Controversial plans: Sharif el-Gamal is the developer behind the £65m Park51 centre near the site of the September 11 attacks, which will include a mosque. Photograph: Mail Online
Revealed: The criminal past behind developer who wants to build mosque at Ground Zero
MAIL ONLINE: The developer behind the planned Ground Zero mosque and Islamic cultural centre said it never occurred to him that building it near the site of the September 11 attacks would heighten tension.

Sharif El-Gamal, a muslim, told CBS News that it hadn't crossed his mind because 'I did not hold myself or my faith accountable for the tragedy' *.

He said the centre, which would include a health club, exhibition space and a September 11 memorial, should be 'universally known as a hub of culture, a hub of coexistence, a hub of bringing people together'.

El-Gamal leads a property investment firm that owns the lower Manhattan building where the $100 million (£65m) centre, known as Park51, would open.

The plans have led to a national discussion over freedom of religion and the sensitivities of the relatives of September 11 victims, with everyone from President Barack Obama to Miss USA weighing in. Read on and comment >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

* Who is this joker trying to kid? – Mark

Saudi Cleric Slammed Over Fatwa On Women Cashiers
THE TRIPOLI POST: A conservative Saudi cleric was told to stop giving unauthorized edicts after he called for a boycott of a supermarket chain that employs women as cashiers, the office of the kingdom's most senior religious leader said Thursday.

The move is the first public reprimand of a prominent cleric following a royal decree that limits the issuance of fatwas to the country's most senior group of clerics. Fatwas are religious edicts that provide guidance in matters of everyday life to pious Muslims.

Sheik Youssef al-Ahmed had urged people not to shop at Panda Supermarket because women there work in jobs that allow for the mingling of the sexes, which the cleric said was a violation of Islamic law.

Saudi media reported that al-Ahmed's fatwa forced the supermarket management to reassign 11 of its women employees to other positions on Wednesday. The chain could not be reached for comment.

Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheik's office said Thursday he had summoned al-Ahmed and ordered the cleric to refrain from issuing unauthorized fatwas.

The office said it "received a pledge from al-Ahmed not to issue any fatwas" without approval. >>> | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Gaddafi: Europe Will 'Turn Black' Unless EU Pays Libya £4bn a Year
THE TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi has warned that Europe runs the risk of turning "black" unless the EU pays Libya at least €5 billion (£4.1 billion) a year to block the arrival of illegal immigrants from Africa.

Muammar Gaddafi returns to Tripoli after his controversial visit to Italy. Photo: The Telegraph
His remarks, made during a controversial three day visit to Italy, were condemned as "unacceptable blackmail" by Italian MPs, who likened the demand to the protection money that mafia gangs demand from businesses.

Speaking at a ceremony in Rome while standing next to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, Col Gaddafi, 67, said that unless his request for money was met, Europe would otherwise become "another Africa" as a result of the "advance of millions of immigrants".

"Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European and even black as there are millions who want to come in," he said.

"We don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions". >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related here

Republicans Take Largest Ever Midterm Lead
THE TELEGRAPH: Republicans have taken an unprecedented 10-point lead over the Democrats ahead of November’s midterm polls.

A poll by Gallup gave the current minority party its largest lead of the year and its largest midterm advantage since the company started such polling in 1942, with 51 per cent of US voters saying they would vote Republican and 41 per cent saying they would vote for the Democratic Party.

Gallup, whose poll has previously served as an accurate guide to voter intentions, said the result “suggests the potential for a major 'wave’ election in which the Republicans gain a large number of seats and in the process take back control of the House”. >>> Alex Spillius, Washington | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Barack Obama Has Bowed Before the UN Over Arizona Immigration Law
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: There can be few sights more humiliating for the American people than that of a US president kowtowing to a foreign leader or to supranational institutions. Continental Europeans are used to this sort of thing after decades of dominance by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, and have grudgingly accepted over time the gradual and undemocratic erosion of their freedoms. But most Americans fiercely defend their national sovereignty, and find the idea of giving international organisations a say over their laws and lives completely unacceptable.

The Obama administration however has submitted a report to the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, South African judge Navanethem Pillay, which makes direct reference to a popular Arizona immigration law aimed at tackling illegal immigration, which is fiercely opposed by the White House, and is the subject of legal action by the Justice Department. The report references

A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, (which) has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.

The highly controversial reference to the Arizona law serves only one purpose – to gain UN and international support for the Obama administration’s position in the face of mounting opposition from Arizona legislators and a majority of the American people. A recent Rasmussen poll showed 61 percent of Americans backing Arizona-style laws for their own states, and just 28 percent supporting a Justice Department challenge.

By doing so, Obama officials undoubtedly hope to stir up international condemnation of the Arizona policy in advance of the UN General Assembly meetings in September, which they believe will increase pressure on Arizona to back down. It is a highly cynical move that speaks volumes about the Obama team’s willingness to undercut American sovereignty and popular will on the world stage. Continue reading and comment >>> Nile Gardiner | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

State Department Defends Human Rights Report
FOX NEWS: P.J. Crowley on why Arizona immigration law was singled out in new report to U.N. commission singles out

Provokatives Buch
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: «Deutschland schafft sich ab» lautet der Titel des umstrittenen Werks von Autor und ehemaligem SPD-Politiker Thilo Sarrazin. Viele bezeichnen das Buch als rassistisch, weil es stossende Thesen gegen Immigranten propagiert.

Gaddafi Causes Storm in Italy After Trying to Convert Young Women to Islam
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, left, shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed a two-day visit to Italy intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hailed Italy's relationship with Libya at an evening ceremony on Monday attended by some of the biggest names in Italian business, many hoping to pick up lucrative contracts in the energy-rich North African state.

Gaddafi called on the European Union to provide five billion euro ($7.1 billion) a year to help fight illegal immigration.

However, the mercurial leader attracted most attention earlier in the day by summoning busloads of young women hired by a hostessing agency to a meeting at a Libyan cultural centre near the Vatican and urging them to convert to Islam.

Media reports said three women had converted, although it was not possible to verify if that was true.

"It was very interesting, the role of the woman in Libya was very interesting," Barbara Persichetti, one of the women who attended, told Reuters Television.

The event, which repeated a similar operation on a previous visit to Rome last year, led to criticism from the media and opposition and embarrassment from many in Berlusconi's own centre-right camp.

"What would happen if a European head of state went to Libya or another Islamic country and invited everyone to convert to Christianity?" asked the newspaper Il Messagero. "We believe it would provoke very strong reactions across the Islamic world."

Several commentators accused Berlusconi of sacrificing principles and dignity for the sake of trade and investment ties with Libya, whose huge sovereign wealth fund has invested heavily in Italy in recent years.

"Ever since Gaddafi arrived here, he's been taking this country for a ride, like buying women," said Stefano Pedica, a senator from the opposition Italy of Values party. ”Outdated Ideas” >>> Reuters | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related material here, here, here, and here

November to Blame for 'Ground Zero Mosque' Controversy?
FOX NEWS: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf blames election season for opposition

President Obama Dismisses Rumors About Religion

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Is Islamophobia Sweeping the US?

L’hiver est arrivé tôt en Suisse! La neige est tombée à 1500 mètres
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MÉTÉO | D’importantes quantités de pluie sont tombées depuis dimanche sur la Suisse centrale et orientale. La neige est descendue jusqu’à 1500 mètres. >>> ATS | Mardi 31 Août 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Schnee in den Alpen bis auf 1500 Meter >>> sda | Dienstag, 31. August 2010

Insultes envers Carla Bruni-Sarkozy: Téhéran «n'approuve pas»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MISE AU POINT | Le gouvernement iranien «n'approuve pas» les insultes de certains medias iraniens contre l'épouse du président français Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a déclaré mardi le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères.

Le quotidien ultra-conservateur Kayhan avait assimilé samedi Carla Bruni-Sarkozy à une "prostituée" en raison de sa vie privée jugée "immorale", après que l'épouse de Nicolas Sarkozy a pris la défense d'une Iranienne condamnée à mort par lapidation dans une affaire d'adultères et de meurtre.

Le journal, coutumier de propos insultants à l'égard de responsables iraniens ou étrangers, est revenu à la charge mardi dans un article évoquant "l'indignation de cette prostituée italienne" après l'article du journal samedi.

"La République islamique n'approuve pas l'insulte contre les responsables des autres pays", a déclaré M. Mehmanparast interrogé sur ces commentaires lors de son briefing hebdomadaire. >>> AFP | Mardi 31 Août 2010

Ghadhafi rettet Europa und verlangt dafür Geld: Fünf Milliarden Euro für Eindämmung des Migrantenstroms
NZZ ONLINE: Der libysche Revolutionsführer Ghadhafi stellt Rechnung für die Unterbindung des Migrantenstroms von Afrika nach Europa. Ohne seine Hilfe könne Europa «schon morgen zu einem zweiten Afrika werden», sagte er in Rom.

Der libysche Staatschef Muammar Gaddafi hat von der Europäischen Union «jährlich mindestens fünf Milliarden Euro» für den Kampf gegen illegale Einwanderer aus Afrika gefordert.

Libyen sei das Eingangstor der «unerwünschten Immigration»; diese könne nur an den Grenzen seines Landes gestoppt werden, sagte Ghadhafi am Montagabend in Rom, an einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz mit Italiens Regierungschef Silvio Berlusconi. Es liege deshalb ganz im Interesse Europas, auf seine Forderungen einzugehen. «Sonst kann Europa schon morgen zu einem zweiten Afrika werden», sagte Ghadhafi. Er versicherte, seine Forderung werde auch von Italien unterstützt. Berlusconi ging auf die Äusserungen seines Gastes nicht ein. Lesen Sie weiter und schreiben Sie einen Kommentar >>> sda/afp | Dienstag, 31. August 2010

Empörung über Thilo Sarrazin
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Mit seinem Buch "Deutschland schafft sich ab" sorgt Thilo Sarrazin, Vorstandsmitglied der Bundesbank und SPD-Mitglied, für Aufruhr. Einschätzungen von Stefan Reinhart, SF-Korrespondent, in Berlin.

Gaddafi will italienische Frauen zum Islam bekehren
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Die Konvertierungsversuche fanden in Rom statt, wo der libysche Staatschef Gaddafi und der italienische Ministerpräsident Berlusconi ihr zweijähriges Freundschaftsabkommen feierten.

Italians Attack Muammar Gaddafi Over Islam Comments
THE TELEGRAPH: Italians have reacted with indignation after Muammar Gaddafi lectured 200 young actresses and models on the superiority of Islam, a day after saying that Europeans should all become Muslim.

Young women for a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Rome. Photograph: The Telegraph
Silvio Berlusconi’s increasingly close relationship with Col Gaddafi is becoming a source of embarrassment for the Italian prime minister, according to opposition MPs and even members of the government.

On Monday, the Libyan leader recruited the women through a modelling agency to join him and Mr Berlusconi, in viewing a photography exhibition at a Rome cultural institute which traced historical links between the two countries.

Telling them that Islam was the “ultimate religion”, Gaddafi insisted that “if you want to believe in a single faith then it must be that of Mohammed,” according to one of the women who sat through the lecture. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Monday, August 30, 2010

LE FIGARO: Colère en Italie après un nouveau show de Kadhafi: En visite officielle à Rome, le dirigeant libyen a plaidé pour que l'Islam devienne «la religion de toute l'Europe». >>> Par Olfa Khamira | Lundi 30 Août 2010

About Gaddafi’s conversion party >>>

“Italy has become the Disneyland of Gaddafi and his senile vanities.” – Gianfranco Fini [Source: Mail Online]

I guess that the Italians have finally woken up, as the rest of the West needs to do, and have told Gaddafi to stick his benighted religion – Islam – where the sun don’t shine. We sane Westerners are getting sick to death of listening to the crap espoused about that bloody awful faith by its adherents. It’s a faith for mentally challenged people. Witness the possible stoning to death of that poor woman in Iran, Sakineh. Who, in his right mind, could worship a god who calls for such an innocent woman to be stoned to death? Even if she had committed adultery, which is very questionable, so bloody what? She wouldn’t be the only woman in the world to have done so. Let her Maker be her judge! Who gave these bloody idiots the right to judge others?

And by the way, if Obama really is a Muslim, as I suspect he is, then he is mentally challenged too. – © Mark

Kampf gegen Steinigung: Iranische Sittenwächter beleidigen Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Foto: Spiegel Online
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Geht es nach einigen iranischen Berichterstattern, ist die Gattin des französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy nichts als eine Hure, ein unmoralisches Wesen. Carla Brunis Vergehen: Sie will eine zum Tode verurteilte Iranerin vor der Steinigung bewahren.

Teheran - Weil sie eine angeblich untreue Frau vor der Todesstrafe retten will, sieht sich die französische Präsidentengattin Carla Bruni-Sarkozy derzeit ebenso heftiger wie unsachlicher Kritik aus den Reihen konservativer iranischer Meinungsmacher ausgesetzt.

Erst nannte die staatliche Zeitung "Kajhan" das ehemalige Model in einem Artikel vom Samstag eine Prostituierte. Am Montag dann legte die regierungsnahe iranische Website www.inn.ir nach und bezeichnete die Première Dame als "unmoralisch". "Die Vorgeschichte zeigt klar, warum diese unmoralische Frau eine wegen Ehebruchs verurteilte Frau unterstützt", hieß es auf der Website. Bruni hatte sich wie Hunderte ihrer Landsleute gegen die Steinigung von Sakineh Mohammadi Aschtiani ausgesprochen. In einem offenen Brief forderte sie in der vergangenen Woche eine Aussetzung des Todesurteils. "Frankreich wird Sie nicht aufgeben", schrieb das ehemalige Model. >>> ala/AP/AFP | Montag, 30. August 2010

Verbunden >>>

La presse iranienne s'en prend à Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
lePARISIEN.fr: Le soutien de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy à Sakineh, cette Iranienne condamnée à mort par lapidation, vaut à la Première dame de France des attaques virulentes de la presse iranienne. Le site internet du groupe de presse gouvernemental Iran, dénonce ce lundi «l'immoralité» de l'épouse du président de la République.

Le site www.inn.ir estime que «les médias occidentaux, en détaillant ses nombreux antécédents d'immoralité, ont implicitement confirmé qu'elle méritait ce titre».

Mais c'est le journal Kayhan, proche du pouvoir, qui est allé le plus loin. Dans le quotidien ultra-conservateur, cité par le Telegraph et le Dailymail, on peut lire : «Les prostituées françaises se joignent aux protestations pour les droits de l'Homme.» Carla Bruni-Sarkozy y est qualifiée d'«épouse infâme», «d'actrice et chanteuse dépravée, qui a réussi a briser la famille de Sarkozy et à épouser le président français». Kayhan s'en prend également à Isabelle Adjani, taxée d'actrice «à la morale corrompue». >>> Leparisien.fr avec l’AFP | Lundi 30 Août 2010

BILD.de: Iraner beschimpfen Carla Bruni als „Hure“: Böse Beschimpfung für Carla Bruni (41), eine iranische Zeitung nennt die Frau des französischen Präsidenten eine „Hure“! >>> | Montag, 30. August 2010

Thilo Sarrazin. Photo: Google Images
Angela Merkel Calls for Banker's Sacking Over Remarks on Jews and Muslims
THE GUARDIAN: German chancellor calls on Bundesbank to sack board member Thilo Sarrazin

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, today called on Germany's central bank to dismiss one of its board members over comments he made on Jews and immigrants.

Thilo Sarrazin said that "all Jews share the same gene" and Muslim immigrants in Europe were unwilling to integrate or incapable of integrating into western societies.

Jewish and Muslim communities have condemned the 65-year-old's remarks, which were made before the launch of his book, Deutschland Schafft Sich Ab – or Germany Abolishes Itself – today.

Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, reiterated the chancellor's call for the Bundesbank to consider Sarrazin's future.

"These are comments that only damage and don't help integration in this country, which is a national duty," Seibert said at a government news conference.

Last year, Sarrazin – who previously served as the regional finance minister for Berlin – told a magazine: "I do not need to accept anyone who lives on handouts from a state that it rejects, is not adequately concerned about the education of their children and constantly produces new little headscarf-clad girls." >>> Mark Tran and agencies | Monday, August 30, 2010

Related articles here

Angela Merkel and others can kid themselves as much as they like, but the fact is that Muslims will not integrate into Western societies. It is expressly demanded of them NOT TO DO SO by their 'religion'. That means to say that their prophet told them to keep themselves apart from the infidels by not taking them as friends or helpers, and by dressing differently from them. That way they can tell themselves apart, and that way they won't become "corrupted". So Angela Merkel had better go and do her homework. Islam is a hard nut to crack. Silencing its critics only makes our task that much harder. – © Mark

BILD.de: Die Sarrazin-Debatte >>> | Donnerstag, 26. August 2010

Thilo Sarrazin schreibt über den Islam: „Bei keiner anderen Religion ist der Übergang zu Gewalt und Terrorismus so fließend“
BILD.de: Über seine harten Aussagen streitet Deutschland: Thilo Sarrazin (65, SPD) beschreibt in seinem neuen Buch „Deutschland schafft sich ab“, weshalb er glaubt, dass unser Land seine Zukunft aufs Spiel setzt. 
BILD veröffentlicht exklusive Auszüge. HEUTE: Warum die Integration vieler muslimischer Migranten am Islam scheitert.

Es reicht aus, dass Muslime unsere Gesetze beachten, ihre Frauen nicht unterdrücken, Zwangsheiraten abschaffen, ihre Jugendlichen an Gewalttätigkeiten hindern und für ihren Lebensunterhalt selbst aufkommen. Darum geht es.

Wer diese Forderungen als Zwang zur Assimilation kritisiert, hat in der Tat ein Integrationsproblem. Vielleicht sollte er einmal einen Gedanken daran verschwenden, weshalb es in ganz Europa Vorbehalte gegen Muslime gibt – mit guten Gründen:

• Keine andere Religion in Europa tritt so fordernd auf.

• Keine andere Immigration ist so stark wie die muslimische mit Inanspruchnahme des Sozialstaats und Kriminalität verbunden.

• Keine Gruppe betont in der Öffentlichkeit so sehr ihre Andersartigkeit, insbesondere durch die Kleidung der Frauen.

• Bei keiner anderen Religion ist der Übergang zu Gewalt, Diktatur und Terrorismus so fließend. >>> Von Thilo Sarrazin | Donnerstag, 26. August 2010

Obama, a 'Strategic Catastrophe'
ISRAEL TODAY: Israeli officials say it's not Iran that is Israel's greatest threat

Although Israeli officials publicly play down the crisis in relations between Jerusalem and Washington, privately the language is much different. Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describe Obama as a "strategic catastrophe" for Israel.

Officials in the Prime Minister's Office, speaking on condition of anonymity to the nation's top newspapers, see the Obama administration as a serious threat to the future of the State of Israel. On the record, Israel and the US have a "strategic partnership that is unbreakable"; off the record, the terminology is blunt to say the least.

"President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have drawn a clear line, supporting the Palestinian position at the expense of Israel," said one Netanyahu confidant. "It is insane, it is sick. Relations between Jerusalem and Washington are simply disastrous; the situation has never been so dangerous. This US President wants to establish a Palestinian state at any price and hand them Jerusalem on a silver platter."

Netanyahu has repeatedly distanced himself from such statements, but commentators say the government speaks with a forked tongue. "Israel's relations with the US are at a low point, and Obama poses a danger to Israel," wrote Nahum Barnea in the nation's biggest newspaper Yediot Ahronot.

The feeling among the Israeli public is that Obama is appeasing the Muslim world at the expense of Israel.

"The American President told me in confidence that he is a Muslim," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Nile TV. That could explain why Obama has instructed that the term "Islamic extremism" no longer be used in official government documents and statements.

Furthermore, the US is now accusing Israel of harming American interests in the Middle East. General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, said Israel's intransigence on resolving the conflict with the Palestinians is endangering US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even the US Congress considers Obama's behavior toward Netanyahu humiliating. Three-quarters of the House of Representatives, 337 of 435 members, signed a bipartisan letter to Clinton expressing "deep concern over recent tension" between the two countries, and demanding that it be smoothed over quickly and in private.

"Obama is a real problem for Israel," a senior official told told Yediot. "He is Israel's biggest strategic catastrophe." >>> Aviel Schneider | Thursday, April 29, 2010