Al hamdu lillah! Women Barred from Cairo Clubs as Backlash Stirs Against the Hijab
Many Egyptians feel alarmed and besieged by the tilt towards religion. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Yasmine al-Mehairy did not even really want to be there. She had been invited to a friend’s birthday party at an upmarket nightclub called 35, in the Four Seasons hotel. She was parked illegally but only planned to hand over a bouquet and spend ten minutes inside. But when the bouncer pointed at her headscarf as the reason she could not enter, Ms al-Mehairy decided to fight.

“I ended up arguing with the guy for longer than I would have stayed in the first place if he just let me in,” said the 29-year-old IT professional, who eventually gave up and called her friend to meet her at the door and accept her birthday flowers.

Egypt’s steady drift towards religion has been well documented. But now there are signs of a backlash. In trendy clubs and cafés across Cairo, the hair and neck-covering scarf known as the hijab is increasingly being shunned as unacceptable dress.

Several bars and restaurants where alcohol is served now essentially ban veiled women from entering. The policy is more open in some places than others but seems to apply to at least half a dozen Cairo venues.

“They always give you the ‘there’s going to be alcohol’ reason,” said a Western-raised veiled Arab woman who has lived in Cairo since 2006. “In Egypt it’s mostly that they don’t like the look of it. They want to maintain some sort of prestige,” the woman, who did not want her name to be published, told The Times.

Club and restaurant managers refused to comment on the record about the ban, but several questioned why a devout veiled woman would even want to attend venues that served alcohol. One manager of a Cairo club, however, said that the restrictions were less about protecting the veiled women from “sinful” environments than about shielding the club’s core clients from having to look at veiled women. “It causes a lot of discomfort and doesn’t create the atmosphere I need to make money,” the manager said. “I can either make my regulars comfortable or I make the other 1 per cent comfortable.” >>> Ashraf Khalil in Cairo | Saturday, February 27, 2010

The Editor of Politiken,Tøger Seidenfaden, Has Found It Necessary to Apologise for the Printing of Muhammad Cartoons. The Editor of This Blog, Does Not. So Here They Are, In All Their Glory!

THE GUARDIAN – An extract: The leader of the rightwing Danish People's party, Pia Kjærsgaard, called the situation absurd, and said that Politiken had sold out. She urged Danish newspapers to reprint the cartoons as a protest against Politiken's settlement. "It is deeply, deeply embarrassing that [Politiken's editor] Tøger Seidenfaden has sold out of Denmark's and the west's freedom of speech. I cannot distance myself enough from this total sellout to this doctrine," Kjærsgaard said. [Source: The Guardian] Lars Eriksen in Copenhagen | Friday, February 26, 2010

JYLLANDS POSTEN: Danish newspaper enters deal with organisations and offers apology for offending them with images of the Prophet Mohammed Politiken newspaper, one of 11 Danish newspapers that reprinted the Mohammed cartoons, has issued an apology to eight Muslim organisations for offending...

Opposition leaders Helle-Thorning Schmidt of the Social Democrats and Villy Søvndal of the Socialist People’s Party called the move ‘outrageous’ and said deals should not be done involving freedom of speech. Paper apologises for Mohammed cartoons [JP] | Friday, February 26, 2010

Dhimmitude! Danish Newspaper Provokes Uproar with Apology Over Muhammad Cartoon
There’s a fool born every minute! Shame on you, Mr Seidenfaden! Shame on your newspaper, too! It is to be hoped that the Danes will, from now on, boycott your newspaper. – Mark
TIMES ONLINE: A leading Danish newspaper was today accused of betraying the freedom of the press after breaking ranks with its rivals to offer an apology to Muslims for publishing a cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban.

Politiken issued the apology after settling with a Saudi lawyer representing eight Muslim groups that complained after the cartoon was reprinted by 11 Danish papers in solidarity with the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who received death threats last year.

Outrage at the move was led by Denmark’s Prime Minister and by Mr Westergaard, 74, who survived an alleged assassination attempt by an Islamic axeman at his home last month.

Politiken responded that it was apologising for the offence caused, not the decision to publish, in an attempt to reduce tensions with the Muslim world.

Lars Loekke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister, expressed surprise at Politiken's move, saying he was worried that the Danish media were no longer “standing shoulder to shoulder” on the issue.

Mr Westergaard, who has round-the-clock security, added: “I fear this is a setback for the freedom of speech.” >>> David Charter, Europe Correspondent | Friday, February 26, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Danish newspaper apologises in Muhammad cartoons row: Politiken widely condemned for agreeing to publish apology in return for Muslim organisations dropping legal action

A Danish newspaper apologised today to eight Muslim organisations for the offence it caused by reprinting controversial cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, in exchange for their dropping legal action against the newspaper. >>> Lars Eriksen in Copenhagen | Friday, February 26, 2010

World Condemns Gaddafi's Call for Jihad Against Switzerland
THE TELEGRAPH: World powers have reacted with outrage to a call by Colonel Gaddafi of Libya for holy war on the "obscene, infidel" state of Switzerland.

Col Gaddafi took a long-running and personal feud with the historically neutral European country to new heights with a speech in which he attacked the ban on new minarets on mosques approved by a Swiss referendum last year.

"Those who destroy God's mosques deserve to be attacked through jihad, and if Switzerland was on our borders, we would fight it," he said. "Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism."

He called for a boycott of Switzerland by the Islamic world. "Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against Mohammad, God and the Koran," he said.

"The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbours and prevent any Swiss ships docking, inspect all shops and markets to stop any Swiss goods being sold."

Col Gaddafi's typically eccentric row with Switzerland, which began when one of his sons was arrested along with his wife because of allegations of abuse by two members of his domestic staff, has come as a blow to western powers.

They thought that they had managed to tame the Libyan leader after he voluntarily gave up a basic nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and agreed a compensation deal over the Lockerbie bombing.

Yesterday, both the European Union and the United Nations hit out at his speech. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, February 26, 2010

Conversion au christianisme en Algérie

Conversion au christianisme en Algérie "Djam's"
Uploaded by kadosh777. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Ex-Muslim Barino über Islam und Gewalt – Violence in Islam

Ex-Muslim Barino über Islam und Gewalt - Violence in Islam
Uploaded by kadosh777. - News videos from around the world.

Koran im Kopf / The Quran on My Mind
Teil / Part 1:



Teil / Part 2:



Teil / Part 3:



Diese Geschichte ist auch hier zu finden

Nine Dead in Kabul Bombing

«Il ne faut pas sous-estimer l'appel de Kadhafi»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: DJIHAD CONTRE LA SUISSE | Selon l'expert en droit international Marcelo Kohen, les propos de Mouammar Kadhafi n'ont aucun écho auprès des gouvernements arabes, mais pourraient être entendus par des groupes terroristes.

Les propos agressifs du leader libyen ne sont pas une nouveauté. Interrogé par l'ATS, le professeur de droit international Marcelo Kohen rappelle qu'en septembre dernier, le colonel Kadhafi avait demandé aux Nations unies de mettre à l'ordre du jour de l'Asssemblée générale la dissolution de la Suisse.

"Ces actes sont graves. Il existe une menace contre la Suisse. Elle peut effectivement saisir le Conseil de sécurité et lui demander de prendre les mesures nécessaires dans le contexte de ses compétences pour le maintien de la paix et de la sécurité internationales", affirme M. Kohen.

"Mais dans cette affaire, la Suisse n'est pas totalement blanche et ne peut se poser uniquement en victime", ajoute ce professeur à l'Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID) à Genève. >>> ATS | Vendredi 26 Février 2010

Kadhafi appelle à la guerre sainte contre la Suisse
Mouammar Kadhafi a multiplié les provocations à l'encontre de la Suisse depuis 2008. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Jeudi, le dirigeant libyen a également demandé aux musulmans du monde entier de boycotter les produits helvétiques. En cause : l'interdiction des minarets, décidée en novembre. Une provocation qui attise la tension entre Berne et Tripoli.

Mouammar Kadhafi a encore frappé. Le guide de la révolution libyenne, adepte des déclarations provocatrices, a appelé jeudi à la guerre sainte contre la Suisse. Il a également demandé aux pays musulmans du monde entier de boycotter les produits suisses d'interdire les avions et navires helvètes dans leurs ports et aéroports.

La raison de cette nouvelle diatribe ? L'interdiction de la construction de nouveaux minarets en Suisse, décidée par référendum en novembre dernier. «Ceux qui détruisent les mosquées de Dieu méritent d'être attaqués par le djihad et si la Suisse était à nos frontières, nous la combattrions», a déclaré Kadhafi qui s'exprimait avant un rassemblement marquant l'anniversaire de la naissance du prophète Mahomet. Avant de reprendre: «Boycottez la Suisse. Boycottez ses marchandises, boycottez ses avions, ses navires, ses ambassades, boycottez cette race mécréante, apostate, qui agresse des maisons d'Allah». Une tirade d'une violence rare chez un chef d'Etat, généralement réservée aux réseaux terroristes islamistes.

Vendredi, l'ONU a répondu aux menaces de Kadhafi par la voix de son directeur général, basé au siège européen de Genève. Serguei Ordzhonikidze a déclaré que «de telles déclarations de la part d'un chef d'Etat sont inadmissibles dans le cadre des relations internationales». Paris juge de son côté «inacceptable» l'appel du dirigeant libyen. Côté suisse, la réaction officielle se fait toujours attendre. Jeudi, le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères Lars Knuchel n'a pas voulu commenter ces déclarations. Sur cette affaire, Berne semble vouloir faire preuve de prudence et de diplomatie. >>> Par Jim Jarrassé | Vendredi 26 Février 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Colonel Gaddafi calls for jihad against Switzerland: Colonel Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has called for a jihad or armed struggle against Switzerland branding it an "infidel state". >>> Martin Evans | Friday, February 26, 2010

Related / Liens en relation avec les articles:

Gaddafi Calls for Holy War on Switzerland >>> | Thursday, February 25, 2010

Obama Appreciates Islam and the Koran

Obama Recites The Islamic Call To Prayer In Perfect Arabic / The Adhan

Violence in Thailand's Muslim South Intensifies - VOA Story (2007)


Hat tip: Islamization Watch

The Falklands Betrayal: U.S. Fails to Back British Oil Claims After Row Over American Torture Secrets
MAIL ONLINE: Hillary Clinton 'prepared to mediate' in Falklands row / Spanish oil company to drill near Falklands

U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton is due to meet with Argentina's president amid accusations of a snub to Britain over America's refusal to support the UK in the Falklands oil drilling row.

Mrs Clinton is to meet Cristina Ferndandez de Kirchner in Uruguay on March 1, Argentina's ambassador to the U.S. has announced.

Hopes are high in Argentina that Mrs Clinton will intervene on the country's behalf in the row with Britain over the disputed territory.

Respected Argentine newspaper La Nacion quoted State Department sources that claimed Mrs Clinton was 'prepared to mediate' in the row.

America's lack of support for Britain was last night blamed on the UK's decision to release sensitive U.S. intelligence on a terror suspect.

President Barack Obama was accused of being 'feeble' by failing to back London in the stand-off with Argentina over the disputed islands, despite the 'special relationship'.

Mrs Clinton and Mrs Kirchner are meeting in Uruguay as they attend the presidential inauguration there of José Mujica.

Argentina already has the support of Latin America and the Caribbean in the row with Britain, and regional leaders are expected to press the case with Mrs Clinton.

London and Buenos Aires are at odds over UK firm Desire Petroleum's decision to drill for oil 60 miles north of the Falklands.

Geologists estimate there are up to 60billion barrels of oil in the seabed.

The Argentine government has tabled a UN resolution condemning the plan. It has also secured backing from 32 South American nations supporting its claim that Britain has occupied the islands illegally since 1833.

But despite Argentina's sabrerattling, senior U.S. officials insist Washington's position on the oil drilling is neutral.

It is also 'taking no position' on the issue of sovereignty of the islands in the South Atlantic. >>> Ian Drury | Friday, February 26, 2010

'Racist' School Bus Drivers 'Refusing to Stop for Young Muslim Girls Who Are Wearing the Hijab'
MAIL ONLINE: School bus drivers have been accused of racism after failing to stop for pupils wearing Muslim hijabs.

Young girls have claimed they are being bullied on board for dressing in the traditional veil which covers the head.

To avoid trouble, ‘cowardly’ drivers are allegedly ignoring pupils who wait at bus stops wearing the headscarf.

Following a police investigation, officers will now be drafted on to board the buses to protect the students from ‘racist’ taunts of other passengers.

The problems centre on Merseytravel and pupils attending West Derby's Holly Lodge Girls' College in Merseyside, where 10 per cent of the 11,274 11 to 18-year-old students are from ethnic minorities.

Members of the Muslim community said the issue was a long-running one. >>> Carol Driver | Friday, February 26, 2010

Eine deutsche Apostatin aus einer türkischen Familie spricht / A German Apostate of Islam from a Turkish Family Speaks

Farage Facing Punishment
EUROPEAN VOICE: Personal attack on Belgian leader of the EU's highest body lands UK Eurosceptic in hot water.

The leader of the UK Independence Party's group in the European Parliament may be punished for attacking the president of the European Council in highly personal terms in a debate yesterday.

Aides to the Parliament's president, Jerzy Buzek, said he was “exploring appropriate measures” against Nigel Farage, who said Herman Van Rompuy had “the charisma of a damp rag”.

He continued in a similar vein by comparing the head of the EU's top institution to a “low-grade bank clerk” and labelled the ex-Belgian premier's country “pretty much a non-country”.

Buzek also intends to summon Farage for private discussions. Buzek has already described Farage's “character assassinations” as “inadmissible.” >>> Constant Brand | Thursday, February 25, 2010

Swiss Irrationality Drags EU into Dispute with Friendly Libya
THE TRIPOLI POST: Last week Libya announced it would cease issuing visas to citizens of European countries in the Schengen zone.

Even citizens currently in possession of visas would be denied entry. The reason was some irrational decisions made by the Swiss government starting in the summer of 2008.

In doing so, Libya was merely retaliating to rather unjustified Swiss government's decision to blacklist 186 Libyans.

The Swiss action means that no Schengen country, can issue full Schengen visas to the Libyans on the blacklist.

By doing so, the government of Switzerland dragged the whole of the EU countries into unnecessary dispute with an ever friendly Libya where these Europeans are finding ample business opportunities.

Knowing that Bern was acting irresponsibly and continuously failing to solve a problem that should have been solved long ago, Italy, Spain and Malta moved to help mediate between Tripoli and Bern.

On Thursday, Libyan Secretary of Foreign Liaison Mr. Mousa Kousa held talks in Madrid with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline-Calmy Rey days after Tripoli blocked visas to citizens of the 25-nation Schengen Area. The talks were mediated by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos whose country holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.

"There has been progress and overall a will to find a solution, but I cannot hide the difficulty, the difficult situation which Libyan and Swiss authorities are in at the moment," Moratinos told a news conference on Thursday.

"There are advances and the will to find a solution, but it is a difficult situation at the moment," said Moratinos, who met with the two ministers both separately and jointly.

Kousa did not comment on the talks and Calmy-Rey only said the three countries would "keep working" in the search for a solution.

There is a possibility that the negotiations to solve the dispute that entangled the rest of Europe will continue in Berlin on Friday.

Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said Switzerland, which earlier this year operationally joined the Schengen zone of free movement for people in Europe, was abusing the agreement.

Frattini told Italian media that Swiss tensions with Libya were holding "hostage" the 25 member Schengen zone and that the Alpine country could have avoided the current troubles. >>> | Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Egyptian Priests Ate Like Gods – and Paid by Dying Young
A wealthy couple bring gifts to Osiris. After rituals, priests and their families ate the rich food offered to the gods. Image: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: The banquets offered by high priests to appease the gods of Ancient Egypt may have been welcomed as a perk of the job but they also increased their chances of cardiovascular disease and early death, research suggests.

The priests, a powerful bureaucracy under the pharaohs, would place vast plates of roast fowl and copious quantities of wine and beer before a god’s statue in a rite repeated three times each day. Then the food was divided up among the priesthood and taken home from the temple to be shared with their families.

Egyptologists and scientists at the University of Manchester have disclosed in The Lancet the cost of keeping the gods happy. By combining translations of hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls showing details of food offered to the gods with analysis of mummified remains, they have assessed their atherosclerosis, the build-up of fat and calcium in the arteries.

The findings show that cardiovascular disease affected the privileged of Ancient Egypt long before fried food and a sedentary life made heart attacks and strokes a modern killer. Rosalie David, of the university’s KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, said that it was a telling message: “Live like a god and you will pay with your health.” >>> Russell Jenkins | Friday, February 26, 2010

North Dakota’s Oil Boom