THE GLOBE AND MAIL: TEHRAN — Iran's Culture Ministry on Thursday dismissed criticism of its competition of cartoons on the Holocaust and lauded it as an expression of hatred against oppressors, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry, echoing widespread international condemnation, deplored that Tehran had joined the “obscene chorus” of denial.Mark Alexander
Iran awarded a Moroccan artist late Wednesday the top prize in an exhibition of cartoons against the Holocaust, saying it wanted to emphasize that Palestinians were the indirect victims of the Nazi's killing of six million Jews in Europe during the Second World War.
“Palestinians have been victim of a deceptive history by Zionists,” Iran's Culture Minister Hossein Saffar Harandi was quoted as saying by the Kayhan conservative daily on Thursday.
“The cartoonists expressed their hate against oppressors and their love toward [Palestinian] victims in their works,” the Culture Minister said.
Israel, where many Holocaust survivors immigrated to, expressed its dismay at such hatred. Iran dismisses criticism of Holocaust cartoon contest by NASSER KARIMI
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: UK Muslims should obey British law as well as accepting the obligations of citizenship, the former president of Iran has urged.Mark Alexander
Mohammad Khatami, during a three-day visit to Britain, told BBC News the UK was right to fear radicalism.
But it had added to the problem by getting involved in Iraq, he said. Obey UK law, Iran ex-leader urges
BBC: The former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, has branded US attempts to impose Western-style democracy in the Middle East as "a great joke".
Mr Khatami was critical of the US-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he said had led to more Muslims supporting al-Qaeda.
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, Mr Khatami, said he was committed to fighting extremism around the world. Khatami labels US policy 'a joke'
Audio Interview: Khatami: US policy is a joke
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
ZAMAN ONLINE: Following the cartoon crisis and Pope Benedict XVI’s offensive remarks on Islam, many European state-owned TV channels have launched new initiatives to disseminate more information on Islam.Mark Alexander
Inspired by the TV programs on Islam broadcast by state-sponsored TV channels in France, the Netherlands and Denmark, Germany and Belgium are also now considering starting programs of the same kind.
The lack of accurate information on Muslims, which became clearer following the cartoon crisis, and the pope’s contentious remarks, has led some European countries to introduce TV programs on Islam and its fundamental precepts. It is already expected that the Islamic programs, which will be prepared in the native language of the country, will contribute to social cohabitation. European Television Hosts more Programs on Islam
This award to the former President of Iran disgraces Scotland’s oldest universityMark Alexander
THE TIMES: WE MUST thank the University of St Andrews for that rare opportunity — the chance to employ with a straight face the cliché “it’s like Caligula appointing his horse as consul”. How so? Because Scotland’s oldest university has decided to award an honorary doctorate of law to former President Khatami of Iran “in recognition of his efforts to encourage interfaith dialogue”.
I kid you not. No less a person than Sir Menzies Campbell, the university’s Chancellor, will bestow the accolade on the acceptable face of violent, arbitrary clerical rule. It will come to be seen as one of the most shameful days in the university’s history — on a par with the honorary degrees granted by the University of Edinburgh to Robert Mugabe, of Zimbabwe, or the Central London Polytechnic to Elena Ceaucescu, of Romania. They, too, were once fashionable items among the appeasing classes, of which Sir Menzies is the contemporary personification. The dishonouring of St Andrews by Dean Godson
THE SUNDAY TIMES: STUDENT leaders are organising a mass protest over St Andrews University’s decision to award an honorary degree to a former Iranian president who praised Hezbollah.
Muhammad Khatami is to be made an honorary doctor of laws by Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader who is also the university’s chancellor.
Khatami will open the university’s Institute for Iranian Studies, which will house 12,000 books donated by Sadegh Kharazi, Iran’s former ambassador to France. The collection of Iranian texts, the largest of its kind in Europe, is estimated to be worth more than £100,000. Fury as St Andrews honours Hezbollah backer by Mark Macaskill and Abul Taher
BBC: The former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, has begun a visit to the UK by calling for dialogue between civilisations to prevent religious wars. He is the most senior Iranian figure to visit the UK since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Mixed reception for Iran's ex-president
BLOOMBERG: London Police have concluded there is insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal investigation against Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami, after two exiled Iranians said they were tortured by his government.
The Metropolitan Police service received a letter last week referring to alleged acts of torture in the Islamic Republic in 1999. Torture committed anywhere in the world is a criminal offence under British law, according to section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act. London Police Dismiss Accusations Against Iran's Khatami by Caroline Alexander
BBC: A court in the Turkish city of Istanbul has acquitted a 92-year-old academic of charges of insulting Muslim women and inciting religious hatred.Mark Alexander
Archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig was prosecuted over a book in which she linked the wearing of headscarves with ancient Sumerian sexual rites. Turkey court clears archaeologist
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: According to the latest polls, by spring 2007 the president of France could well be Nicolas Sarkozy, the man who The Washington Post described as “not your everyday French politician.” For a start, the current French Interior Minister and leader of the UMP conservative party is pro-American. He understands that the war on terrorism is the world’s fight and not one America should have to bear alone. He grasps the nature of the threat facing Continental Europe from Muslim extremism and favors fighting terrorism head-on and without apology. His worldview is not one that ends in the Michelin-starred restaurants of Paris. Further, he is vocally enthusiastic about the Anglo-Saxon economic model and keen to shake up the statist, government-centered French economy with a hefty dose of innovation and entrepreneurialism. So if Nicolas Sarkozy does become president next year, what exactly will it mean for U.S. interests? Regime Change in Paris: How Nicolas Sarkozy Could Reinvigorate U.S.-French Relations by Sally McNamaraMark Alexander
Monday, October 30, 2006
THE TELEGRAPH: Riot police reinforcements were deployed in Marseille last night after the latest outbreak of urban violence in France left a young woman in a critical condition with life-threatening burns.Mark Alexander
President Jacques Chirac expressed his horror at the attack hours after the 26-year-old woman and three others were ambushed by rioting teenagers while travelling on a bus in the southern port city.
The assailants – said by some witnesses to be as young as 15 – forced the vehicle's doors open, spilled flammable liquid inside, and set it alight.
There were similar attacks in major cities across the country at the weekend, just hours after the passing of the anniversary of the rioting and car-burning that brought terror to urban areas last year. Chirac's horror as woman burnt in riot
La violence tourne au drame à Marseille
In Marseille haben die Anschläge eine neue Dimension erreicht
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives under a death threat for daring to challenge the Islamic patriarchy and says the West must support women like her if it wants to spread freedomMark Alexander
Ideas can be dangerous. I have learnt that the hard way. But I know that when it comes to freedom and human rights these precious ideas, so valued in the West, are worth fighting for. As a young Muslim woman, born in Somalia, I abandoned my family to avoid an arranged marriage to a distant cousin and fled to Holland. I was just 23 and I had no idea back then that my refusal to submit to a traditional Muslim woman’s life would come to dominate my whole career.
So for me, the debate that is raging about the veil, particularly the niqab, which covers most of the woman’s face save for the eyes, goes to the very heart of the matter of liberty for Islamic women. Not just freedom for its own sake, but from a life of repression, subordination and violence.
Muslim women are the key to change
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Five years have now passed since 9/11, but we are no closer now to winning the “War on Terror” than we were on day one after the ruthless and cruel tragedy on that sunny September day in New York.
There are some very good reasons for this. One of them is the determination of Western leaders not to identify and name the enemy. Without identifying and naming the enemy - Islam in this case - then no significant achievements can be made in the war in which we are engaged.
With each passing day, we are able to read stories of appeasement of the enemy. Indeed, our political élite is going out of its way to make Muslims feel at home in the West, out of its way to make excuses for Muslims, out of its way to apologize for Muslims, out of its way to inform the electorate that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’ and love. In fact, President Bush bends over backwards to appease Muslims in America and throughout the world. Just look at the Iftaar banquets held in the White House for prominent Muslims in the States and from throughout the Islamic world. And read the statements that Bush has recently made on the occasions of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr:
"I send greetings to the many Muslims observing Ramadan in America and around the world.Then there’s this message sent to Muslims on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr:
Ramadan is the holiest time of the Muslim year and an important holiday when Muslims take time for prayer, fasting, and personal sacrifice. According to Islamic teachings, this month represents when God delivered His word to the prophet Muhammad in the form of the Qur'an. Ramadan is also an opportunity to gather with friends and family and show thanks for God's blessings through works of charity.
Ramadan and the upcoming holiday seasons are a good time to remember the common values that bind us together. Our society is enriched by our Muslim citizens whose commitment to faith reminds us of the gift of religious freedom in our country.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak." - GEORGE W. BUSH
October 20, 2006By now, it should be becoming increasingly obvious to all thinking people that there is something going on behind the scenes. There is more to this than meets the eye. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Western leaders are in cahoots with Muslims, especially Gulf Arabs who have the petrodollars which Western governments are so determined to get back into Western economies, and perhaps also into their pockets!
"I send greetings to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
Islam is a great faith that has transcended racial and ethnic divisions and brought hope and comfort to many people. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims have fasted to focus their minds on faith and to direct their hearts to charity. Eid al-Fitr marks the completion of this holy month with the Festival of Breaking the Fast. During this joyous celebration, Muslims thank God for his guidance and blessings by gathering with family and friends, sharing traditional foods, and showing compassion to those in need.
America is strengthened by the countless contributions of our Muslim citizens, and we value our ties with Muslim nations throughout the world. For people of all faiths, Eid al-Fitr is an opportunity to reflect on the values we share and the friendships that bind all who trace their faith back to God's call to Abraham.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a joyous Eid and for health, happiness, and prosperity in the year ahead. Eid Mubarak.
GEORGE W. BUSH"
For those petrodollars, there are no limits to the depths to which our leaders will sink. No price is too high for the likes of Blair and Bush. The Saudi royal family have become like ‘brothers’ to them. The money must be rolling in!
Only today, I read on Jihad Watch that Georgetown University is in receipt of $20 million from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Muslims, especially rich ones, are buying influence everywhere in the West.
Then we have CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, backing Keith Ellison as a Democratic representative who could well become the first Muslim in Congress. The backing money for the funding can surely also be traced back to Saudi Arabia. And so it goes on, both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
I think we are deluding ourselves if we continue to think that this problem is one merely of ignorance on the part of our political representatives. It must be obvious to all of us by now that there is something quite sinister going on at the top! As I have said so many times before, rich Muslim Arabs are buying up our businesses, and they are funding Islamic schools and Islamic propagation centres too. In addition, tens of millions of dollars are being spent on proseltyzing literature for the purpose of daw’ah.
This, it would now seem, is not a problem of ignorance; rather, it is a problem of the enormous amounts of money changing hands at the very top of our societies. Isn’t it true to say that too many people at the top of Western political and business life are making far too much money from rich Muslim Arabs even to contemplate changing course?
Depressing as it is to think about this, it must be faced. I stated in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, that régime change in Saudi Arabia might be a blessing in disguise for the West. I stand firm behind my idea.
The way things are going with the powers that be here in the West, and the way that the House of Saud has successfully bought influence in the States and the United Kingdom, and in many other Western countries besides, then it is difficult to see how, in the long term, Western civilization can survive. This is an onslaught of colossal proportions. Our leaders are certainly not going to stop this scramble for the petrodollar. To me, it seems that our only hope is for a new world order.
Osama bin Laden objects to American and Western influence in Saudi Arabia in particular, and in the Arab world in general. In fact, it is one of his main gripes. Don’t we object to the increasing influence of Islam in Western countries too? Are his objectives and ours that different? Aren’t they opposite sides of the same coin? Would it, perhaps, be true to say that were Osama bin Laden to manage to bring about régime change in Saudi Arabia that we would also have a chance of saving Western civilization from the onslaught of Islam? And wouldn’t it be the irony of ironies if the very man we despise so much were to bring about the conditions necessary for the survival of the West?
Is Osama bin Laden our only hope of change at the top, I wonder? And are his objectives really so terrible for the West? If our leaders won’t change, then maybe Osama bin Laden is the one to force change upon them. For indeed, were there to be the kind of Saudi Arabia that he envisions, we would surely know who our real enemies are.
©Mark Alexander*
*All rights reserved
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
HUMAN EVENTS: It is necessary once in a while to clear the decks on a given issue, to discard the accumulated rhetoric and concepts and start afresh. As we enter the sixth year of the War on Terror, such a fresh start is desperately needed.Mark Alexander
Today’s statesmen and commentators —left, right, and center—have so far demonstrated themselves incapable of bringing clarity to the world situation. To them, the world today appears hopelessly complicated: wars in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia; Iran in pursuit of atomic weapons; unrest in the streets of Europe; terrorism worldwide. The problem is that the modern political view of the world is now being confronted with something that does not fit into its theoretical framework, something that is fundamentally not modern: the return of Islam to the world stage. Islam's Growth Requires New Thinking by Greogory Davis
How appropriate is it for the President of the United States of America to send Eid greetings to Muslims throughout the world when Muslims are the very people who are trying to destroy our civilization, and when Muslims are the very people who NEVER return the compliment at Christmas?
October 20, 2006Mark Alexander
"I send greetings to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
Islam is a great faith that has transcended racial and ethnic divisions and brought hope and comfort to many people. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims have fasted to focus their minds on faith and to direct their hearts to charity. Eid al-Fitr marks the completion of this holy month with the Festival of Breaking the Fast. During this joyous celebration, Muslims thank God for his guidance and blessings by gathering with family and friends, sharing traditional foods, and showing compassion to those in need.
America is strengthened by the countless contributions of our Muslim citizens, and we value our ties with Muslim nations throughout the world. For people of all faiths, Eid al-Fitr is an opportunity to reflect on the values we share and the friendships that bind all who trace their faith back to God's call to Abraham.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a joyous Eid and for health, happiness, and prosperity in the year ahead. Eid Mubarak.
GEORGE W. BUSH"
Presidential Message: Eid al-Fitr
Image courtesy of Google Images
BBC: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has widened its investigation into corruption allegations at UK defence giant BAE Systems.Mark Alexander
Together with Ministry of Defence Police, the SFO raided three business addresses and a home earlier this week.
The SFO said the raids were not related to existing inquiries into BAE defence contracts in Romania and Saudi Arabia.
It is already investigating claims that BAE made secret payments to cement arms deals with those countries. Probe into BAE arms deals widens
Riddle of sheik's £100m secret fund
Arms firm's £60m slush fund
Saudi bomb victim's torture ordeal - and Britain's silence
Monday, October 23, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: An Italian politician will be given police protection following comments she made about the Islamic veil on television.Mark Alexander
The MP, Daniela Santanche, from the right wing National Alliance, said the veil was not required by the Koran.
She was labelled an infidel by an imam appearing on the same programme and there are now fears for her safety.
Daniela Santanche recently published a critical book on living conditions for Muslim women called Woman Denied. Protection for Italy veil row MP
Certainly, we people who do not adhere to the faith of Islam fear its spread in the free world. And rightly so. Unfortunately, we are being led by craven politicians who either do not understand Islam, are making too much money from the oil-rich Gulf, or are simply too craven to face the threat head-on. The result is there for all too see: Islam is growing apace in the West, and nobody has the courage to do anything about it.
Bush and Blair's ridiculous policy of trying to bring democracy to Iraq is coming to a sad end. They have busied themselves on a mission which was destined to end in failure, while all the while we are losing our democracy at home. I have consistently stated that to try and bring democracy to the Middle East is a grave error of policy and judgment. One cannot bring democracy to a people who are semi-literate (the illiteracy rate in the Arab world is very high), and further, one cannot bring democracy to a part of the world where the 'religion' of Islam prevails. Islam, as I have said so many times before, is totally and utterly incompatible with the Western notion of liberal democracy.
Islam neither understands nor allows the separation of politics and religion. In Islam the mosque and state are ONE. Moreover, in Islam, all power rests with Allah, and filters down to the people via his vice-gerents here on earth, and then filters down further to the people. In democracy, all power rests with the people and filters up to the leader(s). This circle cannot be squared, however much anyone tries.
Instead of trying to bring democracy to the Middle East, where in any case it is considered a Western concept of government to be viewed with suspicion by all good Muslims, it would have been far better and far more prudent for Bush and Blair to have expended their energy ensuring that democracy at home remained safe for future generations.
This has not been done; and this is why we are in the mess we are in vis-à-vis the growing strength of Islam here in the West.
©Mark Alexander
JOKE OF THE WEEK: In a Eid message, Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince urged Muslims to follow Prophet Mohammad's "message of love, forgiveness, mercy, unity and goodness."
WASHINGTON POST: RIYADH (Reuters) - A prominent Saudi cleric said on Monday that Pope Benedict's controversial remarks on Islam came from vexation at the spread of the Muslim faith. Saudi cleric says West fearful of spread of Islam
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- Fear of the spread of Islam in non-Muslim countries motivates attacks on Muslims in the West, the imam of Islam's holiest shrine told worshipers celebrating Eid Al Fitr feast Monday.Mark Alexander
"Did you wonder why this issue is raised every now and then?" Sheikh Saleh Bin Humaid, who also heads the Saudi-appointed Shura (consultative) Council, asked at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, western Saudi Arabia.
He was referring to controversial remarks by Pope Benedict XVI last month in which he cited a fourteenth-century Christian emperor who said that Islam's Prophet Mohammed had brought the world "evil and inhuman" practices "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The issue "was raised only because the hearts of observers among the adversaries are filled with resentment over the spread of this faith and its overcoming of all borders, barriers, and blocks in all eras and under all circumstances," Bin Humaid said. Non-Muslims fear expansion of Islam, says Mecca imam
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's first Muslim comedian is being sent to India by the British Council to make jokes about the veil.Mark Alexander
The aim of the trip by Shazia Mirza, which is expected to cost about £2,000, is to show that Britain is a free and civilised society and to build bridges with Muslims.
Miss Mirza, 30, has been told she can make jokes about the burkha but has been advised "not to upset Muslims in India".
Miss Mirza came to prominence immediately after September 11 when audiences were unsure how to react to her introduction. Wearing a hejab, she would say: "My name's Shazia Mirza — at least, that's what it says on my pilot's licence."
News of her trip came as politicians backed an appeal yesterday to end the "polarising" row over Muslim veils after the head of Britain's race relations watchdog warned that it could trigger race riots. Comic is sent abroad to joke about the veil
Sunday, October 22, 2006
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE head of Britain’s race relations watchdog has warned there will be “fire” on the streets unless growing racial tensions can be resolved.Mark Alexander
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, says divisions created by the recent row about Muslim women wearing the veil risk becoming “the trigger for the grim spiral that produced riots in the north of England five years ago. Only this time the conflict could be much worse”.
In what will be seen as his swansong before he becomes head of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, Phillips says: “All the recent evidence shows that we are, as a society, becoming more socially polarised by race and faith . . . In many of our cities things cannot get any worse.”
His warning is made in an article in The Sunday Times today about the need for a “civilised” debate on race. He paints a picture of a society whose institutions appear to be helpless in the face of mounting racial conflict. Race boss warns of ‘fire’ on streets
THE SUNDAY MAIL: It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.Mark Alexander
A leaked account of an 'impartiality summit' called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and the war on terror.
It reveals that executives would let the Bible be thrown into a dustbin on a TV comedy show, but not the Koran, and that they would broadcast an interview with Osama Bin Laden if given the opportunity. Further, it discloses that the BBC's 'diversity tsar', wants Muslim women newsreaders to be allowed to wear veils when on air. We are biased, admit the stars of BBC News
Photo courtesy of Google Images
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE latest media darling of Scandinavian politics is not only black, beautiful and Muslim; she is also firmly against the wearing of the veil.Mark Alexander
Nyamko Sabuni, 37, has caused a storm as Sweden’s new integration and equality minister by arguing that all girls should be checked for evidence of female circumcision; arranged marriages should be criminalised; religious schools should receive no state funding; and immigrants should learn Swedish and find a job.
Supporters of the centre-right government that came to power last month believe that her bold rejection of cultural diversity may make her a force for change across Europe. Her critics are calling her a hardliner and even an Islamophobe.
“I am neither,” she said in an interview. “My aim is to integrate immigrants. One is to ensure they grow up just as any other child in Sweden would.” Sweden's Muslim minister turns on veil
If Tony Blair needs proof of the failure of his open-door policy on immigration, here it is:
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: John Reid has issued a dire warning that the Government risks losing the "battle of ideas" with al-Qaeda.Mark Alexander
The Home Secretary spoke out at an emergency meeting of ministers and security officials amid an ever-growing threat from home-grown Islamist terror groups.
He called for an urgent but controversial escalation in the propaganda war and said al-Qaeda's so-called "single extremist narrative" was proving ever more attractive to young British Muslims.
The Government needed to do much more to win the "battle of ideas", Mr Reid said. The meeting came as ministers — including Jack Straw, Ruth Kelly and Phil Woolas — started to take a much more aggressive stance against radical Islam.
Ministers have told The Sunday Telegraph that 30 terror plots are being investigated and that 1,500 young Muslims — many more than previously estimated — are suspects. Al-Qaeda is winning the war of ideas, says Reid
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Photo courtesy of the Daily Express
DAILY EXPRESS: PRESSURE was mounting last night for veils to be banned in Britain – just as they are in some Muslim countries.Mark Alexander
And rebels plotting fresh court protests were given a blunt warning by lawmakers: "Carry on, and we will bar you."
The threat came amid a public outcry over the costs being racked up by teaching assistant Aishah Azmi as her lawyers, funded by taxpayers, continued their fight for her right to wear a veil in class.
Daily Express readers responded in massive numbers to a poll on the crisis, with 99 per cent calling for the veil to be banned in schools, increasing pressure on the Government to act.
A ban would see Britain following many of its European neighbours, along with predominantly Muslim countries like Turkey and Tunisia in outlawing traditional Islamic headscarves in public schools and buildings. Ban it!
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