Somali Man Has His Hand Amputated By Al Shabab
SOMALILAND PRESS: Kismayo — A man convicted of robbery by a court in Somalia’s Islamist strong hold port-town of Kismayo had his right hand cut off. Mohamed Omar Ismael stole $90 from a saving account, local reports said.

Mohamed was sentenced to the amputation of his right-hand, and the punishment was carried out in public in the city center where a large crowd of people watched on as Islamists carried out the sentence.

This is not the first time the Islamic group known as Al Shabab, who introduced strict form of Sharia, or Islamic Law, carried out this sort of incident, it was just last year when they amputated a young man named Yusuf.

Under strict Sharia law, theft is sentenced by severing their hand. The death penalty is meted out for murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking. >>> Somalilandpress | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Obama to Address Muslims in Egypt
Obama, you are trying to brush off the differences between Muslims and Christians by stating that Muslims are “just like us”; they “simply have a different religion”.

Who are you trying to kid, Mr President? Whose eyes are you trying to pull the wool over?

It just so happens, Mr President, that the ‘religion’ of Islam is not only a proselytizing religion, but it is an expansive, belligerent religion, too – a 'religion' on a mission to take over the world! Because of weak politicians like you, Mr President, they are doing a pretty good job of it, too. And, Mr President, if you have forgotten, it happens to be the ‘religion’ which attacked the United States on 9/11! Have you forgotten that, Mr President? Or are you just conveniently forgetting it, perhaps because you don’t have the balls to deal with reality?

Instead of prancing and dancing and walzing and poncing around the world making excuses for your country, you’d be better off, and far more respected by the Muslim world, if you grew a backbone. – ©Mark

BBC: US President Barack Obama will give a long-awaited speech on US relations with the Muslim world on a visit to Egypt, the White House has announced.

He will travel to Egypt on 4 June and a day later arrive in Germany for a visit to Dresden and the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

During his election campaign, Mr Obama promised to make a major speech on ties with Muslims early in his presidency.

Egypt arguably represented "the heart of the Arab world", a spokesman said.

In Turkey last month, the president declared that the US was not at war with Islam and he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.

Right from the start, Barack Obama has made clear he wants to rebuild relations with the Muslim and Arab world, the BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from Washington.

With so many events in so short a space of time, it is going to be a carefully choreographed trip, our correspondent says.

'Extending the hand'

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked if Egypt was an appropriate venue for the speech, given its poor record on human rights.

"The scope of the speech, the desire for the president to speak, is bigger than where the speech was going to be given or who's the leadership of the country where the speech is going to be given," he replied.

"This is a continuing effort of the president to engage the Muslim world," he added.

"All of this gives the president the opportunity hopefully to extend the hand to those that in many ways are like us but simply have a different religion." >>> Friday, May 8, 2009

Pakistan President Sees 'War' against Taliban
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has pledged to mount an all-out war against Taliban extremists, vowing to kill the militants in a military offensive.

"This is an offensive -- this is war. If they kill our soldiers, then we do the same," Zardari told PBS public television Friday, during a visit to Washington.

Pressed on whether Pakistan's stated goal of "eliminating" militants meant killing them, Zardari replied in the affirmative.

"Eliminate means exactly what it means," he said. >>> AFP | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Tension Mounts as Hezbollah Win Predicted
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE militant Islamic group Hezbollah looks set to consolidate its influence on power in Lebanon when voters go to the polls here on June 7.

Backed by Iran and Syria, the Hezbollah-led coalition known as March 8 is favoured to win a majority in parliament.

Led by the charismatic Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah, who is loathed in the West but loved across the Muslim world, Hezbollah is nevertheless expected to extend the current power-sharing arrangements under a new government of national unity.

With about 20 parties competing for attention in Lebanon's intractably complicated system - in which power is divided between the country's Sunni, Shiite, Druze and Christian populations - the Mediterranean country is in the grip of election fever. >>> Jason Koutsoukis Herald Correspondent in Beirut | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pilgerfahrt: Benedikts schwierige Reise ins Heilige Land
WELT ONLINEEs ist eine Pilgerreise der besonderen Art: Papst Benedikt XVI. hat sich zum ersten Mal in den Nahen Osten begeben. Es handelt sich um seine zwölfte und bislang wichtigste Auslandsreise. Das Kirchenoberhaupt steht vor einer Gratwanderung zwischen Religion und Politik, denn seine Reise wird von Christen, Juden und Muslimen gleichermaßen mit großer Aufmerksamkeit verfolgt.

Diese Karte des Heiligen Landes aus dem Jahr 1560 ist als Fresco auf eine Wand im Apostolischen Palast im Vatikan gemalt. Sie zeigt weder eine Grenze noch eine der Waffenstillstandslinien, die es dort jemals gab. Nichts scheidet hier Israel vom Libanon, von Jordanien, Syrien, Ägypten oder dem Westjordanland und dem Gazastreifen. Erkennbar sind nur topografische Gegebenheiten: der Jordan, das Tote Meer, der See Genezareth, der Hermon, das Karmelgebirge, und das Nildelta, zwischen denen sich das Heilige Land im Goldton ausspannt. Karte des Heiligen Landes dank der Welt

>>> Von Martin Zöller | Freitag, 8. Mai 2009

FPÖ nimmt erneut an "Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress" teil
DIE PRESSE: Der Kongress findet am Wochenende in Köln statt und richtet sich hauptsächlich gegen eine geplante Moschee. Im Vorjahr kam es zu massiven Protesten gegen die Veranstaltung.

Die FPÖ wird auch heuer an dem "Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress" in Köln teilnehmen. Das gaben die Freiheitlichen am Donnerstag in einer Aussendung bekannt. Angeführt wird die Delegation von Generalsekretär Harald Vilimsky.

Der Veranstalter "pro Köln" lädt nach 2008 bereits das zweite mal rechtspopulistische Bewegungen aus ganz Europa ein, um ein Zeichen gegen eine Ausbreitung des Islam in Europa zu setzen. Die Veranstaltung am Samstag und Sonntag richtet sich hauptsächlich gegen eine geplante Moschee in Köln. Laut FPÖ-Aussendung ist er ein Forum, um zu einem Verbot von Minaretten aufzurufen, und gegen islamische Zentren zu demonstrieren. Letztere seien "vornehmlich Nährboden für Hassprediger und Demokratieverweigerer". Vilimsky wird einer der Hauptredner sein. Massive Proteste im Vorjahr >>> APA | Donnerstag, 7. Mai 2009

DIE PRESSE: Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress: Demonstration verboten

Die Kölner Polizei hat einen Demonstrationszug der rechten Bürgerbewegung "pro NRW" zum Ort einer geplanten Moschee untersagt. Bereits am Freitag protestierten Hunderte gegen die Anti-Islamisierungs-Konferenz.

Die rechtspopulistische Bürgerbewegung aus dem deutschen Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen "pro NRW" darf bei ihrem "Anti-Islamisierungskongress" am Samstag keinen Demonstrationszug zum Ort einer geplanten Moschee in Köln-Ehrenfeld veranstalten. Das Oberverwaltungsgericht entscheid am Freitag, die Voraussetzungen eines polizeilichen Notstandes seien erfüllt.

Auch im Fall einer - von "pro NRW" erwogenen - Verkürzung des Demonstrationszugs seien für die Absicherung neben den bereitgestellten 5651 Beamten weitere rund 2460 Einsatzkräfte erforderlich. Diese seien aber nicht verfügbar. "Pro NRW" hat angekündigt, das Bundesverfassungsgericht anzurufen. >>> Ag | Freitag, 8. Mai 2009

Benoit XVI : un «profond respect» pour les musulmans
LE FIGARO: Le pape est arrivé vendredi dans la capitale jordanienne, première étape de sa tournée au Proche Orient, où il espère que l'Eglise catholique pourra jouer un rôle dans le processus de paix.

Benoit XVI a exprimé son «profond respect» pour la communauté musulmane à son arrivée vendredi en Jordanie, première étape de son voyage en Terre sainte qui va durer huit jours. Le pape se rend en «pèlerin de la paix» dans une région troublée, où il s'est attiré la colère des juifs et des musulmans par certains propos et autres décisions.

«La liberté religieuse est naturellement un droit humain fondamental et mon espérance fervente et ma prière sont que le respect des droits inaliénables et de la dignité (...) soient toujours plus affirmés et défendus non seulement au Moyen-Orient mais partout dans le monde», a-t-il également déclaré à l'aéroport d'Amman, la capitale, où il a été accueilli par le roi Abdallah II, un descendant du prophète Mahomet, et la reine Rania.


Le souverain pontife a par ailleurs souligné que la Jordanie «a été depuis longtemps à l'avant-garde d'initiatives en faveur de la paix au Moyen-Orient et à travers le monde, en encourageant le dialogue interreligieux». Quelques heures avant que son avion ne se pose à Amman, le souverain pontife a déclaré à des journalistes qu'il espérait que l'Eglise catholique puisse jouer un rôle dans le processus de paix au Proche-Orient. Il a ainsi souligné que l'Eglise n'était pas une puissance politique mais une force spirituelle qui, a-t-il souhaité, soit en mesure d'apporter sa contribution pour tenter de sceller la paix entre Israéliens et Palestiniens. >>> Flore Galaud (lefigaro.fr) avec agences | Vendredi 08 Mai 2009

LE FIGARO: À Amman, Benoît XVI récuse
 le choc de civilisations

Vendredi, le roi Abdallah de Jordanie a accueilli le Souverain Pontife à son arrivée à l'aéroport d'Amman. Photo grâce au Figaro
Le Pape a commencé, vendredi en Jordanie, son pèlerinage en Terre sainte. Il a redit son «profond respect pour la communauté musulmane».

L'antichoc des civilisations. De sa petite voix, vendredi en Jordanie, Benoît XVI a voulu combattre l'idée de la fatalité du conflit entre le monde musulman et l'Occident. Trois ans après la crise de Ratisbonne où une phrase de son discours sur la «violence» de l'islam avait mis le feu aux poudres, le Pape est allé droit au but : «Ma visite en Jordanie me donne l'heureuse occasion de dire mon profond respect pour la communauté musulmane.»

Et de féliciter publiquement ce pays pour son «rôle déterminant» dans «la promotion d'une meilleure compréhension des vertus proclamées par l'islam». Le Pape a précisé : «Nous pouvons dire que ces précieuses initiatives ont obtenu de bons résultats en favorisant la promotion d'une alliance des civilisations entre l'Occident et le monde musulman mettant en échec les prédications de ceux qui considèrent inévitables la violence et les conflits.» >>> D’envoyé spécial du Figaro à Amman, Jean-Marie Guénois | Vendredi 08 Mai 2009

Profile: Michael Savage, the US Shock Jock Banned from Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Savage has a winning way with annoying callers to his talk show.

Radio talk show host Michael Savage. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
"Get Aids and die, you pig," the American radio "shock jock" told a purportedly homosexual man who once badmouthed his teeth.

He has plenty more vitriol to go around. Latinos "breed like rabbits" , Muslims "need deporting" and as for autistic children, "in 99 per cent of cases it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out".

Quite what he might say to Jacqui Smith if she called in is unclear, but it might just be: "Thank you very much".

Shock jocks thrive on controversy and notoriety, and the Home Secretary must have exceeded Savage's wildest dreams this week when she included him on a list of undesirables banned from entering Britain.

The 16 names were people who "fomented hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way" as to cause violence if they were allowed into the country, she told the BBC.

The story in half a dozen forms has been plastered over Savage's official website and alluded to liberally on Savage Nation, his nationally syndicated radio show. Even before the hullabaloo, the San Francisco-based show boasted 10 million listeners a week, the third most popular (behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) in US news talk radio. >>> By Tom Leonard | Thursday, May 7, 2009

Queen's Trinity Cross Medal Scrapped... Because It's 'Too Christian'
Caribbean storm: The old Trinity Cross (left) is replaced with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which has removed any Christian symbols. Images courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A medal personally established by the Queen is being withdrawn after it was deemed offensive to Muslims and Hindus.

The honour - known as The Trinity Cross of the Order of Trinity - has been ruled unlawful and too Christian.

It has been awarded to 62 distinguished residents of the former colony of Trinidad and Tobago over more than 40 years, including cricketers Brian Lara and Garfield Sobers, novelist V.S. Naipaul and many diplomats and politicians.

But groups representing the Caribbean islands' Muslim and Hindu communities - which account for around a third of their 1.3million-strong population - had argued that the words 'Trinity' and 'Cross' were 'overtly Christian'. They also said the use of a cross insignia was offensive.

Five British law lords, all members of the Privy Council, have ruled that the honour breached the right to equality and the right to freedom of conscience and belief. >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Disturbing, Changing Face of Britain: British Atheists and Christians Turning to Islam

Pope Praises Islam but Skirts Politics
Jordan's King Abdullah (R) and his wife Queen Rania welcome Pope Benedict XVI (L) upon his arrival at Queen Alia International airport in Amman May 8, 2009. Photo courtesy of Reuters
REUTERS: AMMAN - Pope Benedict began a delicate trip to the Middle East on Friday by expressing "deep respect" for Islam and calling for a three-way dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews to help peace.

The 82-year-old pope appeared careful to avoid politically tinged statements at the start of his first visit to the region, which will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community," Benedict said in his arrival address, praising King Abdullah for his work in "promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam."

Benedict's Regensburg speech in 2006, in which he implied Islam was violent and irrational, still rankles in the Islamic world. Jordanian Islamist leaders have denounced the visit, saying he should apologise for the Regensburg speech first.

The pope tactfully avoided politics in responding to reporters' questions on the plane taking him to Jordan, stressing the potential of religion to help resolve conflicts.

"We are not a political power but a spiritual force and this spiritual force is a reality that can contribute to progress in the peace process," he told journalists aboard his airplane.

"As believers we are convinced that prayer is a real force, it opens the world to God. We are convinced that God listens and can affect history and I think that if millions of believers pray it really is a force that has influence and can make a contribution to moving ahead with peace," he said. >>> By Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan. Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi, editing by Mark Trevelyan | Friday, May 8, 2009

Watch BBC video: Pope Benedict XVI says he has 'deep respect' for the Muslim community >>>

BBC:
Pope Begins Mid-East Pilgrimage >>> | Friday, May 8, 2009

Johann Hari: Dear God, Stop Brainwashing Children
THE INDEPENDENT: Worship is forced on 99 per cent of children without even asking what they think

Let us now put our hands together and pray. O God, we gather here today to ask you to free our schoolchildren from being forced to go through this charade every day. As you know, O Lord, because You see all, British law requires every schoolchild to participate in "an act of collective worship" every 24 hours. Irrespective of what the child thinks or believes, they are shepherded into a hall, silenced, and forced to pray – or pretend to.

If they refuse to bow their heads to You, they are punished. This happened to me, because I protested that there is no evidence whatsoever that You exist, and plenty of proof that shows the texts describing You are filled with falsehoods. When I pointed this out, I was told to stop being "blasphemous" and threatened with detention. "Shut up and pray," a teacher told me on one occasion. Are you proud, O Lord?

Forcing children to take part in religious worship every day is a law worthy of a theocracy, not a liberal democracy where 70 per cent of adults never attend a religious ceremony. That's why the Association of Teachers and Lecturers – one of the teachers' unions – has recently moved to ask the Government to stop forcing its members to take part in this practice.

Why does this anachronism persist in this blessedly irreligious country? For all their whining that they are "persecuted", the religious minority in Britain are in fact accorded remarkable privileges. They are given a bench-full of unelected positions in the legislature, protection from criticism in the law, and vast amounts of public money to indoctrinate children into their belief systems in every school in the land. >>> Johann Hari | Friday, May 8, 2009

Muslim Dentist 'Refused to Treat Female Patients Unless They Wore Islamic Dress'
Omer Butt. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A Muslim dentist refused to treat patients unless they wore traditional Islamic dress, it was alleged today.

Omer Butt, 32, ordered women to put on head scarves or he would not register them or their families at his NHS-funded clinic, it was claimed.

At least two patients were left in pain after they declined to follow his self-imposed rules, the General Dental Council heard.

It is the second time that the dentist - who is the brother of a former spokesman of the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun - has appeared before the council's disciplinary panel on similar allegations.

Two years ago he was reprimanded for telling an Asian mother-of-two he would not register her unless she wore the Muslim hijab.

The GDC heard how Butt believed it was his duty to stop Muslim patients committing what he believed was a religious sin.

He even put a laminated sign on the wall of his waiting room telling patients they would have to adhere to his strict dress code or find another dentist.

John Snell, for the GDC, said: 'He sought to impose a dress code on patients attending his practice.

'He required that women cover their hair with a head scarf, or hijab, and that male patients remove any gold jewellery.

'If he had simply expressed a preference, without imposing any compulsion to adhere to this dress code, there may be no cause for complaint.

'However, he insisted - and those who did not comply were refused treatment.

'He made compliance with Islamic dress code a condition of treatment, which is entirely inappropriate under the auspices of the National Health Service.

'Patients should have access to NHS treatment regardless of their religious observance, or otherwise.' >>> By Tom Kelly | Friday, May 8, 2009

Saudi Beauty Pageant Aims to Find a Very Different Model of Cover Girl
Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder but in a country where a woman’s eyes are the only feature on public display, judging a beauty pageant could prove awkward.

For that reason the future Miss Saudi Arabia will not win on the merits of her figure in a bikini or her perfect skin, but will instead secure the coveted crown by dint of her devotion to her parents and Islamic values.

As of tomorrow 200 veiled hopefuls will start a ten-week process to find the winner of “Miss Beautiful Morals”, including a workshop entitled “Mum, paradise is at your feet”, a reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s dictum that respect for one’s parents is a foundation of the faith. “The idea of the pageant is to measure the contestants’ commitment to Islamic morals . . . It’s an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman’s body and looks,” Khadra al-Mubarak, the event’s founder, said.

Unlike other competitions abroad, there will be no men involved at any stage in Saudi Arabia’s only contest for young women and it will not be televised, allowing the competitors to take off the veils and black abayas that cover Saudi women from head to toe. “The winner won’t necessarily be pretty,” Ms al-Mubarak said. “We care about the beauty of the soul and the morals.” >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, May 8, 2009

Fanatic Freed to Stir Up Hate; Yet the Home Secretary Finds It Necessary to Ban Michael Savage from Entering the Country!
DAILY EXPRESS: A RACE hate preacher who praised the July 7 London suicide bombers has been freed from jail – after serving barely 12 months of a four-and-a-half year sentence.

FREED: Abu Izzadeen left jail after serving barely 12 months of a four-and-a-half year sentence. Photo courtesy of the Daily Express
Abu Izzadeen, 33, was back on the streets ­yesterday after ­being jailed for inciting UK Muslims to kill British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The firebrand cleric praised suicide bombers, tried to justify the beheading of British hostage Ken Bigley in Iraq, and told followers: “The Americans and British only ­understand one language. It’s the language of blood.”

Last night Tory MP Patrick Mercer condemned Britain’s soft-bellied justice and warned: “This man will be back on the streets shortly, preaching hate, subverting young minds and trying to inspire people to violence and suicide.”

Izzadeen – born Trevor Brooks in Jamaica – has nine children and will rake in around £800 a month in benefits.

He posed ­outside his east London home yesterday but declined to answer questions, saying only: “I am in a rush, I have got an appointment.”

His sentence was cut by the Court of Appeal. Judges took a year off at a hearing last week, as well as reducing the sentences of four other Islamic extremists. Fanatic Freed to Stir Up Hate >>> By John Twomey | Thursday, May 7, 2009

‘Shock Jock’ Michael Savage Tells His Listeners to Boycott Britain

TIMESONLINE: The American “shock jock” radio host Michael Savage, who was included on a Home Office list of 16 people banned from entering the country, last night urged his listeners to boycott Britain.

He told his audience that Americans should not travel to Britain or buy British goods, and delivered a personal message to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who made the decision to include him on the list of unwanted foreigners: “Unless you remove my name forthwith, unless you admit you made a mistake, I will bring a major libel suit against you personally and I will win.”

Mr Savage opened fire on the Home Secretary on the conservative news website WorldNetDaily , where he said that his message to her and the British people was: “Shame on you. Shame that you’ve fallen to such a low level.”

“It’s interesting to me that here I am, a talk show host who does not advocate violence, who advocates patriotic traditional values — borders, language, culture — who is now on a list banned in England.

“What does that say about the Government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.” Mr Savage, 67, said that he had no plans to travel to Britain, which he last visited more than 20 years ago, and joked to the San Francisco Chronicle:

“My first thought was, damn, there goes the summer trip where I planned to have my dental work done. My second thought was, darn, there goes my visit to the restaurants of England for their great cuisine.” >>> Mike Harvey in San Francisco, Richard Ford and Frances Gibb | Thursday, May 7, 2009

Barack Obama Demands Afghanistan and Pakistan Unite against Taliban
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has demanded that the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan intensify their campaigns against the Taliban amid fears the region could be overrun by extremism.

Pakistani paramilitary maintain a position on a high post in the troubled area of Pakistan's Lower Dir district, Sunday, April 26. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Both the US president and Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, held frank discussions with Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari, the countries' respective leaders, at the White House before a declaration was due to be issued underlining their commitment to co-operate in the battle against terrorism.

Dozens of other meetings were also held at ministerial level in a "tripartite summit" in Washington, as the Obama administration sought to build collaboration between neighbours who have a history of suspicion and mistrust, and to convince them of Washington's sincere interest in their plights.

With the war in Afganistan no nearer to an end, and Pakistan's civilian government in danger of collapse, Mrs Clinton told the two leaders: "We have made this common cause because we face a common threat. We have a common task, and a common challenge.

"We know that each of your countries is struggling with the extremists who would destabilise and undermine democracy."

Mr Zardari, the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto who has governed Pakistan for eight turbulent months, promised to "stand shoulder to shoulder against this cancer, this threat" of terrorism with his "dear brother" Mr Karzai and Washington. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Michael Savage BANNED From The UK - Opening Monologue, May 5, 2009

The Savage Nation >>>

Michael Savage: Winston Churchill on Islam

Michael Savage on Islam