Monday, September 07, 2015
Majority of Brits Would Vote for Brexit amid EU Migrant Crisis
The Men Evading Tajikistan's de-facto Beard Ban
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| 'I did not grow a beard to be vulgar but because it's beautiful', says Romish Ibrohimov. |
Russia’s great moderniser Peter the Great was responsible for one of history’s strangest tariffs: the beard tax.
Now, more than 300 years later Tajikistan’s president Emomali Rahmon is clamping down on facial hair with the same fervour, seemingly linked to the government’s ongoing campaign against the influence of Islam in Tajik society.
Reports that police in the former Soviet state have been forcibly shaving men with facial hair are widespread.
In April, Rustam Gulov claims the police took him into custody and shaved him against his will. “Judging by the hair in the room, I estimate they shaved the beards of approximately 200-250 people before me,” the well-known blogger later wrote. » | Global Voices Online, part of the New East network | Monday, September 7, 2015
UN Refugee Chief : History Will Judge Us Harshly Over Syria Crisis
The flood of refugees into Europe from the Middle East and Africa has only just begun as states disintegrate in a maelstrom of religious war, the United Nations has warned.
"We cannot comfort ourselves that this is a temporary phenomenon," said Peter Sutherland, the UN's special envoy for migrants and refugees.
Quite apart from Syria, much of the Sahel across sub-Saharan Africa is hanging by a thread, and ISIS is expanding into every country of the Maghreb. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Como, Italy | Monday, September 7, 2015
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Pastor Converts to Islam with 480-member Congregation in Rwanda
Salim Mikdad, a former pastor, reverted to Islam after being convinced into it by Muslim scholars, Nigeria Watch reported.
Later on, he managed to convince his entire 480-member congregation to take a similar decision on August 25. » | Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Angola Officially Bans Islam, Closes Mosques
After its decision to ban the practice of Islamic religion and the shutting down of its places of worship in the whole country, Angola became the first country in the world to officially ban Islam.
“This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country,” Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said on Sunday.
Angolan Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva, announced earlier the ban, saying that “the process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human rights, their mosques would be closed until further notice.”
She also said that the ban must take place because Islam was “contradictory to the customs of Angola culture and it is a sect”. » | Larbi Arbaoul | Sunday, September 6, 2015
Putin: EU-Flüchtlingskrise war voraussehbar und bedingt durch blinden Befehlsgehorsam gegenüber USA
Pope Calls on All of Europe’s Catholics to House Refugees
In a speech to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said it was not enough to say “have courage, hang in there” to those marching towards what he described as “life’s hope.”
It was the pontiff’s first direct message to Europe — and the world — about how to embrace and integrate the largest mass migration Europe has seen since the end of World War II. » | Alison Smale | Sunday, September 6, 2015
Papst: "Jede Pfarre soll eine Familie aufnehmen"
Peter Hitchens: We Won't Save Refugees by Destroying Our Own Country
It is one of the heaviest responsibilities we will ever have. We cannot just give it away to complete strangers on an impulse because it makes us feel good about ourselves.
Every one of the posturing notables simpering ‘refugees welcome’ should be asked if he or she will take a refugee family into his or her home for an indefinite period, and pay for their food, medical treatment and education.
If so, they mean it. If not, they are merely demanding that others pay and make room so that they can experience a self-righteous glow. No doubt the same people are also sentimental enthusiasts for the ‘living wage’, and ‘social housing’, when in fact open borders are steadily pushing wages down and housing costs up. Read on and comment » | Peter Hitchens | Sunday, September 6, 2015
Islamic State: ISIS Orders Parents to MARRY OFF Their Daughters to Its Depraved Fighters
Sex-crazed Islamists in the coastal city of Sirte are looking to force mothers and fathers to hand over their young girls in the name of jihad.
Those who refuse could find themselves hauled before a Sharia court, with public floggings and even the death penalty amongst the punishments routinely handed down by Isis militants.
The move comes after Express.co.uk revealed how Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has sent hundreds of fighters to Sirte to help the jihadis hold the city.
The hated terror group has declared [the] Sirte its new capital in north Africa as part of its bid to create a so-called caliphate.
In a sermon to Sirte's terrified people - who recently rebelled against their new Isis rulers - militant Hassan al-Karami ordered locals to marry off their female relatives to Isis fighters. » | Nick Gutteridge | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Britain Should Help 'Crush' Isil in Syria, Former Archbishop of Canterbury Warns
Britain should "crush" Isil by taking part in military action in Syria, a former Archbishop of Canterbury suggests today amid mounting calls for further air strikes.
In an article for The Telegraph, Lord Carey says that it is "not enough" to send aid to Syria and admit thousands of refugees to this country.
He argues that Isil needs to be dealt with "for once and for all" and that "air strikes and other British military assistance" may be needed in Syria.
He also says Britain should be prioritising Christian refugees who are victims of "ethnic cleansing" and have been crucified, beheaded, raped, and subjected to forced conversion by Isil.
The comments from one of Britain's most senior religious figures are likely to be welcomed by David Cameron, who has suggested that military intervention is required to solve the Syrian crisis. » | Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Saturday, September 05, 2015
From Turkey to Germany for $12K: Illegal Human Trafficking Booms amid Refugee and Migrant Crisis
The President Meets with the King of Saudi Arabia
ARUTZ SHEVA: Saudi King Meets Obama, Reiterates Concern Over Iran Deal: King Salman of Saudi Arabia meets Obama in Washington, his first visit to the United States since assuming the throne. » | Ben Ariel, Canada | Saturday, September 5, 2015
L’ancien premier ministre portugais José Socrates sort de prison
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| José Socrates en juin 2011. |
Chef du gouvernement de 2005 à 2011, il avait été arrêté le 21 novembre, puis inculpé trois jours plus tard pour corruption, blanchiment d’argent et fraude fiscale aggravée. Il était depuis placé en détention provisoire à la prison d’Evora, dans le sud-est du pays. » \ Le Monde.fr avec AFP | vendredi 4. Septembre 2015
France 'May Extend Airstrikes on Isil to Syria'
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| French President François Hollande |
France may extend military airstrikes against Islamic State targets from Iraq to Syria, Le Monde newspaper has reported.
France was the first country to join the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes on Isil targets in Iraq and has supplied weapons to what it considers moderate rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
But it has so far ruled out bombing the terror group’s bases in Syria out of fear that this might benefit the Assad regime.
Le Monde quoted an unnamed "high level source" as saying that in the wake of the growing migrant crisis in Europe, President François Hollande was now considering sending French warplanes to attack Isil in Syria. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Britain Pledges to Help Thousands of Refugees – But Rich Arab States Have Taken In NONE
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – all relatively close to war-ravaged Syria and said by commentators to have the capacity to quickly house refugees – are yet to take any of the four million Syrians fleeing the region.
The news comes as record numbers embark on the life-threatening journey to Europe – and packed refugee camps in Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt come under threat from the Islamic State advance.
And although the tragic death of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi has seen European attitudes to the crisis change overnight, campaigners have slammed Gulf states' unwillingness to change tack.
Syrians must apply for tourist visas and work permits in order to have any hope of starting a new life in the Gulf – with few of the costly documents ever granted.
Amnesty International's Head of Refugee and Migrants' Rights, Sherif Elsayid-Ali, said: "The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling, in terms of actually showing compassion and sharing the responsibility of this crisis... It is a disgrace." » | Patrick Maguire | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Refugee Crisis: Hungary Lays On Buses as Human Tide Starts 150-Mile Trek to Vienna
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| Refugees walk down the M7 towards Austria |
It was an exodus born of anger and frustration.
After nearly a week stranded in mounting squalor outside Budapest’s main railway station, more than 1,000 refugees took matters into their own hands on Friday and decided to try to walk towards a better life.
Half protest-march, half procession, the dismal crocodile of refugees left the Keleti station at 10am carrying what meagre possessions they could – a carrier bag of clothes, a bag of baby’s bottles, a few books or a phone – and set off for Vienna more than 150 miles away.
Many carried pictures of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, which they waved defiantly at the police, demanding to know why Hungary was not treating the refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia with more compassion.
While in Hungary’s parliament, politicians passed strict new laws that will make illegal crossings of the country’s newly fortified border with Serbia punishable by three years in jail, the procession wound slowly through the suburbs of Budapest and up the M1 motorway towards the Austrian border.
Then, hours after the refugees started trudging west, the Hungarian authorities made a concession of sorts, announcing that it would lay on buses to take them to border town of Hegyeshalom if they wanted.
It did not seem a wholly altruistic gesture.
"The top priority is that Hungary's transport should not be crippled," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief-of-staff Janos Lazar told a press conference.
His chief of staff, Janos Lazar, added: "This does not automatically mean that they can leave the country. We are waiting for the Austrian government's response." » | Peter Foster, outside Budapest and James Badcock in Bicske | Friday, September 4, 2015
Friday, September 04, 2015
Amid Refugee Crisis, Hungary Prime Minister Says Muslims Not Welcome
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that his country did not want to accept Muslim refugees, as he defended his tough approach to border control on the frontline of Europe's migration crisis.
Orban spoke in Brussels at meetings between European Union leaders and Hungary's prime minister after images of a drowned Syrian child on a Turkish beach grabbed world attention this week and said that it was not a moral argument for opening Europe's doors.
"If we would create ... an impression that 'just come because we are ready to accept everybody,' that would be a moral failure. The moral, human thing is to make clear: 'Please don't come,'" Orban told reporters.
In a later news conference, Orban said the history of Ottoman rule meant Hungarians would not accept large-scale Muslim immigration, a point made recently by neighboring Slovakia.
"We don't want to, and I think we have a right to decide that we do not want a large number of Muslim people in our country," Orban said. "We do not like the consequences of having a large number of Muslim communities that we see in other countries, and I do not see any reason for anyone else to force us to create ways of living together in Hungary that we do not want to see. That is a historical experience for us." » | Al Jazeera and wire services | Thursday, September 3, 2015
THE LOCAL (DE): Orban: Muslims threaten European identity: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned Thursday that the wave of mostly Muslim refugees coming to Europe threatens to undermine the continent's Christian roots - an idea rejected by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. » | AFP | Friday, September 4, 2015
THE WASHINGTON POST: Muslims threaten Europe’s Christian identity, Hungary’s leader says: Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has made nationalistic and controversial statements in the past. But with his country emerging as a main gateway for refugees trying to reach richer European nations, his words suddenly carry much heavier weight. » | Rick Noack | Thursday, September 3, 2015
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