Luke Somers: Yemen Hostage's Family in Video Appeal

The journalist was abducted in Yemen in September 2013

BBC: The family of UK-born American hostage Luke Somers have appealed in a video to al-Qaeda militants in Yemen to "show mercy" and release him.

In the online statement, his mother, Paula Somers, says: "Please... give us an opportunity to see our Luke again."

A man identifying himself as Mr Somers, who was abducted in 2013, appeared in a separate video on Wednesday, saying his life was in danger and asking for help.

The US has revealed it tried to rescue him last month.

"Regrettably, Luke was not present, though hostages of other nationalities were present and were rescued," the National Security Council said on Thursday.

In a video posted on YouTube, Mr Somers' mother and brother said he was "only trying to do good things for the Yemeni population".

"Luke is only a photojournalist and is not responsible for any actions the US government has taken," his brother, Jordan, said.

Noting that her son "appears healthy" in his captors' video, Paula Somers said: "We thank you for that." (+ video) » | Friday, December 05, 2014

Bill Maher: Comparing My Islam Criticism to Nazi Propaganda Is ‘Beyond Stupid’

Bill Maher

RAW STORY: In an interview with Vanity Fair, HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher restated some of his criticisms of Islam while responding to a critic who said his rhetoric was similar to what was said about Jews in the 30′s and 40′s, calling the assertion, “beyond stupid.”

Speaking with Sally Kohn, Maher discussed the controversy over his upcoming speech, scheduled to be delivered at University of California Berkeley on Dec. 20, which has raised the ire of students who created a petition to disinvite him.

The comedian has been under fire for comments he made during a contentious episode of Real Time in early October when Maher told a panel, including actor Ben Affleck, Islam is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f*cking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.”

Calling the petition a “bullshit thing,” Maher addressed the students at the university — currently celebrating the anniversary of Free Speech Movement protests on campus 50 years ago — saying liberalism shouldn’t “squelch free speech.” » | Tom Boggioni | Friday, December 05, 2014

Alaskan Muslims Raising the Roof of State's First Mosque

The nearly-completed mosque.

AL JAZEERA AMERICA: The holy land is 6,000 miles away and for now they worship in a strip mall, but Islamic faithful head to Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s first mosque has risen quietly over the last few years in a gravel lot in a South Anchorage commercial district, a neighbor to a Korean Presbyterian church, a couple of auto repair garages, a drive-through Chinese restaurant and a Sons of Norway hall.

A few weeks ago, Sam Obeidi, vice president of the Islamic Community Center Anchorage Alaska, turned a key and pushed open the mosque’s door, flipping on a light in a hallway that smelled of drywall plaster and new carpet.

Palestinian by birth, Obeidi came to Alaska as a teenager to join his father, a refugee, who settled in Anchorage in the 1960s. In those days, Muslims met and prayed in his father’s home. Obeidi’s family now owns a frame shop and gallery. He has been involved with the mosque-building project for the last five years of an effort that began 15 years ago.

Anchorage Muslims have so far raised $2 million to build the 15,000-square-foot facility, and must raise $1 million more before the prayer hall is completed and two minarets are placed on the mosque’s roof. » | Julia O’Malley | Friday, December 05, 2014

“Counter Jihad Coalition” Takes to the Streets to Warn People About Islam

FRONTPAGE MAG: While Islam is waging a bloody battle across the entire world, instead of calling out their atrocities most of the media chooses to punish the people trying to warn the world about Islam. Freedom Fighters like Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Frank Gaffney, and Brigitte Gabriel are continuously denigrated for simply telling the truth.

Regardless of 9/11/01 and 9/11/12, and despite the fact that Americans are being beheaded by ISIS, if you dare suggest that the Islamic State is getting their killing orders directly from the Quran you are called ‘intolerant’ and ‘Islamophobic’. Meanwhile, ISIS is becoming more and more popular on social media and posters saying ‘ISIS is Here’ were seen in the original Ferguson riots. » | Ann-Marie Murrell | Friday, December 05, 2014

France to Pay $60m over Nazi Rail Deportations

Jews, many of them Polish, getting off the train in Pithiviers,
central France in 1941

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The French government will pay the money to Holocaust survivors in America who were transported using its trains 70 years ago

France has agreed to pay $60 million in compensation to hundreds of American survivors of the Holocaust who were deported to Nazi death camps using the country's trains.

The money will also be available to thousands of descendants of those who were transported on freight cars belonging to the French state rail company SNCF.

It follows a long legal battle after the US state of Maryland barred SNCF from bidding for contracts on a $3 billion transport project there.

There are around 250 survivors in the US who will be eligible for the reparations. They could receive up to $100,000 each, and spouses or heirs of survivors who have since died could get several tens of thousands of dollars. » | Nick Allen, and agencies | Friday, December 05, 2014

Großaufgebot der Polizei prüft salafistischen Verein

NORD-WEST ZEITUNG ONLINE: Bremen hat erstmals einen Moscheeverein verboten. Mehr als 200 Polizisten haben die Räume des salafistischen Kultur & Familien Vereins (KuF), eine Moschee und 17 Privatwohnungen untersucht.

BREMEN – Erstmals in Deutschland hat Bremen einen mutmaßlichen Unterstützerverein der Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat (IS) verboten. Mehr als 200 Polizisten durchsuchten am Freitag die Räume des salafistischen Kultur & Familien Vereins (KuF) im Stadtteil Gröpelingen, eine Moschee und 17 Privatwohnungen, wie Innensenator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD) nach dem Einsatz berichtete. Festnahmen gab es nicht, die Aktion verlief friedlich. Die Beamten stellten die Personalien von 53 Menschen fest, sie beschlagnahmten rund 12.000 Euro an Vereinsvermögen und fanden mehrere Waffen. » | Freitag, 05. Dezember 2014

German Far-Left Party Takes State Parliament

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH East German communists return to power 25 years after fall of Berlin Wall

Germany's far-Left party has returned to power in a state government for the first time since the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, stoking heated debate about its communist roots.

The Left Party, widely seen as the successor to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that once ruled East Germany, will head the government of Thuringia after the state parliament narrowly voted to approve a new coalition.

The new state prime minister, Bodo Ramelow, used his first speech in parliament to apologise to victims of the former communist regime, and said he wanted to "reconcile rather than divide".

Thousands of people braved sub-zero temperatures on the streets of the state capital, Erfurt, on Thursday night to protest against the expected result of the vote.

Angela Merkel predicted the decision would be "bad news" for Thuringia, while the German President, Joachim Gauck, broke with the traditional neutrality of his role to speak out against it. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Friday, December 05, 2014

NORD-WEST ZEITUNG ONLINE: Ramelow ist Thüringens neuer Ministerpräsident: Der 58-jährige Bodo Ramelow erhielt im zweiten Wahlgang 46 von 90 gültigen Stimmen. Damit stellt die Linke 25 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall erstmals einen Ministerpräsidenten in Deutschland. Bei der Wahl lief aber nicht alles glatt. » | Freitag, 05. Dezember 2014

Bahraini Activist Zainab al-Khawaja Sentenced over King's Photo

Zainab al-Khawaja has been detained several times since 2011

BBC: Bahraini pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja has been sentenced to three years in prison for tearing up a picture of King Hamad.

A court gave her the option of paying a fine to remain at liberty until her appeal.

Ms Khawaja, who comes from Bahrain's most prominent dissident family, faces other cases next week.

Amnesty International said it would consider Ms Khawaja "a prisoner of conscience" if she were jailed.

"Tearing up a photo of the head of state should not be a criminal offence," Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Said Boumedouha said. » | Thursday, December 04, 2014

Teetotal Muslims Partly to Blame for Decline of Pubs, Tory Peer Says

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tory peer says rise of Muslim population on British cities who do not drink has been 'exceptionally hard' for publicans

Muslims are partly to blame for the decline in the number of pubs in Britain because they are teetotal, a Conservative peer has said.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, who was previously a director at one of Britain's biggest brewers, said that the "tides of history" have led to large numbers of Muslims in Britain's cities who do not drink.

He said that "socioeconomic change" is more responsible for the decline of pubs than "rapacious" pub chains.

He said: "I identify three fundamental features behind this. The first is the rapid rate of socioeconomic change in Britain. Twenty-five years ago, the company of which I was a director would have operated probably a dozen pubs in Kidderminster, the home of the carpet trade. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Thursday, December 04, 2014

«Ihr seid Juden, ihr habt Geld»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Ein Überfall schockiert Frankreich: Drei Männer haben ein Paar in seiner Pariser Wohnung überfallen und die Frau vergewaltigt – weil sie Juden waren. Nun ist die Antisemitismus-Debatte im Land wieder entbrannt.

Nach dem brutalen Überfall auf ein junges Paar bei Paris ist die Debatte um den Antisemitismus in Frankreich wieder voll entbrannt. Präsident François Hollande verurteilte die «unerträgliche Gewalt» gegen die zwei jungen Menschen, die wegen ihrer jüdischen Religion gezielt überfallen und ausgeraubt worden waren. Der Staatschef und sein Premierminister Manuel Valls riefen zum Kampf gegen Antisemitismus auf.

Hollande hob im Elysée-Palast hervor, im Kampf «gegen den Rassismus, gegen den Antisemitismus» dürfe nicht so getan werden, «als hätten wir nichts gesehen». Der Überfall zeige, dass «das Schlimmste existiert». Dadurch werde das Beste an Frankreich «verletzt, beschädigt». Regierungschef Valls verurteilte die «Gräueltat» in einer Twitter-Botschaft. Der Überfall sei der «widerwärtige Beweis», «dass der Kampf gegen den Antisemitismus jeden Tag geführt werden» müsse. » | ajk/AFP | Donnerstag, 04. Dezember 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: Israel einfach: Französische Juden wandern zu Tausenden nach Israel aus. Nie waren es mehr. Sie gehen, weil sie die offenen Anfeindungen nicht mehr ertragen. » | Von Oliver Meiler, Korrespondent | Donnerstag, 14. August 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Die hässliche Fratze des Antisemitismus» : In Europa nimmt der Antisemitismus neue Dimensionen an. Auch Schweizer Juden erhalten deutlich mehr Hassbriefe und werden auf sozialen Medien offen angefeindet. » | Von Felix Schindler, Redaktor Inland | Donnerstag 14. August 2014

Schweizer Islam-Video irritiert

TAGES ANZEIGER: Fünf Jahre nach der Annahme der Minarettinitiative kursiert ein rätselhaftes Video im Internet. Es sei ein Aufruf zu mehr Toleranz, sagen die Macher. Viele sehen das anders.

Eine schwarz vermummte Gestalt trägt eine weisse Fahne mit dem muslimischen Glaubensbekenntnis auf einen Berg. Immer mehr Personen folgen ihr. Nach drei Minuten endet das Video mit der Botschaft: «Erwartet uns! Jederzeit. Überall.» Als Absender erscheint: «Die Muslime der Schweiz».

Das professionelle Video wurde vom Islamischen Zentralrat Schweiz (IZRS) gedreht und hat bereits beim Dreh für Aufmerksamkeit gesorgt. Es wurde in der Zentralschweiz auf öffentlichen Plätzen gedreht. Besorgte Passanten alarmierten die Polizei. Saïda Keller-Messahli, Präsidentin des Forums für einen fortschrittlichen Islam, sagte der «Neuen Luzerner Zeitung»: «Die Aktion ist eine totale Provokation.» Wer an einem öffentlichen Weg solche Aktionen durchführe, wo an einem Sonntag viele Spaziergänger entlanggingen, wolle auffallen, schockieren, Präsenz markieren und reine Propaganda betreiben. » | Claudia Peter | Donnerstag, 04. Dezember 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Muslimfeindlichkeit in der Schweiz ist gestiegen» : Die muslimischen Verbände der Schweiz warnen vor einer zunehmenden Islamophobie. Die Stimmung im Land sei aufgeheizt, und das bekämen die Muslime zu spüren. » | Sunday, 02. November 2014

Polémique : Le Conseil Central Islamique publie une vidéo provocante

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Conseil Central Islamique Suisse (CCIS) a tourné une vidéo ambiguë que certains jugent menaçante, voire provocante à tout le moins. Même si ses dirigeants s'en défendent.

Le Conseil Central Islamique Suisse (CCIS) refait parler de lui, avec une vidéo qui fait polémique. Le petit film, de plus de trois minutes, en anglais et sous-titré en français, parle du «début d'une révolution islamique» et se termine avec des termes que d'aucuns jugent menaçants. «Attendez-vous à nous, à tout moment, n'importe où. Les musulmans de Suisse». Avec le logo CCIS. La séquence a été tournée par des professionnels dans la région de Lucerne dans des espaces publics où les passants ont alerté la police, comme l'explique le Tages-Anzeiger. » | Par Pascal Schmuck, Zurich | jeudi 04 décembre 2014

Provocation: Five Years after the Minaret Ban: The Muslims of Switzerland Rise Up against Islamophobia

Gay and Lesbian Gambians Live in Fear of ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’ Law

THE GUARDIAN: Few havens available in west Africa for people forced to flee homophobia and harsh new legislation

The tipoff late one night wasn’t unexpected. Since the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” had come into force in the Gambia in October, Theresa had been living in fear. Then a friend who worked for the country’s notorious police force warned her she would be targeted in a raid in a few hours’ time. Theresa’s crime was being a lesbian.

“I wasn’t surprised, I was expecting it anyway because the president has said many times he will kill us all like dogs,” she said. “But I was really, really scared. My friend said, if you don’t go now, it will be too late.” By dawn, Theresa was on a bus out of the country with her best friend, Youngesp, both of whom agreed to speak only if their real names were not used. The two have joined a growing number of people whose lives have been upended by anti-gay laws that trample on an already marginalised minority in west Africa.

That they ended up seeking refuge in neighbouring Senegal, where being gay or lesbian is punishable with five-year jail terms, points to the particularly dismal situation in the Gambia. Its politicians have long and publicly railed against homosexuality, with the tone set by President Yahya Jammeh, who this year labelled gay people vermin. » | Monica Mark, West Africa correspondent | Thursday, December 04, 2014

Vladimir Putin: West Has Tried to Contain Russia for Decades

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, delivers his state of
the nation speech

THE GUARDIAN: President uses state of the nation speech to attack west as rouble slides under pressure of economic sanctions over Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has accused the west of trying to contain and subvert Russia “for decades, if not centuries”, in a fierce and uncompromising attack during his state of the nation speech.

Analysts were curious to see whether the president would take a conciliatory tone in his annual speech to Russia’s political elite, as the rouble slides and relations with the west are at a low point over the unrest in Ukraine.

Instead, Putin opened with a fierce defence of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, calling it a “historic rejoining” of a region as important to Russia as Temple Mount was to Jerusalem.

He said that if the recent events in Crimea had not happened, the west would have simply found another excuse to contain Russia with sanctions, recalling that in the 1990s the west had tried to break up Russia “along the Yugoslavian scenario”. He warned that the sanctions and angry rhetoric from the west would only have the opposite effect to that intended.

“For some European countries, national pride is seen as a luxury, but for Russia it is a necessity,” said Putin, adding that it was pointless to use threats when speaking to Russia. Read on and comment » | Shaun Walker in Moscow | Thursday, December 04, 2014

Washington Refuses to Blacklist Muslim Brotherhood

MIDDLE EAST MONITOR: The US has refused to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, stressing that there is insufficient credible proof that it has given up its decades-long commitment to refusing violence, Al-Jazeera.net reported yesterday.

The American decision came in response to a petition filed 16 months ago calling for the US administration to announce the worldwide Islamist group a terrorist organisation. » | Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Bashar al-Assad: Airstrikes against Islamic State Are Failing

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Speaking in his first interview since the start of the offensive, Syrian leader says there has been 'no change' noticed on the ground in Syria

Coalition air strikes targeting Isil jihadists in Syria have made no difference, President Bashar al-Assad has said in his first interview with western media since the start of the campaign in which he described himself as a captain “saving his ship”.

Mr Assad said his troops had noticed “no change” in the balance of power on the ground since the start of the US-led bombing campaign in September.

“You can’t end terrorism with aerial strikes,” he told Paris Match in an interview published on Thursday. “Troops on the ground that know the land and can react are essential. That is why there haven’t been any tangible results in the two months of strikes led by the coalition.

“It isn’t true that the strikes are helpful. They would of course have helped had they been serious and efficient. We are running the ground battles, and we have noticed no change.”< br />
Mr Assad’s views on the war in Syria contrasted with an assessment of the situation given by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, yesterday. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, December 03, 2014

China Bans Religion in Islam-heavy Xinjiang Region

BREITBART: Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang region of the country’s West have banned citizens from practicing religion in any state-owned entities. Because China is a Communist country, the law, which will take effect on January 1, 2015, likely pertains to all property.

Additionally, the Communist Party will dole out heavy fines for religiously-motivated Internet posts that have been determined to "undermine national unity." The penalty for violating the newly established Internet and mobile communications laws could result in a fine as high as $5,000 dollars. “An increasing number of problems involving religious affairs have emerged in Xinjiang,” an official in the Xinjiang People’s Congress was quoted saying in state media. The law specifically mentions that videos showing jihad or holy war may not be viewed or distributed in any manner. Read on and comment » | Jordan Schachtel | Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Arizona Pastor: We Could Cure AIDS by Christmas If We Stone Homos to Death

Pastor Steven Anderson says the world
could be cured of AIDS by Christmas

PINK NEWS: A Christian pastor has claimed that the world could be cured of AIDS “by Christmas” if “homos” were stoned to death.

Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona made the disturbing claim last week, in a sermon ahead of World AIDS Day.

He said: “Approximately 1.6 percent of the US populations, and 0.7 percent are bi… it’s all the same category, Sodomite.

“Turn to Leviticus 20:13, because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS. We could have an AIDS free world by Christmas if we follow this. » | Nick Duffy | Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Latvian Politician 'Praised Nazi Shooting of Gays'

Ms Priede represents the Kandava district in western Latvia

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Inga Priede, member of Latvia's ruling Unity party, resigns after tweeting "Thank God! The Germans shot them in their time" about homosexuals in same-sex marriage debate

Latvia's ruling party has been forced to distance itself from comments by one of its members which appeared to praise the Nazi extermination of homosexuals.

Inga Priede, a member of the Unity party, has resigned after making the comments in a Twitter discussion on Monday night about same-sex marriage legislation.

“Thank God! The Germans shot them in their time. Birth rate was going up," wrote Ms Priede.

She wrote that Latvian citizens in rural areas were "in shock" about the possibility of same-sex marriage legislation being introduced, and that homosexuals living in these regions were "not proud" of their sexuality because "there are basic values". » | Andrew Marszal | Wednesday, Decembrer 03, 2014

Pope Sacks the Head of His Swiss Guard for Being 'Too Strict'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Daniel Anrig will no longer serve as commandant of Pontiff's private army after Pope Francis is rumoured to prefer a "less military" approach to security

He has dismissed and demoted cardinals, bishops and the Vatican secretary of state, and now Pope Francis’s reformist zeal has claimed a new scalp – the head of his own private army, the Swiss Guard.

In a dispassionate one-sentence notice, the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, announced on Wednesday that Daniel Anrig will no longer serve as the commandant of the 500-year-old corps after the end of next month.

No official explanation was given for the decision, but it was widely rumoured that the Argentinean Pope, who has established a warmer, more inclusive style of governance since being appointed pontiff in March last year, found the commander’s manner overly strict and “Teutonic”.

The 77-year-old pope is said to have been appalled recently to have emerged one morning from his private suite of rooms to find that a Swiss Guard had been standing guard all night.

“Sit down,” he told the young guardsman, to which the soldier said: “I can’t, it’s against orders.” » | Nick Squires, Rome | Wednesday, November 03, 2014

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le commandant de la Garde suisse partira à la fin janvier : L'actuel commandant quittera son poste au début 2015, après plus de cinq ans à son poste, contrairement aux usages. Le Lucernois Christophe Graf, actuel vice-commandant de la Garde, pourrait lui succéder. » | smk/ats/Newsnet | mercredi 03 décembre 2014

Richard III DNA Shows British Royal Family May Not Have Royal Bloodline

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The University of Leicester has studied the DNA of Richard III and found that there could be a break in the royal bloodline


When the body of Richard III was discovered in a car park in Leicester in 2012 archaeologists knew it was a momentous find.

But little did they realise that it might expose the skeletons in the cupboard of the British aristocracy, and even call into question the bloodline of the Royal family. » | Sarah Knapton, Science Editor | Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Wife and Child of Islamic State Leader Baghdadi Held in Lebanon

THE GUARDIAN: Arrest is described as ‘high-value catch’ and reportedly follows information provided by western intelligence agencies

The Lebanese army says it has detained the second wife of the Islamic State (Isis) leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and their eight-year-old son near the Syrian border.

The arrest reportedly took place in the past week and followed information provided by western intelligence agencies in the past fortnight.

Lebanese security officials described the woman as a “high-value catch” and said the identity of the boy was confirmed through DNA testing. If so, the revelation would support the claim of international involvement. The US and other states have samples of Baghdadi’s DNA from the nine months he spent in US custody in Iraq in 2004.

The British Foreign Office said it had nothing to add to the reports. » | Martin Chulov and agencies | Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Switzerland Says “No” to Immigration Limit

Read the short Euronews article here

Pope Francis to Visit Turkey in Most Challenging Mission of Papacy So Far

THE GUARDIAN: Pontiff to try to tackle relations with Islam, Christian persecution in the Muslim world and the Catholic-Orthodox schism

Pope Francis embarks on one of the most delicate missions of his 18-month-old papacy on Friday, when he is expected to wrestle with the problems of Christian persecution in the Muslim world and tackle relations with Islam in a time of spreading jihadism during his visit to Turkey.

As if that were not enough, he is also expected to deal with the millenium-old schism between Catholicism and Orthodoxy that centred on the city that is now Istanbul.

The fourth pope to visit Turkey, Francis will seek to emphasise his commitment to dialogue with Muslims and other Christians at a time of increased violence against Christian minorities in the region.

He is to make what his spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, described as a very important speech on Muslim-Christian relations on Friday. » | Constanze Letsch in Istanbul, John Hooper in Rome and agencies | Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all my visitors, followers, and Twitter followers a VERY HAPPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING

EU Chief: We’ll Survive without Britain

Prime Minister David Cameron with president of the European
Council, Herman Van Rompuy outside 10 Downing Street

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Herman Van Rompuy hits out at David Cameron’s demands for change as it is disclosed UK faces £34bn bill for ‘black hole’ in budget

The European Union “will survive” if Britain leaves after an in-out referendum but would be “dead” if France voted for exit, Herman Van Rompuy has said.

The outgoing president of the European Council criticised the UK and indicated that David Cameron will not be able to secure changes to freedom of movement rules.

He made his comments as it was disclosed that a black hole in the EU budget could leave British taxpayers paying an extra £34 billion over six years.

Mr Cameron will now be legally obliged to make up a share of a shortfall of £259 billion by 2020, with liabilities for the Treasury estimated at £33.7  billion.

The hole in EU spending has been identified by the European Court of Auditors and will come as a major blow to the Prime Minister just days before he is expected to make a major speech about Britain’s relationship with the EU.

Mr van Rompuy said in Paris that Brussels would not negotiate on the “fundamental principles” of the EU simply to convince Britain to remain a part of the bloc.

He said that a British exit would leave Europe “wounded” and that “everything should be done to avoid it”.

“Without the United Kingdom, Europe would be wounded, even amputated – therefore everything should be done to avoid it,” he said.

“But it will survive. Without France, Europe — the European idea – would be dead.” » | Peter Dominiczak and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Scandinavian Islamist Junes Kock Calls on Syrian Mujahideen to Unite against International Coalition

Jordanian MP Rudaina Ati: "The PA Must Not Defend the Interests of the Filthy Jews"

Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei: America and Europe Failed to Bring Iran to Its Knees on the Nuclear Issue

Syrian Poet Adonis: Progress Impossible in the Arab World without Separation of Religion and State

Documentary: I Am Gay and Muslim (2012)

I Am Gay and Muslim: This documentary focuses on gay rights in the Islamic world. »

Homosexuality in Islam: Hamza Yusuf

Syrian Scholar Supports Death to Homosexuals

Syrie : premières lapidations de l'EI pour homosexualité

LE POINT: Le groupe djihadiste a exécuté deux jeunes hommes au motif que des vidéos sur leur portable les montraient en train de "pratiquer des actes indécents avec des hommes".

Le groupe djihadiste État islamique (EI) a lapidé, mardi en Syrie, deux jeunes hommes en affirmant qu'ils étaient homosexuels, les premières exécutions pour ce motif commises par cette organisation, a indiqué une ONG. "L'EI a lapidé à mort aujourd'hui un homme" de 20 ans "en disant qu'il était gay", à Mayadin, dans la province syrienne de Deir ez-Zor (est), a indiqué l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'homme (OSDH). L'EI a affirmé avoir trouvé sur son téléphone portable des vidéos le montrant en train de "pratiquer des actes indécents avec des hommes", selon la même source. » | Source AFP | mardi 25 novembre 2014

London Calling the Middle Ages? The City Schools That Teach Sharia

NEW AMERICAN: The British long ago established Western-style institutions of learning in colonized Muslim lands. But now it appears the educational worm has turned, menacingly, with a recent discovery that pupils at seven London schools are being instilled with Islamic propaganda.

Surprise inspections by Ofsted — the Office for Standards in Education — found that these schools taught a narrow curriculum, ignoring Western culture and refusing to inculcate British values. Most shockingly, some students at these institutions told inspectors that they didn’t know if they should follow English law or Sharia law — or which was more important. » | Selwyn Duke | Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Bollywood Actress Veena Malik Sentenced to 26 Years in Jail for Blasphemy after Appearing in Mock TV Wedding Scene

THE INDEPENDENT: The GEO TV programme sparked a wave of controversy in the Islamic country when it aired in May, despite the fact similar scenes had been aired in the past

Veena Malik has expressed her anger and disbelief after she was handed a 26-year jail term by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for ‘malicious acts’ of blasphemy.

Her crime? Appearing in a pretend wedding scene, staged on a daytime show broadcast by Geo TV and based on the marriage of the Prophet Mohamed’s daughter.

The programme sparked a wave of controversy in the Islamic country when it aired in May, despite the fact similar scenes had been aired in the past to little or no such public outrage. Some even apparently suspected that Pakistan’s military were behind the mock wedding, and that it was put on in a bid to wage a blasphemy war against the broadcaster. » | Jenn Selby | Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Counter-terrorism Bill: What It Contains

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ban on campus extremists and powers to prevent jihadists returning to Britain in package to be presented to Parliament

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, will today introduce legislation to the Commons intended to give Britain some of the “toughest powers in the world” against terrorism.

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, to be introduced to the Commons today, is intended to counter the threat posed by Britons who have aligned themselves to Isil.

It contains provisions intended to prevent people travelling to Syria and Iraq to fight, halt them from returning if they do, and to curb the spread of jihadist ideology.

The Home Secretary described the measures as “considered and targeted”.

"We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a deadly terrorist ideology. These powers are essential to keep up with the very serious and rapidly changing threats we face,” she said.

The measures involve: » | Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Glazov Gang-Daniel Greenfield on “Obama’s Fantasies about Un-Islamic Jihad”

The Glazov Gang-Daniel Greenfield on “Obama’s Fantasies about Un-Islamic Jihad.” Daniel Greenfield (Shillman Fellow, Freedom Center)

HT: Robert Spencer @ JihadWatch.org »

’Britain Belongs to Allah’: Anjem Choudary and His Supporters - Analysis

EURASIA REVIEW: “We don’t abide by British rule.” “Sharia is the law of God, and should be implemented in the whole world.” “The ‘flag of Sharia’ will eventually fly over Downing Street.” These are statements voiced by the radical preacher, Anjem Choudary, in the UK.

What do Choudary and his supporters seek?

Anjem Choudary, a 47 year-old British Muslim of Pakistani descent born in England, is a former lawyer and founding member of proscribed Islamist groups like al-Muhajiroun and Islam4UK. These groups were banned based on government evidence of them operating as terrorist organisations with links to al Qaeda. According to Hope Not Hate, Choudary represents “the single biggest gateway to terrorism in recent British history.”

His support base is prominent. According to a recent poll by ICM Research, 40 per cent of 500 Muslim families that were surveyed expressed support for the establishment of strict Sharia laws in the UK. Policy Exchange reveals that one-third of the domestic Muslim youth would happily succumb to Sharia. According to Henry Jackson Society, 18 per cent of people linked to acts of terror have had associations with Choudary´s banned organisations. Hope Not Hate reveals that 200-300 supporters from Choudary’s European network have left to fight in Syria. His guidance has resulted in an indoctrination of vulnerable youth who have devoted themselves to terrorism in the UK and abroad. » | Tuva Julie Engebrethsen Smith | Saturday, November 01, 2014

Is Russia Banning Islam?

HUMAN EVENTS: Russia appears to be taking serious moves to combat the “radicalization” of Muslims within its border.

Recent pro-Islamic reports are complaining that Russia is banning the Islamic hijab—the headdress Islamic law requires Muslim women to wear—and, perhaps even more decisively, key Islamic scriptures, on the charge that they incite terrorism.

In the words of Arabic news site Elaph, “Russia is witnessing a relentless war on the hijab. It began in a limited manner but has grown in strength, prompting great concern among Russia’s Muslims.”

The report continues by saying that women wearing the hijab are being “harassed” especially in the “big cities”; that they are encountering difficulties getting jobs and being “subject to embarrassing situations in public areas and transportation. The situation has gotten to the point that even educational institutions, including universities, have issued decrees banning the wearing of the hijab altogether.” Moscow’s Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University appears mentioned as one of the schools to ban the donning of the hijab on its premises, specifically, last September (the New York Times bemoaned an earlier instance of anti-hijab sentiment in 2013).

While this move against the hijab may appear as discriminatory against religious freedom, the flipside to all this—which perhaps Russia, with its significant Muslim population is aware of—is that, wherever the Islamic hijab proliferates, so too does Islamic supremacism and terrorism. Tawfik Hamid, a former aspiring Islamic jihadi, says that “the proliferation of the hijab is strongly correlated with increased terrorism…. Terrorism became much more frequent in such societies as Indonesia, Egypt, Algeria, and the U.K. after the hijab became prevalent among Muslim women living in those communities.” Read on and comment » | Raymond Ibrahim | Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Turkish President Declares Women and Men Are Not Equal

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that
women aren't equal to men

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Recep Tayyip Erdogan adds feminists do not understand the concept of motherhood to an audience of Turkish women

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set off a new controversy, declaring that women are not equal to men and accusing feminists of not understanding the special status that Islam attributes to mothers.

Addressing a meeting on women and justice in Istanbul, Erdogan said men and women are created differently, that women cannot be expected to undertake the same work as men, and that mothers enjoy a high position that only they can reach.

He said: "You cannot put women and men on an equal footing. It is against nature. They were created differently. Their nature is different. Their constitution is different."

"Their characters, habits and physiques are different.... You cannot place a mother breastfeeding her baby on an equal footing with men. » | Agency | Monday, November 24, 2014

Sharia Law Guidelines Abandoned as Law Society Apologises

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Law Society apologises over advice to solicitors on how to draw up Sharia-style wills penalising widows and non-believers

The Law Society has withdrawn controversial guidelines for solicitors on how to compile “Sharia[-]compliant” wills amid complaints that they encouraged discrimination against women and non-Muslims.

Andrew Caplen, president of the society, apologised and said the criticism had been taken on board.

It follows a storm of protest after The Telegraph disclosed in March that the society had issued a practice note to solicitors effectively enshrining aspects of Islamic law in the British legal system.

The guidelines advised High Street solicitors on how to write Islamic wills in a way that would be recognised by courts in England and Wales.

They set out principles which meant that women could be denied an equal share of inheritances while unbelievers could be excluded altogether.

The document also detailed how children born out of wedlock might not be counted as legitimate heirs. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, November 24, 2014

The 'Caliphate's' Colonies: Islamic State's Gradual Expansion into North Africa

Map: Islamic State's Growing Sphere of Influence

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Chaos, disillusionment and oppression provide the perfect conditions for Islamic State. Currently, the Islamist extremists are expanding from Syria and Iraq into North Africa. Several local groups have pledged their allegiance.

The caliphate has a beach. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea around 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Crete in Darna. The eastern Libya city has a population of around 80,000, a beautiful old town and an 18th century mosque, from which the black flag of the Islamic State flies. The port city is equipped with Sharia courts and an "Islamic Police" force which patrols the streets in all-terrain vehicles. A wall has been built in the university to separate female students from their male counterparts and the disciplines of law, natural sciences and languages have all been abolished. Those who would question the city's new societal order risk death.

Darna has become a colony of terror, and it is the first Islamic State enclave in North Africa. The conditions in Libya are perfect for the radical Islamists: a disintegrating state, a location that is strategically well situated and home to the largest oil reserves on the continent. Should Islamic State (IS) manage to establish control over a significant portion of Libya, it could trigger the destabilization of the entire Arab world. » | Mirco Keilberth, Juliane von Mittelstaedt and Christoph Reuter | Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Syrian Christians: 'Help Us to Stay - Stop Arming Terrorists'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Christianity is being extinguished in the land of its birth and the West is to blame, say Syria's faithful


Outgoing artillery shook St Elias church as the priest reached the end of the Lord's Prayer.

The small congregation kept their eyes on the pulpit, kneeling when required and trying to ignore the regular thuds that rattled the stained glass windows above them.

Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the hard to reach Syrian agricultural town of Izraa has stood the comings and goings of many empires over the centuries.

But as the country's civil war creeps closer, it is threatening to force the town's Christians into permanent exile: never to return, they fear.

"I have been coming to this church since I was born," said Afaf Azam, 52. "But now the situation is very bad. Everyone is afraid. Jihadists control villages around us." Read on and comment » | Ruth Sherlock, Izraa, Deraa | Saturday, November 22, 2014

GOP Rebukes County Chairman's 'Outrageous' Comments on Muslims

STAR TRIBUNE: Party chair for Big Stone County said “Muslims are terrorists.”

A Minnesota Republican Party official issued a “call to arms” against Muslims on Thursday, calling them “terrorists” and “parasites” and suggesting that someone should “frag ‘em.”

Jack Whitley, chairman of the Big Stone County Republican Party, had no apology for the series of inflammatory posts on his personal Facebook page — remarks the state party leadership condemned as “outrageous.”

“Muslims are terrorists. They don’t belong in this country,” Whitley said in an interview. “Their attitude and their agenda don’t belong in this country. They cause terror and discontent, total chaos everywhere they are.”

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Whitley wrote that he opposes waterboarding as “a waste of resources. They are muslims [sic], they are terrorist, we know where they are from, we know where their buddies are, we know where thier [sic] mosque’s [sic] are, we know millions of these parasites travel to Mecca every year and when … FRAG ‘EM!” » | Jennifer Brooks, Star Tribune | Friday, November 21, 2014

Al Shabaab Executes 28 Non-Muslims on Kenyan Bus

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: - The Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab said it had staged an attack in Kenya on Saturday in which gunmen ordered non-Muslims off a bus and shot 28 dead, while sparing Muslim passengers.

Three of the group led out to be killed saved their lives by reciting verses of the Koran for the militants, a local security official said.

Al Shabaab said its men had ambushed the Nairobi-bound bus outside the town of Mandera, near Kenya’s border with Somalia and Ethiopia, and killed the non-Muslims in retaliation for raids on mosques in the city of Mombasa. » | George Obulutsa | Nairobi | Reuters | Saturday, November 22, 2014

Fear of Deadly ‘Religious War’ between Jews and Muslims Raised after Synagogue Attack

THE WASHINGTON POST: JERUSALEM — Israelis and Palestinians expressed fear Wednesday that their decades-old conflict was moving beyond the traditional nationalist struggle between two peoples fighting for their homelands and spiraling into a raw and far-reaching religious confrontation between Jews and Muslims.

The threat — perhaps more accurately the dread — of an incipient but deadly “religious war” was expressed by Muslim clerics, Christian leaders and Jewish Israelis one day after a pair of Palestinian assailants, wielding meat cleavers and a gun, killed five Israelis, including a prominent American Israeli rabbi, in a Jerusalem synagogue.

“All of us are scared that there will be a religious war, that extremists from both sides will start fighting each other,” said Oded Wiener, an Israeli Jew from the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land. » | William Booth and Ruth Eglash | Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Yes, Islam Is At War with the West

BREITBART: On Tuesday, four Jews, including three Americans and a British citizen, were murdered in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood while praying at synagogue. The murderers: Palestinian Muslims shouting “Allahu Akhbar” as they attacked the worshipers with machetes and a pistol.

Secretary of State John Kerry immediately condemned the attacks:

Innocent people who had come to worship died in the sanctuary of a synagogue. They were hatcheted, hacked and murdered in that holy place in an act of pure terror and senseless brutality and murder. I call on Palestinians at every single level of leadership to condemn this in the most powerful terms.

But, of course, Palestinian Muslims do not condemn such violence. They celebrate it. Hamas – the terrorist group running the Gaza Strip, and in doing so, receiving American aid – cheered the attack, and Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip handed out candies to children. While headlines stated that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, his Fatah called the attacks “a natural response to the recent events.” And everyone in both Israel and the Palestinian territories knows that Fatah’s response reflects the official Palestinian position far better than the English comments designed for public consumption.

Nonetheless, Kerry will likely declare Abbas’ statements sufficient, and call for a renewed peace process. President Obama has already called on Israel to “work cooperatively…to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace.”

That’s because the West refuses to see the truth about the Muslim war on Israel and the United States: it is a religious war for our enemies. » | Ben Shapiro | Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Should Presidents Call Islam a 'Religion of Peace?' Two George W. Bush Officials Debate

THE CHRISTIAN POST: MIAMI BEACH — Two former George W. Bush administration officials, Elliot Abrams and Michael Gerson, debated Monday whether it is appropriate for presidents to call Islam a religion of peace.

"What is authentic Islam? Is ISIS an authentic form of Islam, or is it not? I think it's very important that the United States government shut-up about that question," Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, declared at the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Faith Angle Forum.

"It used to annoy me enormously when President [George W.] Bush, for whom I was working, would say, 'Islam is a religion of peace,'" continued Abrams, who served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser.

Abrams was speaking on a panel, "Religious Conflict and the Future of the Middle East," with Shadi Hamid, a fellow with the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

The "real response" to Bush, and later President Barack Obama, declaring the Islam is a religion of peace, he said, should be "where is their theology degree from?"

"For American government officials to be telling Muslims, 'I know real Islam' ... is ridiculous," he added. "... It would be an outrage about Judaism and Christianity as well. ... For government officials who are 99 percent Christians to be trying to find what is authentic in Islam seems to me to be a fool's errand." Read on and comment » | Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter | Friday, November 21, 2014

Anjem Choudary Bail Restrictions Relaxed by Judge

Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Court hears that bail terms should allow Muslim extremist 'religious freedom'

One of Britain's most notorious hate clerics has been given permission to begin preaching on the streets again after a judge ruled he must be allowed "religious freedom".

Anjem Choudary was arrested on terror charges along with six others at the end of September.

The men are alleged to have been members of an organisation banned under the Terrorism Act and are said to have encouraged terrorism.

Howard Riddle, the chief magistrate and senior district judge, said a restriction on the men taking part in Muslim stalls to preach Islam and share religious material – known as Da’wah stalls - will end on December 18.

Mr Riddle said police allege the Da’wah stalls have been “misused to spread extremist literature”.

“The Da'wah stalls are a significant part of the current investigation,” the senior district judge said.

"However it is accepted that the Da'wah stall has an ostensible purpose to spread the word of Islam and to proselytise.

“Religious freedom is of considerable significance.” » | David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent | Monday, November 21, 2014

Muslims Chant to Remove Jesus at Washington’s National Cathedral

ISRAEL TODAY: It looked like a chilling scene from a Last Days, anti-Christ-takes-over-the-world disaster movie. Hundreds of Muslims take over America’s most notable church, prostrate on their prayer rugs as their unified chant echoes out in full volume: “There is only one god, he begets not and I bear witness that Muhammad is His only servant and Apostle."

Only this was not a movie. This was the scene, last Friday, for the first time in history, at the iconic National Cathedral in Washington, where orthodox Muslim clerics were invited to lead an Islamic prayer service. A congregation of hundreds were lead by an Imam in declaring that “god has no son, that Jesus Christ cannot be his son, and that there is no god like Allah.”

Only a single middle-age woman jumped up in the middle of the service and shouted, “America was founded on Christian principles. . . . Leave our church alone!” She was escorted quickly out of the church by security guards. » | David Lazarus | Thursday, November 20, 2014

New IS Video Calls On French Muslims To Carry Out Terror Attacks In France

Abu Maryam al-Faransi warns: "This is a message to all the
enemies of Islam and specifically France. The mujahedin
(militants) around the world will not hesitate to cut off
your heads."

RADIO FREE EUROPE: The Islamic State (IS) group's media wing, Al-Hayat, has released a new video calling on French Muslims to join Islamic State and go to Syria to fight, or if that's not possible to carry out terrorist attacks in France.

"Even poison is available, so poison the water and food of at least one of the enemies of Allah," one French militant says in the video.

The video -- titled What Are You Waiting For? -- is in French with Arabic and English subtitles. It's opening scenes show a group of French militants burning their passports to symbolize their rejection of the French government.

"As you have disbelieved in the Taghut [someone who worships anything except Allah], democracy, and man-made laws through your Hijra, today you disbelieve in these Tawagheet ['Taghut' leaders, i.e. the governments of the countries from which the militants have come] and their laws that they forced on us and these passports that they forced us to use," the French militant speaking in the video says.

The militant accuses the French government of oppressing Muslims and insulting the Prophet Muhammad. "And today, we disbelieve in you and your passports, and if you come here we will fight you," the militant adds.

"What are you waiting for? Why do you not perform Hijra [emigrate to Syria]," he asks. » | Joanna Paraszczuk | Thursday, November 20, 2014

Beautifying Islam

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Many people are understandably asking: What is the true nature of Islam? Is it that although there are many peaceful Muslims, Islam itself is not peaceful?

Classical Islamic law, developed over the history of Islam, is definitely not peaceful or benign, and therefore not suitable for this age; neither are its violent and grotesque progeny, such as Islamism and jihadism.

If Islam is a religion that stands for justice and peaceful coexistence, then this policy of jihad cannot be justified as sanctioned by a just and merciful creator.

Religious traditions have changed and evolved over time, therefore it is the duty of us Muslims, using reason and common sense, to reinterpret the scriptures to bring about an Islam that affirms and promotes universally accepted human rights and values. It is our duty to cleanse the traditional, literalist, classical Islam and purify it to make it an Islam that is worthy to be called a beautiful religion.

Looking at a year of beheadings by ISIS, child grooming abuses in the UK, judicial misconduct by the hanging judges of Iran, slaughtering and enslaving of Christians in Egypt and Africa, and various murders justified in the name of Islam throughout the world, many people are understandably asking: What is the true nature of Islam? Is it that although there are many peaceful Muslims, Islam itself is not peaceful?

If, for us Muslims, Islam is a religion of peace, justice, and mercy, how come the militants, who claim to be staunch Muslims -- who are ready to die for Islam and who claim to have established a state in the name of Islam in Iraq and Syria by sacrificing blood and lives -- are beheading journalists and aid workers, and enslaving religious minorities, all by citing Islamic Sharia Law? » | Ahmed Vanya | Thursday, November 20, 2014

«L’Occidental qui veut quitter le califat signe son arrêt de mort»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Samuel Laurent publie un livre sur le groupe Etat islamique. Le visage qu'il donne à cet ennemi de l’Occident est terrifiant. Interview.

La France est clairement dans le viseur du groupe Etat islamique. Mercredi, les Français apprenaient qu’en plus du Normand Maxime, un deuxième converti, le parisien Mickael, était parmi les bourreaux de la terrible vidéo de décapitation diffusée le week-end dernier. Mercredi encore, le groupe Etat islamique postait une autre vidéo, dans laquelle trois Français du groupe terroriste poussent leurs compatriotes à attaquer la France. Consultant international, auteur de deux livres remarqués (Sahelistan en 2013 et Al-Qaida en France en 2014), Samuel Laurent connaît de l’intérieur la nébuleuse du terrorisme islamiste. » | Par Xavier Alonso | jeudi 20 novembre 2014

Jordan's Queen Rania in Powerful Attack on ISIS for 'Hijacking' the Arab World with Horror Beheadings on Social Media that 'Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages'

MAIL ONLINE: The 44-year-old monarch was speaking to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit / She said images posted by ISIS are 'alien and abhorrent to vast majority of Arabs' and should make 'every Arab seethe' / Queen said silence of moderates made them complicit in ISIS' success

The bloodthirsty killers of Islamic State are trying to ‘hijack’ the Arab world and ‘drag us back to the Dark Ages’ through social media, Queen Rania of Jordan believes.

During a powerful address to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the 44-year-old monarch spoke out against the horror videos of decapitated prisoners being promoted by ISIS on Twitter and Facebook.

'A minority of irreligious extremists is using social media to rewrite our narrative and hijack our identity,' Queen Rania said. 'That's what ISIS is doing to the Arab world and all of us'.

Referring specifically to the videos of beheadings, the Queen said: 'These images don't represent me anymore than they represent you.

'They’re alien and abhorrent to the vast majority of Arabs – Muslims and Christians. And they should make every Arab across this region seethe.

'Because they're an attack on our values as a people and on our collective story. This is their version of the Arab world’s story, their plot, their narrative, their heroes, and the rest of the world is listening and watching.' Read on and comment » | Nabila Ramdani in Abu Dhabi for MailOnline | Thursday, November 20, 2014

'If My Son Is in Jihadi John Beheading Video, He Should Be Executed,' Says Father

Nasser Methane appeared to be among 16 jihadists
who were filmed beheading Syrian soldiers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The father of a medical student turned jihadist from Cardiff fears his son appears in the Islamic State's latest execution video and says "he must face up to what he has done".

The father of a British medical student turned jihadist has said his son should face execution himself if he is proved to be a killer appearing in an Islamic State execution video alongside 'Jihadi John'.

Ahmed Muthana, said he fears his son, Nasser Muthana, is one of a gang of camouflaged Isil fighters who line up to behead Syrian military captives in a horrific video released at the weekend.

Muthana, from Cardiff, is suspected of appearing standing alongside the masked militant known as Jihadi John in the video, which also announces the death of American hostage Peter Kassig.

His father said he had seen stills of the video and was unable to confirm the man was his 20-year-old son, but feared it was. He said his son should face a death sentence if proven to be a killer.

Mr Muthana, 57, said: "If that's what he has done to someone then that is what should be done to him. » | Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent | Monday, November 17, 2014

Erdoğan Says Muslims Discovered America, Wants Mosque in Cuba

TODAY’S ZAMAN: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Muslims, not Christopher Columbus, were the first foreigners to set foot in America, suggesting the construction of a mosque on a hill in Cuba where he said there used to be a mosque.

“Latin America's contact with Islam dates back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus. Muslim sailors arrived in America in 1178. Christopher Columbus mentions the existence of a mosque on a hill along the Cuban coast. I will talk to my brothers in Cuba and a mosque would suit the top of that hill today as well. We would build it if they [the Cuban government] say so. Islam had expanded in the American continent before Columbus arrived,” Erdoğan said on Saturday while speaking in İstanbul at the 1st Latin American Muslim Religious Leaders Summit, hosted by Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate. » | Today’s Zaman | Saturday, November 15, 2014

Peter Kassig’s Parents Pay Emotional Tribute to Their Murdered Son

Peter Kassig's parents pay tribute to humanitarian
son beheaded by Islamic State

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ed and Paula Kassig express their pride at Peter’s humanitarian work in Syria

The parents of Peter Kassig, the American aid worker who became the fifth hostage to be beheaded by the Islamic State, recalled the selfless work he performed in Syria.

Mr Kassig, who converted to Islam and changed his name from Peter to Abdul-Rahman, was captured in October last year while travelling in an ambulance to deliver medical supplies to stricken civilians in the east of the country.

The 26 year old former army ranger from Indianapolis, who served in Iraq in 2007, became an aid worker after leaving the army.

He devoted himself to providing support to a country where more than nine million civilians had been forced out of their homes during a savage civil war.

The plight of the Syrians was also recalled by Mr and Mrs Kassig in a statement they issued on Facebook paying tribute to their son. » | David Millward, US Correspondent | Sunday, November 16, 2014

Isil Threatens Slaughter in the Streets of the West

A still from a video issued by the Islamic State of the terrorist
referred to as 'Jihadi John'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: 'Jihadi John' threatens to bring slaughter to the streets of the West as he announces the death of American aid worker Peter Kassig

The Islamic State militant known as Jihadi John has threatened to bring slaughter to the streets of Britain and the West in a new video announcing the murder of an American aid worker.

The video, featuring the masked militant, marks the group’s most explicit threats yet to attack the UK and America and dismisses David Cameron as a puppet of Barack Obama.

It endorses the Prime Minister’s earlier warnings of terrorist attacks in the UK and says the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) will soon begin attacks against the West.

The graphic footage shows what it claims to be the severed head of Peter Kassig, a US special forces soldier turned aid worker, and the beheading of at least 18 Syrian military prisoners.

Mr Cameron condemned the “depravity” of the Isil militants and said he was horrified by Mr Kassig's cold-blooded murder. He said Mr Kassig was a "selfless humanitarian worker who had gone to the region to help care for those fleeing the Syrian conflict." » | Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent, and Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, November 16, 2014

Condoleezza Rice on America's Standing in the World

Nov. 10, 2014 - 4:45 - Former secretary of state reacts to ISIS, world crises

EU Considering 'Sanctions' against Israel over Settlements

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Potential penalties in response to measures that would make a two-state solution impractical are being proposed in a paper prepared in conditons of secrecy

The European Union has set itself on a collision course with Israel after drawing up a list of sanctions to be imposed if the country takes steps that would make the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible.

In what amounts to Europe's toughest-ever line with the Israelis, punishments such as trade restrictions could result if continued settlement building on occupied land is deemed to be at odds with reaching a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict - defined as an independent Palestine alongside Israel.

A catalogue of measures has been set out in a secret document prepared by the European External Action Service and distributed to the EU's 28 member states.

While diplomats are shying away from characterising them as "sanctions", the paper - whose contents are said at the early discussion stage - advocates a "carrot and stick" approach to relations with Israel. » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Sunday, November 16, 2014

Ak Saray: Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s New Little Town House!

The president has called the palace a "show of the country's prestige".

Read the BBC article Turkey President Erdogan's palace costs to soar » | Friday, November 14, 2014

Unbelievable! Listen to the Words of the Deluded Prime Minister of the United Kingdom!

Peter Kassig's Family Call for Restraint after Beheading Video

An undated photograph of Peter Kassig with his parents
Ed and Paula Kassig

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Parents of US army veteran ask for video of their son's apparent beheading not to be shared or distributed

The parents of the American hostage in Syria, Peter Kassig, have called for restraint in publishing the jihadist propaganda video released on Sunday which claims that he has been killed and beheaded.

The video, more graphic than those showing previous murders of hostages, shows 18 Syrian soldiers having their heads cut off by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

It concludes with the British-accented fighter known as Jihadist John standing over what appears to be the head of Mr Kassig.

"This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen, of your country," he says, pointing his knife at the camera as he did in previous films, and addressing himself to President Barack Obama. "To Obama, the dog of Rome, today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will be slaughtering your soldiers."

The American and British governments both said they were examining the video and trying to authenticate it. Ed and Paula Kassig, who had made personal appeals to Isil to release their son, said in a statement they were aware of the news and awaiting confirmation. » | Richard Spencer in Gaziantep, Magdy Samaan, Andrew Marszal and Louisa Loveluck | Sunday, November 16, 2014