The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Miliband Faces High Court Battle In UK Over Gaza Rights
THE GUARDIAN: Lawyers for Palestinian families claim foreign secretary's failure to ban arms sales to Israel flouted international law
The foreign secretary, David Miliband, has acted "in flagrant and continuing breach of international law" in failing to suspend arms exports to Israel, the high court will be told.
In what is thought to be the first legal challenge resulting from Israel's operation in Gaza, lawyers representing more than 30 Palestinian families have accused Miliband, along with the ministers for defence and business, of acting illegally by failing to suspend arms sales and government assistance after alleged Israeli human rights violations.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Palestinian charity Al-Haq said the case would be the first of numerous actions brought against Israel, as activity is stepped up to examine the humanitarian and financial cost of recent events.
"The UK has urgent international obligations that it must fulfil immediately," Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing Al-Haq, said today.
A Foreign Office statement said the claims made on behalf of Al-Haq were "wholly inapt" for resolution in the UK courts and insisted "the government continues to work hard in an effort to secure peace in the Middle East".
"Britain has some of the tightest regulations in the world for arms sales," the statement adds.
"The government monitors the situation in Israel with care in considering applications for arms export licences."
A high court judge will examine the papers in the case and decide within seven days whether it should proceed. >>> Afua Hirsch and David Pallister | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Proche-Orient: L'Europe met la pression sur Netanyahou
LE PARISIEN: Les ministres européens des Affaires étrangères ont appelé lundi le nouveau gouvernement israélien à relancer le processus de paix avec les Palestiniens. Le vice-Premier ministre tchèque Alexandr Vondra, dont le pays préside l'UE, a estimé qu'il fallait «aller de l'avant avec le processus de paix», même s'il a reconnu qu'un gouvernement mené par Benjamin Netanyahou pourrait signifier «un début un peu secoué», à son arrivée à une réunion avec ses homologues européens à Bruxelles.
Le ministre suédois Carl Bildt a, lui, dénoncé «certaines conditions posées par des partis» lors des contacts pris par le chef du Likoud (droite) pour former un gouvernement d'union avec le parti Kadima (centre-droit) de Tzipi Livni, le parti travailliste d'Ehoud Barak et l'extrême-droite nationaliste d'Avigdor Lieberman. Certaines conditions «sont clairement incompatibles avec des engagements» déjà pris dans le cadre du processus de paix, a-t-il déclaré aux journalistes. «Il est très important d'envoyer un signal fort que cela n'est pas acceptable». >>> Leparisien.fr avec AFP | Lundi 23 Février 2009
Antisemitismus: Die Hamas sendet über das TV Hass nach Europa
WELT ONLINE: Eine neue Studie hat gezeigt, dass gerade junge Muslime in Deutschland von einem ausgeprägten Antisemitismus befallen sind. Ein Grund dafür ist sicherlich, dass der Fernsehsender der Hamas "al-Aksa TV" sein Propaganda-Programm bis in europäische Wohnzimmer sendet. Und seine Zielgruppe sind Kinder.
Am vergangenen Montag wies der Vorsitzende der Grünen und EU-Parlamentarier, Cem Özdemir, bei der Präsentation einer Studie über Antisemitismus bei Muslimen in Deutschland darauf hin, dass dieser nicht unterschätzt werden dürfe.
Er und die Verfasser der Untersuchung machten für die überproportional ausgeprägte Judenfeindlichkeit unter muslimischen Jugendlichen unter anderem türkische und arabische Medien verantwortlich, die "eine sehr verzerrte und stereotype Sicht auf Israel und die Juden in die Wohnzimmer nach Deutschland“ senden würden.
Eines dieser Medien, die zum Hass gegen Nichtmuslime aufruft, ist der Sender "al-Aksa TV" der palästinensischen Hamas. Er in den Wohn- und Kinderzimmern Europas frei empfangbar und insbesondere aufgrund seiner auf Kleinkinder abzielenden Sendungen höchst problematisch.
Bei den "Pionieren von morgen" rufen regelmäßig etwa sprechende Plüschtiere gemeinsam mit Kindern als Moderatoren zum "Heiligen Krieg" gegen die Ungläubigen auf.
Die Plüschtiere dienen auch dazu, den Kindern das Konzept des Märtyrertums näher zu bringen. Denn die Puppen werden regelmäßig von so bezeichneten "jüdischen Terroristen" ermordet, und die nächsten Plüschtiere preisen dann den Märtyrertod und dessen Verlockungen. >>> Von Alexander Ritzmann | Sunday, 15. February 2009
WELT ONLINE: Nach seiner ersten Rede als US-Präsident im Kongress verteilte Barack Obama Küsschen an viele Mitarbeiter – nur an die Außenministerin nicht. Hillary Clinton hatte sich zuvor sehr desinteressiert verhalten, ihr Mann setzte in einem Interview gezielte Spitzen gegen Obama. Ist das Verhätnis Clinton-Obama beschädigt? >>> Von Torsten Krauel | Mittwoch, 25. Februar 2009
Blühende Geschäfte Deutschlands mit Iran: Bundeskanzlerin Merkel findet mit ihren Appellen zur freiwilligen Selbstbeschränkung wenig Gehör
NZZ Online: Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Merkel und Teile der Regierung sehen den schwungvollen Handel mit Iran mit offensichtlichem Unbehagen. Zu Exportverboten oder zur Einschränkung sogenannter Hermes-Exportbürgschaften ist es allerdings trotz den Vernichtungsdrohungen Präsident Ahmadinejads an die Adresse Israels bisher nicht gekommen.
Berlin, im Februar
Der Westen tut sich mit der Holocaustleugnung und der Vernichtungsdrohung des iranischen Präsidenten Ahmadinejad gegen Israel schwer. Politische Führer bekunden Entsetzen und Abscheu, können sich aber kaum zu konkreten Massnahmen durchringen. Sanktionen der Uno und der EU verpflichten Mitgliedstaaten, alle Lieferungen zu unterlassen, die zum Atom- und Raketenprogramm des Landes beitragen könnten, lassen im Übrigen aber den Handel zu. Über den Nutzen von Sanktionen wird zudem gestritten wie eh und je, wobei auffallend ist, dass es selten die erklärten Freunde Israels sind, die behaupten, Sanktionen seien kontraproduktiv, würden die Iraner erst recht in die Arme der Mullahs treiben und die Kriegsgefahr erhöhen. >>> Ulrich Schmid | Mittwoch, 25. Februar 2009
Labour Peer Lord Ahmed Jailed for 12 Weeks over Text Message Death Crash on M1
MAIL Online: Labour life peer Lord Ahmed was jailed for 12 weeks today for dangerous driving by a judge who heard he sent and received a series of text messages from his car on a motorway.
Sheffield Crown Court was told Lord Ahmed was involved in an accident which left a man dead on the M1 near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Christmas Day 2007.
But the judge made clear the text messaging had finished before the accident took place and was not connected to the fatal incident. >>> By Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Bishop Richard Williamson, who was asked to leave Argentina after making "deeply offensive" comments about the Holocaust, has arrived back in Britain.
Richard Williamson, the Holocaust-denying bishop, has arrived back in Britain. Here, he is being escorted out of Heathrow. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The British-born Roman Catholic bishop flew into London's Heathrow airport from Buenos Aires where he was met by a crowd of international media and an armed police guard.
The bishop, who was given 10 days to leave Argentina by the country's government, declined to answer questions from the press as he was taken to a waiting car by police officers.
Those meeting him, including other Roman Catholic priests, also declined to comment before the vehicle sped away.
The bishop had been resident in Argentina until this week at the St Pius X seminary in the capital.
But after remarks he made in a Swedish television interview were broadcast, the government branded his view "deeply offensive".
He claimed in the interview last month that historical evidence was "hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I believe there were no gas chambers."
He added: "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in the Nazi concentration camps but none of them in gas chambers."
The Vatican has ordered Bishop Williamson to retract his comments and the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said he must do so before he can "enter into full communion with the church". >>> | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Vatican Complains to Israel about 'Blasphemous' TV Programme
The Vatican has lodged a formal complaint with the Israeli government over a TV programme that "ridiculed and blasphemed" Jesus and Mary.
In the programme, the host denied Christian traditions - that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water - saying he would do so as a "lesson" to Christians who deny the Holocaust, a reference to the Vatican's recent lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War. The rehabilitation sparked outrage among Jews.
The host, a well-known Israeli comedian Lior Shlein, also claimed that Mary became pregnant at 15 by a schoolmate and said that Jesus could never have walked on water because "he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit."A statement from the Vatican press office said its representative in Israel had complained to the government about the show, which was broadcast recently on private Channel 10, one of Israel's three main television stations. >>> | Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thanks to Muslims: Fight against Terror 'Spells End of Privacy'
THE GUARDIAN: Former security chief warns searching personal data will 'break moral rules'
Privacy rights of innocent people will have to be sacrificed to give the security services access to a sweeping range of personal data, one of the architects of the government's national security strategy has warned.
Sir David Omand, the former Whitehall security and intelligence co-ordinator, sets out a blueprint for the way the state will mine data - including travel information, phone records and emails - held by public and private bodies and admits: "Finding out other people's secrets is going to involve breaking everyday moral rules." >>> Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Beijing's 'Happy Couples' Launch Campaign for Same-sex Marriages
THE GUARDIAN: Wedding pictures event as gay community fights hostility and discrimination
With her bouquet of roses and fluffy white dress, Han Xincheng looked the epitome of the glamorous modern Chinese bride. But, although her parents had been pressing her to marry, the photographs were not what they might have expected: she is gazing adoringly at another woman, surrounded by onlookers.
The series of "wedding pictures" staged by lesbians and gay men in the heart of Beijing might not raise eyebrows any longer in most western countries, but they are evidence that attitudes are finally changing in a country where gay sex was illegal until 1997 and homosexuality classified as a mental illness until four years later.
There is still no legal protection against discrimination in China and few role models: no mainstream figures are openly gay. Yet now parts of China's gay population are calling for the right to wed - and meeting with some sympathy. >>> Tania Branigan in Beijing | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The number of early deaths in people who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day but were a healthy weight was the same as non-smokers who were obese, a study has found.
Smoking between one and ten cigarettes a day produced a similar risk to being overweight but not obese, the research in the British Medical Journal showed. Teenage Obesity Is as Bad for Health as Smoking: Research >>> By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Holocaust-denying Bishop Flies Back to Britain after Argentina Orders Him Out
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Williams, the British bishop whose denial of key facts of the Holocaust provoked a crisis in the Catholic Church, will arrive in London on Wednesday after being expelled from Argentina.
Bishop Williamson, of the ultra-conservative breakaway Catholic group the Society of St Pius X, was dressed all in black, including sunglasses and a black cap, as he made his way through Ezeiza international airport in Buenos Aires to board a British Airways flight.
A man accompanying him manhandled a journalist who asked Bishop Williamson his destination and whether he would recant his views.
He refused to answer questions about his departure, which followed a decision last week by the Argentine government that his immigration papers were not in order and he should leave the country within ten days.
An interview in which the bishop questioned the scale of the Holocaust and the use of gas chambers was broadcast in the week the Pope cancelled his excommunication, sparking fury among Jewish groups.
The government of Argentina, where he had served as head of a seminary near Buenos Aires for the last six years, said that his comments "profoundly insult Argentine society, the Jewish people and humanity in general".
The British-born bishop is a member of the ultra-conservative Catholic group founded by the late Archbishop Lefebvre.
Father Richard Bouchacourt, the head of the Society of St Pius X in South America, told the Telegraph that he hoped that the scandal and attention it had attracted would now be over.
"This has damaged the society and it has damaged the Pope," he said. >>> By Nick Evans in Buenos Aires | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
WELT ONLINE: "Wer sind wir?" wollte eine türkische Tageszeitung wissen und gab eine Art Bestandsaufnahme der türkischen Seele in Auftrag. Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Türken der Demokratie zugewandt, Ausländern gegenüber aber misstrauisch. 70 Prozent finden, dass Frauen nur mit Erlaubnis ihrer Männer arbeiten dürfen sollen.
Seit acht Jahren betreibt die islamisch geprägte Regierung der Türkei eine weitreichende Reformpolitik. Unter Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan wurde die Gesetzgebung zu einer riesigen Baustelle, Hunderte Gesetze wurden an EU-Standards angeglichen. Zugleich machte sich die Regierungspartei AKP daran, die islamische Identität der Gesellschaft und deren Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten zu stärken. Über Sinn und Unsinn dieser Doppelstrategie wird viel gestritten, aber einig ist man sich darin, dass das Land in einem tiefen Transformationsprozess steckt.
Um diesen zu messen, führte das Meinungsforschungsinstitut “Konda” im Auftrag der Tageszeitung “Hürriyet” eine Umfrage durch. Unter dem Titel “Wer sind wir?” sollte eine Art Bestandsaufnahme der türkischen Seele entstehen – wo steht das Land heute? Wie lang ist noch der Weg zu einer europäischeren Türkei?
Ziemlich weit, wenn man den Ergebnissen glaubt. Der positivste Wert sind 88 Prozent Zustimmung zu der Aussage: Die Türkei sollte immer und unter allen Umständen demokratisch regiert werden. Zugleich sagten 48 Prozent, die Armee müsse eingreifen “wenn nötig”. Im Klartext, undemokratische Mittel sind zuweilen nötig um die Demokratie zu bewahren. Das ist nun einmal die paradoxe Sichtweise vieler Türken – sie sehen ihre Parteipolitiker nicht unbedingt als vertrauenswürdige Demokraten. >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Dienstag, 24. Februar 2009
LE MONDE: Longue silhouette au visage glabre et à la mèche rebelle, Hans Küng, considéré comme le plus grand théologien contestataire catholique vivant, reçoit chez lui, en Allemagne, à Tübingen, dans sa propriété élégante aux murs tapissés d'ouvrages. Les siens, innombrables et traduits dans toutes les langues, trônent en bonne place dans son bureau personnel. Il revient ici sur la tempête déclenchée par la main tendue du pape Benoît XVI aux intégristes catholiques.
Comment analysez-vous la décision de Benoît XVI de lever l'excommunication de quatre évêques du courant intégriste de Mgr Lefebvre, dont l'un, Richard Williamson, est un négationniste affirmé?
Je n'ai pas été surpris. Dès 1977, dans un entretien à un journal italien, Mgr Lefebvre indique que "des cardinaux soutiennent (son) courant" et que "le nouveau cardinal Ratzinger a promis d'intervenir auprès du pape pour (leur) trouver une solution". Cela montre que cette affaire n'est ni un problème nouveau ni une surprise. Benoît XVI a toujours beaucoup parlé avec ces personnes. Aujourd'hui, il lève leur excommunication, car il juge que le temps est venu. Il a pensé qu'il pourrait trouver une formule pour réintégrer les schismatiques, qui, tout en conservant leurs convictions, pourraient donner l'apparence qu'ils sont en accord avec le concile Vatican II. Il s'est bien trompé.
Comment expliquez-vous que le pape n'ait pas mesuré le tollé que sa décision allait susciter, au-delà même des propos négationnistes de Richard Williamson?
La levée des excommunications n'a pas été un défaut de communication ou de tactique, mais elle a constitué une erreur de gouvernement du Vatican. Même si le pape n'avait pas connaissance des propos négationnistes de Mgr Williamson et même s'il n'est pas lui-même antisémite, chacun sait que les quatre évêques en question sont antisémites. Dans cette affaire, le problème fondamental, c'est l'opposition à Vatican II, et notamment le refus d'une relation nouvelle au judaïsme. Un pape allemand aurait dû considérer cela comme un point central et se montrer sans ambiguïté sur l'Holocauste. Il n'a pas mesuré le danger. Contrairement à la chancelière Angela Merkel, qui a vivement réagi.
Benoît XVI a toujours vécu dans un milieu ecclésiastique. Il a très peu voyagé. Il est resté enfermé au Vatican - qui est comme le Kremlin d'autrefois -, où il est préservé des critiques. Du coup, il n'a pas été capable de réaliser l'impact d'une telle décision dans le monde. Le secrétaire d'Etat, Tarcisio Bertone, qui pourrait être un contre-pouvoir, était son subordonné à la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi ; c'est un homme de doctrine, absolument soumis à Benoît XVI. On est face à un problème de structure. Il n'y aucun élément démocratique dans ce système, aucune correction. Le pape a été élu par des conservateurs, et aujourd'hui c'est lui qui nomme les conservateurs. >>> TÜBINGEN (BADE-WURTEMBERG) ENVOYÉS SPÉCIAUX | Mardi 24 Février 2009
US Report: Saudis Replacing Egypt as Regional Leader
HAARETZ: A recent U.S. National Intelligence Council report suggests Egypt has lost its superior status among Arab states, and that leadership in the Middle East is passing to Saudi Arabia despite the kingdom's efforts to avoid it.
The study, "Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan: Policies on Regional Issues and Support for U.S. Goals in the Middle East," is based on a workshop held last summer, but was released only in December, after U.S. President Barack Obama was elected and senior intelligence officials in his administration took office.
The National Intelligence Council describes itself as a center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the U.S. intelligence community. It is subordinate to the Director of National Intelligence, and provides intelligence estimates to the president and senior decision makers on foreign policy issues. While the council is a government agency, the report emphasizes it does not necessarily reflect the administration's foreign policy.
According to news reports yet to be confirmed in Washington, Obama intends to appoint Chas W. Freeman Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to head the intelligence council. Some Israeli officials have expressed concern that Freeman's political views are not in line with those of Jerusalem.
The experts convened to draft the study agreed Egypt is no longer the undisputed leader of the Arab world as it had been in previous decades, and that the torch of regional leadership is being passed to Saudi Arabia. However, the report indicates the Saudi regime is loath to accept that role, largely because of implications of the growing threat Iran poses the Arab world. >>> By Amir Oren | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
REUTERS: RIYADH - Saudi authorities arrested at least nine Saudi Shi'ite pilgrims after clashes in the holy city of Medina, Shi'ite and security sources said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia sees itself as the bastion of mainstream Sunni Islam and is worried about the rising influence of non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran in the region.
Jaafar al-Shaib, a leading figure among minority Saudi Shi'ites, said clashes occurred between Shi'ite pilgrims and morals police near a mosque that houses the tomb of Prophet Mohammad.
"Some 1,500 Shi'ite pilgrims gathered near the mosque for the commemoration of Prophet Mohammad's death," he said.
"Stick-wielding members of the morals police backed up by plainclothes policemen sought to disperse them."
Morals police often prevent pilgrims venerating tombs, seen as idolatry under the strict Saudi version of Islam.
Some pilgrims were injured in a stampede after police fired into the air to disperse the crowd, al-Shaib said, adding ambulances took some away. He said some shops owned by Shi'ites were attacked. >>> Reporting by Souhail Karam; editing by Thomas Atkins and Michael Roddy | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
MSNBC: Saudi Cleric Calls for End to Anti-Shiite Actions
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia appealed to King Abdullah to put an end to "extremist practices and insults" by members of the religious police against Shiite pilgrims following a series of incidents at a revered cemetery.
Sheik Hassan al-Saffar's posted the appeal on his Web site Monday, following reports of several incidents of confrontations between Shiites and riot police at the al-Baqee Cemetery in Medina, Islam's second-holiest city. The confrontations aggravate the friction between the overwhelmingly Sunni population and the Shiites, who say they make up 10-15 percent of Saudi Arabia's 22 million people.
Saudi Arabia follows the severe Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam that considers Shiites infidels. Shiites routinely complain of discrimination, including being banned from joining the religious police. >>> By Donna Abu-Nasr | Associated Press | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Geert Wilders on Bill O’Reilly’s The Factor, February 23, 2009
PAJAMAS MEDIA: A Dutch Hero Comes to Warn Us, Seek Our Support. The Incomparable Geert Wilders, MP, in New York City
“I have come to warn you of a great threat. Free speech is no longer a given, we must now battle for our birthright. We are looking at the end of democracy, the slavery of women, the death of gays. While there might be moderate Muslims, there is no such thing as moderate Islam. Islam is not a religion, it is a political and totalitarian ideology.”
Some would say that these are fighting words.
Indeed, Dutch parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, is fighting for Western liberty and Western values, as rooted in the legacies of “Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem.” This is the legacy he wishes to leave the “children of Europe,” as opposed to the legacy of “Mecca and Gaza.” Wilders is fighting for us all, his fight is our fight. As he said earlier today, “it is not about (him) but about Free Speech.” Today he may be a “criminal, tomorrow, anyone of us might be considered a criminal too,” for telling the truth about the danger that Islam poses to Western democracy. “Today I may be put behind bars. I am not the issue. Will free speech be put behind bars?”
“It is not 8:55pm. It is 11:55pm. We will lose everything.”
Wilders is very blond, quite trim, and well tailored, both matter-of-fact and charming in a way that does not come across in still photos. Wilders’ Dutch and Scandinavian entourage: other members of Parliament, such as Barry Madlener, of the Party of Freedom, (PVV), with whom I sat, and Lars Hedegaard, (the head of The Free Speech Society–Denmark), were all impossibly handsome, healthy, fluent in English, and heartbreakingly serious.
“The Left has hated Christianity for decades. Now, it demands respect for Islam. Guess why? The Left and Islam are both opposed to criticism of any kind. Where the Left and Islam come together, freedom will always suffer.”
Wilders attributes the erosion of Western sanity and courage to the infernal doctrine of “multicultural relativism which has fatefully weakened the West.” Such politically correct beliefs have led to the liberal Dutch Labor Party’s initiation of the lawsuit against Wilders. While the public prosecutor’s office declined to prosecute Wilders for “hate speech,” (hundreds of people wrote to the Prosecutors on Wilders’ behalf), the liberals appealed their ruling to the High Court in Amsterdam which actually overruled the public prosecutor’s decision. Wilders is on his way to appeal this last decision in the Dutch Supreme Court. He says, wryly, that the lawsuits may last until 2015. >>> Phyllis Chesler | Monday, February 23, 2009
GLOBE AND MAIL: Harvard financial guru Niall Ferguson predicts prolonged financial hardship, even civil war, before the ‘Great Recession' ends
Harvard author and financial crisis guru Niall Ferguson has landed with a thud in Ottawa, spreading messages that could make even the most confident policy makers squirm.
The global crisis is far from over, has only just begun, and Canada is no exception, Mr. Ferguson said in an interview before delivering a presentation to public-policy think tank, Canada 2020.
Policy makers and forecasters who see a recovery next year are probably lying to boost public confidence, he said. And the crisis will eventually provoke political conflict, albeit not on the scale of a world war, but violent all the same. “There will be blood.”
The Buy America penchant pushed by the U.S. Congress in passing the recent stimulus bill was only the tip of the iceberg.
Abu Dhabi buying Nova Chemicals at bargain-basement prices on Monday is a sign of things to come, with financial power quickly being transferred over to the world's creditors – namely sovereign wealth funds – and away from the world's debtors.
And much of today's mess is the fault of central bankers who targeted consumer-price inflation but purposefully turned a blind eye to asset inflation.
The Laurence A. Tisch professor of history at Harvard University, and author of The Ascent of Money, A Financial History of the World, sat down with The Globe and Mail's economics reporter, Heather Scoffield. >>> Heather Scoffield | Monday, February 23, 2009
LE FIGARO: La police a annoncé, lundi, l'arrestation de trois suspects après l'attentat du Caire, sans préciser quelles charges pèsent contre eux.
C'est sans doute par le plus triste des hasards que les jeunes Français originaires de Levallois ont été frappés par le terrorisme dimanche soir alors qu'ils s'apprêtaient à acheter quelques souvenirs dans le souk du Khan el-Khalili, l'un des lieux les plus touristiques du Caire, où défilent chaque jour des milliers d'étrangers. Des interrogations subsistaient lundi sur les circonstances précises de l'attentat. Selon la police égyptienne, la bombe - un engin artisanal rempli de morceaux de métal et de clous - était dissimulée sous un banc sur le parvis de la mosquée al-Hussein, principal lieu saint de l'islam chiite au Caire. Mais, d'après plusieurs témoignages, elle aurait au contraire été lancée depuis le toit de l'hôtel al-Hussein, un petit établissement populaire planté à la lisière du souk, sur les touristes déambulant en contrebas. Dans un cas comme dans l'autre, souligne-t-on de source diplomatique, il apparaît peu probable que les ressortissants français aient été délibérément visés.
Des sources policières égyptiennes ont annoncé lundi l'arrestation de trois, voire cinq «suspects», sans préciser quelles charges pèsent contre eux. Il s'agirait notamment de deux femmes portant le niqab (voile intégral) et d'un jeune homme qui aurait été interpellé alors qu'il fuyait précipitamment les lieux. Des informations prises avec prudence par les spécialistes, qui rappellent les méthodes d'arrestations massives généralement employées par les services de sécurité égyptiens : après l'attentat contre la station balnéaire de Taba, en 2004, près de 3 000 personnes avaient par exemple été arrêtées dans le Sinaï. >>> Le Caire, Tangi Salaün | Lundi 23 Février 2009
Congress Shows Its Commitment to Freedom of Expression by Welcoming Geert Wilders. Americans Have More Backbone Than Craven Brits
It is a nonsense to imply that only Geert Wilders claims that Islam inspires terrorism. It is a fact that it does so; and anybody who knows anything about Islam knows that. It should come as no surprise to those at the top. In fact, if they were on top of their jobs, they wouldn’t need people like Geert Wilders to tell them the facts!
It is shameful and idiotic for the British government to have turned Geert Wilders away at Heathrow. In doing so, Brown & Co have shot the messenger. Always a stupid thing to do! In doing so, they have shown that they are not committed to freedom of expression, and not committed to liberty, either. The Brown government, with its craven Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, a woman of manifest incompetence, has disgraced Great Britain. She has destroyed Britain’s image of being the mother of all democracies. I can think of no action this government could have taken to do more damage to the freedoms Brits have enjoyed over the centuries, and nor can I think of any action it could have taken to demean the reputation of this once proud nation. Churchill will surely be turning in his grave!
But, of course, anyone with a few grey cells knows why this government banned him: Out of fear of Muslims, fear of Islam, and fear of losing the Muslim vote. Far more Muslims vote Labour than Conservative. Furthermore, Lord Ahmed, the Muslim peer, wields far too much power in the House of Lords. He should be cut down to size.
For anyone who thinks that Geert Wilders is showing double standards by wanting freedom for himself to warn the West of the dangers of Islam and Islamofascism whilst wanting to ban the Koran at the same time, divest yourself of the notion. There are no double standards there at all. Even in a free society, if you find that there is a growing ideology out there which wants to destroy the freedoms you enjoy, then you’d be a fool not to ban it. After all, this is not without precedence, is it? Nobody can form a Nazi party in the United Kingdom; and as Geert Wilders says, Mein Kampf is banned in the Netherlands, as it is in Germany and Austria. Yet these nations still enjoy freedom.
THE TELEGRAPH: Republican Senator Jon Kyl is hosting a film screening at the Capitol building in Washington for a [sic] the controversial Right-wing Dutch politician who claims that Islam inspires terrorism.
Mr Kyl is sponsoring the Thursday event for Geert Wilders, who was denied entry to Britain earlier this month after British officials said he posed a threat to public order.
The Home Office refused him entry on the grounds he "would threaten community security and therefore public security".
The elected Dutch MP had been invited to the House of Lords to show his 17-minute film, Fitna, which criticises the Koran as a "fascist book" and compares Islam to Nazism.
Mr Wilders' 15-minute film, Fitna, juxtaposes verses from the Koran with images of violence and compares Islam to Nazism.
Mr Wilders has defended himself against accusations of "double standards" over his own demand for freedom of speech alongside his calls for the Koran to be banned.
MAIL Online: Now Dutch MP Who Was Banned from Britain for His Anti-Islam Film Is Welcomed in the U.S.
Jon Kyl, host of the American film screening of Fitna, Geert Wilders’ amazingly accurate depiction of Islam. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
A controversial Dutch MP banned from Britain for his fair right views will be allowed to screen his controversial anti-Islamic film in United States.
Geert Wilders, who was last month refused entry into Britain, will screen screen his anti-Islam film Fitna in Washington in two days time.
Republican Senator Jon Kyl will host Thursday's film screening for the far-right Dutch lawmaker who claims that Islam inspires terrorism.
The 15-minute film sparked controversy after it juxtaposed verses from the Koran with images of violence by Muslims. Wilders had been invited to Britain by a member of Parliament's upper house, the House of Lords, to show his film.
But the British government refused his entry into the country, saying he posed a threat to 'community harmony.' The Dutch MP also called Koran a 'fascist book' and said it should be banned.
But Kyl agreed to hold the event because he said 'all too often, people who have the courage to point out the dangers of militant Islamists find themselves vilified and endangered.'
Thursday's event is being sponsored by the International Free Press Society and is headed by Danish activist Lars Hedegaard, and the Center for Security Policy, a think tank in Washington led by Republican Frank Gaffney. >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
VIDDLER: Fitna
DIE PRESSE: Islam-Kritiker Wilders zeigt seinen Film im US-Kapitol
Der niederländische Abgeordnete Geert Wilders wird am Donnerstag seinen umstrittenen Kurzfilm "Fitna" auf Einladung des republikanischen Senators Kyl vorführen. Ein ähnliches Vorhaben in London scheiterte wegen eines Einreiseverbots.
Der niederländische Abgeordnete Geert Wilders wird am Donnerstag seinen umstrittenen Anti-Islam-Kurzfilm "Fitna" im Kapitol, dem Sitz des US-Kongresses in Washington, zeigen. Eingeladen hat ihn der republikanische US-Senator Jon Kyl. Das teilte Kyls Sprecher Ryan Patmintra am Montag mit.
Mit einem ähnlichen Vorhaben in Großbritannien war Wilders Anfang des Monats gescheitert. Auch dort wollte er auf Einladung eines Mitglieds des Oberhauses den Film zeigen. Die britische Regierung belegte den Rechtspopulisten jedoch wegen Islam-feindlicher Äußerungen mit einem Einreiseverbot. Er sei nicht willkommen, weil er eine Bedrohung für "die Harmonie der Gemeinschaft und damit die öffentlichen Sicherheit" darstelle, erklärte die Regierung. Film-Vorführung nicht öffentlich >>> Ag | Dienstag, 24. Februar 2009
IRAN CHAMBER SOCIETY: This crown was used by Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, in his coronation on 25 April 1926. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, also used the crown in his coronation on 26 Oct. 1967.
The crown was designed and built by a group of Iranian jewellers, under the supervision of Haj Serajeddin, the famous jeweller who had been in the employ of the Amir of Bokhara and had later emigrated from the Soviet Union to Iran. The stones were selected from loose stones in the treasury.
The crown made of red velvet, gold, and silver. It has a total height of 29.8 cm. and has a width of 19.8 cm. It weighs 2,080 grams. The are 3,380 diamonds employed on the crown, totalling 1,144 cts. The largest is a brilliant-cut yellow diamond of 60 cts. which is located in the center of the front jewel sunburst. There are also 369 perfectly-matching natural pearls in three rows on the crown. Of the 5 emeralds, totalling 200 cts., the largest is approximately 100 cts. The largest sapphire is 20 cts.
The design of the crown incorporates a motif of the Sassanid dynasty, which ruled over the Persian Empire from the 3rd through the 7th centuries AD. [Source: Iran Chamber Society]
Netanjahu-Regierung beunruhigt Europa
Die Aussicht auf eine rechtsgerichtete Regierung in Israel löst in der Europäischen Union grosse Besorgnis aus. Die Sorge gilt vor allem den schwierigeren Ausgangsbedingungen für den Friedensprozess. >>> vin/ap | Montag, 23. Februar 2009
Reza Pahlavi: "Ahmadinejad est un cavalier de l'Apocalypse"
Reza Pahlavi est le Prince héritier en exil. Ahmadinejad, estime-t-il, est le cavalier de l'Apocalypse. Photo grâce à L'Express
L’EXPRESS: Il a vécu la révolution islamique et fut emporté par les événements. En exil depuis trente ans, Reza Pahlavi, fils du dernier chah d'Iran, aurait pu tirer un trait sur son passé et choisir de changer de destin. Il a préféré le risque et un combat improbable. Régulièrement menacé de mort, il poursuit sa difficile résistance et publie Iran, l'heure du choix (Denoël), un livre d'entretiens avec Michel Taubman dans lequel il entend dissocier le peuple iranien du régime qui le tyrannise. Bien que les "experts", ainsi que tous les séides de la République islamique, ne voient guère d'avenir politique à Reza Pahlavi, l'homme persiste à croire à une stratégie d'alternance pacifique. Sur la nature fanatique du régime de Téhéran, les projets nucléaires d'Ahmadinejad, l'arc chiite à travers le Moyen-Orient, son analyse apporte un éclairage aux complexités iraniennes.
La République islamique d'Iran vient de fêter ses 30 ans. Quel regard portez-vous sur ces trois décennies?
Je ne peux m'empêcher de comparer ce qu'est devenu l'Iran à ce qu'il aurait dû être. Au lieu d'aller de l'avant, on n'a fait que reculer. Il y a trente ans, il y avait certes des problèmes, comme l'absence de libertés politiques, que je condamne sans réserves, mais nous étions un pays en plein développement, une société en cours de modernisation, dont le niveau de vie s'élevait. Aujourd'hui, un tiers de la population vit au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté, la fuite des cerveaux a produit une hémorragie, les tensions interethniques divisent la société, les minorités sont persécutées, et la drogue, la prostitution, la corruption ne cessent de se répandre. Sans parler d'une répression touchant toute la société et de l'absence totale de liberté. L'Iran aurait pu être la Corée du Sud ; il est devenu la Corée du Nord. Le plus dramatique, c'est que deux générations ont été sacrifiées. A quelle fin ?
Etes-vous amer?
Pas du tout. D'abord, il y a l'humour iranien, comme le prouve ce dicton populaire : "Hier, on buvait en ville et on priait à la maison ; aujourd'hui, on prie à l'extérieur et on boit à l'intérieur." Et puis, je crois qu'il faut envisager la révolution islamique comme une expérience supplémentaire dans un pays qui est déjà passé par des phases historiques extrêmement difficiles. Ce n'est pas la première fois que l'Iran est à l'épreuve. Nous avons été maintes fois envahis, agressés, occupés. Certes, la crise est désormais intérieure. Mais, si l'on ose une comparaison avec l'Europe, souvenez-vous que vous avez également connu, il y a quelques siècles, une période où la religion étouffait la société. Cela a précédé l'avènement des Lumières et l'éclosion des droits de l'homme. >>> Par Christian Makarian | Vendredi 20 Février 2009
Under the programme, which is costing just £2 million, the Czech state will pay for a one-way air or rail fare and provide 500 euros (£440) in cash to any foreign worker who wants to go home and can prove that they have been laid off from a legitimate job and have no means of support.
Ivan Langer, the interior minister, explained that if the scheme proved popular with migrant workers then he would ask the government to extend it beyond an initial eight-month period.
The Czech Republic's once booming economy attracted thousands of migrant workers, who flooded into the country from afar a field as Mongolia and Vietnam to work in flourishing sectors such as the car industry and construction.
Conservative estimates now put the number of foreigners working in the Central European country at 300,000, and that they now represent 6 per cent of the Czech workforce.
But with the small country reeling from the global recession, unemployment in January rose to a 21-month high of 6.8 per cent, and migrant workers are expected to bear the brunt of the lay-offs. >>> By Matthew Day in Warsaw | Monday, February 23, 2009
An Opinion on Iran from the Other Side – The Islamic Revolution in Iran: The Intellectual and Economic Dimensions
THE TRIPOLI POST: “In a world where no moral and ethical rules seem to prevent the strong and the powerful from devouring the rights of the weak, realism teaches us that only the strong and well prepared can survive.”
In 1979, the Islamic movement in Iran became the first movement in modem times to achieve a remarkable and significant success.
The details of how this success was achieved offer fascinating insights into the wisdom and courage of leadership that established an Islamic government in a country that was the hub of the CIA's espionage activities, and where a ruthless secret police particularly targeted those who wished to establish Islam. But that was thirty years ago.
A whole new generation of Iranians has matured since that transforming year, and today Iran faces a new set of internal and external challenges that must be recognized by the Islamic leadership of that country as well as Muslim leaders elsewhere.
Here, we can only highlight elements of the experience in Iran that are particularly important for the broader Islamic movement, rather than providing a detailed outline and analyses of the challenges that now confront Jomhuri-ye Islāmi-ye Irān.
Today, 70 percent of Iran's 70 million people are less than 35 years of age. 22.5 million Iranians (or 33 percent of the population) are between the ages of 15 and 29. This means that most Iranians have grown up without any experience or memory of pre-revolutionary times.
These young Iranians have no idea of the horrible conditions their parents and grandparents faced, nor of the tremendous sacrifices that were made to establish the Islamic state. These young men and women have no doubt heard about the Revolution, but the Revolution is not part of their own personal experience. They cannot really be expected to share the revolutionary fervour of their parents' generation.
This becomes clear as one walks through the streets of Iran's major cities and meets these young men and women. They are not really all that interested in a by-gone revolution, and perhaps have heard too much about it. As is the case with young people everywhere, they are more interested in the future--especially their own futures- than in the past.
Of course, there is still a generation of Iranian Muslims who took part in the Revolution and who remember what Iran was like before 1979, and this generation is able to guide many institutions of contemporary Iran, but this situation is changing. As the new generation takes over, the spirit of the Revolution diminishes. >>> By B Y Muhammad | Friday, February 20, 2009
THE AUSTRALIAN: TWO Saudi police officers were beheaded by the sword after being convicted of raping an expatriate woman.
Corporal Shaalan bin Nasser al-Qahtani and Lance Corporal Fahd bin Hassan al-Sebeyi were convicted of attacking an expatriate and raping his niece at a checkpoint they were manning in the capital.
They had stopped them late in the night, beat the man up and locked him in a police car and then raped the woman.
The two men were arrested shortly after the victims reported them at the nearest police station.
Their executions bring to 11 the number of beheadings announced by the Saudi authorities since the beginning of the year. A total of 102 people were executed last year.
In 2007, a record 153 people were executed in the country, which applies a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law. That figure compared with 37 in 2006 and the previous record of 113 in 2000.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, where executions are usually carried out in public. [Source: The Australian] Agence France-Presse| Saturday, February 21, 2009
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "Sie wollen nur das: Im Namen Allahs Krieg führen"
WELT ONLINE: Pakistan hat mit Islamisten einen Waffenstillstand vereinbart, der die Einführung der Scharia erlaubt. Ziel ist, einen militärischen Konflikt zu verhindern. Eine trügerische Hoffnung, sagt die niederländische Islamkritikerin Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Denn Vereinbarungen mit radikalen Muslimen verschaffen ihnen nur Zeit, sich auf den nächsten Krieg vorzubereiten.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali lebt nun an einem geheimen, sicheren Ort in den Niederlanden. Foto dank der Welt
Ayaan Hirsi Ali wurde vor allem durch ihr Drehbuch für den Film „Unterwerfung“ des Regisseurs Theo van Gogh bekannt, der im Jahr 2004 von einem islamistischen Fanatiker ermordet wurde. Die gebürtige Somalierin war drei Jahre lang Abgeordnete des niederländischen Parlaments, bis sie 2006 wegen des Vorwurfs falscher Angaben bei der Einbürgerung ihr Mandat niederlegte. Im Oktober 2007 kehrte sie nach knapp einem Jahr in den USA zurück in die Niederlande. Die 39-Jährige lebt an einem geheimen, sicheren Ort. >>> Von Nathan Gardels | Montag, 23. Februar 2009
YOUTUBE: Submission / Unterwerfung – Ayaan Hirsi Ali mit Theo Van Gogh
Police Fear Mass Protests and a 'Summer of Rage' in Response to Economic Crisis
MAIL Online: Police are bracing themselves for a 'summer of rage' against the economic crisis, a senior officer warned today.
Superintendent David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan Police's public order branch, said he feared there could be 'mass protest' at rising unemployment, failing financial institutions and the downturn in the economy.
The officer told The Guardian that 'known activists' were planning returns to the streets, and intelligence revealed that they may be able to call on more protesters than normal due to the unprecedented conditions.
He said: 'Those people would be good at motivating people, but they haven't had the "footsoldiers" to actually carry out (protests).
'Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions, changes that. Suddenly there is the opportunity for people to mass protest.'
Mr Hartshorn, who is regularly briefed on potential causes of civil unrest, singled out April's G20 summit of the leading developed nations in London as one of the events that could kick start a series of protests.
'We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the sites as the highlight of what they see as a "summer of rage",' he said. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, February 23, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Give Us Laws that the City Will Respect and Fear
Mug some one in the street and you go to prison, but mug their savings and you can buy a yacht. It's a disgrace to justice
Our system for regulating markets and for prosecuting market crime is completely broken. If you mug someone in the street and you are caught, the chances are that you will go to prison. In recent years mugging someone out of their savings or their pension would probably earn you a yacht.
How did we get here? Well, financial deregulation undoubtedly released great energy and wealth into the markets and did so in part by giving bankers and financiers more space. But this space had another effect. It created a growing distance between wealthy and powerful individuals and the agencies designed to police their behaviour.
Not sensing the danger in this, our two main political parties supported looser regulation over many years. Now, apparently tainted by past misjudgments, they are deeply compromised in trying to find solutions. Yet put simply the scale of failure is laid bare by one inevitable consequence clear for all to see: too many people and too many institutions function as though they are beyond the reach of the criminal law.
In Britain we had an additional burden: legislators who preferred criminal justice to be an auction of fake toughness, so long as the toughness was not too tough to design. So no one likes terrorists? Let's bring in lots of terror laws, the tougher the better.
Let's lock up nasty people longer, and for longer before they are charged. Let's stop medieval clerics winding up the tabloids.
Let's stop off-colour comedians outraging homophobic preachers. Let's pretend that outlawing offensiveness makes the world less offensive.
This frequently made useful headlines. But it didn't make our country or any other country a better or safer place to live. It didn't respect our way of life. It brought us the War on Terror and it didn't make it any easier for us to progress into the future with comfort and security.
Our legislators faltered because they seemed to ignore the fact that what makes good politics doesn't always make good policy. And they didn't want to tackle the more complex issues that really affect safety in people's lives. It was easier to throw increasingly illiberal sound bites at a shadowy and fearsome enemy. >>> Ken Macdonald | Monday, February 23, 2009
Cairo Market Blast: Bombers 'Targeted Western Tourists'
THE TELEGRAPH: Terrorism returned to the streets of Egypt's capital, Cairo on Sunday when a bomb tore through a crowded market, killing at least four people, including a French tourist.
The attack, which was apparently targeted on Westerners, took place beside the 12th century Al-Hussein mosque, a notable tourist attraction in the old quarter of Egypt's capital. About 17 people were wounded in the explosion, including 11 French visitors and one Austrian.
A police officer said that a hand grenade had probably caused the blast. The device was thrown into a crowded tea house beside the mosque, perhaps by someone riding a passing motorcycle. Some reports suggested that a second grenade was also used, but it failed to explode. The security forces cordoned off the area, bringing in sniffer dogs to hunt for more devices, and blood was seen splattered on the marble pavement stones.
"I was praying and there was a big boom and people started panicking and rushing out of the mosque, then police came and sealed the main door, evacuating us out of the back," said Mohammed Abdul Azim, 56, who was inside the Al-Hussein mosque when the attack took place. "We thought that Egypt was the only country safe from bombings," he added.
The mosque is found in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, an area of Old Cairo popular with foreign visitors. Tour groups are often to be seen inside its winding alleys, lined with slender minarets representing some of the best examples of medieval Islamic architecture. >>> By Dina Kraft in Tel Aviv | Sunday, February 22, 2009
leJDD.fr: Une Française tuée au Caire
Un attentat a frappé un site touristique de la capitale égyptienne dimanche soir. Selon les premières informations données par des sources policières égyptiennes, quatre personnes auraient succombé à l'explosion d'une bombe lancée depuis une moto, dont une ressortissante française. Dix touristes français et un allemands figurent également parmi les blessés.
Quatre personnes, dont une Française et un autre touriste, ont été tuées dimanche au Caire par l'explosion d'une bombe lancée sur une place bondée, ont fait savoir les autorités égyptiennes. L'attentat a été commis peu après la tombée de la nuit près du bazar historique de Khan el-Khalili, dans l'est de la capitale, où les touristes achètent des colifichets et fréquentent cafés et restaurants. Le ministre égyptien de la Santé, Hatem el Gabali, a déclaré qu'une femme de nationalité française figurait parmi les morts et que 17 autres personnes étaient blessées, dont dix touristes français, un Allemand et trois ressortissants saoudiens.
A Paris, où le président Nicolas Sarkozy a adressé un message de condoléances à la famille de la personne française tuée au Caire, l'Elysée a fait état de sept Français parmi les blessés. Selon des représentants de la sécurité égyptienne, six d'entre eux sont dans un état grave. "Nous avons entendu un bruit énorme sans savoir de quoi il s'agissait", a dit un témoin à la télévision d'Etat égyptienne. "Ce sont des touristes innocents, qui ne font pas de politique et viennent visiter notre pays." Selon des témoins cités par des responsables de la sécurité, un engin a explosé après avoir été lancé d'une moto en marche, et des artificiers en ont désamorcé un deuxième qui n'a pas explosé. >>> Par Alain KURAS-ARMAND (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Dimanche 22 Février 2009
NZZ Online: Mehrere Tote bei Explosion in Kairo: Französische Touristin Opfer - Mehr als 20 Verletzte
Bei einer Explosion auf dem von Touristen gern besuchten Chan-al-Chalili-Markt in Kairo sind mindestens vier Personen getötet worden, darunter eine Französin. Ausserdem gab es mehr als 20 Verletzte.
Bei einer Explosion auf dem von Touristen vielbesuchten Chan-al-Chalili-Markt in Kairo sind mindestens vier Menschen getötet worden, darunter eine Französin und ein weiterer ausländischer Tourist. Verletzt wurden mehr als 20 Menschen.
Paris bestätigte ein französisches Todesopfer. Die ägyptischen Sicherheitskräfte sprachen am späten Abend von 22 Verletzten, unter ihnen 15 Franzosen, ein Deutscher, drei Saudi-Araber sowie drei Ägypter. Drei Franzosen seien schwer verletzt. Das Aussenministerium in Bern hatte am Sonntagabend keine Kenntnis von allfälligen Schweizer Opfern. >>> sda/dpa/Reuters/afp | Sontag, 22. Februar 2009
Le groupe UDC fait bloc autour de l’initiative sur les minarets
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: UDC | Le groupe UDC des Chambres fédérales soutient à l’unanimité l’initiative contre les minarets.
Le parti entend ainsi "stopper l’islamisation rampante de la Suisse et le minage constant de notre Etat de droit", a communiqué samedi l’UDC. "Les minarets n’ont pas de caractère religieux, mais sont des symboles de puissance et l’expression d’une culture intolérante".
L’initiative populaire fédérale "contre la construction de minarets" déposée en juillet 2008 vise à inscrire cette interdiction dans la Constitution fédérale. Les minarets ne sont mentionnés ni dans le Coran, ni dans d’autres écritures saintes de l’islam, selon l’UDC. Ils sont le symbole d’un pouvoir politico-religieux, des signes de victoires, de conquêtes. "Ils sont surtout l’expression d’une culture intolérante qui place le droit islamique, un droit donné par Dieu, au-dessus du droit national". >>> AP | Dimanche 22 Février 2009
Antisemitismus: Viele junge Muslime haben mit Juden ein Problem
WELT ONLINE: "Du Jude" rufen sich muslimische Schüler manchmal untereinander zu – es ist als Beleidigung gemeint. Von solchen Verhaltensweisen berichtet eine neue Studie. Experten bezweifeln zwar, dass viele junge Muslime hierzulande eingefleischte Judenhasser sind. Doch der latente Antisemitismus ist weit verbreitet.
„Sind Juden!“ So antwortet ein 17-jähriger Jugendlicher mit libanesischem Familienhintergrund auf die Frage, warum er meine, dass seine Lehrer es ihm in der Schule so schwer machen. Das Beispiel ist nur eines von vielen aus der Untersuchung „Die Juden sind schuld – Antisemitismus in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft am Beispiel muslimisch sozialisierter Milieus“, die am Montag in Berlin vorgestellt wird.
Herausgeber sind die Amadeu-Antonio-Stiftung und das Zentrum für Demokratische Kultur; die Präsentation übernimmt der Grünen-Vorsitzende Cem Özdemir. Zu Wort kommen Islamwissenschaftler, Sozialarbeiter und Pädagogen, die über ihre Erfahrungen mit muslimischen Jugendlichen berichten.
„Antisemitismus hat in der muslimischen Bevölkerung sehr unterschiedliche Ursachen“, sagt die Extremismus-Expertin Claudia Dantschke. „Ausgeprägt sind anti-jüdische Tendenzen etwa bei rechtsextremen Türken oder Arabern, deren Familien vom Nahost-Konflikt betroffen sind. Dann wieder gibt es den Mainstream, der Stereotype unreflektiert aufgreift, etwa vom reichen Juden erzählt, der die Medien manipuliert.“ Mit der Veröffentlichung solle vor allem darauf aufmerksam gemacht werden, dass das Problem dringend einer genauen empirischen Untersuchung bedarf, die bisher in Deutschland nicht existiert.
Viele Lehrer und Pädagoginnen in Jugendeinrichtungen berichten von Fällen spontaner antisemitischer Äußerungen („Du Jude“, „schwuler Jude“) oder Weigerungen, Gedenkstätten und Jüdische Museen zu besichtigen. „Nur in seltenen Fällen sind solche Positionen wohl als Ausdruck einer umfassenden antisemitischen Weltanschauung unter Jugendlichen arabischer, türkischer oder muslimischer Herkunft zu werten“, sagt der Islamwissenschaftler Jochen Müller. >>> Von Freia Peters | Sontag, 22. Februar 2009
Scharia in Pakistan: Das Grauen im Postkartenidyll
DIE PRESSE: Die Regierung gibt radikalen Islamisten nach und führt im Nordwesten des Landes die Scharia wieder ein. Die USA zeigen sich über die Pläne als „Kapitulation vor den Taliban“ besorgt.
Islamabad/Delhi. Die malerische Landschaft passt nicht zum Grauen, das hier herrscht: grüne Täler, eine gewaltige Bergkulisse, atemberaubende Panoramen. Nicht ohne Grund nennen sie das Swat-Tal im Nordwesten Pakistans die „Schweiz Asiens“. Es ist ein Postkartenidyll, das jahrzehntelang tausende Touristen anlockte. Jetzt will niemand mehr kommen. Heute dürfen Frauen unverschleiert nicht mehr auf die Straße, Mädchen dürfen nicht zur Schule gehen, Dieben wird die Hand abgehakt, und wer Wein trinkt, wird mit 40 Peitschenhieben bestraft.
Seit Monaten wüten hier radikale Islamisten, bald soll auch offiziell die Scharia gelten – das islamische Recht, das mit drakonischen Strafen gegen alle vorgeht, die sich nicht an die Regeln halten, die den Menschen angeblich zu Gott führen. Die Einführung der Scharia war ein Zugeständnis von Pakistans Präsident Asif Ali Zardari an die Islamisten im Gegenzug für einen Waffenstillstand. >>> Sasha Zastiral | Freitag, 20. Februar 2009
Dutch Jews Slam Christian 'Peace by Conversion' Group
HAARETZ: Dutch Jews are accusing a Christian organization of insulting Jews and Muslims by trying to convert them under the banner of promoting peace and interfaith dialogue.
The Jewish community's umbrella group, the Central Jewish Committee, issued an unusually harsh statement about a conference held by the Christian organization Cornerstone in the town of Soest, near Utrecht, yesterday.
The organizers of the conference, which drew hundreds to Soest's Juliana Church, advertised it under the slogan: "The path: Reconciling Jews with Arabs." Preceding the event was a visit by Cornerstone leaders to a Dutch concentration camp.
"It is an insult and maltreatment of the Jewish and Muslim faiths to suggest that their followers can only coexist in peace if they convert to Christianity," the Committee wrote.
One of the organizers, Cornerstone's Jaap Broker, labeled this criticism "laughable," adding that the conference was not geared toward conversion. He nonetheless added that "the only path to reconciliation is to accept Jesus Christ as one's Savior." >>> By Cnaan Liphshiz | Sunday, February 22, 2009
Muslim Peer Claims Politicians Are Scared* of Discussing Polygamy
THE TELEGRAPH: Politicians are too scared to discuss multiple marriages in case they offend Muslims, shadow minister for Community Cohesion Baroness Warsi has claimed.
Baroness Warsi wishes that all marriages be registered, as civil ceremonies are, in order to put a stop to polygaamous marriages in the UK. It is believed that polygamous marriages are on the increase in the UK. Photo of Baroness Warsi courtesy of The Telegraph
The Muslim peer blamed "cultural sensitivity" for the failure to tackle the problem of polygamy.
She wants the Government to consider ordering that all religious marriages must be registered, as civil ceremonies are, in order to stop men marrying more than one wife.
More than 1,000 British men are thought to have more than one wife.
Although bigamy is illegal in the UK, those who have moved here after marrying more than one woman in Islamic countries are allowed to remain in polygamous partnerships – and can even claim benefits for their additional spouses.
Lady Warsi, the shadow minister for community cohesion, told the BBC: "There has been a failure on the part of policymakers to respond to this situation.
"Some of it has been done in the name of cultural sensitivity and we've just avoided either discussing or dealing with this matter head-on.
"There has to be a culture change and that has to brought about by policymakers taking a very clear stance on this issue, saying that in this country, one married man is allowed to marry one woman." >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, February 21, 2009
*We are being ‘led’ by a pack of wimps! – Mark
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Polygamy Claimants Keep the Money
Ministers decided not to force through plans to cut benefits to hundreds of polygamous families in the UK after officials advised that the move would be too politically sensitive.
Internal documents obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveal that ministers from four departments ordered an “urgent review” of the position of up to 1,000 men with “multiple wives”, amid complaints that they were claiming millions in benefits.
However, the Government decided against altering the status of polygamous families after it was warned that it could contravene human rights legislation – and officials assured that the benefits system was geared to ensure there was “no financial advantage to claiming for those in polygamous marriages”.
Details of the response to the complaints came after the Tory frontbencher Baroness Warsi accused politicians of failing to deal with the issue because of “cultural sensitivity”. The Muslim peer urged the Government to consider the mandatory registration of all religious marriages to stop men in Britain from marrying more than one woman.
Four departments embarked on the review in 2006 following a parliamentary question on the benefits payable to polygamous families. Ministers were told that, before 1988, benefit was paid to anyone who could establish they were in polygamous relationships, but “this was narrowed to polygamous marriage following press interest in people in hippie communes living off the state”.
Britain recognises polygamous marriages from countries where such unions are legal, although a man is prevented from bringing another wife into this country if a woman is already living as his wife in the UK. [Source: The Independent on Sunday] By Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor | Sunday, February 22, 2009
