Sunday, January 02, 2011
Saturday, January 01, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A car bomb has killed at least 21 people outside a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
The blast hit worshippers as they emerged from a New Year's mass at the Mass at the Saints Church in the Mediterranean port city in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Nearly 1,000 Christians were attending the service and were just leaving the church when the car exploded at 12.30am on New Year's Day.
Sectarian tensions have been on the rise in Egypt and after the blast, enraged Christians clashed with police and stormed a nearby mosque.
Fights and stone throwing broke out between groups of Christians, Muslims and the police.
Although no one claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, authorities in Egypt blamed al-Qaeda for the attack.
Al-Qaeda's Iraq affiliate threatened Egypt's Copts late last year after claiming an attack on a Baghdad church on October 31 that left 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security forces dead. >>> | Saturday, January 1, 2011
LE FIGARO: Les chrétiens d'Égypte visés par un attentat sanglant : Une explosion à la sortie d'une messe, vendredi soir à Alexandrie, a fait 21 morts et 79 blessés. Samedi, les heurts se sont intensifiés entre chrétiens et policiers. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Samedi 1 Janvier 2011
NZZ ONLINE: Über 20 Tote bei Selbstmordanschlag auf Christen in Ägypten: Bombe explodiert nach Neujahrsmesse in Alexandria >>> sda/afp/dpa/Reuters | Samstag, 1. Januar 2011
WELT ONLINE: Ausschreitungen nach Anschlag auf christliche Kirche: Nach dem Selbstmordattentat mit 21 Toten greifen junge Kopten Sicherheitskräfte an. Beim Begräbnis entlädt sich die Wut auf die Regierung erneut. >>> AFP/dapd/ks/jw | Samstag 1 Januar 2011
LE POINT: Une explosion devant une église copte d'Alexandrie a fait plusieurs dizaines de victimes pendant la nuit du nouvel an.
La nuit de la Saint-Sylvestre a été endeuillée, en Égypte, par un attentat qui a frappé la communauté chrétienne égyptienne, la plus importante du Moyen-Orient. L'explosion, non revendiquée, s'est produite vers minuit et demi alors que des fidèles sortaient de l'église des Saints (al-Qiddissine), située dans le quartier de Sidi Bechr d'Alexandrie. L'attaque a fait au moins 21 morts et 79 blessés.
L'hypothèse d'une voiture piégée initialement mentionnée par les autorités a été écartée en milieu de journée par le ministère de l'Intérieur, qui a déclaré que le massacre avait "probablement" été perpétré par un kamikaze. La bombe, de fabrication locale, contenait des bouts de métal "pour atteindre le plus grand nombre" de personnes, selon un communiqué du ministère. Le président Hosni Moubarak a condamné dans une allocution télévisée un "acte criminel odieux qui a visé la nation, Coptes et musulmans", et dénoncé, sans plus de précisions, "l'implication de mains étrangères" dans ce massacre. Continuez à lire et vous pouvez écrire un commentaire
>>> Source AFP | Samedi 1 Janvier 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
THE LAST CRUSADE: Proof that history repeats itself comes with the news that Muslims have initiated their re-conquest of Spain.
The number of Muslims in Spain has climbed from 100,000 in 1990 to over 1.5 million in 2010.
Mosques are being constructed on a grand scale throughout the country.
The city of Barcelona, widely known as a European Mecca of anti-clerical postmodernism, has agreed to shell out nearly $30 million in public funds for the construction of an official mega-mosque with a capacity for thousands of Muslim worshipers.
The new structure in Barcelona will rival the massive Islamic Cultural Center in Madrid, currently the biggest mosque in Spain. An official in the office of the Mayor of Barcelona says the objective is to increase the visibility of Muslims in Spain, as well as to promote the “common values between Islam and Europe.”
In the past decade, more than 1,000 mosques and Islamic prayer centers have sprouted up throughout the once devoutly Catholic country.
Twelve new masjids are scheduled to open in northeastern Spain within the next three months.
The construction of new mosques comes at a time when municipalities linked to the Socialist Party have closed dozens of Christian churches across Spain by the enactment of new zoning laws.
The Barcelona mosque project was announced during a weeklong seminar titled “Muslims and European Values,” sponsored by the European Council of Moroccan Ulemas and the Union of Islamic Cultural Centers in Catalonia.
A representative of the Barcelona mayor’s office who attended the conference told the Madrid-based El País newspaper that the municipality would get involved in the mosque project because “although religion pertains to the private realm, this does not mean it does not have a public role.”
The idea to build a mega-mosque funded by Spanish taxpayers comes after Noureddine Ziani, a Barcelona-based Moroccan imam, said the construction of big mosques would be the best way to fight Islamic fundamentalism in Spain. “It is easier to disseminate fundamentalist ideas in small mosques set up in garages where only the members of the congregation attend, than in large mosques that are open to everyone, with prayer rooms, cafes and meeting areas,” Ziani told the Spanish news agency EFE. Read on and comment >>> TheLastCrusade.org
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LE FIGARO: «La fin de l'euro serait la fin de l'Europe», a expliqué le président lors de ses vœux aux Français. Il souhaite que l'année 2011 soit «utile», la France ne pouvant pas «se payer le luxe d'une année d'immobilisme pré-électoral».
Il avait préparé son texte plusieurs jours à l'avance. Nicolas Sarkozy a apporté un soin particulier au rituel des vœux de la Saint-Sylvestre, après une année 2010 difficile, marquée par la défaite de la droite aux régionales, l'affaire Woerth-Bettencourt, ou encore la delicate réforme des retraites, sur fond de morosité économique.
Se posant en président «protecteur», comme son entourage l'avait pressenti, il a mis l'accent sur l'importance de l'Europe pendant la crise. Le président a mis en garde contre ceux qui proposent de sortir de l'euro. «L'isolement de la France serait une folie. La fin de l'euro serait la fin de l'Europe», a déclaré le chef de l'Etat. Or «dans la tempête, (elle) a su faire face, certes pas assez complètement et souvent pas assez rapidement, mais l'Europe a tenu et l'Europe nous a protégés», a-t-il affirmé.«Je m'opposerai de toutes mes forces à un retour en arrière qui ferait fi de 60 ans de construction européenne», a-t-il appuyé dans cette déclaration radio-télédiffusée qui était également retransmise par Dailymotion. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Vendredi 31 Décembre 2010
Voeux du Président Nicolas Sarkozy aux Français pour 2011
Uploaded by elysee. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
LE MONDE: Au moins deux chrétiens ont péri et 16 personnes ont été blessées jeudi 30 décembre dans dix attentats commis en moins de deux heures contre des maisons appartenant à des chrétiens de Bagdad, a annoncé un responsable du ministère de l'intérieur. "Au total, 14 bombes avaient été posées près de maisons appartenant à des chrétiens. Dix engins ont explosé", a-t-il indiqué.
Ces attaques ont été perpétrées à partir de 19 h 30, heure locale, dans plusieurs quartiers de la capitale irakienne contre une communauté visée à de nombreuses reprises ces deux derniers mois. L'attaque la plus sanglante a eu lieu dans le quartier d'Al-Ghadir, dans le centre de Bagdad, où une bombe artisanale a explosé vers 20 heures, tuant deux chrétiens et faisant trois blessés. Les autres explosions, toutes dues à des engins artisanaux, n'ont fait aucun mort, mais blessé treize autres chrétiens. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | Jeudi 30 Décembre 2010
WELT ONLINE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders plant ein islamkritisches Buch: inspiriert von Thilo Sarrazins "Deutschland schafft sich ab".Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders will 2011 mit einem islamkritischen Buch international und insbesondere in den USA für Furore sorgen. „Das Buch ist vor allem für den amerikanischen Markt bestimmt, und es geht darum, wie wir die Islamisierung weltweit besser bekämpfen können“, sagte Wilders in einem Interview mit der Zeitung „De Telegraaf“.
Der Chef der Partei für die Freiheit (PVV) will mit der Veröffentlichung die weltweite Ausbreitung der von ihm gegründeten „International Freedom Alliance“ zur Zurückdrängung des Islam fördern. „Wir können in den Niederlanden eine ganze Menge tun, aber wir wollen auch international ein Signal an die arabische Welt senden, dass hart zurückgeschlagen wird durch eine Partei, die hier viel zu sagen hat.“ >>> dpa/lha | Freitag, 31. Dezember 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Im Pazifik ist das neue Jahr bereits einige Stunden alt. Die Bewohner von Kiribati haben traditionellerweise als erste auf dem Globus den Jahreswechsel gefeiert. In Sydney gab es wiederum ein grosses Feuerwerk.
Millionen von Menschen haben in Australien und Asien mit zum Teil prachtvollen Feiern das neue Jahr begrüsst. Die Menschen in Ozeanien haben als erste das neue Jahr begrüsst. Für die 6000 Bewohner des Inselstaates Kiribati im Pazifik begann das Jahr 2011 um 11 Uhr MEZ. Sieben Tonnen Feuerwerk >>> afp/ddp | Freitag, 31. Dezember 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Roger Carr, the tycoon who saw through the sale of the 200-year-old British company Cadbury to the US multinational Kraft in February, has been knighted for services to industry in today's New Year Honours list.Sir Roger was praised by the City for getting a good deal for shareholders when the Cadbury sale went through in February. Since then Kraft has announced that it is moving the firm's headquarters to Switzerland to avoid UK tax, at a probable cost of thousands of UK jobs.
The award is doubly controversial because Sir Roger also chairs Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, which recently announced a 7 per cent price hike. Soon after that announcement, Centrica raised its full year profit forecast to more than £2.2bn. The regulator, Ofgem, is holding an inquiry into whether major energy companies are "lining their pockets". >>> Andy McSmith | Friday, December 31, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A majority of Estonians are embracing the joining of their economy to the eurozone on Saturday in spite of the deepening crisis of confidence in the single currency.
The Baltic country becomes the 17th member of the euro and the first from the former Soviet Union. Some 85m euro coins featuring a map of Estonia and 12m banknotes have gone into circulation, starting a two-week phase out of the national currency, the kroon.
Joakim Helenius, chief executive of Trigon Capital, an asset management company, said that 20 years after breaking away from the Soviet Union the euro was a "symbol of hope" for many Estonians, adding, "It symbolises that Estonia has emerged as a full member of the European family."
After a year of convulsions and ever-direr predictions that the euro cannot survive, the majority of Estonians still support joining. A recent, admittedly small, poll showed that 52 per cent backed the move although that was slightly down from November. The Finance Ministry blamed the slippage on an early case of nostalgia for the kroon. >>> Martin Banks in Brussels | Friday, December 31, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: As they welcome the new year, we'll be keeping you up to date with the celebrations as they happen
Hi-Fi Hymn Book >>>
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The terrorist threat to Britain is "as serious as it has ever been", David Cameron warns today.
In his new year message, the Prime Minister says that the security services are facing a daily struggle to stop plots that would "do terrible harm to our people and our economy".
The risk of terrorism has been demonstrated by the arrest this month of nine men accused of plotting a Christmas bombing campaign with targets including the London Stock Exchange and Big Ben, Mr Cameron declares.
He also suggests that Britain faces fundamental questions about why young Muslims continue to be drawn into violent extremism. The Islamic community must help address how their minds are "poisoned", he says.
Mr Cameron's stark message comes amid a prolonged row between Coalition ministers over anti-terrorism laws, with the Liberal Democrats pressing for some of Labour's contentious security measures to be watered down.
Mr Cameron says: "For many years now, we have been aware of the threat we face from international terrorism. Recent arrests show that that threat is still very much with us. And it is as serious today as it ever has been." >>> James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Friday, December 31, 2010
Politically correct goggledygook from the fresh-faced Mr. Cameron. “International terrorism” indeed! Surely you must mean Islamic terrorism, Mr. Cameron. This is the threat we face. Another name for it is the Jihad. If we are to have a brighter, more secure future in Britain, nay in the West, we shall have to start calling things by their real names. Euphemisms just won’t do.
The facts are as plain as the nose on your face, Mr. Cameron. We have one almighty, herculean task ahead of us if we wish to get the better of all the Muslims in our midst who so clearly wish to destroy our free way of life. So get real, Mr. Cameron! Get real!
By the way, Mr. Cameron, you say that the “overwhelming majority of British Muslims detest this extremism”. What evidence do you have to say this? Isn’t this just spin and platitude? – © Mark
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A friend of Kate Middleton was interviewed under caution for claiming on Facebook that she planned to shoot illegal immigrants.
Emma Sayle, 32, posted a message that read: "Just had a two-hour shooting lesson. She will now be using this skill on the top of East London high rises to help with the UK's illegal immigrant problem."
One person who read the comment reported Miss Sayle to police. A file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service but Scotland Yard said yesterday that the investigation has been dropped and no further action will be taken.
Miss Sayle is the leader of The Sisterhood, an all-female rowing crew which counted Miss Middleton among its members.
She dismissed the complaint as "pathetic", saying it was "created by someone who's obviously got a grudge".
In a second posting on Facebook, she wrote: "Just had a call from the old bill demanding I go in as someone has reported me for apparently making racist comments... hahaha... using my new found gun skills to control the UK's illegal immigrant population is not what I call racist."
Her Twitter page features a link to an article on a Right-wing website headed "Australia says no to Muslims". >>> Anita Singh | Friday, December 31, 2010
FOX NEWS: Sharia (Islamic Law) Not O.K. in Oklahoma: Oklahoma State Representative Rex Duncan wants to make sure no judge ever uses Sharia (Islamic law) to decide a case in Oklahoma. >>> Douglas Kennedy | Friday, June 25, 2010
America At Risk – Newt and Callista Gingrich – Citizens United Productions >>>
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's family holiday in Hawaii is reportedly costing at least $1.5 million (£1 million) as mainland America is battered by storms.
The calculation of Mr Obama's holiday costs included $63,000 for his wife's early flight out, and $16,800 to house Secret Service agents and Navy Seals in beach front accommodation for two weeks.
There will be a further hotel bill estimated at $134,400 for 24 White House staff staying in the Moana Hotel at a rate of $400 a day.
The estimate, by the Hawaii Reporter, also included $250,000 for local police overtime, $1 million for the president's own round trip flight to Hawaii on Air Force One, and $10,000 for a local ambulance to accompany the presidential motorcade. >>> Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Thursday, December 30, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: At least two Christians were killed and 12 people wounded in a series of attacks on Christian homes in Baghdad, according to Iraq's interior ministry.
The worst attack was in the central Baghdad district of Al-Ghadir, where a homemade bomb exploded around 8pm (1700 GMT), killing the two Christians and wounding three others, including one Christian, an official from the ministry said. >>>Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Thursday, December 30, 2010
AFP: TANGIERS, Morocco — Novelist Abdellah Taia, who has won acclaim in France and readers abroad, has challenged a taboo in his native Morocco and won't back down: he is the first writer to come out as gay in a country that bans homosexuality.
For 37-year-old Taia, who has lived in Paris for the last decade, being homosexual and Muslim are not mutually exclusive. He "feels Muslim" and is from a country where Islam is the state religion.
"I am the first Moroccan writer who has spoken openly about his homosexuality, to acknowledge it, but without turning my back on the country I'm from," he said."My homosexuality, I already felt it from the age of 13, at school.
"But despite this, I feel Muslim. There is no incompatibility between Islam and choices of sexual identity," he told AFP on a recent visit back to Morocco. >>> Omar Brouksy | Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Moscow judge ignored pleas for leniency on Thursday evening and handed Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oil tycoon, a 14-year sentence for embezzlement.Judge Victor Danilkin gave the former head of oil group Yukos exactly what the prosecution had asked for. The sentence will be counted from Mr Khodorkovsky's 2003 arrest, meaning that he and business partner Platon Lebedev could be released in 2017.
The Russian prison service said it had not yet been decided where the two men would serve the sentence. Both were due to finish eight-year sentences for tax evasion next year.
Defendants' lawyers immediately blamed Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, for the harsh sentence. Mr Putin, who as president turned against Mr Khodorkovsky, said in a reference to the former oligarch that "thieves should sit in jail".
In a statement read out by his lawyer, Mr Khodorkovsky said: "You cannot count on the courts to protect you from the whim of bureaucrats in Russia."
International reaction was again damning. Mr Khodorkovsky is widely viewed as a political prisoner and symbol of a corrupt Russian judicial system. A senior official from the US administration said that the sentencing would complicate Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, said: "The impression remains that political motivations played a role in this trial. This contradicts Russia's frequently repeated intention to pursue full adoption of the rule of law." >>> Roland Oliphant in Moscow | Thursday, December 30, 2010
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ZEIT ONLINE: Das ungarische Mediengesetz tritt pünktlich zur EU-Ratspräsidentschaft des Landes in Kraft. Berlin hofft auf Änderungen, doch Ungarn gibt sich unbeeindruckt.
Wenn die konservative Regierung in Ungarn am kommenden Samstag die protokollarische Führungsrolle in Europa übernimmt, dürften die Staats- und Regierungschefs in so mancher europäischer Hauptstadt zutiefst beunruhigt sein. Grund sind die reichlich unorthodoxen Maßnahmen, die das Kabinett unter Führung von Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán jüngst erlassen hatte. Dazu gehören neben einer Sondersteuer für Unternehmen auch ein neues Presserecht, das europaweit für Empörung gesorgt hat. >>> dpa, Reuters, AFP | Donnerstag, 30. Dezember 2010
LE TEMPS: Le mouvement islamiste, qui dirige la bande de Gaza d’une main de fer, est de plus en plus critiqué par les Palestiniens du territoire sous blocus israélien. Mais le dire ouvertement peut mener à la prison
Des drapeaux verts, celui de l’islam et… du Hamas, par milliers: de Beit Hanoun, dans le nord, à Rafah, au sud, personne, dans la bande de Gaza, ne peut ignorer que le mouvement islamiste palestinien qui domine le petit territoire côtier a célébré le 14 décembre ses 23 ans d’existence. On en était, en 1987, aux frémissements initiaux de la première Intifada. Que d’eau a coulé depuis lors…
Le Hamas contrôle le territoire d’une main de fer. Tout le monde le dit ou, en tout cas, le pense. Car une chape de plomb a recouvert les esprits. «Si la moindre critique peut vous mener en prison parce que vous avez été dénoncé par un voisin que vous croyiez votre ami, eh bien! la plupart des gens choisissent de se taire, résume un habitant de Nusseirat, dans le centre de la bande. Ils veulent contrôler nos vies, jusqu’à nous empêcher de boire de l’alcool. Ils mettent leurs hommes à tous les postes. Alors, la population fait le gros dos, affecte de s’islamiser, tout le monde va à la mosquée le vendredi, prie tous les jours. Les gens s’adaptent.» >>> Baudouin Loos envoyé special du Temps à Gaza | Mardi 28 Décembre 2010
BBC: Three men have been charged in a Danish court with attempting to carry out an act of terrorism.
They were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of plotting to attack the offices of a newspaper which printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
A fourth man has been released while a fifth, arrested in Sweden, is still being held in Stockholm.
The three men were remanded in custody for four weeks by a court in Glostrup, west of Copenhagen.
For the first two weeks they will be held in isolation, according to Lykke Soerensen, who heads the legal department of Danish intelligence agency PET.
She told the TV2 channel that isolation was necessary because of concerns that the three men might try to "affect the investigation and affect the witnesses". >>> | Thursday, December 30, 2010
BBC: A Polish judge has jailed a Swedish man for two years and eight months for plotting the theft of the "Arbeit macht frei" Auschwitz entrance sign.
Anders Hoegstroem, a former neo-Nazi leader, admitted theft under a plea bargain last month and will be moved to Sweden to serve his sentence.
The infamous sign was stolen in December last year and recovered in three pieces three days later.
The judge in Krakow also jailed two Poles for up to two-and-a-half years.
One of the pair, named as Andrzej S, apologised in court for the offence, Polish media report.
The 5m (16ft) wrought-iron slogan which translates as "Work sets you free" is a potent symbol of many of the Nazi-era atrocities. During the Nazi Holocaust, 1.1 million people - most of them Jews - were murdered at Auschwitz. >>> | Thursday, December 30, 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Un restaurant de l’archipel des Maldives qui avait accroché des décorations de Noël a provoqué des manifestations d’hostilité parmi la population de cet archipel où l’islam est la seule religion officielle, a indiqué jeudi la police. Les guirlandes incriminées ont été retirées et le restaurant a présenté ses excuses. Le Jade Bistro, situé dans la capitale Malé, était orné de boules et de guirlandes de Noël pour mettre en avant «des dîners de fêtes». Il avait également proposé un menu spécial Noël - sandwiches à la dinde et bûche - mais selon les autorités locales, ce sont les décorations qui ont provoqué la colère de la population.
Aux Maldives, une destination touristique de l’océan indien prisée des Occidentaux, les autres croyances en dehors de l’islam sont interdites aux citoyens et les étrangers ne doivent pas les exhiber en public. >>> ATS/AFP | Jeudi 30 Décembre 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — It is an architectural absurdity. Just south of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Muslim world’s holiest site, a kitsch rendition of London’s Big Ben is nearing completion. Called the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, it will be one of the tallest buildings in the world, the centerpiece of a complex that is housing a gargantuan shopping mall, an 800-room hotel and a prayer hall for several thousand people. Its muscular form, an unabashed knockoff of the original, blown up to a grotesque scale, will be decorated with Arabic inscriptions and topped by a crescent-shape spire in what feels like a cynical nod to Islam’s architectural past. To make room for it, the Saudi government bulldozed an 18th-century Ottoman fortress and the hill it stood on.The tower is just one of many construction projects in the very center of Mecca, from train lines to numerous luxury high-rises and hotels and a huge expansion of the Grand Mosque. The historic core of Mecca is being reshaped in ways that many here find appalling, sparking unusually heated criticism of the authoritarian Saudi government.
“It is the commercialization of the house of God,” said Sami Angawi, a Saudi architect who founded a research center that studies urban planning issues surrounding the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, and has been one of the development’s most vocal critics. “The closer to the mosque, the more expensive the apartments. In the most expensive towers, you can pay millions” for a 25-year leasing agreement, he said. “If you can see the mosque, you pay triple.” Read on and comment >>> Nicolai Ouroussoff | Wednesday, December 29, 2010
HUDSON NEW YORK: The city of Barcelona, widely known as a European Mecca of anti-clerical postmodernism, has agreed to build an official mega-mosque with a capacity for thousands of Muslim worshipers. The new structure would rival the massive Islamic Cultural Center in Madrid, currently the biggest mosque in Spain. An official in the office of the Mayor of Barcelona says the objective is to increase the visibility of Muslims in Spain, as well as to promote the "common values between Islam and Europe."
The Barcelona mosque project is just one of dozens of new mosques that are in various stages of construction across Spain. Overall, there are now thirteen mega-mosques in Spain, and more than 1000 smaller mosques and prayer centers scattered across the country, the majority of which are located in Catalonia in northeastern Spain.
The Muslim building spree reflects the rising influence of Islam in Spain, where the Muslim population has jumped to an estimated 1.5 million in 2010, up from just 100,000 in 1990, thanks to massive immigration. The construction of new mosques comes at a time when municipalities linked to the Socialist Party have closed dozens of Christian churches across Spain by way of new zoning laws that several courts have now ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional. It also comes at a time of growing anti-Semitism in Spain.
The Barcelona mosque project was announced during a weeklong seminar titled " Muslims and European Values," jointly sponsored by the European Council of Moroccan Ulemas [Muslim religious scholars], based in Brussels, and the Union of Islamic Cultural Centers in Catalonia, based in Barcelona. A representative of the Barcelona mayor's office who attended the conference told the Madrid-based El País newspaper that the municipality would get involved in the mosque project because "although religion pertains to the private realm, this does not mean it does not have a public role." >>> Soeren Kern | Thursday, December 30, 2010
NEW YORK POST: If 2010 was the year America finally woke up to political Islam's ne farious reach on US soil, with luck 2011 will be the year we launch an offensive against it. One way to begin that process is through hearings that Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, plans to hold on American Muslim radicalization.
Attention to this issue offers an opportunity for American Muslims to confront the radicalization problem and provide solutions -- as only they can.
My group, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, believes these hearings will shed light on the diversity of American Muslims, giving our community a chance to step from behind the veil of Muslim victimization and address head-on the need for long-overdue ideological reforms. >>> M. Zuhdi Jasser * | Thursday, December 30, 2010
* M. Zuhdi Jasser, a physician and a former US Navy lieutenant commander, is the founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. info@aifdemocracy.org
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A number of palaces of Russia's super-rich have been revealed by the magazine Forbes, including a mysterious 18th century style estate built since the mid-2000s which is standing empty and no one knows who built it.
Hundreds of palaces have been built in the Russian countryside in the last 15 years when newly rich oligarchs began looking for ways to display their stupendous – and often ill-gotten – wealth. The village of Zukovka, on the Rublovka highway west of Moscow, is dotted with immense country residences: mock medieval castles, imitation 19th century mansions, and huge Swiss chalets crouch behind three meter high fences and security cameras. But their owners are secretive and hide their mansions inside exclusive settlements screened by trees and guarded by police. >>> Roland Oliphant in Moscow | Wednesday, December 29, 2010
By contrast, for this former oligarch, life isn't quite so rosy:
THE TIMES: Brutal gulag and hard rations await tycoon found guilty twice >>> Tony Halpin, Moscow | Wednesday, December 29, 2010 (£)
THE GUARDIAN: Mikhail Khodorkovsky sentenced to 14 years in prison: Jailed former oligarch given six more years for theft and money laundering after widely condemned trial >>> Mark Tran and agencies | Thursday, December 30, 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Russian Judge Extends Term for Tycoon by 6 Years: MOSCOW — Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the Russian tycoon who was imprisoned after defying Vladimir V. Putin, was sentenced to another six years behind bars on Thursday. It was a stiff term that was considered an unambiguous signal that Mr. Putin was not loosening control over the country in advance of presidential elections that he might enter. >>> Clifford J. Levy |Thursday, December 30, 2010
ZEIT ONLINE: So wie der Urteilsspruch ruft auch das Strafmaß für Chodorkowskij massive Kritik hervor. Die Bundesregierung und die USA zweifeln am Rechtsstaat in Russland.
Die Hoffnung von Michail Chodorkowskij auf eine baldige Freilassung hatte sich spätestens am vergangenen Montag verflüchtigt: Da wurde er von einem Moskauer Gericht erneut für schuldig gesprochen, schuldig des Betrugs und der Geldwäsche. Seit wenigen Stunden ist auch klar, wie lange er dafür noch hinter Gitter verbringen muss: Wie sein ebenfalls verurteilter früherer Geschäftspartner Platon Lebedjew wird auch der frühere Öl-Unternehmer vermutlich erst im Frühjahr 2017 wieder auf freiem Fuß sein. Weiter lessen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> dpa, AFP | Donnerstag, 30. Dezember 2010
FOX NEWS: MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A leader of Somalia's Islamist insurgency threatened to attack America during a speech broadcast Monday.
"We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country," said Fuad Mohamed "Shongole" Qalaf.
Al-Shabab has not yet launched an attack outside Africa but Western intelligence has long been worried because the group targeted young Somali-Americans for recruitment. About 20 have traveled to Somalia for training and at least three were used as suicide bombers inside Somalia. Al-Shabab holds most of southern and central Somalia and has the support of hundreds of foreign fighters, mostly radicalized East Africans.
It seeks to overthrow the weak U.N.-backed government, which is protected by 8,000 Ugandan and Burundian African Union peacekeepers. >>> Associated Press | Monday, December 27, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Only half of British adults are confident that Britain can now be described as “a Christian country”, according to research.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, has written to David Cameron urging him to review laws that have seen Christians forced to abandon their faith in public.
He warned that reforms introduced under Labour promoted “tolerance, equality and fairness” at a cost of eroding Christianity as the foundation of British culture and society.
The warnings follow a series of court cases in which the beliefs of Christians have come into conflict with the state authorities.
A ComRes poll of 1,000 adults, conducted for Christian Concern, found that 72% of adults thought Christians should be able to refuse to act against their beliefs without being penalised by their employers.
But only 50% said they were confident that Britain can now be described as “a Christian country”, according to the survey, released for the Not Ashamed campaign, which Lord Carey supports.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Carey said Christians were too often "ridiculed” and dismissed as relics of “a bygone age”. >>> Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor | Tuesday, December 28, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Men arrested in connection with suspected plot to attack a newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad
Denmark's intelligence service has arrested four people suspected of planning an "imminent" terror attack against a newspaper that printed the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, known as Pet, said three of the four men were residents of Sweden and had entered the country last night.
Jakob Scharf, the head of Pet, said "an imminent terror attack has been foiled". He described some [of] the suspects as "militant Islamists". >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, December 29, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Israeli group of prominent rabbis' wives has urged Jewish girls not to date or work with Arabs, underscoring the rising power of the religious Right and fuelling fears of growing racism in the country.
A letter, signed by 27 wives, called on Jewish girls not to go out with Arabs, work with them or perform national service in places where Arabs are employed. It states: "There are quite a few Arab workers who give themselves Hebrew names. Yussef turns into Yossi, Samir turns into Sami, and Abed turns into Ami. They ask to be close to you, try to find favour with you, and give you all the attention in world. They know how to act with courtesy, as if they really care for you, but their behaviour is only temporary. The moment you are in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes.
"Your life will never go back to the way it was, and the attention you so desired will turn into curses, beatings, and humiliations." >>> Mark Weiss in Jerusalem | Wednesday, December 29, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The British armed forces are drawing up contingency plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of British residents and tourists from Dubai and other Gulf cities in the event of war with Iran.
The Coalition government under David Cameron ordered an immediate review of British military planning in the Gulf after the election last May. The Daily Telegraph can reveal that new proposals are being drawn up to coordinate military activity in the region with local allies hostile to Iran, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
Planners have realised they had to tear up existing emergency plans for local British residents. Since the previous review in the 1990s, the expatriate population has grown to more than 100,000 in the UAE alone, while a million British tourists, from businessmen on stopovers to England footballers with marital problems, come to Dubai every year.
It is feared they might be at risk if, as it has promised, Iran retaliates for any military strikes on its nuclear sites with missile attacks on "western interests" in the Gulf.
Royal Navy warships, along with their American and French counterparts, regularly patrol the Gulf and tie up in UAE ports, while Iran has also threatened to mine the strategically crucial Straits of Hormuz.
The region's gearing up for the possibility of a war stands in contrast to the relaxing tourists on beaches or the opulent expat villa compounds. >>> Richard Spencer, Dubai | Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Neuer Terroralarm = verschärfte Kontrollen = mehr Frust bei allen Passagieren. Der künftige Chef des Flughafenverbands will mit dieser Logik brechen und Fluggäste nach Risikogruppen einteilen. In Berlin sorgt der Vorschlag für helle Empörung - sowohl in der Koalition als auch bei der Opposition.
Berlin - Der SPD-Innenpolitiker Dieter Wiefelspütz ist so schnell nicht aus der Fassung zu bringen. Bei diesem Vorschlag aber hält er sich nicht zurück. "Schreiben Sie bitte ruhig: Das ist Selektion am Flughafen - gerade in Deutschland wird es das nicht geben", sagt er mit Hinweis auf die jüngere deutsche Geschichte. Die Einteilung nach Ethnien - das löst in Deutschland schlechte Erinnerungen an die Nazi-Zeit aus. >>> Von Severin Weiland | Dienstag, 28. Dezember 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: Halting the erosion of freedom may prove just as important a challenge for the Coalition as easing the pain of cuts
The leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage MEP, must have groaned when he learned that the French National Front is now modelling itself on his party. Marine Le Pen, who is poised to take over leadership of the Front National (FN) from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, describes it as a "patriotic" party that has more in common with Ukip than the BNP. Given the sinister resonances that the words "National Front" have in Britain, Miss Le Pen has presented Ukip's opponents with a seasonal gift. "Ukip – backed by the French National Front" is a rhetorical swipe worthy of David Cameron's description of the party's supporters as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".
We should not, however, be too quick to dismiss reports that a sanitised Front National has succeeded in reaching out to a new constituency. The FN's selling point is its opposition to the "Islamisation" of French public life – but not, it is careful to add, to Islam itself. Miss Le Pen claims that pork is being taken off the menu in French schools and that state funds are being used to build "ostentatious mosque cathedrals". She may never be elected president, but over a quarter of French voters approve of her; at no point in the history of the Fifth Republic has an aggressive Right-wing party enjoyed such support among the middle classes.
It may seem inconceivable that British politics could move in the same direction. But we should not be too relaxed about the fact that populist Right-wing parties have never broken into the mainstream of our politics. Two points need to be made. Read on and comment >>> Telegraph View | Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Some of us have been highlighting the threat of the growth of Islam in this country in particular and in the West in general for a very long time, but the MSM were not prepared to listen to us. We were labelled by some misinformed people as right-wing extremists.
I, for one, am not extremist in any way; but I have recognized the growing threat of Islam in the West for many long years now. It has been very disheartening at times, when nobody wanted to listen to what one had to say. But now, thankfully, things are changing. You know they are changing when reputable newspapers like The Daily Telegraph are willing to speak out.
One of the problems we have, though, is that in the name of political correctness, we are disinclined to criticize Islam, the religion, and always ascribe anything negative to Islamism. But the harsh reality remains that Islam and Islamism are really one and the same thing: Islamism is really only the radical, extreme interpretation, and orthodox interpretation, of Islam itself. Islamism cannot be tackled without tackling Islam, if for no other reason than a non-radical Muslim can morph into a radical Muslim very easily and very quickly. Further, as there is no centralized authority in Islam, such as the Pope in the Christian Church, authentic Islam can be anyone's interpretation of the religion. This means that tackling this problem is going to be very difficult for anyone. It will take great courage, great understanding, great fortitude, and great insight.
David Cameron is not the man to tackle this problem. He is far too PR-orientated, and far too aware of his own image. I fear that for David Cameron, his approval ratings mean more to him than tackling a difficult challenge such as this. In any case, given his background, I doubt very much that he has a full grasp of the complexities of the problem. What does he really know about Islam or the Middle East? – © Mark
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: There is a remarkable statistic in today’s main Daily Telegraph leader [above]:
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimates that there are 2,869,000 Muslims in Britain, an increase of 74 per cent on its previous figure of 1,647,000, which was based on the 2001 census. No demographic statistics are reliable in an era of open borders, but such an expansion is unprecedented.The Muslim population has grown from 1.65 million to 2.87 million since 2001, say researchers. What does this mean for liberal Britain? >>> Damian Thompson | Tuesday, December 28, 2010
As people are in the UK today, indeed as people are in the West today – soft – this problem cannot be solved. For this problem can be solved in one way, and in one way only: by means of Draconian measures. Our politicians do not have the stomach for such measures. To start with, our Parliament has become populated by softees who are far more interested in image, sound-bites, and photo-ops than in making hard choices to safeguard our freedoms.
Islam, by contrast, is a macho religion; and its male adherents are inclined to be macho too. They will not easily be frightened off by the pansies that lead us in the West today. This is a situation which calls for the leadership of real men: men who are not intimidated by the prospect of taking tough decisions, and not daunted by the prospect of being unpopular.
Western politicians are given to dividing Islam into two parts: Islam, the religion; and Islamism, the cancer. But the distinction is far from the truth. In reality, it’s a false dichotomy. It is a distinction which serves the purposes of weak politicians; but it is one which any self-respecting Muslim would not recognize. Muslims do not distinguish between Islam and Islamism. To Muslims, Islam is ONE religion. Yes, it has its schisms. Witness the Sunni / Shi’ite schism. But no Muslim would recognize the split that Westerners arbitrarily make of Muslims and Islamists. This is but a dichotomy of convenience for politicians who do not have the stomach to tackle the real issue: the growth of Islam in the West.
Moreover, our problems with Islam cannot be solved by tackling Islamism. Islamism is but the orthodox, fundamentalist version of the faith. It is the version of Islam which devout Muslims believe is the correct way to practise their religion. It is the living out of the fundamental tenets of orthodox Islam. The problems we have with Muslims and Islam in the world today WILL NOT BE SOLVED if we continue with this false dichotomy. In using it, we are just fooling ourselves.
If civil unrest in the UK is to be staved off, and the growth of extreme parties is to be forestalled, this issue will need to be addressed; and it will have to be addressed by courageous and knowledgeable politicians – politicians who understand the nature of Islam and who are willing and able to take the TOUGH decisions which are necessary to SUCCEED. – © Mark
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THE TIMES: Muslim population 'rising 10 times faster than rest of society': The Muslim population in Britain has grown by more than 500,000 to 2.4 million in just four years, according to official research collated for The Times. >>> Richard Kerbaj | Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, December 27, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Churches empty and Christmas decorations are put away after al-Qaida renews deadly threat
Their cathedrals stand silent and their neighbourhoods are rapidly emptying. Now Iraq's Christians face two further unthinkable realities: that Christmas this year is all but cancelled, and that few among them will stay around to celebrate future holy days.
It has been the worst of years for the country's Christians, with thousands fleeing in the past month and more leaving the country during 2010 than at any time since the invasion nearly eight years ago. Christian leaders say there have been few more defining years in their 2,000-year history in central Arabia.
The latest exodus follows a massacre led by al-Qaida at a Chaldean Catholic church in central Baghdad on 31 October, which left about 60 people dead, almost 100 maimed and an already apprehensive community terrified. Since then, the terrorist group has targeted Christians in their homes, including family members of those who survived the attack.
…
What Saudi Arabia lacks in violent persecution it makes up for in outright intolerance. There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, which counts a million Catholics in its population. The country allows Christians to enter for work purposes but severely restricts the practise of their faith.
Christians worship in private homes and there are bans on religious articles including Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings and items bearing religious symbols. The religious police bar the practice of any religion other than Islam. Conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy and carries a death sentence if the accused does not recant. Still, Christians in Saudi Arabia are positively blessed compared with those of Iraq. Read the whole article >>> Martin Chulov in Baghdad | Thursday, December 23, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nine men were remanded in custody today charged with conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK and other terrorism offences.
Gurukanth Desai, 28, Omar Sharif Latif, 26, and Abdul Malik Miah, 24, from Cardiff, and Mohammed Moksudur Rahman Chowdhury, 20, and Shah Mohammed Lutfar Rahman, 28, from London, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Chief magistrate Howard Riddle remanded them to appear at the Old Bailey on January 14.
The four men from Stoke-on-Trent were later also remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on January 14.
They were Nazam Hussain, 25, Usman Khan, 19, Mohibur Rahman, 26, and Abul Bosher Mohammed Shahjahan, 26.
The suspects were held a week ago during a series of dawn raids by counter-terrorism officers.
In all 12 men were held during the raids by unarmed police on December 20 in London, Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham. >>> | Monday, December 27, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Christmas bomb plot: nine men remanded over plan to 'blow up Big Ben and Westminster Abbey' – Nine alleged terrorists plotted a Christmas bombing campaign targeting sites that included the London Stock Exchange and Big Ben, a court heard. >>> Caroline Gammell | Monday, December 27, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen has promised to defend France from creeping "Islamisation" days before she is expected to take over from her father as head of the National Front party.
The 42-year-old is seen as a potentially dangerous threat to President Nicolas Sarkozy if chosen to succeed Jean-Marie Le Pen in a mid-January party congress almost 40 years after he founded the party.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Miss Le Pen, said: "The progressive Islamisation of our country and the increase in political-religious demands are calling into question the survival of our civilisation."
"We are fighting against Islamism, not Islam", she said.
"Islamism is the will to impose Shariah for all as civil, political and religious law. We Western societies are fighting against Islamism all around the world. We have sent our kids to Afghanistan to be killed to fight against Islamism, and we don't have the right in France through words and political action to fight it? That seems totally absurd to me," she said.
Miss Le Pen said examples of creeping Islamisation included pork being taken off the menu in certain French schools, the fact that 22 Quick fast food restaurants were offering exclusively Halal burgers. She also claimed that Muslim communities were receiving hidden French government funds to build "increasingly ostentatious mosque-cathedrals" or ones funded by Saudi Arabia.
"In reality, it's asking French people to increasingly submit themselves to the Muslim religion. That goes totally against the secular principles of the French republic," she claimed, adding that the issue would be a "key theme" of the 2012 presidential elections. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Boxing Day, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis,
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
adoramus te.
Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi,
propter magnam gloriam tuam.
King’s College, Cambridge >>>
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Human Rights Act is protecting the rights of minority groups while encouraging judges and politicians to discriminate against Christians, a senior bishop said yesterday. The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, warned that the death of “religious literacy” among those who made and administered the law had created an imbalance in the way in which those with faith were treated compared to sexual minorities.
Highlighting the case Gary McFarlane, a relationship counsellor who was sacked by Relate for refusing to give sex therapy to a homosexual couple, he said that the judiciary now went out of its way to protect the rights of minorities.
At the same time, for the first time in British history politicians and judges were largely ignorant of religion and so failed to appreciate the importance Christians placed on abiding by the scriptures rather than the politically correct values of the secular state. Read on and comment >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It may have caused travel chaos but the wintry weather has also provided some beautiful scenery around the country, see some of the best images of natural beauty from around northern England and Scotland.
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