Why Does Sweden Have So Many Jihadis? – BBC Newsnight

Yalda Hakim reports from Sweden on why the country has become one of Europe's biggest exporters of extremists to Syria and Iraq.

On Taunting Jihadis Who Send Me Death Threats – David Wood

Raymond Ibrahim: Obama’s Love for Jihadis and Hate for Christians

JIHAD WATCH: Obama recently lashed out against the idea of giving preference to Christian refugees, describing it as “shameful”: “That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion,” loftily added the American president.

Accordingly, the administration is still determined to accept 10,000 more Syrian refugees, almost all of whom will be Muslim, despite the fact that some are ISIS operatives, while many share the ISIS worldview (as explained below).

Yet right as Obama was grandstanding about “who we are,” statistics were released indicating that “the current [refugee] system overwhelmingly favors Muslim refugees. Of the 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted to the United States so far, only 53 are Christians while 2,098 are Muslim.”

Aside from the obvious—or to use Obama’s own word, “shameful”—pro-Muslim, anti-Christian bias evident in these statistics, there are a number of other troubling factors as well. » | Raymond Ibrahim | Monday, November 23, 2015

English-speaking Female Jihadis in Libya Issue Islamic State Call to Arms

An image supplied by Islamist media outlet Welayat Tarablos
allegedly shows Isis members parading the street in Libya's
coastal city of Sirte.

THE GUARDIAN: Three women, believed to be British, are using social media to reach out to western Muslims to open up new front in north Africa

English-speaking female jihadis have been using social media to try to lure western Muslims to join them with Islamic State in Libya, a new front in the war on terror just 400 miles from Europe’s shores.

Three native English-speaking women have been monitored for months by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK-based thinktank, and are believed to be British. They say they have been living in the war[-]torn north African country since at least the start of the summer.

Using a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter and encrypted messaging apps such as Surespot and Telegram, the three have reached out to their hundreds of followers, and as routes into Syria via its 500-mile border with Turkey have become further restricted they have advertised the journey to Libya as the easiest way of joining Isis’s so-called caliphate.

Isis has been in Libya for just over a year and the country is home to its largest forces outside of the Middle East. The group has its headquarters in the northern coastal town of Sirte, birthplace of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but also has a training base to the west of the capital, Tripoli.

Melanie Smith, ISD researcher and an expert in western female jihadis, said evidence of women travelling to Libya to start a new life under Isis represented a dangerous tipping point. » | Shiv Malik, and Chris Stephen in Tunis | Sunday, September 27, 2015

Paradise Jihadis: Maldives Sees Surge in Young Muslims Leaving for Syria

Kuda Bandos in the Maldives.

THE GUARDIAN: In a country better known for tourism than militancy, radical preaching and social problems are prompting a rise in Islamism

They left in small groups, through the narrow lanes of the city, on to the ferry across the glassy blue sea and then, past the tourists waiting for connections to luxury resorts, to the airport. Their ultimate destination: Syria, and the “caliphate” of Islamic State.

The Maldives is better known for luxury tourism than Islamic militancy. But in recent weeks there has been a surge in departures of young men for Syria, raising fears of a growing threat both to the million-plus tourists who visit its 1,200 atolls each year and to countries such as the UK that do not require visas from citizens of the island.

“There are serious concerns,” said one western diplomat in the region. “The risk is either of an attack locally or someone coming to Europe or even going on to the US.”

Four people have been stopped by authorities. But between 50 and 100 from the country of 300,000 have joined “the jihad”. Analysts say the emergence of al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front and Isis in Syria has catalysed an existing problem, giving it new dimensions and urgency. » | Jason Burke in Malé | Thursday, February 26, 2015

Foreign Jihadis in Syria Pledge Their Own 9/11

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: World View: Ambitious al-Qa'ida-type groups now control - or are free to operate in - an enormous area

It is only a matter of time before jihadis in al-Qa'ida-type groups that have taken over much of eastern Syria and western Iraq have a violent impact on the world outside these two countries. The road is open wide to new attacks along the lines of 9/11 and 7/7, and it may be too late to close it.

Those who doubt that these are the jihadis' long-term intentions should have a look at a chilling but fascinating video posted recently by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), formerly al-Qa'ida in Iraq. It shows a group of foreign fighters burning their passports to emphasise their permanent commitment to jihad. Many of the passports thrown into the flames have grass-green covers and are Saudi; others are dark blue and must be Jordanian. Some of the fighters show their faces while others are masked. As each one destroys his passport, sometimes tearing it in half before throwing it into the fire, he makes a declaration of faith and a promise to fight against the ruler of the country from which he comes.

A Canadian makes a short speech in English before switching to Arabic, saying: "It is a message to Canada, to all American powers. We are coming and we will destroy you." A Jordanian says: "I say to the tyrant of Jordan: we are the descendants of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [the Jordanian founder of al-Qa'ida in Iraq killed by US aircraft in 2006] and we are coming to kill you." A Saudi, an Egyptian and a Chechen make similar threats. Read on and comment » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday, May 04, 2014


ISIS Fighters Burn Their Passports to Create One Islamic State

The Bloody Making of a Global Jihadi Movement
THE IRISH TIMES: ANALYSIS : The Soviet war in Afghanistan was criticial in building the contemporary ‘Jihadi International’

The seizure of scores of hostages in the Algerian desert and the emergence of an expansionist “Islamic state” in neighbouring Mali are the latest developments in the global war being waged by militant Muslims, jihadis, against the secular West and its allies, culture and influence in the Ummah, the worldwide Muslim community.

Algeria and France, the former colonial power in the region, responded differently to these challenges. Determined to bring a quick end to the hostage crisis, the Algerian military slew both jihadis and captives.

France, by contrast, intervened in Mali eight months after jihadi rebels had proclaimed independence in the north and only when they threatened the capital Bamako in the south. This response is likely to spur jihadis everywhere to mount fresh operations in a global campaign.

In Islam, jihad is a just war carried out in self-defence, warfare against persecutors and conquerors, and “war in God’s cause”. The Koran provides the basis for legislation governing warfare in Surah (chapter) II, verse 190: “Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not commit aggression, God loves not the aggressors.”

If aggressors and persecutors desist, verse 193 says hostilities should cease. Jihad-motivated Muslims fought Christian Crusaders in Palestine during the 11th-13th centuries and colonial masters during the 19th and early 20th century freedom struggles.

Commanders of the later campaigns are inspirational figures for contemporary jihadis. Three in particular can be mentioned: Abdel Qader who fought the French in Algeria in the 1830s; the Mahdi who staged the 1881-99 revolt against Anglo-Egyptian rule in the Sudan; and slew British Gen Charles Gordon, and Omar Mukhtar who led the 1911-43 Libyan resistance campaign against the Italians.

Sadiq al-Mahdi, great grandson of the Mahdi, remains a major figure on the Sudanese scene while Awad Mukhtar, the grandson of Omar Mukhtar – who was celebrated in a film starring Anthony Quinn – threw in his lot with the 2011 revolt against Muammar Gadafy. No borders » | Michael Jansen | Saturday, January 19, 2013

Arab Spring Provided New Breeding Ground for British Terrorists – Spy Chief
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Arab Spring has spawned a new generation of British-born terrorists after al-Qaeda lured dozens of would-be bombers abroad to train for possible attacks on the UK, the head of MI5 warned.

Jonathan Evans said the terror network has taken advantage of the unstable region, in the wake of last year’s revolutions, to spread its influence and create new bases for attacks.

British would-be jihadis are known to be receiving training in the likes of Libya and Egypt, mirroring what has already happened in the Yemen and Somalia.

And they could return to attack the UK in what is a “new and worrying development”, he said.

Mr Evans, the Director General of MI5, warned of the emerging threats in a rare speech, his first in almost two years. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Tuesday, June 25, 2012

Radical Cleric Breaks Silence on Mideast Unrest
Mar 31, 2011 – Will Al Qaeda benefit from changes in the region?

WIKI: Inspire magazine »

Douglas Murray: Jihad Against Justice
THE SPECTATOR: The control orders fiasco shows that our political class still isn’t serious about security

For a jihadi, Britain is one of the very best places in the world. In Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, overhead drones kill terrorists on a regular basis. In most democratic countries, politicians try to limit their enemies’ ability to operate — so one runs the risk of being thrown into prison, if caught mid-jihad. But not in Britain. Here, the Islamist insurgents have found that there are a hundred ways to run rings around our police and justice system. Nothing demonstrates this more spectacularly than the control orders farce.

Control orders are an inelegant system for putting restrictions on terror suspects, either because the evidence which could convict them is too sensitive to be used in a criminal court, or because European human rights laws prevent them from being deported. Eight people are being detained under control orders, with the suspects under curfew, electronic tagging, a travel ban or other restrictions. The system is understandably popular, but it seems certain that David Cameron will allow his Lib Dem colleagues to claim victory by altering the name and tinkering with the terms.

If this happens, it might be seen as a Lib Dem victory. But it will be the clearest possible evidence that the coalition government, like the Labour government before it, remains unwilling to deal with the problem which made control orders necessary in the first place: the fact that this country has been systematically failed by its legal, political and immigration systems. Once, foreign nationals who posed a threat could be deported. The European Convention on Human Rights has put a stop to that. >>> Douglas Murray | Saturday, January 08, 2011

NYPD Arrests Two Would-be Terrorists at JFK Heading to Somalia


The Faces of Hate
NEW YORK POST: Jersey jihadis junior hellions

These are the faces of evil.

Officials last night released the mug shots of New Jersey terror suspects Mohamed Alessa, 20, and Carlos "Omar" Almonte, 24.

They were taken after the two hate-spewing terrorist wannabes were captured as they headed to Somalia, allegedly to wage holy war on Americans.

Their neighbors weren't surprised -- they said jihad started early for the two.

They were terrors in their suburban communities years before they were busted last Saturday at Kennedy Airport.

Not a single school could handle Alessa. He openly talked of blowing up his schools in the name of Islam.

Almonte was picked up by cops several times for increasingly violent behavior.

The duo are due back in Newark federal court today for a bail hearing on charges of plotting to murder, maim and kidnap people overseas. >>> Carolyn Salazar, Perry Chiaramonte and Chuck Bennett, AP | Wednesday, June 09, 2010

TerrorTube: Internet Video Has Become a Nest of Jihadi Propaganda
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Radical Islamist fanatics are turning YouTube into their personal broadcast platform with disturbingly accelerating frequency. Their videos illustrate how jihadists are exploiting the Internet to inspire violence, and they demand increased vigilance by the Google-owned company.

The Middle East Media Research Institute this week flagged postings by, among others, America's Jihad Jane and Anwar Al-Awlaki, the Yemen-based cleric whose involvement in terror plots prompted the U.S. to target him for assassination.

After his arrest, would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad is reported to have cited Al-Awlaki as a guiding light. And a Pakistani Taliban group posted a video on YouTube to claim authorship of the plot:

"We, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, very bravely claim the responsibility for this attack in America. And we congratulate Muslims on this."

Days later, the group posted a video with a chilling message:

"The time is very near when our fedayeen will attack the American states in their major cities ... our fedayeen have penetrated the terrorist America, we will give extremely painful blows to the fanatic America. I request you all to be steadfast and firm in your jihad." >>> Saturday, May 08, 2010

U.S.-born Cleric Calls on Muslims to Kill U.S. Civilians
DETROIT FREE PRESS: CAIRO, Egypt -- A U.S.-born cleric who has encouraged Muslims to kill American soldiers called for the killing of U.S. civilians in his first video released by a Yemeni offshoot of al-Qaida.

Dressed in a white Yemeni robe and turban and with a dagger tucked into his waistband, Anwar Al-Awlaki used the 45-minute video posted Sunday to justify civilian deaths -- and encourage them -- by accusing the U.S. of intentionally killing a million Muslim civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

American civilians are to blame, he said, because "the American people, in general, are taking part in this and they elected this administration and they are financing the war." >>> Maamoun Youssef, Associated Press | Monday, May 24, 2010

Al-Awlaki: "Kill Americans"

For the Love of Islam: A Second American Woman Is Arrested in Cartoonist Case
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Last Easter, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, a 31-year-old mom with a $30,000-a-year job as a medical assistant, announced to her family that she had converted to Islam. A few months later, she began posting to Facebook forums whose headings included "STOP caLLing MUSLIMS TERRORISTS!"

On Sept. 11, she suddenly left Leadville, Colo., a small town in the Rocky Mountains, for Denver, then for New York, to meet and marry a Muslim man she connected with online, her family says. Ms. Paulin-Ramirez, who is 5-foot-11 and blonde, phoned her mother and stepfather in Leadville, providing them with an address in Waterford, Ireland, they say.

Now, she is in the custody of the Irish police, along with six other individuals, arrested as part of an investigation into a conspiracy to commit murder, according to officials familiar with the case. The nature of the authorities' suspicions about Ms. Paulin-Ramirez couldn't be determined on Friday.

Ms. Paulin-Ramirez's interest in Islam "came out of left field," said her mother, Christine Holcomb-Mott, in an interview at her home Friday, wearing a blue sweatsuit with a silver cross around her neck.

"I'm angry with her right now," Ms. Holcomb-Mott said. "I'd like to just choke her. But I'm worried about her, too. I love my daughter."

Nearby was a stack of photos of Ms. Paulin-Ramirez, with a sparkling smile, and her son, who has brown hair and eyes. Her mother looked at the images over and over, as college basketball played on the TV.

Ms. Paulin-Ramirez had been in contact by phone and email with her mother, stepfather and an aunt, her relatives said. But none of them has heard from Ms. Paulin-Ramirez in recent days, they said.

Ms. Paulin-Ramirez is the second American woman to be linked to an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who made fun of the Prophet Mohammed. An indictment was unsealed this week against Colleen R. LaRose, 46, a suburban Philadelphia woman who authorities said used the Web alias "JihadJane." >>> Vanessa O’Connell in New York, Stephanie Simon in Colorado and Evan Perez in Washington | Friday, March 12, 2010

Australian Jihad Plotters Jailed for Up To 28 Years
THE TELEGRAPH: Five men convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in Australia will spend between 23 to 28 years in prison after a Sydney judge handed them the maximum sentences for their crimes.

Justice Anthony Whealy of the New South Wales Supreme Court said he had little hope that the men, aged 25 to 44, could be rehabilitated, saying they were motivated by "intolerant, inflexible religious conviction" and had shown contempt for the Australian government, its leaders and laws.

In October last year, at the end of Australia's longest ever trial, a jury found the Sydney men guilty of conspiring to commit a terrorist act or acts.

Their exact target or targets have never been identified.

The men, Australian-born or naturalised citizens with Muslim immigrant backgrounds, had all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During the 10-month trial, the court heard the five jihadists wanted to terrify and intimidate the Australian public and the government in retaliation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Monday, February 15, 2010

Jihadists and This Disaster for Us All
DAILY MAIL: Last August, two months before her return to Pakistan from exile, Benazir Bhutto explained the essence of Pakistani politics.

"There are two fault lines," she said. "One is dictatorship versus democracy. The other is moderation versus extremism."

These fault lines converged lethally on her on Thursday when she was murdered by Islamic extremists while campaigning to restore democracy to her country.

Her death will plunge her already troubled country into a prolonged period of murderous chaos from which only Islamist fanatics can gain.

It is unlikely that Al Qaeda and their Islamist supporters would ever assume total control of a nuclear-armed Pakistan - the ruling generals will not willingly give up their weapons. But in the maelstrom that follows Bhutto's assassination the Islamists will be free to flourish in vast tracts of the country.

Huge areas will become a giant training camp for the sort of Anglo-Pakistani jihadists who struck in London in July 2005.

Entire regions in the north west are already violent badlands occupied by extremists, which the government can only enter with thousands of soldiers - and these badlands are now likely to expand massively. Jihadists and this disaster for us all >>> By Michael Burleigh

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Four Jihadis Get Life in Prison for July 21 Plot

Photos of ”the convicted men (clockwise from top left): Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussain Osman and Ramzi Mohammed. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA” courtesy of The Guardian

THE GUARDIAN: The four convicted July 21 bombers were today jailed for life for an al-Qaida-led plot to murder dozens of people on London's public transport network.

Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman could not be considered for release for 40 years, judge Mr Justice Fulford QC said.

Their plan had been "a viable, indeed a very nearly successful, attempt at mass murder", he told Woolwich crown court in south-east London. Four July 21 plotters jailed for life (more)

Mark Alexander

Al-Qaeda Terrorists Turn to Practising Their Medical Skills on the Nation!
THE TELEGRAPH: The suspected al-Qa'eda terrorists behind the attempted car bomb attacks on Britain were almost all foreign doctors working in the NHS, it can be disclosed today.

It comes as an eighth person - also a foreign doctor - was arrested in Australia in connection with the attacks and police carried out a series of controlled explosions on a car parked outside a Glasgow mosque.

In a development that will raise questions over the vetting procedures for medics from abroad, it emerged that five of the seven suspects held by British police are young Middle Eastern men employed at British hospitals.

One is Mohammed Asha, a "brilliant" neurosurgeon from Jordan. Another being questioned over both the London and Glasgow attacks is Bilal Abdulla, an Iraqi junior doctor who was a passenger in the car that rammed Glasgow airport. Seven doctors held over al-Qa'eda bomb plot (more) By Duncan Gardham, Nigel Bunyan, Auslan Cramb and Richard Edwards

THE TELEGRAPH:
Cameron appoints first Muslim woman

Mark Alexander

FBI Saves JFK from Destruction by Jihadists
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A "chilling" Islamic terrorist plot to blow up New York's John F Kennedy Airport was thwarted yesterday. The plotters had hoped it would be more deadly than the 9/11 atrocities.

Four members of a "sleeper cell" intent on exploding fuel dumps to destroy the airport terminal buildings and aircraft on the ground, were arrested after an FBI surveillance operation lasting more than 16 months.

In conversations bugged by American officials, one of the plotters claimed the resulting explosion would have resulted in the destruction of "the whole of Kennedy". He predicted there would have been few survivors. FBI thwarts Islamic plot to blow up JFK (more) By Tim Shipman

NZZ:
US-Behörden melden Schlag gegen Terrorkomplott: Schwerer Anschlag in New York geplant

LE FIGARO:
Un projet d’attentat déjoué à New York

Mark Alexander