Hi there, !
Fri 07/18/2025 Thu 07/17/2025 Wed 07/16/2025 Tue 07/15/2025 Archives
Rantburg
559812 articles and 1929930 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 48 articles and 14 comments as of 3:21.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 02:47 Grom the Affective [14] 
1 02:07 Grom the Affective [18] 
0 [28] 
0 [19] 
0 [21] 
0 [16] 
3 01:38 Seeking Cure For Ignorance [43] 
0 [16] 
0 [18] 
1 00:22 Frank G [25] 
0 [17] 
0 [13] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 []
0 []
0 [19]
0 [25]
Page 3: Non-WoT
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
2 02:39 Grom the Affective [24]
0 [8]
1 02:42 Grom the Affective [29]
0 [17]
1 02:43 Grom the Affective [23]
1 02:45 Grom the Affective [20]
1 01:08 Frank G [17]
0 [17]
Page 4: Opinion
0 [29]
1 00:44 Elmomoter Mussolini9149 [24]
0 [14]
1 01:58 Thing From Snowy Mountain [20]
0 [15]
0 [13]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
0 [22]
0 [17]
0 [15]
0 [17]
0 [13]
0 [11]
0 [15]
Page 6: Politix
0 [21]
0 [18]
0 [16]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Mexico set to be torn apart as drug kingpin El Chapo's son prepares to tell US prosecutors 'everything he knows'
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] One of the world's most notorious narco mob leaders could very well destabilize the Mexico government as he plans to reveal all he knows about corrupt officials.

Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's son, Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty to two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of knowingly engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise before a federal judge in reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
last Friday.

The 35-year-old enjugged
Please don't kill me!
boss, who oversaw the Sinaloa Cartel's 'Los Chapitos' faction, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who have accused him of distributing drugs and running a criminal enterprise.

New York and Illinois federal prosecutors alleged that Guzmán López and his three brothers assumed control of the Sinaloa Cartel once El Chapo was arrested in Mexico in 2016 and then extradited in 2019 to the United States, where he is serving a life sentence at a Colorado super maximum-security prison.

The indictments indicated that the transnational drug trafficking organization made hundreds of millions by shipping, producing, and trafficking fentanyl to the United States.

Now Guzmán López's mea-culpa could very well open a Pandora's box into the Sinaloa Cartel's dealings with former and current law enforcement and government officials back home in Mexico.

His high-profile lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman slammed the Mexican government while talking to news hounds after leaving the courtroom.

'It's not so much of a surprise that somehow, for 40 years, the Mexican government, Mexican law enforcement, did nothing to capture who was probably the biggest drug pusher, perhaps in the history of the world,' he said.


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [18 views] Top|| File under: Narcos


Report: Sinaloa Cartel Supplied Canadian Mobsters, Indian Gangs with Fentanyl, Meth
[Breitbart] The Arizona arrest of a Canadian mobster with ties to Irish, Indian, and Middle Eastern crime syndicates uncovered just one of the networks used by the Sinaloa Cartel to move narcotics from Mexico and the U.S. into Canada and then into multiple other countries.

Federal authorities in Arizona recently arrested Opinder Singh Sian on federal drug trafficking charges. The man remains in federal custody awaiting future hearings later this month. The charges against Singh come from a criminal indictment filed in the Central District of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,. While the case remains sealed, some of the documents have been leaked online and shed light on how various ethnic gangs in Canada have been working with the Sinaloa Cartel and others to move precursors and manufacture large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamines.

According to a report by the Vancouver Sun, Singh started as a small-time criminal. Within a few years, he was able to establish working connections with Irish and Italian mobsters, as well as Mexican cartels, mainly the Sinaloa Cartel and Middle Eastern crime syndicates. While some older articles claim Singh was a member of the Brothers’ Keeper ethnic gang in Canada, the Vancouver Sun claims that he is not a member or leader within the gang but has deep connections to them. Quoting sealed court documents, the Vancouver Sun reported that the case against Singh began in 2022 when the The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was able to insert a confidential informant into a group that was moving drugs from California to Australia. A Ottoman Turkish mobster provided the DEA informant with the phone number of a crime boss in North America who could help supply a large quantity of drugs. The documents quoted by the Vancouver Sun revealed that Singh and the informant met several times in Vancouver and California as they set up various drug deliveries.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under: Narcos


Africa Subsaharan
France withdraws troops from Senegal
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:

[ColonelCassad] The era of French military presence in Senegal that lasted since the 19th century has ended.

The last two French military bases have been handed over to the Senegalese military, the remnants of the French military contingent will soon leave the country.

France certainly expects to maintain political and economic influence in Senegal, but without a direct military presence it will be difficult to do so in the context of ongoing decolonization processes in West Africa and growing competition for influence in Africa. In fact, the processes that began with the appearance of Russian PMCs in Africa in 2015-2016 have had long-term consequences, primarily for the disintegrated French neocolonial empire.

The world saw its weakness, and this launched the process of washing out French influence from Africa, and also received unexpected echoes in Oceania, where New Caledonia is rebelling, demanding an end to the French occupation of the island. Macron's attempts to interfere in the Caucasus and Ukraine stem, among other things, from the desire to take revenge on Russia for the lost neocolonial empire.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [16 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Lebanese man convicted in slaying of Israeli diplomat to be freed from French prison
[IsraelTimes] Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was sentenced to life in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders of Israeli envoy Yacov Barsimantov and US military attache Charles Robert

A French appeals court on Thursday ordered the release of pro-Paleostinian Lebanese terrorist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats, including an Israeli envoy.

Abdallah, 74, is one of the longest-serving prisoners in La Belle France, where most convicts serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years.

He has been up for release for 25 years, but the United States — a civil party to the case — has consistently opposed his leaving prison.

Abdallah was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.

He has always insisted that he was a "fighter" who battled for the rights of Paleostinians and not a "criminal."

The Gay Paree Appeals Court ordered that he be freed from a prison in the south of La Belle France next week, on Friday, July 25, on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.

Several sources before the hearing said that it was planned for him to be flown to Gay Paree and then to Beirut.

Wounded in 1978 during Israel’s invasion of Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, he joined the Marxist-Leninist PFLP, which carried out a string of plane hijackings in the 1960s and 1970s. It is banned as a terror group by the US and EU.

Then, in the late 1970s, Abdallah, a Christian, founded his terror group, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF). It made contact with other extreme-left outfits, including Italia’s Red Brigades and the German Red Army Faction (RAF).

Abdallah was captured in 1984. A French court sentenced him in 1987 to life in prison for "complicity in the liquidations" in 1982 of Charles R. Ray, a US military attaché serving in Gay Paree, and Yacov Bar-Simantov, a second counselor at the Israeli embassy in Gay Paree.

Bar-Simantov’s killer, a woman wearing a white beret, fled into the Gay Paree subway after shooting him in the head in front of his wife and children at their apartment building. The diplomat was the second secretary for political affairs at the embassy.

Abdallah shot Ray, an assistant military attache, outside Ray’s apartment building the same year.

In 1984, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions grabbed credit for the attempted liquidation of US Robert O. Homme in Strasbourg. A gunman shot him five times, though Homme survived the attack.

Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail, and had written to the appeals court to say they would arrange his return home.

The detainee’s brother, Robert Abdallah, in Lebanon, told AFP he was overjoyed.

"We’re delighted. I didn’t expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release," he said. "For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures."

Prosecutors can file an appeal with La Belle France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed fast enough to halt his release next week.

’POLITICAL SCANDAL’
Abdallah’s lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision.

"It’s both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier," he said.

In November last year, a French court ordered his release conditional on Abdallah leaving La Belle France. But La Belle France’s anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was consequently suspended.

A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Gay Paree appeals court postponed, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs, something he has consistently refused to do.

The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month.

During the closed-door hearing, Abdallah’s lawyer told the judges that 16,000 euros had been placed in the prisoner’s bank account and was at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the United States.

The Gay Paree court has described his behavior in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed "no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts."

However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
the US Department of Justice has asserted that his release would pose a threat to the safety of US diplomats.

Washington has also used Abdallah’s previous comments that he would return to his hometown Qobayyat on the Lebanese-Syrian border as a reason not to release him, given the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah in a spillover from the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
war.

Abdallah still enjoys some support from several public figures in La Belle France, including left-wing members of parliament and Nobel prize-winning author Annie Ernaux. There have been protest demonstrations for his release.

In 2013, the French town of Bagnolet, east of Gay Paree, voted to make Abdallah an honorary resident, calling him a "communist activist" and "political prisoner" who "belongs to the resistance movement of Lebanon, his country," French media reported at the time.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 02:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


French town yanks music fest funding over booking of anti-Israel band Kneecap
More consequences.
[IsraelTimes] Paris suburb withdraws 40,000 euros for Rock-en-Seine festival after it booked pro-Palestinian Irish rappers

The Gay Paree suburb of Saint-Cloud, which hosts the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival, has decided to withdraw a 40,000 euro ($46,000) subsidy for the event due to its booking of Irish band Kneecap.

The Belfast-based rap group, which performs in Irish and English, has drawn criticism and police scrutiny because it has denounced Israel and praised Lions of Islam onstage. Videos have emerged allegedly showing the band shouting "Up Hamas
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
, up Hezbollah" and calling on people to kill politicians.

It is scheduled to play on the final day of Rock-en-Seine, which takes place from August 21 to 24.

In a statement late Wednesday, the Saint-Cloud city hall said it had agreed to provide the funding before the festival’s final lineup was announced, and that it had decided to withdraw the funding on July 3.

The city said it respects the festival’s programming freedom, and had not sought "to enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming."

"On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill politicians, whatever their nationality," the statement said.

Rock-en-Seine could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kneecap drew attention and criticism in April when it displayed the message "Fuck Israel, Free Paleostine" at the Coachella music festival in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, where it accused Israel of genocide. Subsequently, the band had a performance in Scotland pulled over safety concerns while various shows in Germany were axed. The band has a US tour scheduled for the fall.

Kneecap member Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May in the United Kingdom with a terror offense after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert last November. He denies the offense, and the band says its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah.

Last month, Kneecap played at the UK’s Glastonbury festival, where O’Hanna shouted, "Glastonbury, I’m a free man!" Before Kneecap took the stage, a member of the English punk group Bob Vylan led the crowd in chants of "Free Paleostine" and "Death, death, death to the IDF."

British police announced criminal investigations into both bands’ Glastonbury performances. The police said in a statement that the investigations concern public order incidents.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 02:05 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


The Grand Turk
Israeli strikes on Damascus force Erdogan to react
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kamran Gasanov

[REGNUM] The change of power in Damascus almost coincided with the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could personally boast of the armed opposition’s rise to power as his greatest foreign policy triumph. Since then, from the perspective of Turkish interests, any developments in Syria must be viewed in light of two key variables: Erdogan’s victory and the Trump factor.

Turkey's dominance in Syria and its closest ties to Ahmed al-Sharaa also gave it the greatest responsibility for the future of the new country.

Of course, the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) has been playing multi-vector since the first days of his presidency. He received ministers from EU countries and Great Britain and a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, made his first visit to the KSA, shook hands with all the leaders of the League of Arab States (LAS) and even Donald Trump.

However, many experts, like Trump, consider Erdogan to be the main "culprit" of the coup d'etat in Damascus in December 2024. Accordingly, he is responsible for those he has tamed. Al-Sharaa's reputation affects Erdogan's reputation, and the Syrian president is not doing well with that right now.

With the West Bank massacre and the killing of Alawites still fresh in the memory, the recent Druze incidents in April, and no progress in the negotiations with the Kurds. The integrity of the country, as well as the regime, is under constant pressure.

All this time, Syria has also lived under pressure from Israel, which, as a preventive measure after Assad's overthrow, sent troops to the Golan Heights and demanded that the new authorities fully demilitarize south of Damascus. In April, the IDF carried out airstrikes on Turkish military bases in Syria.

Since mid-April, Syria has again been under threat of a new civil war and external invasion.

Domestic disputes between a few Druze and Bedouins in As-Suwayda led to large-scale clashes between Druze and Syrian security forces, in which Israel intervened. After events spread beyond the region and the Israeli Air Force bombed the General Staff and the presidential palace in Damascus, Erdogan is obliged to take the side of his ally.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry, which is counting on al-Sharaa's ability to reach an agreement with the Druze, sees the IDF strikes as "an act of sabotage against the efforts of the Syrian authorities to ensure peace, stability and security."

On the day of the ceasefire in Suwayda, Erdogan called al-Sharaa and welcomed the ceasefire. He lashed out at Israel, considering its attacks a threat not only to Syria but to the entire region, and Damascus assured of its support.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly took a long swipe at Israel, calling its airstrikes "cowardly" and recalling Tel Aviv's "genocide in Gaza" as well as attacks on Lebanon and Iran.

Critical notes from the Turkish government and parliament are important from a diplomatic point of view.

Erdogan and his colleagues in the ruling coalition are demonstrating solidarity and showing that they will not abandon their brainchild to its fate. The need for a reaction is stimulated by the Israel factor.

Now, in any conflict involving Benjamin Netanyahu, sympathies are given to his opponents - even Iran, the Houthis and Hezbollah, although the latter are clearly not Turkey's allies.

Israel and Türkiye have become real geopolitical opponents in recent years.

After Assad was overthrown, Türkiye began to project its geopolitics across Syria, not just the north. The likelihood of a head-on clash with Israel increased. The April incidents proved the seriousness of the situation.

Will Türkiye go beyond diplomatic support?

To a certain extent, yes.

Ankara, according to the newspaper Sabah, has already sent signals to Damascus about its readiness to help strengthen the Syrian army. " If we are asked, we will provide all possible support in strengthening Syria's defense capability and supporting its fight against terrorism," the Turkish Foreign Ministry noted.

In fact, the Turks are already building the Syrian army and constructing their bases. The talk is probably about strengthening and accelerating both processes.

There are limits to support for Syria, however. Despite all the hatred for Netanyahu, who, according to Erdogan, “has surpassed Hitler,” no one wants a direct military clash.

It’s not that Turkey is afraid. Unlike Iran, the Turkish military can threaten Israel right across the border. The difficulty is that, unlike Iran, the Turkish economy is tied to European markets and American banks.

The US Treasury periodically shows its teeth, blocking companies engaged in parallel import-export with Russia or participating in the Akkuyu project. Israel's conflicts with Iran have shown that, despite all the criticism of Netanyahu, at the "hour X", both Europeans and Americans forget about justice and express solidarity with the Jewish state.

The Trump factor is a separate layer among the restraining variables.

It is dangerous to anger a Republican. In 2018, he did not bring down the Turkish economy, but he did hurt the falling lira. At the same time, the “current version” of President Trump is more loyal to Erdogan.

It was at Erdogan's instigation that Trump recognized Al-Sharaa and blessed his Turkish counterpart to hold the Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine. Turkey believes in the possibility of reviving the F-35 deal and therefore will dose its anti-Israeli actions, even if Trump himself is good at scolding Netanyahu and calling on him to be reasonable.

The head of the White House is capable of acting as a peacemaker between Erdogan and Netanyahu.

Incidentally, just a couple of days after the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to the Oval Office in mid-April, negotiations between Turkish and Israeli representatives on de-escalation in Syria began in Baku.

In the current conflict over the Druze, Ankara is clearly counting on Trump's mediation. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on July 16 that Turkish intelligence had conveyed its opinion on the IDF strikes to regional powers and the United States. Ankara is in close contact with U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, he added.

Turkey's hopes are being fulfilled so far.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US administration expects de-escalation between Syria and Israel. Al-Sharaa's willingness to end the fighting, coupled with Washington's pressure on Israel, offers a chance to stabilize the situation.

Objectively, the situation in Suwayda is not as explosive and dramatic as in Latakia and especially in Gaza. If Erdogan did not move with his "Islamic army" to Israel in Palestine, then now the probability of such a scenario is even less.

It is in Erdogan's interests for the conflict between Syria and Israel to subside. A resumption of the conflict will force the Turkish army to react. After all, unlike Gaza, there are Turkish troops in Syria, and defense against the IDF is a matter of image and geopolitical influence.

The escalation of the conflict in Syria is dangerous not only because of the confrontation with Israel, but also because of the destabilization of the Arab country itself. Against the backdrop of clashes in Suwayda, Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim has questioned the legitimacy of al-Sharaa. If the Druze, and perhaps even the Alawites, intensify their struggle against Damascus, Kurdish separatism, which Erdogan and Turkey have been fighting for half a century, will receive a new lease of life.

That is why Erdogan is sending a soft but unambiguous signal to both the Kurds themselves and Israel that he will not sit idly by in this situation. “Both the Kurds within our country’s borders and the Kurds in Syria are our brothers. We will not allow them to become an object in the hands of the Zionists, ” the Turkish leader said. He added: “ We did not give consent to the disintegration of Syria yesterday and we certainly will not give it today or tomorrow.”


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS


Home Front: WoT
Ted Cruz Introduces Bill to Label Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Group
[BREITBART] Sen. Ted Cruz;

...US Senator from Texas. Republican contender for president in 2016, his stiff and abrasive manner earned him the title most hated man in the Senate. After a close win over Beto O'Rourke, who tried to out-Lastino him, he grew a beard and let his biting wit shine through. Cruz's comments have been known to leave life-threatening wounds at better than forty feet...

(R-TX) reintroduced legislation Wednesday to officially designate the Moslem Brüderbund as a terrorist organization, marking the latest push in his decade-long crusade to impose sanctions on the worldwide Islamist network that spawned Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...
and other terror groups threatening American interests.

The Texas Republican's Moslem Brüderbund Terrorist Designation Act of 2025 employs a new ''bottom up'' strategy designed to overcome previous Democratic opposition by first identifying Brotherhood branches that explicitly engage in terrorism before designating the entire organization for supporting those terror affiliates.

''The Moslem Brüderbund is a terrorist organization, and it provides support to Moslem Brüderbund branches that are terrorist organizations,'' Cruz declared in a statement. ''One of those branches is Hamas, which on October 7 committed the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, which included the murder and kidnapping of at least 53 Americans.''

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [25 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood

#1  Huma Abedin Soros hardest hit
Posted by: Frank G || 07/18/2025 0:22 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel speeds up long-range interceptor resupply with large-scale order
[IsraelTimes] The Defense Ministry says it has signed a “large-scale” order of Arrow air defense system interceptors, with production of the key armaments set to ramp up.

Under the deal, Israel Aerospace Industries will supply a “significant additional quantity of Arrow interceptors,” the ministry says, adding that IAI will “significantly accelerate the serial production.”

Israel’s Arrow 2 and 3 long-range missile defense systems were used extensively during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last month, as well as amid repeated Houthi attacks from Yemen. There had been speculation that Israel’s supplies of the interceptors had been significantly depleted by the attacks.

In a statement, the director general of the Defense Ministry, Amir Baram, says, “accelerating the production rate of the Arrow and other critical systems is a central component of the ministry’s strategy to expand production capabilities and improve operational readiness for the continuation of the war and future campaigns.”
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 03:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Concern over homegrown Iranian spies prompts Israeli PR campaign to dissuade them
[IsraelTimes] Warning of ‘Easy Money, Heavy Price,’ National Public Diplomacy Directorate launches advertising effort to dissuade public from taking cash to collude with the enemy

Dozens of Israelis have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of spying for Iran, prompting the Israeli government to launch a PR campaign designed to dissuade collusion.

Titled "Easy Money, Heavy Price," the campaign, launched on Wednesday, will include ads on radio, websites and social media meant to convince Israelis that spying for the country’s sworn enemy is not worth the costs.

"For NIS 5,000, is it worth ruining your family?" asks one of the video campaigns. "Providing information to the enemy is a serious security crime whose punishment is up to life in prison," the ad continues, encouraging anyone receiving such a request to report it to the Israel Police.

The campaign launches weeks after Israel waged an aggressive military campaign against Iran’s nuclear sites and was battered by hundreds of Iranian missiles before reaching a ceasefire agreement after 12 days.

It also follows a string of recent news of Israelis who have been arrested for conducting espionage activities on Iran’s behalf. The activities have included photographing military and sensitive sites, moving purported weapons within the country and laying the groundwork for liquidation plots, according to authorities.

At least one man who was arrested had physically traveled to Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
to meet with his handlers, who wanted him to assassinate to advance an liquidation plot of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet.

The plots have largely preyed on economically vulnerable Israelis with relatively weak social ties. In one high-profile case, police arrested two men in Tiberias in June, who were each promised $60,000 to assassinate a "senior figure."

Some watchdogs say the country’s political divisions may also be undercutting pressure not to commit treason against Israel.

The PR campaign comes from Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate along with the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service. It aims to "raise awareness of the phenomenon of Israeli citizens cooperating with Iran, carrying out security missions for Iran inside Israel, and thus colluding with the enemy during war," according to a release from the Israeli government’s press office on Wednesday.

The Shin Bet said the phenomenon appeared to be driven "most often out of greed for money."

Over the past year, Shin Bet and the Israeli police have uncovered more than 25 instances of Israelis being recruited by Iran to carry out various missions, and more than 35 Israelis have been indicted on severe charges, according to the government press office. Officials have said elsewhere that they believe that potentially hundreds of Israelis have been working on behalf of Iran, in an effort that Tehran has accelerated within the past couple of years.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 02:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Hurt by Houthi blockade, debt-ridden Eilat port seeks aid to help it stay afloat
[IsraelTimes] Unless plea to Economy Ministry is heeded, southern port could shut down as soon as Sunday; activity has dived over 90% amid Iran-backed Yemeni rebels terrorizing Red Sea shipping.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 01:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Under pressure from Trump, Netanyahu says he ‘regrets’ mistaken shelling of Gaza church
[IsraelTimes] IDF says shrapnel from a tank shell fired in the area mistakenly hit the church, reiterates that IDF does not target religious buildings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement late Thursday expressing its regret after an IDF strike killed three civilians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
’s only Catholic church, heeding a demand from US President Donald Trump
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
who angrily phoned the Israeli premier over the incident.

"Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church," the PMO said. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful."

The statement, which was not issued in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s name, also expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his "words of comfort." The pope had issued a statement expressing his sadness over the loss of life in the Gaza City strike and reiterating his hope for a ceasefire, while avoiding a direct condemnation of Israel.

"Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites," the PMO said.

Less than an hour earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told news hounds during a briefing that Trump phoned Netanyahu after first learning about the strike on Thursday morning.

Asked what Trump’s reaction had been to the latest civilian casualty incident in Gaza, Leavitt responded, "It was not a positive reaction."

Leavitt said Netanyahu agreed during the call with Trump to issue a statement explaining that the strike had been a mistake.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s statement, the Israeli military said that shrapnel from a tank shell fired during operations in Gaza City hit the church.

The IDF said it carried out a preliminary investigation following reports of damage and casualties at the church.

"It emerged that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly," the IDF said, adding that the cause of the incident is under review.

"The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them," it added.

Pictures from the scene showed a large chunk of the building had been hit next to the large stone cross that adorned the house of worship. Windows were also damaged.

The Foreign Ministry commented on the incident earlier in the day, saying that Israel "expresses deep sorrow over the damage [to the church] and over any civilian casualty" and that the country "never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians."

Doctors at al-Ahli hospital said two women were killed. The third fatality, who died later, was male. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem named the dead as Najwa Abu Daoud, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad.

Among the injured in the strike was Gay Pareeh Priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, a confidant of the late Pope Francis

...Argentine liberation theologist, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was elected pope in 2013. Rather than setting up shop in Avignon, where he belongs, the first Jesuit Pope chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments. That was to show how humble he is. He is big on climate change, against consumerism, and in favor of throwing a blanket over homosexual activity within the clergy. He's not real sure about the Resurrection, about Christ's divinity, and a few other things that would have gotten him burned at the stake a few hundred years ago, but he's hot for a certain South American Earth Mother Goddess...
, who would speak to him nightly throughout the war in Gaza.

The church was sheltering both Christians and Moslems, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of al-Ahli Hospital, which received the maimed.

Out of the Gaza Strip’s population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war which erupted in October 2023, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 01:12 || Comments || Link || [18 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Under pressure from Trump, Netanyahu says he ‘regrets’ mistaken shelling of Gaza church

The reason we pay him big bucks.
Posted by: Grom the Affective || 07/18/2025 2:07 Comments || Top||


USAF Denies It Refueled Israel's Fighters During War With Iran
Details laid out at the link.
[TWZ] Without U.S. tanker support and with just a handful of geriatric KC-707 tankers, Israel appears to have relied on other tactics to persistently reach deep into Iran.

It’s been weeks since Israel concluded its 12-day war against Iran, and still many questions remain in regards to how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were able to achieve what they did. One puzzle that stands out above all the others has to do with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) being able to sustain operations and achieve significant effects over such great distances. The borders of Israel and Iran are separated by nearly 600 miles at their closest points.

With just seven nearly antique KC-707 tankers in its inventory, getting F-15s, F-35s, and F-16s from Israel to Iran and back many times over nearly two weeks became a major curiosity. The U.S. military had the unique ability to provide Israel with the tanking capacity it needed, but there has been no acknowledgement or proof that this occurred, regardless of claims by some. Still, speculation continues that the U.S. did support Israel with aerial refueling in secret. Now the Department of Defense is flat-out denying that it provided any such support for the IAF during the conflict.

A USAF spokesperson stated the following in response to TWZ’s inquiry into the matter:

“The U.S. Air Force routinely conducts training operations alongside allies and partners within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The Israeli Air Force routinely participates in these exercises and operations at various levels; however, U.S. aerial refueling platforms do not conduct inflight refueling operations with the IAF.”

The U.S. Air Force also previously made it clear to us that during a 2022 exercise modeled on an Iranian contingency operation with the U.S. and Israel air arms working together that it didn’t provide aerial refueling support for the IAF then, either.


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [43 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Given the requirement to bomb Iran once in a while, one would expect the Israeli Air Force to have enough tanking capacity to get their strikers there and back without external help.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/18/2025 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I remember reading somewhere that Israel has a butch of KC-46A tankers of their own, so no need for USA tanker supports.

Israel also have KC-130/133 tankers as well as some older KC-707 Tankers plus a few other custom modified into tankers.

Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 07/18/2025 1:23 Comments || Top||

#3  KC-137, not Kc-133, sorry

The Kc-707 (instead of "KC-137) were actual cilvian Boeing 707 modified into "KC-707 bu the Israel Air Force.

the KC-130 is an entirely different airframs based on the c-130 Hercules/
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 07/18/2025 1:38 Comments || Top||


Palestinians' Latest Scam: Hamas Can Become a ''Political Party''
[GATESTONEINSTITUTE.ORG] Abbas cannot have forgotten the atrocities Hamas
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
committed against his men during the 2007 coup. Some of his loyalists were dragged to the streets and lynched, while others were thrown from the high floors of tall buildings.

In addition to the 2007 coup, Hamas, a few years later, was caught planning a second coup to try to take over the West Bank as well as the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip.

The calls for Hamas to "join political action" actually aim to legitimize the terror group and present its leaders as a bunch of politicians seeking seats in parliament and jobs in government, when the reality is anything but that.

The international community, including the Trump administration, must not fall for this scam. Hamas was not established to serve as a "political party." Rather, the terror group was established with the main objective of murdering Jews through Jihad (holy war) and replacing Israel with an Islamist terror state.

Instead of inviting Hamas to engage in political action, Abbas and other Paleostinian leaders... should have outlawed Hamas a long time ago. That would send a message to all Paleostinians that there is no room for genocidal Jihadist groups in Paleostinian society. Apparently, Abbas and Rajoub's desire to destroy Israel is even stronger than their decades-long hatred of Hamas.

Destroying Hamas's military capabilities is not enough. The group must also cease to exist as a "political" entity. The only politics Hamas is interested in is Jihad, destruction and death.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Science & Technology
SM-6 Fired At Target Ship Down Under By U.S. Army's Typhon Launcher
[TWZ] The Army plans to field the Typhon system permanently in the Indo-Pacific, which will provide persistent long-range strike capability on China's doorstep.
Hello Taiwan!
For the first time, the U.S. Army has conducted a live-fire exercise with its Typhon ground-based missile system outside of the continental United States. The system, which can also fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, used an SM-6 multi-purpose missile to successfully sink a target at sea, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in Australia. Using the Typhon against a maritime target demonstrates an important capability for the system, with this role especially critical in the Indo-Pacific context.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [16 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
NBC News claim: Of 3 nuke sites hit by US, only Fordo was badly set back; Trump rejected wider oP
[IsraelTimes] US intel assessment cited by NBC News indicates less extensive damage at Natanz and Isfahan; Trump said to have eschewed weeks-long campaign targeting 6 sites

US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites only caused significant damage to one of them, a new intelligence assessment has reportedly found, and discussions are said to have taken place between Israeli and American officials on the possibility of renewing strikes on the two other locations if Tehran doesn’t agree to talks soon.

The US strikes last month set back uranium enrichment activity at the underground Fordo nuclear site by some two years, NBC news reported on Thursday, citing five current and former US officials with knowledge of the intel findings, which have been shared with politicians and officials in allied countries in recent days.
Anonymous officials, whose knowledge and responsibility are not defined.
The US outlet’s reporting indicates, but does not state explicitly, that the damage at Isfahan and Natanz, the two other sites, was less extensive, with some parts of them beyond America’s massive bunker-buster bombs. The report said US officials think Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
could have the facilities back up and running in months.

Two of the current officials told NBC that assessments are ongoing and may change over time, noting that more damage has been identified in the current analysis than in previous ones.

According to the report, US President Donald Trump
...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
had been presented at the time with an option of a much more comprehensive air campaign, which would have continued for weeks and involved hitting six nuclear sites repeatedly, but opted for the more limited strike due to concerns about US involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts.

"We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to," one of the sources was quoted as saying.

The report cited a current and a former official saying the US and Israel have discussed going back in to conduct fresh attacks on Natanz and Isfahan if Tehran continues to avoid negotiations over its nuclear program or there are signs it is trying to rebuild the sites.

Responding to the report, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly reiterated Trump’s claim that the attacked sites were "totally obliterated" and that "America and the world are safer, thanks to his decisive action."

"The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover," chief Pentagon front man Sean Parnell told NBC. "President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that."

The Pentagon said earlier this month that its intelligence suggested the strikes set back the nuclear program as a whole by up to two years.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, raised doubts over the effectiveness of the strikes last month, saying that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months.

Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordo site before the strikes and could be hiding it. However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved it.

Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign targeting Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and top military brass on June 13 in a bid to end the country’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes but Washington and other powers insist is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path to replace the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in 2018, but he ultimately decided to take military action. The US operation was massive, involving more than 125 US aircraft, including stealth bombers, fighters, and aerial refueling tankers as well as a guided missile submarine.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/18/2025 2025-07-18 01:20 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Surprise meter?
Posted by: Grom the Affective || 07/18/2025 2:47 Comments || Top||


41 major Syrian Arab tribes, including Aqidat, Baggara, Shammar, and Tayy, declared full mobilization against Israeli-backed al-Hijri militia; 500 toes up
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Syrian Druze grapple with death and destruction in Sweida after fighting ends

[IsraelTimes] About 500 people killed in clashes, according to UK war monitor; AFP photographer counts 15 bodies strewn in city center amid looted shops and burned cars and houses

Residents emerged from their homes to scenes of devastation on Thursday after government forces withdrew from the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida, leaving behind looted shops, burned houses, and bodies littering the streets after days of violence.

"What I saw of the city looked as if it had just emerged from a flood or a natural disaster," Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP.

What started as deadly festivities between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes on Sunday quickly escalated after government forces were deployed to the province the following day.

After reaching an agreement with Sweida’s community leaders, Syrian troops withdrew from the city overnight on Wednesday following what witnesses described as a violent mostly peaceful rampage.

"Three bodies were lying in the street, one of them an elderly woman," Obeid said, adding that she saw "burned cars everywhere, others upside down, and a charred tank."

Many residents hid in their homes while waiting for the fighting to end.

On Thursday, Sweida’s typically bustling streets and markets were still largely quiet, with Obeid saying a foul odor emanated from the area as stray dogs roamed around.

As a doctor, she has seen "many corpses and dead bodies, but death has had a different taste in recent days, and I’ve felt it closer to me than ever before."

Obeid, who has a young daughter, said she feared what awaited her when she returned to work at the city’s main hospital.

More than 500 people from all sides were killed in the violence, according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor.

’HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE’
An AFP photographer reported chaos outside the central hospital, with dozens of bodies brought there since Thursday morning after being collected from homes and streets. The photographer counted 15 bodies in the city center.

Grief-stricken families were seen arriving at the hospital searching for their loved ones.

Local media outlet Suwayda 24 reported that the central hospital was put out of service on Wednesday after government forces entered it and clashed with Druze fighters.

A video that circulated on Wednesday showed bodies piled up in the morgue, with the refrigerated storage units for remains reaching capacity.

Other videos showed maimed people in the corridors, some on beds and others lying on the floor, and medical staff unable to respond to emergency cases.

Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of Suwayda 24, told AFP that over 150 bodies had been counted at the hospital, which was no longer able to receive corpses.

"The dialysis machines are out of service, and patients are not receiving treatment. There is a humanitarian catastrophe in Sweida," he said.

Water and electricity services remained cut off in the city, and most shops have closed their doors pending the completion of search operations by local fighters securing the area.

The AFP photographer saw damaged storefronts, their glass shattered in the streets, and others looted. A woman was inspecting her shop, the only one around that had been burned.

Government forces were accused by witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory of siding with Bedouin tribes and committing abuses, including summary executions.

As government forces withdrew on Thursday, an AFP correspondent in Sweida province saw Bedouin families dismantling their tents before leaving the area, fearing reprisals.

"We have been at war for four days. We want to survive," said Wadha al-Awad, 58, accompanied by her family.

"We fled and are heading west with our children to Daraa," she added.

"This is our destiny. We are afraid, and all we want is peace."

Netanyahu vows no Syrian forces south of Damascus, as Bedouins, Druze fight despite truce
[IsraelTimes] Bedouin commander says ceasefire only applies to Damascus government, declares offensive with aim to free Bedouins held by Druze, after regime’s retreat during IDF strikes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will continue to use military means to enforce its two red lines in Syria — the demilitarization of the area south of Damascus, near Israel’s border, and the protection of the country’s Druze minority there.

After the Israeli strikes on Wednesday, the Syrian army withdrew, saying it had reached a ceasefire with local Druze forces, and Sharaa vowed to protect the minority group — though some Druze factions said they rejected the arrangement.

But even in the wake of the truce, there were reports of renewed fighting, with both sides blaming the other.

A Bedouin military commander in Syria told Rooters that Bedouin fighters had launched a new offensive in Sweida against local Druze fighters, despite the ceasefire.

The commander said the truce in Sweida only applied to government forces, and that the Bedouin fighters are seeking to free Bedouins detained by Druze gangs in recent days.

However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
Syrian state media claimed that Druze groups in Sweida were carrying out massacres against local Bedouins.

The Syrian state news agency published footage of displaced Bedouins fleeing the area and reporting that Druze had massacred civilians in the al-Maqwas neighborhood.

In a statement, the Syrian presidency accuses "outlaw forces" — the term the government uses to refer to Druze factions in Sweida — of violating the agreement by engaging in "horrific violence" against civilians including "crimes that completely contravene the obligations of mediation, directly threaten civil peace, and push towards chaos and security collapse."

The presidency also warned against "continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria’s internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation."

Late Thursday, Syrian state media reported Israeli strikes near Sweida, the first to target the area after Syrian government forces withdrew

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [28 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS


Terror Networks
'Those who believe have migrated.' Emigration as the Basis of Islam
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Sergey Adamov
The only way to conclude that Islam is a kind and gentle faith is to ignore the history of Mohammed’s conquests including the Battle of Khaybar, and the next several generations of rapid expansion by the sword — compared to that, ISIS and Al Qaeda are truly kinder and gentler Islam.
[REGNUM] Even those who are not very familiar with the dogma and cultural traditions of Islam most likely know that the Muslim calendar differs from the Christian one. Thus, July 16, 2025 from the Nativity of Christ corresponds to the 21st day of the first month (the month of Muharram) of 1447 Hijri. Christians count the years from the coming of the Savior into the world - which they consider the main event not only of sacred, but also of world history. But Muslims count the dates not from the birth of Muhammad, but from a moment more significant for their religion.

The Hijra (literally translated as “migration,” and in modern interpretation as “emigration”) of the Prophet is what changed the character of his religion and still influences the culture, politics, and social psychology of the ummah, the global community of the faithful.

On one of the last days of July 622 AD, Muhammad secretly left his hometown of Mecca, where he had received revelations, began preaching monotheism and created the first community. The reason for the resettlement, or in fact, a hasty escape, was a threat to the life of the prophet.

Most of Muhammad's relatives from the Quraysh tribe that inhabited Mecca remained pagans. For a time, they tolerated the denunciations of idolatry. But when Muhammad said that the ancestors of those who did not believe in Allah were imprisoned in Jahannam - the fiery Gehenna (and thus openly broke with the tradition of honoring the forefathers), the leaders of the Quraysh decided to deal with the preacher.

Hiding from his fellow tribesmen, Muhammad stayed in the house of one of those he could trust - Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, his father-in-law and future successor (after the death of the prophet, Abu Bakr would become the first caliph). But it was dangerous to live there too.

Muhammad and Abu Bakr fled at night into the desert near Mecca, where they hid for three more days. Only when the Quraysh lost track of the troublemaker did the prophet and his father-in-law leave for the city of Yathrib (340 kilometers as the crow flies). Yathrib, from the moment of Muhammad's arrival there, received a new name - Medina, or more precisely Al-Madina an-Nabawiyya, the City of the Prophet.

"THOSE WHO GAVE SHELTER"
Muhammad, forced to leave his homeland in a hurry, did not come to an "empty place". In Yathrib, where the preaching of Islam was more successful than in Mecca, by the time of the Hijra there already existed a community of Ansars - local residents who had accepted the new faith. Even before the Prophet's resettlement, many Meccans had immigrated to this city, hiding from the pagans - they were called muhajdirs, that is, literally migrants, from the Arabic "hajar" - "to migrate".

It should also be noted that the motive of migration has accompanied the history of Islam from its earliest years. Already in the fourth year of Muhammad's preaching in Mecca, in 614 CE, due to problems with the top of the Quraysh, the prophet suggested that part of the faithful move across the Red Sea and take refuge in the Christian Kingdom of Aksum (the territory of present-day Ethiopia). The first group of emigrants headed by Usman ibn Affan, the son-in-law of the prophet and the future third caliph, left for Aksum. Another group of muhajirs moved across the sea in the fifth year of preaching, in 615.

Thus, even when the Prophet of Allah lived in his hometown, Islam began to expand territorially, without reference to any “historical homelands.”

By the time of the Hijra, the Islamic community had existed for almost ten years, and the Prophet had written the first Meccan suras (chapters) of the Koran. However, in the Muslim tradition, the time up until the migration from Mecca to Medina is called the era of jahiliyyah - pagan ignorance, and the era of Islam is only counted from the Hijra. Therefore, the day of Muhammad's "immigration" became the first day of the new chronology.

“Indeed, those who believed and migrated and fought with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah, and those who gave refuge to the emigrants and helped them, these are indeed helpers and friends of one another,” says the 72nd verse of the 8th surah of the Quran, Al-Anfal (The Spoils).

FOREIGN CITY, OTHER SURAS
Many founders of world religions have spoken of the fact that they essentially have no home in this world. The Gospel of Matthew quotes Jesus Christ as saying, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). The Church Fathers interpreted these words of Christ as evidence that His Kingdom is not of this world.

In the case of Islam, a different context is important: when the prophet lost his home and city, this became the beginning of the ummah as a religious and at the same time political and military association (this is the difference between the Islamic community and the Church and the state in the Christian understanding), called upon to convert the world into dar-al-Islam, the territory of Islam, through peaceful and armed jihad.

If you strictly follow the text of the Koran, then this turning point is quite difficult to track. The holy book is not built chronologically, but from the most voluminous suras to the shortest. This is the appearance that the Koran took from the moment of its codification under the aforementioned third caliph Uthman ibn Affan.

But depending on the time of revelation, the chapters of the Quran are divided into two categories: “Meccan” and “Medina”, which also differ in their focus.

The bulk of the Koran (approximately two-thirds) consists of Meccan suras, revealed before the Hijra. They reveal the foundations of the doctrine, questions of ethics and morality, and arguments in favor of monotheism.

The 16th verse of the Meccan Surah An-Nahl (The Bees) states the following:

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice, and argue with them in the best way. Indeed, your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and knows best who is guided."

But after the resettlement, the tone of the text changes.

The Medinan suras are not so much about how to convert fellow Arabs to the true faith, but rather about how the new armed religious-political community should build relations with the outside world - the pagans and the Ahl al-Kitab, the “people of the book” (Christians and Jews).

The 29th verse of the Medinan Surah At-Tawbah (Repentance) states:

“Fight those of the People of the Book who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor do they hold unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor do they follow the true religion, until they pay the tribute with their own hands, and are humbled.”

This situation marked the moment when the Ummah, through migrations and military campaigns, had covered the Arabian Peninsula. By the time of Muhammad's death in 632 (10th year of the Hijra), the Islamic community had approached the borders of Zoroastrian Iran and the Christian Byzantine Empire.

"The writing of the Koran took place when Muslims lived among pagans, it is quite natural that Islam was spread through proselytism. The first to be converted were pagans, but also Christians and Zoroastrians. Here is an example - Muslim Iran, the entire nation was converted," noted Roman Silantyev, an Islamologist and deputy chairman of the expert council for conducting state religious studies examinations at the Ministry of Justice, in a commentary to Regnum News Agency.

"BE LIKE ME"
The spread of the Islamic religion within the framework of the Caliphate in the Middle East and Maghreb - North Africa was accompanied by the migration of Arab tribes. It is not surprising why now from Morocco to Iraq and from Syria to Sudan people speak different dialects of Arabic. Some of them are descendants of immigrants, some are descendants of Syrians, Egyptians, Berbers and other peoples who accepted the new faith and assimilated. And assimilated not always under duress.

Zoroastrianism gave way to Islam and "shrank" to a few communities because it was an ethnic religion, "the faith of the Persians." But Islam, from its inception, was not the faith of the Arabs, just as Christianity was not the faith of the Syrians, Greeks, and Romans.

Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism know a separate institution of missionaries (as a rule, the faith was preached by priests and monks). But in Islam there is no such institution of priesthood, and the conversion of non-believers to the faith of the prophet is the duty of every member of the ummah. The process of conversion - dawah also implies a reward from the Almighty for the Muslim who brought the newly converted to the community.

The concept of jihad (literally, "zeal"), as is known, is not equivalent to a holy war. The struggle for faith implies both self-improvement and preaching Islam in the non-Muslim world ("great jihad"), and the affirmation of faith in the fight against its opponents - "small jihad".

The Medina Surah Al-Imran states: “O People of the Book! Let us come to a common word between us and you, that we will not worship anyone except Allah, nor will we associate anything with Him, nor will we take one another as lords besides Allah.”

In other words, non-believers from among the people of the book are invited to reconsider their views and join the ranks of the faithful.

When political Islam – already in the form of the Caliphate – expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula, the concept of “tribute” or “poll tax” (jizya) mentioned in Surah At-Tawba became fundamental for building relationships between the Caliphs and their subjects who did not convert to Islam.

The established order of things gently "nudged" people to change their faith: if you don't want to pay tribute, convert to a new faith; if you want to participate in political and economic activity, change your faith. So there were economic reasons for adopting the religion and way of life that the settlers brought with them.

Also important is the approach that can be called “ be like me,” notes Silantyev. “Roughly speaking, you are friends with Muslims, you live in their environment, you accept their customs,” explains the religious scholar.

This method of “great jihad” – appeal through soft power, through communication and example – was effective not only during the time of the first caliphs. And not only when Islam was spreading in a non-Arab, foreign-cultural environment – in Persia, Khorezm, the Indus Valley, the Volga region, Bengal or the island of Java.

Similarly, “preaching through communication and interaction” works in our time, when Islamic communities exist all over the world and spread the faith beyond the “ethnic Muslim” environment.

"There are recent examples in our society, for example, the actor Sergei Romanovich, he converted to Islam under the influence of friends, and then left this religion. A classic of the genre. Or the MMA wrestler Alexander Emelianenko trained with Muslims, and also converted. The environment plays a key role," notes Silantyev.

The global task of such an action is to constantly expand and agitate so that the ummah expands. In practice, the mechanics of conversion can be built on different models, for example, through marriage. In the modern world, Muslims can find partners online, create relationships, and then set a mandatory condition for marriage - a change of faith. Moreover, the target "audience" of preachers is, as a rule, women or children.

The "Great Jihad" is facilitated by economic processes that stimulate the migration of Muslims from the countries of "Dar-al-Islam" to places historically inhabited by non-believers. In the modern world, these non-believers often turn out to be unbelievers, i.e., unconverted. We are talking, we note, about the struggle for faith through preaching, communication and personal example - as the immigrant muhajirs from Mecca preached faith among the Arabian pagans.

EXTREMELY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF RADICALS AMONG NEOPHYTES
But if we are not talking about traditional Islam, but about its radical distortions (for example, about modern Salafism or Wahhabism), then here the “struggle for faith” in a non-Islamic environment is understood differently. Extremists, who proclaim the goal of restoring the state-ummah of the first caliphs (this is what the ISIS* “caliphate” was supposed to be), see the outside world as an object of aggression, and Muslim migrants as a potential vanguard of the armies of Islam. The historical caliphate of the 7th century expanded not only by “fire and sword,” but the Salafis of the 21st century see the situation differently.

And here the methods of proselytism – preaching, involvement in the community – can be dangerous. “Radicals often recruited women online, often, excuse me, ugly ones. They say: even if you are not a beauty, come to us in the Islamic State*, in Iraq, Syria, we guarantee you family happiness. A quarter of the widows of ISIS members are neophytes, it is a well-known fact,” notes Roman Silantyev.

There are known cases of "honey traps" when lonely men are approached through social networks and dating sites. However, the motives of men who fall for the hook of radicals may differ. Extremist preaching of the supposedly "correct" understanding of religion and jihad is carried out not only among migrants from "traditionally Islamic" ethnic groups, but also among "infidels" from the indigenous population.

"We have an extremely high percentage of radicals among neophytes. The most active preaching is done by Wahhabis, on the Internet, in Wahhabi mosques, prayer houses, many go to them. Some people are attracted by radical political motives - I hate the government, the police - I will go to ISIS*, I will kill, blow things up," Silantyev notes.

Such "proselytism" also threatens traditional Islam. As an example, we can cite the story of the newly converted Alla Saprykina, who received the name Aminat after accepting Islam. Having been recruited by radicals, the woman committed a terrorist act, killing a representative of the Muslim clergy of Dagestan, Sheikh Said Chirkeysky, who defended the dogmas of traditional Islam against extremists. Another example is one of the leaders of the terrorist underground in the North Caucasus, Said Buryatsky ( Alexander Tikhomirov ).

Therefore, the attitude towards neophytes in the Islamic environment itself is often wary, despite the fact that Islam historically arose as a religion based on migrations and preaching among neophytes. Thus, active proselytism, which can be skillfully manipulated by radicals, often plays a destructive role in society, despite the fact that it was initially dictated exclusively by good intentions.


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 07/18/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [21 views] Top|| File under: Devout Moslems



Who's in the News
30[untagged]
3Hamas
3Govt of Syria/HTS
2Houthis
2Narcos
2Govt of Iran Proxies
1Human Trafficking
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Govt of Iran
1Devout Moslems
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1Commies

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2025-07-17
  Iran ready to respond to any new attack, says supreme leader
Thu 2025-07-17
  Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian Presidential Palace and the Syrian General Staff HQ in Damascus
Wed 2025-07-16
  Syrian Internal security with Ministry of Defense expelled outlawed groups from Suwayda, over 100 Druze dead
Tue 2025-07-15
  At least 30 people killed in armed clashes in Syria's Sweida, says interior ministry
Mon 2025-07-14
  IDF seizes 3 tons of arms from ex-Assad regime sites
Sun 2025-07-13
  ISIS-aligned rebels kill 66 civilians in eastern Congo
Sat 2025-07-12
  US appeals court cancels plea deal for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Fri 2025-07-11
  Iranian media reports that Iran’s Army Chief of Staff, General Abdulrahim Mousavi, has been assassinated... False a;arm
Thu 2025-07-10
  Lebanon strike that killed 3 targeted senior Hamas commander: Israel
Wed 2025-07-09
  Gunmen Hijack 33 Tons of Gold, Silver Concentrate in Truck on Mexican Highway
Tue 2025-07-08
  Leb: 10 hurt in Israeli strikes on South and Bekaa Sunday, 2 airstruck Monday
Mon 2025-07-07
  IDF reports Hamas’s north Gaza naval commander killed in strike on cafe last week as 130 targets hit in 24 hours
Sun 2025-07-06
  Supporters of Palestine Action, banned under UK terror laws, arrested at London protest
Sat 2025-07-05
  210 Boko Haram Members, Families Surrender as Military Tightens Grip in Lake Chad - BarristerNG.com
Fri 2025-07-04
  Hezbollah has agreed to hand over its heavy weapons in Beirut and other areas to the Lebanese government


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.
216.73.216.129
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (4)    Non-WoT (11)    Opinion (6)    Local News (7)    Politix (3)