43 Nations, 800,000 Million Inhabitants Form “Historic” Mediterranean Union

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Will Sarkozy’s Mediterranean Union Be More Than a Big Photo-op? >>> By Katrin Bennhold | July 14, 2008

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French Minister Denounces Burqah
"It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy." - Fadela Amara, French Urban Affairs Minister

BBC: A Muslim member of the French government has backed a court's decision to deny citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears the burqa.

Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said she hoped last month's ruling would "dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives".

She told the newspaper, Le Parisien, the head-to-toe garment was a "prison".

The Moroccan woman, Faiza M, was told that her practice of "radical" Islam was not compatible with French values.

The 32-year-old, who has lived in France since 2000 with her husband - a French national - and their three French-born children, said she had never challenged the country's fundamental values.

Social services reports said the burqa-wearing Faiza M lived in "total submission to her male relatives". French Minister Denounces Burqa >>> | July 16, 2008

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Diplomas Won’t Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack
TOWNHALL.COM: In all the brouhaha over the New Yorker's satirical cover cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama, a truly "tasteless and offensive" passage in the magazine's feature article got lost. The magazine piece quotes Obama's recommendations for how to stop jihad, which he had previously published in a local Chicago newspaper eight days after 9/11. It's a self-parody of blind, deaf and dumb Kumbaya liberalism:

"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."

Is this man for real? Osama bin Laden's murderous legions are plenty able to "imagine" the "suffering of others." Go watch an al-Qaida beheading snuff video. Just Google it or surf YouTube. Imagining the suffering of infidels is covered amply in basic Jihadi Training 101. Diplomas Won’t Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack >>> By Michelle Malkin | July 16, 2008

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Now We Have Got the Archbishop of Canterbury Worrying about Elements of the Christian Doctrine Being “Offensive” to Muslims! So What! Get on with Your Job, Archbishop! Start Filling the Churches!
Photo of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Key elements of Christian doctrine are offensive to Muslims, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said in a letter to Islamic scholars.

Dr Rowan Williams also spoke critically of the violent past of both religions and Christianity's abandonment of its peaceful origins.

His comments came in a published letter to Islamic leaders, intended to promote closer dialogue and understanding between the two faiths.

However they come just months after Dr Williams was forced to clarify comments in which he said some parts of Islamic law will "unavoidably" be adopted in Britain.

The comments are also made as the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference begins in Canterbury. Up to a quarter of bishops are boycotting the event, as the Anglican Church faces continuing division over the issues of women bishops and homosexual clergy.

The wide-ranging letter, which covers difficult issues including religious freedom and religiously-inspired violence is in response to a document written last year by Muslim scholars from 43 countries.

Discussing differences between the religions, Dr Williams acknowledges that Christian belief in the Trinity is "difficult, sometimes offensive, to Muslims".

The Trinity is the Christian doctrine stating God exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and conflicts with Islamic teaching that there is one all-powerful God. Christian Doctrine Offensive to Muslims, Says Archbishop of Canterbury >>> By Ben Framer | July 15, 2008

MAILONLINE:
Archbishop of Canterbury: ‘Christian Doctrine Is Offensive to Muslims’ >>> By Steve Doughty | July 15, 2008

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Obama Vows to End US Rôle in Iraq
BBC: Barack Obama, the Democratic contender for the US presidency, has said his main priority as US president will be to end the US involvement in Iraq.

In a foreign policy speech, Senator Obama said "our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe".

His second priority would be to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

His Republican rival accused Mr Obama of contradicting himself over Iraq. Obama Vows to End US Role in Iraq >>> | July 15, 2008

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UK: Taxpayers to Foot Bill for New Panel of Islamic Scholars to Give Advice on Modern Living to British Muslims
THE TELEGRAPH: A panel of Islamic scholars to give advice on modern living is to be introduced as part of a Government scheme to counter extremism.

The Muslim clerics will give advice, particularly to women and young people, on how the Koran should be interpreted for life in the 21st century.

The board is bound to be controversial among young Muslims partly because of its state backing but also because only certain scholars are qualified to give Islamic rulings or "fatwas" which normally emanate from Saudi Arabia.

While imams regularly give advice about what is "halal" [permitted] or "haram" [forbidden] their authority is secondary to the sheikhs of the Middle East.

The board is designed to discourage rulings which allow the beating of wives, or compel women to cover their faces.

They would also help young people with issues such as when they can mix with the opposite sex and whether it is permissible to serve in the armed forces.

While technically independent, the panel will receive support from the civil service and will have their expenses paid. Islamic Preachers to Give Moderate Advice >>> By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | July 13, 2008

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Tony Blair Abandons Gaza Vist after ‘Specific Security Threat’
TIMESONLINE: Tony Blair hastily cancelled his visit to the Gaza Strip today and headed back to Jerusalem after receiving what his aides described as a "specific security threat" minutes before crossing the border.

With his advanced security party having already gone through the Erez passenger crossing into the territory at 9.45am local time, the international peace envoy's motorcade was ordered to turn around and abort its journey.

The Israel Security Agency said it had received “pinpoint information that Palestinians were planning to attack Blair in Gaza, so the relevant services alerted him to the fact.” Tony Blair Abandons Gaza Visit after ‘Specific Security Threat’ >>> | July 15, 2008

MAILONLINE:
Blair Pulls Out of Gaza Visit because of ‘Feared Assassination Attempt’ >>> | July 15, 2008

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Obama Team Decry Satirical Image

BBC: Barack Obama's team has decried The New Yorker magazine for a cartoon cover depicting him in traditional Muslim garb and his wife as a terrorist.

The magazine says the cartoon is intended as a satirical comment about some of the distorted right-wing attacks on the Democratic senator.

An Obama campaign spokesman said the cartoon was "tasteless and offensive".

A spokesman for John McCain, Mr Obama's Republican rival in the presidential election, also criticised the cartoon.

The image, drawn by Barry Blitt and featured on the front cover of this week's New Yorker, shows Mr Obama wearing traditional Muslim dress, while his wife, Michelle, is dressed in combat trousers and carrying a machine-gun.

The couple are shown standing in the Oval Office, greeting one another with a "fist bump", with an American flag burning in the fireplace, and a portrait of Osama Bin Laden on the wall. Obama Team Decry Satirical Image >>> | July 14, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
US Election: Barack Obama Campaign Attacks ‘Offensive’ New Yorker Cartoon >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | July 15, 2008

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The Netherlands: Radical Imam Claims Damages for Fitna
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Amsterdam - The radical Muslim cleric Sheikh Imam Fawaz Jneid is claiming 55,000 euros in damages from far-right Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders for allegedly damaging his reputation in a controversial anti-Koran film.

The cleric was shown in Wilders' film 'Fitna'. The 17-minute film features verses of the Koran against images of terrorist attacks.

Wilders, quoted by Radio Netherlands says Jneid's claim "is the world upside down."

His film sparked protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and has led to calls in some countries for a boycott of Dutch products.

Wilders says the imam "has cursed" Somali feminist and author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and late Dutch filmmaker,Theo van Gogh.

Hirsi Ali received death threats after writing the script for van Gogh's short film 'Submission' criticising women's treatment in Muslim society.

A Muslim extremist murdered van Gogh in an Amsterdam street soon after the film aired on Dutch TV in 2004. [Source: Netherlands: Radical Imam Claims Damages for Anti-Koran Film]

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As the Church Destroys Itself from Within…
Photo of Dr Barry Morgan and Gene Robinson courtesy of the BBC
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A senior church leader says he would be willing to consecrate Britain’s first openly gay bishop, despite fears that such a move would further split the Anglican communion.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, told The Sunday Telegraph that practising homosexuals should not be barred from becoming bishops.

He accused conservative Anglicans of being “exclusive” and narrow-minded in their opposition to gay clerics.

His comments, which come on the eve of the Lambeth Conference - the Anglican communion’s ten-yearly gathering of bishops - are set to inflame the bitter controversy over homosexuality.

Dr Morgan said that he was in agreement with the decision of the American church five years ago to consecrate the homosexual cleric Gene Robinson as a bishop - the move which has pushed the Anglican church to the brink of schism.

He said that if his fellow bishops in the church in Wales voted for a practising homosexual priest to be consecrated, he would back their decision and approve it. Church of England Should Appoint Britain’s First Gay Bishop, Says Archbishop of Wales >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones | July 13, 2008

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France Rejects Muslim Woman over Radical Practice of Islam
Photo of Faiza M courtesy of the BBC
THE GUARDIAN: France has denied citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears a burqa on the grounds that her "radical" practice of Islam is incompatible with basic French values such as equality of the sexes.

The case yesterday reopened the debate about Islam in France, and how the secular republic reconciles itself with the freedom of religion guaranteed by the French constitution.

The woman, known as Faiza M, is 32, married to a French national and lives east of Paris. She has lived in France since 2000, speaks good French and has three children born in France. Social services reports said she lived in "total submission" to her husband. Her application for French nationality was rejected in 2005 on the grounds of "insufficient assimilation" into France. She appealed, invoking the French constitutional right to religious freedom and saying that she had never sought to challenge the fundamental values of France. But last month the Council of State, France's highest administrative body, upheld the ruling.

"She has adopted a radical practice of her religion, incompatible with essential values of the French community, particularly the principle of equality of the sexes," it said. France Rejects Muslim Woman over Radical Practice of Islam >>> By Angelique Chrisafis | July 12, 2008

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Former Radical Extremist: Radical Islam Similar to Marxism, Soviet Union
TOWNHALL.COM: A former leader of a radical Islamic organization told Congress extreme Muslims are motivated by an ideology similar to Marxism and that Islamism has much in common with the former Soviet Union.

Maajid Nawaz, a native of England and once prominent figure in the London-based extremist group Hizb ut-Tharir, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the root cause of Islamic terrorism was its fanatical ideology, not poverty or discrimination.

“There is a common misconception on the left in the UK that only grievances can lead to Islamism,” he said.

Nawaz drew parallels between socialist Marxism and Islamism, contending that both movements see everything as a global ideological power struggle. He said Islamists wished for the world to be ruled under a single caliphate state, “like the Soviet bloc.”

“There will always be a conflict between Islamism and capitalism, just as there was once conflict between communism and capitalism,” he said. Former Radical Extremist: Radical Islam Similar to Marxism, Soviet Union >>> By Matt Purple | July 11, 2008

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The Great Bat Ye'or in Interview
Photo of Bat Ye'or courtesy of The Jerusalem Post
”The whole Muslim world is becoming more and more radicalized - more rooted in Shari'a, and less open to anything outside the religion.” - Bat Yeor

THE JERUSALEM POST: 'I always thought I'd be writing novels," says Bat Ye'or, her wistfulness somehow adding an extra touch of class to her thick French accent. "Not such serious work."

Given the gravity of her subject matter, and what some might consider her alarmist way with words, this is hard to believe. But then, so is the historian's life story, which is the stuff that sagas are made of.

Hers began in Egypt during World War II. The daughter of a middle-class Jewish family named Orebi, Bat Ye'or (her trademark pseudonym, which in Hebrew means "daughter of the Nile") fled with her parents to England in 1957 - after suffering the brunt of the anti-Semitism she claims characterized the entire Arab world.

In 1959, she married a Briton - also a historian - whom she prefers not to name, to protect his and her privacy. The couple then moved to and settled in Switzerland in 1960, where they raised their children and continue to reside.

She is the author of eight books, including The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam (1985); The Decline of Eastern Christianity: From Jihad to Dhimmitude (1996); Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide (2001); and - the one which captured international attention and catapulted her into the center of controversy - Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (2005). Saying that Europe is basically finished, due to its kissing up to the Arabs, will do that.

Here recently to promote the release of her best-selling "cautionary tale" in Hebrew (EuroArabia, Schocken Publishers; translation by Arie Hashavia), Bat Ye'or explains why she believes the West in general, and Europe in particular, is in state of denial at best, and dhimmitude at worst. To make matters more complicated, she asserts, though the citizens of European countries long to preserve their individual and collective cultures of freedom and democracy - which they have been exhibiting at the polls - the European Union, influenced by the UN-backed Islamic leadership, advocates appeasement and passivism.

In an hour-long interview on the terrace of her Mishkenot Sha'ananim digs overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, Bat Ye'or expounds on her bleak prognosis in an articulate tirade, raising her voice now and then for emphasis, pausing occasionally to laugh. What she has to say about the state of the world, however, is more likely to make one cry. One on One: A Dhimmi View of Europe >>> By Ruthie Blum | July 9, 2008

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US Warns Iran on Missile Threat
Watch BBC video: Iran test-fires missiles in the Gulf - footage from Iranian state TV >>>
BBC: The US has said it will not hesitate to defend its interests and those of its allies as Iran continues missile tests.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be "confused" about US capabilities.

Iran tested missiles on Wednesday that could reach Israel, and on Thursday carried out further tests.

Meanwhile French energy giant Total has said it will not invest in Iran because it is too politically risky.

New tests

Condoleezza Rice was speaking during a visit to Georgia.

She said: "We take very strongly our obligation to defend our allies and we intend to do that. US Warns Iran on Missile Threat >>> | July 10, 2008

BBC:
Israel ‘Ready to Act’ over Iran >>> | July 10, 2008

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Denmark Drops Cartoon Murder Plot Charges
REUTERS: COPENHAGEN - Danish prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against a Moroccan-born man accused of plotting to murder one of 12 cartoonists whose drawings of the Prophet Mohammad caused worldwide uproar in 2006.

"Even though there is information of a connection between the 40-year-old and the planners of the plot to murder Kurt Westergaard, it is not possible to submit sufficient evidence in court that he took part in the planning," prosecutor Elsemette Casoe said, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.

Westergaard, 73, drew the cartoon that caused most controversy, depicting the founder of Islam with a bomb in his turban. He told Ritzau he accepted the prosecutor's decision but wanted Denmark to deport two other suspects still in detention who are fighting deportation to their native Tunisia. Denmark Drops Cartoon Murder Plot Charges >>> | July 9, 2008

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The Craven Verhagen Lets Down Wilders, and Lets Down Europe, too
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - MP Geert Wilders, who is facing prosecution in Jordan, is getting no moral support from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. The Dutch government considers that the MP has insulted the Jordanian population, it appears from a statement by Verhagen's ministry.

In the Netherlands, the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) concluded last week that Wilders' anti-Islam film Fitna, published on 27 March, does not break the law in any way. But in Jordan, a prosecutor has launched criminal proceedings against the MP for Fitna. This follows a complaint by 30 organisations calling themselves The Messenger of Allah Unites Us.

According to Wilders, "little or nothing happens without the King's approval" in Jordan, such as "the fact that the Jordanian Public Prosecutor has decided to treat me to five charges including insulting the Prophet Mohammed."

But Verhagen sees it differently. "A judicial procedure was started against Wilders after a complaint by a private person," the statement by his ministry reads. Wilders Prosecution: Dutch Government Defends Jordan >>> | July 8, 2008

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Iran: Missile Test Case ‘Provocative’
Watch BBC video: Footage of Iran missile test >>>
BBC: The US and Israel have condemned Iran after it test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Iran state media said nine missiles had been fired in total, including a new Shahab-3, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles).

Tehran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme.

A senior US state department official said the launch was "provocative".

Wednesday's early morning test at a remote desert site sent oil prices climbing.

Brig Gen Hoseyn Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' air force, said: "Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy." Iran Missile Test ‘Provocative’ >>> | July 9, 2008

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More Terrorism from the ‘Religion of Peace’. This Time in Turkey
Watch BBC video: Aftermath of attack at US consulate >>>
BBC: Six people have died in a gun battle outside the US consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The city's Governor, Muammer Guler, said three policemen and three attacking gunmen were killed.

No injuries were reported to staff inside the consulate. The US ambassador to Turkey condemned it as "an obvious act of terrorism" aimed at the US.

A fourth gunman and the driver of a vehicle that dropped off the attackers at the consulate reportedly escaped.

Reports quoted police sources as saying the suspects belonged to a Turkish Sunni Islamic fundamentalist group, says David O'Byrne in Istanbul.

The Great Eastern Islamic Raiders Front is thought to have links to al-Qaeda, says our correspondent. US Consulate in Turkey Attacked >>> | July 9, 2008

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Western Society’s War Within
THE AUSTRALIAN: IT may begin with a chuckle, but it could easily end in tears. At least, if we are not careful. One may be tempted to scoff at the demand to legalise polygamy made recently by Khalil Chami of Sydney's Islamic Welfare Centre. But with the recent announcement by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams that the adoption of sharia law in Britain seems unavoidable, the joke may turn out to be on us.

Britain provides an instructive lesson on the interaction between increasingly radicalised sections of the Muslim diaspora community and its Western host society.

From Dundee to Dover, traditional British values, already weakened to the point of collapse by a decades-long elite infatuation with mushy multiculturalism and cultural relativism, cannot provide resistance against the growing tide of extreme demands by radical self-styled community spokesmen.

The same way that the claim of racism has been used to shut down any debate on cultural identity, immigration and social cohesion, so is Islamophobia increasingly used to silence dissent. To merely raise certain issues is to give offence, and offending sensibilities is a hanging offence in our postmodern times.

While radicals agitate, a politically correct establishment, at pains to prove how enlightened and tolerant it is, even if it means tolerating the intolerance of others, usually stands on the sidelines, if not actively cheering on another challenge to the ostensibly oppressive, hegemonic Western culture and polity. Western Society’s War Within >>> By Brett Mason | July 8, 2008

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Radical Web of Islam’s Terror
NATIONAL POST: A new generation of Islamist terrorists is connecting through the Internet, not al-Qaeda. Their lack of central organization makes them even more terrifying than their forebears

The world's most dangerous jihadists no longer answer to al-Qaeda. The terrorists we should fear most are self-recruited wannabes who find purpose in terror and comrades on the Web. This new generation is even more frightening and unpredictable than its predecessors, but its evolution just may reveal the key to its demise.

When British police broke down Younis Tsouli's door in a leafy west London neighbourhood in October, 2005, they suspected the 22-year-old son of a Moroccan diplomat of little more than having traded e-mails with men planning a bombing in Bosnia. It was only after they began examining the hard drive on Tsouli's computer that they realized they had stumbled upon one of the most infamous --and unlikely --cyberjihadists in the world. Radical Web of Islam’s Terror >>> By Marc Sageman | July 8, 2008

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