Related »
Friday, May 18, 2012
Related »
BBC: A protest has been held outside Buckingham Palace against the visit of the Bahraini King and a number of other foreign royals, who have lunched at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
The visit of King Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain has been criticised by human rights campaigners.
Peter Tatchell, one of around 40 protesters, told the BBC that it is "very wrong that the Queen has invited seven royal dictators to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee".
Buckingham Palace has said that the Foreign Office approved the invitation of King Hamad. (+ BBC video) » | Friday, May 18, 2012
Related »
BBC: In pictures: Monarchs at Windsor for Diamond Jubilee » | Friday, May 18, 2012
BBC: Kings and queens from around the world have arrived in Windsor for a lunch to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Among the guests is King Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain, whose attendance has been criticised by human rights campaigners.
Twelve members of the British royal family are joining the Queen to welcome the sovereigns of 26 countries.
The BBC's Nicholas Witchell reports from Windsor. (+ BBC video) » | Friday, May 18, 2012
Related »
THE GUARDIAN: King of Bahrain, accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy protests, among those included on controversial guest list
It was meant to be a monarchical milestone, an unprecedented meeting of the world's crowned heads gathered at Windsor Castle in celebration of the Queen's diamond jubilee.
But as the kings, queens, princes, one emperor, a grand duke and an emir posed for a historic photograph inside the castle's Waterloo Chamber, elsewhere human rights activists condemned it as a platform for "blood-stained despots and tyrants".
Perhaps, the Queen's advisers may have reflected, this glittering anniversary bash was not such a good idea after all.
Taking his seat amid the heraldic splendour of St George's Hall, was King Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain, whose regime is accused of the brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations.
Swaziland's controversial King Mswati III, who has amassed 13 wives and an estimated £60m personal fortune, according to Forbes magazine – while many of his 1.2 million subjects live in poverty – was seated nearby.
Saudi and Kuwaiti royals, criticised for their human rights records, also feasted from a menu which included English asparagus, Windsor lamb, wild mushrooms and Kent strawberries, paid for by the taxpayer, via the Sovereign's Grant.
The Queen had rolled out the full red-carpet treatment with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and princesses Beatrice and Eugenie among a 12-strong royal welcoming party. Prince Charles was not there, as he was hosting his own glittering dinner at Buckingham Palace on Friday night for the foreign rulers, excluding King Hamad, who was not attending.
The Queen welcomed the Bahraini ruler with a handshake and a laugh as the two shared a joke.
But detractors condemned the event as a "catastrophic error of judgment". It was, pronounced the chief executive of the pressure group Republic, Graham Smith, a "crisis of her [the Queen's] own making". "Thanks to the Queen's misjudgment, her jubilee will forever be associated with some of the most repressive regimes in the world," he added. » | Caroline Davis | Friday, May 18, 2012
Related »
THE GUARDIAN: Tens of thousands of Shia protesters demonstrate against further integration between Sunni rulers of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia
Tens of thousands of mainly Shia protesters in Bahrain have joined a march to denounce proposals for closer ties between the unrest-torn Gulf kingdom and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. » | Associated Press in Manama | Friday, May 18, 2012
The radical Islamist cleric, Abu Qatada, who faces deportation to Jordan as a national security threat, is to apply to be freed on bail at the end of the month.
The Judicial Communications Office said that the date for Qatada's bail hearing had been set for 28 May at the special immigration appeals commission in London.
Qatada, whom a Spanish judge once described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, was briefly freed in February on the most draconian bail conditions ever imposed, including a 22-hour curfew. » | Alan Travis, home affairs editor | Friday, May 18, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: Authorities are warning that rage could tip over into serious unrest and are concerned at the knock-on effect on tourism
Europe's debt-mired southern rim is becoming increasingly concerned by the prospect of anarchy on the streets this summer, as seething anti-austerity threatens to boil over into something more sinister.
Protests, strikes and sit-ins have long since become the norm for Greece, Italy and Spain. But some authorities are warning that rage is on the verge of tipping over into serious violence, and concerns are mounting over the knock-on effect on tourism, a vital source of income for southern Europe.
In Italy, military, police and intelligence officials are hammering out an emergency security plan for combating violent anarchy in the wake of a recent spate of violent attacks on individuals and institutions.
"The risk of escalation exists," said interior minister Annamaria Cancellieri, adding that the government was prepared to send out the armed forces to protect sensitive targets if necessary.
The Equitalia tax offices in charge of collecting unpaid debts seems to be taking the brunt of public anger. Laid-off Fiat factory workers recently occupied a tax office in Sicily, and protests outside the Naples office turned violent. Several petrol bombs were thrown against a tax office in Tuscany last week. » | Andrea Vogt in Rome, Helena Smith in Athens and Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Friday, May 18, 2012
Support Memri »
Related material here, here, and here
Support Memri »
With temperatures that reach 50C (122F) in the summer and the constant, abrasive swirl of sand grains in the air, Qatar feels like little more than a desert. But the mirages are different here. Instead of shimmering pools of water that vanish on closer inspection, huge structures rise from the bone-dry landscape. Some are squat and boxy; others curve elegantly into the sky. The skyline is dotted with skeletons of others yet to be finished.
Education City, on the outskirts of the capital, Doha, is at an embryonic stage. But it represents Qatar’s grand attempt to turn itself from fossil-fuel nation into scientific superpower. Famous universities such as Carnegie Mellon and University College London have opened satellite campuses amid the fake grass. Shell, Total and GE have set up research centres. Virgin Health Bank has opened an umbilical-cord blood bank. There is a technology park for start-ups seeking escapees from Silicon Valley.
The Qatar Foundation, the non-profit organisation set up by one of the ruling emir’s three wives, hopes that it will become an intellectual jewel in the Gulf and in the wider world.
At a time when Western countries are shutting down or scaling back science projects, it is a striking example of a scientific renaissance in the Muslim world. Last year, the US mothballed both the Space Shuttle and the Tevatron, its equivalent of Cern’s Large Hadron Collider. Spain shut down its ministry of science. Even Brazil, India and China are feeling the financial pinch. But the Middle East has found the will and the cash to think big – motivated by the need for a plan after the oil runs out, and perhaps by the desire to recapture scientific glories that once surpassed those of Europe.
The lexicon is stuffed with terms coined by Islamic scientists: algebra, alchemy, alkali, amalgam, elixir. In the eighth century, Arabic scholars started translating the work of the Greeks; over the next 400 years, their concepts were developed by such pioneers as the chemist al-Jabir, the mathematician al-Uqlidisi (whose name is thought to honour Euclid), the philosopher-medic Ibn Sina – known in Europe as Avicenna – and the polymath al-Biruni, whose 11th-century calculation of the Earth’s circumference was correct to within 1 per cent. By the time that London built its first hospital in the 12th century, Baghdad already had 60. Read on and comment » | Anjana Ahuja | Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Quebec's provincial government, facing the most sustained student protests in Canadian history, has introduced emergency legislation that would shut some universities and impose harsh fines on pickets blocking students from attending classes, as it looks to end three months of demonstrations against rises in tuition fees.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in downtown Montreal on Thursday night as the government introduced the bill, with protests spilling over onto an expressway between stalled cars. Tuesday will mark 100 days since the demonstrations began.
Authorities said 122 people were arrested on Wednesday as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Montreal. Bank windows were smashed and missiles thrown at police. » | Associated Press in Montreal | Friday, May 18, 2012
The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations, has been revealed as one of the guests at a historic lunch of sovereign monarchs hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday.
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appeared on a guest list released early on Friday ahead of the unprecedented gathering to celebrate the diamond jubilee.
Other guests include Swaziland's King Mswati III, as well as Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Aal Jaber Aal-Sabah of Kuwait and Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Aal Saud of Saudi Arabia.
One definite no-show will be Queen Sofía of Spain, ordered by her government to turn down the invitation in response to a planned trip next month by the Earl of Wessex to Gibraltar, the UK overseas territory Spain wants returned to its sovereignty.
Human rights demonstrators are expected to stage a protest outside Bahrain's embassy in London later on Friday over the inclusion of the country's ruler.
The former Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane accused the FCO on Thursday of placing the Queen in an impossible position. The Labour MP said: "Many in Britain will regret that the foreign secretary, who approves all invitations sent in the Queen's name as head of state, has decided to include a representative of the Bahraini regime which has done such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a year ago."
The Foreign Office said it had advised on "logistics", adding that the invitations would have been issued by the Queen in a private capacity.
It said that "all world sovereigns" were invited to the event, which was "organised by the royal household, with assistance and co-ordination by the FCO". The UK was a "long-standing friend and ally" of Bahrain, and the "strong relationship" allowed "full and frank discussion" on issues of concern, including human rights. » | Caroline Davies | Friday, May 18, 2012
BBC: Diamond Jubilee: The world's monarchs – Kings, queens, sheikhs and sultans are among those joining the Queen for lunch at Windsor Castle as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. But which countries still have a monarchy and what is the role of the sovereign monarch? » | Friday, May 18, 2012
BBC: Queen's lunch for monarchs attracts controversy: The King of Bahrain and Swaziland's King Mswati III are among controversial monarchs expected at a Windsor Castle lunch being hosted by the Queen. » | Friday, May 18, 2012
FRANCE 24: Tensions over regal jubilee lunch of Queen Elizabeth II » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012
ABC NEWS: Tensions over Queen's regal jubilee lunch » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012
AFP: Bahrain king will attend Diamond Jubilee lunch: WINDSOR, United Kingdom — The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of rights abuses, was among nearly 50 foreign royals at a lunch Friday to mark the diamond jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. ¶ King Hamad, whose Gulf island country is in a state of civil unrest following a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, would attend the event at Windsor Castle, British officials confirmed. ¶ The invitations for the biggest gathering of foreign royalty in Britain since last year's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton have thrown up several diplomatic headaches. » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012
THE PERISCOPE POST: Who’s coming to Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Lunch for Monarchs? : The Queen’s hosting a Jubilee lunch for monarchs, reigning and not. But what will they talk about? Carl-Gustav’s sex scandals? Fish with the Emperor of Japan? Will they bring up human rights issues with the King of Bahrain? Or maybe they’ll just have a jolly good time saying “Off with their heads!” » | Periscope Writer | Friday, May 18, 2012 Related »
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has urged Saudis to follow the example of the Arab Spring and rise up against their rulers.
"Why don't you rise while you are the sons of the proud and strong tribes that look down upon death in order to lift the humiliation and the oppression?" Zawahiri asked in a video translated by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.
"Why don't you follow the example for your brothers in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and the Levant?"
He was referring to the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings that has roiled North Africa and the Middle East since December 2010.
The six-minute video was produced in February or March and appeared Thursday on extremist websites, according to SITE. » | Friday, May 18, 2012
Corinna zu Sayn Wittgenstein appears on the cover of the June edition of Spain’s Vanity Fair magazine alongside claims that she has been the King’s unofficial companion on numerous private trips abroad, including the ill-fated Botswana safari in April which caused outrage in Spain.
The twice-divorced Princess Corinna, 46, who was born in Germany and claims her title through her second husband, has reportedly fled Spain amid intense media speculation over the nature of her role within the Spanish monarchy.
“She has told me that the King is her friend and a great guy whom she admires. Nothing more, because if anything characterises her, it is discretion and loyalty,” said Princess Corinna’s first husband, Philip J Adkin, an American shipping magnate who confirmed he had also been a member of the hunting party in Botswana.
The hunting trip became public knowledge after the 74-year old monarch fractured his hip in a fall in camp and was rushed back to Madrid for surgery. News of the King’s luxurious lifestyle shooting endangered animals while ordinary Spaniards suffered deep economic strife was met with public outcry and led to calls for his abdication.
The episode has been marked by an end to the taboo on publishing royal secrets in a nation that has traditionally afforded the Royal family the utmost privacy and respect. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Thursday, May 17, 2012
Related »
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The lifestyles of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Iran are comprehensively and systematically denied by the Islamic regime, which exposes them to horrific punishment, bullying and risk of suicide, a study has found.
The first detailed report on Iran's LGBT community has found that its members live under social and state repression, with some being persecuted, forced into exile or even sentenced to death.
The study was conducted by Small Media, a non-profit group based in London. Researchers led by Bronwen Robertson, director of operations, gathered first-hand testimonies from hundreds of LGBT Iranians using face to face interviews or through a secret online forum.
"The bastions of the Islamic Republic of Iran fully realise that an established (albeit secretive) LGBT community exists beneath the folds of fundamentalism in [the country]," says the report. "[But] figuratively speaking, the Iranian government is doing its utmost to sweep the community under a densely woven Persian rug."
In a speech at Columbia University in New York in 2007, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like you do in your country … In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who has told you that we have!"
Yet homosexuality is punishable by death, according to fatwas issued by almost all Iranian clerics. Until recently, lavat (sodomy for men) was a capital offence for all individuals involved in consensual sexual intercourse. But under amendments to the penal code, the person who played an "active role" will be flogged 100 times if the sex was consensual and he was not married, while the one who played a "passive role" can still be put to death regardless of his marriage status.
Punishment for mosahegheh (lesbianism) is 100 lashes for all individuals involved but it can lead to the death penalty if the act is repeated four times. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, May 17, 2012
Related »
Related »
Related material here and here
REUTERS UK: Kuwait's ruler has blocked a proposal by 31 of the 50 elected members of parliament to amend the constitution to make all legislation in the Gulf Arab state comply with Islamic law, an MP said on Thursday.
The approval of Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Saba, is needed for any constitutional change.
"His highness the emir is not in favour," said Mohammad al-Dallal, an Islamist MP and legal expert. The proposal was put forward by the Islamic Justice Bloc and signed by 31 lawmakers, he said.
Political parties are banned in Kuwait so MPs have to rely on forming blocs in parliament. The 15-member cabinet selected by the prime minister can also vote in parliament.
"We must think again about convincing the emir or submitting it again in another format," Dallal said.
"Our society is a conservative society, a lot of people request that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law). We also do not have a stable political system," he said, adding such an amendment could help make lawmaking less chaotic. » | Sylvia Westall | KUWAIT | Editing by Janet Lawrence | Thursday, May 17, 2012
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Muslim parents are now pressuring local educational authorities to begin teaching Arabic in public schools. The Islamic Council of the Basque Country says Basques should view the spread of Islam in their region "not as a problem, but as an opportunity."
The Basque regional government in northern Spain is drafting a controversial new Law on Religious Institutions, which states that mosques and prayer rooms with a capacity of fewer than 300 people will no longer require prior local government approval. The draft law is generating considerable opposition from elected officials of all political stripes, who fear the new measure will encourage the proliferation of mosques throughout the Basque region.
The mayor of the Basque capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, Javier Maroto, said in an interview that the practical effect of the new law will be that "any fruit and vegetable shop can be converted into a mosque and there will be nothing we can do about it." He has promised to fight the new law, which he believes will encourage "mosques to spring up like mushrooms."
The debate comes as a new survey shows that one in four Basques reject the idea of having a mosque in their neighborhood, and according to a new survey commissioned by the Basque regional government in northern Spain, one in five do not want a Muslim as a neighbor.
The new study, entitled Religious Diversity, was commissioned by the Basque government as part of an effort to assess public support for the new law. The survey shows that while nearly half of all Basques say they have had personal interaction with Muslims, 49% say they are opposed to the construction of more mosques in the Basque Country.
The Basque Country is home to more than 50,000 Muslims, as well as two dozen officially licensed mosques and hundreds of unofficial Islamic prayer rooms and cultural centers.
Hailing mostly from Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims in the Basque region have become increasingly assertive in recent years. In May 2011, for example, more than 2,500 radical Muslims gathered in the Basque town of Trápaga for the third annual Salafist Congress. The president of the congress, a Moroccan named Jamal Ennaciri, said the purpose of the meeting was to find ways to live together side-by-side with Spaniards. He characterized the congress as "intercultural dialogue."
But Salafism is a branch of radical Islam that seeks to establish an Islamic empire (Caliphate) across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, particularly Spain. The Caliphate would be governed exclusively by Islamic Sharia law, which would apply both to Muslims and to non-Muslims. Salafists believe democracy, because it comes from man not from Allah, is an illegitimate form of government. » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, May 15, 2012
RTBF.BE: Le débat de Mise au Point ce dimanche abordait la question de l’homophobie en Belgique. Lors de celui-ci, Yacoub Mahi, professeur de religion islamique, a suscité de vives réactions de participants homosexuels au débat en affirmant notamment que l’Islam considère l’homosexualité comme "contre-nature".
Après le meurtre homophobe d’Ihsane Jarfi et au lendemain d’une Belgian Pride qui a réuni plus de 50 000 personnes dans les rues de Bruxelles, le thème de Mise au Point s’imposait, "Belgique: enfer ou paradis pour les homos?".
Mais le moment le plus intense du débat aura sans conteste été celui où le professeur de religion islamique Yacoub Mahi a exposé la manière dont l’homosexualité est perçue dans l’Islam. Ses propos ont en tout cas suscité de vives réactions parmi les autres intervenants.
"Il faut dissocier l’acte de la personne, ce que l’Islam fait d’emblée", a expliqué Yacoub Mahi. "Le Coran parle de l’homosexualité (…) en parlant de turpitude d’un peuple qui est outrancier dans la maîtrise de sa sexualité qui est une sexualité débridée", a exposé ce conférencier chevronné. » | Julien Vlassenbroek | dimanche 13 mai 2012
ACTUALITTÉ: Les temps changent, déplore Irshad Manji, auteure canadienne qui se revendique comme musulmane. « Voilà quatre ans, je suis venue en Indonésie, et j'ai rencontré une nation de tolérance, d'ouverture et de pluralisme. Les temps ont changé. » Et pour cause, alors qu'elle devait se rendre dans le pays pour une tournée littéraire, elle s'est heurtée… aux extrémistes religieux.
Alors qu'elle décrivait auparavant l'Indonésie comme une terre de modération importante dans l'islam, elle s'est retrouvée dans un pays de colère et de menaces. Et les différents événements auxquels elle devait prendre part ont finalement été annulés. Son livre est jugé par les extrémistes comme un danger, provoquant des manifestations violentes, où une proche de Irshad Manji, Emily Rees, a été blessée, frappée par une barre de métal.
Avec 204 millions de musulmans, l'Indonésie est le plus grand pays du monde, intégrant une majorité musulmane forte. Or, face aux intégristes, les écrits d'Irshad Manji ne pouvaient pas rencontrer le succès. Prônant un islam progressif, en 2003 avec The Trouble With Islam Today, elle venait cette fois présenter Allah, Liberty and Love, toujours dans la même veine. » | Par Clément S. | lundi 14 mai 2012
The board revoked the permit for the East End Madrassah, a Sunday school for Muslim children, citing an ongoing police investigation into alleged anti-Semitic course material.
East End Madrassah came under fire earlier this month after Jewish groups objected to material posted on its website.
A curriculum document compared Judaism with Nazism and said that "treacherous jews" had killed Islam's Prophet.
TDSB spokeswoman Shari Schwartz-Maltz says East End Madrassah will have to find a new meeting place until the police investigation is complete, adding the board has also requested a meeting with school officials to ensure their teachings are in line with the board's policies.
Schwartz-Maltz says East End Madrassah complied willingly and was quick to apologize for the controversy.
"We've had a relationship with the organization for about 30 years, and in that 30 years we've had no complaints whatsoever," she said.
Jewish groups praised the board's decision, calling it an excellent first step. » | The Canadian Press | Thursday, May 17, 2012
Related »
Rebecca Blake, 29, and Conor McRedmond were arrested after an all-day drinking binge.
They were held for five days and accused of having sex outside marriage and being drunk in a public place – both criminal offences in the strict Islamic state.
Miss Blake, a recruitment consultant, met Irishman Mr McRedmond at The Irish Village, a hotel bar where patrons pay £10 a head for an all-you-can-drink brunch event. After drinking for 12 hours, the pair hailed a cab towards Dubai Marina.
Minutes later they were spotted in a passionate embrace by the driver in his rear view mirror, according to police reports.
Incensed by their behaviour, the driver stopped and complained to police in a patrol car parked nearby. When he returned with an officer, they saw Miss Blake having sex on the back seat of the cab with Mr McRedmond, it is alleged.
A source said: ‘They were completely drunk, started kissing and then got carried away. That’s when they started having sex.
‘When the police officer went over, he found the woman was completely naked and they were having sex on the back seat.’ Read on and comment » | Arthur Martin | Wednesday, May 16, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: White births in the United States are no longer in the majority, according to new data from the US Census Bureau.
Minority races - Hispanics, blacks and Asians and other mixed races - accounted for 50.4 percent of births over the year to July, accounting for a majority for the first time in US history.
The demographic milestone had been expected for years in a country founded by European whites and that early on relied heavily on the work of enslaved African populations, then went through a civil war and civil rights battle over issues of race.
In recent years, the growth of Hispanic populations immigrating from Latin America has hastened a decline in the majority status of white births, the census data suggested.
"This is an important landmark," said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau who is now a sociologist at Howard University. "This generation is growing up much more accustomed to diversity than its elders." » | Thursday, May 17, 2012
Turkey began its EU accession negotiations in 2005 but made little progress in its candidacy, thanks to a dispute with EU-member Cyprus and opposition from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Turkey's membership. Sarkozy argued that the predominantly Muslim country is not a part of Europe and wanted Turkey to accept some kind of a special partnership with the EU instead of full membership – an offer Turkey rejected.
Now that Socialist Francois Hollande has replaced Mr Sarkozy as France's president, Turkey hopes he will be more sympathetic to the candidacy of a country that has one of the world's fastest growing economies and is becoming a regional diplomatic player.
"With the coming to power of Mr Francois Hollande, we are all hoping that a new course in the Turkish-EU relations will gain momentum," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this week, during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
Little is known about Mr Hollande's stand regarding Turkey's EU membership, apart from a comment he made on France-2 television on April 12 during his campaign for the presidency. During it, he said France has long accepted the principle of Turkish accession to the EU but that major conditions have not been met and that may not happen for several years to come.
On Thursday, Turkey and the EU are to open talks aimed at bringing Turkey's membership bid back on track, and the Turkish government announced this week that its Parliament will soon vote on a series of draft laws designed to help advance its bid. » | Source: AP | Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Queen Sofia had earlier accepted the invite to Friday's celebration at Windsor Castle, but in a last minute snub by Spain's government she has been told not to attend because it would be "inappropriate in the current circumstances".
Last week Spain's foreign ministry issued a formal complaint to Britain's Ambassador in Madrid over the planned visit in June of The Earl and Countess of Wessex to the disputed territory of Gibraltar to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year.
The Spanish government expressed its "upset and concern" over the visit by the Queen's youngest son and his wife to the territory, a tiny peninsula sitting at Spain's southwestern corner over which it still claims sovereignty. At the time however, it seemed unlikely to take the matter further.
In fact, when asked if Queen Sofia would still be attending the Windsor Castle event, Jose Garcia-Margallo, Spain's foreign minister confirmed she would be free to do so in a "private capacity".
However, in a sudden U-turn and with less than 48 hours until the lunch, Spain's royal household disclosed that the government had ordered Queen Sofia to reject the invitation to Windsor Castle, where kings and queens from around the world will convene to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Related »
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
In this controversial, thought-provoking, and amazingly frank book, Mark highlights the dangers that Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the world today, poses the Western world. Not simply a religion, Islam is a total way of life, one indivisible whole, recognising no separation of religion and politics.
In the West, this is quite different: Western countries generally draw a line between church and state. As Islam recognises no such separation, and as it grows in the West, problems and conflict will surely increase. Westerners demand freedom: they cherish freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of choice. In contradistinction, Muslims cherish only Allah's words as 'revealed' in the Koran. Muslims, especially devout and practising ones, consider no such Western-style freedoms to be legitimate. Only Allah's words and Allah's injunctions will do! Conflict will surely follow where peoples of such diametrically-opposed world visions live in juxtaposition; indeed, a collision of cultures looms on the horizon. Can this collision be avoided? Can these circles be squared? Can Muslims and 'infidels' learn to live together? Will our politically-correct leadership sell out our liberty for a barrel of oil? These are just some of the thorny questions raised by Mark in his very readable and compulsive book. You won't be able to put it down! Guaranteed!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Alexander is a graduate of London University. He has an honors degree in economics. Further, he has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education with Distinction. As well as his native language, English, he speaks German fluently, reads French, and has a sound knowledge of Arabic. Over the years, articles of his have appeared on education, languages, and economics in British newspapers such as The Independent, The Times, and The Sunday Times. His international travel has widely influenced his world perspective.
While living and working in the Middle East for many years, Mark’s uncommonly perceptive observations and keen insights led him to predict the Islamic quest for domination which is only now being played out on the world stage.
Mark Alexander is a Western author deeply concerned about the future of Western civilization. In The Dawning of a New Dark Age, Mark has written powerfully about the rise of Islam in the West, and the dangers that lie ahead as a result.
Mark is uncommonly articulate, insightful, and perspicacious. These qualities are particularly evident in his understanding of the Islamic worldview and the intentions of Muslims vis-à-vis the West. You will surely find his message both riveting and shocking!
FOREWORD
On September 11, 2001, Muslim terrorists launched an attack on the United States to punish it for being what Osama bin Laden considered ‘the land of the infidels’! In fact, this attack was an attack on the entire Western world and, even more important, it was an attack on Western civilization, the underlying objective being to take civilization back fourteen hundred years to a time of great glory for the Islamic world.
In the wake of the attack by young Muslim extremists, which resulted in the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, our leaders attempted to assure us that the terrorists did not represent the entire Muslim world. It was said that they were the actions of a minority, of an extreme fringe group. It was, and continues to be, troubling, however, that we have heard very little strong condemnation coming from the supposed moderate Muslim community. Who are these moderates? Why have they not spoken out more vociferously? Do they really exist? When will they speak out with moral indignation? Indeed, will they ever?
For most Westerners Islam is thought to be just another world religion, equal to Christianity and Judaism. But is this really the case? Upon closer study, Islam seems to be far different from the other two religions. Certainly no one would accuse Muslims of being tolerant, non-judgmental, non-violent or peace-loving! While Muslims have been allowed to build hundreds of mosques in Western countries, Christian churches may only rarely be built, if ever, in Muslim countries! Indeed in some Muslim countries such as the Sudan, it is official government policy to demolish churches! In addition, it is difficult to believe that any world religion would advocate treating women as second-class citizens, and actually get away with it!
The concept of brotherhood in Islam is strong. The posture advocated by Prophet Mohammed in the Koran toward non-Muslims, however, is to seek them out and annihilate them. The phenomenon of suicide bombers is at once both pathetic and chilling. On the one hand, it is pathetic that young Muslims are taught that they can gain entrance into paradise by taking people’s lives in such a gruesome manner. Carnal pleasures, of course, await the males upon entrance into heaven! On the other hand, it is chilling to think that there are any people living in the 21st century ready to teach and encourage such savagery. What is the supposed theological justification for holding to such beliefs? Indeed, is there any such thing in Islam as theology in which the tenets of the faith are examined critically? Isn’t it the case, rather, that the teachings of Prophet Mohammed are accepted literally, and without question?
In his book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, Mark Alexander explores these questions, and often finds disturbing answers. Unlike many authors on the subject, Mark actually lived and worked among Muslims for many years; so he has first-hand knowledge of the religion and culture. While on his tours of duty in the Middle East, Mark immersed himself in Islam and Arabic culture, studying the religion both from Occidental and Oriental perspectives. He familiarized himself not only with the Koran, but also with the beliefs and attitudes of Muslims in the street. This experience has given him unusually clear insights into the aspirations of the Muslim world. Mark’s conclusions will not be comforting to those who would like to believe that the long-term threat to the West is limited to the aspirations of a few fundamentalist terrorists.
Douglas Kennedy, Ph.D.
FREE PREVIEW
There is a new mood in the land. Political correctness is changing people’s attitudes to many things, including Islam. Political correctness is, in many ways, a middle class phenomenon. People, especially the middle classes, either do not wish to be seen as politically incorrect, or, because new laws have been passed, they are afraid of being so. Political correctness and the politically correct laws that have been passed can only help Muslims living in the West. Muslims are being empowered in our societies like never before, and are being empowered ever more as the months pass by. The changes taking place are subtle but sure. They are going on almost unnoticed.
Because of the backing given Muslims by political correctness, if one dares to criticize Islam, Muslims cry foul and accuse that person of being phobic – Islamophobic. Interestingly and disconcertingly, this political correctness doesn’t seem to work the other way around. It no longer pays to tangle with Muslims!
It goes without saying that if this trend continues, then it can only greatly help the Islamic cause. Unwittingly, we are helping Muslims on their way to getting on top. Will laws soon have to be passed to protect the non-Muslims in society? Or will this unbalanced trend go on unabated?
Political correctness is a particularly powerful tool for Muslims in the West. It is a movement and mood few have the courage to go against. It makes people fearful of speaking out – fearful of falling foul of the politically correct laws that have been passed to protect minorities.
Whilst there is no doubt that political correctness has helped many minority groups gain in strength, it does have a downside: it prevents us from protecting our own culture. In the face of a powerful culture such as Islam, this is a weakness for us indeed. It puts at a disadvantage our own kind in our own countries. What future is there to be for the indigenous population? How are we to protect our own kind? Moreover, in a country such as the United Kingdom with its growing Muslim population and therefore growing clout at the polls, all parties are out to court the Islamic vote! Conservatives, Liberals and Socialists alike offer no route for the ‘Christian’ British to protect themselves. It is worth asking ourselves one simple question: How much protection is afforded a Christian in a country such as Saudi Arabia? There, Christians can be, and are, arrested for praying in the Christian manner! They do not have equality with Muslims in a court of law. Indeed, their position is akin to that of a Muslim woman’s – their power to act as a witness is half that of a Muslim man’s! It is all so one-sided.
If Islam were a benign, spiritual force, a power for good, then it would not be such a problem for us in the long-term. But it is not. Islam is anything but benign: it is a powerful, political movement with ambitious objectives. A worldwide movement with the ambition of establishing Allah’s kingdom on earth! It wishes to beat adherents of all other religions into submission: into the submission of the one true almighty God. Each state will then become the tool of religion – theocratic, restrictive, dominant, and based on Koranic law, Shariah law. That day will be a dark day for the world. It will mark the dawning of a new dark age! Adulteresses and gays, infidels and the non-compliant will be killed in Allah’s name! Democracy, free will and free speech will be relegated to the dustbin of history! Only Islamic opinions will count. The whole world will bow in submission to Allah, in the direction of the Ka’aba. Jerusalem, one of the three most important cities in Islam will be under Islamic jurisdiction. Christianity and Judaism, and all ‘lesser’ religions will have been vanquished. It will be a dark day for humankind!
If you feel that all this is far-fetched, then wait and see! Whoever would have thought that the Communist world would have fallen so quickly and so dramatically? When it fell, it was generally thought that a new world order was in the process of being established on earth. There would be peace and prosperity and unity for all. Just a few years later, we can now see how wrong we were.
The world has been lulled into a false sense of security. Momentous events such as the tearing down of the Berlin Wall overshadowed the dangers that lay ahead. We are only now coming to the realization that our optimism was misplaced. We are being rudely awakened! And the rude awakening is that Islam is becoming the next bête noire – it is taking the place of communism.
Communism was a political system, pure and simple, though it was in many ways like a religion for its adherents. It was not, however, draped in the clothes of a deity. Indeed, a deity was anathema to it. But this, of course, made communism a much easier target for the West. Communism was seen as the total enemy of the West. It stood for all that the West did not: equality for all, lack of diversity, lack of choice, the political power of the communist élite, a low standard of living, sclerotic growth in the economy, and lack of political freedom to name but a few characteristics. The whole system went against everything the West stood for. We disliked it so much that it was easy and fair game to be criticized by all but the few.
Islam is different. As well as being a powerful political movement, it is a bona fide religion too. The West has fought long and hard for religious freedom; so it is far more difficult for us to criticize a religion that is not our own. It is even more difficult to stop someone practising his religion. Anyone who were to try to do so would be liable to the charge of discrimination, and Westerners do not like to be accused of that. Add to that, the power of political correctness, and further add to that the reluctance of people to fight for Christianity, and we find that we have boxed ourselves into a corner – a corner that will be difficult for us to get out of. Where are we going to find leaders willing to criticize another religion, and where, even if we found such people, are we going to find the people willing to follow them? As I write, it would appear that this is the start of the end game for the West! Is it to be downhill all the way for Islam now? Have we created the very conditions for Islam to overshadow us – conditions that Muslims could only have dreamed of some decades ago?
With political correctness and the law on their side, and with people afraid to criticize Muslims and Islam, it is difficult to see how this movement will not be able to steamroller us all into a very much weaker position indeed. Crying Islamophobia will only help them further to achieve their ambitions. It is time for a sea change in attitudes here in the West. Before it is too late!
Buy the book: USA – Amazon.com, USA – Barnes & Noble, and UK – Amazon, and in many other bookshops besides.
If you happen to be in the Windsor area on Friday, it’s advisable to wear sunglasses. As part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the Queen is hosting a lunch for sovereign monarchs, and the assorted tiaras, gems and diamonds the size of gulls’ eggs may cause major sun glare problems near Junction 6 of the M4.
It’s the biggest gathering of monarchs – outside royal weddings and funerals – for a decade. The last time there was such a big reunion was 2002: once for the funeral of the Queen Mother and, again that year, at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee dinner for European sovereign monarchs.
Those European monarchs – who are also Knights of the Garter – get together occasionally at Garter services but, still, never in such numbers as on Friday. The crowned heads of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Spain will be among those there, joined by Emperor Akihito of Japan, though the Palace does not publish guest lists in advance. And the full cast of our own Royal family will be on hand to greet them, from the Duchess of Cambridge to Princess Alexandra.
To those of us gawping from the outside world, it will appear a tremendously formal event, but for the participants, it will be strangely relaxing. The only person a monarch really feels comfortable with is another monarch – perhaps even more so than with a member of their own family. The order of precedence among the British Royal family is set in stone, so the Prince of Wales must bow to his mother. But the Queen is on even-stevens terms with her fellow monarchs; they share equal precedence, so there is no worrying about who curtseys to whom.
It helps, too, that while the European monarchs are on kissing terms, most of them are also kissing cousins. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, for example, is the great-great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, making her our Queen’s third cousin, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh’s third cousin. The Duke is even third cousin to the Queen herself, which may be proof of the limited dating opportunities in royal circles. Read on and comment » | Harry Mount | Tuesday, May 15, 2012
AINA: The 32nd summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council may be remembered as the dawn of the Caliphate with the Saudi proposal to accelerate the union of the six GCC States likely to dramatically change the region. The union is being described as "EU Style," but in practice it would be a larger version of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of tribal monarchies.
The combined entity would have a 1 trillion dollar GDP and some 35 percent of the world's oil reserves, giving it immeasurable influence on the global stage. And that nucleus of power and wealth would be used to consolidate its influence over rest of the region and the world. If the GCC integrates Yemen, it will be able to turn the Persian Gulf into the Arabian Gulf, and if it integrates Libya, Sudan and Iraq, then it will have a combined population of 100 million and be able to approach the 50 percent world oil reserves marker.
Whether or not the GCC can transition to a Muslim EU, in the words of its charter, "founded on the creed of Islam," is still an open question. In the last five years the GCC has struggled toward adopting a common market and a common currency, its unity undercut by suspicion of the House of Saud and internal rivalries. While Article Four of the GCC Charter had always made unity into a goal of the GCC and previous Riyadh Declarations had called for consolidating their Arab and Islamic identities into a regional union, there was never enough external pressure and internal promise to make that feasible.
Iran's nuclear program and the Arab Spring have changed all that. Saudi Arabia's suppression of Shiite protesters in Bahrain was the first significant use of the GCC's previously inept Peninsula Shield Force. The victory in Bahrain has kept its Sunni monarchy in power and made it dependent on Saudi backing which has also made its officials into the most enthusiastic proponents of the union.
Holding back the Arab Spring in Bahrain was not only a proxy victory against Iran, it also demonstrated that Saudi influence could hold off Western action against GCC members under its umbrella and gave added weight to Saud Al-Faisal's call for a combined military and foreign policy. Saudi Arabia can offer GCC members the protection of its enormous influence in the West, as well as one of the largest armies in the region, armed and trained by the United States, and an eventual nuclear umbrella.
The Obama Administration has left the nations of the region with very few options. They can either wait for America and Europe to hand them over to the Muslim Brotherhood on a democratic platter. They can become puppets of Iran. They can long for the return of a Turkish Ottoman Empire under the AKP. Or they can look to the Saudis for leadership and aid. » | Daniel Greenfield | Tuesday, May 16, 2012
Related material here and here
L'Iran a haussé le ton, mercredi, contre un projet d'union entre l'Arabie saoudite et Bahreïn, appelant les Iraniens à se mobiliser contre ce que Téhéran considère comme une tentative d'"annexion" par Riyad d'un territoire appartenant autrefois à la Perse. Le Conseil de coordination de la propagande islamique, qui organise les manifestations officielles du régime iranien, a appelé la population à manifester dans tout le pays après la prière du vendredi "contre le plan américain d'annexion de Bahreïn par l'Arabie saoudite et pour exprimer sa colère contre les régimes laquais d'Al-Khalifa et d'Al-Saoud", en référence aux familles régnantes dans ces deux pays.
Les dirigeants des six monarchies arabes du Golfe ont décidé lundi de poursuivre l'étude d'un projet d'union, qui pourrait regrouper dans un premier temps l'Arabie saoudite et le petit royaume de Bahreïn, secoué par des manifestations de la population majoritairement chiite, comme en Iran, contre le pouvoir sunnite. Le gouvernement et le parlement iraniens ont violemment dénoncé ce projet, estimant qu'il violait les droits de la population bahreïnie et ne pouvait qu'aggraver la crise. » | Source AFP | mercredi 16 mai 2012
CBN NEWS: CAIRO -- At a campaign rally for the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for president, a hardline cleric and TV preacher sang Mohammed Morsi's praises before thousands massed in the stadium of an industrial city in Egypt's Nile Delta.
"We are seeing the dream of the Islamic Caliphate coming true at the hands of Mohammed Morsi," the cleric, Safwat Hegazy, blared from his podium.
"The capital of the Caliphate and the United Arab States is Jerusalem, God [Allah] willing," he added, as thousands cheered and waved the Brotherhood's green flag, chanting, "The people want to implement God's law."
On the campaign trail for the presidential election, now only nine days away, the Muslim Brotherhood has taken a sharp turn rightward, becoming bolder in saying it wants to bring a state where religion and Islamic law play a major role -- and insisting that it has the right to rule.
As a result, it has moved away from the more moderate face that it promoted since even before the fall of Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago. During campaigning for parliament elections late last year, the Brotherhood insisted that implementing Islamic law was not its immediate priority, instead speaking vaguely of an "Islamic background" to government. It also sought to assuage fears that it seeks to take over the country by promising to work with other, liberal factions. » | Maggie Michael | Associated Press | Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)