Is this one of the virtues of Islam? Female genital mutilation? Gruesome photo courtesy of Google Images
London Taxis to Extol Virtues of Islam
TIMES ONLINE: Fifty eight per cent of the British public associate Islam with extremism but a new campaign is promoting the religion on London transport

The purple, pink and green sign on the yellow London taxi reads: “The rights of women are sacred.”

This is not some spiritual feminist mantra born of the New Age, but comes out of one of the most traditional religions in the world.

The advertisement marks the launch of a campaign to promote a positive image of Islam, a religion not widely known for its promotion of the rights of women.

The negative view of a faith followed by nearly 1.6 billion people, or one fifth of the world’s population, is the main reason for the launch of the Inspired by Muhammad campaign.

Besides London taxis, the advertisements are to appear on Underground trains and bus stops.

After a new poll showed that 58 per cent of people associate Islam with extremism and 50 per cent with terrorism, the campaign is intended to promote a positive Islamic message about the environment and social justice as well as women.

The campaign was launched by the Exploring Islam Foundation, a new and privately funded group run by young British Muslim professionals.

The YouGov poll of 2,152 adults found that just 13 per cent of those questions believed Islam to be a religion of peace and even fewer, six per cent, associated it with justice.

More than four in 10 disagreed that Muslims have a positive impact on British society, nearly seven in ten said Islam encourages the repression of women and fewer than two in ten said Islam promotes fairness and equality.

The campaign was launched at Tower Bridge, an image of London used on postcards throughout the world. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Young. British. Female. Muslim.
TIMES ONLINE: Thousands of young British women living in the UK decide to convert to Islam - here are some of their stories

From left: Sukina Douglas, Catherine Heseltine, Aqeela Lindsay Wheeler, Catherine Huntley and Joanne Bailey. Photo: Times Online
It’s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. Last month, Belgium became the first European country to pass legislation to ban the burka (the most concealing of Islamic veils), calling it a “threat” to female dignity, while France looks poised to follow suit. In Italy earlier this month, a Muslim woman was fined €500 (£430) for wearing the Islamic veil outside a post office.

And yet, while less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number of female converts to Islam is on the rise. At the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the “New Muslims” who make their official declarations of faith there – and most of them are under the age of 30.

Conversion statistics are frustratingly patchy, but at the time of the 2001 Census, there were at least 30,000 British Muslim converts in the UK. According to Kevin Brice, of the Centre for Migration Policy Research, Swansea University, this number may now be closer to 50,000 – and the majority are women. “Basic analysis shows that increasing numbers of young, university-educated women in their twenties and thirties are converting to Islam,” confirms Brice.

“Our liberal, pluralistic 21st-century society means we can choose our careers, our politics – and we can pick and choose who we want to be spiritually,” explains Dr Mohammad S. Seddon, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Chester. We’re in an era of the “religious supermarket”, he says. >>> Sarah Harris | Saturday, May 10, 2010

Baroness Thatcher Welcomed by David Cameron at Downing Street
THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has welcomed his predecessor Baroness Thatcher to 10 Downing Street for a private meeting.

The PM came to the door of Number 10 to welcome Lady Thatcher and helped the visibly frail former premier from her limousine.

Lady Thatcher, 84, waved to waiting photographers but made no comment as she entered the address from which she led Britain between 1979 and 1990. >>> | Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Disaster in the Gulf

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New Dark Age Alert! Prisoners Convert to Islam for Jail Perks
TIMES ONLINE: Inmates are converting to Islam in order to gain perks and the protection of powerful Muslim gangs, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns today.

Dame Anne Owers says that some convicted criminals are taking up the religion in jail to receive benefits only available to practising Muslims.

The number of Muslim prisoners has risen dramatically since the mid-1990s — from 2,513 in 1994, or 5 per cent of the population, to 9,795 in 2008, or 11 per cent. Staff at top-security prisons and youth jails have raised concerns about the intimidation of non-Muslims and possible forced conversions.

Dame Anne’s report, Muslim Prisoners’ Experiences, published today, says that, although several high-profile terrorists have been jailed recently, fewer than 1 in 100 Muslim inmates have been convicted of terrorism.

She says that prison staff are suspicious about those practising or converting to the faith and warns that treating Muslim inmates as potential or actual extremists risks radicalising them. The report says: “Many Muslim prisoners stressed the positive and rehabilitative role that Islam played in their lives, and the calm that religious observance could induce in a stressed prison environment. This was in marked contrast to the suspicion that religious observance, and particularly conversion or reversion, tended to produce among staff.”

All prisons offer a halal menu, which some inmates see as better than the usual choices. Muslims are excused from work and education while attending Friday prayers. Some converts, who are known as “convenience Muslims”, admitted that they had changed faith because they got more time out of the cells to go to Friday prayers. One quoted in the report said: “Food good too, initially this is what converted me.” Read on and comment >>> Richard Ford, Home Correspondent | Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Proche-Orient : Israël entend mener sa propre enquête sur l'assaut de la flottille
LE POINT: Le gouvernement israélien annonce qu'il mènera sa propre enquête sur l'abordage sanglant par la marine israélienne d'une flottille turque qui transportait une aide humanitaire destinée à Gaza. Il va également examiner comment maintenir avec des moyens différents son blocus de l'enclave palestinienne. Ces annonces ont été faites par le ministre de la Défense, Ehoud Barak, lors d'un débat à la Knesset sur une motion de censure déposée par l'opposition à propos de l'opération du 31 mai, qui a coûté la vie à neuf militants pro-palestiniens. >>> Le Point.fr | Lundi 07 Juin 2010

Americans Like to Supersize Everything. Now They’ve Got Supersized Debt
MAIL ONLINE: America's $13trillion debt is set to overtake the country's GDP within the next two years as economists warn of a 'debt super cycle.'

Forecasters predict the U.S. debt will grow to surpass gross domestic product in 2012, based on data from the International Monetary Fund.

According to Bloomberg, the world's largest economy will expand at a slower pace than the 3.2 per cent average of the past five decades.

It comes as Barack Obama borrows record amounts to fund spending programs to help the economy recover from its longest recession since the 1930s.

'Over the long term, interest rates on government debt will likely have to rise to attract investors,' said Hiroki Shimazu, a market economist in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.

'That will be a big burden on the government and the people.'

The forecast prompted warnings the country will be plunged into a debt 'super cycle' - which occurs when a debt exceeds the value of a nation's annual economic output. U.S. facing debt 'super cycle': $13trillion black hole to overtake country's GDP 'within two years' >>> Mail Foreign Service | Monday, June 07, 2010

Obamonomics©: A Definition >>> Mark Alexander | Saturday, March 07, 2009

Veteran White House Reporter Helen Thomas Retires After Israel Remarks
LOS ANGELES TIMES – BLOGS: Helen Thomas, the legendary White House reporter who broke down barriers against female journalists covering politics, will retire after controversial remarks criticized by many as anti-Israel.

Hearst News Service, her latest employer, on Monday announced the immediate retirement of Thomas, who will be 90 in August.

Thomas told a rabbi at a White House event last week that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany and Poland or the United States. Her comments were caught on videotape and widely distributed.

The remarks caused a furor even though she immediately apologized. Her invitation to speak at a local graduation was rescinded. Jewish groups called her remarks ignorant and insensitive and said her apology did not go far enough. Read on and comment >>> Michael Muskal | Monday, June 07, 2010

Related here

Heaven Forbid That We Should Ever Be Led by This Firebrand! John McDonnell Says He Would Like to 'Assassinate' Margaret Thatcher
THE TELEGRAPH: A candidate for the Labour leadership has said that he would like to go back in time and assassinate Margaret Thatcher.

John McDonnell drew loud applause from an audience of union members as he described himself as a victim of the former Conservative Prime Minister's policies. Having worked for the Greater London Council and National Union of Mineworkers, Mr McDonnell, MP for The Hayes and Harlington, said he would be glad to "go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher".

Debating together for the first time at a hustings, five of the six MPs bidding to take over from Gordon Brown sought to appeal to the left wing tendencies of their audience. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010

Dubai Court Sentences British Man to 15 Years for Murder of South African Girlfriend
THE TELEGRAPH: A British executive has been jailed in Dubai for 15 years for killing his ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in the Gulf after a row.

Mark Arnold denied the allegations made against him in a long-running court case despite the prosecution's use of a confession made after he was arrested at Dubai airport following a trip to Britain.

He admitted arguing with Kerry Winter, a South African, but claims she was alive when he last saw her.

Judge Hamad Abdul Latif told him he would be jailed for 15 years after a brief hearing at Dubai's Court of First Instance on Monday.

The sentence is regarded as lenient as the death penalty remains in force for premeditated murder. The full judgement will be released later this month.

But afterwards Arnold told his lawyer: "There is no evidence - how can the court find me guilty?" >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai and Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg | Monday, June 07, 2010

Niqab au volant: la conductrice et son compagnon en garde à vue
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les deux individus sont soupçonnés de polygamie.

Liès Hebbadj et sa compagne. Photo : Tribune de Genève
Une femme qui avait été verbalisée parce qu'elle conduisait voilée près de Nantes et son mari, soupçonné de polygamie, ont été placés lundi en garde à vue. Un collaborateur de l'époux a aussi été placé en détention, a déclaré le procureur de la République de Nantes, Xavier Ronsin.

Tous trois sont entendus dans le cadre de l'enquête sur «une suspicion de relations polygames» de l'époux, Liès Hebbadj, et des «interrogations sur la régularité des aides sociales dont bénéficieraient plusieurs personnes de sexe féminin qui seraient en relation» avec lui. L'affaire avait éclaté en avril dernier. >>> ATS | Lundi 07 Juin 2010

Premier mariage homosexuel au Portugal
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le premier mariage homosexuel a été célébré lundi au Portugal, pays à forte majorité catholique doté depuis mai dernier d’une loi autorisant les unions entre personnes du même sexe.

Le premier mariage homosexuel a été célébré ce lundi au Portugal, pays à forte majorité catholique doté depuis mai dernier d’une loi autorisant les unions entre personnes du même sexe.

Teresa Pires et Helena Pixao, deux mères divorcées d’une trentaine d’années qui sont ensemble depuis 2003, se sont mariées en mairie lors d’une cérémonie d’une quinzaine de minutes à Lisbonne. «C’est une grande victoire, un rêve devenu réalité», a déclaré Teresa Pires en embrassant sa compagne.


«Maintenant, nous sommes une famille, c’est la chose importante», a-t-elle ajouté, précisant que son couple continuerait de se battre en faveur de l’égalité des droits pour les homosexuels, y compris en matière d’adoption. >>> AP | Lundi 07 Juin 2010

Iran will Schiffe nach Gaza schicken
DIE PRESSE: Die iranische Sektion der Hilfsorganisation Roter Halbmond will zwei Schiffe mit Hilfsgütern zum Gazastreifen entsenden. Die paramilitärischen Revolutionsgarden sollen die Flottille eskortieren.

Die iranische Hilfsorganisation Roter Halbmond will der israelischen Gaza-Blockade trotzen und zwei Schiffe mit Helfern und Hilfsgütern in das palästinenssche Gebiet schicken. Die Schiffe würden Ende der Woche auslaufen, sagte der internationale Leiter des iranischen Roten Halbmondes, Abdolrauf Adibzadeh, am Montag. Eines der Schiffe werde Medikamente und Nahrungsmittel, transportieren das andere Helfer. Die Freiwilligen wollten im Gazastreifen "dem unterdrückten Volk des besetzten Palästina" helfen.

Die paramilitärischen iranischen Revolutionsgarden stünden bereit, die Flottille zu eskortieren, hieß es in Teheran. Es sei die Pflicht des Iran, die unterdrückten und unschuldigen Menschen von Gaza zu verteidigen. >>> Ag. | Montag, 07. Juni 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Iran raises Gaza threat by vowing to challenge Israel's blockade: Iran sought to push Israel into a potentially explosive confrontation in the Mediterranean Sea after a charity close to the Islamic regime announced plans to send two aid ships to Gaza. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Monday, June 07, 2010

Geert Wilders Warning to America
Part 1:



Part 2:

Far-right Anti-Islam Party Set to Double Seats in Dutch Election
THE TELEGRAPH: The far-right Party for Freedom, which has campaigned on a ticket of ending the "Islamic invasion", is expected to double its representation in the Dutch parliament, giving it enough seats to become a potential ruling coalition candidate.

The party is predicted to win 18 seats in the forthcoming elections. It currently holds nine.

Led by anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, the party claims that 40 per cent of social security payments go to non-Western immigrants and that people of Moroccan origin are suspected of committing crime five times more often than the indigenous Dutch.

"The sluice gates are wide open", Mr Wilders said in a campaign video that showed planes landing in Holland as women in headscarves outnumber natives in shopping street scenes.

"Every day we are confronted with mass immigration: headscarves, burqas, minarets, social security dependence, crime ... it never ends," he laments as dramatic music plays in the background of the clip released ahead of June 9 parliamentary elections.

"Whole neighbourhoods are being Islamised."

Mr Wilders' bold move onto the shaky ground of multi-cultural tolerance, for long a matter of Dutch pride, "has prompted other parties to adopt a stricter approach to security and the integration of Muslims", said political analyst Martin Rosema of Twente University. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010

Christians in Middle East Are Ignored, Vatican Claims
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has claimed that the international community is ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

Pope Benedict XVI listens to a prayer during a holy mass at the Eleftheria Sports Centre in Nicosia. Photograph: The Telegraph
A working paper released during Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Cyprus to prepare for a crisis summit of Middle East bishops in Rome in October also cites the "extremist current" unleashed by the rise of "political Islam" as a threat to Christians.

In his final Mass in Cyprus on Sunday, the pontiff said he was praying that the October meeting will focus the attention of the international community "on the plight of those Christians in the Middle East who suffer for their beliefs."

He appealed for an "urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed."

The Vatican considers mostly Greek Orthodox Cyprus as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East and invited bishops to come to the Mediterranean island to receive the working paper.

The pope said Cyprus can "play a particular role in promoting dialogue and co-operation" in the region.

Cyprus was ethnically split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent republic in the north in 1983, but only Turkey recognises it, and it maintains 35,000 troops there.

The island's Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu resumed long-running reunification talks in May after a two-month pause for the poll. The talks have yielded only limited progress so far.

The pope said he saw for himself the "sad division of the island" and that he was "deeply moved" by the pleas of Cypriots who wished to return to homes in the north that were lost during the war. >>> | Sunday, June 06, 2010

David Cameron: Economic Measures Will 'Change Our Way of Life'
THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has warned that his plans to tackle Britain's economic woes will affect the way we live for decades.



In a keynote speech on the economy, the Prime Minister said that the economic situation he had inherited from Labour was worse than he expected.

If drastic cuts were not implemented, the Treasury would be spending an annual £70 billion on debt interest within five years - more than on schools in England, transport, and fighting climate change put together, he said.

Speaking alongside new Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, Mr Cameron told an audience in Milton Keynes that now the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition had been given access to the books, it was clear that the ''overall scale of the problem is even worse than we thought''.

''How we deal with these things will affect our economy, our society - indeed our whole way of life,'' he said.

''The decisions we make will affect every single person in our country. And the effects of those decisions will stay with us for years, perhaps decades, to come.

''It is precisely because these decisions are so momentous, because they will have such enormous implications, and because we cannot afford either to duck them or to get them wrong that I want to make sure we go about the urgent task of cutting our deficit in a way that is open, responsible and fair,'' he said. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010

Britain to Emulate Canada's Radical Solution to Tackle Debt
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: George Osborne is planning to eradicate Britain's budget deficit by emulating Canada, where borrowing was brought under control within just three years by spending cuts of 20 per cent.

The Chancellor will announce a "once-in-a-generation" revolution in public spending inspired by Canada in the mid-1990s, when the government turned a budget deficit of nine per cent of GDP into a surplus.

Canada brought public spending under control guided by the principle that people should ask "what needs to be done by government and what we can afford to do".

Mr Osborne and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Danny Alexander, will attempt to bring about a similar change of mindset in Britain.

The ambitious plan will be welcomed by those who believe swift and decisive action is necessary to bring Britain's budget deficit and spiralling national debt under control quickly.

However, it is likely to prove controversial with those who believe it could tip Britain back into recession and public sector workers who face losing their jobs. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Papst fordert Dialog zwischen Christen und Muslimen: Aufruf zur Versöhnung auf geteilter Insel Zypern
NZZ ONLINE: Der Papst ist bei seiner Reise nach Zypern auf diverse Trennungslinien gestossen, zu deren Überwindung er aufrief. Er forderte einen Dialog mit Muslimen, warb für eine Annäherung an die Orthodoxie und rief die geteilte Insel zur Versöhnung auf.

Papst Benedikt bei seinem Treffen mit Sheik Nazim in der geteilten Stadt Nikosia. Bild: NZZ Online
Papst Benedikt XVI. hat während seines Zypernbesuchs einen Dialog zwischen Christen und Muslimen gefordert. Nur durch «geduldige Arbeit» könnten Vertrauen geschaffen und die «Last der Geschichte» überwunden werden, sagte der Papst am Samstag an einem Treffen mit der kleinen katholischen Gemeinde in einem Viertel von Nikosia.

Annäherung an Orthodoxe als Ziel

Vertrauen sei die Grundlage, um dauerhaften Frieden zu schaffen. In Bezug auf die jüngsten Missbrauchsskandale in der Kirche betonte der Pontifex maximus die Notwendigkeit «heiliger und gut ausgebildeter Priester». Rund 2000 Personen waren in der maronitischen Schule in Nikosia versammelt, um den Papst zu sehen.

Benedikt XVI. traf am Samstag auch den Erzbischof von Zypern, Chrysostomos II. An einem ökumenischen Gottesdienst in Paphos im griechischen Teil der Mittelmeerinsel hatte der Papst am Freitag für eine weitere Annäherung zwischen Katholiken und orthodoxen Christen geworben. Zudem rief er die Bevölkerungsgruppen der geteilten Insel zur Versöhnung auf. >>> sda/afp/dpa | Samstag, 05. Juni 2010

Muslime: Mehr Religiosität = mehr Gewaltbereitschaft
WELT ONLINE: Eine Studie hat herausgefunden: Je religiöser islamische Migranten sind, umso weniger integriert und gewalttätig sind sie. Die Politik ist alarmiert.

Foto: Welt Online
Die Ergebnisse dürften erhebliche Diskussionen unter den Migranten in Deutschland und in ihren Verbänden auslösen – und zugleich Wasser auf die Mühlen von Islamkritikern sein. Der Kriminologe Christian Pfeiffer stellt deshalb vorsichtshalber klar: „Ich bringe nur Fakten an den Tag.“

2007 und 2008 befragten die Wissenschaftler um Pfeiffer rund 45.000 Schüler im Alter von 14 bis 16 Jahren. Sie wollten unter anderem herausfinden, welche Rolle die Religion im Leben der jungen Menschen, vor allem von Migranten, spielt. Das Resultat: Junge, männliche Muslime sind – im Gegensatz zu christlichen Jugendlichen – umso weniger integriert und umso gewalttätiger, je gläubiger sie sind.

Die höchste Gewalttäter-Quote gibt es demnach unter „sehr religiösen“ muslimischen Jugendlichen mit 23,5 Prozent, die niedrigste dagegen bei den „etwas religiösen“ mit 19,6 Prozent.

Bei evangelischen und katholischen Jugendlichen zeigte sich eine gegenläufige Tendenz: Christliche Gläubige begingen der Studie zufolge seltener jugendtypische Gewalttaten. Dies gelte gerade auch für christliche Zuwanderer, die meist aus Polen oder der Ex-Sowjetunion stammten. >>> | Sonntag, 06. Juni 2010

Amazon.de: The Dawning of a New Dark Age

Chypre : Benoît XVI quitte l’île apres trois jours
20 MINUTES.ch: Le pape Benoît XVI a quitté Chypre dimanche après sa première visite en terre orthodoxe au cours de laquelle il a notamment mis sur les rails le synode sur le Moyen-Orient.

Au dernier jour de son voyage de trois jours dans l'île méditerranéenne à majorité orthodoxe, le pape a renouvelé son appel pour la paix au Proche-Orient réclamant un effort international «urgent» pour éviter «de plus grandes tragédies».

Il a remis aux 12 membres du Conseil pré-synodal un document de travail pour le synode sur le Moyen-Orient prévu du 10 au 24 octobre au Vatican, qui tentera de remédier à la délicate situation des chrétiens dans cette région conflictuelle. >>> afp | Dimanche 06 Juin 2010

Mufti en retard
20 MINUTES.ch: Le chef de la communauté musulmane du nord occupé de Chypre, Yusuf Suicmez, a raté dimanche une rencontre avec le pape Benoît XVI étant arrivé en retard au rendez-vous, a annoncé le Vatican. La rencontre était prévue «pour 16h00 (14h00 suisses) à Nicosie, mais le mufti est arrivé en retard et la cérémonie à l'église maronite avait déjà commencé», a dit le porte-parole du Vatican, le père Federico Lombardi, aux journalistes. [Source: 20 Minutes.ch] | Dimanche 06 Juin 2010

Egypt's Islamic TV Extends Reach with New Languages
REUTERS: Egypt's al-Azhar's satellite channel that seeks to promote moderate Islam launched four language services to extend its reach to millions of Muslims worldwide, its designers said on Sunday.

Al-Azhar, one of the oldest seats of Sunni Islamic learning, will target viewers in English, French, Urdu, and Pashto besides its now running Arabic programs, in a renewed effort to further U.S. President Barak Obama's call for greater religious tolerance.

The station was launched to coincide with Obama's visit to Cairo in mid-2009 and his call for better ties between the Muslim world and the United States.

Al-Azhar, whose head is appointed by the state, has traditionally supported the Egyptian government in its campaign against Islamic militants, such as a group that launched an insurgency in Egypt in the 1990s
.
"There is a wide open market for religious moderation on the airwaves," said Sheikh Khaled El Gendy, Azhar religious scholar and one of the channel's content developers.

"We are competing with voices of intolerance for the attention and loyalty of young people," Gendy, who hosts a live call-in program for viewers struggling with the interpretation of Islam to seek guidance, said. >>> Dina Zayed, Cairo | Sunday, June 06, 2010

'Doubtful' Maggie Set for No10 Talks
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Margaret Thatcher is to meet David Cameron at Downing Street on Wednesday amid claims she has grave doubts about some of the Coalition’s key policies.

The two will pose together on the steps of No10 in a move aimed at reassuring party traditionalists who fear Mr Cameron has used the alliance with the Liberal Democrats to bury the Tories’ Thatcherite past.

Lady Thatcher, 84, accepts Mr Cameron had little choice but to join forces with Nick Clegg after the Election failed to produce a clear winner.

But friends say she is deeply sceptical about his plans to change Commons voting rules.

‘She was always very wary of embarking on major constitutional changes,’ said a source.

‘She believes you should not meddle in such matters unless you know exactly where you are going and what the consequences will be.’ Read on and comment >>> Simon Walters, Mail On Sunday Political Editor | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Two US Men Arrested at JFK Airport on Terrorist Charges
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.

A TV crew outside the home of Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, who was arrested at JFK airport as he tried to board a plane bound for Egypt. Photograph: The Sunday Telegraph
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

Federal Authorities Charge 2 New Jersey Men with Pursuing Dream of 'Holy War' in Somalia
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

French Muslim Council Warns Government On Veil Ban
REUTERS: France's official Muslim council has warned the government not to expect it to impose a planned ban on full face veils for women that legal experts argue will be unconstitutional and police predict will be unenforceable.

Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), said his group opposed the full veil and would try to convince the tiny minority of veiled women that it was not a religious obligation and was out of place in France.

But Muslim leaders could not act as agents of the state during a six-month "mediation period" during which veiled women will be stopped and informed about the law but not fined.

The draft law, due to be passed this autumn, bans wearing full veils in public. After the mediation period, veiled women must pay a 150 euro ($182.8) fine or take "citizenship lessons" while anyone found forcing them to veil risks a 15,000 euro fine.

"It will be very hard to apply," Moussaoui told journalists Thursday. "The CFCM has said it's ready to work for this, but not as someone mandated by the state. It's the duty of society to shoulder its responsibility for the mediation."

Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has said she would depend on the police, the CFCM and local civic associations to convince covered women their veils violated French values.

Police unions have warned that stopping veiled women in the street could lead to chaotic scenes and protests.

"There will be lots of refusals, it will degenerate into insult and outrage, they'll be detained and families will gather outside the police station," Yannick Danio of the Unite SGP-Police union told the newspaper Le Monde. Other critics of the ban have said radical Muslims might provoke such confrontations to extend their influence. >>> Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor, Paris | Friday, June 04, 2010

Bishop's Murder Should Not Hurt Islam Dialogue: Pope
REUTERS: Cyprus - Pope Benedict said on Friday the killing of a leading Catholic bishop in Turkey should not be allowed to hurt dialogue with Islam or stain the image of Turkey and its people.

The pope, beginning a three-day visit to the divided island of Cyprus, also told reporters aboard his plane that he hoped the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla would not result in lost hope for Middle East peace.

Benedict spoke of his "profound sadness" over the stabbing Thursday of Italian Bishop Luigi Padovese, a leading Catholic official in Turkey, who was killed by his Turkish driver.

"We are still awaiting a full explanation but we don't want to mix up this tragic episode with Islam. It is a case apart which saddens us but should not be allowed to darken the dialogue (with Islam) in any way," Benedict said.

"We must not attribute this to Turkey or to Turks ... the certain thing is that it was not a political or religious assassination. It was a personal thing."

Turkish officials say Padovese, a proponent of dialogue with Islam, was killed by his driver, who they say had shown recent signs of mental instability.

Catholic dialogue with Islam has been rocky at best since the pope, in a lecture in his native Germany in 2006, equated Islam with violence. He later said his words were misinterpreted and Vatican and Islamic leaders have since stepped up dialogue.

"Despite our differences, Muslims are our brothers and we have to encourage a common vision of dialogue with them," he said. >>> Philip Pullella, Paphos | Friday, June 04, 2010

Verbunden mit diesem Artikel:

WELT ONLINE: Türkei: Bischof erstochen – Polizei vermutet psychische Störung >>> Von Boris Kalnóky | Donnerstag, 03. Juni 2010

Lien en relation avec l’article:

LE FIGARO: Un prêtre poignardé en Turquie >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Jeudi 03 Juin 2010

Council Spends £150,000 So Muslim Graves Can Face Mecca
THE TELEGRAPH: A council is spending £150,000 to extend a cemetery so that the graves of Muslims can face Mecca.

High Wycombe Cemetery in Buckinghamshire currently has a separate Muslim burial section but this is due to run out of space in 2012.

Muslim graves are required to face North [?] East, so that Mecca, the birth place of the Prophet Muhammad in the Sirat Mountains of Saudi Arabia, is on their right to the South East.

While graves could be placed in the existing plot with Christian graves, the different orientation would mean encroaching on areas currently maintained as lawn sections.

A report by High Wycombe District Council also expressed fears that mixing Muslim and Christian graves could lead to a backlash in public opinion.

The council put in a request for land at the Church of England burial ground at Priory Road, High Wycombe to be deconsecrated for Muslim use but this was refused.

The council have now settled on extending High Wycombe cemetery terracing to form new burial areas, walls, paths and steps for access at a cost of £150,000.

According to the Equalities Impact Assessment carried out, an extension would provide 15 years worth of Muslim burials[.]

One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said that enough money had been spent catering to the needs of the Muslim community.

He said: ''Yet again many thousands of pounds being spent pandering to the local Muslim community.

''Just like when they fenced off all of the Muslim graves in the local cemetery to protect them from vandalism yet left all of the other graves from other racial/religious groups left wide open to vandalism.'' >>> | Friday, June 04, 2010

Cameron: 'Years of Pain Ahead'
THE SUNDAY TIMES: DAVID CAMERON has warned that the economy is in a far worse state than previously thought and signalled that Britain faces years of “pain” as the spending axe falls.

The prime minister indicated a sharp downgrade in official growth forecasts and revealed that welfare and public sector pay would bear the brunt of budget cuts.

It is understood that tough measures being considered to help control the £156 billion budget deficit include benefit freezes and cuts in child tax credits. There are also likely to be below-inflation pay rises for state employees on top of next year’s planned freeze.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Cameron said: “Proper statesmanship is taking the right action, explaining to people the purpose behind the pain.”

The prime minister said there would be no “trampoline recovery” of the economy. He warned there was a “serious problem” with forecasts inherited from Labour of robust 3% growth next year.

“There is a huge amount of debt that has got to be dealt with. Crossing our fingers, waiting for growth and hoping it will go away is simply not an answer,” he said.

“The country has got an overdraft. The interest on that overdraft is swallowing up things that the nation should otherwise be spending money on. We have got to take people with us on this difficult journey.” Read on and comment >>> Jonathan Oliver, Political Editor | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Bin Taxes and Planning Laws to Be Ditched by Coalition
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A raft of Labour laws which have been criticised for penalising Middle England will be consigned to the scrap heap by the new Government this week.

Bin taxes will be ditched, along with laws allowing developers to build on back gardens, as the Coalition embarks on a bonfire of "meddling" legislation.

Ministers will say they are scrapping controversial Labour proposals to allow local authorities to charge for household rubbish collections or fine those who fail to cut their waste.

And in a major review of planning law, back gardens will no longer be classified as "brownfield" land which can be built on.

The Government will also announce that it is getting rid of a requirement on builders to squeeze more smaller homes onto new housing developments, after complaints that the rule leads to overcrowding.

The shake-up follows years of campaigns, including one in this newspaper against proposed refuse taxes, and is clearly aimed at pacifying core Conservative voters. >>> Melissa Kite and Richard Gray | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Iran Using Dubai to Smuggle Nuclear Components
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran is using the Gulf port of Dubai to smuggle sophisticated electronic and computer equipment for its controversial uranium enrichment programme that are banned under United Nations sanctions.

In the latest deal, an Iranian company associated with the regime's nuclear programme has acquired control systems from one of Germany's leading electronics manufacturers. The deal was negotiated with a prominent Dubai trading company, which then sold Iran a range of electronic equipment for use at its Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

Details of the deal have emerged amid mounting concern in the West that Tehran has ended its self-imposed suspension of its nuclear weapons programme. A National Intelligence Estimate issued by US intelligence agencies in late 2007 concluded that Iran had suspended its attempts to build an atom bomb in 2003.

But a detailed assessment of Iran's recent declarations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna has led Western officials to conclude that Iran has ended its self-imposed suspension, and has now resumed work on its military programme.

This would explain Iran's renewed attempts to smuggle banned equipment through Dubai. In the latest deal, details of which have been obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph, high-grade German equipment including computers, controllers, communication cards and cables have been smuggled into Iran. >>> Con Coughlin | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Greg Burke: Vatican Takes On Christian Fundamentalists
FOX NEWS – BLOGS: It’s not easy walking through the minefield called Middle Eastern politics, and a Vatican document released Sunday managed to criticize Israel, Egypt, Islam and even Christian fundamentalists.

The 46-page text, “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness,” will serve as a working document for an October meeting at the Vatican about the Mideast.

The document was made public Sunday, the final day of Pope Benedict’s visit to the island of Cyprus, and reflected the Church’s concern about the flight of Christians from the Holy Land as they leave to look for more opportunities and fewer problems elsewhere.

“The Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories is creating difficulties in everyday life, inhibiting freedom of movement, the economy and religious life,” the document said. “Moreover, certain Christian fundamentalist theologies use Sacred Scripture to justify Israel’s occupation of Palestine.”

Many Evangelical Christians, especially Americans, have thrown their total and unwavering support behind the Jewish state in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read on and comment >>> Greg Burke | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Pope in Cyprus Calls for Dialogue between Faiths


Pope Benedict XVI: The Apostolic Church in Cyprus


"Dialogue with Non-Christians Is Essential in the Church"


"Tear Down the Barriers between Us to Bring Peace"


Pope Benedict: Without Moral Truths, the World Would Be Dangerous


"East and West, For Full and Visible Communion"

Queen Rania of Jordan: ملكة الاردن الملكة رانيا

Queen Rania on The View

Obama Loses the Left: Suddenly, It's Cool to Bash Barack
THE TELEGRAPH: Europe still worships him and Washington's Obamatrons remain smitten, but former supporters are turning on the President, writes Toby Harnden.

President Barack Obama presents Paul McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House. Photograph: The Telegraph
Well, at least he's still got Sir Paul McCartney. At the White House last week, the 67-year-old crooner was gushing in much the same manner as his own groupies did at Shea Stadium in 1965. "I'm a big fan, he's a great guy," McCartney told American critics of President Barack Obama. "So lay off him, he's doing great."

Later, McCartney serenaded the First Lady with a rendition of Michelle and, receiving a prize from the Library of Congress, took a cheap shot at President George W Bush that was as unfunny as it was unoriginal. “After the last eight years, it’s great to have a president who knows what a library is.” Bush. Doesn’t read books. Stupid. Geddit?

The problem for the President is that even if the former Beatle does speak for billions, the overwhelming majority of those are overseas. Polls show that around 10 per cent of those who voted for Obama in 2008 now disapprove of his performance and the heavy turnout of young people and black voters among the 69 million who back him will not be repeated again.

McCartney's banalities were an example of a transatlantic dissonance that is all too apparent these days. Whereas Europe is stuck in November 2008 and still hopelessly in love with Obama, Americans have got over the historic symbolism of it all and are now moving on as they live with the reality.

That reality has now begun to dawn on some of Obama's natural constituency - Hollywood and the Left. The "no drama Obama" demeanour that served him so well on the campaign trail is now becoming a liability. >>> Toby Harnden | Saturday, June 05, 2010

Should the West Ban the Burqa?
FOX NEWS: Early in June, Iran denounced European “intolerance” vis-à-vis the burqa. But is this true?

Many Muslims have come to the West in search of freedom and modernity; others have not. Controversy is inevitable. Islamist leaders believe that the West must “tolerate” the practice of gender apartheid as a “religious” right.

Western leaders have condemned the Islamic veil as a sign of hostility to Western ways and as a refusal to integrate. Muslim and ex-Muslim feminists and secularists have condemned the veil as a violation of women’s human rights and claim that it is not a religious requirement.



Many Muslim and ex-Muslim experts on Islam insist that the Qu’ran does not command women to cover their faces, bodies or hair. Women are merely told to dress modestly. They further point out that for part or all of the 20th century, many women in Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Afghanistan, stopped wearing the veil and wore western dress. Islamists claim that the veil is a religious requirement; that bikinis are worse than burqas; that veiled Muslim women are sacred and as such, should not be exposed to corrupting Western, secular mores.

All Europe is wrestling with the issue of whether to ban the Islamic veil.

On May 19, the French cabinet finally voted to ban the burqa. If parliament approves the bill this summer, female violators will be fined 150 euros; men who force their wives to cover their faces will be fined 15,000 euros and will face jail time. France did this despite a 2009 threat by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to “do all in our power and take revenge at the first opportunity against France.”

In May, 2010, a burqa-clad woman in Novara, Italy, was fined 500 euros; the city had previously banned burqas and niqabs. In April, 2010, the lower house of Parliament in Belgium approved a ban on burqas and niqabs. In April, in Madrid, a girl wearing hijab was sent home from school. Throughout Germany, women are not allowed to drive while wearing a burqa. As of January 2010, 53% of Swedes polled wanted a ban on burqas and niqab in public. In May, 2010, in France and Switzerland, women physically attacked women who were wearing a burqa or a headscarf.

Where does America stand on the Islamic veil? In his June 2009 speech in Cairo, President Obama had this to say: "The U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it." Muslim feminists have condemned the president, arguing that the West must fight for a woman’s right not to wear the veil as well. >>> Phyllis Chesler | Saturday, June 05, 2010

Phyllis Chesler, is an author and emerita professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies. She once lived in Kabul, Afghanistan. She may be reached through her website www.phyllis-chesler.com.

The ‘Infallible’ Helen Thomas Blots Her Copybook
FOX NEWS: Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas has issued an apology after saying in an interview that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine.”

Thomas, a longtime White House correspondent who now writes a column for Hearst newspapers, made the comments May 27 after a White House Jewish heritage event.

Asked by Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com if she had “any comments on Israel,” Thomas replied, “Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.”

Thomas went on to say that the Palestinian people “are occupied and it’s their land” and that Israelis should “go home” -- to Poland, Germany, America “and everywhere else.”

In a written statement issued Friday, Thomas apologized, saying, “I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

She said the comments “do not reflect” her “heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance.”

“May that day come soon,” she added. >>> [Source: Fox News : Helen Thomas Apologizes for Saying Jews Should Get the Hell Out of Palestine] | Friday, June 04, 2010

Helen Thomas Tells Jews to Go Back to Germany

The Bilderberg Group: Fact and Fantasy
THE TELEGRAPH: The Bilderberg Group is meeting in Spain this weekend. Iain Hollingshead tries to sort out fact from conspiracy theory.

A general view of the meeting place for the conference of the Bilderberg Group in Sitges, Spain. Photograph: The Telegraph
I have just discovered that a shadowy cabal of global luminaries, including Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller, Prince Charles, Peter Mandelson, Lord Carrington, David Cameron, Queen Beatrix of Holland and the chairman of Barclays Bank, have been plotting to overthrow national governments and form a fascist one-world empire.

Going by the name of the Bilderberg Group, these puppet-masters made and broke the career of Margaret Thatcher, triggered the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic and, this year, are planning to bomb Iran.

Quite a big story, don’t you think? And yet no one here will take me seriously. Perhaps, as representatives of the capitalist media, they’re too busy planning world domination at Bilderberg’s annual conference, which is taking place this weekend at Hotel Dolce in Sitges, one of Spain’s most exclusive (and, incidentally, gayest) resorts. Watch our cryptic crossword for clues; the swallows are flying south for winter.

Dan Brown aside, conspiracy theories don’t come much bigger than this. Here are some “facts” the establishment would have you believe. The Bilderberg Group (named after the Dutch hotel where they first met) was founded in 1954 by Denis Healey, Joseph Retinger, David Rockefeller and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, with the aim of bringing together financiers, industrialists, politicians and opinion formers. Every year around 120 of them meet, by invitation of the steering committee, away from the intrusive eyes of the press. They network, eat, drink, play golf and go home again.

“Bilderberg does not try to reach conclusions,” Viscount Davignon, the chairman, told the BBC in 2005. “It’s not that business contests the right of democratically elected leaders to lead.”

But he would say that, wouldn’t he? And where’s the fun in believing something perfectly logical when you can instead invent lurid theories that this covert liberal / Zionist / fascist (delete as appropriate) empire can trace its string-pulling roots back 800 years to the Venetian Black Nobility? >>> Iain Hollingshead | Friday, June 04, 2010

BP Oil Spill: The British Backlash Has Begun
THE TELEGRAPH: Could the US backlash against BP extend to other British companies, asks Tom Leonard

Protest outside of the Washington DC headquarters of BP. Photograph: The Telegraph
When the US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar promised to keep “the boot on the neck of British Petroleum” over its giant Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Republican Rand Paul rounded on the White House for being “really un-American” in attacking business.

If so, almost everyone is guilty of un-American activities, as the US has declared open season on the British oil giant. Just 50 yards up the street from The Daily Telegraph’s Manhattan office, the local BP petrol station had its sign daubed in paint the colour of drilling mud last week when 200 protesters turned up. “BP – a bunch of ----ing murderers!” said the message on a protester’s T-shirt. The chant was better: “BP, your heart is black, you can have your oil back.”

There have been similar protests at BP outlets across America and a call for a boycott which appears to have been roundly ignored. The demonstrations may be primarily anti-corporate and anti-oil but occasionally nationality of the corporation slips out. In New Orleans, a demonstrator stood on a Union flag. “We are all at the mercy of BP, a British-owned company,” wailed a Louisiana seaplane company boss in a letter to her senator after she was barred from taking US journalists to a possibly oily beach.

Notwithstanding the irony of a situation in which Americans are accusing a European corporation of putting “profits before people”, it is difficult to recall a more vicious backlash against a company here. The question of whether BP would have received so much vitriol if the initials had stood for, say, Boston Petroleum, has concerned those who worry about the implications for US-UK relations.

Although there is no sign of such a backlash at present, British officials in the US are concerned that if BP continues to fail to plug the leak or if it faces criminal charges, then other British businesses could suffer. >>> Tom Leonard | Saturday, June 05, 2010

The Ten Parts of Fitrah : فطرة
Narrated Ayesha. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Ten things are part of the Fitrah: cutting the moustache, letting the beard grow, cleaning the teeth with a Siwaak, rinsing the nose with water, cutting one’s nails, washing between the finger-joints, plucking the armpit hairs, shaving the pubic hair and cleaning one’s private parts with water.” (Sahih Muslim, 2/0502) [Saudi Gazette]

New Dark Age Alert! Trailer for Geert Wilders Fitna Sequel, “Islam Rising"


Islam Rising >>>

Pat Condell: No Mosque at Ground Zero

Nigeria: Court to Hear Child-bride Case
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian federal court will hear a case over whether the West African nation's religious freedom and privacy laws allow a Muslim senator to marry a 13-year-old girl, the latest rift in a country split between Christians and Muslims.

The lawsuit filed by the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria on behalf of Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima challenges the country's child protection laws that ban women from marrying before age 18. The suit, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, claims that Yerima's constitutional rights are being trampled over the controversy surrounding his alleged marriage to a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.

"The Nigerian constitution guarantees and protects the privacy of any citizen (and) his family member ... against invasion, intrusion and interference," the lawsuit reads. >>> Bashir Adigun, AP | Friday, June 04, 2010

Italy: Top Court Rejects Gay Marriage Suits
AKI: Rome – Italy's Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a landmark bid by several gay couples to legalise gay marriage. The court found the cases were "inadmissible and unfounded," it said in a statement.

Gay groups in Italy reacted defiantly to the court's decision and vowed to continue their fight for equality before the law.

"Our struggle to obtain our rights will not end here," said rights group Archigay [sic] president Paolo Patane.

"There's a clear disparity in Italy between citizens here - we are talking about first-class and second-class citizens," said gay marriage lobbying group 'Yes, I Do' spokesman Enzo Cucco.

"We have to respect the court's decisions, but we don't believe it gave sufficient consideration to the case we brought before it," he added.

Sources expect the Constitutional Court's written reasoning for its decision will state the court is not competent to rule on the same sex marriage ban and the Italian parliament alone can lift the ban. >>> | Friday, June 04, 2010

Saudi Arabia: Scholars Call for 'Jihad' Over Israeli Raid
AKI: Leading Muslim scholars and religious leaders in Saudi Arabia have called for jihad against Israel after the deadly raid on the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla this week. In a statement distributed to Arab media, 70 of the country's prominent religious leaders said Muslims had an "obligation" to take action and to help end the embargo on Gaza aid.

"We have to strike at the heart of Israel to drive them out of Muslim territories in a way that breaks the Gaza embargo," the statement said.

"Dialogue and negotiations only increases violence by the Jews," the statement said. "The only way to save our (Muslim) nation from attacks and humiliation is to return to the way of Allah." >>> | Thursday, June 03, 2010

Israel Faces Deepening Tensions With Turkey Over Raid, and Bond With U.S. Frays
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — Tensions deepened between Turkey and Israel on Friday, and a new fissure threatened to open between the United States and Israel, as the three countries continued to deal with the fallout from Israel’s deadly raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla off Gaza.

A senior Turkish diplomat warned that his country might sever diplomatic relations with Israel unless its government apologized for the attack, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed; consented to an international investigation; and lifted its blockade of Gaza.

“Israel is about to lose a friend; this is going to be a historical mistake,” said the diplomat, Namik Tan, Turkey’s ambassador to Washington. “The future of our relationship will be determined by Israel’s actions.”

Israeli officials refused Turkey’s demands, saying their commandos acted in self-defense after activists on one ship set upon them with knives, clubs and metal rods. Israel also took issue with the Obama administration’s assertion that the United States had warned Israeli officials to exercise caution and restraint in intercepting the flotilla.

“I was not contacted by anyone in the administration about this,” said Michael B. Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. Mr. Oren said he was not aware that anybody else in the Israeli government had been called and was seeking clarification from the administration.

A spokesman for the State Department, Philip J. Crowley, said the United States had “extensive contacts” with Israel and Turkey before the flotilla set sail. “We expressed to the Israelis the need for caution and restraint in dealing with civilians, including American citizens,” he said. >>> Mark Landler | Friday, June 04, 2010

Cyprus Leaders Criticize Turkey During Pope Visit
Pope Benedict XVI in Cyprus. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PAPHOS, Cyprus — In the presence of Pope Benedict XVI, Cypriot religious and political leaders unleashed a furious broadside on Friday against Turkey, whose troops have occupied northern Cyprus since 1974.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the leader of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, accused Turkey of an “obscure plan” to take over the entire island and called for the pope’s “active cooperation” in resolving the longstanding dispute.

The two sides have resumed peace talks after a lull, and President Demetris Christofias seized on Benedict’s visit — the first by a pope — to say, “Cyprus is in need of your words of peace, given the difficult situation it faces in its occupied territory.”

He and the pope spoke shortly after Benedict arrived on Friday on a challenging three-day visit. Aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and closer ties between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the trip was overshadowed by the killing on Thursday of a leading Roman Catholic bishop in Turkey who was to have participated in the Cyprus visit.

On his plane from Rome, the pope said his trip was religious in nature, not political, and insisted that Turkey or Turks in general should not be blamed for the murder of the bishop, Luigi Padovese. “The certain thing is that it was not a political or religious assassination,” the pope said. “It was a personal thing.”

Bishop Padovese’s death followed other attacks on Christians in Turkey in recent years, raising concerns among Catholic officials about the country’s commitment to protecting the rights of religious minorities.

The fate of Christians in the Middle East is a central reason for Benedict’s visit to Cyprus, where on Sunday he is expected to present the working paper for a meeting of Catholic bishops from across the Middle East in October at the Vatican. >>> Rachel Donadio reported from Paphos, and Alan Cowell from Paris | Friday, June 04, 2010

Egypt Responds to Flotilla Raid

French Interior Minister Fined for Racist Remarks
THE TELEGRAPH: Brice Hortefeux, France’s interior minister, has been fined €750 (£620) after being found guilty of making a racist remark to a young man of Arab origin during an informal political gathering last year.

Mr Hortefeux, appointed immigration minister when Nicolas Sarkozy took office in 2007 and promoted to the powerful Interior Ministry in a cabinet reshuffle last year, was captured on video joking with party activists while having his photograph taken alongside another party member of Arab origins.

In the video, taken last September, a woman says: “Amine is a Catholic. He eats pork and drinks alcohol.”

“Ah, well that won’t do at all. He doesn’t fit the prototype at all,” Mr Hortefeux is then heard saying to much laughter.

Another voice in the crowd says, “He is one of us ... he is our little Arab.”

Mr Hortefeux then replies, “We always need one. It’s when there are lots of them that there are problems.” >>> | Friday, June 04, 2010

Turkey's Role in the Gaza Flotilla Affair Should Worry Us All in the West
THE TELEGRAPH: Ankara is losing patience after being rebuffed in its attempts to join the EU, writes Con Coughlin.

A demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel in Istanbul . Photograph: The Telegraph
For a country that has aspirations to join the Western comity of nations, Turkey certainly has a strange way of going about it. Its government may not have personally sanctioned the dispatch of a flotilla of militant aid activists to Gaza, but it has lost no time in leading the international chorus of condemnation for Israel's cack-handed response.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, has claimed that the military interception of the flotilla, which resulted in the deaths of nine "peace" activists, has become Turkey's 9/11. The Turks even achieved the remarkable feat of persuading the Nato alliance to come to its aid. But throughout the tumult, they appear to have conveniently overlooked the damning evidence that, far from being innocent aid activists, many of those on board the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish-registered ship that led the flotilla, were hell-bent on an armed confrontation. How else do you explain the presence of gas masks, bullet-proof vests, knives and axes on the vessel?

The team of Israeli commandos that rappelled from a helicopter on to the ship's upper deck were met by a lynch mob, some of whom had openly professed a desire to achieve martyrdom prior to the voyage. In some cases, it appears their wishes were met.

While the Turkish government says it was not directly involved in sending the Mavi Marmara on its doomed mission, Israeli security officials claim the charity responsible for chartering the ship does have links to Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party. >>> Con Coughlin | Friday, June 04, 2010

Star comment by instansaver:

The Islamist ruling party in Turkey has been waiting for years to become more overtly Islamist. We in Europe should not kid ourselves that our correct rebuffing of their entry into the EU was the principal factor. Admitting Turkey would be demographically and culturally disastrous.

Erdogan spends half his time these days dining with Assad and Ahmadinejad. Turkey's great geopolitical priority right now is to prevent an independent Kurdistan arising out of the ashes of post-Saddam Iraq. That explains the majority of what is driving Turkey's (literal) reorientation.

The earlier dispute with Israel featuring Danny Ayalon centred around the production of an anti-semitic tv series in Turkey - a fact which was lost in the West due to the typical propensity for succumbing to anti-Israel spin.

We in the west would be greatly mistaken by thinking that the best way to handle Turkey right now is to mollify or appease it. The best hope for Turkey is if the secularist politicians get their act together. The Islamist ruling party needs a bucket of cold water throwing over it, not a bunch of flowers and the keys to the house. – (Edited by a moderator) [Source: Telegraph Comments]

Con Coughlin's article is excellent, well-written, and logically set out. But it is based on a false assumption! The assumption that if Turkey is allowed into Europe, all will be well. But this will clearly not be the case. Mr Coughlin, it appears, has little understanding of the true nature of Islam and Muslims. All Muslims have Islam coursing through their veins. Turkish Muslims are no different. They may appear to be more 'moderate' – whatever a 'moderate Muslim' is – but do not be fooled. Muslims are Muslims, and Islam is Islam. There is but ONE Islam, and therefore, by logical extension, ONE true Muslim.

Israelis understand the true nature of their Muslim neighbours. Con Coughlin, apparently, does not.

Allowing Turkey into Europe will be nothing short of a disaster for Europe. It will change the course of its future. The continent will be transformed in no time at all. If people like Mr Coughlin want to throw away our Judeo-Christian civilization in one fell swoop, then all that needs to be done is to allow Turkey into the Union. That will clinch it for them! But this will be one foolish step too many. – © Mark

California to Ban Plastic Bags
THE TELEGRAPH: California is to become the first US state to ban plastic bags in supermarkets in a move Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called a "great victory for the environment."

Shoppers will have to bring their own reusable bags or pay at least 5 cents (3p) each for recycled paper ones under the ban which was approved by state politicians.

Californians currently use an estimated 19 billion plastic bags a year, equivalent to 552 for each person, only five per cent of which are reused.

The cities of San Francisco and Malibu had already banned plastic bags and the statewide ban, which also includes pharmacies, grocery stores and liquor stores, is likely to begin at the start of 2012. >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles | Thursday, June 03, 2010

Being Greek - Greece
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here