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

Front National Wins European Parliament Elections in France

THE GUARDIAN: Elections return record number of MEPs opposed to EU project, with far right winning in France, Denmark and Austria

European politics were jolted as seldom before on Sunday when France's extreme nationalists triumphed in the European parliament elections, which across the continent returned an unprecedented number of MEPs hostile or sceptical about the European Union in a huge vote of no confidence in Europe's political elite.

France's Front National won the election there with a projected 25% of the vote, while the governing socialists of President François Hollande collapsed to 14%, according to exit polls.

In Britain the Nigel Farage-led insurrection against Westminster was also expected by all three main parties to deliver a victory for Ukip in the election, albeit with a lower lead than some opinion polls had been predicting in recent weeks. Turnout in Britain was 36%, higher than at the last European elections in 2009. » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Sunday, May 25, 2014

Denmark Bans Halal and Kosher Slaughter as Minister Says ‘Animal Rights Come Before Religion’

New law, denounced as 'anti-Semitism' by Jewish leaders,
comes after country controversially slaughtered a giraffe
in public and fed him to lions

THE INDEPENDENT: Denmark’s government has brought in a ban on the religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat, after years of campaigning from welfare activists.

The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.

European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.

Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”. » | Adam Withnall | Tuesday, February 18, 2014

NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY: Denmark bans religious slaughter » | Friday, February 14, 2014

WORLD BULLETIN: Denmark to ban halal and kosher slaughter methods » | World Bulletin / News Desk | Friday, February 14, 2014

Kinnock's Son, Gay Rumours and a Flirty Blonde Prime Minister: Meet the Very Unusual Danish Leader Who Dragged David Cameron and Barack Obama into That Embarrassing 'Selfie' Row

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

MAIL ONLINE: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 46, is an unconventional head of state / The Danish PM has been nicknamed 'Gucci Helle' for her wardrobe / Husband Stephen, Neil Kinnock's son, had to fight off 'gay' rumours

Her sexy wardrobe (and racy reputation) have earned her the nickname ‘Gucci Helle’ in her native Denmark.

It’s the kind of profile you would normally associate with, say, a footballer’s wife, or a model, not a prime minister.

But then Danish leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 46, who dragged Barack Obama and David Cameron into that embarrassing ‘selfie’, is not a typical head of state, not by British standards anyway.

How many premiers, for example, when heckled at a public meeting about their wardrobe would have replied bluntly: ‘We can’t all look like s***.’ » | Paul Bracchi | Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Exception: How Denmark Saved Its Jews from the Nazis

Jewish refugees from Denmark in Sweden

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Denmark was the only European country to save almost all of its Jewish residents from the Holocaust. After being tipped off about imminent roundups by prominent Nazis, resisters evacuated the country's 7,000 Jews to Sweden by boat. A new book examines this historical anomaly.

They left at night, thousands of Jewish families, setting out by car, bicycle, streetcar or train. They left the Danish cities they had long called home and fled to the countryside, which was unfamiliar to many of them. Along the way, they found shelter in the homes of friends or business partners, squatted in abandoned summer homes or spent the night with hospitable farmers. "We came across kind and good people, but they had no idea about what was happening at the time," writes Poul Hannover, one of the refugees, about those dark days in which humanity triumphed.

At some point, however, the refugees no longer knew what to do next. Where would they be safe? How were the Nazis attempting to find them? There was no refugee center, no leadership, no organization and exasperatingly little reliable information. But what did exist was the art of improvisation and the helpfulness of many Danes, who now had a chance to prove themselves.

Members of the Danish underground movement emerged who could tell the Jews who was to be trusted. There were police officers who not only looked the other way when the refugees turned up in groups, but also warned them about Nazi checkpoints. And there were skippers who were willing to take the refugees across the Baltic Sea to Sweden in their fishing cutters, boats and sailboats. » | Gerhard Spörl | Thursday, October 17, 2013

Islam in Denmark: Of Mosques and Meat

THE ECONOMIST: Denmark’s largest religious minority gets its first proper prayer house

ISLAM and immigration have slipped out of Denmark’s political discourse since the centre-left government led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt came to power two years ago and dismantled the ministry for refugees and immigrants. Now they are back in the news, because the country’s first big purpose-built mosque is soon to open its doors.

The mosque, jammed between a railway line and a back street in Copenhagen’s gritty north-west, comes complete with a dome and a minaret, even though local by-laws prohibit any noisy call to prayer. The news of its opening took many Danes by surprise. Denmark’s Muslims have tried for years to have a proper place to worship, but previous attempts failed or were foiled. » | Saturday, August 17, 2013 | Copenhagen | From the print edition

Denmark Bans Meatballs to Accommodate Muslims

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: "The next thing could be that Danish nurses are forced to go under cover as Muslim women in order to please Muslim patients." — Martin Henriksen, Spokesman, Danish People's Party [DF]

One of the largest hospitals in Denmark has admitted to serving only halal beef -- meat that is slaughtered in accordance with strict Islamic guidelines -- to all of its patients regardless of whether or not they are Muslim.

The revelation that Danes are being forced to eat Islamically slaughtered meat at public institutions has triggered a spirited nationwide debate about how far Denmark should go to accommodate the estimated 250,000 Muslim immigrants now living in the country.

The halal food row erupted in July when the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet reported that Hvidovre Hospital near Copenhagen has been secretly serving only halal-slaughtered meat for the sake of its Muslim patients, for the past ten years. The hospital serves more than 40,000 patients annually, many (if not most) of whom presumably are non-Muslim.

Halal -- which in Arabic means lawful or legal -- is a term designating any object or action that is permissible according to Islamic Sharia law. In the context of food, halal meat is derived from animals slaughtered by hand according to methods stipulated in Islamic religious texts.

One such halal method, called dhabihah, consists of making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck that cuts the jugular vein, leaving the animal to bleed to death. Much of the controversy involving halal stems from the fact that Sharia law bans the practice of stunning the animals before they are slaughtered. Pre-slaughter stunning renders the animals unconscious and is said to lessen their pain.

Amid a surge of public outrage over the decision to serve only halal beef, Hvidovre Hospital's vice president, Torben Mogensen, has been unapologetic. "We have many patients from different ethnic backgrounds, which we must take into account, and it is impossible to have both the one and the other kind of beef," he says. » | Soeren Kern | Friday, August 16, 2013

Danish Muslim Leader Who Fuelled Uproar about Prophet Muhammad Cartoons Now Says He Was Wrong and Paper Was Right to Print Images

MAIL ONLINE: Ahmad Akkari led protests against drawings to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria / Dispute over caricatures of Prophet Muhammad became international crisis / Lebanon-born Muslim leader, 35, now says the trip was 'wrong'

He was one of the most vocal critics of Danish newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked violent fury throughout the Muslim world.

But seven years on Muslim leader Ahmad Akkari has had an unexpected change of heart, declaring his decision to travel to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria to garner support for the ensuing protest was 'totally wrong'.

Lebanon-born Akkari, now 35, was the spokesman for a group of imams who led the outcry against the satirical drawings, and their tour helped to turn the dispute into an international crisis.

He now says the Jyllands-Posten newspaper had the right to print the cartoons.

His about-face has received praise from pundits and politicians in recent weeks, though some question his sincerity. It has also disappointed some in the country's Muslim minority who were deeply offended by the cartoons.

Dozens were killed in weeks of protests over the drawings that included violent attacks against Danish missions in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Tiny Denmark found itself on a collision course with the Muslim world — something Akkari now regrets.

'I want to be clear today about the trip: It was totally wrong,' Akkari told The Associated Press this week. » | Kerry McDermott | Saturday, August 10, 2013

Pat Condell: The Truth Is Incorrect

Lars Hedegaard Assassination Attempt: Danish Islam Critic Targeted In Copenhagen
THE HUFFINGTON POST: COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A gunman tried to shoot a Danish writer and prominent critic of Islam on Tuesday, but missed and fled after a scuffle with his intended victim, police and the writer said.

Lars Hedegaard, who heads a group that claims press freedom is under threat from Islam, told The Associated Press he was shaken but not physically injured in the attack at his Copenhagen home.

Police said they were searching for the suspect, whom they described as a "foreign" man aged 20-25.

Hedegaard, 70, said the gunman rang the doorbell of his apartment building on the pretext of delivering a package, and when Hedegaard opened the front door, the man pulled out a gun and fired a shot that narrowly missed the writer's head.

"The bullet flew past my right ear, after which I attacked him and punched him in the face, which made him lose the gun," Hedegaard told AP. He said the gunman then fled. » | Jan M. Olsen | AP | Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Verwandt »

Al-Qaeda Threatens US and Europe, Promises 'Earth-shattering' Attack

RT.COM: A message posted on a jihadist website on Sunday promised that “terrible” attacks will soon strike the US, France, Denmark and other European countries.

“Where will the next strike by Al-Qaeda be?” a message on the Ansar al-Mujahidin network read, followed by: “The house of disbelief: America, France, Denmark and other countries in Europe, and in the countries that helped and help France and other places.”

The message threatened attacks that will be “strong, serious, alarming, earth-shattering and terrible,” which will be carried out both collectively and individually.

The post also singled out France, telling the country to prepare for a “long war of attrition.” » | Thursday, January 31, 2013

Danish Magazine to Publish 16-page Special on Topless Pictures of Duchess of Cambridge

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are understood to be considering their options after a Danish magazine said it planned to publish more topless pictures of Kate.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are understood to be considering their options after a Danish magazine said it planned to publish more topless pictures of Kate.

Se & Hoer (See & Hear), a weekly celebrity magazine in Denmark, announced today on its website it will print the photographs in a 16-page supplement tomorrow. The publication's editor in chief Kim Henningsen has said the magazine wants to show Denmark's entertainment fans ''what these photos are all about''.

"Our readers love to follow the lives of the royals and they want scoops. I am therefore incredibly proud that we have obtained the rights to provide the topless pictures of Britain's future queen - which the whole world is talking about but very few have actually seen," he said.

"It is in the DNA of the magazine to entertain and satisfy our readers’ curiosity. Therefore, it is always relevant to us when a duchess and future queen of England is topless and still willingly shows her breasts to a public road." » | Wednesday, September 19, 2012

HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Scandinavian magazine publishes Kate topless pics: COPENHAGEN — A Swedish celebrity magazine published topless photos of Britain's likely future queen Wednesday, and its sister publication in Denmark said it would do the same later this week. » | AP | Wednesday, September 19, 2012

THE LOCAL: Topless Kate pics published in Sweden: Swedish celebrity magazine Se och Hör published pictures of Prince William's wife Catherine sunbathing topless in a three-page spread that went on sale on newsstands Wednesday. » | AFP/The Local | Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Gay Danish Couples Win Right to Marry in Church
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Homosexual couples in Denmark have won the right to get married in any church they choose, even though nearly one third of the country's priests have said they will refuse to carry out the ceremonies.

The country's parliament voted through the new law on same-sex marriage by a large majority, making it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages.

Denmark's church minister, Manu Sareen, called the vote "historic".

"I think it's very important to give all members of the church the possibility to get married. Today, it's only heterosexual couples."

Under the law, individual priests can refuse to carry out the ceremony, but the local bishop must arrange a replacement for their church.

The far-Right Danish People's Party mounted a strong campaign against the new law, which nonetheless passed with the support of 85 of the country's 111 MPs. » | Richard Orange in Denmark | Thursday, June 07, 2012

Israeli Soldier Clubs Danish Protester with Rifle
THE GUARDIAN: Denmark demands explanation as video shows apparently unprovoked attack by IDF soldier on activist

Denmark has demanded an explanation from the Israeli government for video footage showing a senior Israeli army officer striking a Danish activist in the face with an M16 rifle, an act which has been sharply criticised by the Israeli prime minister, president and chief of staff.

In the video, Lt Col Shalom Eisner, deputy commander of the Jordan Valley territorial brigade, is clearly seen slamming his rifle into the face of Andreas Ias. There was no obvious reason for the assault in the clip, which was broadcast on Israeli television and posted on YouTube. The soldier was suspended by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) pending an investigation. (+ graphic video) » | Harriet Sherwood | Monday, April 16, 2012

Danish Newspaper 'Massacre Plot' Trial Begins

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Four men plead not guilty to plotting to kill staff of Jyllands-Posten after it published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.

Four men on trial over a suspected plot to murder staff of a Danish newspaper that first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have pleaded not guilty.

The men appeared in court on Friday in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The prosecution named them as Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, Munir Awad and Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, all Swedish citizens of Tunisian, Lebanese and Moroccan origin respectively.

The fourth man, Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian national living in Sweden who pleaded guilty to arms possession, faces charges of "attempted terrorism".

Prosecutors say the four were plotting to "kill a large number of people" at the Jyllands-Posten daily's offices in Copenhagen when they were arrested on December 29, 2010.

Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons in 2005 of the Prophet Mohammed that Muslims believed were insulting, sparking violent and sometimes deadly protests around the world. » | Sources: Agencies | Friday, April 13, 2012

Norway Convicts Two Men over Al-Qaeda Plot on Danish Newspaper
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two men were found guilty on Monday of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the first convictions under Norway's anti-terror laws.

A third defendant was acquitted of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives.

Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaeda planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a shopping mall Manchester in 2009.

The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud, to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.

Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud, a Chinese Muslim, "planned the attack together with al-Qaeda". Bujak was deeply involved in the preparations, but it couldn't be proved that he was aware of Davud's contacts with al-Qaeda, the judge said.

The third defendant, David Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was convicted on an explosives charge and sentenced to four months in prison – time he's already served in pretrial detention.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the defendants would appeal. » | Source: AP | Monday, January 30, 2012

US and Danish Aid Workers Kidnapped in Somalia
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two Western aid workers, from the US and Denmark, were kidnapped on Tuesday from a town in central Somalia where they were contracted to a landmine clearance programme.

The pair, a man and a woman, were abducted close to the airport in Galkayo, a town split between two different local authorities but north of territory controlled by al-Shabaab, Somalia’s Islamist insurgents.

A Somali colleague was taken hostage with them.

The three were working for the Danish Demining Group, an offshoot of the Danish Refugee Council, and had spent the day visiting projects in Galkayo’s south, local officials said.

It is the fourth abduction of Westerners by Somali gangs in the last six weeks, following kidnappings of British, French and Spanish women from northern Kenya. » | Mike Pflanz, Nairobi | Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Le nouveau gouvernement danois assouplit la politique d'immigration

LE MONDE: STOCKHOLM CORRESPONDANCE - Le nouveau gouvernement danois, dirigé par la sociale-démocrate Helle Thorning-Schmidt et issu, lundi 3 octobre, de la victoire de la gauche aux élections législatives du 15 septembre, commence à prendre des premières décisions qui vont dans le même sens : celui d'un assouplissement de la politique d'immigration. Il s'agit d'un changement radical, car pendant dix années d'exercice du pouvoir par la droite, soutenue par l'extrême droite et parfois par les sociaux-démocrates, le Danemark a adopté les règles les plus strictes de l'Union européenne.

"Auparavant, les étrangers étaient vus comme une menace et les fonctionnaires étaient entraînés à refuser les demandes de permis de séjour, explique au Monde Liv Holm Andersen, porte-parole sur l'intégration du Parti radical, l'un des deux petits partis de la nouvelle majorité de gauche qui a imposé cette nouvelle orientation. Il ne s'agit pas d'ouvrir les frontières en grand, mais désormais, tout vachanger. L'époque où l'extrême droite imposait le ton du débat dans ce pays est révolue."

Parmi les mesures prises ces derniers jours, certaines ont valeur de symbole. C'est le cas de la suppression du ministère de l'immigration, dont les fonctionnaires seront répartis entre ceux de la justice et des affaires sociales, de la simplification et de la transparence des critères pour la demande de permis de séjour, de citoyenneté et de regroupement familial, de l'abandon du rétablissement des contrôles aux frontières, tel qu'il avait été imposé ce printemps par l'extrême droite. » | Reportage | Le Monde | Mardi 11 Octobre 2011

Danish 'Red Bloc' Alliance Formed to Take Leftwing Coalition into Power
THE GUARDIAN: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who will become Denmark's first female PM, will announce her new ministers on Monday

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark's prime minister-elect, has announced a deal to form a three-party centre-left coalition following her election victory two weeks ago. Thorning-Schmidt, the leader of the Social Democrats, and daughter-in-law of Neil and Glenys Kinnock, said the Socialist People's party and the Social Liberals would join her "red bloc" alliance. » | Agencies | Sunday, October 3, 2011

Labour Apologises After Peer Insults 'Bloody Denmark'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Labour was forced to apologise after its former security minister Lord West branded Denmark and Belgium second-rate countries.

Lord West, formerly First Sea Lord, said the UK was still a first-rate military power, "not like bloody Denmark or Belgium".

His comments came as Labour delivered the findings of a 10-month review into defence procurement, aimed at getting better value for money from buying equipment for the UK's armed forces.

Speaking in a question and answer session with 100 journalists and guests from the defence industry at Labour headquarters in central London, Lord West said: "This business of a second-tier power - we are probably, depending on what figures you use, the fifth or sixth wealthiest nation in the world.

"We have the largest percentage of our GDP on exports, apart from the tiny countries around the world, we run world shipping from the UK, we are the largest European investor in south Asia, south east Asia (and) the Pacific Rim, so our money and our wealth depends on this global scene.

"We are a permanent member of the (United Nations) Security Council and I think that gives us certain clout and certain ability.

"These mean we are not a second-tier power. We are not bloody Denmark or Belgium, and if we try to become that, I think we would be worse-off as a result. » | Thursday, September 22, 2011