Showing posts with label Holy War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy War. Show all posts
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Friday, October 09, 2015
Russian Orthodox Church Supports Putin's 'Holy War' in Syria to Protect Christians
"Russia took a responsible decision to use military forces to protect the Syrian people from the woes brought on by the tyranny of terrorists," Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill said in an official statement.
The Patriarch said Russia's armed intervention became necessary since "the political process has not led to any noticeable improvement in the lives of innocent people, and they need military protection."
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, which has 150 million members worldwide, pointed out that President Vladimir Putin's decision to send Russian forces to Syria has the approval of parliament and is "consistent with international law, the mentality of our people and the role that our country has always played in the Middle East," the Interfax news agency said as reported by the International Business Times.
Chaplin said Russia cannot turn its back on Christians and other minority groups being wiped out by Islamic State militants and other extremist forces. » | Hazel Torres | Friday, October 2, 2015
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Jihad: British Fighters in Syria Urge Others to Join Them
A British citizen fighting with an extremist rebel group in Syria has issued a call for others to join the country’s civil war.
In a video posted online, a masked man speaking in a London accent says that “the doors of jihad are still open,” and claims that he has helped three other Brits make the journey to Syria.
The man is believed to be a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) – an extremist Islamist rebel group formerly affiliated with al-Qa’ida and similar in ideology. He has appeared in several other videos uploaded by a group called Rayat al-Tawheed, which claims to be the distributor of English-language materials for Isis.
The plea from the rebel fighter comes as UK authorities are becoming increasingly concerned at the number of British citizens travelling to Syria to join extremist groups in the three year old civil war. British and other non-Syrians travelling to Syria tend to gravitate towards al-Qa’ida-type groups that espouse global jihad. » | Richard Hall | Thursday, March 20, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
'I Am the Shooter': US Army Major Nidal Hasan Declares as He Faces Court Martial over Fort Hood Massacre
Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, declared: "I am the shooter" after being accused of trying to "kill as many soldiers as he could" during a shooting rampage at the military base in Texas four years ago.
In an extraordinary scene, Hasan, who is acting as his own defence lawyer, told the hearing that he had "switched sides" and was now a "Mujahideen" waging a holy war against America.
The bearded defendant, who is in a wheelchair and paralysed from the waist down after being shot at the end of his rampage, addressed the small wood-paneled court room at Fort Hood Texas, in a soft, controlled, and accentless voice.
In a statement lasting barely a minute he said: "Panel members, Good morning. On the morning of Nov 5, 2009, 13 US soldiers were killed and many more injured. The evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter.
"The bodies found that day show that war is an ugly thing. Death, destruction and devastation are felt from both sides, from friend and foe.
"The evidence will show I was on the wrong side. The evidence will also show that I then switched sides. The evidence will show we Mujahideen are imperfect soldiers trying to establish a perfect religion in the land of the supreme God.
"I apologise for any mistakes in this endeavour." » | Nick Allen, Fort Hood, Texas | Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Friday, March 08, 2013
THE SUN: HATE preacher Anjem Choudary was caught on camera ranting at a MUSLIM anti-terror cop at a rally.
The extremist and his henchmen accuse the uniformed Asian officer of “spying” on his fellow Muslims. They also call him a liar and accuse him of intimidation.
A video of the clash — insultingly entitled “Munafiq police officer exposed” — has been posted online. In Arabic a munafiq is a religious hypocrite. The hostile exchanges begin as someone asks the unidentified officer — one of three counter-terrorism cops called to the meeting in a Birmingham hall — his name.
After the policeman indicates his collar number, he is asked the question again, before another voice asks: “Are you a Muslim?”
The officer says he is not there to discuss religion and was called by the hall’s owner. A voice then says: “You’re lying, you’re lying.”
As the exchanges continue the officer confirms he is a Muslim — and is branded a “mushrik” or plotter against Islam.
Choudary is then filmed saying: “You come in and you intimidate people. That’s the reason why the Muslim community hate munafiqs and kuffar (non-believers).” (+ video) » | Simon Hughes, Chief Investigative Reporter | Thursday, March 07, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
THE SUN: SCROUNGING hate preacher Anjem Choudary has told fanatics to copy him by going on benefits — urging: “Claim your Jihad Seeker’s Allowance.”
He cruelly ridiculed non-Muslims who held down 9-to-5 jobs all their lives and said sponging off them made plotting holy war easier.
The Sun secretly filmed him over three meetings also saying leaders such as David Cameron and Barack Obama should be KILLED, grinning as he branded the Queen “ugly” and predicting a “tsunami” of Islamic immigrants would sweep Europe.
Father-of-four Choudary, who has praised terrorist outrages, pockets more than £25,000 a year in benefits — £8,000 more than the take-home pay of some soldiers fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He laughed as he told supporters:
“You find people are busy working the whole of their life. They wake up at 7 o’clock. They go to work at 9 o’clock. They work for eight, nine hours a day. They come home at 7 o’clock, watch EastEnders, sleep, and they do that for 40 years of their life. That is called slavery.
"And at the end of their life they realise their pension isn’t going to pay out anything, the mortgage isn’t going to pay out anything.
"Basically they are going to lose everything, commit suicide. What kind of a life is that, honestly. That is the life of kuffar (non-believer).” (+ video) » | Stephen Moyes | Sunday, February 17, 2013
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: 'Claim jobseeker's allowance and plan holy war': Hate preacher pocketing £25,000 a year in benefits calls on fanatics to live off the state: Anjem Choudary called benefits 'Jihadseeker's allowance' / The extremist told followers they must hate democracy and freedom / Also listed bizarre sharia laws, including 'not riding cats and sheep' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, February 17, 2013
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Muslim preacher urges followers to claim 'Jihad Seeker's Allowance': A Muslim preacher is secretly filmed urging followers to take benefits from the state to fund a holy war. » | Melanie Hall | Sunday, February 17, 2013
Saturday, October 13, 2012
The leader of al-Qaida has called for holy war against the United States and Israel over an anti-Islamic video which triggered mayhem in the Muslim world.
Ayman al-Zawahiri praised as demonstrators who breached the US embassy in Cairo and the attackers who stormed the US consulate in Benghazi last month in violence linked to the film as "honest and zealous".
The Benghazi attack on 11 September, in which the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three others were killed, is now believed to have been carried out by al-Qaida-linked militants.
The trailer for the film produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a California-based Egyptian-American angry at the treatment of Christians in his homeland, triggered mayhem across the Muslim world after it was uploaded to YouTube, with at least 17 people killed in violent protests.
In an audio message released by al-Qaida's media arm As-Sahab and posted on militant websites on Saturday, al-Zawahiri claimed Washington had allowed the film's production under the pretext of freedom of expression, "but this freedom did not prevent them from torturing Muslim prisoners". » | Staff and agencies | Saturday, October 13, 2012
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Like many other Christian outposts in the spiritual homeland of Nigeria's "Taliban", the Victory Baptist Church in the northern desert city of Maiduguri no longer just relies on God for protection.
A modest whitewashed spire in a skyline dominated by mosques, for the last month it has had a military guard to defend it from Boko Haram, the militant local Islamist sect blamed for a string of terror attacks nationwide in recent weeks.
The soldiers in the sandbagged machinegun nest outside the church, though, were unable save three members of the flock last week.
On Wednesday evening, three days after Boko Haram ordered all Christians to leave Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria for good, Ousman Adurkwa, a 65-year-old local trader, answered the door of his home near the church to what he thought was an after-hours customer. Instead it was two masked gunmen.
"They shot my father dead, and then came for the rest of the family," Mr Adurkwa's other son Hyeladi, 25, told The Sunday Telegraph the following day. "One chased my brother Moussa and killed him, and the other shot at me, but my mother took the bullet in the stomach instead." » | Colin Freeman, Maiduguri | Sunday, January 08, 2012
Friday, May 06, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: About 1,500 Pakistani Islamists have taken to the streets to protested [sic] against the killing of Osama bin Laden, saying more figures like him would arise to wage holy war against the United States.
Pre-dominantly Muslim Pakistan has yet to see any major backlash after US special forces killed bin Laden early on Monday, not far from the capital Islamabad.But his death has angered Islamists, with one major hardline political party calling on Pakistan's government to end its support for the US war on militancy.
"Jihad (holy war) against America will not stop with the death of Osama," said Fazal Mohammad Baraich, a cleric. » | Friday, May 06, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Osama bin Laden dead: CIA 'kept safe house' in Abbottabad: The CIA kept a safe house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, to conduct surveillance for months on the compound where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. » | Friday, May 06, 2011
Sunday, June 06, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Two US men have been arrested at John F Kennedy airport in New York charged with conspiracy to kill Americans outside the country, according to US justice officials.
The suspects were reportedly about to board planes to Egypt with plans to travel to Somalia to join with an extremist group there.
The Newark Star Ledger said the New Jersey men, Mohamed Hamoud Alessa 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, are both US citizens and quoted neighbors as saying they went to school in the United States.
"As of this moment I am only able to confirm that two arrests took place last night," an FBI spokesman said. >>> | Sunday, June 06, 2010
THE STAR-LEDGER: The two New Jersey men arrested late Saturday night for planning to join a terrorist organization and wage violent jihad abroad, had engaged in paintball training, acquired military gear and apparel for use overseas and saved thousands of dollars toward their goal, according to the criminal complaint unsealed this morning.
The defendants, identified as Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park, were arrested at JFK International Airport. The men intended to take separate flights to Egypt on their way to Somalia to join a terrorist organization known as Al Shabaab, and wage violent jihad, according the criminal complaint, unsealed by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman. >>> The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk | Sunday, June 06, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
BBC: The US State Department has apologised for comments made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's call for jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland.
Department spokesman PJ Crowley*, who made the dismissive comments, said they did not reflect US policy and were not intended to offend.
Col Gaddafi had criticised a Swiss vote against the building of minarets and urged Muslims to boycott the country.
Mr Crowley described it as "lots of words, not necessarily a lot of sense."
Libya and Switzerland are embroiled in a long-running diplomatic row.
Clarification
"I regret that my comments have become an obstacle to further progress in our bilateral relationship," Mr Crowley said.
Last week, Libya's National Oil Corporation warned US oil firms of possible "repercussions" over Mr Crowley's reaction. >>> | Tuesday, March 09, 2010
*Who is this sniveler? America has lost ALL of its dignity!
20MINUTEN.ch: USA macht sich die Nase braun! Affäre Gaddafi : USA entschuldigen sich bei Libyen >>> sda/ddp | Mittwoch, 09. März 2010
Monday, March 08, 2010
TIME: It's tempting to dismiss Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi's call this week for a jihad against Switzerland as just another round in the feud between the two countries. But it would be a mistake to treat Gaddafi's rhetoric as mere theater. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's second-eldest son, who many suspect is Gaddafi's likely successor, tells TIME that Libya's row with Switzerland is evidence of a far more serious and urgent issue within Libya, which is grappling with how democratic and Westernized the country should become after decades of isolation. "If we are going to dance with them [the West], we need to dance with the same rhythm to the same music," Saif Gaddafi said in a candid interview as he relaxed on his farm outside Tripoli, on the public holiday marking the Prophet Mohammed's birthday. "The best example is the Swiss crisis. It shows there is a big gap between our way of thinking and our mentality, and the Western mentality and the way of doing business."
That's an understatement. The senior Gaddafi's call on Friday for holy war against Switzerland has injected a new, more menacing tone into a dispute that has dragged on for the past 18 months. Gaddafi told an audience of diplomats and officials in the city of Benghazi that Muslims should bar Swiss planes and ships from their countries, and embargo Swiss goods. "Let us wage jihad against Switzerland, Zionism and foreign aggression," he told the crowd. "Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against Muhammad, God and the Koran."
The rift, which threatens multi-billion-dollar investments in Libya, began when Swiss police arrested Gaddafi's youngest son Hannibal and his wife in July 2008, for allegedly assaulting two of their servants in a Geneva hotel. The couple denied the charges, which were quickly dropped, but the row continued. Offended by Swiss newspaper portrayals of his son, Gaddafi withdrew billions in Libyan funds from Swiss banks in July of last year, prompting the Swiss president to fly to Tripoli to apologize for the arrest.
Gaddafi was still not mollified. Last August, two Swiss businessmen were arrested in Tripoli for overstaying their visas. After a five-month standoff, one was allowed to leave Libya last week, while the second began a four-month prison term. >>> Vivienne Walt, Tripoli | Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Libya said its leader Colonel Gaddafi's call for "jihad" against Switzerland was not a reference to armed struggle.
Ali Aujali, Libya's ambassador to the United States, said: "It is a call for (an) economic and commercial boycott against Switzerland, this is true, but it doesn't mean by any means that it is an armed struggle."
On Feb 25, Col Gaddafi called for a "jihad" against Switzerland, branding it an infidel state that was destroying mosques – an apparent reference to a Swiss referendum in favour of banning the construction of minarets.
But Mr Aujali said that Tripoli still expects an apology for US criticism of his remarks.
Asked about the Libyan leader's "jihad" comment, State Department spokesman P J Crowley last month responded dismissively and drew a parallel to Col Gaddafi's one hour and 35 minute address to the United Nations last year.
"It just brought me back to a day in September, one of the more memorable sessions of the UN General Assembly that I can recall – lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense," Mr Crowley said.
Mr Crowley has since said his comment was not meant as a personal attack but has refused to apologise outright, a stance that did not satisfy Libya. >>> | Thursday, March 04, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
If anyone has been hurt by the Libyan row, it is Libya itself, because it has shown itself to be just what it truly is: a rogue state. – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Neutral Switzerland has had its reputation as a global mediator dented as weaknesses in its foreign policy are exposed by its escalating row with Libya, analysts said.
Relations between Bern and Tripoli have been strained since July 2008, when one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal and his wife were arrested in Geneva after two domestic workers complained they had mistreated them.
Libyan [sic] retaliated by blocking two Swiss businessmen from leaving its territory while Switzerland imposed visa restrictions on some Libyans, effectively blocking them from entering Europe's Schengen 25 nation travel zone.
But the row reached new heights this week when Gaddafi called for jihad against the alpine state over a recent Swiss ban on the construction of minarets.
Hasni Abidi, the director of the Geneva-based Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World, said the tussle with Libya was "bad publicity for the Swiss in the Arab and Muslim world," where Switzerland had traditionally played a role in mediation.
Bern was a middleman in ending decades of hostility stemming from World-War I-era massacres between Turkey and Armenia, leading them to sign historic protocols estabilishing diplomatic ties.
Switzerland also represents US interests in Iran and Tehran's interests in Egypt.
However, "this speciality is very certainly weakening given the situation linked to the Libyan crisis," added another analyst, Frederic Esposito, from the European Institute of the University of Geneva.
Abidi added that this was amplified by a Swiss referendum vote last year to ban the construction of new minarets, a move that drew worldwide criticism and which Kadhafi seized on to call for jihad.
Gaddafi knew that Switzerland's role as a mediator is "based on its image of neutrality and impartiality and openness," said Abidi, and therefore he has attacked this image.
Swiss handling of the Libyan crisis has exposed broader weaknesses in its foreign policy, said analysts. >>> Hui Min Neo and Alix Rijckaert, in Geneva for AFP | Monday, March 01, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: World powers have reacted with outrage to a call by Colonel Gaddafi of Libya for holy war on the "obscene, infidel" state of Switzerland.
Col Gaddafi took a long-running and personal feud with the historically neutral European country to new heights with a speech in which he attacked the ban on new minarets on mosques approved by a Swiss referendum last year.
"Those who destroy God's mosques deserve to be attacked through jihad, and if Switzerland was on our borders, we would fight it," he said. "Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism."
He called for a boycott of Switzerland by the Islamic world. "Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against Mohammad, God and the Koran," he said.
"The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbours and prevent any Swiss ships docking, inspect all shops and markets to stop any Swiss goods being sold."
Col Gaddafi's typically eccentric row with Switzerland, which began when one of his sons was arrested along with his wife because of allegations of abuse by two members of his domestic staff, has come as a blow to western powers.
They thought that they had managed to tame the Libyan leader after he voluntarily gave up a basic nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and agreed a compensation deal over the Lockerbie bombing.
Yesterday, both the European Union and the United Nations hit out at his speech. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Der libysche Staatschef Muammar al-Ghadhafi hat zum heiligen Krieg (Jihad) gegen die Schweiz aufgerufen. In einer Rede in Bengasi bezeichnete der libysche Revolutionsführer die Schweiz wegen des Minarett-Verbots als «ungläubig» und «abtrünnig».
Der libysche Staatschef Muammar al-Ghadhafi hat am Donnerstag zum heiligen Krieg (Jihad) mit allen Mitteln gegen die Schweiz aufgerufen. In einer Rede in Bengasi bezeichnete der libysche Revolutionsführer die Schweiz als «ungläubig» und vom Glauben «abgefallen»; er begründete seine Vorwürfe mit dem im November beschlossenen Minarett-Verbot. Er behauptete auch, in der Schweiz würden Moscheen zerstört. >>> (sda/afp/Reuters)/awy | Donnerstag, 25. Februar 2010
HERALD SUN: LIBYAN leader Muammar Gaddafi has turned up the heat in his country's dispute with Switzerland, calling for jihad against it over a ban on the construction of minarets.
"It is against unbelieving and apostate Switzerland that jihad (holy war) ought to be proclaimed by all means," Mr Gaddafi said in a speech in the Mediterranean coastal city of Bengazi to mark the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.
"Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism," he said.
"Any Muslim around the world who has dealings with Switzerland is an infidel (and is) against Islam, against Mohammed, against God, against the Koran," the leader told a crowd of thousands in a speech broadcast live on television.
In a November 29 referendum, Swiss voters approved by a margin of 57.5 per cent a ban on the construction in their country of minarets, the towers that are a signature part of mosques. >>> From correspondents for Herald Sun in Bengazi, AFP | Friday, February 26, 2010
LE TEMPS: Le numéro un libyen Mouammar Kadhafi a appelé jeudi au djihad (guerre sainte) contre la Suisse qu’il a qualifiée de «mécréante» et d’«apostate» suite à l’interdiction de la construction des minarets dans la confédération
«C’est contre la Suisse mécréante et apostate qui détruit les maisons d’Allah que le djihad doit être proclamé par tous les moyens», a déclaré le colonel Kadhafi dans un discours à Benghazi (est) à l’occasion de la fête du Mouloud qui commémore la naissance du Prophète Mahomet.
Pour le numéro un libyen, «le djihad contre la Suisse, contre le sionisme, contre l’agression étrangère (...) , n’est pas du terrorisme». >>> AFP | Jeudi 25 Février 2010
KRONE.at: Der libysche Revolutionsführer Muammar Gaddafi hat die Muslime zum Heiligen Krieg gegen die Schweiz aufgerufen. Die Eidgenossenschaft sei ein ungläubiger Staat, in dem Moscheen zerstört würden, erklärte Gaddafi am Donnerstag in Benghazi. "Jeder Muslim in der Welt, der mit der Schweiz zusammenarbeitet, ist ein Abtrünniger und gegen den Propheten Mohammed, Gott und den Koran." >>> | Donnerstag, 25. Februar 2010
SUEDDEUTSCHE.de: Libyens Machthaber poltert wieder einmal gegen die Schweiz - und ruft diesmal zum Heiligen Krieg gegen das Land auf. Kurzmeldungen im Überblick.
Noch Ende vergangenen Jahres hatte der selbst ernannte "König von Afrika" gefordert, die Schweiz abzuschaffen. Nun wettert der libysche Revolutionsführer Muammar Gaddafi wieder gegen das Alpenland - und ruft zum Heiligen Krieg auf.
Die Schweiz sei ein ungläubiger Staat, in dem Moscheen zerstört würden, erklärte Gaddafi in Benghasi. "Jeder Muslim in der Welt, der mit der Schweiz zusammenarbeitet, ist ein Abtrünniger und gegen (den Propheten) Mohammed, Gott und den Koran."
Gaddafi forderte außerdem die Muslime auf, Schweizer Produkte zu boykottieren und ihre See- und Flughäfen für die Schiffe und Flugzeuge der Eidgenossen zu sperren. "Diejenigen, die Gottes Moscheen zerstören, verdienen es, mit einem Dschihad angegriffen zu werden. Würde die Schweiz an unserer Grenze liegen, würden wir gegen sie kämpfen", wurde Gaddafi von der amtlichen Nachrichtenagentur Jana aus einer Rede vor Anhängern zitiert. >>> apn/Reuters | Donnerstag, 25. Februar 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Libyan leader labels Switzerland an infidel state, escalating vendetta against country whose police once arrested his son
Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, yesterday called for a jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland, in an escalation of his vendetta against the country where police once arrested his son.
At a meeting in the city of Benghazi to mark the prophet Muhammad's birthday, Gaddafi described the country as an infidel state that was "destroying" mosques. Last year he urged the UN to abolish Switzerland and divide it between Germany, France and Italy.
"Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate – is against Muhammad, God and the Qur'an," Gaddafi said.
Swiss voters last November backed a referendum proposal banning the building of minarets. The proposal was put forward by the Swiss People's party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which claims minarets are a sign of Islamisation. The move was opposed by the government, which argued that it would harm Switzerland's image, particularly in the Muslim world.
Gaddafi has nursed a grudge against Switzerland since his son Hannibal and daughter-in-law were arrested in Geneva in 2008 for allegedly beating two servants at a luxury hotel. The Gaddafis were released soon afterwards and the charges dropped. But the Libyan leader was so enraged by his son's two-day detention that he shut subsidiaries of Swiss firms in Libya, had two Swiss businessmen arrested, cancelled most flights between the two states and withdrew about $5bn (£3.2bn) from his Swiss bank accounts.
One of the Swiss businessmen has been freed, but the other was forced this week to leave the Swiss embassy in Tripoli, where he had sought refuge, and move to jail to serve a four-month term, in an apparent bid to appease the Libyan leader. >>> Mark Tran | Friday, February 26, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Muammar Gaddafi has appealed for jihad against Switzerland, long regarded as one of the most peaceful nations in the world.
The Libyan leader’s call for a holy war was, he said, a response to a Swiss referendum in November to ban the construction of minarets on mosques.
It is the low point in a relationship that has been deteriorating since 2008 when Colonel Gaddafi’s son Hannibal was briefly detained in Geneva after allegedly beating his servants.
“Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against (the Prophet) Muhammad, God and the Koran,” Colonel Gaddafi said at a rally broadcast on television.
He made the speech to mark the Prophet’s birthday, ensuring that many Arabs would take the call seriously.
It was not clear how he wanted Muslims to target Switzerland. “The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbours and prevent any Swiss ships docking,” he said, apparently unaware that Switzerland does not have a merchant navy, or coast. >>> Roger Boyes | Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda has successfully restructured its global network and now has the capability to carry out a wide range of terror attacks against Western targets, according to a detailed U.S. intelligence assessment that has been conducted in the wake of the failed Christmas Day Detroit bomb plot.
And the growing strength of al-Qaeda’s support in Britain has emerged as a major concern for U.S. intelligence agencies as they attempt to prevent further attacks after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student who studied at London’s University College, nearly succeeded in detonating an explosive device that he had concealed in his underpants as Northwest airlines flight 253 made its final approach to Detroit airport.
American intelligence officials are still investigating claims that Abdulmutallab was radicalised while he was a student between 2005 and 2008, although British security officials insist that he was radicalised in Yemen after he left London.
But the failure of British security officials to alert their American counterparts to Abdulmuttalab’s radical activities while president of UCL’s Islamic Society has led to increased tensions between Washington and London.
Earlier this week Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, confirmed that the UK had not passed any information to the U.S. prior to the attempted December 25 bombing that would have led American officials to believe that Abdulmutallab was a potential terrorist.
But while in London Abdulmutallab regularly presided over debates that denounced Britain’s involvement in the war on terror and America’s Guantanamo detention facility.
American officials now believe Britain poses a major threat to Western security because of the large number of al-Qaeda supporters that are active in the country. Two years ago Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, estimated that there were 2,000 al-Qaeda sympathisers based in Britain – the largest concentration of al-Qaeda activists in any Western country. But American officials, who regularly refer to “Londonistan” because of the high concentration of Islamic radicals in the capital, believe the figure is growing all the time. They point out that recent al-Qaeda terror attacks planned in Britain have been the work of British-based Muslims, many of whom have been trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. >>> Con Coughlin | Friday, January 15, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: A group of influential religious leaders in Yemen has threatened to declare jihad — holy war — if foreign troops intervene to stem the spread of al-Qaeda in the country. The edict is a clear warning to the United States as it plans to step up its military involvement in the country.
The leaders said that a jihad would be called if foreign troops set up bases inside the country, or moved into its territorial waters.
“If any party insists on aggression, or invades the country, then according to Islam, jihad becomes obligatory,” said a statement signed by 150 clerics and read out at a news conference in Sanaa, the capital. The stark threat came as Yemeni security officials declared that the country was openly now at war with the terrorists, who are trying to carve out a haven in a country riven by rebellion, secessionism, poverty and tribal loyalties. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, January 15, 2010
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