Muslim Extremist Firebombed Home of Man Who Published Book on Prophet Mohammed
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim extremist has been found guilty of firebombing the home of the publisher of a controversial novel about the Prophet Mohammed and his child bride.

CCTV before firebombing
Abbas Taj, 31, a minicab driver from Forest Gate, East London, had claimed he was simply giving two other men a lift to the house in an exclusive square in Islington, North London.

The other men, Ali Beheshti, 41, and Abrar Mirza, 23, had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to recklessly damaging property and endangering life following the attack at 2.30am on Saturday September 27 last year.

The men were under surveillance by police who had warned Martin Rynja, 43, and his partner, to move out of their four-storey townhouse, which had an office in the basement.

Taj's car, a Honda Accord, had been bugged by officers and their conversation was recorded as they drove to the square.

Beheshti was heard asking Taj: "You wanna be the emir [leader], yeh?" and Taj replied: "That would be you."

"You know what we gotta do, anyway, innit?" Beheshti added.

In the early hours of September 27 last year the three men were observed driving twice through the square in Islington before Beheshti and Mirza approached the front door with a petrol can in a white plastic bag, poured diesel fuel through the letter box and used a disposable lighter to set it on fire. >>> By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Monday, May 18, 2009

Dutchman Acquitted of Insulting Islam
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: "Stop the tumour that is Islam" is not an insult to a group on the basis of its religion, the Dutch high court ruled on Tuesday. An activist from the southern town of Valkenswaard, who had hung a poster using this slogan in his window, has been acquitted of the charge, which is similar to one of the charges faced by controversial Dutch anti-Islam member of parliament Geert Wilders.

The man from Valkenswaard had hung the poster after the 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist. The poster read: "Stop the tumour that is Islam. Theo has died for us. Who will be next? Resist now! National Alliance, we will not bow down to Allah. Join now." [The National Alliance in the Netherlands is an extreme right movement.]

The high court on Tuesday explained its ruling by saying that it is not a crime to express insults towards religion. "Not even if that happens in such a way that the devotees feel their religious feelings are hurt", the court said.

The highest judge in the Netherlands said that only if a needlessly offensive remark is 'explicitly' geared towards a certain group, which is distinct from others in society based on its religion, can there be a matter of group insult as defined in article 137c of the Dutch criminal code. For an insult towards a group to be punishable, that group has to be 'collectively' hit in what defines that group, namely religion. Criticism towards opinions that exist within a group or the behaviour of people belonging to that group cannot be penalized, according to the ruling. >>> News Staff, NRC Handelsblad International | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>