Fundraising Floodgates Opening for Romney

abc NEWS: With Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich out of the way, high-dollar Republican donors are able to open their wallets to both Mitt Romney’s campaign and the RNC Victory Fund at joint fundraising events all over the country.

Several Romney fundraisers are now saying many of the big donors that had been staying “on the sidelines” in the primary are coming to their camp and writing big checks.

Romney is ramping up his fundraising schedule, focusing on events with high-dollar donors in the Northeast and elsewhere around the country, in between campaign stops.

A breakfast last week at the Marriott Marquis in New York City hosted by Jets owner Woody Johnson, smaller private lunches and dinners in Manhattan, and events in Florida, Connecticut, and Boston, have or will help fill the coffers ahead of the long road to November.

Upcoming fundraisers on May 16 and 17 in Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and Boca Raton are expected to reel in millions for the effort. The events will be tiered, arranged so that the more a donor gives, the more time he or she will get to spend with the presumptive GOP nominee. » | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Muslim Students Condemn 'Divisive and Irresponsible' University Alcohol Ban
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Muslim students at a university which proposed to ban the sale of alcohol from parts of campus on their behalf are claiming the decision is “divisive”, “irresponsible” and based on a “gross generalisation”.

The students at London Metropolitan University said the prospective alcohol ban was “ill-advised and misleading”, demonising them and exacerbating “Islamophobia” at the university and in wider society.

They warned the proposals had created such ill-feeling amongst students that it is "only a matter of time" before a Muslim student is assaulted.

They accused Vice Chancellor Professor Malcolm Gillies of “immorally” using them as “scapegoats” in order to justify a decision not to renew a costly lease for the student bar.

Their comments, issued on behalf of the LMU Islamic Society and Shia Muslim Society, follow a suggestion from Prof Gillies that he was considering banning the sale of alcohol from parts of the university's two campuses.

This, he said, was an issue of “cultural sensitivity” resulting from a “high percentage” of students considering drinking “immoral”.

Earlier this month, he said: “There are students who do come from a tradition that stays alcohol is evil and they need to feel that they have a place at London Metropolitan University.

“They don’t have to feel that this is an alcoholic environment, we are an educational environment, we are not seeking to push particular cultural or gastronomic values, we meet the needs of our students as they actually are.”

In an open letter, students have now reprimanded Prof Gillies for failing to consult all students on any proposed alcohol ban and have demanded a retraction and an apology for his comments.

They said: “There has never been a demand for an alcohol ban on campus from Muslim or non-Muslim students. Read on and comment » | Hannah Furness | Monday, April 30, 2012

Related »

Khalil Dale: Red Cross Urge Pakistani Media Not to Broadcast Execution Video
THE GUARDIAN: ICRC says it has a policy of not paying ransoms after body of British aid worker kidnapped in January is found in Quetta


The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is appealing to the Pakistani media not to broadcast a video of the execution of the kidnapped British aid worker Khalil Dale, which his killers have threatened to release.

Dale's body was discovered on Sunday, dumped in an orchard in Quetta, the restless southern city where the 60-year-old British nurse had been working as a health programme manager before he was seized by armed men in January.

Officials in Quetta said a note had been left with his corpse saying: "This is the body of Khalil who we have slaughtered for not paying a ransom".

It also said a video of the moment Dale's throat was cut would soon be released.

The ICRC has said it will weigh up the risks and benefits of operating in parts of Pakistan following Dale's murder.

A spokesman refused to go into detail about any contacts the ICRC may have had with Dale's abductors to try to free him before his death, but said this should not be taken to mean it had countenanced paying any ransom.

The 60-year-old Muslim convert from Dumfries, Scotland, had been kidnapped at gunpoint in January. » | Jon Boone in Islamabad, Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent and James Meikle | Monday, April 30, 2012

Related »

The Brutal Truth About Islam
Ever since 9/11, Americans have been bombarded with the message that Islam is a religion of peace. Gordon Robertson interviews Robert Spencer on the real story Muslims don't want you to hear. [2008]

As America's Waistline Expands, Costs Soar
REUTERS.COM: U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

The nation's rising rate of obesity has been well-chronicled. But businesses, governments and individuals are only now coming to grips with the costs of those extra pounds, many of which are even greater than believed only a few years ago: The additional medical spending due to obesity is double previous estimates and exceeds even those of smoking, a new study shows.

Many of those costs have dollar signs in front of them, such as the higher health insurance premiums everyone pays to cover those extra medical costs. Other changes, often cost-neutral, are coming to the built environment in the form of wider seats in public places from sports stadiums to bus stops.

The startling economic costs of obesity, often borne by the non-obese, could become the epidemic's second-hand smoke. Only when scientists discovered that nonsmokers were developing lung cancer and other diseases from breathing smoke-filled air did policymakers get serious about fighting the habit, in particular by establishing nonsmoking zones. The costs that smoking added to Medicaid also spurred action. Now, as economists put a price tag on sky-high body mass indexes (BMIs), policymakers as well as the private sector are mobilizing to find solutions to the obesity epidemic. » | Sharon Begley | NEW YORK | Monday, April 30, 2012

This is Halal
This video filmed by GAIA exposes the suffering caused by the Halal method of animal slaughter.

As you can see the animals are not stunned before they are killed. Many animals endure several minutes of sheer panic and agony before they die. This slaughter is happening around the world including Europe. It is also happening in the U.K. This meat is also being imported to the U.K. in large quantities RIGHT NOW. It is being sold in restaurants, pubs, schools, supermarkets, and many fast food outlets across the UK - completely unlabeled.

You may well have eaten this stuff without realising it.

In some abattoirs the animals are stunned so that they are partially paralysed but not rendered unconscious, so called 'stun to stun' This kind of stunning can often be more cruel as the animal cannot express the pain it is suffering.

Please write to your MP and demand a ban on Halal and Kosher slaughter in Europe and clear labeling of un-stunned meat: www.writetothem.com

Halal Meat Controversy in France
Halal meat, or meat slaughtered in line with Muslim tradition, is at the centre of a political controversy.

Quick - a fast-food French restaurant chain - is testing out a new niche market, withdrawing all pork products from the menu and serving only halal meat in some of its branches.

Experts say that with more than 5 million French Muslims who are potential customers, Quick is targeting a booming market: the $7.5bn halal business.

But the mayor of Roubaix, a French town near the northern city of Lille , has launched a law suit against the food chain, arguing that it constituted "discrimination" against non-Muslims.

And Marine Le Pen, the vice-president of the far-right National Front party, has warned of "Islamisation".

Al Jazeera's Estelle Youssouffa reports from Paris. [February 21, 2010]

French Muslims Get Call to Vote for President
ASSOCIATED PRESS: PARIS — They are France's millions-strong minority with a voice that usually falls silent at election time. But this year, there is a special new effort to mobilize French Muslims to speak up at the ballot box in Sunday's presidential race — amid a surge of Islam-bashing among the French right.

Imams and Islamic associations are calling on Muslims to do their duty as citizens and go to the polls. And while they're not officially endorsing anyone, the call itself is a bold move in a country where statistics on religious affiliation are formally banned and where secularism is enshrined in the constitution.

Socialist Francois Hollande — the poll favorite — is more likely to benefit from the get-out-the-vote push, because conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against Muslim practices in his campaign and experts say that Muslims in poor neighborhoods and Muslim youth tend to vote for the left. But the Muslim vote is diverse, and there's no guarantee that the push will bring out voters, since Muslims have tended in the past to avoid politics.

French Muslims have been pounded with blame throughout the campaign for what they eat (halal meat), how they pray (in the street), and for allegedly using their growing numbers to supplant France's civilization with their own. The massacre of Jewish schoolchildren and French paratroopers in March by an alleged Islamic extremist put Muslims in the spotlight anew and fed far-right fear mongering. » | Elaine Ganley | AP | Monday, April 30, 2012

Bahraini Activist to Remain in Jail until Retrial
A man on hunger strike in Bahrain for more than 80 days is to be given a retrial, on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. But Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and 20 others will have to stay in jail until then. Charles Stratford explains.

New Russia Law Bans 'Homosexual Propaganda'
Two gay activists have gone on trial in the Russian city of St Petersburg under a new law banning what authorities describe as "homosexual propaganda". Human rights groups say the new law is a major setback for human rights in Russia. Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports from St Petersburg.

Skandal Royal: Juan Carlos – Brudermord?
König Juan Carlos von Spanien ist einer der beliebtesten Monarchen der Gegenwart. Nur wenige wissen von einem tragischen Geheimnis aus seiner Kindheit. Am 29. März 1956 starb sein Bruder Alfonso im Alter von 15 Jahren an den Folgen einer Schussverletzung am Kopf. Offiziell war von einem Unfall die Rede. Alfonso hätte sich beim Waffenreinigen unabsichtlich umgebracht. Ein Band der Stille legte sich über diesen Tod - bis zum 17. April 1956. An diesem Tag veröffentlichte eine italienische Zeitung eine schockierende Nachricht: Die offizielle Erklärung der spanischen Botschaft sei gelogen. Die italienische Presse druckte eine andere Version: Juan Carlos soll abgedrückt und seinen Bruder mit einem Kopfschuss getötet haben.
Das Video hier abspielen | Sonntag, 22. April 2012

Far-Right Provocation: Berlin Worried About 'Muhammad Cartoon Contest'

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A far-right group in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is running a 'Muslim cartoon contest' and plans to display the works outside mosques. The move has alarmed authorities which fear it could incite violence and hurt German interests abroad, similar to the backlash that followed the 2005 publication of cartoons in Danish newspapers.

The German government has voiced concern that far-right activists in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia may incite violence with plans to hold a so-called "Muhammad cartoon contest" and to stage demonstrations outside mosques in the run-up to a regional election there on May 13.

SPIEGEL has learned that Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich warned of a confrontation between Salafists and right-wing extremists which he said could have unforeseeable consequences for public safety.

Pro-NRW, which has been categorized as an extremist right-wing group by the domestic intelligence agency, has said it plans to display the cartoons outside 25 mosques in the state. » | SPIEGEL/cro | Monday, April 30, 2012

In Norway, Muslim Leaders Say Breivik Trial Should Focus on Gunman’s Anti-Islamic Ideology
THE WASHINGTON POST: OSLO, Norway — Muslim leaders in Norway say they are concerned that the anti-Islamic ideology of Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right fanatic now on trial for killing 77 people, is being overshadowed by questions about his mental state.

The self-described anti-Muslim militant shocked Norway on July 22 with a bombing and shooting rampage targeting the government headquarters and the Labor Party’s annual youth camp. Since he has admitted to the attacks, the key issue for the trial is to determine whether Breivik is sane enough to be held criminally responsible.

“I’m not a psychiatrist, but what is important is what he has done. That should be the focus, not how crazy he is,” said Mehtab Afsar, head of the Islamic Council in Norway, an umbrella organization of Muslim groups in the country.

“He wants to get rid of Muslims and Islam from Europe. That is his main message. So I don’t see the point of using so much energy on is he normal, is he insane?” Afsar told The Associated Press.

Breivik has told the court his victims had betrayed Norway by opening the country to immigration. He called for a “patriotic” revolution aimed at deporting Muslims from Europe. » | Associated Press | Saturday, April 28, 2012

Related »

Pakistan: Un an après la mort de Ben Laden, l'extrémisme prospère

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La montée de l'extrémisme au Pakistan n'a jamais été aussi marquée, un an après la disparition de l'ex-chef d'Al-Qaïda.

Un an après, la mort d’Oussama Ben Laden n’a pas donné de coup d’arrêt à la montée de l’extrémisme au Pakistan, bien au contraire: profitant de la mansuétude des autorités, les "petits frères" locaux d’Al-Qaïda menacent de plus en plus l’équilibre précaire de la société.

Le commandement traditionnel d’Al-Qaïda dans la région, concentré notamment dans les zones tribales pakistanaises du nord-ouest, le long de la frontière afghane, a été selon nombre d’observateurs très affaibli par la campagne de tirs de drones américains, qui se sont multipliés à partir de 2008.

Mais l’idéologie du réseau, fondée sur le mythe de la résistance du peuple musulman face à l’impérialisme américain, et appelant à punir tous ceux soutiennent Washington, trouve toujours de l’écho dans un pays plombé par la crise économique et la faiblesse de son pouvoir politique. » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 30 avril 2012

Is Netanyahu Misleading Israelis Over Iran?
As members of Israel's security establishment criticise the prime minister, we ask if a growing rift is emerging.

Putin's Russia
As Vladimir Putin begins his third term as president, we ask if Russia can become a superpower once again.

Ex-Libyan Oil Minister's Body Found in Danube
Austrian police say Shukri Ghanem was found dead in river near Vienna and showed no external signs of violence.

Related »

Niederländischer Populist: Das neue Feindbild des Geert Wilders

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Neuwahlen in den Niederlanden will Geert Wilders zu einer Abstimmung über Europa machen. Der Populist, der bei der letzten Wahl mit Hass auf Muslime auf Stimmenfang ging, schürt jetzt die Angst vor der Euro-Krise. Sein neuer Gegner heißt Brüssel.

Niemand weiß, wo er wohnt. Bühnen und Veranstaltungen betritt er immer nur durch den Hintereingang. Wenn er mit seiner Frau ins Kino geht, sitzen Bodyguards hinter ihm. Geert Wilders, 48, ist isoliert. Wegen seiner Sprüche gegen Ausländer und Muslime wird der niederländische Rechtspopulist rund um die Uhr geschützt. Als Mensch, sagt er selbst, sei er deshalb schon lange allein.

Auch politisch wird er immer mehr zum Außenseiter: Vergangene Woche ließ Wilders nach anderthalb Jahren Zusammenarbeit die Regierung in den Niederlanden platzen. Ohne die Unterstützung von Wilders' "Partei für die Freiheit" (PVV) hatte die Minderheitsregierung von Mark Rutte keine Mehrheit mehr. Andere Parteien geben Wilders die Schuld am Debakel. Im September finden Neuwahlen statt.

"Was mich betrifft", sagt Geert Wilders, "wird die Wahl ein großes Referendum über Europa und die Souveränität unseres Landes". Er möge Wahlkämpfe. "Gegen Europa, gegen die drei Prozent, gegen den Euro - dafür wurde die PVV gegründet." Seine Partei sei die einzige mit Rückgrat - alle anderen würden sich den EU-Regeln beugen. Holland muss mindestens 14 Milliarden Euro sparen, um das Staatsdefizit auf die erlaubten drei Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts zurückzubringen. Für Wilders sind die Sparregeln ein "Diktat aus Brüssel", an denen sich das Land kaputtspare.

Für den Wahlkampf entwickelt der Rechtspopulist deshalb ein neues Feindbild: Die Bedrohung ist nicht mehr der Islam, sondern Brüssel. Jahrelang war Geert Wilders der lauteste Marktschreier unter den Islam-Gegnern in Europa. Mit seinen Parolen baute er seine "Partei für die Freiheit" auf. Vor kurzem setzte er noch ein Burka-Verbot durch - damit aber ist das Thema Islamfeindlichkeit ausgereizt, mehr ist auf diesem Gebiet politisch nicht drin. » | Von Benjamin Dürr | Montag, 30. April 2012

Related videos here and here

Au Liechtenstein, le prince tient à son pouvoir absolu

LE FIGARO: Le prince Aloïs, sous la menace d'un référendum pour abroger son droit de veto, menace de se retirer.

Y aura-t-il un «printemps des peuples» jusqu'au Liechtenstein? Un vent de révolte souffle en tout cas sur la minuscule principauté alpine [anglais], qui apparaît comme la dernière monarchie absolue d'Europe. Du haut de son château, qui surplombe sa lilliputienne capitale, Vaduz [anglais], le prince héritier Aloïs [anglais] gronde: «La maison princière n'est prête à assumer ses responsabilités politiques que si elle dispose des instruments nécessaires. Nous nous retirerons sinon complètement de la vie politique.»

L'enjeu du différend? La toute-puissance de la maison princière sur ses 36 000 sujets: elle peut, grâce à son droit de veto, bloquer toute loi ou référendum. «L'ensemble du pays dépend du prince : le Parlement, le gouvernement, la justice», explique le journaliste Sigvard Wohl¬wend, porte-parole du comité de citoyens «Oui, pour que ta voix compte». Le prince, chef de l'État, peut dissoudre le Parlement, révoquer le gouvernement et diriger par décret. Il peut aussi refuser la nomination d'un juge et mettre fin à toute enquête pénale. «Dans la pratique, il n'a même pas besoin d'utiliser ces pouvoirs, car tous s'empressent d'exécuter ses souhaits», souligne Sigvard Wohl¬wend. » | Par Stéphane Kovacs | vendredi 27 avril 2012

Breivik Visited Malta for ‘Historical Research’

TIMES OF MALTA: Breivik shot ‘several films’ in Malta

Norwegian terrorist mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik visited Malta with his mother in 2004 to conduct “historic research” for his manifesto but told the police he never made any permanent contacts on the island.

The visit came 10 days after Mr Breivik’s 25th birthday, The Times has learnt.

Mr Breivik – who is currently standing trial for killing 77 people at a summer camp organised by the ruling Labour party – gave details about his trip to the island to the Norwegian police when he was interrogated.

This is the first time details of his visit have emerged. In his manifesto, the anti-Muslim funda-mentalist listed 24 countries he had visited, including “exotic” destinations like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, China, Mexico, Cyprus and Malta.

When the police asked him about his trip to Malta, Mr Breivik initially said he did not remember his stay on the island.

However, when the police quoted flight records showing he landed on February 23, 2004, Mr Breivik confirmed this was a week-long holiday with his mother. » | Christian Peregin | Monday, April 30, 2012

Related »

Libyen: Demonstranten verlangen die Einführung der Scharia als Grundlage aller Gesetze Libyens
INSTITUT FÜR ISLAMFRAGEN: Forderung: Der Islam soll Staatsreligion sein

(Institut für Islamfragen, dh, 28.04.2012) Die arabische Zeitung www.alarabiya.net veröffentlichte Anfang des Jahres einen Bericht über eine Demonstration in Benghazi/Libyen, bei der 2000-3000 Demonstranten die Einführung der Scharia in Libyen forderten. Auf Flugblättern, die von den Demonstranten verteilt wurden, verlangten sie, die Scharia zur Quelle aller Bestimmungen der libyschen Verfassung und aller Gesetze zu machen. Es müsse im libyschen Gesetz einen Paragraphen geben, der den Islam als Staatsreligion bezeichnet. Dieser Paragraph müsse angenommen werden, ohne dass darüber eine Abstimmung libyscher Politiker notwendig sei.

Die Demonstranten riefen: als Motto des von ihnen angestrebten islamischen Staates: "Islamisch, islamisch" [arab. islamiya, islamiya] und trugen den Koran in ihren Händen.

Der Vorsitzende der libyschen Übergangsregierung, Mustapha Abdul-Jalil, hatte im Oktober letzten Jahres in "der Befreiungserklärung Libyens" angekündigt, die Scharia werde die Hauptquelle der Gesetzgebung Libyens werden. [Quelle: Institut für Islamfragen] | Samstag, 28. April 2012

Das Institut braucht Ihre Unterstützung. »

Anti-Islam Gathering in Dearborn Protested, Defended
DETROIT FREE PRESS: Anti-Islam advocates from across the U.S. gathered Sunday in Dearborn for a conference to bring attention to what they say is a problem of Muslim honor killings.

About 150 gathered at the Hyatt in Dearborn for the Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference, named after a 20-year-old Arab-American Muslim woman who was killed by her stepfather last year in Warren.

But at another conference in Detroit, about 100 people gathered earlier in the day to oppose the anti-Islam conference, saying it was the latest attack on metro Detroit's Arab-American and Muslim communities. Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the U.S., many of them Muslim.

"We stand for America," said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab-American News, at a panel at the DoubleTree hotel in Detroit. "And they (anti-Muslim activists) stand against America and against the American way of life." » | Niraj Warikoo | Detroit Free Press Staff Writer | Monday, April 30, 2012

Florida Pastor Terry Jones Burns Copies of Koran Outside Church

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Dove World Outreach Center preacher fined for act as officials fear it may spark Muslim outrage

An Islamophobic pastor in Florida is playing with fire once again.

Terry Jones, who sparked international outrage in 2010 when he vowed to burn copies of the Koran, ignited copies of the Islamic holy book outside his Dove World Outreach Center Saturday night, according to the Gainsville Sun.

The pastor — who once promised he would "not ever" burn a Koran — also burned an image depicting the prophet Muhammad, the newspaper reported.

Jones carried out the incendiary act along with about 20 others to protest the imprisonment of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian jailed in Iran since 2009 for his religious beliefs, according to the Christian Post.

“Our end result is we would like to have these things brought in front of the United Nations,” Jones told the newspaper.

“We would like Islam-dominated countries to adapt at least some form of human rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion rights; individual rights [and] civil rights. That would be the outcome that we would desire.” » | Michael Sheridan / New York Daily News | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Al-Qaeda 'Will Free British Hostage' If Abu Qatada Can Go Where He Wants
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, an affilate of the terrorist organisation, have offered to free a British-South African hostage if Abu Qatada, the radical cleric, is allowed to choose a country for his extradition, according to the US monitoring service SITE.

AQIM also threatened that Britain would "open the door of evil" unto its country and people should it send the imam back to his native Jordan where he faces jail, the report said.

The group which is Al-Qaeda's North African franchise - has been holding Stephen Malcolm and two other western men hostage since abducting them last November in the northern Mali desert city of Timbuktu.

Britain has been trying to deport Abu Qatada for more than six years, arguing he is a threat to national security, to Jordan, where the cleric was convicted in 1998 in absentia of involvement in terror attacks. » | Source: AFP | Monday, April 30, 2012

Libya Ex-Minister Shukri Ghanem Dead in Danube River

BBC: The body of Libya's former Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has been found in the Danube River, Austrian police say.

A spokesman said there were no signs of violence to Mr Ghanem's body, which was in the river that flows through Vienna.

The former prime minister, 69, worked as a consultant for a Vienna-based company. He apparently left his home early on Sunday, police said.

Mr Ghanem defected from Libya as the country was engulfed in the uprising against Col Muammar Gaddafi last year.

At the time, he criticised the bloodshed in Libya, saying that the situation had become "unbearable", making his position untenable.

He served as Libyan prime minister from 2003 to 2006 and then as oil minister until 2011. » | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Bin Laden Widows Welcomed in Saudi Arabia as ‘Not Suspicious’
BBC: Saudi officials have said they have no suspicions about Osama Bin Laden's widows and children, who arrived in the kingdom late last week.

The three women and reportedly 11 children were deported from Pakistan last week.

A spokesman said the kingdom had acted out of "humanitarian considerations" in offering shelter to the group.

The group spent a year in Pakistani custody after Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in May last year.

"Saudi Arabia acted out of humanitarian considerations... in so far as there are no reports or evidence of any implication in criminal or illegal acts," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted a spokesman as saying, AFP news agency reports.

'Country of choice'

The spokesman said the group had been welcomed by their relatives when they arrived in Jeddah on Thursday night.

The three widows and their children left Pakistan for Saudi Arabia which was, according to a Pakistani interior ministry spokesman, "the country of their choice". » | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Is George Galloway Muslim?

George Galloway Continues to Defend the Syrian Dictatorship

Berlin expulse un dangereux prédicateur salafiste

LE FIGARO: Mohammed Mahmoud appelle au djihad, prétend conquérir Rome et «exécuter les sentences d'Allah sur la place Saint-Pierre».

L'Allemagne entend afficher sa détermination dans la lutte contre la mouvance salafiste. En ordonnant l'expulsion du prêcheur radical Mohammed Mahmoud, sur décision du ministère de l'Intérieur de la Hesse, les autorités allemandes espèrent décapiter l'islam radical sur leur territoire.

En quelques mois, ce salafiste autrichien d'origine égyptienne, plus connu sous son nom de guerre «Abou Usama al-Gharib», s'était imposé à la tête de la mouvance radicale outre-Rhin. Il appelle au djihad et se dit prêt à mourir pour ses convictions. «Ceux qui ne sont pas prêts à accepter les règles démocratiques, l'organisation de la société, qui rejettent les lois et qui appellent au renversement du système démocratique, par la violence si nécessaire, doivent quitter l'Allemagne», a expliqué Boris Rhein, ministre de l'Intérieur du Land de Hesse.

Réputé pour ses liens avec al-Qaida, Mohammed Mahmoud s'est installé en Allemagne en septembre 2011, après sa sortie de prison. Il avait été condamné en 2008 à quatre ans de détention à Vienne pour avoir fabriqué une ceinture d'explosifs. » | Par Patrick Saint-Paul | vendredi 27 avril 2012

Schicksalswahl in Griechenland
In Griechenland wird nächsten Sonntag ein neues Parlament gewählt. Nur knapp ein Drittel der Wähler hält laut Umfragen an den etablierten Parteien fest. Besonders rechtsradikale Parteien erleben einen Aufschwung.

Nigerian Christian Worshippers Targeted by Islamic Terrorists
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Suspected Islamic terrorists killed as many as 20 Christian worshippers in an attack on a makeshift church at a university in northern Nigeria.

Several small bombs, believed to have been fashioned from fizzy drinks cans, were thrown into a lecture hall that was being used for a Sunday morning service in Kano, a city that has been repeatedly attacked by Muslim radicals.

The explosions killed one person and injured many others. But as the crowd fled the lecture hall, gunmen waiting outside opened fire with automatic rifles.

Several dozen people who had been unable to enter the building, at Kano's Bayero University, who were listening to the service outdoors were also targeted.

Within minutes, as many as 19 others were killed, and their bodies littered the campus grounds as the gunfire continued for up to half an hour more, witnesses said.

"I was inside and we were preparing for a prayer when there was the sound of motorbikes driving fast and then the first explosion," one student worshipper, who gave her name only as Grace, said.

"Everything then happened very fast. There were more bombs, I think, and so many gunshots, there was too much noise and people were panicking." » | Mike Pflanz, Nairobi | Sunday, April 29, 2012

France Election: Nicolas Sarkozy Forced to Deny He Received 50 Million Euros from Muammar Gaddafi

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy was forced to deny allegations he had received 50 million euros from the late Muammar Gaddafi as France's presidential rivals accused each other of dirty tricks a week before election day.

With the contest approaching its climax, Mr Sarkozy effectively accused his left wing rivals of orchestrating what he described as a “despicable forgery”.

Amid mutual smear claims, Mr Sarkozy and François Hollande held giant rallies in Paris and Toulouse on Sunday ahead of a crunch two-and-a-half-hour televised debate on Wednesday. More than 20 million French are expected to tune in for the lone duel ahead of the May 6 runoff that Mr Hollande is polled to win by up to 10 percentage points.

On Saturday, the investigative news website Mediapart [E] published what it said was a copy of a Libyan regime document proving that Mr Sarkozy and Col Gaddafi – onetime allies – had an illegal financial arrangement to help propel Mr Sarkozy to power in 2007.

Written in Arabic and signed by Moussa Koussa, Col Gaddafi’s intelligence chief in 2006, it refers to an “agreement in principle to support the campaign for the candidate for the presidential elections, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a sum equivalent to 50 million euros.”

However, the memo’s supposed recipient – Bashir Saleh, Gaddafi’s former chief of staff and head of his sovereign wealth fund – yesterday denied receiving such a document. A lawyer for Mr Saleh, currently in exile in France, said he expressed his “grave reservations” over its authenticity. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Geert Wilders on BBC’s Hardtalk with Stephen Sackur
Geert Wilders speaking on BBC Hardtalk in August 2008.

Geert Wilders- Ich muss seit 8 Jahren mit schußsicherer Weste debattieren (2010)

Islam in Deutschland: Von Muslima zu Atheistin

The Council That Kept Its Prayers – by Dropping God
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A council has dropped references to God from the prayer with which it opens meetings, under pressure from secularist campaigners.

For as long as anyone can remember, councillors in Gloucestershire have stood up for a brief prayer before their meetings get under way.

But when three agnostic and atheist members staged a protest against the historic practice by remaining seated, the chairman decided something must be done to retain council unity.

So he hit upon an apparently ingenious solution: from now on, the prayer would still be said – but with all references to God removed.

So rather than asking "may He give us wisdom to carry out our duties ...", the chairman now states "may we find the wisdom ..." - and the "prayer" still ends with the chairman leading other members in saying "amen".

The authority is one of dozens across Britain which have recently scrapped or significantly altered their custom of saying prayers at the start of meetings under pressure from secular campaigners, who argue the practice breaches their human rights and excludes non-believers and people from other faiths. » | Jasper Copping | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Rachida Dati, Immigrant's Daughter, Battles to Help Nicolas Sarkozy Win Back Far-Right Supporters

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As Nicolas Sarkozy courts the far-Right vote in rural France, how can his favourite immigrant's daughter, Rachida Dati, help? She tells Kim Willsher why he must win.

Rachida Dati seems an unlikely figure to be wooing supporters of France's far right Front National party.

Needs must, however, and the daughter of a North African bricklayer who clawed her way to the top of the establishment ladder, before falling out of favour with President Nicolas Sarkozy, is now a key figure in his desperate battle to salvage his political career.

In his hour of need, Mr Sarkozy is rallying the troops to win over the 6.4 million French electors who voted for Marine Le Pen in the first round of the presidential election a week ago.

In response to being returned to the fold as one of the president's cheerleaders, Miss Dati has launched a spirited defence of what critics have called a "moral fault" by the current president, accusing him of veering dangerously into FN territory to save his skin.

"You cannot say that these people, 18 per cent of the electorate, are racists and xenophobic. It's not true," Miss Dati told The Sunday Telegraph in an exclusive interview.

"I have met and talked to FN voters and they are exasperated and afraid that the socialists will come to power. They are worried about Europe being a colander in terms of immigration, they are worried about companies moving elsewhere, they are worried about jobs and the cost of living, and security.

"It's for us to say to the FN voters, 'We have heard your preoccupations', to say to them that while the FN may have raised some good questions, it has proposed no solutions except rejecting others, creating scapegoats and the politics of hatred." » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Sunday, April 29, 2012

British Aid Worker Khalil Dale Found Dead in Pakistan

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The decapitated body of a British aid worker has been found in Pakistan three months after he was kidnapped.

Khalil Dale, a 60-year-old Muslim convert, was working for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan, one of the most troubled of Pakistan’s regions, when he was snatched.

Local officials said his bullet-riddled body was found on a road outside the city in a bag addressed to the police chief. A note said he had been killed because a ransom had not been paid.

Yves Daccord, Director-General of the ICRC, condemned the killing.

“All of us at the ICRC and at the British Red Cross share the grief and outrage of Khalil’s family and friends,” he said.

“We are devastated. Khalil was a trusted and very experienced Red Cross staff member who significantly contributed to the humanitarian cause.”

Mr Dale, who is originally from Manchester and converted to Islam 30 years ago, was also known as Ken. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Barack Obama Cracks Jokes at Republican Rivals Expense at White House Correspondent's Dinner
President Barack Obama takes aim at his political rivals, all in the name of entertainment of course, at the White House Correspondent's Association dinner in Washington, D.C.

Read the short article here | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Cardinal O’Brien Accuses David Cameron of ‘Immoral’ Tax Stance

BBC: The UK's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has said he believes the prime minister is acting immorally by putting the needs of the rich ahead of those of ordinary citizens affected by the recession.

Cardinal O'Brien, who is the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has also branded David Cameron's opposition to a "Robin Hood tax" on financial institutions as "shameful".

In a BBC Scotland interview, the Cardinal said: "My message to David Cameron, as the head of our government, is to seriously think again about this Robin Hood tax, the tax to help the poor by taking a little bit from the rich.

"The poor have suffered tremendously from the financial disasters of recent years and nothing, really, has been done by the very rich people to help them.

"And I am saying to the prime minister, look, don't just protect your very rich colleagues in the financial industry, consider the moral obligation to help the poor of our country."

The UK government has opposed the unilateral introduction of a tax on financial transactions, arguing jobs and investment would be lost overseas. But the Cardinal said he believes that position is immoral because, he maintains it overlooks the needs of the poorest in society and those of the less well-off.

He said: "When I say poor, I don't (only) mean the abject poverty we see sometimes in our streets.

"I mean people who would have considered themselves reasonably well-off.

"People who have saved for their pensions and now realise their pension funds are no more.

"People who are considering giving up their retirement homes that they have been saving for, poverty affecting young couples and so on and so on.

"It is these people who have had to suffer because of the financial disasters of recent years and it is immoral. It is not moral, just to ignore them and to say 'struggle along', while the rich can go sailing along in their own sweet way." » | David Miller | BBC Scotland | Sunday, April 29, 2012

David Cameron's Heartbroken Former Lover Becomes a Nun Called Sister John Mary: 'I Thought of Marriage... Then God Called,' Says PM Ex

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: With her long serge habit, make-up-free face and closely cropped hair hidden by a traditional wimple, she appears indistinguishable from her fellow Benedictine nuns.

Sister John Mary is devoted to a never-ending ritual of worship and work at her convent with the 36 sisters who follow the Rule of St Benedict on an isolated 400-acre farm.

It’s a life she was called to but it is hardly one the 44-year-old glamorous blonde seemed destined for when she worked in London at Conservative Party HQ - with her ambitious young boyfriend David Cameron.

Sister John Mary’s real name is Laura Adshead. She is a former pupil of £24,000-a-year Cheltenham Ladies’ College, from where she went up to Oxford - meeting Mr Cameron when they were young undergraduates.

Laura dated him from the spring of 1990 until summer 1991, and while he worked at Conservative Central Office, she went on to become the then Prime Minister John Major’s correspondence secretary.

Then their lives took different turns. Mr Cameron was selected for political stardom, while Laura left politics to study at the Wharton business school in Philadelphia. » | Caroline Graham and Sharon Churcher | Saturday, April 28, 2012

Politicians Braced for Backlash as Europe Turns Against Austerity

THE OBSERVER: Voters sick of endless belt-tightening are threatening a backlash that could sweep their political leaders from power if they do not listen to the growing chorus for change

At the end of last month, 5,000 people marched through Dublin to protest against the imposition of a €100 (£80) household tax that the Irish government was already struggling to collect from voters sick of austerity measures imposed on a stagnating economy.

It was a small demonstration by the standards of some that have taken place across Europe in recent months – in places such as Syntagma Square in Athens, or in Spanish cities during the general strike that took place just before the Dublin protest – but numbers on the streets are not everything these days.

As polls in Ireland revealed last week, support for the coalition government's policies is collapsing, while backing for Sinn Féin – which is calling for a "no" vote in next month's referendum on the EU fiscal compact that would bind member states other than the UK, which opted out, to budget deficits of 3% or less in perpetuity – has propelled it into the rank of Ireland's second most popular party after Fine Gael. Whether there will still be a fiscal compact to vote on, when the Irish go to the polls, is a moot point. The likely winner of the second round of the French presidential elections next Sunday, the Socialist, François Hollande – who some polls put nine points ahead of the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy – has said he would revise the deal.

In recent days, the Dutch coalition government has been brought down by the departure of Geert Wilders's far-right Freedom party, which was unwilling to sign up to a budget in line with the EU's belt-tightening package, even though the Dutch government has been one of the most aggressively in favour of imposing harsh austerity measures on members such as Greece and Portugal. Indeed, opinion polls in the Netherlands suggest that if elections – set for September – took place today, parties opposing the austerity regime might, both to the left and far right, win up to a third of seats. » | Peter Beaumont | Sunday, April 29, 2012

Iran Planning to Cut Internet Access to Rest of World
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran is drawing up plans to cut off its internet users from the rest of the world with a so-called Halal or "clean" internet.

Iranians are already used to censors blocking Facebook, Gmail and foreign news sites, and being spied on with surveillance software purchased from Western companies.

But the ambitious plans would go much further, blocking access to foreign-based social media sites and email. Instead, there will be an Iranian version of Facebook and a new email service, to be called Iran Mail. Users will have to register their home address and social security number with police.

The plans have received the backing of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in Iran, who has denounced the internet as sinful and a means for the West to wage "soft war" by invading Iranian culture.

But his real target is anti-regime activists who have relied on the internet since the failure of the "Green Revolution" which followed the disputed 2009 election. Since then security has been so tight on Iran's streets that protests are broken up almost as soon as they start.

When the system, called Halal internet or National Internet by the regime, is introduced this summer only a few approved and carefully monitored businesses and government departments will have access to the World Wide Web. In effect Iran will have a giant, country-wide intranet, with cyber police blocking websites that are not approved. Read on and comment » | Nick Meo | Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saudi Closes Embassy in Egypt Following Protests
ASSOCIATED PRESS: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia closed its Cairo embassy Saturday and recalled its ambassador following protests over a detained Egyptian human rights lawyer in a sharp escalation of tension between two regional powerhouses already on shaky terms due to uprisings in the Arab world.

The unexpected Saudi diplomatic break came following days of protests by hundreds of Egyptians outside the Saudi Embassy in Cairo and consulates in other cities to demand the release of Ahmed el-Gezawi. Relatives and human rights groups say he was detained for allegedly insulting the kingdom's monarch.

Saudi authorities denied that and said he was arrested for trying to smuggle anti-anxiety drugs into the conservative oil-rich kingdom.

The collapse of Hosni Mubarak's regime last year in Egypt stunned Saudi Arabia's monarchy, which saw it as a sign of its own potential vulnerabilities and how Western backing can suddenly shift away from longtime allies.

Saudi officials have increasingly viewed Egypt's post-revolution trajectory — particularly the political gains by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood — as worrisome trends that could encourage greater opposition in the Gulf.

A full break in ties between Cairo and Riyadh appears unlikely as the Arab League deals with the complicated showdown between protesters and the regime in Syria. But the deepening rifts underscore profound changes in the region's hierarchy with Gulf states using their influence and relative stability to exert more leverage over wider Mideast affairs. » | Abdullah Al-Shihri | AP | Saturday, April 28, 2012

Egypt’s Women Urge MPs Not to Pass Early Marriage, Sex-after-death Laws: Report
AL ARABIYA NEWS: Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) has appealed to the Islamist-dominated parliament not to approve two controversial laws on the minimum age of marriage and allowing a husband to have sex with his dead wife within six hours of her death according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper.

The appeal came in a message sent by Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, to the Egyptian People’s Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni, addressing the woes of Egyptian women, especially after the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

She was referring to two laws: one that would legalize the marriage of girls starting from the age of 14 and the other that permits a husband to have sex with his dead wife within the six hours following her death.

According to Egyptian columnist Amro Abdul Samea in al-Ahram, Talawi’s message included an appeal to parliament to avoid the controversial legislations that rid women of their rights of getting education and employment, under alleged religious interpretations.

“Talawi tried to underline in her message that marginalizing and undermining the status of women in future development plans would undoubtedly negatively affect the country’s human development, simply because women represent half the population,” Abdul Samea said in his article.

The controversy about a husband having sex with his dead wife came about after a Moroccan cleric spoke about the issue in May 2011.

Zamzami Abdul Bari said that marriage remains valid even after death adding that a woman also too had the same right to engage in sex with her dead husband.

Two years ago, Zamzami incited further controversy in Morocco when he said it was permissible for pregnant women to drink alcohol.

But it seems his view on partners having sex with their deceased partners has found its way to Egypt one year on. » | Abeer Tayel | Al Arabiya | Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bin Laden Widows and Children Prepare for New Life in Saudi Arabia
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The 14 members of Osama bin Laden's family who survived the US Navy Seal raid which killed him in May last year were on Friday preparing to live incognito - but probably in some luxury - in Saudi Arabia after being deported from Pakistan.

They included three of his widowed wives, ten children and one grandchild. One of his wives, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, was deported to Saudi Arabia despite being a Yemeni, at the insistence of Yemen officials and members of her family who feared she might become a focal point for bin Laden's followers or alternatively targeted by al-Qaeda militants.

In Saudi Arabia, the family members are expected to reside with bin Laden's extended family, led by Osama's half-brother, Bakr bin Mohammed Binladin, the chairman of Saudi Binladin. The kingdom's biggest construction company, it is the foundation of the family's fortune.

They were deported on the orders of a Pakistan court after being convicted of entering the country illegally, but it is understood officials wanted them removed from the country before next week's first anniversary of the raid in which the al-Qaead leader was killed. » | Tom Hussain in Islamabad and Adam Baron in Sanaa | Friday, April 27, 2012

Muslim, Zionist and Proud
YNET NEWS: Op-ed: His father praised Hitler, but Kasim Hafeez writes about love for Israel, Jewish people

I am a Zionist, a proud Muslim Zionist, and I love Israel, but this was not always the case. In fact, for many years I was quite the extreme opposite. I experienced the high levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity taking place on British university campuses, because I was the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel activist.

Growing up in the Muslim community in the UK I was exposed to materials and opinions at best condemning Israel, painting Jews as usurpers and murderers, and at worse calling for the wholesale destruction of the "Zionist Entity" and all Jews. In short, there was no accommodating a Jewish State in the Middle East.

To grow up around this constant barrage of hatred directed at Israel has a massive effect on an individual’s own opinions. More disturbingly, many of these people weren’t radical or extreme, but when it was about Israel the most vicious of rhetoric poured out, coupled with the casual anti-Semitism that seemed too prevalent, when the phrase "stop being a Jew" used as an insult.

My father, however, was much more brazen in his hatred, boasting of how Adolf Hitler was a hero, his only failing being that he didn't kill enough Jews.

By the time I had reached 18 I was completely indoctrinated to the fold of radical Islamism. My hate for Israel and for the Jews was fuelled by images of death and destruction, set to the backdrop of Arabic melodies about Jihad and speeches of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah or Osama Bin Laden.

These views were reinforced when I attended Nakba Day rallies, where speakers predicted Israel's demise as Hezbollah flags were waved proudly in the centre of London. The Case for Israel » | Kasim Hafeez | Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Kasim Hafeez is a British Muslim and former Islamist who is now a proud Zionist and stands with Israel. He runs www.theisraelcampaign.org and has a blog on this site. He is also on the advisory board of StandWithUs in the UK and recently completed a university speaking tour

For Hebrew version of article click here

Pro-Israel bloggers are welcome to send emails to opinions@y-i.co.il .

Islamic Community Planning National Interfaith Dialogue
CALGARY HERALD: The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada is planning to hold a national interfaith dialogue with Christian and Jewish leaders in Canada.

Calgary Imam Syed Soharwardy said the council wants to hold a series of interfaith dialogues in all major cities, including Montreal, Toronto, Mississauga, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Surrey and Vancouver.

He said the purpose is to discuss: religious and secular fundamentalism and extremism in Canada; the role of religion in Canadian society; the impact of international events on faith communities and their relationships in Canada; the perceived threat of sharia law; Canadian values versus religious values; Jewish-Christian values versus Islamic values; freedom of speech and the freedom of religion in Canada and around the world; and improvements in interfaith relationships in Canada. » | Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald | Friday, April 27, 2012

Interview with Bahrain's Prime Minster: The Opposition 'Are Terrorizing the Rest of This Country'
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In one of the first interviews he has given to the Western media in years, Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa defends his government's course of action against the country's opposition. He tells SPIEGEL ONLINE that he will not tolerate Western interference and accuses protesters of seeking to turn Bahrain into a "second Iran." » | Interview conducted by Souad Mekhennet in Bahrain | Friday, April 27, 2012

France Election 2012: François Hollande Promises to Curb Foreign Workers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: François Hollande, the Socialist front-runner in France's presidential elections on Friday promised to curb the number of foreigners allowed to work in the country in a time of economic crisis, in a measured overture to the far-Right electorate.

Under pressure to respond to the 18 per cent of voters who backed National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in Sunday's first round, Mr Hollande also stipulated that he would uphold and enforce a ban on the full Islamic veil, despite the fact he abstained in a Right-wing-led parliamentary vote in 2010.

"In a period of crisis in which we find ourselves, limiting economic immigration is necessary and essential," said the centre-Left candidate who two polls released yesterday suggest will beat his conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy in the May 6 run-off by between eight and nine percentage points.

The figures suggest Mr Sarkozy's lurch to the hard Right on immigration and security has so far done little to boost his uphill re-election bid with eight days to go. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, April 27, 2012

Gay Marriage: Pope Representatives Calls [sic] for Catholic Alliance with Muslim and Jewish Groups

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope’s representative in Britain has urged Roman Catholic leaders to form a united front with their Muslim and Jewish counterparts to oppose gay marriage.

Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio, called for closer co-operation with other faiths as well as Christian denominations to put pressure on the Government over its plans to allow same-sex couples to marry.

In an address to Catholic bishops from England and Wales, he echoed the recent comments of Pope Benedict who said the Church faced “powerful political and cultural currents” in favour of redefining marriage.

His comments come after a series of high-level interventions by some Muslim and Jewish leaders last month after the Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, launched a national consultation on how same-sex marriage might be introduced.

Last month the Muslim Council of Britain voiced opposition to the plans, describing it as “unnecessary and unhelpful”. But, as the Islamic faith in Britain does not have the same hierarchical structures as Christian Churches, much of the Muslim opposition has been voiced through local alliances.

In Scotland, the Council of Glasgow Imams recently agreed a joint resolution describing same-sex marriage as an "attack" on their faith and fundamental beliefs. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Friday, April 27, 2012

Austerity Anger Boosts European Extreme Parties
In the Netherlands and across Europe, the growing anger towards austerity measures is leading to a boost in support for the far-left and far-right parties. Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from The Hague.

Related here, here, here, here, here, and here.

George Galloway Calls In Lawyer over Jemima Khan’s Claim That He Converted to Islam in a Secret Ceremony More Than a Decade Ago

MAIL ONLINE: George Galloway denies taking part in the ceremony - but doesn't deny being a Muslim / He says article written by Jemima Khan is littered with 'schoolgirl howlers' / Politician has always been referred to as Catholic / Interview carried out as Mr Galloway ate a halal meal

George Galloway has called in his lawyers over Jemima Khan's claim that he converted to Islam in a 'phantom' ceremony more than a decade ago.

The socialite had said the maverick MP took part in a 'shahadah' conversion, attended by members of the Muslim Association of Great Britain.

Mrs Khan, who herself became a Muslim ahead of her failed marriage to cricketer Imran Khan, claimed she knows someone who attended the event in north-west London in an article in the New Statesman magazine.

But Mr Galloway, who was elected to Parliament as MP for Bradford West in a by-election last month, angrily denied that any ceremony had taken place.

Last night, he issued a statement saying: 'The further allegations from the New Statesman in response to my rebuttal moves the issue into the area of defamation.

'Jemima Khan asked me on tape about this phantom ceremony in Kilburn and I told her it was a lie and whoever told her it was a liar.

'No trace of this exchange appears in the New Statesman piece, which is predicated upon it. Now that they are denying my denial it places the matter in the hands of my solicitor.'

The four times married 57-year-old had refused to deny claims that he is a Muslim. Read on and comment » | Rob Cooper and Leon Watson | Friday, April 27, 2012

Related »

Experts: Norway Mass Killer Anders Behring Breivik Likely Not Insane Despite Committing Deadly Bomb-and-shooting Rampage

CBS NEWS: (AP) LONDON - Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is insisting in court that attempts to label him as insane are misplaced — and some psychiatrists agree that simply committing such monstrous crimes does not mean a person is mentally ill.

The far-right, anti-Islam Breivik has already confessed to committing Norway's worst mass murder in a bomb-and-shooting rampage that killed 77 people last July. Whether or not Breivik is sane is at the crux of his ongoing trial and will determine how he is sentenced.

"Everyone's first assumption is that Breivik must be insane because he's done such terrible things," said Dr. Simon Wessely, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. "But it doesn't automatically follow that he must be mad just because what he has done is inexplicable."

In a commentary published Friday in the British medical journal Lancet, Wessely writes that explanation is too simplistic.

For the 33-year-old Norwegian to be schizophrenic — as some psychiatrists have suggested — his actions would have to be the result of delusions, or based on beliefs not shared by others.

"As ghastly as his views are, there are other people in society who believe countries are being destroyed by multiculturalism and Islam," Wessely said.

Breivik's extraordinarily well-organized and methodical massacre also undermines the idea that he was suffering from a serious mental illness.

"It doesn't tally with the kinds of disorganized crimes usually committed by people with mental health problems," Wessely said. » | AP | Friday, April 27, 2012

Related »

Breivik Case Shows Insanity 'Misconceptions'

Read the article here | Friday, April 27, 2012
Related »

Breivik’s Sanity: Norway Psychiatrists at Odds
BBC: A new report by forensic psychiatrists Agnar Aspaas and Terje Toerrissen has concluded that mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is sane: that neither at the time of crime nor during their assessment was he psychotic.

In their opinion, he does not suffer from any serious psychiatric conditions.

Many Norwegians will feel relieved at their conclusion because of a widespread belief that Breivik should be held to account for his crimes by being sent to prison, and not to a psychiatric institution.

The latter would almost certainly have been the outcome had this second report agreed with the previous one, which deemed Breivik insane.

"Looking at his actions it is difficult to understand how he can be sane," one Norwegian told the BBC News website. "But at least he can now be sent to prison where he is highly unlikely to be released any time soon."

However, the verdict of the case is far from given. With two conflicting reports, psychiatric issues are sure to become a dominant issue during the proceedings. » | Liss Goril Anda | Norway | Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Related »