"Faith in Moderate Islam May Be the Biggest Counterfeit Faith of All"
[Magdi Cristiano Allam] says his conversion has "liberated" him from "darkness" and allowed him to see Islam more clearly. He said: "I realized that Islam is not compatible with core values such as respect for life and freedom of choice."

TOWNHALL.COM: Pope Benedict XVI last week baptized a man into the Catholic Church. The man, Magdi Allam, had converted from another faith. There is nothing unusual about that. People convert from non-faith to faith, or from one religion to another, or within faiths to different denominations all the time. However, this conversion was different. Mr. Allam, who has taken a new name, Magdi Cristiano Allam, was a Muslim, and not just your average, everyday Muslim. Mr. Allam was a prized "moderate" Muslim, upon whom many in Italy and the West have pinned their hopes for a new generation of similarly moderate Muslims who would renounce terrorism and violence and lead Islam into a bright new promised land of tolerance, inclusion and religious pluralism. From the reaction in the Muslim world to Mr. Allam’s conversion, there apparently remains a very long way to go before moderation is achieved. The Children of Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness before they arrived in the Promised Land. The journey to the promised land of Islamic moderation may take a lot longer — if the wanderers get there at all. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Allam’s conversion had produced "fury in Muslim lands," which is becoming increasingly easy to do. Conversion: A One-Way Street? >>> By Cal Thomas

Mark Alexander

Immigration Brings No Economic Benefit to the UK
THE TELEGRAPH: The number of immigrants entering Britain should be capped, an influential House of Lords committee has warned.

Its analysis concludes that record levels of immigration are bringing no economic benefit to the country.

The report says that ministers should urgently review immigration policies as plans to increase the population by 190,000 a year threaten to have "major impacts" on public services and housing.

The economic affairs committee - whose members include eminent economists, businessmen and politicians - rebukes the Government for using "irrelevant and misleading" economic statistics to justify the boom in immigration in the past decade.

Lord Wakeham, the former energy minister who led the eight-month inquiry, said ministers risked stoking social tensions if they pursued policies that "didn't make economic sense". Limit Immigration, Warns House of Lords >>>

THE TELEGRAPH:
Christians Must Rethink Immigration By Damian Thompson

Mark Alexander

Muslim Countries Interfere with West's Freedom of Expression: They Want Fitna Banned!
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The ambassadors of 26 Islamic countries want the Netherlands to investigate whether the film Fitna made by Dutch right-wing populist MP Geert Wilders can be banned. They asked Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen whether it is possible to start legal proceedings against the anti-Islam film. The meeting at the ministry in The Hague was attended by ambassadors of countries including Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Mr Verhagen told the 26 ambassadors he was pleased that responses from the Muslim world up to now had been moderate. He said the public prosecutor was investigating whether any offence had been committed, and the Dutch government clearly distanced itself from the film.

At the same time he called on the ambassadors to ensure Dutch citizens and organisations abroad were protected. "Let's keep heads cool and relations warm," he added. "We know about the concerns and feelings about this film among the international Muslim community, but hurt feelings must never be an excuse for aggression and threats."

"Christian terrorist"

In Indonesia, a few dozen demonstrators protested against Geert Wilders' film outside the Dutch embassy. They waved banners reading "Holland go to Hell" and "Kill Geert Wilders", threw eggs and bottles of water at the building and chanted anti-Dutch slogans. One protestor called on Muslims around the world to kill Mr Wilders, calling him a "Christian terrorist". IslamicCountries Want Dutch to Ban Wilders’ Movie >>> By Sebastiaan Gottlieb | 31-03-2008-03-31

Mark Alexander

Maxime Maximizes His Dhimmitude!
ASHARQ ALAWSAT: A Member of Parliament for an opposition party that represents a small proportion of Dutch voters has made a critical film about the Koran, a book that is sacred to roughly 1.2 billion Muslims. The announcement of this film was for months the cause of considerable disquiet and discussion in the Netherlands and the rest of the world. On Thursday 27 March the film was released on the internet. It shows images of atrocities and blames them on Islam and the Koran.

Let me begin by emphasising that these views do not in any way reflect the perspective or policy of the Dutch government. The Dutch government condemns terrorist attacks, whether they are committed in the name of Islam or other religions or for any other motive. Terror must never be a means to pursue any goal. But Islam must not be equated with the commission of atrocities. The vast majority of Muslims condemn extremism and violence, of which many Muslims are also the victims. The Dutch government emphatically dissociates itself from this film because of its invidious generalisations and its polarising effect.

Islam has a clearly visible place in Dutch society. There are more than 800,000 people in the Netherlands with roots in the Islamic world, about 5.3% of our population. In recent decades, Islam in all its diversity has had many opportunities to flourish as a religion within the limits of the law. Islamic institutions, associations, media and schools have become familiar features of our country. Over 450 mosques have been built on Dutch soil. This development reflects the well-established Dutch tradition of religious tolerance. Muslims make a major contribution to dialogue within Dutch society, notably through their participation in consultative bodies. Two members of the Dutch government have roots in the Islamic world: Ahmed Aboutaleb, State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment, and Nebahat Albayrak, State Secretary for Justice. I mention these facts to show that in general, Muslims in the Netherlands work together well and live in harmony with non-Muslims. The Dutch government is heartened by the balanced initial responses to the film’s release from Muslim organisations in the Netherlands.

There is no point in trying to disguise the fact that contact with other cultures, customs and faiths is exacerbating tensions. On the contrary, it is good to discuss these tensions openly and frankly. The question is, however: how should we deal with these tensions? How can we bridge the differences? The Alliance of Civilisations, an initiative of the Turkish and Spanish governments, provides governments and civil society organisations with a forum to search together for constructive responses. I warmly welcome this initiative. That is why the Netherlands has since the outset been one of the countries that support the Alliance in principle and practice. This film has the opposite aim: instead of offering a constructive response to the challenges we face today, it is spreading fear and turning different groups against each other.

We should condemn not religions, but rather people and groups who abuse religion to achieve their ends through violence. Islam is not the problem. Muslims, Christians and people with other convictions can coexist in complete harmony. The problem is not religion, but the abuse of religion to spread hatred and intolerance. No Room for "Fitna" >>> By Maxime Verhagen | 30. 3. 08

Mark Alexander

Geert Wilders’ Film Has Been Released: Fitna the Movie - Its Message: Islam Must Be Defeated!

Original Dutch Version

As the movie has been removed from Live Leak, you can view the movie HERE.

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Islam in Fast Demise
In Africa Alone Everyday, 16,000 Muslims Leave Islam
FAITHFREEDOM.ORG: Hitler said if a lie is repeated often enough and long enough, it would come to be perceived as truth. One such lie often repeated is “Islam is the fastest growing religion”.

Despite the fact that Muslims by virtue of being poor and uneducated are much more reproductive than others, Islam as a religion is not growing but dying fast.

More and more Muslims are discovering that the violence evinced by some of their coreligionists is not an aberration but is inspired by the teachings of the Quran and the examples set by its author. Muslims are becoming disillusioned with Islam. They find out that the mechanistic ritual of praying five times per day, reciting verses that they do not understand and indeed mean nothing, getting up at taxing hours of the morning and abstaining from food and water until the sunset are not means to becoming more spiritual but are instruments to control their mind. These enlightened Muslims no more heed to the fear mongering verses of the Quran that threaten to burn them and roast them in the fires of hell if they dare to think and question the validity of that book.

Every day thousands of Muslim intellectuals are leaving Islam. They find Islam inconsistent with science, logics, human rights and ethics. Millions of Iranians already have left Islam. The enlightened Muslims of other nationalities are not far behind. This is the beginning of a mass exodus from Islam. It is a movement that is already in motion and nothing can stop it.

However the exodus from Islam is not reserved to the intellectuals but also the average Muslims are finding that Islam is not the way to God but to ignorance, poverty and wars. They are leaving Islam to embrace other religions especially the Christianity. Islam in Fast Demise >>> By Ali Sina

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

CNN Offers to Air Fitna

Down with Network Solutions! Don’t use them! Avoid them! Boycott them! Let the company go down the tubes! It doesn’t stand up for free speech. Enough said!

Hat tip: Klein Verzet

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Islam Not Mentioned in Wilders’ English Cash Appeal
DUTCHNEWS NL: The anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders has published a request for political donations from international supporters but does not mention his controversial stance on immigration or Islam in the English-language version.

Wilders, who plans to release his short anti-Islam film Fitna before April 1, placed the appeal for cash on his private website www.geertwilders.nl, rather than on the website of his party, the PVV (Partij voor de Vrijheid/Freedom Party).



In the Dutch version, Wilders says that he is involved in 'a battle against the Islamisation of the Netherlands and mass immigration' and points out that six out of 10 Dutch people think large-scale immigration is 'the biggest mistake in our history'.



In his English-language appeal, however, Wilders asks his 'international friends' for support in 'a battle for the survival of freedom'. The words Islam and immigration do not appear, nor does he mention his film. Islam Not Mentioned in Wilders' English Cash Appeal >>> | Thursday 27 March 2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Vatican Baptism No Good, Says Muslim Scholar
Photo of Arif Ali Nayed courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A Muslim scholar involved in high-level dialogue with the Vatican has denounced the Pope's baptism on Saturday of a prominent Italian Muslim convert.

Aref Ali Nayed, the head of Jordan's Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, called the baptism of journalist Magdi Allam a deliberate and provocative act.

The Vatican has not yet commented, but its official newspaper said the gesture aimed to promote religious freedom.

The Pope traditionally baptises adult converts to Catholicism on Easter eve.

Mr Allam's invitation to the ceremony, which took place in St Peter's Basilica, was however kept secret by the Vatican, until just before the Easter vigil mass.

The Egyptian-born Italian TV and newspaper commentator has been an outspoken critic of Islamist militancy and a strong supporter of Israel.

He says such controversial views and his conversion to Christianity have provoked threats on his life, and he is now protected by a police escort. Muslim Scholar Denounces Muslim Baptism >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sarkozy: We Are Stronger Together
BBC: President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France and Britain have "never been so close", during an historic address to both houses of the UK Parliament.

He said he wanted a new Franco-British "brotherhood", saying that what brought Britain and France together was "stronger than what separates us".

His country would "never forget" what British people did to "free France" during the world wars, he said.

Peers and MPs gave him a standing ovation following the speech in French.

Mr Sarkozy said France and Britain were stronger side by side, and the world admired the UK's "courage". Sarkozy: We Are Stronger Together >>>

WACH BBC VIDEO:
Excerpts of Sarkozy’s Speech to UK Parliament

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sarkozy’s Visit to Britain

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

What the French Are Saying About “President Bling-Bling” and Carla
Watch HERE
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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

No Legal Grounds to Ban Wilders' Film
DUTCHNEWS.NL: Dutch foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen says the cabinet has no plans to ask the courts to ban the controversial film due to be released this month by anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, reports ANP news service on Wednesday.

‘We looked at the possibilities and there are none,’ Verhagen is quoted as saying. His comments follow a call by former Dutch foreign affairs minister Hans van den Broek, now a leading government advisor, who has called on the cabinet to take the issue to court. No Legal Grounds to Ban Wilders' Film >>> | Wednesday 26 March 2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Nicolas Sarkozy Calls for 'Franco-British Brotherhood' as State Visit Begins
Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the start of a new "Franco-British brotherhood" today, as he arrived on the first state visit to Britain by a French President for 12 years.

In an interview, Mr Sarkozy said that it was time to reinvent the cross-Channel relationship from the strategic co-operation enshrined in the entente cordiale to become one of genuine closeness and "hand-in-glove" warmth.

The French President touched down at Heathrow Airport with his wife, Carla Bruni, where the couple were greeted on the tarmac by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at 11.25am. They then travelled in convoy to Windsor, where they were met by the Queen and travelled together in a state carriage procession to Windsor Castle.

Launching a charm offensive designed to realign French foreign policy, Mr Sarkozy told the BBC via a translator: "Whoever the British leader may be he will need others, other Europeans.

"And how can we do without your strong economy, your language which is the most spoken language throughout the world — do without your defence, which is the most significant in Europe? I want a new Franco-British brotherhood."

The moves to warm the relationship between Britain and France come after years of gradual decline in relations under the leadership of Jacques Chirac, who focused overwhelmingly on building a close relationship with Germany. Relations between France, Britain and the United States reached their lowest point for decades in 2003, when Mr Chirac openly opposed and derided the Iraq War.

Mr Sarkozy has made no secret of his pro-American leanings and has vowed to realign French foreign policy.

The French President added that he wanted Britain and France to work "hand in glove", and pointed to his role in closing down the controversial Sangatte immigrant camp while French Home Affairs Minister. Nicolas Sarkozy calls for 'Franco-British brotherhood' as state visit begins >>> By David Byers

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Wafa Sultan: Target of Jihad
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: Wafa Sultan appeared on Al-Jazeera again earlier this month, and the shock waves are still reverberating throughout the Islamic world. The day after her appearance Al-Jazeera issued a public apology for her “offensive” remarks, but did not specify what exactly she said that was so terrible. Last week, however, the influential Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi was not so circumspect. Qaradawi, whom Saudi-funded academic John Esposito has praised as a “reformist,” in 2006 exhorted Muslims to fight against Israel by invoking the notorious genocidal hadith in which Muhammad says that on the Day of Judgment “even the stones and the trees will speak, with or without words, and say: ‘Oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim, there’s a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” But now he has directed his rage against Sultan, a fifty-year-old Syrian-American psychologist: “She said unbearable, ghastly things that made my hair stand on end.” Specifically, “she had the audacity to publicly curse Allah, His Prophet, the Koran, the history of Islam, and the Islamic nation.” He repeated that she “leveled accusations against Islam and the Muslims, and cursed Allah, His Prophet, the Islamic nation, the shari’a, and the Islamic faith and culture.”

These are serious charges, and Qaradawi states them in terms that his jihadist minions will understand as meaning that she must be killed. Given that Qaradawi has justified suicide attacks against Israeli civilians and American soldiers in Iraq, it is clear that he has no distaste for violence, and thus law enforcement officials should take his latest fulminations against Wafa Sultan very seriously indeed. Target of Jihad >>> By Robert Spencer

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

”Defame” Islam, Get Sued

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Saudis Keep On Sh****** Their Nest
Isn’t it about time we told these sand-people where to get off? Isn’t it about time we told them to NAFF OFF?

THE GUARDIAN: British Muslims today accused Saudi Arabia of exporting extremist interpretations of the Qur'an, during a conference designed to improve understanding between Islam and the west.

The criticism came as the first international survey on the subject found that people in most countries believed relations between the two civilisations to be deteriorating.

The Symposium on Muslim Communities in Europe, organised by the World Economic Forum, brought together archbishops, imams, rabbis and other religious leaders in central London.

The exchange of views focused on how distrust between the two cultures could be overcome by examining religious and other differences.

Two prominent British Muslims, Ed Husain, the author of the memoir The Islamist, and Tim Winter, a divinity lecturer at Cambridge University, expressed alarm at the influence of Saudi-financed literature.

Such writings described Christians as "idol worshippers" and advocated an "extremist, Wahabi, puritanical" version of Islam, Winter said. European Islam, he maintained, was becoming a "vicarious playground" in a broader "war of ideas".

Husain also complained about "Saudi-sponsored" teaching at mosques encouraging Muslims to see themselves as a distinct political bloc with a "year-zero mindset".

Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, said the 9/11 attacks had done severe damage to Muslim communities in the west.

"The terrorists were able to hijack far more than the planes used in 9/11, they in fact hijacked these whole communities," he said.
"They were able, at a stroke, to make them - and even worse their religion - seem a potential source of fear to others. Saudis Stoking UK Extremism, Conference Told >>>

BBC:
Saudis to Retrain 40,000 Clerics By Magdi Abdlehadi

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

A Political Challenge to Political Islam: Maryam Namazie, Ex-Muslim, UK

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NUT goes NUTs and Fails to Find Its NUTs Over the Koran!
Image courtesy of Google Images
DAILY EXPRESS: STATE schools should be forced to open their doors to Islamic preachers teaching the Koran, the largest classroom union demanded yesterday.

The National Union of Teachers’ conference also said existing religious schools – almost all of them Christian – should have to admit pupils from other faiths.



The union’s general secretary Steve Sinnott said that allowing Muslim imams to preach in schools would be a way to reunite divided communities.



But the proposals prompted immediate outrage. Conservative Party backbencher Mark Pritchard said: “This is just further appeasement for Muslim militants.



“We should just follow the existing laws on religious education, which state that it should be of a predominantly Christian character. All this will do is further divide many communities that are already split on religious lines.”


Speaking as delegates met at the hard-Left-dominated union’s annual conference, Mr Sinnott admitted that his plan would amount to religious indoctrination inside taxpayer-backed schools rather than simple teaching of what different religions believe.



He said: “This is more than simple religious education, it’s religious instruction.”



The proposals include providing private Muslim prayer facilities in schools. But Mr Sinnott stressed that no pupils would be forced to have any religious instruction.



The union, however, also called for all daily religious assemblies, which by law are supposed to have a Christian character, to be abandoned. Fury Over Plan to Teach Koran in Schools >>> By Gabriel Milland

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Radio Show: The Weekly Gathering Storm Report
For those who couldn’t listen in to yesterday’s Weekly Gathering Storm Report Radio Show with Always and WC because of time constraints or simply because it was broadcast in your country at an inconvenient time, here’s a direct link to the show:

Walid Shoebat and Yours Truly as Guests of Always and WC
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