View topic - What is Jihad? :: Free Dominion - Principled Conservative - Party and Canadian Politics

Posted: 12/ 30/ 03 10:09 am Post subject: What is Jihad?

Why are Canadians afraid to speak and face the truth.? Arar has been found to be lying about his training in a terrorist camp. Why is he still in Canada. He should be stripped of citizenship and be deported right after his trial.
December 30, 2003
Suspected terrorist worked in nuke lab

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Michael Ray Stubbs

"Philippine authorities said Tuesday they were set to deport two American brothers arrested for suspected links to terrorism and for allegedly meeting charity groups believed to be al-Qaida fronts in the country." So says AP.

"One of the men, Michael Ray Stubbs, worked as a heating and air conditioning technician at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ? a major nuclear weapons lab outside San Francisco ? for about 10 years ending in 2000. Officials said the FBI was looking into whether he had access to sensitive information.

"Michael Ray Stubbs, 55, and his brother James, 56, a convert to Islam, were arrested on immigration violation charges Dec. 13 in the town of Tanza in Cavite province, 21 miles southwest of Manila, the Bureau of Immigration said.

"The brothers denied any wrongdoing when they appeared at a news conference in handcuffs. Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo told reporters Tuesday that James Stubbs met with members of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group, as well as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front separatist movement, two groups loosely linked by Philippine officials to al-Qaida.

"'These are all fabricated lies,' James Stubbs shouted as Domingo addressed the news conference. An irritated Domingo responded: 'This is the Philippine government. They're violating immigration laws and they're being charged and they are going through immigration proceedings.'

"The brothers, born in Missouri, would be deported to the United States as 'undesirable aliens ... based on intelligence reports that they were seen meeting with known leaders of various terrorist cells in the country with links to al-Qaida,' the immigration bureau said. Domingo said they were under surveillance before their arrest.

"The two had tourist visas but also carried documents indicating they were soliciting funds for the construction of Muslim schools and mosques, Domingo said. She said there was no evidence linking the two to any past or planned terrorist plots, but said James Stubbs allegedly called for the overthrow of the U.S. government in statements to local authorities. James Stubbs said he has a Filipino wife and was in the Philippines because she was pregnant.

"A naval intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. officials were concerned that Michael Ray Stubbs may have passed sensitive information from Livermore to his brother. Susan Houghton, a spokeswoman for the Livermore lab, confirmed that Michael Ray Stubbs used to work there for about 10 years until 2000. 'We are aware of what the Philippines officials did,' she said. 'We have been working closely with the FBI on this issue since he was arrested in the Philippines a few weeks ago.' She said Stubbs' clearance was terminated after he left on medical leave in March 2000.

"The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the allegations. Spokeswoman Karen Kelley said she understood the brothers retained legal council to address the charges.

"According to Philippine military intelligence reports, James Stubbs left his job as a teacher in California to study Arabic in Sudan. He met in May with several charity groups suspected of being al-Qaida fronts and founded by Mahmoud Afif Abdeljalil ? believed to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law. Abdeljalil was arrested in September in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga on charges of having an expired visa. After he was interrogated, he was ordered deported.

"The charities were not immediately identified, but the immigration bureau said they were used to channel funds to al-Qaida cells in the Philippines."
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Airspace over Las Vegas Strip to be closed New Year's Eve

"Jerry Bussell, Governor Kenny Guinn's adviser on homeland security, tells The Associated Press that the airspace over the Las Vegas Strip will be closed New Year's Eve.

"A spokeswoman with the US Department of Homeland Security says the agency has received the state's request to close the airspace and is coordinating any action with the FAA. A spokeswoman with McCarran International Airport says the ban, known as a temporary flight restriction, will implemented on New Year's Eve from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM. The TFR will involve a ten nautical mile radius from the center of McCarran Airport. The TFR will not affect commercial airliners or medical, police or military flights. Private planes and tour helicopters will not be allowed to fly in the restricted air space. McCarran will remain open and operational.

"Las Vegas has been mentioned as a possible terrorist target, but officials have yet to say that was the reason behind the ban. Authorities are expecting more than 200,000 people to flock to the Strip this New Year's Eve."
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Drug money sustaining al Qaeda: US officials

"Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is deeply 'involved' in international drug trafficking and is using the money to buy arms, and possibly radioactive material for use in a 'dirty' nuclear bomb, according to senior US officials.
'Bin Laden does not mind trafficking in drugs, even though it is against the teaching of Islam, because it is being used to kill Westerners,' said a Defence official." This from SifyNews, with thanks to Nicolei.

The article says of bin Laden: "'He has allies and associates who are not members per se but who move products for him and take drugs and buy arms and give the arms to al Qaeda,' the official said.

This is no surprise; we have seen it before. The Taliban's Abdul Rashid banned hashish "because it is consumed by Afghans and Muslims," but stated: "Opium is permissible because it is consumed by kafirs [unbelievers] in the West and not by Muslims or Afghans."

Despite his profit margin, however, Osama bin Laden or his ghostwriter didn't hesitate in November 2002 to excoriate the U.S. for its drug use: "You are a nation that permits the production, trading and usage of intoxicants. You also permit drugs, and only forbid the trade of them, even though your nation is the largest consumer of them."

Sify continues: "Al Qaeda's drug operation came to the surface earlier this year when three boats operated by al Qaeda linked persons and carrying two tons of hashish, 85 pounds of heroin and 150 pounds of methamphetamines were seized, the officials were quoted as saying by 'The Washington Times'.

"Though the intelligence community still does not have a firm grasp on the scope of al Qaeda's drug operations and how much money it raises, estimates are in the millions of dollars.

"Bin Laden, officials said, reaps the profits in two ways. His allies regulate smuggling routes out of Afghanistan into Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and other countries, essentially placing a tax on each shipment to let it pass. Or, alternatively, al Qaeda takes the drugs as payment and uses them to buy arms.

"The officials said that there are also unconfirmed intelligence reports that al Qaeda has bought radioactive material for use in a 'dirty bomb'--a conventional bomb packed with radioactive material."
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December 29, 2003
Two Americans arrested in Philippines

"Two American brothers were arrested for possible links to terrorism, a Philippine official said Monday." This from AP, with thanks to Nicolei.

"Michael Ray Stubbs and his brother James, a convert to Islam, have been held at an undisclosed location since they were arrested earlier this month 21 miles southwest of Manila, an immigration intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

"The official said the brothers were of Middle Eastern origin but gave no other details. It was not clear what charges they could face or why authorities believe they may be linked to terrorism.

"The two were to be brought before the media on Tuesday, when more information was expected. It was also not known where they were from in the United States. The U.S. Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment."
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Iraqi officers describe Saddam-al-Qaida link

"Saudi nationals helped Saddam Hussein recruit and finance al-Qaida insurgents as part of preparations to confront U.S. troops in Iraq." This from WND, with thanks to ohmyrus.

"Iraqi officers who have been interrogated by the United States and coalition officials reported the Saudi role in recruiting and training of al-Qaida units in Iraq. The officers said Saddam, through Saudi contacts, had invited al-Qaida insurgents to form suicide and other units to stop the U.S. military in March.

"Saddam's contacts with al-Qaida, the officers told interrogators, preceded the group's Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on New York and Washington. They said Saudi envoys arranged for al-Qaida insurgents to enter Iraq and begin training in camps around Baghdad."
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Islam's unholy alliance with neo-Nazis, leftists

"Western-made terrorists motivated by Marxist, anarchist and neo-Nazi ideology are forming alliances with jihadists and are planning copycat-style attacks and others utilizing funding from Islamists, according to intelligence sources, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

"While old-line non-Muslim terrorists seem to have been in hibernation, since Sept. 11, 2001, they are waking up to the need to act and the availability of funds from al-Qaida and other similar jihadist groups, according to the premium, online intelligence newsletter.

"Danger spots were recently identified in Europe, Asia and North America. Recent assessments indicate that daily reports on the success of Islamic terror in disrupting normal life are creating an urge within the ranks of western terrorists to return to action.

"Such groups dominated the terror scene in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the resistance to globalization, xenophobic tendencies and anti-Semitism have all combined to pour oil on old flames, encouraging new alliances as a result.

"Experts attempting to draft the profile of non-Islamic terrorism in the 21st century are turning their interest toward militant Muslims' efforts to recruit terror contractors and to use the services of European terrorists and anarchists.

"Intelligence sources say they expect the jihadists to sub-contract terrorist attacks to small cells of two to three people familiar with their modus operandi. These groups sometimes operate in gangs of more than 10 individuals. European-style terrorism differs from the Islamic jihad type in that it often targets individuals to be assassinated or kidnapped. It has also been marked by taking large groups of innocent hostages for negotiation purposes.

"Jihad organizers are acquainted with the sleeper terror groups of Europe and North America, and they know these groups are in dire need of funds. These 'underground' groups need to travel and change their identities frequently.

"Sleeper terror groups are careful not to deal directly with money laundering, drug dealing or organized crime. This is due in part to ideological beliefs, but more because of the need to keep a low profile, away from the eyes of law enforcement agencies.

"Interrogation of non-Muslim terrorists apprehended during the last two years in Europe and Asia, reveals a desire to become copy-cats of the Islamic jihad and a growing need to be placed once again on the international scene. Intelligence agencies are beginning to dust files of old-style terror organizations, which some agencies now describe as the 'Red Jihad.'

"Israeli, British, Turkish and Greek counter-terror experts, have warned of signs pointing to jihadi groups trying to establish contacts with European and American organizations. The technique of hiring terror services, or partnerships with other terror operators was once popular with the Palestinians. The results of these unholy unions in the past have been the Air France hijacking by a group of Arabs and Germans to Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, the Lufthansa hijacking to Mogadishu in 1977, and the Japanese Red Army attack on Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv in 1972.

"Al-Qaida, Jamaah Islamiah and Wahabbi groups see nothing wrong in using non-Muslims to further their cause. As the origin of most anti-terror activities focuses mainly on the Middle East and Asia, it is clear a western terrorist could be more successful in penetrating a number of security and defense circles. In cases of a precision attack against individuals or institutions, European or American Caucasian terrorists will be more successful in disappearing from the radar screen.

"Over the years, scores of Europeans, Americans and Asians, have been trained in Arab terror bases in Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Iraq. A number of those were later involved in attacks on international air traveling, including airports. . . .

"In a related development, last Month, G2B reported Carlos the Jackal, the legendary terrorist of the 1970s, has converted to Islam and pledged his allegiance to Osama bin Laden.

"Carlos, aka Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, has just published a book in French to announce his conversion to Islam and present his strategy for "the destruction of the United States through an orchestrated and persistent campaign of terror."

"Titled 'Revolutionary Islam' and published under the name Ilich Ramírez Sánchez-CARLOS, the book urges 'all revolutionaries, including those of the left, even atheists,' to accept the leadership of Islamists such as bin Laden and so help turn Afghanistan and Iraq into the 'graveyards of American imperialism.' . . .

"Carlos claims that terrorism is 'the cleanest and most efficient form of warfare.'"
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New article on conspiracy paranoia in the Islamic world

Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer's new article, "The Conspiratorial Mind of the Arab World," is available today at FrontPage magazine.
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Terror attempt on British jet foiled

"Saudi Arabia has arrested two Islamic suicide pilots who were preparing to fly two light aircraft into a packed British Airways (BA) jet, a British Sunday newspaper said, quoting a senior opposition politician." This from The Age, with thanks to Nicolei and Mrs. Obelix.

"The suspected suicide pilots were arrested in the last few weeks after they were found red-handed with aircraft loaded with explosives near Saudi Arabia's main airport in the capital Riyadh, The Mail on Sunday said.

"'My understanding is that they were found on the flight line and that the plan was to fly them into a passenger jet either about to land or take off,' said Patrick Mercer, the opposition Conservative spokesman for Homeland Security, according to the newspaper.

"Mercer, who said he had been informed of the plot by an 'unimpeachable' source, intended to raise the matter at the House of Commons immediately after MPs returned from their Christmas break on January 5, the newspaper reported.

"Mercer claimed, according to the same source, that the Saudi authorities tried to cover up the incident near King Khalid International Airport and withheld information from authorities abroad."
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December 28, 2003
Going out for a bomb

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"Sabih Kahn, 18, founder of a Muslim football league, right, prepares to throw the ball as teammate Muhammad Akhtar, 18, heads down field for a pass during a training session at Heritage Park in Irvine, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003. Critics say names of some of the teams such as Intifada, which is used by Palestinian fighters, and Mujahideen glorify terrorism. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)"
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Bush = Trotsky?

Amir Butler, Executive Director of the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee (AMPAC), has written an op-ed in the Jakarta Post entitled "Trotsky's idea clearly similar to forced democracy upon Muslim World."

Well, I wouldn't have thought of comparing Bush to Trotsky, although Woodrow Wilson has crossed my mind. But the main point of Butler's editorial is that democracy and Islam are not compatible ? an opinion shared by many Muslims, as I have pointed out many times.

Says Butler: "On Nov. 6, George W. Bush announced that America, through it's interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan was leading a 'global democratic revolution'. That he should have made such remarks on the eve of Leon Trotsky's birthday -- the architect of 'global socialist revolution' -- was of course just coincidence.

"However, the similarities between Trotsky's idea that socialism should be spread at the barrel of a gun and the idea that democracy can be forced upon the Muslim world through violent occupation and threat of invasion are obvious."

Of course, the Jews are behind all this: "Contemporary American foreign policy is Trotsky's revenge. The neoconservative movement that holds Washington in its thrall is itself merely a warmed-up version of Trotsky's Fourth International. As Michael Lind wrote in Britain's The New Statesman (April 7, 2003), the neocons are 'products of the largely Jewish-American Trotskyist movement of the 1930s and 1940s, which morphed into anti-communist liberalism between the 1950s and 1970s and finally into a kind of militaristic and imperial right with no precedents in American culture or political history.'" (Thanks to Nicolei.)
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Jihad to be explained by scholars

At long last, a group of Islamic scholars is going to cut through all the confusion and explain what the word jihad really means: "The Council of Religious Ministers for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (MABIMS) will publish a comprehensive working paper for explaining Jihad (crusade or holy war) to their Ummah (followers of Islam) by its target date next year.
Such a move is needed to avoid confusion and will also serve as a guideline for Muslims, especially young Turks, who could be misguided by certain elements, caused by lack of definition to the phrase's real meaning." This from Borneo Bulletin, with thanks to Dr. Andrew Bostom.

The article makes a start: "Jihad is a religious conviction for able Muslims towards defending the integrity of Islam. Those who may die because of Jihad are promised good returns and paradise in the afterlife."

Hmmm. If someone could die during jihad, it must involve more than just a personal spiritual struggle. Heck, it may even involve violence. (For an overview of what Muslims really teach about jihad, see my book Onward Muslim Soldiers.)
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Port of Miami or Port of Jihadi

By Joe Kaufman and Beila Rabinowitz

In December 2002, the Washington Post published an alarming report stating that ?U.S. intelligence officials had identified approximately 15 cargo freighters around the world that they believed were controlled by al Qaeda or could be used by the terrorist network to ferry operatives, bombs, money or commodities over the high seas.? It further stated that, since September 2001, the U.S. maintained a list of up to 50 al Qaeda ?mystery ships.?

The greatest fear, according to the Post article, is a scenario where one or more of these vessels would be used to blow holes in cruise ships, as what happened to the USS Cole and the French oil tanker Limburg, both off the coast of Yemen.

One American location that has been of particular concern regarding this is Miami, where just recently a 50-foot wooden freighter, undetected by authorities, ran aground whilst 220 undocumented Haitian passengers took to the shore. Bruce Stubbs, an ex-Coast Guard captain and now security consultant asked, ?If the Coast Guard can't stop 200 people on a freighter from coming into the port of Miami, how can they stop a terrorist with a dirty bomb??

This question becomes that much more difficult to answer, when the port you?re discussing is governed by those that possibly harbor sympathies for the attackers themselves.

Khalid Salahuddin, or Brother Khalid as he is affectionately known, is the Deputy Director for the Seaport of Miami. He received the position via an appointment from Director Chares Towsley, shortly after scandal had rocked the port when illegally diverted port funds had made their way into Democratic Party coffers.

As Deputy Director, Salahuddin?s responsibilities are many. He solicits Miami business via cargo and cruise ships; he attends and participates in various diplomatic functions, including trade missions, symposiums, news conferences and government briefings, with members of the international community; and he oversees port employment.

That last part came under scrutiny in late 2001, when an NBC 6 news report emerged questioning the hiring practices of the port. In it, it was stated that, out of 1300 members of the three major Longshoremen?s unions listed in port records checked, every one in five were convicted felons in Florida, with offenses that included ?attempted murder, armed robbery, assault and battery, trafficking in cocaine, grand theft, auto theft, and sex with a child.?

When confronted about this, Salahuddin had this to say: ?From our standpoint, what benefit would it do to kick him out on the street? We see none?

The report also had something ominous to say about easy access to the port. Jim McDonough, Florida Drug Control Director stated, ?I think we have to be very prudent about who we put in the hen-house. We generally don't put the wolf in the hen-house, based on the promise that reform has taken place.?

But almost two years later, is the wolf still guarding the hen-house?

Aside from being the Deputy Director of the port, Salahuddin is also the imam of what is said to be the oldest and largest mosque in South Florida, Masjid Al-Ansar. That in itself doesn?t pose a problem, but his views and affiliations do.

Before coming to ?the pure teachings of al-Islam,? and before becoming a ?true believer,? Salahuddin was a member of the Nation of Islam, the organization headed by the virulently anti-Jewish and anti-American Louis Farrakhan.

This bit of information is found on a website for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which is selling a tape featuring Salahuddin. ISNA is an organization that serves as ?an umbrella group for hundreds of Islamic organizations in North America, some of which promote the Islamic fundamentalist doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad? (Steven Emerson, American Jihad, 2002). Upon his death, Salahuddin gave a memorial speech for Hamid Iqbal Siddiqui, an East Zone Representative for ISNA.

The other individual featured on this video is Maulana Shafayat Mohamed , the spiritual leader of Darul Aloom, the Islamic center where ?dirty bomber? Jose Padilla worshipped and where Imran Mandhai and Mossa Jokhan are said to have plotted attacks on a National Guard armory and South Florida electrical power stations.

On February 16, 2002, Salahuddin officiated a fundraising event sponsored by the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA), a group whose website boasts anti-homosexual material and contains a graphic link to www.islamonline.net, a site which features religious/legal opinions in support of suicide bombings.

On September 21, 2002, Salahuddin was one of the main speakers in an event sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR was formed by three leaders of a front for the terrorist organization Hamas and has had numerous high ranking members suspected of and convicted of terrorist activity. The Executive Director of CAIR, Nihad Awad, has stated that he supports Hamas.

Other speakers at this event were:

? Muhammad Musri, who like Salahuddin also has his speeches sold by ISNA, believes about Arab Christians that claim they converted from Islam that they ?are lying and that they were actually Christians all along? and that ?they are using tales of conversion to get financial backing from evangelical ministries.? And he took a jab at Christianity, when he said, ?We don't want the Muslims to end up with 700 determinations of Islam.?

? Zulfiqar Ali Shah, the ex-Ameer (President) of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), an organization which ?proclaims in writing its support for jihad , or holy war, against the ?enemies of Islam?? and whose ?hatred of Jews is so fierce that it has taunted Jews with a repetition of what Hitler did to them.? Ali Shah gave a lecture on how ?stories and descriptions [in the] Old Testament? have been ?corrupted by the hand of man? and how ?many teachings presently in the Old Testament actually go against all human logic and morality.?

? Hassan Sabri, the imam of the Islamic Center of South Florida, who came to the U.S. via the Palestinian territories on a ?special travel document? that expired 16 years ago. On April 6, 2002, Sabri attended an anti-Israel rally outside the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, where allusions to Nazis and genocide were broadcast. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called the references ?a disgusting trivialization of the Holocaust.?

? Mohammed Qazi, the Orlando President of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), a group that has been described as ?Radical Islamic activists .? Hillary Clinton returned a $50,000 donation the AMA had made to her New York Senatorial campaign for statements made by members of the group she deemed ?offensive and outrageous.?

? Sayed Hemayed of the Muslim American Society (MAS). The July 4, 2003 edition of the MAS?s on-line publication, The American Muslim Magazine, features an article titled ?Reaching the Roots of Terrorism,? which validates terrorism, including suicide bombing, as ?a reaction to injustice.?

? Ahmed Bedier, the Florida Communications Director of CAIR, who used his position, on numerous occasions, to defend Sami al-Arian . Al-Arian was arrested for his role as the North American leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, was found to have aided in the murder of Americans, and has screamed ?Death to Israel.? Bedier has openly complained that the post 9/11 climate ?has been an effective tool to silence anti-Israeli views in the country.?

? Altaf Ahmad Ali, the Florida Executive Director of CAIR, who used a joint press conference with the FBI to defend 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Ali, on a radio show just one month after 9/11, wavered on the question of whether or not the people that died in the 9/11 attacks were innocent.

? Parvez Ahmed, the Florida Chairman of the Board of CAIR, who is the registered agent for the Independent Writers Syndicate, an organization created by CAIR which distributes violent and hate-filled commentaries to publications throughout North America. It syndicates such radical Islamist authors as: Hesham A. Hassaballa, Arsalan Tariq Iftikhar, Riad Z. Abdelkarim, and Fedwa Wazwaz.

? Khalid Hamza, the co-founder of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, a mosque that?s website features material from a web based book (?This Is The Truth?) that is published by the Al-Haramain Foundation, a Saudi-backed organization that raised millions of dollars for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Hamza was denied tenure from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) for ?misstating his qualifications on his resume and behaving unprofessionally in the classroom? and used a Texas A & M University internet forum to defend Sami Al Arian.

? Rafiq Mehdi, the imam of Masjid Al-Iman, the mosque where ?dirty bomber? Jose Padilla converted to Islam and where Adham Hassoun worshiped. Hassoun was the Florida registered agent for Benevolence International Foundation, a charity ?charged with financing Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.?

? Akhtar Hussein, an attorney who had his license suspended in 2002 for improper council in two cases, one involving cocaine distribution and the other involving possession of firearms and car theft, and who had his license suspended in 1994 for two years, due to his own felony conviction. Hussein was also the lawyer for Adham Hassoun. He called the government?s case against Hassoun ?ridiculous.?

Khalid Salahuddin?s mosque is tied to another attorney with troubles. The registered agent for Masjid Al-Ansar is Nashid Sabir, a lawyer that has numerous business dealings with ex-State Representative Willie Logan . In 1997, the Bar admonished Sabir for missing a key hearing for one of his clients. In 2001, the Bar found probable cause to believe he violated ethics rules in the 1997 deportation case of a Dominican man. And in 2002, Sabir was reprimanded for professional misconduct regarding an immigration case.

And just like Akhtar Hussein, Sabir also provided legal services to a radical . In 2002, Sabir was the lawyer for convicted terrorist Imran Mandhai (see above). But that makes sense, because, while he?s the registered agent for Masjid Al-Ansar, he?s also a Founding Director and the Assistant Secretary for Darul Aloom, Mandhai?s house of worship.

The website of Masjid Al-Ansar contains only two outside links, one to Yahoo Maps and one to iviews.com, a site that features rabidly anti-Jewish and anti-American writings. Prior to being arrested earlier this year on firearms and conspiracy charges in relation to a group associated with al Qaeda, Randal Todd ?Ismael? Royer served as iviews.com?s Washington Bureau Chief.

All of these things must be taken into account, when considering the sensitive nature of the position Khalid Salahuddin holds at the Seaport of Miami.

On Oct 15, 2003, a forum was held by the Coordinating Committee on Public Safety to discuss Florida?s unique security concerns. The meeting, which was attended by law enforcement and state government officials, highlighted the Port of Miami?s vulnerability to attack. A proposal was put forth regarding the building of a ?security wall? around the port. However, when the time comes, no wall can hold out the terrorists, when they have a sympathizer sitting in charge, right on the inside.

Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate. You could visit Joe?s personal interactive website, at joe4rep.com. Beila Rabinowitz is an international journalist and translator. (Thanks to Faithfreedom.org.)
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December 27, 2003
Pakistani official: he who denies jihad has no place in Islam

From the Daily Times of Pakistan: "Rashid says Muslims can?t deny jihadi culture."

"Rashid" is Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad. He "told a Pakistani television channel on Friday that one of the attackers of Thursday?s suicide bomb attack on President Musharraf seemed to be a foreigner. He also said the jihadi culture in Pakistan could not be changed and he who denied jihad had no place in Islam, adding 'But whether or not it is jihad can only be decided by the State.'

So there cannot be jihad against Musharraf, I suppose? I suspect opinions on that in Pakistan will differ.

Meanwhile, about the "jihad culture" in Pakistan, another piece in the Daily Times says that "law-enforcement agencies have identified 45 religious organisations believed to have links with international jihadi networks or thought to be involved in terrorist and sectarian activities in Pakistan, sources told Daily Times on Friday.

"According to the sources, major groups believed to have links with Al Qaeda, like the Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HJI) and Jamiatul Mujahideen Al Alami have not been banned yet. They not only had roots in Pakistan, but also in Kashmir, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Philippines, sources said.

"HJI chief Qari Saifullah Akhtar, who reportedly lives a in some Gulf state, was allegedly former Taliban leader Mulla Umar?s advisor and believed to have a direct link with Al Qaeda. The sources said several of his organisation?s several activists who were arrested by law-enforcement agencies for terror attacks in Karachi had divulged this information.

"The sources said Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami, which was accused of an attack on President Pervez Musharraf last year in Karachi and the suicide attacks on French engineers, was formed by the HJI, Harkatul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) and Jamiatul Mujahideen Al Alami." (Thanks to Nicolei.)
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"Blessings for whoever has saved a bullet in order to stick it in a Jew's head"

MEMRI has published extracts from sermons in Palestinian mosques over the last three years. Anyone wanting real answers to hoary questions such as Why Do They Hate Us? and How Do They See Us? should read this material carefully.

Says compiler Steven Stalinsky: "Each Khatib (preacher) is a paid employee of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The sermons are broadcast live every Friday at noon from mosques under control of the PA and are shown on PA television." He lists the sermons' common themes, including "calls for the destruction of the U.S., the perceived American Crusader war against Islam, honoring Shahids and the rewards of the martyrs, educating children to martyrdom, and antisemitism, including calls for the killing of Jews."

A few extracts:

"Allah willing, this unjust state will be erased - Israel will be erased; this unjust state, the United States, will be erased; this unjust state, Britain, will be erased." ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi

"Allah, destroy the U.S., its helpers and its agents. Allah, destroy Britain, its helpers and its agents. Allah, prepare those who will unite the Muslims and march in the steps of Saladin. Allah, we ask you for forgiveness before death, and mercy and forgiveness after death. Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims?" ? Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri

"Allah the almighty has called upon us not to ally with the Jews or the Christians, not to like them, not to become their partners, not to support them, and not to sign agreements with them? Allah, deal with the Jews, your enemies and the enemies of Islam. Deal with the Crusaders, and America, and Europe behind them?" ? Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya

I know that some Palestinian Christians are aware that they are included in this group. I also know that some aren't.

"If, God forbid, something happens to Iraq, the aggression and the Crusade will turn tomorrow against the Koran? God forbid, his second assault is on the Koran, [he wants] to change verses and to mess with Allah's book, to Americanize the region, Americanize the religion, Americanize the Koran, Americanize Muhammad's message? To my brothers in Iraq, to the President of Iraq, to the Iraqi leadership, to the Iraqi people? Strike, my brother; may your right arm, oh proud Iraq, be strong? strike Allah's enemies with it. Strike with it the enemies of humanity? from the pulpits of Al-Azhar and other mosques around the world, that any Muslim who does not stand by Iraq and support it against the American-British-Crusaders cruel attack? Allah, grant victory to the Iraqi army? Allah, defeat America and its allies? Allah, purify the Islamic soil from the American and British treason and defilement? Allah, make their possessions a booty for the Muslims, Allah, annihilate them and their weapons, Allah, make their children orphans and their women widows?" ? Sheikh Muhammad Abu Al-Hunud

"If we go back in the time tunnel 1400 years, we will find that history repeats itself? Byzantium represents America in the west? America will collapse, as Byzantium collapsed in the west? The Prophet [Muhammad] could, by means of unbroken ranks, conquer Byzantium, the greatest power compared to today's America - and this without a single martyr falling from among the Muslims? The Prophet could, by means of the unity of the Muslim ranks and its awakening, defeat the America of that time, as we will defeat America as long as it supports our enemy, as long as America insists on being against our people and against our cause and our holy places, and against our people and our leadership? Indeed, we consider America to be our No. 1 enemy? America is our No. 1 enemy, and we see it as our No. 1 enemy as long as we learn from the lessons of the Battle of Tabouk [which took place in October 630 AD] :'Make ready for them whatever you can of armed strength and of mounted pickets' [Koran 8:60]. We are prepared and ready, but victory is from Allah?" ? Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris

"[Even when] a martyr's organs are being chopped off, and he turns into torn organs that spread all over, in order to meet Allah, Muhammad, and his friends, it would not be [considered] a loss? This is the honor given to our martyrs, the martyrs of the Islamic nation, who were killed due to their loyalty to Allah... The sacrifice of convoys of martyrs [will continue] until Allah grants us victory very soon. The willingness for sacrifice and for death we see amongst those who were cast by Allah into a war with the Jews, should not come at all as a surprise? Oh believing brothers, we do not feel a loss... The martyr, if he meets Allah, is forgiven with the first drop of blood; he is saved from the torments of the grave; he sees his place in Paradise; he is saved from the Great Horror [of the day of judgment]; he is given 72 black-eyed women; he vouches for 70 of his family to be accepted to Paradise; he is crowned with the Crown of glory, whose precious stone is better than all of this world and what is in it?" ? Sheikh Isma'il Aal Radhwan

Sheikh Isma'il is speaking, of course, of the kind of martyrs who commit murder and are killed in the process.

"Blessings to those who wage [Jihad] with their body? Blessings to our Shahids who sacrifice their souls easily for the sake of Allah? Blessings to the happy Shahids within the entrails of the green bird in Paradise. Blessings to the Shahids whose sins are forgiven with the first drop of their blood." ? Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris

"Know that a Shahid [who falls] on this land is considered more than one Shahid someplace else. Yes, there are traditions that a Shahid here [in Jerusalem] is worth 70 Shahids in a place other than this good land?" ? Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris

"We tell them: in as much as you love life - the Muslim loves death and martyrdom. There is a great difference between he who loves the hereafter and he who loves this world. The Muslim loves death and [strives for] martyrdom. He does not fear the oppression of the arrogant or the weapons of the blood-letters. The blessed and sacred soil of Palestine has vomited all the invaders and all the colonialists throughout history and it will soon vomit, with Allah's help, the [present] occupiers." ? Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri

"A young man said to me: 'I am 14 years old, and I have four years left before I blow myself up'? We, the Muslims on this good and blessed land, are all - each one of us - seekers of Martyrdom? The Koran is very clear on this: The greatest enemies of the Islamic nation are the Jews, may Allah fight them? Blessings for whoever assaulted a soldier? Blessings for whoever has raised his sons on the education of Jihad and Martyrdom; blessings for whoever has saved a bullet in order to stick it in a Jew's head?" ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi

"Shame and remorse on whoever refrained from raising his children on Jihad? Blessings to whoever waged Jihad for the sake of Allah; blessings to whoever raided for the sake of Allah; blessings to whoever put a belt of explosives on his body or on his sons' and plunged into the midst of the Jews, crying 'Allahu Akbar, praise to Allah, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger'? Allah, show us a black day for the Jews, like the day of 'Aad and Thamud. [14] Allah, turn them into pillage for us. Allah, we strive for martyrdom for your sake..." ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi

"I feel the martyr is lucky because the angels usher him to his wedding in heaven. I feel the earth moves under the occupiers' feet? There is no doubt that a child [martyr] suggests that the new generation will carry on the mission with determination. The younger the martyr - the greater and the more I respect him? They [mothers of martyrs] willingly sacrifice their offspring for the sake of freedom. It is a great display of the power of belief. The mother is participating in the great reward of the Jihad to liberate Al-Aqsa? I talked to a young man? [who] said: '? I want to marry the black-eyed [beautiful] women of heaven.' The next day he became a martyr. I am sure his mother was filled with joy about his heavenly marriage. Such a son must have such a mother." ? Mufti Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri

"Palestine will be, as it was in the past, a graveyard for the invaders - just as it was a graveyard for the Tatars and to the Crusader invaders, [and for the invaders] of the old and new colonialism? A reliable Hadith [tradition] says: 'The Jews will fight you, but you will be set to rule over them.' What could be more beautiful than this tradition? 'The Jews will fight you' - that is, the Jews have begun to fight us. 'You will be set to rule over them' - Who will set the Muslim to rule over the Jew? Allah? Until the Jew hides behind the rock and the tree. But the rock and tree will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, a Jew hides behind me, come and kill him.' Except for the Gharqad tree, which is the tree of the Jews. We believe in this Hadith. We are convinced also that this Hadith heralds the spread of Islam and its rule over all the land? Oh Allah, accept our martyrs in the highest heavens? Oh Allah, show the Jews a black day? Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters? Oh Allah, raise the flag of Jihad across the land? Oh Allah, forgive our sins?" ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi

"All spears should be directed at the Jews, at the enemies of Allah, the nation that was cursed in Allah's book. Allah has described them as apes and pigs, the calf-worshipers, idol-worshipers? Whoever can fight them with his weapons, should go out [to the battle]; whoever can fight them with a machinegun, should go out; whoever can fight them with a sword or a knife, should go out; whoever can fight them with his hands, should go out; This is our destiny? The Jews have exposed their fangs. Nothing will deter them, except the color of their filthy people's blood; nothing will deter them except for us voluntarily detonating ourselves in their midst. They have nuclear power, but we have the power of the belief in Allah? We blow them up in Hadera, we blow them up in Tel Aviv and in Netanya." ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi, referring to the Qur'an's Suras 2:62-5, 5:59-60, and 7:166

"Oh beloved of Allah? One of the Jews' evil deeds is what has come to be called 'the Holocaust,' that is, the slaughter of the Jews by Nazism. However, revisionist [historians] have proven that this crime, carried out against some of the Jews, was planned by the Jews' leaders, and was part of their policy? These are the Jews against whom we fight, oh beloved of Allah. On the other hand, [what is our belief] about the Jews? Allah has described them as donkeys." ? Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi

"Oh Muslims, oh brothers, believers, everywhere, our Prophet used to deal in Friday's sermons with current events of his time and I will follow him and also discuss some religious rulings connected to the current international events following the [attacks] that took place in America on the 11th of this month. First, there is a religious legal rule that man is innocent, namely, in Islam, a human being is innocent until he is proven guilty. It is not allowed to blame a human being and then tell him 'prove you're innocent.' Therefore we tell America: 'It is forbidden to accuse a person before the beginning of the investigation.' Until now, the American administration could not present proof to convict the accused in the [attacks] in New York and Washington, [because] it is possible that there are other elements inside America who carried out these [attacks]." ? Mufti Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri

Here's Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes with Arafat:

"[To Arafat]: Your state-controlled television carried a sermon by a sheikh telling worshippers that martyrs will go to paradise and marry 70 beautiful virgins. Do you believe that's a correct interpretation of the Koran?

"Arafat: I am not now in a position to translate for you what had been mentioned in our Koran."

Hanan Ashrawi played dodgeball with Tony Snow:

"Tony Snow: What I would like to do is read to you just a few statements that appeared on Palestinian TV on August 3 of this year, in a sermon broadcast over the television network, here is the quote: 'All weapons must be aimed at the Jews? Whom the Koran describes as monkeys and pigs. Whoever can fight the Jews with his weapons should go out to the battle; whoever can fight with a machine gun should go out; whoever can fight with a sword or knife should go out; whoever can fight them with his hands should go out? Nothing will deter them, except the color of their filthy people's blood; nothing will deter them except for us voluntarily detonating ourselves in their midst.' That is from Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi. Now, the question is, that being on your national TV, should people not view that as an endorsement of those tactics?

"Hanan Ashrawi:Well, frankly, I haven't heard this sermon, but had it been actually said, I certainly question the sources, but had it been broadcast, certainly I would condemn it.

"Tony Snow: We understand that, as a matter of fact, hate language is used by both sides. The unusual factor here is that it is on a television channel that you and the Legislative Council and Yasser Arafat control. You're responsible for the content?

"Hanan Ashrawi: No we don't control it.

"Tony Snow: You don't control your own television network?

"Hanan Ashrawi: No, no. There is no censorship or control on those and I never heard this speech, and I will have to take your word for it, although I would like to know your sources."
Posted at 08:17 AM | Comments (1) | Email this entry | Print this entry
December 26, 2003
Jihad in Tennessee

Yes, there was a militant Muslim organization in Knoxville, Tennessee, that was helping fund jihad in Bosnia and Chechnya in the 1990s, but it's no longer active. See? Nothing to be concerned about at all. KnoxNews reports that "a former member of a secretive Islamic fundamentalist organization in Knoxville helped funnel money to militant fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya during the 1990s, but local Muslims said Tuesday the group is no longer active." (Thanks to Nicolei.)

"Mustafa Saied, a former University of Tennessee student and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, told the Wall Street Journal in a story published Tuesday that money raised at the Annoor Mosque ostensibly for poor civilians actually went to Muslim warriors."

In Onward Muslim Soldiers I explore the thought of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan Al-Banna, as well as that of one of its greatest exponents, Sayyid Qutb. I also details its ties to Hamas and other modern-day terrorist groups.

"Knoxville Muslims raised $6,000 to pay for tents, Saied told the paper, but in 1995 a representative of the Benevolence International Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit, told him a portion of the money was diverted to fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya. FBI Special Agent James Van Pelt of the Knoxville office said he isn't aware of any criminal prosecution of any people or groups arising from the activities described in the article. 'If something like that would happen today, the person could be guilty of (giving) material support to terrorists,' Van Pelt said.

"The foundation's leader pleaded guilty in 2002 to buying supplies for fighters in the two countries. The U.S. Treasury Department alleged the group also had ties to al-Qaeda, though the charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
The paper reported that Saied was part of an active group of Muslim Brotherhood members in Knoxville before he left the campus in 1996, a few credits short of graduating. The Muslim Brotherhood is an international fundamentalist political group.

"Rosalind Gwynne, faculty adviser to the UT chapter of the Muslim Student Association said she was surprised to find out the Muslim Brotherhood had been active on campus. There can be as many as 300 students in the association at any one time, and the mix can vary from year to year, she said. Knoxville's mainstream Muslims said they weren't aware of the group's presence here either. 'I've lived here for 30 years, and this is the first time I ever heard about it,' said Hanan Ayesh, a founder of the Annoor Academy, a Muslim school.

"Most of those involved in the Muslim Brotherhood here were foreign students who get involved in Islamic politics before moving back to their countries of origin, said Mostafa Alsharif, a lifelong Knoxvillian. 'The majority of Muslims in the United States couldn't care less about the Muslim Brotherhood. They're going to stay in the United States. There's no need to be affiliated with something like that,' Alsharif said. Alsharif said the Muslim Brotherhood isn't active here anymore. 'It's not the reality of what's happening in Knoxville today at all,' he said.

"The lengthy Wall Street Journal article detailed Saied's activities in Knoxville nearly a decade ago. Now an adherent of a less strident form of Islam, Saied is an executive at a Florida environmental-testing firm. Said's tale offers a glimpse into how secretive organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood operate in the United States. 'Anti-American sentiment is usually reserved for closed-door discussions or expressed in languages that most Americans don't understand,' Saied told Wall Street Journal reporter Paul M. Barrett. 'While such rhetoric has been drastically reduced since 9/11, it is still prevalent enough to be a cause for concern.'"

Calling CAIR's Ibrahim Hooper: Ibrahim, my friend, what is CAIR doing to counter such rhetoric?

"Saied told Barrett he and other fundamentalist Muslims would meet once a week to drink tea and eat sweets while discussing fundamentalist Islam in secret. Saied said the Knoxville chapter viewed violence as something 'we don't do here, unless necessary.'

"Saied told Barrett he feels guilty about his years as an extremist and is applying for U.S. citizenship. He worries, according to the article, that areas of 'venomous hatred toward Western society' persist on some campuses and in certain Islamic communities."

Islamic communities aren't alone on this one. There is a great deal of venomous hatred toward Western society on college campuses among non-Muslim students.

"Some in the local Muslim community fear that reports of such extremist activities ? even those that occurred nearly a decade ago ? will prompt other Americans to persecute law-abiding Muslims. Ayesh said she sometimes feels like she had more freedom when she first came to America 34 years ago than her children have today."

It's easy to throw around unfocused accusations. Mrs. Ayesh, do you have time for a couple of questions? Please detail some instances of persecution of law-abiding Muslims in America. I know that CAIR lists many, but quite a few of those have turned out be much less than what CAIR claims to be . Illegal immigrants don't count, although even in their case I don't equate deportation with persecution; in any case, you said "law-abiding." Also, and more importantly, please explain: exactly what could you do 34 years ago in America that your children can't do now? And one last thing: exactly what are you and you fellow moderate Muslims doing to eradicate Islamic radicalism ? or even the anti-American rhetoric referred to above ? from the American Muslim community? I'll look forward to your answers; you can contact me here.
Posted at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | Email this entry | Print this entry
Jihad leader killed

"A military leader of the radical group Islamic Jihad and four other Palestinians were killed on Thursday, and seven people wounded, when Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car here, Palestinian medical sources said." This report is from News24.com, with thanks to Jean-Luc.

"Islamic Jihad leader Moqbel Hamid was killed when a missile struck the car in which he was traveling, the sources said. The Israeli army said in a brief statement that it had targeted Hamid.

"'During an operation in the Gaza Strip this evening, the car of a senior Islamic Jihad official responsible for a series of deadly attacks' was targeted, a statement said."
Posted at 10:40 AM | Comments (0) | Email this entry | Print this entry
Radical Muslims' sentencing delayed

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Did the attack on Maher cause the postponement?

"An Egyptian security court has postponed sentencing in the trial of 23 Egyptians and three Britons accused of plotting to oust Arab governments." So says Al-Jazeera, with thanks to Nicolei.

"They stand accused of belonging to and trying to reactivate the banned Islamic Liberation Party, and aiming to overthrow governments in the region. The group, which emerged in Jordan in the early 1970s, seeks to restore the caliphate - one Islamic government for all Islamic states - through military coups across the region. The accused face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. . . .

"In July, the supreme state security court said the verdict would be pronounced in December, but the presiding judge declared on Thursday that a final decision would be taken on 25 March, without giving a reason for the delay.

"'There is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet,' cried some of the accused as they were led from the court after the adjournment. . . .

"'It's possible that the attack on the Egyptian minister (Maher) could be behind the delay,' said Homira Nisbett, wife of another accused, Ian Malcolm Nisbett.
Maher was assaulted on Monday by a group of Palestinians, who called him a traitor while he visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.

"'The delayed verdict following the attack on Ahmed Maher worries us, notably because it coincides with the arrests in the past 48 hours of 80 people accused of belonging to the Liberation Party,' said defence lawyer Montasser al-Zayat."
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Palestinian children collect pictures of militants like baseball cards

The tiny minority of extremists, repudiated and despised as they are by the vast majority of Muslims, is printing the faces of its heroes on trading cards. And the kids love 'em: "Palestinian children are collecting cards showing gunmen and soldiers the way American kids trade baseball cards, and some educators are concerned that the uprising hobby is helping to breed a new generation of militants." So says AP, with thanks to Nicolei.

"The cards are an enormous hit, according to Majdi Taher, who makes them. He said that 6 million cards have been sold over two years and 32,000 albums this month alone in the two main population centers of the northern West Bank - huge numbers in a territory about 1 million Palestinians live, and he plans to expand his business.

"The card craze reflects reality in the West Bank, where three years of Palestinian-Israeli violence has become the dominant reality for children. Israeli soldiers enforce curfews, confining residents to their homes, and often carry out raids in towns and villages, looking for militants. Sometimes children throw rocks at Israeli soldiers or are caught up in exchanges of gunfire. At least 319 Palestinian children under the age of 18 have been killed in the conflict.

"In the West Bank, Palestinian militants carry their weapons openly on the streets and gain the adulation of the young. More than 100 Palestinian suicide bombers have carried out attacks against Israelis, becoming folk heroes in their home towns.

"The collectable cards depict real-life Middle East action figures familiar to the children: An Israeli soldier shooting a large gun, a soldier forcing Palestinians off their land, a small Palestinian child dressed in militant's clothing holding a toy gun and Palestinian boys throwing stones."

The cards also have gained approval in high places: "The albums are sold in cardboard boxes shaped like Israeli tanks and include a dedication from Nablus governor Mahmoud Alul. A child who fills an album with all 129 pictures can win a computer, a bicycle, a watch or a hat.

"Some teachers and parents are concerned about the new fad, trying to forbid their children from buying the pictures, saying they are teaching children violence and forcing them to grow up too quickly. 'I take hundreds of these pictures from children every day and burn them,' said Saher Hindi, 28, a teach at a Nablus elementary school. 'They turn children into extremists.'

"The desire to fill the albums has captivated children in Nablus and Ramallah, teachers say, keeping them from their homework as they spend all their money on the cards. It's a business success for Taher, who said he plans to expand the sale of the cards and albums to other West Bank towns. The former candy salesman said he means for the album and pictures to be a history lesson. Children who are now seven cannot remember incidents from the start of the fighting three years ago, Taher said.

"'I am writing the history of the intefadeh (uprising) in pictures,' Taher said. 'I collected these pictures from journalists, and I want people to remember this all their lives.'"
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Terrorists still plotting

Las Vegas ? as a symbol of Western decadence ? has surfaced in the past as a target of Islamic terrorism, and now it has come up again: "U.S. government officials said yesterday they believe some of the passengers boarding one of the three Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeles that were canceled this week because of security concerns might have intended to hijack it and crash-land in Las Vegas or another city along its flight path." So says the Washington Post.

"Police in Paris questioned 13 people who had checked in for two Air France flights that were canceled Christmas Eve because of a terrorism warning from U.S. authorities, but no evidence of wrongdoing was found, the French Interior Ministry said. All 13 were released.

"But U.S. officials said they are suspicious about some of the passengers who did not show up at the airport to claim their seats on the ultimately aborted Flight 68 from Paris to Los Angeles. One of those who did not appear for the Christmas Eve flight apparently is a trained pilot, one U.S. official said.

"'We still have an interest in talking to those people who didn't show up,' said one U.S. official knowledgeable about the investigation. 'There might be more to come on this.' Despite French statements suggesting some of the American fears about the Air France flights were unfounded, U.S. government officials said they believe they might have averted a terrorist attack by arranging for the flights' cancellation. Officials said they feared that al Qaeda operatives planned to hijack one of the flights and use the plane as a missile to attack a site on or near its route.

"Moreover, U.S. officials said intelligence indicators suggest that al Qaeda might have set other terrorist operations in motion that do not involve aviation and are not centered in California. As on other occasions when terrorist fears are heightened, U.S. officials said their main concern is that al Qaeda might use a chemical or biological weapon, or a radiological 'dirty' bomb.

"'Our fear is that other things are going on' that have nothing to do with jetliner flights in or out of U.S. airports, said one U.S. official briefed on high-level intelligence. 'The concern is that there still could be a lot of activity that was underway.'

"Another government official with access to the classified reports said U.S. security officials 'are really concerned something major will happen' despite the cancellation of the three incoming and three outgoing Air France flights between Paris and Los Angeles on Christmas Eve and yesterday. One scenario embraced by a number of U.S. security officials is that al Qaeda operatives were in the final stages of planning an attack in this country, and were awaiting final direction from al Qaeda superiors to proceed."
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December 25, 2003
Muslims warned to leave U.S. cities -- again

Evidently American Muslims in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles should keep their bags packed: six weeks after warnings for Muslims to leave those cities were posted on radical Muslim websites, they have appeared again. WorldNetDaily reports that "known al-Qaida affiliated websites are warning Muslims to leave New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles ahead of massive attacks it claims have been planned for those cities.

"The statements, posted on sites such as Al-Lewa ? Arabic for 'The Banner' ? are part of the alarming increase in 'chatter' among terrorist operatives in recent weeks cited by Homeland Security officials for raising the terror threat level to high, or orange, reports the New York Post. Officials told the paper the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency consider the messages 'pieces of the overall puzzle.'"

Another possibility is that the recent warnings are actually the same as those that surfaced in November: "Counterterrorism experts uncovered and translated statements boasting of an impending wave of terror that started Nov. 15 after the suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey. 'The next al-Qaida attacks will be most violent and will target the U.S.,' read one claim translated by Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute. 'Our Muslim brothers in America, this is our final warning. We ask you, as fast as you can, to leave the following cities immediately: Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles,' read a second message posted Thursday by a group calling itself the Islamic Bayan Movement.

"According to the messages, the jihadists apparently are pleased with the terror alert issued by government agencies and the anxiety it prompts for travelers this holiday week. Katz said one message published quoted al-Qaida's mouthpiece, the Global Islamic Media Society, in saying it took delight that Americans are now 'living in a state of anxiety and constant fear.'

"'You will forget about Manhattan events. Be prepared,' the statement concluded."
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"The nuclear programme became an integral part of the strategy of deniable proxy jihad"

Now that it has come to light that Pakistan may have given nuclear secrets to Iran and North Korea, we must ask what may have been the motivations of those who did so. In an editorial entitled "Jihad and loss of internal sovereignty," the Daily Times of Pakistan acknowledges that jihad was likely to have been high on the list.

The editorial focuses on two news items: "According to a Foreign Office spokesman in Islamabad, investigations show that 'certain individuals might have been motivated by personal ambition or greed' in facilitating possible nuclear technology transfers from Pakistan to Iran. The government says it will take to task anyone found involved in such activity. In another interesting report, we learn of a top Chinese ?terrorist? by the name of Hasan Mahsum who was shot dead in Pakistan?s South Waziristan area during a military operation last October. Mr Mahsum was supposed to have links with Al Qaeda.

"Two conclusions can be immediately drawn from these news items. First, that the sale of our nuclear secrets was probably more a result of lack of state control over individuals working in our nuclear establishment than any conscious or permitted state policy. Two, the killing of Hasan Mahsum should surprises us about the extent of penetration of our country by persons accused of terrorism by the countries of their origin. Both cases point to a lack of internal state control and jurisdiction in the past decade."

This lack of internal state control, says the editorial, became particularly acute in connection with jihad ideology: "Internal control was lost after the compulsion of importing warriors led to their immunity from the law inside Pakistan. Once such immunity was granted through special age

Posted: 12/ 30/ 03 10:38 am Post subject: Jihad

More politically incorrect news.
Iraqi Christians fear for their lives

Reuters offers a harrowing account of life for Christians in today's Iraq. In accordance with dhimmi restrictions on selling alcohol, liquor salesmen are being targeted by radical Muslims. Meanwhile, Iraqi police turn a blind eye to Muslims committing genuine offenses.

"Bashir Toma Elias was killed by a single shot to the head in the middle of Basra's bazaar on Christmas Eve as he prepared to head home to celebrate with his wife and five children. The killing of the Iraqi Christian alcohol merchant sowed fresh fear in a community afraid of increasing religious intolerance in mainly Shi'ite Muslim southern Iraq.

"His widow Jihan cried hysterically outside the Chaldean Church in the affluent Manawi Pasha neighbourhood after Christmas Mass, held in the morning because the lack of security prevented holding a midnight service. 'We buried Bashir and our priests are celebrating while we are being slaughtered,' said 40-year-old Jihan. 'Where is the peace they preach?'

"Bashir, 48, was the latest liquor store trader fatally shot in the country's second largest city since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April. Residents say the killer escaped as passers-by looked on, in a city still plagued by crime and mob rule despite the British military presence. Since the war that toppled Saddam, armed groups have looted and set ablaze several liquor stores in the once freewheeling city, where Shi'ite religious parties now wield power and seek to impose strict moral regulations, similar to Iran.

"More than 400 liquor stores run by Christians, the only community allowed to sell alcohol under the former Baathist government, were forced to close in the immediate aftermath of the US led occupation of Iraq. Basra was once a cosmopolitan trading centre and playground for rich Kuwaitis and Saudis who flocked to its casinos and nightclubs in the midst of an austere region where alcohol was banned.

"'Alcohol selling has changed from Christians to Muslims. Now it's Muslims who sell after taking the trade from us,' said an embittered Joseph Hanna, a Christian property developer and hotel owner who blames militant Shi'ite groups for the killings. 'We fear for our lives and our interests from the extremist Shi'ites who are targeting us as Christians,' said Misak Victor, another liquor merchant.

"Iraqi Christians are terrified of armed Shi'ite groups, which have names like God's Vengeance, God's Party and the Islamic Bases Organisation. Their members roam the streets to chase mobsters, drug addicts and prostitutes, exacting their brand of what they call God's law.

"The number of parties carrying Islam's banner is a force to reckon with in the post-Saddam political order, holding sway in local councils and competing with a beleaguered police force in imposing order in the unruly streets. Abdullah Faisal, head of the Islamic Bases Organisation, says Islam venerates his young 'martyrdom seekers', who have a mandate from God to stamp out vice.

"But Faisal says the killings of liquor traders were carried out by undisciplined militant Islamic groups and that Islam opposed the summary executions witnessed in Basra. 'Some Islamic movements have challenged liquor merchants. There was burning and killings,' he said. 'Religion doesn't allow this even though we confront vice and crime.'

"Unlike the majority Shi'ites long persecuted by Saddam Hussein, many Christians found that Saddam's Baath party and its secular pan-Arabist nationalist ideology tolerated them. 'We never saw harm under Saddam Hussein,' said Tareq Boutros, a former liquor store owner who now runs a garment business.

"Christian Iraqis fear that militant Shi'ite militias want to impose an intolerant brand of Islam on minorities and rival Muslim sects. They say Shi'ite power in postwar Iraq has allowed them to dominate a new police force, which they say is corrupted by a mix of local mobsters and militant Islamic parties. 'You now find police in the streets, but I am certain if a murder takes place in front of them they would not deal with it. If you talk to a police officer he will tell you I cannot do anything,' said Sami Shamas, a mathematics teacher.

"'Those who sell drinks are killed but thieves who steal homes or kidnap girls are left free,' said an angry Christian who refused to give his name.

"Families cite growing intolerance in Basra's society at large, with schoolgirls and female university students under intimidation from teachers to wear the veil. 'Our daughters are being fought. They are telling them you have to wear a veil and become a Muslim,' said Abdulahad Wissam, a Christian who runs a chain of household goods stores.

"Fears of worse to come have prompted more than 2,000 families from the community of at least 100,000 Christians in the city to pack up and leave. Most headed to northern Iraqi cities such as Mosul where their ancient communities trace their ancestry, their leaders say. 'A lot of Christian families have left for Mosul and Baghdad,' said goldsmith Naji Ahanyous. 'If this situation continues there will not be one Christian in Basra.'" And that's just the way the Shi'ites want it.
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GE feels the heat, sees the light

"General Electric has felt the heat of a 'significant' number of Paul Harvey listeners and has decided to resume advertising on the newsman's radio program after initially pulling its commercials due to complaints about a negative comment the broadcaster made about Islam." This from WND.

"As WorldNetDaily reported, in a Dec. 4 news item in which the legendary newsman described the bloody nature of cockfight gambling in Iraq, he said: 'Add to the thirst for blood a religion which encourages killing, and it is entirely understandable if Americans came to this bloody party unprepared.' The Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, subsequently demanded an apology from Harvey, which was broadcast by a substitute anchor on the daily program Dec. 9. . . .

"Gary Sheffer, spokesman for GE, confirmed that a radio ad for a lighting product was pulled from the show. The company decided to restore its advertising last week, however, after hearing from people upset with the initial decision. 'We have had significant feedback from Mr. Harvey's listeners,' Sheffer told WorldNetDaily. He says those contacting GE have expressed support for the newsman and asked that the advertising be restored."
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Dhimmitude at the Supreme Court?

We'll get a sense of whether or not dhimmitude has entered the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court on January 9, when the high court "will discuss whether to hear arguments in a case in which a Muslim sued Mississippi over the Confederate battle emblem in the state flag." This from AP, with thanks to Nicolei.

"Lower federal courts had rejected John Ellis Briggs' argument that the Mississippi flag contains a Christian symbol - the St. Andrew's Cross - and that the symbol represents state endorsement of a particular religion. Briggs' lawsuit seeks punitive damages of up to $77.77 million. It also seeks to have the symbol 'removed from display in public places.'"

This is pure judicial terrorism. It's abundantly clear that neither Mississippi nor any other state endorses Christianity; to target an arcane symbol that nobody understands as a symbol of Christianity (it's much more likely to inspire thoughts of the Confederacy) and to demand punitive damages on this basis is ? at best ? craven opportunism. It also stinks more than a little of dhimmitude, recalling the classic prohibition in Islamic law against Christians displaying crosses.

"Since 1894, Mississippi's flag has contained the Confederate battle emblem, a blue X with 13 whites stars over a field of red. Experts differ on whether the X in the Confederate battle emblem is the St. Andrew's Cross. David Sansing, professor emeritus of history at the University of Mississippi, said Monday what people have claimed for years is the St. Andrew's Cross is not. 'What is in the Confederate battle flag is a blue saltier. The St. Andrew's Cross is a white diagonal cross on a blue field,' Sansing said. 'The man who designed the (Confederate battle) flag makes no reference to the St. Andrew's Cross.'

"Sansing said the designer of the flag described it to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard as a blue saltier on a red field with one star for each of the 13 Southern states. Sansing said the St. Andrew's Cross dates back to the Middle Ages and represents the X-shaped cross on which the apostle Andrew was crucified. Andrew was the patron saint of Scotland. The St. Andrew's Cross is Scotland's national flag. 'So, he's (Briggs) wrong to begin with. It's not a Christian symbol,' Sansing said.

"Briggs filed suit in federal court in Gulfport in 2001. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2002. Briggs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against him in June. The 5th Circuit said it could not accept that 'every X, or every X the straight-line connection of whose four points would form a square, is predominantly a religious symbol.'

"Appeals Judge Will Garwood, writing for himself and Judges E. Grady Jolly and Jerry E. Smith, said it was clear that a community's display of the flag was not an endorsement of religion. Garwood said the debate over the flying of the Confederate battle flag, or its being a part of a state flag, has centered on its symbolism of the Confederacy and to what extent the symbol extolled or excused slavery. 'None of this concerns any religious symbolism related to any presence of the St. Andrews Cross in the flag,' Garwood wrote.

"Garwood said that in 1894 - and in 2001, when voters declined to change the flag - the Mississippi flag included the canton corner of identical design that was created by Confederate generals in 1861. He said the design was used by Confederate forces throughout the Civil War and became well known, at least throughout the South. Garwood said those decisions had no religious intent."
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December 29, 2003
WZO: Europe is becoming Muslim

"'Europe is becoming a Muslim continent,' a new public relations booklet prepared by the World Zionist Organization warns." This from Haaretz, with thanks to Nicolei.

"The booklet, a Hebrew-language copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, was prepared for a conference of leaders of Orthodox communities worldwide that opens today in Jerusalem, and will be distributed to all of the approximately 200 rabbis and community leaders in attendance. Entitled 'A Guide to Anti-Semitism and Terror for Diaspora Communities,' the booklet was prepared by the WZO's Spiritual Services for the Diaspora unit, 'with the goal of raising awareness of the issue,' according to unit chairman Rabbi Yehiel Wasserman.

"The booklet states that dialogue on the basis of mutual concern for religion is impossible with Muslims, even moderates, because Islam has no common theological concepts with Judaism.

"Regarding the dangers posed by Muslims in Europe, the document states that 'what began 40 years ago as an innocent migration by the unemployed' has become 'an attempt at conquest aimed at changing the face of the Western world and history.'

"The document warns in particular against contact with young, Western-educated Muslims, claiming many have been 'born again' as extremists."

This is the bitter fruit of multiculturalist education that exhorts young people to recover their ethnic heritage and cling tightly to their traditions. When these are Islamic traditions that reject secularism, what will be the outcome?

"Wasserman said the booklet is still undergoing revisions and that some of these statements will be 'softened.'

"Muslim anti-Semitism is expected to occupy a prominent place at the conference. Rabbi Yitzhak Haleva, the chief rabbi of Turkey, said yesterday that the attacks on two Istanbul synagogues last month was the first evidence of the existence of Muslim anti-Semitism in Turkey. Immediately after the attacks, he added, some people began blaming the Jews, but these accusations died down following the bombings five days later of the British consulate and the Istanbul headquarters of the HSBC Bank.

"The French rabbis attending the conference, meanwhile, were divided over a recent statement made by the country's chief rabbi, Joseph Sitruk, in which he urged French Jews to wear hats rather than kippot (skullcaps) in 'sensitive' areas, such as subway stations, in order to avoid anti-Semitic attacks. The chief rabbi of Paris, David Messas, said yesterday that Jews 'should be proud of their Judaism' and simply avoid places where a kippa might endanger their lives.

"With regard to the French government's decision to pass a law that would forbid students to wear kippot, headscarves or large crosses in schools, Messas and the other French rabbis said that if the law passes, they will tell their congregants to obey it and go to school bareheaded.

"However, although French rabbis have joined Muslim leaders in opposing the law, Messas believes that it will ultimately aggravate Jewish-Muslim relations, because 'the Jews, unlike the Muslims, will accept the law, and therefore, we will again find ourselves on opposite sides of the fence.'"
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Dhimmitude on British TV: Christians satirized, Muslims lionized

"Comedians and dramatists delight in 'pouring scorn' on Christianity but are 'timid' about mocking Muslims, a broadcasting watchdog chief said yesterday." This from the Telegraph, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm and Nicolei.

"Islam was accorded far more respect on television and radio than other religions because satirists were 'cautious' and 'self-censoring' when faced with the prospect of causing offence to Muslims, said Lord Dubs, chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

"'In portraying Muslims they have held back, they have censored themselves, they are timid,' the Labour peer said. 'I have seen them pour scorn on Christianity more than on other religions. Christianity is an easier and more acceptable target followed, to a lesser extent, by Jews and Hindus.'

"His remarks come on the eve of an announcement by the BSC that it is to impose one of the stiffest penalties it can draw on after Channel 4 re-broadcast a remark by Jamie Oliver about 'Jesus ?ing Christ'.

"The BSC had already upheld a complaint that the comment, made by the celebrity chef in an episode of the fly-on-the-wall series Jamie's Kitchen, was offensive to Christians. The regulator was angry when the offending remark was aired again in an unedited repeat of the programme.

"A spokesman for Channel 4 said the repeat went out later than the original programme, at 10pm rather than 9pm, and it had been thought that the audience at the later time would not be offended. In a rare intervention of this kind by the BSC, Channel 4 will be forced to broadcast the commission's new adjudication on air and have it published in a newspaper.

"The commission is subsumed from today into the new super-regulator Ofcom. Lord Dubs admitted that the BSC had also shown bias in favour of Muslims. 'We have tried to treat the religions equally. I doubt we have succeeded. I think we have shaded a bit on the side of Islam,' he said.

"The Right Rev Richard Holloway, the former Bishop of Edinburgh and a member of the BSC board, said Oliver's remark would never have been aired had it been about the Prophet Mohammed.

"'There is much more sensitivity to disturbing Islam,' he said. 'It is partly because the Muslim community does not have a tradition of humour about religion, although Christian leaders will stand up for things that are fundamentally important.'" Christians are also unlikely to kill those who offend them.
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The difference between jihad and terrorism? The target

Reader "my.joy18" has kindly forwarded to me an Arab News question and answer piece entitled "Sept. 11 Attacks Nothing but Terrorism." Alas, I have been occupied with many other things the last few days, and didn't immediately put it up. Now it is gone without a trace. I wonder if that has anything to do with its content: it declares that while the September 11 attacks were terrorism because they targeted innocent people, in Israel it's a different story. "To resist Israel by all means available to us is justified under divine and human law." Including, evidently, blowing up innocent people on buses and in restaurants, and gunning down little babies.

As ghastly as this sounds, it is in accord with Islamic law, which does indeed forbid the killing of the innocent ? provided that they are not aiding the war effort. Apparently the author of this answer shares the widespread view among Islamic scholars that there are no innocent non-combatants in Israel: by virtue of simply being there, everyone in the country is a kafir harbi, an unbeliever at war with Islam. Thus everyone in the country is fair game.

As a favor to the folks at Arab News, I'll preserve the article for posterity in its entirety here:

"Edited by Adil Salahi

"Q. Could you please tell me whether the Sept. 11 attacks were acts of jihad or terrorism? Would those who were killed in them be martyrs? What about other acts such as those done by Hamas and similar groups?

"S. Hanif

"A. Islam does not approve of indiscriminate killing in any situation. When Muslim armies went out to war in the early period of Islam, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his successors like Abu Bakr and Umar gave them clear instructions.

"They ordered the army not to kill a child, a woman, an elderly person, a priest or anyone who is not engaged in the fighting or helping the enemy fighters. The attacks on the US that took place on Sept. 11 involved hijacking planes and flying them into buildings.

"The passengers in the planes were innocent bystanders and the people in those buildings were the same. Those who launched this attack did not consider them so, because they followed a mistaken view that everyone who pays taxes to the US government is aiding war against Islam. This view is seriously defective, because people have to pay taxes or they will be in great trouble with their government. Besides, to ask every citizen in the world to have an informed opinion on the justice of our cause and then to take an attitude of peaceful disobedience to their government is to live in a dreamland. Had people been able to judge things in this way, they would all be very religious. God says in the Qur?an that He could have made all mankind a single community, but He has not done so. So, how can we impose our views or beliefs on people?

"I cannot understand how a Muslim could justify boarding a plane, intending to kill all its passengers by flying it into a building used by thousands of civilians. This is simply terrorism and cannot be justified under Islamic law. The operations launched against Israeli occupation are totally different. They are undertaken against occupiers who have turned the local people, Muslims and Christians, from their homes and lands, desecrated mosques and terrorized the population into leaving their land. To resist Israel by all means available to us is justified under divine and human law. It is indeed Israel and its supporters that are engaged in a gigantic and continuous act of terrorism.
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The face of Islamic tolerance in Seattle

The Sharia mandates second-class status for non-Muslims, and forbids a non-Muslim man to marry a Muslim woman. This provision seems to have come West already: "A Grant County man has been charged with trying to kidnap his sister from her Sedro-Woolley home in what police believe was an attempt to punish her for marrying outside her Muslim faith." This from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, with thanks to Dr. Andrew Bostom.

"Khalil Nassar, 21, and a 24-year-old acquaintance, Antonio Cortez, were charged Wednesday with attempted kidnapping, said Robin Webb-Lakey, a Skagit County senior deputy prosecutor. Nassar also was charged with felony harassment. The two men told police they were simply planning to visit Nassar's sister, according to an affidavit signed by Sedro-Woolley Police Sgt. William Tucker and filed in Skagit County Superior Court. Nassar and Cortez were arrested Monday morning after a police officer found them parked a block away from the sister's apartment in downtown Sedro-Woolley, police Lt. Doug Wood said.

"The two men were in a rented van. Police found rope, gloves, coveralls and a hardhat in the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Police believe the coveralls and hardhat were to be used as a disguise, Wood said. The two men remained in jail Friday pending payment of bail, set at $250,000 for Nassar and $150,000 for Cortez.

"The 18-year-old sister called police in Sedro-Woolley in early December to complain that she and her 19-year-old husband, who is a Christian, were being harassed by her father, according to Tucker's statement to the court.

"Previously, the Grant County Sheriff's Department had investigated complaints made by both families while the couple lived in the Moses Lake area, according to court documents. The couple was engaged at the time. Both families told Grant deputies that the other threatened them.

"The young couple relocated to Sedro-Woolley, but the woman's family continued to call her cellular phone and ask for her to return, according to Tucker's statement.

"During one of these conversations, the woman taped her brother saying he would return her to her family 'dead or alive,' Tucker said in his affidavit. Nassar's father, Sadallah Nassar, told the Skagit Valley Herald that the accusations were false. 'My son went to visit his sister. That's it,' Sadallah Nassar said. 'He wanted to see how she's been, how she is, nothing else.'

"Police reports also say the two men who were arrested told officers they were only in the area to visit the young woman, but officers were bothered by inconsistencies in the two men's stories, according to court records. 'We determined they made a substantial attempt to retrieve her,' Wood said.

"In some conservative strains of Islam, marrying outside the faith is particularly problematic for women. Farhat J. Ziadeh, a University of Washington professor emeritus who specializes in Islamic law, said from the Muslim perspective that Islamic law exists to ensure a continuation of the faith. 'The man is the head of the family and the children follow the man's religion and they don't want anyone to be cut off from Islam,' Ziadeh said."
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December 28, 2003
Sharia watch: Kuwaiti MP calls for music ban in schools

Radical Muslims are fighting around the world to institute Sharia law, with its institutionalized oppression of non-Muslims ? dhimmitude. A new glimpse at what a Sharia state would look like comes from Kuwait, where "an Islamist parliamentarian has said he was coordinating with other MPs to ban music education at schools in Kuwait as 'anti-Islamic and a waste of time'." This from News.com.au, with thanks to Nicolei.

In Islam Unveiled I explore some elements of the Islamic legal tradition that lead radical Muslims today to consider music sinful. Here is more confirmation that what I was writing about wasn't ancient historical, or some eccentric invention of the Taliban.

"MP Daifallah Buramia al-Mutairi, in a statement received today, said he could submit such a proposal to parliament, which is due to start a debate on the emirate's education policies next week.

"'Music lessons use up the students' time without any benefit. Parents do not send their children to learn how to play music, but for useful scientific education that is good for them and for their nation,' the MP said.

"Mutairi was a medical doctor before he was elected to parliament for the first time in July's general elections, backed by his tribe for his religious views. Arguing that music contravened Islam, Mutairi said he would propose substituting music lessons with Islamic education."
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A letter to AP

A letter to AP was recently sent to Jihad Watch from the author of the Letter to Reuters:

"Dear Editor:

"Your 'Year in Photos' has six glaring omissions , therefore, six major distortions. You chose 6 photos depicting 'Palestinian' suffering at the hands of Israelis but none of Israeli suffering at the hands of 'Palestinians.' I call them six distortions because they convey the false message that 'Palestinians' suffer and that Israelis are the cause. They omit the reality that Israelis are the victims of 'Palestinian' attacks and are trying to defend themselves. They omit the truth that if the terror ceased, the Israelis would be out of their face in almost no time.

"You might have attempted a little reality just to create the impression that you worried about that other false concept: balance. But, being journalists, I don't have to lecture you about your job. You know your responsibilities. You also know the truth but you prefer to conceal it. The fact is, there is no 'balance' on the two sides. The 'Palestinians' promote, enthusiastically support and carry out terror against Israelis. Their own polls indicate that their support for terror is a societal phenomenon. You prefer to conceal the barbarism of the perpetrators by portraying them as victims.

"Still, for the sake of presumed 'balance,' you might have at least indicated that the 'Palestinians' contribute a little something to their misery by making Israelis miserable as well. You might have shown images of Jewish children dying in their strollers, for example, bombed out buses with the remains of scattered schoolwork, or destroyed restaurants splattered with blood or body parts. Actually, for this latter image, you could have appealed directly to the Palestinian Authority. They gladly would have obliged you with photos of their traveling exhibit of the Sbarro Pizza Parlour bombing ! They are proud of it, you know. They actually took it on an international tour. You might have caught that one. You say you missed it? Sorry, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job.

But, your silence tells me you don't care for that idea. Well then, try this angle: Displaying photos of Israeli medical teams saving the lives of terrorists alongside their Jewish victims. And what about Arab and Christian victims of suicide bombers ? It does happen, you know. After all, Arabs and Christians ride Israeli buses, go to restaurants, etc. If you don't wish to emphasize Jewish suffering at the hands of 'Palestinian' terrorists, why not Arab and Christian suffering? There is no such thing as a 'smart' suicide bomb, you know. The shrapnel goes everywhere. One of the most dramatic images I have ever seen, and one you, apparently, missed, is an x ray of a victim of a suicide bombing. These make great works of art. They are innovative as well. Nothing like them has ever been seen before in history! Imagine, a human brain, kidney or heart studded with nails, nuts and bolts --the shrapnel shows up very well in print and could have made a dramatic impression. The only thing you can't see is the rat poison. But, best of all, you cannot tell from the film if the victim is Arab, Jewish or Christian!

But, if you only want to focus on 'Palestinian' victimhood, here's another idea: 'Palestinian' victims of summary execution by 'Palestinian' police. Their tortured and mutilated corpses are displayed in public-- to serve as an example to others-- and you can even photograph them with toddlers at play in the foreground. And, if you want to appeal to your feminist readers, why not a photo of a victim of an honor killing or a mutilation? The husband, brother or son who wielded the knife or vial of acid would not shy away from being photographed with his victim. He would, no doubt, however, insist on wearing his black or other colored mask in case he turns out to be a person of note. Still, it would be a poignant photo. Actually, you would have two victims: 1) The victim of the execution; and 2) The executioner. Yes, he is a victim too! His evil wife, mother, sister or cousin victimized him by tarnishing his honor. In killing her, he made a personal sacrifice to restore honor to the family name. So, not only is he a victim, he is a martyr! Moreover, the mask is a badge of courage and comes in handy for other activities as well. Trust me, you are missing some great photos! But, if you really want to score with the feminists, you can get photos of women executioners, too, like the one of the mother who killed her daughter for being raped and impregnated by the girls two older brothers . If you had been quick on your feet, you could have gotten her to pose with the corpse. Once she killed her daughter, the neighbors started talking to her again, so she is considered a heroine in her village. A photo would have done her proud. The point is, there is no shortage of subject matter and if you like depicting 'Palestinians' as victims, you needn't confine yourself to the suffering inflicted upon them by Israelis.

But, forgive me, for I digress. In fact, this is nothing but talk. You are not going to take my suggestions to heart. Why risk being accused of conspiracy in a Zionist plot to depict 'Palestinians' as terrorists and Israelis as victims? Much too dangerous. You know what almost happened to the Italian journalist who smuggled out the film of the two Israelis who were torn to pieces by the victimized 'Palestinian' mob a few years ago. She had to flee for her life! The Italian TV station that employed her subsequently issued a letter of apology to the Palestinian authority for having broadcast the incident. The Palestinian Authority actually printed the letter in the government-controlled press! You didn't know that? Come on! You're journalists. It's your job to know! You say you didn't?

Incidentally, there was a great photo of two Arabs displaying the entrails of their human prey before a frenzied, hysterical mob going wild at the sight of Jewish blood. Now that was a winner! You missed that one too? Oh well, whatever....

P.S. If you would like to know why I surround the word 'Palestinian' with quotation marks, here are a few reasons:

The Palestinian Identity

Statement by Zuheir Mohsein, Member of the Supreme Council of the PLO:
"There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. We are all part of one nation. It is only for political reasons that we carefully underline our Palestinian identity, because it is in the interest of the Arabs to encourage a separate Palestinian identity in contrast to Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity is there only for tactical reasons. The establishment of a Palestinian state is a new expedient to continue the fight against Zionism and for Arab unity."

Trouw (Dutch newspaper) March 31, 1977:
"One always finds in Palestine Arabs who have been in the country only a few weeks or a few months...Since they are themselves strangers in a strange land, they are the loudest to cry: 'Out with the Jews!'...Amongst them are to be found representatives of every Arab country: Arabs from Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, the Sudan and Iraq." (Ladislas Farago, Palestine at the Crossroads (New York: Putnam 1937) p17

The Jordanian Foreign Minister said (Adwa'min pp. 4-5):
"Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan, and Jordan hails every Palestinian who seeks to do his duty to his cause and his country."

Declaration of the 8th Palestinian National Congress:
"Jordan is linked to Palestine by a national relationship and a national unity forged by history and culture from earliest times? The creation of one political entity in East Jordan and another in Palestine would have no basis either in legality or as to the elements universally accepted as fundamental to a political entity." (R. Hamid (ed.) Muqararat al-majlis al-watani al-filastini 1964 Resolutions of the PNCs 1964-1974, Beirut, PLO Research Centre, 1975, p178 Declaration of the 8th Palestinian National Congress)

"This (Jerusalem) for them (the Arabs) was not in 'Palestine'? For the Arabs (And the Turks) the whole of the region lying between the Taurus Mountains and the confines of Egypt, and between the Mediterranean and the edge of the desert, was 'Syria' a term which had been in use since remote antiquity." (Sir Geoffrey Furlonge, Palestine is My Country, The Story of Mussa Alami (New York, 1969) p. 7

Abdul Malik Dahamshe, an Israeli Arab Knesset member, said at a solidarity visit in Damascus, Syria [David Makovsky, Jerusalem Post, January 24, 1995]:
"Palestine and Syria are one homeland. The Arab people will win by the
sword; the victory will be won by the Jihad of the Arab world."

Statement by Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi to the Pell Commission in 1937:
"There is no such country as 'Palestine'; 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented!"

Arab MK, Abdul Darawshe said [Jerusalem Institute of Western Defence, Bulletin 3, August 15, 1997]:
"There is no difference between one Palestinian and another. We are all
Palestinians and we are all Syrian Arabs."

Statement by Ahmed Shuqeiri, to the UN Security Council in 1949:
"It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria."

Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) number two in the PLO leadership (Al Sachrah, Kuwait, Jan. 6, 1987):
"We will take Palestine and turn it into a part of the greater Arab nation."
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December 27, 2003
Grassley to review Ford Foundation's support for Palestinian extremists

We noted the Ford Foundation's no-strings-attached support for Palestinian terrorists last month; now, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has taken note as well. Opinion Journal notes that "in response to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency series detailing Ford's support for Palestinian NGOs crusading against Israel, the Iowa Republican has announced that the Senate Finance Committee will review the matter."

One matter he should review is that of "PNGO--an umbrella group of 90 Palestinian NGOs that's also received more than $1 million from Ford. Its director is quoted as admitting that PNGO gets almost no Arab support and that Ford is its biggest funder. Yet this is the same group that denounced as 'unacceptable' a U.S. government requirement that Palestinian NGOs partnering with tax-exempt American charities sign a pledge promising that no funds would ever find their way to 'advocate or support terrorist activities.'" (Thanks to Andrew Bostom and Nicolei.)
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December 26, 2003
A Not So Merry Christmas in the Holy Land

David Bedein writes at FrontPage about Christmas in the Palestinian Authority, noting that "this is the first Christmas since the Palestinian Authority adopted an official constitution based on Koranic 'Sharia' Law, which means that all Christians who live under the PA are now subject to Islamic Law.

"Over the past three years, while attention has focused on Israeli and Palestinian casualties of the current war, at least one hundred Christians who live in areas ruled by the Palestinian Authority have been arrested and imprisoned for holding church services or conducting public Christian
practices without authorization.

"Some of these Christians were set free when the Israeli army liberated the jails in the Palestinian Authority at the time of the Israeli army incursion into Palestinian cities in April, 2002. Those freed Christian prisoners from the Palestinian jails now take refuge by hiding throughout Israel, as they surreptitiously work to try to get their families out of Palestinian cities to join them and emigrate to any safe haven they can find in the West

"I have met with a few of these Christian Palestinians. One of them, whom I shall call Joseph to protect the confidentiality of his identity, described the ordeal that he has experienced. He and his brother live in hiding while badgering the US consulate for help to try to get US visas for their families, and have done so ever since their liberation by Israel more than 18 months ago. Joseph described to me how his family cannot openly practice Christian holidays in Bethlehem under the watchful eyes of the PLO's Islamic police force. After all, the only place in the West Bank where the PLO army currently operates is in the Bethlehem area. Joseph also described how the US-funded Palestinian public school system has become Islamicized, and how his late nephew was literally tortured to death at age 12 by his schoolmates because he expressed love and respect for his uncle as a practicing Christian.

"Last Spring, the Vatican Ambassador to the Holy Land, Archbishop Msgr. Pietro Sambi, known as the Papal Nuncio, warned a US Congressional delegation that the new Palestinian Authority's approved state constitution, funded by US AID, provided no juridical status whatsoever for any religion other than Islam in the emerging Palestinian Arab entity. The Papal Nuncio also expressed his concern to visiting US lawmakers that the PA had adopted 'Sharia' Islamic Law, based on the model of the 'Sharia' from Koranic edicts as practiced in Iran or in Saudi Arabia.

"Article (5) of the official Palestinian State Constitution reads as follows: 'Arabic and Islam are the official Palestinian language and religion. Christianity and all other monotheistic religions shall be equally revered and respected'. In other words, As Archbishop Sambi noted, 'other' religions such as Christianity, let alone Judaism, are only to be 'respected', while being denied any juridical status under the new Palestinian State Constitution.

"The status of Islam as the official religion of any future Palestinian Arab entity is also expressed in Article (7) of the official Palestinian State Constitution which states that 'The principles of Islamic Sharia are a major source for legislation. Civil and religious matters of the followers of monotheistic religions shall be organized in accordance with their religious teachings and denominations within the framework of law, while preserving the unity and independence of the Palestinian people.' The constitution's translation can be accessed on the home page of the website www.israelbehindthenews.com.

"Islamic nations which have adopted the 'Sharia' law, have mandated the absolute supremacy of Muslims over non-Muslims as matter of law, more than of simply of attitude.

"What worried the Archbishop was that all Christian churches and all Christian schools will be placed under the arbitrary authority of Islamic Fundamental Law, which allows nothing more than 'tolerance' of other religions at best.

"For the past seven months, the US embassy has been asked to comment on the US-funded Palestinian State Constitution. No response has been forthcoming from anyone in the US government, except for denials that it exists. Yet the author of the PA State Constitution, Mr. Nabil Shaath, affirms the existence of the PA State Constitution, as presented by the Vatican's ambassador.

"The PA state constitution's imposition of Sharia Islamic Law is most certainly in effect.

"Calls to the US embassy and US consulate to determine whether the US government is looking into the situation of Christians under the rule of the Palestinian National Authority have not been answered.

"After all, it was US AID which financed the creation of the PA State Constitution, which meant the imposition of the Islamic Law throughout the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.

"Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran which have adopted Sharia Islamic Law, have made life quite difficult for Christians. Under Sharia Islamic Law, Christians are considered 'dhimmis', second class citizens.

"A research study released last Christmas by the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs entitled 'The Beleaguered Christians', notes that in Egypt, 'Muslim, but not Christian, schools receive state funding....It is nearly impossible to restore or build new churches....Christians are frequently ostracized or insulted in public, and laws prohibit Muslim conversions to Christianity.'.

"That same study notes that Saudi Arabia 'is one of the most oppressive countries for Christians. There are no churches in the whole country. Foreign workers make up one-third of the population, many of whom are Christians. For their entire stay, which may be years, they are forbidden to display any Christian symbols or Bibles, or even meet together publicly to worship and pray. Some have watched their personal Bibles put through a shredder when they entered the country.' In Iran, 'the printing of Christian literature is illegal, converts from Islam are liable to be killed, and most evangelical churches must function underground.'

"Bethlehem is understood by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus. When Israel retook control of Bethlehem in 1967, the majority of Bethlehem's residents practiced various denominations of the Christian faith. However, with Israel's withdrawal due to the Oslo Accords and after less than ten years of Palestinian Authority rule the Middle East has witnessed a dramatic exodus of Christians from the city. This Christmas, less than 5% in the city of Jesus's birthplace is Christian. The mainstream media have hesitated to report that fact.

"President George W. Bush's administration has envisioned a democratic Palestinian entity that is devoid of terror. Instead, officials of US AID have fostered a constitution which envisions creation of the Islamic totalitarian state of Palestine, completely devoid of religious freedom and human rights.

"This Christmas, an Islamic army occupies Bethlehem. This Christmas, no Church can operate in Bethlehem without Islamic approval. And Christians in the Palestinian Authority are not seeing a Merry Christmas as a result. This is the legacy of what the US AID has facilitated, with or without the knowledge of the White House."
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More on Bernard Lewis

In connection with yesterday's post about Bernard Lewis's strange misapplication of the Qur'anic verse declaring that there is "no compulsion in religion," Bassam Madany of Middle East Resources has kindly directed me to his article " Bernard Lewis on 'Triumphalist Religions.'"

In it, Madany points out that Lewis's equation of the missionary impulses of Christianity and Islam is theologically and historically inaccurate, as well as severely misleading in today's political climate. Madany is a Christian (as am I), but anyone, Christian or not, who is not wearing idelogical blinders can see that there is a serious difference in the teachings of the two religions on these matters. Many like to imagine that all religions are equivalent in their ability to inspire murderous impulses; for anyone to point out that the facts are otherwise is not a function of Christian or any other faith, but simply of an ability to look honestly at the facts of the case.

Madany begins by expressing his admiration for Lewis: "In the June 2003 issue of WRFNET.com web journal, I shared a summary of 'An In-Depth Interview' with Bernard Lewis, the well-known scholar on Islam and the Middle East, which had appeared on the cable channel C-Span 2, in April 6, 2003. I ended my article, with an analysis of the interview and some critical remarks. Much as I have admired this author?s way of telling the story of Islam across the last fourteen centuries, I was dismayed by his silence on certain dark aspects of this civilization, especially its treatment of the conquered peoples. I had hardly finished my work on that article, when I noticed that the May 2003, issue of The Atlantic Monthly, had an article by Bernard Lewis with the rather shocking title, 'I'm Right, You're Wrong, Go To Hell: Religions and the Meeting of Civilization.'

"Again, I must reiterate how much I like the works of Bernard Lewis. His style, whether in writing, or in speaking, is gripping. He excels in telling the story of different peoples and their specific civilization. His goal is to explain, elucidate, and instruct. This is very praiseworthy at this juncture in world history when so many trouble spots in the world happen to be within the household of Islam.

"Having said this, I am both chagrined and disappointed that this great scholar tends, in this Atlantic Monthly article, to posit equivalence, between Christianity and Islam, in their respective outlook on the world, and more specifically, as they sought and still seek, to win converts to their specific faiths.

"To begin with, Bernard Lewis reminds us that, 'only two civilizations have been defined by religion. Others have had religions but are identified primarily by region and ethnicity.' These two religions are Christianity and Islam, they 'are the two religions that define civilizations, and they have much in common, along with some differences.'

"Having thus set Christianity and Islam apart from the rest of world religions such as Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, professor Lewis classifies the latter as relativist religions, while the former two as triumphalist religions. 'For some religions, just as "civilization" means us, and the rest are barbarians, so "religion" means ours, and the rest are infidels. Other religions, such as Judaism and most of the religions of Asia, concede that human beings may use different religions to speak to God, as they use different languages to speak to one another. God understands them all? The relativist view was condemned and rejected by both Christians and Muslims, who shared the conviction that there was only one true faith, theirs, which it was their duty to bring to all humankind. The triumphalist view is increasingly under attack in Christendom, and is disavowed by significant numbers of Christian clerics. There is little sign as yet of a parallel development in Islam.'

"Professor Lewis regards Islam and Christianity as triumphalist religions. Both faiths consider all 'others' as infidels. While, according to him, some Christian leaders are nowadays 'disavowing' the triumphalism that has marked Christianity throughout history, there is no such parallel movement among Muslim leaders. In our globalized world, triumphalism (whether Christian or Muslim) is not conducive to world peace. In order to put across his thesis in the clearest way, Bernard Lewis sums up his disapproval of triumphalism, both in Islam and Christianity, with these words:

"'For those taking the triumphalist approach (classically summed up in the formula "I?m right, you?re wrong, go to hell"), tolerance is a problem. Because the triumphalist?s is the only true and complete religion, all other religions are at best incomplete and more probably false and evil; and since he is the privileged recipient of God?s final message to humankind, it is surely his duty to bring it to others rather than keep it selfishly for himself.'

"The first point I would like to make is that, great as the scholarship of Bernard Lewis is, his lumping together of the 'triumphalism' of the two religions is neither proper, nor objective. One has to be careful in categorizing the faith of others. As a Christian, I find the title of his article very offensive. It is a caricature of Christianity to sum up its attitude to the 'other' as being, 'I?m Right, You?re Wrong. Go to Hell.'

"Throughout history, Christians, beginning with the apostolic age, sought to win converts through preaching and witnessing. It was none other than the Risen Lord that gave his church the marching orders: 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.'
Matthew 28:18b-20 (NIV)

"The greatest missionary of the First Century was Paul. After his conversion, his life was dedicated entirely to the spread of the faith and the organization of churches in the Mediterranean world. He described his mandate in the opening words of his Letter to the Romans: 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.' Romans 1:16 (NIV)

"Paul?s message consumed him. He was absolutely convinced that the Risen Savior had entrusted with the message that brings salvation to all kinds of people regardless of their ethnic or religious background. As to the primary means for converting 'others,' God had ordained the preaching of the Gospel. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, 'For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.' 1:21 (NIV)

"In contrast with this peaceful spread of Christianity, Islam spread primarily through conquest. When studying the history of Islam back in Syria in the late forties, my teachers at the Syrian College used to glory in the 'Futuhat' (Conquests) of the Arabs. By 732 A.D., one century after the death of Muhammad, Islam had conquered territories stretching from Spain in the west, to India in the east. While Christians and Jews were allowed to remain in their respective religions, pagans were forced to Islamize. Furthermore, the People of the Book (as Christians and Jews were called) had to submit to some stringent rules that greatly limited their freedoms. Originally, the Christian populations of the Middle East formed the majority of the population, but a few centuries later, they became minorities in such areas as Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

"Professor Lewis should not have posited equivalence between Christianity and Islam as far as the method for gaining converts. As a historian, he should know better than that!

"The second point in my criticism of the article of Bernard Lewis is that he fails to see the great contrast between what he calls the 'triumphalism' of the two religions. Yes, Christians do believe in the ultimate triumph of the Gospel. Their faith is summarized in these great words of Revelation 11:15b 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.' (NIV) And in one of the most familiar passages of this NT book, we hear the heavenly choir sing these triumphant words: 'Hallelujah! For Lord God Almighty reigns.' 19:6b (NIV)

"Islam, throughout history, has been triumphalist. Notwithstanding its many setbacks, especially after the leader of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, abolished the caliphate, Muslims have never ceased to believe in the final triumph of their faith. I still remember reading a poster in the window of a Palestinian grocery store in a suburb of Chicago, these Arabic words: 'Al-Islam li-sa?adat al-bashariyya' i.e., Islam is for the happiness of all mankind.

"Today, the inevitable triumph of Islam remains the core belief of the radical Islamists. They do not and would not hesitate to use any means to bring about the triumph of Islam, even if that meant total confrontation with the rest of the world.

"On the other hand, if Christianity is described as a triumphalist faith, its triumphalism is related to an eschatological event. While the gospel has many implications and applications for the here and now, its complete fulfillment takes place beyond the horizon of this world order. Nowhere is this made plainer than in Romans 8. Let?s listen to that great confession of Paul as he describes the ultimate triumph of the Christian faith: 'I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits with eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ? For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. For who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.' Romans 8:18-21, 24, 25 (NIV)

"I was on the air for thirty-six years preaching and teaching the Word of God in Arabic. I was fully aware that most of my audience in North Africa and the Middle East were Muslims. I heard from many, many of them, mostly appreciating what I was teaching on the basis of the Book that their tradition praises. Throughout all these years, both in broadcasting and in correspondence with Muslims, it never, ever, entered my mind that my approach or attitude could have been summed up in the strange formula used by Bernard Lewis in his Atlantic Monthly article. My personal commitment to the Augustinian and Calvinist traditions kept me from ever resorting to such a crude formulation of the Christian message. I could have never even thought of 'I?m Right, You?re Wrong. Go to Hell.' My method was irenical, and not confrontational, as I proclaimed the 'Injeel,' the Good News of salvation. My preaching was summed up in the familiar words of John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world?' My responsibility has always been to be faithful to the Biblical message. I did not coerce listeners to faith in Jesus Christ, since I believe that conversions are the sole prerogative of the Holy Spirit. He is, as the Nicene Creed puts it 'the Lord and Giver of life.'

"Yes, I do believe in the ultimate triumph of my Christian faith. But I know that this triumph will not come because of any military campaign, or through any worldly means. The victory of Christ over the world will become visible to all at his Second Coming. Paul described the triumph of Jesus Christ in this memorable words: 'Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.' Philippians 2: 9-11 (NIV)

"Therefore, there is no equivalence between Christianity and Islam, neither in their core beliefs, nor in the way they conceive of history, and its End. Much as I still appreciate the works of Bernard Lewis, I was compelled to write this article because his thesis in this article is flawed, both historically and theologically."
Posted at 09:47 AM | Comments (4) | Email this entry | Print this entry
December 25, 2003
Dhimmitude and Bernard Lewis

Bernard Lewis's contributions to the study of Islam and the Muslim world are towering; alas, he is not infallible. Dr. Andrew Bostom makes some pointed observations about his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, ?Democracy and the Enemies of Freedom? (under subscription, so no link):

"In his op-ed, 'Democracy and the Enemies of Freedom,' Professor Bernard Lewis stresses the progressive, 'tolerant' elements of Islamic tradition, '..embodied in such dicta as the Qur?anic verse "there is no compulsion in religion" ?carried a step further in the Sufi ideal of dialogue between faiths in a common search of shared aspirations?.'

"Professor Lewis neglects to mention that contradictions abound in the Qur?an, and to deal with them, Muslim theologians devised the 'science' of abrogation, in accord with what was supposedly taught by Muhammad himself, at Sura 2, verse 105: 'Whatever verses we cancel or cause you to forget, we bring a better or its like.' Specifically, the famous Sword verse, Sura 9, verse 5, 'Slay the idolators wherever you find them,' is claimed to have canceled 124 verses that promote tolerance and patience. In fact, throughout Islamic history, even during the early 'classical period,' enforced conversions were not exceptional, they were the norm. Orders for conversion were decreed under the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks ? ranging from Spain and the Maghreb, to Yemen and Persia. Further east, in their missionary zeal, pious Muslim conquerors like Mahmud of Ghazni and Amir Timur ravaged the enormous Hindu populations of the Indian subcontinent for the specific purpose of forcibly converting these 'infidel' masses, while slaughtering those who resisted their Islamization campaigns.

"Also, during jihad, the (dubious) concept of 'no compulsion' was meaningless. An enduring practice was to enslave populations taken from outside the boundaries of the Muslim Shari'a, or even within the the Dar al-Islam, in the case of the 'boy levy' devshirme enslavement system for adolescent Balkan Christians, maintained under the Ottomans for three centuries. Inevitably fresh non-Muslim slaves or their children were Islamized within a generation, their ethnic and linguistic origins erased. Two enduring and important mechanisms for this conversion were concubinage and the slave militias ? both of which, tragically, remain operative in contemporary Sudan, where Arab Muslim militias attack and enslave non-Muslim black African Dinka women and children, as documented by both UN Special Rapporteurs and the US State Department.

"Moreover, 'Sufism' as practiced in the Indian subcontinent was quite intolerant of Hinduism, and certainly not engaged in a '..dialogue between faiths in search of shared aspirations...' as documented by the Indian scholar K.S. Lal: 'The Muslim Mushaikh [Sufi spiritual leaders] were as keen on conversions as the Ulama, and contrary to general belief, in place of being kind to the Hindus as saints would, they too wished the Hindus to be accorded a second class citizenship if they were not converted. Only one instance, that of Shaikh Abdul Quddus Gangoh, need be cited because he belonged to the Chishtia Silsila considered to be the most tolerant of all Sufi groups. He wrote letters to the Sultan Sikandar Lodi, Babur, and Humayun to re-invigorate the Shariat [Shari'a] and reduce the Hindus to payers of land tax and jizya. To Babur he wrote, "Extend utmost patronage and protection to theologians and mystics..that they should be maintained and subsidized by the state...No non-Muslim should be given any office or employment in the Diwan of Islam. ..Furthermore, in conformity with the principles of the Shariat they should be subjected to all types of indignities and humiliations. They should be made to pay the jizya..They should be disallowed from donning the dress of the Muslims and should be forced to keep their Kufr [infidelity] concealed and not to perform the ceremonies of their Kufr openly and freely..They should not be allowed to consider themselves the equal to the Muslims."'

"It is time to transcend false encomiums about Medieval concepts such as Islamic 'tolerance,' as superficially comforting as they may be, and foster the development of truly free and humane societies in the Muslim world. Ensuring the full equality of all citizens in those societies, including non-Muslims and women, requires abandoning forever the sacralized inequality embodied in the Shari?a, relegating Islam to the personal domain, and embracing modern human rights constructs such as the US Bill of Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Also, I detail in Onward Muslim Soldiers how influential radical Muslim theorists such as Sayyid Qutb and Syed Abul Ala Maududi insist on the inviolability of the verse enjoining "no compulsion in religion" (Sura 2:256), and on that basis they argue that jihad does not equal forced conversion. But then they both strongly argue that jihad does mean armed struggle against any regime that does not obey Islamic law in its fullness, and the imposition of discriminatory dhimmi laws for non-Muslim populations. This would hardly be the tolerance that Lewis longs for.
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Christmas under fire, mufti warns

A Muslim leader in Australia has publicly taken issue with a radical Muslim fatwa that instructs Muslims not to wish Christians Merry Christmas or to join in the celebrations of the unbelievers in any way. Unfortunately, however, other Muslims in Australia have defended the radicals.

"Australia's radical Muslims are trying to sabotage Christmas, according to the nation's most senior Islamic leader, Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilali." This from news.com.au, with thanks to Agent Azure.

"The accusation from the Islamic mufti is based on a Wahabist edict from Saudi Arabia, which he said had been circulating among Australia's fundamentalist Muslims. The edict tells conservative Muslims how they should respond to Christmas, which is not celebrated by followers of Islam.

"Sheikh al-Hilali said the strongly worded edict, issued some years ago, amounted to religious intolerance and would not be supported by mainstream Muslims. 'Other Australians would look at people who believe this as people who live on Mars, not Earth,' he said.

"The edict says Muslims must not greet anyone with the phrase 'Merry Christmas' and must not return the season's greetings to anyone who offers them.

"It also says that Muslims must not:

"Offer or accept any food or drink linked with the celebration of Christmas.

"Send greeting cards for or import or sell anything related to Christmas.

"Put up Christmas lights or keep Christmas trees or have any signs relating to the Christmas season.

"According to Sheikh al-Hilali, the edict also asks: 'How can you Muslims participate with Christians in their festivals and celebrations? How can you greet them on this occasion in relation to the falsehood in their religion which is a symbol of their misguided, disbelieving creed? Isn't that giving support from you for their false religion?'"

These kinds of restrictions on Muslims not only participating in Christmas, which would be understandable, but even extending good wishes to Christians, are actually rather common worldwide. You can even find them among Muslims in the United States. This one is from Illinois (with thanks to "Allah .") They are, of course, manifestations of the same assumptions of superiority (of Muslims) and corruption (of Christians) that give rise to the institutionalized oppression of dhimmitude.

"But several fundamenalist sheikhs who have seen the edict disputed Sheikh al-Hilali's interpretation. They said the edict was not intended to spoil Christmas for Christians, but merely to keep Muslims away from a celebration their religion does not recognise.

"Although many religions did not recognise the Christian celebration of Christmas, Sheikh al-Hilali said all Muslims needed to be tolerant of other people's faiths. Sheikh al-Hilali, a moderate Muslim, has been highly critical of Australia's fundamentalist Islamic leaders, who he said had been weak in condemning terrorism and had 'followed in the footsteps of Osama bin Laden'.

"'They want that reputation - to appeal to simple Muslims - that they are people applying jihad. These people bring a rigid and incorrect understanding of Islam to Australia and they bring harm to their religion,' he said in an interview with The Australian. Sheikh al-Hilali's criticism of the Christmas edict is a further reflection of the tension between mainstream Muslim leaders and fundamentalist clerics.

"Fundamentalist Muslims, who adhere to a strict and conservative version of Islam, make up only a small proportion of Australia's 280,000 Muslims. But this small group is the main focus of ASIO." That would be the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.
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The Complex Nature of Middle Eastern Problems

By Bassam M. Madany

In the aftermath of World War II, several changes had to be made to the map of the world. For example, the boundaries between Germany and Poland were adjusted, and what used to be East Prussia became part and parcel of Poland. The Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 by Great Britain into India and Pakistan. That resulted in great upheavals and bloodshed. Many Muslims left India for the new Islamic state, while most Hindus who found themselves in what became Pakistan, had to relocate and settle in India. Eventually, almost all of the old and new nations learned to accept each other?s existence. Not so in the Middle East where one situation has defied solution. I refer to the Palestinian-Israeli problem.

Back in 1946, the United Nations decided to divide the land of Palestine between its Arab and Jewish populations. The Pale

Posted: 12/ 30/ 03 6:50 pm Post subject:

-Jihad! Across the World....--

_________________
All Across America, the Lights are being relit again...

Posted: 12/ 31/ 03 10:17 am Post subject:

"What is Jihad"...???

Uhh...

What Kenny G used to own...???

He's Saxier than Clinton...!!!

[or so the girlz say]

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