The Saudi minister of defense and aviation, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, said that the health condition of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz has been improved six weeks after he was admitted to hospital. But he stressed that the king will not leave the hospital.
Ever.
He added in statements quoted by the Saudi news agency "we are not in a hurry for the King's check-out."
"We have to settle who gets the crown before he checks-out"
Prince Sultan gave no further details on the King's health conditions.
"I can say no more!"
This is, however, the first time in which officials indicate that the stay of the Saudi king in the hospital, to which he was admitted over pulmonary problems, will be long.
King Fahd ( 83 year old) was admitted to King Faisal's private hospital in Riyadh on May 27. No official medical statement was issued on his health condition, as Saudi officials confined to statements assuring his satisfactory health condition.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2005 12:55 ||
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The US government has suggested wealthy Saudi individuals remain "a significant source" of funds for Islamic terrorists around the world, despite widely-publicized efforts by the desert kingdom to shut down these channels.
The statement by Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, contrasted with earlier upbeat assessments by US officials that Saudi Arabia was making good progress in stemming the flow of private money to terrorist groups.
Levey said challenges posed by terrorist financing from within Saudi Arabia were "among the most daunting" his agency had to face as it tries to persuade Islamic nations to strengthen controls over their banks and charitable organizations.
"Wealthy Saudi financiers and charities have funded terrorist organizations and causes that support terrorism and the ideology that fuels the terrorists' agenda", Levey told lawmakers Wednesday.
"Even today, we believe that Saudi donors may still be a significant source of terrorist financing, including for the insurgency in Iraq," he added.
US officials expressed particular concern about three Saudi-run charities that operate around the world: the International Islamic Relief Organization, the World Association of Muslim Youth and the Muslim World League.
The Saudi government has moved to establish an oversight commission for its charitable sector and ordered an end to uncontrolled collection of charitable donations at mosques and retail shops.
But US officials argued they wanted to see convincing proof that these proclaimed initiatives have become reality.
Assistant Secretary of State Anthony Wayne told senators American diplomats continue to stress in their discussions with the Saudis "the need for full implementation, including a fully functioning charities commission."
Republican Senator Richard Shelby, who chairs the committee, cited the case of the New York branch of Arab Bank, which is under investigation by the Justice Department on suspicion it had been used to channel funds to the radical Palestinian group Hamas and Al-Qaeda.
"At the core of the Arab Bank case sits the Saudi Committee for the Support of the Al Quds Intifada, a known conduit for money destined for terrorist organizations in the West Bank and Gaza," Shelby fumed.
Administration officials also voiced alarm that Saudi supporters of Al-Qaeda and anti-American insurgents in Iraq were increasingly turning to individual couriers rather than financial institutions to move cash across the border.
"It is critical that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries lower reporting thresholds for cross-border transfers of cash and enforce these provisions aggressively," Levey said.
So far, Saudi officials have not publicly responded to the new criticism, but Adel Al-Jubeir, a foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, said Wednesday his government had punished institutions and individuals suspected of providing financial support to terrorists.
"With regard to combating terror financing, Saudi Arabia has put in place one of the strictest financial controls in the world to ensure that no funds reach evil-doers intentionally or unintentionally," he said in an online discussion with readers of The Washington Post.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/14/2005 09:47 ||
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My surprise meter must be broke, it didn't even budge....
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/14/2005 10:26 Comments ||
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You know, I saw a news video on TV a few years ago about the huge yacht a Saudi had parked in Monaco harbor. I was just picturing how some fat Saudi was living it up drinking, wenching, and gambling in Monaco, while also sending money to support the Jihadis. I couldn't help but think how blowing up that yacht with him on it, and other Saudis like him too, might significantly shorten the WOT.
Posted by: DO ||
07/14/2005 11:28 Comments ||
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A Yemeni cleric who is on the US terror list has agreed to conduct conditional dialogue between the US administration and Islamic movements. Shaikh Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, chairman of the Shura Council of the largest Islamic Party (Islah), and founder and chairman of the Al Eyman university set three conditions for successful dialogue with America. âGovernments must be briefed on what is going in the dialogue, to prevent any misunderstanding, causing accusations of being agents. The dialogue must be highly transparent and obvious so people know what is going on. The opinion of religious scholars should be the main components of the dialogue,â Al Zandani said in his newspaper, Sawt Al Eyman.
However Al Zandani, who is on the US terror list charged with financing Al Qaida and the Taliban, said the three conditions did not represent his partyâs vision but was deduced from the Holy Quran and Sunna. âWhat I said is not the vision of Islah, but the opinion which is supported by the Quran and Sunna,â he said. Regarding the third condition he said: âI mean the concerned religious scholars will clarify what is ambiguous and determine the possible and the impossible. It is politics that has no mercy, that does not know values.â
âThe call for dialogue with Islamists by the West is only a tactic to strike Islamists by Islamists,â said Shaikh Mohammad Mughales, a senior Islah member in a previously held symposium on this issue. âThey divide Islamists into two groups, moderate and extremists, they want to strike the moderates by the extremists, on the one hand, and they want to strike Islamists by the rulers on the other,â Mughales added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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What happened when the defeated Emporer of Japan tried to negotiate with Gen MacArthur? The General replied, "Negotiation implies a position of equality, and our positions are in no way equal." Touche! (Copy 1 of 4)
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
07/14/2005 1:03 Comments ||
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So what did McArthur say when the Emperor tried to negotiate with him?
#3
Vlad, there's a saying "repetitio est mater studiorum", but I am not sure that it can be applied here.
Click once and wait--or do you have some sort of a professional deformation caused by frequent impaling? ;-)
#4
Vlad, I like your style - but were you serious the other night when you mentioned using an "Apple". Even if, you're in good company. Our warehouse still uses an Apple2 GS - I'm crapping you negative. ABTW - I still have my PPC 6600.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/14/2005 1:50 Comments ||
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For the first time since the beginning of national education in 191, the Parliament in Bahrain has approved a law on education that states that depriving a child from their right to education is âa violation punishable by law.â The law thereby seeks to protect the human rights of Bahrain âs citizens. In addition, it promotes religious tolerance and implies an upcoming change in the Kingdomâs educational curricula to end religious fanaticism and reaffirm the respect of all sects and religions.
The two Chambers of Parliament, the Shura (Consultative) Council and the National Assembly, approved the law after three years of debate. It is expected the draft law will be referred to King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa for final approval. In this respect, Bahrain âs Minister of Education, Professor Majid al Nuaimi told Asharq Al Awsat the authorities had refused the suggestion to teach the five schools of Islamic thought (Shafii, Maliki, Hanbali, Hanafi, and Shia) in public schools, as some had demanded. He believed the current religious syllabus covered Islamic principles and values without too much unnecessary detail, adding that, âwhoever wants to study the Sunni or Shia doctrines can join our specialized Sunni or Jaafari religious institutes.â
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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Oh, so the law only covers religious tollerance among Islamic sects? Well, that's a start, I guess.
In about 600 years they may be ready for the concept of "Freedom of Religion".
A MOSQUE and a community centre in Edinburgh have been daubed with racist graffiti in the wake of the London terror attacks.
Oh my... They are still digging corpses and DNA goo out of a London subway... It'll take a little more than sandblasting to fix that probalem...
Messages such as "Islam Scum" and "This centre sympathises with the Terrorists", were scrawled over the buildings' doors and walls following last Thursday's bombings.
Why is "This centre sympathises with the Terrorists" if there were a radical Imam preaching there so out of line. Do we know??? 70 people died.
It comes as police revealed a worrying increase in cases of racial abuse shouted at Muslims in Edinburgh.
The police should be glad it's only shouting at this point...
Senior officers today branded the attacks "appalling" and said that security had been stepped up around the city's Muslim communities in the wake of the atrocities. The graffiti attacks happened at the Sha Jalal mosque, in Annandale Street Lane, and the Pakistan Community and Cultural Centre, Annandale Street, sometime overnight on Thursday.
Pakistan Community Cultural Center... 3/4 terrorists in London Pakistani... Hmmm...
Superintendent George Simpson, head of the Lothian and Borders Safer Communities department, said: "We have had minor pieces of graffiti.
Pieces of graffiti? They should look at the freeway interstates of Southern California. Pieces? LOL!
"However, these incidents are appalling and there is no space for this behaviour in the democratic society that we live in.
Neither is there "space for ... behaviour in the democratic society" of the murder of 70 innocent Londoners... Then a muted responcse and condemnation from the source community...
"In the wake of the London bombings we have made contact with all vulnerable premises within the Lothian and Borders force area. We are providing patrols and regular checks of these premises on a daily basis.
But vulnerable people on subway trains are not an issue...
"We want to hear from anybody who has been a victim of racial attack of any nature, be it verbal or physical, especially at this vulnerable period."
But of course dead "infidel" victims rotting in a subway tube can't file a complaint of profiling with police.... Noooooooo
Supt Simpson said that some Muslims had also been victims of severe "verbal attacks" since last Thursday.
Stick and stones (and bombs)...
Jalal Chaudry, chairman of the Islamic Society of Scotland, said: "It is very upsetting that these two mosques have been vandalised in this way. There have been reports of a number of mosques in London being targeted since last week's bombings.
Ummm... It's very upsetting that 70 people were murdered in London by Suicide terrorists too, Jalal...
"I only hope this doesn't happen north of the Border as it is very damaging to the Muslim community. However, we have the full backing of the police, who have been extremely supportive and reassuring. People are quick to assume that Islam is to blame but they should wait until the full investigation has been carried out before jumping to conclusions."
"People are quick to assume that Islam is to blame but they should wait until the full investigation has been carried out before jumping to conclusions." And ol' Jalal wonders why "This centre sympathises with the Terrorists" was put on a Mosque? Hey, bub, DeNile is a river in one of your countries...
Councillor Shami Khan, a leading member of the city's Pakistan community, added: "It is a shame that it has been targeted just because of these headcase fundamentalists. We have done so much work over the years to help build confidence in the Muslim community and some Muslims live in fear of things like this happening. It is a shame that all our hard work gets ruined."
Ruined by four Pakistanis who were convinced being a terrorist murderer of 70 that they would go to "paradise" and be coddled by 72 vestile virgins...
#3
"Why is "This centre sympathises with the Terrorists" if there were a radical Imam preaching there so out of line. "
nothing in the article you linked to indicates that a radical imam preached there.
"In the wake of the London bombings we have made contact with all vulnerable premises within the Lothian and Borders force area. We are providing patrols and regular checks of these premises on a daily basis.
But vulnerable people on subway trains are not an issue..."
Where in hell did you get the idea that UK security services arent A. Doing their utmost to provide security on the tubes and B. Doing their utmost to track down those behind the terracts??? All evidence I can see is that they are. Are you interested in baseless attacks on UK security? Or does it just bother you that they are also protecting muslims.
Look. AFAIK AQ WANTS vigilante attacks on muslims. They want to provoke reactions that will make muslims feel isolated from society, and so more likely to turn to AQ. That would parallel their strategy in Iraq, where they attack Shiites to provoke civil war.
The police protecting muslims are NOT just doing it out of altruism - theyre part of the effort to win this war.
#5
nothing in the article you linked to indicates that a radical imam preached there.
Nothing says one doesn't. Since Muslims don't make a habit of exposing extremist imams to the public, we have no way of knowing. And, really, how do you know better than the guys living in the community?
Quoting (YET AGAIN) Amir Taheri:
Go to any mosque in the West (let alone in the Islamic countries) on any Friday and you are sure to hear a litany of woes about how the "cross-worshippers" have allied themselves with the "plotting Jews" in order to destroy Islam, which, as God's final message, is the only true faith.
Where in hell did you get the idea that UK security services...
Odd. I can't find where anyone -- in this thread at least -- said the UK authorities weren't doing their job. The original story doesn't say anything about that.
Look. AFAIK AQ WANTS vigilante attacks on muslims. They want to provoke reactions that will make muslims feel isolated from society, and so more likely to turn to AQ. That would parallel their strategy in Iraq, where they attack Shiites to provoke civil war.
I don't condone vandalism or unwarranted vigilanteism, but comparing some spray painting to murdering children seems a bit... over the top.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/14/2005 13:58 Comments ||
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Senior officers today branded the attacks "appalling" and said that security had been stepped up around the city's Muslim communities in the wake of the atrocities
hmmm...which atrocities would that be. The horrific graffiti on the walls or the 52 scorched and burned dead?
#7
Crazy Fool, perhaps not a race, but certainly a subspecies
Posted by: Random thoughts ||
07/14/2005 16:20 Comments ||
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Note that "racist graffit" was "daubed" on the Islamic buildings. Were these Christian churches or Jewish synagogues in a Muslim country, they would have been burnt to the ground.
#9
liberalhawk cares more about the feeling of Moslems (you know, the people who are committed to taqiya, jihad, and sharia) than about the life of innocents in London.
ANY MOSQUE is the location where Moslem preach taqiya, jihad and sharia. Hence a graffiti stating "this centre sympathises with the terrorists" is accurate.
#10
If I were to spray a message on a mossk, it would be "PROFILING THIS NOW, Be Aware" in Scottish. I will get a translation from my Fife mate, just in case I'm there one day.
Random T. And that would be a sub-species of what, more or less? The turd of the Devil?
Investigators have linked one of the suspected London suicide bombers to a group of alleged extremists arrested here last year in a foiled terrorist plot by a Pakistan-based Al Qaeda group, authorities said Wednesday.
Mohamed Sidique Khan, a 30-year-old primary school teacher, has emerged as a key figure among the four suspected bombers, European and U.S. investigators said. Although officials had said that Khan and the other three were unknown to security personnel before last week's attack, investigators now think Khan was an associate of some of those arrested in last year's plot.
That strengthens suspicions that the London attacks were carried out by an Al Qaeda branch that teamed Pakistani masterminds with Pakistani British operatives and had tried to strike Britain before, investigators said.
Authorities believe that Khan and the other suspects, who traveled extensively to countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, received training from Al Qaeda specialists. Khan may have helped recruit and prepare his fellow bombers, who, like him, were Pakistani Britons from the northern city of Leeds, investigators said.
"That's a connection that they are following right now," said a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the investigation who asked not to be identified. "Khan is a pretty key individual. He's a common denominator between the two cases."
The Pakistani connection distinguishes the London bombings from other recent attacks in Europe, such as last year's Madrid train bombings, which allegedly were carried out by North African networks shuttling militants between Europe and Iraq â a battle theater dominated by a new generation of Al Qaeda figures such as Abu Musab Zarqawi.
In contrast, the London case seems to point toward the classic inner core of Al Qaeda, whose surviving leaders are thought to be hiding in the Afghan-Pakistani borderlands. The London attacks also were the first suicide bombing attacks in Western Europe.
As the investigation continued, British police said they were searching for an associate of the four men from Leeds. Authorities said they knew his name, but they disclosed few details about him and another suspect already in custody, a Leeds man who was arrested Tuesday. The latter will remain in custody for at least three more days under British anti-terrorism law.
On Wednesday night, police searched a house near Luton, the north London suburb where the suspects apparently assembled and took a train to London's King's Cross Station early July 7. From there, investigators say, the four dispersed on a mission that killed at least 52 people aboard three subway trains and a bus. The blasts appear to have been choreographed to emblazon a symbolic "flaming cross" on the map of the British capital, authorities said.
On Wednesday, investigators in Europe, Pakistan and the United States continued to search for missing pieces to the puzzle: potential bomb makers and masterminds who may have traveled between Pakistan and Britain.
Pakistan's interior minister said his country's authorities were helping in the British investigation. He also said his security forces had helped British police thwart a plot that had been timed for Britain's parliamentary elections in May.
Pakistani investigators are likely to be key to the pursuit of leads linking the London attacks to past plots. Investigators have found that the men from Leeds had contact with a group of Britons of Pakistani descent who were charged in April 2004 with stockpiling half a ton of bomb-making material, European and U.S. officials said. The suspected plotters allegedly planned to target shopping malls and other public places, according to British counter-terrorism officials.
One of those Britons now facing trial was arrested in Pakistan last year and extradited. The 29-year-old allegedly had a senior role, traveling back and forth as an emissary to operatives in Pakistan who were providing leadership and expertise â a potential model for last week's London plot.
"The external connections to Pakistan are what needs to be looked at," a senior European police official said. "The same network appears to be involvedâŠ. The London attacks would be the development of that project which they had attempted. In that [previous] case, there was intelligence from the Americans and Pakistanis that stopped them. The idea is, after the arrests, they reorganized and tried again."
Investigators said some of the men jailed last year in the global investigation, which was dubbed Operation Crevice, were associates of Khan, who was the father of an 8-year-old girl and a part-time martial arts instructor.
Although British authorities say they now have identified all four of the men believed to have carried out the bombings, they have not named them publicly. In addition to Khan, however, two have been identified by relatives, neighbors and news reports as Hasib Hussain, 18, a deeply religious and troubled youth who lived with his parents, and Shahzad Tanweer, 22, who worked in his father's fish-and-chips shop.
Police are investigating whether Khan's comrades also had contact with the Operation Crevice group before the arrests in April 2004, investigators said.
"It seems that some of these suspects may have been on the margins of the group that was arrested last year," the European police official said. "There appear to be personal contacts."
That raises the possibility that the Leeds suspects had come to the attention of British security personnel, at least tangentially, in the past. The suggestion generated acrimony Wednesday at a meeting of Europe's top law enforcement officials in Brussels, headquarters of the European Union.
After talking with his fellow ministers about the terrorist threat in Europe, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told journalists, "A part of the team to which [the London bombers] belonged was the object of a partial arrest during spring of 2004."
Apparently interpreting the comment to mean that some of the London suspects had been arrested and released, British Home Secretary Charles Clarke quickly declared that Sarkozy was wrong. In a later effort at clarification, a French diplomat told reporters that Sarkozy had merely cited British sources who told French officials that the bombers belonged to the group arrested last year.
The suspicions about links to past plots were reinforced by Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao. He said Pakistani intelligence had detected a plot against Britain before the May elections.
"Let me be specific that before the general elections in the U.K., we had received reports that this sort of situation may arise, which was passed on," Sherpao told journalists in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. He said the plot "was aborted because of the information provided by the government of Pakistan, after which arrests were made in various countries, including the U.K. and Canada."
Sherpao declined to comment on reports that a Briton arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan, in the alleged May plot was now under investigation in the London bombings.
Pakistani officials identified him as Zeeshan Siddique, 25, of London and said he might also be tied to the Operation Crevice group, as well as to an alleged plot to attack financial institutions in New York and New Jersey that was dismantled in August. U.S. agents are reviewing possible links between the London suspects and the U.S.
Although the Leeds group has been portrayed in some media accounts as thoroughly local products of one of Britain's faded industrial backwaters, several of its members traveled extensively, according to investigators, family and associates.
Khan and Tanweer both traveled to Pakistan; Khan apparently made several trips, investigators said. In December, Tanweer went to the city of Lahore to take a course in religious studies, spending at least two months there, a close family friend, Bashir Ahmad, told television interviewers. A neighbor also told ITV that Tanweer had gone to Afghanistan on that trip.
In addition, Tanweer and Hussain reportedly made the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, in recent years.
Police think the travel may have had a clandestine purpose: to make contact with terrorist masterminds and trainers. Although Osama bin Laden's complex of camps in Afghanistan was destroyed by the U.S. military in late 2001, smaller Al Qaeda-connected training facilities survive in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir and elsewhere in Pakistan, investigators say. Several young Dutch militants allegedly trained at camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan before plotting the November slaying of an Amsterdam filmmaker.
European and U.S. investigators think the Leeds suspects who went to Pakistan may have been trained there, then returned to train the others. It's also possible that Pakistani operatives came to Britain to perform tasks such as building the bombs, which the U.S. law enforcement official described as potent but relatively simple to assemble.
"The idea was that the trainer came in from Pakistan, whether it was one of them or somebody else," the U.S. official said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/14/2005 09:52 ||
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There seems to be a major schism developing in the world of Islam. With two diametrically opposed sides trying to be heard over one another. The people of Britain and the U.S. (as well as the Netherlands,France,Germany,Italy,ect.) are simply at a loss to comprehend why the beast has bitten the hand that feeds it. After decades of openly accepting muslims from poverty, oppression, even death sentences, they have decided we are the enemy. We have a sure cure for this, and in the months and years to come I think we will have little choice but to exercise a pro-active stance on extremist ideas in our countries. We are in the middle of a pan-islamic uprising. The major governments are still in denial of this, but are coming around to the belief. What will we do with radical elements?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
07/14/2005 12:06 Comments ||
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Amen, Mrs. D, kill them all. The American way of war is to crush the enemy, to kill and destroy until those who are left surrender unconditionally. We haven't declared WAR since 1941. If the jihadists push us to declare war, they will not survive. We will exterminate them root and branch. Further, if it becomes a war, we will destroy all who stand against us and with the enemy.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke is to start consultations with his opposition counterparts in an effort to get an all-party consensus which would pave the way for a speedy drafting and adoption of [anti-terror] legislation. This will include new laws banning âacts preparatory to terrorismâ and âincitement and encouragement of terrorismâ.
That'll let them dump people like Bakri and Captain Hook, if they can work up the nerve to use it...
The government is also planning to tighten existing legislation including the deportation of radical clerics who are deemed to be poisoning the minds of young British Muslims with hatred and fanaticism; the introduction of tougher border controls; and the issuing of more control orders (house arrest) of those Muslim radicals who are regarded to be a danger to the wider society. Blair at yesterday afternoonâs Prime Ministerâs Question Time in the House of Commons reiterated that the terrorists were driven âby an extremist and evil ideology which is contrary to the teachings and roots of Islam.â He saw an important role for the Muslim community in helping to change the âhearts and mindsâ of those radicals in their midst. Today Britain will observe a two-minute silence at noon in respect of those who have perished or were injured in the bombings. In a show of solidarity, EU countries will join in a Europewide tribute to the victims of the London bombings.
I'm sure the Brits will appreciate that, but I'll bet they're rather see a coupla Masterminds™ served up on a platter...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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This will include new laws banning âacts preparatory to terrorismâ ....
Wow, never thought they'd work up the nerve to ban being Muslim.
As the country comes to term with the shock and reality of the first suicide Brit bombers on home soil, the pressure is mounting on the Muslim community to explain why four young ânormalâ Brits of Pakistani descent in the prime of their life succumbed to this ideology and acts of suicide and murder. Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury, the hometown of Mohammed Sadique Khan, warned that British Muslims can no longer live in a state of denial and stressed that Muslims must drive out the extremists from their midst. âThe Muslim community must be and is prepared to confront this evil head on. We have got to accept that there is evil and extremism. It is there and in the most wicked fashion it manifested itself on Thursday. This is a defining moment for this country,â he said.
The cathartic outpouring continues as stunned Muslim leaders line up to condemn unequivocally the acts of their young coreligionists. In Leeds, faith leaders have been tirelessly working to put up a united front and to stem any attempts to divide the communities. A spokesman for the Leeds Muslim Community stressed that ânow is the time for moderation, unity and sensitivity on all sides. We are shocked and saddened that the chief suspects in the London bombings were from West Yorkshire. We send our condolences to the families of those who have died.â
This is all very fine, but the Khilafa crowd and Omar Bakri and Captain Hook are all pushing for more Islamic separatism, trying to keep Muslims from being assimilated into British society. I'm wondering if the sentiments are genuine, or if it's a cry to Brits not to treat them as they'd be treating, say, Ahmadis in Pakistan in similar circumstances. My attention span stretches at least as far back as the last booming of an imambargah in Pakland, and to the riots that followed it. Luckily for them, London's not Gilgit.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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now is the time for moderation, unity and sensitivity on all sides
No. Now is the time for one side to decide whether they are citizens of the UK, or inhabitants.
#4
Note the spokesman from Leeds says NOTHING of his co-religionists. Just that he's sorry they're from Leeds. So, if Pakis came from Paki-Wakiland, or, heck, from Birmingham, it'd be o.k.?
Posted by: BA ||
07/14/2005 8:54 Comments ||
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#5
Oops, make that West Yorkshire!
Posted by: BA ||
07/14/2005 8:55 Comments ||
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#7
A spokesman for the Leeds Muslim Community stressed that ânow is the time for moderation, unity and sensitivity on all sides. We are shocked and saddened that the chief suspects in the London bombings were from West Yorkshire..."
But NOT shocked and saddened that the ACTUAL bombers were MOSLEM?
All of the Moslem declarations are mere lies to appease us (taqiya) UNLESS they immediately denounce and deliver the jihadists in their communities, and explicitly commit to life without taqiya, jihad, and sharia. Anything less tends towards treason.
From Compass Direct
A criminal court in northwestern Turkey will assess new medical reports next week on the condition of Turkish Christian Yakup Cindilli, still recovering from severe injuries inflicted by ultra-nationalists accusing him of âmissionary propaganda.â A former Muslim who converted to Christianity, Cindilli was subjected to a severe beating in October 2003 which left him hospitalized in a coma for six weeks. When he regained consciousness and was sent home to recover, he could not walk unassisted and sometimes failed to recognize his closest relatives. ....
His three attackers were initially jailed on charges of battery and assault. They include the Orhangazi chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), released after a month, and two younger assailants released on bail after three months. According to local newspapers, Cindilliâs assailants had accused the Turkish Christian of passing out New Testaments and doing âmissionary propagandaâ in his hometown. Neither accusation is a criminal offense under Turkish civil law. ....
When the injured Christian last appeared in the courtroom on March 25, 2004, his right arm was still partially paralyzed and he walked slowly with a shuffling limp. On the emotional level, he appeared in relative control of himself, although sometimes mentally confused.
At that time, the young manâs religiously conservative Muslim family had flatly rejected all offers from his Christian friends to help provide legal counsel on his case or arrange for needed physical and psychological therapy. But since January of this year, Cindilliâs family has allowed members of the Bursa Protestant Church to take their son for a doctorâs complete medical examination and regular physical therapy. Coupled with regular weightlifting and walking exercises, the therapy has improved the range of movement and coordination in his right arm and considerably lessened his limp. ....
Defense lawyers for the MHP attackers put several local individuals on the witness stand, attempting to establish evidence that Cindilli had provoked the incident himself by distributing New Testaments and talking about his Christian faith in the community.
Cindilliâs family reportedly wants his court case to conclude at the July 8 hearing, without trying to obtain compensation from his attackers for his long-term disabilities. But that decision now remains with Cindilli, who has recovered sufficiently to speak for himself next week, when he appears before the court. ....
Although he has done some janitorial work for the church in recent months, he is still not able to take a full-time job or live on his own, the pastor said.
Despite pressures from his family to renounce his faith, âYakup is very committed to stay faithful to Jesus, in spite of what happened,â a member of the Bursa church noted.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/14/2005 21:10 ||
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You gonna post a "debate" article every time a New Testament distributor gets beaten up, Mikey?
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/14/2005 21:43 Comments ||
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Tom, you can counteract by an arcticle every time Koran distributor gets beaten up.
#3
I just don't think Mikey-the bandwidth-hog needs to post a whole series of these "debate" articles about Moslems abusing Christians when we're already flooded with plenty of articles about Moslems KILLING Christians and Jews and everyone else.
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/14/2005 21:58 Comments ||
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#4
Tom, you've a point about hogging... he could have get a blogger account, post the articles, and post here synopsis with links.
But I think that, perhaps, "UN-knows-the-best-Mikey" happened on these articles and they shocked him, that's why the spur to post the series. Because many people tend to think that the violent aspects of Islam are represented by the jihadi terrorists and the 'moderates' are benign, tolerant creatures. The difference between killing and near killing is rather marginal.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 14 (UPI) -- Danish support for the war in Iraq has risen after the London attacks despite greater fear of terrorism on Danish soil. An opinion poll conducted by Gallup on behalf of Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende shows that 75 percent of those questioned find it very or extremely likely that Denmark will be a target for fundamentalist Muslim terrorists in the near future. Before the attack on London, 50 percent of Danes said it was very unlikely.
Despite the greater fear of attack, more than 70 percent of Danes support the current military engagement in Iraq. Denmark, a long-time ally of the United States, has troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was mentioned as a possible target by a group claiming links to al-Qaida and the bombings in London.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2005 13:34 ||
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Danes have always been the most sensible of the Scandinavian countries. My mother, a native Swede, always preferred Danes to her own countrymen. Thankfully, she preferred Americans even more - hence, me.
As British police investigating last week's London bombings search for the one man who is believed to have assembled all four devices, Serb media are speculating that the type of explosive used in the attacks may have originated in the Balkans. According to Belgrade daily, Blic, only four countries in the world produce or have produced the type of high-grade military plastic explosives believed to have been used in the Thursday, 7 July, attacks, and that the type produced in the fomer Yugoslavia was of the "best quality."
The Yugoslav explosive was even better than another type also mentioned in connection with the attacks, the American-made C4, the former head of Belgrade's Military-Technical Institute, Milovan Azbejkovic told Blic. Azbejkovic said that while Yugoslav explosive may have been used in the London bombings, he excluded the possibility that it came from the military supplies of Serbia and Montenegro.
Azbejkovic said that large quantity of plastic explosives had been left in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, after the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, and might be easily accessible on the black market.
A French explosives expert assisting London police with their investigation, Christian Chaboud, said he thought the ordnances were probably of "miltary origin" and may have come from the Balkans, or have been obtained from a military establishment by an insider, the Times of London reported.
Blic also reported that Moroccan-born Mohamed al-Guerbouzi, whose name was mentioned in the early stages of the investigation into the London bombings,lived in the Bosnian village of Gornji Rasljani, near northeast town of Brcko, in the 1990s.
Bosnian Serb daily, Nezavisne novine, also said al-Guerbouzi lived in the town and published a list of 31 Moroccans and one Turk who lived in Gornji Rasljani during the 1992-1995 civil war in Bosnia.
The paper said that the list was compiled by Brcko police at the request of Interpol, but didnât specify to which period the list referred. Police in Brcko, which is under international protectorate, said they had no knowledge of the list.
Several hundreds of former mujahedin, Muslim volunteers who fought on the side of Bosnian Muslims in the civil war remained in the country and acquired Bosnian nationality. According to intelligence reports, they operated training camps and recruited local Muslims in what is called âwhite Al-Qaedaâ for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks in Europe.
Several Greek newspapers this week reported that a team of British experts had arrived to Belgrade to check the origin of the explosive used in London, but a high placed police source, which asked not to be named, told Adnkronos International (AKI) that it was âabsolutely not true.â
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/14/2005 10:07 ||
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PARIS, July 14 (UPI) -- Eleven French citizens are suspected of profiting from oil-for-food kickbacks in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's presidency, Le Figaro newspaper reported. A U.N. commission investigating the kickbacks, headed by former Federal Reserve head Paul Volker, has singled out the possible role of the French bank BNP Paribas, the newspaper wrote. A French judge, Philippe Courroye, also has documents detailing the role of the 11 French suspects in oil-for-food profiteering, along with former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua. Pasqua previously denied any wrongdoing.
Courroye, who is conducting his own investigation into the alleged kickbacks, recently asked permission to conduct further inquiries in Iraq, Le Figaro said.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2005 08:52 ||
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French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday warned people to be constantly vigilant faced with the threat of a terrorist attack in France and in the wake of the London bombings that killed at least 52 people a week ago. Speaking at a military reception at the Defense Ministry on the eve of France's National Day, Chirac said that there was a "terrible terrorist threat" and French citizens must mobilize and show "vigilance at all times". Chirac said that the "cowardly and dramatic attacks in London last week have come to remind us cruelly once again" of the need to be on our guard.
He added that international stability and internal security went hand-in-hand and he informed the military, involved in security duty in line with France's "Vigipirate" security plan, that they were carrying out crucially important duties. "Today, international stability and internal security go together. Your commitment among your fellow citizens in the framework of Vigipirate, (and) the protection of our air space and our maritime access is clearly part of this security to which our compatriots aspire," he told the mainly military audience.
He also praised the role played by French troops on two fronts in Afghanistan, where they are involved in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) and in tracking down remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaida on the Afghan-Pakistan border. France has about 200 Special Forces in that latter operation which is little advertised here and is part of a joint operation with US Special Forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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but, but, they attacked Spain and the UK because of their support for the Iraq war. I know because the enlightened told me so.
[TUSCON] Two volunteers with the humanitarian organization "No More Deaths" were arrested for transporting illegal immigrants around noon Saturday afternoon. Spokespeople for the group say the volunteers were trying to save the lives of dehydrated illegal immigrants when they were arrested. Out of a group of seven illegal immigrants found late Saturday morning, three were deemed by volunteers to be in need of immediate medical attention.
The United States Border Patrol says no matter the cause for transporting illegal immigrants, the volunteers were breaking the law.
Volunteers say it would compromise their effort if they called law enforcement officials. Immigrants might not seek help if they think authorities will be called.
"We've been putting them in the car for years and Border Patrol has repeatedly over the years approved of our protocol and said that's okay. We never take people to places other than places absolutely necessary for medical attention and humanitarian aid."
"We've gone on record before saying do not do this. Do not transport illegal aliens in your car. We will arrest you and pursue prosecution. That's not a secret at all," said Andrea Zortman, Border Patrol Agent.
"No More Deaths" and the Border Patrol disagree sharply on the condition of the illegal immigrants in question. "No More Deaths" says the immigrants were either extremely dehydrated or injured... Border Patrol agents say the undocumented immigrants' condition is not as dire as volunteers suggest.
The volunteers will be arraigned Monday. Border Patrol is not releasing the names of those arrested.
#1
Volunteers say it would compromise their effort if they called law enforcement officials. Immigrants might not seek help if they think authorities will be called.
Well, then don't be surprised if you get jugged for aiding and abetting, or accessory after the fact, or smuggling, or treason.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/14/2005 7:28 Comments ||
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We've been putting them in the car for years and Border Patrol has repeatedly over the years approved of our protocol and said that's okay
well, maybe you haven't noticed, but times have changed.
#3
After yesterday's news of another shooting (at our BP Agents) and the other report of a Border Patrol agent himself being arrested for bringing illegals into the US, this is good news. And, those "conditions" don't look TOO life threatening to me. Heck, the vomiting could've been from the tequila talkin'! I'm sure someone here knows, but I assume the BP takes care of medical emergencies too, if they catch someone, is that true?
Posted by: BA ||
07/14/2005 9:10 Comments ||
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#4
Immigrants might not seek help if they think authorities will be called.
That would be their choice then wouldn't it? Same as their choice to cross the desert. Its called 'Free Will'. (something else the LLL is against).
#5
And the reason you didn't use a cell phone for emergency services if the illegals were in such bad condition was? Err...that they'd be treated and then deported. Smugglers, clear and simple.
#6
Two volunteers... were arrested for transporting illegal immigrants around noon Saturday afternoon.
You can only legally transport them after 5 on Tuesdays. I thought everybody knew that!
Posted by: Dar ||
07/14/2005 10:09 Comments ||
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#7
This will cheer you all up. They've immediately dropped the serious federal felony of trafficking, for which they could have faced 20 years or so, and instead have offered them a plea bargain of "court ordered diversion" instead of ANY prison time. I hope the SOBs refuse the bargain, which will probably force the weak-kneed government to drop the charges. That will show everybody where they stand.
#10
Two volunteers with the humanitarian organization "No More Deaths"..
If these idiots indeed want "no more deaths", they'll use what resources they have at their disposal to discourage Mexicans from crossing the border illegally, instead of assisting them with water or medical attention. The fact that they don't speaks volumes.
WASHINGTON, July 13 - A high-level military investigation into complaints by F.B.I. agents about the abuse of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, concluded in a report released Wednesday that their treatment was sometimes degrading but did not qualify as inhumane or as torture.
The report was presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee by Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt of the Air Force, who conducted the investigation after e-mail messages between Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at Guantánamo and their superiors in Washington were disclosed in a lawsuit.
In the messages, the agents complained that they had seen abusive, possibly illegal behavior by military interrogators. They spoke of "torture techniques" and described detainees forced into uncomfortable positions for 18 to 24 hours at a time or left to soil themselves.
General Schmidt told the committee that his investigation could not substantiate some of the F.B.I. accusations. His report said that some of the practices that evoked criticism among the F.B.I. agents were approved interrogation techniques, like stripping detainees, forcing one to wear women's lingerie and wiping red ink on a detainee and telling him it was menstrual blood.
The unclassified version of the report, which was distributed publicly, provided the military's first acknowledgement that it had used dogs to intimidate prisoners at Guantánamo on a few occasions, as was done later at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
In addition, one of the high-value detainees, Mohamed al-Kahtani, whom the military has said confessed that he was meant to be the 20th hijacker in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, was led around on a leash and forced "to perform a series of dog tricks." The leashing of a detainee to humiliate him was another practice that became notorious after it was recorded in a photograph of abuses at Abu Ghraib.
The report said those techniques and others were part of authorized approaches called "ego down" or "futility," which are used to make the interrogation subject question his sense of personal worth or the value of resisting.
General Schmidt said that an accusation by an F.B.I. agent that detainees were deprived of food and water as part of an interrogation regimen could not be substantiated. He said the agent was difficult to find and was therefore not questioned by his staff. Similarly, he said that about 10 former interrogators could not be questioned as they were no longer in the military and declined to answer questions voluntarily.
The report also said investigators could not corroborate an incident recounted by an F.B.I. agent who said she saw a detainee shackled to the floor for hours, soiling himself and pulling out his hair.
The report, the latest of nearly a dozen investigations of abuse of detainees by the military, was greeted by several Republican senators on the Armed Services Committee as a demonstration of the humaneness they said was generally used in Guantánamo.
Senator James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, said he was angered that any effort had been expended on investigating these matters.
"It's hard to see why we're so wrapped up in this investigation," Mr. Inhofe said. "We have nothing to be ashamed of."
Several Democrats saw it differently. They said the report demonstrated that the handful of abuses highlighted therein showed that the military was committed to absolving any high-level person of responsibility.
"It is clear from the report that detainee mistreatment was not simply the product of a few rogue military police on a night shift," said Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee's senior Democrat. "Rather, this mistreatment arose from the use of aggressive interrogation techniques."
General Schmidt had concluded that the special techniques used on Mr. Kahtani were not by themselves a problem. In addition to being segregated from other prisoners for nearly six months and interrogated for up to 20 hours a day, Mr. Kahtani was made to stand naked in front of female soldiers, forced to wear lingerie, forced to dance with a male interrogator and had his copy of a Koran squatted on by an interrogator.
General Schmidt had recommended that Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the commander of the Guantánamo prison in 2002 and 2003, be reprimanded for failing to exercise proper supervision over the Kahtani interrogation. But Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, the commander of the United States Southern Command, overruled that recommendation.
#1
You gotta love how the FBI failed to prevent 9/11 even though it had one of the hijackers in its possession, but has the gall to lecture the Pentagon about steps it has taken to try to prevent future 9/11's. You can bet that if the FBI had to do it all over again, 9/11 would still have happened.
#2
"It is clear from the report that detainee mistreatment traitorous tactics was not simply the product of a few rogue military police Democrats on a night shift," said Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee's senior Democrat. "Rather, this mistreatment approach arose from the use of aggressive interrogation disinformation techniques."
Anyone can leap to conclusions, Carl. Some are more rational than others, however.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/14/2005 16:46 Comments ||
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TAMPA - A conversation about money for ``martyrs'' and faxes discussing proposals on how to run the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were part of the evidence introduced in the trial of Sami Al-Arian on Wednesday.
Prosecutors continued laying out their case against Al- Arian, a former University of South Florida professor accused of helping run and finance the Islamic Jihad. Items introduced Wednesday purportedly demonstrated that Al- Arian was deeply involved in conducting the affairs of the organization in the mid-'90s.
Although the meaning of many of the faxes and conversations admitted into evidence was not always obvious, the prosecution maintains they show Al-Arian making proposals to other Islamic Jihad officials for running the organization. They included suggestions for financial reform and working with another terrorist group, Hamas.
Al-Arian is on trial, along with Sameeh Hammoudeh, Hatim Naji Fariz and Ghassan Zayed Ballut, on charges including racketeering and providing material support to a terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel and the occupied territories. President Clinton outlawed support for the organization in January 1995.
Although Al-Arian previously denied involvement in the Islamic Jihad, his attorney, William Moffitt, suggested to jurors in his opening statement last month that Al-Arian did belong, but left in the spring of 1994 after other members refused to go along with his proposal that they pursue peaceful activities.
Translator Introduces Documents
Jurors were not told details about much of the evidence admitted on Wednesday. Rather, documents were introduced through translator Tahsim Ali, who was questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherie Krigsman. Ali identified the documents by number and briefly described as them as telephone conversations or faxes. Ali said, when he knew, who was involved in the phone conversations and whose names were on the faxes.
Among the exhibits was a fax allegedly sent by Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki to Al- Arian on Feb. 7, 1997. According to the indictment, the fax was about a meeting an Islamic Jihad representative had attended in Iran regarding Islamic Jihad finances.
It discusses a meeting ``in the north'' between someone named Mohammad and someone described only as ``the short one.'' It says, in part, ``Mohammad strongly presented the issue and made him understand that the suggestion is final.''
One of the telephone transcripts admitted into evidence involves a March 6, 1994, conversation between Al-Arian and Fawaz Damra, a Cleveland cleric listed in the indictment as unindicted co-conspirator No. 1. According to Ali's translation, the two men discussed money for martyrs. The prosecution alleges that referred to aid for families of Islamic Jihad members who had died fighting for the cause, such as in suicide bombings.
``We want to send $100 to each kid,'' Al-Arian says.
A bit later, Damra says, ``But what about the martyrs in Hebron?''
``Brother, don't feel sorry for them,'' Al-Arian replies. ``King Fahd sent $50,000 to each one of them.''
A bit later, Damra says, ``OK, so what's that mean? We should not collect money?''
``I mean $50,000,'' Al-Arian says. ``If you don't send $2,000, he wouldn't care. Consider the other poor people.''
``Ha, ha!'' Damra says. ``You mean that you want to focus on Gaza, that's it?''
``Not only Gaza. Gaza and the West Bank.''
One fax admitted into evidence was allegedly sent by Al- Arian on July 29, 1994, to someone named Ahmed Yousef. The fax allegedly contained a proposal to unify the activities of the Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
1991 Videotape Shown To Jurors
The translation reads, in part, ``In order to bring into effect the objective of the unity of the vision and strategy of the Hamas and Jihad movements, a Shura (advisory) council of the Islamic movement in Palestinian will be constituted of 35 individuals ... ''
Also Wednesday, Krigsman played a 1991 videotape for jurors. It depicts a Sept. 27, 1991, conference of the Islamic Committee for Palestine, an organization founded by Al- Arian.
On the video, Al-Arian tells his audience, ``We have no choice but the choice of continuation, the choice of perseverance, the choice of jihad, the choice of settling ourselves to the pursuit of our enemies, and support this Intifada until the balance of power is altered.''
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
07/14/2005 11:24 ||
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http://frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15344 Yes, these guys are raising money all across America and shipping it to Syria to go down to Palestine, the Palestinian areas, and hire suicide bombers to kill Jews. They sent me the videotapes. There was Professor al-Arian on stage and one of his friends gets up and says, âNow, who will give me $500 to kill a Jew? There are people standing by in Jerusalem who will go out in the street and stab a Jew with a knife, but we need $500.â And he said, âAll of this money will go to the Islamic committee for Palestine.â And that is the front group in the United States for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Posted by: ed ||
07/14/2005 13:12 Comments ||
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From Compass Direct
A Muslim council has accused three Indonesian women of attempting to convert Muslim children. Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were arrested on May 13 and taken to the Indramayu State Prison, where they await trial. Dr. Zakaria is the pastor of Gereja Kristen Kemah Daud (GKKD), or Christian Church of Davidâs Camp, located in the small town of Harguelis, Indramayu district, West Java.
In 2003, a public elementary school in nearby Babakan Jati approached the church staff and asked if they would establish a Christian education program for the school. After the National Education System Bill became law in June 2003, all public schools were required to provide religious education for children of religious minorities attending their schools. .... The women of the GKKD church set up a âHappy Sundayâ program, with Christian songs, games and Bible study for the children. The program was run by Bangun and Pangesti, under the direction of their pastor, Zakaria.
After running for approximately 18 months, the number of children attending the program had grown to 40 -- but only 10 were from Christian homes. The Muslim children attended the popular program with the full consent of their parents. Some of them began to sing Christian songs at school and at home, and this attracted the attention of Islamic elders who, in December 2004, forced the church to close.
The women then continued to run the Happy Sunday program from Pangestiâs home. On March 26, they organized an Easter bus tour to the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, an amusement park in Jakarta. .... During the tour, one of the children asked for and received a Bible from one of the teachers. As a result, Islamic leaders approached church staff and demanded that Muslim children no longer be allowed to attend the program. ....
On May 1, a local Islamic leader interviewed four of the Muslim children who had attended the Happy Sunday program and recorded their answers on video. The children were asked whether the women had ever offered them money, to which they responded, âNo.â However all the children said they had received gifts, and one told the interviewer that he had asked for and been given a Bible.
On the evening of May 13, the three women were arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. They were accused of breaching the Child Protection Law, Chapter 86, No. 23/2002. If convicted, they could be sentenced for up to five years and fined 1,000,000,000 rupees ($103,600). ...
H. Erik Isnaeni, an influential lawyer acting for the MUI [Majelis Ulama Indonesia] Council, refused to drop the case. He also asked that bail be refused for the women, which meant they were unable to live at home under house arrest and take care of their own children. The women were moved from police detention to the Indramayu State Prison on June 1 under the âprotectionâ of the Attorney Generalâs office, to await trial. At press time, no date had been set for the first court hearing. ...
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/14/2005 21:16 ||
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Headline does not reflect content.
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/14/2005 21:40 Comments ||
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Such a peaceful and tolerant religion Islam is isn't it?
Lebanonâs Prime Minister-designate Fuad Siniora endured a new setback yesterday in his bid to form a government when firebrand Christian leader Michel Aoun said his bloc would not take part. Aounâs refusal to participate comes after Siniora submitted a list of a proposed 30-member government to President Emile Lahoud in the hope he had finally succeeded in breaking the deadlock after two weeks of stalled talks.
Former Gen. Aoun had at the weekend said he was ready to resume talks on joining the government after a previous round of negotiations collapsed over demands that the bloc of Reform and Change be given the Ministry of Justice. âAfter responding positively to the request to participate in a government of national unity, the bloc was surprised by the calling into question of the accord, which created a climate lacking in confidence,â a statement from the bloc said. âIt is for this reason that our bloc has decided to link its ultimate participation in the government to the respect of agreements made in the past.â In Sinioraâs proposed government, the first since Syria pulled out its troops in April after almost three decades of military presence, four ministerial posts were allocated to Aounâs bloc. But the bloc, which has 21 seats in Parliament and groups together Aounâs Free Patriotic Movement and its allied MPs, has been looking to be given five ministers.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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Iran hit back at US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday over his allegation that the Islamic republic could have been behind a suicide attack at a shopping mall in Israel. âThe declaration by Rumsfeld is aimed at trying to cover up the failure of the United States in the region,â Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement. According to Asefi, at fault were âclumsy and ill-thought out actions by the United States in its fight against terrorism,â which had only resulted in âattacks and the deaths of innocent peopleâ.
âAmericaâs leaders see the world through Israeli eyes and cannot correctly analyze the global situation. You have to look for the center of terrorism at the heart of the Zionist regime,â the statement said. On Tuesday, top US officials, including Rumsfeld, pointed fingers at both Syria and Iran as they denounced the deadly bombing in Netanya â the first such attack inside the Jewish state in four and a half months. âI wouldnât want to suggest that I know about the attack today, but clearly thatâs been one of the stated and continuous purposes of Iran, to harm Israel,â said Rumsfeld.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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"And, oh yeah, it's all that evil genuis', Karl Rove's, fault...ya know, to get attention off of his crimes."
Under the new law, the principal duty of the cleric, called "mohtasib" - one who holds other accountable - will be to ensure people respect the call to prayers, pray on time and do not engage in commerce at the time of Friday prayers.
He will also stop unrelated men and women from appearing in public places together, and discourage singing and dancing.
One of his tasks will be to monitor the media to ensure "publications are useful for the promotion of Islamic values".
Posted by: john ||
07/14/2005 19:37 ||
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From Compass Direct
... In the northeast, Iraqi Kurdistan offers a haven for Christian activity as the two rival Kurdish governments grow in their toleration of Muslims becoming Christians. In the south, the evangelical church is growing rapidly.
In Baghdad, a total of 15 evangelical congregations have started since the removal of Saddam Husseinâs regime in April 2003. Officially, only two evangelical churches -- both Presbyterian and led by Egyptian nationals -- existed in the capital during Husseinâs rule. Now there are Baptists, Methodists and Christian and Missionary Alliance congregations, all led by local Iraqi pastors. ....
Most of the members of the new churches come from the Presbyterian Church, and some come from historic Christian denominations such as the Chaldean Catholic or Syrian Orthodox, which have been in Iraq for centuries.
âMuslims too want peace,â Thomas said. âMany of them are frightened. When the hostages are killed, often a Quranic verse is used to justify it. So many Muslims are scared of their own God. When we preach that God is love, it is so liberating to them.â
Southern Iraq is deemed too dangerous for foreign Christian workers, so most have pulled back to the more stable Iraqi Kurdistan. .... Kurdish refugees are flooding back. There is little street crime, and authorities have severely curtailed the activities of Islamic extremists. .... According to Yousif Matty, a leading pastor of the Kurdish Evangelical Church, a denomination in the north comprising Kurdish and Arabic Christians, âThe last 10 years have been a golden time here, and it is set to continue with Talabani becoming president. He has been very strong on emphasizing the rule of law. Also, the Kurds have suffered at the hands of Islamists and have no love for them.â
Mattyâs churches have a few hundred members, from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds. He runs four bookshops, two schools and other projects, and he received a $500,000 plot of land from the government to build his church. The government has also welcomed other Christian NGOs.
The other evangelical denomination in the north is the Kurdish Language Evangelical Church, which is exclusively Kurdish-speaking and made up primarily of Kurds. .... The influence of the Kurds, who represent 25 percent of the Iraqi population, is important to the future of the country. President Talabani has less power than the Shiite prime minister, but some Christian leaders believe that the best bulwark against a strongly Islamic constitution may be the influence of the Kurds. Though Sunni Muslims, the Kurdish people are one of the least observant groups in the Middle East. They are expected to oppose the Arabs, whom they feel have humiliated them for decades. Nestorian Bishop Issac of Dohuk predicted the Kurds would keep the constitution from becoming too Islamic.
âSharia is really Arabic, and the Kurds will resist all attempts to Arabize the culture of Iraq,â Bishop Issac said. âIf we go the sharia route, it will be like in Iran where our [Nestorian] church is less than 10 percent of the strength it was before [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini took power.â
Another point of light for the Iraqi church is that many of the 40,000 or so Christians who fled after a spate of bombings last August have returned to the country. Yet the numbers of those still in refugee camps in Jordan and Syria remain significant -- perhaps 10,000, though precise figures are not available.
According to Bishop Issac, âItâs not the end of the world that so many Christians have fled, because it has spread the Iraqi church over the world, and the new communities established in America and Australia are providing many resources we would not have received if we had all remained in the land.â ....
Middle class Christians are also continuing to emigrate in alarming numbers, as those in key professions such as medicine are targets for kidnapping and extortion. Some newer evangelical churches have been decimated by this exodus.
The Iraqi churches also face internal challenges. Some priests from the historic churches have bullied the new evangelicals. In Baghdad, a priest from the Chaldean Catholics told those who had left his church to attend Baptist services, âWe will not bury your relatives who attend our churches.â Some leaders of the older church denominations have slandered evangelical congregations as âpart of a Jewish conspiracy to control Iraq.â
Also, although the evangelicals are skilled in evangelism, the church is young and immature. Warns Matty, âOur outreach activity is so much stronger than the discipling function of the church. We have radio outreach, schools, bookshops, but the church itself is not concentrating in deepening its life, nor are the leaders getting trained enough.â
Some church leaders see the splitting of the evangelical churches into so many new (and often foreign-backed) denominations as an indication of disunity. And not all missionary aid is well spent; some pastors have used foreign support to buy expensive cars and upgrade their lifestyle, leading to envy among other pastors.
Yet for all these challenges, the mood among 70 evangelical pastors meeting in April was guardedly optimistic. A pastor of one of the three Baptist congregations in Baghdad, who did not wish to be named, forecast three trends.
âOne, the evangelical church will grow stronger, but many of its numbers will leave. However thatâs not so bad. They will probably come back with more teaching and maturity and it will benefit the church in the long term. Two, the historic churches will get even more negative. I see them as the major persecutor of the evangelicals in the future. It is as it always was. I am translating a book called The Trial of Blood which calculates that the institutional churches killed 50 million Christians from 315 to 1570. Three, the Islamic extremists will moderate, though it may take a generation.â ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/14/2005 18:24 ||
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From Compass Direct
Andrew Akume, a Christian lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria city, Kaduna state, northern Nigeria, has disappeared since the issuance of a death sentence against him. A militant Muslim group at ABU passed the sentence on him claiming he blasphemed Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.
The death sentence for Akume, the universityâs dean of the faculty of law, is contained in two fatwas (Islamic decrees) issued in the months of May and June by the âConcerned Muslims Movementâ of ABU. In a circular entitled âFatwa: The Resolutions,â distributed on the university campus, Akume was accused of âassault on Muslim sisters and blasphemy against Allah and Islam.â Akume asked a Muslim female student not to wear the hijab (head-to-toe covering) because it hid the identity of the student from lecturers and students. According to Akume, the student disregarded the Council for Legal Educationâs dress code for law students by wearing the Islamic dress.
The second fatwa issued said, âOur earlier fatwa holds, and it is a time bomb which will explode in a few daysâ time.â The circular, which contained no dates or names, accused Akume of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed and of making the faculty of law at the university a âhell for Muslims.â
Shortly before his disappearance, Akume submitted a petition to the authorities of ABU denying the accusations made against him by the militant Muslim group. According to the Christian lecturer, he harbors no ill-feelings against Muslim students and he never assaulted any of them.
âI was only trying to live up to my responsibility as the dean of the faculty of law by enforcing the dress code for law students prescribed by the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria and approved by Nigerian universitiesâ law faculties. The dress code instructed that only approved dresses be used by law students. Veils and religious dresses were not approved for these students,â Akume stated in his petition. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/14/2005 18:20 ||
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They always resort to the same methods, no matter where in the world they are.
From Compass Direct
Five months after he was forcibly committed to a mental hospital for converting from Islam to Christianity, Gasir Mohammed Mahmoud has been discharged from his locked psychiatric ward in Cairo and set free. Mahmoud was released June 9 from Cairoâs El-Khanka Hospital for Mental and Neurological Health, where two police officers from his home city of Suez had institutionalized him last January. ....
Adopted as an infant, Mahmoud was raised by the Muslim couple, who were alarmed last December to learn that he had converted to Christianity two years earlier. But his fatherâs angry appeal to local Muslim sheikhs prompted them to issue death threats against the son for committing apostasy.
After his mother asked local state security police to protect her son from being killed, they subjected Mahmoud to an endless round of interrogations and arrests. Initially, Mahmoud said, he was questioned âin a decent wayâ in front of a state security officer named Mohammed Amar. He was then transferred to another official who brought two Muslim sheikhs to talk with him, trying to convince him to return to Islam. After eight daysâ detention, eating only food that other detainees shared with him, he was sent to the Suez Security Directorate for an investigation that lasted four days.
Then he was released. Because his only Bible had been destroyed, he stopped at an evangelical church on his way home to ask for another copy. âBut they were afraid,â Mahmoud said, âand refused to give me a Bible.â Shortly after he returned home, a messenger was sent to tell him to meet Mohammed Amar again. When the policeman asked why he had gone to the church again, Mahmoud told him he could not stop himself from going there.
So he started to torture me, to pull off the nails of my toes,â Mahmoud said. âNow Iâm still not able to wear shoes because of the pain.â This continued for 18 days, he said. The torture included stripping him naked and dousing him with ice-cold water over and over. ....
Then on January 10, the police committed him to the El-Khanka Hospital, where a medical committee was formed to examine his case.
âOnce they put me in a room without any clothes,â Mahmoud recalled. âThey filled the room with water, to prevent me from sleeping.â During his confinement, he was beaten at times and given heavy doses of medication twice daily.
Mahmoudâs supervising physician, Dr. Nevine, had told him he would never be allowed to leave the hospital unless he came back to Islam. ....
Egyptian law forbids Muslims the right to change their official religious identity when they become Christians, although non-Muslims can freely convert to Islam and legally change their I.D. cards from Christian to Muslim. Under the virtual impunity of emergency law regulations, officers of Egyptâs State Security Investigation regularly harass, interrogate and arrest Muslim citizens suspected to have converted to Christianity.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/14/2005 18:11 ||
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The political leader of the Hamas militant group said Thursday it and other Palestinian factions remained committed to a truce with
Israel, despite recent violence. BUT Khaled Meshaal told The Associated Press that what he called continued Israeli violations may renew confrontations and end the 5-month-old cease-fire.
On Tuesday, a suicide bombing outside a shopping mall in the Israeli resort town of Netanya killed five people. Israel said it was carried out by a follower of Islamic Jihad, the second-largest Islamic militant group after Hamas, which opposes the existence of the Jewish state and has killed hundreds of Israelis.
Mashaal said Israel has failed to commit itself to the conditions of the truce, citing more than 47 Palestinians killed during the cease-fire. Israel is provoking the Palestinian factions to force them to break the truce," he said. The militants regard any Israeli action against them as a truce violation, ranging from the almost daily arrests of their supporters to Thursday's killing of Mohammed Alassi in Nablus, which the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade cited as justification for the evening rocket attack that killed a woman in Nativ Haasara, inside Israel. Israelis say arrests and pre-emptive strikes are legitimate acts of self-defense against people planning to kill Israelis. It says 16 Israelis have been killed during the truce. "The continued aggressions and provocations by Israel would create a climate whereby there can be no calm," Meshaal said. "No one can prevent the Palestinians from retaliating for the Israeli aggression and from defending themselves." For now, however, Mashaal said the Palestinian factions would continue to abide by the cease-fire agreement. "Hamas and all Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Jihad, are still committed to the truce," he said by telephone, speaking from an Arab country that he declined to disclose.
Following the Netanya bombing, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice singled out Syria for criticism and called on Damascus to end its support for Islamic Jihad. Syria has long denied involvement in terror attacks on Israel. "It's essential that the Syrian government end its support for terrorist organizations, particularly those who are headquartered and harbored in Damascus," Rice said. "Syria should immediately stop letting its territory be used for insurgent activities and for activities which frustrate the aspirations of the Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian people." Mashaal called her comments "unjust." "It's an expression of absolute U.S. bias toward Israel," he said. Meshaal said "nobody holds responsibility for what is happening except the Israeli occupation and the continuation of the Zionist aggression" of the Palestinian militant groups' presence in the Palestinian territories. He urged the Bush administration to end what he called its bias in favor of Israel and abandon its "aggressive policy" against Arab nations in general and the Palestinians in particular. He also urged European countries to adopt a more balanced, just and evenhanded stand toward Arabs.
He described his talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus last week as "frank and clear" and said they discussed the general Palestinian situation, relations between Hamas and the mainstream
Fatah movement, and the Palestinian legislative elections.
He reiterated his group's position not to participate in the Palestinian national government, saying there were more pressing issues, such as "rebuilding the
Palestine Liberation Organization on new organizational bases, expediting legislative elections, and forming a national committee" to follow up on Israel's withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip.
Meshaal said his group would never abandon its weapons "so long as there is Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands."
Attitudes about Muslims and Islam, based on a Pew Research Center global survey:
About three-fourths of the people living in the United States and European countries like Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Russia say they are concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world.
An overwhelming majority of people living in European countries like Britain, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Russia say they think Muslims coming into their country want to be distinct from the larger society rather than adopting their new country's customs.
A majority of people in European countries polled said they felt there is a growing sense of Islamic identity among Muslims in their countries, and most said that was bad for their countries.
Muslim women were more likely to view the United States positively than Muslim men.
People in the United States, European countries and India were most likely to name Islam as the most violent religion when asked to choose between Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.
People in the Middle East were most likely to say Judaism was the most violent of those four religions.
Views of Christians in the Muslim world are more negative than views of Muslims in the Christian world.
Muslims' views of Jews are overwhelmingly negative in the majority-Muslim countries polled.
The polls were taken in various countries from late April to the end of May, with samples of about 1,000 in most countries and slightly fewer than 1,000 in the European countries. The margin of sampling error ranged from 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points, depending on the sample size.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2005 14:00 ||
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#1
Theres more in another AP piece
Public confidence in bin Laden has dipped sharply since May 2003 in Indonesia, Morocco, Lebanon and Turkey â all countries that have experienced recent terrorist bombings.
Makes sense, good.
But
In Pakistan and Jordan, a majority of people continue to say they have at least some confidence in bin Laden, the Saudi who leads al-Qaida.
"Support for Osama bin Laden is waning, but there are still people who admire him and view him as a hero," said Ulil Abshor Abdala, chairman of the Islamic Liberal Network, a non-governmental organization in Indonesia that supports religious moderation and interfaith harmony.
"For some youth Osama Bin Laden is like Che Guevera, it does not matter what you say, he is a hero to them. Our challenge is how to limit the extent of this heroic admiration among the youth," Abdala said.
The United States remains broadly unpopular in those heavily Muslim countries. Solid majorities of the people in Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan and Indonesia have an unfavorable view of the United States, while Moroccans are split. Young people in Morocco, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey view America more favorably than the overall populations in those countries, the polling found.
Reasons for Islamic extremism varied from one majority-Muslim country to the next. Poverty and a lack of jobs were mentioned most often in some countries, while U.S. policies and influence were mentioned in others. Lack of education, immorality and lawlessness also were cited.
"The concern about the causes of extremism are varied," said Wendy Sherman, who was counselor for the State Department in the Clinton administration. "When the U.S. government looks at our counterterrorism efforts, we clearly have to use a variety of approaches."
The Pew survey found some conflicting feelings about Islam in majority-Muslim countries.
In all of those countries except Jordan, people were more likely to say Islam is playing a greater role in their countries than it did a few years ago. The increasing role of Islam was overwhelmingly seen as a positive development in all those countries except Turkey. Respondents said growing immorality, government corruption and concerns about Western influence were among their reasons for turning to Islam.
A majority of people in Morocco and Pakistan say Islamic extremism greatly threatens their country, and almost half in Indonesia and Turkey said it poses a great threat. Few people in Lebanon and Jordan felt that way.
Militants on trial in a Jordanian military court shocked judges and lawyers with confessions that they planned to target âinfidel collaborators of the Americans and Israelis in the Jordanian kingdom,â newspaper reports said on Thursday.
Reports in the regional dailies al-Hayat and al-Sharq al-Awsat said nine out of the 13 militants on trial for allegedly planning a chemical attack in Amman in 2004 shocked everyone in the court room with their defiant testimonies.
âOur Sheikh Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi said that if we had chemical weapons we would have hit Tel Aviv and the traitor collaborator (Jordanian) regime,â said Hussein Sharif, one of the accused men, as quoted by al-Hayat.
The accused include Al Qaedaâs leader in Iraq, Jordanian fugitive Al Zarqawi and three other fugitives who are being tried in absentia.
Jordanian security foiled the attempted attack against the Jordanian Intelligence headquarters in Amman in April 2004. Jordanian officials say that had it been carried out, thousands of people would have died.
âI came back to Jordan to perform the Islamic duty of jihad (holy war) and kill the infidel rulers and government officials who spread corruption for the interest of their American and Jewish masters,â said Hassan Omar al-Samik.
Al-Hayat quoted al-Samik as saying the group wanted to target the intelligence headquarters because it is the âmain spear of infidelityâ.
Syrian militant Anas Samir told the prosecution he was âone of the arrows of Allahâ.
âI am ready to fight Jordan in the name of Allah because you stand guard for the Americans and the Israelis,â Samir said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/14/2005 10:15 ||
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I came back to Jordan to perform the Islamic duty of jihad...
Our Sheikh Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi said that if we had chemical weapons we would have hit Tel Aviv ...
I am ready to fight Jordan in the name of Allah ...
These dumf**ks really believe this stuff... Exterminate them like you would cockroaches...
#2
I think this "arrow of Allah" has focussed attention on the Islamic Jihadis' problem, trying to fight a 21st century infidel with an 8th century mindset. Arrow of Allah, meet JDAM of Uncle Sam.
Abdulkadir Karakus, the alleged brain behind the bomb attacks al-Qaeda carried out in Istanbul in 2003 and Burhan Kus, who manufactured the bombs were arrested last month in the Iraqi capital Bagdat (Baghdad). The Turkish Ministry of Justice asked the US for the return of Karakus and Kus who had been sent to Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad after being arrested and interrogated. Following the attacks, Gurcan Bac, said to be the second in commandof the Turkish branch of the terrorist network died in a suicide attack to at a US military check point in Baghdad. Reportedly, the terrorist organization informed the familes of Karakus and Kus of their arrest.
Azad Ekinci, involved in the Istanbul attacks of 15-20 November 2003, was killed in a suicde attack on December 14 2004 in the Iraqi city of Haladiyye. Habip Akdas, another al-Qaida bomber, was killed in Iraq three months ago.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/14/2005 09:59 ||
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Although the police claimed six youths had been killed in separate encounters in Kazipara and Lalmatia on Tuesday, eyewitnesses and local people termed their killing âcold-bloodedâ murder and said there was no encounter at all. On both occasions, the police followed the latest practice of law enforcers, including the Rapid Action Battalion, of killing either alleged criminals or innocent citizens, they alleged.
Well, it's not like we belived those "crossfire" stories.
I believe! I believe!
In the Lalmatia incident, at about 8:30pm, an undercover team of the Mohammadpur police, led by sub-inspector Rezaul Karim, went to Block E and nabbed three youths from the BDC guesthouse and handcuffed them immediately. âI saw that the youths were being dragged toward house no 5/7,â said Najma Akhter, who lives in a nearby house.
She said the police team then knocked on the door of the house and asked the residents to come out. âWhen I came out of my house, the police asked me whether I knew that a robbery was taking place in my house,â said Abdus Salam. âWhen I said no, they wrote something on a white paper and asked me to sign it, and I did so.â
This would most likely be the "dacoits digging a hole through the wall" story of a couple of days ago
In the meantime some locals gathered there. But the police, using a loudspeaker, announced that a robbery was taking place and asked everyone to go inside their homes and shut the doors and windows, said the locals.
Don't want any witnesses
âSoon after that I heard at least 10 gunshots and saw two youths lying on the ground,â Najma Akhter, who saw the whole action while standing on the balcony of her second-floor residence, told New Age on Wednesday afternoon. âIt was nothing but cold-blooded killing.â
Seeing the two dead, the other youth was repeatedly requesting the police team not to kill him. âSir, both of my parents died, I am an orphan, please donât kill me,â he was quoted by an onlooker. He said the police then dragged the youth into the van and shot him dead. âThe van drove away, taking all the three bodies,â he said adding that the police fired several shots while leaving the area.
That would be one of the "shoot-outs" Bangladesh is famous for
The Mohammadpur police, however, claimed that they had gone to the area after hearing that a robbery was taking place. They claimed the youths blasted bombs and fired on a police team when it reached there, and they had been killed in an encounter. Locals, however, said they had heard no bombs explode.
The Mohammadpur police said all the three were dacoits but failed to say whether there were any cases against them. In fact, the police are yet to identify the youths, who are also unknown to the Lalmatia residents.
Kazipara incident
The police usually patrol the area a couple of times each day but locals say a police team, led by sub-inspector Moshiur Rahman, had been stationed at Baishbari Balur Math (sand field) of Kazipara since morning. They randomly stopped pedestrians, searched them and allowed them to go after a brief interrogation. At about 4:30pm, the police team called three youths who were standing five yards away. Locals and eyewitnesses said they heard a loud sound. When the youths tried to flee the people managed to catch two of them and handed them over to police.
âWe donât know whether they were criminals but we caught them as the police told us that they had hurled bombs,â said Joynal, a rickshaw-puller of Balur Math area.
Ah, yesterdays "hurling" story
He could not say whether the sound was caused by bomb blast or gunfire.
âEveryone present there saw that the police shot the two youths after forcing them to stand in a line,â said Ashraf Ali, an elderly resident of Kaziparaâs Baishbari area. âThey were killed just like the Pakistani solders had killed many Bengalis during the Liberation War in 1971,â Ali, who witnessed the incident, told New Age on Wednesday.
People chased and caught the fleeing youth and brought him to the police. âOne of them policemen told the youth that he would face the same fate if he disclosed the truth about the incident,â said Omar Farukh, a Khadem of a local mosque, quoting the policeman.
"Keep yer yap shut or we'll take you to retrive some arms tonight!"
Both Ashraf Ali and Omar Farukh said that there was no question of encounter as all the three victims were unarmed.
Assistant commissioner of the Mirpur Zone, Ziaul Haq, claimed that the police team challenged the youths, numbering 10 to 12, while they were preparing to commit a robbery. âThey hurled bombs and fired on the police, who also retaliated. They were killed in encounters,â he asserted.
"That's our story and we're sticking to it!"
A Mirpur police press release, however, said 9 to 10 youths had exploded bombs and fired after being challenged by the police team. âThe police also fired on them to save their lives, killing three robbers.â
One of the victims was identified as Plaban Hossain, son of Iskander Molla of 372/1/3, West Sheorapara. His brother, Firoz, said Plaban was working in Mirpur Adarsha Technical and had been missing for six days.
There was no case against any of the youths in the police station.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/14/2005 09:05 ||
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An entry of Jihad Watch, so link only.
US Foreign policy at its best. Note that a whole group of french geopoliticians and writers, notably general Gallois and Alexandre Del Valle came up in the late 90's with the notion that the USA were playing islam against Europe, with some convicing points I might add. Del Valle has now reverted his view, and is advocating transatlantic unity, he's a very good writer on islamism, btw, you can find some of his english articles here :
http://www.alexandredelvalle.com/publications.php?rub=etrangers&rub2=48
How pious of them.
Kuben Chetty
A KwaZulu-Natal Islamic organisation has condemned the London bombings, but laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of United States President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"No matter how much we may denounce these acts, these maverick leaders must take the blame for putting their nations in such grave danger," part of the statement reads.
Suleman Goga of Jamiatul Ulama, the author of the statement, said that such horrific acts were inevitable.
"When you invade other countries this becomes the natural reaction," he said.
Nick Sheppard, media liaison officer for the British Consul, said there was no evidence that the United Kingdom's foreign policy was related to these attacks.
The press statement, issued by the Jamiatul Ulama (Council of Islamic Theologians) said it condemned "the indiscriminate attacks and killings of innocent civilians in central London.
"Irrespective of whether the alleged perpetrators are so-called Islamists, radical extremists, terrorists or some underground state agencies, we condemn such acts which claim innocent lives."
However, Goga's statement goes on to draw attention to "the greater onslaught and callous injustices that are being perpetrated daily in other parts of the world, of which the consequences are far more devastating than what has transpired in London. "Blind rage never announces when it will come," the statement says.
Meanwhile, speaking to the British parliament, Blair spoke to and about the Muslim community in the UK.
"People know that the overwhelming majority of Muslims stand for peace with every other community in Britain. We were proud of your contribution to Britain before last Thursday.
We remain proud of it today. We will work with you to make the moderate and true voice of Islam heard as it should be." - Daily News Correspondent
#2
"...greater onslaught and callous injustices that are being perpetrated daily in other parts of the world, of which the consequences are far more devastating than what has transpired in London. "Blind rage never announces when it will come," the statement says.
Yes, that would be the innocent children being blown up in Iraq daily, I suppose. And don't forget, some people have thousands of nuclear devices, small and large, so you might try to avoid their rage, lest you be on the receiving end.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/14/2005 17:04 Comments ||
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Most of you can't get to this, so I'm posting the whole thing. Editors, feel free to move most of this to p. 73.
I feel that this is an incredibly important piece for understanding how we got where we are today. It's like watching an embryo form. All the parts are there and are starting develop. The Nazis, the Saudis, the Islamists, the Nasserites/Baathists, the Euros, and the Americans play a part. We have the benefit of hindsight, but nobody involved in this could know how it would turn out today.
MUNICH, Germany -- North of this prosperous city of engineers and auto makers is an elegant mosque with a slender minaret and a turquoise dome. A stand of pines shields it from a busy street. In a country of more than three million Muslims, it looks unremarkable, another place of prayer for Europe's fastest-growing religion.
The Mosque's history, however, tells a more-tumultuous story. Buried in government and private archives are hundreds of documents that trace the battle to control the Islamic Center of Munich. Never before made public, the material shows how radical Islam established one of its first and most important beachheads in the West when a group of ex-Nazi soldiers decided to build a mosque.
The soldiers' presence in Munich was part of a nearly forgotten subplot to World War II: the decision by tens of thousands of Muslims in the Soviet Red Army to switch sides and fight for Hitler. After the war, thousands sought refuge in West Germany, building one of the largest Muslim communities in 1950s Europe. When the Cold War heated up, they were a coveted prize for their language skills and contacts back in the Soviet Union. For more than a decade, U.S., West German, Soviet and British intelligence agencies vied for control of them in the new battle of democracy versus communism.
Yet the victor wasn't any of these Cold War combatants. Instead, it was a movement with an equally powerful ideology: the Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in 1920s Egypt as a social-reform movement, the Brotherhood became the fountainhead of political Islam, which calls for the Muslim religion to dominate all aspects of life. A powerful force for political change throughout the Muslim world, the Brotherhood also inspired some of the deadliest terrorist movements of the past quarter century, including Hamas and al Qaeda.
The story of how the Brotherhood exported its creed to the heart of Europe highlights a recurring error by Western democracies. For decades, countries have tried to cut deals with political Islam -- backing it in order to defeat another enemy, especially communism. Most famously, the U.S. and its allies built up mujahadeen holy warriors in 1980s Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union -- paving the way for the rise of Osama bin Laden, who quickly turned on his U.S. allies in the 1990s.
Continued on Page 49
#1
This article is just another example of the bullshit leftist opinions that pass for news in the Wall Street Journal's news section. We allied with a lot of dubious people in WWII and the Cold War, including the Soviet Union's Stalin (slaughtered tens of millions of Russians), Pakistan's Yahya Khan (slaughtered close to a million Bangladeshi secessionists) and Indonesia's Suharto (slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Communists). Of them all, the most ungrateful was the Soviet Union, which started proxy wars (Korea and Vietnam) that killed 100,000 Americans. A close runner-up is China, which forgot American assistance in routing the Japanese and invaded Korea, helping to kill almost 40,000 Americans. Then there is Pakistan, which Uncle Sam had supported since independence, but proceeded to create al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Soviets withdrew. The reality is that there is nothing dubious in allying - which implies a confluence of interests, not becoming a country's bosom buddy - with unsavory characters. The problem with American policymakers is that they get confused and start mistaking allies of convenience for friends, and let their guard down. (Think Franklin Roosevelt and his lionization of Uncle Joe Stalin). That's the dubious part.
#2
BTW, Ian Johnson used to write for the Independent or the Guardian (can't remember which), both left-wing papers in the UK. His writing style reminds me of the kind of BS I used to read in the Nation back in the days when I was young and dumb.
#3
I agree ZF. While there is good info in here about who is who and what happened when, I got the feeling that the writer was a bit of a novice in mistaking the the connections that he studied as being the center of the atom. Plus I was irritated with his thinly veiled accusation that the CIA was to blame simply because they were present at one point. Yawn - so yesteryears whine. Oh well...still a good piece as knowledge is power.
#4
so much for my novice theory. I don't know.. someone pick an adjective for me...arrogant, stupid, willfully blind. whatever. It's a beginners mistake, who knows what his excuse is.
Posted by: ed ||
07/14/2005 9:57 Comments ||
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#6
2b: While there is good info in here about who is who and what happened when, I got the feeling that the writer was a bit of a novice in mistaking the the connections that he studied as being the center of the atom.
This guy's no beginner - he's got a resume as long as your arm - he's an ideologue. Some people believe in God - this guy's fundamental belief is that most of what is wrong in the world today is the result of Uncle Sam's machinations. At heart, this is the root of the anti-Americanism that pervades much of the media - an unfalsifiable quasi-religious superstition.
#7
ed...you are a nice guy and all, and much as I respect the frontpage gusy, my first thought was that it was too glib to take seriously. That BBC NPR type shit isn't quite as good without the sound effects of cooking pots clanking and babies crying.
Then I found it a bit interesting, decided to put down the defensive shields to see if perhaps, there was something worth listening to...
but then this comment, "The British Secret Service wanted to use the fascists of the Muslim Brotherhood to strike down the infant state of Israel in 1948"
it goes downhill from there. I quit reading before the aliens stepped in.
Government officials say insurgents are pressuring local doctors to emigrate in an effort to deprive Iraq of healthcare workers. They say physicians are also falling prey to criminals who kidnap them for ransom. Dr Abdul-Wahab, a professor of neurology at the College of Medicine, said he no longer feels safe in Iraq. The doctor, who declined to give his name, fears for his life and talks about colleagues who have feel so threatened that theyâve fled the country. âWe expected that Iraqi exiles with scientific abilities would come home, but the reverse is happening,â he said. â Doctors who decide to stay here are considered heroes.â
The health ministry says at least 130 physicians have been kidnapped since the fall of the Saddamâs regime, but the Iraqi Medical Association claims that the number is closer to 300. So far, 50 doctors have been murdered, and another 3,000 have moved abroad because of threats against them, prompting the interior ministry to offer those who remain guns and bodyguards. One female doctor who was kidnapped and then released after her husband paid a 20,000 US dollar ransom, said he was forced to sell their home and her clinic to buy her freedom. âI have now stopped practicing medicine,â said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and is now living abroad. âBut what sin did I commit?â
Recalling her ordeal, the doctor said, âI can remember the day when I was kidnapped as if itâs a video playing before my eyes. I was treated very badly.â She was tricked by a couple who said they wanted her to come with them to check up on their pregnant daughter as she was bleeding after falling from a ladder. In the car, the doctor was handcuffed, blindfolded and bundled into the boot.
Muhammed al-Hassooni, manager of the protection against violence programme at the ministry of health, said the targeting of doctors has had serious repercussions for Iraqisâ health, as there are enough of them now to cope with demand for treatment. One doctor pointed out that as the violence continues, Iraq needs more doctors, not less. Another physician who specialises in brain x-rays says he has taken a year of unpaid leave because he believes his life is in danger. âThis action was necessary. Any man with any sense must protect his life, whatever the price might be,â he said.
A group of recently-qualified doctors told IWPR they were hoping to practice medicine somewhere safer than Iraq. âWe ask the international media to send messages to those who are murdering doctors to ask them to stop their criminal acts,â one of them said. A gynecologist and obstetrician said the safety of doctors is the responsibility of both the community and government officials. She said âwe defenseless people who are just trying to provide valuable services to patientsâ.
WASHINGTON â In what was termed a significant achievement, up to 40 percent of Iraqi security forces have been deemed as combat capable. The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report that despite setbacks and an insurgency campaign, Iraq's military and security forces have achieved significant progress over the last year, Middle East Newsline reported. The report, authored by senior fellow Anthony Cordesman, said Iraq's special forces units were deemed the most capable in the armed forces.
As of mid-June 2005, the report said, about 40 percent of the special forces police units and 20 percent of army units were rated "capable." The report said none of the special units were rated "fully capable." "A long way from a perfect force, but a much longer way from the strength of a single active battalion in July 2004," the report said.
The report, entitled "Can Iraqi Forces Do the Job?" said 40 percent of the special forces units and 45 percent of army units were rated "partially capable." Less than 10 percent of the special police units and 20 percent of army units were rated "incapable." "Put differently, more than 60 Army/National Guard combat battalions could already perform some role as 'partially capable' forces, and more than 20 combat battalions were 'capable.'" the report said.
The special police forces includes the Public Order Battalions, Mechanized Battalions, Special Police Commando Battalions, and Emergency Response Units. The report said 21 battalions were operational.
The report deemed the Iraqi-created Special Police Commandos a success. The report said the the 5,000-member commando force won high praise for their aggressiveness, effectiveness and discipline. "Mechanized forces were active and expanding," the report said. "Special operations forces were rapidly reaching a strength of three battalions, and nearly 2,000 men. These forces were being trained by MNF [coalition] Special Forces and at elite elements, with many of the same training programs being used in the West."
Despite the achievements, the report said, the Defense Ministry still needed to reorganize many of its forces. In June 2005, the ministry maintained about 130,000 people on the payroll, substantially more than its organized strength. "The Iraqi army was beginning to get the mix of combat support, service support, logistics, and training it needed to operate independently and as a self-sustaining force," the report said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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Great, however the Zetas were considered very capable also.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ebrahim Al Jaafari yesterday told his violence-weary nation to brace for even larger attacks as insurgents exact revenge on the government for its "success" in rebuilding the country. At least seven Iraqis were killed in a new spate of attacks that followed a bloody sequence of days for the Iraqi security forces, as US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met Al Jaafari in Baghdad in a bid to to boost the reconstruction process.
Speaking in parliament, Al Jaafari said the recent kidnapping and killing of Egypt's top envoy to Baghdad by alleged Al Qaida militants was a direct response to the success of the Brussels donors conference for Iraq's reconstruction held on June 22. "The killing of the late Ehab Al Sharif was nothing but an expression of the success of the political process," Al Jaafari said. "So we must prepare ourselves that every time we make progress in the process and every time we make big achievements the reaction will be big. This operation (Al Sharif's killing) aims to undermine the major political progress we achieved in a short time." An Iraqi foreign ministry delegation is being dispatched to Cairo to try to close the rift between the two countries that emerged after the killing of Al Sharif, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street on July 2.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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The UN mission in Sudan called on Khartoum on Wednesday to withdraw its decision to prevent 50 German military observers from entering the country to take part in the international peace mission, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Esmaeil on Wednesday. Esmaeil told reporters that he discussed the issue with UN Secretary General's Special envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, indicating that both sides agreed to deal with the issue within the framework of rescuing the peace process and aiding the UN's role in this regard. He said the decision to prevent German observers from entering Sudan was due to the entry of the German state minister to the country without a visa, considering such a step as a violation of the Sudanese sovereignty. Unless Berlin comes up with an explanation for this irregular act, Khartoum will not allow any German official, military or civil, to enter the country, he added.
Since last May, the UN has deployed 10,000 peace keeping soldiers in Sudan, in addition to 715 civil policemen, based on the UN Security Council's resolution 1590 of last March which delegated the UN mission in the country to observe the implementation of a peace agreement, reached between Khartoum and rebels last January.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Oooh, the U.N. flexes its muscles. How quaint. The boys in Khartoum must be quaking in their boots.
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/14/2005 20:49 Comments ||
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#2
They'll prolly want to borrow some troops. It seems to have a salutary effect when the UN is trying to wheedle and whine some dictator into allowing their "inspectors" in.
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.
The Saudi minister of defense and aviation, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, said that the health condition of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz has been improved six weeks after he was admitted to hospital. But he stressed that the king will not leave the hospital.
A Yemeni cleric who is on the US terror list has agreed to conduct conditional dialogue between the US administration and Islamic movements. Shaikh Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, chairman of the Shura Council of the largest Islamic Party (Islah), and founder and chairman of the Al Eyman university set three conditions for successful dialogue with America. âGovernments must be briefed on what is going in the dialogue, to prevent any misunderstanding, causing accusations of being agents. The dialogue must be highly transparent and obvious so people know what is going on. The opinion of religious scholars should be the main components of the dialogue,â Al Zandani said in his newspaper, Sawt Al Eyman.
French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday warned people to be constantly vigilant faced with the threat of a terrorist attack in France and in the wake of the London bombings that killed at least 52 people a week ago. Speaking at a military reception at the Defense Ministry on the eve of France's National Day, Chirac said that there was a "terrible terrorist threat" and French citizens must mobilize and show "vigilance at all times". Chirac said that the "cowardly and dramatic attacks in London last week have come to remind us cruelly once again" of the need to be on our guard.
Lebanonâs Prime Minister-designate 
Iran hit back at US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday over his allegation that the Islamic republic could have been behind a suicide attack at a shopping mall in Israel. âThe declaration by Rumsfeld is aimed at trying to cover up the failure of the United States in the region,â Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement. According to Asefi, at fault were âclumsy and ill-thought out actions by the United States in its fight against terrorism,â which had only resulted in âattacks and the deaths of innocent peopleâ. 
Although the police claimed six youths had been killed in separate encounters in Kazipara and Lalmatia on Tuesday, eyewitnesses and local people termed their killing âcold-bloodedâ murder and said there was no encounter at all. On both occasions, the police followed the latest practice of law enforcers, including the Rapid Action Battalion, of killing either alleged criminals or innocent citizens, they alleged. 
Iraqi Prime Minister Ebrahim Al Jaafari yesterday told his violence-weary nation to brace for even larger attacks as insurgents exact revenge on the government for its "success" in rebuilding the country. At least seven Iraqis were killed in a new spate of attacks that followed a bloody sequence of days for the Iraqi security forces, as US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met Al Jaafari in Baghdad in a bid to to boost the reconstruction process.
The UN mission in Sudan called on Khartoum on Wednesday to withdraw its decision to prevent 50 German military observers from entering the country to take part in the international peace mission, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Esmaeil on Wednesday. Esmaeil told reporters that he discussed the issue with UN Secretary General's Special envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, indicating that both sides agreed to deal with the issue within the framework of rescuing the peace process and aiding the UN's role in this regard. He said the decision to prevent German observers from entering Sudan was due to the entry of the German state minister to the country without a visa, considering such a step as a violation of the Sudanese sovereignty. Unless Berlin comes up with an explanation for this irregular act, Khartoum will not allow any German official, military or civil, to enter the country, he added.
