Sunday, June 29, 2008
Jizya, Jihad, and the Murder of the Assyrian Bishop
The New York Times (June 26, 2008) has published a somber account of the recent murder of Iraqi Archbishop Rahho, and how the Iraqi Christian population has been subjected to the full recrudescence of dhimmitude, punctuated by the re-application of the jizya-the Koranic (Koran 9:29) poll tax on non-Muslims, whose etymology, as per the seminal Arabic lexicographer, E.W. Lane, belies its origins: "the tax paid in lieu of being slain." More...
Converting the West to Islam Through … Sex?
For the past few weeks Yahoo group MahdiUniteMuslims (MUM) — which is dedicated to uniting the Islamic world through belief in the Mahdi, the “rightly-guided one” of Islamic traditions who will create a global caliphate — has hosted a discussion about mut`ah, Shi`i temporary marriage, the “secret weapon that will convert the West to Islam in the later days before the advent of Imam al Mahdi”.
His starting point is the Islamic tradition that in the last days before the Mahdi returns, women will greatly outnumber men worldwide. This Muslim Hugh Hefner opines that “the West will not consider mut`ah as marriage but more at par [sic] with mistress or girlfriend though we consider it a valid form of marriage.”
He continues: “The West can never jail a Shi`ah for doing mut`ah. It is almost impossible to go to jail for doing mut`ah in the West” (except perhaps in Texas). “Even U.S. presidents galore had mistresses” (Bill Clinton, crypto-Shi`i?). And since “the craze about sex today is through the roof” (hard to argue there), mut`ah is not just man-made but “a divine plan,” for “when non-Muslim men learn that they can honorably have more women.” More...
His starting point is the Islamic tradition that in the last days before the Mahdi returns, women will greatly outnumber men worldwide. This Muslim Hugh Hefner opines that “the West will not consider mut`ah as marriage but more at par [sic] with mistress or girlfriend though we consider it a valid form of marriage.”
He continues: “The West can never jail a Shi`ah for doing mut`ah. It is almost impossible to go to jail for doing mut`ah in the West” (except perhaps in Texas). “Even U.S. presidents galore had mistresses” (Bill Clinton, crypto-Shi`i?). And since “the craze about sex today is through the roof” (hard to argue there), mut`ah is not just man-made but “a divine plan,” for “when non-Muslim men learn that they can honorably have more women.” More...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Rare Iraqi Jewish books 'surface in Israel'
Breitbart - Some 300 rare and valuable books confiscated from Iraq's Jewish community by Saddam Hussein's regime have been secretly spirited into Israel, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.
The books include a 1487 commentary on the biblical Book of Job and another volume of biblical prophets printed in Venice in 1617, the Haaretz daily said.
The volumes are part of a massive collection of books confiscated by the secret police of the executed Iraqi dictator and stored in security installations in the Iraqi capital until the US-led invasion of 2003.
The books include a 1487 commentary on the biblical Book of Job and another volume of biblical prophets printed in Venice in 1617, the Haaretz daily said.
The volumes are part of a massive collection of books confiscated by the secret police of the executed Iraqi dictator and stored in security installations in the Iraqi capital until the US-led invasion of 2003.
Woman gets 11 years for running Kabul brothel
Reuters - A Chinese woman was sentenced to eleven years in jail for operating brothels in Kabul, the China Daily and Chinese language media reported on Saturday.
Wang Min, from Shanghai, was charged with operating prostitution joints that fronted as bars in the Afghan capital, and with bringing unemployed women, all over 40, from the industrial city of Chongqing on the Yangtze River to work with her.
An accomplice was sentenced to six years in a Chongqing court on Friday, after the women were sent back to China in February.
They had run a Turkish restaurant, followed by the Berlin Restaurant and the Feifei bar in Kabul, before being arrested by Kabul police in October.
Chinese prostitutes in Kabul told Reuters reporters last month that they earned more than they could in China, even though the security situation made them reluctant to leave brothels hidden in one of Kabul's wealthier neighborhoods.
Wang Min, from Shanghai, was charged with operating prostitution joints that fronted as bars in the Afghan capital, and with bringing unemployed women, all over 40, from the industrial city of Chongqing on the Yangtze River to work with her.
An accomplice was sentenced to six years in a Chongqing court on Friday, after the women were sent back to China in February.
They had run a Turkish restaurant, followed by the Berlin Restaurant and the Feifei bar in Kabul, before being arrested by Kabul police in October.
Chinese prostitutes in Kabul told Reuters reporters last month that they earned more than they could in China, even though the security situation made them reluctant to leave brothels hidden in one of Kabul's wealthier neighborhoods.
Euro 2008 Finals Venue Hides a Sinister Past
Spielgel Inline - The dark chapter in the stadium's history began in 1934, three years after it was completed and christened the Prater Stadium. That May, Austria's fascist Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss stood in the stadium and announced the country's new constitution, which abolished democracy in Austria and made it an authoritarian state.
In September 1939, the stadium would be put to darker uses. After having housed German soldiers, the stadium was requisitioned by the Gestapo to be used as a temporary prison for over 1,000 Jewish men.
While held there, the Austrian Jews were examined by Josef Wastl, who was then the head of the anthropology department of Vienna's Natural History Museum. The museum still holds hair samples, finger prints, photos and haunting plaster masks of the 440 detainees Wastl examined for his "Anthropology of Jews" report.
Within three weeks, the Jews would be transported by rail to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Of the 1,038 deported, 44 were released and only 26 survived.
Before World War II, Vienna's Jewish community numbered as many as 200,000 people and was at the time the second largest in Europe after Warsaw's. Today, a mere 7,500 Jews live there.
In September 1939, the stadium would be put to darker uses. After having housed German soldiers, the stadium was requisitioned by the Gestapo to be used as a temporary prison for over 1,000 Jewish men.
While held there, the Austrian Jews were examined by Josef Wastl, who was then the head of the anthropology department of Vienna's Natural History Museum. The museum still holds hair samples, finger prints, photos and haunting plaster masks of the 440 detainees Wastl examined for his "Anthropology of Jews" report.
Within three weeks, the Jews would be transported by rail to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Of the 1,038 deported, 44 were released and only 26 survived.
Before World War II, Vienna's Jewish community numbered as many as 200,000 people and was at the time the second largest in Europe after Warsaw's. Today, a mere 7,500 Jews live there.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Virginia’s Islamic Academy on Shaky Legal Ground
Pajamas Media first reported on the academy, a school sponsored by the Saudi Embassy, two weeks ago when law enforcement authorities raided it, looking for evidence that the school’s director, Abdullah Al-Shabnan, had covered up sex abuse allegations by a 5-year old student. The raid occurred just three days after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors had renewed the school’s lease despite evidence that the school continued to use textbooks promoting violence and religious hatred. More...
Hizballahburger
At the "Buns and Guns," the chefs wear military helmets, the food is wrapped in camouflage paper and the advertising slogan is "a sandwich can kill you."
The fast food eatery with a tongue-in-cheek military theme opened three weeks ago in Beirut's Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs and is drawing in residents proud of the Shiite militant group's battlefield successes. More...
Iraq: Police say al-Qaeda has infiltrated force
"Now we have the proof that al-Qaeda terrorists have managed to infiltrate the Iraqi security forces," said the head of police in Falluja, Faysal al-Zubei in an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper. Al-Zubei was speaking about Thursday's suicide attack in which at least 20 people were killed at a local council meeting in the town of Karma, east of Falluja, in Anbar province.The suicide bomber detonated the explosives during a meeting between the town's administrator and the local Awakening Council in Karma. Awakening Councils are US-allied Sunni militia movements fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq.Among those killed were 11 members of the local Awakening Council and the mayor of the town. The suicide bomber managed to enter the municipal government building where the meeting was being held because he was wearing a police uniform. More...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Somalis, Iranians Helping Rebels In Yemen
The memri blog - According to the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Yemen authorities have arrested Somali nationals fighting with the Houthi rebels.
Yemen security sources said that each fighter had received $100 for his services.
The paper also stated that four Iranians who were engaging in intelligence activity in Yemen were also arrested, and that the four were found with documents attesting that they supported the Houthi rebels in the Sa'ada district and thus were preparing the ground for rebellion in other districts of the country.
Yemen security sources said that each fighter had received $100 for his services.
The paper also stated that four Iranians who were engaging in intelligence activity in Yemen were also arrested, and that the four were found with documents attesting that they supported the Houthi rebels in the Sa'ada district and thus were preparing the ground for rebellion in other districts of the country.
Afghanistan: Death penalty call for man who spread Koran translation
An Afghan journalist accused of distributing an unacceptable translation of the Koran should be put to death, says former Prime Minister Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai.
Ahmadzai, who ran in the 2004 presidential election against current President Hamid Karzai, told Adnkronos International (AKI) he supported the death penalty for Zalmay. "Today Afghanistan is full of vices. Several Afghan restaurants serve liquor, despite it being illegal and on top of it, such material is distributed," Ahmadzai told AKI. "I am in favour of his death."Muslim scholars in Afghanistan reportedly said that the new version of the Koran misinterpreted verses about alcohol, begging, homosexuality and adultery. They also complained that this version was not accompanied by the original version of the Koran in Arabic.Ghows, 50, is reportedy in jail after being accused of blasphemy and his lawyers say he risks the death penalty. He is expected to face charges in an Afghan court within the next week.
Ahmadzai, who ran in the 2004 presidential election against current President Hamid Karzai, told Adnkronos International (AKI) he supported the death penalty for Zalmay. "Today Afghanistan is full of vices. Several Afghan restaurants serve liquor, despite it being illegal and on top of it, such material is distributed," Ahmadzai told AKI. "I am in favour of his death."Muslim scholars in Afghanistan reportedly said that the new version of the Koran misinterpreted verses about alcohol, begging, homosexuality and adultery. They also complained that this version was not accompanied by the original version of the Koran in Arabic.Ghows, 50, is reportedy in jail after being accused of blasphemy and his lawyers say he risks the death penalty. He is expected to face charges in an Afghan court within the next week.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Intelligence Officials: Dozens of Europeans Have Trained in Terror Camps in Pakistan
Dozens of white Europeans have trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan's tribal regions in recent months, U.S. intelligence sources tell ABC News, in what officials fear may be the beginnings of a new breed of al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorism.
"Al-Qa'ida is improving the last key aspect of its ability to attack the U.S.: the identification, training and positioning of operatives for an attack in the Homeland," according to a February Threat Assessment report from the Director of National Intelligence.
"[W]e have seen an influx of new Western recruits into the tribal area since mid-2006," the report said.
They're recruiting operatives from Europe. Why? If you're from Europe, it doesn't require a visa to fly to the United States," Mike McConnell, the director of National Intelligence, said in a speech in March. More...
Captive soldier's parents ask court to stop truce
The parents of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas-allied militants petitioned Israel's supreme court Saturday to block a truce deal with the militant group so long as their son remains in captivity.
Noam and Aviva Schalit petitioned the court on behalf of their son Gilad, claiming that part of the deal included opening the Gaza Strip's crossings. They said this would allow their son's captors to smuggle him out and harm efforts to free him.
As part of their petition, the Schalits published a handwritten letter, penned by their son, which was delivered to the family two weeks ago by representatives of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Gilad Schalit was abducted near the Gaza border two years ago. He has not been seen since, but a recording of his voice and two previous letters he wrote have been released.
In the latest letter, dated "June 2008," Schalit wrote his parents that he is suffering from medical and psychological difficulties, as well as depression.
"I still think and dream about the day I will be released and see you again. I still have a hope that that day is near, but I know it does not depend on me or on you," he wrote. "I ask the government not to neglect the negotiations for my release." More...
Noam and Aviva Schalit petitioned the court on behalf of their son Gilad, claiming that part of the deal included opening the Gaza Strip's crossings. They said this would allow their son's captors to smuggle him out and harm efforts to free him.
As part of their petition, the Schalits published a handwritten letter, penned by their son, which was delivered to the family two weeks ago by representatives of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Gilad Schalit was abducted near the Gaza border two years ago. He has not been seen since, but a recording of his voice and two previous letters he wrote have been released.
In the latest letter, dated "June 2008," Schalit wrote his parents that he is suffering from medical and psychological difficulties, as well as depression.
"I still think and dream about the day I will be released and see you again. I still have a hope that that day is near, but I know it does not depend on me or on you," he wrote. "I ask the government not to neglect the negotiations for my release." More...
IAEA Inspectors Begin Mission to Syria Amid Allegations of Hidden Nuke Program
The International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors face a daunting task. Syrian officials are expected to place strict limits on where they go and what they see during their three-day visit.
Still, IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen spoke optimistically of the mission's chances before boarding the flight to Damascus on Sunday.
"I am sure I will be able to return" again to Syria, he told reporters, saying he and his two-man trip hoped to start to "establish the facts this evening."
Despite the low-key nature of the visit, the stakes are immense.
Damascus denies working on a secret nuclear program. But Washington hopes the U.N agency team will find evidence backing U.S. intelligence that a structure destroyed by Israeli war planes in September was a nearly completed plutonium-producing reactor.
If so, the trip could mark the start of massive atomic agency investigation similar to the five-year inquiry into Iran's activities. What's more, the investigation could draw in countries such as North Korea, which Washington says helped Damascus and Iran. Media reports also have linked Iran with Syria's nuclear efforts. More...
Still, IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen spoke optimistically of the mission's chances before boarding the flight to Damascus on Sunday.
"I am sure I will be able to return" again to Syria, he told reporters, saying he and his two-man trip hoped to start to "establish the facts this evening."
Despite the low-key nature of the visit, the stakes are immense.
Damascus denies working on a secret nuclear program. But Washington hopes the U.N agency team will find evidence backing U.S. intelligence that a structure destroyed by Israeli war planes in September was a nearly completed plutonium-producing reactor.
If so, the trip could mark the start of massive atomic agency investigation similar to the five-year inquiry into Iran's activities. What's more, the investigation could draw in countries such as North Korea, which Washington says helped Damascus and Iran. Media reports also have linked Iran with Syria's nuclear efforts. More...
Heavy clashes force Lebanese army away
The clashes in the Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen areas located on the northern edge of the city began around 4:15 am (0115 GMT) pitting supporters of the country's Western-backed majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition against each other, the official said.He said at least 10 people were injured.
Troops could be seen deploying in other parts of Tripoli Sunday for fear of the fighting spreading. More...
Islamic militants briefly abduct 16 Christians in northwest Pakistan
The Jerusalem Post - Police say Islamic militants freed 16 Christians hours after kidnapping them in northwestern Pakistan.
Police official Mohammed Khan says the minority Christians were kidnapped late Saturday as they prayed at a home in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
He says the men were freed early Sunday after officers contacted the captors.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has told parliament he ordered a probe into the incident.
Police official Mohammed Khan says the minority Christians were kidnapped late Saturday as they prayed at a home in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
He says the men were freed early Sunday after officers contacted the captors.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has told parliament he ordered a probe into the incident.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Another Damascus Declaration Activist Arrested In Syria
The Syrian security agencies arrested, on June 16, Damascus Declaration national council member Muhammad Al-Najar. At the time of his arrest, his home was searched, and printed materials and political posters were confiscated. Al-Najar's arrest brings the number of arrested Damascus Declaration members to 15.
Via The memri blog
Via The memri blog
The Economics of Democracy in Muslim Countries
The Middle East Forum - As the Status of Democracy Index shows, democracy in the Middle East and North Africa is the exception rather than the rule. Lebanon and Turkey, each with a 61 percent score, rank the highest. Only Algeria (52.7 percent) and Egypt (50 percent) score in the upper two quadrants. In descending order, the rest of the Middle East and North African countries are: Jordan (47.2 percent), Tunisia (47.2 percent), Yemen (47.2 percent), Kuwait (44.4 percent), Morocco (44.4 percent), Syria (36 percent), Qatar (33.3 percent), Bahrain (30.5 percent), Libya (27.7 percent), Oman (27.7 percent), Sudan (27.7 percent), United Arab Emirates (27.7 percent), Iran (25 percent), and Saudi Arabia (13.8 percent).
Correlation analysis indicates:
The greater percentage of Muslims a country had relative to its overall population, the lower its SDI score tended to be.
The higher a country's GDP per capita, the lower its SDI score.
The greater percentage of a country's GDP that is devoted to military expenditures, the lower its SDI score.
The greater the percentage of Muslims within a country, the higher the percentage of the GDP that is devoted to its military expenditures.
More...
Correlation analysis indicates:
The greater percentage of Muslims a country had relative to its overall population, the lower its SDI score tended to be.
The higher a country's GDP per capita, the lower its SDI score.
The greater percentage of a country's GDP that is devoted to military expenditures, the lower its SDI score.
The greater the percentage of Muslims within a country, the higher the percentage of the GDP that is devoted to its military expenditures.
More...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
THE two brothers at the centre of the bungled Forest Gate anti-terror raid are to receive more than £60,000 in compensation from Scotland Yard
Iran Sanctions: The Cecil Fielder Strategy
With President Bush by his side, Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced new sanctions against Iran this morning, finally looking to freeze the assets of the mullahs’ Bank Melli. Good news, except there’s a very real problem in implementation: It comes two days and $75 billion short. You see, once again the West — ever reluctant to act decisively, even on sanctions — has missed the boat which the Iranians captain masterfully, less concerned about public perceptions and much more interested in effective operations. More...
Iran police start wider crackdown on un-Islamic dress
Iranian police have launched a more extensive crackdown on "social corruption" such as women flouting Islamic dress codes, the Farhang-e Ashti newspaper reported.
The authorities usually launch crackdowns before the hot summer months when women like to wear lighter clothing such as calf-length pants and brightly colored scarves pushed back to expose plenty of hair.
"Police will seize women with tight coats and cropped trousers and also men with Western-style hair cut will be arrested," the newspaper said.
"Men with Western-style haircuts were confronted by police and also barber shops that gave them such haircuts were sealed off on Sunday," said the daily. More...
The authorities usually launch crackdowns before the hot summer months when women like to wear lighter clothing such as calf-length pants and brightly colored scarves pushed back to expose plenty of hair.
"Police will seize women with tight coats and cropped trousers and also men with Western-style hair cut will be arrested," the newspaper said.
"Men with Western-style haircuts were confronted by police and also barber shops that gave them such haircuts were sealed off on Sunday," said the daily. More...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Al Qaeda activist reported killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza
DEBKA - Palestinians claim that Momtaz Dughmush was among the eight Palestinian gunmen killed in three Israeli air force strikes in Gaza Tuesday, June 17, following Hamas bombardments on Monday, which averted a planned terrorist operation.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that the Air Force targeted a vehicle carrying five al Qaeda-Palestine members in Khan Younes, in S. Gaza. They were all killed. Another three gunmen were killed in a second car at Deir al Balakh. Dughmush, who died in the first attack attack, was chief of the Qaeda cell attached to the Palestinian hard-line Popular Resistance Committees. Our sources name him as complicit with Hamas in the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit two years ago in a cross-border raid and the kidnap of the BBC correspondent Alan Johnson last year.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that the Air Force targeted a vehicle carrying five al Qaeda-Palestine members in Khan Younes, in S. Gaza. They were all killed. Another three gunmen were killed in a second car at Deir al Balakh. Dughmush, who died in the first attack attack, was chief of the Qaeda cell attached to the Palestinian hard-line Popular Resistance Committees. Our sources name him as complicit with Hamas in the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit two years ago in a cross-border raid and the kidnap of the BBC correspondent Alan Johnson last year.
Al-Qaeda's Vietnam
Lately, the Iraq war has looked more and more like another Vietnam -- not for us, but for al-Qaeda.
CIA Director Michael Hayden says the terror group has suffered "near-strategic defeat" in Iraq. It has been routed from Anbar, Diyala, and Baghdad provinces, and now is getting a beating in its last stronghold of Mosul, in the north. It is reviled by the Iraqi populace, and its downward trajectory began with indigenous uprisings at its expense.
When the United States lost Vietnam, it lost credibility and saw an emboldened Marxist-Leninist offensive around the third world. Al-Qaeda is a global insurgency and not a nation-state -- and thus its circumstances are radically different from ours 40 years ago -- but it has suffered a similar reputational loss.
The Iraq war had been a powerful recruiting tool for al-Qaeda when it was winning. No more. Osama bin Laden rendered what is called the "bandwagon effect" in international relations -- the tendency of states to go along with the dominant power -- in his homespun Arabic analogy of people liking the strong horse over the weak horse. In Iraq, al-Qaeda's proverbial horse is a broken-down nag.
More...
CIA Director Michael Hayden says the terror group has suffered "near-strategic defeat" in Iraq. It has been routed from Anbar, Diyala, and Baghdad provinces, and now is getting a beating in its last stronghold of Mosul, in the north. It is reviled by the Iraqi populace, and its downward trajectory began with indigenous uprisings at its expense.
When the United States lost Vietnam, it lost credibility and saw an emboldened Marxist-Leninist offensive around the third world. Al-Qaeda is a global insurgency and not a nation-state -- and thus its circumstances are radically different from ours 40 years ago -- but it has suffered a similar reputational loss.
The Iraq war had been a powerful recruiting tool for al-Qaeda when it was winning. No more. Osama bin Laden rendered what is called the "bandwagon effect" in international relations -- the tendency of states to go along with the dominant power -- in his homespun Arabic analogy of people liking the strong horse over the weak horse. In Iraq, al-Qaeda's proverbial horse is a broken-down nag.
More...
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