DIE WELT: 50 Jahre war Palmyra sein Leben. Jetzt hat der IS den Chef-Archäologen der antiken Ruinenstadt in Syrien geköpft und Bilder seines enthaupteten Leichnams veröffentlicht. Ein "Omen", so die Behörden.
Die Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat (IS) hat nach Angaben des staatlichen Leiters für Antiquitäten, Mamoun Abdul Karim, den 82-jährigen Chef-Archäologen der antiken Wüstenstadt Palmyra in Syrien geköpft. Khaled Asaad hatte seit mehr als 50 Jahren die Forschungsarbeiten an den Ruinen des Unesco-Welterbes geleitet.
Nach Angaben seiner Familie wurde er vor über einem Monat von den Dschihadisten verschleppt. Zur Machtdemonstration wurde sein enthaupteter Leichnam an einer Straßenkreuzung der Stadt zur Schau gestellt und ein Foto davon im Internet veröffentlicht. » | Reuters/rct | Mittwoch, 19. August 2015
An Afghan military translator, who served with British forces during the occupation, has been killed while attempting to flee the country after being refused asylum in the UK, media outlets report
THE GUARDIAN: Sources put numbers arriving in Germany far higher than previously expected, as UN warns it and Sweden are bearing brunt of migrant crisis
The number of people seeking asylum in Germany is predicted to soar to 750,000 this year according to reports, amid warnings by the United Nations that it and Sweden are unfairly bearing the brunt of Europe’s refugee burden.
Government sources told the business daily Handelsblatt the figures, which are due to be released by the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, on Wednesday, are far higher than previously expected.
The leak came as the EU’s border agency, Frontex, said 107,500 migrants were detected at its frontiers last month, three times as many as in July 2014. » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, August 18, 2015
THE SPECTATOR: Why doesn’t the Office of National Statistics want us to know that Mohammed is the most popular boys’ name in England and Wales? Yesterday, it put out its annual survey of the top 10 baby’s names. In 2014, it reported, the most popular boys’ names were Oliver, Jack and Harry. This contrasts somewhat with a similar survey by the website BabyCentre last December which claimed that the most popular boys’ name was now Mohammed. » | Ross Clark | Tuesday, August 18, 2015
THE INDEPENDENT: 'There is a whole community that is living in Britain which is hidden - now is the time to come out'
“I’m gay, I’m Muslim, I’m a drag queen, I’m British and Pakistani,” said Asif Quraishi, Britain’s first out and proud Muslim drag queen who performs under the glamorous alter ego, Asifa Lahore. “People say these things shouldn’t fit together but hey, here I am.”
Now Quaraishi and his fellow artistes have been promised police protection amid fears that a Channel 4 documentary shining a spotlight on the “hidden” community of gay British Asians could provoke a violent response.
Quraishi, 33, from Southall, West London, performs a provocative act in which he strips off a Burka and has received death threats from fellow Muslims.
The winner of the LGBT award at Attitude magazine’s Pride ceremony, Quraishi estimates that there are 150 drag queens across Britain who, are devout Muslims, like himself.
The documentary, Muslim Drag Queens, broadcast on 24 August, follows three members of a largely clandestine gay Asian community who are challenging taboos within Islam through their embrace of cross-dressing exhibitionism. » | Adam Sherwin | Media Correspondent | Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Turkish-speaking jihadist, flanked by two others, accuses Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan of permitting the U.S. to "bombard the people of Islam"
THE TELEGRAPH: Call to arms in Islamic State video comes after Ankara allied itself with Washington against the extremist group
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has publicly called on its supporters to attack Turkey for the first time, after Ankara allied itself with Washington against the jihadist group.
In a video issued on Monday, an Isil spokesman calls Turkish president Recep Tayep Erdogan a "tyrant traitor" and exhorts its followers inside the country to rise up “wherever they are and however they can” against the government.
In the video, entitled “A Message to Turkey”, Isil accuses Mr Erdogan of being allied to the “American Crusaders, the caretakers of the Jews,” and the “criminal atheists” of the Kurdish militant faction the Kurdistan Workers’ Union, or PKK. » | Nabih Bulos | Tuesday, August 18, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Move by Belgian syrup factory to enter Islamic markets sparks protests and a row over national identity
A fruit syrup that has been a staple of Belgian kitchens for generations is at the centre of a row over national identity, after its manufacturers applied for ‘halal’ certification.
The makers of Sirop de Liège, a molasses made of stewed apples, dates and pears and known by its distinctive blue and green pot, face a bitter backlash after they sought to tap into overseas Islamic markets.
The Siroperie Meurens, the family business that has been boiling fruit to the same recipe since 1902, faces calls for a boycott and has been inundated with online abuse since it announced the move.
Securing ‘halal’ certification would help the firm to target markets such as Indonesia and Egypt, at a time when the European fruit industry is under pressure due to sanctions on Russia that have halted food exports.
The move would confirm to Muslim consumers that the sticky brown syrup, which is eaten with bread and pancakes, or used as an ingredient in meatball sauces, does not contain pork gelatine. The recipe would stay the same, as would the labelling, the firm said. » | Matthew Holehouse, Brussels | Monday, August 17, 2015
The former Florida said the US must be prepared to send ground troops to tackle ISIS
DAILY EXPRESS: REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Jeb Bush has signalled he would support further military interventions in Iraq to defeat Islamic State.
The brother of former president George W Bush said the US may need to send more ground troops into the country to defeat militants fighting for the terror group - also known as ISIS.
In his first speech on foreign policy since launching his bid for the White House, Mr Bush attacked President Barack Obama for allowing the fanatical regime to take hold in the Middle East.
He said: "Who can seriously argue that America and our friends are safer today than in 2009, when the president and Secretary Clinton - the storied 'team of rivals' - took office?"
The 62-year-old former Florida governor blasted Hillary Clinton for standing by as the "hard-won victory by American and allied forces was thrown away".
He added: "ISIS grew while the United States disengaged from the Middle East and ignored the threat. » | Tom Batchelor | Wednesday, August 13, 2015
The ousting of President Bashar Assad by force would only lead to ISIS seizing power in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned, adding that Islamic State can only be defeated if all forces who are battling it unite
On Wednesday, a photograph showing what appeared to be Mr Salopek’s body was circulating on the social media accounts of Isil loyalists. The image could not immediately be verified.
The Isil-affiliated group, known as Sinai Province, had set a 48-hour deadline last Wednesday for Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to release female Muslim prisoners, warning that they would kill Mr Salopek if their demands were not met.
Isil sympathisers shared the macabre countdown on social media as the deadline expired. Several accounts carried images of knives alongside the message: “Croatia participated in the war with the Islamic State”. » | Louisa Loveluck | Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Jay Smith has been researching for many years about Islam. He found that there is some fundamental issues in terms of reliability of Quran and geographical different direction early period of Islam.
NBC BAY AREA: A heavy police presence in Mountain View Tuesday blocked roads for a controversial foreign dignitary.
Police late Tuesday guided drivers around the IFES Portuguese Hall, where Dutch politician Geert Wilders spoke to the Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley. Wilders is widely known for his criticism of Islam, and has repeatedly called for the Quran to be banned in the Netherlands.
Wilders is often heavily guarded by private guards, but Mountain View Police were on hand for Tuesday's event. This comes after two gunman fired shots outside an event in Texas earlier this year, where a contest was held to draw the prophet Muhammad. Wilders was a speaker at that event.
At Tuesday’s event, attendees say Wilders spoke about “why the west should stop the spread of Islamic political and cultural influence." » | Ian Cull | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Rival war games by Russian armed forces and Nato represent greatest build up of military tension in Europe since Cold War, warns think tank
Russia and Nato are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a new report says.
Rival exercises by the Russian armed forces and Nato have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides, and leaders need to consider a new arms control treaty to avert the possibility of heightened tensions spilling into war.
The report by the European Leadership Network, a think tank, comes amid the most intense fighting for six months in eastern Ukraine and as Michael Fallon, the defence minister, pledged to expand a British army training mission to Ukraine. » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow | Wednesday, August 12, 2015
BBC AMERICA: The Turkish prime minister has told the BBC that Turkey will push again for a no-fly zone over northern Syria to protect civilians fleeing both Islamic State and Syrian government forces.
Ahmet Davutoglu said he would work with the US to establish a "safe area" for people displaced by Syria's conflict.
Mr Davutoglu did not rule out sending Turkish troops in to protect the area.
Turkey is home to more Syrian refugees than any other country - more than 1.8 million according to recent UN figures.
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Jeremy Bowen, Mr Davutoglu called on the international community to do more to resolve the four-year conflict in Syria and denied that Turkey had helped so-called Islamic State and other extremist groups.
He criticised the five permanent members of the UN Security Council for failing to make a "strong decision" to stop the atrocities in Syria. (+ BBC video) » | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Asian man "considered that if these men touched his daughter, then this would dishonour her" according to reports
A young Asian woman drowned after her father allegedly prevented Dubai lifeguards from coming to the rescue because that would "dishonour" her, Emirati news media reported Monday.
Emirates 24/7 reported that Dubai police arrested the unnamed man.
When two lifeguards tried to help the drowning 20-year-old, her father "started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them", it reported. » | AFP | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Jeremy Corbyn moves a step to winning the backing of Vladimir Putin
THE TELEGRAPH: Fyodor Lukyanov, a key associate close to the Russian foreign ministry, says Russia would welcome a leader like Jeremy Corbyn after leftwinger suggests Britain should have closer ties with the country
Russia would welcome Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, a key associate linked to the Russian foreign ministry has said.
It comes after the leftwinger hinted that he would want to form a closer relationship between Britain and Russia.
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of the journal "Russia in Global Affairs" and considered very close to the Russian foreign ministry, said of Mr Corbyn: "I think Russia would certainly be pleased to see such a person as the head of either major party. But my intuition tells me it is not very likely."
He told the Kremlin-funded media outlet: "What is security? Is security the ability to bomb, maim, kill, destroy, or is security the ability to get on with other people and have some kind of respectful existence with them?"
The Russia Today presenter said that the last leader to oppose US policy was Harold Wilson, adding: "We know all about the smear tactics against him". » | Michael Wilkinson, Political Correspondent, and Roland Oliphant, Moscow Correspondent | Tuesday, August 11, 2015
A fascinating BBC documentary that portrays the deep hate between the various factions in the Muslim world and the cynical use of media to deliver hate and violence.
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon la presse, Silvio Berlusconi en aurait demandé 500 millions d'euros au prince saoudien Mohammed bin Nayef, héritier du trône d'Arabie saoudite.
La famille royale saoudienne pourrait racheter la luxueuse villa de 2.500 m2 de Silvio Berlusconi en Sardaigne, où l'ancien chef du gouvernement italien a reçu chefs d'Etat et demoiselles peu vêtues, selon les médias italiens.
La «villa Certosa» - une trentaine de chambres, un amphithéâtre, un volcan artificiel, sept piscines, une grotte semi-souterraine, des courts de tennis et un parc de 120 hectares composé de plantes et de fleurs rares - est située sur la Costa Smeralda, la partie «chic» de l'île sarde.
C'est dans cet immense domaine que, du temps où il dirigeait le gouvernement italien, le milliardaire recevait Tony Blair, George W. Bush ou Vladimir Poutine. Il y a aussi été photographié en compagnie de jeunes femmes aux seins nus. » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 10 août 2015
THE INDEPENDENT: Mr Le Pen says his daughter Marine is 'neither ethically nor politically' qualified to run for the presidency in 2017
The battle for the dark soul of the French far right intensified this weekend with an extraordinary personal attack by Jean-Marie Le Pen on his daughter, his successor as leader of the Front National.
Mr Le Pen – who faces expulsion from the party that he led for almost four decades – said his daughter Marine was “neither ethically nor politically” qualified to run for the presidency in 2017.
The far-right patriarch, 87, said he would refuse to vote for his daughter in two years’ time. He left open the possibility that he might lead a dissident far-right campaign in the south of France in regional elections in December.
Always partial to conspiracy theories, Mr Le Pen suggested that Marine Le Pen’s efforts to clean up the FN over the past four years might be the result of a plot concocted by Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right former president. » | John Lichfield | | Paris | Sunday, August 9, 2015
THE SPECTATOR: The Kremlin is tying itself in ideological knots as it tries to make new friends in the Muslim world
Homosexuality may not be tolerated in today’s Russia, nor political dissent. Polygamy, though, is a different matter. Ever since news broke this summer of a 57-year-old police chief in Chechnya bullying a 17-year-old local girl into becoming his second wife, Russian nationalists and Islamic leaders alike have been lining up to call for a man’s right to take more than one wife.
Most vocal has been Ramzan Kadyrov, the flamboyant 38-year-old president of Chechnya (part of the Russian Federation), who advocates polygamy as part of ‘traditional Muslim culture’. Veteran ultranationalist politician Vladimir Zhironovsky has long held that polygamy is the solution for ‘Russia’s 10 million unmarried women’. And even Senator Yelena Mizulina, one of the architects of Russia’s anti-gay laws, is sympathetic to the idea. ‘There are not enough men, the kind with whom women would want to start a family and have children,’ Mizulina told the Duma, calling a fellow lawmaker’s plans to make polygamy a criminal offence ‘absurd’. Read on and comment » | Owen Matthews | Saturday, August 8, 2015
Berlin is being overwhelmed by an influx of refugees... Police there have clashed with those who were let in, but weren't provided with a roof over their heads. RT's Lizzy Phelan reports on the growing refugee issue - which is now even involving the army
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Condamné mercredi dernier, l'ancien premier-ministre de Kadhafi, Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi, évoque ses conditions de détention. Et l’affaire Sarkozy.
C’est un homme amaigri et diminué. Vêtu de la combinaison bleue des prisonniers, Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi, l’ancien premier ministre de Mouamar Kadhafi, a perdu de sa splendeur passée. Nous l’avons rencontré mercredi dernier dans la prison où il est détenu, au lendemain de sa condamnation à mort.
«Je suis triste. Je trouve le verdict trop dur. Je ne mérite pas la peine de mort. Je n’ai pas compris comment le processus judiciaire a fonctionné», explique Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, qui semble apprécier le fait de pratiquer son anglais. » | De Maryline Dumas Tripoli | dimanche 2 août 2015
Series in which intrepid presenter Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route of Arabia across the amazing modern world of the Middle East. Kate's journey along the 2,000-mile trail that first connected the Arab world with the West takes her on a quest that's steeped in history, searing with desert heat, and full of characters and adventure. For 3,000 years before the birth of Christ, frankincense was more valuable than gold. Its sweet smelling aromatic smoke was treasured by Pharaohs and Caesars, and their insatiable demand for frankincense created a trade route from the southern coast of Oman to the Holy Lands. Vast camel caravans carried thousands of tonnes of frankincense over tribal lands - known today as Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Palestine. Following the trail across these seven nations, Kate finds modernity coexisting with ancient traditions as she discovers what it means to be a Western woman in Arabia.
THE WEEK: Saudi Arabia has spent billions promoting its extremist version of Islam. What has it wrought? Here's everything you need to know:
Why do the Saudis proselytize?
To combat the spread of Shiite Islam and ensure that the Islamic world is primarily Sunni. In recent years, the ancient Sunni-Shiite conflict in Iraq, Yemen, and throughout the Middle East has grown more overt, bitter, and violent. Now that Iran has agreed to rein in its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions, Riyadh fears a newly enriched Tehran will be more aggressive in spreading its Shiite doctrine and promoting Shiite-led revolutions. A trove of Saudi diplomatic documents covering 2010 to 2015, recently released by WikiLeaks, shows a Saudi obsession with Iranian actions and Iranian influence. Saudi government agencies monitor Iranian cultural and religious activities, and try to muzzle Shiite influence by shutting down or blocking access to Iranian-backed media. Saudi diplomats keep close tabs on Iranian involvement everywhere, from Tajikistan, which has strong historical Persian ties, to China, where the tiny, beleaguered Uighur population — which is Muslim — is growing more religious.
How do the Saudis promote their religious views?
By investing heavily in building mosques, madrasas, schools, and Sunni cultural centers across the Muslim world. Indian intelligence says that in India alone, from 2011 to 2013, some 25,000 Saudi clerics arrived bearing more than $250 million to build mosques and universities and hold seminars. "We are talking about thousands and thousands of activist organizations and preachers who are in the Saudi sphere of influence," said Usama Hasan, a researcher in Islamic studies. These institutions and clerics preach the specifically Saudi version of Sunni Islam, the extreme fundamentalist strain known as Wahhabism or Salafism. » | Staff | The Week | Saturday, August 8, 2015
Anjem Choudary arrives at Southwark Police Station, south London, answering his bail.
THE TELEGRAPH: Preacher Anjem Choudary claims David Cameron and police are the guilty ones as he faces charge of inviting support for Isil
Radical preacher Anjem Choudary launched a 20 minute court monologue protesting his innocence after being charged with a terror offence for the first time.
The controversial cleric said he would be pleading that David Cameron, the police and the courts are the guilty ones after being accused of inviting support for the terror group Isil.
The 48-year-old claimed his arrest and charge was a “political manoeuvre to silence Muslim voices” and insisted he would defend himself in court.
Choudary appeared before Westminster Magistrates along with co-accused Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 32.
The pair allegedly encouraged Muslims to obey the so-called Islamic State as a caliphate in online messages despite it being a banned terrorist organisation.
It is believed to be the first time Choudary has been charged with a terrorism offence. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Senator Schumer had previously defied the Obama administration, questioning the merit of forcing through the Affordable Care Act.
THE GUARDIAN: Spokesman Josh Earnest calls Democrat’s defiance on nuclear deal ‘not particularly surprising’ and says it may cost him party leadership in Senate
The White House fired a shot across the bows of New York senator Chuck Schumer on Friday for defying its position on Iran, warning that fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill may remember his voting record when deciding who to elect as their next leader.
Though Schumer’s announcement that he would vote in disapproval of the nuclear deal – which leaked mysteriously during the middle of the Republican debate on Thursday – is unlikely to derail the process, it represents an embarrassing rift with a senior Democrat who had once been one of Barack Obama’s staunchest allies.
Schumer is expected to take over as leader of the party’s caucus in the Senate when Harry Reid, currently the minority leader, steps down after the next presidential election. » | Dan Roberts in Washington | Friday, August 7, 2015
BBC AMERICA: The refugee crisis on the Greek islands of Kos, Chios and Lesbos is "total chaos", the UN refugee agency UNHCR says, with inadequate accommodation, water and sanitation.
Around 50,000 people arrived in Greece in July alone, the organisation says.
Greece's leader said the country was unable to cope, and called for EU help.
Separately, Italian police arrested five suspected traffickers over the deaths of about 200 people after a migrant boat sank on Wednesday.
They included two Libyans, two Algerians and a Tunisian, held on suspicion of multiple murder and people trafficking.
Survivors have said that traffickers used knives to slash the heads of African migrants and belts to thrash Arabs to keep them in the hull. (+ BBC videos) » | Friday, August 7, 2015
EPOCH TIMES: The heatwave in Cyprus has sent temperatures up to 57 degrees Celsius, so hot that steering wheels have started to melt.
People have also been advised in the 134 degree Fahrenheit weather not to leave newspapers or other documents on their car dashboards, for fear that they will burst in flames.
Even higher temperatures–63 Celsius, or 145 Fahrenheit–were reported in Nicosia, the capital of the island.
The U.K. Met Office issued a warning to British travelers in or headed to the region, noting that the heatwave is hitting different parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean. » | Zachary Stieber, Epoch Times | Friday, August 7, 2015
On her very first day as “Caitlyn,” the transgender Olympic champion, formerly known as Bruce, sits down with Buzz Bissinger. Vanity Fair’s short film reveals behind-the-scenes secrets at the magazine, including an interview with editor Graydon Carter on the making of one of the most historic magazine covers—and groundbreaking stories—of our time.
THE TELEGRAPH: Head of anti-assimilationist group declares churches have no place in Israel and says he "does not cry" over the death of Palestinian toddler in recent arson attack
Read the Telegraph article here | Robert Tait, Jerusalem, video by Quique Kierszenbaum | Friday, August 7, 2015
THE INDEPENDENT: Like 33 per cent of British Muslims do, I once supported the idea of a caliphate based upon sharia law. But the debate has now become polarised and poisonous
Anjem Choudary, Britain’s loudest Islamist extremist, has finally been remanded in custody, charged under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The charge is related to him sending messages to his 32,000 followers on Facebook, allegedly encouraging people to join Isis. His guilt or innocence is a matter for the courts. What concerns me here is his trajectory.
I first met Anjem in 1994, when I was 17 years old. We were both students of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), which was led in the UK back then by the Syrian firebrand cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad. HT is responsible for first popularising the notion of resurrecting a theocratic caliphate in Muslim-majority countries. At the time, I had been studying at Newham College and was eventually expelled due to my Islamist belligerence. Anjem volunteered as my lawyer, furnishing me with advice on my expulsion.
Later that year, HT organised an international caliphate conference at London’s Wembley Arena, the first and largest of its kind globally. As our fellow HT activists went up and down the country plastering eye-catching bright orange stickers pronouncing The Caliphate - Coming Soon to a Country Near You, Muslims were arriving from all over the world to behold Wembley stadium, packed with 10,000 people cheering in unison for the return of the Caliphate. Those were the days before Isis, even before al-Qaeda, when HT was the most extreme manifestation of this pernicious Islamist ideology in Britain. The British-Muslim scene would never be the same again. » | Maajid Nawaz | Friday, August 7, 2015
CITY JOURNAL: Progressives pretend not to understand the motives behind terrorist attacks.
President Obama’s longstanding refusal to say that the U.S. is at war with radical Islam was unaffected by the murder of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga. The president described the killer, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, as “a lone gunman,” while his secretary of defense, Ashton Carter, was apparently mystified by what he termed a “senseless act of violence.” Carter must have been aware of what the press was already reporting, that Abdulazeez had been blogging about radical Islam and showing other signs that his ultimate goal was jihad. Was the SecDef simply playing dumb, or was he following the example of a president who has sidestepped every opportunity to denounce radical Islam by name?
A clue to Obama’s reticence came last February when Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson revealed that the president had been asked by Muslim leaders in America to avoid linking Isis with Islam—presumably to prevent a violent Muslim sect from being associated with the religion in whose name it wages war. In April, however, with the al-Qaida massacre of 148 Kenyans who had been targeted for their Christian faith (Obama called it “terrorism”), this dubious excuse lost all credibility. Moreover, Muslim leaders in many countries have denounced radical Islam by name.
The Obama administration was temporizing on radical Islam long before Isis showed up. In 2009, the White House labeled the murder of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood by Nidal Malik Hasan—who shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he pulled the trigger—as “workplace violence.” When Congress asked Hillary Clinton about the attack in Benghazi, which happened on the anniversary of 9/11, the secretary of state played dumb. “Was it because of a protest,” she said, “or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans?” And so, in the shadow of Chattanooga, the question remains: why won’t Obama denounce radical Islam by name? Read on and comment » | Clark Whelton * | Thursday, August 6, 2015
* Clark Whelton was a speechwriter for New York City mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani.
Militant group seeks to establish stronghold in strategic location outside major city of Homs
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BEIRUT--Islamic State is holding dozens of Christians in the southeastern Syrian province of Homs, Syrian Orthodox community leaders said Friday, after seizing the town of Qaryatain as part of the militant group’s efforts to establish a stronghold outside the major city of Homs.
The seizing of Christians came as Islamic State entered the town of Qaryatain on Wednesday, after attacking Syrian regime checkpoints by detonating three suicide bombs, according to Islamic State media.
The precise number of Christians rounded up in the raid isn’t clear. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group, says over 230 were kidnapped, among them 60 Christians. Residents of nearby towns said the numbers kidnapped couldn’t be verified, and some of the victims may be staying in their homes under orders of Islamic State.
“We have no communication with them as land lines and mobile lines are being cut off,” said Bishop Philip Barakat, an Episcopal Vicar in Homs city, the capital of Homs province. » | Dana Ballout and Mohammad Nour Al Akraa | Friday, August 7, 2015
Mr Schumer joins a handful of Jewish Democrat Congress members who are against the deal
BBC AMERICA: Leading US Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has announced that he is breaking ranks with President Obama by opposing the Iran nuclear deal.
He said there was a very real risk that Iran would use the agreement to pursue what he called its nefarious goals rather than moderate its approach.
Mr Schumer is the first Democratic Party senator to take such a stand.
Correspondents say his move is a serious blow to the president as he urges Congress to back the deal. » | Friday, August 7, 2015
The US State Department blames the Syrian government for the rise of Islamic State. Meanwhile, America carries out bombings in Syria, launching strikes from a base in Turkey. Daniel McAdams, executive director of Ron Paul University shares his perspective
THE AUSTRALIAN: The federal government will not prevent Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders from visiting Australia to launch a new anti-Islamic political party.
The Australian Electoral Commission on Wednesday approved the registration of the Australian Liberty Alliance, which will launch in Perth on October 20 with Wilders as keynote speaker.
In its manifesto, the party says it stands for “individual liberty, small government, Western values built on Judeo-Christian and humanistic foundations, social fairness and an integrated multi-ethnic society”.
Islam, it says, “uses the religious element as a means to project itself on to non-Islamic societies”, and is unparalleled in having both the doctrinal aspiration and the “economic and demographic muscle to impose itself globally”. » | Monday, August 3, 2015
OTTAWA CITIZEN: Canadian converts to Islam risk social and religious isolation because of rejection by their families and disinterest from inhospitable mosque communities, a new groundbreaking study is revealing.
“Converts are disconnected from mosque communities usually because they are from a different ethnic background,” said Australian researcher Dr. Scott Flower during a weekend Ottawa workshop on conversion.
Mosques are initially warm and welcoming to converts because conversion is one of their duties, he said.
But the welcome can quickly wear out.
“Most mosques are Pakistani, Turkish, Saudi or whatever, and converts are not being accepted into those communities,” he said. “So they are outsiders. If they are not connecting to the mosque and they lose their families, they are doubly isolated.” » | Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen | Friday, July 26, 2015
BREITBART.COM: A new Islamic State propaganda video, believed to be the first filmed in the German language, has threatened the life of Angela Merkel and called on believers to attack Germany and Austria.
Germany’s Die Weltreports at least two of the Jihadists seen in the film – which includes pronouncements on Jihad and the execution of two prisoners with assault rifles – are European citizens. Abu Omar al-Almani, a German, and Austrian Mohamed Mahmoud both speak in the film, calling on Muslims living in either country to either travel to the Islamic State, or to wage holy war at home.
Calling on Muslims to become ‘lone wolf’ killers Mohamed Mahmoud, who was jailed for four years for terrorism offences in Germany but escaped to the Islamic world says: “My brothers and sisters, either you come here and join the Mujahideen, or you lead the jihad in Germany and Austria. You do not need much, just take a large knife and kill every unbeliever. They are like dogs!”. » | Oliver Lane | Thursday, August 6, 2015
THE GUARDIAN: Ten members of emergency services and three mosque workers killed when bomber detonated vest during noon prayers in Asir
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in a Saudi Arabian mosque that killed at least 13 people, including 10 members of a Saudi special forces unit, the latest in a spate of such attacks in the Gulf kingdom.
Isis said in a statement circulated on social media that it had targeted the men because they enabled the rule of Saudi Arabia’s monarchs and their western backers, and because they allegedly tortured Isis sympathisers.
The group pledged further attacks in the Arab world, and boasted of its ability to pierce Saudi security measures.
“We bring evil tidings to the Arab tyrants in the coming days, God willing,” the statement said. » | Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Thursday, August 6, 2015
President Barack Obama has warned that without the Iran nuclear deal, there will be another war in the Middle East. He said that those who voted for the War in Iraq are now opposing diplomacy with Iran
STRAITS TIMES: CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt’s affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group threatened Wednesday to execute a Croatian kidnapped in Cairo last month within 48 hours if Muslim women jailed in Egypt are not freed.
The man is the first foreigner to be abducted and threatened with death by militants in Egypt since an Islamist insurgency erupted two years ago.
In a video posted online by the militants, the Croatian identifies himself as Tomislav Salopek working for French company CGG, and appears kneeling at the feet of a hooded man holding a knife.
Reading from a sheet of paper, he says he will be executed within 48 hours if Egypt’s government fails to release Muslim women held in prisons.
Salopek, wearing an orange jumpsuit, did not say when the countdown began.
He said he was abducted on July 22 by the Sinai Province group, ISIS' Egyptian affiliate based in the Sinai Peninsula.
Formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the group changed its name when it pledged allegiance to ISIS in November. » | Wednesday, August 5, 2015
President Barack Obama spoke on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, speaking against the Iraq War and referencing former President John F. Kennedy, who spoke at the university in 1963.
THE GUARDIAN: Choudary, 48, and another man, Mohammed Rahman, 31, both facing charges of inviting support for proscribed organisation in lectures published online
Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with encouraging support for Islamic State, Scotland Yard has said.
Choudary, 48, of Ilford, faces a charge of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely Isis.
It is alleged he committed the offence between 29 June 2014 and 6 March 2015.
Another man, Mohammed Rahman, 31, faces the same charge.
Choudary will appear at Westminster magistrates court at 2pm on Wednesday.
It is alleged Choudary and Rahman publicised support for Islamic State (Isis) through lectures published online. » | Jamie Grierson and Shiv Malik | Wednesday, August 5, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Son of longtime dictator in undated video showing abuse of detainees in Tripoli prison, which human rights groups say raises questions over interrogation methods
Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has appeared in a video showing prisoner abuse inside a Libyan jail.
Throughout the nine-minute long video, the 42-year-old sits hunched and blindfolded as he listens to the screams of other detainees being beaten in a back room. At the end of the film, Mr Gaddafi’s jailers ask him if he would rather be beaten on his feet or on his buttocks.
“What kind of a question is this? My feet,” the dictator’s son responds. His legs are then strapped to a metal contraption, and he too is hit.
The video, published on Sunday by news site Clear News, appears to have been filmed inside the al-Hadba corrections facility in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Libya’s state prosecutor said on Monday that his office was seeking to identify the guards shown in the video. » | Louisa Loveluck | Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says the US must do more to combat Islamic State. 'We've let our guard down,' he said at a forum in New Hampshire, broadcast on C-SPAN, at which Republican presidential candidates tested their messages ahead of the first official debate on Thursday
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Eigentlich hatte König Salman drei Wochen an der Côte d'Azur entspannen wollen - doch nun ist Saudi-Arabiens Herrscher schon nach acht Tagen abgereist. 150.000 Menschen hatten zuvor eine Petition gegen die Sonderwünsche des Monarchen unterschrieben.
Die französische Mittelmeergemeinde Vallauris hatte alles unternommen, um dem betuchten Urlauber den Aufenthalt so angenehm wie möglich zu machen: Der etwa ein Kilometer lange Mirandole-Strand wurde für die Öffentlichkeit gesperrt, ein illegal errichteter Aufzug von der Villa zum Meer nachträglich genehmigt.
Drei Wochen wollte Saudi-Arabiens König Salman in seinem Anwesen an der Côte d'Azur verbringen. Doch nun ist der 79-Jährige schon nach acht Tagen abgereist und ins marokkanische Tanger weitergeflogen. … » | syd/AFP/Reuters | Montag, 3. August 2015
BT: A key confidant of US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told her David Cameron was "unsure, inexperienced, oblique and largely uncommitted" on foreign policy, it has been revealed.
A key confidant of US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told her David Cameron was "unsure, inexperienced, oblique and largely uncommitted" on foreign policy, it has been revealed.
The assessment came from Sidney Blumenthal in 2009, shortly before Mr Cameron became Prime Minister, and was contained in an email from a private system used by Mrs Clinton when she was US secretary of state.
Other messages describe London mayor Boris Johnson as "the Tory clown prince" and describe efforts by Gordon Brown and Ed Balls to prevent David Miliband from inheriting the Labour leadership as being "like the Tudors", The Times said. » | PA | Monday, August 3, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: A tide of religious fervour is swamping the Middle East, but there was an eery silence at Tehran University
The official outside Tehran University motioned towards me. “If he goes in, what is he going to report?” asked the elderly man in a stage whisper. “Hardly anybody is there: it’s almost empty.”
Friday Prayers at Tehran University is supposed to be one of Iran’s great set piece occasions. Every week, the authorities clear the city centre of traffic and lay on free buses to encourage the faithful to gather in a vast prayer hall beside the main campus.
As an added attraction, an A-list Ayatollah usually delivers a fire-breathing sermon. The previous week, the man on the dais had been Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader himself, who commended the faithful for their enthusiastic cries of “Marg bar Amrica”, or “Death to America”. Read on and comment » | David Blair | Saturday, August 1, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, call on countries across Europe and Africa to help solve the emergency caused by thousands of migrants congregating at their border
The British and French governments have warned that the world is facing a “global migration crisis”.
In a dramatic joint intervention, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and her French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, call on countries across Europe and Africa to help solve the emergency caused by thousands of migrants congregating at their border.
Writing in the Telegraph, they warn would-be immigrants planning to make the “desperate” journey in search of a better life that Britain’s streets “are not paved with gold”.
As a first step to make Britain less attractive, the Home Office announced plans to cut the weekly cash allowances that support thousands of failed asylum seekers with families.
The announcement came as figures showed the number of suspected illegal migrants detained in Britain has soared by almost a fifth since the Calais crisis erupted. » | Tim Ross, David Barrett, Colin Freeman in Calais and Robert Mendick | Saturday, August 1, 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran is enduring a "heat index" of nearly 72C while Iraq has called a public holiday due to the sweltering temperatures
Iran is buckling under the pressure of a massive heatwave passing across the Middle East, with temperatures soaring to nearly 70C.
Scorching heat levels of 50C have already paralysed nearby Iraq, where officials were forced to call a four day public holiday because it was too hot to work.
But the word "hot" has taken on an entirely new meaning in Iran's city of Bandar Mahshahr, where it was claimed that the city's heat index, or "feels-like temperature", was among the highest ever recorded.
The heat index was recorded by a group of astonished weather experts who predict the country could be enduring some of the hottest urban temperatures ever endured by mankind. » | James Rothwell | Saturday, August 1, 2015
A documentary about the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which could be criticised for being an uncritical hommage rather than a balanced view of her premiership. Most of the negative impacts caused by the fundamental changes she brought to Britain have been "elegantly" omitted, but her motives, her basic believes, her encouraging message and everything positive she stood for are beautifully summarised and one understands why despite her errors and some misjudgement she could be praised as a great and visionary politician who not only changed Britain for the better (on balance) but had an influence on the world like few other politicians can claim.
A Channel 4 documentary by Martin Durkin with contributions by Kenneth Baker, Cecil Parkinson, Neil Kinnock, Kelvin MacKenzie, Norman Tebbit, Bernard Ingham, Charles Powell, Nigel Lawson and David Cameron.
MARGARET THATCHER's acceptance speech for the Clare Boothe Luce Award by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, given on 9 December 2002. This was a particularly memorable and moving occasion since (as far as I know) it marked the penultimate speech the former Prime Minister ever gave in public, almost a year after being forced to retire from public speaking officially due to a series of strokes and her progressing dementia.
TAGES ANZEIGER: Brandanschläge, tätliche Angriffe, Anti-Asyl-Demos: In Deutschland hat die Gewalt gegen Flüchtlinge stark zugenommen. Die Karte zeigt, was wo geschah.
«Es ist nicht nur tragisch, sondern auch beschämend, wenn Menschen, die bei uns Schutz suchen, um ihr Leben fürchten müssen.» Dies sagt der deutsche Aussenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in einem heute veröffentlichten Interview.
Die deutschen Medien sind derzeit voll mit Berichten zum Thema Flüchtlinge. Im ersten Halbjahr 2015 sind in Deutschland doppelt so viele Asylanträge gestellt worden wie in der gleichen Periode im Vorjahr. Insgesamt werden im laufenden Jahr bis zu 400'000 Asylbewerber erwartet. Bundesländer und Gemeinden, die für deren Betreuung zuständig sind, haben Alarm geschlagen. Die Unterkünfte sind voll. Längst wird auf temporäre Lösungen wie Zeltstädte ausgewichen. » | Von Luca De Carli,
Redaktor Ausland | Donnerstag, 30. Juli 2015
THE TELEGRAPH: Talks over new rescue package are derailed after less than a week as IMF seeks explicit assurances over debt relief from the Europeans
Talks over an €86bn bail-out for Greece have been thrown into turmoil after just four days as the International Monetary Fund said it would have no involvement in the country until it receives explicit assurances over debt sustainability.
An IMF official said the fund would withhold financial support unless it has guarantees Greece can carry out a "comprehensive" set of reforms and will be the beneficiary of debt relief from its European creditors.
The comments came after the IMF's executive board was told that the institution could no longer continue pumping more money into the debtor nation, according to a leaked document seen by the Financial Times.
The Washington-based Fund has been torn over its involvement in Greece - its largest ever recipient country.
The world's "lender of last resort' said it would continue talks with its creditor partners and the Leftist government of Athens, but made it clear the onus of keeping Greece in the eurozone now fell on Europe's reluctant member states.
"There is a need for difficult decisions on both sides... difficult decisions in Greece regarding reforms, and difficult decisions among Greece's European partners about debt relief," said the official.
"One should not be under the illusion that one side of it can fix the problem." » | Mehreen Khan | Thursday, July 30, 2015
EXPRESS: SIX people were stabbed during a Gay Pride march in Jerusalem today with the suspect named as someone jailed ten years ago for attacking homosexuals.
A woman was reportedly left in a critical condition and a man is believed to have been left in a serious condition after the stabbing in Israel.
A police spokesperson identified the arrested suspect as Yishai Schlissel who had stabbed three people at the parade in 2005.
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was sentenced to 12 years for the attack and released from prison three weeks ago.
About 5,000 people were celebrating the event and marching along an avenue when a man jumped into the crowd, apparently from a supermarket, and plunged a knife into some of the participants. » | Jake Burman | Thursday, July 30, 2015
Ynon Reuveni (R) and Yehuda Assraf are seen at Nazareth Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem
THE TELEGRAPH: Described by authorities as Jewish extremists, the two men are accused of torching part of a church at the site where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes
The June 18 arson attack followed more than 40 suspected hate crimes committed against churches, mosques and monasteries in Israel and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2009, with only a handful of indictments handed down.
In a statement, Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, identified the two suspects, aged 19 and 20 and wearing Jewish skullcaps in court, as followers of an "extremist ideology" that believes that "only someone who fights Christianity ... can call himself a Jew". » | Reuters | Wednesday, July 29, 2015
THE NEW YORK TIMES: ISTANBUL — On June 29, Turkey’s 12th Gay Pride Parade was held on Istanbul’s crowded Istiklal Avenue. Thousands marched joyfully carrying rainbow flags until the police began dispersing them with water cannons. The authorities, as has become their custom since the Gezi Park protests of June 2013, once again decided not to allow a demonstration by secular Turks who don’t fit into their vision of the ideal citizen.
More worrying news came a week later when posters were put up in Ankara with a chilling instruction: “If you see those carrying out the People of Lot’s dirty work, kill the doer and the done!” The “People of Lot” was a religious reference to gays, and the instruction to kill them on sight was attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The group that put the posters up, the so-called Islamic Defense Youth, defended its message by asserting: “What? Are you offended by the words of our prophet?!”
All of this suggests that both Turkey and the Muslim world need to engage in some soul-searching when it comes to tolerance for their gay compatriots. » | Mustafa Akyol | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Mustafa Akyol is the author of “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty.”
BBC AMERICA: A 23-year-old man has been charged with planning to detonate a backpack bomb on a Florida beach, US officials say.
The US justice department said Harlem Suarez, also known as Almlak Benitez, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
He allegedly planned to bury a bomb containing nails at a beach in Key West and detonate it with a mobile phone.
Prosecutors claim he was inspired by the Islamic State militant group, which has called for attacks on the West.
According to the FBI, Suarez recorded a video in May in which he said: "We will destroy America and divide it into two. We will raise our black flag on top of your White House and any president on duty." » | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
DUTCH NEWS: The public prosecution department in Austria has launched an investigation into a speech made by Dutch anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders in Vienna, according to a report by local newspaper Kurier.
Wilders made the speech in March to members of the Austrian far-right party FPÖ. In the speech, he compared the Koran to Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and said Europe is at war with Islam.
The department is investigating Wilders for incitement following complaints from a local Muslim organisation, ut broke the law banning the propagation of nazi ideology. » | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in a courtroom in Zintan, Libya
THE TELEGRAPH: Son of former dictator Col Gaddafi and security chief Abdullah Senussi found guilty of war crimes
The British-educated son of Col Muammar Gaddafi has been sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in war-torn Libya.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the debonair friend of Lord Mandelson and other European notables who returned to his father's side during the 2011 revolution, was found guilty of war crimes by a court in the capital Tripoli.
He had appeared at hearings by video-link, as he was captured - in late 2011 - by a militia from the town of Zintan, which is fighting Tripoli-based brigades in the country's civil war.
Also sentenced to death were Col Gaddafi's notorious security chief and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi, accused by some of masterminding the Lockerbie bombing, and his prime minister, Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. They appeared in person, having been extradited before security collapsed in Libya from neighbouring countries. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
THE INDEPENDENT: Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims
French social networks exploded with anger after a young woman was reportedly beaten up by a gang of girls and young women for wearing a bikini in a park.
Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims. » | John Lichfield | Sunday, July 26, 2015
US president Barack Obama joins in the Lipala during a dinner at Nairobi's State House. The Lipala is a traditional dance which was updated by popular Kenyan band Sauti Sol earlier this year, becoming a dancehall hit. The band posted the footage online after playing the track as the entire top table including Obama, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, first lady Margaret Kenyatta and US national security adviser Susan Rice danced
JIHAD WATCH: “This requires everyone to intensify efforts to criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship.” What is wrong with this? Who wants to insult “heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship,” anyway?
One problem with it, among many, is that at a time when hatred and violence are being preached and perpetrated in the name of a “heavenly religion” and justified by reference to a “holy book,” to criminalize criticism of such things would be tantamount to muzzling all resistance to that hatred and violence. And that may be precisely the agenda.
“Criminalize vilification of religious symbols, says Saudi official,” Saudi Gazette, July 26, 2015: » | Robert Spencer | Sunday, July 26, 2015
