Troll or Hero? The Sex Blogger Who's Offending Muslims

BBC AMERICA: Sex blogger, agent provocateur, trouble-maker - or freedom of speech activist?

These are all phrases that one of Malaysia's most infamous bloggers, Alvin Tan, uses to describe himself. He has a history of posts that have been highly divisive in the Muslim majority nation, and his latest stunt has involved once again offending Muslim sensibilities with a controversial Facebook post.

In the video, Tan, bare-chested and wearing sunglasses, plays the piano while singing a lyrically garbled version of the Azan - the Muslim call to prayer. Underneath the video, he has written: "Please don't badger me about the wrong lyrics ... First, this is a cover, so creative modification is permitted. Second, I ain't a suicide bomber." » | BBC Trending | Sunday, May 03, 2015

Dallas Prophet Cartoon Attack: Suspected Gunmen 'Named'

Authorities have identified the suspected gunmen who attacked an event near Dallas exhibiting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, US media say.

Officials have named them as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post newspapers.

Geert Wilders on Muslim Hit Lists before Muhammad Cartoon Attack

The keynote speaker at Sunday's Muhammad cartoon-drawing contest in Texas was Dutch politician Geert Wilders, a longtime target of Muslim extremists in Europe. Mr. Wilders is an ally of anti-Shariah organization American Freedom Defense Initiative, which sponsored the event that came under attack from two gunmen and a possible car bomb Sunday. He also was a…

Shooting Reported at Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Contest Near Dallas, Texas

Police in a Dallas suburb killed two men in a car during a gun battle as they attacked a Muhammad-cartoon drawing contest. As the event at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland was ending, "two males drove up to the front of the building in a car." according to a statement Sunday night by the city…

Texas Gunman 'Tweeted Allegiance to ISIS During Attack'

ARUTZ SHEVA: Twitter account believed to belong to one of two men killed in attack on Mohammed cartoon contest includes chilling message.

A Twitter account which appears to have belonged to one of the two gunmen shot dead outside a Mohammed Cartoon contest in Texas Sunday night, posted a message swearing allegiance to ISIS around the time of the attack.

The account, @atawaakul, has now been removed by Twitter. Its profile picture was a photo of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-educated cleric who became the influential mouthpiece of Yemen's Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) before being killed in a US drone strike.

In the message, the poster says: "The bro with me and myself have given ba'yah [allegiance - ed.] to Amirul Mu'mineen [leader of the believers - ed.], may allah accept us as mujahideen [holy warriors - ed.]" » | Ari Soffer | Monday, May 04, 2015

Chancellor Merkel Marks 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Dachau

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recalls the "unfathomable horrors everywhere" as she lays a wreath to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Gavino Garay reports.

Gunmen Shot Outside 'Draw Muhammad' Event in Garland, Texas

Police in Texas Kill Gunmen at Exhibit Defying Islam

THE NEW YORK TIMES: HOUSTON — Two gunmen were killed after they opened fire Sunday evening outside an event hosted by an anti-Islam group in Garland, Tex., featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, local officials said. According to the authorities, the two assailants shot a private security guard and were, in turn, shot and killed by police officers.

Officials did not give the identities of the gunmen or the security officer and did not assign a motive for the attack. The Texas State Police and the F.B.I. referred reporters’ questions to the Garland Police Department. The City of Garland confirmed the episode in a Facebook posting. » | Manny Fernandez and Liam Stock | Sunday, May 03, 2015

British Muslims and UK Elections

PRESS TV: Experts say Muslims in the UK have the power to significantly influence election results in the UK and the Muslim vote is considered to be essential.

Historically it's been said Muslims have identified themselves mostly with the Labour Party.

However, in 2010 less and less Muslims voted for them. Experts say British Muslims have become increasingly disenfranchised with mainstream parties. (+ video) » | Saturday, May 02, 2015

Islamic State: Militants 'Kill 300 Yazidi Captives'

BBC AMERICA: Several hundred Yazidi captives have been killed in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants west of Mosul, Yazidi and Iraqi officials say.

A statement from the Yazidi Progress Party said 300 captives were killed on Friday in the Tal Afar district near the city.

Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujaifi described the reported deaths as "horrific and barbaric".

Thousands of members of the religious minority group were captured last year.

It is not clear how they were killed, or why this has happened now, says the BBC's Middle East editor Alan Johnston.

Many are reported to have been held in Mosul, the main stronghold of IS after the militants swept through large areas of northern and western Iraq, and eastern Syria in 2014.

Yazidis, whose religion includes elements of several faiths, are considered infidels by IS. (+ BBC video) » | Saturday, May 02, 2015

Royal Baby: Princess Presented to World

Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Issues ‘Warning’ to America

JP UPDATES: (AFP). The far-right populist Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders issued a “warning” to America on Thursday, saying that mass immigration from Muslim countries threatened the nation’s security.

“I am warning America. Don’t think that what’s happening in Europe today will not happen in America tomorrow because it will,” Wilders told reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington.

“Islamic immigration has proven to be a Trojan horse, the jihadists are among us,” he added, warning of “enormous security problems” in the United States if Muslim immigrants are allowed to stay.

“Let them go, but never let them return,” he said. » | JP Newsroom | Friday, May 01, 2015

Obama: Islam's Most Powerful Friend

Barack Hussein Obama is the most powerful friend Islam has ever known. Islam means "submission". And Islam has been at war with the world for the past 1,400 years. The goal is Islam is to force the world to submit to Islam.

Massive Crowd in Sanaa Protests Saudi Strikes in Yemen

Thousands of people took to the streets of Sanaa, Friday, to protest against Saudi intervention in Yemen and the Saudi-led airstrikes that have seen hundreds killed and thousands left injured in recent months. Protesters held rifles and flags and chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the United State and Israel.

BBC Documentary: The Kingdom of Morocco

Islamic State Terrorists Brutally Execute Men by Smashing Concrete Blocks onto Their Heads

An Islamic State militant is shown about to throw a large
concrete block onto a man

DAILY EXPRESS: ISLAMIC State terrorists brutally executed two men accused of murder by smashing concrete blocks onto their heads.

Horrific images have emerged showing the Islamists lifting the large blocks above their heads as they shadow over the men cowering on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.

The next photos show horrendous images of blood spattered across the road and dripping down the side of a pavement as a shouting crowd cheers the executors on.

Both men were bludgeoned to death in Nineveh province in northern Iraq after the Islamic police arrested them for allegedly robbing and killing three women.

The execution is known as a 'qisas' punishment, or an 'eye for an eye' retribution.

The pictures come in the same week as two other men were shown on social media being beheaded by Islamic State militants with a huge machete in the Syrian village of Jarnyah, west of Raqqa.

It is thought they were executed after being accused of practicing sorcery.

Last week militants stoned two gay men to death seconds after they were photographed embracing and 'forgiving' them. » | Alix Culbertson | Friday, May 01, 2015

Transgender Jews: Beyond the Rainbow

JEWISH JOURNAL: More and more, transgender Jews are introducing themselves to the Jewish world

Deborah attends services at Temple Aliyah nearly every week, but on a Friday night two years ago, she was nervous. Her daughter, Rebecca, then 18 and known all of her life as Jeremy, had chosen the Kabbalat Shabbat service to come out in public dressed as a woman for the first time. Deborah worried Rebecca’s newfound confidence and courage might be shot down by disapproving stares.

Tall and thin, with a head of brown curls that were still short on that day so early in her transition, Rebecca wore a straight, white skirt and a top with large purple paisleys. She doesn’t like to be showy, so she wore flats and no makeup.

When Deborah and Rebecca walked into the family service at the Woodland Hills Conservative synagogue, along with Rebecca’s younger brother, they were greeted with friendly smiles, with Temple Aliyah’s Rabbi Stewart Vogel in the lead. » | Julie Gruenbaum Fax | Thursday, April 30, 2015

Krawalle in Istanbul

Lebanese Talk Show Host Paula Yacoubian: The Ottomans Were the Forefathers of ISIS, but Armenian Genocide Was Not About Muslims Killing Christians

Egyptian Cleric Saad Abu Aziz: Jews Are a Malignant Tumor That Must Be Eradicated