Saudi Lawyer Says Increased Punishment for Saudi Gang-Rape Victim Unjust
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A lawyer for a gang-rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six-months in jail says the punishment contravenes Islamic law.

The woman was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, judges doubled her sentence, saying she had been trying to use the media to influence them.

Her lawyer has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session.

Abdel Rahman al-Lahem told the BBC Arabic Service that the sentence was in violation of Islamic law:

"My client is the victim of this abhorrent crime. I believe her sentence contravenes the Islamic Sharia law and violates the pertinent international conventions," he said.

"The judicial bodies should have dealt with this girl as the victim rather than the culprit."

The lawyer also said that his client his will appeal against the decision to increase her punishment. Saudi gang rape sentence 'unjust' (more)

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinejad schickt bösen Brief an Sarkozy, in dem es steht er sei “jung und unerfahren”
Foto of Ahmadinejad dank der Welt
WELTONLINE: Der iranische Präsident hat seinen französischen Kollegen davor gewarnt, die europäischen europäischen Länder zu gemeinsamen Sanktionen außerhalb der UN zu bewegen. In dem Brief nannte er Nicolas Sarkozy außerdem „jung und unerfahren".

Der iranische Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat dem französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy einen bösen Brief geschrieben, in dem er seinen Amtskollegen als „jung und unerfahren“ bezeichnet. Ahmadinedschad protestiere insbesondere gegen das französische Vorhaben, die europäischen Partner zu gemeinsamen Sanktionen außerhalb der UN zu bewegen,Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat dem französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy berichtet die Zeitung „Le Monde.

Der Brief, der bereits am Montag eingetroffen sei, enthalte Drohungen und sei in scharfem Ton geschrieben. Sarkozy hatte Ende August vor einer „katastrophalen Alternative“ gewarnt: “entweder die iranische Bombe oder die Bombardierung Irans“. Außenminister Bernard Kouchner hatte das Wort „Krieg“ benutzt, seine Position später aber wieder abgemildert. Ahmadinedschad schickt bösen Brief nach Paris (mehr)

LE MONDE:
Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad écrit à Nicolas Sarkozy

Mark Alexander

Historischer Christbaumschmuck: Hakenkreuze und Granaten für Weihnachten
Photo dank der Welt
WELTONLINE: Auch die Nazis wollten es sich schön machen: Im niedersächsischen Cloppenburg ist eine Ausstellung mit skurrilem Weihnachtsschmuck zu sehen. Eiserne Kreuze und Handgranaten dienten ebenso als Verzierung. Zu verdanken sind die Fundstücke einer Sammlerin.

Echte Nationalsozialisten verschmähten Weihnachten natürlich. Offiziell musste das christliche Fest "Julfeier" heißen. Aber dennoch wollten stramme Parteigänger nicht auf ordentlichen Baumschmuck verzichten. Da hängte man sich also eine Kugel mit Hakenkreuz an den Tannenzweig.

Diesen und anderen Christbaumschmuck zeigt das Museumsdorf in Cloppenburg vom 18. November an. Dann wird dort unter dem Titel „Von wegen Heilige Nacht!“ eine Sonderausstellung eröffnet. Sie soll dokumentieren, wie politische Propaganda das christliche Fest für seine Zwecke entfremden kann. Hakenkreuze und Granaten für Weihnachten (mehr)

Mark Alexander

In der Türkei, muß Heidi den Shahada genommen haben!
Image dank Google Images
WELTONLINE: Eine türkische Version der Kinderlektüre "Heidi" erzürnt die laizistischen Gruppen im Land. Das Buch wird zwar vom Bildungsministerium ausdrücklich empfohlen. Doch eine Illustration zeigt ein Kopftuch und einen Mantel, der an eine Burka erinnert. Türkische Medien schlagen Alarm.

Für den leseunlustigen Nachwuchs in der Türkei hat das türkische Bildungsministerium, geleitet von Minister Hüseyin Celik von der gemäßigt islamischen Partei AKP, bereits vor zwei Jahren eine offizielle Liste der "100 grundlegenden Werke" veröffentlicht. Die vorgeschlagenen Werke sollen als Leitfaden für Pädagogen und Eltern dienen, die Wahl der richtigen Lektüre für den Nachwuchs zu erleichtern. Auf der Liste ist neben "Alice im Wunderland" und "Pinocchio" unter anderem auch das beliebte Werk "Heidi" der Schweizer Autorin Johanna Spyri in der türkischen Fassung zu finden. Das Werk wird ausdrücklich vom Ministerium empfohlen und ist bereits in den Schulen verteilt. Streit um ein Kopftuch im Kinderbuch "Heidi" (more) Von Suleyman Artiisik

Mark Alexander

Bottom Dollar
TIME: Even a month ago, the global economy seemed poised to weather the U.S. sub-prime crisis with relative aplomb. But, suddenly, something approaching panic has gripped the world's financial community. The headlines are grim. The U.S. housing slump is worsening. Banking giants such as Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are posting record losses. The U.S. dollar is getting pounded by the British pound — and virtually every other currency. Oil has run up as high as $98 per bbl., and gold — the traditional doomsday investment — has topped $800, its highest level since the early 1980s.

But despite the fear, the end is not, in fact, nigh. After an orgy of excesses in the credit and housing markets, a measure of sobriety and restraint may have a useful cleansing effect. That said, tremendous risks remain — not least a mounting threat of a U.S. recession. Surveying this treacherous landscape, Paul Donovan, a global economist at UBS, predicts: "It's going to be very unpleasant but it's not a disaster."

Of course, the "core problem" is the U.S. property market, says Han de Jong, chief economist for ABN Amro in Amsterdam. "In hindsight, the housing market in the U.S. was a bubble." The cause? Superlow interest rates that encouraged lenders to offer loans to virtually anyone, even those with bad credit. Those loans were then bundled together into exotic derivatives and sold off to financial institutions worldwide; when borrowers began to default on their mortgages, money managers from São Paulo to Seoul suffered huge losses. Bottom Dollar (more)

Mark Alexander

US Poll Shows Negative View of Islam Intensifies
WASHINGTON POST: As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The poll found that nearly half of Americans -- 46 percent -- have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence. Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing: Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001 By Claudia Deane and Darryl Fears

Mark Alexander

Are the Internationalist Miliband’s Ideas on the Future of Europe Dangerous?
Photo of David Miliband courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Foreign Secretary David Miliband has suggested the European Union should work towards including Russia, Middle Eastern and North African countries.

He said enlargement was "our most powerful tool" for extending stability.

In his first major speech on the UK's relationship with Europe, he said the EU would not become a "superpower" but should be a "role model" for the world.

It could be a "model power of regional co-operation" dedicated to free trade, the environment and tackling extremism.

He said the EU must "keep our promises to Turkey", adding: "If we fail.... it will signal a deep and dangerous divide between east and west.

"Beyond that we must keep the door open, retaining the incentive for change and the prospect of membership provides."

Mr Miliband made his address at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, where Baroness Thatcher delivered her famous warning against "some sort of identikit European personality" almost exactly two decades ago in September 1988. EU 'should expand beyond Europe' (more)

Miliband EU speech in full

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
EU ‘must look beyond Europe’

By contrast:

Baroness Thatcher
First, may I thank you for giving me the opportunity to return to Bruges - and in very different circumstances from my last visit shortly after the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, when Belgian courage and the devotion of your doctors and nurses saved so many British lives.

Second, may I say what a pleasure it is to speak at the College of Europe under the distinguished leadership of its Rector, Professor Lukaszewski. The College plays a vital and increasingly important part in the life of the European Community.

Third, may I also thank you for inviting me to deliver my address in this magnificent hall. What better place to speak of Europe's future than in a building which so gloriously recalls the greatness that Europe had already achieved over 600 years ago?

Your city of Bruges has many other historical associations for us in Britain. Geoffrey Chaucer was a frequent visitor here. And the first book to be printed in the English language was produced here in Bruges by William Caxton.

Mr Chairman, you have invited me to speak on the subject of Britain and Europe. Perhaps I should congratulate you on your courage. If you believe some of the things said and written about my views on Europe, it must seem rather like inviting Genghis Khan to speak on the virtues of peaceful co­existence!

I want to start by disposing of some myths about my country, Britain, and its relationship with Europe. And to do that I must say something about the identity of Europe itself.

Europe is not the creation of the Treaty of Rome. Nor is the European idea the property of any group or institution. We British are as much heirs to the legacy of European culture as any other nation. Our links to the rest of Europe, the continent of Europe, have been the dominant factor in our history. For three hundred years we were part of the Roman Empire and our maps still trace the straight lines of the roads the Romans built. Our ancestors - Celts, Saxons and Danes - came from the continent.

Our nation was - in that favourite Community word ­ "restructured" under Norman and Angevin rule in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

This year we celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the Glorious Revolution in which the British crown passed to Prince William of Orange and Queen Mary. Visit the great Churches and Cathedrals of Britain, read our literature and listen to our language: all bear witness to the cultural riches which we have drawn from Europe - and other Europeans from us.

We in Britain are rightly proud of the way in which, since Magna Carta in 1215, we have pioneered and developed representative institutions to stand as bastions of freedom. And proud too of the way in which for centuries Britain was a home for people from the rest of Europe who sought sanctuary from tyranny.

But we know that without the European legacy of political ideas we could not have achieved as much as we did. From classical and mediaeval thought we have borrowed that concept of the rule of law which marks out a civilised society from barbarism.

And on that idea of Christendom - for long synonymous with Europe - with its recognition of the unique and spiritual nature of the individual, we still base our belief in personal liberty and other human rights.

Too often the history of Europe is described as a series of interminable wars and quarrels. Yet from our perspective today surely what strikes us most is our common experience. For instance, the story of how Europeans explored and colonised and - yes, without apology -civilised much of the world is an extraordinary tale of talent, skill and courage.

We British have in a special way contributed to Europe. Over the centuries we have fought to prevent Europe from falling under the dominance of a single power. We have fought and we have died for her freedom. Only miles from here in Belgium lie the bodies of 120,000 British soldiers who died in the First World War. Had it not been for that willingness to fight and to die, Europe would have been united long before now-but not in liberty, not in justice. It was British support to resistance movements throughout the last War that helped to keep alive the flame of liberty in so many countries until the day of liberation.

Tomorrow, King Baudouin will attend a service in Brussels to commemorate the many brave Belgians who gave their lives in service with the Royal Air Force - a sacrifice which we shall never forget.

It was from our island fortress that the liberation of Europe itself was mounted. And still today we stand together. Nearly 70,000 British servicemen are stationed on the mainland of Europe.All these things alone are proof of our commitment to Europe's future.

The European Community is one manifestation of that European identity. But it is not the only one. We must never forget that East of the Iron Curtain peoples who once enjoyed a full share of European culture, freedom and identity have been cut off from their roots. We shall always look on Warsaw, Prague and Budapest as great European cities.

Nor should we forget that European values have helped to make the United States of America into the valiant defender of freedom which she has become. [Source: The Bruges Speech in full (more)]

The Bruges Group

Mark Alexander

Giving “Virginity Fixes” on the NHS Is Totally Indefensible
Photo of Muslimatoon courtesy of the Daily Mail
DAILY MAIL: Even by the standards of medical horror stories that have filled our papers of late, it's a tale that beggars belief. According to the latest figures, some 24 women have recently had their virginities "restored", not by some divine miracle or act of magic, but by a surgical procedure paid for by our already hard-pressed National Health Service.

How ridiculous, how dangerous and how indefensible. At a time when cancer and Alzheimer's patients are routinely deprived of drugs, the idea that a single penny of NHS funding is spent on repairing something as fragile, ephemeral and medically useless as a woman's hymen is absurd.

Only where a young woman has been raped or violently sexually assaulted can there even be the slightest justification for the NHS to pay for such a procedure. And yet in 2005-2006, the NHS clearly decided otherwise time and time again.

So who are these women who are seeking to have their virginities restored? According to the figures, they are "immigrants and British women of ethnic origin".

Well, speaking as a British woman of ethnic origin, let me make it clear. The British NHS should simply not be paying for a cosmetic procedure that is unnecessary, demeaning to women and totally at odds with modern British culture.

The report accompanying the figures is too politically correct to identify the religion of the women who have had the operation, but it's my informed guess that most of them - all of them, perhaps - will turn out to be Muslim.

As the daughter of parents who arrived in Britain from Pakistan in the mid-Sixties, I'm a Muslim myself but I'm appalled by the sort of cultural pressures these women must be under to seek such a procedure.

But I'm also angry that the NHS has agreed to carry them out. By paying for and performing such operations, the NHS isn't furthering the integration of the Muslim community into the British way of life; in fact, it's doing quite the opposite.

It's effectively condoning an increasingly fundamentalist Islamic culture that is patriarchal, regressive and increasingly demeaning to women. Surely that has no place in the Britain of today? As a British Muslim I find 'virginity repairs' on the NHS dangerous, demeaning ... and utterly indefensible (more) By Saira Khan

Mark Alexander

Illegal Immigrant Demands to Be Flown Home; British People Are “So Unfriendly and Rude”
DAILY MAIL: An illegal immigrant has demanded to be flown home after saying he was fed up with British people - because they are "rude and unfriendly".

Speaking today, Mokhtar Tabet, 30 - who has been given a home, food and free travel around London - claims his local council has breached his human rights by moving him to a place he does not like.

He was refused asylum in 2004 and is set to be deported.

He said: "The council evicted me from my home in September and moved me to Streatham, which I don't like.

"The new place is small, and the kitchen closes at 9pm, so I can't have anything to eat late at night. They have taken away my human rights."

Croydon Council says it has bent over backwards to help Tabet, who fled Algeria in 2002. Illegal immigrant demands to be flown home because Britons are 'rude and unfriendly' (more)

Mark Alexander

Photograph: Google Images
Adolf Hitler on Islam
“Hitler had been much impressed by a scrap of history he had learned from a delegation of distinguished Arabs. When the Mohammedans attempted to penetrate beyond France into Central Europe during the eighth century, his visitors had told him, they had been driven back at the Battle of Tour. Had the Arabs won the battle, the world would be Mohammedan today. For theirs was a religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and subjugating all nations to that faith. The Germanic peoples would have become heirs to that religion. Such a creed was perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament. Hitler said that the conquering Arabs, because of their racial inferiority, would in the long run have been unable to contend with the harsher climate and conditions of the country. They could not have kept down the more vigorous natives, so that ultimately not Arabs but Islamized Germans could have stood at the head of this Mohammedan empire.

Hitler usually concluded this historical speculation by remarking: ‘You see, it’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn’t we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?’ It is remarkable that even before the war he sometimes went on: “Today the Siberians, the White Russians, and the people of the steppes live extremely healthy lives. For this reason they are better equipped for development and in the long run biologically superior to the Germans.’ This was an idea he was destined to repeat in far more drastic tones during the last months of the war." [ Source: Albert Speer: Inside the Third Reich]

Mark Alexander

David Miliband, Regardless of the Wishes of the People of Europe, Committed to Turkey in Europe!
BRITAINUSA: FCO, London, 9/5/2007—David Miliband spoke at Bahcesehir University in Instanbul during his first visit to Turkey as Foreign Secretary.

Read full speech:

This is one of my early visits outside the UK as foreign secretary and this, my first visit to Turkey, is intended to reflect my simple belief: that the relationship between Turkey and the EU represents one of the defining political tests of our time. Get it right, and we can prove wrong those who say we are destined for a clash of civilizations, that East and West, Muslims, Christians and Jews, can find no common ground; get it wrong and we give succour to those who would pull us apart.

So this speech is about building bridges at a time of change. There are new governments in Britain and in Turkey, new challenges facing our countries. But my starting point is our new and shared opportunity: the opportunity to bridge the gap between Europe and Asia.

The last phase of globalization in the 19th century polarized the world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the average citizen in India and China enjoyed around half the wealth of citizens in Western Europe. By the end of the century, they had just one-seventh.

Today, there are massive forces for inequality between people. But there are also very strong forces of 21st century globalization pulling countries closer together. For example, China and India’s economies together represent about a quarter of US GDP. By 2030, they are expected to command a similar share of the global economy as the US. Foreign Secretary David Miliband: Shared Values, Share Future - The Importance of Turkey to Our Common Future (more)

Mark Alexander

David Miliband on the Middle East
Foreign Secretary David Miliband on the Middle East
Mark Alexander

The Profligate Saudi Prince
Photo of Saudi ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: It is a remarkable shopping list by any standards. And it has landed the Saudi ambassador to Britain with a possible £3m debt, and the embarrassment of having allegations about the ostentatious spending habits of the royal family laid bare.

Bills he is claimed to have run up on an array of luxury amusements include two top-of-the-range Chevrolet 4x4s, a thermal night vision kit for his Hummer H2, dozens of designer watches and jewels, a selection of handguns and two Arab karaoke machines. One takeaway meal came to almost $800 (£391). And then there is the $2,500 item on a trip to a hotel in Casablanca that reads: "Girls: party night 5".

These, and scores of others, are detailed in documents filed to the high court in a claim against the ambassador, Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, a nephew of King Abdullah. Hey big spender: the £3m spree that landed a Saudi prince in a London court (more) By David Leigh and Rob Evans

Court documents: the alleged debts in full (pdf)

More court documents (pdf)

Mark Alexander

Immigration Out of Control: Brits Getting Out in Their Droves
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is experiencing unprecedented levels of immigration with more than half a million foreigners arriving to live here in a single year, new figures show.

Last year, 510,000 foreign migrants came to the UK to stay for at least 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics. At the same time 400,000 people, more than half of whom were British, emigrated.

An exodus on this scale - amounting to one British citizen leaving the country every three minutes - has not been seen in the UK for almost 50 years.

Overall in 2006, there were a record 591,000 new arrivals. Only 14 per cent of these were Britons coming home. Immigration out-paces British exodus (more) By Philip Johnston

National Statistics: Emigration from UK reaches 400,000 in 2006 (PDF)

Tegraph Speakers Corner: Why are so many Britons leaving?

Mark Alexander

China Runs “Aggressive and Large-Scale Industrial Espionage Campaign” Against US
THE TELEGRAPH: China is running an "aggressive and large-scale industrial espionage campaign" against American technology, a US congressional commission says, in a report that will exacerbate growing tensions between the two countries.

The hard-hitting report, by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, accused China of backsliding over free trade reforms and of using spies to enable its companies to get hold of technology without having to pay for the research.

"Chinese espionage activities in the United States are so extensive that they comprise the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies," it said, adding that scientists and engineers were enlisted to get hold of secrets "by whatever means possible - including theft". US accuses China of vast industrial spying (more) By Richard Spencer

Mark Alexander

Irael Braces Itself for Iran Bomb
YNET NEWS: State sources say Olmert orders top cabinet officials to draft proposals for dealing with potential nuclear Iran. Minister Ayalon: 'We must prepare for scenario where all alternatives fail'

Israel is quietly preparing for the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran despite public pledges to deny its arch-foe the means to pose an "existential threat", political and defense sources said on Thursday.

They said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed cabinet officials to draft proposals on how Israel, which according to foreign media reports retains the only atomic arsenal in the Middle East, might deal with losing that monopoly.

Israel predicts that Iran's nuclear program could produce warheads by 2009. Western intelligence services say it may take several more years. Israel braces for Iran bomb despite vow to prevent (more)

Mark Alexander

Saudi Gang-Rape Victim Jailed
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.

The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them. Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed (more) By Frances Harrison

Mark Alexander

Our World: Islam and the Nation State
JERUSALEM POST: Throughout the world, one of the most prevalent causes of war, terrorism and political instability is the ongoing weakening of the nation-state system. There are several reasons that the nation-state as a political unit of sovereignty is under threat. One of the most basic causes of this continuous erosion of national power throughout the world is the transformation of minority-dominated enclaves within nation-states into ungovernable areas where state power is either not applied or applied in a haphazard and generally unconstructive manner.

While domestic strife between majority and minority populations has been an enduring feature of democratic and indeed all societies throughout history, the current turbulence constitutes a unique challenge to the nation-state system. This is because much of the internal strife between minority and majority populations within states today is financed and often directed from outside the country.

Traditionally, minorities used various local means to engage the majority population in a bid to influence the political direction or cultural norms of the nation state. The classic examples of this traditional minority-majority engagement are the black civil rights movement in the US in the 1960s and the labor movements in the West throughout the 20th century. By and large, these movements were domestic protests informed by national sensibilities even when they enjoyed the support of foreign governments.

Today while similar movements continue to flourish, they are now being superseded by a new type of minority challenge to national majorities.

This challenge is not primarily the result of domestic injustice but the consequence of foreign agitation. The roots of these minority challenges are found outside the borders of the targeted states. And their goals are not limited to a call for the reform of national institutions and politics. Rather they set their sights on weakening national institutions and eroding national sovereignty. Our World: Islam and the nation-state (more) By Caroline Glick

Hat Tip: Jim Ball

Mark Alexander

Iran Has Not Suspended Unranium Enrichment, Says IAEA
BBC: The UN nuclear watchdog has said Iran has provided it with information about its past nuclear activities as agreed under a work plan made in August.

But a new IAEA report also said Iran had not suspended uranium enrichment work as demanded by the UN Security Council and had 3,000 centrifuges.

The US said it proved Tehran continued to defy UN calls to suspend enrichment and should face further sanctions. UN mixed on Iran nuclear report (more)

IAEA Report (PDF)

Download PDF Reader here

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
Interview Norman Podhoretz: Warum wir Iran bombardieren müssen

Mark Alexander

White House Loses Faith in Musharraf’s Leadership
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States has signalled for the first time that President Pervez Musharraf’s days in power may soon end.

American officials have said that the White House is reportedly losing faith in General Musharraf’s leadership.

Until now the general had been a pillar of Washington’s war against terrorism.

But almost two weeks after Gen Musharraf declared a state of emergency, the Bush government is said to be considering what to do in the event of an imminent end to his premiership. US signals Musharraf's days may be numbered (more) By Isambard Wilkinson

Mark Alexander

Russian Cult Threatens Mass Suicide in Cave
THE TELEGRAPH: Around 30 members of a Russian cult have shut themselves inside a remote cave to await the end of the world and are threatening to commit suicide if police intervene, officials and media said today.

"They have covered the entrance and refuse to come out and are threatening to blow themselves up," an official in the local prosecutor's office said by telephone.

"They threaten to detonate a gas tank and blow themselves up." Russian cult threatens mass suicide in cave (more)

Mark Alexander

Genuß gegen Gesundheit
Zum Video: Einschränkung der Freiheit?
Zum Video: ”Konzentrat an Tugenden”
DIE ZEIT: Auf eine Zigarette mit Helmut Schmidt

Mark Alexander

'Islamistische' Attentate in Europa in den vergangenen sieben Jahren
DIE PRESSE (FOTOS): Islamistische Anschläge in Europa
Mark Alexander

Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, and the Fomenting of Extremism
BBC: BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy has spent the last two months investigating Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere brand of Islam.

In the first of a two-part series, to be broadcast on the BBC World Service, he looks at the fierce debate over whether Wahhabism and Saudi petrodollars have fomented extremism.

"The essence of Wahhabism is purity," says Lawrence Wright, author of a Pulitzer-prize-winning book about al-Qaeda.

"They are only interested in purification - and that's what makes them so repressive."

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence and former ambassador in London and Washington, dismisses the accusation out of hand.

"From our point of view in the kingdom, there is no such thing as Wahhabism. That's a canard."

Saudis have never cared for the "Wahhabi" label which historically was a term of abuse applied to them by their critics.

They are highly sensitive to the charge that they have used their vast oil wealth to turn an obscure desert sect into a global force. Jihad and the Saudi petrodollar (more) By Roger Hardy

Mark Alexander

King Juan Carlos is Arrogant, Says Chávez
BBC: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has accused Spain's King Juan Carlos of "arrogance" after he told Mr Chavez to shut up during a summit in Chile.

However, Mr Chavez said he did not want a political crisis with Spain following the clash - only that Venezuela's head of state be respected.

Later, however, he said political, diplomatic and economic ties with Spain were being closely reviewed. Spain king 'arrogant' says Chavez (more)

Mark Alexander

Even Father Christmas Must Bow to Political Correctness in Sydney
Image courtesy of Google Images
SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.

Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported. Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women (more)

Mark Alexander

A Judge with a Sense of Humour!
THE GUARDIAN: A high court judge who made allegedly mocking remarks about a sheikh involved in a multi-million pound divorce was today ordered to step down from the case.

Giving reasons for the decision, the court of appeal said Mr Justice Singer, a family division judge, had said during the private hearing that the sheikh could choose "to depart on his flying carpet" to escape paying costs.

The judge also said the man should be available to attend hearings "at this, I think, relatively fast-free time of the year".

The court of appeal said the judge had said the sheikh should be in court so "every grain of sand is sifted", and called his evidence "a bit gelatinous ... a bit like Turkish Delight". Judge ordered of divorce case after ‘flying carpet’ jibe (more)

Mark Alexander

UK: Doom and Gloom on the Economic Front
THE GUARDIAN: The governor of the Bank of England issued a stark warning yesterday of a looming economic slowdown as he signalled that the next year will be the toughest for Britain in a decade.

Putting investors on high alert for a sharp fall in share prices, Mervyn King said the period ahead would be marked by slower growth, rising inflation, a weakening housing market and a falling pound. He expressed surprise that global stock markets had so-far shrugged off evidence of the slowdown.

The governor stressed that even the two quarter-point cuts in interest rates pencilled in to the Bank's forecasts would not spare consumers from a painful period of belt-tightening next year - and that the risk was that the UK economy would be even weaker than Threadneedle Street currently expects. Bank's grim warning over UK economy: Rising inflation and weak house market over next year, says King

Mark Alexander

Virginity Fixes: Don’t Waste Taxpayers’ Money on This Nonsense!
THE DAILY MAIL: Women are being given controversial "virginity repair" operations on the NHS, it emerged last night.

Taxpayers funded 24 hymen replacement operations between 2005 and 2006, official figures revealed.

And increasing numbers of women are paying up to £4,000 in private clinics for the procedure apparently under pressure from future spouses or in-laws who believe they should be virgins on their wedding night.

Doctors said most patients are immigrants or British of ethnic origin.

The trend has been condemned by critics as a sign of social regression driven by Islamic fundamentalists. Some countries have made hymen reconstruction operations illegal.

Dr Magdy Hend, consultant gynaecologist at the Regency Clinic, Harley Street, London, who started hymen reconstruction more than 18 years ago in the Middle East and the Gulf, said: "In some cultures they like to see that the women will bleed on the wedding night. If the wife or bride is not a virgin, it is a big shame on the family."

Dr Hend said he was surprised by the "very good response" to the service and said there is "big competition on the market".
Most of his clients, he told More4 News, are in their teens or early 20s.

"They might be British of ethnic background, they might be immigrants, or some people come from abroad, Asia, Middle East, the Gulf, and they don't want to have it done back home," he added.

Dr Hend said demand is increasing, particularly from UK residents.

The operation can involve suturing of a tear in the hymen, such as might be caused by sexual assault, to help healing.

But it can also be conducted as a purely cosmetic procedure. A membrane is constructed, sometimes including a capsule of an artificial blood-like substance.

This operation is intended to be performed within a few days before an intended marriage. Women get 'virginity fix' NHS operations in Muslim-driven trend (more) By James Chapman

Mark Alexander

Imran Khan to Face Terror Charges
THE TELEGRAPH: Imran Khan, the Pakistani opposition leader and former cricketer, was facing terrorism charges yesterday after being arrested in a crackdown on rivals by President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Khan, who had been in hiding since escaping from house arrest a day after Gen Musharraf declared emergency rule, appeared at a student demonstration in Lahore. He was promptly detained by hardline students and handed over to police, the authorities said.

A senior police official said that Mr Khan, the leader of a small opposition party, would be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Jemima Khan, his former wife, said the arrest was one more sign that Gen Musharraf had "become one of Pakistan's most brutal and oppressive dictators ever".

The president, meanwhile, set himself on a collision course with the United States by defying demands to lift a state of emergency before holding a general election.

Gen Musharraf, increasingly isolated and reduced to taking a series of autocratic measures to maintain his grip on power, indicated that emergency rule might continue for months. Imran Khan faces terror charges after arrest (more) By Isambard Wilkinson

THE DAILY MAIL:
'I fear for my life', says jailed Imran Khan

Mark Alexander

”Fortress Britain”
THE TELEGRAPH: Train passengers face routine airline-style bag checks and body searches as part of a new counter-terror crackdown announced by Gordon Brown.

He conjured up visions of ''Fortress Britain" as he unveiled a succession of security measures at airports, railway stations, sports venues and other public places.

There is also to be a huge "hearts and minds" drive aimed at diverting young Muslims away from the influence of fanatics. Gordon Brown reveals 'Fortress Britain' plan (more) By Philip Johnston

THE TELEGRAPH:
Actions speak loudest to terrorists, Mr Brown By Michael Burleigh

TELEGRAPH COMMENT:
Balancing liberty with counter-terrorism

THE DAILY MAIL:
Terror crackdown: Passengers forced to answer 53 questions BEFORE they travel By James Slack

NZZ:
Brown will britische Terrorabwehr ausbauen: Konsequentere Überwachung islamistischer Scharfmacher

Mark Alexander

Germany: Extra Payments for Survivors of the Holocaust?
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Germany has shown the first signs it is willing to talk to Israel about extra pension payments for Holocaust survivors. The original 1952 agreement is no longer sufficient to cover the costs of caring for survivors, says Israel's minister of pensioners affairs.

Germany is showing the first signs of being willing to negotiate with Israel over the thorny issue of extra pension payments for Holocaust survivors.

German government spokesman Thomas Steg said Wednesday in Berlin that if Israel expressed a desire to talk about the issue, then Germany "will not refuse to hold such talks." However, Israel has not yet officially approached the German government over the pensions issue, he said. Germany 'Willing to Discuss' New Holocaust Reparations with Israel (more)

Mark Alexander

US Military Veterans Committing Suicide in Increasing Numbers
TIMESONLINE: More American military veterans have been committing suicide than US soldiers have been dying in Iraq, it was claimed yesterday.

At least 6,256 US veterans took their lives in 2005, at an average of 17 a day, according to figures broadcast last night. Former servicemen are more than twice as likely than the rest of the population to commit suicide.

Such statistics compare to the total of 3,863 American military deaths in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 - an average of 2.4 a day, according to the website ICasualties.org.

The rate of suicides among veterans prompted claims that the US was suffering from a “mental health epidemic” – often linked to post-traumatic stress. America suffers an epidemic of suicides among traumatised army veterans (more)

Mark Alexander

Hamza to Go to the States on Vacation!
THE GUARDIAN: A judge ruled today that the jailed radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza can be extradited to the US, where he could face terror charges.

The senior district judge Timothy Workman gave his ruling at City of Westminster magistrates court in London today.

Hamza now faces being handed over to US authorities, where he could be tried for 11 charges including involvement in a hostage-taking conspiracy in Yemen in 1998.

Four of the hostages, three Britons and an Australian, were killed when Yemeni troops stormed the militants' hideout.

The American government alleges the cleric was involved in a global conspiracy to wage jihad against the US and other Western countries. Hamza can be tried in US, judge rules By Elizabeth Stewart and agencies

Mark Alexander

Riyad craint une attaque américaine contre l’Iran
LE FIGARO: Craignant les représailles de Téhéran contre ses installations pétrolières, l’Arabie saoudite s’est rapprochée de Moscou, qui a l’oreille des Iraniens dans la crise du nucléaire.

Après avoir misé sur le dialogue, les responsables saoudiens semblent s’être résignés à une attaque américaine contre l’Iran. «Nous nous approchons de plus en plus près d’une confrontation», affirme au Figaro Abdel Mohsen Hakas, le ministre des Affaires sociales. «Le ton de George Bush nous donne à penser qu’il a décidé de ce qu’il allait faire», renchérit Rihab Massoud, bras droit du prince Bandar Ben Sultan, l’ancien ambassadeur saoudien aux États-Unis, très bien introduit outre-Atlantique. Sous-entendu : le président américain ne quittera pas la Maison-Blanche sans avoir «traité» la menace que représente le nucléaire iranien. Riyad craint une attaque américaine contre l’Iran (suivant)

Mark Alexander

Gemeinsam gegen Musharraf
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: In Pakistan haben sich die früher rivalisierenden Oppositionsführer Benazir Bhutto und Nawaz Sharif auf ein Bündnis gegen den amtierenden Präsident Musharraf geeinigt. Dieser bemühte sich unterdessen um die Bildung einer Übergangsregierung, die bis zur geplanten Parlamentswahl am 9. Januar im Amt bleiben soll.

(sda/afp) Die beiden ehemaligen Regierungschefs hätten in einem Telefonat am Mittwoch vereinbart, ihre Differenzen zu vergessen, um einen «gemeinsamen Kampf» für einen Rücktritt Musharrafs zu führen, sagte der Chef von Sharifs Muslim-Liga (Nawaz), Raja Zafar-ul Haq, am Donnerstag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP.

Bhutto habe zugesichert, den Kampf im Land fortzusetzen, bis Musharraf sowohl die Armeeführung als auch das Präsidentenamt aufgebe. Sharif lebt derzeit in Saudiarabien im Exil. Gemeinsam gegen Musharraf: Pakistanische Oppositionspolitiker Bhutto und Sharif schliessen Bündnis (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Charmeoffensive von Saudiarabien
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Am Wochenende findet in Riad die dritte Gipfelkonferenz der Opec seit ihrer Gründung statt; erst am 5. Dezember treten in Abu Dhabi dann die Energieminister der Mitgliedländer zusammen.

Fdr. Vancouver, 14. November

Am nächsten Wochenende findet in Riad eine Gipfelkonferenz der 13 Staats- und Regierungschefs der Organisation der erdölproduzierenden Länder (Opec) statt. Dies ist erst die dritte derartige Konferenz seit der Gründung der Organisation im Jahre 1960. Die erste Konferenz fand 1975 in Algerien statt, die zweite erst 25 Jahre später in Venezuela. Während die beiden früheren Treffen weitgehend hinter geschlossenen Türen stattgefunden haben, ist der Gastgeber der diesjährigen Veranstaltung, der saudiarabische Erdölminister Ali Al Naimi, sichtlich darum bemüht, der Öffentlichkeit und einer seit Wochenbeginn über die Public-Relations-Firma Hill & Knowlton geladenen Schar ausländischer Journalisten ein anderes, offeneres Bild seines Landes und seiner Erdölinfrastruktur zu zeigen. Ob ihm dies gelingt, bleibt dahingestellt. Nach bisherigen Medienberichten ist die angestrebte Offenheit zwar willkommen, aber immer noch sehr selektiv. Charmeoffensive von Saudiarabien: Gipfeltreffen der Opec wirft seine Schatten voraus (mehr)

Mark Alexander

A Look Back at the Danish Cartoon Controversy


Pat Robertson
Robert Spencer

Mark Alexander