The Caliphate Threat

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Why ISIS's rise should worry Americans

As Americans know well by now, a violent Muslim extremist group has overrun Tikrit, Mosul and other northern Iraqi territory liberated at great cost by U.S. and Iraqi troops and has proclaimed the founding of an Islamic state in much of northeastern Syria and large portions of Iraq.

Its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, has proclaimed himself the emir of a caliphate - recreating the Islamic state that once stretched over much of the Islamic world. The group has already set about changing its name from ISIS - the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - to simply the Islamic State.

Is this the final ending for our struggle in Iraq, and does it portend the outcome in Afghanistan? Was it avoidable? The historical evidence suggests that far from the climax, this thrust by ISIS looks like a coming attraction. And yes, it was avoidable.

Restoring the caliphate has been on the list of things to do for Islamists virtually from the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1916. It was then that two European diplomats - Mark Sykes of Great Britain and Francois George Picot of France - drafted what was initially a secret agreement that drew the boundaries of the countries of the current Middle East that became reality after World War I. Islamists regard the Sykes-Picot Agreement as a boil on the face of Islam, and have made every effort to eradicate those boundaries and to unite Muslims under the banner of their religion and the rule of Sharia law.

ISIS itself is a split-off from Al Qaeda, and differs from its parent only as to how to achieve the goal. Al Qaeda says that jihad, or holy war, must come first; ISIS has leaped ahead to proclaim the caliphate even as it wages war. » | Michael B. Mukasey | New York Daily News | Sunday, July 13, 2014

Möglicher Amtsverzicht: Merkel-Vertraute erwarten freiwilligen Rücktritt der Kanzlerin

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Eine mögliche Wahlniederlage soll nicht über ihre Zukunft entscheiden: Angela Merkel ist nach SPIEGEL-Informationen entschlossen, als erste deutsche Regierungschefin seit 1949 eines Tages freiwillig aus dem Amt zu scheiden.

Berlin - Sie will entscheiden, auch über ihren eigenen Abgang: Nach Einschätzung mehrerer Kabinettsmitglieder und hochrangiger Unionspolitiker ist Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel entschlossen, als erste deutsche Regierungschefin seit 1949 freiwillig aus dem Amt zu scheiden und nicht auf eine Wahlniederlage oder eine parteiinterne Ablösung zu warten. Das berichtet der SPIEGEL unter Berufung auf Partei- und Regierungskreise. (Die ganze Geschichte lesen Sie hier im aktuellen SPIEGEL.) » | Sonntag, 13. Juli 2014

Pope Francis: 'About 2%' of Catholic Clergy Paedophiles

Earlier this month the Pope begged forgiveness from victims
of child abusers within the Church

BBC: Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that reliable data indicates that "about 2%" of clergy in the Catholic Church are paedophiles.

The Pope said that abuse of children was like "leprosy" infecting the Church, according to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper.

He vowed to "confront it with the severity it demands".

But a Vatican spokesman said the quotes in the newspaper did not correspond to Pope Francis's exact words.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says there is often a studied ambiguity in Pope Francis' off-the-cuff statements.

He wants to show a more compassionate attitude towards Church teaching than his predecessors, but this can sometimes cause consternation among his media advisers, our correspondent adds. » | Sunday, July 13, 2014

Dernier rendez-vous à Vienne

leJDD: Les grandes puissances entament aujourd’hui dans la capitale autrichienne la dernière semaine de négociations pour obtenir de Téhéran l’abandon de son programme nucléaire.

"Nos positions ne sont pas convergentes." Les diplomates possèdent définitivement l'art de la litote. Alors que la partie iranienne estime que ce dernier round de tractations est une "occasion unique d'entrer dans l'Histoire", la France estime qu'"aucune des questions principales n'est résolue". Il faut dire que le Guide suprême de la révolution islamique, Ali Khamenei, n'y est pas allé par quatre chemins en réclamant lundi dernier le droit pour l'Iran de posséder d'ici deux à cinq ans 190.000 centrifugeuses d'enrichissement d'uranium afin de pouvoir produire du combustible pour une vingtaine de centrales nucléaires. Le fossé est immense entre "plusieurs centaines" de centrifugeuses, que les grandes puissances sont disposées à concéder à l'Iran, et le chiffre évoqué par l'ayatollah. » | François Clemenceau - Le Journal du Dimanche | dimanche 13 juillet 2014

Staff at Muslim Primary School 'Caught on Camera Describing How Clapping Hands Is Satanic and That Gay People Should Be Stoned to Death'

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Teachers at school 'had discussions about whether music is un-Islamic' / Claims over The Olive School in Blackburn made by Channel 4 Dispatches / It's alleged staff also talked about how ties could be turned into snakes / Officials at school's Islam Trust contacted DfE after learning of allegations

Teachers at a Muslim faith primary have allegedly referred to clapping hands as ‘Satanic’ - and had discussions about whether music in school might be un-Islamic.

Footage was obtained for a Channel 4 documentary at The Olive School - a Muslim faith primary for 600 pupils in Blackburn, run by the Tauheedul Islam Faith, Education and Community Trust.

It is also claimed that footage shows staff talking about how ties could be turned into snakes and that gay people should be stoned to death. The Trust has labelled the discussions as ‘staff room gossip’.

Channel 4 did not say what footage from the school would be aired. Officials at the Trust contacted the Department for Education after learning of the allegations, reported the Blackburn Citizen.

The Trust invited inspectors to visit the school, and the DfE ordered an emergency ‘no notice’ Ofsted inspection last week. The Trust later insisted that this inspection went ‘very well’.

The Trust also confirmed that Dispatches had filmed undercover at the school and promised to act if anything on the film ‘is shown to undermine our progressive vision, ethos and approach’.

A Tauheedul governor said: ‘The Trust’s schools provide a first class education for young people in modern-day Britain… We need to look at what these schools have achieved for their pupils.’

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: ‘I reserve final judgment until I see the programme. From what I know the allegations are groundless.’ » | Mark Duell and Jo Knowsley | Sunday, July 13, 2014

Extreme Money: Jihadists Selling Oil Seized in Iraq, Syria

The Islamic State, proclaimed by jihadists in parts of Syria and Iraq, is expanding its influence and attracting more volunteers. The extremists are reported by UK media to be raking in around a million dollars a day by selling oil from the facilities they captured in both countries. Some rival rebel groups are now flocking to fill the jihadist ranks. Nevertheless, the United States maintains it can still find a moderate opposition to arm - as Gayane Chichakyan reports.

Outside Gaza: Bomb Shelters Set Up Across Israel, Residents Applaud Iron Dome

All that mounting international pressure to end the violence is having no effect on the ground - Israeli leaders are vowing to continue the Gaza offensive. Hamas isn't backing down either - raining more rockets on Israel. Our Middle East correspondent Paula Slier has more from Tel Aviv.

Iraq Crisis: How Saudi Arabia Helped Isis Take Over the North of the Country

Prince Bandar bin Sultan

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: World View: A speech by an ex-MI6 boss hints at a plan going back over a decade. In some areas, being Shia is akin to being a Jew in Nazi Germany

How far is Saudi Arabia complicit in the Isis takeover of much of northern Iraq, and is it stoking an escalating Sunni-Shia conflict across the Islamic world? Some time before 9/11, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, once the powerful Saudi ambassador in Washington and head of Saudi intelligence until a few months ago, had a revealing and ominous conversation with the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove. Prince Bandar told him: "The time is not far off in the Middle East, Richard, when it will be literally 'God help the Shia'. More than a billion Sunnis have simply had enough of them."

The fatal moment predicted by Prince Bandar may now have come for many Shia, with Saudi Arabia playing an important role in bringing it about by supporting the anti-Shia jihad in Iraq and Syria. Since the capture of Mosul by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) on 10 June, Shia women and children have been killed in villages south of Kirkuk, and Shia air force cadets machine-gunned and buried in mass graves near Tikrit.

In Mosul, Shia shrines and mosques have been blown up, and in the nearby Shia Turkoman city of Tal Afar 4,000 houses have been taken over by Isis fighters as "spoils of war". Simply to be identified as Shia or a related sect, such as the Alawites, in Sunni rebel-held parts of Iraq and Syria today, has become as dangerous as being a Jew was in Nazi-controlled parts of Europe in 1940. » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday July 13, 2014

Killing the Messenger

As censorship increases worldwide, journalists are being attacked, kidnapped and even killed for exposing the truth.

Anne Will: "Islamisten auf dem Vormarsch – Tödliche Gefahr für Deutschland?"

Anne Will, komplette Sendung in HD vom 2.7.14 in der ARD: Die radikalislamische Terrorgruppe ISIS ist weiterhin auf dem Vormarsch, hat jetzt sogar einen Kalifatstaat ausgerufen. Unter den Dschihadisten sind auch Jugendliche aus Deutschland, die vor allem nach Syrien reisen, um im Namen Allahs zu kämpfen. Bundesinnenminister Thomas de Maizière warnte deshalb bei der Vorstellung des Verfassungsschutzberichtes vor einer „konkreten tödlichen Gefahr". …

ISIS Puts Bull’s Eye on Mecca, Medina

WND: 'Allah wills it' declaration puts fear in other Sunni jihadists

WASHINGTON – Now that the Islamic State has issued a declaration that Muslims around the world must adhere to its recently announced caliphate, jihadist fighters say Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia will be the next targets after Jordan.

Sources say the Islamic State, former the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (or Greater Syria), is a rival to Saudi Arabia, even though both are Sunni. However, like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State abhors monarchies. The Islamic State is hoping that the Saudi army will revolt against the King and join its caliphate.

The area between Iraq and Jordan, into Saudi Arabia, is mostly desert, allowing the Islamic State to make major inroads into the kingdom before meeting resistance.

Saudi Arabia is aware that it could be the target of the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the recently announced caliph or leader with the title of Khalifah Ibrahim. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz recently met with newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to obtain counter-terrorism assistance if there is an attack on the kingdom.

According to WND sources, Abdullah was accompanied by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who once was the kingdom’s chief of intelligence and head of the Saudi National Security Council.

Abdullah made the move after finally realizing that Bandar’s strategy of financing and providing weapons to jihadist fighters in Syria could backfire on the kingdom, with various jihadist groups fighting among each other on the side of the Syrian opposition. Moreover, the approach was not bringing down the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. » | E Michael Maloof | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

This Is the Promise of Allah »

Sarah Palin Calls for Barack Obama to Be Impeached and Removed from White House

Sarah Palin has called for Obama to be impeached and
removed from office

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Unelected matron saint of the Tea Party compares America to "a battered wife" that can no longer [take] her husband's abuse

Sarah Palin has taken her vitriolic criticism of President Barack Obama to a new level, calling for him to be impeached and removed from office.

The former governor of Alaska compared America to "a battered wife" that could no longer take any more of her husband's abuse.

Mrs Palin said "the last straw" was Mr Obama's decision to take executive action to change America's immigration system after reforms stalled in the face of opposition from Republicans in Congress.

"It’s time to impeach; and on behalf of American workers and legal immigrants of all backgrounds, we should vehemently oppose any politician on the left or right who would hesitate in voting for articles of impeachment," she wrote. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Wednesday June 09, 2014

Saudi Arabia's Secret Uprising

Secret Uprising: The growing Saudi protest movement that's been hidden from the world.

Uncut Chronicles: ISIS/ISIL Forges Bloody Caliphate in Iraq (RAW Timeline)

Radical Sunni militants of Al-Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) are advancing and capturing cities in the north of Iraq. The jihadists have declared the capture of the capital Baghdad as their top priority objective.

France Proposes Anti-terrorist Travel Bans

BBC: The French government has proposed six-month travel bans to stop citizens travelling to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Islamist militants.

A new offence of creating an "individual terrorist enterprise", designed to counter the threat of "lone wolves", would also be established.

Government officials say that two or three young Muslims leave France every day to join Islamist groups abroad.

There are fears they will eventually pose a threat to France itself.

A French citizen arrested for the killing of four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum in May, Mehdi Nemmouche, had returned from Syria, after being radicalised in prison.

Another French-born jihadist, Mohamed Merah, killed seven people in Toulouse in 2012 before being shot by police. His victims were three paratroopers as well as three children and a teacher at a Jewish school.

EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gille de Kerchove announced on Tuesday that interior ministers from nine countries had adopted an action plan to identify people travelling to Syria and stop them falling into terrorism on their return.

The countries that signed up to the plan are Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands » | Wednesday, June 09, 2014

'Mohammed Raghead' – The Name the FBI Were Giving to Muslim-American 'Joe Bloggs'

THE INDEPENDENT: Newly-published documents leaked by Edward Snowden provide the first proof of individual citizens being monitored by US spy agency

The US government spied on thousands of law-abiding Muslim-Americans including top US lawyers and academics according to newly-published documents provided by NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

The monitoring was authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a law intended to target individuals involved in international terrorism, espionage or sabotage.

The leaked documents published by The Intercept include a list of 7,485 email addresses monitored between 2002 and 2008. Five of the emails identified by journalists have been described as leading “highly public, outwardly exemplary lives”.

A document dating from 2006 from the same cache of files instructed intelligence agency staff how to properly record the identity of those under surveillance and used the fake name of “Mohammed Raghead” as an example. » | James Vincent | Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Juncker Would Let Britain Take Back Powers While Staying In EU – Report

Jean-Claude Juncker would let Britain take back powers from
the EU without leaving the union, according to leaked comments.

THE GUARDIAN: Next president of European commission says EU needs UK and Westminster can negotiate a 'recovery of competences'

Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted he will not seek to block British efforts to claw back powers from Brussels despite David Cameron's failed bid to prevent him becoming president of the European commission.

Juncker said any proposals from Westminster would be "taken under consideration", stressing that he wanted the UK to stay in the EU.

The comments could provide some reassurance to Cameron, who had warned fellow European leaders that installing the former Luxembourg premier in the key post risked scotching attempts to reform.

The prime minister has pledged a renegotiation of Britain's membership terms followed by an in-out referendum in 2017 if the Tories are in power.

According to a leaked recording reported in the Daily Telegraph, Juncker told MEPs at a meeting in Brussels: "I would like Britain to stay as an active constructive member of the European Union. If Britain puts forward a proposal it will be taken under consideration.

"I am not in principle saying that no kind of repatriation can take place. If Westminster wants to recover competences, OK. If the others agree it shall be done." Read on and comment » | Agencies in London | Wednesday, July 09, 2014

European Jihadi: The Danish Gangster Who Joined the Syrian Frontline

Gangster and drug dealer Abderrozak Benarabe, or Big A as he's known on the streets of Copenhagen, made a deal with God that if his brother was delivered from cancer he would redeem his criminal ways and go to fight jihad in Syria alongside his fellow foreign fighters and child soldiers under 16. Director Nagieb Khaja followed Big A from his gang in Denmark into brutally-intense battle on the jihadi frontline in Syria and back to Copenhagen to amass and smuggle supplies to the fighters across the Greek-Turkish border


WARNING: This film contains scenes of death and injury in battle and testimony from the family of an alleged victim of torture. Some viewers may find these scenes upsetting

Battle to Establish Islamic State across Iraq and Syria

THE INDEPENDENT: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant now controls vast stretch of land

Islamic fundamentalists have opened new fronts in their battle to establish an Islamic state across Iraq and Syria as they launch attacks in cities which were previously under the control of the Baghdad government.

A multi-pronged assault across central and northern Iraq in the past four days shows that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has taken over from the al-Qa’ida organisation founded by Osama bin Laden as the most powerful and effective extreme jihadi group in the world.

Isis now controls or can operate with impunity in a great stretch of territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria, making it militarily the most successful jihadi movement ever.

Led since 2010 by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Dua, it has proved itself even more violent and sectarian than what US officials call the “core” al-Qa’ida, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is based in Pakistan. Isis is highly fanatical, killing Shia Muslims and Christians whenever possible, as well as militarily efficient and under tight direction by top leaders.

In Iraq in the past four days, it has fought its way into the northern capital of Mosul, sent a column of its fighters into the central city of Samarra and taken over Iraq’s largest university at Ramadi, in the west of the country. In addition, it launched devastating bombings targeting Shia civilians in Baghdad that killed at least 52 people.

The creation of a sort of proto-Caliphate by extreme jihadis in northern Syria and Iraq is provoking fears in surrounding countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey that they will become targets of battle-hardened Sunni fighters. » | Patrick Cockburn | Amman | Monday, July 09, 2014

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Emerges from Shadows to Rally Islamist Followers

THE GUARDIAN: Most wanted man in Middle East lays down challenge not only to Baghdad and the west but also jilted mothership al-Qaida


For a man so mysterious that there are only two known photographs of him, it was a brazen public debut. The most wanted man in the Middle East, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is also one of the most elusive, an evanescent figure behind the Islamist insurrection sweeping the Syrian and Iraqi interior.

And yet according to jihadist websites at the weekend, here he was on video openly rallying the adepts of the new Islamic state he had just pronounced in the largest city that his fighters had taken. Clad in black robes that invoked a distant, almost mythical phase of Islamic history, Baghdadi gave a half-hour sermon during Friday prayers in Mosul and led worship inside one of the most important Islamic sites in Iraq in open defiance of the US intelligence officials who have put a $10m bounty on his head.

In doing so, he laid down a challenge not only to the authorities in Baghdad and the foreign powers that want stability in the country, but to the radical Islamist mothership from which the Isis movement broke – al-Qaida, and its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Those present at the grand mosque in Mosul had no idea who would be preaching on Friday. But as the bearded figure made his entrance, he was introduced to them simply as "your new caliph Ibrahim".

"I am not better than you or more virtuous than you," Baghdadi says in the video. "If you see me on the right path, help me. If you see me on the wrong path, advise me and halt me. And obey me as far as I obey God." » | Martin Chulov in Baghdad | Sunday, July 06, 2014