Paul Weston: Islam and the State of Modern Britain

Paul Weston: Britain's Muslim Demographic Disaster

Pat Condell: A Society Of Cowards

Pat Condell: We Have a Democracy Problem

Reaktion auf Völkermord-Äußerung: "Das türkische Volk wird Präsident Gauck nicht verzeihen"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Dieser Sturm war befürchtet worden, jetzt ist er da: Die Türkei hat Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck scharf attackiert. Er hatte die an den Armeniern begangenen Verbrechen als Völkermord bezeichnet - man werde ihm das "nicht vergessen und verzeihen".

Die Aussagen von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck zum Völkermord an den Armeniern haben einen Streit mit der Türkei ausgelöst. "Das türkische Volk wird dem deutschen Präsidenten Gauck seine Aussagen nicht vergessen und nicht verzeihen", teilte das Außenministerium in Ankara am späten Freitagabend mit. » | dpa/pad | Freitag, 24. April 2015

Bill Maher: If ISIS Is So Anathema To "Moderate Muslims" How Come Zero Have Gone To Fight Them?

Read about it here | Saturday, April 25, 2015

Islamic State NHS-style Hospital Video Posted

BBC AMERICA: Islamic State appears to have released a promotional video for its own health service featuring NHS-style branding and an Australian doctor.

The video has not been verified but was being circulated by IS-affiliated social media accounts and bears all the hallmarks of previous IS productions.

Using an NHS-style logo, it introduces the "ISHS" - or IS Health Service.

It appears to have been filmed in Raqqa General Hospital in the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa.

The first doctor in the video talks about the establishment of a health ministry that regulates medical facilities across IS territory, including the Raqqa hospital, which he says has been refurbished.

A second doctor introduces the intensive care unit, which he says treats victims of military conflict and car accidents. A third speaks about the X-ray department, which includes a women-only unit. » | Friday, April 24, 2015

Big Tobacco Takes on Islam in Effort to Promote Smoking

YAHOO! NEWS CANADA – DAILY BREW: Big tobacco has been waging a theological war to promote smoking in the Muslim world, targeting women in particular, says a news study.

A review of internal tobacco industry documents going back decades has uncovered a campaign to link abstinence from tobacco to extremism, says the international study co-authored in Canada.

The campaign went so far as to hire lawyers to make theological arguments against Islamic leaders opposed to tobacco use.

“The paper shows how the industry has sought to distort and misinterpret the cultural beliefs of these communities, and to reinterpret them to serve the industry’s interests. All to sell a product that kills half of its customers,” Kelley Lee, a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University and co-author of the study, tells Yahoo Canada News.

Public health campaigns against smoking have been very successful in western countries. But as smoking rates have declined in North America and Europe, cigarette manufacturers have increasingly turned to low- and middle-income countries for growth. » | Dene Moore | Daily Brew | Monday, April 20, 2015

Italiener sollen Flüchtlinge bei sich aufnehmen

KRONEN ZEITUNG: Angesichts des anhaltenden Flüchtlingsstroms aus Nordafrika hat das Innenministerium in Rom Italiener aufgerufen, Migranten in ihren Privatwohnungen aufzunehmen. 35 Euro pro Tag für jeden aufgenommen Migranten zahlt der italienische Staat. Das ist der Betrag, der auch Eigentümern von Hotels und Pensionen für die Unterkunft von Migranten garantiert wird. "Private können eine Antwort auf die Bedürfnisse der Flüchtlinge geben. Wir können zahlen, und die Familien können mit zusätzlichen Einnahmen rechnen", sagte die Präfektin von Udine, Provvidenza Delfino Raimondo.

In Städten wie Mailand, Turin und Genua hat die Caritas bereits ein Netz von Familien aufgebaut, die Migranten aufnehmen. Vize- Innenminister Domenico Manzione hatte kürzlich betont, dass die Aufnahme von Migranten bei Familien die Integration fördere. Hinzu könnten die von der Krise betroffenen Italiener mit zusätzlichen Einnahmen von bis zu 900 Euro monatlich rechnen. » | AG/red | Freitag, 24. April 2015

Heureux qui, comme les Suisses, vivent riches, en sécurité et en démocratie

24 HEURES: Bien-être – Selon une étude internationale, notre pays est premier sur l'échelle du bonheur.

La Suisse ne gagnera peut-être jamais le Mondial de foot, mais elle est déjà championne du monde du bonheur. Telle est en tout cas la conclusion d’une étude internationale publiée jeudi à New York, sous l’impulsion des Nations Unies. Des chercheurs de l’Université Columbia ont établi, pour la troisième fois depuis 2012, le classement des pays les plus heureux. Dans quel but? La réponse officielle a le mérite d’être ambitieuse: inciter les gouvernements à fonder leurs politiques sur la satisfaction des citoyens. » | Par Patrick Monay | vendredi 24 avril 2015

Sabre-rattling Putin Signs Anti-UK Military Pact with Argentina over Falklands

The two leaders exchange documents at a signing
ceremony in the Kremlin

DAILY EXPRESS: ARGENTINA'S president has praised Russian support for her country's claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, risking a fresh diplomatic spat with the UK.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, on a two-day visit to Moscow, thanked Vladimir Putin for his “support” on the issue.

The UK and Argentina have been engaged in a bitter dispute over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, focusing on who should exercise control over the land.

She said: “We thank Russia for the support it has historically provided in the Malvinas question, in having the resolutions of the United Nations observed so the United Kingdom resolves to sit in the table to dialogue."

While Mr Putin added: “Russia supports Argentina's striving for direct talks with Britain to achieve prompt resolution to the Malvinas Islands dispute.”

In a direct challenge to the UK and stability in the region, the Russian president also announced the two countries would be increasing “military collaboration”. » | Tom Batchelor | Friday, April 24, 2015

Saudi- 'Jinn Converts to Islam on Twitter'

MENAFN – ARAB NEWS: A man claiming to be a spiritual healer has announced that he converted a jinn to Islam on Twitter according to a report in a local newspaper recently.

The man who uses ruqya the reciting of Qur'anic verses to heal people published the supposed conversation he had with the jinn on his Twitter account which has 16000 followers.

Jinns are creatures with free will created from smokeless fire by God alongside humans and angels according to Islamic belief.

According to the post the jinn said: 'I am the jinn Habibi. I announce my conversion to Islam at the hands of the sheikh. I testify that there is only one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. The sheikh was good and helped me to convert.' » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

'Armenian Genocide': Why Obama Won't Say the Words

President Obama's campaign promise – to refer to 'Armenian genocide' – remains unfulfilled on the 100th anniversary of when the killings started. US-Turkey relations hold sway, but the president also suggested his true feelings.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: WASHINGTON — As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama promised to be the first American president to refer to the Turkish mass killing of Armenians that began in 1915 as “genocide.”

But on this anniversary, the 100th, President Obama has once again avoided the word. In a statement released Thursday night, he referred to it only as “the first mass atrocity of the 20th century."

“Beginning in 1915, the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths,” Obama said. “Their culture and heritage in their ancient homeland were erased. Amid horrific violence that saw suffering on all sides, one and a half million Armenians perished.”

The reason for Obama’s reticence: Turkey, and its role as a key ally in NATO and in the conflicts of the Middle East. Armenia, a nation of 3 million people in the Caucasus, pales in geostrategic importance. (+ video) » | Linda Feldmann, Staff writer | Friday, April 24, 2015

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Germany defies Turkey, calls Armenian massacre 'genocide' (+video): Germany abruptly shifted its policy Monday from a steadfast refusal to use the term "genocide" to describe the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces 100 years ago. » | Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters | Monday, April 20, 2015

Angela Merkel Calls for New Rules for Distributing Asylum Seekers in Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: German chancellor says existing system should be replaced with one that distributes refugees according to the size of countries the strength of their economies

Europe needs to come up with a new system for distributing asylum seekers, said Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.

The EU's current rules, known as the Dublin regulation, no longer work, she said on Friday.

Speaking at a campaign event in Bremerhaven ahead of state elections next month, Mrs Merkel said any system for distributing refugees should take account of the size of countries and the strength of their economies. » | Andrew Marszal, and agencies | Friday, April 24, 2015

Al-Qaeda Cell Planned Suicide Attack on Vatican

On Friday, Italian state police arrested 18 suspected extremists in an Al-Qaeda-linked terror cell based out of the Italian island of Sardinia.
USA TODAY: ROME — Italian police busted an al-Qaeda-linked terror ring that planned, but never carried out, an attack on the Vatican five years ago and is believed to have been involved in a bombing in Pakistan that killed more than 100 people, authorities said Friday.

Raids were carried out simultaneously in seven different Italian provinces with arrest warrants for 18 suspected Islamic extremists following a lengthy investigation in Cagliari, capital of the Italian island Sardinia.

Authorities uncovered plans for a suicide bomber plot against the Vatican in 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI was pontiff. Evidence includes a "martyr's vow" from a would-be suicide bomber threatening to strike against the Vatican, the spiritual focal point for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Mario Carta, an official from the counter-terror police force that carried out the raids, called it "one of the most important operations ever carried out in Italy." Police said the operation targeted an "extremely well-structured terror network" based in Sardinia since at least 2005 that was made up of Pakistani and Afghan nationals.

Nine people have been arrested, and two are still at large in Italy. Seven of the suspects are believed to be in Pakistan, Carta said. » | Eric J. Lyman, Special for USA TODAY | Friday, April 24, 2015

The Guardian View on Turkey and the Armenians: History Matters

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The battle over the word genocide is all but won, but the official Turkish state remains in denial

It is a hard thing to admit that the state to which you belong was founded on a crime and that the history taught in your schools is full of lies. Yet there is no redemption without repentance and, on the centenary of the beginning of the genocidal campaign against the Armenians, it is sad to record that Turkey has still not faced the facts about what happened in 1915. The answer is quite simple in outline, if complex in its dreadful detail. The Armenians, who had lived in Anatolia since long before Turks arrived from central Asia, were killed, deported, or forcibly converted to Islam. Estimates suggest that at least 600,000 perished, while hundreds of thousands were expelled from or fled the Turkish lands, never to return. » | Editorial | Thursday, April 23, 2015

Politicians Warn Salafists Want to Establish an Islamic State in Germany

SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL: A report from an influential group of politicians has warned that a huge rise in the Islamist scene in Germany has led to reports that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Hans-Georg Maassen, said he fears that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

Maassen told the Frankfurter Allgemeine that the growth of the Islamist scene in Germany is "unrestrained". He said:

"The breeding ground for jihad is growing too. Salafists [a movement within Sunni Islam that references the doctrine known as Salafism] want to establish an Islamic state in Germany."

He said the strongholds of radical Islamism remain in North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Hesse. Around 680 Islamists are believed to have travelled from Germany to Syria or Iraq. One in three of them had now returned. "The exit stream to the combat zones continues unabated," Maassen said. » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Türkei droht Wien mit Sanktionen

DIE PRESSE: Ankara erwägt wirtschaftliche Strafmaßnahmen als Reaktion auf Nationalratserklärung. Außenamt versucht, die Wogen zu glätten. Minister Kurz telefonierte mit türkischem Amtskollegen.

Ankara/Wien. Der Streit zwischen der Türkei und Österreich über die Anerkennung des Genozids an den Armeniern eskaliert weiter. Wie „Die Presse“ erfahren hat, sondiert die türkische Regierung wirtschaftliche und andere Strafmaßnahmen. Das Außenministerium in Wien stellt sich bereits auf Sanktionen ein. 650 österreichische Unternehmen sind derzeit in der Türkei aktiv. Betroffen sein könnten auch Ausgrabungen in der antiken Stadt Ephesos im Westen des Landes, die durch die türkische Antikenverwaltung jedes Jahr neu genehmigt werden müssen.

Da der Nationalrat die Massenmorde von 1915 als Völkermord eingestuft hatte, berief Ankara am Mittwoch seinen Botschafter in Wien, Mehmet Hasan Gögüs, zu Gesprächen ein. In einer Stellungnahme der türkischen Regierung hieß es zudem, die Erklärung des Parlaments werde die Beziehungen „dauerhaft beschädigen“. Die Ereignisse so zu verdrehen sei „nichts weniger als ein Massaker des Rechts“. » | DiePresse | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Streit über Völkermord an Armeniern: Türkei beruft Botschafter aus Österreich zurück: Österreichs Parlament hat die Massaker an den Armeniern als Völkermord bezeichnet. Die harsche Reaktion der türkischen Regierung ließ nicht lange auf sich warten. » | syd/dpa | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

Gauck spricht klar von Völkermord an den Armeniern

DIE WELT: Der Bundespräsident wird deutlicher als Regierung und Bundestag: Gauck benennt das Massaker an Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich ohne Umschweife als Völkermord – und erinnert an die deutsche Mitschuld.

Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck benennt die Massaker an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich vor 100 Jahren klar als Völkermord. In seiner Rede auf der zentralen deutschen Gedenkveranstaltung im Berliner Dom verwendet er in der entscheidenden Passage wortgleich die Formulierung, auf die sich zuvor auch die Bundesregierung und die schwarz-rote Koalition verständigt hatten: "Das Schicksal der Armenier steht beispielhaft für die Geschichte der Massenvernichtungen, der ethnischen Säuberungen, der Vertreibungen, ja der Völkermorde, von der das 20. Jahrhundert auf so schreckliche Weise gezeichnet ist."

Im späteren Verlauf der Rede, als Gauck die Mitschuld des damaligen Deutschen Reichs an den Gräueltaten anspricht, wird er deutlicher und stuft die Geschehnisse gänzlich ohne Umschweife als Völkermord ein: "In diesem Fall müssen auch wir Deutsche insgesamt uns noch der Aufarbeitung stellen, wenn es nämlich um eine Mitverantwortung, unter Umständen sogar Mitschuld, am Völkermord an den Armeniern geht." Im Ersten Weltkrieg waren Armenier im Osmanischen Reich als vermeintliche Kollaborateure mit dem Feind systematisch vertrieben und umgebracht worden. Zwischen 200.000 und 1,5 Millionen Menschen kamen nach Schätzungen ums Leben. Die Türkei als Nachfolgestaat des Osmanischen Reichs lehnt die Bezeichnung "Völkermord" vehement ab. » | Von Claudia Kade, Redakteurin Innenpolitik | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

Islamic State Recruiter Neil Prakash Calls for Attacks in Australia in Propaganda Video

THE AGE: Australia's most senior Islamic State recruiter in Syria has urged young Muslim men to "rise up" and launch attacks on home soil in a new alarming propaganda video.

Neil Prakash, who goes by the jihadist name Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, is understood to have fled to Syria from Melbourne in early 2013. Mr Prakash is of Fijian and Cambodian descent, a fact reflected in his nom de guerre.

In the 12-minute video, Mr Prakash issues a call to arms to his "beloved brothers in Australia".

"I also send a message to my brothers, my beloved brothers in Islam in Australia," he says.

"Now is the time to rise, now is the time to wake up … You must start attacking before they attack you."

The video has emerged online only days after five Melbourne teenagers were arrested in pre-dawn raids over an alleged Anzac Day terror plot. Three teenagers have been charged, two with terrorism-related offences.

Mr Prakash encourages his "brothers at home" to reprise attacks on their "sisters". » | Marissa Calligeros | Wednesday, April 22, 2015