ziel gewesen. Die Kreuzritter taten es. Aber auch Saladin. Muslimische Zivilisten wurden in Bosnien getötet. Muslime töteten unschuldige Leute in Darfur, der Völkermord der Armenier und Bombenanschläge in U-Bahnen..ich dachte, es sei für Christen und Muslime verboten, Zivilisten zu töten..egal was passiert..
 
Jami:   Dies sind alles Tatsachen. Aber stimmen Sie mit mir überein, daß aufgrund dessen, was Sie den Juden antaten und was Sie über sie sagten, die Muslime heutzutage tatsächlich die Juden hassen?
 
Mo:   Beurteile die Leute nach dem, wie sie andere behandeln. Tu niemals anderen etwas an, von dem Du nicht möchtest, daß sie es Dir antun. Viele Dinge im Koran sind symbolisch. Gott hat den Menschen Gehirn gegeben, hat er doch, oder? Also mach Deine eigenen moralischen Beurteilungen. Im Alten Testament der Bibel gibt es auch eine Menge grausamer Dinge. Nicht viele Christen nehmen das wörtlich..ich weiß, daß gesagt wird, daß der Koran wörtlich das Wort Gottes ist. Das ist er auch. Aber mehr im poetischen Sinne des Wortes. Zumindest sehe ich das so.
 
Jami:   Möchten Sie die Verantwortung übernehmen für den Völkermord in Medina, wo hunderte Juden getötet wurden? Sie hatten keine Waffen. Sie hatten sie Ihnen ausgehändigt. Sie hatten keine Gnade.
 
Mo:   Sie verwirren mich und meinen Gott mit Christen. Töten oder getötet werden, das ist auch eine Form der Gnade. Wenn ich dort und anderswo Gnade gezeigt hätte, hätte es nie einen islamischen Staat gegeben.
 
Jami:   Also ist das Erschaffen des islamischen Staates Ihre größte Tat?
 
Mo:   Objektiv gesprochen ist der Islam die einzige Wahrheit.
 
Jami:   Es gibt also auch eine subjektive Wahrheit?
 
Mo:   Ja, die Wahrheit von Moral und Gnade. In dieser Angelegenheit ist der Völkermord unmoralisch und gnadenlos.
 
Jami:   Was ist mit denen, die den Islam verlassen?
 
Mo:   (seufzt) Das betrifft Sie ein bißchen, nicht wahr?
 
Jami:   Eh…ja…ich bin auch ein Apostat..aber generell…wie sollten Apostaten behandelt werden?
 
Mo:   Apostaten sind nicht mehr meine Angelegenheit..wenn sie sich entscheiden, den Islam zu verlassen..gut..mir tut es leid, wenn sie es tun. Verstehen Sie mich nicht falsch. Aber sie sind frei, das zu tun. Wenn sie in der Hölle braten wollen..das ist ok für mich..
 
Jami:   Aber warum haben Sie das nicht vor 1400 Jahren gesagt? Sie haben Leute getötet, wenn sie nicht mehr an den Islam glaubten?
Und was sagen Sie zu Muslimen oder Imanen die sagen, daß Apostasie ein Verbrechen ist und mit dem Tode bestraft werden soll?
 
Mo:   Ohne die Möglichkeit zu glauben wäre der Glaube sinnlos. Denn wenn er Leuten aufgezwungen wird, ist es nicht länger wahrer Glaube. Ich würde sagen, Leute die andere dafür verfolgen, daß sie nicht das gleiche glauben wie sie sind wahnsinnig und nicht wert, Muslime genannt zu werden.
 
Jami:   Ich habe noch einige persönliche Fragen, die ich Ihnen gerne stellen würde.
Was denken Sie über Leute wie Geert Wilders oder Salman Rushdie? Kennen Sie sie?
 
Mo:   Ich kenne sie nicht sehr gut, aber ich mag keine Muslime, die sie mit dem Tod bedrohen. Das ist total falsch. Es ist mir egal, was sie sagen. Sie machen ihr Ding. Ich mach mein eigenes Ding. Sie haben ihre Meinung, ich habe meine. Ich denke, daß sie komplett falsch liegen. Aber das wird sie nicht überraschen..
 
Jami:   Sie haben angefangen, sich zu verändern..
 
Mo:   Jeder einzelne tut das. Immer. Wir können die Tatsachen nicht mehr ungeschehen machen. Aber die Richtlinien können wir ändern. Anpassen an neue Zeiten.
 
Jami:   Waren das nicht die Richtlinien Allahs?
 
Mo:   Ich kenne nicht genau den Willen Allahs. Niemand tut das.
 
Jami:   Sie gefährden sich selbst, bald werden sie Leibwächter brauchen. Und sie werden Ihre Bilder verbrennen.
 
Mo:   Aus diesem Grund habe ich den Muslims verboten, ein Bild von mir zu machen. Unterschätzen Sie mich nicht, die Muslims haben Angst vor mir. Schrecken ist die Basis, von der aus mich und den Rest Allah geformt hat.
 
Jami:   Was geschieht, wenn wir nicht länger den Schrecken Allahs fürchten müssen?
 
Mo:   Dann kommt meine Geschichte zum Ende. Dann hab ich aufrichtig meinen Part getan. Das ist die wahre Emanzipation von Göttern und Propheten. Sie sind dann von ihrer ewigen Anklage entlassen. Ihr Film ist ein kleiner Schritt in Richtung dieser Emanzipation. Und so ist es, wie Propheten sterben. Und dies ist der Weg, wie auch sie wiedergeboren werden.
 
Jami:   Denken Sie, daß die muslimische Gemeinschaft ruhig reagieren wird, wenn ich diesen Film veröffentliche?
 
Mo:   Überschätzen Sie nicht Ihre kleine Low-Budget-Produktion. Aber…man weiß nie. Ich hoffe, meine Brüder und Schwestern reagieren in Würde. Es ist nur ein Film. Und ein sehr billiger. Es ist kein Blockbuster. Oder wir bauen einen kleinen Skandal am Ende des Interviews ein, vielleicht ist das gut für die Quote.
 
Jami:   Was schlagen Sie vor?
 
Mo:   Meine Maske abnehmen? Ich mach Scherze. Ich lass sie auf. Es könnte altmodische Muslime beleidigen. Mein Haar hat sowieso einen schlechten Tag heute.
 
Jami:   Nun Mo, nochmals vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit! Es war eine Freude, mit Ihnen zu reden.
 
Mo:   Die Freude war ganz meinerseits.
 

 



Norwegian Version

Translated by NI

  Et intervju med Muhammed  
 
Jami:   Salam o alaikom.
Takk så mye for at du tar deg tid til dette intervjuet. Hva kan jeg kalle deg? Herr Muhammed, eller har du et etternavn?
 
Mo:   Salam o alaikom.

Kall meg Mo. Muhammed er litt langt. Jeg har lagt merke til at allting forkortes i disse dager. Mangt er forandret. Jeg har reist mye i det siste.
 

Jami:   Liker du hva du ser?
 
Mo:   På sett og vis. Det er jo lett å komme seg rundt nå for tiden, og på den måten er det lett å treffe folk på forskjellige steder. … I dette ligger et stort potensial for forståelse.
 
Jami:   Vel … eh … Mo, når vi snakker om forståelse. Som du kanskje vet, er det mye diskusjon om islam i Vesten. Om islam og demokrati og om hvordan ditt liv påvirker muslimer som lever i dag. Så la oss først se litt på begynnelsen av ditt liv, og så siden skulle jeg veldig gjerne like å vite hva ditt syn er på islam i dag.
 
Mo:   Jeg forstår at det har vært mye misforståelser i de siste … eh … 1400 årene. Dette intervjuet gir meg muligheten til å rydde opp.
 
Jami:   Er dette et forsøk på å omskrive historien?
 
Mo:   Enhver historisk karater tynges med vanskelige fakta og standarder. Fakta kan ikke omskrives, men standarder forandrer seg.
 
Jami:   Men i din biografi er det vanskelig å skille fakta fra standarder.
 
Mo:   Ja, det er min tragedie. Jeg er både forfatter, skuespiller og tilskuer til mitt eget drama.
 
Jami:   Hvilket drama er mest tragisk? Ditt liv eller situasjonen til de millioner av muslimer som har fulgt deg? Du er denne tragediens regissør, men skuespillerne har fortsatt å spille sine roller lenge etter at du pensjonerte deg.
 
Mo:   Sant nok, men jeg forlot aldri scenen helt. La oss ta dette helt fra begynnelsen, la oss forlate Rasul Allah og frigjøre folk fra hva jeg var og hva jeg aldri mer vil bli. Dette er hva man kaller frigjøring. Blir jeg for vanskelig?
 
Jami:   Vel, la oss forsøke å få mer klarhet i tingene. Vi begynner med begynnelsen. Hva het din mor og far?
 
Mo:   Min fars navn er Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib og min mors navn er Aminah bint Wahab.
 
Jami:   Hva slags mann var din far? Og hva slags kvinne var din mor?
 
Mo:   Jeg husker ikke mye av min mor. Når jeg var 6 år gammel, døde hun, dessverre. Faren min kjente jeg overhode ikke. Han døde før jeg ble født. Jeg var faktisk et foreldreløst barn.
 
Jami:   Det var trist å høre.
 
Mo:   Jeg ble oppdratt av min bestefar, Abd al-Moettalib, til jeg var 8, og senere av min onkel Aboe Talib. Jeg husker at det var en fin tid. Jeg lekte ute med andre barn og jeg kunne snakke med onkelen min i timevis.. Han var den beste far en gutt kunne be om.
 
Jami:   Så du hadde en god barndom?
 
Mo:   Jeg antar man kan si det.
 
Jami:   Visste du bestandig at du ville bli en profet en dag.
 
Mo:   Jeg hadde vel noen drømmer om det. Men jeg visste ikke hva de betydde den gangen.
 
Jami:   Kan du huske hva du under oppveksten ønsket å bli når du ble stor?
 
Mo:   Vel, det er så lenge siden. Men jeg kan huske at onkelen min pleide å fortelle meg herlige historier om en mann ved navn Jesus og hans 11 … eh … krigere, eller hva de var. Jeg ønsket virkelig å bli som ham. Og jeg tror jeg levde opp til forventningene. Jeg møtte ham. Vi er faktisk gode venner; vi vanker sammen. Av og til spiller vi poker. Begge jukser vi og ler av det etterpå. Selvsagt spiller vi ikke om penger.
 
Jami:   Jeg er sikker på at kristne mennesker blir glade for å høre at dere går så godt sammen. Hvis det er greit for deg, så springer jeg fremover i tid. — Så nå befinner du deg i tyveårene. Tok du noen utdannelse?
 
Mo:   Nei, men jeg var gateklok. Livet var min skole. Jeg var trett av å leve uten noe perspektiv på tingene. Jeg ville gjøre noe for menneskeheten. Og selvsagt så jeg etter en god kone. Jeg oppdaget mye spennende på min vei. Jeg lærte mye. Så møtte jeg Chadidja. Hun handlet med karavaner. Hun var en nydelig dame. Hun hyret meg som fører for en av karavanene. Da jeg var 25, giftet jeg meg med henne. Hun var 15 år eldre enn meg.
 
Jami:   Plaget ikke det deg?
 
Mo:   I kjærlighet, min venn, betyr alder ingenting.
 
Jami:   Du må ha et stort hjerte?
 
Mo:   Vi trenger ikke å overdrive. Jeg hadde også en tom lommebok.
 
Jami:   Men på et visst tidspunkt hadde du mer enn 20 hustruer på en gang. Sahih Bukari, en av dine disipler sa at du pleide å ta runden og ha sex med alle dine koner på en natt. Heftig! Men er det sant?
 
Mo:   Vel, noe i den dur. Men jeg trodde du ønsket å gå igjennom tingene kronologisk. … Min første kone, Khadidja, var en meget rik kvinne og derfor meget tiltrekkende på meg.
 
Jami:   Var hun som en bank for deg?
 
Mo:   Absolutt! En fullstappet bank. Tro meg, enhver har på et gitt tidspunkt drømt om å gifte seg med en bank. Dengang mer enn nå. Ekteskap dengang var business. Ekteskap var politikk.
 
Jami:   Hva da med Aisja? Du var 52 år gammel og giftet deg med en jente som var 7 år gammel og fullbyrdet ekteskapet med henne da hun var 9. Hvordan forklarer du det?
 
Mo:   Dette er mer komplekst enn hva du og mange andre folk tror.
 
Jami:   Vel, jeg har et sitat fra Aisja — jeg siterer fra hadith — og hun sier: “Profeten giftet seg med meg da jeg var seks år gammel og han fullbyrdet ekteskapet da jeg var ni. Jeg bodde med ham i ni år inntil Allahs apostel døde.” Så for all del, vennligst forklar.
 
Mo:   Hennes far, Aboe Bakr, var en av mine nærmeste venner. Etter Chadidjas død var mitt hjerte knust. Jeg var en ensom mann. Bakr var snill nok til å la meg gifte meg med Aisja.. Og hun var slik en sterk jente.
 
Jami:   Men spurte du om hun ville gifte seg med deg?
 
Mo:   Nei, det gjorde jeg ikke. Hennes far tillot det. Det var nok. Dessuten var hun så ung, så hun kunne ikke fatte egne avgjørelser. Det var folkevett det, i de dager. Dessverre er det slik noen steder på planeten ennå, i det 21. århundre.
 
Jami:   Og når hun var ni år gammel, spurte du om å få ha sex med henne?
 
Mo:   Dette var andre tider. Det var et stammesamfunn. Mangt var annerledes den gang. Mentaliteten var en annen. Livet et annet. Folk var annerledes og jeg var annerledes …

Og du må ikke glemme at jeg, Rasul Allah, hadde spesielle erotiske privilegier som vanlige folk ikke har. Jeg hadde verdslig makt, og jeg var da også bare et menneske.
 

Jami:   Jeg tar opp dette fordi denne praksisen ofte forekommer i islamske land. Hva vil du si til muslimer som gjør slike ting?
 
Mo:   Ikke prøv dette hjemme! Nei, men alvorlig talt, jeg forstår at det er vanskelig for folk som lever i dag å forstå hva som foregikk den gang. Muslimer må forstå at vi lever i en annen tid nå.. Det jeg gjorde, er ikke noe jeg er stolt av. Mange ting som var vanlige den gang regnes som bakstreverske og inhumane i dag. Så midt budskap til det islamske miljøet i dag er: ikke gift dere med eller ha sex med en jente som ikke er klar for det eller som ikke vil.

Etter min mening er menn og kvinner like og må behandles deretter. Man kan bare være en muslim frivillig og man kan bare gifte seg frivillig.
 

Jami:   … sier Muhammed i det Herrens år 2008.
 
Mo:   Vel, jeg foretrekker å kalle det år 1429, hvis du ikke har noe imot det.
 
Jami:   La oss snakke om visse andre, heller delikate forhold. Det er mye antisemittisme i islamske land. Historien vil ha det til at du en gang drepte over 600 jøder og at du giftet deg med en jødisk pike etter at du hadde drept hennes foreldre. Kan du forklare meg hvorfor du gjorde dette?
 
Mo:   Ah, jødene. Et evig problem. Hvordan kunne jeg være den siste profet hvis ikke jødene og de kristne ville bli med i religionen min? Konflikten var rent forretningsmessig. Jeg ville egentlig bare skape en mild form for jødedom. Jeg kunne ikke gjort det annerledes, det var simpelthen ikke plass for gammeldags jødedom mer. … Stabukker! De kunne bare ikke avfinne seg med at det ikke lenger fantes noen plass for dem.

I utgangspunktet er alle mennesker skapt av Gud. Som sagt, jeg har reist mye i den senere tid. Det er forbløffende hvor mye mennesker har felles. De har alle drømmer og redsler.
 

Jami:   Mener du altså at du ikke har noe imot jødene?
 
Mo:   Jeg har lært å forstå betydningen av toleranse og kjærlighet. Den gang var vi i krig, og det er normalt å drepe sin fiende. Men bare de som bærer våpen, selvsagt. Så det som skjedde den gang var galt. I århundrer har sivilbefolkningen vært målskive. Korsfarerne gjorde det samme, men også Salladin. Muslimske sivile ble drept i Bosnia. Muslimer dreper uskyldige sivile i Darfur. Folkemoret på armenerne og bomber i t-baner. Etter min mening er det forbudt for muslimer og kristne å drepe sivile — uansett.
 
Jami:   Sant og rett. Men er du enig med meg i at på grunn av det du gjorde mot jødene og på grunn av hva du sa om dem, så hater dagens muslimer jøder?
 
Mo:   Døm folk etter hvordan de behandler andre. Gjør aldri mot andre som du ikke vil at de skal gjøre mot deg. Mangt i Koranen er symbolsk. Gud gav folk en hjerne, gjorde han ikke? Så fell dine egne moralske dommer. I Bibelens Gamle Testamente finnes det også en mengde fæle ting; ikke mange kristne tar dette bokstavelig. Jeg vet at det sies at Koranen er Guds bokstavelige ord, og det er det, men da mer i en slags poetisk forstand. Det er slik jeg ser det, i hvert fall.
 
Jami:   Tar du intet ansvar for massakrene i Medina hvor hundrevis av jøder ble drept? De hadde ingen våpen. De var prisgitt deg. Du viste ingen nåde.
 
Mo:   Du forveksler meg og min Gud med de kristne. Drep og bli drept er også en form for nåde. Hvis jeg hadde vist nåde her og der, ville den islamske staten aldri sett dagens lys.
 
Jami:   Så opprettelsen av den islamske staten er din største bragd?
 
Mo:   Objektivt sett er islam den eneste sannhet.
 
Jami:   Finnes subjektiv sannhet?
 
Mo:   Ja, sannheten i moral og nåde, og med henblikk på disse er folkemord umoralsk og nådeløst.
 
Jami:   Hva med dem som forlater islam?
 
Mo:   Ah, det er din greie, det, er det ikke?
 
Jami:   Vel, jo, jeg er en apostat. Men generelt, hvordan skal apostater behandles?
 
Mo:   Apostater er ikke min business lenger. Hvis noen forlater islam, greit. Ikke misforstå, jeg ville beklage det sterkt, men enhver er fri til å gjøre dette. Hvis de vil brenne i helvete, greit for meg.
 
Jami:   Så hvorfor sa du ikke det for 1400 år siden?

Du fikk jo mennesker henrettet når de forlot islam. Og hva sier du til muslimer eller imamer som sier at apostasi er en forbrytelse, og at den må straffes med døden?
 

Mo:   Uten muligheten til ikke å tro, ville ikke troen bety noen ting. Påtvungen tro er ikke lenger sann tro. Etter min mening er folk som forfølger andre fordi de ikke mener det samme som dem selv, klin gærne og ikke verdige til å kalles muslimer.
 
Jami:   Jeg har noen personlige spørsmål jeg skulle like å stille:

Hva synes du om folk som Geert Wilders eller Salman Rushdi? Kjenner du til dem?
 

Mo:   Jeg kjenner dem ikke godt, men jeg synes uansett ikke noe særlig om at muslimer truer dem på livet. Det er helt galt. Jeg bryr meg ikke om hva de folka sier; de har sin egen greie. De har sin mening, jeg har min. Jeg tror at de er på villspor, selvsagt, men det kommer vel ikke som noe sjokk?
 
Jami:   Du er jammen i ferd med å forandre deg, Mo.
 
Mo:   Alt og alle forandres. Alltid. Vi kan ikke omgjøre fakta, men vi kan forandre våre standarder, tilpasse dem til nye tider.
 
Jami:   Men var ikke de gamle standardene Allahs egne?
 
Mo:   Jeg vet ikke nøyaktig hva som er Allahs vilje. Det vet vel ingen.
 
Jami:   Pass på, du setter deg selv i fare. Snart vil du trenge livvakter. Og de vil brenne bilder av deg.
 
Mo:   Av nettopp den grunn forbød jeg muslimer å avbilde meg. Ikke undervurder meg, muslimer frykter meg. Terror er jordsmonnet både jeg og de er oppvokst i.
 
Jami:   Men hva vil skje den dagen vi ikke lenger frykter Allahs terror?
 
Mo:   Det blir slutten på min saga. Da har jeg gjort mitt. Det blir den endelige frigjøring av guder og profeter. Slik løses de fra sin evinnelige streben. Din film er faktisk et lite bidrag til slik frigjøring. Det er slik profeter dør. Og det er slik de blir født på ny.
 
Jami:   Tror du muslimene vil ta offentliggjøringen av filmen min med fatning?
 
Mo:   Ikke overvurder den der lille lavbudsjettsproduksjonen din. Men, man vet jo aldri. Jeg håper at mine brødre og søstre vil reagere med verdighet. Det er jo bare en film. En billig en. Og den blir vel neppe noen kassasuksess.

Eller skal jeg lage til litt skandale i slutten av dette intervjuet — for publisitetens skyld?
 

Jami:   Hva foreslår du?
 
Mo:   Skal jeg ta av meg masken? … bare tulla! Jeg beholder’n på. Ellers kunne noen gammeldagse muslimer bli fornærmet. Jeg har en sånn dårlig-sveis-dag i dag uansett.
 
Jami:   Ok Mo, takk for din tid. Kjempehyggelig å prate med deg.
 
Mo:   Gleden er på min side.



Previous posts about Ehsan Jami:

2007   Sep   8   Ex-Muslims Against… Ex-Muslims!
2008   Mar   27   Another Prophet-Insulting Dutch Movie
    Apr   1   Ehsan Jami Succumbs to Government Intimidation
        17   Ehsan Jami Closes His Organization
    Sep   19   Ehsan Jami’s New Movie
    Nov   29   An Interview With the Prophet
    Dec   8   Ehsan Jami’s Movie Debuts in the Hague
        9   An Interview With Muhammed
        14   Another Boycott of Dutch Products

The Fjordman Fund, Continued

To clarify the procedure for donating: scroll down and look for the “Tip Cup” on the left sidebar. Click that, and it takes you to the PayPal donation page for “Natural Intelligence of Central Virginia”. Follow the instructions, and make sure you include a note that your donation is for Fjordman. We will deliver the total proceeds to him at the conclusion of the Fjordman Fund drive.



Those Vikings sure did get around


Another ***bump*** for the Fjordman Fund.

During these past few days there have been generous donations from both the US and Europe.

As previous donors know, I believe that whatever one gives to another is always returned in abundance. This reciprocity is one of life’s Laws. Just as is the Law of Gravity immutable, so is the Law of Giving. Of course, what we get back in return for our gift doesn’t always come in the form we expect, but this just proves that the Cosmos, in addition to having a set of Laws, also has a Sense of Humor. This can be quite hard on the humorless.

To those who have given of their resources: thank you. For those just finding out about the fund, please give what you can in return for all that Fjordman has contributed to your understanding of what we are up against, and even more sadly, what we have lost.

The Dark Prophet of Norway has sometimes been vilified for telling the truth. That’s a professional hazard with prophets and with those courageous souls who pursue the freedom that truth brings. The Founders of the United States understood that point very well. They took a tremendous risk and had they lost, their lives would have been forfeit.

So it is with Fjordman, who writes anonymously in order to shine the light of truth into an increasingly ominous era.

Give what you can for what you have received.



DowneastBlog bookshelf


Further update from the Baron: The photo above shows Fjordman’s book proudly displayed on the bookshelf at the DowneastBlog.

Donations have been rolling in from all over the world — it’s very inspiring. Thanks to everyone for pitching in to help Fjordman.

This post has been bumped to the top, so scroll down to see Tuesday’s posts.



Note from the Baron: This post is being bumped to the top to make sure that latecomers and part-timers see it. Scroll down for all of the Monday posts.

The donations are coming in, and on behalf of Fjordman, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed so far.

Donate to Fjordman


How long have you been a Fjordman fan? For the Baron, discovering the dark prophet of Norway was a good moment — February 2005.

That seems so long ago now, and actually it was — becoming a fan of Fjordman happened shortly after we began Gates of Vienna. The Baron mentioned with great enthusiasm a blog he’d found by “this Norwegian guy”. We put it on our reading list along with Wretchard at Belmont Club. There were others — Bill Whittle was one.

I finally got around to buying Bill Whittle’s book; it’s very good — written in that inimitable style of his. Wretchard hasn’t put a book out yet, but when he does, I’ll be in line for that one, most certainly.

The case with Fjordman is somewhat different. After the span of years Fjordman spent creating his essays, he has written a book. The problem is, the publishers have made Defeating Eurabia expensive. Purchasing it is a major outlay of cash in a bad economic time, and especially since he won’t be seeing any return for this venture.

Fjordman wants to sell the book in order to disseminate the information he has collected. He published it in order to have those essays all in one place, bound between two covers. But it has continued to bother me greatly that he will receive no recompense for this most extraordinary work.

For some time I have been badgering Fjordman to permit me to put up this bleg.

It’s not his idea. However, the idea wouldn’t let me alone, so I pestered him until I got permission to ask our readers to donate to his cause. Will your generosity keep the wolf from the door? Probably not — but it sure will keep the old grey guy from getting inside.
– – – – – – – –
Here’s how the bleg will work: donors to Fjordman will send their contributions through the Gates of Vienna PayPal site. We will in turn send each acknowledgement on to him so that he knows who his donors are. This will permit him to respond to each of you individually, and it allows you to ascertain that he did receive the money.

During the week, I will bump up this post, with updates. I hope to gather donors from a wide group of countries and be able to report those to you during the course of the donation drive. When the bleg is over, we will pass the collected monies on to a third person who will make sure Fjordman receives the full amount.

All of this will take a bit of work. When your donation comes in, I expect to have it forwarded to Fjordman on that same day. He in turn, may have to take several days to respond to you. If you haven’t heard from him personally within 72 hours, then email us about this. Email is preferable to comments as it is more likely to be seen by one of us.

Because it is so over-used, “unique” is a word I normally avoid. However, I cannot think of anyone else in the blogosphere (or academia or journalism, for that matter) who can convey this broad expanse of knowledge and understanding in the way that Fjordman has done, and continues to do. His ability to place people, events, and even technological innovations in their proper perspective has demonstrated repeatedly the scope of his scholarship. There is simply no one else out there doing what he does.

And of course you know his output is prodigious. I wish I had half his intellectual energy, never mind his ability to convey what he knows with such clarity. Fjordman remains remarkable, just as fresh as he was when we first happened upon him almost four years ago.

I hope you can contribute to the cause of this extraordinary thinker. Years from now, people will look back on his work, both the quality and quantity, and marvel at how he managed to accomplish so much. They will wonder too, at his prescience; I fear the things he has predicted will come about even sooner than he thought.

Thus, I ask you to –

  • Give in return for the knowledge you have received.
  • Give because his work deserves it.
  • Give what you can.

For those of you who want to read it online, Fjordman’s book Defeating Eurabia is available in five installments:

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/18/2008

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/18/2008There are several articles worth looking at tonight concerning immigration in Sweden. Sweden is experiencing relatively rapid population growth, all of it due to immigration. Also check out the articles about violence in Malmö and sham marriages in Finland.

Thanks to AA, JD, RRW, Steen, TB, Tuan Jim, turn, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – –

USA
1 Plus 1 Equals 20 Extra Votes for Franken
Activist Who Fought Bell Ringers Explains Motives
Ariz. Police Say They Are Prepared as War College Warns Military Must Prep for Unrest
Blagojevich Gave Big Contracts to Donors
Imposter President Obama
Minnesota: School Board Green Lights Eminent Domain
Nepotism Nation: Dems Embrace Dynasty Politics
Ohio: Armed Officers Raid Home, Hold Mom, Kids for 6 Hours
Why Are We Naming Schools for Paul Robeson?
 
Europe and the EU
Björk and Audur Capital Support Innovation
Boisterous Protest Disrupts Iceland Cabinet Meeting
Can Václav Klaus Put the Brakes on Europe?
Denmark: Professional Groups Slam Headscarf Ban
Germany: Berlin’s Poor Should Catch Rats, Says Politician
Hundreds of Immigrants Busted for Sham Marriages
Pampered MEPs Don’t Know What Hard Work is
Report: 60% of UK Muslim Schools Linked to Jihadists
Sweden: Unrest Continues Near Vacated Malmö Mosque
UK: Church Mustn’t Cave in to the Secularists
 
North Africa
Egyptian Offers Daughter to Iraqi Shoe-Thrower
 
Middle East
German Spy Revelations Put Steinmeier on the Defensive
Israel: Iran Could Attack US With Nuclear Bomb
 
Russia
Katyn Executioners Named
Russia’s Gazprom Threatens to Cut Gas to Ukraine
 
Far East
“It Was Definitely a Labour Camp” — Finnish Banker Documents North Korean Construction Site
Photo: Performing Monkeys Attack Trainer in China
Scuffles in S Korea Parliament Over Bid to Pass US Trade Pact
Two Dead, 36 Hurt in Philippines Store Bombings
 
Immigration
Mexico Opens Call Center for Illegals — in Arizona
Somalis Who Entered US Illegally Cite Harassment and Discrimination
Sweden to Prioritize Deportations in 2009
Sweden: Segregation ‘Widespread’ for Immigrants
 
Culture Wars
Children and Parents of the Religious Intact Family Do Best on Child Development
Fox News [sic] Airs ‘Simpsons’ Episode Challenging Islamophobia
Student Says School Persecuted Him for Being Conservative
 
General
The Impending Collapse of Our Enemies
UN Security Council Authorizes Violation of Nations’ Sovereignty

USA


1 Plus 1 Equals 20 Extra Votes for Franken

It’s bad enough that the Republican Party can’t prevent Democrats from voting in its primaries and saddling us with the New York Times’ favorite Republican as our presidential nominee. If the Republican Party can’t protect an election won by the incumbent U.S. senator in Minnesota, there is no point in donating to the Republican Party.

The day after the November election, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman had won his re-election to the U.S. Senate, beating challenger Al Franken by 725 votes.

Then one heavily Democratic town miraculously discovered 100 missing ballots. And, in another marvel, they were all for Al Franken! It was like a completely evil version of a Christmas miracle

As strange as it was that all 100 post-election, “discovered” ballots would be for one candidate, it was even stranger that the official time stamp for the miracle ballots printed out by the voting machine on the miracle ballots showed that the votes had been cast on Nov. 2 — two days before the election.

Democratic election officials in the miracle-ballot county simply announced that their voting machine must have been broken. Don’t worry about it — they were sure those 100 votes for Franken were legit.

Then another 400-odd statistically improbable “corrections” were made in other Democratic strongholds until — by the end of election week — Coleman’s lead had been whittled down to a mere 215 votes.

Since then, highly irregular counting methods have added to Franken’s total bit by bit, to the point that Coleman is now ahead by only 188 votes.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Activist Who Fought Bell Ringers Explains Motives

BREA — The man who prompted the U.S. Postal Service to shoo away Salvation Army bell ringers says he just wants the law obeyed.

Postal Service regulations prohibit any organization from soliciting on its properties. But Salvation Army bell ringers had been allowed to become a mainstay in front of the Brea post office during the holidays for 25-plus years.

On Nov. 24, when Sean Thomas saw the iconic bell ringers at the Birch Street post office — staffed by employees of the Evangelical Christian Credit Union — he decided to speak up. The Salvation Army is a Christian organization.

“How can we have a church set up a collection facility in front of a federal building?” the 65-year-old Brea resident said today; he is chairman of human resources for the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fullerton. “I wanted to know who allowed these people to be here. … I don’t think it is appropriate.”

Thomas, who is gay, said he was partly motivated because he views the Salvation Army as anti-gay. A Salvation Army official today disputed that characterization.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Ariz. Police Say They Are Prepared as War College Warns Military Must Prep for Unrest

IMF warns of economic riots

A new report by the U.S. Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, such as protests against businesses and government or runs on beleaguered banks.

“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” said the War College report.

The study says economic collapse, terrorism and loss of legal order are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the U.S.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned Wednesday of economy-related riots and unrest in various global markets if the financial crisis is not addressed and lower-income households are hurt by credit constraints and rising unemployment.

U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., both said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brought up a worst-case scenario as he pushed for the Wall Street bailout in September. Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO, said that might even require a declaration of martial law, the two noted.

State and local police in Arizona say they have broad plans to deal with social unrest, including trouble resulting from economic distress. The security and police agencies declined to give specifics, but said they would employ existing and generalized emergency responses to civil unrest that arises for any reason.

“The Phoenix Police Department is not expecting any civil unrest at this time, but we always train to prepare for any civil unrest issue. We have a Tactical Response Unit that trains continually and has deployed on many occasions for any potential civil unrest issue,” said Phoenix Police spokesman Andy Hill.

“We have well established plans in place for such civil unrest,” said Scottsdale Police spokesman Mark Clark.

Clark, Hill and other local police officials said the region did plenty of planning and emergency management training for the Super Bowl in February in Glendale.

“We’re prepared,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Chief Dave Trombi citing his office’s past dealings with immigration marches and major events.

Super Bowl security efforts included personnel and resources from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. military’s Northern Command, which coordinated with Arizona officials. The Northern Command was created after 9/11 to have troops and Defense Department resources ready to respond to security problems, terrorism and natural disasters.

Northern Command spokesman Michael Kucharek and Arizona Army National Guard Major. Paul Aguirre said they are not aware of any new planning for domestic situations related to the economy.

Nick Dranias, director of constitutional government at the libertarian Goldwater Institute, said a declaration of marital law would be an extraordinary event and give military control over civilian authorities and institutions. Dranias said the Posse Comitatus Act restricts the U.S. military’s role in domestic law enforcement. But he points to a 1994 U.S. Defense Department Directive (DODD 3025) he says allows military commanders to take emergency actions in domestic situations to save lives, prevent suffering or mitigate great property damage.

Dranias said such an emergency declaration could worsen the economic situation and doubts extreme measures will been taken. “I don’t think it’s likely. But it’s not impossible,” he said.

The economy is in recession. Consumer spending is down, foreclosures are up and a host of businesses are laying off workers and struggling with tight credit and the troubled housing and financial markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Treasury Department have pumped more than $8.5 trillion into the economy via equity purchases of bank stocks, liquidity infusions, Wall Street and bank bailouts and taxpayer rebates. U.S. automakers are seeking more than $14 billion in federal loans with fears they could fall into bankruptcy without a bailout. The U.S. housing and subprime lending-induced recession also has hit economies in Europe, Japan and China.

Gov. Janet Napolitano’s office declined comment on emergency planning and possible civil unrest. Napolitano is president-elect Barack Obama’s pick for secretary of Homeland Security, an agency that oversees airport security, disaster response, border security, customs and anti-terrorism efforts.

As governor, Napolitano sent National Guard troops to Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in 2003 in response to terrorism threats.

Glendale Police spokesman Jim Toomey said the West Valley suburb developed new emergency plans with the approach of Y2K computer changeovers leading up to the year 2000 and police have updated those plans several times including after 9/11. Toomey said strategies to deal with public unrest usually involve deploying personnel and equipment to deal with specific incidents while still providing usual services.

           — Hat tip: turn [Return to headlines]



Blagojevich Gave Big Contracts to Donors

When Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich committed $8 million in state money to a local children’s hospital this fall, federal authorities said he wasn’t going to let the precious dollars out of his hands so easily. He demanded a $50,000 campaign contribution from the hospital´s chief executive in return.

It’s among the various accusations against Mr. Blagojevich, who was named last week in a federal criminal complaint on charges of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama´s now-vacant U.S. Senate seat.

But a review by The Washington Times of state contracts and campaign contributions shows that those weren´t the only things Mr. Blagojevich didn’t let out of his office without a price tag.

Nearly half of the $664,000 Mr. Blagojevich’s campaign fund collected from corporations and organizations in just the first six months of 2008 came from groups with lucrative state contracts.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Blagojevich Was Bookie, Says Federal Informant

The ABC7 I-Team has learned that an attorney who went undercover for the FBI in the late 1980’s says he told federal authorities years ago about wrongdoing by Blagojevich.

His name is Robert Cooley.

Cooley was a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago in the late 1980’s who became one of the most potent witnesses against Chicago corruption, testifying for federal prosecutors in cases that resulted in dozens of convictions.

Cooley says that before Rod Blagojevich got into politics he was a bookmaker on the North Side who regularly paid the Chicago mob to operate.

[…]

He told ABC7 that Mr. Blagojevich regularly paid a so-called street tax to Robert “Bobby the Boxer” Abbinanti, a convicted outfit gambling collector. In the early 1980’s, Abbinanti was working for convicted West Side mob boss Marco D’amico. Bookies pay street taxes to the crime syndicate in exchange for being allowed to operate such a racket.

“I predicted five years ago when he ran the first time that he was a hands on person who would be selling every position in the state of Illinois and that it exactly what happened,” said Cooley.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Imposter President Obama

The foolish people who work for the mainstream media and that includes cable news networks (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) have either excoriated anyone who believes a candidate running for president of these united States of America must prove his citizenship, or have completely ignored this issue, aren’t even worth commenting on any longer. These networks and their anchors are nothing but a disgrace to their profession.

Obots (Obama faithful) continue to say it doesn’t matter that Obama’s father was foreign born and governed by Britain. They parrot because Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was a natural born citizen at birth, that automatically qualifies Obama as natural born at birth. Nothing could be further from the truth. On FactCheck.org, the official mouth piece for Obama, you will see this statement:

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.’s children.”

If you read (or listen) to the Wong Kim Ark case cited above, this is the case in a nutshell. Wong Kim Ark, was a young Chinese man born in San Francisco, California. His parents were subjects of the Emperor of China even though they were permanently domiciled in California. Ark left the U.S. for a short period of time for a visit to China. Upon his return, he was denied entry back into the U.S. because he was not a natural born citizen at birth. This was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The justices gave this case a thorough, historical scrubbing and in the end their decision was against Wong Kim Ark: “‘In other words, the fourteenth amendment does not exclude from citizenship by birth children born in the United States of parents permanently located therein, and who might themselves become citizens; nor, on the other hand, does it arbitrarily make citizens of children born in the United States of parents who, according to the will of their native government and of this government, are and must remain aliens. Tested by this rule, Wong Kim Ark never became and is not a citizen of the United States, and the order of the district court should be reversed.”

The justices go into great detail about the Fourteenth Amendment as it relates to this issue as well as treaties. Obama’s mother was born in the U.S. There is no disputing that fact. His father was Kenyan born. Obots claim that Obama never gave up his citizenship either as a result of his father being foreign born or when his mother married Lolo Soetoro. The Wong Kim Ark case covered that argument as well:

‘That said Wong Kim Ark has not, either by himself or his parents acting for him, ever renounced his allegiance to the United States, and that he has never done or committed any act or thing to exclude him therefrom.’

That argument proved fruitless as the court ruled against Wong Kim Ark.

[…]

Obots are very passionate about their support of this man who has sealed up his life tight as Scrooge. Obama slaps his supporters in the face with each passing day by refusing to address this issue other than spending a whopping one million dollars to date to fight the exposure of all his lies. But, what can one expect since Obama’s base is Chicago, Illinois, a state that has produced some of the most corrupt elected officials in this history of this country.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Minnesota: School Board Green Lights Eminent Domain

Despite emotional and sometimes teary-eyed objections from homeowners, a school board has approved using eminent domain to take privately owned land and develop new schools as part of its “Red Plan.”

About 40 community members voiced their objections at a Duluth, Minn. school board meeting last night, the Duluth News Tribune reported.

Residents pleaded with officials for more than an hour, asking them not to seize their homes.

Then the board voted 6-1 for the plan.

Member Gary Glass was the only person to vote against it.

Homeowner Tina Legarde told officials, “If the board approves a resolution to use eminent domain now or in the future — you will resemble a bully on a playground who takes by force that which he wants.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Nepotism Nation: Dems Embrace Dynasty Politics

Barack Obama’s path to the presidency included beating what had been one of the nation’s most powerful families. But, in an unusual twist, his election last month is helping accelerate the trend toward dynasty politics.

His secretary of state will be Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former president. The Senate seat she’ll vacate is being pursued by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of a president and the niece of two senators. Joe Biden’s Senate seat may go to his son Beau. Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, Obama’s pick for interior secretary, could end up being replaced by his brother, Rep. John Salazar.

And Obama’s own seat could go to the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. — less likely now in light of developments in the Rod Blagojevich scandal — or to the daughter of Illinois’ current House speaker.

The U.S. Senate could end up looking like an American version of the House of Lords — and Republicans have begun to take notice.

“Democrats seem to lack a common man who can just win a good, old-fashioned election,” said Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “They’ve got seat-warmers, seat-sellers and the making of pillows for the seats of royalty. No wonder the public wonders what’s going on in Washington.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Ohio: Armed Officers Raid Home, Hold Mom, Kids for 6 Hours

An Ohio family whose members have served their friends and neighbors with food cooperative services involving bulk and discount supplies has been targeted in a raid by armed law enforcement officers wearing black fatigues who forcibly rounded up the mom and 10 children and held them for six hours.

The raid prompted a complaint filed today on behalf of the family by the Center for Constitutional Law at the Buckeye Institute. It alleges authorities “made a haphazard unannounced entry into the property with guns drawn, as other officers surrounded the property, with guns drawn,” then “confiscated the family’s personal food supply, personal computers, and personal cell phones.”

The complaint names the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Lorain County General Health District and the state’s attorney general. A spokeswoman at the Department of Agriculture said its officers were at the scene in an advisory role. A spokeswoman at the county health agency refused to comment except to explain it was a “licensing” issue regarding the family’s Manna Storehouse.

[…]

The Buckeye Institute’s Maurice Thompson said he took legal action in Lorain County Court of Common Pleas because of alleged violations of the Stowers’ constitutional rights.

“The use of these police state tactics on a peaceful family is simply unacceptable,” said Buckeye Institute President David Hansen. “Officers rushed into the Stowers’ home with guns drawn and held the family — including 10 young children — captive for six hours. This outrageous case of bureaucratic overreach must be addressed.”

The Buckeye Institute argues the core issue — the right to buy food directly from local farmers, distribute locally-grown food to neighbors and pool resources to purchase food in bulk — are rights that do not require a license.

“The Stowers’ constitutional rights were violated over grass-fed cattle, free-range chickens and pesticide-free produce,” said Thompson, the institute’s Center of Constitutional Law director. “Ohioans do not need a government permission slip to run a family farm and co-op, and should not be subjected to raids when they do not have one. This legal action will ensure the ODA understands and respects Ohioans’ rights.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Why Are We Naming Schools for Paul Robeson?

In 1934, one could understand Robeson’s enthusiasms as well. He had suffered a goodly share of the everyday indignities that befell blacks in America at the time and was likely as ignorant as his fellow Americans of Stalin’s capacity for evil.

By 1937, when Robeson returned to Russia for a lengthy concert tour, he had no such excuse. Stalin had already unleashed his famously paranoid “Terror” against all suspected intriguers, the entire American community among them.

Robeson pretended not to notice. “Here was one who was wise and good,” said Robeson of Stalin after the tour. “The world and especially the socialist world was fortunate indeed to have his daily guidance. I lifted my son Pauli to wave to this world leader.”

Pauli, then 10, could see what his father refused to: the parents of his school chums were being arrested and assassinated. In his memoirs, Pauli lamented how his father had turned his back even on his closest friends.

(…)

By the time Stalin died in 1953, no sentient adult could have failed to understand the depths of his depravity, none, of course, but the winner of the 1952 Stalin Peace Prize, Paul Robeson.

“Yes, through his deep humanity, by his wise understanding, he leaves a rich and monumental heritage,” Robeson eulogized his beloved Uncle Joe. “He leaves tens of millions all over the earth bowed in heart-aching grief.”

Stalin also left tens of millions buried under that same earth. That educators continues to ignore Stalin’s infamy and honor Robeson useful idiocy tells us just about all we need to know about the public school establishment.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Björk and Audur Capital Support Innovation

Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk and Icelandic financial services provider Audur Capital have established a joint venture fund called BJÖRK, after the singer. The fund will be used to invest in seed companies in Iceland.

“It’s Audur’s idea and it’s a great honor that [the fund] is named after me,” Björk told Morgunbladid when she and Audur’s chief executives, Halla Tómasdóttir and Kristín Pétursdóttir, presented their initiative yesterday.

It is hoped that the fund will have close to ISK 2 billion (USD 17 million, EUR 12 million) in capital and that companies will be able to apply for grants from the fund next year. Audur Capital has already contributed ISK 100 million (USD 867,000, EUR 614,000) to the fund.

Björk said she will assist Audur Capital with the venture fund in any way possible. The singer has publicly expressed her support for Icelandic seed companies, both domestically and abroad, in the past months, bringing attention to their operations.

“It was often necessary but now it’s of vital importance. I hope that both seed companies and people with money will take an interest in this initiative,” Björk encouraged, adding that she is pleased about the fund’s focus on environmentally-friendly operations.

Tómasdóttir, executive chairman of Audur Capital, said the idea for the fund was inspired by Björk’s work with the grass root. “It became clear after the banks collapsed and we were faced with these unbelievable times in Iceland that innovation and seed companies have had it very difficult.”

Tómasdóttir stated that a new Iceland has to be more diverse than it used to be. “We especially look towards deploying money to sustainable companies.”

The fund will only support companies that are financially profitable, socially responsible in terms of business methods and environmentally friendly. “We believe there are many investors out there who have limited stock investments to choose from in the current environment,” Tómasdóttir said.

Tómasdóttir added that the government should present a policy on innovation. “But I think we have reached a point where the grass root and the people in this country have become more powerful and they should present a vision for the future rather than the government.”

Investing in seed companies is risky, Tómasdóttir admitted, but still the right way to go.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Boisterous Protest Disrupts Iceland Cabinet Meeting

“I’m surprised at just how peaceful Icelanders are,” said Margret Kristin Blondal, protesting alongside her mother, Solveig Hauksdottir outside the Cabinet meeting house yesterday. She said it’s unbelievable that nobody has yet started ripping up paving stones to throw. She believes that the protests could be a lot more violent. “Maybe that’s what the government is waiting for,” she says.

Around two hundred protesters gathered at the cabinet meeting house yesterday and tried to prevent government ministers from gaining entry. Police officers escorted the ministers in through a back entrance. Children at the neighbouring Tjarnarborg nursery school looked on excitedly until police requested the blinds be drawn on the windows, MBL.is reports. Most of the protesters then entered the house’s garden and heckled ministers as they struggled on the icy back steps on their way into the meeting.

The protesters were still there and heckling loudly as the ministers were escorted back to their cars by police and a crush of journalists, both Icelandic and international. Some minor pushing and shoving between police and protesters followed, but the demonstration was disbanded when both sides agreed to leave the scene at the same time together.

Einar K. Gudfinsson, Minister of Fisheries said he was very disappointed that the protesters chose to behave the way they did by “Preventing democratically elected representatives of the people coming into their workplace”.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Can Václav Klaus Put the Brakes on Europe?

Czech President Václav Klaus has encountered approval — both in Prague and elsewhere — for his new approach to critiquing the European Union, which dispenses with the vulgar nationalist behavior he has thus far displayed. On Jan. 1, his country will assume the EU’s six-month rotating presidency.

President Václav Klaus is an expert when it comes to etiquette. He speaks very quietly, forcing his counterpart to listen carefully. No, he says, he is not an opponent of the European Union, but an “EU realist” — in contrast to the many afflicted with “EU naiveté,” those who “passively and indiscriminately approve of everything coming from Brussels.”

Klaus, a former professor of finance, probably felt that the members of the delegation from Strasbourg who paid him a visit at Hradjin, Prague Castle, two weeks ago were also victims of “EU naiveté.” The chairmen of the political parties’ parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, including President Hans-Gert Pöttering, a member of Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Green Party politician Daniel Cohn-Bendit, had traveled to Prague in an attempt to appeal to the conscience of Klaus, a known Euro-skeptic. His country will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on Jan. 1.

It will be the Czech Republic’s first time at the helm since it became an EU member state in December 2004. Prague will face especially difficult external conditions in its new role. The financial crisis has also reached the Czech Republic, and the EU has taken steps to mitigate the recession on the continent. Can a country whose president has made a name for himself as a critic of the EU for years even shoulder this responsibility?…

…And Klaus, 67, wants it to stay that way. Three weeks ago, he descended from Prague Castle to testify as a witness before the constitutional court in Brno, the country’s second-largest city. The judges were being asked to decide whether the treaty violates the Czech constitution.

Klaus was in top form. “Even your jobs are in jeopardy,” he told the judges. He argued that the Treaty of Lisbon would allow Europe, removed from the will of voters, to finally triumph over the sovereignty of its individual member states. But the president’s appeal left the judges unconvinced.

Klaus has coined a special Czech version of EU critique. It is calm and intellectual, like its prophet, who consistently argues in the name of freedom — especially the freedom of the markets. He dispenses with bombastic nationalist rhetoric, instead criticizing the EU for its bureaucracy and democracy deficits. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he warned against a “gradual process of standardization.” In Klaus’s view, Brussels produces a constant flow of ordinances that, though binding on EU members, were never ratified by any parliament…

…But this is far from the end for the president, who remains the Czech Republic’s most popular politician by far. After years as honorary party president, Klaus now plans to turn his back on the ODS and launch a new political movement. Its most important characteristic will be its critical stance toward Europe. Even Social Democratic and Communist voters appreciate Klaus’s unbending stance toward Brussels. More than half of these voters are also suspicious of Brussels.

His EU skepticism, which dispenses with nationalist pathos, also falls on receptive ears internationally. Klaus could even attempt to cooperate with other EU opponents and forge an international group of EU critics keen to put the brakes on Brussels.

During his most recent state visit to Ireland, the Czech president made time for a private dinner with Declan Ganley, a multi-millionaire who was one of the key sponsors of the Irish No campaign leading up to the referendum over the Treaty of Lisbon with his Libertas party. Using the same programmatic name, Klaus’s associates apparently plan to form a Czech branch in the near future.

Klaus ought to get along well with Britain’s Tories, as well. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sealed off her country against dictates from Brussels. A portrait of the Iron Lady is believed to grace Klaus’s desk on the Hradjin, and the president is making sure that, in the coming six months, the blue flag with the yellow stars will not be hoisted next to the Czech flag on the ramparts of his castle.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Denmark: Professional Groups Slam Headscarf Ban

A proposed ban on judges wearing headscarves is viewed by most profession representatives as unnecessarily questioning a judge’s abilities and impartiality

A government proposal to ban the wearing of headscarves by judges in the courtroom has received a flood of criticism from groups ranging from lawyers to human rights organisations — all of whom believe the law is an insult to Muslim judges.

A broad parliamentary majority supports the proposal, created in November in the wake of a heated national debate over whether women wearing the Muslim headscarf in the workplace were putting religion over duty.

Former parliament candidate Asmaa Abdol-Hamid started the headscarf furore in April 2007, saying she would continue to wear her headscarf on the job even if elected as an MP. The dispute was further taken up by the Danish Court Administration earlier this year, which ruled that judges should not be banned from wearing religious symbols.

A wave of professional groups have issued a statement that blasts the government’s proposal as ‘unnecessary’ and ‘unfortunate’. Among those signing the statement were the associations representing lawyers, judges, courts, and administrators, plus the Foundation for Due Process and the Institute for Human Rights.

‘It’s completely unnecessary to pass this law,’ Jørgen Lougart, head of the Danish Judges Association, told Berlingske Tidende newspaper. ‘It is precisely because judges are so well educated and schooled in law that it’s taken for granted they live up to the codex of being and appearing impartial.’

Brian Mikkelsen, the justice minister, said that the proposal sought to ensure that there would never be any doubt about a judge’s political or religious neutrality.

‘Although it’s still in the decision process, we’ve made the proposal for preventive reasons,’ he said. ‘We’re addressing the rise of religious fundamentalism in the public domain.’

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was not moved by the professional group statement, either, saying the law would be ‘carried out as agreed to’ by parliament. (rc)

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Germany: Berlin’s Poor Should Catch Rats, Says Politician

A Berlin politician has come under fire for suggesting that poor people should be encouraged to catch rats by offering them 1 euro per dead rodent. The intriguing idea entails some gnawing practical problems and has been called “inhuman and cynical”.

Picture the scene — hundreds of poor people armed with clubs chasing rats through the streets of Berlin.

There’s something Dickensian about the notion, but it has been proposed by a Berlin politician who is now being criticized for suggesting that the city’s poor should be enlisted to tackle the growing rat infestation in the center of the German capital.

“Especially people who usually collect bottles could get one euro for every dead rat,” Henner Schmidt, head of the business-friendly Free Democrat party in the Mitte district of Berlin, told Berliner Kurier newspaper this week.

The party may formally propose the scheme at a meeting of the district council on Thursday, unless it changes its mind in the wake of some damning criticism and negative media coverage.

“It’s inhuman and cynical to send poor people out to chase rats so that Berlin can solve its rat problems,” said the German Forum for People Without Income.

“If the FDP actually goes ahead with its absurd and inhuman proposal on Thursday in the district council, we can only call on Berlin’s long-term unemployed to chase Berlin FDP politicians rather than hunting rats,” said Martin Behrsing, the group’s spokesman.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Hundreds of Immigrants Busted for Sham Marriages

Sham marriages for the sake of residence permits have become a lucrative business in Finland. The daily Turun Sanomat reports that courts rejected 300 residence permit applications last year that were based, say authorities, on marriages of convenience.

All in all last year, 1,930 people applied for residence permits on the basis of marriage to a Finn.

Increasingly, marriages are being arranged for large sums of money. The newspaper interviewed one Moroccan man, who says that the cost of a marriage runs from thousands to tens of thousands of euros.

Jaakko Sonck, of the National Bureau of Investigation, says that punishments for fraudulent residency applications are very mild.

The most frequent customers of false marriages are Russians, Africans, and Thai citizens.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Pampered MEPs Don’t Know What Hard Work is

The European Parliament’s ineffable contrariness has rarely been better illustrated than by yesterday’s vote to scrap Britain’s opt-out from the 48-hour working week directive.

We are entering what looks like a long and damaging recession from which no European country will be spared. Across the continent, millions of people will lose their jobs and thousands of businesses will go to the wall.

The response of MEPs? Why, to load on more red tape, of course.

Given the pampered existence enjoyed by so many of them, it should come as no surprise that they believe no-one should work more than 48 hours a week, even if they want to, or need to.

As one of their number, our own Daniel Hannan, has pointed out, it is not so much the attempted limitation on working hours that is so objectionable, it is the bureaucracy that goes with it. New timekeeping logs, inspections, enforcement machinery — the full panoply of the Brussels bureaucracy will be wheeled out.

Big companies will have the machinery to deal with this; it is small and medium size firms that do not have personnel departments that will be under the cosh.

In the vote, a majority of Labour MEPs defied the party line, which is to maintain the opt-out. That they could do so with apparent impunity speaks volumes for the collapse of Labour discipline in the European Parliament.

The Government insists that it will fight to retain the British opt-out. The issue is now due to enter “conciliation” talks. If it remains unresolved, ministers say the status quo will comply continue.

We admire their confidence — but do not share it. This week’s vote shows that the EU machine now has the 48-hour opt-out firmly in its sights and has shown in the past that it is prepared to wage a long attritional war to get its way. It could be a bruising battle.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Report: 60% of UK Muslim Schools Linked to Jihadists

This shouldn’t surprise anyone who is informed about these issues, except perhaps those who figured it must be more than 60%.

Damian Thompson has kindly sent me notice of his report, “Exclusive: 60 per cent of Britain’s Muslim schools have extremist links, report says,” at his Telegraph blog, December 17.

Britain’s Muslim schools are facing a devastating blow to their reputation from a report suggesting that over 60 per cent of them are linked to potentially dangerous Islamic fundamentalists.

An early version of the report, entitled When Worlds Collide, alleges that of the 133 Muslim primary and secondary schools it surveyed, 82 (61.6 per cent) have connections or direct affiliations to fundamentalists. The 133 schools are in both the private and public sectors and supposedly subject to Ofsted inspection. If one includes 24 Saudi schools “about which little is known” (the report’s phrase), then the fundamentalist proportion rises to 67.5 per cent.

You won’t be surprised to learn that it has also discovered that some of these schools teach “repugnant” beliefs about the wickedness of Western society and Jews….

           — Hat tip: AA [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Unrest Continues Near Vacated Malmö Mosque

Fresh disturbances erupted on Wednesday evening near the basement location which had previously served as a mosque in Malmö’s Rosengård district.

Fireworks were aimed at police and several fires were lit when police arrived to blockade the basement office with containers.

Tensions in the area were still high as of 12.30am Thursday morning, according to police in Skåne.

One man was arrested during the evening on suspicions of preparing to commit assault. Three other men and boys were also detained.

The youngest, born in 1992, was taken home to his parents.

The police’s main goal for the evening was to ensure that emergency crews could perform their duties and extinguish the fires which continued to burn in the area.

More than ten fires were lit over the course of the evening.

The basement offices, which had previously served as a mosque for the Islamiska kulturföreningen (‘Islamic Cultural Association’), had been occupied since November 24th to protest against the landlord’s decision not to renew the association’s lease for the space, which it had held for the past 15 years.

On Monday, police forcibly removed the remaining three protesters from the space in front of a crowd of angry onlookers.

Emotions have been running high since the forced evacuation, resulting in sporadic disturbances throughout the week.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



UK: Church Mustn’t Cave in to the Secularists

Religion has as much right in the public sphere as the secularism that sometimes claims ownership of it, argues George Pitcher.

It’s widely said, with some justification, that it’s difficult to know what Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, thinks and, indeed, what he is saying. That’s partly to do with the complexity of his intellect and partly to do with his refusal to talk in the sound-bites that characterise our media age (and there will be plenty of people with ruder reasons for his opaqueness).

Today, in an excellent profile of him by James Macintyre in the New Statesman, he raises the prospect of disestablishment of the Church of England as really no big deal, only to say that it must be firmly resisted. The caricature is of an other-worldly academic who can’t make his mind up.

You may not be surprised if I take a different view. It seems entirely valid to say that disestablishment is of no great consequence now that the Christendom model no longer prevails in Britain. Church and State no longer co-extend in the manner that they did in the days of the British Empire. We may not like that, but it is true.

This is an entirely different proposition from the regular rubric of the British people: “We are a Christian country.” Yes, we are. But that history and heritage would be unaltered by disestablishment. The United States, after all, has no constitutional connection between its state and its Christian churches and is probably the world’s most robust representative of Christendom; Christians are never more influential than when they are independent of the state apparatus (look at the Vatican).

So, as Archbishop Williams says, it most assuredly would not be “the end of the world” if the Church of England disestablished. Where, however, we have to be most careful is in indulging the motives of those most keen on disestablishment.

There are secularists — indeed there are atheists — who would say that they don’t buy into the Church in any spiritual or mysterious way, but that they are glad it’s there, for reasons of social cohesion, our island history or aesthetics. But there are also secularists, of a more fundamentalist and prescriptive nature, who would want to remove religion entirely from the public sphere, to make it a personal idiosyncrasy and pursuit, behind closed doors and away from politics and from public policy.

They are entitled to their view. But as long as there are those who believe that their public life is informed by their faith then this essentially political repression should be resisted. In short, religion has as much right in the public sphere as the secularism that sometimes claims ownership of it.

If I am told that my job title is no longer a statist one, I can handle that. If I am told that I am to be excluded from affairs of state because of it, then I am going to fight for its retention. Disestablishment of the Church is not to be confused with dismemberment of it.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egyptian Offers Daughter to Iraqi Shoe-Thrower

CAIRO (Reuters) — An Egyptian man said Wednesday he was offering his 20-year-old daughter in marriage to Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad Sunday,

The daughter, Amal Saad Gumaa, said she agreed with the idea. “This is something that would honour me. I would like to live in Iraq, especially if I were attached to this hero,” she told Reuters by telephone.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Middle East


German Spy Revelations Put Steinmeier on the Defensive

With revelations continuing to pour in about the importance of German intelligence during the US invasion of Iraq, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on the defensive. On Wednesday, General Tommy Franks added his praise for the German spies in Baghdad.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is not having a good week. And on Thursday, it promises to get even worse. Steinmeier is scheduled to appear before a parliamentary committee currently investigating the extent to which German intelligence agents assisted the US military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Steinmeier has consistently suggested that German agents in Baghdad prior to “Operation Iraqi Freedom” were given instructions that “precluded active support of combat operations.”

But a weekend report in SPIEGEL, citing interviews with 20 current or former US military officers, indicates that those instructions may not have been followed. Many of the military men say that information from the German agents was important and highly valued — and that it also played a role in the planning of some parts of the invasion. As a result of the weekend report, Steinmeier’s questioners on Thursday have said they intend to question the foreign minister much more aggressively…

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Israel: Iran Could Attack US With Nuclear Bomb

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, appealed to world leaders to act now to prevent Iran from continuing its nuclear programme.

“If it built even a primitive nuclear weapon like the type that destroyed Hiroshima, Iran would not hesitate to load it on a ship, arm it with a detonator operated by GPS and sail it into a vital port on the east coast of North America,” Mr Barak told a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

Indicating the possibility of an Israeli military strike on Iran, Mr Barak said: “We are not taking any option off the table, and we recommend to the world not to take any option off the table, and we mean what we say.”

His comments came as a Russian news agency reported that the Kremlin had confirmed that it will deliver a new air defence system to Iran. The Russian foreign ministry denied reports of the deal in October.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Russia


Katyn Executioners Named

The Russian Memorial Society NGO, investigating the “Katyn massacre”, has discovered a list of names of Soviet secret agents responsible for murdering thousands of Polish officers in 1940.

The man in charge of the mass murder is thought to be personally responsible for the death of 50,000 people over a long and bloody career.

Researcher Nikita Pietrov has got hold of a list of officers of the NKVD — a forerunner to the KGB — who participated in the Katyn massacre, where up to 22,000 Polish officers were murdered in prison camps and forests in Russia.

The head executioner turns out to be the then 45-year-old Vasilij Blochin. Making his first kill of Russian dissidents in 1927 he went on to execute people regularly for the next 29 years, causing the death of an estimated 50,000.

Records indicate that Blochin was especially trusted by Stalin, who used him to eliminate many of his enemies, real and imagined. The Katyn massacre was among the executioner’s special tasks for which he received considerable reward once Stalin signed their fate in the spring of 1940.

Researcher Nikita Pietrov claims that the Soviet secret police rewarded not only high ranking officers involved in the murders, but also drivers, typists and ordinary soldiers.

The Soviets initially claimed that that Nazi soldiers were responsible for the Katyn massacre. But after an investigation in the 1990s, Moscow admitted that it was in fact the NKVD who were responsible but have since refused, both to label the massacre as ‘genocide’, or carry out prosecutions against those still alive who took part.

Nikita Pietrov of NGO Memorial Society is trying to establish and reveal the names of all Katyn executioners who are still being protected against war crime trials by the Russian authorities.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Russia’s Gazprom Threatens to Cut Gas to Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom state natural gas giant warned on Thursday that it will cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 if the country fails to pay off a $2 billion gas debt.

The tough warning from Gazprom officials will likely unnerve European nations who fear a replay of supply shortages in January 2006 amid a pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine then siphoned Russian gas intended for Europe from a transit pipeline crossing its territory after Gazprom cut supplies.

Gazprom Sergei Kupriyanov warned on Thursday that the company will not sign a gas contract with Ukraine for next year unless the debt is paid. “That will mean that we won’t have any legal reason to provide Ukraine with gas starting Jan. 1,” Kupriyanov said at a news conference.

Kupriyanov said Ukraine had rejected all Gazprom’s compromise proposals and that talks are deadlocked.

Kupriyanov’s warning followed a statement from Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko who said that Ukraine has already paid its debt for the gas consumed in the summer and autumn.

Yushchenko said the state gas company Naftogaz on Wednesday transferred $800 million to pay off the debt and that another $200 million would be wired soon.

But Kupriyanov said that the payment mentioned by Yushchenko only covered Ukraine’s debt through the end of October. He said that Ukrainian officials made it clear that no further payments will be made before the year’s end. He adding that by Jan. 1 Ukraine’s debt will reach $2 billion.

Ukraine’s Naftogas made no immediate comment on Kupriyanov’s statement.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Far East


“It Was Definitely a Labour Camp” — Finnish Banker Documents North Korean Construction Site

[TJ: Can someone lend these people a few bucks to buy a clue?]

A trip to the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea can be like going to the theatre

By Inka Kovanen

The view from a train window in October 2008 was jaw-dropping: hundreds of skinny men with pickaxes in their hand on a construction site beside the tracks. Soldiers with submachine guns or automatic pistols stood guard while the men broke up the rocks into smaller pieces with the axes. The location was the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), on a train heading from the Chinese border and bound for the capital Pyongyang.

Finnish bank manager Pekka Järvelä from Oulu sat in his train compartment out of sight of his minders from the North Korean State Security Department and snapped the kind of image that seldom makes its way outside the closed dictatorship. “It was definitely a labour camp. The first impression was of concentration camps. The area was not fenced in, but armed soldiers were guarding the work being carried out. It looked as if it was connected with building the railway.” Since this is North Korea it is by no means certain that what Järvelä witnessed was in fact a camp for forced penal labour. North Korea denies the existence of such facilities, but according to the United States government and international human rights organisations, something like 150,000 to 200,000 people are in camps like these in the country.

Järvelä and his wife were among a group on a tour of North Korea. The trip was a surprise gift for his wife’s birthday: “I wanted to offer my wife something she had never experienced before, and North Korea is the last closed bastion of communism on the planet”, said Järvelä.

In the course of a week-long visit, banker Järvelä often felt he was in the middle of some strange theatrical production. It was impossible to know what was true and what was an elaborate choreographed artifice. “When we encountered well-dressed people, for instance a mother leading a child in school uniform, it crossed my mind to wonder if these two had really chanced into our path on their way to school, or were they planted there for us…”

The Pyongyang Metro is one of the riddles of the DPRK. According to the official information on the subject, the two lines have a total of sixteen or seventeen stations (one serves both lines), but foreigners are permitted only to ride between two stops on one of the lines. Järvelä made the short trip. The starting station was a magnificent underground marbled hall with crystal chandeliers, and the Finns were met by an empty Metro carriage. Three local passengers got in, and the end stop on the ride was an equally splendid marble hall.

There have been suspicions that the Metro itself is merely a handsome piece of window-dressing built for the foreign tourists. “You really don’t know what to think”, muses Järvelä. “I kept an eye on the entrances to a nearby Metro station from our hotel window: people did go down into the tunnel from time to time or emerge from the doors.”

Travellers in a foreign group have next to no opportunities for making contact with ordinary North Koreans. It is not possible to leave the confines of the hotel by oneself. Aside from the Finnish tour guide, the group is accompanied at all times by two local guides. Then again, the Pyongyang residents seem in no great hurry to make the acquaintance of their visitors — quite the opposite. “They most certainly knew that we were being watched, and so were they.”

Fortunately chance played its hand on a trip to Myohyang-san (“the Mysterious Fragrant Mountain”), a mountain and tourist attraction north of the capital. The tourist party’s car broke down shortly before arrival at the destination, and the foreign guests had to walk into a village. “The car was soon fixed up. But in the meantime I managed to shoot off a few sharp images of people, for instance of a woman who was pushing a mentally-handicapped child in an old-fashioned wooden baby carriage.” Järvelä is a keen amateur photographer, so he knew right away he had got some tremendous images.

Things were made somewhat easier for him by the presence of a 300mm telephoto lens, which by some miracle he had managed to bring across the border into North Korea. Not surprisingly, his photography antics also attracted the interest of the policemen of the State Security Department. Back at the hotel, Järvelä was picked up from the dinner table in the middle of the evening meal. In an adjacent room he was ordered to remove from the camera memory all the images that contained people.

Only landscapes and pictures of monuments were allowed to pass censorship. Some of Järvelä’s pictures did get rescued, however, as they were safe on another memory card, taken out of the camera earlier. “After it was over, the policeman apologised and said ‘I’m sorry’ in English”, recalls Järvelä with some amusement. The regime’s control does, it seems, stretch everywhere. When Järvelä bought a stamp from a Pyongyang shop with an image of Finnish ski-jumper Matti Nykänen on it, and then posted off a card to himself in Finland, two days later an official turned up at the hotel to say that the card was still short one stamp. “I added a second stamp and the card went off.”

Järvelä did not see any signs during the trip of the starvation that is said to be rife in North Korea. It is quite simply kept hidden from the eyes of foreign tourists. As a keen ornithologist, Järvelä was also astonished at the lack of birds to be seen in the country. “I saw only a few cranes, and hardly any small birds anywhere. It did make you wonder a bit what had happened to them all…”

In spite of everything, Järvelä was left with a positive feeling after the trip to North Korea. “It is undeniably very safe there, and the people seemed cheerful. The only rather angsty experience was being called in for questioning over the photography. There was admittedly a certain adrenaline rush after that.”

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Photo: Performing Monkeys Attack Trainer in China

When one of the monkeys refused to ride on a child’s bicycle in a street performance in Sizhou, in eastern China, their owner beat it with a stick.

Although they were tied to the man with ropes attached to their collars, the monkeys appear to have decided to fight back.

The two animals came to the defence of the third monkey, grabbing the stick from the man, pulling on his ear and biting his head.

When he dropped his cane, on monkey snatched it up and began beating the trainer on the head until he broke the stick, witnesses said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Scuffles in S Korea Parliament Over Bid to Pass US Trade Pact

[TJ: I should note that with strong, long-term regional allies like the RoK, Japan and Colombia (and it blows my mind that we have not ratified the FTA with Colombia yet — the only folks we’re hurting by not ratifying it are our manufacturers — Colombian producers already get to import their products tariff-free to the US through the Andean Free Trade Agreement regardless of whether or not we sign the CFTA) — I am completely in favor of maintaining or expanding free trade agreements — while I am most certainly not in favor of unlimited free trade agreements with countries like China and Russia. On a lighter note, if we could get some action like this in Congress, C-SPAN could go to pay-per-view. By the way, if some of this barricade action looks a little familiar, there were some similar actions by the GNP immediately prior to the presidential elections this past February when the liberals tried to introduce a bill to disqualify then-presidential-candidate Lee Myung Bak (current president) from the presidential race — or something along those lines.]

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean MPs barricaded themselves into a parliamentary committee room Thursday after opponents smashed down the door, as tempers flared over a bid to ratify a US free trade pact.

The scuffle began as dozens of the governing Grand National Party’s (GNP) members, helped by security guards, occupied the room to start procedures to approve the deal.

About 150 opposition legislators and aides pushed or elbowed other ruling party legislators outside the closed room, witnesses said.

Some opposition members with a chisel and hammers broke down a door and used a nearby fire hose to spray water into the room but GNP legislators inside immediately put up a barricade with sofas and chairs.

Security guards used a fire extinguisher to stop the scuffle.

The opposition MPs staged a sit-down protest after their repeated attempts to break into the room failed. A GNP member was hospitalised for injuries in his hand, according to Yonhap news agency.

The GNP insisted that the pact, signed by Seoul and Washington last year, should be approved by a full parliamentary session before the end of this year. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) says South Korea should not ratify it until the US Congress moves to do so.

“We are in a battlefield today,” GNP parliament leader Hong Jun-Pyo told reporters, vowing to push a motion for ratification through the 29-member committee as a prelude to approval by the full house.

The GNP has 172 seats in the 299-member legislature compared to 83 for the DP.

Hong rejected a proposal from his DP counterpart, Won Hye-Young, of opposition cooperation in endorsing the pact within 30 days after Washington requests its own legislature to approve it.

After hours of confrontation, the GNP completed procedures to put the motion to a vote at the committee. Committee chief Park Jin urged the opposition to ratify the pact through discussion but gave no timetable on the vote.

The GNP has vowed to push for ratification this year in hopes of pressing the US Congress also to move swiftly. Both legislatures must endorse it to bring it into operation.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and President George W. Bush agreed during an April summit to push for approval of the FTA this year.

For the US, the deal with South Korea would be its biggest since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

Some estimates say it could boost two-way trade, worth 78.4 billion dollars last year, by up to 20 billion dollars in coming years.

However US president-elect Barack Obama has called the deal “badly flawed” and said it does too little to narrow a huge imbalance in the auto trade in Seoul’s favour.

South Korea has ruled out any renegotiation.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Two Dead, 36 Hurt in Philippines Store Bombings

ILIGAN, Philippines: Bombs ripped through two department stores in the southern Philippine city of Iligan Thursday, killing two people and wounding at least 36 in an attack blamed by the authorities on Muslim separatists.

Police swarmed the bloodied, upturned baggage check-in counters of the Unicity store and the neighbouring Jerry’s Shoppers’ Plaza in downtown Iligan to collect evidence shortly after the early afternoon blasts, an AFP photographer on the scene said.

Local investigators and witnesses said the bombs were made from mortar shells and were hidden in packages that were checked into the counters. The devices went off within 15 minutes of each other, they added.

Two people, including a baggage counter clerk at one of the stores, were killed, Master Sergeant Armando Amoroso, a military investigator on the scene, told AFP.

Thirty people were being treated at the Doctor Uy hospital for blast injuries, hospital staff said, while six other injured people were awaiting transport from the scene of the blast, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

Iligan is a city of 300,000 on the north coast of Mindanao island, where Muslim separatists have been waging a decades-long guerrilla campaign and have been suspected of harbouring militants with ties to Al-Qaeda.

“Our suspects are the lawless MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) group, because of the type of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that were used,” army Colonel Nicanor Dolojan told reporters.

Hardline MILF units went on a killing and burning spree of Christian villages across Mindanao in August after the Supreme Court blocked a draft peace agreement that would have given the MILF control over vast areas of the south.

President Gloria Arroyo has since shelved peace talks and demanded that the MILF surrender the rebel leaders blamed for the attacks before talks could resume.

Arroyo “condemns the ruthless and violent acts of terrorism against our communities,” her spokesman Anthony Golez told reporters.

Dolojan said the motive for Thursday’s bombings was “to sow terror in the area.”

Closed-circuit television footage from one of the bombed shopping centres showed two male suspects in traditional Muslim garb depositing an item at the baggage counter, the military official said.

City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said the local government had received threats by telephone over the past two weeks.

“They are threats to bomb establishments — department stores, churches, schools, public places, markets,” he said over local television.

– AFP/vm

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Mexico Opens Call Center for Illegals — in Arizona

The Mexican government has opened a special call center in Arizona to provide a sympathetic ear for Mexican citizens caught up in the crackdown on illegal immigration in the desert state.

Officials at the Mexican consulate in Tucson said they opened the center last week. It is available 24 hours a day to field complaints from Mexican nationals about their treatment in the border state, where as many as half a million illegal immigrants live and work in the shadows.

“We want to offer a human voice at the other end of the line, so they can feel protected and know that someone is here for them,” said Alejandro Ramos, head of the consulate’s Department of Protection.

Feelings run high about illegal immigration in the United States, where an estimated 12 million undocumented workers and their children hide from authorities.

After the U.S. government failed to pass legislation overhauling immigration laws last year, many U.S. states and some local authorities have acted to clamp down on illegal immigrants. Arizona passed a law to block the hiring of illegal workers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Somalis Who Entered US Illegally Cite Harassment and Discrimination

I have been wondering for months whether Somalis were entering the US illegally across our borders and this article confirms they must be. Although, the article in the Houston Chronicle never actually tells us how these Somalis came to be in the US and why they are detained, I don’t know any other reason they should be in a facility such as this one in Texas other then illegally having entered the US.

Reading between the lines, these men must have been caught, detained and then asked for political asylum. As we reported previously there are immigration lawyers jumping at the chance across this land to help the “persecuted” get into our refugee system. If granted asylum they will get all the perks of the refugee program: subsidized housing, food stamps, English lessons, a caseworker to help them find jobs, etc.

Attorneys for 10 Somali men held in an immigration detention center in South Texas allege that federal immigration officials segregated and interrogated their clients after they left a Muslim prayer service, saying they were subject to “discriminatory and unethical” questioning.

Lawyers for the asylum seekers said the men — detained at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall — were targeted because they were Muslim and from Somalia. The lawyers contend that their clients were segregated into a separate dormitory for two to three days after they left a Dec. 8 prayer service at the detention facility celebrating the Muslim holiday, Eid.

The Somalis were not given the opportunity to contact their lawyers, according to a letter the attorneys sent Monday to several federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties…

           — Hat tip: RRW [Return to headlines]



Sweden to Prioritize Deportations in 2009

Swedish police are mulling chartering special planes in anticipation of the government’s wishes to step up the pace of deportations of the thousands of unsuccessful asylum seekers estimated to be in the country.

“2009 is going to be a tough year for a lot of people,” said Dan Eliasson, the head of the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket), to the TT news agency.

On Tuesday, a Swedish charter plane landed in Baghdad carrying twelve people whose asylum claims had been denied by Sweden.

Ahead of the trip, the twelve had been taken to Stockholm’s Arlanda airport from Örebro and Västerås in central Sweden, Gävle on the country’s east coast, Växjö in south central Sweden, as well as from Malmö and Stockholm.

The trip was the first of its kind to Iraq from Sweden.

A few weeks ago, a similar transport was arranged to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia to return 42 rejected asylum seekers.

“We’re going to have more missions like this. The government has said that 2009 will be the year of the return, which puts the burden on us to bring a lot of people to their respective homelands,” said Peter Nilsson of the border police in Stockholm County.

So far most deportees have been returned piecemeal when space was available to regular commercial flights. But airline pilots are loathe to accept passengers which put up a struggle when brought on board their aircraft.

“A lot of people have learned that lesson. These are people who don’t want to return voluntarily. That’s why we’re doing these kinds of collective trips — to make it safer, more dignified, and more economic,” said Nilsson.

The Migration Board’s Eliasson reckons that 2009 will be a busy year, especially for the police.

“Many who have had their applications denied should go home, and many of them don’t want to. That’s understandable, as they often return to a life with difficult conditions. The police have a very difficult task. I’m expecting people to raise the bar, and that’s what’s on the way,” said Eliasson.

Neither the police nor the Migration Board will reveal just how long the list of deportees is, however.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Immigrants Central to Swelling Population

Sweden’s foreign-born population is expected to reach 14 percent by the end of 2008, a year in which the country’s overall population had its greatest increase since 1970.

In the last decade, the Sweden’s foreign-born population has grown by 27 percent, as measured as a percentage of Sweden’s total population, according to Statistics Sweden.

If people born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents are added to the mix, the total comes to 378,000 people, or nearly 20 percent of Sweden’s overall population.

The 108,000 Iraqis now living in Sweden comprise the second largest group of foreign-born residents in the country behind natives of Finland, of which there are 176,000.

During the past year, 102,000 people immigrated to Sweden, a 2 percent increase from 2007.

Immigration from Iraq was down 21 percent from the year 2007, but still remained strong with an estimated 12,000 Iraqis entering Sweden in 2008.

Statistics Sweden estimates that the country’s overall population will reach 9,259,000 by December 31st, 2008, an increase of 76,000 for the year and the largest jump since 1970.

In addition to immigration, Sweden’s robust birth rate also helped push up the country’s population in 2008 as 109,000 babies were born, 2,000 more than the year before. A higher number of births than deaths in Sweden in 2008 account for 19,000 of the people added to Sweden’s population during the year.

Sweden also lost 26,000 citizens to emigration in 2008, with four in ten choosing to head to Norway, the United States, or the United Kingdom.

In addition, 44,000 non-Swedish citizens left the country, most of who returned to their countries of origin, resulting in a record net immigration for the year of 57,000 people.

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Segregation ‘Widespread’ for Immigrants

A study released on Thursday by Statistics Sweden (SCB) reports widespread segregation in the fields of education, housing, employment and politics.

In 2008, net immigration into Sweden reached record levels, with more than 100,000 people entering the country and projections that the foreign-born population will reach 14 percent by the end of the year.

The report, released on International Migration Day, illuminates how pronounced the differences in living conditions are between native Swedes and the country’s immigrant populations, particularly those born in Africa and Asia.

“We have seen that people born in these countries are well behind those born in the EU or other Nordic countries. The differences can be seen in education, the job market, and living arrangements,” SCB’s Lotta Persson told The Local.

“I was surprised at how widespread segregation was in Sweden,” Persson added.

For example, the study shows that foreign-born school children lagged behind their Swedish-born counterparts, with students born in Africa falling far behind their native peers by 9th grade, even if they came to Sweden at a pre-school age.

“The differences in schooling, especially for Africans, shows how they are not eligible in the same way as other groups for upper secondary education, as they are not achieving the right grades, even though we take into account how long they have been in Sweden,” said Persson.

“We don’t really know why this is.”

Persson theorized the results may be due the fact that many immigrants from Africa and Asia arrive in Sweden as refugees.

“They have a lot of experiences which may negatively affect them,” she said, adding that the majority of immigrants from Asia come from Iraq and Iran.

Within the Swedish job market, the study found that the length of time a person has lived in the country was a decisive factor in gaining employment.

For example, employment levels for residents who have lived in Sweden for five years or less were found to be quite low.

However, once a person has been a resident of Sweden for 20 years or more, employment rates improve significantly, although remain lower than those who are born in Sweden, the statistics show.

The lowest employment levels are in the African-born population, who were also shown to more often hold lower-level jobs despite often having high levels of education.

Voter participation within the immigrant population is markedly lower in comparison to the rest of Swedish society, in particular for those from Africa, Asia and non EU European countries.

Housing is another aspect of life in Sweden where segregation of immigrants is very pronounced.

“It is obvious that many Swedish cities, both large and small, exhibit clear housing segregation,” said the report.

Immigrants from the EU, other Nordic countries, North America and Oceania seem to be generally well integrated in Swedish residential areas, with no notable differences with the housing trends of native Swedes.

However, Africans are overrepresented in rental accommodations, with few living in houses or owner-occupied apartments.

There is also evidence of considerable segregation occurring when it comes to the geographical distribution of African and Asian immigrant populations relative to Sweden-born residents.

A full 60 percent of native Swedes live where the majority of the nearby population is also Swedish, with 20 percent living in areas that are virtually 100 percent Swedish.

In contrast, 20 of all foreign-born immigrants live in areas where more than 40 percent of the population comes from countries other than Sweden.

The situation is exacerbated by the active movement by native Swedes away from areas with a high-density of foreigners, particularly those from Asia and Africa, Persson explains.

“We have seen how the native Swedish population is moving out from those areas where many immigrants live,” she said.

Whilst the results may be seen as cause for concern in a country with an ever-increasing foreign-born population, the report does not draw any specific conclusions as to why Sweden is becoming such a segregated society.

Talking to The Local, Persson points to trends in Swedish society as the one possible explanation

“It has been found that immigrants from Iraq and Iran are not treated very well by the Swedish population,” she explained.

“They are definitely discriminated against in society. This discrimination may be one of the reasons for segregation, as it might be more difficult for them to get loans or to buy a house.”

A spokesperson for Swedish Integration Minister Nyamko Sabuni refused to comment on the report, saying the minister had not yet had time to review its findings.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


Children and Parents of the Religious Intact Family Do Best on Child Development

A new study from the Mapping America project, co-released by more than 30 state family policy councils, finds that children have fewer problems at school and home when they live with both biological parents and frequently attend religious services. Dr. Nicholas Zill, the founding president of Child Trends, and Dr. Philip Fletcher, a research psychologist at Westat, co-authored the new study, which analyzes data from the National Survey of Children’s Health.

Among their remarkable findings: children in this group are five times less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to have behavior problems at home and school, and are more likely to be cooperative and understanding of others’ feelings. Parents of these children report less stress, healthier parent-child relationships, and fewer concerns about their children’s achievement. These differences hold up even after controlling for family income and poverty, low parent education levels, and race and ethnicity.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Fox News [sic] Airs ‘Simpsons’ Episode Challenging Islamophobia

Fox News screened recently an episode of Simpsons Comedy on Islamophobia, a step welcomed by Islamic organizations in US.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to thank the Fox television network and the creator of “The Simpsons” for the episode that used comedy to challenge Islamophobia.

The episode, which aired Sunday evening and is titled “Mypods and Boomsticks,” highlights anti-Muslim sentiment by featuring a young Muslim character named Bashir and his family who face prejudice after moving to Springfield. In the program, Homer Simpson wrongly suspects that Bashir’s family is involved in a terror plot. Bart Simpson befriends Bashir and defends him from bullies.

CAIR sent a letter to the show’s creator Matt Groening thanking him for challenging anti-Muslim prejudice.

The letter said Sunday’s episode “brought to light how Americans can work toward mutual respect and inclusion by getting to know their neighbors.” It went on to state: “The episode also builds on the values that have made America the great nation it is — a nation in which citizenship is about finding common ground and building a better society. American Muslims have been doing just that by making daily contributions to our society that often go unrecognized.”

“Because of its acceptance in popular culture, comedy is often one of the best vehicles for challenging stereotypes and intolerance,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Fox and Matt Groening are to be congratulated for tackling the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia.”

CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Fox News is part of the rightist and close-to-neo-cons American billionaire and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, which includes a large number of newspapers, publishing houses and TV stations in US and abroad such as Fox News, New York Post newspaper, Weekly Standard magazine and National Geographic channel.

Usually, Murdoch-owned TV channels and newspapers show radical stances against Arab and Muslim issues.

           — Hat tip: TB [Return to headlines]



Student Says School Persecuted Him for Being Conservative

William Felkner, 45, says the New England college and six professors wouldn’t approve his final project on welfare reform because he was on the “wrong” side of political issues and countered the school’s “progressive” liberal agenda.

Felkner said his problems with his professors began in his first semester, in the fall of 2004, when he objected in an e-mail to one of his professors that the school was showing and promoting Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” on campus. He said he objected because no opposing point of view was presented.

He said Professor James Ryczek wrote to him on Oct. 15, 2004, saying he was proud of his bias and questioning Felkner’s ability to “fit with the profession.”

“I think the biases and predilections I hold toward how I see the world and how it should be are why I am a social worker. In the words of a colleague, I revel in my biases,” he wrote.

Felkner’s complaint, filed two years ago, alleges that Ryczek discriminated against him for his conservative viewpoint and gave him bad grades because of it in several classes. It also alleges discrimination by other professors and administrators.

Felkner said he received failing grades in Ryczek’s class for holding viewpoints opposed to the progressive direction of the class.

Felkner says he was also discriminated against by Professor Roberta Pearlmutter, who he says refused to allow him to participate in a group project lobbying for a conservative issue because the assignment was to lobby for a liberal issue. He alleges that Perlmutter spent a 50-minute class “assailing” his views and allowed students to openly ridicule his conservative positions, and that she reduced his grade because he was not “progressive.”

[…]

Bruce Thyer, professor of social work and former dean at the College of Social Work at Florida State University, has written about discrimination against conservatives and against evangelical Christians in social work. He said discrimination hurts the profession.

“I have seen students actively discouraged from perusing social work because of their politically conservative views. I’ve also seen it happen with students who have held strong religious views,” he said. “I think that the profession is a great and noble discipline and there are occasional episodes like this that cast a black eye, and it’s really unnecessary.”

Thyer said liberal and conservative social workers have the same goal — to help people — and that the school overstepped its bounds in Felkner’s case.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

General


The Impending Collapse of Our Enemies

The Depression — let’s call it what it is — leaves us, well, depressed. But there is very good news from around the world. Our enemies are collapsing under the strain of dropping oil and gas prices. What we had all hoped conservation and off-shore drilling would achieve, the global economic collapse is accomplishing: the defeat of OPEC, Iran, Chavez, Putin and the weakening of the financial underpinnings of Islamist terrorism. In each of these nations, the hold of the dictator is weakening as, one after the other, they face the consequences of dropping oil prices.

In Iran, the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the aggressive efforts of the U.S. government, and the actions of states like California, Florida, and Missouri to ban pension investments in companies that do business with Iran are having a big effect. Unable to expand its oil production for a lack of foreign investment, Iran faces the need to slash its budget drastically as energy revenues, the source of 85% of its income, crash. Iranian President Ahmadinejad is announcing harsh austerity measures. Having based his budget on $50-$60 oil, he now must recast it for at a $40 per barrel level. He boasts of cash reserves of $23 billion, but that sum won’t last long unless he makes major cuts. (Do the math: a shortfall of $25/barrel per day x 4 million barrels a day x 365 days = $36.5 billion, more than he’s got on hand).

The question for Ahmadinejad and for the Ayatollah who stands behind him is: Can their regime survive economic collapse? Unable to buy social peace by handouts and subsidies, will the top blow off an country that hates the regime, is predominantly very young, and is only 40% Farsi?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UN Security Council Authorizes Violation of Nations’ Sovereignty

The United Nations Security Council announced that it decided that, for the next year, States and regional organizations cooperating in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia’s coast — for which prior notification had been provided by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government to the Secretary-General — could undertake all necessary measures “appropriate in Somalia”, to interdict those using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake such acts.

While many observers believe piracy should be curtailed with all the force necessary, they also believe it is not the role of the UN to decide when or where such action is appropriate.

“The United Nations Security Council is not in-charge of sovereign countries and they shouldn’t be the organization that allows such actions,” said political strategist Mike Baker.

“I’m all for using adequate force against terrorists and pirates, but I’m not for gaining the blessings of a corrupt organization such as the United Nations,” said Baker.

[…]

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia said his country had no capacity to interdict or patrol its long coastline to ensure the security of the sea, but it had cooperated with the international community in that fight and it would continue to do so fully, now and in the future. That was why it supported resolution 1851.

However, he stressed the importance of adopting a comprehensive and holistic strategy to the Somalia problem — as piracy and terrorism and the humanitarian emergency were part of the whole problem that existed since the collapse of the Government in 1991. If that premise was accepted, there should be no difficulty in seeing a real way to tackling piracy and real instability in his country.

The most effective way was for the Security Council to take immediate measures, hopefully before the end of the year, when AMISOM’s mandate was to be reviewed — to authorize a robust peacekeeping operation, he asserted. The undermanned AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] contingent could become the nucleus of that new United Nations force. The aim should be to strengthen the Somali State by strengthening its security forces through the provision of forces, training and equipment.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Open Season on the Police in Berlin

Violence against police officers in Germany is on the rise. Although the perpetrator in this incident is an Arab, the immigrant element is barely mentioned in the article. It’s not clear how large a part is played by immigrants in the increasing violence directed against the police in Berlin.

Here’s the report from Berliner Morgenpost, as translated by our Flemish correspondent VH:

Berlin police officer in stable condition after knife attack

Tuesday, December 16, 2008 17:20

[Photo caption: Two men are suspected of having stolen a camera from this pickup truck. They fled into a house after they had noticed that the theft was being observed. When police officers attempted to arrest them there, one stabbed a police officer several times.]

Police officer Patrick G. will probably not go out on patrol without his protective vest anymore. Last Tuesday he was seriously wounded when he was stabbed by a car thief. But the 42-year-old Police officer is in stable condition now.

One officer was attacked during the operation in Charlottenburg and heavily injured. The 42-year-old Patrick G. was stabbed several times in his upper body. He had to be operated on in the emergency unit. The condition of the officer has been stable since then and his life is no longer in danger. The presumed offender was arrested. The 5th Homicide squad proposes he be charges with attempted murder. On Wednesday the public prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant against the man.

The police had been called by a witness who noticed two men busy with a building firm’s pickup truck that was parked in a courtyard. “From the window I observed two men going to the truck,” the witness later reported at the scene. She lives in the adjoining house. According to her one of the men looked like an elder German with grey hair, the other like an Arab man and was wearing a bobble hat. “In the courtyard stood this pickup truck for an installation company that was installing heaters,” the witness explains further. The two men had opened an unlocked door of the truck and stole a camera. “When the perpetrators found out they where being watched, they fled to a nearby house,” a police spokesman said.

– – – – – – – –

The witness — who would like to remain anonymous — had, according to her, spoken to the construction workers and asked whether the men perhaps were colleagues. “When they denied it, I called the police,” the woman said. At the same time the construction workers pursued the offenders, until they disappeared in a nearby house at Sophie-Charlotten-Road number 105 h.

At the same time there were plainclothes officers of the traffic control unit in the vicinity. The officers usually search for stolen cars and drunk drivers, but also check for valid papers. In emergencies, if there are urgent situations, they are also deployed supplementally.

Thus also Patrick G., a former detective constable in management, who went with his colleague to the house at the Sophie Charlotten Road. There they rang the doorbell at about 11:35, where the wanted persons were thought to be hiding. When nobody answered, they used force to enter. Once inside they were obviously already expected by the 30-years-old owner of the house, Hakan Ö., who stabbed Patrick G. repeatedly. The officer — who contrary to habit didn’t wear his protective vest — fell down.

With support of further colleagues they finally succeeded in arresting the aggressor, a police spokesman said. The accomplice, who had been involved in the theft, is still on the run, however. Whether a protective vest would have prevented the official from being injured is not clear, since the vests used do not protect against stabs into the belly area. “The wearing of the vest is voluntary,” a police spokesman answered questions. An official at the scene in Charlottenburg added: “Unfortunately routine is often the enemy of self-protection.”

The German police trade union (DpolG [Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft]) meanwhile demands greater punishments for offenders who attack policemen. Each act of violence against an official must draw a detention, the national chairman Rainer Wendt said. In the past five years the number of assaults annually rose nationwide from 20,000 to 27,000. In Berlin alone, each day nine policemen are attacked and three of them injured. For “resistance against an enforcement officer” the only punishment mandated is a term of up to two years or a fine. “With this, attacks on policemen in criminal law are treated the exact same as fish poaching,” according to Wendt.

The Crime Atlas of the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost shows you how dangerous it is in your neighborhood —the Berlin police have an interactive crime statistics diagram including ten crime categories, for all local areas. [Graph here]



Hat tip: ESW.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/17/2008

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/17/2008Notice the article about “white flight” from the UK. Persons of British background are leaving Britain, mainly for Australia, in unprecedented numbers.

Thanks to Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Islam in Action, JD, Steen, Tuan Jim, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – –

USA
Economic Crisis Stalls NAFTA Superhighway
Fraudulent “Credit Crisis” Paves Way for Economic Disaster
Muslim Woman Arrested in US Courtroom
Obama Citizenship Issue Has Merit, AOL Poll Says
SEC Official Married Into Madoff Family
Supreme Court Revives Suit by Former Gitmo Prisoners
Uncle Shariah
Wyoming Lawmakers Oppose Constitutional Convention
 
Europe and the EU
AEL [Arab-European League] Triumphant, Floor Leaders Angry
EU Parliament President Condemned Over Czech Meeting
Euro MPs Scrap Britain’s Opt-Out of the 48-Hour Work Week in Move That Could Cost UK Up to £66billion
Exhibition: Israeli Art at Vittoriano With Over 50 Works
Italy: Shia Muslims to Mark Day of Mourning in Rome
Nicolas Sarkozy Attacks Czech Refusal to Fly EU Flag
Swedes: Hard Workers or Hardly Working?
Sweden — a New Melting Pot?
UK: Government Launches Consultation on Islamic Finance
UK: NHS Doctor Cleared of Bomb Plots Accuses Government of ‘Sour Grapes’ for Trying to Kick Him Out of Britain
UK: White-Flight Exodus to Oz
 
Balkans
Ex-Kosovo Minister Guilty of Witness Intimidation
Montenegro & the EU Membership Application: Interview
 
Mediterranean Union
Immigration: Genital Mutilation, Reconstructions in Paris
Med Countries Urge Greater Support on Immigration Issues
 
North Africa
Egypt: 97% of Married Women Undergo Genital Mutilation
 
Israel and the Palestinians
Christmas: Bethlehem, ‘No Room at the Inn’ at Christmas
Middle East: Crowd in Gaza to Mark 21st Year of Hamas
Not the Center of the World
U.S. Millions Incite Tomorrow’s Suicide Bombers
 
Middle East
Iraq Official: U.S. Troops Might be Needed for Decade
Iraq: Islamists Drive Christians Out of Nineveh
Israel: We Will Never Recognise it, Ahmadinejad Says
Italian Killed in Turkey: Third Hearing in Trial Today
Spendthrift Leadership Leaves Iran Vulnerable to Oil Price Plunges
 
Russia
Russian Warships Causing No Ripples in Pentagon
Russian Treason Bill Could Hit Kremlin Critics
 
Far East
China Hands Death Penalty to 2 ‘Bent on Jihad’
Marijuana “Epidemic” Shows Japan’s Drug Allergy
 
Immigration
Immigration:EU Problem; Everybody Should Pay Costs, Frattini
Immigration Pumps Up Cyprus Population Growth
Immigration: Frattini, Now Need EU-Libya Agreement
USA: Settlement Opens Amnesty for Thousands of Illegals
 
Culture Wars
Atheist: U.S. Troops ‘Evangelizing’ in Combat
Holiday Cheer Comes With a Price in One North Naples Neighborhood
Obama Invites ‘Gay’ Band for Inauguration Parade
 
General
2008: Coolest Year of This Century
A Gentler Hegemony
Scientists Debunk Global Warming

USA


Economic Crisis Stalls NAFTA Superhighway

Amid an economic storm, there is good news for opponents of North American integration under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, Jerome Corsi’s Red Alert reports.

As the U.S. and global economy slows, the volume of freight being moved internationally over “intermodal” ship-train-truck connections is also slowing. This is reducing the immediate pressure to reconfigure the U.S. transportations system into a global network for moving containers.

“Still, the pressure to reconfigure the U.S. into NAFTA Superhighway container-moving structures should be expected to resume, perhaps even as a stimulus to jump start now lagging global ‘free trade,’“ Corsi writes.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Fraudulent “Credit Crisis” Paves Way for Economic Disaster

The analysis, Flawed Assumptions about the Credit Crisis: A Critical Examination of US Policymakers, concludes that the result of the unjustified massive federal intervention in the economy could be similar to the economic crisis in the Weimar Republic of 1922, where disastrous hyperinflation made the currency worthless and threatened the nation’s political system and stability.

The analysis was released by Celent, a Boston-based firm that provides independent information and advice to financial services companies. The 30-page report, made available to Accuracy in Media, does not accuse Paulson and Bernanke of lying about the “credit crisis.” But it does say that “It is startling that many of Chairman Bernanke’s and Secretary Paulson’s remarks are not supported or are flatly contradicted by the data provided by the very organizations they lead.”

Using charts and graphs of data from the Federal Reserve and other agencies, the Celent study says that statements from Paulson and Bernanke about a “credit crisis” affecting businesses, real estate, banks, and state and local governments were just not true.

The report says there is “a contradiction” between what Paulson and Bernanke have said and the reality of the situation, as demonstrated in the official data. It calls these “discrepancies” and says that some of their remarks are “puzzling.”

Asked for comment on why he was able to uncover this information while the major media have not, Octavio Marenzi, founder and CEO of Celent, told AIM, “What we need from the media is more skepticism and more engagement. Too frequently statements are taken at face value. Also, most journalists are under such tight time pressure that they do not have the time to reflect and to dig deeper. They are on a conveyor belt and just trying to keep up with the required level of output.”

Paulson had claimed that, by mid-September, when he persuaded President Bush to go public with demands for Congress to approve a $700-billion bailout plan, the financial system had “seized up,” credit markets had “froze,” and interbank lending had been “substantially reduced.”

But none of this was true. “The freezing of the credit markets that Secretary Paulson cites is not visible” in the data, the Celent report shows.

Paulson also made the claim that blue chip industrial companies could not issue longer-term commercial paper. But this claim “finds no support” in the data, the report says.

Bernanke had claimed that businesses were “confronting diminished access to credit” when in fact “the opposite” was true, the study demonstrates.

The suggestion is made that Bernanke and Paulson were acting on behalf of “a particular set of businesses and financial institutions” and exaggerated the problem in order to justify “unprecedented levels of government intervention in the markets.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Muslim Woman Arrested in US Courtroom

As a Muslim woman from Georgia tried to enter a courtroom, a bailiff told her that she would have to remove her hijab if she wanted to come in. Instead of complying she cursed the bailiff. As a result she was sentenced to 10 days in jail for contempt of court. Apparently it is OK when they tell us how to live, but no one can ask anything of them.

           — Hat tip: Islam in Action [Return to headlines]



Obama Citizenship Issue Has Merit, AOL Poll Says

America Online is conducting a new poll asking readers whether they believe there is any merit to the controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s citizenship — and most respondents say “yes.”

With nearly 77,000 national votes in the unscientific survery, some might say the poll chart looks somewhat similar to this year’s electoral map, except in orange and yellow.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



SEC Official Married Into Madoff Family

A top Securities and Exchange Commission compliance official who worked for the SEC when it found no problems at Bernard Madoff’s firm in 2005, later began to date and married Madoff’s niece, who was a compliance lawyer for the company.

A spokesman for Eric Swanson, who has since left the SEC, said Swanson “did not participate in any inquiry of Bernard Madoff Securities or its affiliates while involved in a relationship” with Shana Madoff.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Supreme Court Revives Suit by Former Gitmo Prisoners

Reporting from Washington — The Supreme Court revived a lawsuit Monday by four British Muslims who said they were tortured and abused at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and harassed and humiliated during daily prayers.

The former prisoners are attempting to hold top Pentagon officials responsible for the abuse, including former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The lawsuit was thrown out last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, which concluded that the Guantanamo prisoners had no rights under the Constitution because they were foreigners held by the military.

In a one-line order Monday, the justices set aside the appeals court’s decision and ordered the judges to take a new look at the case.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Uncle Shariah

The insurance giant AIG has lately become the poster child for corporate risk-taking, mismanagement and greed. Its unimaginably large losses, rooted in insurance it extended to financial companies engaged in subprime mortgage-backed transactions, have destroyed both AIG’s corporate reputation and balance sheet.

Indeed, but for the fact that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson — who during his days running Goldman Sachs had extensive ties to AIG — deemed the insurance firm “too large to fail,” the company would surely have gone under by now. Instead, Mr. Paulson gave AIG well over $40 billion of the slush-fund Congress intended to bailout the financial sector (part of a total $150 billion the U.S. has sunk in AIG to date). As a result, you and I and our fellow taxpayers have been saddled with ownership of nearly 80 percent of this once high-flying and now-floundering global insurance enterprise.

Another result of AIG’s nationalization is, if anything, even more worrisome.”

It turns out that AIG has a subsidiary specializing in “takaful” — insurance products that are purportedly “Shariah-compliant.” I say purportedly because — while they have been cynically deemed “pure” (halal) by Shariah advisers that AIG employed for the purpose of making such certifications — the Islamic code expressly prohibits business transactions that involve risk. Consequently, insurance products designed to hedge against risk are inherently “impure” or haram.

Whatever the status of AIG’s “takaful” products under Islamic law, the U.S. government now has a vested interest in their financial success. Uncle Sam has become Uncle Shariah.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Wyoming Lawmakers Oppose Constitutional Convention

A team of lawmakers in Wyoming, alarmed by WND reports that the U.S. is only two state votes away from having a new Constitutional Convention, has begun work to make certain that if a convention is held, it would have to convene in the face of their opposition.

Wyoming previously called for a Constitutional Convention but rescinded the votes in 1999.

It is unclear whether even a formal vote to withdraw a request for a convention would have an impact or whether any limits could be imposed, according to constitutional expert John Eidsmoe, author of the book, “Christianity & the Constitution. But he encouraged such rescission votes, saying if nothing more, it certainly would dampen the enthusiasm for a convention.

Last week, a public policy organization issued an urgent alert that affirmative votes are needed from only two more states before a Constitutional Convention could be assembled in which “today’s corrupt politicians and judges” could formally change the U.S. Constitution’s “‘problematic’ provisions to reflect the philosophical and social mores of our contemporary society.”

“Don’t for one second doubt that delegates to a Con Con wouldn’t revise the First Amendment into a government-controlled privilege, replace the 2nd Amendment with a ‘collective’ right to self-defense, and abolish the 4th, 5th, and 10th Amendments, and the rest of the Bill of Rights,” said the warning from the American Policy Institute.

Changes also could include the incorporation of “rights” to abortion and euthanasia, as well as the “separation” of church and state, the group said..

[…]

Chuck Baldwin, presidential candidate for the Constitution Party this year, said the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention were “freedom-loving patriots who had just fought a bloody war for independence and were in no mind to re-enact tyranny upon the land they had just fought to liberate.”

“However, can one imagine what would happen if the current bunch of politically correct leftists in Washington, D.C., were to be granted the power to rewrite our Constitution?” Baldwin continued. “It would be the end of the United States of America, and that is no hyperbole.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


AEL [Arab-European League] Triumphant, Floor Leaders Angry

[From Tuan Jim: one your Dutch readers might be able to translate. An interesting article about Belgian parliamentary lawmakers angry over Hizballah in the parliament (although apparently not the official parliament building itself but one connected to it).]

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



EU Parliament President Condemned Over Czech Meeting

Parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering has come under fire for refusing to condemn a war of words between two senior MEPs and Czech president Václav Klaus.

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), branded Pöttering’s failure to censor Greens co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit and UEN leader Brian Crowley as “undemocratic”.

Farage’s comments, which came during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday on the French EU presidency, follow a meeting on 5 December between parliament’s political group leaders and Klaus during a visit to Prague Castle.

In the meeting, Cohn-Bendit and Crowley both reportedly verbally attacked Klaus, with Crowley accusing the Czech president of being deliberately provocative by attending a recent dinner hosted by Libertas chief Declan Ganley, a key no campaigner in the June Lisbon referendum in Ireland.

The controversial Klaus has been an outspoken critic of the treaty.

Pöttering also took part in the visit, which came ahead of the start of the Czech presidency of the EU on 1 January.

Details of the meeting were later published by Klaus’s office, with the Czech president denouncing the attack on him as “unprecedented”.

Speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Farage, who is also co-leader of the Independence/Democracy group, agreed, saying, “Not only were his [Pöttering’s] actions anti-democratic, but he is incapable of even-handed behaviour.”

Farage accused Pöttering of “failing to discipline” Cohn-Bendit and Crowley after they had “insulted” Klaus.

The British MEP described the actions of Cohn-Bendit, who apparently wanted an EU flag he had taken to the meeting to be flown over Prague Castle, as the sort of actions “that could easily have been done by a German official of 70 years ago or a Soviet official of 20 years ago”.

Farage said that PES leader Martin Schulz, also at the meeting, had suggested that opposing the Lisbon treaty would lead to fascism and that Cohn-Bendit had accused opponents of the treaty as “mentally ill”.

“This is a sham democrat in a sham parliament,” Farage said of Pöttering. “Voices who support the project are encouraged whatever the veracity, while dissident voices are silenced. I suppose it was ever thus.”

According to press reports, Czech MEP Jan Zahradil, who did not attend the meeting, agreed that Pöttering had failed in his role.

During Tuesday’s debate, French president Nicolas Sarkozy called it an “outrage” and a “wound” that Klaus did not want EU flags flying from public buildings.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Euro MPs Scrap Britain’s Opt-Out of the 48-Hour Work Week in Move That Could Cost UK Up to £66billion

The European Parliament today voted to scrap Britain’s opt-out from the maximum 48-hour working week in a move that is estimated to cost the UK economy up to £66.45billion.

The vote was a blow to Gordon Brown, who had wanted the opt-out kept, especially during the current economic downturn.

Last night campaigners argued for the right of British families to work longer hours to see themselves through the recession.

The vote at 421 to 273 means the decision is now subject of a ‘conciliation’ between the European Commission, EU government ministers, and MEPs.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Exhibition: Israeli Art at Vittoriano With Over 50 Works

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 15 — Paintings, sculpture, photography, video, and performanceS: Israeli art arrives at the Vittoriano (National Monument in Rome) for an exhibit which starting tomorrow will present 57 works of art, realised by about 20 artists, among the most significant examples of the modern era. Promoted by the Israel60 Cultural Organisation, the exhibition ‘As Is: Contemporary Israeli Art’ is supervised by Ruth Cats and tells the story of both daily life and cultural complexities and peculiarities that highlight the fundamental dialogue between art and various topics, among which is the Jewish rebirth after the Holocaust, religious and secular aspects of life, war, terrorism, traditions, and patriotic sentiment. >From the second Intifada to the withdrawal from Lebanon, and from withdrawal from Gaza to the war in Lebanon, in the past 10 years, Israel has gone through dramatic periods in its history, and continues to deal with kamikaze attacks in the heart of its cities, meaning that social topics intersect with daily life with an uncommon urgency. Therefore, while some artists concentrate on global interests, at times to avoid local problems, many others respond directly to these events expressing fear, anxiety, political appeals, desires, and aspirations. The exhibition at the Vittoriano aims at showing those creative forces that not only flower in, but also accompany people, during the difficult living conditions in Israel while exuding an optimistic and ironic nature. A joy of life which becomes evident in the works of many contemporary artists who with their art shed light on the uniqueness of Israeli life. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Shia Muslims to Mark Day of Mourning in Rome

Rome, 16 Dec. This year the event is being organised by the Islamic Association Iman Mahdi whose headquarters is located in the Italian capital.

A religious authority who bears the title ‘Hojjatul Islam’ will come from abroad, perhaps from Iran, to attend the festival.

“The drama and the significance of this event have not only put the Shia Community at the forefront, but the Islamic community as a whole, for their love of the family of the prophet Mohammad ,” says a letter sent to the Shia faithful.

“We have always remembered the first ten days of Muharram (or the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar) and the tenth in particular, with gatherings and demonstrations of sorrow that have contributed to centuries of sadness for this event and handing down the enlightened teachings.”

The Ashura marks the 10th day of Muharram and the climax of the ‘Remembrance of Muharram’, an important period of mourning for Shia Muslims.

It is commemorated by the Shia faithful as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussain, grandson of the Islamic prophet Mohammed at the Battle of Karbala, and the event often provokes conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims. as the killing of Hussain is one of the events that led to the split in Islam into the Sunni and Shia sects.

Sometimes, men follow a ritual of self-flagellation during Ashura, using chains or knives, in order to emulate the suffering of Hussain.

The Islamic Association Imam Mahdi was established in 2004 by Muslims living in Italy to reinforce its identity and to promote and the unity of all Muslims without distinction of language, nationality or race.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Nicolas Sarkozy Attacks Czech Refusal to Fly EU Flag

Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked a diplomatic row by attacking the ‘wounding and outrageous’ refusal of the Czech president to fly a European Union flag from Prague Castle.

The French president sided with federalist Euro-MPs who are engaged in a bitter feud with Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president and a Eurosceptic.

Senior MEPs, including the president of the European Parliament, Hans Gert Poettering, caused a diplomatic incident ten days ago after demanding that Mr Klaus hoist the European flag over his residence during bad tempered talks in Prague.

“It was a wound, it was an outrage to see that flags had been taken down from public buildings,” said President Sarkozy, the current holder of the EU’s six-month rotating presidency which he hands over to the Czech Republic in January.

“Mr Poettering can count on the full support of the French president.”

Karel Schwarzenberg, the Czech foreign minister, hit back as the diplomatic war of words between Paris and Prague threatened to overshadow the smooth transfer of the EU presidency.

“There is no law binding the Czech Republic to hang the EU flag over Prague Castle. Prague Castle is a symbol of the Czech state and not the EU,” he said.

“It is not up to the head of another state to criticise the Czech president over flags.”

A statement from the office of Mr Klaus said: “The Castle is a symbol of Czech statehood. There is no reason to change this historic tradition.”

The row exploded when a delegation of Euro-MPs sarcastically presented Mr Klaus with the 12-starred flag, during a visit on Dec 5, knowing that he had ruled out flying the flag over Prague Castle.

He was especially angered when Dany Cohn-Bendit, a former 1968 student radical and the Franco-German leader of Green Euro-MPs, told him: “I don’t care about your opinions”.

Mr Klaus replied: “This is incredible. I have never experienced anything like this before.”

Nigel Farage, the leader of UK Independence Party, compared the EU flag demand to the behaviour of Nazi or Soviet officials, both dictatorships that had occupied Prague and its Castle in the past.

“The manner in which Cohn-Bendit demanded that President Klaus fly the EU flag over his castle could easily have been done by a German official of over 70 years ago or a Soviet official of 20 years ago,” he said.

“No doubt they think that Buckingham Palace should fly the EU flag to show its [sic] dominium.”

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Melting Pot or Crackpot?

National Swedish newspaper DN reports that rock throwing against buses has increased with more than 66% from 2007 to 2008. Amazingly, this means that rock throwing is now increasing at an even faster rate than gang rapes of native girls. Curiously, the Wikipedia entry on Fjordman currently states that my previous essays about the Swedish rape epidemic are false because the massive increase in rapes was caused by “a widening of the legal definition of rape.” I bet it was. And the 66% increase in stone throwing in the space of a single year was caused by a widening of the legal definition of stones, right?

Actually, the wave of rapes and violent crime targeting whites in particular is fast spreading to much of the Western world, not just Sweden. I suggest that the people at Wikipedia update their entries for both “Fjordman” and “Eurabia” and make room for my latest book Defeating Eurabia. This nasty piece of right-wing, pro-Western and anti-Multicultural writings can be found online, including a special chapter about Sweden. If somebody from for instance the political party the Sweden Democrats wants to download Defeating Eurabia, translate it to other languages and distribute it they have my blessing to do so.

Meanwhile, Olle Wästberg, director-general of the Swedish Institute, is enthusiastic about his new “Multicultural” country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Swedes: Hard Workers or Hardly Working?

One hundred and thirty days. That’s how much time each year many Swedish white-collar workers aren’t working at the office according to a new calculation made by The Local and confirmed by Swedish academics. Sound like a lot? “It might even be some kind of world record,” speculated Frederik Erixon, Swedish economist and Director of the European Centre of International Political Economy, a free-market think tank based in Brussels.

The Dublin-based Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working, a statistics and advising organization established by the EU) already ranks Sweden’s 44 days of public holidays combined with paid leave as the highest in Europe (the EU average is 34.4 days).

Sweden is second to last (just ahead of only France) in amount of working hours per year, but that doesn’t include sick days, where Sweden leads France by 10 days in a 2005 study. Add those days to the mix, and Sweden becomes the new statistical leader for least hours worked per year……

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Tension Following Removal of Malmö Mosque Activists

Tempers flared in Malmö on Monday morning as riot police used dogs to clear three protesters out of a basement office which has served as a mosque for more than a 15 years, but had been ordered closed back on November 24th.

“The removal took place calmly. There were three people, ages sixteen to eighteen, when we came and all three have been taken in for questioning,” said Skåne police spokesperson Mikael Persson to the TT news agency.

But outside the building, a crowd had gathered to voice their frustration over the closing and the police decision to forcefully remove the protesters.

Basem Mahmoud, a spokesperson for the svensk-jordanska vänskapsföreningen (‘Swedish-Jordanian Friendship Association), felt that the police had broken an agreement and shown a lack of respect for the mosque by entering the premises wearing shoes and with dogs in tow.

“I fear that this may lead to unrest,” he told TT.

The three young people were taken by police on suspicions of trespassing.

The space had been used by the Islamiska kulturföreningen (‘Islamic Cultural Association’) and other organizations for the past 15 years, until the group was informed last summer that its lease would not be renewed.

Representatives from the group felt the move was discriminatory, while city officials and representatives from the building management company, Contentus, claimed the decision was part of an effort to transform a nearby park and the adjoining office space for new uses.

“Why do they have to take our space?” Mahmoud asked the Sydsvenskan newspaper back in August when plans were announced.

“The city and Contentus can easily find another locations, they have the whole of Malmö to choose from.”

The space is scheduled to house classes organized jointly by city housing officials, police, and housing companies to instruct newly arrived immigrants about their rights and responsibilities as tenants in Swedish rental apartments.

“The classes will benefit the entire area, not only members of the cultural association,” local council member Ilmar Reepalu told Sydsvenskan at the time.

After being emptied on November 24th, the space was immediately occupied by a group of young people who vowed to guard the location around the clock until a better solution could be found.

However, the leadership of the Islamic Cultural Association made it clear at the time they did not want the group to be associated with the protesters.

The matter was reported last week to police, setting the stage for Monday’s police action.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Sweden — a New Melting Pot?

As Sweden opens its borders to a new wave of labour migration, the country is becoming more diverse than ever before, writes Olle Wästberg, director-general of the Swedish Institute.

Saffron and dates have long been part of the Swedish Christmas food tradition. But nowadays many families in Sweden can be found mixing their dates and saffron with meze and bulgur, rather than the usual lutefisk, herring and ham.

In December, Sweden’s major supermarkets and food stores stock plenty of Christmas alternatives for people rooted in food traditions other than the typically Swedish. This mirrors a new Sweden.

Formally, the Evangelical Lutheran Swedish Church is the biggest religion in Sweden, even though most of its members are religiously indifferent. This is probably not the case with most of the 250,000 Muslims or the 35,000 Syrian Orthodox.

The different religions sometimes meet and create new Christmas traditions. In the Stockholm suburb of Fisksätra, Lutherans and Muslims — who last year held joint ceremonies — now have a crib together.

To many Swedes, Christmas is more of a food and family gathering than a religious holiday. But Swedes really have different backgrounds. Every third newborn Swede has at least one parent or grandparent born in another country.

From the close of the Second World War to the end of the sixties, Sweden was open for labour immigration. The large Swedish industrial companies like Asea, Alfa Laval and Atlas Copco had recruitment offices in Italy and Yugoslavia. But in 1968, Sweden closed the borders for workers. Since then, the overwhelming majority of immigrants have been refugees.

Statistics show that the three dominant countries of origin for immigrants now living in Sweden are Finland (181,000), the former Yugoslavia (146,000), and Iraq (83,000). But there are also 37,000 immigrants from Turkey, 23,000 from Lebanon and 18,000 from Somalia. And the stream of refugees from Iraq is remarkable. Sweden has admitted more refugees from Iraq than either the US or Great Britain.

December 15th, 2008 marked the starting point of a new era in Swedish immigration policy. As of Monday, Sweden is once again open for labour migration from countries outside the European Union. Foreign students who study at Swedish universities may stay on and work after their exams. Foreigners may come to Sweden and — for a limited period — try to find a job on the Swedish labour market.

Right now, unemployment rates are rising, but in the long run the ‘old world’ is living up to its name. In forty years’ time, the average age in Sweden will be twenty years higher than that of the populations in Canada and the US. That’s why Sweden will need more engineers, more doctors, and more people in the care sector in general. And that’s why the Swedish parliament made a nearly unanimous decision to embrace the new principle of labour immigration.

Sweden is changing. If I look back at previous generations on my father’s side, I find two names reappearing in every generation since the seventeenth century: Olof Persson and Per Olsson. This is the case for many Swedes. But the proportion of Perssons, Olssons, Larssons, Erikssons, Mattssons and Anderssons will be much smaller in the future.

A new country has emerged that fits the description: “Sweden — the melting

pot.”

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



UK: Government Launches Consultation on Islamic Finance

The Government has launched a consultation on the legal implications of regulating Islamic finance in the UK.

The joint Treasury — Financial Services Authority (FAS) consultation will set out the proposed legislative framework for regulation of an alternative financial instrument commonly known as an Islamic bond, or sukuk, which is interest-free and asset-backed.

Ian Pearson MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, launched the consultation as part of the government’s work to support the growth of Islamic finance in the UK.

“We value the contribution Islamic finance makes to London’s position as an international financial centre and we want to see this sector continue to grow and prosper in this country,” he added.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: Illegal Immigrant Tries to Flee Britain Six Times…

… and Costs Taxpayers £250,000 to Keep Him Here

Like thousands of others arriving on these shores, he dreamt Britain would be a land of opportunity.

But when Rashid Ali, 30, failed to gain asylum here, he just wanted to go home to Morocco.

With no money, job or passport, the illegal immigrant resolved to flee Britain by stowing away on cargo ships — only to find his escape bids thwarted each time by UK authorities who keep forcing him to stay.

He was supposed to be deported in 2005 when he was caught trying to leave Britain for the fifth time.

But instead Ali has been held in a detention centre for last three years at a cost to the taxpayer of £250,000.

Now he could be jailed again next month after being caught hiding on another boat just two days after being released.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: NHS Doctor Cleared of Bomb Plots Accuses Government of ‘Sour Grapes’ for Trying to Kick Him Out of Britain

A doctor cleared of links to the London Glasgow terror plot accused the Government of “sour grapes” today after he was not released from prison.

Jordanian Dr Mohammed Asha, 28, was acquitted by a jury of any involvement in the terrorist conspiracy yesterday.

But he has not been released from custody and faces deportation after being told his presence “is not conducive to the public good”.

In a statement read by his solicitor Tayab Ali, Dr Asha said his arrest and subsequent trial “obliterated” his life.

His legal team said he intends to apply for bail and fight deportation as he wants to continue his medical career in Britain.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



UK: White-Flight Exodus to Oz

The number of white middle-class Brits leaving the UK has leapt to 70,000 per year — and most of them are heading to Australia and New Zealand

Thousands of Britons are leaving our shores every year for a new life abroad, official figures have shown.

But although 75,000 ‘white British’ men and women are moving away, the population is still rising because of an influx of ethnic minority groups.

According to Government estimates, the established white population of England dropped by nearly 250,000 between 2002 and 2006.

Official figures have previously indicated that about 50,000 Britons head for Australia each year and about 30,000 for New Zealand. Last year, a record 400,000 left the country to live abroad for at least 12 months.

Yesterday’s estimates, which show how each ethnic group grew or diminished between 2005 and 2006, provide further evidence of so-called white flight’.

[…]

SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]

Balkans


Ex-Kosovo Minister Guilty of Witness Intimidation

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal sentenced a former Kosovo minister to five months in prison Wednesday for intimidating a witness in the case against his country’s former prime minister.

Former Culture Minister Astrit Haraqija and his aide, Bajrush Morina, were convicted of contempt of court for threatening a man identified only as Witness Two. Morina was sentenced to three months in prison.

Kosovo’s former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was acquitted in April of murder, rape and torture during Kosovo’s 1999 battle for independence from Serbia. Prosecutors have appealed, arguing their case was derailed by widespread witness intimidation.

The five-month sentence given Haraqija was the harshest ever handed down by the U.N. tribunal for a contempt of court conviction. Haraqija’s attorney Karim Khan called it “draconian” and indicated he would appeal.

The maximum sentence for contempt is seven years and a euro100,000 ($140,000) fine.

Presiding judge Alfons Orie said that Haraqija sent Morina to threaten the witness in September 2007 in an unsuccessful effort to stop him from testifying against the prime minister.

Morina told the witness that others who had testified against Haraqija were later killed, Orie said, adding that Haraqija had abused his government position to pressure his deputy into an illegal act.

Prosecutors called 81 witnesses during Haradinaj’s trial, but other witnesses refused to appear, and two have been indicted for contempt of court. The court guaranteed anonymity to 34 witnesses, but still had to subpoena 18 of them.

As they acquitted Haradinaj, trial judges wrote they believed “the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses felt unsafe.”

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Montenegro & the EU Membership Application: Interview

The state of Montenegro filed an application to join the EU, on Monday the 15th of December, a process that will inevitably be associated with issues concerning security in the state and organized crime, as it has been pointed out numerously by the international authorities and press.

The following text derives from an interview to the Daily Montenegrin newspaper “DAN”, in Podgoritsa and the Editor Marko Vesovic (Published 16/12/2008).

1. What is you information on the link between money laundering and serious forms of organized crime in Montenegro?

ANSWER First of all we have reports made by international organizations, such as the annual EUROPOL report or the regional reports by the UN office in Vienna and the State Department’s reports that verify on the existence of money laundering operations and organized crime presence. Moreover newspaper articles from reliable editions, such as the Italian La Stampa, or the Der Spiegel in Germany, plus countless of other information coming from the Balkan media and unofficial talks in conferences and international meetings.

In general there is a unanimous assessment that Montenegro is being used as a base for money laundering. Also it is an issue that is being currently researched in universities and think-tanks across the planet.

2. Do you have any knowledge on the work of extremist Islamic groups on the North of Montenegro and are they linked with the Al-Qaeda network?

ANSWER On December 2007 local reports mentioned around the existence of some 100 extremists residing mostly in the North-Eastern parts of the country that were connected with the various Wahhabi cells habituating in the Balkans.

More specifically the official of the national security service, Mr. Dusko Markovic stated to local media that Wahhabis Islamic radicals are to be found near the borders with Bosnia in a remote area after the authorities found some evidence including audiovisual material.

Moreover, the existence of strong networks in Bosnia, Kosovo but also in Sanjak increases the risk for Montenegro as well. The extremists are always seeking for weapons and places where they can launder their capital. Therefore the risk remains for Montenegro mainly because its neighbors have such a security problem.

Lastly I have to say that American agencies are always suspicious of an existence of Al Qaeda in Montenegro, but they haven’t officially announced anything yet. ……

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Mediterranean Union


Immigration: Genital Mutilation, Reconstructions in Paris

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, DECEMBER 15 — In recent years around 2,800 women who immigrated to France from Africa or second generation immigrants, of the age group between 18 and 50, have turned to hospitals and centres in Paris and Nantes funded by national welfare to have their genitals reconstructed, devastated by the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). Strangely, immigrant families often resort to inflicting this perverse on their own daughters in order to deal with difficult living conditions in a foreign country, This news is circulating in the luxury hotel in Cairo where Egypt’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, the first lady of Burkina Faso, Chantal Compaore, the deputy speaker of the Senate, Emma Bonino, and secretary-general of the Egyptian National Council for Maternity and Childhood have just finished sharing, in their opening speeches for the “Cairo Declaration on Fgm+Five”, the most recent progress that has been made on both legislative and social levels. The meeting was organised with funds of Italian Development Cooperation, UN agencies and the European Union, as well as private sponsors like Suez Cement, five years after the first conference on the issue. “Women come from various countries — including African ones — to have this reconstruction. And certainly not in search for the sexual drive they have lost (it takes two to three years for those parts to regain sensitivity) but for psychological reasons. They tell me that they ‘finally feel whole’ and ‘much better’ after the operation”, said Kady Khoita, a 50-year-old woman from Senegal, known for her anti-FGM action. Khoita is also an author and president of “EURONET FGM”, a network of 35 solidarity associations in Europe for immigrant women and children, with operates with limited funds (400,000 euros, 80% of which comes from the European Union). The initiative was organised by the National Academy of French Medicine, in collaboration with ‘Gynecologie sans Frontieres’, and the very active commitment of urologist Pierre Foldes. “The Koran and other teachings of the prophet say that Islam is not in favour of these practices” said sheikh Mohamed Hussein, of the ‘House of the Fatwa’ Dar el Iftaah, the most important Sunni organisation appointed to determine what is ‘haram’ — prohibited by God’s law — and what is allowed, “they preach the integrity of the human body, to which no harm must be done. There may be some less civilised religious figures who can sell this practice off as religious principle or postpone medical examination, but the recognition that these are practices that damage the bodies of young girls is an insurmountable limit”. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Med Countries Urge Greater Support on Immigration Issues

(by Fabrizio Finzi) (ANSAmed) — TAORMINA, DECEMBER 16 — A revision of the European Pact on Immigration based on criteria of greater solidarity among the 27 countries of the European Union to reach a more equitable solution for the bearing of the sufferings and the costs of migratory flows. This is the strong call that the ten Mediterranean countries of the European Union (the ‘Olive Group’) has launched at the more northerly members of the EU, and to the forthcoming Czech presidency of the Union, which begins on January 1 2009. In Taormina for a two-day meeting, free from the constraints of any particular agenda, the foreign ministers of Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria concentrated most of their energies on the most difficult topic: how to stop the continuous flow of illegal immigrants which come knocking at the door of the southern European countries, without any continuous solution in sight. And, above all, how to call for greater community solidarity with the northern European nations who only experience the phenomenon in a very minor way. The sixth meeting of the ‘Olive Group’, which will be next repeated in 2009 in Portugal, has served to bring the ten Mediterranean countries closer together, bringing out a clear necessity to quickly recalibrate the attention of Brussels more towards the problems of the Mediterranean, after the fall of the Berlin Wall forced the EU to concentrate almost exclusively on its eastern borders. ‘‘In terms of immigration, we need to reach a way to redistribute the burdens in a European context, also in terms of people’’ and ‘‘there ought to be an effective sharing out of the weight of responsibility which migratory flows to Europe imply’’, explained the Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, at the end of the event. The final document of the meeting, which expresses these views, will be presented to the Czech presidency of the EU, despite the relative informality of the conference: ‘‘the Mediterranean represents a fundamental test of the will and the capacity of the European Union to develop a truly shared policy to deal with illegal immigration and it is absolutely necessary to obtain concrete results through a mechanism of sharing the burdens and responsibilities’’ of this phenomenon, between the north and the south of Europe, reads the document. There was also great attention on the part of the Mediterranean countries on the European integration of the western Balkans which is to be encouraged and helped along. More specifically, Frattini said that he hopes Croatia ‘‘quickly’’ concludes its integration negotiations, preferably within 2010. Whilst for Serbia to ‘‘get ever closer to Europe’’, Frattini said that it is, ‘‘politically essential to send a strong and positive signal to Belgrade’’. Finally, energy security was the last big topic of the Taormina meetings. The ten countries confirmed the necessity to diversify sources of provisions and will ask for ‘‘more European financing’’ for the creation of new energy infrastructures for the Mediterranean. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt: 97% of Married Women Undergo Genital Mutilation

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JUNE 27 — A total 97% of the married Egyptian women has suffered genital mutilation, and the area where this practice is most frequent (99%) is in the governorship of Qena, in the south of the country. In Matrouh, on the Mediterranean coast towards Libya, the lowest percentage (25%) is registered. According to the study ‘National Project Against Female Circumcision’, held by the Minister of Health in cooperation with the United Nations DAG Programme, the percentage is lower in the urban centres (94.6%), higher in the country (98.8%), while in the Sinai it decreases to 37%, Egyptian independent daily ‘Al Masri el Yom’ reports. Among uneducated women, 99.1% have suffered the circumcision; among educated women (secondary school or university), the percentage gets down to 94%. The percentage of women in favour of the circumcision is 85% in Upper Egypt compared to 50% in the North; 50% of the educated women and 87.5% of the uneducated women are also in favour. Two days ago the Chief Mufti of Egypt said that the “harmful tradition of the female circumcision is prohibited by Islam”, after the death of an 11-year old girl following an excessive dose of anesthetic given during the operation. The wife of the Egiptian president, Suzanne Mubarak, who is in charge of the government’s consulting commission for Maternity and Childhood, launched today a “national campaign against female circumcision”. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Christmas: Bethlehem, ‘No Room at the Inn’ at Christmas

(ANSAmed) — BETHLEHEM (WEST BANK), DECEMBER 16 — Bethlehem is full for Christmas: in a change from years past, Manger Square will be full of people. “Between 30 and 40 thousand people, made up of pilgrims and tourists, are expected in Bethlehem”, predicted the city’s mayor, Victor Batarseh. “There is ‘no room at the inn’ at the city’s hotels”. Bethlehem is getting ready to celebrate with renewed optimism. The year 2000 began in excellent fashion with the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land, who was followed by crowds of pilgrims. But in September of that year, the explosion of the ‘intifada’ (the Palestinian revolt) and the Israeli military reaction caused a dramatic turnaround. Since then, Bethlehem has been in a phase of deep crisis. Now, the general feeling is that the worst is over. Palestinian functionaries say that 1.3 million tourists have visited the West Bank this year, double last year’s figure. By the end of 2008, the record figure of 1.6 million visitors could be reached. The 20 hotels in Bethlehem are all fully booked. Riad Malki, the information minister, estimates that the tourism boom in the West Bank has already created 12 thousand new jobs. In Bethlehem, Batarseh told the local press, unemployment had reached 50 per cent and the tendency towards immigration was increasing. But now the future seems a little brighter. The percentage of unemployment is now at around 30 percent and the city (which has 32,000 inhabitants) is crowded with tourists. City Hall, added the mayor, is in debt but is still trying to contribute to the celebrations: it has already put tens of thousands of dollars aside for Christmas decorations and for maintenance works on the main streets. A Palestinian telephone company has also played its part to make sure that this year’s celebrations are complete. Next week, Bethlehem will host a three-day Christmas Conference, with the participation of delegations from various Mediterranean countries (including Italy), the West Bank and from Nazareth (Israel). The theme of the meeting, according to Maan, a Palestinian news agency, will be “Bethlehem as a centre of peace, according to the message of Jesus”. In order to guarantee that all goes ahead in a well-ordered manner, the Palestinian National Authority has announced that 1,500 well-trained security agents will be stationed in Bethlehem for Christmas. Bethlehem wishes to show itself off as a shining example of the new climate of stability which the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is trying to create in the West Bank. The Israelis have assured that transport between Jerusalem and Bethlehem will be fluent and efficient, despite the security barrier at the entrance to the city in the West Bank. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Middle East: Crowd in Gaza to Mark 21st Year of Hamas

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 15 — Hamas turned 21 and Gaza turned green, the colour of Islam. A huge crowd gathered in Gaza City on Sunday and 200,000 people stood in front of a huge picture of the founder of Hamas, sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Men and women, strictly kept apart ones from the others, listened to a speech by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. About the truce regarding Gaza — which, according to Hamas, expires December 19 — the judgement was negative, said Haniyeh, who claimed Israel killed 20 Palestinians in the past month. Yet — in contrast with what Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has said — Haniyeh did not clearly shut the door to Israel, which through government sources responded: we are ready for any development. Haniyeh appeared rigid toward Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), claiming that on the base of PNA’s Fundamental Law his presidential term expires on January 9. Yet, he said, Hamas remained in favour of national dialogue. For the immediate future, Haniyeh promised, Hamas will try to break out of isolation also by means of the ship intifada: humanitarian assistance by sea from Arab Countries to Gaza to bypass the closure of land border points by Israel. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Mideast: Hamas ‘Theatre’ on Shalit, Indignation in Israel

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBER 15 — A Hamas initiative to mock the kidnapping of Ghilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held prisoner in Gaza for over two years, created a reaction of indignation in Israel. Yesterday, in an on-stage skit in a square in Gaza during the mass demonstration organised for the 21st anniversary of the founding of Hamas, a young man in an Israeli uniform was shown pleading for help from his parents and Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. The crowd, according to reports, reacted with applause and laughter. Images of the theatrical piece made the front pages of newspapers. “Theatre of Horrors”, was the title of Yediot Ahronot and Israel ha-Yom (free newspaper) which added in a comment: “Cruelty has no limits”. In the press, others debated if it were better to ignore what was described as “psychological warfare” by Hamas on Israeli public opinion. For this reason, at least one TV station refused to show the images from Gaza yesterday. (ANSAmed)

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Not the Center of the World

by Barry Rubin

Israel isn’t going to be the center of the world for the Obama administration and that’s a good, if ego-disappointing, thing. Both the pro-Israeli right’s paranoia and the wishful thinking of the anti-Israeli left in the United States (and, in the latter category, Europe plus the Middle East as well), are operating out of expectations rather than the actual situation.

What can be safely assumed is something along the following lines…

           — Hat tip: Barry Rubin [Return to headlines]



U.S. Millions Incite Tomorrow’s Suicide Bombers

Disturbing new videos show that Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, supposedly committed to peace, uses aid from the U.S. and Europe to teach children that Israel is irredeemably evil and terrorism is heroic.

Incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faces an alarming threat to any hope of a brokered Middle East peace. Some of the $40 million already committed to “moderate” Fatah president, Mahmoud Abbas, is feeding children a steady drumbeat of indoctrination to kill Israelis, with idealized images of virgins who await suicide bombers. Whistleblower has secured advanced copies of inflammatory videos collected from the West Bank by the private organization Palestinian Media Watch. They show what children in the schools are currently being taught in lessons and through T.V. shows. This brainwashing from “moderate” Fatah is little different from the propaganda put out by Hamas, which was condemned as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1995 and by the European Union in 2003.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iraq Official: U.S. Troops Might be Needed for Decade

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki last month sold the Iraqi people on a security pact with the U.S. that he called a “withdrawal agreement” to end the presence of American forces in his country by the beginning of 2012.

His top government spokesman, Ali al Dabbagh, undercut that claim this week, however, when he said in Washington that the U.S. might be needed in Iraq for another 10 years, a statement that reverberated with political leaders in Baghdad, renewing criticism of the deal.

[…]

“We do understand that the Iraqi military is not going to get built out in the three years. We do need many more years. It might be 10 years,” he said.

That assertion makes sense to many Iraqi leaders, though they rarely say it in public. Iraq doesn’t have a navy or an air force to protect itself. Many view it as America’s obligation to improve the country’s defense.

“It is the responsibility of the United States that we should not be left to be attacked,” Maki said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Iraq: Islamists Drive Christians Out of Nineveh

Hundreds of thousands of Assyrian Christians, a minority people who live principally in northern Iraq, have fled the country under murderous threats from Islamic militants that have grown so bad, a U.S. government entity has now labeled Iraq “among the most dangerous places on earth.”

In a report released today, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federally-funded advisory team created and appointed by Congress, recommends that Iraq be designated a “country of particular concern” in light of ongoing, severe abuses against the country’s religious minorities — stating that the situation is “particularly dire” for ChaldoAssyrian Christians.

“The lack of effective government action to protect these communities from abuses has established Iraq among the most dangerous places on earth for religious minorities,” said USCIRF’s chairperson, Felice D. Gaer.

In the first century, Assyrians were among the first Gentiles to follow Christ, and to this day many Assyrian Christians still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. They are also the people of ancient Nineveh, the city that was visited by the biblical prophet Jonah and that lies today near the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Israel: We Will Never Recognise it, Ahmadinejad Says

(ANSAmed) — TEHRAN, DECEMBER 16 — Iran “will never recognise” the state of Israel, and whoever wishes to have relations with Tehran will have to bear this in mind, said the country’s President, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, today. Ahmadinejad, who was addressing a rally in Ahwaz in the south-west of the country, returned to the issue after Francés President had said he would refuse to shake his hand following his remarks about the need to erase Israel from the map of the world. But the words by Ahmadinejad also have the ring of a warning in the direction of any policy initiative US President-elect, Barack Obama, might be planning. “Whoever wants dialogue with the state of Iran — stated the President of the Islamic Republic — must know that it will never recognise the Zionist regime and that they will have to hold their dialogue with those wishing for the elimination from this world of crimes, aggressions, occupations, the basis of Zionist thought”. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italian Killed in Turkey: Third Hearing in Trial Today

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 16 — This morning sees the opening of the third hearing in the trial of 38-year-old Turk Murat Karatash, the confessed murderer of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, also known by her performing name of Pippa Bacca. The 33-year-old Italian from Milan was raped and killed in Turkey at the beginning of April. The confirmation comes to ANSA from lawyer Mehmet Eke, who is representing the family of the dead woman. In the course of the last hearing, which took place on November 4, the accused confirmed to the court statements he had made to police soon after being arrested. And, in partial defence of his actions he stated that on the day of the murder “I had been drinking and I had taken drugs, which is why I can’t remember anything about what happened”. Giuseppina Pasqualino had hitch-hiked from Milan on March 8 together with a friend — both of them dressed as brides — as part of an artistic performance which should have taken her to Israel through the Balkans and the Middle East. On March 31, after separating from her travel companion, Giuseppina disappeared after accepting a lift from a man who later confessed having raped and strangled her. The body of the young woman from Milan was found on April 11, unclothed and hastily hidden under a thin layer of soil and twigs in an uninhabited area bordering the Istanbul-Ankara motorway. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Spendthrift Leadership Leaves Iran Vulnerable to Oil Price Plunges

Toronto Globe and Mail

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must have missed the lesson of Joseph in Egypt, as set down in the Koran. The story of the young man who interprets the pharaoh’s dreams and advises him to store grain during the years of plenty appears to be lost on Ahmadinejad. During the recent years of plenty in oil prices, his Iranian administration certainly didn’t put away much of the revenue it received.

Numbers from the International Monetary Fund show that Ahmadinejad has presided over a spendthrift regime, where increased expenditures have outpaced increases in revenue. The President has dipped repeatedly into the country’s rainy-day oil stabilization fund in order to subsidize life for many of his poor constituents, rather than save it for the lean years.

Now Iran is paying the price. Of the Middle East’s oil producers, Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer, is the hardest hit of all. With daily production of about 2.5 million barrels, Iran loses about $1-billion a year for every dollar drop in the price of oil.

As oil goes, so go Ahmadinejad’s political fortunes. And while his vaunted nuclear program is not immediately threatened, those in the West who seek to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons should gain considerable economic leverage as a result of the financial crisis.

As recently as last month, Ahmadinejad put on a brave face, boasting that Iran was capable of enduring oil prices as low as $5 a barrel. But last week the Iranian president was forced to admit his government will have to come up with a new budget, based on more realistic price estimates.

With inflation at about 30 per cent and unemployment at 10 per cent, Ahmadinejad has run out of political options, says David Menashri, chair of modern Iranian studies at Tel Aviv University. “Thirty-per-cent inflation is a terrible hardship for someone on a fixed income,” he said, noting that “800,000 people are added to Iran’s work force every year; the government can find jobs for only about half of them.”

Even before the current economic crisis and the collapse in the price of oil, Ahmadinejad’s economic management had come under sharp criticism. His attempt to introduce a modest value-added tax failed when shops in the country’s bazaars went on strike. And flooding the economy with cash through subsidies led to the current inflation.

A freeze on the price of petroleum meant that no one wanted to invest in building refineries in the country, so Iran has continued to import much of its gasoline. It also meant that Iran lost money every time someone filled up with gas, a situation that forced the president to take the highly unpopular step of rationing gas consumption.

Ahmadinejad must have gambled that the people unhappiest with the rationing — the affluent — weren’t likely to vote for him anyway, said Roger Stern, a policy analyst with Princeton University’s oil, energy and the Middle East program.

Despite his growing number of critics, Ahmadinejad could still survive and win next June’s presidential election. If the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries dramatically cuts production — as it is expected to agree to do Wednesday — any resulting uptick in oil prices would also strengthen his hand.

“It’s all up to Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei),” Stern said. “If the Supreme Leader wants him to stay, he’ll stay.”

There’s reason to believe, however, that the Supreme Leader may be ready to cut his losses.

As Iranian writer Amir Taheri has pointed out, there are two schools of thought in Iran’s revolutionary movement.

One school, called “constructionist,” follows the model of Communist China. Constructionists believe Iran, like China, cannot prosper in an atmosphere of tension with the outside world. Rather, the country “must find a place in global trade, thus giving the major powers a stake” in Iran’s survival.

The second school, Taheri writes, follows a model more like North Korea. These people believe genuine Iranian society cannot exist if it is exposed to global commerce dominated by “infidels.” This school argues for Iranian self-sufficiency and personal modesty. Ahmadinejad, who lives in a modest three-bedroom house in a poor section of Tehran, is of this school.

Until recently, both schools of thought were applied in various ways in the country. Today, they are at odds. The country’s establishment, led by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani (reportedly the richest man in Iran), favors the constructionist approach, and recent comments by Ayatollah Khamenei suggest he does, too.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Russia


Russian Warships Causing No Ripples in Pentagon

[Tuan Jim comments: As I commented on yesterday’s news feed — this is a great accomplishment for the Russian military — but that’s not saying much. I love Putin’s response to Rice though ;p]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian warships have been plying the waters off Venezuela and Panama in recent weeks and are now heading for Cuba, but U.S. officials are not so much wringing their hands as yawning.

Asked about a Russian warship transiting the Panama Canal earlier this month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — who saw the ship while crossing the canal last week — told The Associated Press: “I guess they’re on R&R. It’s fine.”

The Pentagon, while puzzled by the Russians’ actions, also is taking a ho-hum attitude. The U.S. military commander for the region, Adm. James Stavridis, head of the U.S. Southern Command, said that from his vantage point, there is no reason to be concerned about the Russian naval activity.

“They pose no military threat to the U.S.,” Stavridis said in an e-mail to the AP on Tuesday.

It was the first such passage by a Russian or Soviet warship since World War II.

There is no suggestion of a military confrontation, but the Russian moves are notable in part because they appear to reflect an effort by Moscow to flex some muscle in America’s backyard in response to Washington’s support for the former Soviet republic of Georgia and elsewhere on the Russian periphery. That includes U.S. missile defense bases to be erected in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Russians were unhappy with a U.S. decision to send a state-of-the-art warship into the Black Sea as part of an American humanitarian aid mission for Georgia in the aftermath of last August’s war with Russia. The Russians also are angry about the Bush administration’s push to add Georgia and the former Soviet republic of Ukraine as members of the NATO military alliance.

Under the gaze of the U.S. Southern Command, Russian ships this fall held joint exercises with the navy of Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, is a fierce U.S. critic.

Navy Rear Adm. Tom Meek, the deputy director for security and intelligence at Southern Command, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he sees little chance of Russia teaming up with Venezuela in a militarily meaningful way.

“I don’t think that Russia and Venezuela are really serious about putting together a military coalition that would give them any kind of aggregate military capability to oppose anybody,” Meek said. “Frankly, the maneuvers they conducted down here were so basic and rudimentary that they did not amount to anything, in my opinion.”

And it’s not just the Russian navy that is showing up in the West.

In September, two Tu-160 long-range bombers, known in the West as Blackjacks, landed in Venezuela — the first landing in the Western Hemisphere by Russian military aircraft since the Cold War ended.

Rice shrugs it off.

“A few aging Blackjacks flying unarmed along the coast of Venezuela is — I don’t know why one would do it, but I’m not particularly going to lose sleep over that,” she said in the AP interview Monday.

She said Russia is welcome to have relations with countries in the West.

“I don’t think anybody’s confused about the preponderance of power in the Western Hemisphere,” Rice said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made no effort to hide his irritation at what he considers American arrogance.

“God forbid from engaging in any kind of controversy in the American continent,” he said, referring to his Blackjack bombers flying to Venezuela for a training exercise. “This is considered the ‘holiest of the holy,’“ he said during a meeting with Western political scholars at his Black Sea residence in Sochi. “And they drive ships with weapons to a place just 10 kilometers from where we’re at? Is this normal? Is this an equitable move?”

On Monday, the Russian navy announced that a destroyer and two support vessels will visit Cuba for the first time since the Soviet era. The ships are from a squadron that has been on a lengthy visit to Latin America; they are scheduled to put in at Havana on Friday for a five-day stay, navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said.

Moscow’s support for Cuba fell sharply after the 1991 Soviet collapse, but the Russians have bolstered ties recently.

The joint naval exercises with Venezuela were Russia’s way of “demonstrating to the U.S. that it has a foothold in a region traditionally dominated by the U.S.,” said analyst Anna Gilmour at Jane’s Intelligence Review.

Still, she and many Russian analysts say Moscow’s deployments of warships are largely for show.

Russia’s navy is a shadow of its Soviet-era force, having suffered from a serious lack of investment since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Many ships and submarines have rusted away at their berths, and deadly accidents occur regularly.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Russian Treason Bill Could Hit Kremlin Critics

[Tuan Jim comments: We’ve talked about this before — but there’s a distinct difference IMO between acting in the national interest and overt authoritarianism with a blantant disregard for the democratic process. Between broadening the definition of treason, cracking down on any sort of peaceful protest against the government and abolishing trial by jury because you think that juries are being too lenient…..it doesn’t look good. And that’s still ignoring the criminally weak punishments handed out to those multiple murderers last week or the continued violence against journalists — such as the guy still in a coma or the ongoing Politskovaya (sp?) case.]

MOSCOW (AP) — A new law drafted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Cabinet would allow authorities to label any government critic a traitor — a move that leading rights activists condemned Wednesday as a chilling reminder of the times under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

The draft extends the definition of treason from breaching Russia’s external security to damaging the nation’s constitutional order, sovereignty or territorial integrity. That would essentially let authorities interpret any act against the interests of the state as treason — a crime prosecutable by up to 20 years in prison.

Prominent rights activists said passage of the bill would catapult Russia’s justice system back to the times of Stalin’s purges.

“It returns the Russian justice to the times of 1920-1950s,” the activists said in a statement, urging lawmakers to oppose what they described as the “legislation in the spirit of Stalin and Hitler.”

The activists included the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, and the head of Civic Assistance, Svetlana Gannushkina.

Despite the criticism, the draft is likely to receive a quick approval by parliament, which is dominated by Kremlin loyalists.

The government systematically rolled back Russia’s post-Soviet political freedoms during Putin’s eight-year presidential tenure — and shows no signs of stopping.

The current law defines state treason as actions harming external security by passing information to foreign parties.

But Putin’s proposed bill broadens the term “treason” to include inaction as well as action, includes a breach to internal security and adds international organizations to foreign ones as those forbidden to receive state secrets.

Critics also warned the loose wording will give authorities ample leeway to prosecute those who cooperate with international rights groups.

Some Russian commentators said the government wants the new law in place quickly to curb possible protests resulting from the global financial crisis.

In a related move, the upper house of Russia’s parliament passed a bill Wednesday that would end jury trials for those facing charges of terrorism and treason.

The Kremlin-controlled Federation Council approved the bill 147-0 with two abstentions. It must be signed by President Dmitry Medvedev to take effect.

The bill strips defendants charged with some crimes — involvement in illegal armed units, violent seizures of power, armed rebellion and mass riots — of the right to jury trials. Instead they would face judges.

The bill’s authors say the change was necessary because they claim juries have acquitted many suspects despite strong incriminating evidence. Critics denounced the bill as another blow to democratic principles.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Far East


China Hands Death Penalty to 2 ‘Bent on Jihad’

[Tuan Jim comments: Quite frankly, this is one Chinese death penalty I’m not losing sleep over.]

Court: Muslim militants killed 17 police in attempt to sabotage Olympics

BEIJING — A Chinese court sentenced two people to death Wednesday for what it said was attempt to sabotage the Beijing Olympics with an attack in the far-west region of Xinjiang that killed 17 police days before the games.

The Xinhua News Agency said the sentences were handed down by the Kashgar Intermediate People’s Court. It did not give any other details. Calls to the court rang unanswered Wednesday.

The Aug. 4 attack, four days before the start of the Olympics, took place in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two men stole a truck and rammed it into a group of police on their morning jog. The men continued attacking with homemade bombs and knives, killing the officers and wounding 15 others.

“The Kashgar court said the two conducted the terrorist attack to sabotage the Beijing Olympic Games that began Aug. 8,” Xinhua reported. It identified the two as Kashgar natives, Abdurahman Azat, 33, and Kurbanjan Hemit, 28.

The two are a taxi driver and vegetable seller who were “bent on jihad”, the city’s Communist Party secretary said in August. One of the men lost his arm when he set off an explosive device during the attack.

Chinese authorities say militants among the Uighurs — Turkic-speaking Muslims — are leading a violent Islamic separatist movement in Xinjiang and are seeking to set up an independent state in the Central Asia border province.

Critics accuse Beijing of using claims of terrorism as an excuse to crack down on peaceful pro-independence sentiment and expressions of Uighur identity.

About 1.5 percent of China’s 1.3 billion people are Muslim, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report. But not all of them are Uighurs or live in Xinjiang.

Wave of violence The Aug. 4 attack was the start of a wave of violence in Xinjiang. Six days later, bombers struck in the west-central Xinjiang county of Kuqa, targeting a police station, government building, bank and shops owned by Chinese. Police said they killed 10 attackers — including one woman — while a security guard and a bystander died in the violence. State media said another attacker, a 15-year-old girl, was injured.

On Aug. 12, attackers jumped from a vehicle and stabbed civilian guards, killing three of them at a roadside checkpoint in Yamanya town, near Kashgar. The assailants escaped.

No one has claimed responsibility for any of the incidents, though government officials have suggested terrorism is behind the violence.

In November, the same Kashgar court sentenced to death five ethnic Muslims who were accused of separatist activities.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Marijuana “Epidemic” Shows Japan’s Drug Allergy

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) — First a sumo wrestler, then an actor, now students at elite universities and a tennis player — the list of people caught using marijuana has sparked fears of reefer madness in Japan.

More than 2,000 people were arrested on dope charges between January and October this year, a 19 percent increase on the same period last year, according to the National Police Agency.

“(The) increase in marijuana abusers, as well as tightening regulations, are both factors that pushed up the number of arrests,” Shingo Katsuno, vice president and an expert on Japan’s drug issues at Hyogo University of Teacher Education, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“Japan is now highly interested in the issue because it is spreading in places like colleges, where it hardly existed before,” he added.

Television stations and newspapers have been running almost daily stories on high profile busts, drug dealers and ordinary people whose lives have allegedly been ruined by pot.

But experts point out that surveys suggest reality is a lot different — just one percent of 18-year olds in Japan have ever used marijuana according to a nationwide poll of about 40,000 students in 2006.

In fact, the “epidemic” scare stories are more indicative of how much Japan continues to resist the drug, Katsuno said.

“No other country is making such a big fuss with some 1 percent. This shows the strict awareness Japanese society has against drugs,” he said…..

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Immigration:EU Problem; Everybody Should Pay Costs, Frattini

(by Fabrizio Finzi) (ANSAmed) — TAORMINA, DECEMBER 16 — A revision of the European Pact on Immigration based on criteria of greater solidarity among the 27 countries of the European Union to reach a more equitable solution for the bearing of the sufferings and the costs of migratory flows. This is the strong call that the ten Mediterranean countries of the European Union (the ‘Olive Group’) has launched at the more northerly members of the EU, and to the forthcoming Czech presidency of the Union, which begins on January 1 2009. In Taormina for a two-day meeting, free from the constraints of any particular agenda, the foreign ministers of Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria concentrated most of their energies on the most difficult topic: how to stop the continuous flow of illegal immigrants which come knocking at the door of the southern European countries, without any continuous solution in sight. And, above all, how to call for greater community solidarity with the northern European nations who only experience the phenomenon in a very minor way. The sixth meeting of the ‘Olive Group’, which will be next repeated in 2009 in Portugal, has served to bring the ten Mediterranean countries closer together, bringing out a clear necessity to quickly recalibrate the attention of Brussels more towards the problems of the Mediterranean, after the fall of the Berlin Wall forced the EU to concentrate almost exclusively on its eastern borders. “In terms of immigration, we need to reach a way to redistribute the burdens in a European context, also in terms of people” and “there ought to be an effective sharing out of the weight of responsibility which migratory flows to Europe imply”, explained the Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, at the end of the event. The final document of the meeting, which expresses these views, will be presented to the Czech presidency of the EU, despite the relative informality of the conference: “the Mediterranean represents a fundamental test of the will and the capacity of the European Union to develop a truly shared policy to deal with illegal immigration and it is absolutely necessary to obtain concrete results through a mechanism of sharing the burdens and responsibilities” of this phenomenon, between the north and the south of Europe, reads the document. There was also great attention on the part of the Mediterranean countries on the European integration of the western Balkans which is to be encouraged and helped along. More specifically, Frattini said that he hopes Croatia “quickly” concludes its integration negotiations, preferably within 2010. Whilst for Serbia to “get ever closer to Europe”, Frattini said that it is, “politically essential to send a strong and positive signal to Belgrade”. Finally, energy security was the last big topic of the Taormina meetings. The ten countries confirmed the necessity to diversify sources of provisions and will ask for “more European financing” for the creation of new energy infrastructures for the Mediterranean. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Immigration Pumps Up Cyprus Population Growth

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 16 — By the end of this year, the population of Cyprus is expected to be close to 802,000, following a 15% increase in 2008, nearly 12% of which was due to migration, and only 3.8% to natural cycles. Cyprus had a crude birth rate of 10.4% in 2008 and a death rate of 6.6%, which means the population grew 3.8%. Migration, at 11.7%, was the fourth highest in the EU after Luxembourg with 11.9%, Slovenia 12.6% and Ireland 14.1%. Net migration in the EU on average was 3.3%, while a number of member states recorded negative migration trends. These included Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Most of the other member states had migration levels of less than five per cent. Cyprus’ birth rate hovered around the EU average of 10.8, but the island’s death rate at 6.6% was the second lowest in the bloc after Ireland’s 6.1%. The EU’s average death rate was 9.7%. Countries with a higher death rate than the average included Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and several of the new member states. By January 1, 2009, the EU will have a population of 499.7 million, and the population of the euro zone area will be 328.6 million. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Immigration: Frattini, Now Need EU-Libya Agreement

(ANSAmed) — TAORMINA, DECEMBER 15 — The agreement signed by just Rome and Tripoli at the end of August to fight illegal immigration is not enough; a more general agreement is needed between the EU and Libya. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini is convinced of this, and said as much whilst speaking with journalists on his arrival in Taormina for the opening of an informal ministerial meeting of the EU Mediterranean countries. “We now need to negotiate a European agreement with Libya, because an agreement with Italy is no longer enough” he explained. “Today and tomorrow we will talk about how to impose a future EU-Libya agreement, which will of course include the theme of immigration”. (ANSAmed).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



USA: Settlement Opens Amnesty for Thousands of Illegals

Thanks to a recent legal settlement, the chance to apply for amnesty is finally open to Aydin and tens of thousands of others who entered the country on a valid visa but fell out of legal status between 1982 and 1988. The settlement, approved this fall by a U.S. district court in Washington state, stems from a class-action lawsuit filed by attorney Peter Schey originally on behalf of an immigrant assistance program of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


Atheist: U.S. Troops ‘Evangelizing’ in Combat

An atheist soldier who is suing Secretary Robert Gates for purportedly violating his religious rights is amending his lawsuit to include allegations of evangelizing in combat.

U.S. Army Spc. Dustin Chalker, a combat medic, claims videos discovered by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation reveal soldiers and Christian missionaries declaring their faith and saying they would like to spread Christianity to Muslims, the Associated Press reports. The recording allegedly shows embedded missionaries distributing Bibles.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Holiday Cheer Comes With a Price in One North Naples Neighborhood

NAPLES — A North Naples man and his family are trying to spread a little holiday cheer around their neighborhood this year with a yard full of Christmas decorations.

Instead, they say they’re getting a whole lot of “bah, humbug!” from their homeowners association, which is fining them each day the decorations stay up.

In early December Tom Hayes, 52, a retired New York police officer, put up about a dozen Christmas decorations in the front yard of his Ibis Cove home, 8700 Ibis Cove Circle, including an inflatable snowman, a Santa Claus who waves at passers-by, a Santa Claus on a see-saw, light-up presents and a Christmas countdown clock. Days later, Hayes said he received a letter from his property manager, Thomas J. Murphy, threatening a $100 per-day fine, up to $1,000, for each day the decorations are in place.

[…]

But Hayes said he doesn’t believe he is violating the rules, pointing out another community regulation that states “Christmas, Easter or any other holiday decoration cannot be displayed more than 30 days before said holiday and must be removed no longer than 14 days after said holiday.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



Obama Invites ‘Gay’ Band for Inauguration Parade

The Ohio State University Marching Band and the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums have gotten more attention, but five members from another band with Northeast Ohio roots will play in President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration parade, too.

They’re from the Blazing River Freedom Band, part of the larger Lesbian and Gay Band Association. The Lesbian and Gay Band Association is made up of concert and marching bands from cities across the country.

This will be the first inaugural parade with an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group. The Lesbian and Gay Band Association played for President Clinton’s two inaugurations, but only as sideline, pre-parade entertainment.

Inaugural committee spokeswoman Chris Mather said this year’s committee, which screened 1,382 groups, picked bands and events to reflect “our common values” and the history of the country.

“I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade,” Obama said in a statement earlier this month. “These organizations embody the best of our nation’s history, diversity and commitment to service.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

General


2008: Coolest Year of This Century

The year 2008 is officially the coolest year of this century — but U.N. climate change alarmists are sticking by their arguments for global warming.

World temperatures have dropped to levels not seen since 2000, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, reports.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



A Gentler Hegemony

[Tuan Jim comments: More common sense from Robert Kaplan]

Declinism is in the air. The latest conventional wisdom is that the combination of the disastrous Iraq war, the military and economic rise of Asia, and the steep recession in the West has chastened America, ending its period of dominance in world affairs. It is time for us to be humble.

There is a lot of truth to this, but it goes too far. For decline itself — as a concept — is overrated. Britain’s Royal Navy went into relative decline beginning in the 1890s, even as Great Britain remained powerful enough to help save the West in two world wars over the next half-century.

The proper analogy may be the Indian Mutiny in 1857 and 1858, after the orientalists and other pragmatists in the British power structure, who wanted to leave traditional India as it was, lost sway to Evangelical and Utilitarian reformers who wanted to more forcefully Christianize India — to make it in a values sense more like England. The reformers were good people: They helped abolish the slave trade and tried to do the same with the hideous practice of widow-burning. But their attempts to bring the fruits of Western civilization, virtuous as they were, to a far-off corner of the world played a role in a violent revolt against imperial authority.

Yet the debacle did not signal the end of the British Empire, which expanded for nearly another century. Rather, it signaled a transition away from an ad hoc imperium fired occasionally by an ill-disciplined lust to impose its values abroad — and to a calmer, more pragmatic and soldiering empire built on trade, education and technology.

That is akin to where we are now, post-Iraq: calmer, more pragmatic and with a military — especially a Navy — that, while in relative decline, is still far superior to any other on Earth. Near the end of the Cold War, the U.S. Navy had almost 600 ships; it is down to 280. But in aggregate tonnage that is still more than the next 17 navies combined. Our military secures the global commons to the benefit of all nations. Without the U.S. Navy, the seas would be unsafe for merchant shipping, which, in an era of globalization, accounts for 90 percent of world trade. We may not be able to control events on land in the Middle East, but our Navy and Air Force control all entry and exit points to the region. The multinational anti-piracy patrols that have taken shape in the Strait of Malacca and the Gulf of Aden have done so under the aegis of the U.S. Navy. Sure the economic crisis will affect shipbuilding, meaning the decline in the number of our ships will continue, and there will come a point where quantity affects quality. But this will be an exceedingly gradual transition, which we will assuage by leveraging naval allies such as India and Japan.

Then there are the dozens of training deployments around the world that the U.S. military, particularly Army Special Forces, conducts in any given week. We are all over Africa, Asia and Latin America with these small missions that increase America’s diplomatic throw-weight without running the risk of getting us bogged down. Aside from Iraq and Afghanistan, our military posture around the world is generally light, lethal and highly mobile. We have been quietly reducing land forces in South Korea while compensating with a more effective air and naval presence. In Colombia, platoon-size numbers of Green Berets have been instrumental in fighting narco-terrorists; in Algeria, such training teams have helped improve our relationship with that formerly radical Arab country. Such stripped-down American military deployments garner no headlines, but they are a formula that works.

The Marines, after becoming virtually desert forces since 2001, will return to their expeditionary roots aboard amphibious ships in the Greater Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. American military power is not going away. But instead of being in-your-face, it will lurk just over the horizon. And that will make all the difference.

In sum, we may no longer be at Charles Krauthammer’s “Unipolar Moment,” but neither have we become Sweden. Declinism of the sort being preached will go immediately out of fashion at the world’s next humanitarian catastrophe, when the very people enraged at the U.S. military because of Iraq will demand that it lead a coalition to save lives. We might have intervened in Darfur had we not been bogged down in Iraq; after Cyclone Nargis, our ships would have provided large-scale relief, had Burma’s military government allowed them to proceed. As world population rises, and with vast urban areas with tottering infrastructures in the most environmentally and seismically fragile zones, the opportunities for U.S. military-led disaster relief will be legion. The American military remains a force for good, a fact that will become self-evident in the crises to come.

Of course we are entering a more multipolar world. The only economic growth over the next year or two will come from developing nations, notably India and China. But there are other realities, too. We should not underestimate the diplomatic and moral leverage created by the combination of the world’s most expeditionary military and a new president who will boast high approval ratings at home and around the world. No power but the United States has the wherewithal to orchestrate an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, and our intervention in Iraq has not changed that fact. Everyone hates the word, but the United States is still a hegemon of sorts, able to pivotally influence the world from a position of moral strength.

Yet American hegemony post-Iraq will be as changed as Britain’s was after the Indian Mutiny. It will be a more benign and temperate version of what transpired in recent years. Henceforth, we will shape coalitions rather than act on our own. For that, after all, is the essence of a long and elegant decline: to pass responsibility on to like-minded others as their own capacities rise.

           — Hat tip: Tuan Jim [Return to headlines]



Scientists Debunk Global Warming

Over 650 international scientists are out of the closet and articulating their dissent over the folly of man-made global warming bull excrement.

[…]

The list is long and growing.

What remains amazing is that smart people (who ought to know better) continue to enable a scientifically discredited, overwhelmingly expensive, junk science boondoggle.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger remains captive of liberal lieutenants to feed the Hollywood myopics fueling the gospel according to Al Gore. President-elect Barack Obama seems intent on placating his disgruntled liberal base with the way expensive bone of global warming fanaticism.

Meanwhile, “real” threats from Iran, North Korea, Russia, China and wildcard terrorists are only exacerbated by the begrudging acknowledgement that terrorists have a major “Jones” to deploy biological weapons of mass destruction. States, national and global economies are lower than whale poop and bailout mania inevitably will spark big-time inflation.

Why do the nattering nabobs continue to feed the fictional global warming beast?

According to Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet, “The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists.”

Frankly, the problem (which most pols are scared spitless to admit is a problem) is the same challenge scientists now face. Atmospheric physicists James A. Peden, formerly of the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh, noted, “Many [scientists] are now searching for a way to back out quietly (from promoting warming fears), without having their professional careers ruined.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]



U.N.: Oblivious to Science

“Yes, we can!” former Vice President Al Gore bellowed as the crowd went wild during his closing day speech at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poznan, Poland, Friday. But it was not Barack Obama’s meaningless campaign motto they were excited about; instead, it was the prospect of using the U.N.’s global warming propaganda to spread American wealth.

In reality, the hit on the U.S. economy by the U.N.’s legally binding 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the planned 2009 Copenhagen treaty would drastically reduce America’s ability to make wealth, much less to increase its foreign aid and technology transfers, the essence of both treaties.

Most astonishing is that the global warming treaty is not based on sound science. The U.N. created its own political entity, the International Panel on Climate Change, to produce its own global warming conclusions. The U.N.’s IPCC conveniently ignores data and has made significant alterations to scientific documents after scientists approved them in order to convey human influence on climate.

It was because of politics, not science, that the IPCC and Gore were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the U.N.-supported International Year of the Planet puts it this way: “The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds. I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

“A Renewed Sense of Community”

Last night our Flemish correspondent VH reported on the plans of Pro-Köln and its allies for holding another anti-Islamization Congress in Cologne next year. One of the German politicians involved in the planning is Henry Nitzsche, a member of Parliament and a former Christian Democrat who now heads his own party.

VH has compiled some additional background material on Mr. Nitzsche:

The “Alliance for Work, Family, Country — List Henry Nitzsche” might be a rather unknown movement and therefore it is maybe worthwhile to offer a little insight in the stands of that party.

The party’s name in German is “Bündnis Arbeit, Familie, Vaterland”. Henry Nitzsche walked out of the CDU (the Christian Democratic Union, which increasingly suffers from defectors to the Pro movement) because of its bowing to Multicultural dogma instead of standing for the Conservatism it used to represent.

Nitzsche kept his seat in Parliament (The “List Henry Nitzsche”. When Geert Wilders left the VVD and became a one man fraction he was named “List Geert Wilders”. Before that, Pim Fortuyn called his countrywide party “List Pim Fortuyn”), was reelected, and founded the AFV.

Now, German party programs contain a lot of words that might in themselves understandably — but totally unnecessarily — give someone not too familiar with the German language the creeps. “Homeland Security”, for instance, would be in German something like “Heimat Sicherheit” or “Vaterland Shutz.” To prevent misunderstandings, I did not translate “Vaterland” as “Fatherland,” but as “Homeland,” and “Heimat” as “Home Country,” etc., to try to stay close to the actual meaning and tone.

Here is Henry Nitzsche’s party program, as translated from the German by VH. Point #10, concerning the EU, is especially noteworthy, and violates Europe-wide orthodoxy:

Alliance for Work, Family, Country — List Henry Nitzsche e.V.

Party program (“What we want”)

1. Family

We are committed to family. We stand for respecting, protecting and promoting the family as the main foundation and prerequisite for a sustainable society. Families with children, single mothers and fathers must be the focus of all our attention in our society. Here goes the principle: “the family creates the future!”

2. Stand for Christianity

We are committed to Christian values. These values should inform the community-founding element and foundation of our society. It establishes the principle: “Party policy splits — values unite!”

3. Homeland

We are committed to the German homeland, to this nation, its historically grown minorities and their culture. Only through a healthy national pride and a renewed sense of community can existing moral, economic and social problems be solved. Patriotism is a location factor in globalization. It establishes the principle: “Our country, despite globalization!”

– – – – – – – –

4. Citizenship

We are committed to German citizenship as a necessary link between our community and our welfare state. We demand the abolition of birthright citizenship and want it replaced by the principle of descent as the only possibility of acquisition of citizenship. However, anyone can become German who has been living a sufficient period of time in Germany, is familiar with the German language and does not resist German law, and embraces our moral and cultural values and rules. Here the principle takes effect: “Only those can become German who want to become German!”

5. Homeland Security

We are committed to protecting the home country. We demand the enforcement of the right of security of citizens through increased protection within Germany and on its borders, also against criminal foreigners. Here the principle takes effect: “Security is a civil right!”

6. Social Community

We are committed to the community and recognize its potential. The community is in potential the abilities of individuals. Everyone has the right to participate in the social community, but also the duty of encouraging it. Social needs must be taken seriously by the state, as the citizens have to respect the community. We demand the restoration of a fair power balance between nation and state. Taxes should be in the interest of citizens, to care and support, but not in the interests of party politics for ideological purposes. Here the principle takes effect: “What the citizens’ hands create remains the property of the citizens.”

7. Work

We are committed to the middle class [a term usually meaning the self-employed], small businesses, and farmers. They are major employers and the pillars of the regional economy. Even in terms of an effective and sustainable reversal of the rural exodus, we demand the unconditional support for these areas and a departure from the lighthouse Saxon politics. The country should not bleed to make certain selected cities bloom. Here the principle takes effect: “Work instead of drain!”

Working and creating jobs must be worthwhile. The risk for entrepreneurs must be lessened by flexible job-contracts, rather than increasing the stubborn treasuring of civil servants. The payment-ethics of companies should not merely pay lip service, but must be a clear duty. Bankruptcy because others do not pay the bills is not acceptable!

We urge massive support for the eagerness to work. It must also be possible to make a living through work. Here the principle takes effect: “Decent money for decent work!”

8. Democracy

We are committed to democracy as an actual “rule by the people.” Therefore, we urge the breaking down of party domination and the correction of the democratic deficit. Through the strengthening of the plebiscite, and other elements of direct democracy, sovereignty should be returned to the people. The peaceful democratic revolution of 1989 [abolition of the Socialist Government of the DDR, and the incorporation of the DDR] got stuck halfway. Back to the principle: “We are the people!”

9. Education

We are committed to school and apprenticeship as base for knowledge and values to the education of the community. The wealth of Germany lies in the optimal education of our children. The outdated school model of the old federal states must be overhauled and sectionalism in education should be abolished! We demand an end to the withering of small schools and the rise of region-wide schools in rural areas (“Let the school stay in the village!”). We stand for an excellent all-day community school until the 9th grade, because the early pre-selecting nonsense neglects the individual development of a pupil; the course of education is impermeable and tears the alleged elite education away from the fiber of the community. We demand that the financial circumstances of parents not have an effect on the education of their children (“equal ability”). Participation in school and extracurricular activities must be affordable. The principle: “Increase education, secure the Future!”

10. Europe

We are committed to a Europe of independent nations. Those hold the right to social, economic, cultural, and military self-determination. We urge the preservation and safeguarding of national sovereignty and economic interests in Europe and foreign policy and the curbing of the influence of the EU in favor of national interests. Here the principle takes effect: “Germany first, then Europe!” The EU should not be a power-hungry bureaucratic monster! An accession of Turkey is categorically rejected by us.



Previous posts about Pro-Köln:

2008   Jan   20   Cities Against Islamization
        25   The European Initiative “Cities against Islamization”
    Aug   22   Elderly Anti-Islamization Activist Beaten Unconscious
    Sep   4   Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/4/2008
        14   Diana West on Pro-Köln
        19   More Violence Against Pro-Köln Supporters
        20   Chaos in Cologne
        20   Further First-Hand Reports from Cologne
        20   The Upstanding Citizens of Cologne Repudiate Islamophobia
        20   German News Report on the Events in Cologne
        21   The Post-Mortem on Cologne, Part 1
        21   The Post-Mortem on Cologne, Part 2
        21   The Post-Mortem on Cologne, Part 3
        21   The Post-Mortem on Cologne, Part 4
        21   The Post-Mortem on Cologne, Part 5
        22   More Reports from Cologne
        22   Reports from Dutch Visitors to Cologne
        23   Aviel’s Report from Cologne
        23   Fjordman on Freedom-Fighting “Fascists”
        26   My Impression of the Cologne Event
        26   The InterNazis
    Oct   8   The Aftermath of Cologne
    Dec   11   The Latest on Pro-Köln
        16   Pro-Köln 2009: Once More With Feeling

Desperate Measures

There are jobs that Americans won’t do.

That’s the rationale for importing millions of impoverished helots to pick the fruit, mow the lawns, and mind the pampered children of America.

Presumably there are also jobs that Spaniards won’t do. Or there used to be, anyway, before the advent of hard times.

Up until recently the Spanish relied on migrants from Morocco as agricultural laborers during harvest time. But, like the United States, Spain had its own real estate bubble, and it has now burst, pulling the rug out from under the Spanish economy. There are more than three million unemployed workers in Spain, 13% of the work force, and their numbers are expected to increase all the way through 2009.

As a result, there have been some second thoughts about which jobs Spaniards won’t do. According to ANSAmed:

Spain: Bitter Olives for Immigrants in Andalusia
by Francesco Cerri

MADRID, DECEMBER 12 — In the fields of Andalusia, thousands of immigrants attracted to Spain with hopes of collecting the crumbs of the economic boom that has taken place over the past decade have become entangled in the recession that has struck the Iberian country.

At least 2,000 immigrants, mainly Africans, many without legal stay permits, have been roaming the countryside over the past days from one village to another in the Jaen region between Cordoba and Granada, hoping to participate as in past years in the olive harvest. But this year it is entirely different. The crisis, particularly the bursting real estate ‘bubble’ which until now had been the motor to the Spanish economy, has changed fortunes.

Unemployment has skyrocketed, hitting 3 million people. And the Spanish, reports the press in Madrid, have returned to the fields, taking back the most humble jobs abandoned and left for immigrants in the past years.

Among these is ‘l’Aceituna’, the olive harvest in Jaen, an area that produces one-third of the olive oil in the world. “With the crisis, the unemployed in the building sector have resumed working in the fields this year” confirmed the Mayor of Ubeda, in the heart of the olive groves of Jaen, Marcelino Sanchez, socialist, like most of the local politicians in Andalusia.

– – – – – – – –

[…]

More than 15,000 unemployed workers from Andalusia signed up to participate in the olive harvest. The small town, which normally welcomes 145 seasonal workers every year for the olive harvest, is no longer able to deal with the influx of over 500 desperate African workers.

The mayor decided to allow the immigrants who have been travelling around Ubeda to sleep in the local sports arena. And the local aid structures for the poor are preparing 700 meals per evening. In other cities in the area the situation is the same.

Ads published in El Pais over the past few weeks stating that the regions of Andalusia did not need temporary workers and that lists for the olive harvest were already full did not help the situation. In Ubeda and in the other cities, posters in French, Spanish, and Arabic explained that “this year no workers are needed” and free bus tickets were available “to go back to their normal residencies”. But the rain delayed work in the fields. And many remained with hopes of finding something sooner of later.

In a few weeks the desperate caravan in Jaen will move to Huelva, on the border with Portugal, where in February the strawberry harvest will begin. But there they will probably be replaced by unemployed people from Spain.

Here in the USA our unemployment problems are only just getting started. The jobless rate will reach 7% by the end of the year, and by this time next year it will be at 9% or 10%. That’s not much by European standards, but we haven’t seen anything like it here since Jimmy Carter was president, and it may get even worse than that.

So will persons of American background start mowing lawns and digging ditches again? How bad will it have to get before Americans start doing jobs Americans won’t do?



Hat tip: Insubria.

Norway: A Paradigm for Anti-Semitism

We’ve posted recently about Jew-hatred in Norway, using Norwegian-language material translated by Rolf Krake. Rolf sent us a link to the following article, written by Manfred Gerstenfeld for The Jerusalem Post:

Norway — a paradigm for anti-Semitism

“I would like to take the opportunity to remember all the billions of fleas and lice that lost their lives in German gas chambers, without having done anything wrong other than settling on persons of Jewish background.”

This is what Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen said on Thursday 27 November on the country’s largest commercial TV station. Much worse, however, is that the director of the station defended this expression of “satire.”

A week later Jespersen, in his weekly TV appearance, gave a “satiric” monologue of mixed anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli remarks. He concluded by wishing the Jews a happy Christmas. But then as an afterthought, he said this was not proper as the Jews had murdered Jesus. Two years ago the same comedian burned pages from the Tanach in front of a TV camera, but this was no reason to terminate his employment. Jespersen explained that he wouldn’t burn the Koran if he wanted to live longer than a week.

LAST WEEK, on four consecutive days, there were anti-Israeli articles in Norway’s second-largest daily Aftenposten. The first called for a general boycott of Israel. The second promoted an academic boycott, falsely accusing Israeli physicians of participating in torture and the Israeli Medical Association of remaining silent about it. Any honest debater would have reported that Israeli hospitals routinely treat Palestinian children, some of whom express joy when suicide bombers kill Israelis. One wonders whether any other country would allow this.

The third article stressed the right to criticize Israel. This is a typical attack on a “straw man,” as nobody denies this right. The fourth claimed that Israel is not a democracy. Only thereafter a pro-Israeli voice was heard.

Two years ago the conservative Aftenposten got international attention when it published an op-ed by Jostein Gaarder which until this day remains the vilest anti-Semitic article published in a European mainstream paper since the Second World War.

Whoever wants to understand how Jews might live in a future democratic Europe if no major counter-forces are mobilized should study Norway. Among parts of the elite there, Jew-hatred and rabid anti-Israelism intermingle. The country’s population numbers only 4.6 million. The Jewish population, even before the war, was never more than 2,000. It now numbers 1,300, of which only 700 affiliate with the organized community. Yet Norway must figure prominently in any future history of post-war European anti-Semitism.

– – – – – – – –

[…]

AFTER THE beginning of the second intifada, several Jewish children were harassed in school. The aggression was supported by teachers on several occasions. Since then, the Jewish community has kept a low profile. When asked by the press, its leaders will admit there is anti-Semitism, but claim that critics overstate it. They usually remain silent on the anti-Semitic aspects of anti-Israelism.

Norwegian hate cartoons often mix anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism. Some are straight-out anti-Semitic, such as one which appeared in the Labor movement daily Dagsavisen in 2003. It portrayed a Jew with a long beard reading the new Ten Commandments, including “murder, kill, liquidate, execute.” During the Second Lebanon War, anti-Semitic incidents in Oslo were the most severe in Europe. The synagogue was shot at, the cantor was attacked on a main street and the Jewish cemetery was desecrated. The Jewish community’s president Anne Sender was thereafter quoted in a European Jewish Congress report speaking of the considerable “atmosphere of intimidation and fear.”

Anti-Israelism has been built up systematically in Norway by trade unions, media, some prominent Christians and politicians. The demonization is classic: major media report negative things about Israel while obfuscating or omitting Palestinian suicide attacks or declared genocidal intentions. The main counterforce is a small group of Christian friends.

Vote for Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi of the Year

If you’re voting on the Dhimmi and the Anti-Dhimmi at Jihad Watch, here’s Fjordman’s advice:

I suggest people vote for either Andrew Bostom or Pamela Geller. Mark Steyn is a good man, but not in the same league as Bostom. Geert Wilders is a strong candidate, with Bat Ye’or a close second. As for the dhimmis, I don’t have any preferences. They’re all bad.

[Post ends here]

“Fitna” Forbidden in the European Parliament

Via Paul Belien of the Brussels Journal, an email from Gerard Batten of UKIP about the cancellation of a showing of Fitna in the European Parliament:

Showing of the Film Fitna Banned by Order of the Conference of Presidents

EU StalinIt is with great regret that I have to announce the cancellation of the showing of the film Fitna at the meeting with Mr Geert Wilders MP today at 2pm.

I was informed of this decision today.

Nevertheless a press conference will take place at 2pm in room R 3.1 with Mr Wilders and myself.

The banning of this film is a direct attack on free speech. A parliament that constantly talks of freedom, democracy and tolerance has shown once again that these are empty words when it does not agree with what is being said.

– – – – – – – –

On the same day that the European Parliament awards the Sakharov Prize to the Chinese freedom campaigner Hu Jia the Conference of Presidents deny free speech to one of its own members.

The press conference is open to MEPs and their assistants as well as accredited members of the press.

Anyone who wishes to view Fitna before the meeting can do so by going to LiveLeak.

Yours sincerely,

Gerard Batten MEP
UK Independence Party