Guantanamo Guard Converts to Islam, Demands Release of Detainees

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Terry Holdbrooks was deployed to the Guantanamo Bay detention center to guard detainees. The Phoenix, Ariz., resident has become a devout Muslim and an unlikely advocate for the prisoners’ rights.

Death threats are just another part of life for Terry Holdbrooks Jr.

The ex-U.S. Army employee converted to Islam in 2003, inspired by the faith of the Guantanamo detainees he was charged with watching. Since then, he says he has lost his friends, received violent threats, and been labeled a “race traitor” online.

But he hasn’t gone quietly. The 29-year-old has done his fair share of media and has even signed on for a job as a speaker for the Muslim Legal Fund of America. Now the devout Muslim is racking up frequent flyer miles and touring the country with what he calls the “truth about Gitmo.”

“Gitmo was supposed to be a cushy deployment since we were just going to babysit detainees,” Holdbrooks said. “But it changed me.”

The Phoenix, Ariz., resident spent the year between 2003 and 2004 guarding U.S. military prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was often given the job of escorting detainees to interrogation rooms. He says he witnessed atrocities committed by his fellow American soldiers that he never thought were possible. (+ video) » | Carol Kuruvilla | New York Daily News | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Britain's Islamic Future
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: The moment that the white British become a minority will symbolize a huge transfer of power -- cultural political, economic and religious -- an "irreversible change in British society, unprecedented for at least a millennium." — David Coleman, Professor of Demography, University of Oxford

Islam is on track to become the dominant religion in Britain within the next generation, according to new census data published by the British government.

The numbers show that although Christianity is still the main religion in Britain -- over 50% of the population describe themselves as such -- nearly half of all Christians in Britain are over the age of 50, and, for the first time ever, fewer than half under the age of 25 describe themselves as Christian.

By contrast, the number of people under 25 who describe themselves as Muslim has doubled over the past ten years: one in ten under the age of 25 are Muslim, up from one in 20 in 2001.

…

David Coleman, a professor of demography at the University of Oxford, said the findings showed that Christianity is declining with each generation. "Each large age group," he said, "as time progresses, receives less inculcation into Christianity than its predecessor ten years earlier."

Coleman contrasts the decline of Christianity through the generations to what happens among Muslims. "We have a Muslim faith where most studies suggest adherence to Islam is not only transmitted through the generations but appears to get stronger," he said. "Indeed, there seems to be some evidence that the second generation Muslims in Britain are more Muslim than their parents."

…

Coleman has warned of the consequences of the ethnic transformation taking place in Britain and other parts of Europe. "History is not sanguine about the capacity of ethnic groups or religions to overcome their differences. The ethnic transformation implicit in current trends would be a major, unlooked-for, and irreversible change in British society, unprecedented for at least a millennium," Coleman said. Read the whole article » | Soeren Kern | Friday, May 31, 2013

Diana West: Soviet Agents Subverted US in 1930s

Read the Daily Caller article here | Ginni Thomas | Sunday, May 26, 2013

Belgians Crack Down on Preacher of Hate - As We Dash to Guard Him: Anjem Choudary Threatened with Deportation to Face Charges Over YouTube Rants

MAIL ONLINE: Belgian police keen to question hate preacher about video footage / Officers took away his wife and children to safe house after alleged threat / Far-right groups demand he is arrested or they will detain him themselves / Choudary said David Cameron has a 'crusade' against Islam / MI5 investigating links between two Woolwich murder suspects and preacher

Belgian police have launched an investigation into hate preacher Anjem Choudary’s YouTube rants, it emerged yesterday.

The married father of four, who receives an estimated £25,000 in benefits, is being probed over allegations he incited violence and threatened terrorist attacks in Britain and Belgium.

Details of the Belgian inquiry emerged days after Scotland Yard officers went to Choudary’s East London home to help his family go into hiding in the aftermath of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby.

Critics say the Metropolitan Police should concentrate on stopping his hate-filled speeches on the internet, rather than running up costs protecting his family from people furious about the atrocity in Woolwich last week.

In a new outburst unconnected to the Belgian investigation, Choudary yesterday blamed David Cameron for a ‘crusade’ against Islam which is turning young British Muslims into potential terrorists. » | Stephen Wright | Thursday, May 30, 2013

Islam and Muslims in Japan | Japanese Muslims

Allahs Krieger im Westen - wie gefährlich sind radikale Muslime - Anne Will vom 29.05.2013
Über Islamismus in Deutschland diskutieren Joachim Herrmann, Thomas Oppermann, Necla Kelek, Asiem El Difraoui, Nora Illi.

'Abyss of Autocracy': A Protest Movement Simmers in Kuwait

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Why should the citizens of one of the richest countries in the world take to the streets? Fed up with the paternalizing, incompetent leadership of the ruling family, a citizen's movement is waking in Kuwait, much to the fear of its neighbors in the Gulf.

In the beginning was the word. More specifically, in the beginning was a speech. "The speech," says Mundhir al-Habib, a couple dozen words for which he would willingly go to prison. "If need be," he adds.

Ever since al-Habib, a 32-year-old political scientist, took a police boot to the face at a demonstration, his sense of civic engagement has changed. Now he meets with other activists to repeat "the speech" together in public.

It's a dangerous thing to do. "The speech" refers to a handful of thoughts expressed out loud last October by a former member of the Kuwaiti parliament. Too loudly, perhaps. The politician, Musallam al-Barrak, was sentenced in April to five years in prison.

In response, several thousand Kuwaitis gathered in front of a prison at the edge of the city to protest. There were warning shots, tear gas and injuries. Barrak has been out on bail since.

One sentence in particular especially unsettled Sheikh Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, although al-Barrak uttered it in a deferential manner: "We will not allow you, your highness, to take Kuwait into the abyss of autocracy."

These are words every Kuwaiti now knows. They are spread by smartphone or called out spontaneously in parks. Sometimes at night, a car can be heard honking its horn to the rhythm of the sentence: We will not allow you, we will not allow you.

Mundhir al-Habib and 54 others went to stand in front of al-Barrak's house and recite the sentences the former politician had spoken, knowing that doing so would land them in court. There are already three activists in prison for spreading lines of poetry that could be misunderstood or making allegedly insulting comments about the emir.

"Any sentence can be interpreted as criticism," al-Habib says. "You can go to prison for two years for 140 keystrokes." This statement of his, spoken in a tearoom, could be risky as well: "I believe in freedom of speech. So I'm going to start exercising it." 'They Treat Us Like Little Boys' » | Alexander Smoltczyk | Thursday, May 30, 2013

Gay Weddings Pave the Way for Polygamy, Warns Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey

MAIL ONLINE: Lord Carey said same-sex marriage laws could open the door for marriages between siblings / He has been one of the most prominent campaigners against same-sex marriage / Ministers are braced for an attempt to wreck the Marriage Bill next week

A former Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday warned David Cameron that his ‘equal marriage’ reforms open the door for multiple weddings and marriages between siblings.

Lord Carey said that same-sex marriage laws amount to a radical and disturbing upheaval which is likely to lead to unintended consequences.

Among them he listed the inclusion of polygamous and multiple relationships into the definition of marriage, and the right for two sisters living together to demand a legal wedding.

The intervention from Lord Carey, one of the most prominent campaigners against same-sex marriage since the Prime Minister first announced his plan in the autumn of 2011, comes as peers prepare to debate the new marriage law. » | Steve Doughty | Friday, May 31, 2013

Speak Your Mind About Islam Day: Thursday, June 6, 2013

Just this past week we were shocked to witness, in broad daylight, on London streets, the ambush and barbaric murder of Lee Rigby, a British soldier, husband, and father of a young child. Lee was ambushed by two men, one of whom spoke directly to the camera afterwards. This man made it clear that his motivations were based upon Islam and the numerous verses in the Quran that call for violence against non-Muslims.

Afterward, individual citizens from the UK and around the world flooded social media with their sentiments about Islam, the false narrative that it is a “Religion of Peace” and the blatant falsehood put forth by Prime Minister Cameron that the teachings of Islam had nothing to do with this brutal assassination. Several citizens have since been arrested by the government of Great Britain for comments they made under the influence of grief and anger. These actions by the government are an attempt to suppress free speech and must not be tolerated. We ask that you stand with these persecuted individuals as a unified people.

In response to the British government’s attempts to suppress free speech, we wish to declare Thursday, June 6th, 2013 “Speak Your Mind About Islam Day”. June 6th is a day of great significance for the free peoples of the world.

In the 1940’s, American, Australian, Brit, Canadian, Frenchman, Indian, Russian, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Sikh and countless others were bound together by the common goal of eradicating forever the vile ideology of Nazism. On June 6th, 1944, segments of these diverse allied forces bound together and stormed Fortress Europe marking the beginning of the end of the ideology of Nazism as a force among men.

Let June 6th 2013 once again be that day for us.

On Thursday, June 6th, 2013 we ask that you flood social media with your thoughts on and knowledge of Islam as a clear and unmistakable message to our governments around the world that we will NOT be silenced by blasphemy laws, statutes on “community cohesion”, or threats and acts of intimidation carried out by our governments in an attempt to silence us on the issue of Islam and its undeniable ties to religiously motivated acts of terror around the world. Our overwhelming numbers and unified voice must make it clear that we will become increasingly UNGOVERNABLE, without becoming violent, on the issue of Islamic terror. An assault on one will be treated as an assault upon us all; we will stand together as one voice. Political careers will pay a price at the polls for the condescending act of telling us that Islam is what we all know it is not.

Rules of Conduct:

1. Keep it civilized — nothing positive comes from mob-like behavior.

2. Focus on the ideology of Islam, not individuals.

3. No profanity or ad hominem attacks — they cause people to tune out the message because of the messenger.

4. The goal is to unite us, garner group support for the cause, and put our governments on notice that we will not be silenced.

Source and HT: Speak Your Mind About Islam Day: Thursday, June 6, 2013 »

Left-wing Policies Have Promoted the Rise of Barbarism

EXPRESS: THE fashionable progressive agenda is wrecking our once stable, free society. In the name of tolerance, the craven political establishment has promoted barbarism in our midst. For decades, our rulers have presented mass immigration and multi-culturalism as forces for social advancement.

But in the aftermath of the Woolwich atrocity, the malign consequences of this strategy are all too clear. Far from bringing harmony and compassion, the politically correct state has achieved the very opposite. The transformation of our social fabric has led to segregation rather than integration, distrust instead of unity, fear in place of freedom.

Multi-cultural diversity might be portrayed as a liberal policy but in practice it has led to discrimination, misogyny and oppression across our urban areas, while encouraging the growth of extremism.

In a speech in 2011 David Cameron proclaimed that “a genuinely liberal country believes in certain values and actively promotes them: freedom of speech; freedom of worship; the rule of law; and equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality.”

His rhetoric was laudable but has hardly been matched by the actions of the Government, which has long shown a craven reluctance to uphold the liberal traditions of Britain.

OBSESSED with the ideology of diversity, our political masters have not only allowed the immigration rate to reach more than 500,000 arrivals every single year, but also have refused to demand that newcomers accept the British way of life.

Instead immigrants have been encouraged to cling to their own cultures and customs.

During their 13 years of misrule, Labour was particularly enthusiastic about enforcing this destructive strategy, partly through their instinctive loathing for their own country, which they liked to portray as outdated and racist, and partly through their desire to expand their client army of supporters, given that 80 per cent of immigrants vote Labour.

What is so tragic is that a party of the Left, trumpeting its supposedly liberal credentials, should have pursued a policy that is so fundamentally illiberal. Labour’s fixation with identity politics and mass immigration had led to the import of deeply reactionary, anti-democratic, superstitious tribalism on an epic scale. Read on and comment » | Leo McKinstry | Thursday, May 30, 2013

Nigeria One Step Away from Banning Gay Marriage

THE GUARDIAN: President yet to sign bill that would jail same-sex couples for up to 14 years amid pressure from UK and US over foreign aid

Nigeria has passed a bill banning gay marriage, outlawing organisations supporting gay rights and setting prison terms of up to 14 years for offenders.

The bill, passed by Nigeria's House of Representatives will now go to the president, Goodluck Jonathan, to be signed into law. Whether he will approve it remains unclear, as both the US and the UK said the move could jeopardise foreign funding for Aids and HIV outreach programs.

Nigeria's Senate passed the bill in November 2011, but it did not emerge in the house until Thursday. Under previous versions of the bill, couples who marry could face up to 14 years each in prison. Witnesses or anyone who helps couples marry could be jailed for 10 years.

The bill also makes it illegal to register gay clubs or organisations criminalises the "public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly". Those who violate these aspects would face 10 years in jail. » | AP in Abuja | Thursday, May 30, 2013

One Country, Two Religions and Three Very Telling Pictures: The Empty Pews at Churches Just Yards from an Overcrowded Mosque
MAIL ONLINE: Two photos show Sunday morning services in churches in East London / The third shows worshippers gathered for Friday midday prayers outside a nearby mosque / The difference in numbers could hardly be more dramatic

Set aside the fact that our Queen is the Defender of the Christian Faith. Ignore the 26 Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords.

Pay no attention to the 2011 Census that told us 33.2 million people in England and Wales describe themselves as Christians.

For if you want a more telling insight into religion in the United Kingdom today, just look at these photographs. The story they tell is more revealing than any survey. » | Guy Walters | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Suspect 'Admits Soldier Knife Attack in Paris'
BBC: A 21-year-old suspect arrested earlier over the stabbing of a French soldier near Paris on Saturday has admitted to the crime, officials say.

The man, named only as Alexandre, was a convert to Islam who had "wanted to attack a representative of the state", Prosecutor Francois [sic] Molins said.

Police arrested the man on Wednesday morning in the Yvelines region, 45km (28 miles) south-west of the capital.

He was traced thanks to DNA found at the scene, police said.

French anti-terrorist investigators are handling the case.

The victim, Private First Class Cedric Cordier, has been released from hospital, AP news agency reports.

The stabbing took place three days after the killing of British serviceman Drummer Lee Rigby outside a barracks in the Woolwich area of London. (+ videos) » | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

France's First Gay Marriage a Triumph of 'Love Over Hate'
France's first-ever same-sex wedding took place in Montpellier, with the newly-weds calling it a triumph of "love over hate" after months of protests that have divided the country.

Read the article here | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Bonne chance à vous deux !

Pope Francis Shunned Official Papal Apartments to Live 'Normal Life'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Francis has revealed for the first time the reasons for his decision to shun the official papal apartments and instead live in a much more modest Vatican 'hotel'.

He has told a friend that he likes being in daily contact with ordinary people, does not want to be isolated and enjoys sitting down to meals with visiting clergy.

The Pope, 76, who on first seeing the papal apartments reportedly exclaimed "But there is room here for 300 people!" hinted that the arrangement may be permanent.

The Pope broke with Vatican tradition when he decided, after being elected on March 13 during a secret conclave of cardinals, not to live in the apostolic apartments.

Instead he opted to remain in the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican residence which accommodates visiting clergy and lay people, where he had stayed with his fellow cardinals during the conclave.

He lives in a suite of rooms in the residence, which sits in the shadow of St Peter's Basilica, on the other side of the Vatican city state to the apostolic apartments. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Homosexualité et islam : le débat télé entre Tariq Ramadan et Ludovic Zahed
SAPHIR NEWS: « Homosexuel et bon musulman. » C’est le thème du débat abordé dans l’émission Hondelatte Dimanche, diffusée sur la chaîne 23 dimanche 26 mai. L’intellectuel suisse Tariq Ramadan s’est retrouvé face à Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, fondateur des associations Homosexuels musulmans de France (HM2F) et de Musulmans Progressistes de France (MPF).

Celui-ci avait crée la polémique au sein de la communauté musulmane après son mariage controversé avec son compagnon célébré, en février 2012, par un imam à Sevran, en banlieue parisienne. Il a depuis ouvert une mosquée dite inclusive dans l’est parisien dans lequel il accueille une vingtaine de fidèles tous les vendredis.

« Dire que l’homosexualité n’est pas acceptée par l’islam ne veut jamais vouloir dire condamner la personne. Je respecte qui vous êtes, je ne suis d’accord avec ce que vous faites », déclare Tariq Ramadan, après avoir rappelé au préalable la position quasi-exclusive en islam condamnant l’homosexualité, à l’instar des autres traditions monothéistes. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | lundi 27 mai 2013

France's First Gay Marriage Takes Place in Montpellier
BBC: Two men have become the first gay couple to wed in France, just days after President Francois Hollande signed the same-sex marriage bill into law.

Vincent Austin and Bruno Boileau married in the southern city of Montpellier amid tight security, saying "oui" in front of hundreds of assembled guests and media crews. Watch BBC video » | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

French Same-sex Couple: Why We Tied the Knot

CNN: Montpellier (CNN) -- Two men who have become France's first same-sex married couple have opened their hearts about the special qualities in each other that made them want to spend the rest of their lives together.

In the nervous minutes leading up to Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony in the southern city of Montpellier, Bruno Boileau said he adored Vincent Autin's "charisma, his ability to appease me, calm me down ... also his sensibility and his determination."

And returning the warmth, Autin told CNN in the couple's only interview on their wedding day: "What I love about him is his objectivity and the way he protects me. He is my great protector."

But their marriage is not just about their love; they also want to build a family and, perhaps, teach future generations how to break down prejudices.

"We want children, we want to pass down values that are important to us, that we hold dear, that are right. And we want grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a real family," Autin said.

"One of the reasons we want children is because children have no judgement, and we want to break down society's barriers."

He added that "when French children are born into this world, they are born with the same rights as everyone else -- but from the moment you said you were a homosexual, society deprived you of some of those rights. Today the French Republic has given these rights back to us." » | Saskya Vandoorne and Peter Wilkinson, CNN | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

France's First Gay Marriage Ceremony Broadcast Live from Montpellier
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: In a ceremony broadcast live from 4.30pm (BST), Vincent Autin and his partner Bruno Boileau will become the first gay couple to wed under France's newly-liberalised same-sex marriage laws in Montpellier.


Read the short article here | Wednesday, May 29, 2013

British Christianity Dies While Islam Thrives. Why?
TELEGRAM PODCAST: New analysis of the 2011 census makes horrible reading for the Churches – attendance down 15 per cent in a decade. Meanwhile, one in 10 young Britons is a Muslim. In this week's Telegram, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali says politically correct Christianity is to blame, while Damian Thompson argues that part of Islam's appeal is its ability to harness political anger. Listen to the podcast and comment » | Wednesday, May 29, 2013