A British lawyer asked the Attorney General in London to issue a warrant of arrest against the Saudi minister of the interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz under the charge of torturing and illegal imprisonment of Sheikh Saad Bin Zear. The British lawyer stressed that his client Bin Zear is innocent from accusations addressed against him, and called for stopping his torture and to bring him into an open trial and release him. He said that Prince Nayef is the first one to be responsible for what had happened to his client. The British lawyer told al-Jazeera TV that the British government is obliged, according to the international law to follow up on all those who commit acts of torture and human rights violations. The Saudi authorities had detained sheikh Saad Bin Zear on April 17 this year, over his participation in the coverage made by al-Jazeera TV to comment on a tape broadcast by al-Jazeera to the leader of al-Qaida organization Osama Bin Laden in which he called for a truce with the west- excluding the USA, under the conditions that the west not attack Muslims. Worthy mentioning that Saad Bin Zear -- a media teacher at former al-Imam university and is considered the oldest prisoners of the opinion in the Kingdom -- was detained 8 and a half years ago over demanding reform. No accusations were addressed against him. He was released on March 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 1:37:48 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Is this warrant valid throughout the EU now? That could crimp the Prince's partying.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 13:48 Comments ||
Top||
A prominent Muslim cleric called yesterday for the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, and said two captive Italian female aid workers should also be freed despite Italy's military involvement in Iraq. The abduction of newsmen Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot is "prohibited by religion and logic," Egyptian-born, Qatar-based Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi told a news conference.
"prohibited by religion and logic"? Did his lips fall off or did the heads of his followers start to spin?
"We are in contact with our brethren in the Council of (Muslim) Ulema in Iraq, (urging them to) exert efforts to end the crisis of the French journalists," who were kidnapped along with their Syrian driver on Aug. 20 by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq, he said.
The group has demanded that France rescind a ban on Islamic headscarves in state schools, a demand rejected by Paris. Qaradawi said he had told French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier when they met in Cairo on Aug. 30 that while he himself was opposed to the headscarf ban, "this is one thing and the abduction of the two journalists is another, and we don't accept it at all." Barnier was in Cairo as part of a Middle East tour aimed at trying to win the journalists' release. Noting that France opposed last year's US-led war on Iraq, Qaradawi asked: "How can we equate those who stood by us with those who were against us?"
Qaradawi condemned all hostage-taking, saying it was banned under Islamic law and calling for the release of Italian charity workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, who were snatched from their Baghdad office on Tuesday, despite the fact that Rome backed the war and maintains troops in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 10:24:24 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Looks like one check has cleared.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 10:37 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I believe this moke was mentioned earlier this week as having issued a fatwa declaring it was a "duty" to kill american civilians in Iraq because they were invaders, too. Let's see... where does the Koran distinguish between Americans & Frogs....?
Three years after the September 11 attacks in the United States, Britain has tightened its anti-terrorism laws in view of radical Islam and has taken a tough stand against leading figures. "We have tightened the law very considerably, and we've also tightened our ability to deport people," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday during his monthly press conference. "It is important the whole time we are seeing how the framework of law can be tightened still further," Blair said in respect to legislation to counter terrorism.
Jason Burke, a journalist specialising on Islam and the Middle East for the weekly Observer newspaper, said: "Since 9/11, there has been a major rethink and hardening of the policy" of Britain towards radical Islamists on its own soil." "That shift has been a gradual one over four to five years, and it has accelerated since 9/11 and the threats in Britain," said Burke, now posted in Baghdad. Accused of being a soft touch on terrorists in the past by Arab countries such as Algeria and Egypt, engaged in struggles against armed Islamic groups, Britain can no longer be seen as a peaceful haven for extremists. In fact, it has adopted draconian anti-terrorism legislation allowing it to detain foreign nationals suspected of terrorist involvement indefinitely without trial if they refuse to return to their country of origin. These laws give police the right to interrogate any terrorist suspect, British or foreign, for 15 days without a lawyer before charging or releasing them.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 6:49:38 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
They are called the Mara Salvatruchas. A gang from El Salvador. Its members are said to be dangerous and vicious. They, along with Honduran gangs are reportedly being trained by al Qaeda terrorists to infiltrate the U.S. through Mexico. And local law enforcement authorities and even some members of congress say some gang members are already here.
But inside the prison in Matamoros, the message is very different. After getting through the well armed guards at the gate--Mexican authorities led us through the prison to this inmate. He is from Nicaragua. He's been in the Matamoros prison for over four years. He's convicted of bringing illegal central Americans immigrants through Mexico in an effort to get them into the U.S. He claims there are no Mara Salvatruchas in this prison. Despite reports on this side of the border that the gangs can be found in Matamoros prisons. "I have been here for four years and I've not seen any of those gang members," said inmate Eligio Sanchez Hernandez.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/10/2004 9:33:55 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Intro only. Pretty pathetic actually. Via Winds of Change One cold night in 1965, Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins disappeared from a patrol in South Korea. Forty years later he has resurfaced. In his first interview since leaving North Korea, he tells the [Far Eastern Economic] REVIEW his story
AFTER SURVIVING FOR nearly four decades in North Korea and spending a month in a Tokyo hospital room, United States Army Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins wants closure. And to get it, he's ready to tell his story. In Jenkins' first interview since taking flight from the North Korean regime in July, the alleged defector tells the REVIEW why he intends to turn himself over to the U.S. Army even though he expects to face a court martial. Jenkins reveals that he sought asylum at the Soviet embassy in Pyongyang in 1966, endured repeated beatings at the hands of another alleged American defector, and was pressured by North Korean authorities to reject a personal invitation by the Japanese prime minister to leave the country with him. And he describes how his difficult life in North Korea was lifted from misery by a love affair with a Japanese nurse who shared his hatred of the communist regime and eventually helped him and their two daughters escape.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 8:37:14 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And he describes how his difficult life in North Korea was lifted from misery by a love affair with a Japanese nurse who shared his hatred of the communist regime and eventually helped him and their two daughters escape.
Can't wait until this is on Lifetime. Oprah will probably produce it.
#2
I'm sorry, are we supposed to feel sorry for this guy? The same guy who deserted and sought refuge in the most severe communist nation left? For 40 years? I do have some interest in his freak story, but only as an oddity. Actually, calling him a freak is an insult to those old sideshows.
#3
Ban this traitor from the US. Why waste any public funds on him by slapping him in prison. Maybe he can live his golden years in France or some place like that. He lost his country when he turned away from her that day in 1965.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/10/2004 12:04 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Can't say that I disagree with the comments above, but I think having what he knows is worth some quid pro quo. We have dealt with some very unsavory characters and handed them big bucks for a lot less than what this guy can give. Some of it may be only background, but what if one of the "American looking" guys turned up in a sensitive position. I would rather swallow the bad taste in my mouth if I could have what info he's got.
Posted by: Old Fogey ||
09/10/2004 19:52 Comments ||
Top||
I know we aren't supposed to link to blogs but this is ROTFLMAO funny.
Links to blog articles are welcome, especially when it's the blog making the news. Just don't post the entire article and make sure you provide a link.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 10:50:34 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
LMAO! Oh, that is too funny and too appropriate! LOL!
Posted by: Dar ||
09/10/2004 12:01 Comments ||
Top||
#2
anyone know if there a preference or maybe a group policy that disallow the user from killing mister klip and maybe even making the word session triple sensitive to his 'uh intrusions? i want to annoy some people
root source is www.freemuslims.org
After September 11, many in the Muslim world chose denial and hallucination rather than face up to the sad fact that Muslims perpetrated the 9-11 terrorist acts and that we have an enormous problem with extremism and support for terrorism. Many Muslims, including religious leaders, and "intellectuals" blamed 9-11 on a Jewish conspiracy and went as far as fabricating a tale that 4000 Jews did not show up for work in the World Trade Center on 9-11. Yet others blamed 9-11 on an American right wing conspiracy or the U.S. Government which allegedly wanted an excuse to invade Iraq and "steal" Iraqi oil.
As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious leaders and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead, we will start by apologizing for 9-11 . . . After numerous admissions of guilt by Bin Laden and numerous corroborating admissions by captured top level Al-Qaida operatives, we wonder, does the Muslim leadership have the dignity and courage to apologize for 9-11? Finally.
#1
Unfortunately it is the good people, not the religious leaders or intellectuals. These good people need to take their religion back from those who weould pervert it.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 18:44 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Does anyone know who it is that's apologizing?
It is unsigned and I've tried the Freemuslims.org link several times to no avail. Maybe it's just Farked.
EFL from Newsmax. I am for the proposal and evidently so is, I assume, John Kerry (I believe that he has come out in support of implementing all recommendations by the 911 Commission immediately.) I wonder what his constituents will think of his support for this "no-ride" plan.
The government should check travelers' names against terrorist watch lists before they board passenger trains or cruise ships, the Sept. 11 commission recommended Wednesday. Airlines now check their passengers' names against such a list, a responsibility that the Transportation Security Administration plans to assume sometime next year. Privacy advocates say the government is too secretive about how it puts people on the list and that those who are mistakenly identified as terrorists don't have an effective way of getting off it. The proposal is one of 94 proposals released Wednesday that expand upon a handful of transportation security improvements the Sept. 11 commission recommended to Congress in July. The new proposals include giving flight attendants counterterrorism training, drawing up comprehensive plans to protect all forms of transportation and expanding the use of watch lists. "Steps should be taken as soon as possible to convert the "No-Fly" list into a "No-Transport" list that would be provided to transportation providers in addition to air carriers (starting with cruise ships and Amtrak)," the report said. The commission said that state, local and tribal law enforcement authorities should have access to the terrorist watch lists.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/10/2004 3:57:36 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I think the airport searches are ridiculous and this would be beyond ridiculous. This is way too big brotherish and would yield no benefit that I have ever seen. Does this mean you have to check with TSA to get a permision slip to hail a taxi? It's just an opportunity for the litle hitlers in this country to wear a uniform and act like they have authority over their fellow citizens. When they start profiling for Middle Eastern Males 15-35 years of age, I'll take them seriously. Until then having my luggage searched by some guy wearing a turban speaking with a south asian accent in Dulles Airport tells me this is a farce. This should not be allowed to metastasize. Get rid of these parasites at TSA in airports and focus on the probelm, not harassing the innocent victims.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 8:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Amen, Mrs. D. The best solution is the one that El Al uses: use trained, college-educated screeners to ask a few basic questions of each traveller (what's your destination, what are you doing there, why is it you have a one-way ticket and no bags, Mr Atta? etc). Low-tech but extremely effective. Less costly than a national database and all the other hi-tech tomfoolery being floated now.
#3
We need common sense, all right. El Al would be a good airline to emulate. Nothing like success that speaks for itself. That is what we need in homeland security: common sense. It would help in intelligence, instead of being fixated on forming a Grand Poobah of Intelligence.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/10/2004 12:09 Comments ||
Top||
#4
To hell with this idea. I'm not so frightened of death that I'm going to let some self-important bastard seach me everywhere I go. Forget that noise.
As the world recoils in horror at the massacres of children by Chechen jihadists in Beslan, Russia, security agencies are examining the possibility that such an attack could happen in an American school. And why couldn't it? After all, at a conference held last weekend, security was tight because of death threats from people holding the same ideology as that of the Beslan barbarians: radical Islam. The conference was held in Falls Church, Virginia.
That's right: Falls Church, Virginia. Right here in America, converts from Islam to Christianity spoke publicly only under assumed names, for fear of becoming the newest victims of the global jihad. The conference was called the Muslim Background Believers Convention, an evangelical Christian gathering sponsored by groups including the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The converts from Islam, according to a Washington Times report, spoke "only under fictitious names assumed for the occasion." The Times noted that "the convention kept the registration and entrance process under tight security to protect the participants, many of whom say they face death threats or ostracism from their families for leaving the Islamic faith."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/10/2004 03:51 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
'ostracism from their families for leaving the Islamic faith.'
Mama: "Papa, what about our other daughter"
Tevya: "I HAVE NO other daughter"
#4
Sorry, the last thing Jesus said on his previous visit was "try to convert everybody." Not an optional part of the program. I am glad the "convert or die" practices were dropped several hundred years ago, something our Islamic friends would be well advised to emulate while they can.
#5
Liberalhawk, as VAMark points out, it's a valid part of our faith.
But those good Baptists don't kill you if you refuse to accept Jesus's salvation and there are no Baptist jihadi terrorists, but they will push New Testament scripture, bowling and pineapple upside down cake on you until you beg for someone's mercy! LOL
MEXICO CITY: The fight against terrorism must respect the rule of law, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday, referring to Russia's earlier pledge to attack terrorists anywhere in the world. "Yes we need to come with ways and means to fight terrorism effectively but we also need to make sure that these approaches do not undermine the rule of law and basic civil rights," Annan said at a news conference during a visit to Mexico. "I believe in fighting terrorism but countries have to work together."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 6:47:13 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Why? Oh, WHY is this asshat still Secretary General? He's not fit to run a Fotomat.
#2
Right, Next he will be saying that Russa should have had a search warrent before breaking in and disrupting the terrorists murder and rape of schoolchildren ......
#5
I get it, Kofi...the a**hats in Sudan get a free ride for killing, raping and pillaging 10s of thousands and you are worried about a handful of cockroaches who nothing more than hum excrement?
#6
mojo is correct - we adhere to the rules of war as our own choice. The Geneva conventions are very clear that if one side fails to observe the rules, the other side is not bound by them. And if it were up to me the gloves would have come off a long time ago...
#8
So why doesn't he hold the palis to the same standard? Or is it only for the war on terror, with no expectation that the terrorists could, would or should adhere to anything resembling such a standard?
What would happen if the combatants in the war on terror simply did as the terrorists? It won't happen...but it'd be interesting, wouldn't it!
For months Malaysians have been talking about a case concerning the denial of religious freedom. Shamala Sathyyaseelan, a non-Muslim mother of two, asked Malaysia's highest court why her children were forcibly converted to Islam without her consent and knowledge. The Supreme Court sidestepped the case by declaring it was incompetent and referred it to the Shariah Court. The woman's lawyers objected arguing that the Shariah, or Islamic law, tribunal does not have jurisdiction over non-Muslims. In the gap between two competing legal systems Sathyyaseelan is alone, her case in limbo. In this Southeast Asian country of 23.5 million, two legal systems coexist: one based on the country's federal constitution and civil courts; the other framed by Shariah law and applied in principle only to Muslims.
In Sathyyaseelan's case, with the Supreme Court washing its hands, the Shariah Court is likely to uphold the father's claim and sanction the children's conversion to Islam. Sathyyaseelan's case has been taken up by Malaysia's Catholic bishops, according to the AsiaNews agency. In a recently released paper, the bishops stress how in mixed marriages the weaker -- that is, non-Muslim -- party faces most of the problems. Although formally protected under the law, non-Muslims must accept the decisions of Islamic courts which inevitably privilege Muslim applicants. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and a federation. Under the constitution Islam is the federation's official religion, but other religions can "be practiced in peace and harmony." The document goes further in protecting religious freedom for it states that "no person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own" and that "the religion of a person under the age of 18 years shall be decided by his parent or guardian."
On the basis of these principles, Malaysia's bishops maintain that "it is not in the best interests of the child" that a parent convert him, or do so without the knowledge of the other parent. Thus they urge the government and Parliament to adopt laws requiring courts to uphold and protect constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion and parental rights. The bishops' action goes beyond the Sathyyaseelan's case and touches upon the nature of the state itself. When the Federation of Malaya was first founded in 1948 (changing its name to Malaysia in 1963) the newly independent country adopted a constitution designed to reconcile its many races and religions and guarantee their rights. The constitutional document does allow that while Islam is the national religion, Malaysia is a secular state that guarantees freedom of religion. Hence the bishops argue that Shariah cannot become the law of the land.
As it is, under Malaysia's dual legal system, non-Muslims are discriminated in areas such conversion, court jurisdiction, property and inheritance. This had led religious minorities to become increasingly resentful toward the Muslim majority. To avoid any religious conflict, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur has called on Christians to play a positive role in Malaysian society and back the administration of newly appointed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In a speech on Independence Day, Aug. 31, Archbishop Murphy reminded his audience that the prime minister has been stressing the need for moderation and encouraging "dialogue among cultures and religions" to rid the country of "racial and religious fundamentalism" which fuel "violent radicalism." In a speech before the Ecumenical Council of Churches, Badawi presented himself as "a Muslim who wants to speak to all Malaysians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, someone whose duty is to promote a message of tolerance among the people, in particular in the Muslim majority."
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
09/10/2004 9:32:45 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
The United States now realizes that it does not have the majority it needs at the UN nuclear watchdog to bring Iran before the UN Security Council over Tehran's alleged atomic weapons program, a US official told AFP. "We recognize we are not going to get majority support for a non-compliance finding (to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in September" at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors meeting in Vienna that begins Monday, a US state department official told AFP by phone from Washington. We need to pay higher bribes to countries like France
The official said US Under Secretary of State for arms control and international security John Bolton was now talking in Geneva with European diplomats "about a trigger mechanism" to effectively set a deadline for Iran ahead of the following IAEA board meeting in November. The trigger could be "to require that Iran suspend immediately and fully all uranium enrichment-related work" or "for Iran to grant complete, immediate, unrestricted access to whatever locations the IAEA deems necessary" or for Iran to provide by a certain date, such as October 31, "full information on all imported materials and components relevant to the P1 and P2 centrifuge program," the official said. Europe's three main countries -- Britain, France and Germany -- are against taking Iran to the Security Council as they stress cooperating with Tehran to get it to come clean about its program. But diplomats said the three countries were now backing the US call for Iran to fully suspend enrichment, including the first step of converting mineral uranium yellowcake into the gas that is the feedstock for making the enriched uranium that can be used in bombs.
A "tactical gap" between Washington and the European countries was narrowing but "we have a ways to go," Bolton told a news conference in Geneva, following a US-hosted meeting with his counterparts from the other Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries. "The objective that the United States has been pursuing has been to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapons capability and that is an objective shared by all of the G-8 countries," Bolton said. "There is no disagreement on our broad objective. What we have tried to do here today and yesterday was to close the tactical gap that has existed between the United States and ... Britain France and Germany," he said. "We made progress in that regard here ... I think discussions will continue over the weekend and into next week and we will see what we are able to do."
The US envoy declined, however, to say exactly what advances had been made. "I do not want to really get into the specifics because the questions of closing the tactical gap I think are best addressed in private consultations," he said, adding that emails and telephone calls would follow Friday's talks. The United States and the Euro 3 are separately preparing resolutions for Monday's IAEA meeting in Vienna. Iran's controversial bid to generate nuclear power at its Bushehr plant is seen by arch-enemies Israel and the United States as a cover for nuclear weapons development, allegations that Iran denies. Government officials from the G8 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- as well as other nations met in Geneva on Thursday to discuss non-proliferation issues.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 5:50:55 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Typical political talking heads. Sure take 3-25 more years of talking. Talking head politics NEVER hurt anyone. Just ask any native Rwandans or Black Africans of Dafur. We got all the time in the world to debate the subject.
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri announced yesterday that his government would resign this month, bringing to a head a political crisis over Syrian domination of the country's domestic affairs. "The government will hold its last Cabinet meeting on the 20th of this month ... and then will come the change," Hariri told journalists after a Cabinet meeting.
"We are outta here!"
His announcement came amid mounting tensions between Lebanon's political masters in Damascus and the United States. Hariri, a business tycoon who has been a mainstay of Lebanese politics for years, declined to say whether he would head the new government, saying only that it was necessary to await the results of discussions. He is the political archrival of pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate was extended on Friday after the Lebanese Parliament bowed to Syrian pressure to change the constitution to allow the move.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 10:27:32 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I guess these guys have seen the latest polls.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 10:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Why did the Syrians risk this kind of trouble by demanding an additional term for Lahoud? A quisling President is just a puppet taking orders, couldn't a replacement have been easily found?
Intro and conclusion. Long but interesting article from LLL Brit Mag New Statesman. The answer to the question posed is critical to the length, breadth and depth of the WoT which is really a WoI. I am not convinced there is enough time to change enough minds without eliminating a lot of them prematurely or being eliminated ourselves first; but I'd love to be wrong.
The Muslim world is changing. Three years after the atrocity of 9/11, it may be in the early stages of a reformation, albeit with a small "r". From Morocco to Indonesia, people are trying to develop a more contemporary and humane interpretation of Islam, and some countries are undergoing major transformations. Much of the attention is focused on reformulating the sharia, the centuries-old body of Islamic law deeply embedded in a medieval psychology. The sharia is state law in many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and the Sudan. For many conservative and radical Muslims, the sharia is Islam: it cannot be changed, and must be imposed in exactly the shape it was first formulated in the ninth century. Since 9/11, there has been a seismic shift in this perception. More and more Muslims now perceive Islamic law to be dangerously obsolete. And these include the ulema, the religious scholars and clerics, who have a tremendous hold on the minds of the Muslim masses. ...
Both Malaysia's Islam Hadhari and Indonesia's deformalisation emphasise tolerance and pluralism, civic society and open democracy. Both are likely to spread. Malaysia is trying to export Islam Hadhari to Muslim communities in Thailand and the Philippines. Meanwhile, Morocco is trying to persuade Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to adopt its model of family law.
Muslims worldwide are acknowledging the need for fundamental change in their perception of Islam. They are making conscious efforts to move away from medieval notions of Islamic law and to implement the vision of justice, equality and beauty that is rooted in the Koran. If such changes continue, the future will not repeat the recent past. Ziauddin Sardar's Desperately Seeking Paradise: journeys of a sceptical Muslim is published by Granta Books (£16.99)
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 9:24:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
As the article acknowledges, while Islamic reformation is making some headway in some countries, in other countries the virulent form reigns supreme.
What the article does not address is the fact that in the West (e.g., France, Sweden), the virulent form of Islam is becoming the dominent strain.
#2
What the article does not address is the fact that in the West (e.g., France, Sweden), the virulent form of Islam is becoming the dominent strain.
several reasons - 1. Seperation from local traditons that are more moderate than Salafism.
2. Personal alienation in western society 3. A greater role for Saudi money in setting up mosques etc 4. Difficulties with assimilating into closed European societies, in contrast to USA and Canada.
#4
How possibly could it change? There is madness in it. Muslims need new religion intirely. The evil thing will, I fear, always be in the "thingy".
There CiT, I did it again. But I promise to cool it.
Just for fun, Carrol Cassidy, who is running against Bagdad Bob McDermit is really hitting him hard on his Saddam connections on the radio. Things like how Bob "partied" with saddam and such.
Wrong question. Islam can change, be it by internal reformation or simple annihilation, change it shall. The key question is; Will Islam change? The quote below embodies much of this central issue.
For many conservative and radical Muslims, the sharia is Islam: it cannot be changed, and must be imposed in exactly the shape it was first formulated in the ninth century.
If Islam is unable to abandon its fixation upon the outdated notions of Caliphate dominion and hidebound adherence to sharia law, then they will not change sufficiently soon enough. Western cultures need to serve Islam notice that its Salafist and Wahhabist factions are essentially foredooming Islam to extinction.
While Europe carries no small degree of blame for inhibiting the proper assimilation of their own Muslim populations, there is a sterile symmetry in the way so many Islamic immigrants seek to maintain "cultural purity" in the midst of entirely different social structures.
Sharia's insistence upon patently abusive curtailment of women's rights represents an insurmountable stumbling block to any accommodation with the West. There is no way possible to dovetail such blatantly discriminatory practices with modern secular cultures. Somehow, in their obsessive pursuit of unaltered religious doctrine, Wahhabist and Salafist proponents have lost sight of their own chances for success.
This single-mindedness seamlessly blends into the realm of fanaticism. While unappearant to these intransigent pillars of Islamic supremacy, such glaring incompatibilities are becoming ever more obvious to those who suffer the atrocities inflicted by Islamist terrorists.
As mentioned before, it is not a matter of whether Islam can change, it is a matter of whether Islam will change ... in enough time to avoid obliteration.
PS: ... excess of Scotch consumption ...
Sorry, CiT, tain't no such thing. Only bad Scotch (if such even exists).
#7
"Sorry, CiT, tain't no such thing. Only bad Scotch (if such even exists)."
Zen, I shall clarify. After consuming enough Scotch (Johnnie Walker Red, neat) to kill a small pony, I took umbrage to Sir Lucky and his gratuitous use of "thingy". I'm all better, for now.
#8
the vision of justice, equality and beauty that is rooted in the Koran.
Say what? Sardar and I must not have read the same koran. The one I read was full of injustice, intolerance, violence, ugliness, misogyny, lies and murder.
Hmmm... Time for a bourbon/rocks methinks. You guys can have your peat-smoked furrin booze. I'll take oak aged corn likker over that stanky stuff any day of the week.
#9
Islam is changing. It's growing, and it's polarizing.
Growth isn't the problem, depending on the brand of Islam. Moderate Islam is moral, sincere and coexistant. Racical Islam is narrow, extreme and destructive.
The focus should be on influencing the stream of Islam, by moderating the incubators - those institutions and governments which instill beliefs and ideologies.
It's not possible (or desirable) to wipe out the Islamic world, which consists mostly of innocent, live-and-let-live humans. It is possible to address the radical streams, promote clerics who are wise and peaceable, and institutions which are tollerant, sophistocated and cohabitant with other faiths.
Ayman al-Zawahri, the number two figure in al Qaeda, has appeared in a new videotape aired on Al Jazeera, ridiculing U.S. forces as stuck in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan. "In both countries, if they continue they will bleed to death and if they withdraw they lose everything," said Zawahri, the right-hand man of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "East and south Afghanistan have become an open arena for the Mujahideen (jihad fighters). The enemy are limited to their capitals," the Egyptian-born Zawahri said on Thursday. "The Americans are hiding in their trenches and refuse to come out to face the Mujahideen, as the Mujahideen shell and fire on them, and cut roads off around them. Their defence is only to bomb by air, wasting U.S. money as they kick up dust."
Zawahri, wearing a white turban with a machine gun at his side, spoke to camera for several minutes in the tape, broadcast two days before the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities that Washington blames on al Qaeda. Turning to Iraq, where U.S. forces are battling an uprising against the U.S.-backed government, Zawahri said insurgents had turned Washington's plans for the oil-rich country upside down. "In Islamic Iraq the Mujahideen (jihad fighters) have turned America's plan head over heels. The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time," he said.
Al Jazeera, an influential Arabic broadcaster, did not say how it obtained the tape. But it said Zawahri had referred to the Darfur conflict in Sudan, suggesting the video was made in recent months. The al Qaeda leader cited the crisis as an example of U.S. desires to split the Arab and Muslim world, Al Jazeera said. "In Kabul, the Americans and peacekeeping forces are hiding from the shells of the Mujahideen and expect martyrdom (suicide) attacks at every moment," Zawahri said in Thursday's tape.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/10/2004 12:11:09 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
By "crimes against Muslims" he means prospering while non-Muslims?
#3
Yes, the US defeat of vile subhuman demon worshiping animals is imminent. As mosques are turned into pig farms and muslims ground up for pig food, the world will become a safer, better place with their taint vanishing. Good job noticing that UFOOL.
#4
Sorry UFO I just got back from the local mini mart Mosque and wiping all the pages of the Koran with stercus of the Sus scrofa domesticus.
I made sure to leave plenty on the walls and floors too.
Allan be Praised!
Posted by: Trolling for Allan ||
09/10/2004 3:18 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I don't feel defeated; maybe the counseling is working.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/10/2004 4:19 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Serious question for a moment, Boris. Do you actually believe what you write? And do you expect anyone else here to?
#7
Ayman looks much thinner than before - think he's been on the Afghan version of Atkin's - occasional squirrel, rat and mountain grass. Spring water must be doing him good, however. Yeah hiding in a cave is sure sign you run the country... Where's your tall mate with the beard?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
09/10/2004 5:57 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Someone needs to have a word with Comical Ali. I think he's speechwriting for the enemy again.
Hope Zawahri enjoys his freedom, 'cos it ain't gonna last for long.
#9
Natural born serf that boy is. I advise going long on Georgia Pacific, evey since he got that super serf comik.
Hey! The Mossad! You still under the serfs bed?
Posted by: The Mossad ||
09/10/2004 8:56 Comments ||
Top||
#11
from the NYT account, he says:
"The Islamic nation which sent you the New York and Washington brigades has taken the firm decision to send you successive brigades to sow death and aspire to paradise."
so the Mossad is part of the islamic nation? I find this very confusing. After all, I read how Mossad is CLEARLY behind Sept 11.
#14
This all reminds me, so what IS Bagdad Bob up to lately?
Posted by: GP ||
09/10/2004 10:25 Comments ||
Top||
#15
UFO: "Unfortunately Ayman al-Zawahri is right"
hmmm. now I'm really confused. If he thinks the US is wrong, why does he think it's unfortunate that the guy hiding in the hills is right?
Everything seems to be turned around. A US-hater thinks it's unfortunate that he thinks he's right. Zawahri is cowering, complaining that the US won't fight on his terms, and concludes he's winning. And Mossad was behind the islamic attack on Sept 11.
#16
so why not hold a press conf in the open...show the topography...i mean these asshats control the area right..american forces are hiding..so what is to fear....
oh wait another muslim who is happy to send some poor dirt farmer son to his death but will not his own...
#17
it's Bizarro-Borisâ¢! where all logic and even gravity is perverted and conspired against by the Zionists or the Islamists controlled by the Zionists, or....um...
damn, that makes my hair hurt
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/10/2004 13:15 Comments ||
Top||
#19
I notice you're not out on the front lines of the jihad, UFO, because you know this "imminent victory" would probably result in your imminent "martyrdom."
Better to be safe than sorry, comfortably perched behind a computer keyboard.
When referring to his Unholy Sissy Boys what he really said was...
"East and south Afghanistan have become an open arena for the Mujahideen. In both countries, if they continue, they will bleed to death and they lose everything"
#21
Methinks Ayman has been indulged a tad too much of that fine Afgani hash.
Posted by: Old Fogey ||
09/10/2004 20:00 Comments ||
Top||
#22
Unfortunately Ayman al-Zawahri is right because US cannot sustain the effort to break the will of a people determined to defend their country's sovereignty.
Israel has renewed its campaign of intimidation against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat with further calls to expel him from his West Bank headquarters but it seems no closer to acting on its threats. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom became the second senior minister in days to evoke the possibility of the 75-year-old's banishment, by saying that Israel had never been closer to expelling him. "Arafat has no place among us and the day when we take him out of here and set him to others has never been closer," Shalom said in a speech to activists from the right-wing Likud party, the main party in the governing coalition. "We are going to maintain our policy of isolating Arafat at the Muqataa (his West Bank headquarters) as he is a terrorist with whom it is impossible to negotiate," said Shalom, who has made a number of previous calls for Arafat's expulsion. Arafat has been effectively confined to his West Bank headquarters by the Israeli army since December 2001, having been declared an obstacle to peace by his arch enemy, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 6:48:37 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Next they'll tell him they're going to count to three and by the time they reach three he'd better be gone. One.....Two.....Three.BOOM
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It finally dawned on me who Suha and the Arafishs' kid is... its the beard and the lard that give it away.
#3
It's not a good idea to expel him. It will just free him up to pump out more anti-Israel propaganda and co-ordinate more anti-Israel activity while he's paraded around as the Great Palestinian Leader in Europe and Scandinavia.
What I don't understand is why Israel keeps up with the threats. They know that only makes him more popular among the Paleos.
#4
The quote: âArafat has no place among us and the day when we take him out of here and set him to others has never been closer,â does not seem to equate to the headline:Israel says it was ânever closerâ to expelling Arafat
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/10/2004 23:11 Comments ||
Top||
Army Spc. Colby Buzzell, a.k.a. CBFTW on his Web log, flew under military radar -- until recently. This young man revealed some OPSEC details, but his front line report was solid gold for the war effort, explosively propagating on the Internet. This was a free report on the WSJ, but no longer. Hat tip to The Agonist.
Army specialist Colby Buzzell figured he'd cap his yearlong deployment to Iraq by mustering out of the service this winter and easing into a new career. "I was thinking about maybe driving a cab," he says. But that was before he launched My War, an Internet-based chronicle of his life as an infantry soldier in Mosul, where he mans a gun in a Stryker brigade. Written under the nom de guerre of CBFTW (Colby Buzzell F -- This War), the blog is a mixture of gripping accounts of caffeine-driven battle maneuvers and amusing vignettes from the dusty grind of life in Iraq's third-largest city.
CBFTW's writings are a hit in the blogosphere, with his Web page logging 10,000 hits on a recent day. But Spc. Buzzell's writing aspirations may prove his undoing as a professional soldier. Recently, shortly after his commanders discovered My War on the Web, Spc. Buzzell found himself banned from patrols and confined to base. His commanders say Spc. Buzzell may have breached operational security with his writings. "My War" went idle as he pondered the consequences of pursuing his craft while slogging through five nights of radio guard duty, a listless detail for an infantryman. More recently, the pages again went blank, as he chafed under a prepublication vetting regime imposed by his command.
Such prepublication censorship is rare in the modern military: Soldiers' missives haven't been routinely expurgated since World War II and the days of "Loose Lips Sink Ships." The Pentagon doesn't prescreen soldiers' communications, whether print or electronic, assigning the job of policing soldier-journalists to commanders in the field. There are restrictions against divulging references to specific troop locations, patrol schedules or anything that might help the enemy predict how U.S. troops might react to an attack. But commanders in Iraq rely on the honor system and soldiers' common sense to enforce restrictions. Infractions are in the eye of the beholder, difficult to define but easy to recognize in practice. Censorship that does occur usually comes after the fact. Earlier this year, Army investigators were forced to go stateside to track down reams of snapshots of Iraqi prisoner abuse that Abu Ghraib guards disseminated by e-mail or sent home on computer disk. In July, an Army captain was reassigned and stripped of his leave home after writing an opinion piece published in the Washington Post.
Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, says blogs, like other forms of communication, are tolerated so long as they don't violate operational or informational security. "We treat them the same way we would if they were writing a letter or speaking to a reporter: It's just information," he says. "If a guy is giving up secrets, it doesn't make much difference whether he's posting it on a blog or shouting it from the rooftop of a building." Still, many bloggers, some operating in obscure corners of Iraq where traditional reporters are scarce, appear to be flying under the Pentagon's radar. There's "American Soldier," a diary compiled by an Army reservist currently preparing for his second call-up, who describes himself in an e-mail as "p -- ed, frustrated, happy and sad at the same time." A site called "Boots on the Ground" is heavy on detail about U.S. armaments. "Just Another Soldier," a National Guardsman's account, is available only by e-mail request, the author says, after his command, citing security concerns, asked him to dismantle the site.
In the age of Web cams, instant messaging and Internet telephone service, widespread censorship simply isn't possible, military officials say. "I don't see how you could censor with the instantaneous flow of information we have now," says one Army officer, "unless you're standing over someone's shoulder while they're typing. And who's got time to do that when the bullets are flying?"
Security violations are rare, says Spc. Buzzell's top commander, Brig. Gen. Carter Ham. "The commander does have a responsibility to ensure no inappropriate information is released," Gen. Ham says in an e-mail, noting that among the 8,000 men under him, only Spc. Buzzell has come under scrutiny. "While [operational security] is a very real everyday concern for us, I do not see potential violations as widespread," he says.
Spc. Buzzell's blog, riddled with misspellings and larded with obscenities, conveys the kind of raw honesty that prompts military mothers to write weepy e-mails by the score. Soldiers have told Spc. Buzzell they sometimes strip out the curse words and send his writings home as their own. He credits as his inspiration the author Hunter S. Thompson, whose first-person articles and books about politics and drug use were popular in the 1970s. But My War probably is more reminiscent of Michael Herr's "Dispatches," a bleak, first-person account of the Vietnam War widely regarded as one of the best examples of military journalism. Mr. Herr's book took years to arrive on the mass market, but Spc. Buzzell's accounts offer near-instantaneous immediacy. And as his case demonstrates, a casual detail -- that his unit had run low on water during a maneuver, for instance -- can easily get a soldier into trouble.
The blog entry at the root of Spc. Buzzell's difficulties was an Aug. 4 piece called "Men in Black." Opening with a bland, four-paragraph squib about a Mosul firefight that he snatched from CNN's Web site, Spc. Buzzell spins a riveting account of a nasty, hours-long firefight with scores of black-clad snipers. It begins with an enemy mortar attack and a testosterone-driven scramble to arms. "People were hooting and hollering, yelling their war cries and doing the Indian yell thing as they drove off and locked and loaded their weapons," he writes. He describes a harrowing ambush. "Bullets were pinging off our armor all over our vehicle, and you could hear multiple RPG's [rocket-propelled grenades] being fired and flying through the air and impacting all around us," he writes. "I've never felt fear like this. I was like, this is it, I'm going to die."
Spc. Buzzell's account caught the attention of the News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., the newspaper that covers Spc. Buzzell's home base of Fort Lewis. Noting that the attack got scant coverage by bigger media, the local paper drew heavily from Spc. Buzzell's anonymous account. The Pentagon's internal clip service picked up the News Tribune story and it landed in the hands of commanders in Iraq. Within hours, Lt. Col. Buck James, the battalion commander, ordered Spc. Buzzell to his office. Spc. Buzzell quickly shaved and grabbed fresh fatigues to see the colonel he had never met. As he later recounted on his blog, he arrived to find Col. James leafing through a massive printout of his Web writings, which someone had marked up with a yellow pen. The colonel, whom Spc. Buzzell described as a cross between George Patton and Vince Lombardi, opened with a question: " 'Youre [sic] a big Hunter S Thompson Fan, arnt [sic] you?'"
Spc. Buzzell says he was called to account for two details: the observation that his unit ran low on water during the hours-long standoff and a description of the steps he took to get more ammunition as the firefight waxed on. Both were excised from his online archives. In an e-mail exchange, Col. James says the Army was concerned about a possible security breach on Spc. Buzzell's blog, but had no desire to muzzle him. "I counseled SPC Buzzell along with his Platoon Sergeant on these points and ensured that he understood that anything he was unsure about should be reviewed by his chain of command," Col. James says. Spc. Buzzell has "performed gallantly" as a soldier, he says.
But Spc. Buzzell's trouble with the command continued. A few days later, after leaving a mocking message on his blog to the military intelligence officers he now assumed were reading along, Spc. Buzzell was ordered confined to camp. He was returned to regular duty and posted a few more times, but he recently removed all of his archives from the site, and new postings are now sporadic. He says it just isn't as fun to write, now that he has to submit everything to his platoon sergeant prior to publication. "I was never edited before," he says. "Now I am."
Spc. Buzzell said he hasn't decided whether to permanently stop posting. He says he received scores of e-mails when "My War" went silent and even got some subtle nudges from his command to continue. Indeed, Col. James seems nostalgic for Internet accounts of his men. "To be candid, I believe the widespread popularity of his writing came as a bit of a shock to him and he was uncomfortable with the attention," Col. James said in an e-mail. "Personally, I think he is a talented writer and a gifted storyteller and should pursue his talent."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
09/10/2004 11:28:26 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I've read his blog and really enjoyed it. Portraying him as a poor victim is not very objective. Why doesn't he just do what everyone else in the past wars have done. Keep a journal and get a book deal later.
Although his "Men in Black" article was gripping, what effect on morale do you think it would have to our enemy. Refering to the as having nerves of steel and such while some private hunkers in the Stryker pissing his pants.
We all want the down and dirty, but we can also wait until it's over and our guys are safe.
If he still wants to whine about his commanders decision then he's not mature enough to see the big picture and maybe his fame has gone to his head. Ego can be a terrible thing.
I hope that he is more concerned about getting back on the line where his buddies are and pursue the blog for the future posting.
I, like you, can't wait to read his blog again, but I would rather wait if it would mean compromising their mission or lives.
#2
98zulu: The cadres I've talked to say that first, the boy screwed up, but second, that his heart was in the right place. The response of his command seems to also be wise and measured. So the overall effect is twofold: the R&D guys working on the Stryker upgrades are going to get eagle-eyed, not a bad thing in itself; and more importantly, this sort of war story makes enlistments JUMP. That one blog posting might be responsible for a tipping the scales for a hundred young men. And the C&GS will even grudgingly tolerate Cher showing her tattoos on a battleship if it boosts enlistments. If properly managed, this soldier could become a highly valuable resource: listening to his buddies' war stories, then writing them up for the folks back home. The value of this should not be underestimated.
#3
The kid needs to write. He was born to it. He was lucky that he went into combat before getting formal training. His style has now been forged truly and not ruined by some college professor.
For the future of America that kid may be more important than anyother person in Iraq. He is able to communicate to a slice of the next generation that needs to understand why we fight.
His Col and Sgt are to be commended for the way they have handled this.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/11/2004 3:29 Comments ||
Top||
Arshad Mohammed, Reuters
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday genocide has occurred in Darfur and blamed Sudan's government and Janjaweed militias, a finding likely to increase pressure on Khartoum to end the violence. "I concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and that genocide may still be occurring," Powell told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While US officials have said a declaration of genocide does not impose significant legal obligations on them, the use of the term is likely to influence the diplomatic debate as the UN Security Council weighs a US-proposed resolution that threatens oil sanctions if Sudan does not stop the abuses.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/10/2004 10:23:11 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This is supposedly the first time the "G" word has been applied to a genocide in progress. All other times, it's been ex post facto.
Today humanity is being challenged. Unthinkable atrocities take place on daily basis. There is an evil force at work that aims to destroy us. The agents of this evil respect nothing; not even the lives of children. Every day there are bombings, every day innocent people are targeted and murdered. It seems as if we are helpless. But we are not!
The ancient Chinese sage Sun Zi said, "Know your enemy and you won't be defeated". Do we know our enemy? If we don't, then we are doomed.
Terrorism is not an ideology, it is a tool; but the terrorists kill for an ideology. They call that ideology Islam.
The entire world, both Muslims and non-Muslims claim that the terrorists have hijacked "the religion of peace" and Islam does not advocate violence and terror.
Who is right? Do the terrorists understand Islam better, or do those who decry them? The answer to this question is the key to our victory, and failure to find that key will result in our loss and death will be upon us. The key is in the Quran and the history of Islam.
Those of us who know Islam, know that the understanding of the terrorists of Islam is correct. They are doing nothing that their prophet did not do and did not encourage his followers to do. Murders, assassinations, beheadings, massacres and sacrilege of the dead "to delight the hearts of the believers" were all practiced by Muhammad, were taught by him and were observed by Muslims throughout the history.
If ever truth has mattered, it is now! This is the time that we have to call a spade a spade. This is the time that we have to find the root of the problem and eradicate it. The root of Islamic terrorism is Islam. The proof of that is the Quran.
We are a group of ex-Muslims who have seen the face of the evil and have risen to warn the world. No matter how painful the truth may be, only truth can set us free. Why this much denial? Why so much obstinacy? How many more innocent lives should be lost before YOU open your eyes? A nuclear disaster is upon us. This will happen. It is not a question of "if" but "when". Oblivious of that, the world is digging its head deeper in the sand.
We urge the Muslims to leave Islam. Stop with excuses, justifications and rationalizations. Stop dividing mankind in "us" vs. "them" and Muslims vs. Kafirs. We are One people, One mankind! Muhammad was not a messenger of God. It is time that we end this insanity and face the truth. The terrorists take their moral support and the validation for their actions from you. Your very adherence to their cult of death is a nod of approval for their crimes against humanity. Muslims must be ashamed for believing in a psychopath.
We also urge the non-Muslims to stop being politically correct lest they hurt the Muslims' sensitivity. To Hell with their sensitivity! Let us save their lives, and the lives of millions of innocent people that they intend to destroy.
Millions, if not billions of lives will be lost if we do nothing. Time is running out! "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Do something! Send this message to everyone in your address book and ask them to do the same. Defeat Islam, this cult of terror and stop terrorism. This is your world, save it.
Posted by: ed ||
09/10/2004 10:08:38 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
yeah ex-muslims are a reliable source for interpreting authentic Islam. Kinda like ex-Jews are the best for interpretating authentic Judaism, and ex-Christians for interpretating authentic Christianity.
So this guy agrees with AQ on what is authentic Islam. Fine. And this trumps the views of millions of muslims who disagree?
#3
# of Muslims (or former ones) condemning the Russian attack: 2
# of Muslims who now have fatwas on their heads: 2+
Getting the word out on the RoP: Priceless!
I pray for this guy's safety. LH, this guy is spot on! He's only telling what the "prophet" himself did (lead by example), what the Koran says (there are many verses about killing the infidels...Jews, Christians, Atheists, even other "non devout" Muslims). If he's legit, he's been on the inside, probably heard the hate taught in the madrassahs and mosques. Just b/c "millions of muslims" (according to you) disagree, that doesn't make the text of the Koran any less clear, or the Terrorists' following of those scriptures any less devout! And where are these "millions of muslims?" I want to hear more of them SPEAK OUT and DENOUNCE (categorically, I may add, not like CAIR who "denounced" the Russian attack but subjected it to Russia not attacking Chechens) these acts! Until this happens on a large scale, in my mind, they're cohorts in the deaths caused by the jihadis!
Posted by: BA ||
09/10/2004 11:07 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Seeing, when it is dangerous to do so, when it contradicts to what people are supposed to see, is beautiful. I am very impressed with these ex-Muslims-they put their lives on the line to speak truths in this time of history, and yet they still do it, fervently. And they certainly know their religion better than any non-Muslims do.
BTW-I actually learn a lot from talking to people who are "ex" their religions. Sometimes the "organized religion" aspects of their denomination sours them on what is otherwise an excellent relationship with God. Their faith seems more soulful, more alive to me than those who are literalists who blindly adhere to books.
#5
You may disagree of what the faithfreedom people say; however, it is past time that they have a chance to tell their story in the marketplace of ideas.
In fact, a lot of muslims suspect deep down that the ex Muslims are right. That's why the 'death to apostate' chant is heard even in the West.
#6
"Sometimes the "organized religion" aspects of their denomination sours them on what is otherwise an excellent relationship with God. Their faith seems more soulful, more alive to me than those who are literalists who blindly adhere to books."
-excellent sentiment Jules. I believe that can be said for any organized religion.
#7
Sometimes the "organized religion" aspects of their denomination sours them on what is otherwise an excellent relationship with God. Their faith seems more soulful, more alive to me than those who are literalists who blindly adhere to books."
Organized religion != literalism. Certainly not in Christianity, where non-literalist denominations are every bit as organized as literalist one. Certainly not in Judaism, where even the "fundamentalists" are really literalists, since a tradition of interpretation is a 2000 year old (at a minimum) part of Judaism. And as far as I can tell in Islam as well. These Ex-muslims are agreeing with the Salafists that non-literalist approaches are "inauthentic".
Look, i know some ex-Jews who are soulful. But unbiased viewers of what authentic Judaism is, they are not. And i know plenty of Jews who are quite soulful. Including both liberal and Orthodox ones.
Ex Muslims are a bit different from ex Catholics or ex Jews for one very important reason: they risk death for being apostates.
The other reason to have ex Muslims get their chance to be heard is that they understand, as a forever-kufr could never understand, both the formal sources of Islam (Quran, Hadith, etc.) as well as the emotional aspect of these things. They understand the chill in the spine that a Muslim gets reading about the punishments that await in hell and the rewards that await in heaven for the believer.
They also understand both the formal and the emotional levels of rage/denial because they have been thru these levels.
#9
Perhaps I didn't say it well. Maybe strict-doctrinaire is the right term? What do you call the hierarchically-based, top-down authorizing, literalist part of a religion? The part which tolerates no questioning? The part that tells you snakes talk or that jihad is good? The part that, for example, won't recognize the marriage of 2 people if one of them has previously been married (as is the case with the husband of a co-worker of mine, who divorced his 1st wife because she was unfaithful and then he remarried into a loving and respectful relationship which his church refuses to recognize)?
This same "doctrinaire" part of Muslim makes it dangerous, IMHO, and I don't know how you would alter Islam so that it isn't so doctrinaire-its very name means "submit". Parts of the Quran could be considered as incitement to violence and perversion-the writings speak glowingly of these occurences within Mohammed's own life. A person who takes the Quran too literally might think it is ok for him to do the same because the "holy book" said it was ok for Mohammed, and he is trying to live his life by Mohammed's model. And the "moderate" Muslim who sees the sickness of those acts for what they are and dares question Mohammed's sickness risks being dangled from a gibbet or having his head chopped off by another "true" Muslim.
#10
The letter reads like a poem ripped right out of my head. I now shit about Islam. Other than Mohhamed must of been very charismatic and arabs very easly lead.
But as I've said many times, the world needs to be freed of islam. Destroy the myths that hold it up.
#11
MHW first im not saying they shouldnt be heard, of course they should. Im just saying I wouldnt privilege their view of what is authentic Islam. as for their being at risk for apostasy, I dont see evidence that this is the case in the US. See my first post, highlighting the other reason mentioned for their choice of anonymity.
Jules - Ok, youre talking about something other than all organized religion. My own religion encourages questioning, and my own subgroup of my religion believes in the power of religious law to evolve, within certain fairly broad limits.
A "moderate" muslims, would I presume, not call Mohammed sick, but would question the interpretation of what Mohammed is said to have done, or its applicability in other time periods. Just as moderate Jew does not call Joshua sick for slaying Canaanites, but simply recognizes that their are things about ancient history that are alien to us, and that this was not meant as a model for our own times.
#13
LH-Yep, people change with history (and hopefully get better). People deal with the context of their times, but it is tough to argue the appropriateness of marrying and bedding a child of, what was it 9???, in ANY time, as told in the Quran. I would say the same of a number of other matters in Islam. Humans should know better by now.
#14
jules - in biblical times Jews married multiple wives, and could marry a 12 year old girl. Today jews arent allowed to have more than wife under jewish law, and everyone accepts minimum marriage age laws comparable to other modern societies. Yet the bible we read hasnt changed one jot. Law based religions are capable of changing practice WITHOUT changing the holy texts. I KNOW this to be true for Judaism, and from everything i have read it is true for all but the Salafist fringe of Islam. So i have little patience for non-muslims who proclaim the unchanging nature of Islam by reading the Koran. I have more respect for ex-muslims, but im NOT going to privilege their view of Islam, just as im sure as hell not going to privilege some f**king jew for Jesus as an authority on Judaism.
#15
LH-You're getting awfully testy here. 1.) I am not challenging your faith. 2.)I don't know what you mean by "privileging". 3.) To assert that a person can't criticize a religion because they don't belong to it, or because they read a page rather than the whole chapter of the holy text and so are miscontruing the context, seems a stretch. 4.) Where did I say that Islam is unchanging?
I don't care if the year is 2004 or 700, marrying a 9-year old is SICK. A kid whose age would put her in the 2nd or 3rd grade is not suitable for sex. That should be abundantly plain for anyone, whatever their religion.
#16
privileging = taking one piece of evidence as superior to another,for arbitrary reasons. I see putting the testimony of ex-muslims about the "autheniticity" of Islam over that of millions of practicing muslims as privileging that testimony. You may disagree.
My problem isnt so much with criticizing as with people making statements about what the "true" version of a religion is, for the purpose of showing how evil that religion is.
Marrying a 9 year old is sick. And killing babies is sick, no - dare I point you to the parts of the Hebrew bible that allow for that? What the Pagan Romans did to their victims was sick. Roman slavery, which St Paul approved of, was sick. And BTW, Im not sure there wasnt child marriage in those days, or that Christianity particularly banned it. The modern world is different from the 7th century, and thank god for that, I say. But you cant expect religions to drop their ancient holy books for that reason, or expect people to change religions.
And let me say this, posting stuff about a religion on a political site, one dedicated to the WOT implicitly says this is of political relevance. If so, the implication, that we shouldnt make allies of or worry about the sensitivities of moderate muslims (IE those who DONT agree with a literal reading of the koran, etc) is precisely the wrong lesson.
#17
Law based religions are capable of changing practice WITHOUT changing the holy texts.
True-if its people appreciate the hellish nightmares that literal, rigid adherence to ancient texts and practices can bring. After the Inquisition, later generations of Christians realized that acts done in the name of their religion were shameful and horrific, and DISHONORED THE CREATIONS OF GOD. I think that Muslims are capable of recognizing that same poison within their own religion, but only with self-examination, and only if EVERYONE IS INVITED TO THE DISCUSSION TO TEAR APART WEAK OLD MYTHS THAT NEED TO DIE. Leave the texts alone, if they are sacred to you. I won't tear them out of your hands to rewrite them. But we better have a common understanding as humans on how we will treat each other. If a religion sanctions the mistreatment of others, you bet I will jump all over it. As a non-Muslim.
I can't argue what is and isn't the true version of Islam. You are correct there.
Yes, it is of political relevance, but I wouldn't follow that statement with an immediate connection to the sensibilities of moderate Muslims. As far as suitability of Muslims as allies, it's a tougher call. I don't think there are many Muslim allies, because the US tends to get bunched in with Israel as the cause of all the misery of Muslims in the world. Muslims who believe that are not allies I particularly care to make.
I have met one moderate Muslim in my entire life as a teacher of foreign languages. I hope someday I will meet more-but that doesn't mean I will. Time will tell-I am not a fortune teller.
Some 45,000 Arabs from "the territories" - Judea and Samaria - have moved to within pre-1967 Israeli borders in the past four years. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by an Israeli-Arab student who is "close" to the situation. The study notes that the "immigration" began some two decades ago, but has increased significantly of late - mostly in an illegal fashion. Arabs from the PLO-controlled areas are permitted, under certain circumstances to live in pre-'67 Israel under "family reunification" programs. Most of the migration, however, is by entire families who move to various Jerusalem neighborhoods, or to Arab villages and cities in the Sharon and Galilee.
Dr. Yaakov Ben-Ami, a professor associated with this research, spoke about it with Arutz-7 yesterday - in place of the student, "who prefers to remain nameless for her own safety." He said, "The number 45,000 is an estimate, but it is very realistic. Despite the law of 2-3 years ago restricting the use of the family-reunification clause, the numbers have not changed much; the phenomenon has merely become more clandestine." He said that the new residents include also Jordanians who want to improve their standard of living, and that they and the Yesha Arabs are "essentially laundered by the Arab localities."
The student concentrated on the integration of the children of these illegal Arab residents from Yesha in public or private Israeli-Arab schools. The statistics on the number of new "immigrants" are based on data she garnered during the course of her work in Israeli-Arab schools, and from talks with mayors, other elected officials, religious figures and illegal migrant families throughout the country. The researcher notes that the new residents receive free education and welfare services, even though they are actually here illegally. This is accomplished with the help of local Arab municipal officials in the areas in which they reside. In some cases, they receive the patronage of their relatives who are Israeli citizens, with whom they blend in or are included as family members.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/10/2004 04:15 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
sounds just like home. The article never said if these people are a problem, or just looking for a better life.
Oh indeed it can.
The incident took place near the Vykhino metro station in south-east Moscow on Thursday night. Colonel Magomed Tolboyev was stopped by two police sergeants for a routine document check. After the law enforcers saw the colonel's name, which suggests he is of Caucasian Muslim descent, they started beating him up. The beating stopped only after passers-by called the police station. Before leaving the attackers said: "Get away from here, you black, and tell your kinsmen we will strangle all of you, whatever the cost."
Colonel Magomed Tolboyev is a distinguished test pilot; he bears the country's top honorary title Hero of Russia. During his space career Tolboyev was commander of Russia's first and only space shuttle — the Buran. In his comments to the Ekho Moskvy radio station Tolboyev said that he will not bring the case to court as this was below his moral principles. "I am an officer of the Russian Air Force, I do not want to sue this scum," he said. "Apart from that, there are tens of thousands of them, nothing can be done anyway," he added. "I could shake these sergeants off me in a second, but I understood that in this case they would have claimed that I had attacked them first. [and now the money shot...]
That is why I only asked them not to hit me on the back — I once fell from high altitude, my whole spine is made of plastic now," the colonel said. On Friday morning, an official spokesman of the Interior Ministry's directorate for Moscow City said that the interior security department had launched a probe into the incident and promised that the results of the probe would be made public. "Yes comrades, it's true. This man has a plastic spine. See? Turn it upside down, and it snows inside."
Posted by: Another Dan ||
09/10/2004 5:16:49 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Anyone who flew in the Buran doesn't lack for guts.
#2
The bigger story is the one our incompetent MSM foreign correspondents can't effectively cover: the criminalization of the Russian state. The western hacks who parachute into Moscow every other year don't have any sources in the Russian security services or other branches of the government, they don't speak the language, they merely quote other journalists and "experts" at the Carnegie Foundation rather than dig to get the deeper story.
Point here is that Russia needs a thorough overhaul of its rotten state institutions. They are failing massively, and if Russia fails, we fail.
#3
I'm confused: was he in fact a Caucasian Muslim, or did his name merely suggest it? I can't decide if I'm pleased about this beatdown or not. But at least something's happening.
#4
You should not be pleased. The Moscow police are corrupt, moronic thugs who routinely shake down and beat randomly-selected dark-complexioned "southerners" who appear to be from the Caucasus.
The third anniversary of 9/11 has not brought Pakistani poster vendor Fateh Mohammad any windfall profits, unlike past years when his pictures of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were big sellers. The bearded 50-year-old, who earns his livelihood in the city's bustling Saddar market said he sold only seven posters until Friday, while last year 500 were purchased by fans of the man regarded a hero by Muslim zealots. "I may sell few more on 9/11, but generally people don't seem to be interested in Laden's pictures any more," Mohammad told AFP with a wry smile.
For Mohammad, Hollywood characters like Harry Potter and actors like Brad Pitt are becoming more popular and their posters sell like hot cakes among the youngsters in the world's second largest Muslim country. After Pakistan abandoned the hardline Taliban regime in Afghanistan and joined the US-led war on terror in late 2001, the Osama factor remained potent among certain groups in the country. But while such sentiments are still prevalent in the conservative tribal territory along the Afghan border, they are apparently losing their commercial value. "Our business thrives on current events," said a garment dealer in Karachi who use to sell bin Laden's shirts in the past.
"There is little market for Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein but with one big event they can stage a comeback and we will give fresh orders for shirts with their photographs," shopkeeper Sher Zaman told AFP. Analysts believe that euphoria created by 9/11 terror attacks on United States among Muslim hardliners has considerably died down with the passage of time.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/10/2004 12:13:35 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Osama bin who? Oh, him! No, he's so 2001. We don't do him any more. Got posters of Bert on his own though, if you're interested."
#6
LOL is is a joke Netcraft reports on stuff like operating systems being run by web (servers) sites along with uptimes and other data. Rantburg is reported as running Windows 2000 Microsoft-IIS/5.0 for example As the saying goes "It's official netcraft reports BSD is dead. ( hardly true at all :p)
In other words I don't believe Qsama is under a bunch of rock and dirt.
#11
For Mohammad, Hollywood characters like Harry Potter and actors like Brad Pitt are becoming more popular and their posters sell like hot cakes among the youngsters in the worldâs second largest Muslim country.
What about Michael Moore? I'm sure among the AQ and their ilk he would be a hot seller!
Posted by: Jack is Back ||
09/10/2004 9:45 Comments ||
Top||
#12
He's Osama bin Done. All the hip young jihadis are wearing Basayev this season.
#13
#11 JiB: For Mohammad, Hollywood characters like Harry Potter and actors like Brad Pitt are becoming more popular and their posters sell like hot cakes among the youngsters in the worldâs second largest Muslim country.
What about Michael Moore? I'm sure among the AQ and their ilk he would be a hot seller!
That's only through controlled official channels, like Hezbollah and Hamas. Only certain jihadis are "worthy" of seeing F9/11!
Brad Pitt & Harry Potter? Just wait til the boys get a load of the 2005 Hooters calendar and there's a McDonald's on every corner in Paki:
Mohammad: Hey, Ayman, have you tried the McFalaffel or the Curry McChicken?
Ayman: Are you kiddin' Mo? I'm checking out the "chick" Ms. May in the Hooters 2005 calendar. Allan be praised, but I hear next year's calendar will feature fashionable burkas for the ladies; I can't wait!
Posted by: BA ||
09/10/2004 10:20 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Michael Moore is not a big seller because the poster is too large.
I also imagine that they don't sell any Amelia Airhart posters, either.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/10/2004 11:55 Comments ||
Top||
#15
AP: Michael Moore is not a big seller because the poster is too large.
I also imagine that they don't sell any Amelia Airhart posters, either.
ROTFLMAO! However, knowing that the RoP has it's own intellectuals, didn't you know that it was NOT Amelia Airhart that was the first woman pilot? It was Mahmoud bin crappin's 3rd wife in a burka, who took off from Fallujah Int'l Airport (which, BTW, is the 10,369th most holy site in all of Islam).
Posted by: BA ||
09/10/2004 15:08 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Dead men don't sell big.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/10/2004 15:12 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
