Warning! This Is One of Cameron's Most Stupid Suggestions! David Cameron Surprises Allies with Suggestion of Arming Syrian Rebels
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has split the western alliance with his unexpected proposals to open the door to arming the Syrian opposition, just as the US is becoming alarmed at its Islamist make-up and human rights abuses.

Downing Street is floating striking proposals to alter the European Union's embargo on Syria to allow arming the rebels, under the pretext of recognising their "right to self-defence". Rebels are demanding a shopping list of weapons they say will allow them to "finish the job" of removing President Bashar al-Assad.

But with rebel groups openly admitting to executing prisoners, and radical Islamist groups taking more prominent roles in the fighting, Mr Cameron's initiative has caused surprise in the US state department and elsewhere.

"It's amazing," said one western diplomat familiar with the startled US response. "Questions have to be asked in London as to what Cameron is thinking."

The diplomat was speaking in Doha, the Qatari capital, where a disparate collection of Syrian exiles has spent the week with western and Arab backers trying to cajole them into a semblance of unity.

Mr Cameron and European allies, including France and Italy, believe that any success should be rewarded with a bolder approach by the West on providing arms. » | Ruth Sherlock, in Doha and Richard Spencer in Idlib Province, Syria | Saturday, November 10, 2012

My comment:

What is Camoron trying to do? Turn Syria into an Islamist stronghold, or what? Go back to sleep, David! We'll call you when we want your advice. – © Mark

In Egypt Streets, Islamists Throw Weight Around

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Mohamed Talaat didn't like the fact Christian music was being played at a party to promote interfaith harmony in the Egyptian town of Minya south of Cairo, so together with a group of like-minded Islamist hardliners, he showed up to put a stop to it.

It was simply un-Islamic to broadcast Christian songs, Talaat explained.

"Egypt is Islamic and so we all have to accept Islamic rules to halt any strife," he said by telephone.

Four months since Egypt elected veteran Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Mursi as president, human rights activists say hardliners are trying to impose Islamist ways on society.

Although reliable data on social trends is hard to find in Egypt, many people believe that cases of religious intimidation have increased.

"There is no doubt that the rate of strange and violent practices by strict Islamists has increased tremendously since the election of Mursi," said Gamal Eid, founder of The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, a human rights group.

"We have in a few months seen many more of such incidents than we have seen in years before Mursi," he said.

Seemingly sporadic incidents are turning into what rights activists describe as an emerging pattern of abuses in the street by radicals, defying both the authority of the state and Mursi's own promises to protect personal freedoms.

From the fatal stabbing of a young man who was out with his fiancée to the case of a conservative teacher who cut schoolgirls' hair because it was uncovered, the examples are stacking up. » | Yasmine Saleh | CAIRO | Wednesday, November 07, 2012

German Islamists Target Youth on the Internet

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A growing community of German-speaking Islamists has developed on the Internet. Aiming to find new recruits, they glorify jihad and call for attacks on Germany. A new study warns that such online propaganda might foster a new generation of terrorists.

As a rapper, Denis Cuspert was a bit player, but as a propagandist for jihad he is a star in some circles. He has gained considerable prominence since 2010, when he transformed himself from a Berlin hip-hop artist named Deso Dogg into the Islamist Abu Malik.

Actually, not much has changed since he became a Salafist. He still makes music, and distributes it primarily through the Internet. But instead of performing rap songs like "Gangxta" and "Ich und mein Baby" ("Me and My Baby"), he releases so-called Anasheed, or Islamic vocal music in which he glorifies jihad.

Cuspert's songs have attained cult status among radical Islamists in Germany. At the request of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Berlin, three of his jihadist songs were labeled as being harmful to minors in early 2012.

Today, the ex-rapper is one of the most prominent German-speaking propagandists for jihad on the Internet. A new study by the Berlin-based Foundation for Science and Politics (SWP), which advises the German government, addresses the development of the Islamist scene on the Internet in detail for the first time. » | Christoph Sydow | Thursday, November 01, 2012

"Gangster-jihadists" in the Sahara Funded by the West, Experts Say - Reuters Investigates
The fall of northern Mali to a mix of Islamist rebels and criminal groups has raised the prospect of a safe haven for terrorists in the Sahara. The groups fund themselves in part by kidnapping Westerners and then demanding ransom money. Reuters correspondent David Lewis in Mali's capital details the growing threat in the region. For more, follow him on twitter @DG_Lewis.

Mali: No Rhythm or Reason as Militants Declare War on Music

THE GUARDIAN: Islamist militants are banning music in northern Mali, a chilling proposition for a country where music is akin to mineral wealth

The pickup halted in Kidal, the far-flung Malian desert town that is home to members of the Grammy award-winning band Tinariwen. Seven AK47-toting militiamen got out and marched to the family home of a local musician. He wasn't home, but the message delivered to his sister was chilling: "If you speak to him, tell him that if he ever shows his face in this town again, we'll cut off all the fingers he uses to play his guitar with."

The gang then removed guitars, amplifiers, speakers, microphones and a drum kit from the house, doused them with petrol, and set them ablaze. In northern Mali, religious war has been declared on music.

When a rabble of different Islamist groups took control of the region in April there were fears that its rich culture would suffer. But no one imagined that music would almost cease to exist – not in Mali, a country that has become internationally renowned for its sound.

…

The ban comes in the context of a horrifically literal and gratuitous application of Sharia law in all aspects of daily life. Militiamen are cutting off the hands and feet of thieves or stoning adulterers. Smokers, alcohol drinkers and women who are not properly attired are being publicly whipped. As one well-known Touareg musician from Kidal says: "There's a lack of joy. No one is dancing. There are no parties. Everybody's under this kind of spell. It's strange." » | Andy Morgan | Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Egyptian TV Host Muhammad Abd Al-'Aal Berates Islamists for Not Defending the Prophet Muhammad Al-Nas TV (Egypt) - September 14, 2012

Mali Islamists Destroy Tombs in Timbuktu

CNN: Al Qaeda-linked rebels in northern Mali destroyed historic and religious landmarks in Timbuktu on Thursday, claiming the relics are idolatrous, residents told CNN.

Three four-wheel-drive trucks carrying at least 30 armed fighters arrived Thursday morning at three mausolea -- all U.N. World Heritage sites -- in the southern Timbuktu neighborhood of Kabara, two residents told CNN by phone.

"They started destroying the first mausoleum's wooden door with their axes," said Ibrahim Ag Mohamed, a guide. "Then they went inside and burned the cloth covering the grave before destroying the building with picks and axes."

The mausolea, one of which held the remains of a religious leader and the founder of the neighborhood, were destroyed within an hour, Ag Mohamed said. » | Amir Ahmed, CNN | Friday, October 19, 2012

Libya: Benghazi Crowds Drive Out Islamist Militants
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cheering crowds swept through the Libyan city of Benghazi clearing Islamist militias from their bases after protests triggered by the killing of the American ambassador, Chris Stevens.


Up to four people were reported dead in clashes which broke out when the last and biggest militia was attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning. Earlier, members of Ansar al-Sharia, the militant group accused of responsibility for Mr Stevens' death, were forced out of their strongholds in the city.

The deaths and promises of retribution by militia leaders presage more trouble to come. But for the moment the headquarters of the freelance groups that have held sway in Benghazi since the revolution that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi are claimed to be in the hands of police and army units loyal to the newly elected prime minister, Mustafa Abushagur.

The protests in Benghazi on Friday evening, estimated at 30,000-strong, featured pro-American slogans and banners, unusual for demonstrations in Arab countries. Though many protesters said they were attending "for Benghazi, not for America", some held up placards commemorating Mr Stevens, who lived in Benghazi last year while co-ordinating American support for the revolution.

"We demand justice for Stevens," said one, and "Libya lost a friend" another. » | Richard Spencer, Benghazi | Saturday, September 22, 2012

Hardline Muslims Protest Hillary Clinton’s Indonesia Visit
Sep. 3 - More than 300 people from a hardline Muslim group protest in front of the U.S. embassy in Jakarta ahead of Hillary Clinton's visit to Indonesia. Sarah Sheffer reports.

Germany: "Islamists Want to Bring Jihad to Europe"
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: The report also states that over 100,000 native Germans have converted to Islam in recent years.

German Intelligence Chief Gerhard Schindler has issued a warning saying that Europe is at great risk of terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists.

In a wide-ranging interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Schindler said the German foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), is particularly concerned about the threat posed by homegrown terrorists, individuals who are either born or raised in Europe and who travel to war zones like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia or Yemen to obtain training in terrorist methods.

Schindler said: "A particular threat stems from Al Qaeda structures in Yemen. They want to bring Jihad to Europe. Among other tactics, this involves the 'lone wolf' model, which involves individuals who are citizens of the targeted country and who go abroad for training. We know that this is strategy is currently high on Al Qaeda's agenda, and we are accordingly attentive." » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Islamist Extremists Cut Off Thief's Hand in Northern Mali

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jihadists occupying northern Mali on Thursday said they had cut off the hand of a thief in accordance with strict Islamic law which they have imposed on the population.

"Yes, I confirm it. We applied sharia in Ansongo yesterday (Wednesday). The hand of a thief was cut off. Sharia demands it," a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Mohamed Ould Abdine, told AFP.

A local government official in the town south of Gao, one of the capitals of the vast desert region, said he witnessed the amputation.

"I am in Gao now, but yesterday I was in Ansongo. There was a lot of blood when the hand was cut. It was the hand of a thief who stole a motorbike," he told AFP.

He added that dozens of people had witnessed the public amputation.

Abdine said the sentence was "the law of God." » | Source: AFP | Thursday, August 09, 2012

Islamic Jihadists Using Switzerland as Base
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Swiss analysts say the initiative of "Ummah Schweiz" is an effort to establish "parallel" legislative body in Switzerland that will be a mouthpiece for the Islamic fundamentalists, who are seeking to impose Sharia law on the country. With representatives in all 26 cantons, the group will be fully functional in 2013.

Radical Muslim groups are using Switzerland as a base from which to promote Islamic jihad in Europe and beyond.

Islamists in Switzerland are providing jihadists with logistical support, and also stepping up their use of Internet websites there to spread Islamic propaganda as well as to incite their supporters to commit acts of terrorism and violence.

Swiss authorities have identified at least 10 trips by Islamists from Switzerland to jihadi training camps overseas just during the past 12 months.

One finding of Swiss Federal Police Annual Report for 2011 (in German), published in Bern on June 21, is that although Switzerland was not a direct target of Islamic terrorism in 2011, the Swiss Federal Police Office, also known Fedpol, did investigate a Swiss convert to Islam who used the Internet to discuss a terrorist attack involving explosives against an American installation in Germany. Although the report does not provide further details about the investigation, it states that the suspect's being Swiss proved that "not only people with immigrant backgrounds could be supporters of jihad."

In response to the rising threat from radical Islam, Fedpol, recently launched a new specialist IT research department to intensify efforts to monitor jihadist websites and their operators. Fedpol also strengthened its cooperation with the Swiss Federal Intelligence Services. In a related move, the Swiss Federal Justice Ministry on June 30 announced that Switzerland has refused to take back a Jordanian refugee who, after he was found to have links to Islamist rebels in Somalia, had been given asylum.

The refugee, 19-year-old Magd Najjar, had been caught in May and charged in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 6 for links to Islamist Al-Shabaab rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda, and who openly state that they want to impose Islamic Sharia law in Somalia.

"Clear evidence shows that he visited regions of Somalia where jihadist groups are involved in conflict (against the government). It also appears that he had contact with Islamist elements in Switzerland," the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Swiss law states that refugees can lose their asylum status if they threaten or compromise national or international security.

Separately, leading Islamic groups in Switzerland say they want to establish a single national representative body that will enable all of the country's Muslims to "speak with one voice."

The organizers say their new "parliament" will be called "Umma Schweiz" [The Islamic Nation in Switzerland"] and be based on the principles of Islamic Sharia law. The headquarters of the organization will be located in Basel with "representatives" in all 26 cantons (or "states") of Switzerland. The first "test vote" of Umma Schweiz will be held in the fall of 2012; the group will be fully functional in 2013. » | Soeren Kern | Monday, July 09, 2012

Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi Pledges to Be President for All Egyptians
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi was declared Egypt’s first democratically elected president, as the Islamist movement cast off decades of persecution to take the most significant step of its long rise to power.


Tahrir Square erupted in an explosion of noise as it was announced that Mr Morsi had defeated Ahmed Shafiq, a retired general and Mubarak-era prime minister, and would become the first leader not to be a Pharaoh, Sultan or General in Egypt’s history.

His victory came fully 16 months after the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorial regime and set the seal on a rise to power for the world’s most important Islamist movement following years of its leaders being alternately feared, admired, jailed or killed.

In a televised address in which he praised the police and the army, Mr Morsi said: "I wouldn't be here today as the first freely elected president without the sacrifices of the martyrs", as he declared himself a "president for all Egyptians".

“I call on you, great people of Egypt ... to strengthen our national unity,” he said, adding that national unity “is the only way out of these difficult times.”

Mr Morsi also promised to “preserve all international treaties and charters... we come in peace,” adding “the revolution continues.” » | Richard Spencer, Cairo | Sunday, June 24, 2012

France Launches Raids to Arrest 10 Suspected Islamist Suspects

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Elite police arrested 10 Islamist suspects in early morning raids across France on Wednesday ordered by President Nicolas Sarkozy after seven people were killed by an al-Qaeda-inspired gunman last month.

The DCRI domestic intelligence service, supported by elite police commandos, carried out arrests in the southern cities of Marseilles and Valence, two towns in the southwest and in the northeastern town of Roubaix, a police source said.

The raids follow the arrest of 19 people on March 30, a week after police snipers shot dead al-Qaeda-inspired gunman Mohamed Merah, who killed three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three soldiers in a spate of attacks around Toulouse.

"Those arrested have a similar profile to Mohamed Merah," a local police source said. "They are isolated individuals, who are self-radicalised."

He said the suspects were tracked on Islamist forums expressing extreme views and said they were preparing to travel to areas including Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Sahel belt to wage jihad (holy war). » | Source: Reuters | Wednesday, April 04, 2012

France Detains 19 Suspected Islamists
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Police have detained 19 people in a crackdown on suspected Islamist extremists in cities around France on Thursday and more such raids are planned, Nicolas Sarkozy said.

President Sarkozy gave no details about the justifications for the arrests, or what specifically the detainees are suspected of.

"It's in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism," Sarkozy said on Europe-1 radio.

The raids come after a spate of killings in southern France claimed by Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman who espoused radical Islamist views and said he had links to al-Qaeda. Merah was killed in a gunfight with police last week and buried near Toulouse on Thursday. » | AP | Friday, March 30, 2012

Islamists Favourites as Kuwait Goes to the Polls
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Kuwaitis were casting ballots on Thursday in a snap vote to elect the fourth parliament in less than six years, with unofficial polls showing the Islamist-led opposition in the lead.

The vote in the wealthy Gulf state, which follows a campaign marred by violence, seeks to end political disputes that have hurt the country for years.

Female voters, dressed in clothes ranging from black traditional abayas to casual Western-style jeans, lined up in short queues in voting stations set up for women, as lines of men formed at separate polling booths.

Women voters make up 54 per cent of the electorate and 23 women are among 286 candidates running for the 50-seat legislative body.

Pollsters and analysts expect the 400,000 electorate to deliver a resounding victory for the Islamist-led opposition which has campaigned vehemently for fundamental reforms and against corruption. » | Thursday, February 02, 2012

Egypt: Between Sharia Law and Anarchy

Early Results Show Islamist Party Lead in Morocco
BRADENTON HERALD: Election results for the first 50 seats in Morocco's parliament announced by the state news agency early Saturday suggest a moderate Islamist party is taking 40 percent of the vote.

With just a fraction of the results for the 395-seat Parliament reported, the opposition Justice and Development Party looks to have dramatically increased its share.

Party Secretary General Abdelilah Benkirane said late Friday that by its own estimates, his party had come in first.

According to the new constitution, the party with the most seats gets first crack at forming a new government, so if the trend continues, the Islamists must find coalition partners willing to work with them.

In recent years Morocco's Islamists have cultivated an image as honest outsiders battling corruption and seeking to improve services, rather than focusing on moral issues such as the women's headscarf.

Morocco, a close U.S. ally and popular European tourist destination suffers from high unemployment and widespread poverty.

If the Islamists do end up winning the most seats, that would appear to confirm a trend of victories by Islamist parties in elections prompted by the Arab Spring, following Ennahda's win last month in Tunisia. Read on and comment » | PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press | Saturday, November 26, 2011
LE MONDE: Les islamistes revendiquent la victoire électorale au Maroc » | Isabelle Mandraud, envoyée spéciale au Maroc | samedi 26 novembre 2011

Moderate Islamist Party Declares Victory in Tunisia Elections

LOS ANGELES TIMES: REPORTING FROM TUNIS, TUNISIA -- Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party appeared to win elections for an assembly to draft a constitution Monday, a sign of religion’s growing influence over politics in the country that inspired uprisings across the Arab world.

The apparent victory by Nahda is certain to resonate throughout the region, especially in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to post a strong showing in parliamentary elections next month. Nahda’s ascent from banned organization to popular force indicates that an emerging political Islam may replace decades of rule by secular autocrats.

That prospect indicates that much of the Middle East and North Africa regard Islam and politics as indivisible, a dynamic that has upset liberals in battles over civil rights and what styles of governments will rise from the so-called Arab Spring. Nahda has consistently promised that it is committed to pluralism and tolerance but its opponents claim it masks a more conservative agenda. » | Monday, October 24, 2011

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Triumph der Islamisten alarmiert Diplomaten: Islamisten haben die ersten freien Wahlen Tunesiens gewonnen, in Libyen will der Übergangsrat die Scharia einführen. Westliche Diplomaten warnen vor einer Radikalisierung Nordafrikas, Liberale fürchten Kopftuchzwang und Alkoholverbot. Den Arabischen Frühling hatten sich viele anders vorgestellt. ¶ Tunis/Bengasi - Die Signalwirkung ist enorm: Die Wahlen in Tunesien sind die erste freie Abstimmung nach dem Arabischen Frühling - jener Protestwelle, die vor knapp einem Jahr eben dort ihren Anfang nahm. Nun zeichnet sich ein deutlicher Wahlerfolg der Islamisten ab. » | fab/heb/dpa/Reuters | Montag 24. Oktober 2011

Libyan Islamists Must Have Share in Power, Warns Leader

THE GUARDIAN: Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Tripoli Military Council, issues warning after administration negotiations founder

Libya's Islamist groups "will not allow" secular politicians to exclude or marginalise them in the intensifying battle for power in the post-Gaddafi era, the country's most powerful Islamist leader has said.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and founder of a jihadi group that was later disbanded, appears to be firing a shot across the bows of liberal, western-backed rivals after negotiations over broadening the rebel administration foundered.

"We must resist attempts by some Libyan politicians to exclude some of t
he participants in the revolution," Belhaj writes in the Guardian. "Their political myopia renders them unable to see the huge risks of such exclusion, or the serious ... reaction of the parties that are excluded." » | Ian Black in Tripoli | Tuesday, September 27, 2011