North London Terror Arrests Linked to The Jewel of Medina
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Four people have been arrested in London over an alleged terror attack on the publisher of a controversial book on the prophet Muhammad.

The arrests are connected to a fire at a property in Islington, north London, which is used as the home and office of Martin Rynja, a publisher.

His company, Gibson Square, recently bought the rights to a novel which is considered by some to be more controversial than Salman Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses. The new book, about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride, is entitled The Jewel of Medina.

The blaze yesterday, which led to people being evacuated from the house, may have been started by a petrol bomb pushed through the letter box.

Initially, three men, aged 22, 30 and 40, were detained at around 2.25am yesterday after a fire broke out at a property in Lonsdale Square, Islington. Two were stopped by armed officers in Lonsdale Square, and the third was seized when a car was stopped by armed police near Angel underground station.

Random House US, the major publishing group, announced in May this year that it was dropping its plans to publish Sherry Jones's debut novel following warnings that it could incite acts of violence from radical Muslims. The Jewel of the [sic] Medina was also pulled from bookshops in Serbia last month after pressure from an Islamic group.

Gibson Square, which has previously published other controversial books, bought the rights to Jones's book after Random House pulled out. It paid what it described as a "compelling" advance to acquire The Jewel of Medina. The book will be published by Gibson Square next month [October] in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, the book will be published by Beaufort Books.

Speaking before yesterday's attack, Mr Rynja said: "In an open society there has to be open access to literary works, regardless of fear. As an independent publishing company, we feel strongly that we should not be afraid of the consequences of debate.

"If a novel of quality and skill that casts light on a beautiful subject we know too little of in the West, but have a genuine interest in, cannot be published here, it would truly mean that the clock has been turned back to the dark ages. The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time." North London Terror Arrests Linked to Controversial Muslim Book >>> By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter | September 28, 2008

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Tochter von islamischem Hassprediger ist eine Stripperin
TT.COM: Das britische Massenblatt "The Sun" hat herausgefunden, dass die Tochter eines radikal-islamischen Hasspredigers "an der Stange" und "oben ohne" als Stripperin in Londoner Nachtlokalen arbeitet. Ihr Vater ist "schockiert" über die brisanten Enthüllungen.

London - Wie die türkische Zeitung "Sabah" berichtet, hat das britische Massenblatt "The Sun" die Tochter eines radikal-islamischen Hasspredigers als Stripperin entlarvt. Demnach habe man Yasmin F. in Londoner Nachtclubs "an der Stange" und "oben ohne" beim Tanzen beobachtet. Ihre Ehe - eine arrangierte mit einem Türken - sei bereits in die Brüche gegangen.

Geheimes Leben

Laut "Sun" habe sich die 27-jährige Mutter eines drei-jährigen Kindes mit ihrem syrisch-stämmigen Vater, der auch als "Ayatollah von Tottenham" bekannt ist, überworfen und führe nun ein "geheimes Leben", in dem sie unter falschem Namen "halb nackt" in einschlägigen Etablissements in London tanze.

"Wenn das Lokal passend ist, habe ich kein Problem damit, oben ohne zu tanzen", wird Yasmin F. in der "Sun" zitiert. Sie habe sich mit ihrem Vater nicht mehr verstanden und sei vor vier Jahren weggezogen. Tochter von islamischem Hassprediger ist eine Stripperin >>> | September 27, 2008

MAIL Online:
Revealed: Radical Cleric Bakri’s Pole-dancer Daughter >>> By Michael Seamark and Emily Andrews | September 27, 2008

Photo of the tattooed, topless pole-dancer Yasmin Fostok, the raunchy daughter of Omar Bakri Mohammed, courtesy of Mail Online
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Austria Braced for Right-wing Surge
THE GUARDIAN / THE OBSERVER: The man who has inherited Jorg Haider's mantle as the figurehead of Austria's far right is expected to scoop up a fifth of the popular vote in national elections today in the latest advance for a European party campaigning on anti-immigration policies.

The dramatic rise of Heinz-Christian Strache and the once ailing Freedom Party, formerly led by Haider, has accompanied growing Austrian sentiment against foreigners, economic woes and a widespread disillusionment with the two main centrist parties.

Today's expected results will be seen as a triumph for Strache, a politician who has made a virtue of being even tougher on immigrants than his party's former leader. Polls have suggested that substantial numbers of the young and elderly, blue-collar workers and middle classes will turn out to vote for the man who strengthened his popularity through slogans such as: 'If you want an apartment, all you need is a headscarf.' Austria Braced for Right-wing Surge >>> Peter Beaumont and Michael Leidig in Vienna | Sunday September 28 2008

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French Couple Converts to Islam in Mahweet
YEMEN NEWS AGENCY: MAHWEET, Sep. 27 (Saba)- The French couple Lidris, aged 25, and Fabine, aged 24, who traveled to Yemen, Mahweet, for tourism have converted to Islam after being hosted by a local in the city.

The local, Ahmed Mutahar, invited the French couple to his house in Ramadan and introduced them to teachings and tolerance of Islam which they admired and expressed their intention to embrace Islam.

The couple said the testimony at the Cultural Center for Foreigners Call in Sana'a and got a new marriage contract according to the Islamic Sharia. [Source: French Couple Converts to Islam in Mahweet >>> AM/AM | September 27, 2008

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Right-Wing to Do Well in Austrian Elections
THE TELEGRAPH: As Austrians head to the polls on Sunday, an economic downturn coupled with rising anti-immigrant feeling makes a swing to the right look all but inevitable.

Surveys on the eve of the Sept 28 general elections show the far-right Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria's Future capturing between 25 and 27 per cent of the vote–something unmatched since Jörg Haider led extreme rightists to a 27 per cent victory in 1999.

Now, with inflation at a 15-year-high of 3.9 per cent and a resurgent xenophobia helping stir voter passions, the country is teetering in political uncertainty.

"Xenophobic feelings are a lot stronger in Austria than in other EU countries," said Helmut Weixler, European parliamentary spokesperson for the Greens.

"A large part of the population has problems [accepting] immigration, and guys like Haider and [Heinz-Christian] Strache exploit those populist feelings. They're very good at that."

Mr Strache, who is 39 and the new face of Austria's virulently anti-foreigner right wing–his Freedom Party promotes slogans like "Vienna must not become Istanbul!" and "Home instead of Islam"–made great strides in elections in 2006 calling for Austria to expel all illegal immigrants and close the doors to new arrivals.

Particularly effective in whipping up the public's fear of foreigners is Kronen Zeitung, an arch-right tabloid run by Hans Dichand that reaches some 40 per cent of the population and wields enormous political influence. Far-right to Do Well in Austrian Elections >>> By Michael Levitin in Berlin | September 27, 2008

TIME:
Austria’s Far-Right on the Rise >>> By Andrew Purvis | September 19, 2008

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Austrian Far-Right in Comeback
TVNZ: Austria's far-right Freedom Party is ready to re-enter government after three and a half years in opposition and the two main parties must decide if they will do business with it after this month's election, its leader Heinz-Christian Strache says. 
 


When Freedom first joined a national government in 2000 under then party boss Joerg Haider, its anti-immigrant stance so alarmed Austria's European Union partners that they briefly ceased co-operation with the Alpine member state. 
 


Haider has since left to form a splinter party.

But Freedom, which rails against the EU and has demanded a halt to immigration and a ministry for repatriating foreigners, is polling around 18% and could play an important role after the September 28 election. 
 


At 28% and 26% respectively in the latest poll, the Social Democrats and conservative People's Party - partners in an unhappy coalition which has survived less than two years - are set to win less than 60% combined for the first time since World War Two. 



"Which partner is ready to enter into government with us while letting us keep our true values?" Strache said in the interview next to a rain-sodden campaign stand, encircled by young and middle-aged men. 
 


"When there is a partner like this then it makes sense to be in government. When there is no partner it makes no sense," he said, as supporters took pictures of him on their mobile phones. 



Next interior minister?

The coalition between the centre-left Social Democrats and centre-right Austrian People's Party collapsed in July following disagreements about everything from privatisation to health reform to European Union policy.

"Both have said they can't bear to enter into a coalition with Freedom," Strache said, adding that he wants his party to become the third-largest in Austria in the election, ahead of the environmentalist Greens.

Strache, a 39-year-old former dental technician, has put Freedom back on a hard-right path after Haider left to form the rival Alliance for Austria's Future in 2005. Austrian Far-Right in Comeback >>> | September 17, 2008

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Europa terra di conquista: "L'Islam trasformerà l'Occidente".
 Parola di sceicco
L’OCCIDENTALE: L’Islam ha le idee chiare e programmi precisi sull’Occidente, ma l’Occidente li ha sull’Islam? Lo sceicco Omar Bakri, originario della Siria, ha istituito e dirige l’Islamic Religious Court a Londra ed è a capo dell’organizzazione islamica Al-Muhajiroun. Tiene lezioni e conferenze in Inghilterra e nel mondo. Queste sono alcune sue tipiche interviste rilasciate recentemente a quotidiani e televisioni. Le sue dichiarazioni e i suoi insegnamenti sono emblematici dei piani islamisti contro le democrazie europee.

Il quotidiano arabo-londinese Al-Hayat, per esempio, in una serie di articoli sulla comunità musulmana in Gran Bretagna, ha raccolto queste sue affermazioni trascritte dal Middle East Media Research Institute. Europa terra di conquista: "L'Islam trasformerà l'Occidente".
Parola di sceicco >>> di Andrea B. Nardi | 27 Settembre 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)

Gay Sex Is Immoral and Cannot Be Decriminalised, Government Tells High Court
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA - New Delhi: Gay sex is immmoral [sic] and a reflection of a perverse (rpt perverse) mind and its decriminalisation would lead to moral degradation of society, the Centre today told the Delhi High Court.

"Homosexuality is a social vice and the state has the power to contain it," the government contended.

"It (decriminalising homosexuality) may create breach of peace. If it is allowed then evils of AIDS and HIV would further spread and harm the people. It would lead to big health hazard. It would degrade moral values of society," Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra contended.

The Centre's stand assumes significance in view of the contradictory stand taken by two of its ministries, with the Home Ministry opposing decriminalisation of such acts while the Health Ministry favouring the scrapping of penal provisions which provide a punishment of upto [sic] life sentence for homosexual acts. Gay Sex Is Immoral and Cannot Be Decriminalized, Government Tells High Court >>> PTI | September 26, 2008-09-27

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Market Meltdown: The Muslim View
The Muslim View >>>
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Iran Denounces Western Support for Israel
ASSOCIATED PRESS: TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A former Iranian president warned the West on Friday that its support for Israel would backfire, as hundreds of thousands of people staged rallies in support of Muslim claims to the holy city of Jerusalem.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is still considered influential in Iranian politics, said the U.S., Britain and France back Israel — and this is dangerous.

"They will put themselves in trouble, eventually," Rafsanjani said during a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran marking "Al-Quds Day." Al-Quds is the Arabic word for Jerusalem.

Israel could "take tougher and more offensive action" than the United States against Iran and the Arab world, warned Rafsanjani.

State-run television also aired clips on Friday featuring hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York. The president, who is in the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly meeting, said Israel does not have support among ordinary people in America.

He also chided hundreds of demonstrators who protested against him during his trip, calling it a "big failure for them."

The latest anti-Israel remarks by Iranian leaders come as hundreds of thousands rallied in cities across the Persian country to protest Israel's continued hold on Jerusalem, the city where Muslims believe Islam's Prophet Muhammad began his journey to heaven.

In the capital, Tehran, demonstrators chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" to commemorate "Al-Quds Day." Some protesters also burned American and Israeli flags. Iran Denounces Western Support for Israel >>> | September 26, 2008

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What’s Good for the Prophet Is Good for Me Also!
ASSOCIATED PRESS: RABAT, Morocco — Moroccan authorities have ordered the closure of dozens of schools and a Web site run by a Muslim religious leader who argued that girls as young as 9 could marry, local media reported Friday.

Sheik Mohammed Ben Abderahman al-Maghraoui had issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, on his Web site saying it was lawful for a Muslim man to marry a 9-year-old girl because Islam's Prophet Mohammed had done so.

Moroccan law, however, sets 18 as the minimum age for women to marry, and the Council of the Oulemas — the country's highest religious authority — denounced al-Maghraoui as an "agitator."

"What the Prophet can do is not open to ordinary Muslims," said lawyer Mourad El Bekkouri, who filed a legal complaint this month asking "the king's prosecutor to sue al-Maghraoui for promoting pedophilia and rape."

Government officials said at least three dozen Quranic schools would be shut, according to local media on Friday. Moroccan Sheik Hushed for Letting 9-Year-olds Wed >>> | September 26, 2008

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Muslim Challenges Canadian Freedom of Press

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Right Turn
TIMES ONLINE: Hostility to immigration is bolstering the far Right across much of Europe

In Austria, they raise their arms in stiff salutes and roar approval of calls to kick out the foreigners. In Italy, they don black shirts, crop their hair and chant the name of their former dictator at football matches. In Germany, they rally outside mosques or foreigners' hostels to protest against what they describe as the “immigrant invasion” of Europe. More than 60 years after their grisly deaths, the names and symbols of Hitler and Mussolini are still being paraded on the streets. Is fascism making a return?

The test will come tomorrow when Austria goes to the polls. Heinz-Christian Strache, a protégé of Jörg Haider who overthrew him as leader of the far-right Freedom Party with even more hardline policies against foreigners and the European Union, is poised to win at least 20 per cent of the vote. Playing to the extremist sentiment still pervading a large proportion of the population, Mr Strache has replaced the demonisation of Jews last heard in Austria two generations ago with denunciations of a new threat: Muslims. “Homeland instead of Islam”, the slogans say. “Vienna must not become Istanbul”.

Islam and its symbols have also become the focus for the far Right in Germany and the Netherlands. Hundreds gathered in Cologne on Saturday in a rally to halt construction of one of Europe's biggest mosques. Far-right leaders from Belgium, Italy and Austria arrived to join calls to protect Western values and Christian traditions - calls that are being echoed by more and more mainstream politicians to curry popular support.

It is in Italy, however, that nostalgia for fascism has been most overt and where the echoes of the past have been most ominous. Mussolini's tomb has become a shrine for neo-Fascists, who chant his name at rallies and campaign to rehabilitate his ideology and architectural legacy. The Duce's granddaughter, Alessandra Mussolini, is a politician on the Right who makes much of her name and her determination to halt attempts by Alleanza Nationale, the post-fascist party now forming part of Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, to distance itself from its undemocratic past. Right Turn >>> | September 27, 2008

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Glenn Beck: Geert Wilders: Islam in Europe

Watch: Fitna the Movie >>>

DIANA WEST:
Diana West on the Glenn Beck Show >>> Diana West | September 26, 2008

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Europe's Sharia Question
ISN: ETH: ZÜRICH: In recent weeks, the European Commission and the UK have made apparent concessions to Islamic law, and with confrontations in Cologne over a proposed mosque, the role of Muslims in a future Europe is again in the spotlight, writes Simon Roughneen for ISN Security Watch.

Princeton University historian Bernard Lewis made his famous prediction in 2004: "Current trends show that Europe will have a Muslim majority by the end of the 21st century at the latest […]. Europe will be part of the Arab West-the Maghreb."
 


Similar claims have been made by other authors, with European countries featuring below-replacement birth rates, while Muslim immigrants and their descendants predicted, in some quarters, to reach over 20 percent of the population of Europe by 2020.



A low fertility rate of 1.47 babies per woman, according to the 2005 estimates for the EU as a whole, is far below the 2.1 needed to keep a population constant, and with newspapers reporting "Muhammed" as the most popular baby's name in London, the swing toward Mecca has some popular culture branding to match the statistics. Europe's Muslim population has tripled in the past 30 years, fuelled by immigration from North Africa, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
 


No one knows whether or not he reads Lewis, but not to be outdone, Libya's Colonel Muammar Gadhaffi speculated in February 2006 that "we have 50 million Muslims in Europe. There are other signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe, without swords, without guns, without military conquests. The 50 million Muslims in Europe, will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades." Europe’s Sharia Question >>> By Simon Roughneen for ISN Security Watch | September 26, 2008

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KLM Arrest: Two Suspected Terrorists Taken Off Flight
HUFFINGTON POST: COLOGNE, Germany — German police raided a plane in Cologne just before it was taking off Friday and arrested two ethnic Somalis, saying they found a suicide note that claimed the men wanted to fight a holy war and die in a terror attack.

A 23-year-old Somali man and a 24-year-old German man born in Somalia were removed from the plane without incident after the surprise raid at Cologne-Bonn Airport, a spokeswoman for North Rhine-Westphalia state police told The Associated Press.

Quoting unidentified security forces, German media said the two men were heading to Pakistan. Bild, Germany's top-selling newspaper, reported the men had been under observation for months. KLM Arrest: Two Suspected Terrorists Taken Off Flight >>> Nicole Lange | September 26, 2008

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Denmark: Expel Islam from Europe
EUROPE NEWS: The controversial Danish People's Party member of the European Parliament Mogens Camre spoke at the DPP's annual meeting Sunday, calling to expel Islam from Europe.

"Islam cannot be integrated. Islam will dominate Europe. And Islam is incompatible with our values. Therefore Islam will be thrown out of Europe. This little land is ours, we forged it ourselves. And we will govern it ourselves and decide ourselves who will live in it and how they will behave. And we will fight until Denmark is again free," said Camre, to loud applause. Denmark: Expel Islam from Europe >>> Sources: Berlingske, TV2 (Danish) | September 26, 2008

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Austria about to Turn Sharp Right?
DEUTSCHE WELLE: Fed up with government bickering and growing economic uncertainty, Austrian voters could hand the far right big gains in general elections on Sunday.

If opinion polls prove correct, the Austrian far-right may notch large gains in general elections on Sunday, Sept 28.

Austria's voters appear to be fed up with rising inflation (at 3.9 percent, a 15-year high), poor integration of the country's large immigrant population, and the inability of the current government to do much about either.

The combined poll numbers of Austria's two far right-parties, the Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria's Future are hovering around 25 percent. That would represent the best draw for the Austrian far-right since 1999, when then-Freedom Party (and now Alliance) leader Jörg Haider stunned Europe by garnering 27 percent.

Such a tally might well leave Austria's neighbors aghast, but one pollster, Andreas Kirchhofer of IMAS, told news agency Reuters that Austrians may be casting their votes against their current leaders more than for the rightists.

"They are fed up with the left-right coalition," he said. "They want another kind of government, but they don't really know exactly what that should look like." Disenchanted Austrian Voters Could Turn to Far Right >>> |September 26, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Strong Support for Strache and Haider in Austria: Heinz Christian Strache: “We must not allow our own sons to be insulted as ‘pigeaters' in our schools and our daughters to be exposed to the greedy stares and gropings of whole hordes of immigrants.” / “Homeland instead of Islam.” / “Vienna must not become Istanbul.” >>> | September 26, 2008

THE INDEPENDENT:
Austria Opens the Polls to 16-Year-Olds: Austria becomes the first country in the European Union to grant its 16-year-olds the right to vote in a general election this weekend but the move has provoked widespread controversy and criticism, even from the teenagers heading for the ballot box for the first time. >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | September 26, 2008

EURO NEWS:
Östereichs zwei rechte Parteien rechnen mit reichlich Zulauf: Vor der österreichischen Parlamentswahl am Sonntag dürfte bei den vielen Unbekannten nur eines sicher sein: Die beiden Parteien am rechten Rand können mit reichlich Zulauf rechnen. Schließlich wird dieser Urnengang zwei Jahre vorfristig nötig, weil die große Koalition aus ÖVP und SPÖ kläglich gescheitert ist. Gelegentliche Anmerkungen von Volkes Hand wie hier “ Nazis raus” auf ein FPÖ-Plakat geschrieben, kann man eher als Ausdruck von Hilflosigkeit werten. >>> 25. September 2008

Heinz Christian Strache: Website und Bio

Dr. Jörg Haider: Website und Lebenslauf

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Malaysia to Combat Anti-Islam Perception
NST ONLINE: NEW YORK: Malaysia has proposed that an international convention sponsored by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) be held next year to tackle anti-Muslim movements in several developed nations.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said on Thursday the OIC had asked Malaysia to play a major role in rectifying the misconception about Islam, especially in the West.

He said Islamaphobia [sic] was so serious that some Western countries hated Muslim nations, as shown by the protests against the construction of a mosque in Cologne, Germany, recently.

Rais said OIC's request was conveyed to him by its secretary-general, Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He told Malaysian journalists that the OIC was confident that Malaysia would be able to counter the misconception.

Rais hoped that the convention would be attended by influential people like national leaders, intellectuals and representatives of non-governmental organisations supporting religious tolerance.

"Malaysia hopes that another window can be opened for a more universal understanding of Islam to help in civilisation-building," he said. Malaysia to Combat Anti-Islam Perception >>> September 26, 2008

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EU bereitet sich auf Tausende Flüchtlinge vor
WELT ONLINE: Die EU-Innenminister haben sich darauf geeinigt, legale Arbeitsmigration besser zu steuern und illegale zu bekämpfen. Gleichzeitig bereitet sich die EU auf die Aufnahme Tausender Flüchtlinge vor. 10.000 Menschen soll die Europäische Union aufnehmen, 5000 von ihnen Deutschland.

Die 27 EU-Staaten haben sich auf gemeinsame Leitlinien zur künftigen Einwanderungs- und Asylpolitik verständigt. Die EU-Innenminister gaben ihre Zustimmung zum "Europäischen Pakt zu Einwanderung und Asyl“, wie die französische EU-Ratspräsidentschaft nach Beratungen in Brüssel mitteilte. In dem Papier vereinbaren die EU-Regierungen unter anderem, die legale Arbeitsmigration besser zu steuern und die illegale Einwanderung entschiedener zu bekämpfen.

Das Dokument, das keinen Gesetzcharakter hat, soll auf dem Treffen der EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs in Brüssel Mitte Oktober formell angenommen werden. Auf Drängen Deutschlands und anderer Länder wird betont, dass die Zuständigkeit für die Arbeitsmärkte letztlich bei den einzelnen Regierungen verbleibt. Außerdem wird die "zirkuläre Migration“ hervorgehoben, bei der zeitlich befristete Arbeitsgenehmigungen vergeben werden. 

Beim Thema Aufnahme von irakischen Christen rechnet Schäuble zum Jahresende mit einer Entscheidung. Die EU bereitet sich auf die Aufnahme tausender irakischer Christen und anderer schutzbedürftiger Flüchtlinge vor.

Zunächst soll eine gemeinsame Delegation des UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerks UNHCR und der EU die Flüchtlingslager in den Nachbarländern des Iraks besuchen. In Brüssel wird erwartet, dass Deutschland bis zu 5.000 Iraker aufnehmen könnte. Einwanderungspolitik: EU bereitet sich auf Tausende Flüchtlinge vor >>> | 25. September 2008

WELT ONLINE:
Irak: Christen sehen sich als Opfer ethnischer Säuberung: Innenminister Schäuble hat sich dafür ausgesprochen, verfolgte Christen aus dem Irak in Deutschland und der EU aufzunehmen. Nichtmuslime sind von den anarchischen Verhältnissen im Kriegsgebiet besonders hart betroffen. Die Christen sehen sich bereits als Opfer einer ethnischen Säuberung. >>> Von Thomas Krapf | 14. April 2008

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Un roi catholique
 à Buckingham ?
LE FIGARO: Un rapport préconise la supression d'une clause de la Constitution interdisant l'accès du trône aux Catholiques. Actuellement à l'étude, ce projet de réforme qui divise les Britanniques.

Le premier ministre, Gordon Brown, a reçu sur son bureau un rapport bien embarrassant lui recommandant de modifier la Constitution pour retirer la clause qui exclut les catholiques dans la succession au trône d'Angleterre. La loi en question, considérée aujourd'hui comme discriminatoire, date de 1701 et exige que le prétendant à la couronne soit anglican et interdit même qu'il soit marié à une catholique. Récemment, le prince du Kent et le comte de St Andrews ont été exclus de la succession au trône d'Angleterre après avoir épousé des catholiques. Un roi catholique
à Buckingham ? >>> Cy. V. (à Londres) | 26.09.2008

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À New York, Pérès appelle les dirigeants arabes au dialogue
LE FIGARO: À la tribune de l'ONU, le président israélien a affirmé mercredi que son pays accepterait «avec joie» une invitation arabe là où «un dialogue significatif pourra avoir lieu».

Aux pays arabes, Shimon Pérès a tendu mercredi une branche d'olivier et aux Iraniens, un glaive. À la tribune de l'Assemblée générale de l'ONU, il s'est félicité de l'initiative de paix lancée par le roi Abdul Aziz al-Saud d'Arabie saoudite pour résoudre la question palestinienne et a encouragé le leader saoudien à aller plus loin dans cette voie qui pourrait déboucher sur «une invitation à une paix globale», susceptible de «convertir les champs de bataille en terrains d'entente».

Le président israélien a fait le premier geste en ce sens : «J'invite, respectueusement, tous les dirigeants à venir discuter de la paix à Jérusalem, qui est terre sainte pour nous tous.» Mais Israël «acceptera avec joie une invitation arabe en tout endroit où un dialogue significatif pourra avoir lieu». À New York, Pérès appelle les dirigeants arabes au dialogue >>> Jean-Louis Turlin | 24.09.2008

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Al-Qaeda's Opportunity to Hurt the US
ASIA TIMES: When Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States in al-Qaeda's name in the late summer of 1996, he outlined ambitious worldwide Islamist goals but noted that al-Qaeda could not accomplish them on its own.

He said that al-Qaeda could, at best, serve as the vanguard that would attack the United States, assist Muslim insurgencies around the world and generally try to incite Muslims to join the jihad against the United States, Israel and the police states that govern much of the Arab and Muslim world.

At the time, Bin Laden was very clear in saying that the ultimate fate of the ummah (Islamic community) was in the hands of all Muslims and not solely in al-Qaeda's. Those in the West who

have seen al-Qaeda at any stage of its existence as a hierarchical organization, bent on controlling the jihad it was trying to incite, have either not read Bin Laden's words or have sought to cram this national security threat into the kind of nation-state problem with which they are comfortable.

Good news abounds for al-Qaeda

Muslims should rejoice over the fact that they have the United States as their priority enemy, al-Qaeda strategy analyst Abu Ubayd al-Qurashi wrote in 2002: "The mujahideen enjoy an edge," he argued, "because the US leadership is facing enormous strategic, political and economic challenges in various directions, whereas the mujahideen are focusing their entire efforts on America and have nothing else to worry about."

What was true then is even truer now. By any reasonable standard of evaluation, al-Qaeda's self-appointed role as the inciter of jihad has contributed to a world that is much more afflicted with jihadism today than it was in 1996. Moreover, most locations experiencing rising jihadi activities are states that Washington views as important to US national-security interests. The current problem is so widespread - including locales where there was, at most, limited jihad-related activity in 1996 - that the failure of major US and Western leaders and media to see the reality, let alone the ardent belief of some that the threat is receding, is inexplicable. Al-Qaeda's Opportunity to Hurt the US >>> By Michael Scheuer | September 27, 2008

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Haider Is Back. Just Don't Mention the War
THE INDEPENDENT: Last time he was in power, his nation became a pariah state. These days, Jörg Haider is more likely to praise the EU than the Nazis, although he and his party still hold controversial views about immigrants. Tony Paterson meets Austria's comeback kid

Jörg Haider, the far-right politician who turned Austria into an international pariah less than a decade ago because of his sympathetic views about Nazi Germany, is aiming for a surprise comeback in elections this weekend.

When he was part of the Austrian government in 1999 the rabble-rousing populist described Nazi SS veterans as "men of honour" and praised Hitler's employment policies, triggering European Union sanctions against Austria as a result.

Mr Haider, 58, has been mostly out of national politics ever since, but in Sunday's parliamentary elections he is hoping to return with a result that will leave him holding the balance of power, and maybe even offer him the chance of becoming head of state.

In an interview at the headquarters of his Alliance for the Future of Austria party in Vienna, Mr Haider told The Independent: "I want to run for the post of Chancellor of Austria – I am convinced that I can offer an alternative to those voters who have had enough of the failures of the outgoing grand coalition government."

Austria's grand coalition, comprising the conservative People's Party and the centre-left Social Democrats, collapsed in July after months of infighting. Neither of the two parties wants to form another alliance. Opinion polls published this week suggest that each will secure only around 25 per cent of the vote. The forecasts suggest that a further 25 per cent of votes will go to Austria's populist far-right bloc comprising the Freedom Party and Mr Haider's Alliance.

Mr Haider is banking on such a constellation leaving the far-right bloc as potential kingmakers. He says he is open to the idea of forming a coalition with either of the two main parties. And as a well-known figure in Austrian politics and a seasoned governor of the state of Carinthia, he sees himself as the ideal candidate for chancellor. Haider Is Back. Just Don't Mention the War >>> Tony Paterson | September 26, 2008

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The Rise of the Right across Europe
THE INDEPENDENT: Galvanised by the issues of Third World immigration and Islam, right-wing parties are a force to be reckoned with across much of Europe today. Several of them have succeeded in rebranding themselves as traditional conservatives rather than quasi-Fascist.

In Norway the anti-immigrant Progress Party is now the largest in the land. Like other right-wing parties in Scandinavia, it has enjoyed surging support since the Islamic cartoon affair two years ago. In Switzerland, Christoph Blocher's Swiss People's Party won the general election last year after a campaign condemned as racist by UN monitors. In Poland the League of Polish Families, a member of the coalition government until a year ago, campaigns for the elimination of Jewish influence in business and the professions. The Vlaams Belang in Belgium is strongly anti-immigrant. Even in ultra-liberal Denmark, the nationalist and anti-immigrant Danish People's Party is now the third largest party. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi's Party of Freedom is sandwiched in the ruling coalition by the anti-immigrant Northern League and the post-Fascist National Alliance. [Source: THE INDEPENDENT] Peter Popham | September 26, 2008

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Pat Condell: The Tyranny of Scripture

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Saudi Clerics’ Outbursts Hurt Image of Islam
THE NATIONAL - RIYADH: When the head of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court recently declared that media officials responsible for airing immoral television programmes could be killed, his remarks provoked what has become a familiar response around the world.



Ridicule and scorn for Saudi Arabia, and more “proof” for Islamophobes of the “backwardness” of Islam. 



Sheikh Lihedan’s remarks were not the only ones in recent months to trigger a spate of global eye-rolling. 



In March, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Barrak declared that two Saudi writers, whom he accused of expressing heretical ideas, should be put to death unless they recanted.
Another elderly sheikh, Abdullah bin Jibreen, told an interviewer on Al Majd TV, a conservative Riyadh-based religious station, that journalists “who insult scholars to shame or discredit them or undermine their authority … should be punished”. 
Sheikh Jibreen’s suggested chastisements included “imprisonment for a long time”, being “removed from the positions they hold, or … flogging”.



There were other less frightening, but sometimes silly, pronouncements that caused non-Muslims to wonder why representatives of such a profound and spiritual religious tradition as Islam concern themselves with trivialities. 



The most famous was a declaration by a member of the Saudi religious police, officially known as the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, that dog-walking had become an unacceptable “phenomenon” in Riyadh. He demanded enforcement of 14-year-old ban on selling cats and dogs. 



Then came a Saudi cleric bemoaning the fact that young children have become enamoured of such cartoon figures as Mickey Mouse even though Islamic law stipulates that mice should be killed.



Sheikh Mohammed al Munajid told Al Majd TV last month that sharia regards a mouse as “one of Satan’s soldiers”. Saudi Clerics’ Outbursts Hurt Image of Islam >>> By Caryle Murphy | September 25, 2008

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Russia Forces West to Go It Alone against Iran Nuclear Programme
Rice and Lavrov. Notice the body language! Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Western diplomats met in New York last night to thrash out a further set of bilateral sanctions against Iran after Russian [sic] and China launched a boycott of talks on a new UN resolution.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov used a series of meetings with his Western counterparts, including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, to signal that Moscow had gone cold on international efforts to reign in the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

Mr Lavrov lashed out at America and its allies as he linked the Russian decision to steps taken to punish its invasion of Georgia by cutting Kremlin officials out of G8 talks. "You can't have it both ways, punishing Russia by canceling meetings we share and at the same time expecting Russian cooperation on issues important to you," he said. "It is not right to make important items on our agenda hostage."

Foreign Office officials struggled to play down the implications of Russia's fresh recalcitrance but one official said it had doomed attempts to impose new penalties on Iran, which has a clandestine nuclear programme, until the first half of 2009. "There's a recognition that the next step will be down to individual countries," said one official close to the discussions. "It will take some time, well beyond the US elections, to engage in discussions that will produce any more UN sanctions. Russia Forces West to Go It Alone against Iran Nuclear Programme >>> By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | September 25, 2008

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President of Pakistan Calls Sarah Palin 'Gorgeous'
The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, thinks Sarah Palin is gorgeous. And he’s told her so! Photo courtesy of The Telegraph. Click on the photo to play music.
THE TELEGRAPH BLOGS: The President of Pakistan has become the first world leader to indicate that Sarah Palin's physical charms could have significant diplomatic potential in office.

A pool report from CNN shows that during the "grip and grin" photo op between Sarah Palin and Asif Ali Zardari at the UN, the president of Pakistan could not conceal his admiration for the Republican VP nominee. Mr Zardari, who was widowed but nine months ago, called her "gorgeous" and made it clear he was happy to carry on gripping for some time.

What could she have got away with asking for? Unfettered US military access to Waziristan? Osama bin Laden's head on a plate before election day?

Mrs Palin has been taking her gorgeousness around New York all week, meeting dignitaries including Hamid Karzai, Henry Kissinger and Mikheil Saakashvili as the McCain campaign has attempted to demonstrate she is capable of acting on the world stage. President of Pakistan Calls Sarah Palin 'Gorgeous' >>> By Alex Spillius | September 25, 2008

NDTV.COM:
Islamabad: Fatwa against Zardari for 'Flirting' with Palin: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari seems to be heading towards fresh trouble as the prayer leader of the Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad has issued a fatwa against him.

Maulana Abdul Ghafar, the prayer leader, seems to be irked by Zardari's "you're gorgeous" compliment to US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during a meeting.

When Zardari was asked to keep shaking hands with Palin for the cameras, he said, "If he's (the aide) insisting, I might hug you."

He said the act was un-Islamic and unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country.

Maulana also said that Zardari shamed the entire Pakistani by publicly making indecent gestures towards Palin in Washington last Thursday. >>> NDTV Correspondent | September 29, 2008

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Sir Winston’s View of Islam

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Dhimmitude: Harvard Submits to Islam

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John Gibson: Minnesota Becomes First US Muslim State

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Bernard Lewis: Civilization Is at Stake!

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Eurabia Alert! EU Urged to Take In More Iraqi Refugees
YAHOO NEWS! (UK & IRELAND): BERLIN - Rights groups called Tuesday on the European Union to take in more refugees from Iraq, two days ahead of a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers in Brussels.

"Iraqi refugees are in urgent need of protection because in contrast to what Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says, the security situation is alarming," Amnesty International Germany's Julia Duchrow told a news conference together with fellow rights group Pro Asyl (For Asylum).

"Periods of reflection, interruptions and playing for time with more research on the ground like the EU plans to do is irresponsible in view of the suffering of refugees," Pro Asyl's Europe representative Karl Kopp said.

Millions of Iraqis have fled their homes since the US-led invasion in 2003, with many heading to neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Syria.

Justice and interior ministers from the 27-nation EU were due to discuss on Thursday and Friday the issue at a meeting in Brussels.

In April the EU's Slovenian presidency rejected German proposals to give priority to refugees from Iraq's Christian minority, saying that asylum should be provided without consideration of religion.

After a meeting with Maliki in July German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed support for Iraqi government plans to see refugees return home rather than have some of them stay in Europe. [Source: YAHOO! NEWS (UK & IRELAND) AFP | September 23, 2008

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Eurabia

Fitzgerald: There Is No Compulsion in Religion
DHIMMI WATCH: The continued emphasis by Muslim and non-Muslim apologists for Islam on a single verse -- "There is no compulsion in religion" -- is permitted not only because their Infidel audience has no idea either about what is said relevantly elsewhere, in hundreds of places, in the Qur'an and Hadith, and not only because they are unaware of the doctrine of abrogation or "naskh," but because they are also unaware of the precise meaning that is given to that phrase "there is no compulsion in religion" by Muslim jurisconsults. If they did look into it, they would find that the "obvious" meaning of the words -- that is, the meaning that we Infidels choose to endow that phrase with -- is not what Muslim scholars mean at all. They mean that in the end one cannot force deep belief on people, though one can force them to comply outwardly, even on pain of death. And that is what Islam is in the business of doing: forcing outward compliance, on pain of punishment that may well include, has often included, death.

But there is one more thing that should surely be offered as an objection when some fool comes along and utters credulously this "there is no compulsion in religion" and expects us to believe the Western understanding of it. That is the observable behavior of Muslims over 1350 years. What have Muslims done, when they have conquered, by force or otherwise, non-Muslim lands and peoples? They offer three possibilities: death, conversion, and, at least to those who can be classified as ahl al-kitab or "people of the book," permanent status as dhimmis, with a host of political, economic, and social disabilities which together added up to lives of humiliation, degradation, and physical insecurity, at times relieved -- but only at times -- by the occasional mollitude of a particular Muslim ruler. A slim reed on which to base one's happiness. And so, over time, many non-Muslims, in order to avoid this condition of degradation, humiliation, and physical insecurity, converted to Islam. Fitzgerald: There Is No Compulsion in Religion >>> By Hugh Fitzgerald | September 24, 2008

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Wie Ahmadinedschad US-Bürgern die Welt erklärt
WELT ONLINE: In New York hat der iranische Präsident Ahmadinedschad diese Woche eine seiner berüchtigten Hass-Reden gehalten. Nebenbei erklärte er in einer Talkshow den US-Bürgern, wie die Welt funktioniert. Demnach ist der Iran ein friedliches Land, seine Hetze gegen Juden ein Akt des Widerstands. Zu Homosexuellen hat er auch eine Idee. Ahmadinedschad im Interview mit Larry King >>> 25. September 2008

Welt TV Video anschauen: Blistering Words from Iran's President: The Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad apparently is refusing to take sides in the race to replace President Bush. Hours before his his appearance at the U-N, he spoke with C-N-N's Larry King about the U-S presidential race. >>> | September 24, 2008

Welt TV Video anschauen: Die unglaubliche Wutrede von Irans Präsident: Der iranische Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat sich in seiner Rede vor der UN-Vollversammlung einmal mehr aggressiver Rhetorik bedient: Diesmal beschimpfte er die Israelis als "zionistische Mörder" und attackierte das "amerikanische Imperium". >>> | September 24, 2008

DIE PRESSE:
Ahmadinejad trifft anti-zionistische Juden: Unterstützung von überraschender Seite bekommt der iranische Staatschef Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Eine Gruppe streng-orthodoxer Juden, die ebenfalls gegen den israelischen Staat kämpft, traf ihn in New York.

Einen Tag nach der umstritten Anti-Juden-Rede traf Irans Staatschef Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Vertreter der jüdisch ultra-orthodoxen Splittergruppe „Neturei Karta", die den israelischen Staat demontieren wollen. Amadinejad sagte, dass der „Zionismus sehr geschwächt" sei und, „wenn es Gott so will, bald zerstört sein wird. Dann werden alle Juden, Muslime und Christen friedlich nebeneinander leben". >>> (Ag./Red.) | 25, September 2008

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Marriott Attackers Fidayeen-e-Islam Threaten to Attack All US Facilitators in Pak
THAINDIAN NEWS: Lahore (ANI): The Fidayeen-e-Islam (FI), a terrorist outfit which claimed responsibility for the Marriott Hotel suicide blast in Islamabad last Saturday killing 60 people, has reportedly threatened to target every person facilitating the US Army in Pakistan.

In a message received by an Arab TV office in Islamabad , the FI rejected the Pentagons claim that only two US marines had been killed in the Marriott blast, reported the Daily Times.

A large number of US marines, FBI officials and European diplomats was staying at the upper three storeys of the hotel, the paper quoted the FI message as saying.

However, the message did not mention the number of US officials the militant organisation believed died in the bombing, added the report.

Immediately after the hotel attack, it was believed that the militants had targeted the Americans living in the hotel. But, later a US embassy statement declined the reports and said that there was no evidence to corroborate that the actual intention behind hitting the hotel to kill Americans alone. [Source: THAINDIAN NEWS] ANI | September 25, 2008

THE AUSTRALIAN:
Terror Group Fidayeen-al-Islam Vows More Pakistan Hits: A FULL-SCALE emergency was sounded at Islamabad's international airport last night as the al-Qa'ida-linked organisation responsible for bombing Pakistan's Marriott hotel vowed to launch even bigger attacks.

In a mobile phone message in English sent to reporters, theal-Qa'ida-linked Fidayeen-al-Islam - "Islamic commandos" - warned that "all those who facilitate Americans and NATO crusaders like (Marriott hotel owner) Sadruddin Hashwani, they will keep on receiving blows."

The group claimed it attacked the Marriott because 250 US marines and NATO troops were staying there - something denied by the US embassy.

Fifty-three people were killed in the attack, the worst terrorist strike in Pakistan. >>> Bruce Loudon, Islamabad | September 26, 2008

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Tariq Ramadan on the Defensive
GATESOFVIENNA: Tariq Ramadan has been featured frequently in this space. He is one of the most dangerous Muslims in the West, because he is so suave and sophisticated and reasonable and “moderate”. So civilized, so calm, such a breath of fresh air compared to the frothing-at-the-mouth “kill the infidel apes and pigs” imams featured on the YouTube videos and in Fitna!

Yet, despite his reasonable manner, he is an agent of the Great Jihad and one of the more skilled practitioners of taqiyya in the West. Tariq Ramadan on the Defensive >>> By Baron Bodissey | September 24, 2008

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Catalonians Get Taken In by the ‘Religion of Peace’ in Big Numbers
Photo courtesy of IslamOnline
ISLAMONLINE.NET: MADRID — Thousands of Spaniards, especially intellectuals, academics and anti-globalization activists, are finding comfort and solace in Islam.

"Embracing Islam is on the rise despite ferocious Western media campaigns," Abdul-Nour Brado, the head of the Islamic Society of Catalonia, told IslamOnline.net.

Estimates suggest that between 3,000 to 4,000 Catalonians accepted Islam recently.

"The numbers could be much higher than that," Barado believes.

Local media reports have noted that intellectuals, academics and anti-globalization activists make up the bulk of the new Muslim reverts in Spain.

Catalonians first embraced Islam in the 1960s and their numbers were quite few.

Now thousands of Catalonians are believed to have joined the fold of Islam.

The Spanish autonomous province of Catalonia covers an area of 31,950 km² with an official population of 6.3 million, and its capital is Barcelona.

It is home to around 100,000 Moroccan immigrants, which is attributed to the geographical proximity with Morocco.

The southern European country has an estimated Muslim minority of about at 1.5 million out of a total population of 40 million.

Islam is the second religion after Christianity and has been recognized through the law of religious freedom, issued in July 1967. Islam Comforts Spanish Intellectuals >>> By Al-Amin Andalusi, IOL Correspondent | September 25, 2008

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Sexual Cleansing in Iraq
Some of the links in this article will take you to sites containing images of violence which you may find disturbing

THE GUARDIAN: Islamist deaths squads are hunting down gay Iraqis and summarily executing them

The "improved" security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.

One of these clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the "most severe way possible".

The short film, Queer Fear – Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq, produced by David Grey for Village Film, documents the tragic fates of a several individual gay Iraqis. You can view it here. Watch and weep. It is a truly poignant and moving documentary about the terrorisation and murder of Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Since this film was made, the killings have continued and, many say, got worse. For gay Iraqis there is little evidence of the transition to democracy. They don't experience any newfound respect for human rights. Life for them is even worse than under the tyrant Saddam Hussein.

It is a death sentence in today's "liberated" Iraq to love a person of the same sex, or for a woman to have sex outside of marriage, or for a Muslim to give up his or her faith or embrace another religion.

The reality on the ground is that theocracy is taking hold of the country, including in Basra, which was abandoned by the British military. In place of foreign occupation, the city's inhabitants now endure the terror of fundamentalist militias and death squads.
Those who are deemed insufficiently devout and pure are liable to be assassinated.

The death squads of the Badr organisation and the Mahdi army are targeting gays and lesbians, according to UN reports, in a systematic campaign of sexual cleansing. They proudly boast of their success, claiming that they have already exterminated all "perverts and sodomites" in many of the major cities.

You can view photos of a few of the LGBT victims of these summary executions 
here and here. Sexual Cleansing in Iraq >>> By Peter Tatchell | September 25, 2008

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Cinnamon Stillwell: Sharia Law: Coming to a Western Nation Near You?
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMSU) will be hosting a conference on October 23 that asks the loaded question: “Is There a Role for Shari'ah in Modern States?”

The Saudi-funded ACMSU and its founding director, John Esposito, one of the foremost apologists for radical Islam in the academic field of Middle East studies, have certainly been doing their bit to make the idea more palatable.

The Saudi prince for whom ACMSU was named has been pumping millions of dollars into Middle East studies at Georgetown, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and beyond, and as the case of Esposito demonstrates, it magnifies the voices of scholars with a decidedly uncritical bent. As a result, ACMSU analysis regarding Sharia (or Islamic) law tends to focus not on its injustices (amputation, stoning, hanging, honor killing, punishment for blasphemy, execution of apostates, persecution of non-Muslims, sanctioned wife-beating, female genital mutilation, and so on), but rather on repackaging it in ways that will appeal to Western sensibilities. The concept of a more “moderate” version of Sharia law that is compatible with democracy is at the forefront of this effort.

While it’s difficult to predict exactly what will take place at the upcoming ACMSU conference, the fact that Esposito will present the opening remarks provides considerable insight into the politics of the event.

Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a book co-authored by Esposito and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies Dalia Mogahed, has been widely criticized for its blatant inaccuracies and attempts to whitewash anti-Western and extremist sentiment in the Muslim world. Accordingly, Sharia law is framed in a non-threatening fashion. As Robert Satloff put it in the Weekly Standard:

…Amazing as it sounds, according to Esposito and Mogahed, the proper term for a Muslim who hates America, wants to impose Sharia law, supports suicide bombing, and opposes equal rights for women but does not “completely” justify 9/11 is . . . “moderate.”

Sharia Law: Coming to a Western Nation Near You? >>> By Cinnamon Stillwell | September 25, 2008

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Turkish Singer Defiant in Court
BBC: A popular Turkish singer has defended public statements that Turkey's long conflict with Kurdish rebels needs a solution - not more deaths.

Bulent Ersoy made her comments at a court hearing in Istanbul, after being charged with attempting to turn the public against military service.

The transsexual singer also suggested that if she had a son she would not send him to fight.

If found guilty, she faces up to four-and-a-half years in prison.
Ms Ersoy made her comments about Turkey's powerful military on television last February.

The Turkish army was conducting a major operation against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq at the time.

Some 40,000 people have died since the conflict with the PKK began in 1984. Turkish Singer Defiant in Court >>> | September 24, 2008

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French Author in Dock over Rwanda
BBC: A prominent French writer, Pierre Pean, is on trial in Paris accused of inciting racial hatred in a book on the Rwandan genocide.

Mr Pean wrote that the Tutsis had a culture of lies and deceit, and this had somehow spread to the Hutus.

He said it made investigating Rwanda "an almost impossible task". Some 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 1994.

A French rights group, SOS Racisme, filed the lawsuit against Mr Pean.

The case against him is backed by the public prosecutor. It centres on four pages in Mr Pean's book Noires Fureurs, Blancs Menteurs (Black furies, white liars), published in 2005.

In remarks broadcast on French radio on Wednesday, Mr Pean said he "wrote a book on lies, misinformation, which were, I believe, conducted through extremely elaborate methods, whereby a dictatorial regime wanted people to believe in lies".

An investigative journalist, Mr Pean wrote a bestseller about former French President Francois Mitterrand, among other works. French Author in Dock over Rwanda >>> | September 24, 2008

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Peres Blasts Iran in UN Address
BBC: Israeli President Shimon Peres has told the UN that Iran is "at the centre of violence and fanaticism" in the world.

In an address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Peres said Iran divided the Middle East and held back the chance of peace.

He warned that the Tehran leadership continued to develop enriched uranium and long-range missiles.

Iran is in breach of three UN Security Council resolutions calling for an end to its uranium enrichment programme. Peres Blasts Iran in UN Address >>> | September 24, 2008

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Clerics’ Debate Underlines Sunni-Shiite Divide
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Two of the Arab world's most prominent Muslim theologians have waded into a bitter exchange of barbs, engaging in a debate that is a small-scale rendition of the worsening animosity between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam.

The fight began early this month when Youssef al-Qaradawi, a Sunni who is one of the best known Islamic television clerics, called Shiites "heretics" and accused them of seeking to infiltrate Sunni societies.

Lebanon's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, shot back that Qaradawi was trying to incite "fitna" — the word for internal civil strife among Muslims that is anathema to followers of Islam.

Centuries-old tensions between Islam's two main branches in the Middle East have flared into the open in recent years, following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the eruption of sectarian killings there.

Though sectarian violence has eased in Iraq this year, it has boiled over in other places, particularly Lebanon, which saw dozens killed in fighting in May between Sunni groups and the Shiite militants of Hezbollah.

Periodic reconciliation efforts, such as a Sunni-Shiite dialogue conference in June in the holy city of Mecca, have done little to ease the deep suspicions of the Mideast's Sunni majority toward Shiites, seen by some Sunnis as a tool for spreading the influence of Persian Iran.

Although many Sunnis in the Arab world had shown admiration for Hezbollah's confrontations with Israel, much of that good will evaporated after the Shiite group turned its guns on Lebanon's Sunnis. Clerics’ Debate Underlines Sunni-Shiite Divide >>> By Bassem Mroue | September 24, 2008

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Muslim Group Reports Jump in Workplace Bias Complaints
MARKET WATCH: WASHINGTON, DC: (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- A report released today by a prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group shows an increase in American Muslim complaints of workplace bias in 2007.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) report, called "Without Fear of Discrimination," outlines 2,652 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment in 2007. That is the highest number of civil rights cases ever recorded in the Washington-based group's report -- the only annual study of its kind. (Note: The higher number of cases is due in part to inclusion of a new category of cases related to mailed, faxed and e-mailed hate messages. Without the inclusion of those cases, the total number of cases dipped slightly over the previous year.) Muslim Group Reports Jump in Workplace Bias Complaints: CAIR: Reports of Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes and Violence Decrease in 2007 >>> | September 14, 2008

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Unadulterated Greed!
THE TELEGRAPH: The two most senior figures in the Church of England have launched outspoken attacks on the excesses of capitalism which they claim have led to the current global financial crisis.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, condemned the financial traders who made millions by driving down the share price of leading banks as "bank robbers and asset strippers".

In a powerful speech to City bankers on the effects of the credit crisis on Wednesday, he denounced the "Alice in Wonderland" world of global finance where short-sellers profited by laying bets that shares in HBOS would fall in price.

Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warned in a magazine article that modern devotion to the free market is a form of idolatry and that Karl Marx was right in his analysis of the power of "unbridled capitalism".

The pair's attacks came following a tumultuous week in which four major financial institutions went bust or were taken over, triggering multi-billion pound government rescue plans to steady the markets, after traders targeted banks that had been weakened by exposure to unrecoverable mortgage debts and a reduced ability to borrow money.

The billionaire Wall Street hedge fund manager John Paulson was one of those who made money by betting that the share price of HBOS, Britain's largest mortgage lender, would fall. The activities of such short-sellers - now temporarily banned - led to a collapse in the bank's shares last week and it had to be bought out by Lloyds TSB.

Speaking to the Worshipful Company of International Bankers, Dr Sentamu said: "Those who made £190million deliberately underselling the shares of HBOS, in spite of its very strong capital base, and drove it into the bosom of Lloyds TSB, are clearly bank robbers and asset strippers.

"We find ourselves in a market system which seems to have taken its rules of trade from Alice in Wonderland, where the share value of a bank is no longer dependent on the strength of its performance but rather on the willingness of the Government to bail it out, or rather on whether the Government has announced its intentions so to do." Archbishops of Canterbury and York Blame Capitalism Excesses for Financial Crisis >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | September 24, 2008

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