Egypt shows its commitment to freedom of expression

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has banned editions of two French and German newspapers, Le Figaro and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, because of articles deemed insulting to Islam, the state news agency MENA said on Sunday.

Under a decree issued by Information Minister Anas el-Feki, the two editions will not be able to enter the country, it said.

"They published articles which disparaged Islam and claimed that the Islamic religion was spread by the sword and that the Prophet ... was the prophet of evil," it added. Egypt bans European papers for comments on Islam

Mark Alexander

Bibi Netanyahu says Iran president more dangerous than Hitler

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Likud chairman tells international counter terrorism conference ‘Hitler went out on global campaign first, and then tried to get nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to get nuclear arms first - therefore it is much more dangerous’

Knesset member Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be more dangerous than Adolf Hitler.

Speaking at the sixth International Counter Terrorism Conference, organized by the Interdisciplinary Center's (IDC) Institute for Counter Terrorism, Netanyahu told the audience: "Al-Qaeda can't develop nuclear weapons, while the militant Shiite movement is galloping forward towards developing nuclear terror."

He added: "Hitler went out on a world campaign first, and then tried to get nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to get nuclear arms first. Therefore from that perspective, it is much more dangerous."

Netanyahu said he was not downplaying the Holocaust. "Hitler was defeated because he could not develop weapons of mass destruction. But Iran stands close to developing nuclear weapons. Does the world understand? In Europe, where I returned from, there are glimpses of understanding," he said. Bibi: Iran president more dangerous than Hitler by Yaakov Lappin

Mark Alexander

Bravo! At last a politician with courage! Aznar rises to the challenge of Islam

Photo courtesy of Google Images

MOROCCO TIMES: Spain Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has criticized Muslim demands for pope's apology for his remarks about Islam, suggesting that the Islamic world did not apologize for the 800-year Moorish occupation of Spain.

Aznar has said that when he has heard Pope Benedict XVI being asked to apologise for a speech about the Islamic faith he made in Germany last weekend, he has not heard "any Muslims apologising to me for conquering Spain and staying for eight centuries."

Speaking Friday at the Hudson Institute, a thinktank in Washington D.C, Aznar found the UN programme to encourage dialogue between Muslim and Western countries “stupid”, because according to him some Muslim countries like Iran are too radical to deal with. Pope's comments on Islam: Aznar criticizes Muslims' demand for Pope's apology

Aznar defends Pope's remarks on Islam

Mark Alexander

So Barroso: Der Papst hat das Recht zu sagen, was er will

WELT AM SONNTAG: EU-Kommissionspräsident José Manuel Durão Barroso beklagt gegenüber WELT.de den mangelnden Mut der europäischen Politiker, für Meinungsfreiheit einzutreten und Benedikt XVI. gegen die Angriffe von Extremisten zu verteidigen.

Mit Deutschland verbindet José Manuel Durão Barroso eine ungewöhnliche Leidenschaft: die deutsche Juristensprache. Sie sei logisch und präzise, schwärmt der Chef der Europäischen Kommission bei seinem Gespräch mit der "Welt am Sonntag". Und sie ist der Grund dafür, dass der 50-jährige Portugiese sehr gut deutsch spricht: Er hat es für sein Jurastudium gelernt.

WELT.de: Eine der größten Herausforderung Europas ist der islamische Fundamentalismus. War die Reaktion auf den Streit um die Papst-Äußerungen angemessen?

José Manuel Barroso: Den Papst anzugreifen, weil er sich in seiner Rede auf ein historisches Dokument bezog, ist völlig inakzeptabel. Ich war enttäuscht, dass es nicht mehr europäische Führer gab, die sagten: Natürlich hat der Papst das Recht, seine Ansichten zum Ausdruck zu bringen. Das Problem sind nicht seine Äußerungen, sondern die Reaktionen der Extremisten.

WELT.de: Warum waren da viele europäische Politiker so zurückhaltend?

José Manuel Barroso: Vielleicht, weil es Besorgnis über eine mögliche Konfrontation gibt. Und manchmal eine Art politische Korrektheit: Dass man nur dann tolerant ist, wenn man die Meinung der anderen über die eigene stellt. Ich setze mich sehr für Toleranz ein, aber wir müssen für unsere Werte einstehen. "Der Papst darf sagen, was er will"

Mark Alexander

Swiss get tough on immigration

BBC: Swiss voters have backed plans to make it harder for asylum-seekers to get into the country, projections indicate.

The government says the new legislation will reduce abuse of the asylum system, but the UN says it could lead to breaches of refugees' rights.

The laws would require asylum-seekers to have valid identity papers.

They would also cut welfare payments to those whose applications are rejected, and introduce up to two years detention for those awaiting deportation. Swiss 'back tighter asylum laws'

Mark Alexander

Cat digs his claws in the Pope

KHALEEJ TIMES: LONDON, England - Yusuf Islam, the British singer known as Cat Stevens before his conversion to Islam, on Sunday added to the criticism of Pope Benedict XVI’s recent remarks about the religion.

Islam, known for his 1970s hits including “Father And Son” and ”Wild World”, said that the pope quoting from a medieval text, which attacks some of the Prophet Mohammed’s teachings as “evil and inhuman” showed the pontiff was not infallible.

Roman Catholic theology says that the pope cannot err in teachings on faith or morals.

In an interview with BBC television, Islam said that he went to a Catholic school, “so at one point I used to believe that the Pope was infallible”.

But he added that the pope’s comments on Islam showed he was fallible Cat Stevens criticizes pope over Islam comments

Mark Alexander

Dowling no darling of the people of Nottingham

A new cemetery is to have all its graves aligned with Mecca - making it the first council graveyard in the country to bury the dead in Islamic tradition, regardless of their religion.

Headstones in the new £2.5million High Wood Cemetery in Nottingham will face north-east - as Muslims believe the dead look over their shoulder towards Mecca. This is the way in which all followers of Islam in the UK are buried.

But the move has upset the Church and led to complaints that the policy discriminates against the city's majority Christian population. The traditional direction of burial for Christians is facing east. The council cemetery where Christians are given Muslim graves by JO KNOWSLEY

Mark Alexander

The Coronation of 'Charles the Multiculturalist'
Isn't this something the people should say a firm 'NO' to? Shouldn't the voice of the people be heard in a true democracy? Must the people be ignored in this arrogant way? Or is our 'democracy' a sham? Don't these people realize that this would send the very WRONG message at this delicate time, when Islam is flexing its muscles here in the UK and throughout the world? Are the 'powers that be' clueless?

Photo courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph

"We should not pander to political correctness," she said. "There is no way that other faiths should be involved in the service. This is a Christian country and so the coronation service must remain exclusively Christian and we should not apologise for that." - Alison Ruoff, a member of the General Synod, the church's parliament

The coronation of the Prince of Wales will be a "multi-faith" event.

Prayers and readings from other denominations and religions, including from the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish faiths, are expected to be included in the ceremonies marking Prince Charles's accession to the throne.

Canon John Hall, the Dean-elect of Westminster Abbey, said that the traditional Church of England coronation service must be revised to reflect society's changes since the Queen's coronation in 1953. As dean, he will be on the committee responsible for drawing up the service.

"The coronation service needs to find the right way of including people of other faiths," Canon Hall told The Sunday Telegraph. "It must be different in some ways because of the nature of society and how things have changed." Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Jewis: multi-faith coronation for Charles by Jonathan Wynne-Jones

Mark Alexander

The Pope's Lecture at Regensburg University

THE VATICAN:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologos (1350-1425)

LECTURE OF THE HOLY FATHER: Faith, Reason and the University Memories and Reflections

"Zeig mir doch, was Mohammed Neues gebracht hat und da wirst du nur Schlechtes und Inhumanes finden wie dies, dass er vorgeschrieben hat, den Glauben, den er predigte, durch das Schwert zu verbreiten." - byzantinische Kaiser Manuel II. Palaeologos (1350-1425)

ANSPRACHE VON BENEDIKT XVI: Glaube, Vernunft und Universität. Erinnerungen und Reflexionen

"Montre-moi donc ce que Mahomet a apporté de nouveau. Tu ne trouveras que des choses mauvaises et inhumaines, comme le droit de défendre par l'épée la foi qu'il prêchait." - l'empereur byzantin Manuel II Paléologue (1350-1425)

DISCOURS DU SAINT-PÈRE: Foi, Raison et Université: souvenirs et réflexions

"Mostrami pure ciò che Maometto ha portato di nuovo, e vi troverai soltanto delle cose cattive e disumane, come la sua direttiva di diffondere per mezzo della spada la fede che egli predicava." - imperatore bizantino Manuele II Paleologo (1350-1425)

DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE: Fede, ragione e università. Ricordi e riflessioni.

"Muéstrame también lo que Mahoma ha traído de nuevo, y encontrarás solamente cosas malas e inhumanas, como su directriz de difundir por medio de la espada la fe que predicaba." - emperador bizantino Manuel II Paleólogo (1350-1425)

DISCURSO DEL SANTO PADRE: Fe, razón y universidad. Recuerdos y reflexiones

Mark Alexander

Ist Bin Laden tot?
There are unconfirmed reports emanating from the French secret service that bin Laden died last month in Pakistan from typhoid. The Saudi secret service is said to be convinced of the truth of the reports.

NZZ: Bericht des französischen Geheimdienstes nicht bestätigt

Al-Kaida-Chef Usama bin Laden soll im vergangenen Monat in Pakistan an Typhus gestorben sein. Die französische Regionalzeitung «L'Est Republicain» druckte am Samstag einen vertraulichen Bericht des französischen Geheimdienstes ab. Danach soll Saudiarabien vom Tod bin Ladins überzeugt sein. Frankreich bestätigte den Bericht nicht. Bin Laden an Typhus gestorben?

Chirac weist Bericht über Tod bin Ladens zurück

Les services secrets saoudiens auraient acquis la conviction que le fondateur d'Al-Qaïda est mort.

Si elle était prochainement confirmée, l'information tomberait à pic pour le président américain Georges Bush fortement malmené par les sondages à moins de deux mois des élections.

L'information que nous révélons aujourd'hui résulte d'une note de renseignement classifiée « confidentiel défense » émanant de la Direction générale des services extérieurs (DGSE). Les services secrets français l'ont transmise jeudi 21 septembre au Président de la république, au Premier ministre, au ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Défense. Nous vous en livrons le contenu in-extenso.

« Selon une source habituellement fiable, les services saoudiens auraient désormais acquis la conviction qu'Oussama Ben Laden est mort. Les éléments recueillis par les saoudiens indiquent que le chef d'Al-Qaïda aurait été victime, alors qu'il se trouvait au Pakistan le 23 août 2006, d'une très forte crise de typhoïde ayant entraîné une paralysie partielle de ses membres inférieurs. Son isolement géographique, provoqué par une fuite permanente, aurait rendu impossible toute assistance médicale. Le 4 septembre 2006, les services saoudiens de sécurité ont recueilli les premiers renseignements faisant état de son décès. Ils attendraient, d'obtenir davantage de détails, et notamment le lieu exact de son inhumation, pour annoncer officiellement la nouvelle ». Oussama Ben Laden serait mort

Mark Alexander

The low-down on Muslim moderates

ISRAEL INSIDER: President Bush spoke yesterday at the united Nations. And in his speech, he lauded Iran for its contributions to society.

He also spoke of America's fondness for the Iranian people, making certain to separate the people from the government.

He said a lot of nice and conciliatory things about Iran, which I won't bother writing, because they are essentially not true.

Iran is a TERRORIST state which TERRORIZES its neighbors and the entire world.

Iran is a total Theocracy which treats women with no more or less respect than we in the West treat our pets. The truth about Moslem moderates by Howard Galganov

Mark Alexander

Words of Wisdom

MELANIE PHILLIPS: "If we are ever to defeat the global jihad against free societies, it is vital to tell that truth — that it is the West that is under attack. It is in that context that the Pope’s remarks must be seen — defending Christianity and western civilisation from an onslaught that has not just snuffed out many innocent lives, but seeks to snuff out freedom and truth itself."- Melanie Phillips The jihad against the Pope

Mark Alexander

Islamic "scholars" make unreasonable demands after Pope's lecture on reason and faith

IRNA: About 1,000 religious scholars at a convention organised by the Jamaat ud-Dawa at its headquarters here on Thursday demanded the removal of Pope Benedict XVI for making insulting remarks against Islam, and warned the West of severe onsequences if it didn't change its stance regarding Islam.

According to" The News",The pope should be removed from his position immediately for encouraging war and fanning hostility between various faiths and making insulting remarks against Islam, said a joint statement issued by the scholars at the end of their one-day convention.

The Pope should know that no Muslim, under any circumstances, can tolerate an insult to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).... If the West does not change its stance regarding Islam, it will face severe consequences,it said. 1,000 religious scholars demand Pope's removal

Mark Alexander

"If you wish to stay, then behave yourselves"

THE TELEGRAPH: One of the marks of our humaneness as a people is that we long ago stopped using the mentally ill as objects of entertainment and derision. We should, however, be thankful that this rule was breached by the BBC on yesterday's Today programme on Radio 4.

In a superb interview, John Humphrys questioned the so-called Islamic radical Abu Izzadeen (né Trevor Brooks, but chacun à son gout, as we say in Essex) about why he had angrily shouted down the Home Secretary, John Reid, during a speech Mr Reid made in east London on Wednesday. Among other insanities and absurdities, Trev said the following things: that Tony Blair is a tyrant, that he and George Bush are on a crusade against the whole of Islam, and that he wants sharia law imposed on this country. Trev would be risible were he not so nasty by Simon Heffer

Mark Alexander

Time for the West to Stop the Apologies

WASHINGTON POST: Already, angry Palestinian militants have assaulted seven West Bank and Gaza churches, destroying two of them. In Somalia, gunmen shot dead an elderly Italian nun. Radical clerics from Qatar to Qom have called, variously, for a "day of anger" or for worshipers to "hunt down" the pope and his followers. From Turkey to Malaysia, Muslim politicians have condemned the pope and called his apology "insufficient." And all of this because Benedict XVI, speaking at the University of Regensburg, quoted a Byzantine emperor who, more than 600 years ago, called Islam a faith "spread by the sword." We've been here before, of course. Similar protests were sparked last winter by cartoon portrayals of Muhammad in the Danish press. Similar apologies resulted, though Benedict's is more surprising than those of the Danish government. No one, apparently, can remember any pope, not even the media-friendly John Paul II, apologizing for anything in such specific terms: not for the Inquisition, not for the persecution of Galileo and certainly not for a single comment made to an academic audience in an unimportant German city. Enough Apologies by Anne Applebaum

Mark Alexander

Do Muslims have nothing better to do than demonstrate?
There are reports from around the world that Muslims have been protesting again in a "day of rage" about the words of the Pope. One cannot help but wonder whether these rabid people have nothing better to do with their time than create trouble and mayhem. Little wonder that they have accomplished little in the past five hundred years!

©Mark Alexander

Spain's cries for help fall on deaf ears

BBC: EU ministers have expressed sharp differences over how to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants to Europe.

At talks in Finland, Spain's justice minister called for help to deal with the surge of mainly African migrants arriving in Spain's Canary Islands.

But Germany's interior minister said Madrid should not be calling for other people's money. EU nations clash over immigration

Mark Alexander

Pope wants to meet Muslims

POPE EXPLAINS

Mark Alexander

Rally held by Hassan Nasrullah

WATCH THE RALLY IN THE LEBANON HERE

Mark Alexander

Torture 'on the rise' in Turkey

BBC: An EU delegation on a fact-finding mission to Turkey has reported a "worrying" increase in allegations of torture and abuse in the country.

The European Parliament's human rights committee members focused mainly on the Kurdish south-east of the country.

They said they had heard reports of a resurgence of torture, abductions and beatings by security forces. Turkey abuse claims 'on the rise'

Mark Alexander