EDL Founder Claims He Is Target of Islamist Death Threat
THE GUARDIAN: Stephen Lennon says police have urged him to leave his home before English Defence League's anti-Islamist protest in Luton

The founder of the English Defence League claims he has been warned that his life is in danger if he leads a protest in Luton.

Stephen Lennon, 28, said senior police officers were urging him to leave his home town ahead of the anticipated arrival of thousands of EDL supporters.

The militant anti-Islamist campaigner said he was under police protection. He claimed Bedfordshire police had issued him with an "Osman warning", which are given by the police to advise individuals that they are at serious risk of being killed by someone who appears to have the capability to make good their threat. >>> Press Association | Friday, February 04, 2011

Egypt Protesters Hold Their Ground
With protests demanding end to Mubarak's rule entering the 12th day, people in Tahrir Square prepared to wait him out

This Is How Democracy Happens – the West on Egypt

London's Neediest Curse City Bonuses

TERRORWARNUNG: Al-Qaida nimmt Wall-Street-Banker ins Visier
WELT ONLINE: Steht New York ein neuer Anschlag bevor? US-Ermittler befürchten nach Hinweisen einen Angriff auf das Herz des Kapitalismus, die Wall Street.

Sicherheitsbehörden in den USA haben die Banken an der Wall Street und deren Spitzenpersonal vor möglichen Anschlägen des Terrornetzwerks al-Qaida gewarnt. Entsprechende Drohungen kämen von der Gruppe al-Qaida auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, sagte ein Sicherheitsvertreter der Nachrichtenagentur AFP in Washington. "Wir sind wachsam und haben Warnungen angesichts dieser gewalttätigen Pläne herausgegeben“, sagte er weiter. Er bestätigte damit einen Bericht des US-Senders NBC. >>> AFP/mac | Mittwoch, 02. Februar 2011

Egypt Crisis Shines Spotlight on Muslim Brotherhood
Reaction to Hannity's showdown with imam

A Need for Discretion in Egypt
Bolton on Egypt, Obama and secrecy

Mubarak Family Fortune Could Reach $70bn, Say Experts
THE GUARDIAN: Egyptian president has cash in British and Swiss banks plus UK and US property

Gamal and Hosni Mubarak are reported to have built up huge fortunes, including properties in London. Photographs: The Guardian
President Hosni Mubarak's family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast.

After 30 years as president and many more as a senior military official, Mubarak has had access to investment deals that have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in profits. Most of those gains have been taken offshore and deposited in secret bank accounts or invested in upmarket homes and hotels.

According to a report last year in the Arabic newspaper Al Khabar, Mubarak has properties in Manhattan and exclusive Beverly Hills addresses on Rodeo Drive.

His sons, Gamal and Alaa, are also billionaires. A protest outside Gamal's ostentatious home at 28 Wilton Place in Belgravia, central London, highlighted the family's appetite for western trophy assets.

Amaney Jamal, a political science professor at Princeton University, said the estimate of $40bn-70bn was comparable with the vast wealth of leaders in other Gulf countries.

"The business ventures from his military and government service accumulated to his personal wealth," she told ABC news. "There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain. >>> Phillip Inman | Friday, February 04, 2011

Analysis: Saudi Arabia's War between God and Archaeology
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: For decades, Saudi Arabia's powerful clerics have waged a bitter battle against pagan faiths, idol worship, heresy, alcohol – and archaeology.

News that David Kennedy, an Australian scholar, has succeeded in identifying almost 2,000 unexplored archaeological sites using Google Earth has focused attention on the wages of that battle: the destruction of Saudi Arabia's own heritage More than 90 per cent of the archaeological treasures of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, experts estimate, have been demolished to make way for hotels, apartment blocks and parking facilities.

The $13 billion project that led to a wave of demolitions in the middle of the last decade was part of an effort to modernise infrastructure in the ancient cities, where millions of pilgrims gather for the Hajj each year.

Sami Angawi, an expert on Arabian architecture, lamented that history had been " bulldozed for a parking lot". "We are witnessing now the last few moments of the history of Mecca,", he said.

The Kingdom's ultraconservative clerics believe that the veneration of ancient sites associated with the Prophet Mohammad and his family is heretical, and want potential shrines obliterated.

In October last year, a Saudi clerical body was reported to have renewed long-standing calls for the demolition of several historic Islamic sites – including the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the grave of his mother. >>> Praveen Swami | Friday, February 04, 2011

Muslims Must Embrace Our British Values, David Cameron Says
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British Muslims must subscribe to mainstream values of freedom and equality, David Cameron will say as he declares that the doctrine of multiculturalism has “failed” and will be abandoned.

Entering the debate on national identity and religious tolerance, the Prime Minister will declare an end to “passive tolerance” of divided communities, and say that members of all faiths must integrate into wider society and accept core values.

To be British is to believe in freedom of speech and religion, democracy and equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality, he will say. Proclaiming a doctrine of “muscular liberalism”, he will say that everyone, from ministers to ordinary voters, should actively confront those who hold extremist views.

He will also warn that groups that fail to promote British values will no longer receive public money or be able to engage with the state.

His speech, to an international security conference in Munich, comes after The Daily Telegraph disclosed the extent to which the British intelligence community fears the “unique threat” of terrorist attacks by radicalised British Muslims.

Mr Cameron will promise a new willingness to argue against and “defeat” extremist ideologies that lead some to engage in terrorism.

That means abandoning the notion that different communities should be able to live according to their own values and traditions as long as they stay within the law. “Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream,” Mr Cameron will say. “We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.” >>> James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Friday, February 04, 2011

Cairo Protesters: 'We're Not Muslim Brotherhood'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Telegraph reports from Tahrir Square in Cairo where, despite the violence this week, Egyptian demonstrators are determined to continue their protest until they see the back of President Hosni Mubarak.

Watch Telegraph video here

Pat Condell: Islam in Europe

Pat Condell: The Criminal Truth

Explosiver Tag in Ägypten
Die Opposition hat den heutigen Tag zum «Tag des Abgangs» erklärt. Mit einem Sternmarsch ins Zentrum von Kairo will sie den ägyptischen Präsidenten zum sofortigen Rücktritt zwingen. Einschätzungen von André Marty, SF-Sonderkorrespondent in Kairo

Egyptians Rally For Mubarak's Departure
Ten of thousands of protesters remain gathered in Egypt's capital for what is being called the "Day of Departure"

THE TIMES: Mubarak clings on as masses cry ‘Leave’: At least 100,000 protesters packed into Tahrir Square in central Cairo today, renewing their demands for President Mubarak’s resignation in defiance of a vicious two-day crackdown by his supporters. >>> Martin Fletcher and James Hider in Cairo, and Giles Whittell in Washington | Friday, February 04, 2011 [£]

Egypt Crisis: David Cameron Reprimands Baroness Ashton at EU Summit
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has reprimanded Baroness Ashton at a European Union summit, saying she was too soft on "state-sponsored violence" against Egyptian protesters.


The dressing down in front of a room filled with Europe's leaders was the Prime Minister's first open criticism of Lady Ashton since the Labour peer became EU foreign minister just over a year ago.

Mr Cameron was forced to make a "number of interventions" to ensure that the EU sent a tough message to Egypt because a summit declaration, drafted by Lady Ashton, was too weak.

A diplomat close to the talks said: "Cameron said Ashton's declaration did not go far enough and that there needed to be clear and strong language to show Egypt there would be consequences unless the repression stopped."

Britain's prime minister pushed for tougher EU action at a summit lunch, including a hint that sanctions would be used as Western patience runs out with President Hosni Mubarak's attempts to cling to power in Egypt.

Mr Cameron demanded that the EU threw its weight behind an American plan for Mr Mubarak to resign immediately and hand power to a military-backed interim government before speedy elections. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, February 04, 2011

Google Earth Finds Saudi Arabia's Forbidden Archaeological Secrets
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An armchair archaeologist has identified nearly 2,000 potentially important sites in Saudi Arabia using Google Earth, despite never having visited the country.

David Kennedy, a professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Western Australia, used Google Earth satellite maps to pinpoint 1,977 potential archaeological sites, including 1,082 teardrop shaped stone tombs.

"I've never been to Saudi Arabia," Dr Kennedy said. "It's not the easiest country to break into."

Dr Kennedy told New Scientist that he had verified the images showed actual archaeological sites by asking a friend working in the Kingdom to photograph the locations.

The use of aerial and satellite imaging has been used in Britain to locate Iron Age and Roman sites in Britain, as well as Nazca lines in Peru and Mayan ruins in Belize.

But few archaeologists have been given access to Saudi Arabia, which has long been hostile to the discipline. Hardline clerics in the kingdom fear that it might focus attention on the civilisations which flourished there before the rise of Islam – and thus, in the long term, undermine the state religion. Read on and comment >>> Praveen Swami | Friday, February 04, 2011

Uncontacted Tribes

BBC: First film footage of remote Amazon rainforest tribe >>> | Thursday, February 03, 2011

Khamenei Hails 'Islamic' Uprisings
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Iranian supreme leader urges Egyptians to follow in the footsteps of Iran's 1979 revolution.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader has called the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia an "Islamic liberation movement".

In his address, during Friday prayers at Tehran University, he said that people are witnessing the reverberations of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Khamenei said of the current unrest that "this is what was always referred to as ... Islamic awareness in connection with Iran's great Islamic Revolution."

Khamenei has urged Egypt's protesters to follow in the footsteps of the Iranian revolution which toppled a pro-US leader and called on Egyptians to unite around religion.

Referring to the events in Tunisia in Egypt, he said that it is a sign of "Islamic awareness" in the region and that these movements will spell an "irreparable defeat" for the United States.

He said that the embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is a "servant" of Israel and the United States.

"For 30 years this country (Egypt) has been in the hands of someone who is not seeking freedom and is the enemy of those seeking freedom.

"Not only he is [sic] not anti-Zionist, but he is the companion, colleague, confidant and servant of Zionists. It is a fact that Hosni Mubarak's servitude to America has been unable to take Egypt one step towards prosperity."

The spiritual leader's remarks were received by cheering crowds of worshippers who, raising their hands, chanted "Death to America! Death to Israel!" >>> Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | Friday, February 04, 2011

Tahrir Squares Echoes with 'Leave Mubarak' Chant
Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters, from all walks of life protesting regardless of age, gender or religion, gathered at the Tahrir Square in Cairo, to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. After offering the Friday prayer at the Square, the crowd shouted in unison: 'Leave Mubarak'. Friday sermon demanded regime change, prisoner release and constitutional change

Turkish Film Labeled Anti-Semitic
'Valley of the Wolves -- Palestine', the latest in a wildly popular series of action films, has been labeled anti-Semitic. In it three Turkish special forces operatives shoot their way through Jerusalem and the West Bank to avenge the real-life Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara ship last May, that left nine Turks dead. Al Jazeera's Anita MacNaught reports from Istanbul, Turkey

Egypt's Revolt Hits UK Businesses
With revolt on the streets some of Egypt's ports have been closed, hitting companies importing Egyptian products. But some analysts believe the downturn will prove temporary. Nadim Baba has more

Egypt Crisis: David Cameron to Call for Sanctions
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron is to use a Brussels summit to push for EU sanctions on Egypt and call for an immediate end to "state-sponsored violence".


His call for tougher action has resulted in a clash with Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, and other Mediterranean leaders who regard Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, as an essential bulwark against Islamic extremism in the Middle East.

"If we see on the streets of Cairo today state-sponsored violence by thugs hired to beat up protesters, the regime will lose any remaining credibility it has in the eyes of the watching world, including Britain," Mr Cameron said.

"We have been clear that Egypt should be taking steps to show there is a clear, credible transparent path towards transition. So far the steps taken have not met the hopes of the people. EU leaders today have to come together to show they support that orderly transition."

Mr Cameron is demanding that the EU throws its weight behind an American plan for President Mubarak to resign immediately and hand power to a military-backed interim government before speedy elections. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, February 04, 2011

New Dark Age Alert! Radical Imam's Frightening Prediction Parts 1 & 2
Cleric says Sharia law coming to America

Obama Turns to Religion During Mideast Crisis
Panel on President's recent public faith

Egypt's Chaos from a Former Ambassador's P.O.V.
Ex-ambassador on Egypt's unrest

WikiLeaks: British Muslims Sending Problem Children [to] 'Al-Qaeda' Schools
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British Muslims are sending their “problem children” to Islamic schools in Kashmir on the India-Pakistan border where they are at risk of being recruited by al-Qaeda, officials have warned.

According to a communiqué dated July 18 2008, Laura Hickey, a senior British official, told the Americans that “stabilising Kashmir is also important for UK domestic security reasons.”

Ms Hickey, the Foreign Office’s Pakistan team leader, said there was “a growing trend of UK-based parents who send their 'problem children’ to madrassahs in Kashmir, and these students are at high risk of radicalisation”. Continue reading and comment >>> Cristopher Hope | Friday, February 04, 2011

WikiLeaks Cables: Britain Refused to Shut Down Charity US Claims Is Funding Hamas
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British authorities refused to close down a charity, despite America claiming it was allegedly funding terrorism in the Middle East.

The documents also show that Treasury officials planned a “surge” against al-Qaeda financiers amid growing American concern over the lack of British intervention.

For several years, American officials repeatedly raised concerns over a charity called Interpal, the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, which is accused of aiding Hamas. The charity has been blacklisted in the US since 2003. Continue reading and comment >>> Holly Watt | Friday, February 04, 2011

Protests Continue in Cairo
Uneasy calm prevails in Egyptian capital's Tahrir Square while US "considers proposal" for Mubarak to go immediately

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Protesters continue to demand an end to Mubarak’s thirty-year rule >>>

White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.

Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which Mr. Suleiman, backed by Lt. Gen. Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the defense minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.

The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country’s electoral system in an effort to bring about free and fair elections in September, the officials said.

Senior administration officials said that the proposal was one of several options under discussion with high-level Egyptian officials around Mr. Mubarak in an effort to persuade the president to step down now.

They cautioned that the outcome depended on several factors, not least Egypt’s own constitutional protocols and the mood of the protesters on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

Some officials said there was not yet any indication that either Mr. Suleiman or the Egyptian military was willing to abandon Mr. Mubarak.

Even as the Obama administration is coalescing around a Mubarak-must-go-now posture in private conversations with Egyptian officials, Mr. Mubarak himself remains determined to stay until the election in September, American and Egyptian officials said. His backers forcibly pushed back on Thursday against what they viewed as American interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.

“What they’re asking cannot be done,” one senior Egyptian official said, citing clauses in the Egyptian Constitution that bar the vice president from assuming power. Under the Constitution, the speaker of Parliament would succeed the president. “That’s my technical answer,” the official added. “My political answer is they should mind their own business.” >>> Helene Cooper and Mark Landler | Thursday, February 03, 2011

Bangladesh Clerics Arrested after Girl Whipped to Death
THE GUARDIAN: Fourteen-year-old accused of relationship with married man given 70 lashes

Police in Bangladesh have arrested four Islamic clerics after a teenage girl accused of having a relationship with a married man was whipped to death. >>> Associated Press | Thursday, February 03, 2011

Mubarak: 'If I Resign Today There Will Be Chaos'
Watch video here
ABC NEWS: In an Exclusive Interview, Egypt's President Says He's Fed Up and Wants to Resign, "But Cannot for Fear of the Country Falling into Chaos." >>> Christiane Amanpour | Thursday, February 03, 2011

The Regional Impact of Egypt’s Crisis

Hosni Mubarak: In His Words

Al Jazeera English: Live Stream
Watch the broadcast here

U.S. Reacts to Growing Crisis in Egypt
White House condemns 'deplorable' violence

La chasse aux journalistes est ouverte
20 MINUTES ONLINE: Battus, interpellés, intimidés, de nombreux journalistes couvrant les affrontements meurtriers au Caire, en Egypte, se plaignent de violences croissantes contre eux.

Dans les rues de la capitale égyptienne, la chasse à la presse a commencé. Qui se promène avec une caméra ou un appareil photo est rapidement pris à partie par des hommes en civil favorables au président Moubarak, mais aussi par des manifestants anti-gouvernementaux, de plus en plus nerveux. Les Etats-Unis ont dénoncé une «campagne concertée» contre les médias étrangers. >>> afp | Jeudi 03 Février 2011

"Es fallen wieder Schüsse": Blutiges Chaos in Kairo
DIE PRESSE: Nach einer Nacht der Gewalt ist die Lage in Kairo erneut eskaliert. Schlägertrupps attackieren Journalisten und Demonstranten. Der Generalstaatsanwalt reagiert mit einem Ausreiseverbot für Regimevertreter.

Nach einer Nacht der Gewalt ist die Lage in Kairo im Laufe des Donnerstags erneut eskaliert: Mit Messern und Steinen bewaffnete Mubarak-Anhänger versuchen in der Innenstadt zu den tausenden Demonstranten vorzudringen. Zwischen den Lagern fliegen Steine, es gibt wieder Dutzende Verletzte, darunter auch Journalisten. Lokale Fernsehsender berichten, dass "Schüsse fallen" und zwar auf der Kasr-al-Nil-Brücke und dem Tharir-Platz, dem Zentrum der Proteste.

Für Despot Mubarak wird es unterdessen eng: Wie das ägyptische Fernsehen berichtet, untersagte der Generalstaatsanwalt mehreren Vertretern seines Regimes die Ausreise,darunter hochrangige Wirtschaftsleute und der frühere Innenminister. Der Bericht nährt die Hoffnungen der Regimegegner, dass die Tage von Machthaber Mubarak schon bald gezählt sein könnten. >>> Red. | Donnerstag, 03. Februar 2011

Erste Risse in Syriens Mauer der Angst
WELT ONLINE: Seit über 40 Jahren hält das Assad-Regime das Land eisern unter Kontrolle. Doch nun regt sich auch in Damaskus die Hoffnung auf Veränderungen.

Die Bilder aus Kairo flackern überall in Syrien über die Fernsehbildschirme. Seit Wochen schauen die Syrer zu, wie die Ägypter Tag für Tag weiter protestieren. Sie haben beobachtet, wie Flammen aus der Zentrale von Husni Mubaraks Regierungspartei schlagen, einem nüchternen Zweckbau aus grauem Beton, der allzu sehr an die Institutionen der Macht in ihrem eigenen Land erinnert.

„Sehr viele Leute, vor allem junge Leute, verfolgen die Nachrichten genau. Ihnen ist bewusst, dass sie unter Bedingungen leben, die nicht viel anders sind als die in Ägypten“, sagt der Dissident und politische Autor Yassin Haj Saleh. Die Proteste ringsum in der Region geben ihm Hoffnung. Doch er bleibt skeptisch. „Die Mauer der Angst“, sagt er, „ist in Syrien noch viel höher als in Ägypten.“ >>> Autor: Gabriela M. Keller | Donnerstag, 03. Februar 2011

Danemark: 12 ans de prison requis contre l'agresseur du caricaturiste
LE POINT: Le procureur a requis 12 ans de réclusion à l'encontre du Somalien reconnu coupable jeudi de tentatives de "terrorisme" et de meurtre contre le caricaturiste danois de Mahomet, Kurt Westergaard, a constaté l'AFP au tribunal d'Aarhus.

"Au vu des circonstances aggravantes, il doit être condamné à 12 ans de prison", a déclaré la procureure Kirsten Dyrman après que l'accusé Mohamed Geele eut été reconnu coupable à l'unanimité. >>> AFP | Jeudi 03 Février 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Somali man convicted for trying to kill Prophet Mohammed cartoonist: A Somali man has been found guilty of attempted terrorism for trying to kill a Danish cartoonist whose drawing of the Prophet Mohammed sparked Muslim outrage around the world. >>> | Thursday, February 03, 2011

James Baker: Mubarak Was 'Damn Good Ally'
Former secretary of state on U.S. relations with Egypt's embattled president

Son of Hamas Leader Tells CBN "Hamas Is the Muslim Brotherhood"

Phil Hotsenpiller Interviews Mosab Hassan Yousef AKA Son of Hamas

If This Is Young Arabs' 1989, Europe Must Be Ready with a Bold Response
THE GUARDIAN: What happens across the Mediterranean matters more to the EU than the US. Yet so far its voice has been inaudible

Europe's future is at stake this week on Cairo's Tahrir Square, as it was on Prague's Wenceslas Square in 1989. This time, the reasons are geography and demography. The Arab arc of crisis, from Morocco to Jordan, is Europe's near abroad. As a result of decades of migration, the young Arabs whom you see chanting angrily on the streets of Cairo, Tunis and Amman already have cousins in Madrid, Paris and London.

If these uprisings succeed, and what emerges is not another Islamist dictatorship, these young, often unemployed, frustrated men and women will see life chances at home. The gulf between their life experience in Casablanca and Madrid, Tunis and Paris, will gradually diminish – and with it that cultural cognitive dissonance which can lead to the Moroccan suicide bomber on a Madrid commuter train. As their homelands modernise, young Arabs – and nearly one third of the population of the north African littoral is between the age of 15 and 30 – will circulate across the Mediterranean, contributing to European economies, and to paying the pensions of rapidly ageing European societies. The examples of modernisation and reform will also resonate across the Islamic world.

If these risings fail, and the Arab world sinks back into a slough of autocracy, then tens of millions of these young men and women will carry their pathologies of frustration across the sea, shaking Europe to its foundations. If the risings succeed in deposing the latest round of tyrants, but violent, illiberal Islamist forces gain the upper hand in some of those countries, producing so many new Irans, then heaven help us all. Such are the stakes. If that does not add up to a vital European interest, I don't know what does. >>> Timothy Garton Ash | Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Beginning of an Islamic Uprising? Parts 1 & 2
Controversial cleric on what protests in Egypt mean to Muslim world

Wintry Blast Paralyzes Midwest
Biggest storm in 50 years spreads across U.S., causing major problems

Chaos Erupts in Cairo
Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports on the day's events