Obama korrigiert Rede über Moschee-Bau: Nach schwerer Kritik relativiert der Präsident seine Aussage
NZZ ONLINE: Nur einen Tag nachdem er den Bau einer Moschee in der Nähe des zerstörten New Yorker World Trade Center anscheinend unterstützt hatte, hat Präsident Obama seine Worte korrigiert.

Der Bau eines islamischen Zentrums und einer Moschee im Süden New Yorks, nur wenige hundert Meter von dem am 11. September 2001 in Terrorattacken zerstörten World Trade Center entfernt, ist heftig umstritten. Obwohl das Vorhaben von Bürgermeister Bloomberg und den zuständigen Behörden der Stadt unterstützt wird, hat sich das Weisse Haus lange aus der delikaten Kontroverse herausgehalten.

Das änderte sich am Freitagabend, als Präsident Obama in einer Rede das Recht von Muslimen verteidigte, die Moschee zu bauen. Seine Worte erweckten den Eindruck, dass er den Platz in der Nähe des ehemaligen World Trade Center billige. Er löste damit eine Welle der Kritik aus. So sagte John Boehner, der Fraktionsführer der Republikaner im Repräsentantenhaus, der Präsident stelle sich mit seiner Unterstützung auf die falsche Seite. Bei dem Bauvorhaben handle es sich nicht um eine Frage des Rechtes oder der religiösen Freiheit. Es gehe vielmehr um «Respekt vor einem tragischen Ereignis in unserer Geschichte». Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Gerd Brüggemann, Washington | Montag, 16. August 2010

Turkey Told to Change Stance on Israel for US Arms Deals
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has warned the Turkish prime minister that Ankara's position on Israel and Iran could lessen its chances of obtaining US weapons.

Erdogan: The United States voiced disappointment after Turkey voted against fresh UN sanctions on Iran, which the United Nations Security Council adopted in June. Photo: The Telegraph
The Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants to buy American drone aircraft to attack separatist Kurdish rebels after the US military withdraws from Iraq at the end of 2011.

The rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has bases in the mountains in the north of Iraq, near the Turkish border.

"The president has said to Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill (Congress)," a senior administration official told the Financial Times newspaper.

These questions centred on "whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally," said the official. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Monday, August 16, 2010

Gadaffi's Son to Throw Party to Celebrate Release of Al Megrahi One Year Ago
MAIL ONLINE: The son of Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi is to celebrate the first anniversary of the Lockerbie bomber's release by giving a party for him.

Saif Gadaffi, whose friends include Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, will attend the revelry for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in his two-storey house in Tripoli.

He will foot the bill for food and drink, following a day's fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

When Megrahi, 58, was released on August 20 last year, Scottish authorities said he had only three months to live and was 'going home to die'.

Frank Duggan, a lawyer and spokesman for the families of the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing, said: 'Megrahi is obviously still deemed a hero in Libya.

'Saif Gadaffi was instrumental in pulling off a public relations masterstroke to get him released on the 40th anniversary of the Libyan revolution. >>> Gerri Peev | Sunday, August 15, 2010

Abdur Raheem Green: Growing the Beard [in Islam]

Mosquée à Ground Zero: les républicains s'en prennent à Obama
«Je pense qu'il n'est pas judicieux de construire une mosquée à l'endroit où 3000 Américains ont perdu la vie après un attentat. Pour moi, cela montre que Washington, la Maison Blanche, l'administration et le président lui-même sont déconnectés» de la population, a ajouté le sénateur républicain du Texas, John Cornyn. Photo : Cyberpresse.ca
CYBERPRESSE: Plusieurs élus républicains sont revenus à la charge dimanche pour dénoncer les propos de Barack Obama défendant le droit de bâtir une mosquée près de Ground Zero, le présentant notamment comme «déconnecté» de la population.

«Il ne s'agit pas de liberté de culte, parce que nous respectons tous le droit que chacun a de prier selon sa conscience», a dit le sénateur républicain du Texas, John Cornyn, sur la chaîne Fox News Sunday.

«Mais je pense qu'il n'est pas judicieux de construire une mosquée à l'endroit où 3000 Américains ont perdu la vie après un attentat. Pour moi, cela montre que Washington, la Maison Blanche, l'administration et le président lui-même sont déconnectés» de la population, a ajouté l'élu.

À moins de trois mois des élections législatives de mi-mandat, et alors qu'une majorité d'Américains voient ce projet d'un mauvais oeil, M. Obama a défendu vendredi le droit de mener à bien ce projet controversé à proximité des lieux des attentats qui avaient fait quelque 3000 morts en 2001. >>> Agence France-Presse,
Washington | Dimanche 15 Août 2010

Palin Mocks Obama Over Ground Zero Mosque
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: 'This is not above your pay grade,' ex-Alaska governor tweets

WASHINGTON - Republicans pounced Sunday on U.S. President Barack Obama's comments supporting the right to build a mosque near Ground Zero, painting him as out of touch less than three months before key mid-term elections.

Democrats and Republicans squared off on whether it was appropriate for Obama to wade into the fray over the Islamic centre, which would include a mosque and would be built two city blocks away from the site of the former World Trade Center.

At a Friday Iftar dinner at the White House to mark Ramadan, Obama said Muslims "have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country," including by building a mosque in lower Manhattan.

But the next day Obama appeared to dial back from his support, clarifying that he was commenting on rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and not on "the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," a location he acknowledged as "hallowed ground."

Conservatives swiftly seized on Obama's comments, which came after the White House had for weeks declined comment on the controversy and deemed it local issue, and several prominent Republicans hammered home the message on Sunday political talk shows.

"This is not about freedom of religion, because we all respect the right of anyone to worship according to the dictates of their conscience," U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said on Fox News Sunday. "But I do think it's unwise ... to build a mosque at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of a terrorist attack. And I think to me it demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America." >>> Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse | Sunday, August 15, 2010

Cameron and Royals Attend 65th VJ Commemoration
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Veterans, politicians and royalty gathered today to remember the bravery, dedication and sacrifices of those who fought for their country during the Second World War.



Veterans, politicians and royalty gathered today to remember the bravery, dedication and sacrifices of those who fought for their country during the Second World War.

Prime Minister David Cameron, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined representatives of the three military Services and veterans of the conflict to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day).

The servicemen, many wearing their campaign medals, came together in Whitehall to reunite with long-lost comrades and acknowledge the thousands who did not make it back. >>> | Sunday, August 15, 2010

The Obama Deception

Le Hamas contre tout dialogue Abbas-Israël
leJDD.fr: Le Hamas et d'autres mouvements palestiniens ont exhorté dimanche Mahmoud Abbas à ne pas reprendre les négociations de paix directes avec Israël. Pour les organisations palestiniennes, réunies à Damas, la capitale syrienne, "insister sur la tenue de pourparlers directs revient à lancer une bouée de sauvetage à Israël au moment où son isolement s'accroît". Le Front démocratique de libération de la Palestine, partisan de longue date de négociations avec Israël et détenteur d'un portefeuille au gouvernement de l'Autorité palestinienne, a également signé le communiqué commun. [Source: leJDD.fr] | Dimanche 15 Août 2010

Barack Obama und die Moschee-Zwickmühle
WELT ONLINE: Erst war er für die Moschee an Ground Zero, dann doch nicht: Obamas Hin und Her ist symptomatisch für die verfahrene Debatte.

Barack Obama hat seine Unterstützung für den umstrittenen Bau einer Moschee nahe Ground Zero in Manhattan eingeschränkt. Er habe nicht kommentiert, ob es „klug“ sei, ein 13 Stockwerke hohes islamisches Zentrum mit einer Moschee nahe dem „geweihten Boden“ der Anschläge vom 11.September zu errichten – und werde dies auch künftig nicht tun, sagte der US-Präsident.

Zuvor hatte Obama anlässlich einer Feier zum Fastmonat Ramadan im Weißen Haus die seit der Gründung der USA verbürgten Rechte auf Gleichbehandlung und freie Religionsausübung verteidigt. Diese schlössen den Bau einer Moschee in New York auf privatem Grund ein. Das Bekenntnis zur Religionsfreiheit müsse „unerschütterlich“ sein.

An seinem Urlaubsort in Panama City an der Golfküste zeigte sich Obama von der sogleich aufbrandenden Kritik von Angehörigen der 9/11-Opfer und prominenten Republikanern erschüttert genug, sein Bekenntnis zu der Rechtmäßigkeit einer Moschee auch nahe Ground Zero nachzubessern. Newt Gingrich, früher Sprecher des Republikantenhauses mit Ambitionen im Präsidentschaftswahlkampf 2012, nannte die geplante Moschee in dem 100 Millionen Dollar teuren „Cordoba Haus“ ein „Symbol muslimischen Triumphalismus“. Ebenso gut könne man Hakenkreuze neben dem Holocaust-Museum aufstellen.

Krude Nazi-Vergleiche sind in dem Streit beliebt. Der rechtskonservative Kolumnist Charles Krauthammer schrieb, eine Moschee nahe von Ground Zero sei wie „ein Wagner-Konzert in Auschwitz“. Oder ein deutsches Kulturzentrum in Treblinka. Eine Opferangehörige, Debra Burlingame, beklagte bitter: „Der Präsident hat sich entschieden, unsere Erinnerungen an 9/11 für obsolet und die Heiligkeit von Ground Zero für beendet zu erklären.“ Laut einer CNN-Umfrage sind 68 Prozent der Amerikaner gegen den Bau einer Moschee zwei Häuserblocks von Ground Zero. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Uwe Schmitt | Sonntag, 15. August 2010

Saudi Arabia's Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi Dies
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia's labour minister Ghazi Algosaibi has died, two weeks after a ban on his books was lifted in the kingdom

Mr Algosaibi, 70, was a former ambassador to London and a confidant of King Abdullah, whose push for reform in Saudi Arabia fostered divisions among reformists and the most conservative clerics.

He was also a writer and poet whose liberal tone provoked the ire of both the official clerical establishment and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who singled him out in a taped message in 2006.

"He is a man to be missed ... as a moderniser, government official, poet and commentator," said political analyst Jamal Khashoggi. >>> | Sunday, August 15, 2010

ARAB NEWS: Saudi labor minister, author dies of cancer: JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's labor minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi died of cancer in Riyadh on Sunday, two weeks after a ban on his books was lifted in the kingdom, Al Arabiya television reported. >>> Reuters | Sunday, August 15, 2010

Barack Obama Backtracks Over Ground Zero Mosque Support
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has backtracked over his enthusiastic support for the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, saying he was "not commenting on the wisdom of making the decision".

President Barack Obama. Photo: The Telegraph
The decision to build an [sic] 15-storey Islamic centre in Manhattan, including a mosque, two blocks from the Ground Zero site of the September 11th terrorist attacks has incensed many Americans, with polls indicating that more than two-thirds oppose it.

Speaking at an iftar dinner held at the White House on Friday to mark the breaking of the Ramadan fast, Mr Obama abandoned his administration's previous stance that there would be no comment on the "local" issue.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," he said. "And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances." >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Sunday, August 15, 2010

GOP Takes Harsher Stance Toward Islam
The Republican response to Obama's speech marks a shift in the party's posture toward Islam. Photographs: Politico
POLITICO: The harsh Republican response to President Barack Obama's defense of a mosque near ground zero marks a dramatic shift in the party's posture toward Islam — from a once active courtship of Muslim voters to a very public tolerance after Sept. 11 to an openly aired sense of mistrust.

Republican leaders have largely abandoned former President George W. Bush's post-Sept. 11 rhetorical embrace of American Muslims and his insistence — always controversial inside the party — that Islam is a religion of peace. This weekend, former Bush aides were among the very few Republicans siding with Obama, as many of the party's leaders have moved toward more vocal denunciations of Islam's role in violence abroad and suspicion of its place at home.

The shift plays to a hostility toward Islam among many Republican voters, and it fits with traditional Republican attacks on Democratic weakness on security policy.

"Bush went against the grain of his own constituency," said Allen Roth, a political aide to conservative billionaire Ron Lauder and, independently, a key organizer of the fight against the mosque. "This is part of an underlying set of security issues that could play a significant role in the elections this November."

Obama's remarks provide a clear, national focus for the simmering question of Islam in American life, and Republicans showed every sign Saturday of beginning to capitalize on it, with Republican candidates in New York and Florida seeking to inject the issue into local races as Democrats largely held their silence.

That stance in the GOP — both in terms of political strategy and policy views — appears to be carrying the day. Most of the potential Republican presidential hopefuls, led by Sarah Palin, came out sharply against the mosque.

And while most of its opponents note that they aren't opposing Islam, just this project, Republican attempts to build bridges with Muslims are few and far between — although some say that's because early post-Sept. 11 efforts were met with deep resistance. Republicans have stopped winning the Muslim votes they once split with Democrats, and largely stopped seeking them.

The spectrum ranges from silence on the issue to politicians and groups, like Keep America Safe, led by Liz Cheney and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, gearing up to engage the battle over the mosque and the basket of other issues involving the Obama administration's relationship with Muslims at home and abroad.

"The president supports a mosque at ground zero led by a man who blamed America for 9/11, his top intelligence official preaches the true meaning of jihad, and his attorney general can't even say the words 'radical Islam,'" said Michael Goldfarb, an adviser to Keep America Safe. "You start to worry they don't understand who the enemy is, and so Republicans might understandably feel like they have to spell it out for them." Continue reading and comment >>> Ben Smith & Maggie Haberman | Sunday, August 15, 2010

It is heartening to read that Republicans are now starting to take a harsher line on Islam. So they should. Islam has been given a pass for far too long. It's high time that Westerners woke up.

The fact is that this should not be a left v. right issue. The harsh reality is this: Islam is not compatible with democracy. The separation of church and state, mosque and state in the case of Islam, is the sine qua non of a democracy. Without that separation, no democracy can function. Islam categorically does not recognise such a separation. In Islam, religion and politics are ONE, and utterly inseparable.

If we in the West wish for our civilisation to survive, then we shall have to take a harsher stance on Islam, for Islam has snuffed out all the cultures of the countries it has been allowed to enter.

As for this cultural center / mosque so close to Ground Zero... It is an outrage to build such an edifice so close to where all those poor people perished.

Faisal Rauf, the imam behind this project, says he wants to build bridges between the faiths. He'll never build bridges this way; on the contrary, building this cultural center / mosque in that location will only fan the flames of Islamophobia in America. It will have the opposite effect.

Muslims should show some sensitivity towards the people that suffered directly as a result of 9/11. The fact that they can build this center doesn't mean that they should. They should back off. That way they will gain in acceptance. The fact is that by far the majority of New Yorkers do not want this center to be built. Muslims should respect their wishes. To build this structure is nothing short of an act of provocation. – © Mark

This comment also appeared on Politico

BBC Radio: Ground Zero Debate Geller vs Shahed Amanullah

Obama Under Fire Over Support For Mosque Near Ground Zero
THE OBSERVER: After a barrage of criticism, president appears to backtrack, saying: 'I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there'

Barack Obama has come under attack from American conservatives for supporting plans to build a mosque two blocks from the site of one of the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. The proposal for a mosque and community centre near the site of the World Trade Centre has attracted a large opposition movement in a fierce argument over religious freedom.

At a White House dinner marking Ramadan, Obama said: "As a citizen, and as president, I believe Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

But New York Republican congressman Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, condemned the proposed mosque and the president's comments. He said the mosque would be a symbol of Muslim "triumphalism" and that building it near the site of the 9/11 attacks "would be like putting a Nazi sign next to the Holocaust museum". >>> Paul Harris in New York | Sunday, August 15, 2010

Related articles and videos here and here

Jobless Millions Signal Death of the American Dream for Many
THE OBSERVER: Even the criminals have fallen on hard times in America's poorest city as the long-term unemployed struggle to keep a grasp on normality

Union members hold up "I want to work" placards as they join a protest of several thousand people demanding jobs outside City Hall in Los Angeles on August 13, 2010. Photograph: The Observer
Richard Gaines is one of the best-known faces on Camden's Haddon Avenue. It is a rough-and-tumble street, lined with cheap businesses and boarded-up houses, and is prey to drug gangs. Gaines, 50, runs a barbershop, a hair salon and a fitness business. He works hard and is committed to his community. But Haddon Avenue is not an easy place to make a living in the best of times. And these are far from the best of times.

Just how badly the great recession has struck this fragile New Jersey city, which is currently the poorest in America, was recently spelled out to Gaines. In happier times – whatever that might mean for a city as destitute as Camden – local businesses on Haddon Avenue could at least rely on a bit of trade from those who made their money on the street.

Young men bought flashy clothes and got sharp haircuts and always paid in cash. But no longer. The economy is now so bad in Camden that even the criminals are struggling and going short. "Even the guys who got money from illegal means really don't want to spend it," Gaines said.

Such a development, though, is just a snapshot of the deep problems still hitting the wider American economy. Growth rates are stuttering and a recovery is struggling to take hold. It may even now be showing signs of going backwards again, as countries such as Germany start to power forward. Joblessness has taken hold in America, with the numbers of long-term unemployed reaching levels not seen since the Depression of the 1930s. The figures are frightening and illustrate a society that remains in deep trouble.

The headline jobless figure of 9.5% is bad enough but does not begin to convey the problem as it fails to measure those who have stopped looking for work. Over the past three months alone more than a million Americans have fallen into that category: effectively giving up hope of finding a job and dropping out of the official statistics. Such cases now number some 5.9 million and their ranks are likely to grow as millions more find their jobless status becoming a permanent state of hopelessness. Surveys show that with each passing week on the dole their chances of finding a job get slimmer.

Though corporations, especially in the banking sector, are posting healthy profits, they are not hiring new workers. At the same time, government cuts are sweeping through city and state governments alike, threatening tens of thousands of jobs and slicing away at services once thought vital. Schools, street lighting, libraries, refuse collection, the police, fire services and public transport networks are all being scaled back. >>> Paul Harris | Sunday, August 15, 2010

Newt Gingrich: We Will Build a Mosque When You Open a Church and Synagogue in Mecca

Newt Gingrich: We Are Where Paul Was

With Remarks on Mosque, Obama Enters Risky Debate
Guests at a White House dinner on Friday, where the president commented on the proposed mosque in Lower Manhattan. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Faced with withering Republican criticism of his defense of the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near ground zero, President Obama quickly recalibrated his remarks on Saturday, a sign that he has waded into even more treacherous political waters than the White House had at first realized.

In brief comments during a family trip to the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Obama said he was not endorsing the New York project, but simply trying to uphold the broader principle that government should “treat everybody equally,” regardless of religion.

“I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there,” Mr. Obama said. “I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.”

But Mr. Obama’s attempt to clarify his remarks, less than 24 hours after his initial comments at a White House iftar, a Ramadan sunset dinner, pushed the president even deeper into the thorny debate about Islam, national identity and what it means to be an American — a move that is riskier for him than for his predecessors.

From the moment he took the oath of office, using his entire name, Barack Hussein Obama, as he swore to protect and defend the Constitution, Mr. Obama has personified the hopes of many Americans about tolerance and inclusion. He has devoted himself to reaching out to the Muslim world, vowing, as he did in Cairo last year, “a new beginning.”

But his “new beginning” has aroused nervousness in some, especially those who disagree with his counterterrorism policies, or those more comfortable with a vision of America as a white and largely Christian nation, and not the pluralistic melting pot Mr. Obama represents.

The debate over the proposed Islamic center in Manhattan only intensified on Saturday, as the conservative blogosphere lighted up with criticism of Mr. Obama, and leading Republicans — including Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker; Representative John A. Boehner, the House minority leader; and Representative Peter T. King of New York — forcefully rejected the president’s stance.

Mr. Gingrich accused the president of “pandering to radical Islam.” Mr. Boehner said the decision to build a mosque so close to ground zero was “deeply troubling, as is the president’s decision to endorse it.” And Mr. King flatly said the president “is wrong,” adding that Mr. Obama had “caved in to political correctness.”

Indeed, the criticism was so intense that the White House ultimately issued an elaboration on the president’s clarification, insisting that the president was “not backing off in any way” from the comments he made Friday night. >>> Sheryl Gay Stolberg | Saturday, August 14, 2010

Floods Turn Pakistan Into Disaster
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Monsoon downpours have created one of Pakistan's worst disasters, affecting around 20 million people. Video Courtesy of Reuters.