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.
Friday, June 05, 2009
A Triumphant Day for Geert Wilders in the Netherlands
TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders' far-Right anti-immigration party made significant gains in the European Parliament elections in the Netherlands on Thursday, according to exit polls.
Geert Wilders, who was banned from Britain by the Home Office because of his controversial views on Islam, won support from Protestant and Catholic voters. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The European Parliament elections had been widely expected to punish governments struggling to cope with the global economic crisis, and polls released by the ANP news agency and broadcaster NOS put the Right-wing Freedom Party on course to win four of the 25 Dutch seats in the parliament, after having none in the previous assembly. This put Mr Wilders' party second only to the ruling Christian Democrats, which got nearly 20 per cent of votes, according to the poll.
Mr Wilders, who was banned from Britain by the Home Office because of his controversial views on Islam, won support from Protestant and Catholic voters disenchanted with what has been perceived as the growing influence of the nation's 800,000 Muslims, many of them immigrants from Morocco and Turkey.
Mr Wilders, whose party was contesting European elections for the first time, campaigned on an anti-EU platform and criticised Turkey's bid to join the EU.
"Should Turkey as an Islamic country be able to join the European Union? We are the only party in Holland that says, it is an Islamic country, so no, not in 10 years, not in a million years," he said. Dutch Far-Right Comes Second in European Parliament Election >>> | Thursday, June 04, 2009
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Wilders Big Winner of Dutch EU Elections
The Party for Freedom of the populist politician Geert Wilders becomes the second biggest party representing in the Netherlands in Europe.
Geert Wilders and his populist Party for Freedom (PVV) appeared to be the big winners of Thursday's elections for European parliament in the Netherlands. Exit polls released soon after the Dutch voting stations closed at 9 p.m. on Thursday evening predicted he would get four of the 25 Dutch seats in the European parliament, making the PVV the second largest of all Dutch parties in Brussels. Wilders, who has become popular in the Netherlands running on an anti-Islam and anti-political establishment platform, promised voters he would be tough on immigration and criticised Turkey's bid to join the EU. "Should Turkey as an Islamic country be able to join the European Union? We are the only party in Holland that says, it is an Islamic country, so no, not in 10 years, not in a million years," Wilders said. >>> NRC Handelsblad News Desk | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Inshallah Somebody Will Shut This Man Up! Shahid Malik on His Objectives for Parliament
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Sharia Law 'Same' as Krays' Rule, Says Lord Tebbit
Lord Tebbit has reignited the row over Islamic courts and their role in the British justice system. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Veteran Tory Lord Tebbit provoked anger among Muslims yesterday by comparing Islamic sharia courts to gangsters.
He likened the tribunals to the 'system of arbitration of disputes that was run by the Kray brothers'.
Lord Tebbit told the Lords: 'Are you not aware that there is extreme pressure put upon vulnerable women to go through a form of arbitration that results in them being virtually precluded from access to British law?'
The intervention from Lord Tebbit, the former Tory chairman and cabinet minister whose leading role in the Thatcher years has made him a revered figure for many in the party, reignited the row over Islamic courts and their role in the British justice system.
Muslim critics called his remarks 'baseless and ignorant'.
Last autumn, ministers confirmed that sharia tribunals may deal with family and divorce disputes among Muslims, and that sharia decisions need only the briefest scrutiny in a law court to win full legal effect.
Five sharia courts currently operate mediation systems approved under the 1996 Arbitration Act.
Their decisions on divorce, money and children can be approved by a family court if they are submitted to a judge for approval. >>> By Steve Doughty | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Hard-right Dutch Maverick Geert Wilders Ahead in EU Polls
THE GUARDIAN: Anti-Islam politician's party could take six seats in European parliament
Geert Wilders, Holland's anti-immigrant, Muslim-baiting maverick, appeared to be heading for a triumph in his first European election tonight, with polls and surveys indicating that he could win the ballot in the Netherlands.
The Dutch, as well as the British, kicked off four days of elections to the European parliament across the EU's 27 countries. Wilders cast an optimistic vote in The Hague and declared that Turkey could not join the EU "in a million years".
A detailed poll-tracking survey, predict09.eu, run by political scientists at the London School of Economics and Trinity College Dublin, indicated that Wilder's Freedom party could take 21% of the vote and six of the Netherlands' 25 seats in Brussels and Strasbourg, ahead of the traditionally governing parties, the Christian Democrats and the Labour party, which are currently in coalition.
Some Dutch opinion surveys supported the poll trackers, or put Wilders neck and neck with the Christian democrats of the prime minister, Jan-Peter Balkenende. A mock election among 15,000 pupils in 140 schools in the Netherlands this week also gave Wilders more than 19% support, ahead of all other parties.
Wilders wants the European parliament abolished, and Bulgaria and Romania kicked out of the EU. The virulence of his anti-Islam and anti-immigrant activities saw him barred from entering Britain this year and the Dutch authorities are prosecuting him for discrimination.
The poll trackers predicted six seats for Wilders, compared with a projection of three a month ago. Opinion poll support for the tall, bleach-haired populist has doubled this year, while his video film Fitna stirred outrage with its graphic depiction of Islam as synonymous with violence and terrorism.
Whether or not he wins, Wilders appeared certain to perform extremely well, highlighting the wave of euroscepticism engulfing the traditionally pro-EU country and union founding member. >>> Ian Traynor in Brussels | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Muslim Americans Serving in the U.S. Government
Hijab : Obama égratigne la France
LE FIGARO: Le président américain Barack Obama a défendu aujourd'hui au Caire le port du voile pour les musulmanes en Occident, prenant le contre-pied de la France.
C'est par trois fois que M. Obama a pris la défense du voile islamique dans son discours prononcé à l'Université du Caire, critiquant le fait qu'un pays occidental "dicte les vêtements" qu'une musulmane "doit porter".
Au nom de la laïcité, la France a banni en 2004 dans les écoles les signes religieux ostentatoires avec une loi interprétée comme ciblant surtout le voile islamique. La polémique fait également rage au Canada et en Allemagne alors qu'en Belgique, 90% des écoles le bannissent et il est jugé "discriminatoire" par un décret du Conseil d'Etat.
"Il est important pour les pays occidentaux d'éviter de gêner les citoyens musulmans de pratiquer leur religion comme ils le souhaitent, et par exemple en dictant les vêtements qu'une femme doit porter", a-t-il lancé.
Sans jamais citer la France ou d'autres pays, il a enchaîné en affirmant qu'"on ne doit pas dissimuler l'hostilité envers une religion devant le faux semblant du libéralisme".
"Je sais qu'il y a un débat sur ce sujet", a encore dit M. Obama avant de trancher sur ce sujet toujours controversé en Occident devant un public trié sur le volet, parmi lequel de nombreuses femmes voilées.
"Je rejette", a-t-il ainsi affirmé, "les vues de certains en Occident" pour qui le fait "qu'une femme choisisse de couvrir ses cheveux a quelque chose d'inégalitaire". Il a encore souligné que "le gouvernement américain s'est porté en justice pour protéger le droit des "femmes et des filles à porter le voile" et "punir ceux qui voudrait leur dénier".
Pour la première fois, une américaine musulmane portant le voile, Dalia Mogahed, d'origine égyptienne, a fait son entrée à la Maison Blanche comme conseillère de Barack Obama.
Mais la question du port du voile, notamment à l'école, met aussi à l'épreuve des gouvernements et opinions publiques dans des pays musulmans. [Source: Le Figaro] AFP | Jeudi 04 Juin 2009
LE FIGARO: Voile islamique : Obama prône la tolérance en Occident
Dans son discours au Caire jeudi, le président américain a pris le contrepied de la France en se positionnant pour le droit des musulmanes à porter le voile dans les pays occidentaux.
Prenant le contre-pied de la France, Barack Obama a défendu jeudi au Caire le port du voile pour les musulmanes en Occident. Au nom de la laïcité, la France a banni en 2004 dans les écoles les signes religieux ostentatoires, dont le voile islamique. La polémique touche également le Canada, la Belgique et l'Allemagne. «Il est important pour les pays occidentaux d'éviter de gêner les citoyens musulmans de pratiquer leur religion comme ils le souhaitent, par exemple en dictant les vêtements qu'une femme doit porter», a dit jeudi Obama. Sans citer aucun pays, il a estimé : «On ne peut dissimuler l'hostilité envers une religion derrière le faux-semblant du libéralisme.» «Je rejette, a-t-il ajouté, les vues de certains en Occident» qui voient «comme une inégalité le fait qu'une femme choisisse de couvrir ses cheveux». Une musulmane voilée, Dalia Mogahed, travaille à la Maison-Blanche comme conseillère d'Obama. Une première. [Source: Le Figaro] Philippe Gélie | Vendredi 05 Juin 2009
President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Cairo, Egypt
NZZ Online: Kommentar: Eine Rede allein genügt nicht
Welche Wirkung der amerikanische Präsident mit seiner Rede in Kairo erzeugen wird, bleibt abzuwarten. Dabei gilt es zu berücksichtigen, dass Barack Obama nicht nur die islamische Welt im Auge hatte, sondern auch das Publikum im eigenen Land. Natürlich ist es für ihn nützlich, bei Muslimen rund um den Globus Sympathien zu erzeugen. Aber was für ihn letztlich zählt, sind die amerikanischen Wähler. Diese wünschen sich durchaus einen Präsidenten, der mit geschickter Politik die Spannungen mit der islamischen Welt abzubauen vermag. Das bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass Obama viel Spielraum besitzt, wo amerikanische Interessen im Kern betroffen sind.
Mehr Erfolg als Bush?
Die Kairoer Rede ist Teil einer Öffentlichkeitskampagne, die der Präsident gleich nach seiner Amtsübernahme lanciert hat. Sein erstes Interview, mit dem Sender al-Arabiya, der Neujahrsgruss ans iranische Volk, die Ansprache vor dem türkischen Parlament und nun der Auftritt am Nil dienten alle demselben Ziel - der Zuhörerschaft zu versichern, dass Amerika die Welt des Islams nicht als Feind betrachtet, sondern ihr mit Respekt begegnet. Völlig neuartig ist das nicht. Schon Bush hat islamische Würdenträger ins Weisse Haus eingeladen, die arabische Hochkultur gewürdigt, den Koran zitiert, Communiqués an die Iraner verschickt und eine Regierungsabteilung geschaffen, die nichts anderes tat, als im Ausland für ein besseres Image Amerikas zu werben. >>> Von Andreas Rüesch | Donnerstag, 04. Juni 2009
LE FIGARO: Fatah et Hamas saluent le changement de ton
REACTIONS - Le mouvement islamiste Hamas estime cependant que l'allocution au Caire de Barack Obama contenait de sérieuses «contradictions».
«Un bon début» selon l'Autorité palestienne. Le président américain a montré dans son discours qu'il y a une «politique américaine nouvelle et différente concernant la question palestinienne», a commenté jeudi un porte-parole du président de l'Autorité palestinienne Mahmoud Abbas. «C'est un discours clair et franc. Il constitue un pas politique innovateur et un bon début sur lequel il faudra bâtir».
Pour le Hamas, «un changement» mais «des contradictions». Le Hamas, le mouvement islamiste qui contrôle la bande de Gaza, a relevé jeudi «un changement tangible» dans le discours du président américain Barack Obama à l'adresse du monde musulman, mais également «des contradictions». «Une des contradictions réside dans le fait qu'il a dit que le Hamas était soutenu par le peuple palestinien mais il n'a pas appelé au respect de la légitimité du Hamas qui a été démocratiquement élu», a ainsi expliqué le porte-parole du mouvement islamiste, Fawzi Barhoum. «Aussi, il a parlé d'une nouvelle politique américaine mais il ne s'est pas excusé pour les politiques erronées qui ont détruit l'Irak et l'Afghanistan», a ajouté le porte-parole. >>> F.G. (lefigaro.fr) avec agences | Jeudi 04 juin 2009
LE FIGARO: Discours d'Obama : le Vatican satisfait
Le Vatican a "beaucoup apprécié" le discours du président américain Barack Obama aujourd'hui au Caire, qui pourrait contribuer à établir de "nouvelles relations avec le monde musulman", a déclaré le porte-parole du Vatican Federico Lombardi à l'agence Ansa.
"Le discours prononcé aujourd'hui par Obama est très significatif et peut être important pour établir de nouvelles relations entre les Etats-Unis et le monde musulman", a déclaré le Père Lombardi.
Le quotidien du Vatican, l'Osservatore Romano a de son côté souligné dans son édition parue ce soir que, "sans fermer les yeux face aux divergences et aux tensions, sans éviter les préjugés et les problèmes, Barack Hussein Obama a donné un nouveau départ aux relations entre les Etats-Unis et le monde musulman".
"Le premier président noir des Etats-Unis est allé au-delà des formules politiques, évoquant des intérêts communs concrets au nom d'une humanité partagée", ajoute l'Osservatore.
Dans un discours très attendu et présenté comme une étape marquante du début de sa présidence, M. Obama a plaidé aujourd'hui au Caire avec force pour une nouvelle donne entre les Etats-Unis et le monde musulman, en rupture avec l'ère de son prédécesseur George W. Bush. [Source: Le Figaro] AFP | Jeudi 04 Juin 2009
SAUDI GAZETTE: Saudis Happy About Obama Visit But Look for Action
RIYADH – Saudi cardiologist Osama Al-Amoudi praised President Barack Obama as the US leader visited the Kingdom, saying he believes the new president has made a good first impression and appreciates his overtures to Muslims.
But Al-Amoudi said it will take more than speeches and pleasantries to convince him that Obama is really serious about changing his country’s policies toward the Arab World and “mend the bad image” former president George W. Bush left in the minds of many Arabs about Americans.
Al-Amoudi’s words reflected the sentiments of many Saudis, who have a favorable view of Obama but are worried that he will not be able to deliver on his promises, especially those concerning the issue Arabs care about most: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict. >>> By Donna Abu-Nasr | Friday, June 05, 2009
CAIRO: US President Barack Obama made his long-awaited address to the Muslim world from the podium of Cairo University Thursday, triggering a standing ovation and chants of his name as he exited [sic] the grand hall.
The historic event was attended by an array of guests, including head of the Policies Secretariat of the ruling National Democratic Party Gamal Mubarak, Egyptian ministers, Muslim and Coptic clerics, representatives of diplomatic missions, and celebrities like comedian Adel Imam and Laila Elwi.
Before the speech he toured the Sultan Hassan Mosque and visited the Giza Pyramids after the speech. He flew to Germany at 6 pm.
In a speech which came in at just under an hour, Obama addressed a series of hot-button issues in the Muslim world including Iraq, Palestine, Iran, extremism and the negative stereotyping of Muslims.
Yet he began his speech by making clear that he came with the intent to achieve mutual reconciliation and step up cooperation.
“Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire … America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security,” he said.
The head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights Hafez Abu Saeda told Daily News Egypt, “I see it as a historic speech, which will cement ties between the strongest country in the world and the Islamic world. It also made the distinction between Islam and terrorism,” a word which Obama steered clear of using.
Head of the Arab Socialist Party Waheed Al-Aqsari, however, was not so moved, telling Daily News Egypt, “Obama didn’t offer anything new, he came to improve America’s image in the Islamic world after the relationship deteriorated so severely during the Bush years.”
Obama then went into some detail regarding issues which are at the heart of American-Islamic relations and what the American position was concerning them, as well as admitting to mistakes the US made there.
On Iraq he said, “Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world … 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals.” >>> By Abdel-Rahman Hussein | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Bin Laden Calls for Long War Against 'Infidels'
YNET NEWS: Al-Qaeda leader tells Muslims in new audiotape, 'We either live under the light of Islam or we die with dignity'
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden told Muslims to prepare for a long war against "infidels and their agents".
"We either live under the light of Islam or we die with dignity ... brace yourselves for a long war against the world's infidels and their agents," the militant leader said in an audio tape was posted on an Islamist website on Thursday. >>> Reuters | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Iran to Obama: 'Sweet Talk' Not Enough for Muslims
YNET NEWS: Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says US deeply hated in Middle East, tells American president 'beautiful' speeches alone will not improve its image in Muslim world
Iran's supreme leader said on Thursday the United States was deeply hated in the Middle East and told US President Barack Obama that "beautiful" speeches alone would not improve its image in the Muslim world.
Speaking on the same day Obama was due to give a major speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the hatred felt toward America could not be changed with "slogans" but that different US action was needed. >>> Reuters | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Israel: Ministers Split Over Obama's Cairo Speech
YNET NEWS: Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for special consultation immediately after American president's historic address. Labor's Braverman: We're committed to two-state solution. Habayit Hayehudi's Hershkowitz: Israeli government is not some overlapping excess of US administration
Echoes of US President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo resonated through Jerusalem's corridors Thursday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a special consultation immediately after it was over.
In a historic address, the US president called for called for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims", and urged a confrontation with violent extremism across the globe as well as peace in the Middle East.
Obama made it a point to stress the "unbreakable bond" between Washington and Jerusalem, and that "Israel's right to exist cannot be denied". But nevertheless, he added, "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
"(Obama) was right to say that extremism is the world's enemy," said Minister of Minority Affairs Avishay Braverman (Labor). "The Israeli society – Jews and Arabs, religious and seculars – must find a way to embrace this sentiment and mirror it to the Palestinians. Two-states for two people is the solution we are committed to."
Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Habayit Hayehudi), who tuned into the speech while touring the communities adjacent to Mount Hebron, was not as pleased: "Obama completely overlooked that fact that the Palestinians have yet to abandon terror. The Israeli government is not some overlapping excess of the US administration."
The relationship between Washington and Jerusalem is based on friendship and not on surrender, he added. "We have to draw the line when it comes to the natural growth of settlements." >>> Ynet reporters | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Obam’s Speech in Cairo
Rechtsextremisten drängen ins Europaparlament: Auftakt zu Europawahl in Grossbritannien und Holland
Geert Wilders: Trommelt in Holland gegen den Islam. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ Online: In Grossbritannien und den Niederlanden haben die Wahlen zum Europaparlament begonnen. Rechtsextremisten wie die holländische Freiheitspartei und die British National Party können mit beträchtlichem Zulauf rechnen.
Zum Auftakt der Europawahl in den 27 Ländern der EU galt es als sicher, dass die anti-islamische Freiheitspartei (PVV) des Filmemachers Geert Wilders erstmals Abgeordnete nach Strassburg schicken wird.
Bei seiner Stimmabgabe sagte Wilders am Donnerstag in Den Haag, die Türkei sollte auch in Millionen Jahren kein Mitglied der EU werden. Zugleich wandte er sich gegen jede Mitwirkung der EU an der Einwanderungspolitik der Mitgliedsländer. Für die PVV werden laut Umfragen etwa 14 Prozent der Stimmen erwartet, womit die Anti-Islam-Partei ähnlich grosse Anteile erhalten könnte wie die etablierten Parteien der Christlichdemokraten und Sozialdemokraten. >>> | Donnerstag, 04. Juni 2009
FINANCIAL TIMES: European Elections Get Under Way
The European parliamentary elections got under way in the Netherlands and Britain on Thursday, with Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-immigration politician, vowing to do his utmost to stop Turkey entering the European Union “in a million years”.
Smaller parties are expected to gain seats in the 736-seat chamber from bigger rivals in both countries, the first two nations to vote in pan-European polls that run until Sunday. Voters across the 27-nation bloc are expected to focus on unemployment and economic uncertainty in the poll.
In the Netherlands, Mr Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) is fielding its first candidates for the European parliament and has focused on a Eurosceptic call to “get money back” from Brussels and a firm no to Turkish aspirations of membership.
Judging by Dutch schoolchildren – one in five of whom voted for the PVV this week in a shadow election organised among 15,000 of them – he should do well.
“The message for Europeans is go and vote, vote against immigration, vote against the political elite, choose parties that really want to fight for the preservation of our freedom and our cultural identity,” the bleached blond Mr Wilders said after casting his vote in The Hague.
On the question of Turkish membership, he said the country should not be admitted “in 10 years, not in a million years. Turkey should never be allowed to join the European family”.
Although banned from travelling to the UK earlier this year, Mr Wilders, who controls nine of 150 seats in the Dutch parliament, is not as much of a pariah in domestic politics as other anti-immigration politicians are across Europe. >>> By Michael Steen in The Hague | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Barack Obama Wants 'New Beginning' for Islam and America
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has vowed to forge a "new beginning" for Islam and America in a landmark speech to global Muslims in Cairo, evoking a vision of peace after smouldering years of "suspicion and discord".
Barack Obama laid out a new blueprint for US Middle East policy, vowing to buckle mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
In what may be a defining moment of his presidency, Mr Obama laid out a new blueprint for US Middle East policy, vowing to buckle mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran.
In the domed Great Hall of Cairo University, Mr Obama warned the US bond with Israel, the source of much Arab distrust of the United States, was unbreakable, and rejected "ignorant" rants by those who deny the Nazi Holocaust.
But, in a sharp break from the policies of his predecessor George W Bush, Mr Obama also rebuked Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt settlement expansion on the West Bank.
"I have come here to Cairo seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," he said in a speech targetting the globe's 1.5 billion Muslims on television, the Internet and on social networking sites.
"So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace," said Mr Obama, who was greeted with a standing ovation as he stepped up to the podium.
Letting divides fester would "promote conflict rather than the co-operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity," he added.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," said the US president vowing to fight "negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.
"But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America," he said.
Quoting the region's three holy books, the Koran, the Torah and the Bible, he evoked a future of "mutual interest and mutual respect".
The US president, laying out a staggeringly ambitious foreign policy, to match the audacity of his sweeping domestic program, spoke directly, and without adornment on the chasms between America and global Muslims. >>> | Thursday, June 04, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama Speech: The Full Transcript
"I am honoured to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and co-operation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalisation led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the co-operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
I do so recognising that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
As a student of history, I also know civilisation's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality. >>> | Thursday, June 04, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: Muslims and Jews conned into eating meat bulked out with cow and pig products
Cafes and restaurants across Britain have been selling chicken secretly injected with beef and pork waste, The Independent can reveal today.
In a hi-tech fraud run by firms in three EU states, food manufacturers are making bulking agents out of porcine and bovine gristle and bones that help inflate chicken breasts, so that they fetch a higher price.
The swindle was only detected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) using new scientific techniques because the non-chicken material had been so highly processed it passed standard DNA tests.
Thousands of restaurateurs and cafe owners are likely to have been conned into buying chicken containing the powder – which binds water into chicken breasts – while diners have been unwittingly consuming traces of other animals when eating out.
Britain's two million Muslims, Jews and Hindus are forbidden from eating either pork or beef. Muslims would ordinarily eat halal chicken and Jews kosher chicken sold through approved caterers and butchers. >>> By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Calls Holocaust a "Great Deception"
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the Holocaust a "great deception" on Wednesday, reiterating a view that has been denounced by moderate rivals in this month's election.
The conservative president, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB, made the remark during a speech containing his latest verbal assault on Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise.
Describing Israel as "the most criminal regime in human history" he went on to refer to the "great deception of the Holocaust".
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday condemned the words as "unacceptable and profoundly shocking". >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
BBC: Iranian Poll Rivals Clash on Live TV
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of undermining Iran's dignity, in a live TV debate with his main rival 10 days ahead of elections.
Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi said Mr Ahmadinejad's firebrand style had caused problems for Iran. It is the first time an Iranian president has taken part in a televised election debate.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, said it was a remarkable, no-holds-barred fight which will have amazed Iranians.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, began by accusing opponents of spreading lies about his government.
Mr Mousavi responded by mocking Mr Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, which he said had undermined the dignity of Iran. He said Iran had been "downgraded" in the eyes of world by President Ahmadinejad's firebrand style and statements.
He also criticised the government for repressing student protests.
Mr Ahmadinejad countered by criticising Mr Mousavi's wife for campaigning on his behalf, and he accused her of not having the right qualifications for her post as a university professor.
Our correspondent says it is hard to say which candidate won the debate, but it has brought the election alive. >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BOSTON — The New Hampshire Legislature approved revisions to a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday and Gov. John Lynch promptly signed the legislation, making the state the sixth in the nation to let gay couples wed.
The bill had been through several permutations in an effort to satisfy Mr. Lynch and certain legislators that it would not force religious groups that oppose gay marriage to participate in ceremonies celebrating it.
Mr. Lynch, who previously supported civil unions but not marriage for gay couples, said in a statement that he had heard “compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.”
“Today,” he said, “we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities — and respect — under New Hampshire law.”
The law will take effect on Jan. 1. >>> By Abby Goodnough | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Editorial: Warm Welcome to Barack Obama
ARAB NEWS: For too long the Arab world has been waiting in vain for a US administration that will address the rights of the Palestinians within a viable sovereign state of their own. For too long America’s friends and allies within the region, among whom the best and most long-standing has been Saudi Arabia, have been urging on successive US presidents the reality that the terrible injustices done to the Palestinians underpin the violence and extremism that has gripped the region. For too long Washington has not listened to our message that its slavish and unquestioning support for a bullying and expansionist Israel has, in fact, sabotaged America’s wider foreign policy goals in the Middle East and throughout the Muslim world.
As today we welcome President Barack Obama to the Kingdom, dare we hope that we are greeting a US leader who is at last listening to the advice and warnings that have so long been ignored in Washington? Saudi Arabia has itself provided one of the major building blocks for a lasting resolution. The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, first proposed by King Abdullah when he was crown prince and later endorsed unanimously by the Arab League summit in Beirut, remains in place. It negates Israeli protests that they have no partners for peace, because it offers 22 Arab states who will recognize Israel as part of a comprehensive and just settlement for Palestinians. Once the Arab countries recognize Israel, the rest of the Muslim world will follow suit.
The American president has to cut through much lumber left by his predecessors. At the heart of it lies a legacy of often-deep distrust that has built up in the Arab world.
From time to time Washington promises to tackle the Palestinian issue, especially when it wanted Arab support for the Iraq war or its confrontation with Iran. Because it failed to honor this pledge, it encouraged extremism among Palestinians who felt the betrayal bitterly and gave the bigoted thugs of Al-Qaeda an excuse for their fanatical violence. Obama’s people say that when he addresses the Arab world in Cairo tomorrow, he will be speaking from the heart. No doubt. But he should know that he needs also to be speaking to the hearts of Arab people themselves, who have learned to disbelieve Washington’s warm words and will only now judge America by its deeds.
No one believes the president has a magic wand. In the Likud government of Benjamin Netanyahu he faces an apparently intransigent negotiator. But it is often the most inflexible sticks that break first. Despite the powerful Zionist Washington lobby, Obama has the power to bring about radical change for the Palestinians, for Israelis too and for the whole region. He is a man who has dedicated himself to change and indeed represents it in his own presidency. His domestic and international agendas are daunting. But it seems he recognizes how pivotal a Palestinian settlement is to a large portion of US interests. His welcome here today is, therefore, all the warmer for the high hopes with which we greet him. [Source: Arab News | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
US in Nuclear Disclosure Blunder
Image: Google Images
BBC: A document providing confidential details of US civilian nuclear sites was accidentally posted on the internet, the government has admitted.
The 266-page document included the precise location of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons, the Obama administration said.
The Government Printing Office website took down the posting on Tuesday after experts expressed concern.
US officials insisted the information detailed was not a security threat.
The document, which lists itself as "sensitive but unclassified", contains maps and information on hundreds of US civilian nuclear sites.
No military installations are included but the document does cover the nuclear weapons laboratories at Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia.
Enriched uranium
An internet site of the Federation of American Scientists in Washington had highlighted the document's existence on Sunday, saying it was "a one-stop shop for information on US nuclear programs". >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
The US Is Now a Muslim Country! It’s Official. The Saviour of the US Says So!
Barack Hussein Obama is a danger to the US, and a danger to the free Western world.
I have always been deeply suspicious of his Muslim roots. His latest pronouncement that the US can be considered to be one of the biggest Muslim nations of the world has confirmed my suspicions.
What is this man playing at? To say that the US is a Muslim nation, still less one of the largest Muslim nations in the world, is as stupid as it is dangerous. On what has he based his statement? The USA has a population of about 5 million Muslims; Indonesia has about 207 million. So how can the US be considered a ‘large Muslim nation’? The man is a fool! And an appeasing fool at that!
To me, Barack Hussein Obama comes over as a snake oil salesman. He is far too smooth an operator. I dislike listening to him speak, and I certainly find it hard to trust him. From now on, I shall find it virtually impossible.
I shudder to think about what he is going to say in his major speech in Cairo. I’m sure you do, too.
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE leaders of the European Union hate elections to the European Parliament. Why? Because these caricatures of democratic decision-making expose the contempt with which the European public regards the oligarchy that runs the EU.
A survey of 27,000 EU citizens commissioned by the European Parliament indicates that on average only 34per cent of them planned to vote in the elections. In Britain, 30 per cent of the respondents indicated they would definitely not vote.
Voter apathy tells only part of the story. There is considerable evidence that lack of interest in the EU elections is fuelled by a powerful sense of distrust, dissatisfaction and frustration. One German survey of 12,000 Europeans shows 60 per cent of the respondents assumed that one reason why so many of them are not inclined to vote is because they are "being lied to in election promises". Almost half said they "cannot improve anything by voting". In Poland and Finland, about two-thirds of the respondents expressed this fatalistic attitude.
Typically the EU political elite presents voter apathy as the unfortunate consequence of public misperception. They suggest that their good works are not appreciated by a public that simply does not get what they do. Public disengagement is rarely presented as an indictment of EU institutions. "It's not that people are staying away from these elections because they are critical of the European Union and its political process," claims Hermann Schmitt of the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research. From this perspective the public's lack of interest is interpreted as simply a problem of presentation. That is why the European Commission sought to woo young voters with cool election ads on MTV networks.
However, there is considerable evidence that public disengagement is not the unintended consequence of poor public relations but the outcome of a project that explicitly attempts to distance political decision-making from the gaze of European citizens.
The distinct feature of the EU's political process is that it is self-consciously founded on the principle of insulated decision-making. From the standpoint of the European political elites, one of the virtues of EU institutions is that they insulate them from the kind of public pressure and forms of accountability that they experience in their national parliaments. Consequently the EU is able to adopt policies that would often prove contentious and difficult to justify in a more open national parliamentary setting.
In effect, politicians can continually hide behind the EU's invisible decision-making process and claim "it wasn't my idea" before adding that "unfortunately we have no choice but to go along with this Europe-wide directive".
Insulated decision-making relies on institutions that are in effect outside the realm of public scrutiny. As Bruno Waterfield writes in an important study for the Manifesto Club, "a unique form of 21st-century statecraft has emerged" that allows "expanding areas of public authority to retreat into a closed, private world of bureaucrats and diplomats". In effect most EU legislation is formulated by the hundreds of secret working groups set up by the Council of the EU.
Most of the sessions of the Council of Ministers are held behind closed doors and the unelected European Commission has the sole right to put forward legislation. Yet most of the decisions taken by the European Council are concerned with subjects that were previously discussed in national legislatures. These are public-free institutions that are designed to bypass conventional forms of democratic accountability.
The inevitable consequence of the institutionalisation of insulated decision-making is that it diminishes the capacity of European politicians to motivate and inspire their electorate. What appears as a problem of presentation is actually an expression of a style of communication that is suitable for behind-the-scenes manoeuvring but not for public engagement. Invariably they come across as what they really are, bureaucrats, rather than as political leaders. Their ineptness has been exposed time and again as they proved unequal to the task of gaining support for the proposed EU constitution in national referendums.
Is it any surprise that they have decided that referendums are not needed for implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon? >>> Frank Furedi | Thursday, June 04, 2009
Barack Obama on Middle East Mission
THE JERUSALEM POST: Obama Starts Outreach Bid in S. Arabia
President Barack Obama began his latest bid to repair ties with the Muslim world on Wednesday by seeking the counsel of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
"The United States and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship. We have a strategic relationship," Obama said as he visited the monarch's desert horse farm. The US president called Abdullah wise and gracious, adding: "I am confident that working together that the United States and Saudi Arabia can make progress on a whole host of issues of mutual interest."
In turn, Abdullah expressed his "best wishes to the friendly American people who are represented by a distinguished man who deserves to be in this position."
Meanwhile, according to a report in the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Obama intended to appeal to the Saudi leadership to open an interest office in Tel Aviv as a goodwill gesture towards Israel that would signify the beginning of normalizing relations between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
According to the report, the office would allow Israelis to apply for visas to visit Saudi Arabia as tourists and allow El Al aircraft to fly through Saudi air space.
There are indications that the Saudis will not accede to proposed gestures, but rather insist that Israel first make confidence-building measures, such as dismantling West Bank settlements or committing to a two-state solution, said the paper.
It is known that Israel has trade relations with Saudi Arabia, but this is a sensitive issue that is often kept quiet by both parties. According to the Manufacturers Association of Israel, Israeli exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to around $33,000 in the first quarter of 2009.
In addition, every year, hundreds of Israeli Muslims head to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Hajj, the main annual pilgrimage to Mecca. They usually travel through Jordan where they are given temporary Jordanian documents, but the Saudi authorities are well aware that these tourists are Israeli and they turn a blind eye to the fact that they are citizens of Israel.
As the creator of the Arab Initiative, Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan was launched in 2002 as the Saudi Peace Plan and relaunched in 2007 under the title, the Arab Initiative. At least two points of the plan - making Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state and acknowledging the "right of return" for Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and their descendants - are unacceptable to Israel.
The Obama administration has been seeking Arab acceptance to modify the plan in order to make it more palatable to Israel, even though the Arab League has said the plan is not subject to changes. >>> By AP and the Media Line | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Muslim World Readies for Obama's Speech in Cairo
BBC: Barack Obama Launches Key Mid-East Mission
US President Barack Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at increasing US engagement with the Islamic world.
Mr Obama will spend a few hours in Riyadh before heading for Egypt, where he will make a keynote speech in Cairo.
He says he wants to revive Mid-East talks and overcome misapprehensions.
As he arrived, a recording said to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden accused Mr Obama of planting seeds to increase hatred of the US.
Apart from a stop-over in Iraq in April, this is Mr Obama's first time in the region since becoming president. >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
THE WASHINGTON POST: King Abdullah Greets Obama in Saudi Arabia: New Bin Laden Tape Airs Just After President's Arrival
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – American flags are hanging next to the green banner of the Saudi kingdom on the street-light poles of this desert capital, a celebratory nod to the arrival of President Obama, who on Wednesday landed here to begin a five-day tour through the Middle East and Europe.
Obama will hold a day of meetings with King Abdullah on Iran's nuclear program and the dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace process, among other issues, before traveling to Egypt to deliver what is being billed as a major address on the American relationship with the Muslim world.
At a tarmac welcoming ceremony, Obama was greeted by the 84-year-old Saudi leader. The two strode down a red carpet lined by ranks of Saudi soldiers, U.S. and Saudi flags flying taut in a brisk, dry wind. A military band then played "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The leaders were then scheduled to travel to King Abdullah's farm at Jenadriyah, not far from Riyadh. The king hosted a dinner there last year for then-President George W. Bush featuring an Arabian horse show and a falconry exhibition. >>> By Scott Wilson, Washington Post Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
leJDD.fr: Le monde arabe attend Obama
"Changer les relations [des Etats-Unis] avec le monde musulman." Tel est l'objectif de Barack Obama, lors du discours qu'il prononcera au Caire jeudi. Irak, Iran, Afghanistan, Proche-Orient... la liste des sujets sur lesquels le président américain est attendu est longue. Ces derniers jours, Barack Obama a accentué la pression sur Israël. Mais le monde arabe attend désormais des actes.
Barack Obama a presque tenu sa promesse. Durant la campagne présidentielle, le candidat démocrate promettait de prendre la parole devant un "forum" musulman majeur au cours des 100 premiers jours de sa présidence s'il était élu. Le nouveau pensionnaire de la Maison blanche le fera jeudi, avec plus d'un mois de retard. Après un détour par l'Arabie saoudite mercredi, Barack Obama prendra la parole jeudi sur le campus de l'université du Caire. "Je veux saisir cette occasion pour délivrer un message plus large sur la façon dont les Etats-Unis peuvent changer, pour le meilleur, leurs relations avec le monde musulman", a-t-il déclaré la semaine dernière, alors qu'il recevait le président de l'Autorité palestinienne, Mahmoud Abbas, à Washington.
Le choix du Caire ne doit rien au hasard. Rare allié américain dans la région, l'Egypte est le premier pays arabe à avoir conclu la paix avec Israël. "Le choix de l'Egypte est le message. Barack Obama choisit un pays arabe modéré - et de surcroît au coeur du processus de paix israélo-arabe - pour prononcer son discours. C'est aussi un signe positif envoyé à Israël", analyse pour leJDD.fr, Courtney C. Radschn, responsable du site de la chaîne de télévision émiratie basée à Dubaï, al-Arabiya. Chawki Freïha, rédacteur en chef du site d'informations sur le monde arabe Mediaarabe.info, va plus loin. "En choisissant l'Arabie saoudite et l'Egypte, Barack Obama privilégie le front anti-iranien, celui des Arabes modérés qui ont peur de l'influence croissante de l'Iran et de la Syrie dans la région." Le choix du Caire vise surtout à rassurer les pays arabes modérés, qui craignent de faire les frais de la politique d'ouverture vers l'Iran - et de fait la Syrie - prônée par la Maison blanche. >>> Par Marianne ENAULT, leJDD.fr | Mercredi 03 Juin 2009
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La main tendue d'Obama au monde musulman
VISITE | Le président américain Barack Obama a entamé à Ryad une visite au Proche-Orient, placée sous le signe de l’ouverture envers le monde musulman et la quête de la paix entre les Arabes et Israël, s’attirant les attaques du chef d’Al-Qaïda.
Le point d’orgue de sa mini-tournée sera son discours de réconciliation à l’adresse du 1,5 milliard de musulmans dans le monde qu’il prononcera demain jeudi au Caire, après huit ans de tensions sous son prédécesseur George W. Bush.
Cette ouverture de l’administration Obama au monde musulman a suscité l’inquiétude d’Israël, alors que les relations entre les deux alliés traversent un moment délicat en raison des divergences sur la relance du processus de paix avec les Palestiniens. L’avion présidentiel s’est posé vers 14 h 20 locales (13 h 20 suisse) à l’aéroport international de Ryad, où M. Obama effectue sa première visite.
Le président américain a été accueilli au pied de l’appareil par le roi Abdallah. Les deux hommes se sont embrassés avant de se diriger au milieu d’une haie d’honneur vers une estrade pour écouter les hymnes nationaux des deux pays. Ils devaient ensuite tenir des discussions bilatérales. >>> AFP | Mercredi 03 Juin 2009
Bin Laden: Obama Planted 'Hatred Seeds'
YNET NEWS: Al-Qaeda leader says US president continuing in steps of his predecessor Bush, tells Americans to be prepared for consequences of White House's policies
Bin Laden spoiling celebration. Photo courtesy of YnetNews
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said US President Barack Obama had planted seeds for "revenge and hatred" towards the United States in the Muslim world.
"Obama and his administration have planted seeds for hatred and revenge against America," the militant leader said in a recording aired by al-Jazeera television on Wednesday.
Bin Laden said Obama was continuing in the steps of his predecessor George W. Bush and told Americans to be prepared for the consequences of the White House's policies.
The Qatar-based station did not give further details in a news flash. Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia at a start of a tour that will also take him to Egypt where he will deliver a speech to Muslims.
On Tuesday, al-Qaeda's deputy leader criticized the upcoming speech, saying it will not change the "bloody messages" the US military is sending Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words," said Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda's No. 2, in a new audio message posted on militant Web sites.
Al-Zawahri said the Egyptian officials who will welcome Obama are US "slaves" and have turned the country into an "international station of torture in America's war on Islam." He was likely referring to suspected Islamic militants who have been captured by the US and sent to Egypt for interrogation, a process known as rendition. >>> News agencies | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
YNET OPINION: Obama-style Orientalism
US administration’s approach sure to lead to another Mideastern clash
If Barack Obama, the “world’s policeman,” is unfamiliar with the Israeli film The Policeman, his Israeli advisor Rahm Emanuel would do well to tell him about one unforgettable scene from Ephraim Kishon’s Oscar-nominated movie: Officer Azoulay “fighting” pedestrians who fail to cross the street at crosswalks and moped drivers who park illegally – he reports to police headquarters that “everything is under control,” while terrible robberies take place right behind his back.
And now, to the moral of the story: North Korea is challenging America on the nuclear front, while Pakistan’s nukes are about to fall into hostile hands. Iran’s Ahmadinejad constantly provokes the West and threatens to eliminate Israel. Obama’s PR team is looking for a way to market the withdrawal from the divided and bleeding Iraq as an achievement of creating a new democracy, and the Taliban in Afghanistan – which was ostensibly “defeated” by the US – is suddenly alive and kicking again.
Yet despite all this, policeman Azoulay-Obama is preoccupied with the “obstacle for peace in the Middle East,” demanding that Netanyahu curb settlement activity and remove illegal outposts. In exchange for this, Obama demands that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas put an end to Palestinian incitement… If this is the innovative and creative approach promised to dwellers of the Middle East by Obama’s advisors and Mideast experts, we shall soon be longing for the bad old times.
Only four months after being sworn in, the Free World’s leader is again embarking on a predetermined American collision course. Obama chooses to walk the same path as his predecessors in the White House, while using the same terms and statements and adopting the same static and dull way of thinking.
The US, and only the US, is responsible for the fact that initiatives to advance peace in our region have reached a dead-end. For years now, various American leaders have endorsed a patronizing approach, premised on assessments which Palestinian Academician Edward Said dubbed “Orientalism” in the 1970s. Today, this approach is summed up by the statement: “Be quiet, we know what’s good for you.”
Moreover, for years now, several US secretaries of state have been held captive by several “moderate” Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, which have been demanding an American price tag for their “moderation.” This comes in the form of heavy pressure on Israel to grant gestures and concession to the Palestinians, based on the false expectation that the Palestinian will also “moderate” later on. >>> Moshe Elad | Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Col. (res.) Moshe Elad is a lecturer at the Western Galilee Academic College
THE TELEGRAPH: Osama bin Laden Tape Overshadows Barack Obama's Attempts to Engage Middle East
President Barack Obama's arrival in the Middle East to build a better US relationship with the Muslim world has been overshadowed by the release of a new tape from Osama bin Laden.
The recording emerged just as Mr Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at improving ties with Middle East countries.
The al-Qaeda leader claimed United States policy had led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" in the Swat area of north-west Pakistan and Americans would "reap what the White House leaders have sown".
he release of the audio tape appeared to be timed to undermine Mr Obama's attempts to restart the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Bin Laden said: "Elderly people, children and women fled their homes and lived in tents as refugees after they have lived in dignity in their homes. Let the American people be ready to reap what the White House leaders have sown.
"Obama and his administration have sown new seeds to increase hatred and revenge on America. The number of these seeds is equal to the number of displaced people from Swat Valley." >>> By Richard Spencer in Cairo and Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
ZEIT ONLINE: Al-Qaida ruft zum Widerstand gegen Obama auf
Die Islamisten warnen vor der Kairoer Rede des US-Präsidenten an die islamische Welt mit drastischen Worten: Obama sende "blutige Botschaften"
TIMES ONLINE: Osama bin Laden Emerges to Attack Barack Obama for ‘Antagonising Muslims’
Osama bin Laden emerged from the shadows yesterday to deliver a scathing attack on President Obama minutes after the US leader landed in Saudi Arabia to begin his landmark visit to the Middle East.
In advance of Mr Obama’s keenly awaited speech to the Islamic world in Cairo today, bin Laden accused him of “antagonising Muslims” and inflaming hatred against America by backing Pakistan’s recent crackdown on militants in the Swat Valley.
Bin Laden’s message came a day after his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, surfaced to attack the White House’s new incumbent. Middle East analysts say the two tapes indicate growing concern in al-Qaeda’s leadership about Mr Obama’s arrival on the world stage when their influence over the increasingly splintered terror network is waning.
As Mr Obama held talks with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, after landing in Riyadh, the al-Qaeda leader’s audiotape was being broadcast on news channels globally. It is his third public message this year but the first time he has used such murderous and threatening language against Mr Obama. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Thursday, June 04, 2009
From Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin: Obama Administration Supports Saudi Immunity in 9/11 Lawsuit
WORLD NET DAILY: Brief seeking to deny Americans access to court remedies for attack
The Obama administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Saudi Arabia and four of its princes from being held accountable for their alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States that killed almost 3,000 Americans, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
Through its solicitor general, Elena Kagan, the Obama administration has asked that the Saudis be held immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA, even though there is ample U.S. evidence of complicity by the Saudi government and the named princes in support of al-Qaida's attack.
While the FSIA generally protects a sovereign state, there are exceptions under which its provisions can be invoked. Such interpretations are left largely to the courts to determine.
Fitzgerald: What's Behind Opposition to the "Settlements"
JIHAD WATCH: Opposition to what are so tendentiously called "the settlements" is not about the "settlements" at all. It is about whether Israel is going to be allowed to decide for itself the minimum conditions of its own survival, or whether others -- apparently to include an Administration so deeply unlearned in the history of the area, and in the claims, and rights, of the Jews to build these "settlements" (simply Jewish villages and towns) on land that was always intended for Jewish settlement by the League of Nations in its Mandate for Palestine. That was one among many mandates created after World War I, several of which led to the creation of Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq -- that is, three of the now-22 members of the Arab League. Other mandates were intended to make provision for some of the many other non-Arab or non-Muslim peoples -- but the Kurdish state and the Armenian state as originally envisioned were still-born, and the Jews received not all of historic Palestine, but only Western Palestine, while again the Arabs took the lion's share for themselves.
It is not the "settlements" that are at stake, but whether or not Israel will control the small sliver of territory, the "West Bank," without which the Jordan Valley, and the historic invasion route from the east, cannot be controlled. For if Jewish settlements are stopped, if the decision is taken out of Israel's hands, and if its claims are de-legitimized, it is just part of a deliberate, unending, and most cunning attempt by Muslim Arabs to push Israel back, so as to whittle away at it, and step by step to weaken Israel and demoralize its population. This has been written about and spoken about so much in the Arab media that it is inexcusable for those who make policy to continue to have failed to notice it.
This would be done in stages. Mahmoud Abbas is the leading proponent, at present, of this Two-Stage Solution. That is what he means when he says "we choose peace as a strategic option." Not "peace" tout court, but "peace as a strategic option." First, by opposing the Jewish claim to have any natural expansion in what are so wrongly called "settlements," this would condemn Jews, but not Arabs, to keeping their population from increasing in the "West Bank." That would inevitably lead to their shriveling. It would start the process of forcing Israel to yield, to give up those Jewish villages and towns, to give up their rightful claim that was already shrunken by 77% when Great Britain created, back in 1922, the Emirate of Transjordan out of Eastern Palestine. Eastern Palestine was originally intended for inclusion in the Mandate for Palestine.
If Israel cannot allow even for natural growth in its "settlements" -- meaning apparently no babies are to be born beyond the replacement level, while the Arabs in the "West Bank" and in pre-1967 borders of Israel, like the Muslims living everywhere, are permitted to have eight and ten and twelve children per family, we know the result. And if Israel's settlements are paralyzed, and painted even in the Untied States -- never mind the U.N. -- as illegitimate, the pressure on Israel, which is already immense, would likely force the Israelis, despite their own need to survive, to give up the "West Bank" that offers them the only strategic depth they possess. Israel without the "West Bank" is nine miles wide, from Kalkilya to the sea. It can be cut in two with ease by the fabulously well-armed, and overwhelmingly more numerous Arabs. Unless Israel is prepared at once to use nuclear weapons, it can be overrun. And not only must Israel continue to control the Jordan Valley and the historic invasion routes from the East, but it must also control the aquifers under the "West Bank" that are so vital. >>> Hugh Fitzerland | Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Barack Obama on Landmark Mission to Rebuild Ties with Muslim World
A T-shirt on sale in Cairo to mark Mr Obama's Middle East visit. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
President Obama’s arrival in Saudi Arabia today marks the first leg of a landmark Middle East visit to reach Muslims and mend ties damaged under the eight-year Administration of his predecessor, George Bush.
The three-day visit, including an address to the Muslim world at Cairo University tomorrow, is seen as a vital step in his efforts to relaunch peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Obama has signalled that he will take a more even-handed approach than Mr Bush, who gave Israel a free hand to expand the growth of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has bridled at US demands that it should freeze all construction in the settlements and East Jerusalem. Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, flew to Washington last night to lobby the US President one more time. Israel says that the half million Jews who live in the territories cannot be prevented from having children, marrying or building houses.At the outset of his trip Mr Obama issued his sternest warning yet to Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister. “I believe that strategically the status quo is unsustainable when it comes to Israel’s security,” Mr Obama said in an interview with the US broadcaster NPR.
“Over time, in the absence of peace with Palestinians, Israel will continue to be threatened militarily and will have enormous problems on its borders.”
He said that the sobering message to Israel was meant as a friendly warning. “Part of being a good friend is being honest,” said the President, who held talks with Mr Netanyahu last month at the White House. Mr Netanyahu has refused to accept the idea of an independent Palestinian state, which Washington sees as a cornerstone of Middle East peace. >>> James Hider in Cairo | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
THE NEW YORK TIMES BLOGS – THE CAUCUS: Obama Says U.S. Could Be Seen as a Muslim Country, Too
HAHN, Germany — As President Obama prepared to leave Washington to fly to the Middle East, he conducted several television and radio interviews at the White House to frame the goals for a five-day trip, including the highly-anticipated speech Thursday at Cairo University in Egypt.
In an interview with Laura Haim on Canal Plus, a French television station, Mr. Obama noted that the United States also could be considered as “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” He sought to downplay the expectations of the speech, but he said he hoped the address would raise awareness about Muslims.
“Now, I think it’s very important to understand that one speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East,” Mr. Obama said. “And so I think expectations should be somewhat modest.”
He previewed several themes and objectives for the speech, which aides said the president intended to tinker with — and rewrite — aboard Air Force One during his 12-hour flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“What I want to do is to create a better dialogue so that the Muslim world understands more effectively how the United States, but also how the West thinks about many of these difficult issues like terrorism, like democracy, to discuss the framework for what’s happened in Iraq and Afghanistan and our outreach to Iran, and also how we view the prospects for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Mr. Obama said.
The president said the United States and other parts of the Western world “have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam.”
“And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world,” Mr. Obama said. “And so there’s got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.” >>> By Jeff Zeleny | Tuesday, June 02, 2009
LE FIGARO: Obama en campagne dans le monde arabe
Un commerçant du Caire a présenté lundi une plaque souvenir qualifiant Barack Obama de «nouveau Toutankhamon du monde». Crédits photo : Le Figaro
Le président américain amorce mercredi soir en Arabie saoudite une tournée qui sera marquée par un grand discours, jeudi au Caire, en direction des musulmans.
C'est une «conversation» peu ordinaire qui va s'engager cette semaine entre l'homme le plus puissant de la planète et plus d'un milliard de musulmans. Depuis l'époque de sa campagne électorale, Barack Hussein Obama, chrétien, métis, mais fils d'un musulman du Kenya, a lentement mûri le projet de s'adresser aux peuples d'islam pour regagner leur cœur et entreprendre de tisser une nouvelle relation entre eux et l'Amérique, après des années de frustrations et d'incompréhension.
L'heure est venue. Jeudi, entre les murs accablés de chaleur de l'université du Caire, qui le reçoit avec la participation de l'université islamique al-Azhar, puissance co-invitante, le président Obama prononcera un discours très attendu à l'attention des opinions publiques musulmanes, avant de gagner l'Europe pour des visites du souvenir hautement symboliques au camp de Buchenwald en Allemagne, puis au cimetière de Colleville en Normandie. Il veut effacer le grand malentendu de l'époque de l'administration précédente qui en était venue à confondre trop souvent islam et terrorisme islamiste. Il a toujours pensé que le choc des civilisations n'est pas inéluctable. Il l'a déjà dit lors de son discours d'investiture, puis dans une interview à la chaîne al-Arabya et dans son adresse devant le Parlement turc en avril. Il va le répéter haut et fort pour tenter d'apaiser cette haine de l'Occident qui agite le Moyen-Orient, notamment sa jeunesse, cible privilégiée de son appel au dialogue. «Obama veut convaincre la rue musulmane que l'Amérique a changé, il estime que le terrorisme islamique est une question cruciale pour la sécurité nationale, qui va bien au-delà de la question du conflit israélo-palestinien», décrypte un diplomate français. >>> Laure Mandeville, Envoyé spéciale du Figaro à Riyad | Mardi 02 Juin 2009
New Dark Age Barbarism! British Hostage Edwin Dyer 'Executed by Al-Qaeda' in Mali
THE TELEGRAPH: A British hostage Edwin Dyer has been executed by Al-Qaeda's North African branch in Mali, according to a statement issued by Gordon Brown.
Edwin Dyer: The group had threatened to kill Mr Dyer if the UK Government did not release Jordanian extremist Abu Qatada, who has been in prison since 2005 and is awaiting deportation to Jordan. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
"We have strong reason to believe that a British citizen, Edwin Dyer, has been murdered by an Al-Qaeda cell in Mali. I utterly condemn this appalling and barbaric act of terrorism," Mr Brown said in a statement.
"This tragedy reinforces our commitment to confront terrorism. It strengthens our determination never to concede to the demands of terrorists, nor to pay ransoms.
"I want those who would use terror against British citizens to know beyond doubt that we and our allies will pursue them relentlessly, and that they will meet the justice they deserve."
One report suggested that Mr Dyer had been beheaded but a statement from al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) did not say how he was killed.
The group had threatened to kill Mr Dyer if the UK Government did not release Jordanian extremist Abu Qatada, who has been in prison since 2005 and is awaiting deportation to Jordan. A multimillion-euro ransom is also thought to have been demanded.
AQIM "killed Dyer on May 31, finding that Britain is unresponsive and does not seem to care for its citizens", the US-based monitoring SITE group quoted an online statement as saying. >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
MPs' Expenses: Hazel Blears Resignation Deepens Gordon Brown's Cabinet Crisis
THE TELEGRAPH: Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, has resigned from the Cabinet, deepening the political crisis now engulfing Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister.
Hazel Blears: Communities secretary has stood down from the Cabinet. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Dealing a fresh blow to Mr Brown’s fragile political authority in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal, Miss Blears said the Labour Party has lost its connection with the British people.
“I have told the Prime Minsiter [sic] I am resigning from the Government,” Miss Blears said in a statement. “I am returning to the grassroots. I want to help the Labour Party to reconnect with the British people.
"My politics has always been rooted in the belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.
"The role of a progressive Government should be to pass power to the people.
"I want to help the Labour Party to reconnect with the British people, to remind them that our values are their values, that their hopes and dreams are ours too."
Today's statement was notable for the absence of any expression of backing for the Prime Minister.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said the Government was no longer capable of governing and that a General Election was now essential.
"The Government has no answer. They are racked by infighting and they are unable to deal with the real issues that matter to people," she told the BBC News channel. "We need a General Election." >>> By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Rats Desert Sinking Ship: Shamed Jacqui Smith Leads Ministers Scrambling for the Exit
MAIL Online: Gordon Brown's grip on government was faltering last night as Jacqui Smith led a ministerial scramble for the exit. The Home Secretary plunged his Cabinet reshuffle into chaos by letting it be known she is resigning.
An emotional Miss Smith told friends she could not stand the pressure on her family over revelations that her husband's porn films were charged to the taxpayer.
She becomes the biggest casualty of the MPs' expenses scandal.
Miss Smith told Mr Brown of her decision two months ago, but he asked her to keep it secret until he finalised the Cabinet shake-up.
Instead, the news came out just 48 hours ahead of elections expected to be a Labour disaster. >>> By James Chapman | Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Immigration Law Denies Equal Protection For Same-Sex Life Partners
COMMON DREAMS: Legislation Is Needed To Bring U.S. In-Line With Other Democracies
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on a bill that modifies U.S. immigration law to provide equal protection to same-sex life partners of citizens and permanent legal residents. As part of the hearing, entitled "The United American Families Act: Addressing Inequality in Federal Immigration Law," the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to lawmakers urging the Committee to pass S. 424, "Uniting American Families Act."
Currently, same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are denied the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Consequently, gay citizens and permanent residents are barred from activities such as sponsoring their foreign partners for permanent residency. U.S. immigration law lags behind the immigration laws of many other democracies that permit equal sponsorship protections including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. >>> | Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Greenland Votes in Landmark Polls
BBC: The people of Greenland are voting in parliamentary elections seen as a turning-point on the territory's path to partial independence from Denmark.
Scandals and social problems have embarrassed PM Hans Enoksen. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Greenland is the world's largest island - larger than all of Europe combined - but has just 39,000 eligible voters.
Last year, Greenlanders approved plans to give their government more powers.
Greenland receives large subsidies from Denmark, but the retreat of its ice-cap because of global warming is opening up gas and oil exploration opportunities.
Financial scandals
In many ways, this election is a turning point for Greenland, which is on the threshold of the new self-rule arrangement that will give the new Greenland parliament and government the right to decide on most of the issues concerning the country.
In effect, Greenlanders will be able to decide on just about everything apart from defence and foreign affairs - issues upon which the authorities in the capital, Nuuk, will continue to negotiate with Denmark. >>> By Julian Isherwood, BBC News, Copenhagen | Tuesday, June 02, 2009
