Bishop Orders Episcopal Priest to Renounce Islamic Faith
USA TODAY: PROVIDENCE — An Episcopal priest in Seattle is fighting attempts by Rhode Island Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf to defrock her for practicing Islam and Christianity at the same time.

Ann Holmes Redding, who marks the 25th anniversary of her ordination on March 25, says she believes she can practice both faiths and should not have to recant her Muslim beliefs.

Redding, a former Brown University student and parishioner at St. Stephen's Church in Providence, was ordained by Wolf's predecessor. Wolf is her canonical superior because Redding never shifted her canonical residence to Seattle.

Wolf has told Redding that her conversion to Islam constitutes an abandonment of the Christian faith and she must recant by March 30 or lose her status as a priest. [Source: USA Today] AP | Monday, 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA) >>>

Science and Faith: The Conflict
THE TELEGRAPH: A new film opening at the Cambridge Science Festival this evening attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

Charles Darwin. Photo courtesy of Google Images
Brain-scanning experiments carried out by scientists last week revealed that religious faith is embedded deep within key parts of the brain. This suggests that belief in a higher power evolved at some early point in human history.

Scientists argued that it explained the widespread nature of religion among human cultures, but the findings also highlighted a growing tendency for science to be used as a way of attacking religion.

It comes at a time when the gulf between science and religion could not seem any wider.

As the scientific community celebrates 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin in 2009, and 150 years since the publication of his famous work that explained how life evolved on Earth, the conflict between religion and science seems to be escalating.

Darwin's own life could be seen as almost synonymous with the battle that is now raging between faith and science. As a student he joined Cambridge University with the intention of studying to become a clergyman, but found himself distracted by an interest in collecting beetles.

His hobby led him to become the greatest naturalist of all time. But throughout his life he struggled to reconcile his religious views with his theories on evolution through natural selection.

Today, many leading scientists who hold religious beliefs now face a similar internal struggle as they wrestle with mounting scientific evidence that forces them continually to reassess their view of the Bible.

The mounting debate over evolution and creationism has now left many people asking whether science and religion can ever coexist, or even if scientific research will eventually bring an end to religious belief entirely.

This week, however, leading scientists will debate the issue at the Cambridge Science Festival at the premiere of a new film that attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

A growing number of scientists who also hold religious beliefs are now speaking out against the growing antagonism that is emerging between scientists and members of the religious community in many parts of the world. >>> By Richard Gray | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

Britain Showing Signs of Heading Towards 1930s-style Depression, Says Bank
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is showing signs of sliding towards a 1930s-style depression, the Bank of England says today for the first time.

The country is displaying early symptoms of being trapped in a so-called “debt deflation trap” where families find themselves pushed further and further into the red every month, according to a Bank report published today.

The stark warning will cause serious concerns, since it was this combination of falling prices and soaring debt burdens that plagued the US in the 1930s.

The Bank is using its Quarterly Bulletin to highlight the threat posed to the economy by deflation – where prices fall each year rather than rise.

Although inflation is currently in positive territory, it is expected to become negative in the coming months.

The Bank is worried that this may combine with high levels of indebtedness to squeeze families further.

It says that families with high debts could fall prey to the debt deflation trap. This means that the cost of their debts, which are fixed, would rise compared to average prices throughout the economy. While inflation erodes debts, deflation makes them relatively higher.

The Bank’s paper suggests that Britain is particularly at risk because there is a high proportion of families with significant levels of debt, and many of them are on fixed mortgage rate, which means they will not benefit from rate cuts.

Britons’ total personal debt – the amount owed on mortgages, loans and credit cards – is, at £1.46 trillion, more than the value of what the country produces in a year.

Total personal debt has risen by 165 per cent since 1997 and each household now owes an average of about £60,000.

The Conservatives claim this is the highest personal debt level in the world. >>> By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Paulina Neuding*: Welcome to Ramallmö
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: How a tennis match sparked riots in Sweden.

"This is how it was last time too," said a Holocaust survivor, when she was escorted from Malmö's main square by the police. "We had to leave the square, while they got to stay."

On January 27th, it had been almost a month since the Israeli military operation Cast Lead was launched in Gaza. A couple of hundred people, mostly Jews, had gathered in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö, to show their support for Israel. Their slogans--"Israel's right to self defense" and "Compassion with all civilian victims"--were met with shouts of "Sieg Heil" and "Damn Jews" by a group of mainly Arab and left-wing counter protesters. Stones, eggs, and bottles were thrown, and when a home-made bomb was fired at the Jewish group police finally decided to evacuate. The pro-Israeli protesters fled, while children ran after them with cell phones to report back into the crowd where the Jews were heading.

One protester I spoke with was among those who refused to run. "I already left Poland forty years ago," she said. "They will not chase me away this time."

Last Saturday, roughly a month after the mob met Jews off Malmö's main square, the city was again shaken by riots. Seven thousand activists gathered to stop a Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel, and the demonstration march was also a manifestation of the ideological confusion that has become the trademark of the Swedish pro-Palestinian movement. Hamas flags and headbands could be spotted next to banners supporting communist groups and feminist causes.

The protesters were met by the largest Swedish riot squad since the anti-globalization riots convulsed the city of Gothenburg in 2001. In order to take on radical Islamists, left-wing extremists, and a small group of neo-Nazis that had announced that they too wanted to show their resentment toward Israel, the Swedish police prepared with 1,000 officers, helicopters, police vehicles on loan from neighboring Denmark, and a platoon of "dialogue officers." Dressed in yellow vests, the specially educated dialogue police officers were on hand to sooth the violent extremists. But despite the preparation, the police could not prevent rioting.

On their end, left-wing Swedish politicians worked to grant legitimacy to the protests. After war broke out in Gaza, a majority in the local Malmö council decided that no audience would be allowed at the Davis Cup games between Sweden and Israel. The representative of the Left Party (as the Communist Party was rechristened in 1990) made it clear that the decision was due to Israel's "genocide" against the people of Gaza.

The popular mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu, who is often referred to by the nickname "Malmö's strong man," is one of the most influential figures of the Social Democratic Party. He told the assembled media before the match that, were it up to him, Israel wouldn't be allowed to participate at all. "This is not a match against just anyone," he explained. "It is a match against the state of Israel." >>> By Paulina Neuding | Friday, March 13, 2009

*Paulina Neuding is an editorial page contributor to the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – Sweden) >>>

Janet Daley: The Republicans Can Take Heart as Barack Obama Staggers to the Left
THE TELEGRAPH: The President's recent display of liberalism – and confusion – can only help the opposition, says Janet Daley.

Very odd things are happening under Obama’s administration, says Janet Daley. Photo of Presdient Obama courtesy of The Telegraph
The Republicans now believe they have a grip on what Barack Obama is about. At least for this week. The grip is subject to reappraisal because Mr Obama has developed a gift for reinventing himself with remarkable alacrity. One very senior commentator on the Right said to me, "First we had Candidate Obama, who was a liberal [ie Left wing]. Then we had President-Elect Obama, who was post-partisan and centrist. Now we have President Obama, who has reverted to being ultraliberal."

The question of who Mr Obama really is, and what he truly believes, underlies the growing list of Very Odd Things that seem to be happening under his administration. Among the most perplexing of these mysteries is why, when he went to such pains to assemble a huge and widely experienced team of White House economic advisers (even going to the lengths of parading them at a press conference before he took office) he then handed over the actual drafting of his economic policy to the old Democratic fixers in Congress. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, are now, for all intents and purposes, running the Obama recovery plan.

Even if you do not regard the former as a monster and the latter as pretty hopeless, one thing is for sure: bipartisan they are not. So there is nothing very centrist about the budget which they are hoping to push through under the banner of Obama's "change we can believe in". The result: this is a $3.6 trillion Pelosi budget, embodying most of the wish-list of liberal projects that the Left of the Democratic Party has been dreaming of for more than 20 years. Should we assume, then, that this is what Mr Obama always wanted? Or that he is simply out of his depth and being steamrollered by the formidable Democratic machine in Congress? >>> Janet Daley | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Marxist Muricio Funes Is New President of El Salvador
Mauricio Funes and wife Vanda Pignato as he declares victory. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A party of former Marxist guerillas has gained power in El Salvador, bringing an end to 20 years of conservative rule.

Mauricio Funes, leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), declared himself President late on Sunday night as early counting gave him 51.2 per cent of the vote with more than 90 percent of ballots counted. Shortly afterwards his rival, the right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, conceded defeat

"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Mr Funes told a news conference as jubilant supporters, dressed in red, poured on to the streets of San Salvador cheering and waving FMLN flags. "This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope."

The FMLN and the military government fought a bloody 12-year civil war between 1980 and 1992 in which 75,000 people died. The FMLN's victory will place El Salvador firmly on the Latin American left-of-centre axis led by President Chávez of Venezuela.

Although Mr Funes, 49, has promised unity, the rise to power of the FMLN will be watched closely by Washington, already unnerved by the "pink tide" sweeping Central America. >>> Anne Barrowclough | Monday, March 16, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Linkskandidat wird neuer Präsident in El Salvador

Mauricio Funes hat die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador aller Voraussicht nach gewonnen. Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN erklärte sich zum Sieger der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl. Funes versprach Frieden für das Land, andere warnen vor Kommunismus und dem Einfluss Kubas.

Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN, Mauricio Funes hat nach Auszählung von mehr als 90 Prozent der Stimmen die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador gewonnen. Der 49-Jährige erreichte bei der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl 51 Prozent der Stimmen. Sein Gegner von der Regierungspartei Arena, Rodrigo Ávila (44) brachte es auf 48 Prozent.

Damit muss die rechte Arena-Partei zum ersten Mal seit rund 20 Jahren in die Opposition. Mehr als 4000 nationale und internationale Beobachter waren im Einsatz, darunter mehrere Dutzend aus Europa. Schwerwiegende Zwischenfälle wurden nicht gemeldet.

Funes erklärte sich am Abend zum Wahlsieger, noch ehe die Oberste Wahlbehörde das offizielle Ergebnis mitgeteilte hatte. Er wandte sich an die Nation und versprach, er wolle dem von Bürgerkrieg und sozialen Gegensätzen gespaltenen Land endlich den Frieden bringen. „Ich möchte zum Präsidenten des Friedens und des Wiederaufbaus werden“, rief er den jubelnden Anhängern zu. „El Salvador gehört uns allen.“ >>> dpa/lk | Montag, 16. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA) >>>

More Than Three-quarters of Britons Want to See Jobless Immigrants Forced to Leave UK
MAIL Online: More than three-quarters of Britons believe jobless immigrants should be asked to leave the UK, according to a new poll.

The finding will raise fears that the far-Right BNP could prosper in the recession as unemployment rises.

In addition, more than half of the adults in Britain who took part in the FT/Harris survey opposed the right for citizens from other European Union countries to work here.

Outspoken immigration minister Phil Woolas admitted that the Government, despite years of tough talking on immigration, had yet to convince many voters that it had properly tightened Britain's borders. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Pauline Hanson Red-faced Over Raunchy Photos
Photo of Pauline Hanson courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A set of risque photographs taken 30 years ago has threatened to derail the latest attempt at a comeback by Australian far right politician Pauline Hanson.

Ms Hanson, who briefly achieved international infamy with a campaign against Asian immigration in the 1990s, was aged around 19 when the pictures were taken by her then boyfriend, former army commando Jack Johnson.

They showed the former leader of the One Nation party partially naked and dressed in lingerie after a drunken night at a luxury Queensland resort.

Mr Johnson, who sold the pictures to Australia's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, said he was digitising his old photographs when a friend saw the images of Ms Hanson and suggested he could make some money out of them.

"Sorry it's come to this, sweetheart - that's the way it is," Mr Johnson told the newspaper. >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Sunday, March 15, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Pauline Hanson Denies Nude Photographs Are of Her

Mystery surrounds a set of nude pictures allegedly taken 30 years ago of the Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson.

The photographs, published across Australian media at the weekend, purport to show the former One Nation leader partially naked and in skimpy lingerie.

But Ms Hanson says the photographs are not her, and has threatened to bare her belly button to prove it.

Jack Johnson, the "former boyfriend" who sold the pictures to the Sunday Telegraph for A$15,000 (£7,000), admitted today that he could not remember when or where the pictures were taken.

The former army commando also said that he could not remember the surname of the girl he photographed after a drunken night out in Queensland in th 1970s.

He told Australia's Seven Network that he knew "in my heart of hearts" that the girl in the photographs was Ms Hanson.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asked in an apparent admission that he may have misidentified the woman in the pictures. "I was never the smartest cookie in the barrel." >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>

Fury as Islamic Extremist Who Abused British Troops Is Given 24-hour Police Protection
MAIL Online: An Islamic extremist who abused British soldiers during a homecoming parade has sparked further outrage after he was given 24-hour police protection.

Yousaf Bashir was part of a gang that hurled abuse at 200 members of the Royal Anglian Regiment as they marched through Luton last Tuesday after a second tour of duty in Iraq.

The moves comes after the semi-detached home Bashir shares with his parents was attacked on Friday.

Two downstairs windows and the glass in the front door were smashed, and the rear windows of two cars parked in the driveway were shattered.

Two police officers have been stationed in a marked car outside the property since the attacks and a CCTV camera has also been installed. >>> By Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

Far-right Party in Israel Coalition
DAILY EXPRESS: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has signed a coalition agreement with a far-right party.

The deal means that Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, would become Israel's foreign minister.



He has drawn accusations of racism for proposing that Israel's Arab citizens sign loyalty oaths or lose their citizenship. 



Although that plan is not likely to be implemented, his designation as foreign minister could harm Israel's international ties. 



The European Union urged Netanyahu to craft a government that embraces the long-standing goal of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.

 Lieberman as foreign minister could be seen in Europe as a setback to Middle East peace efforts. 



"Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will relate to an (Israeli) government that is not committed to a two-state solution will be very, very different," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief, said. >>> | Monday, March 16, 2009

leJDD.fr: Netanyahou serre à droite

Le Likoud est parvenu à un accord avec le parti d'extrême-droite Israël Beitenou, en vue de la formation d'un gouvernement d'union en Israël. Benjamin Netanyahou devrait confier le portefeuille des Affaires étrangères à Avigdor Lieberman. Même s'il faudra d'autres alliés pour s'assurer d'une majorité stable à la Knesset, le prochain gouvernement israélien penchera fortement à droite.

C'était écrit. Le prochain gouvernement israélien serait à droite ou ne serait pas. L'accord conclu dimanche à minuit entre le Likoud de Benjamin Netanyahou et Israël Beitenou, le parti d'extrême droite dirigé par Avigdor Lieberman, signe le virage à droite du paysage politique israélien même s'il faudra d'autres alliances pour s'assurer d'une majorité à la Knesset où siègent les députés. Avec 42 sièges sur 120, la coalition Likoud-Beitenou est en effet encore loin de la majorité absolue des 61 sièges. Mais cet accord signé à l'arraché dimanche soir, après des heures d'âpres négociations, est une première étape d'importance pour Benjamin Netanyahou qui ne dispose plus que de quelques jours pour présenter son gouvernement au président Shimon Pérès. La porte reste ouverte à Kadima... >>> Par Jérôme GUILLAS, leJDD.fr | Lundi 16 Mars 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

La guerre de l'«or bleu» menace la planète
LE FIGARO: La seule véritable «guerre de l'eau» a eu lieu il y a 4 000 ans. Mais l'ONU presse les gouvernements d'intégrer la politique hydrique à leur agenda prioritaire.

La guerre de l'eau menace la planète - même si les experts s'accordent à penser qu'elle peut être évitée. L'ONU n'en dresse pas moins un constat alarmant, dans un rapport publié la semaine dernière, qui lance à la communauté internationale un appel pressant à l'action.

Selon ce document, si la gestion actuelle, «non durable et inéquitable» de l'eau se poursuit, les conséquences seront «graves» pour le développement et la sécurité des hommes dans plusieurs régions du monde.

En Afrique et en Asie notamment, l'eau se raréfie, sous la double influence de la croissance démographique et du changement climatique, exacerbant les tensions économiques et politiques, en particulier dans les zones transfrontalières. La situation est particulièrement critique en Afrique subsaharienne, où la gestion des ressources en eau est notablement dégradée.

L'Égypte, le Soudan et l'Éthiopie sont virtuellement en état d'«hydroconflictualité» pour le contrôle du Nil dont les eaux n'atteignent plus la mer. Au Zimbabwe, l'épidémie de choléra, qui a fait plus de 4 000 morts depuis août dernier, est due à la déliquescence des structures hydriques du pays. Sur le continent, les experts n'excluent pas qu'éclatent des «émeutes de l'eau», comme il y a eu, il y a quelques mois, des émeutes de la faim. Quant au conflit israélo-arabe, les enjeux représentés par la maîtrise des approvisionnements en eau ne sont plus à démontrer. Le Tibet, «château d'eau» de l'Asie >>> Alain Barluet | Lundi 16 Mars 2009

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

Obama bin White House Goes Upbeat on the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has launched an upbeat strategy over the economy in the face of approval ratings that have dipped below those of George W Bush at the same stage of his presidency.

President Brack Hussein Obama realizes that being downbeat on the economy doesn’t pay. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama is changing his rhetorical course after criticism from fellow Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, that he has sounded too negative in the first weeks of his presidency.

This week he will speak forcefully to Congress and the public about the need to pass his $3.6 trillion budget, which will double the national deficit, while stressing his belief that there is hope ahead.

Mr Obama's sky-high approval ratings have fallen in the past couple of weeks amid widespread gloom over the economy. His approval rating is between 56 and 60 per cent, lower than George W Bush's at a similar stage of his presidency. Barack Obama Goes Upbeat on Economy After Popularity Declines >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Anjem Choudary Investigated by Police Over Mujahideen Fundraising
THE TELEGRAPH: Police are investigating whether a radical Muslim who has called for money to be collected for Islamic fighters has committed a criminal act.

Photo of Anjem Choudary courtesy of The Telegraph
Anjem Choudary, whose supporters hurled abuse at soldiers from the Royal Anglian regiment returning from Afghanistan last week, can be heard on a website calling for other Muslims not to save money for their families but to give it to "mujahideen" - holy warriors - instead.

The term is usually used to refer to fighters "defending Muslim lands" such as Afghanistan and Iraq, who are prepared to die as martyrs.

In the recording, posted on the site Islam4UK, Choudary said: "People looking for a place for their money to go so they can go to the front line and they can't find it.

"You have opportunity to carry dawah [spreading the word] to society . . . and you have money that can go towards the dawah, you have money that can go towards the mujahideen."

Choudary added: "When you are working collectively . . . people supporting the mujahideen, people collecting money for the dawah or giving money to the mujahideen, he [the devil] will come to you then. He will divert you, he will say to you, 'This money is needed for your family'." >>> By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA) >>>

I Want to See Flag of Allah Flying Over Downing St
Anjem Choudary wants the ‘flag of Jihad’, or the ‘flag of Allah’, flying over Downing Street. Photo of the preacher of hate courtesy of the Evening Standard
EVENING STANDARD: A Muslim fundamentalist leader today told of his vision of Britain under Sharia law.

Anjem Choudary said he wanted the “flag of Allah” flying over Downing Street, all women wearing burkas and caning for drunkenness.

He is the leader of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, founded as a successor to the banned fundamentalist sect al-Muhajiroun, which was led by now-exiled preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad.

The self-proclaimed Sharia judge admitted his followers had organised protests against British soldiers in Luton this week, waving placards which called them “murderers” for their conduct in Iraq.

Mr Choudary, a 41-year-old lawyer, said he was proud to be reviled. “It's inevitable that when you offer an alternative morality and way of life many people will hate you for it.”

He said this “alternative morality” would mean “a pure Islamic state with Sharia law in Britain” and added: “Every woman, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, would have to wear a traditional burka and cover everything apart from her face and hands in public.”

“In matters to do with the judicial system and the penal code, one male witness is sufficient to counter the testimony of two females. People who commit adultery would be stoned to death.”

Mr Choudary, a father of three, admitted he lived off benefits despite objecting to the British state. He rejected suggestions of hypocrisy, saying: “I don't think it's of any importance.” [Source: Evening Standard] Friday, March 13, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Man Accused of Beheading Wife Arraigned
Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan, the founder of Bridges TV, the man who beheaded his wife in Buffalo, USA, pleaded “not guilty” on Friday. Photo of the Pakistani who wanted to bring his barbaraian ways to civilization courtesy of Newsday
NEWSDAY: BUFFALO - The founder of a Muslim-American television station pleaded not guilty Friday to beheading his estranged wife.



Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan, 44, is charged with one count of second-degree murder for the Feb. 12 death of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan at the offices of Bridges TV in the suburb of Orchard Park.



The Pakistani-born businessman, who has been in custody since reporting his wife's death soon after it happened, remained held without bail.



"The proof of guilt in this case is strong," prosecutor Colleen Curtin Gable told Erie County Judge Thomas Franczyk. She cited alleged admissions, forensic evidence and "strong motive evidence." Aasiya Hassan was stabbed multiple times and decapitated less than a week after having her husband served with divorce papers.

"We believe he would and could flee the jurisdiction if released," Gable said in arguing against bail.



Defense attorney James Harrington did not oppose the position.



Hassan did not speak during his brief arraignment, except to tell the judge he understood the proceedings.



Harrington declined to comment afterward.



The case against Hassan is striking in its irony. Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan launched the Bridges TV network in 2004, saying they wanted to counter negative stereotypes and media portrayals of Muslims.



Harrington has dismissed suggestions by some that the beheading was a so-called "honor killing," rooted in cultural notions about women's subordination to men.



District Attorney Frank Sedita said Muzzammil Hassan's two teenagers by a previous marriage and the two young children he had with the victim are living with relatives.



Bridges TV was off the air in the days following the killing, but has since resumed broadcasting. [Source: Newsday] The Associated Press | Friday, March 13, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Govt to Slash Immigration Intake
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: CANBERRA – Cuts to the nation's skilled migration intake will help protect local jobs, Immigration Minister Chris Evans says.

The federal government will slash the skilled migration program by 14 per cent, or 18,500 jobs, over the next three years.

The cuts will be coupled with deletions to the critical skills list, which specifies which jobs are open to migrants.

All building and manufacturing trades will be removed, forcing companies to find bricklayers, plumbers, welders and carpenters domestically.

Employers can bring in foreign workers only if they cannot source the labour locally.

Mr Evans says the government wants to ensure migrant workers are not competing with Australians for jobs during the economic downturn. >>> ©2009 AAP | Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>

My Imam Father Came After Me with an Axe*
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Hannah Shah had been raped by her father and faced a forced marriage. She fled, became a Christian and now fears for her life

Hannah Shah, the daughter of an imam, has had to flee the clutches of a tight-knit Deobandi Muslim community here in the UK. She now fears for her life. Photo courtesy of Times Online
We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet sitting in front of me is a British woman whose life has been threatened in this country solely because she is a Christian. Indeed, so real is the threat that the book she has written about her experiences has had to appear under an assumed name.

The book is called The Imam’s Daughter because “Hannah Shah” is just that: the daughter of an imam in one of the tight-knit Deobandi Muslim Pakistani communities in the north of England. Her father emigrated to this country from rural Pakistan some time in the 1960s and is, apparently, a highly respected local figure.

He is also an incestuous child abuser, repeatedly raping his daughter from the age of five until she was 15, ostensibly as part of her punishment for being “disobedient”. At the age of 16 she fled her family to avoid the forced marriage they had planned for her in Pakistan. A much, much greater affront to “honour” in her family’s eyes, however, was the fact that she then became a Christian – an apostate. The Koran is explicit that apostasy is punishable by death; thus it was that her father the imam led a 40-strong gang – in the middle of a British city – to find and kill her.

Hannah Shah says her story is not unique – that there are many other girls in British Muslim families who are oppressed and married off against their will, or who have secretly become Christians but are too afraid to speak out. She wants their voices to be heard and for Britain, the land of her birth, to realise the hidden misery of these women.

Hannah’s own voice is quiet and emerges from a tiny frame. She is clearly nervous about talking to a journalist and the stress she has been under is betrayed by a bald patch on the left side of her head. Yet she has a lovely natural smile, especially when she reveals that she got married a year ago; her husband works in the Church of England, “though not as a vicar”.

I tell Hannah that the passages in her memoir about her sexual abuse are almost impossible to read – but I also found it hard to understand why, now that she is in her early thirties, independent and married, she has not reported her father’s horrific assaults on her to the police.

“What has stopped me is that if my dad went to prison, the shame that would be brought upon the rest of the family would be horrific. My mum would not be able to . . . I mean, it’s bad enough having a daughter who’s left, is not agreeing to her marriage and is now a Christian. Then to have my dad in prison would be the end for her.”

I tell Hannah, perhaps a little cruelly, that in her use of the word “shame” she is echoing the sort of arguments that her own family had used against her. >>> Dominic Lawson | Sunday, March 15, 2009

*So what is this weak, ineffectual, marshmallow, appeasing government going to do about this sad state of affairs? Sweet words just will not do. They won't cut the mustard. We need ACTION!

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Dutch Teens Convicted of Insulting Jews Ordered to Visit Anne Frank House
HAARETZ: A Dutch judge has ordered four teenagers to visit the Anne Frank House museum after finding them guilty of discrimination for insulting Jews at a rally.

The boys, aged 14 to 17, must turn in a report to the Hague Police Judge about their visit the canal house in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazi occupiers during World War II.

The four boys were convicted Friday for insulting Jews who were protesting Israel's military attack on Gaza. Prosecutors say two boys held a banner with a swastika superimposed on the Star of David, and two shouted "Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas."

The judge also convicted and fined three adults for shouting anti-Semitic slogans at the Jan. 18 rally in The Hague. [Source: Haaretz] The Associated Press | Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Living Under Sharia: The Plight of Women in Saudi Arabia
OEN: Islamic legal code, the Sharia, continues to make grounds in the West. Sharia Court, operational in Canada since 1991, was abolished in 2006 in the face of intense campaign from human rights activists. Although widely practiced by the Muslim community over the year, Sharia Court received official recognition in the U.K. for dealing with civil and some criminal cases (domestic violence etc.) in 2007. Since some 40% British Muslims want the establishment of Sharia Court with a fewer of them opposed to it, this is possibly the first-step in the gradual process of establishing full-fledged Islamic legal codes in Britain. As Muslim immigrants in the West, from Europe to North America, are showing increasing support for Sharia, demand for Sharia Court in other Western countries will definitely intensify in light of this British concession.

What people in the West must make themselves aware of is that Sharia laws are extremely discriminatory, indeed humiliating and degrading, toward non-Muslims. It is also highly discriminatory and humiliating toward Muslim women. In order to get a grasp of the nature of Sharia law, one may have a look at Afghanistan under the Taliban, Iran and Saudi Arabia, where Sharia laws are applied to varying strictness. In the wake of the just-concluded International Women’s Day, this essay will attempt to make it clear what Sharia law means for Muslim women.

When Australian Mufti Taj al-Din al-Hilali raised furor in 2006 by calling unveiled women “uncovered meat” to suggest that eighteen such white women, raped (some even gang-raped) by Muslim youths in a Sydney neighborhood in 2000, actually invited the horrendous act upon themselves. Most Australians and Westerners have viewed it as utterance of a deranged ignorant cleric, not representing the Islamic creed and community. However, an investigation of the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia—the birth-place and heartland of Islam—reveals a strong Islamic rational behind the Mufti’s assertion.

Saudi Arabia, the sacred land of Islamic devotion, is the best place for evaluating the status of women in Islam, where Islamic holy laws—the Sharia, which should ideally guide Islamic societies for eternity—are implemented most rigorously amongst Islamic countries. The Saudi Basic Law says: >>> M A Khan | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

BNP Member Attacked with Hammer
BBC: A British National Party (BNP) member was attacked with a hammer when protesters arrived at a campaign event in Greater Manchester.

Tony Ward was hit with a hammer, and was caused “grievous bodily harm”. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Violence broke out as 30 people surrounded a BNP vehicle outside the Ellesmere Pub in St Helens Road in Leigh on Friday evening, said police.

Tony Ward, 48, was hit with a hammer and later treated in hospital.

A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm has since been given police bail.

Officers arrived at the pub to discover the BNP's trailer had been overturned, said a police spokesman.

A traffic diversion was put in place on St Helen's Road, while the trailer was removed and the road was closed. It has since reopened.

One witness told BBC News: "They had hammers and they smacked the vehicle to pieces, smashed all the windows and tore off the bumper, completely decimated it.

"I was shocked at what I saw."

A BNP fundraising event had been due to take place at Pure nightclub in Leigh, but it was cancelled at the last minute.

Simon Darby, the party's deputy leader said: "This was a violent attack by a group of thugs in which one of our members was badly injured.

"But we will not be put off."

The BNP's Nick Griffin has been in the area to host the event, said Mr Darby. [Source: BBC] Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Vatican Says Islamic Finance May Help Western Banks in Crisis
BLOOMBERG: The Vatican said banks should look at the rules of Islamic finance to restore confidence amongst their clients at a time of global economic crisis.

“The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service,” the Vatican’s official newspaper Osservatore Romano said in an article in its latest issue late yesterday.

Author Loretta Napoleoni and Abaxbank Spa fixed income strategist, Claudia Segre, say in the article that “Western banks could use tools such as the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, as collateral”. Sukuk may be used to fund the “car industry or the next Olympic Games in London,” they say.

Pope Benedict XVI in an Oct. 7 speech reflected on crashing financial markets saying that “money vanishes, it is nothing” and concluded that “the only solid reality is the word of God.” The Vatican has been paying attention to the global financial meltdown and ran articles in its official newspaper that criticize the free-market model for having “grown too much and badly in the past two decades.”

The Osservatore’s editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, said that “the great religions have always had a common attention to the human dimension of the economy,” Corriere della Sera reported today. >>> By Lorenzo Totaro | Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Hat tips: Always On Watch and Infidel Bloggers Alliance

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

Islamisierung durch Multikulti-Wahn und Zuwanderung (Bischof Mixa)

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Doubts on Muslim Integration Rise in Europe
Part 1:


Part 2
Part 3
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Griechische Polizei von linker Gewalt überfordert
DIE PRESSE: Seit Monaten verüben autonome Untergrund-Organisationen in Griechenland Anschläge gegen Banken und Unternehmen. Die Polizei ist überfordert, nun soll Scotlandy [sic] Yard helfen.

Experten der britischen Polizeibehörde Scotland Yard sollen ihren Kollegen in Griechenland helfen, eine seit Monaten andauernde Gewaltwelle Autonomer zu beenden und zwei als äußerst gefährlich geltende linke Untergrundorganisationen zu zerschlagen. Die ersten britischen Experten werden an diesem Montag in Athen erwartet, wie die Athener Zeitung "Kathimerini" am Sonntag berichtet. >>> Ag | Sonntag, 15. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Billy Briggs –The Far Right Is On the March Again: The Rise of Fascism in Austria
MAILOnline: In Austria's recent general election, nearly 30 per cent of voters backed extremist right-wing parties. Live visits the birthplace of Hitler to investigate how Fascism is once again threatening to erupt across Europe.

Former Waffen SS officer and unrepentant Nazi Herbert Schweiger. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
Beneath a leaden sky the solemn, black-clad crowd moves slowly towards a modest grey headstone. At one end 
of the grave, a flame casts light on the black lettering that is engraved on the marble. At the other end, an elderly soldier bends down to place flowers before standing to salute.

From all over Austria, people are here to pay their respects to their fallen hero. But the solemnity of the occasion is cut with tension. Beyond the crowd of about 300, armed police are in attendance. They keep a respectful distance but the rasping bark of Alsatians hidden in vans provides an eerie soundtrack as the crowd congregates in mist and light rain.

We’ve been warned that despite a heavy police presence journalists have often been attacked at these meetings. If trouble does come then the mob look ready to fight. There are bull-necked stewards and young men who swagger aggressively.

This is a neo-Nazi gathering and in the crowd are some of Austria’s most hard-faced fascists. Among them is Gottfried Kussel, a notorious thug who was the showman of Austria’s far-right movement in the Eighties and Nineties until he was imprisoned for eight years for promoting Nazi ideology.

Today he cuts a Don Corleone figure as he stands defiantly at the graveside. His neo-Nazi acolytes make sure no one comes near him and our photographer is unceremoniously barged out of his way.

Ominous-looking men with scars across their faces whisper to each other and shake hands. These are members of Austria’s Burschenschaften, an arcane, secretive organisation best known for its fascination with fencing, an initiation ceremony that includes a duel in which the opponents cut each other’s faces, and for its strong links to the far right.

Incredibly, standing shoulder to shoulder with these hard-line Nazi sympathisers are well known Austrian politicians. At the graveside, a speech is made by Lutz Weinzinger, a leading member of Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO)[sic], who pays tribute to the fallen. 

This is a gathering in memory of an Austrian-born Nazi fighter pilot, who during WWII shot down 258 planes, 255 of them Russian. Such was Major Walter Nowotny’s standing at the time of his death in 1944 that the Nazi Party awarded him a grave of honour in Vienna’s largest cemetery, close to the musical legends Mozart, Brahms and Strauss.

But in 2005 that honour was revoked and his body moved to lie in an area of public graves. The decision infuriated the far right and made their annual pilgrimage an even greater event.

Today, the anniversary of Nowotny’s death, also coincides with Kristallnacht, the ‘night of broken glass’ in 1938 when 92 people were murdered and thousands attacked across Germany as stormtroopers set upon Jews in an outpouring of Nazi violence.

Some 70 years on from that infamous pogrom, the world faces a similar financial crisis to the one that precipitated the rise of Hitler and, in chilling echoes of Thirties Europe, support for far-right groups is exploding. Hitler’s birthplace has become the focus for neo-Nazis across the world.

And so I [Billy Briggs] have come to Austria to investigate how Fascism and extremism are moving, unchecked, into the forefront of its society. >>> Billy Briggs | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Minister Beaten after Clashing with Muslims on His TV Show
MAIL ON SUNDAY: A Christian minister who has had heated arguments with Muslims on his TV Gospel show has been brutally attacked by three men who ripped off his cross and warned: ‘If you go back to the studio, we’ll break your legs.’

The Reverend Noble Samuel was driving to the studio when a car pulled over in front of him. A man got out and came over to ask him directions in Urdu.

Mr Samuel, based at Heston United Reformed Church, West London, said: ‘He put his hand into my window, which was half open, and grabbed my hair and opened the door.

He started slapping my face and punching my neck. He was trying to smash my head on the steering wheel.

Then he grabbed my cross and pulled it off and it fell on the floor. He was swearing. The other two men came from the car and took my laptop and Bible.’

The Metropolitan Police are treating it as a ‘faith hate’ assault and are hunting three Asian men. >>> By Jonathan Petre | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Peter Hitchens: What Do We Expect If We Treat Our Own Nation with Such Contempt?
MAIL ON SUNDAY: The insulting anti-British demonstration in Luton is a sign that we are losing – and may already have lost – the most important battle for survival in our modern history.

Our political leaders like to pretend they are defending us against all kinds of perils – especially bogeymen such as Al Qaeda.

I have always thought this was humbug, partly designed to conceal their failure to protect us from the real perils of the EU and the destruction of our culture.

Now you can see, in those Luton faces, exactly what I mean.

For years these same leaders have been the active allies of a real enemy right here among us.

That enemy is the deliberate destruction of Britain, the smearing of its history, the mocking of decent patriotism, the undermining of loyalty.

Those who were rightly angered at the ill-mannered and contemptuous display in Luton – the scowling menfolk and their sullen, shrouded women – should aim their anger not at these misguided individuals but at the liberal Left which has brought us to this point. >>> Peter Hitchens | Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Nawaz Sharif Placed under House Arrest
Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. Photo courtesy of Times Online
TIMESONLINE: Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani opposition leader, was placed under house arrest for three days early this morning to stop him from joining an anti-government protest march that has raised fears of a return to military rule.

Hundreds of riot police surrounded his home in the eastern city of Lahore after negotiations with the government collapsed, despite the intervention of Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.

Police moved in after Mr Sharif, a former Prime Minister, gave a rousing speech to his supporters last night, urging them to take to the streets to "fight this obsolete system" of government.

"The winds of change are blowing, and nobody can stop them," he said.

"Whoever tries to stop them will be destroyed." >>> Jeremy Page, Lahore and Zahid Hussain, Islamabad | Sunday, March 15, 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Pakistan: l'opposant Nawaz Sharif défie son assignation à résidence

LAHORE | Le principal dirigeant de l'opposition pakistanaise, Nawaz Sharif, est sorti dimanche de sa villa de Lahore (est) pour prendre la parole devant ses partisans, défiant son assignation à résidence qu'il a qualifiée "d'illégale".

"Nous ne pouvons accepter cette décision. L'assignation à résidence est illégale et immorale. Toutes ces décisions sont contraires à la Constitution", a déclaré Nawaz Sharif, qui est sorti de sa villa où il était assigné à résidence depuis le matin pour s'adresser à une foule de ses partisans.

"Venez me rejoindre. Je quitte ma maison. L'heure est venue de marcher main dans la main. Ils ne peuvent nous arrêter", a lancé l'ancien Premier ministre.

"Ils ne peuvent contenir les émotions du peuple. Les gens ont attendu ce jour depuis longtemps", a-t-il ajouté. >>> AFP | Dimanche 15 Mars 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA) >>>

Luton's Muslim Extremists Defy Public Anger
THE TELEGRAPH: The Muslim extremists in Luton who jeered British troops returning from Iraq are continuing to defy public anger despite the simmering tension it has caused in a racially-mixed town.

Fighting in the way of Allah in Luton. The flag of Jihad courtesy of Google Images
The Islamic extremist was in full flow, bellowing out his message on a busy street in Luton.

"British soldiers ... murderers ... rapists ... not heroes ..." Most passers-by ignored him.

A few, mostly young Muslim men on their way home from afternoon prayers, paused to listen and were immediately approached by the white-capped preacher's fellow radicals, eager to recruit new members to their cause.

Suddenly a mustachioed businessman in Muslim dress strode over the group, jabbed a finger towards the preacher and shouted: "You are giving Muslims a bad name!"

The radicals argued with him and tried to manhandle him away from the scene. For a moment the confrontation threatened to turn ugly until the businessman decided to walk away, still seething, but his point firmly made.

The angry scene encapsulated the tension that has hung over Luton since the preacher and the rest of his group staged a demonstration last week as 200 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment paraded through the Bedfordshire town after a gruelling tour of duty in Iraq. >>> By David Harrison | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Firebrand Risks Jail in Call for Jihad Cash
TIMES ONLINE: Islamist extremist Anjem Choudary has been caught on tape urging an audience to raise funds for the 'mujaheddin'

Firebrand Anjem Choudary now risks jail for urging an audience to raise cash for the Jihad. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
OUTWARDLY he presents an innocuous image as a be-spectacled father of three trained in the law. But Anjem Choudary is now considered by many politicians and religious leaders as the most dangerous Islamist extremist in Britain.

He has previously made no secret of his demands that the country be placed under sharia - Islamic law. This would mean all women would have to wear veils, adulterers would be stoned to death and drunks whipped in public.

Last Tuesday Choudary and his small but obsessive group of followers turned their bile on British troops parading through Luton after their return from service in Iraq.

While his placard-waving “students” fomented a near-riot by branding the men and women of the Royal Anglian Regiment as “butchers” and “cowards”, Choudary, who was not present, did not shrink from fanning the flames of outrage.

Within hours of the ugly confrontation in Luton, he had posted a message on the Islam4UK website, calling the troops “pompous” and accusing them of murdering women and children in Iraq.

He later gave a glimpse of his vision of Britain in a newspaper interview, calling for the “black flag of Allah” to be raised over Downing Street.

In the absence of his former guru, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed - a firebrand preacher banned from Britain - and with Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric of Finsbury Park mosque, in jail, Choudary appears to have installed himself as the country’s most vocal Islamist.

He has always been at pains to keep his public proselytising within the boundaries of British law.

Now Choudary, 41, a founder member of the British wing of Al-Muhajiroun, an extremist group, has been caught on tape urging an audience to raise funds for the “mujaheddin” - a phrase usually associated with insurgents in Iraq and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, it is an offence to “invite another to provide money or other property” for the purposes of terrorism. Offenders risk a prison sentence of up to 14 years. >>> Abul Taher and Daniel Foggo | Sunday, March 15, 2009

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Hate Cleric Leads Jihad Cash Appeal

Anjem Choudary, who led protests against returning British troops, has urged his followers to send money to 'mujaheddin'

Photo of Anjem Choudary courtesy of The Sunday Times
AN Islamic cleric, whose supporters led a hate-filled protest against British troops returning from Iraq, has urged his followers to give cash to front-line mujaheddin fighters.

A recording has emerged of Anjem Choudary, a self-styled sharia judge and former leader of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun, telling his followers to stop spending their money on their families and divert it to Muslim soldiers waging jihad, or holy war.

There were demands for Choudary to be investigated by police. He has previously called for British women to be forced to wear burqas and for adulterers to be killed. Several radical preachers have previously been jailed for urging British Muslims to give money to Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Iraq.

The emergence of the tape coincided with the death yesterday of a British soldier in Afghanistan, the 150th to die there since 2001. The soldier of the 2nd battalion, Royal Welsh regiment, was on foot patrol. >>> Abul Taher and Daniel Foggo | Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Government Adviser on Islamic Terror Arrested after Man Is Stabbed at His Home
Inayat Bunglawala is waiting to find out whether he will face charges over an alleged stabbing. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
MAIL Online: A Muslim who advised the Government following the July 7 London bombings has been arrested after an alleged stabbing.

Inayat Bunglawala, 39, was held on suspicion of attacking another man at his £300,000 home.

Mr Bunglawala, who also briefed former Security Minister Tony McNulty on the threat posed by Islamic radicals in the UK, was arrested two weeks before Christmas last year.

The identity of the alleged victim is unknown and it is not clear what circumstances led to the alleged attack in the early hours of December 13 last year.

Mr Bunglawala has been released on bail while the Crown Prosecution Service considers bringing charges.

Mr Bunglawala is one of the most prominent members of the Muslim Council of Britain, an organisation which advises the Government on extremism and counter-terrorism.

After the July 7 London bombings in 2005, he was one of seven Muslims appointed to a Home Office taskforce tackling radicalisation in the UK.

Last week, Mr Bunglawala was featured on the BBC and in many newspapers as the moderate ‘voice’ of British Islam after the Luton anti-war demonstrations. >>> By Tom Harper | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

We Must Stop Appeasing Islamist Extremism
THE TELEGRAPH: We can expect Luton-style protests and worse in the years to come unless the Government gets a grip on Islamism, says Ed Husain.

’Flag of Jihad’ courtesy of Google Images
There is something happening inside Britain's Muslim communities. The disgraceful, treacherous protest in Luton last week at the homecoming of the brave Royal Anglian regiment is an indication of resurgent extremism. Does our Government have the political stamina to fight it?

It's comfortable for us to think that these are the actions of a small minority – but are they? The vile mob that hurled abuse against returning troops does not operate in a vacuum, somehow removed from other Muslims. Only two weeks ago, the same group of extremists openly marched in Tower Hamlets, Britain's most densely populated "Muslim area". Where was the local outrage against these bigots? The nearby east London Mosque – Europe's largest Muslim institution – sends groups of young vigilantes to hound local prostitutes and drug dealers, but it turns a blind eye to extremism.

This nationwide network of fanatics, who give themselves various names at different times to deceive the authorities – from al-Muhajiroun to the Saved Sect – is an offshoot of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that shares al-Qaeda's aim of a global caliphate, but uses different methods.

At Quilliam, a counter-extremism think tank, a research team monitors these groups. In recent months, we have seen an increase in their activities and detected a more confrontational mood. It came as no surprise when the CIA warned President Obama last month that the greatest immediate threat to US homeland security was from militant Islamists in Britain with ties to Pakistan. British troops in Afghanistan have reported Britain-based technical support for Taliban operations.

For me, these are symptoms of failed Muslim leadership, a timid civil society and a British Government that, three years after the July 7 bombings, is still unsure how best to proceed. >>> By Ed Husain* | Saturday, March 14, 2009

*Ed Husain is co-director of Quilliam, and author of 'The Islamist'

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Barack Obama's Aides Admit Errors Are Making Him Less Popular
THE TELEGRAPH: Senior aides of US President Barack Obama privately admit that a series of presentational errors have contributed to falling popularity with voters and pundits alike.

His staff are being warned to get a firmer grip now he has passed the 50-day mark in the White House, and prevent a repeat of the mistakes that marred the last seven weeks.

A White House official last week passed details to The Sunday Telegraph of Mr Obama's desire to avoid a repeat of such errors as the inept handling of Gordon Brown's recent visit to Washington.

The concession came as allies of Mr Obama have begun breaking cover to question his performance and leadership on the economic meltdown and public diplomacy.

A new poll revealed that the president's personal approval ratings have slumped to levels below those of George W. Bush at the same stage of his first term, undermining the common assumption that Mr Obama is enjoying unusual levels of public popularity. The Rasmussen survey found that Mr Obama enjoys the confidence of just 56 per cent of voters, with 43 per cent who do not have confidence and a third strongly disapproving of his early performance. >>> By Tim Shipman in Washington | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Bin Laden: Gaza Offensive a Holocaust
YNET NEWS: Osama Bin Laden slams Arab leaders for 'collaborating with Israel,' failing to stop Gaza op

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused several Arab countries of collaborating with Israel in a new audio recording aired by al-Jazeera Saturday.

"It's clear that a number of Arab leaders have collaborated with the Zionist-crusader coalition against our people," Bin Laden said.

He also dubbed Israel's offensive in Gaza a "holocaust" and blamed Arab leaders for not doing enough to stop the fighting. He did not name any specific countries.

"The disaster in Gaza is an important historical event. It is a sudden disaster that constitutes a significant milestone. The path to al-Aqsa mosque requires true and honest leadership," he said.

The Qatar-based Arabic satellite network did not say how it obtained the recording, and the authenticity of the tape could not be verified. >>> Roee Nahmias and AP | Saturday, March 14, 2009

LA REPUBBLICA.it: Bin Laden accusa i leader arabi
"Complici di Israele contro Islam"

Nuovo messaggio audio del capo di Al Qaeda su Al Jazeera
"Collaborano con l'alleanza tra crociati e sionisti"

ROMA - Osama Bin Laden torna a far sentire la sua voce. Il leader di Al Qaeda ha accusato, in un nastro audio trasmesso dalla tv al Jazeera, alcuni leader arabi di complottare con l'occidente contro i musulmani. ''E' chiaro - dice Bin Laden nella registrazione - che alcuni leader arabi sono stati complici dell'alleanza tra crociati e sionisti contro la nostra gente. Questi leader sono proprio quelli che l'America definisce moderati''. >>> | Sabato 14 Marzo 2009

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Bin Laden fordert Mord an moderaten Araber-Führern

Kairo/Washington - Der weltweit meist gesuchte Terrorist, Osama bin Laden, hat in einer neuen Audio-Botschaft zum Mord an gemäßigten arabischen Führern aufgerufen.

«Die Herzen unserer Herrscher sind wie die unserer Feinde», sagte Chef des Terrornetzes El Kaida laut einer Abschrift des auf islamistische Webseiten spezialisierten IntelCenters mit Sitz nahe Washington. «Euch den Hals durchzuschneiden, ist mithin eine religiöse Verpflichtung», heißt es demnach in der am Samstag vom arabischen Fernsehsender Al-Dschasira ausgestrahlten Botschaft. Ob die Botschaft wirklich von Bin Laden stammt, war laut dem Sender zunächst aber unklar. >>> © dpa | Samstag, 14. Marz 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

U.S. Won’t Label Terror Suspects as ‘Combatants’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Obama administration said Friday that it would abandon the Bush administration’s term “enemy combatant” as it argues in court for the continued detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in a move that seemed intended to symbolically separate the new administration from Bush detention policies.

But in a much anticipated court filing, the Justice Department argued that the president has the authority to detain terrorism suspects there without criminal charges, much as the Bush administration had asserted. It provided a broad definition of those who can be held, which was not significantly different from the one used by the Bush administration.

The filing signaled that, as long as Guantánamo remains open, the new administration will aggressively defend its ability to hold some detainees there.

“The president has the authority to detain persons” who planned or aided the 2001 terrorist attacks as well as those “who were part of, or substantially supported, Taliban or Al Qaeda forces,” administration lawyers wrote. >>> By William Glaberson | Friday, March 13, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

A Dubaï, les amoureux ne peuvent se tenir la main ou s'embrasser en public
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MOEURS | S'embrasser, danser, jouer trop fort de la musique en public ou même se tenir la main pour des couples non mariés est considéré comme un comportement inapproprié à Dubaï, selon de nouvelles directives du gouvernement de l'émirat publiées samedi par un quotidien local.

Selon Al-Emarat Al-Youm, le Conseil exécutif de Dubaï (gouvernement local) a exhorté la population de l'émirat, où les étrangers représentent plus de 80% des habitants, à respecter les traditions musulmanes et éviter des comportements jugés inappropriés.

Les règles, qui s'appliquent à tous les lieux publics, comprennent une interdiction de toute forme de nudité, de danser, de jouer trop fort de la musique, l'échange de baisers entre une femme et un homme et même l'interdiction de se tenir par la main pour des couples non mariés.

Tout contrevenant risque une peine de prison, selon le journal. >>> AFP | Samedi 14 Mars 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché et Relié) - Livraison gratuite dans toute la Suisse >>>

Swilling Beer, Smoking Dope and Leering at Porn, the Other Side of Hate Preacher 'Andy' Choudary
As a university student, ‘Andy’ Choudary enjoys a ‘good night out’. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
MAIL Online: The British live 'like animals in a jungle' with their alcohol, gambling, prostitution and pornography.

That is the stated view of Anjem Choudary, the preacher of hate who this week insulted the families of dead soldiers and branded their marching comrades as cowards.

The extremist wants Britain to be brought under Sharia law, with women forced to wear burkas and put to death for adultery.

Yet before he grew his beard and turned to fundamentalism, Choudary, 41, was very much the life and soul of the party at Southampton University.

Photographs obtained by the Mail suggest 'Andy' - as he was then known - should be inflicting on himself the 40 lashes he prescribes for drunkenness.

As well as downing cider and lager, the cleric is shown playing drinking games with cards, clearly forbidden under his strict Islamic laws, and holding a cannabis joint between his lips before smoking it.

And the woman on the cover of the Mayfair pornographic magazine he is looking at is certainly not wearing a burka.

On the evidence of friends from his student days, Choudary had sex with numerous white Christian girls.

Under his version of Sharia law, he should be stoned to death for sex outside marriage.

One former friend said: 'I can't keep a straight face when I see "fundamentalist Muslim Anjem Choudary" in the papers attacking the British for drinking or having girlfriends.

'When I knew him, he liked to be called Andy, would often smoke cannabis spliffs all day, and was proud of his ability to down a pint of cider in a couple of seconds. >>> By Neil Sears | Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Big Brother Brown: The Terrible Price We Are Paying for Muslim Immigration. Not Even Hitler Had This Amount of Control
THE TELEGRAPH: The travel plans and personal details of every holidaymaker, business traveller and day-tripper who leaves Britain are to be tracked by the Government, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Anyone departing the UK by land, sea or air will have their trip recorded and stored on a database for a decade.

Passengers leaving every international sea port, station or airport will have to supply detailed personal information as well as their travel plans. So-called "booze crusiers" who cross the Channel for a couple of hours to stock up on wine, beer and cigarettes will be subject to the rules.

In addition, weekend sailors and sea fishermen will be caught by the system if they plan to travel to another country - or face the possibility of criminal prosecution.

The owners of light aircraft will also be brought under the system, known as e-borders, which will eventually track 250 million journeys annually.

Even swimmers attempting to cross the Channel and their support teams will be subject to the rules which will require the provision of travellers' personal information such as passport and credit card details, home and email addresses and exact travel plans. >>> By David Millward, Transport Editor | Friday, March 13, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Obama Talks to Indonesia, Saudi Leaders on Economy
THE WASHINGTON POST: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama discussed the global economic crisis with his Indonesian counterpart on Friday and explained his commitment to forging better relations with the Islamic world, the White House said.

The U.S. president also discussed the economic crisis and the upcoming Group of 20 summit of developed and developing nations in phone calls with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines, the White House said in a statement.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono, Obama spoke of the need for close cooperation in confronting the economic crisis, it said.

"They agreed to advance our comprehensive partnership with a focus on issues, including education, health care, climate change and counterterrorism," the statement said.

"The two leaders also discussed regional and international issues, including the president's commitment to a new and different kind of relationship with Islamic communities around the world," it said. "They also discussed how to make progress on democracy and human rights in Burma."

Obama spent part of his childhood in Jakarta and attended school there. After a previous conversation, Yudhoyono told a local newspaper that Obama had greeted him in Indonesian. >>> Reuters | Friday, March 13, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)