New York Muslim Cab Driver Stabbed In Rising Tensions Over Ground Zero Controversy
MAIL ONLINE: A cab driver has been stabbed in New York after telling his passenger that he was Muslim.

Ahmed H Sharif was slashed in the face and neck after the passenger, 21-year-old Michael Enright, allegedly attacked him.

The attack came as tensions over plans to build a mosque at Ground Zero are threatening to spill over into the streets of New York.

Sharif picked up Enright at about 6pm on Tuesday evening at East 24th Street and Second Avenue, police spokeswoman Deputy Inspector Kim Royster said.

Sharif - who is originally from Bangladesh - told authorities that during the trip Enright asked him whether he's Muslim.

When he said yes, Enright allegedly uttered an Arabic greeting and told Sharif: 'Consider this a checkpoint'.

Enright then pulled out a weapon - believed to be a folding tool with a knife blade called a Leatherman - and attacked Sharif, Royster said.

Sharif was seriously wounded in the neck and suffered cuts to his forearms, his face and one hand while trying to fend off Enright, prosecutor James Zeleta said.

Sharif tried to lock Enright inside the cab and drive to a police station, police said. New York cab driver stabbed after saying he was Muslim as Ground Zero mosque tensions threaten to spill over >>> Mail Foreign Service | Thursday, August 26, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Campaigners say Ground Zero mosque plans led to taxi murder attempt: Campaigners against plans to build a mosque near the Ground Zero site condemned the project for stoking tensions they claim led to the attempted murder of a Muslim taxi driver. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Donnerstag, August 26, 2010

Ground Zero, la nouvelle Jérusalem
Manifestation des opposants au centre islamique. Des ultra-conservateurs qui y voient un symbole de l’islamisation de l’Amérique. Photo: Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le projet new-yorkais de construire une mosquée près de Ground Zero déchaîne les passions et réveille les démons anti-islam

C’est une croisade aux formes et aux calculs multiples. A la radio, Rush Limbaugh, l’empereur des ondes conservatrices, s’en prend à Barack Obama, en tentant de démontrer que le président est bien musulman: «Le fait de l’avoir élu à la présidence, c’est comme se marier avec quelqu’un dont on ne connaît rien. En général, cela arrive quand on est saoul, à Las Vegas.» Sur son blog, Pamela Geller, fondatrice de l’organisation «Stop à l’islamisation de l’Amérique», n’hésite pas, de son côté, à apparaître en bikini, laissant l’eau transparente dévoiler en partie son anatomie avantageuse: «Ceci est mon tchador, ma burka», explique-t-elle, derrière ses lunettes de soleil.

Pour ce corps expéditionnaire d’un nouveau genre, la «mosquée de Ground Zero» est devenue la nouvelle Jérusalem. Tant pis si le projet contesté de centre culturel islamique de 13 étages, comprenant notamment des restaurants et une piscine, ne sera pas à proprement parler une «méga-mosquée», comme le qualifie Geller. Tant pis si ce centre, dont la construction a reçu l’aval des autorités de New York et le soutien du maire Michael Bloomberg, ne sera pas situé «à Ground Zero», là où se tenaient les deux tours jumelles, mais deux blocs plus loin. Le raccourci est trop pratique, l’image trop évocatrice pour ne pas l’exploiter à fond. >>> Luis Lema | Mardi 24 Août 2010

Abu Adam - Sei Allah dankbar

EZP MuslimTube

Enya: Caribbean Blue


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Former Muslim Rashid Reveals the Truth About Islam!

Blue - One Love

‘Burn the Quran Day’ Plan Prompts Warnings of Anger, Unrest
CNS NEWS: The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has joined the growing condemnation of plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

A spokesman for the Jeddah-based bloc of Islamic states expressed concern Tuesday that the planned action by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville would stir up “anger across the Muslim world and provoke unrest.”

The OIC said it hoped the U.S. government would “take appropriate steps to protect the sacred religious sentiments of Muslims of America and of the Muslims across the world.”

Dove pastor Terry Jones did not respond to queries Tuesday about the planned event or whether his church had come under any pressure from law enforcement agencies to call it off.

But after the City of Gainesville fire department last week turned down its application for a permit under outdoor fire ordinances, Dove emailed a statement saying that despite the rejection of the application as well as pressure from its commercial insurance provider and the bank holding its mortgage, “we will still burn Korans.”

The non-denominational church has drawn fire from Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups over the plan, which it says will take place “in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam.”

The National Association of Evangelicals late last month said in a statement that the Quran burning would “exacerbate tensions between Christians and Muslims throughout the world” and urged cancellation of the event.

The Anti-Defamation League called it a tactic undoubtedly “intended to cast blame on all Muslims for 9/11, and not the extremists who perpetrated the terrorist attack.”

Also weighing in was the Supreme Council of Al-Alzhar University in Cairo – regarded as the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam – which called on other American churches to condemn an event it said was aimed at “stirring up hate and discrimination.” Continue reading and comment >>> Patrick Goodenough, International Editor | Wednesday, August 25, 2010

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg * Defends Mosque
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered an impassioned speech on religious freedom at a Ramadan dinner at Gracie Mansion Tuesday night. Video courtesy of Fox News.



* This man is living in a world of his own, he’s living in cloud cuckoo land! – Mark

A Growing Clash of Civilizations in America? : Laura Ingraham's Talking Points: 8/24

US to Step Up Pressure After Al-Qaeda in Yemen Judged World's Greatest Terror Threat
THE TELEGRAPH: Senior Washington officials want to launch CIA drones over Yemen after judging the local branch of al-Qaeda the greatest single threat to the United States.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has come under increasing scrutiny since priming a former University College London student to try to bomb an American air-liner on Christmas Day.

CIA analysts now say the Yemen group is a "more urgent" threat to US security than the core al-Qaeda group based in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden's presumed whereabouts.

The Pakistan group had been badly damaged by Predator drone bomb strikes, one official told The Washington Post, while AQAP was "on an upswing".

"We see al-Qaeda as having suffered major losses, unable to replenish ranks and recover at a pace that would keep them on offence," the official said.

"The relative concern ratios are changing. We're more concerned now about AQAP than we were before."

Al-Qaeda has presented a continuous threat in Yemen since 2000 and before. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Double Shahada in Nottingham City Centre by Mansfield Dawah

The Best of British Islam Documentary (Trailer)


Gazellemedia >>>

Man Takes the Shahada in Nottinghamshire

Ahmad Abul-Baraa - Der Qur'an - Das gewaltigste Buch der Welt

African Clergy Told to Re-evangelise 'Ailing' Anglican Church
THE GUARDIAN: Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, reiterates opposition to homosexuality at Entebbe meeting of 400 bishops

Anglican bishops gather for the opening of the second meeting of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa in Entebbe. Photograph: The Guardian
The archbishop of Uganda has urged hundreds of African bishops to shake off their fears, shame and superficial dependency and re-evangelise the "ailing" churches of the west.

In a rallying cry to the biggest constituency of the Anglican Communion, Henry Orombi said yesterday was time for Africans to "rise up and bring fresh life in the ailing global Anglicanism".

His call came on the day that US Episcopalians published a guide on liturgical and ceremonial resources for clergy and same-sex couples.

Orombi was addressing 400 bishops who are in Entebbe, Uganda, this week for the second meeting of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa. He told them the "potentials" attending the conference must be free to go to Europe and the US and revive the "Mother Church desperate for the gospel".

Listening was the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who faces an awkward week as he visits Uganda for the first time since he took office in 2002.

According to the Daily Nation in Kenya, African church leaders will use the meeting to reiterate their concerns about homosexuality and criticise the archbishop for failing to punish communities that welcome gays and lesbians into the pews and priesthood.

Orombi told the paper: "Homosexuality is incompatible with the word of God. It is good archbishop Rowan is here. We are going to express to him where we stand. We are going to explain where our pains are." >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Image: Google Images
N.Y. Political Leaders’ Rift Grows on Islam Center
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Even as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg firmly rejected calls for the relocation of a planned Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero, signs of growing division emerged on Tuesday within the political establishment in Manhattan, as the powerful speaker of the State Assembly expressed forceful opposition to the plan.

Breaking his silence on the issue, the speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Democrat whose district includes ground zero, said the organizers’ honorable goal of healing post-Sept. 11 wounds and building bridges among faiths had instead provoked bitter fighting and raw emotions that could not be ignored.

“I think the sponsors,” Mr. Silver said at City Hall, “should take into very serious consideration the kind of turmoil that’s been created and look to compromise.”

Such a compromise, he added, would mean finding “a suitable place that doesn’t create the kind of controversy” engendered by the Park51 plan.

The opposition from Mr. Silver, a religious Jew who commands considerable influence in the city’s Democratic political world, is largely symbolic, because the city has already given its approval. But it fueled creeping doubts about the viability of the center, which faces a raft of obstacles, like paltry fund-raising, on top of the public outcry.

Mr. Silver’s remarks came on the same day that Mr. Bloomberg, the center’s most visible supporter, delivered a carefully prepared answer to the emerging voices calling for a compromise.

Speaking at a traditional dinner at Gracie Mansion as part of Ramadan, the mayor sought to tamp down the opposition and regain control over a national debate that has escalated by the day, starting as a local zoning dispute and becoming a referendum on the limits of religious tolerance in an age of terrorism.

Mr. Bloomberg, flanked by the center’s developer and the wife of its imam, said he understood the impulse to find a different location, in the hope of ending the controversy.

“But it won’t,” the mayor said. “The question will then become, ‘How big should the ‘no-mosque zone’ around the World Trade Center be?’ ” >>> Michael Barbaro | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum married a foreign woman for his second marriage. Photograph: The Telegraph
Dubai’s Grand Mufti Calls for Curb in Marriage to Foreigners
THE TELEGRAPH: The Grand Mufti of Dubai is calling for a curb in marriages between locals and foreigners as the price of marrying native brides has soared to more than £300,000.

The number of Emiratis marrying foreigners has risen by 10 per cent in the last four years, according to recent figures.

Officials and religious leaders blame the rising costs of dowries and extravagant wedding ceremonies and parties for encouraging “ordinary” local men to seek foreign wives, who cost less to marry.

Dr Ahmad al-Haddad, Dubai's Grand Mufti, the country's most senior Islamic scholar, wants to restrict foreign marriages to allow only Muslim, Arab spouses, and a maximum age difference of 25 years. For men, it would have to be his first and only wife.

“In Islam, choosing your life partner is a personal freedom,” the Grand Mufti said at a gathering in honour of the holy month of Ramadan. “But personal freedoms can be restricted for the benefit of the public interest.”

His proposals are unlikely to be welcomed, while he may have difficulty persuading Dubai’s ruler to approve his suggestion. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum took a Jordanian princess as his second wife, and would have fallen foul of the new rules. >>>Richard Spencer, Dubai | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Jimmy Carter reist nach Nordkorea: Einsatz zur Freilassung eines inhaftierten Amerikaners
NZZ ONLINE: Um sich für die Freilassung eines inhaftierten Amerikaners einzusetzen, wird der ehemalige amerikanische Präsident Jimmy Carter nach Nordkorea reisen. Pjongjang wünscht offenbar zu politischen Zwecken einen angesehenen Politiker zu Besuch.

Der frühere amerikanische Präsident Carter wird in den nächsten Tagen nach Nordkorea reisen. Er will sich um die Freilassung eines dort inhaftierten amerikanischen Staatsbürgers bemühen. Carters Reise sei nicht offiziell, berichtete die Webseite der Zeitschrift «Foreign Affairs» am Dienstag. Er werde auch nicht von amerikanischen Regierungsbeamten begleitet.

Carters private Reise erfolgt zu einem Zeitpunkt, da die Beziehungen zwischen Nordkorea und Amerika gespannt sind. Carter, der sich in Nordkorea grossen Ansehens erfreut, könnte bei seiner humanitären Mission auch als Vermittler wirken. >>> Petra Kolonko, Tokio | Mittwoch, 25. August 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Jimmy Carter in Nordkorea eingetroffen: Bemühungen um Freilassung eines Amerikaners >>> ddp | Mittwoch, 25. August 2010

Interview, Sam Solomon, Ottawa June 7, 2010. A Mosque Is a Seat of Government


HT: Always On Watch >>>

Lyon 7e : dans le coma pour un café un jour de ramadan
LE PROGRÈS: Un homme d'origine sénégalaise a été grièvement blessé à la terrasse d'un café, place Gabriel-Péri, par un groupe d'individus qui lui reprochaient de ne pas respecter le jeûne musulman

Un café pris à une terrasse, au troisième jour du ramadan. Voilà ce qui a déclenché une violence inouie. Voilà pourquoi Hamara Diarra, 45 ans, durement touché à la tête, a passé plusieurs jours dans le coma. Il reste dans un état grave à l'hôpital neurologique de Lyon.

La scène remonte au vendredi 13 août, vers 17h00, place Gabriel Péri, à Lyon 7ème. Comme il en a l'habitude, Hamara prend un café avec des amis, sur une petite terrasse, derrière l' arrêt de tram, au tout début de la rue de Marseille. Un jeune homme, "entre 25 et 30 ans" selon un témoin, demande un sandiwch devant un restaurant kebab. Et fait une remarque en direction d'Hamara.

En substance, il lui reproche de prendre un café un jour de ramadan, de ne pas respecter le jeûne musulman. Hamara aurait nettement répondu qu'il pratiquait sa religion selon sa convenance personnelle. Tout dégénère rapidement. Selon un commerçant tout proche, le jeune homme appelle des amis en renfort, au moins trois. Et une pluie de coups s'abat sur l'infortuné quadragénaire. Coups de pied, coups de chaise ? Les versions varient. Le résultat est là : l'homme blessé s'effondre sur le trottoir, secouru de longues minutes avant d'être transporté à l'hôpital. Son sac est même volé au passage. Continuez à lire et réagir à cet article >>> R.S. | Mercredi 25 Août 2010

HT: Jeannot >>>

HT: Vlad Tepes >>>

We Are The World 25 For Haiti - Official Video

Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson: We Are the World

Lionel Richie: Dancing On The Ceiling

Lionel Richie: Do It To Me
Watch and listen here

Christian's Outreach to Gays: I'm Sorry


CBN.COM: Christian's Outreach to Gays: I'm Sorry: CHICAGO, Ill.-- Andrew Marin is trying to bridge a gap that has widened remarkably in recent years. >>> Heather Sells, CBN News Reporter | Friday, August 20, 2010

Ground Zero Imam's Controversial Comments
FOX NEWS: Audio surfaces of Feisal Abdul Rauf claiming U.S. has more innocent blood on its hands than Al Qaeda

'Ground Zero Mosque' Imam: America Killed More Innocents Than Al Qaeda
FOX NEWS:The controversial imam at the center of the debate over the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero says his goal is to create coalitions across the religious divide, but during a 2005 conference in Australia, he said America may be worse than Al Qaeda.

"We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims," said Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf, speaking at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Center during a question and answer session dedicated to what sponsors say was a dialogue to improve relations between America and the Muslim world.

"You may remember that the U.S.-led sanctions against Iraq led to the death of over half a million Iraqi children. This has been documented by the United Nations," said Rauf, who called himself a spokesman for Islam.

But diplomats and others, including former President Bill Clinton, have said that sentiment is wrong. Saddam Hussein's regime corrupted then-U.N. sanctions and denied humanitarian aid to his own people.

In a Nov. 8, 2000, interview on Pacifica Radio, Clinton said if any child is without food or medicine, then Saddam is to blame because the dictator is "lying to the world and claiming the mean, old United States is killing his children."

During his Australian visit, the imam also said the Arab and Muslim world senses that the West does not care about Muslim lives and their pain and anguish is not heard.

He explained that frustration and emotions can lead to terrorism, actions he condemned. >>> | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

A Mosque at Ground Zero: Not Here, Not Ever
MAIL ONLINE – BLOG – MARY ELLEN SYNON: Islam is a religion of peace and mercy, part 47.

Today in Saudi Arabia, the richest and most influential Islamic state in the world, a Saudi man who was convicted in court of paralysing a fellow countryman is being threatened by the judicial authorities with having his spinal cord cut as an official punishment.

It is Islamic law and Saudi Arabia enforces it: an eye for an eye.

As I write this, the case judge in the north-western province of Tabuk is waiting for replies to the letter he has sent out to several hospitals asking for their advice on whether it is medically possible to slice the spine.

Is the judicial mutilation going to happen? We will have to wait and see. But we do know that ten years ago an Egyptian worker had an eye surgically removed in a Saudi hospital as punishment for disfiguring a fellow worker in an acid attack.

I mention all that because I am going to write about two dust-ups going on in America now, both of them tied to Islam and what Americans are supposed to make of the Muslims in their midst.

Dust-up one is the question of whether a foreign-financed campaigning group of Muslims will be allowed to build a £65m mosque just two blocks from Ground Zero.

Dust-up two is the continuing question of whether or not President Obama is actually a Christian. A poll last week showed that one in four Americans believe he is not. They think he is a Muslim.

Now, the first response from people in this country to either of these issues is predictable. On the question of the mosque, the response is: ‘A mosque is a place of worship and to deny a place of worship to a religion because of a group of terrorists’ links to Islam is offensive. Islam is a religion of peace and mercy. Bin Laden does not represent Islam. He espouses a warped interpretation of Wahhabism.’

‘Warped?’ What, unlike the Wahhabism embraced by the Saudi state? See first paragraph. That ‘unwarped’ interpretation of Wahhabism enforces mutilation and beheading of criminals, execution of homosexuals, stoning of adulterers and violent suppression of all other religions. Sweet mother of Jesus, you’d be hard-pushed to spot just where the line is crossed between warped and unwarped if that sort of barbarity is okay.

We’ll leave that question for the moment and get on to Barack Hussein Obama and whether or not he is a Christian and whether it ought to matter anyway.

The first response to that question by most people in this country is to mock what they believe are the religious obsessions of the American rightwing.

Here’s the problem with that response. It is not the American right who have been making the most influential arguments that Mr Obama is Muslim. They don’t need to. All they have to do is point to arguments which have come instead from powerful Muslims such as President Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and from intellectuals such as Dr Edward N Luttwak, a military specialist and historian writing in the Democrat New York Times.

The sheer frustration of the White House in all of this is shown in their determination to show that instead it is leading right-wingers such as the broadcaster Rush Limbaugh who are making the accusations.

Which leaves Mr Limbaugh laughing. He has challenged the White House to find any instance in which he said the President was a Muslim. Problem is the President’s staff can’t find a single instance. Continue reading and comment >>> Mary Ellen Synon | Monday, August 23, 2010

Mosque Debate Shines Spotlight on Sharia Law
FOX NEWS: Closer look sacred law advocated by imam behind Ground Zero Islamic center

Beck: Why the Mideast Matters
FOX NEWS: Is the Obama administration fundamentally transforming our relationship with Israel?

Obama's 'Crimes Against Liberty'
FOX NEWS: Author David Limbaugh's explosive new book says president is leading most destructive administration in U.S. history

Now, Why Would 20% of Americans Think Obama Is a Muslim?
AMERICAN THINKER: According to this poll released last week, nearly one in five Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim, despite his consistent claims to be a Christian. The White House commented that "obviously" the president is a Christian; "he prays every day." Various liberal columnists quickly ran to the president's aid with mouths agape over the obvious stupidity of this sizable chunk of the American peasant class.

The only thing truly obvious about this poll, in my opinion, is that it was meant to be a distraction from the growing, across-all-strata anger at the president's policies, a still-gloomy economy and a widely held perception of the president as a lazy man who much prefers the perks of high office to the actual work required of the office holder. So, Pew decided to provide a neat little piñata of supposed stupidity at which the liberal-elitist media could poke with holier-than-thou glee.

Obviously, however, these petulant liberal columnists did not bother to do their homework. From their every rant so far over the persistence of the Obama-Is-Muslim perception, it's clear that none of them have looked at this with anything but the most shallow objective. Obama says he's a Christian; therefore he is.

Ah, but the perception that he is a Muslim persists. Now, why might that be?

Let me count the reasons... Continue reading and comment >>> Kyle-Anne Shiver | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mosque Debate Fuels Muslim Fury
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: BEIRUT: The heated debate across America over the construction of the so-called ''ground zero mosque'' is reverberating across the world, with the potential to create serious diplomatic problems for the US.

Many Muslims abroad are upset by the debate, largely conducted by non-Muslims, which has grown so loud as to become a topic of discussion from Baghdad to Berlin.
…

Some Muslims say it is a bad idea to construct the building so close to the site of the Twin Towers, whose destruction on September 11, 2001, at the hands of 19 Muslim extremists is etched into the minds of people all over the world.

''Building a mosque there will increase hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims in the west,'' said Gamal Awad, a professor at Cairo's Al-Azhar University. ''It will further connect Islam with a horrible event.''

…

>>> Borzou Daragahi | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Hitler 'Had Jewish and African Roots', DNA Tests Show
THE TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler is likely to have had Jewish and African roots, DNA tests have shown.

Saliva samples taken from 39 relatives of the Nazi leader show he may have had biological links to the “subhuman” races that he tried to exterminate during the Holocaust.

Jean-Paul Mulders, a Belgian journalist, and Marc Vermeeren, a historian, tracked down the Fuhrer’s relatives, including an Austrian farmer who was his cousin, earlier this year.

A chromosome called Haplogroup E1b1b1 which showed up in their samples is rare in Western Europe and is most commonly found in the Berbers of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as among Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.

"One can from this postulate that Hitler was related to people whom he despised," Mr Mulders wrote in the Belgian magazine, Knack. >>> Heidi Blake | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Verhärtete Fronten beim Ground Zero: Gouverneur bringt Alternativstandort für Moschee ins Spiel
NZZ ONLINE: Nach den Demonstrationen für und gegen eine geplante Moschee beim Ground Zero bleiben die Fronten in New York verhärtet.

Für Gila Barzavi ist es schlicht unvorstellbar. Ganz in der Nähe von Ground Zero in New York, wo vor neun Jahren ihr Sohn Guy ums Leben kam, planen Muslime den Bau einer Moschee. «Das ist heiliger Boden und es ist der Ort, an dem mein Sohn beerdigt wurde», sagt die gebürtige Israelin aus dem Stadtteil Queens. Die Moschee, so sagt sie, wäre «wie ein Messer in unseren Herzen». >>> ddp | Montag, 23. August 2010

Mosquée de Ground Zero : 
la polémique enfle
LE FIGARO: Des manifestants se sont fait face dimanche soir à New York. Le débat affecte la popularité de Barack Obama.

La place de l'islam dans la société américaine est-elle en passe de devenir un sujet majeur de la campagne pour les élections de mi-mandat du 2 novembre? Ils étaient plusieurs centaines à s'invectiver dimanche à New York, séparés par un cordon de policiers. «Pas de mosquée!», criaient les uns, reprenant des chants patriotiques et brandissant des affiches où le mot «charia» apparaissait en lettres dégoulinantes de peinture rouge sang. «Peu importe ce que les bigots disent, les musulmans sont bienvenus», scandait l'autre groupe de manifestants. >>> | Lundi 23 Août 2010

In Controversial Mosque, Young Muslims Pray for Understanding
TIME: Young students and professionals who pray at the Park51 mosque, two blocks from Ground Zero, defend the controversial site

Australian Leaders Compete for Independents
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition leader Tony Abbott compete for the support of independent MPs, as the nation remains in political limbo. Video courtesy of Reuters.

News Hub: Why Some Couples Sleep in Separate Beds
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The National Sleep Foundation says 25 percent of American couples sleep in separate beds. Elizabeth Bernstein takes a look at some of the reasons why.

Mosque Dispute Sparks NYC Rallies
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Supporters and opponents of a proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site staged competing rallies in downtown Manhattan. Video courtesy of Fox News.

Oman’s 40-year Transformation
CNN: As Oman celebrates four decades of rule under Sultan Qaboos, Rima Maktabi looks at what's in store for its future.

Muslim Women Who Wear the Hijab and Niqab
CNN: Nadia and Aliya, two Muslim American women who cover themselves in adherence to their faith's promotion of modesty, explain their choice.

A Look at Women’s Wear in Indonesia
CNN: A look at high fashion in Indonesia, with the Muslim culture in mind.

Wife of Ground Zero Mosque Imam Speaks Out on US 'Hate of Muslims'
THE TELEGRAPH: The wife of the imam behind the proposed Islamic cultural centre near the Ground Zero site of the September 11th terrorist attacks has compared the treatment of Muslims in America to discrimination against Jews.

'It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia - it's hate of Muslims' said Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Photo: The Telegraph
"This is like a metastasized anti-Semitism," said Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. "That's what we feel right now. It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia - it's hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned."

Miss Khan, whose husband is travelling outside the United States on a tour partly funded by the US State Department, insisted that the centre - now being called Park51 - would be built as planned despite fierce opposition from many New Yorkers and calls for an alternative site to be considered.

"Of course, it has to go ahead," she told ABC News. "There's so much at stake." >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Monday, August 23, 2010

'Ground Zero' Imam on Mideast Tour
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The imam behind the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero surfaced yesterday far from the controversy -- in Bahrain, where he's on a U.S. taxpayer-funded trip to the Middle East to spread good will, The New York Post reported Saturday. Video Courtesy of Fox News.

Insult: A Time magazine poll released last week also revealed that more than 70 per cent of those questioned believed that to build the mosque would insult the memory of victims. Photograph: Mail Online
Hundreds of Protesters Rally Outside Ground Zero Mosque... and Sing Along to Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA
MAIL ONLINE: Hundreds of protesters rallied near the site of a proposed mosque and Muslim community centre near Ground Zero in New York yesterday.

A crowd of demonstrators against the project stood behind police barricades three blocks from the World Trade Center site.

Bruce Springsteen's anti-war song Born In The USA blared over loudspeakers as patriotic mosque opponents chanted, 'No mosque, no way!

Brooklyn plumber Steve Ayling says the people who want to build the project are the same ones who 'took down the twin towers.'

Nearby, several hundred people who support the mosque chanted: 'Muslims are welcome here. We say no to racist fear.'

The proposed £70million mosque has ignighted furious debate. (+ video) >>> Mail Foreign Service | Moonday, August 23, 2010

Anti-Muslim Rally at Ground Zero


Dueling Protests over Ground Zero Mosque
Watch video here

Australian Election: Dollar Falls at Prospect of Hung Parliament
THE TELEGRAPH: The Australian dollar has fallen as the markets react to the prospect of a hung parliament following the weekend’s inconclusive election.

Tony Abbott, opposition leader and Julia Gillard, Australia's Prime Minister. Photos: The Telegraph
Saturday’s cliff-hanger general election has left the incumbent Labour Party with 70 seats and the Liberal-National Coalition with 72 seat in the House of Representatives – well short of the 76 seats needed to form a government.

Julia Gillard, the current Labour prime minister, and Tony Abbott, leader of the opposition are currently trying to win over the support of the three new independent MPs and one Green Party MP – each claiming to have the moral right to form government. The Greens already hold the balance of power in the Senate, Australia’s upper house.

But it could be up to 10 days before a final result is known. If neither Ms Gillard nor Mr Abbott is able to stitch together a working arrangement with the independents and Greens, the country could have to go straight back to the polls to settle the matter. >>> Mark Chipperfield, Sydney | Monday, August 23, 2010

American Soldier, Convert to Islam, Teaching Taliban Fighters Bomb-making Skills
MAIL ON SUNDAY: A captured American soldier is training Taliban fighters bomb-making and ambush skills, according to one of his captors and Afghan intelligence officials.

Private Bowe Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is thought to be the only U.S. serviceman in captivity.

The 24-year-old has converted to Islam and now has the Muslim name Abdullah, one of his captors told The Sunday Times.

A Taliban deputy district commander in Paktika, who called himself Haji Nadeem, told the newspaper that Bergdahl taught him how to dismantle a mobile phone and turn it into a remote control for a roadside bomb.

Nadeem claimed he also received basic ambush training from the U.S. soldier.

'Most of the skills he taught us we already knew,' he said. 'Some of my comrades think he's pretending to be a Muslim to save himself so they wouldn't behead him.' Taliban claim captured U.S. solider has converted to Islam and is teaching its fighters bomb-making skills >>> Mail Foreign Service | Sunday, August 22, 2010

An American Convert to Islam Speaks! : قصة أمريكي اعتنق الإسلام