Italy Angered by ‘Fascist’ Label
BBC: The Italian government has lashed out at an influential Catholic magazine which suggested fascism might be resurfacing within the government.

An editorial in the Famiglia Cristiana weekly is critical of government policy towards the Roma community.

Two cabinet ministers said the tone of the article was "irresponsible".

The Vatican has also distanced itself from the publication with a papal spokesman saying it "does not reflect the views of the Holy See".

In an article due to appear in the magazine next week, editorialist Beppe Del Colle writes: "Let's hope their fears are unfounded that another form of fascism is looming here".

'Bludgeoning tone'

The article is accompanied by a famous image of a Jewish child being searched in the Warsaw ghetto.

The magazine has repeatedly denounced tough new measures introduced by Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government targeting the Roma, or Gypsy, communities whom officials blame for much of the country's violent and petty crime.

One junior minister, Carlo Giovanardi, attacked the magazine saying: "You are fascists, with your bludgeoning tone". Italy Angered by ‘Fascist’ Label >>> | August 14, 2008

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Ahmadinejad Hails Ties with Turkey
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has highlighted what he says are the strong links between Iran and Turkey ahead of a two-day visit there.

It is his first official visit there since taking office three years ago.

Speaking to reporters at Tehran airport, he said relations had gained momentum since the Islamic Revolution in Iran nearly three decades ago.

The two countries are expected to sign a deal to supply more Iranian gas to Turkey - a close Nato and US ally.

The visit has already provoked controversy in the press over the usual protocol of foreign leaders visiting the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, says the BBC's Pam O'Toole.

Turkish media have speculated Mr Ahmadinejad is holding talks in Istanbul rather than Ankara to sidestep paying respects to Ataturk, a champion of secularism. Iran President Hails Turkish Ties >>> | August 14, 2008

NZZ Online:
Irans Präsident Ahmadinejad zu Besuch in der Türkei: Gespräche über Atomprogramm und wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit | 14. August 2008

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Arab First Ladies: Short Skirts, High Heels & Wind in the Hair
Photo of the Lebanese and Syrian first ladies, Waafa Sleiman (left) and Assma al-Assad, caught in a gust of wind in a welcoming ceremony in Damascus. Image courtesy of the BBC
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We Need to Stop Being Such Cowards about Islam
THE INDEPENDENT: This is a column condemning cowardice – including my own. It begins with the story of a novel you cannot read. The Jewel of Medina was written by a journalist called Sherry Jones. It recounts the life of Aisha, a girl who was married off at the age of six to a 50-year-old man called Mohamed ibn Abdallah. On her wedding day, Aisha was playing on a see-saw outside her home. Inside, she was being betrothed. The first she knew of it was when she was banned from playing out in the street with the other children. When she was nine, she was taken to live with her husband, now 53. He had sex with her. When she was 14, she was accused of adultery with a man closer to her own age. Not long after, Mohamed decreed that his wives must cover their faces and bodies, even though no other women in Arabia did.

You cannot read this story today – except in the Koran and the Hadith. The man Mohamed ibn Abdallah became known to Muslims as "the Prophet Mohamed", so our ability to explore this story is stunted. The Jewel of Medina was bought by Random House and primed to be a best-seller – before a University of Texas teacher saw proofs and declared it "a national security issue". Random House had visions of a re-run of the Rushdie or the Danish cartoons affairs. Sherry Jones's publisher has pulped the book. It's gone.

In Europe, we are finally abolishing the lingering blasphemy laws that hinder criticism of Christianity. But they are being succeeded by a new blasphemy law preventing criticism of Islam – enforced not by the state, but by jihadis. I seriously considered not writing this column, but the right to criticise religion is as precious – and hard-won – as the right to criticise government. We have to use it or lose it. We Need to Stop Being Such Cowards about Islam >>> By Johann Hari | August 14, 2008

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American Whites ‘Will Be a Minority by 2042'
THE INDEPENDENT: White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2042, according to new US government projections. That's eight years sooner than previous estimates, made in 2004.

The United States has been growing more diverse for decades, but the process has sped up through immigration and higher birth rates among minority residents, especially Hispanics.

It is also growing older.

"The white population is older and very much centered around the aging baby boomers who are well past their high fertility years," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"The future of America is epitomised by the young people today. They are basically the melting pot we are going to see in the future."

The Census Bureau released population projections until 2050, based on rates for births, deaths and immigration.

They are subject to big revisions, depending on immigration policy, cultural changes and natural or manmade disasters.

The US has nearly 305 million people today. The population is projected to hit 400 million in 2039 and 439 million in 2050.

White non-Hispanics make up about two-thirds of the population, but only 55 per cent of those younger than 5.

By 2050, whites will make up 46 per cent of the population and blacks will make up 15 per cent, a relatively small increase from today. Hispanics, who make up about 15 per cent of the population today, will account for 30 per cent in 2050, according to the new projections. American Whites ‘Will Be a Minority by 2042’ >>> AP | August 14, 2008

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Dawkins Tries to Reason with a Muslim

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Pat Condell: A Secular World Is a Sane World

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Pat Condell: The Tyranny of Scripture

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Austria: Ursula Plassnik on Muslim Integration in Europe

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Salzburg Seminar: Beate Winkler’s Perspective on National Indentity
For Beate Winkler, (unbridled) immigration is clearly a good thing; however, not everyone would agree. These are her views:


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Michelle Palmer, Arrested for Having Illicit Sex on Dubai Beach, Says She and Vince Acors Were Simply “Kissing and Hugging”
The British woman facing jail in Dubai for having sex on a beach has told a court she and her friend were simply "kissing and hugging".

Michelle Palmer, 36, a publishing executive who had lived in Dubai for over two years, and Vince Acors, 34, a tourist, were allegedly caught by a police officer having sex in public on July 5 after meeting at a brunch.

The pair face up to six years in prison if they are convicted of indecent behaviour, having unmarried sex and having consumed alcohol.

The couple were summoned to appear before Dubai's Court of First Instance yesterday in a hurried hearing organised in a bid to ward off the intense media interest the case has generated both in the Muslim country and abroad.

They admitted consuming alcohol but denied the other offences. Legal sources said that unusually, they have opted to represent themselves in the case.

Miss Palmer, from Oakham, Rutland, arrived dressed in a black trouser suit with an Arab-style scarf around her neck.

In a statement, she told Judge Hamad Abdul Latif: "We were just kissing and hugging. We didn't have sex together. I was lying on top of him. I have been in Dubai for two-and-a-half years without committing any kind of offence. I'm sorry." Couple Accused of Having Sex on Dubai Beach ‘Were Just Kissing’ >>> By Aislinn Simpson | August 13, 2008

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Iranian Minister Flaunts Bogus Oxford Degree
THE GUARDIAN: When sceptical MPs questioned the eligibility of Ali Kordan to be Iran's interior minister, he believed he had the perfect riposte; a law degree obtained from one of the world's most elite institutions, the University of Oxford.

He even flaunted a graduation certificate on university-headed paper purporting to award him an "honorary doctorate of law" for "opening a new chapter" in comparative legal studies.

Now Kordan's extravagant claims have landed him in hot water and severely embarrassed the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after the university denied ever having awarded him a degree.

Less than a week after being confirmed in his post, he is facing calls to resign after Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament, the Majlis, ordered a committee to investigate the authenticity of his academic qualifications. Iranian Minister Flaunts Bogus Oxford Degree >>> By Robert Tait | August 13, 2008

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«C'est la 1ère fois que l'on vend un vêtement antisémite»
Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: INTERVIEW - Le Bureau national de vigilance contre l'antisémitisme (BNVCA) a porté plainte suite à la vente de T-shirts portant des inscriptions antisémites dans le XIXème arrondissement de Paris. Sammy Ghozlan, président du BNVCA réagit. «C'est la 1ère fois que l'on vend un vêtement antisémite» >>> Propos recueillis par Laure Daussy | 12. 08. 2008


The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

Türkei-Kritik an Österreich: "Eindruck, dass wir 1683 schreiben"
DIE PRESSE: Ein Sprecher der türkischen Regierungspartei AKP kritisiert, dass in Österreich mit der Angst vor einer schleichenden Islamisierung Wahlkampf betrieben wird.

Suat Kiniklioglu, Sprecher des außenpolitischen Komitees der türkischen Regierungspartei AKP (Partei für Gerechtigkeit und Entwicklung), zeigt Unverständnis dafür, dass in Österreich mit der Angst vor einer schleichenden Islamisierung Wahlkampf betrieben wird.

"Wenn man Österreichern zuhört, hat man oft den Eindruck, dass wir das Jahr 1683 schreiben und die Ottomanen gerade erst von Wien abgezogen sind. Man sollte das Thema nicht dramatisieren, sondern möglichst nüchtern und rational damit umgehen", sagt Kiniklioglu in einem Interview in der Montag erscheinenden Ausgabe des Nachrichtenmagazins "profil". Türkei-Kritik an Österreich: "Eindruck, dass wir 1683 schreiben" >>> | 02.08.2008

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Muhammad’s Birthday Celebrations: Dhimmitude par Excellence from the House of Commons


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Obama: Can He Hope to Win the White House?
THE INDEPENDENT: If fear had a smell, the westerly breezes would be bearing a rank odour from the other side of the Atlantic: it would be emanating from the pores of the Democratic Party establishment as it contemplates the dwindling of Barack Obama's previously impressive opinion poll lead over John McCain.

This really was not meant to happen. The intensity and discipline of Obama's campaigning has been unremitting, while that on behalf of McCain has seemed incoherent, not helped by the 71-year old Arizona Senator's occasional senior moment. So how on earth could Gallup last week have found that those it claims to be "likely voters" are currently 49 per cent in favour of McCain and only 45 per cent for Obama?

Some in the Obama camp complain that it has come as the McCain campaign has switched to "negative advertising". This seems to be largely based on a Republican ad called "The One", which splices images of Obama with Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea. Actually, since Obama had declared of his victory in the Democratic primaries that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal", he was almost asking to be satirised.

You might think that the Democrats would be grateful to their opponents for comparing Barack Obama with a Biblical miracle-worker but, of course, they understood the unspoken sub-text – that Obama is man of unbelievable pretentiousness. The implicit contrast is with John McCain, the down-to-earth guy who tells it like it is in plain language – "the straight-talk express".

There is also a painful awareness in the Democrat camp that their candidate does not always help himself to appear more representative of "ordinary Americans". They still shudder over his unguarded comments to wealthy San Franciscan party donors about the industrial working classes who bitterly "cling to guns or religion", or his remarking in Iowa, apropos of rising food prices: "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?" Can Obama Hope to Win If He Lacks the Common Touch? >>> By Dominic Lawson | August 12, 2008

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In the Grip of Islam: On Virtue and Vice in the Yemen
Image courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A hairdryer whirrs. Teenage girls reach for sequins, glitter and hairpins. It's the weekend in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and seven sisters are dressing for a wedding.

The eldest, Ashwaq, 21, a university graduate, wants to be a journalist.

Asked what she thinks about Yemen's new self-appointed morality authority, she looks up from styling her sister's hair.

"The first thing they'll do is stop women from working. Then they'll force us to wear the veil."

Yemen is a conservative Islamic society, where parliament boasts only one woman out of 301 MPs.

The state is weak and the courts have limited reach. Instead, cultural practices - such as veiling and gender segregation - are enforced by neighbours, relatives and community leaders.

But on 15 July, a panel of Islamic clerics - supported by prominent tribal chiefs - announced the creation of a Meeting for Protecting Virtue and Fighting Vice.

The unofficial body will alert Yemen's police force to infringements of Islamic law and hold annual conferences to monitor progress.

"This new vice and virtue movement has the potential to undermine the government," says Rahma Hugaira, chair of Yemen's Media Women Forum.

"Civil society groups are working hard to modernise society, to establish a social contract grounded in our constitution and reflected in our laws. A group using religion as a weapon threatens all the progress we have achieved."

Vigilantes

The vice and virtue movement reportedly started in Hodeidah, where "morality guardians" began challenging women walking alone and driving without a chaperone.

Couples were asked to prove they were married or closely related. Similar reports began to emerge from Yemen's second city, Aden.

In June, security forces in Hodeidah arrested seven Christian missionaries. In Sanaa, a policemen accompanied by bearded vigilantes raided a Chinese massage parlour and a chain of restaurants. Yemen Divided on Vice and Virtue >>> By Ginny Hill, Sanaa | August 11, 2008

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’Religion of Peace and Compassion’: A Third of Muslim Students Back Killings
THE SUNDAY TIMES: ALMOST a third of British Muslim students believe killing in the name of Islam can be justified, according to a poll.

The study also found that two in five Muslims at university support the incorporation of Islamic sharia codes into British law.

The YouGov poll for the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) will raise concerns about the extent of campus radicalism.

“Significant numbers appear to hold beliefs which contravene democratic values,” said Han-nah Stuart, one of the report’s authors. “These results are deeply embarrassing for those who have said there is no extremism in British universities.”

The report was criticised by the country’s largest Muslim student body, Fosis, but Anthony Glees, professor of security and intelligence studies at Buckingham University, said: “The finding that a large number of students think it is okay to kill in the name of religion is alarming.

“There is a wide cultural divide between Muslim and nonMuslim students. The solution is to stop talking about celebrating diversity and focus on integration and assimilation.”

The researchers found that 55% of nonMuslim students thought Islam was incompatible with democracy. Nearly one in 10 had “little respect” for Muslims.

In addition to its poll of 1,400 Muslim and nonMuslim students, the centre visited more than 20 universities to interview students and listen to guest speakers. It found that extremist preachers regularly gave speeches that were inflammatory, homophobic or bordering on antisemitic. A Third of Muslim Students Back Killings: Radicalism and support for sharia is strong in British universities >>> By Abul Taher | July 27, 2008

THE SUNDAY TIMES:
To Beat Extremism We Must Dissolve Religious Groups: Separatist Muslim belief is growing among the young and the moderate, tolerant majority must be alarmed by this >>> By Minette Marrin | July 27, 2008

My Essay:
Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom >>> ©Mark

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Send Me Your Stereotypes

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Can Britain Survive Multiculturalism?
CBNNEWS: LONDON - Britain's top judge says the nation should allow Islamic Sharia law. The head of the Church of England said something similar.

Consequently, police dogs might have to wear booties when they search Muslim homes to avoid offending Muslims who believe dogs are unclean. And Britain's Home Secretary has decided Islamic terrorism should be re-named "anti-Islamic activity."

In the modern British politically correct state, multiculturalism runs amok. And the government persecutes and suppresses British culture and tradition, while allowing hate and injustice within radical Islam to flourish.

There is a real fear of Muslims in Britain that is far different than in America, and the headlines here sometimes make it look as if capitulation to Islam is inevitable.

It's somewhat astonishing that in a nation of 60 million people, a few million Muslims could cause so much concern. Critics of the government say that's because the nation's politically correct leaders are still hesitant to tackle the issue head on. Can Britain Survive Multiculturalism? >>> By Dale Hurd | July 23, 2008

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Blair Full of Hot Air
BBC: A major gathering of the world's religious leaders has called on governments to combat the association between religion and terrorism and promote constructive dialogue between those of religious faith.

In a communique issued at the end of the conference in Madrid, religious leaders affirmed their shared concern for family life and the environment, and urged the United Nations to hold a special session on dialogue between religions and cultures.

The World Conference on Dialogue was the personal initiative of the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and organised by the Saudi-based Muslim World League.

Critics have challenged the forum's organisers on the lack of female speakers and the absence of any Jewish delegates from Israel.

'New page'

In spite of such criticisms, the gathering remained unique in its scope, with Catholic priests rubbing shoulders with Buddhist monks, Islamic leaders and Jewish rabbis as well as those of several other faiths. Mixed Views on Saudi Interfaith Forum >>> By Christopher Landau, BBC religious affairs correspondent, Madrid | July 19, 2008

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interviewed on Channel 4

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Islam Is Not a Victim

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Islam: The Religion of Fear

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Promoting Islam to Appear in Subways Soon
WCBSTV.COM: Imam Linked To Bomb Plots Behind Controversial Ad Campaign

NEW YORK (CBS) ― After being linked to a plot to blow up city landmarks, a Brooklyn imam has a new target - subway ads explaining the true meaning of Islam.

Siraj Wahhaj, once a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind sheikh now doing life for plotting to blow up the world trade center in 1993, was also linked by the feds to a plan to blow up city landmarks. Now he's behind a controversial subway ad campaign pushing Islam.

"Horrible, absolutely horrible," one New Yorker said of the campaign.

"I believe in freedom of religion, but anyone with terrorist ties – I'd be skeptical," said Court Williams, a Fairfield, Conn. resident who works in the city. Promoting Islam to Appear in Subways Soon: Imam Linked To Bomb Plots Behind Controversial Ad Campaign >>> By Marcia Kramer | July 21, 2008

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Bishops Back Plea for ‘Inclusive Communion’
THE INDEPENDENT: The Anglican leadership issued a stark message of inclusivity yesterday in a key sermon delivered to 650 bishops by a speaker invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"There is space equally for anyone and everyone, regardless of colour, ability, gender or sexual orientation," said Duleep de Chickera, the Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka, in a passionate sermon which received prolonged applause from the bishops at Canterbury Cathedral.

"It is an inclusive communion where there is space equally for everyone and anyone regardless," the bishop said in the service presided over by Rowan Williams that marked the official opening of the Lambeth Conference.

While acknowledging that "some of us are not here" – a reference to more than 200 conservative bishops boycotting the conference – Bishop de Chickera added that "unity in diversity is the cherished Anglican tradition ... United in spite of the fact that we are different, because in Christ we are equal". Bishops Back Plea for ‘Inclusive Communion’ >>> By James Macintyre in Canterbury | July 21, 2008

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Brown to Show His Teeth to Iran in the Knesset
TIMESONLINE: Gordon Brown will today increase the pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear programme by condemning as “totally abhorrent” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel.

Tehran faces a series of sanctions against its oil and gas industries unless it halts attempts to develop its atomic capability within two weeks, senior British diplomats said last night.

Mr Brown is to use a speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem - the first by a British Prime Minister - to make his strongest attack so far on the Iranian regime while pledging an “unbreakable partnership” with Tel Aviv.

“To those who question Israel’s very right to exist and threaten the lives of its citizens through terror, we say: the people of Israel have a right to live here, to live freely and to live in security,” he will say. “And to those who believe that threatening statements fall upon indifferent ears, we say in one voice: that it is totally abhorrent for the President of Iran to call for Israel to be wiped from the map of the world.” Gordon Brown Gives Iran Two Weeks to Back Down on Nuclear Programme: Stop nuclear programme or face sanctions >>> By Francis Elliott in Jerusalem and James Hider | July 21, 2008

BBC:
Brown Issues Iran Nuclear Warning >>> | July 21, 2008

Watch BBC video: PM warns Iran to halt nuclear programme >>>

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Iran: Nine Iranians Convicted of Adultery to Be Stoned to Death
FOX NEWS: TEHRAN, Iran — Eight women and one man convicted of adultery are set to be stoned to death in Iran, activists said Sunday.

Lawyer and women's rights activist, Shadi Sadr, said the nine were convicted of adultery in separate cases in different Iranian cities.

"Their verdicts are approved, and they may be executed at any time," she told reporters.

Sadr, who has been leading a campaign in Iran against stoning deaths since 2006, said trial protocol was not applied properly in the cases. Six of the nine were convicted based solely on judges' decisions with no witnesses or the presence of their lawyers during their confessions, she said.

Most of the nine come from areas of Iran that have low rates of literacy and some did not understand the cases against them, she said.

One of Sadr's colleagues, Mohammad Mostafai, said his client, Malak Qorbani, had plead guilty to adultery even though she did not know the meaning of the charge.

The nine are between 27 and 50 years old, among them a male music teacher who was convicted of adultery for having an affair with one of his students, the activists said.

"We are trying to stop the implementation of their verdicts. And secondly, we want to amend the country's penal law, in which death by stoning is prescribed," Sadr said. Activists: 9 Iranians Convicted of Adultery Set to Be Stoned to Death >>> AP | July 20, 2008

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Berlusconi lässt die Muskeln spielen
DIE PRESSE: Italiens Premier will sein Land und sich selbst innerhalb der EU wieder aufwerten. Mit seiner Unterstützungs-Erklärung für den türkischen EU-Beitritt geht er auch auf direkten Konfrontations-Kurs mit Sarkozy.

Wien/Brüssel. Er ist wieder da. Und er läuft sich langsam warm: Italiens Premierminister Silvio Berlusconi. Der Politiker, der in seiner ersten Amtszeit auf EU-Ebene vor allem durch Kasperliaden und verbale Ausrutscher auffiel und Italiens Position in Europa dadurch nachhaltig schwächte, legte seinen zweiten Auftritt auf der EU-Bühne vergleichsweise zurückhaltend an. Doch damit könnte es bald vorbei sein. Denn Berlusconi bemüht sich bereits nach Kräften, Italiens Rolle im Ensemble der 27 Mitgliedsländer wieder zu stärken.

Die Indizien dafür häufen sich. So gab Berlusconi an seine Minister die Losung aus, für die Stellung der italienischen Sprache in der EU zu kämpfen. In einem Brief, der in der englischen Zeitung „The Guardian“ zitiert wurde, wies der Premier die Mitglieder seiner Regierung sogar an, Sitzungen zu boykottieren, bei denen es keine Arbeitsunterlagen in italienischer Sprache gibt. Außerdem sollten die Minister auf Simultanübersetzung des Italienischen bestehen.
Mit dieser Sensibilität der eigenen Sprache gegenüber steht Italien allerdings nicht alleine da. Schon Deutschland und vor kurzem auch Frankreich stiegen gegen die zunehmende Vorherrschaft des Englischen als EU-Arbeitssprache auf die Barrikaden.

Für Beitritt der Türkei

Doch Berlusconi will Italien nicht nur in der Innenansicht der EU sichtbarer machen. Beim feierlichen Gründungsgipfel der Mittelmeerunion am Wochenende in Paris nutzte er jede Gelegenheit, das Erscheinungsbild seines Landes auch außenpolitisch aufzupolieren. So bot Berlusconi an, in Nahost zu vermitteln. Dafür prädestiniere ihn sein gutes Verhältnis zu den beiden Konfliktparteien: Den 2004 verstorbenen palästinensischen Präsidenten Jassir Arafat habe er „als Privatperson auch finanziell unterstützt“. Gleichzeitig habe er immer die Idee gefördert, dass Israel doch der EU beitreten könnte.

Auch bei einem der wichtigsten aktuellen EU-Themen bezog der italienische Premier Position: dem Beitritt der Türkei. In einem Gespräch mit dem türkischen Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Paris sicherte Berlusconi seinem Amtskollegen „volle Unterstützung für den EU-Beitritt“ zu. Berlusconi lässt die Muskeln spielen >>> Von Doris Kraus | 15. 07. 2008

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Pope Says ‘Spiritual Desert’ Is Spreading
Photo of Pope Benedict XVI courtesy of The Sunday Times
“In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair.” - Pope Benedict XVI in Australia

THE SUNDAY TIMES: The Pope launched a fresh assault on consumer culture and materialism today, warning of a “spiritual desert” spreading across the world in a speech to a sprawling, flag-waving crowd of about 400,000 worshippers at a mass in Sydney.

Benedict XVI, who yesterday apologised to children abused by paedophile priests, challenged young people to help build a “new age” by rejecting the “indifference, spiritual weariness and blind conformity” of the times. He also urged them to fill the growing gaps in the ranks of priests and nuns.

“A new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed,” the pope told the crowd, which the church claimed was the biggest on record in Australia.

Building on a theme he has developed over four days at the Catholic World Youth Day celebrations, Benedict used his final address to give a scathing assessment of the impact of secularism and the focus on material wealth. Pope Says ‘Spiritual Desert’ Is Spreading >>> By Roy Eccleston, Sydney | July 20, 2008

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Interfaith Conference Fails after Argument between Muslims and Jews
MACAU NEWS: An interfaith conference which has been held in Madrid during the week has ended on a bad note with Muslims and Jews involved in a political argument.



Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had gathered followers of the world's major faiths for the Madrid conference to seek religious reconciliation. 



It has been reported that exchanges between Muslim participants and Jewish Rabbis turned to a discussion on Zionism and became overheated, almost leading to blows.



It was the first time Saudi Arabia had invited Jews to such a meeting and the aim was to avoid hot issues like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. [Source: Macau News] | July 18, 2008

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch

BBC:
Mixed Views on Saudi Interfaith Forum >>> By Christopher Landau, BBC religious arrairs correspondent, Madrid | July 19, 2008

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Obama: Whatever the Politics Demand

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McCain POW Bud: Muslims ‘Going to Kill Us’
MIAMI HERALD:

Audio: Colonel Bud Day on the War in Iraq and Muslims
Read the story here.

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Massive Mosque Building Programme for Germany: NIMBY, Say an Increasing Number of Germans; Terra Christiana est
"The minarets are our lances, the domes our helmets, the believers our army." - Recep Tayyip Erdogan
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The planned construction of over 180 mosques in Germany is mobilizing right-wing xenophobes but also an increasing number of leftist critics. They fear the Muslim places of worship will facilitate the establishment of a completely parallel society.

The issue at hand wasn't the construction of a missile base or a new nuclear power plant. Yet the media reported "turmoil" and an "enraged" audience in a school auditorium in Ehrenfeld, a district of the German city of Cologne. The mood was almost comparable to that of the protest gatherings once held against nuclear missiles or reactors.

Instead the outrage was directed at a huge mosque planned for the area. Still, the words used by the project's opponents called to mind the protests of earlier times. "The minarets even look like missiles," railed one woman. A man said the mosque's dome reminded him "of a nuclear plant."

Ill will over mosques like the one being built in Cologne is spreading rapidly throughout Germany, often to the surprise of local politicians. For a long time the establishment of Muslim prayer rooms provoked little protest, housed as they were mostly in residential buildings, shops and back courtyards. Recently, though, there has been an increasing number of acts of protest, some violent. Molotov cocktails were thrown through mosque windows in the Bavarian town of Lauingen; Christians set protest crosses inscribed with "Terra christiana est," or this is Christian land, on the grounds of a mosque in Hanover; and construction trailers went up in flames in the Berlin district of Pankow.

The anti-Islam protest movement has also begun to spill over into city politics. In Cologne, for example, the extreme right anti-mosque initiative Pro Cologne captured five local government seats in recent elections. Now the group is aspiring to enter the national scene as Pro Germany, together with other like-minded organizations, some from the far-right fringe. Their approach follows the example of populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, whose anti-immigration party garnered a surprising degree of support before he was murdered in 2002. Not in My Backyard, Say an Increasing Number of Germans >>> By Jochen Bölsche | July 16, 2008

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Pakistan: Judge Ratifies Marriage and Conversion of Kidnapped Christian Girls
ASIANEWS.IT: The district of Muzaffargarh rules in favour of the Muslims, rejecting the request from the family that wants to bring home the two sisters - 13 and 10 years old - kidnapped last June 26. Christian associations charge that they could end up as prostitutes.

Islamabad - District judge Mian Muhammad Naeem, of the section of Muzaffargarh, has ruled that the two Christian sisters "have converted in a legitimate manner to Islam", and for this reason they cannot be "restored to their family of origin". Setting aside the request from their father to regain custody of his daughters, the judge also admitted the "validity" of the marriage of the girls to two Muslims.

Saba Younas, aged 13, and her sister Anila were kidnapped last June 26 in the village of Chowk Munda, in the province of Punjab, where they had gone to visit their uncle, Khalid Raheel. This is the same uncle who in recent days reported their kidnapping, asking for help from news organisations and human rights groups. According to Raheel's account, a Muslim fruit vendor named Muhammad Arif Bajwa kidnapped the girls, and then handed them over to a friend, Falak Sher Gill, who then organised the marriage between his own son and the older of the Christian sisters, Saba. In court, moreover, father and son both stressed the "complete willingness of the girl to contract marriage".

The girls' uncle does not conceal his preoccupation, and denounces to AsiaNews that the Muslims involved in the kidnapping are acting as a "gang", recruiting the girls in order to "make them work in a bordello". This alarm has also been heard by the Catholic commission for justice and peace (NCJP) in the country, which confirms the words of Khalid Raheel: the kidnappers are believed to be human traffickers linked to prostitution, known to the police and under the protection of some local politicians. "For these unscrupulous people", charges Naeem Asghar, local coordinator of the NCJP, marriage is a pretence in order to control the girls, run their lives and exploit them for their own business purposes". Kidnapped Christian Girls, Judge Ratifies Marriage and Conversion >>> By Qaiser Felix | July 16, 2008

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US Attends Historic Iran Meeting
BBC: A senior United States official is taking part for the first time in international talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

The official, William Burns, is joining envoys from the EU and permanent members of the UN security council.

They are expected to discuss with the country's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

Mr Burns' attendance is being seen as a major shift in US policy.

The US and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the taking of hostages at the US embassy in Tehran.

Formal contact between the two countries have been extremely limited, though last year they met at ambassadorial level to discuss security in Iraq. US Attends Historic Iran Meeting >>> | July 19, 2008

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Eurabia Edges Ever Closer: Spain-Morocco Link Decision Near
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Spain says a feasibility study for an undersea tunnel to connect Spain and Morocco is in the final stages.

If the project goes ahead and construction begins, trains carrying both passengers and goods are expected to start using the tunnel in 2025.

The tunnel would be 40km long and pass 300m under the Mediterranean Sea.

The undersea link would unite North Africa and Europe for the first time since the continents separated more than 200 million years ago. Spain-Africa Link Decision Near >>> By Danny Wood | July 19, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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Yusuf Islam Accepts Libel Damages
Photo of Yusuf Islam courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Musician Cat Stevens - now known as Yusuf Islam - has won libel damages over articles suggesting he refused to talk to women not wearing a veil.

The stories also claimed that the singer - a Muslim convert - would only speak to women other than his wife through a third party.

His lawyer told The High Court in London that "Mr Islam has never had difficulties working with women".

The World Entertainment News Network agency has already apologised. Cat Stevens Accepts Libel Damages >>> | July 18, 2008

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Was Ahmet Yildiz the Victim of Turkey's First Gay Honour Killing?
Photo of Ahmet Yildiz, Turkey’s first gay icon, courtesy of The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: In a corner of Istanbul today, the man who might be described as Turkey's gay poster boy will be buried – a victim, his friends believe, of the country's deepening friction between an increasingly liberal society and its entrenched conservative traditions.
Ahmet Yildiz, 26, a physics student who represented his country at an international gay gathering in San Francisco last year, was shot leaving a cafe near the Bosphorus strait this week. Fatally wounded, the student tried to flee the attackers in his car, but lost control, crashed at the side of the road and died shortly afterwards in hospital. His friends believe Mr Yildiz was the victim of the country's first gay honour killing.

"He fell victim to a war between old mentalities and growing civil liberties," says Sedef Cakmak, a friend and a member of the gay rights lobby group Lambda. "I feel helpless: we are trying to raise awareness of gay rights in this country, but the more visible we become, the more we open ourselves up to this sort of attack."

Turkey was all but closed to the world until 1980 but its desire for European Union membership has imposed strains on a society formerly kept on a tight leash. As the notion of rights for minorities such as women and gays has blossomed, the country's civil society becomes more vibrant by the day. But the changes have brought a backlash from traditionalist circles wedded to the old regime. Was Ahmet Yildiz the Victim of Turkey's First Gay Honour Killing? >>> By Nicholas Birch in Istanbul | July 19, 2008

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Church Rallies Round Williams as African Bishops Boycott Lambeth
THE INDEPENDENT: An international coalition of bishops is rallying to the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury in a move that appears likely to ensure Anglican unity as the church enters one of its most crucial weeks since the Reformation. In all, 650 bishops from around the world are gathering at the University of Kent in Canterbury for this week's Lambeth Conference. Apocalyptic scenarios have been predicted, but it now appears that the broader Anglican family will hold together thanks to a series of sermons by Rowan Williams appealing for unity and the desire among bishops – including many from Africa – not to be seen to be the wreckers of the communion. Church Rallies Round Williams as African Bishops Boycott Lambeth >>> By James Macintyre, Religious Affairs Correspondent | July 19, 2008

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Analysis: Islam Body for the UK
Here follows Hazel Blears talking absolute and utter NONSENSE! - ©Mark

Listen to BBC audio: Communities secretary Hazel Blears and Azzam Tamimi, of the IIPT, on new plans to prevent extremism >>>
BBC: "Guarding the self against committing adultery and fornication is achieved by avoiding its causes and there can be no doubt that leaving eyes free to gaze and the mixing of men and women at work… are some of its major causes."

So says the late Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia in a booklet about women in the workplace available in Islamic bookshops around the UK.

And it is this clash of ideas between a particular religious take on the world and the reality of modern Britain that is at the heart of what could become an extremely controversial government move.

The Department for Communities is responsible for driving the "Prevent" package of measures in the government's counter-terrorism strategy.

It has been placing bets on projects and initiatives which it hopes will strengthen the hand of mainstream Muslims and marginalise militants.

Its plan to fund an Islamic theology board at Cambridge and Oxford universities is an exceptionally high-risk move that is fraught with dangers for both communities and government. Analysis: Islam Body for the UK >>> By Dominic Cagsiani | July 18, 2008


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Morocco Sends Moderate Muslim Preachers to Europe
YAHOO! NEWS: RABAT, Morocco - Morocco plans to send scores of moderate Muslim preachers to Europe during the holy month of Ramadan to help fight extremism in the Moroccan community abroad, the ministry for religious affairs said Thursday.

The government will send 167 men and nine women preachers to address Moroccan immigrants during Ramadan, which runs during September this year. Muslims traditionally fast and attend sermons at mosques during the holy month.

The preachers are instructed to "answer the religious needs of the Moroccan community abroad, to protect it from any speeches of extremism or irregular nature, and to shelter it from extremism and fanaticism," said a statement from the religious affairs ministry in Rabat, the Moroccan capital.

Abdellatif Begdouri Achkari, the religious affairs minister's chief of staff, said Morocco has been sending preachers to minister to expatriates for many years but hand-picked the latest batch to make sure they specifically address extremism. Morocco Sends Moderate Muslim Preachers to Europe >>> AP | July 17, 2008

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Telling the Truth Is Islam-Bashing?
THE NEW MEDIA JOURNAL.US: I am bombarded by hate and threats by the Allah-fearing fanatics, simply because I speak the truth about Islam. If telling the truth about Islam is Islam bashing, then mea culpa.

Question: Does Islam get a pass because it is a religion? Who says Islam is a religion? Millions do? What is the evidence? The words of masses of brainwashed carriers of the Islamic virus, transmitted to them by their parents, are worthless as evidence. What counts is the irrefutable fact that this creed, claimed to be the one and only religion of Allah, has been and continues to be a source of great suffering for non-Muslims as well as the ignorant masses of Muslims themselves.

I will share with you just a few of thousands of horrific things that Muslims do to people of other religions or those without any religion at all. In model Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, for instance, women don’t dare complain about their Allah-decreed chattel status. If they protest in the least, they are beaten by their husbands. And if they dare to demonstrate in public for equal family rights with men, they get severe beatings by the police and hauled to jails for additional indignities and violence.

One may wonder then why is it that millions of Muslim women meekly submit to their subservient rank and worship and thank Allah for it. These women are virtually imprinted by their parents and the clergy from birth to adopt the gender inequality as well as the entire pathological Islamic ethos. Telling the Truth is Islam Bashing? >>> By Amil Imani | July 17, 2008

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Muslims Push for a Caliphate: Its Currency
CALIPHATE ONLINE: The Caliphate’s currency is based on the gold and silver standards where the coins and notes in circulation are 100% backed by gold and silver. Islam did not leave any question unanswered, especially questions concerning the complexities of economic life. The Shari’ah has therefore defined the Islamic currency as gold dinars and silver dirhams along with their corresponding weights in gold or silver. The Shari’ah rules related to money such as zakat, blood money (diyah) and hoarding all specify values in gold and silver.

Unlike the paper standard operating in the world today, the Bait ul-Mal (State Treasury) is not allowed to print any money unless it has the corresponding amounts of gold and silver in its reserves. This means the persistent inflation found in the world today would not exist in the Caliphate as the currency always keeps its value. Currency of the Caliphate >>> | July 17, 2008

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British Citizenship Lessons for Young Muslims
Hazel Blears is at it again! Teaching young Muslims British citizenship will not keep them away from Islamic extremism, as hoped. Islam is an extreme religion. There will always be a propensity for adherents to the faith to become more extreme the more devout they become.

To try and teach these young people that there is no conflict between Islam and British values is so blatantly untrue that it is absurd!

When are we going to get a government in this country which will protect the British people and their values? - ©Mark

Photo of Muslims at prayer courtesy of The Times
TIMESONLINE: Muslim children will be taught British citizenship in mosque schools as part of a Government attempt to keep them away from the influence of Islamist extremism.

A trial of the new lessons will begin in several cities at the start of the new school year in September, according to Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary.

The initiative, designed to show young Muslims that there is no conflict between their religion and being British, is part of a package of measures being published today.

It also includes a new independent board of academic and theological experts, and a group of community leaders to advise on local responses to tackling extremism. British Citizenship Lessons for Young Muslims >>> | July 18, 2008

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Brown Betrays the People; Lisbon Treaty Ratified without the Promised Referendum
DAILY EXPRESS: GORDON Brown was last night accused of betraying Britain with a “grubby”surrender to Brussels.

Under a cloak of secrecy, the Government finally ratified the Lisbon Treaty earlier this week and committed the country to a new deluge of European meddling.

In a sign of the Prime Minister’s personal embarrassment over the betrayal, the historic step was only made public yesterday – 24 hours after the covert ceremony had taken place.

The instrument of ratification was signed by the Queen, who had no choice. Because Mr Brown had signed the treaty, she was constitutionally forced to follow suit.

The document was then flown in a diplomatic bag to Rome and delivered to the Italian Foreign Ministry at noon on Wednesday.

Mr Brown was last night facing widespread revolt and even the threat of further legal action after forcing the treaty into law without the promised referendum. Sold Out to Europe: Brown Makes Queen Sign Away Our Sovereignty >>> By Macer Hall, Political Editor | July 18, 2008

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Iran Executes Six “Wicked” People in Public
REUTERS: TEHRAN - Iran has executed six people in public in the northeastern city of Sabzevar, state radio said on Monday, the second report of a public execution in the Islamic Republic in less than a week.

Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi in January ordered a halt to public executions in Iran unless they had his approval, "based on social necessities."

The radio described the convicts as "wicked" people but did not say what crimes they had been convicted of nor when they were put to death. Iran usually carries out executions in prisons by hanging. Iran Executes Six People in Public: Radio >>> By Hashem Kalantari (Reporting), Fredrik Dahl (Writing), Dominic Evans (Editing) | July 14, 2008

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