Thursday, May 31, 2007

Une grande déception: Le Vatican est favorable à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union européenne!

LE FIGARO: Le secrétaire d'État du Pape a confirmé le virage à 180 degrés engagé par Benoît XVI lors de sa visite à Istanbul, l'an dernier.

LE VATICAN est favorable à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union européenne. Mardi soir, en marge d'une conférence organisée à l'université romaine des légionnaires du Christ, le cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secrétaire d'État du Saint-Siège, a dit oui à cet élargissement. Il a ainsi confirmé le nouveau cap du Saint-Siège qui se dessinait depuis le voyage effectué par Benoît XVI en Turquie, en no-vembre 2006. Le Vatican dit oui à la Turquie dans l'Europe (encore) de Hervé Yannou

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Sarkozy Will Not Block Accession Talks with Ankara

BBC:
Pope reinstates Islam department

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Pope Benedict XVI upgrades Vatican’s relations with Islam

Mark Alexander
L’accusation d’espionage

LE FIGARO: Les États-Unis rejettent ces mises en cause dans une affaire qui rebondit au lendemain des premiers pourparlers entre les deux pays depuis 1979.

ON SERA VITE retombé dans une atmosphère de guerre froide après l'amorce d'un dialogue américano-iranien, lundi dernier sur les questions de sécurité en Irak. Au lendemain des premiers pourparlers directs entre les deux pays depuis l'affaire des otages de l'ambassade américaine en 1979 et la rupture des relations diplomatiques l'année suivante, trois Irano-Américains ont été accusés d'espionnage et d'atteinte à la sécurité nationale en Iran. Téhéran accuse trois Irano-Américains d'espionnage (encore) de Jean-Louis Turlin

Mark Alexander
Islam in Switzerland

SWITZERLAND.ISYOURS.COM: Switzerland, and Geneva in particular, is often associated with emirs and other sheiks who enjoy sumptuous palaces, stroll along the harbor in the shade of the fountain and buy out the luxury shops. True, these visitors from the Gulf do exist, and they are well-known and highly appreciated by our businesses, however the bulk of the Muslim population has little to do with them.

The second largest religion in Switzerland

In 1990, the Muslim population was 152,200, or 2.2% of the Switzerland’s resident population. A surprising development for those who know that in the early seventies, there were less than 20,000 Muslims living in Switzerland. Islam is now the second largest religion in Switzerland, after Christianity. Islam in Switzerland (more)

Mark Alexander
Malaysia Demonstrates Its Commitment to Human Rights: Refusal to Grant a Person’s Right to Convert Out of Islam Into Christianity

MIDDLE EAST TIMES: KUALA LUMPUR -- The woman at the center of a religious controversy in Malaysia has accused the country's highest court of denying her fundamental rights in rejecting her bid to be legally recognized as Christian, her lawyer confirmed Thursday.

Lina Joy's comments came a day after Malaysia's Federal Court rejected her attempt to win recognition of her conversion from Islam.

Joy, 43, had sought the removal of the word "Islam" from her national identity card.

But the Federal Court, the highest secular legal body, threw out her case and said that only an Islamic Sharia tribunal could legally certify her conversion. Malaysian woman criticizes court in religious row (more)

NZZ:
Verdikt gegen die Religionsfreiheit

Mark Alexander
Why Are We Friends With Saudi Arabia?

With many, many thanks to Barry Lang-Downe for drawing this video to my attention:

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Mark Alexander
Do We Need to Protect Our Judeo-Christian Heritage?

Yesterday, I came across this excellent and thought-provoking article written by a friend of mine in New Zealand, the owner of Judah’s Journal. As soon as I saw it, I felt I should share it with you. I bring it to you today with Judah’s express permission. Don't forget to click on the link at the bottom and go over to read the rest of it. There, you can also make a comment.
JUDAH’S JOURNAL: Yesterday in New Zealand an international inter-faith forum was opened, attended by 165 religious and cultural leaders from 15 countries. The forum was sponsored by the New Zealand, Australian, Indonesian and Philippines governments as a response to the 2002 Bali bombings, the aim being to prevent religious-inspired terrorism by building links between various faiths in what is potentially the world’s most volatile region.

In a sign of the importance they are afforded by member states, the opening was attended by NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark, the NZ Foreign Affairs Minister, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and the Australian Foreign Minister.

New Zealand has a Statement on Religious Diversity, prepared by the Victoria University Religious Studies Programme, and is the subject of a national process of public consultation coordinated by the Human Rights Commission. It was endorsed by the National Interfaith Forum in Hamilton in February 2007 as a basis for ongoing public discussion. The statement reads as follows:

1. The State and Religion
The State seeks to treat all faith communities and those who profess no religion equally before the law. New Zealand has no official or established religion.

2. The Right to Religion
New Zealand upholds the right to freedom of religion and belief and the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of religious or other belief.

3. The Right to Safety
Faith communities and their members have a right to safety and security.

4. The Right of Freedom of Expression
The right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media are vital for democracy but should be exercised with responsibility.

5. Recognition and Accommodation
Reasonable steps should be taken in educational and work environments and in the delivery of public services to recognise and accommodate diverse religious beliefs and practices.

6. Education
Schools should teach an understanding of different religious and spiritual traditions in a manner that reflects the diversity of their national and local community.

7. Religious Differences
Debate and disagreement about religious beliefs will occur but must be exercised within the rule of law and without resort to violence

8. Cooperation and understanding
Government and faith communities have a responsibility to build and maintain positive relationships with each other, and to promote mutual respect and understanding.


Need we protect our Judeo-Christian heritage? (more)
Mark Alexander

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

La volte-face de Benoît

LE FIGARO: Il estime que ce pays "a parcouru un long chemin" et "respecte les règles fondamentales de la vie commune".

La scène se situe en marge d'une conférence sur le thème "Christianisme et Sécularisme", mercredi. Mgr Tarcisio Bertone, numéro deux du Vatican, s'exprime devant plusieurs journalistes : "En Europe on exalte la laïcité en tant que telle et même plus encore le ‘laïcisme’. Et au nom de ce ‘laïcisme’, on rejette toute référence aux racines judéo-chrétiennes (de l'Europe)". "Mais la Turquie aussi a parcouru un long chemin et marche encore. Les positions sont naturellement très différentes mais avec les peuples et les gouvernements qui respectent les règles fondamentales de la vie en commun, on peut dialoguer et construire ensemble un bien commun dans la sphère européenne et dans la sphère de la communauté mondiale", estime le secrétaire d’Etats du Saint-Siège. Le Vatican est pour l’entrée de la Turquie dans l’Europe (encore)

Mark Alexander
The Last Farewell: Blair on His Valedictory Tour of Africa. Defence Contracts with Gadaffi as Britain Puts Commercial Interests Above Security

Yes, yes, Tone, we all love you. Now you can go and spend more time with your family. Your children await you! By the way, if you need some help with the removal expenses, I'm sure that there's a rich person out there, dying to be rid of you, one from 'The Sunday Times' Rich List no doubt, ready and willing to help you with them! Who knows? He might pick up even the whole tab to make it easier for you to go that much more quickly! - Mark Alexander

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Photo of Blair cosying up to Gaddafi courtesy of Al Jazeera
AL JAZEERA: The British prime minister has hailed his country's "transformed" relations with once-isolated Libya as the two sides unveiled energy and military deals.

Tony Blair met Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, in his hometown of Sirte at the start of his farewell three-nation African tour seeking to build support on Darfur and climate change.

"The relationship between Britain and Libya has been completely transformed in these last few years," he said.

Blair, accompanied by his wife, Cherie, also met the Libyan prime minister, al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, and families of Libyan children infected with HIV.

Large defence contracts

Al-Mahmoudi said Libya would buy British missiles and air defence systems, in what would be the largest British defence sale to the former outcast state since an international arms embargo on it ended in 2004. Blair hails transformed Libya ties (more)

Mark Alexander
Sarkozy Plumps for “Privileged Partnership” for Turkey

Say ‘NO’ to Turkey in Europe! If you value your FREEDOMS, keep Islam OUT! Don't let the British government, the Foreign Office, or any other government or organization sell your Judeo-Christian heritage down the river! A "privileged partnership" for Turkey, at most.
BBC: New French President Nicolas Sarkozy has moved to prevent friction over Turkey's EU membership bid in the run-up to next month's EU summit.

A French presidential official quoted by Reuters said Mr Sarkozy - who opposes the bid - would not block further EU-Turkey accession talks.

Mr Sarkozy's top diplomatic adviser held talks in Turkey at the weekend. Sarkozy ‘won’t stop Turkey talks’ (more)
Mark Alexander
Setback for London Mega-Mosque

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Plan courtesy of Google Images
TIMES ONLINE: An ultra-orthodox Islamic sect has delayed plans to build a "mega-mosque" in East London after the Government warned it could "raise tensions" in the community.

Tablighi Jamaat had intended to submit plans to build Britain's largest place of worship next to the Olympic site, this September. But the group told Times Online that no plans would now be submitted until next year at the earliest.

More than 48,000 people have petitioned the Government to “abolish plans for the £100m mega-mosque” with a capacity for 12,000 worshippers beside the London 2012 Olympic park in Newham, East London.

The Government said that the issue could "raise tensions" and did not expect any planning application to be made in the “near future”. Setback for Muslim sect’s ‘mega-mosque’ in London (more)

Mark Alexander
Mujahid Adam Gadahn: “Legitimate Demands”

With many thanks to Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch for drawing my attention, through his excellent website, to this video showing the venomous, bitter and megalomaniacal nature in this man and all that follow this murderous ideology:
KUWAIT TIMES: DUBAI: An American member of Al-Qaeda warned in an Internet video that US President George W. Bush should withdraw all his troops from Muslim land or face attacks worse than September 11. Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam and the first American to be charged with treason since the World War Two era, issued a list of demands which he said were not up for negotiation. "Your failure to heed our demands means that you and your people... will experience things that will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11, Afghanistan and Iraq, and Virginia Tech," he said in the video posted on Tuesday. Qaeda warns of attacks 'worse than 9/11' (more)

EL MUNDO:
Al Qaeda amenaza con ataques peores al 11-S si EEUU no deja la 'tierra del Islam'
Mark Alexander

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Important Videos: Islam - House of War (Dar ul Harb)


WATCH VIDEOS HERE: VIDEO 1, VIDEO 2, VIDEO 3


Mark Alexander
As Chávismo Tightens Its Grip, Thousands Prepare to Flee Venezuela

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Photo courtesy of Google Images
TIMESONLINE: Jason Chue used to knock off at five o’clock sharp, leave the office and go and enjoy his evening. Now he routinely finds himself stuck there long into the evening answering the plaintive e-mails of hundreds of Venezuelans pleading for information on how they can emigrate to the United States.

“They’re professional people with good jobs,” Mr Chue, a consular officer at the US Embassy in Caracas, explains. “But they’ll say they want to leave because they are frightened for their future and their children.” Amid protests and fear, thousands prepare to flee the slow revolution (more)

Mark Alexander

Monday, May 28, 2007

Zero-Tolerance of Minarets in Switzerland

The BBC seems to think the Swiss are being harsh and intolerant. (The BBC doesn’t seem to understand that Switzerland is a Christian country, and a Christian country with a superior democracy.) Actually, the Swiss are showing the rest of Europe the way forward! Would that the rest of Europe had the courage of the Swiss!
BBC: A row is brewing over religious symbolism in Switzerland.

Members of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, currently the largest party in the Swiss parliament, have launched a campaign to have the building of minarets banned.

They claim the minaret is not necessary for worship, but is rather a symbol of Islamic law, and as such incompatible with Switzerland's legal system. Swiss move to ban minarets (more) By Imogen Foulkes

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Swiss proposal to ban minarets
Mark Alexander
Stop the Islamization of Europe! Stop the Islamization of the West!

The West is being Islamized before our very eyes! It is happening in such subtle ways that it is sometimes imperceptible to those who are not looking out for it. But much of the time, what is happening is plain to see. Each and every concession we make to Muslims is a further nail in the coffin of liberal democracy. Each time we consider granting Muslims a public holiday, each time we consider curtailing our own freedom of speech to appease them, we are assisting Muslims to further Islamize our home countries. Be sure of that.

Western governments should not be powerless to deal with this, but even so they seem to be: They lack the will and determination to stop the rot.

Political correctness, of course, has taken its toll on the West. So has the ridiculous concept of multiculturalism. Add to this a deep-seated guilt complex, a pervasive attitude of self-denigration, extreme tolerance, and an army of apologists for Islam, and we have a catastrophe in the making.

One of our greatest mistakes is to think of Islam as just another one of the world's great religions. We shouldn't. Islam is politics or it is nothing at all, but, of course, it is politics with a spiritual dimension, politics all wrapped up in a deity.

What is the nature of the politics of Islam? Well, that's an easy one to answer: It is little different from the politics of a totalitarian state, little different from the ideologies of Nazism or communism, different only in detail rather than style. Both Nazism and communism used the purge to try and 'cleanse' society of what it considered undesirable. Islam always does the same. Both of those tolerated only a single political party. Islam generally does the same, and certainly, where it doesn't, insists that all parties be Islamic ones. This, of course, gives the establishment the power to coerce the people. G. H. Sabine, in his book, A History of Political Theory, tells us this about Nazism and communism:
...the party was a self-constituted aristocracy which has the mission partly of leading, partly of instructing, and partly of coercing the bulk of mankind along the road that it must follow. Both were totalitarian in the sense that they obliterated the liberal distinction between areas of private judgment and of public control, and both turned the educational system into an agency of universal indoctrination. In their philosophy[,] both were utterly dogmatic, professing, the one in the name of the Aryan race and the other in the name of the proletariat, a higher insight capable of laying down rules for art, literature, science, and religion. Both induced a frame of mind akin to religious fanaticism. In strategy[,] both were reckless in their assertions, boundless in their claims, abusive toward their opponents, prone to regard any concession on their own part as a temporary expedient and on a rival's part as a sign of weakness. The social philosophies of both agreed in regarding society as in essence a system of forces, economic or racial, between which adjustment takes place by struggle and dominance rather than by mutual understanding and concession. Both therefore regarded politics as merely an expression of power.
So much in Islam resembles those two despicable ideologies. The ruling party in Islamic countries coerces the people along the road that it must follow. This is particularly easy to observe in Iran today. Islam, too, tries to obliterate the liberal distinction between areas of private judgment and of public control. We see this in all Islamic countries. Similar to Nazism and communism, Islam also turns the educational system into an apparatus of the state for the purpose of universal indoctrination. One would be justified in using the term 'brainwashing'.

In addition, Islam also lays down rules for art (no depiction of the human form is allowed, for example), for literature (all is censored), for science (nothing discovered may contradict the Qur'an or Ahadith, or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), and certainly for religion (no religion is accepted of man except Islam). Where Jews and Christians live in Islamic countries, they are given protection in return for a high tax known as the jiziyah, but are given dhimmi status, which means, in effect, that they are subdued and given second class status.

Islam also induces a frame of mind akin to fanaticism. That this is so is self-explanatory. Islam is also reckless in its assertions, and boundless in its claims. Example: All the world belongs to Allah; therefore it is the duty of all Muslims to Islamize it. In Islam, too, adjustment takes place by struggle and dominance. Note the Jihad.

A remarkable similarity is this: Islam is also inclined to be abusive to its opponents (they are infidels and unclean), and is prone to regard any concession on its own part as a temporary expedient and on a rival's part as a sign of weakness. And Islam, too, regards politics as an expression of power. Oh, and we shouldn't forget that Islam is profoundly anti-Semitic!

Aren't the similarities just remarkable?

What is troubling is this: Islam is closing in on us. We have so many unassimilated Muslims living in Europe, and an ever-growing number living in the States, too. In fact, millions and millions of Muslims live in the West today. But the West has no strategy for dealing with the fall-out. We saw this recently in France when their cities burnt night after night. The mayhem Muslim immigrants caused there was enough to make anyone's hair stand on end. But what has France done about it? It has unveiled a series of measures to appease the Muslim immigrants, and has ignored the fact that this was an uprising caused in no small part by the Islamic community flexing its ever strengthening muscles. Now, however, we have some hope of change: after all, Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected Président de la Republique.

If we in the West wish to ensure the survival of our own civilization, wish to ensure that our children will be able to live as freely as we have been able to do till now, wish to ensure that people are free to choose their religion in the West, but just as free not to choose one, then we have a lot of thinking to do!

I would suggest that we start by asking one simple question: Should we regard Islam as a mere religion, or should we start to see it for what it truly is: a political ideology with megalomaniacal aspirations; a political ideology with a spiritual dimension which will stop at nothing until the West is no more, until the West has been brought into Dar ul Islam, or the 'House of Islam', until the West has been well and truly Islamized. To ignore this fact is tantamount to playing fast and loose with our children's future freedoms and security. In fact, it is negligent of their future well-being!

©Mark Alexander

All rights reserved

Police Interrogation Proposals

MELANIE PHILLIPS: Hard on the heels of last week’s control order fiasco comes the news that the Government is planning to introduce yet another Draconian security measure.

The police may be given the power to interrogate individuals about who they are, where they have been and where they are going. Officers would thus be able to gain information about ‘matters relevant’ to terror investigations. If such people failed to stop or refused to answer questions, they could be charged with a criminal offence and fined up to £5,000.

These powers have been in operation in Northern Ireland. In an ironic twist, at the very moment that they are due to be repealed as part of the ‘normalisation’ procedures of the peace process, the Home Secretary John Reid intends to extend them to mainland Britain. This is because, as Irish terrorism recedes, a new and far more deadly threat has taken its place. Stop and question this policy (more)

Mark Alexander

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Bush on Brokeback: Has He Seen the Movie?

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Brokeback Mountain

Mark Alexander
Tribal Allegiances

LA TIMES: Mideast's potent force survives alongside the Internet and cellphone.

SHIBAM-KAWKABAN, YEMEN — The slender, somber-faced 18-year-old wears two crucial tokens tucked against his belly, beneath the embroidered belt. The cellphone links him to the modern world. And the short, curved dagger binds him to the ancient system that is the only thing, he says, that he would die for — his tribe.

Fouad Hussein is one of a new generation of young Arabs, the vanguard of a massive baby boom. With synthesized Gulf pop in his ears and the Internet at his fingertips, he enjoys access to technology that his parents could probably never have imagined. But from the moment dawn sears the dusty hills until the last wash of sunlight fades over his mud and brick house, Hussein's life is ruled by the codes hammered out by his ancestors.

"I serve my tribe in everything they ask," Hussein said, blinking seriously in the brilliant morning sunlight. "If I'm alone, it means I'm weak. If I'm with the tribe, it means I have some power, I am strong." Modern Yemen embraces the tribe (more) By Megan K Stack

Mark Alexander
Dramatic Interest Rate Cut in Iran Sends Banks into Shock and People into Panic

Thanks to Roberts Spencer of Jihad Watch, where I became aware of this story…

THE GUARDIAN:

· President's shock order defies expert advice
· Bank shares plummet amid rampant inflation


Iran's financial system suffered a fresh jolt yesterday with panic selling on the stock market after the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, abruptly ordered banks to cut interest rates sharply, despite surging inflation.

The order, which Mr Ahmadinejad issued by telephone during a visit to Belarus and which flew in the face of expert advice - has triggered warnings of a financial crisis and spiralling corruption amid fears of a capital flight from the country's lending institutions. Iran interest rate cutsparkspanic selling (more) By Robert Tait

Mark Alexander
Muttawa Alleged to Have Beaten Saudi to Death

KUWAIT TIMES: RIYADH: Police in the Saudi capital Riyadh are probing the alleged beating to death of a man by religious police, who are in charge of enforcing a strict Islamic moral code, a newspaper reported yesterday. An investigation is under way into the circumstances of the death of Salman Al-Huraisi, 28, in one of the offices of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Riyadh police spokesman Major Sami Al-Shuwairekh told Al-Watan. Huraisi's brother, Ali, said Salman was badly beaten by members of the religious police, commonly known as Mutawwa, when they raided the family's home in Riyadh on Wednesday night. Mutawwa probed for alleged fatal beating (more)

Mark Alexander
Queen Said to Be Left “Exasperated and Frustrated” and “Deeply Concerned” Over 'Meddling' Tony Blair

THE SCOTSMAN: THE Queen has been left "exasperated and frustrated" by Tony Blair's legacy after a decade in office, friends have reportedly told a newspaper.

The Prime Minister's perceived lack of understanding of countryside issues has been a particular grievance, close confidantes disclosed, while many New Labour policies left her "deeply concerned".

Royal sources said that the Queen also believes privately that Blair and his government have meddled unnecessarily in Britain's heritage, including the reform of the House of Lords.

Concerns from military leaders that the armed forces have become "overstretched" by foreign commitments have also said to have worried her.

She suspects that Blair has spent too much time courting the favour of the United States at the expense of her beloved Commonwealth. Queen reveals’ exasperation’ over ‘meddling’ Tony Blair (more) By Nicholas Christian

LA REPUBBLICA:

Londra, la regina "delusa e irritata"
per il bilancio dei dieci anni di Blair

Mark Alexander
’R’ is for Repatriation

EDITORIAL: The West is on a dangerous course. It has embarked on a dichotomous journey. It is on the road to self-destruction.

There are two mutually exclusive forces at play here: On the one hand, there are the liberals who are trying to be more open to other cultures, and who are trying to destroy the very institutions upon which the West has thrived for so long; and on the other, we have a frightfully conservative force at work in the form of Islam, whose adherents are trying to take us back to mediæval times, take us back to a bygone age.

The one side, the liberal side, for example, is trying to give gays rights, and destroy the institution of marriage; the other, the conservative, Islamic side, a growing force in our society, will try and undo all the liberal policies ever passed. Normal conservatives in the Western sense of the world will look like the screaming liberals of today in years to come, for their brand of conservatism is as nothing in comparison with the ultra conservative, ‘orthodox’ Islamic values that will be foisted upon our unsuspecting people when Islam grows ever more in strength here in the West.

We are on a road that leads to no good place. This journey is one which will end in tears.

It should be increasingly obvious to all thinking people that we have allowed a people to immigrate to the West who, by and large, have no intention of integrating into Western societies, and who wish to change the nature of Western societies into their own, pre-conceived notion of how a society should be – a society which conforms to the extremely strict codes of behaviour as set out in the Shari’ah.

Ask yourself how these two forces can be reconciled! Of course, they cannot be. The one is modern and forward-thinking; the other is 1400 years old, and belongs to the Dark Ages. Nobody, however intelligent, however resourceful, is going to be able to bring about such a reconciliation of such competing forces. And the longer this problem is allowed to fester, the more difficult it will become to solve.

Already we have seen demonstrators out in the streets in their droves demanding that anyone who insults Islam be beheaded! Already we have seen calls for the introduction of Shari’ah law here in the UK and in Europe. Already we know that the ultimate goal of Muslims in the United States is to introduce it there, too; and to replace the Constitution with an Islamic one. Omar M Ahmad, the then Chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), stated the following as far back as 1988:

”Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur’an … should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.

That says it all!

The French author, Michelle Houellebecq, in an interview given to the French literary magazine Lire, said the following: ”The dumbest religion, after all, is Islam. When you read the Koran, you’re shattered. The Bible at least is beautifully written because the Jews have a heck of a literary talent.”

Michelle Houellebecq might well have had it right about Islam; but aren’t we Westerners the dumbest people of all to allow these Muslim immigrants to come here to the West and live off the fat of the land and tell us that they are going to take us over, tell us that their religion is going to become dominant, tell us that Shari’ah law is going to be introduced at the earliest convenience?

I mean: How stupid and tolerant can we be?

Look, it’s really quite simple. Islam brooks no compromise: It is their way or no way. This is quite, quite clear now to all sensible, aware people. Clearly, these people have no appetite for assimilation, and they are not going to change.

What they want to do is to bring Islam to every corner of the world, and they are on a mission to achieve this. We have to decide whether we want to live their backward way, or whether we want to fight for our liberty and democracy, concepts anathema to Muslims all over the globe. We cannot have it all ways, we cannot, as they say, have our cake and eat it too.

Tough decisions are never easy to take. It takes a person of determination and resolve to take them. But when faced with this dilemma, it is only tough decisions that will do. Or are we going to slip and slide, through inaction, down the road to dhimmitude, or ultimate surrender to Islam. Are we going to submit to Allah, are we going to pay the jizyah, or the tax on infidels, or are we going to allow our fellow citizens to be killed. For those are so clearly the only three options once Islam takes hold.

Moreover, imagine what sort of society we shall be forced to live in. Adulteresses will be stoned to death, beheadings will take place in the public square, thieves will have their hands and feet cut off alternately, and homosexuals will be hanged in the street, or thrown off the local minaret! If you don’t believe me, take a trip to Saudi Arabia or Iran. In those countries, you will see just what happens to such people.

We have gone badly wrong. We have allowed into our societies people quite unwilling to assimilate. Interestingly, these backward people are convinced of their own superiority! Isn’t that an interesting phenomenon?

If we value our Judeo-Christian culture, if we value our freedoms, if we value our democracies, if we value our civilized way of life, if indeed we value our civilization, then we have but one option, for there truly is only one way to solve this intractable problem. We have to start thinking about the repatriation of these difficult people.

We start by repatriating the illegal, Muslim immigrants, and those who preach hatred and the destruction of our civilization. That will be a good start. We really do not have to put up with this nonsense any longer. Enough is enough!

The repatriation can take place in a humane manner; we don’t need to be cruel. We can even give these people money to resettle somewhere else. But believe me, repatriation is the only sensible option at this stage. We cannot afford to play fast and loose with our children’s future. We have a duty to our children to leave them our Western civilization as free and whole as we inherited it. To do anything else would be a dereliction of our duty.

Repatriation is not an option of the far right only. This is not a question of left and right politics anyway. This is a fight for the survival of the West. We must step up to the plate. We must behave with strength, resolve, and determination. Only when we do so will we silence these people. For make no mistake about it, Muslims understand one thing, and one thing only: Strength!

©Mark Alexander

All rights reserved

”Stop and Question”: Thanks to Islam?

BBC: The government is considering giving police officers across the UK "stop and question" powers under new anti-terror laws, says the Home Office.

The proposal, allowing police to ask people about their identity and movement, is among measures being considered by Home Secretary John Reid.

The measure is so far used only in Northern Ireland.

Police elsewhere have to have "reasonable suspicion" a crime has been committed before they can stop people.

Anyone who refuses to co-operate could be charged with obstructing the police and fined up to £5,000, according to the Sunday Times. Stop and quiz powers considered (more)

THE SUNDAY TIMES:
Police to get tough new terror powers

Mark Alexander

Saturday, May 26, 2007

The 1950’s: Britain of ‘Olde’

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Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: The 1950s marked the last decade of "olde Britain" - when women were housewives, men smoked pipes and schoolboys sported caps and shorts, says Andrew Marr (right), whose TV history of post-war UK starts on Tuesday.

Between the fall of Attlee's Labour government and the return of Labour under cocky Harold Wilson, Britain went through a time which some believe to be a golden-tinted era of lost content.

To millions of others these were the grey, conformist, "13 wasted years" of Tory misrule.

It seems that today's British, when they think about the 50s, cannot decide whether to idealise or to mock.

This is for a good reason. Before the arrival of the 60s and rebel consumerism, this was for the last time truly a different country. A swansong to ‘olde Britain’(more) By Andrew Marr

Mark Alexander
Saudi Living

WATCH VIDEO: SAUDI WIFE SHOWS US INTO HER HOME

Mark Alexander
One of Our So-Called ”Friends” in the War on Terror, Pakistan, to Introduce a Bill to Terrorize Apostates

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Photo courtesy of LIVE LEAK
LIVE LEAK: Pakistan’s government sends draft bill tabled by six-party Islamic alliance to standing committee for review. Under the bill’s terms, apostates would be sentenced to death or life in prison. Testimony by two adults is the only independent evidence needed to determine or demonstrate apostasy. Lahore archbishop is praying the bill is never adopted.

Islamabad (AsiaNews) – A draft bill adopted in first reading by Pakistan’s National Assembly is now before a standing committee. Tabled by a six-party politico-religious alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal or MMA, the Apostasy Act 2006 which the government sent to the committee would impose the death penalty on Muslim men and life in prison on Muslim women in case they leave Islam. It would also force them to forfeit their property and lose legal custody of children. Pakistan: New apostasy bill to impose death on anyone who leaves Islam (more)

Mark Alexander
"The Trouble with Islam"

With many thanks to Roberts Spencer of Jihad Watch for drawing my attention to this wonderful video via his excellent website:

WATCH VIDEO: "THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM"

Mark Alexander
Großbritannien: Der Überwachungsstaat

SPIEGELONLINE: In Großbritannien wird es bald flächendeckend Überwachungskameras geben, die nicht nur spitzeln, sondern auch sprechen - mit Kinderstimmen. Kritiker fürchten den Siegeszug der elektronischen Wächter: "Wir leben in einem Überwachungsstaat."

4,2 Millionen Überwachungskameras behalten in Großbritannien die Bevölkerung immer im Auge. Jetzt werden sie gesprächig: Sie sollen flächendeckend - wie George Orwells spitzelnde und sprechende Teleschirme in "1984" - durch Lautsprecher zu redenden Kameras aufgerüstet werden. Kameras sprechen mit Kinderstimmen (mehr)

Mark Alexander
A Must Read: Melanie Phillips’ Extremely Insightful Article - Liberalism v Islamism

MELANIE PHILLIPS: First of all, let me define my terms and say what I mean by Islamism and liberalism. Islamism is the politicised version of Islam which mandates jihad, or holy war against the infidel and conquest of the non-Islamic world for Islam. I’m well aware of the argument that there’s no difference between Islamism and Islam: that’s a theological argument for others to have.

By liberalism I mean the commitment to a free society, founded above all on the separation of secular government from religious worship — from which follow the concepts of equal respect for all people, freedom of conscience, tolerance and the rule of law.

These two concepts, Islamism and liberalism, are currently engaged in a fight to the death. My argument is that liberalism is in danger of losing this fight because it has so badly undermined itself and departed from its own core concepts that it is now paralysed by moral and intellectual muddle.

Liberalism is the creed of modernity. The driving force behind the Islamic jihad is the fight against liberalism and modernity. All the iconic conflicts — Iraq, Israel, Kashmir, Chechnya, Sudan —are secondary to the fundamental aim of the jihad to prevent liberalism and modernity from destroying Islam.

The founding ideologue of modern Islamism, Syed Qutb, made clear in his writings that at the core of the salafi interpretation of Islam was opposition to the separation of religion and temporal power that resulted in liberalism and democracy. His governing impulse was the fear that the instinct for liberty was so powerful it would spread to and infiltrate the Muslim mind unless it was checked by the most repressive possible form of Islam. Liberalism v Islamism (more)

Mark Alexander
Is Islam a Peaceful Religion? A Viewpoint



Mark Alexander
Sir John Major Gives Blair Some Advice

THE GUARDIAN: Sir John Major today calls on his successor to quit Downing Street and hand over power to Gordon Brown as soon as possible. In an interview with the Guardian, the former Tory prime minister criticises Tony Blair's drawn-out departure from office, mocking him for being "in the middle of the longest farewell since Dame Nellie Melba quit the stage". Major to Blair: stop acting like Nellie Melba and go now (more)

Mark Alexander
Islamophobia: An Arab View

”If you want to fight Islamophobia, the first step is to start clearing your own closet of racial prejudice.” - Iman Kurdi

ARAB NEWS: The European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its annual report this week. The report deplores the growing rise of Islamophobia across Europe and highlights ECRI’s concern over the climate of hostility toward Muslims.

This will come as no surprise to Muslims living in Europe. Hostility, whether real, projected or imagined, has become part of every day life.

Islamophobia is a difficult term. Whereas anti-Semitism clearly denotes hostility, prejudice and discrimination aimed at people of a specific race, Islamophobia confuses hostility toward Islam as a religion and hostility toward Muslims as individuals. It is an all-encompassing term that describes not only a hatred toward Islam but a view of Islam that — to my mind — is directly derived from the deranged teachings of Al-Qaeda et al. It draws a direct line between Muslim, Islam and extremist fanatic: We all get tarred by the same brush. But that is the essence of much — though not all — of the hostility toward Muslims today. Islamophobia Worryingly on the Rise in Europe (more) By Iman Kurdi

Mark Alexander
Thinking About Reform of US Healthcare

BBC: "If a politician declares that the United States has the best health care system in the world today, he or she looks clueless rather than patriotic or authoritative."

So says Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, an ethicist at the US National Institutes of Health.

The US health system is in a state of crisis and serious politicians, including several presidential candidates, say the time has come to reform it along the lines of the European or Canadian model. US mulls over healthcare reform (more) By Justin Webb

Mark Alexander
US in “Fundamental Opposition” to Germany on Climate Change

BBC: The US appears to have rejected draft proposals by Germany for G8 members to agree tough measures in greenhouse gas emissions, leaked documents have shown.

Wide-ranging US amendments to a draft communique prepared ahead of June's G8 in Germany summit cite a "fundamental opposition" to the proposals.

Germany wants all G8 members to agree timetables and targets for major cuts. US ’opposes’ G8 climate proposals (more)

Mark Alexander
Muqtada Al-Sadr Demands US Quit Iraq

KUWAIT TIMES: BAGHDAD: Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr resurfaced yesterday after nearly four months in hiding and demanded US troops leave Iraq, a development likely to complicate US efforts to crack down on violence and broker political compromise in the country. Hours later, the notorious leader of Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in the city of Basra was killed in a shootout as British and Iraq troops tried to arrest him, police and the British military said, further enflaming tensions in the Shiite areas of southern Iraq. Radical cleric demands US quit Iraq (more)

LE FIGARO:
Irak : Moqtada Sadr apparaît en public

Mark Alexander
Changing the Islamic Weekend in Kuwait Proves to Be a Sensitive Issue

KUWAIT TIMES: KUWAIT: Several Islamist MPs issued statements yesterday opposing the government's plans to shift the weekend from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday following such a move by a number of Gulf states. The MPs said their opposition is based on the fact that such a move will mean imitating the West and could undermine some religious obligations, especially that many Muslims fast on Thursday. The Thawabet Al-Ummah convention also slammed the Civil Services Commission's moves to grant Saturdays off in place of Thursdays without reviewing religious or social issues. "The issue can never be considered a mere weekend one," said members of the convention, reminding authorities that Muslim scholars considered it a religious violation and called for further studies on the sensitive issue. Islamists oppose Fri-Sat weekend (more) By B Izzak and A Saleh

Mark Alexander
Are We About to Witness a Scramble for Atomic Weapons in the Middle East?

LA TIMES: Iran's program appears to be stirring interest that some fear will lead to a scramble for atomic weapons in the volatile region.

VIENNA — As Iran races ahead with an illicit uranium enrichment effort, nearly a dozen other Middle East nations are moving forward on their own civilian nuclear programs. In the latest development, a team of eight U.N. experts on Friday ended a weeklong trip to Saudi Arabia to provide nuclear guidance to officials from six Persian Gulf countries.

Diplomats and analysts view the Saudi trip as the latest sign that Iran's suspected weapons program has helped spark a chain reaction of nuclear interest among its Arab rivals, which some fear will lead to a scramble for atomic weapons in the world's most volatile region. Arabs make plans for nuclear power(more) By Bob Drogin and Borzou Daragahi

LE FIGARO:
Larijani : "La France de Sarkozy pourrait jouer le rôle d’intermédiaire sincère"

Mark Alexander
Bush: Twice Warned

LA TIMES: Prewar reports alerted the president to the difficulty of establishing democracy, among other assessments that proved accurate.

WASHINGTON — Two months before the invasion of Iraq, U.S. intelligence agencies twice warned the Bush administration that establishing a democracy there would prove difficult and that Al Qaeda would use political instability to increase its operations, according to a Senate report released Friday.

The report, issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee, brought to light once-classified warnings that accurately forecasted many of the military and political problems the Bush administration and Iraqi officials have faced since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Bush was twice warned of Iraq challenges (more) By James Gerstenzang

Mark Alexander

Friday, May 25, 2007

Deportation

BBC: Race hate preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who influenced one of the 7 July bombers, has been deported from Britain, the home secretary said.

He left Gatwick for Jamaica at 1200 BST, accompanied by two police escorts and an immigration officer.

Al-Faisal, who is of Jamaican origin, lost his appeal against deportation. Race hate cleric Faisal deported (more)

Mark Alexander
Fears Grow Over Military in China

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Photo courtesy of Google Images
BBC: The US has expressed concern over China's growing military might.

A Pentagon report given to Congress says Beijing is spending far more on its military budget than admitted and calls for greater transparency.

The report highlights China's greater ability to mount pre-emptive strikes, citing new submarines, unmanned combat aircraft and sophisticated missiles. US fears grow over China military (more)

FINANCIAL TIMES:
Beijing upgrades nuclear arsenal

Mark Alexander
The Shameful State of Women’s Rights in Iran

WFAFI: Limitations on the lives of women are legalized in laws prohibiting women from the presidency, leadership, judgeship and certain educational fields, as well as by inheritance laws. Firmly rooted in the principle of vali-e-faqih, Iran’s constitution controls both the public and private lives and role of women. The concept of male surrogate and guardianship of females is one of the main pillars of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran. Iranian women are not free to choose or control various aspects of their lives. Evidence of such state-sponsor of violence against women is seen in Iran’s constitution. Official Laws against Women in Iran (more)

Mark Alexander
Schwierigkeiten beim Finden einer geeigneten Vene

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Hinrichtung eines übergewichtigen Straftäters im amerikanischen Bundesstaat Ohio hat fast zwei Stunden gedauert, weil die Injektionsnadel mit dem tödlichen Gift mindestens zehn Mal neu angesetzt werden musste. Üblicherweise dauert die Vollstreckung der Todesstrafe in den Vereinigten Staaten etwa 20 Minuten. Die Amerikanische Bürgerrechtsunion rief die Justizbehörden von Ohio auf, wegen der Probleme bei der Tötung von Christopher Newton alle Hinrichtungen bis auf weiteres zu stoppen. Hinrichtung in Ohio dauert fast zwei Stunden (mehr)

Mark Alexander
The Wonders of Childhood

GLOBE AND MAIL: Study adds to research on ability of infants to recognize dialects long before they can speak themselves

Even with the sound turned off, babies can tell whether a person speaking on video has switched between English and French, a new study suggests.

The findings are the latest contribution to a growing body of research on the remarkable ability of very young infants to process languages.

The paper also shows that babies growing up in bilingual households are better able to retain that ability to visually perceive a switch to another language, whereas such a skill declines among those raised in unilingual settings. French and English look different to babies (more) By Tu Thanh Ha

Mark Alexander
Capitalists keen to capitalize on profits from the sukuk should read the following about Islamic economics, al iqtisad al islamy. Open thine eyes O profit-maximizer, before it’s too late!

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Image courtesy of the University of Southern California
"O you who believe! do not devour your property among yourselves falsely, except that it be trading by your mutual consent, and do not kill yourselves. Surely Allah is Merciful to you." Qur'an [4:29] - [Source: University of Southern California]

ISLAMIC-WORLD.NET: Islam uniquely considers distribution as the economic problem, and Muslims do not share the obsession of capitalists and communists with production. Because Islam differentiates between the basic needs and luxuries, there exists no concept of relative scarcity of resources in Islam. The resources available on earth are sufficient to secure the basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) of fifty billion human beings. Such a misunderstanding has concealed the reality that starvation, poverty, and economic backwardness, result from maldistribution exasperated by man-made laws and systems. Under the Islamic system, Nigeria alone could support the whole of Africa, as occurred in the past when, under the system of Islam, Africa sent food to relieve the famine in Medinah during the rule of Omar bin al-Khattab.
By using labels like "Third World" and "First World," this economic conspiracy has worked behind a deceived populace who fail to realize that the "Third World" countries are actually First World in terms of resources. While organizations like Mercy International and UNICEF keep the masses content under the circus act of "humanitarian aid," the capitalist machine works behind the stage to gobble up the resources of the world. Iqtisad al Islamy (Islamic economics): Introduction (more)

Mark Alexander