‪Massive Anti-terror Raids in France, Belgium Follow Paris Attacks, Dozens Arrested‬

Anti-terrorist raids are currently underway across France, authorities said. The operations come following Friday’s co-ordinated attacks by jihadists in Paris that killed more than 120 people and left hundreds injured.

Turkey: Lavrov Calls on World Leaders to Build Universal Anti-terrorist Front

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the necessity to "put aside all excuses, preconditions and to concentrate on the creation of a universal anti-terrorist front," during a press briefing at the G20 Summit in Antalya, Sunday. Lavrov added that the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Jabhat an-Nusra and other terrorist organizations are the "common enemy."

Belgium Deploys Troops Following Anti-terror Raids

BBC AMERICA: Troops have been deployed across Belgium to guard potential targets of terrorist attacks, following a series of anti-terror raids and arrests.

Up to 300 soldiers will be mobilised in Brussels, Antwerp and elsewhere.

Belgium's interior minister told the BBC that his country had to make use of all the forces at its disposal.

Europe is on high alert after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in Paris. More than 20 people have been arrested in Belgium, France and Germany.

Uniformed soldiers could be seen outside Jewish schools and government buildings in Belgium on Saturday.

Defence ministry officials said 150 police were already in place, a number that they expected to double over the course of the coming week. » | Saturday, January 17, 2015

French Cabinet OKs New Anti-terrorism Measures
THE BOSTON GLOBE: PARIS—The conservative French government on Wednesday unveiled new counterterrorism measures to punish those who visit extremist websites or travel to weapons-training camps abroad, in the wake of deadly shootings by an suspected Islamic extremist in southern France last month.

The measures now go to Parliament, where it may face resistance from the Socialists, who say France's legal arsenal against terrorism is already strong enough and that the proposal is a campaign ploy to boost President Nicolas Sarkozy's chances at a second term.

Sarkozy's Cabinet gave its go-ahead to measures that would make it illegal to travel abroad to "indoctrination and weapons-training camps for terrorist ends" or to regularly visit websites that incite or praise deadly terrorism.

Sarkozy's government insists the measures are needed to fight the relatively new phenomenon of "lone wolf" terrorism by extremists who self-radicalize online via jihadist Web sites, and are hard for authorities to track. » | Sylvie Corbet | Associated Press | Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Muslim Group Holds 'Anti-terrorism' Summer Camp
THE GUARDIAN: Hundreds attend three-day al-Hidayah event at University of Warwick campus to learn how to fight arguments of extremists

Young Muslims arrive at al-Hidayah 2010 at the University of Warwick campus. Photograph: The Guardian
After a modest breakfast came the first choice of the day: to take part in sporting activities ranging from five-a-side football to archery, or to join the Sunday morning nature stroll around the campus. Then it was down to the serious business: a series of lectures, workshops and presentations, punctuated by prayers and countless impromptu street-corner debates.

This is al-Hidayah 2010, a three-day event that kicked off on Saturday and attended by 1,300 Muslims – mainly young men and women – that has been billed as the UK's first anti-terror camp.

Devotees of Muslim scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri have gathered at the University of Warwick's campus to be taught practical ways of countering extremist views in their schools, universities and communities. They have been learning how to engage with people expressing extremist views and are being directed to passages in the Qur'an and other Islamic texts to allow them to argue against them.

The camp follows the publication by Qadri, founder of the moderate Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) movement, of a headline-grabbing "fatwa on terrorism", a 600-page volume claiming to "remove decisively" any theological justification for Islamist terror.

"People have long asked where are the moderate Muslim organisations? What are they doing to combat extremism," said MQI spokesman Shahid Mursaleen. "We are trying to train young people here to counter the arguments they hear from the radicals, to give them the knowledge so they can question the extremists and contradict their ideology." >>> Stephen Morris | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Other articles on Tahir ul-Qadri >>>

For Bush Saudi Arabia Is a Good Ally Against Terrorism!
With many thanks to Always On Watch and Little Green Footballs where this article was picked up:

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush certified Saudi Arabia as an anti-terrorism ally on Friday, weeks after a top US Treasury official sharply criticized the kingdom's record.

Bush's move came in a memorandum to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, required under US law to free up aid from Washington to Riyadh, that the White House released to reporters.

"I hereby certify that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with efforts to combat international terrorism and that the proposed assistance will help facilitate that effort," the president said.

His memorandum came a little more than a month after the US Treasury undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey, charged that Saudi Arabia has failed to prosecute the bankrollers of terrorist groups. Bush certifies Saudi Arabia as anti-terrorism ally (more)

Mark Alexander

Canada gets tough on terrorism
BBC: The first person to be charged under Canada's anti-terrorism act has lost his attempt to challenge the law over its constitutionality.

Mohammed Momin Khawaja, a Canadian citizen, was arrested in March 2004 in a joint UK-Canadian operation and was accused of planning to attack the UK.

He argued that the new law was unconstitutional following a ruling by a provincial judge.

But the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear Mr Khawaja's appeal. Canadian’s terror appeal denied

Mark Alexander