Französischer Telefongigant: Orange will sich aus Israel zurückziehen

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der französische Telefongigant Orange will keine Geschäfte mehr in Israel machen. Angeblich hat der Rückzug keinen politischen Hintergrund - zuvor hatten Flüchtlingsorganisationen Orange zum Boykott aufgerufen. Jerusalem ist wütend.

Pläne des französischen Telekommunikationsunternehmens Orange für einen Rückzug aus Israel haben heftige Reaktionen in Jerusalem ausgelöst. Das Unternehmen verteidigte den Schritt mit dem Argument, es wolle nicht mehr als Marke in Ländern präsent sein, wo es nicht auch selbst als Betreiber agiert. Orange wolle sich in keiner Form an politischen Debatten beteiligen, teilte der Konzern mit.

Israels Ministerpräsident Benjamin Netanyahu forderte daraufhin die französische Regierung dazu auf, sich von "unglücklichen Äußerungen und Aktionen" von Orange zu distanzieren. Netanyahu beschrieb die Lage als "unverzeihliches absurdes Theater". Die französische Regierung hält rund ein Viertel der Orange-Anteile. "Ich rufe unsere besten Freunde dazu auf, mit lauter, klarer Stimme zu sagen, dass sie bedingungslos gegen jede Form des Boykotts gegen den jüdischen Staat sind", sagte Netanyahu. » | anr/dpa/Reuters | Donnerstag, 04. Juni 2015

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Sarkozy Panned for Holding ‘Question of Islam’ Meet

In first action, former French president’s new center-right party debate place of Islam in France, to dismay of religious groups

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing opposition party held an internal meeting Thursday on the “question of Islam” in France, drawing criticism from Muslim groups and some members of the party for “stigmatizing” the religion.

The former French president’s party, recently rebranded “The Republicans,” debated “the place of religion” in secular France and more specifically “Islam in France.”

France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community and also the continent’s biggest Jewish community but is officially secular.

One month after the January attacks in Paris that killed 17, Sarkozy said: “The question is not to know what the Republic can do for Islam, but what Islam can do to become the Islam of France.” » | AFP | Thursday, June 04, 2015

The Daily Show: Jon Stewart

The Daily Show
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The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

MEDIAITE: The Daily Show Instructs Muslims How to Be More ‘America-Loving’ » Josh Feldman | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Pamela Geller Reacts to Being Targetted for Beheading

Boston Terror Suspect Reportedly Targeted 'Draw Muhammad' Activist for Beheading

FOX NEWS: The knife-wielding terror suspect who was shot and killed by law enforcement outside Boston early Tuesday originally targeted the activist behind last month's "Draw Muhammad" cartoon competition before turning his sights on local police, according to several published reports.

CNN and NBC, citing law enforcement sources, reported late Wednesday that Usaama Rahim had planned to behead Pamela Geller, an activist and blogger who organized last month's cartoon contest for images of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in Garland, Texas. That event was targeted by two Muslim gunmen who were killed by police.

Geller was not identified in an FBI complaint against David Wright, a relative of Rahim, that was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. However, investigators did say that Rahim had initially told Wright that he planned to behead an unidentified victim outside of Massachusetts. » | FoxNews.com | Thursday, June 04, 2015

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Terror suspect killed by FBI 'planned to behead Pamela Geller': Usaama Rahim allegedly planned to kill anti-Islam activist before his death in Boston on Tuesday » | David Lawler, Washington | Thursday, June 04, 2015

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Knife-wielding Boston terror suspect shot dead planned to behead conservative blogger Pamela Geller: report » | Bev Ford, Nancy Dillon | New York Daily News | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Sarkozy veut reconquérir la France "centimètre par centimètre"

LE POINT: "Le temps de la primaire n'est pas venu", a lancé le président des Républicains lors d'un meeting de soutien à Manuel Aeschlimann à Asnières-sur-Seine.

Nicolas Sarkozy, président des Républicains, a affirmé mercredi à Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) qu'il voulait reconquérir la France "centimètre par centimètre", parce que c'est ce qui va permettre à sa famille politique "non seulement de gagner en 2017 mais de mettre en oeuvre" sa politique. "Sur les divisions, il n'y aura que la défaite, sur l'Union, tout devient possible", a lancé Nicolas Sarkozy devant près de 1 500 personnes, lors d'un meeting de soutien à Manuel Aeschlimann, qui tente les 14 et 21 juin de regagner la mairie d'Asnières, qu'il avait conquise avec seulement 70 voix sur son adversaire socialiste en 2014. Le Conseil d'État avait invalidé cette élection en raison de "pressions" à voter UMP aux abords de plusieurs bureaux de vote, sans toutefois établir l'implication de Manuel Aeschlimann. » | Source AFP | mercredi 03 juin 2015

Obama schickt Netanjahu eine besondere Warnung

Barack Obama und Benjamin Netanjahu: Ein schwieriges
Verhältnis wird noch komplizierter

DIE WELT: Israels wichtigster Verbündeter schickt Warnsignale nach Jerusalem. Obama stellt die bedingungslose Unterstützung Israels im UN-Sicherheitsrat infrage – das könnte schon bald Konsequenzen haben.

Seit Wochen, so berichten israelische Medien, kriselt es zwischen israelischen und französischen Diplomaten. Hintergrund ist Paris' Vorhaben, dem Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen eine Resolution vorzulegen, um dem Friedensprozess mit den Palästinensern neuen Schwung zu geben. Der Vorschlag, dessen Inhalt Ende Mai im "Figaro" bekannt wurde, schreibt die Richtlinien einer Lösung vor, mit so manch einem für Jerusalem problematischen Paragrafen. So sollen Verhandlungen innerhalb von 18 Monaten abgeschlossen, Jerusalem geteilt und alle israelischen Truppen aus dem Westjordanland abgezogen werden.

Bislang verließen die Israelis sich darauf, dass solche Initiativen von ihrem wichtigsten Verbündeten gestoppt würden. Das geschah zuletzt im Dezember, als Washington drohte, notfalls vom Vetorecht Gebrauch zu machen. Doch nun schickte US-Präsident Barack Obama eine unmissverständliche Drohung an Israels Premier Benjamin Netanjahu: Dessen umstrittene Aussagen machten es erheblich schwerer, Israel in der internationalen Arena zu verteidigen. Eine Verurteilung Israels im Sicherheitsrat oder die Verabschiedung von Resolutionen, die Jerusalem unter Druck setzen, wird wahrscheinlicher. » | Von Gil Yaron, Tel Aviv | Mittwoch, 03. Juni 2015

'Soviet-era Snitching' Returns to Russia

NEWSWEEK: "Denunciations, secret informants and squealers" are becoming "rife" in everyday Russian life, experts in Russia have said, with some people saying the trend marks a return to the dark days of the 1930s purges when people would denounce their neighbours and friends to the authorities in order to advance their career, or to secure a better standard of living.

According to an article published in the Moscow Times, denunciations often come from anonymous groups who state authorities rarely name, referring to them instead as "concerned citizens". However, in some cases the denunciations are public and often involve the State Duma or local deputies, with one expert claiming that state authorities sometimes fabricate claims in order to justify their actions.

Alexander Cherkasov, who works for a human rights group pointed out that several state-led campaigns against "loosely defined extremists, gay people and those perceived to be insulting the feelings of religious believers" over the last few years, are used to signal our certain individuals or groups, meaning that these people come under increased, and arguably unfair, scrutiny. » | Felicity Capon | Monday, June 01, 2015

As Turkey Turns from the West, Islanbul's Most Iconic Building Is Claimed for Islam

NEWSWEEK: Empires have risen and fallen, but the dome of the great basilica remains, dominating the skyline of Istanbul for the past 14 centuries. Built by the Roman emperor Justinian in 532 as the Church of the Holy Wisdom, the Hagia Sophia served as the principal church of Eastern Christianity for 916 years. When the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II captured the city in 1453, he stopped at the monumental porch and stooped to scatter dust on his turban as a gesture of humility before Allah the Victory-Giver.

On Mehmet's order, the church became the mosque of Ayasofya (the Turkish spelling), a symbol of the triumph of the Ottoman Turks and of the supremacy of Islam. In 1935, the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, ordered Ayasofya opened as a museum, a symbol of the secular, modern republic he was forging from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. "Atatürk made the Hagia Sophia a monument to what Turkey could become," said Anthony Eastmond, AG Leventis Reader in the history of Byzantine art at London's Courtauld Institute of Art. "By turning it from a mosque into a museum, he made it a place for all people."

Now the Hagia Sophia (the usual English spelling) has once again become a symbol – this time of the very contemporary battle for the soul of Turkey between Islamists and secularists. Vocal religious-conservative activists, some with links to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, are pressuring the government to reconsecrate the site for Islam. … » | Owen Matthews, Sila Alici | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

50% of Italians and Poles View Muslims Negatively, Study Finds

NEWSWEEK: More than 50% of Italians and Poles have a negative view of Muslims, according to new research which reveals worrying levels of xenophobia in several European countries.

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 61% of Italians and 56% of Poles expressed a negative view of Muslims in their country[,].

Anti-Semitism is also high in both countries, with one in five Italians and one in four Poles viewing Jews unfavourably. In contrast, less than one in 10 French and British people expressed similar views.

Xenophobia has seen a revival in Europe of late, with the rise of far-right and nationalist parties such as the Front National in France and the Pegida movement in Germany.

The study, which also surveyed four other EU nations, was conducted after the Charlie Hebdo shootings and kosher supermarket attack in Paris earlier this year. » | Conor Gaffey | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Geert Wilders Vows to Show Muhammad Cartoons on National Television

680 NEWS: THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders said Wednesday he plans to show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Dutch television after Parliament refused to display them.

Wilders said he would show the cartoons during television airtime reserved for political parties, in a move likely to offend Muslims since Islamic tradition holds that any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is blasphemous.

Political parties in the Netherlands get a small amount of airtime each year and broadcasting authorities have no say in what the parties show. Wilders said the broadcast would likely take place in the next few weeks, but an exact date has yet to be determined.

The announcement came a month after Wilders gave a speech at a contest in Garland, Texas, for cartoon depictions of Muhammad. Shortly after Wilders left the event, it was targeted by two men with pistols and assault rifles. Security guards shot and killed the attackers. » | Mike Corder, The Associated Press | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Boston Man Slain by Police Was Planning Terrorist Attack, FBI Says

LOS ANGELES TIMES: A Boston man who was shot and killed by members of a counter-terrorism task force had been planning an attack in the United States by beheading someone, possibly randomly chosen police officers, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday.

Usaamah Rahim, 26, a private security officer who lived in Boston, had been planning the attack since at least May 26 and had bought knives online from Amazon, according to court documents. Rahim, who was under law enforcement surveillance, was fatally shot Tuesday by members of a Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Boston neighborhood of Roslindale after he reportedly approached the officers with a large knife. (+ video) » | Matt Pearce | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Selling Islam in America

CHRISTIAN POST – OPINION: When Tulsa, Okla., police captain Paul Fields refused an order to attend a mosque, he was slapped with a two-week suspension and permanent demotion. Captain Fields resisted the order based on his religious freedom—he is a Christian. But his objections were not good enough for his superiors or the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against him.

The chief of police had ordered officers to attend the mosque to hear a discussion on Islamic beliefs, Muhammad and Mecca; learn why and how Muslims pray; and consider buying Islamic books and pamphlets. In December 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The Fields case is but another in a bewildering campaign to sell Islam to Americans while denigrating Christianity and, as in the Tulsa decision, rejecting the rights of individuals or groups holding other religious convictions.

Such capricious actions, though motivated by a professed desire to be sensitive to followers of Islam, actually have the opposite effect. Even Muslims should reject them based on their own self-interests. No one has benefited from the radical polarization of Americans over the past few years. Religious intolerance and deteriorating race relations threaten to alter or destroy this society. » | Elwood McQuaid, CP Guest Contributor | Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Tired Of Islam, Iranians Ask ' Who Is This Jesus?' - CBN

The harsh treatment of Christians in Iran is fueling church growth. Despite the threats, one television channel is beaming the Christian message directly into the Islamic country.

Ex-Muslims Lighting the Way for Islam's Collapse?

If Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, why are so many Muslims leaving their faith? Some believe the collapse of Islam is on the horizon.

Migration Threatens European Civilisation, Says Hungary PM

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: 'There is no way back from a multicultural Europe' says Viktor Orban, who warns decisions Europe makes on migration now will affect it forever

Mass migration threatens European civilisation, Hungary's controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday.

"Today mass migration is taking place around the globe that could change the face of Europe's civilisation. If that happens, that is irreversible," Mr Orban said at a conference in honour of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who recently turned 85.

"There is no way back from a multicultural Europe. Neither to a Christian Europe, nor to the world of national cultures," Mr Orban added.

He insisted that migration needs to be addressed seriously. "If we make a mistake now, it will be forever," Mr Orban, 52, said. » | Agencies | Tuesday, June 02, 2015

«Man kann uns nicht mehr aufhalten»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Erdrutschsiege in zwei Bundesländern geben der Rechten Österreichs Aufschwung. Sie sieht sich auf dem Weg zur «sozialen Volkspartei».

Mit dem Rückenwind eines spektakulären Wahl-Triumphs in zwei Bundesländern sieht sich die rechte FPÖ in Österreich auf dem besten Weg in die Regierung. «Man kann uns nicht mehr aufhalten und schon gar nicht stoppen», sagte FPÖ-Chef Heinz-Christian Strache am Montag in Wien. Seine Partei sei auf dem Weg zur «sozialen Volkspartei».

Die «Erdrutschgewinne» in der Steiermark und im Burgenland seien ein deutliches Signal an die rot-schwarzen Koalitionen in Bund und Ländern, die «undemokratische Ausgrenzung gegenüber der FPÖ» zu beenden. » | sda | Montag, 01. Juni 2015

FPÖ berauscht sich an Wahlerfolgen »

Interview with Brigitte Gabriel

Brigitte Gabriel is a Lebanese American journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth, an organization dedicated to educating the public about Islam. This is her interview at Duke University in 2004.


ACT for America »

Brigitte Gabriel on Obama

Brigitte Gabriel: Western Leaders Afraid of the Truth about Islam