Saudi Arabia: Police 'Open Fire' on Protesters
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi forces reportedly laid siege to a Shia village in the east of the kingdom yesterday following the eruption of clashes, raising fears that the world’s biggest oil producer may not be immune to the unrest sweeping the Middle East.

Exiled Saudi dissidents said police had sealed off the village of Awwamiya [sic] after using live fire to disperse Shia protesters on Monday night. They claimed 20 people had been wounded in the worst violence in Saudi Arabia’s [e]ast, home to much of the Sunni kingdom’s Shia minority, for years.

Observers say Sunni-Shia tension is rising in the kingdom and could be exploited by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s greatest rival in the region. » | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

THE INDEPENDENT: Saudi police open fire on civilians as protests gain momentum: Insecure Saudis crack down on freedom protest » | Patrick Cockburn | Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Who Benefits Most From Christie's Decision Not to Run?
Oct 5, 2011 – Charles Krauthammer analyzes impact of N.J. governor's announcement on GOP presidential field

Chris Christie: Biggest Man in US Politics Turns Down Biggest Job
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chris Christie formally ruled out a bid for the Republican 2012 presidential nomination on Tuesday, disappointing legions of admirers and putting an end to speculation that he would make a dramatic late entrance to the wide-open race.

The fact that the New Jersey governor had to call a press conference, which was televised live by cable news channels, to make his announcement underlined how anxious many Republicans were for him to join the fray.

Speculation had reached fever pitch as Mr Christie spent two weeks reconsidering his original decision not to stand after being inundated with pleas from what he described as "some very serious people" and ordinary voters.

"I've explored the options and listened to so many people and considered whether this was something that I needed to take on," he said.

"But in the end, what I always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today – now is not my time. I'm doing a job that I love in the state I grew up in," said Mr Christie, 49, who has been in office for less than two years.

Known for his easy-going style, solid conservatism and candour about a range of subjects including his substantial girth, Mr Christie had delighted audiences with his blunt criticism of President Barack Obama's leadership failings.

While not impossible, it would have been difficult for him to raise money, enlist activists and build a nationwide team in time for the start of the nominating process, which is to kick off in early January with the Iowa caucuses followed shortly by the New Hampshire primary. » | Alex Spillius | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Wall Street Protest Movement Spreads to Cities across US, Canada and Europe
THE GUARDIAN: Occupy Wall Street protests reach Boston, LA, St Louis and Kansas City, and are planned in cities across US and abroad

It began as the brainchild of activists across the border in Canada when an anti-consumerism magazine put out a call in July for supporters to occupy Wall Street.

Now, three weeks after a few hundred people heeded that initial call and rolled out their sleeping bags in a park in New York's financial district, they are being joined by supporters in cities across the US and beyond.

Armed with Twitter, Facebook and shared Googledocs, protesters against corporate greed, unemployment and the political corruption that they say Wall Street represents have taken to the streets in Boston, Los Angeles, St Louis and Kansas City.

The core group, Occupy Wall Street (OWS), claims people will take part in demonstrations in as many as 147 US cities this month, while the website occupytogether.org lists 47 US states as being involved. Around the world, protests in Canada, the UK, Germany and Sweden are also planned, they say.

The speed of the leaderless movement's growth has taken many by surprise. Occupytogether.org, one of several sites associated with theprotest, has had to be rebuilt to accommodate the traffic. » | Karen McVeigh in New York | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Wahabi/Saudi Goverment Destroying Islamic Heritage
SUNNI NEWS: Mecca Bucks: Why Saudis invited Starbucks to Islam’s holiest city

Multinational capitalism and its edifices rise in the shadow of Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

According to some popular Muslim accounts, the marble Kaaba structure at the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca was built first by the angels before God created mankind, reconstructed by Adam, and later rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. It’s safe to say that none of these builders could have anticipated the latest use of the Mosque’s image, in a promotional DVD for the Abraj Al Bait Towers, a giant new skyscraper complex slated to be built just across the street from one of the entrances to the Grand Mosque. The DVD shows a beautiful woman sitting in one of the towers’ luxury apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook thousands of pilgrims circling the Kaaba below. Eyes flashing a come-hither stare from beneath her tightly wound headscarf, she asks prospective buyers in Arabic, “Would you like to be here in this place in front of the Kaaba year after year?”

Unlike the United Arab Emirates, with its Western-friendly, oil-money-flush megalopolises Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia had, until very recently, resisted commercializing its major cities–particularly Mecca, site of Islam’s holiest relics, where millions of pilgrims flock yearly to perform the hajj. But the dramatic rise in global oil prices, and the construction boom across Saudi Arabia that followed, has finally caught up with the city where Mohammed was born. » | Zvika Krieger, The New Republic | Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Mecca for the Rich: Islam's Holiest Site 'Turning into Vegas'

THE INDEPENDENT: Historic and culturally important landmarks are being destroyed to make way for luxury hotels and malls, reports Jerome Taylor

Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas, and the moniker is not a compliment.

Over the past 10 years the holiest site in Islam has undergone a huge transformation, one that has divided opinion among Muslims all over the world.

Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.

To the al-Saud monarchy, Mecca is their vision of the future – a steel and concrete metropolis built on the proceeds of enormous oil wealth that showcases their national pride.

Yet growing numbers of citizens, particularly those living in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have looked on aghast as the nation's archaeological heritage is trampled under a construction mania backed by hardline clerics who preach against the preservation of their own heritage. Mecca, once a place where the Prophet Mohamed insisted all Muslims would be equal, has become a playground for the rich, critics say, where naked capitalism has usurped spirituality as the city's raison d'être.

Few are willing to discuss their fears openly because of the risks associated with criticising official policy in the authoritarian kingdom. And, with the exceptions of Turkey and Iran, fellow Muslim nations have largely held their tongues for fear of of a diplomatic fallout and restrictions on their citizens' pilgrimage visas. Western archaeologists are silent out of fear that the few sites they are allowed access to will be closed to them.

But a number of prominent Saudi archaeologists and historians are speaking up in the belief that the opportunity to save Saudi Arabia's remaining historical sites is closing fast.

"No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism," says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country's historical sites. "We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it's not too late to turn things around." » | Jerome Taylor | Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Muslim Worldview: The Method To Re-establish the Islamic State (Caliphate): Documentary [Produced in 2003]
Documentary that explains the correct method to establish the Khilafah according to the way of the Prophet Muhammad

Seif Al-Islam dirige les opérations à Bani Walid, selon le CNT

LE MONDE: Le fils le plus en vue du colonel Mouammar Kadhafi, Seif Al-Islam, se trouve à Bani Walid, où il dirige les opérations militaires contre les combattants du Conseil national de transition (CNT), a affirmé mardi un commandant du nouveau régime libyen.

Située à 170 km au sud-est de Tripoli, Bani Walid est l'un des derniers bastions fidèles au "Guide" libyen déchu. Malgré près d'un mois de combats, les forces pro-CNT ne parviennent pas à progresser dans cette vaste oasis au relief accidenté, en raison de la résistance acharnée des pro-Kadhafi mais aussi d'un manque de coordination et de moyens du côté des combattants du nouveau régime. » | LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | Mardi 04 Octobre 2011

«Ich der Underdog? Absolut»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Angesichts sinkender Umfragewerte hievt sich Barack Obama im Wahlkampf um die Präsidentschaft in jene Rolle, in der er sich am wohlsten fühlt.

US-Präsident Barack Obama schaut düster ins Wahljahr 2012: Angesichts schlechter Umfragewerte sieht er sich bei den Präsidentenwahlen im November als Aussenseiter gegenüber den Republikanern. Schuld seien die schlechte Wirtschaftslage und die hohe Arbeitslosigkeit, meinte Obama in einem Interview des TV-Senders ABC.

Nach einer neusten Umfrage des Senders meinen 55 Prozent der Amerikaner, dass Obama im November 2012 nicht wiedergewählt wird. Auf die Frage, ob er sich jetzt als Aussenseiter («Underdog») betrachte, sagte Obama: «Absolut.» » | mrs/sda | Dienstag 04. Oktober 2011


ABC NEWS: President Obama: America 'Not Better Off' Today than Four Years Ago » | RUSSELL GOLDMAN (@GoldmanRussell) | Monday, October 03, 2011

9/11 Anniversary: The End of Islamic Extremism Is Far from Nigh
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It is often described as the day that changed the world but, in fact, 9/11 only brought home to the West what had been simmering, and sometimes breaking out violently, in different parts of the world for nearly half a century.

The effects on America and Europe were nothing short of traumatic. There was an immediate questioning of a growing “globalism” and the emergence of a siege mentality. Heightened security has eased people’s minds, but there still lurks a basic anxiety about when, and where, the next attack will be.

Siren voices sometimes ask us to believe that 9/11 was caused by the pathological actions of a few, and that all Muslims should not be blamed for acts of terror. It is true that there are many moderate Muslims who condemn unequivocally what has been done in the name of their religion and assert that Islam had nothing to do with it. But we still need to ask how terrorism on such a vast scale was possible.

Apologists, both Western and Muslim, claim that Islamist extremism and terrorism have been bred by resentment of Western power. The military dominance of Israel, the roots of the Kashmir dispute, the megalomania of the Shah of Iran, and Suez are all seen to be examples of Western hubris and ill-will towards the Muslim world.

We can acknowledge that these have contributed to anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world, but it would be a serious mistake to believe this provides a complete account of the extremism and the terror that has resulted from it.

At the heart of extremism is an ideology, a world-view – and not just concerning the perceived wrong done to the Muslim Umma (or people). Such an ideology expects Islam to dominate rather than to accept a subservient place in world affairs. It promotes pan-Islam and the ultimate rejection of nation-states, even Muslim ones. It may be that some extremists chatter about an Islamic state, in this part of the world or that; however, its ultimate aim is a single Islamic political, social, economic and spiritual entity.

For many, the restoration of the Caliphate is integral to this project and, given past history, we should not be sanguine that Western powers will not collude with it if they believe it promotes a temporary self-interest. Such a vision of pan-Islam is not restricted to the Muslim world as it is now but also includes lands “lost” to Islam whether that be India, Palestine, East Timor, South Sudan or the Iberian countries. » | Michael Nazir-Ali*, former Bishop of Rochester | Sunday, September 11, 2011

*Michael Nazir-Ali is now President of OXTRAD, the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue

Salafismus in Berlin
Die radikale Islam-Strömung hat Zulauf
DEUTSCHLANDRADIO KULTUR: Die Anschläge des 11. September haben den Blick auf den Islam verändert. Es gibt auch ein wachsendes Verständnis dafür, dass es den Islam nicht gibt, sondern viele verschiedene Ausprägungen. Die Salafisten sind eine davon: Ihre Mitglieder vertreten einen radikalen Islam, gelten als die am schnellsten wachsende islamistische Strömung in Deutschland.

Mittwochabend in Berlin-Wedding: Islamunterricht in der As Sahaba-Moschee. Rund 60 Männer, die meisten um die 20 Jahre alt, laufen zum Eingang des vor einem Jahr umgebauten Lebensmittelladens. Sie fallen auf mit ihren ungestutzten Vollbärten, den bodenlangen weißen Gewändern und den gehäkelten Kappen. Warum sie hier sind? Das darf man sie nicht fragen - die Gemeindeleitung hat Interviews nicht gestattet und steht selbst nicht für ein Gespräch zur Verfügung. Nur das Zuhören ist erlaubt.

Frauen betreten die As Sahaba-Moschee durch einen eigenen Eingang. Sie haben einen Raum für sich, ein dunkles Hinterzimmer. Gut zwanzig zumeist jugendliche Beterinnen sind gekommen. Sie alle tragen schwarze oder dunkelbraune Ganzkörperumhänge, die nur einen Ausschnitt des Gesichts freilassen. Der Imam der Moschee, Ahmad Armih, der sich hier Ahmad Abdul Baraa nennt, beginnt im Männerraum mit seiner Ansprache. Die Frauen hören sie über einen Lautsprecher. Heute geht es um die Deutschen, die er abfällig "Kuffar", Ungläubige, nennt:

"Seht ihr nicht hier in Deutschland die Deutschen, wie sie leben, meine Brüder und Schwestern. Subhanallah! Manchmal, da denkt man, da hat jemand eine Stalltür aufgelassen, wenn man die Leute hier sieht. Wie sie grölen. Wie sie reden. Wie sie bestimmte Sachen machen. Die sind nur triebgeladen! Aber so hat uns Allah nicht gesagt, dass wir so leben sollen. So hat er den Tieren bestimmt, dass sie so leben sollen. Aber nicht den Menschen, liebe Brüder und Schwestern."

Deshalb dürfen sich fromme Salafisten nicht mit andersgläubigen Deutschen befreunden, erklärt Ahmad Abdul Baraa:

"Manche sagen, egal. Bist du Jude, bist du Christ, Muslim, alle sind Brüder. Juden, Christen, alles Brüder. Okay, wir sind nett zu den Leuten, aber das heißt doch nicht, dass wir sie als unsere Brüder nehmen."

Die meisten Muslime seien bereits verwestlicht, daher werden sie zusammen mit den "Ungläubigen" in die Hölle kommen, so der Prediger. Fromme Salafisten hingegen erhalten einen Platz im Paradies: » | Von Lisa Steger | Samstag 10.September 2011

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Julia Gillard Hires Former Tony Blair Strategist John McTernan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Julia Gillard has hired John McTernan, one of Tony Blair's former spin doctors as her new communications chief in an attempt to turn around negative media coverage of her leadership.

The appointment of Mr McTernan, who worked as Mr Blair's director of political operations from 2005 to 2007, comes as Ms Gillard's popularity, and that of the Labor government, languishes at a record low.

As well as several policy challenges, including the implementation of a controversial price on carbon, the prime minister is facing growing speculation that she could be dumped by her own party before the next election and replaced by Kevin Rudd, the man she deposed last year.

Ms Gillard, who was born in Wales, will be hoping that Mr McTernan, a Scot, will be able to reverse her political fortunes. » | Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Le Premier ministre russe Poutine veut créer une Union eurasienne

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Premier ministre russe Vladimir Poutine propose la création d'une "Union eurasienne" composée d'anciennes Républiques soviétiques qui pourrait rivaliser en influence avec les USA, l'Union européenne et l'Asie.

Le Premier ministre russe Vladimir Poutine a appelé à créer une "Union eurasiatique" avec les anciennes républiques soviétiques, tout en se défendant de vouloir ressusciter l’URSS, dans un article publié mardi pour le quotidien russe Izvestia.

"Nous proposons un modèle d’unification puissante et supranationale, capable de devenir l’un des pôles du monde contemporain", explique dans cet article Vladimir Poutine, candidat à la présidentielle de 2012 et pratiquement assuré de revenir au Kremlin. » | AFP | Mardi 04 Octobre 2011

Criminaliser le salafisme

Pierre Vogel, Salafism and Sharia

Syria Accused of Torturing Relatives of Overseas Activists

THE GUARDIAN: Amnesty International report also details more than 30 cases of intimidation of activists around world

The Syrian government has been accused of torturing the relatives of Syrians protesting overseas in an attempt to silence international criticism of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The charges are made in a report from Amnesty International – The Long Reach of the Mukhabaraat (the name of the Syrian secret police) – which details more than 30 cases of direct and indirect intimidation of activists in Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK and US.

One dissident, now living in Germany, told Amnesty that his brother had been arrested, held for a month and tortured by Syrian military intelligence because of his sibling's anti-regime stance. In Sweden, another pro-reform activist said her activities on the internet and the streets of Stockholm had attracted the attention of the Syrian authorities.

At the end of May, she received a letter in Arabic using her maiden name, which warned her: "Keep quiet or neither you, nor your family inSyria is safe." Not long after, her brother was arrested in Damascus, had both his hands broken and was forced to promise that the family would disown his sister.

Anti-regime activists in several countries have reported being harassed, intimidated and even assaulted. » | Sam Jones | Monday, October 03, 2011

Bahrain Sentences 26 for Protest Links
THE GUARDIAN: MANAMA, Bahrain — A Bahraini security court has sentenced 26 activists to prison for their part in anti-government protests, raising to 60 the total number convicted over the past two days in stepped-up prosecutions by the Gulf kingdom. » | Ap foreign | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Dänemark schafft die Grenzkontrollen wieder ab
WELT ONLINE: Die neue dänische Ministerpräsidentin Thorning-Schmidt kündigt ein Ende der Grenzkontrollen an. Bundesaußenminister Westerwelle begrüßt die Entscheidung.

Die neue dänische Ministerpräsidentin Helle Thorning-Schmidt hat ein Ende der von ihrem Vorgänger eingeführten Grenzkontrollen angekündigt. Die verschärften Maßnahmen an allen Übergängen nach Deutschland und Schweden werde es künftig nicht mehr geben, sagte die sozialdemokratische Politikerin nach der Vorstellung ihres neuen Kabinetts. » | dapd/dpa/smb | Dienstag 04. Oktober 2011

Allemagne : face à la crise, Schäuble veut plus d'Europe

LE FIGARO: Le ministre des Finances s'exprimait à l'occasion du 21e anniversaire de la réunification.

Le clin d'œil paraissait un juste retour de l'histoire au moment où l'Europe est secouée par la crise de la monnaie commune. Encore fallait-il l'oser alors que l'euroscepticisme gagne du terrain outre-Rhin. Lundi, alors que l'Allemagne célébrait le 21e anniversaire de sa réunification, le ministre des Finances, Wolfgang Schäuble, a lancé un vibrant plaidoyer pour davantage d'Europe et une plus grande unité sur le continent face à la crise.

Face aux hésitations d'Angela Merkel, Berlin est régulièrement taxé de manquer de solidarité par ses voisins européens depuis le début de la tempête dans la zone euro au printemps 2010. Il n'empêche. Pour le très europhile ministre chrétien-démocrate, pilier du gouvernement d'Angela Merkel et dernier dinosaure de l'ère Helmut Kohl, la réponse à la crise actuelle «ne peut être que plus d'Europe». «Sans notre ancrage dans l'Union européenne, la réunification pacifique de l'Allemagne aurait été rendue infiniment plus compliquée, sinon impossible», écrit Schäuble dans une tribune au quotidien Die Welt. » | Par Patrick Saint-Paul | Correspondant du Figaro à Berlin | Lundi 03 Octobre 2011

Israel Partly to Blame for Growing Isolation in Region, Says US

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The United States has delivered an unusually blunt critique of Israel's foreign policy by claiming that Benjamin Netanyahu's government was partly responsible for its growing isolation in the region.

Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, suggested that Israel carried a portion of the blame for its deteriorating relationship with Turkey and Egypt, two vital allies whose ties with the Jewish state have become increasingly strained in recent weeks.

Speaking as he arrived in the Holy Land on Monday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Mr Panetta gave warning that Israel's dependence on its military dominance was not a sufficient safeguard given the dramatic shifts in the Middle East's political landscape in the wake of the Arab Spring.

"There's not much question in my mind that they maintain that (military) edge," he said. "But the question you have to ask is it enough to maintain a military edge if you're isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena.

"At this dramatic time in the Middle East, when there have been so many changes, it's not a good situation for Israel to become increasingly isolated. And that's what happening." » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Monday, October 03, 2011

Secte ou pas secte? Plongée chez les salafistes de France
LE MONDE – BLOGS – STÉPHANIE LE BARS: Le chercheur Samir Amghar vient de publier Le salafisme d’aujourd’hui. Mouvements sectaires en Occident (Editions Michalon). Dans cet ouvrage, il présente une typologie des différents mouvements du salafisme, courant religieux défendant une lecture littéraliste et ultra-orthodoxe de l’islam. Parfois assimilé à un mouvement sectaire, le salafisme connait une croissance dans les pays européens depuis ces vingt dernières années. Samir Amghar revient ici sur la présence salafiste en France.

Qui sont les salafistes en France ?

On estime à 12 000 le nombre de personnes qui ont choisi ce type de pratique religieuse en France. Elles sont pour la plupart d’origine algérienne, mais, désormais, entre un tiers et un quart d’entre elles sont des converties. Pour une personne désirant se convertir à l’islam le salafisme constitue en effet la variante qui introduit la plus grande coupure avec le passé, d’autant que ce type de conversion est socialement valorisé dans les quartiers populaires.

Beaucoup de ceux qui choisissent le salafisme connaissent des situations de déclassement, un sentiment de relégation ou une rupture sociale ou familiale. On constate aussi que le salafisme prend peu dans les communautés turque ou comorienne qui ont conservé des modes de fonctionnement familiaux traditionnels. Mais qu’il se développe dans les milieux maliens ou guinéens. En outre une des forces du salafisme est qu’il peut s’installer dans un contexte qui ne lui est pas favorable, petite ville, village, car il fonctionne en réseau et autour d’un leader charismatique. Réagir à cet article de blog » | Stéphanie Le Bars | Vendredi 30 Septembre 2011

Islam will Sharia in Deutschland

David Starkey Cleared Over 'Racist' Newsnight Remarks
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Starkey, the historian, has been cleared by the broadcasting watchdog over comments he made on newsnight that led to complaints he had been racist.

Ofcom will take no action over the comments made about the August riots on BBC2's Newsnight.

The BBC came under pressure to apologise after Starkey claimed that "whites have become blacks."

He blamed black culture for starting the riots and said that culture had spread into other parts of society.

Ofcom received 103 complaints claiming the comments breached rules about race discrimination or racial offence.

But Ofcom decided that the programme had been balanced and the discussion well-handled by presenter Emily Maitlis. » | Monday, October 03, 2011

Regular Aspirin Users at Higher Risk of Sight Problems, Research Suggests
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: People who take a daily dose of aspirin are twice as likely to suffer blindness in later life, a study suggests.

Researchers who tested more than 4,000 elderly people across Europe found that those who took the drug every day were twice as likely to be diagnosed with late stage age related macular degeneration as those who did not.

While the study provided no evidence of a causal link between aspirin and the condition, experts are now examining whether a regular dose somehow exacerbates the disease.
Millions of Britons are thought to take a daily dose of aspirin in order to lower the risk of suffering heart disease and strokes.

Studies have also suggested that regular small doses can help cut the risk of suffering from certain types of cancer.

But this latest study will increase concern among those who claim the drug can also have a number of damaging side effects. Read on and comment » | Martin Evans | Monday, October 03, 2011

Syrie, les Frères musulmans aspirent à un État "démocratique"
LE POINT: La confrérie des Frères musulmans est favorable à l'instauration d'un État démocratique et moderne.

L'ancien chef des Frères musulmans de Syrie, Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni, a assuré dimanche soir que la confrérie aspirait à l'instauration d'un État "démocratique", et non pas islamique, en Syrie en cas de chute du régime du président Bachar el-Assad. Lors d'une conférence organisée par le centre Brookings de Doha, Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni a affirmé que le "Conseil national syrien", dont la formation a été annoncée dimanche à Istanbul, représentait "80 % de l'opposition syrienne" et qu'il était "ouvert à ceux qui voudraient s'y joindre". Il a affirmé que les Frères musulmans, qui font partie de cette instance, "ne veulent pas imposer leurs vues à l'opposition ni au peuple syrien". » | Source AFP | Lundi 03 Octobre 2011

Warnung vor Salafismus: Wenn das eigene Kind nur noch für Allah lebt

WELT ONLINE: Der radikale Islam ist in Deutschland längst Jugendkultur. Eine Broschüre warnt Eltern und Pädagogen vor der Anziehungskraft fundamentalistischer Prediger.

Die "Gesellschaft Demokratische Kultur", ein vom Bundesministerium für Familie gefördertes Projekt, hat eine Info-Broschüre vorgestellt, die über eine fundamentalistische Islam-Variante aufklären soll, die sich in Deutschland zunehmend zu einer Jugendkultur entwickelt – den Salafismus.

Laut Verfassungsschutz hat der Salafismus landesweit inzwischen mehrere tausend Anhänger – Tendenz steigend. Die Zahl der oft jugendlichen Konvertiten wächst stetig und so mehren sich auch die Fälle, in denen Familien zerbrechen, wenn der Sohn oder die Tochter zum ultraorthodoxen Islam konvertiert. Gipfel des Radikalisierungsprozesses kann die Ausreise in ein terroristisches Ausbildungslager in Pakistan sein.

Primäres Ziel der knapp 80-seitigen Broschüre "Ich lebe nur für Allah - Argumente und Anziehungskraft des Salafismus" soll sein, über den salafistischen Islam in Deutschland, Prediger und Gruppierungen aufzuklären, auch um mögliche Gefahren einer Radikalisierung erkennen zu können und präventiv dagegen arbeiten zu können. Wann wird aus Fundamentalismus gefährlicher Dschihadismus? » | Autor: Florian Flade | Montag 03. Oktober 2011
Weitere Informationen zu der Broschüre finden Sie auf der Website der Gesellschaft für Demokratische Kultur: Zentrum Demokratische Kultur »

Chrystia Freeland: Russia’s “Sultan” Putin
REUTERS.COM: The next Russian Revolution started this month. It will be another two or three or even four decades before the Russian people take to the streets to overthrow their dictator — and the timing will depend more on the price of oil than on anything else — but as of Sept. 24, revolution rather than evolution became Russia’s most likely path in the medium term.

That’s because President Dmitri A. Medvedev’s announcement last weekend that he would step aside next March to allow Vladimir V. Putin to return to the Kremlin was also an announcement that the ruling clique failed to institutionalize its grip over the country.

We have known since 1996 that Russia wasn’t a democracy. We now know that Russia isn’t a dictatorship controlled by one party, one priesthood, or one dynasty. It is a regime ruled by one man.

“The party doesn’t exist,” said one of Russia’s leading independent economists. “The politics is all about one person.”

“There is no such thing as Putinism without Putin,” Nikolas Gvosdev, a professor of national-security studies at the US Naval War College, wrote this week in The National Interest. “Putin must still remain personally involved and at the helm for his system to function.”

That new reality might seem to be a victory for Putin. But it is a flawed triumph. His resumption of absolute power is also an admission that he and his cronies have failed in the project they set themselves in 2008. And that failure leaves the future President Putin with an Achilles’ heel. » | Chrystia Freeland | Friday, September 30, 2011

With Gadhafi Gone, Jewish Residents Reclaim Long-shut Synagogue

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: David Gerbi is a 56-year-old psychoanalyst from Italy, but to Libyan rebels he was the “revolutionary Jew.” He returned to his homeland after 44 years in exile to help oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, and to take on what may be an even more challenging mission.

That job began Sunday, when he took a sledgehammer to a concrete wall. Behind it, the door to Tripoli’s crumbling main synagogue, unused since Col. Gadhafi expelled Libya’s small Jewish community early in his decades-long rule.

Mr. Gerbi knocked down the wall, said a prayer and cried.

“What Gadhafi tried to do is to eliminate the memory of us,” said Mr. Gerbi, whose family fled to Italy when he was 12. “I want to give a chance to the Jewish of Libya to come back.”

The Star of David is still visible inside and outside the peach-coloured Dar al-Bishi synagogue in Tripoli’s walled Old City. An empty ark remains where Torah scrolls were once kept. But graffiti is painted on the walls, and the floor and upper chambers are covered in plastic water bottles, clothes, mattresses, drug paraphernalia and pigeon carcasses.

He and a team of helpers carted in brooms, rakes and buckets to prepare to clean it out. » | Kim Gamel | Sunday, October 02, 2011

Cameron Strong on EU, Wobbly on Women

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: LONDON: The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has defended his country's membership of the European Union and his government's austerity drive, against critics in his own party.

Speaking to the BBC before the Conservative Party conference was due to start in Manchester yesterday, Mr Cameron also apologised for perceived sexist comments about women.

The Conservatives are concerned that female voters are deserting them in droves over what women see as family-unfriendly policies.

Mr Cameron rejected calls from his party's right wing for an immediate return of powers from the EU to Britain: ''I think our interest is to be in the Europe Union because we need [the] single market. We're a trading nation. It's vital for our economic future.''

He said he would not support a referendum on Britain leaving the EU. MPs will vote on whether to hold a referendum on the issue after a petition calling for a parliamentary debate garnered 100,000 signatures.

But Mr Cameron said: ''I don't want Britain to leave the European Union. What most people want in this country, I believe, is not actually to leave the European Union but to reform [it] and make sure the balance of powers between a country like Britain and Europe is better.'' » | Karen Kissane | Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Jewish Settlers Suspected of Mosque Blaze
THE INDEPENDENT: Jewish settlers or their supporters were suspected of setting a mosque in an Arab village in northern Israel on fire.

Graffiti on the walls pointed to settler involvement, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

He said a carpet was burned and interior walls damaged at the mosque in Tuba-Zangria in the Galilee region. Israel Radio also reported that Korans were burned. » | AP | Monday, October 03, 2011

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Israel: Mosque Set Ablaze in Upper Galilee » | Edmund Sanders | Monday, October 03, 2011

Women Bishops Would Humanise Priesthood, Says Archbishop of Canterbury

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Women should be allowed to become bishops in the Church of England to “humanise” the priesthood, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Dr Rowan Williams warned the Church hierarchy to prepare for the “culture change” that would come with the “full inclusion” of women.

Removing the bar to women’s ordination as bishops would help reverse the “creeping bureaucratisation” and “box ticking” that too often undermines the work of the Church, Dr Williams suggested.

His comments came as reforms allowing women to become bishops came a step closer to passing into Church law.

The 44 individual dioceses have until mid-November to hold ballots among members of their local synods, or assemblies, on whether to support plan.

The reforms have already proven highly divisive, contributing to hundreds of worshippers and clerics, including five bishops, leaving the Church of England to become Roman Catholics this year. » | Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, October 03, 2011

The Anglican Church is already an irrelevance; the Archbishop of Canterbury is in the process of making it more irrelevant still.

The Church has been feminized over the years; and the more feminized the Church has become, the more the pews have emptied.

If Jesus had wanted there to be female priests and bishops, he'd have ensured that at least one of his disciples was a woman. He didn't do this; so it is pretty clear to me that this was not his intention.

Some people will say at this juncture that there were no women disciples because society back then was different. That's true. But Jesus was a revolutionary; so if he had wanted women to go out and preach the Gospel, he'd have made sure that his message was clear that they should. There is no doubt in my mind that this will bring no benefit to the Church. In fact, it will weaken an already weak Church even more.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is a man with his own liberal agenda. It appears that his agenda is more important to him than the survival of the Church.

Christianity is already dying on its feet in this country. Rowan Williams is only helping it along to its final resting place.

The Anglican Church – my own Church – has held little attraction for me for a very long time. This measure to introduce female bishops will make the Church still less attractive to me.

A feminized Church will be a weak Church. And as for his wanting to "humanise" the Church... Hasn't the Church been 'human' enough throughout the centuries? What a load of tosh, bunkum, and poppycock! – © Mark

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Schäubles Forderung nach mehr Europa spaltet Union
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Berlin - Bundesfinanzminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) hat mit seinen Vorstellungen für eine stärkere europäische Integration den Widerspruch des Koalitionspartners CSU provoziert. CSU-Chef Horst Seehofer wandte sich strikt gegen weitere Kompetenzverlagerungen nach Brüssel.

Und Innenminister Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) warnte: «Wer aus der Schuldenkrise den Schluss zieht, dass der europäische Zentralismus jetzt noch verstärkt werden muss, macht sich auf den völlig falschen Weg.»

SPD und Grüne sprachen sich unterdessen für eine Art europäische Treuhand aus, die den Verkauf griechischen Staatsvermögens zu einem angemessenen Preis garantieren soll.

Schäuble hatte in einem Beitrag für die «Welt am Sonntag» geschrieben: «Die Antwort auf die Krise kann nur ein Mehr an Europa bedeuten. ... Ohne begrenzte, aber zielgerichtete weitere Schritte im Sinne einer Vertiefung der europäischen Institutionen werden wir auf Dauer unsere europäische Handlungsfähigkeit verlieren.» Am Ende dieses Prozesses werde die politische Union stehen. » | dpa | Sonntag 02 Oktober 2011

Demonstranten verlangen Camerons Rücktritt

TAGES ANZEIGER: Zehntausende Briten protestierten in Manchester gegen die britische Sparpolitik. Und Premierminister Cameron musste sich bei zwei Parlamentarierinnen für abschätzige Bemerkungen entschuldigen.

Die britischen Konservativen müssen eineinhalb Jahre nach der Regierungsübernahme ihre Sparpolitik gegen massive Kritik verteidigen. Zum Auftakt des Parteitags am Sonntag in Manchester protestierten 30'000 Menschen gegen das milliardenschwere Sparpaket der Regierungskoalition aus Konservativen und Liberaldemokraten.

Unter den Demonstranten waren zahlreiche Beschäftigte des öffentlichen Dienstes, etwa Beamte, Lehrer und Feuerwehrleute, aber auch Angestellte aus dem Privatsektor. Zu dem Protestmarsch hatte der Dachverband der Gewerkschaften (Trades Union Congress, TUC) aufgerufen.

«Cameron muss weg»

«Konservative, raus!» skandierten die Demonstranten, während sie am Veranstaltungsort des Parteitags vorbeizogen. Auf Transparenten standen Sprüche wie «Manchester, eine Stadt vereint gegen Einschnitte» und «Er muss weg», womit Cameron gemeint war.

Aussenminister William Hague schwor die Delegierten zum Auftakt der viertägigen Konferenz erneut auf Haushaltsdisziplin ein. «Die Konsequenz aus Kreditaufnahme und Schulden und kann nicht sein, dass man neue Kredite aufnimmt und neue Schulden macht», sagte Hague. «Das wäre nicht fair für die nächste Generation». » | miw/sda | Sonntag 02. Oktober 2011

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Thousands protest against Cameron's cuts: About 35,000 people have turned out in Manchester to demonstrate against government budget cuts as Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives opened their annual conference. » | AFP | Monday, October 03, 2011

Grande Bretagne: 35 000 personnes dénoncent les coupes budgétaires

CYBERPRESSE.CA: Environ 35 000 personnes ont défilé à Manchester dimanche, au premier jour du congrès du Parti conservateur britannique au pouvoir, organisé dans cette ville du nord-ouest de l'Angleterre, pour dénoncer les restrictions budgétaires, selon la police.

«Conservateurs pourris, dehors», ont crié les manifestants en passant devant le centre qui accueille la conférence nationale des Tories.

De nombreux fonctionnaires, dont des enseignants et des sapeurs-pompiers, mais aussi des employés du privé ont répondu à l'appel de la confédération des syndicats britanniques, le Trades Union Congress (TUC), qui a intitulé le défilé «L'alternative - emplois, croissance, justice».

«Je suis contre la politique du gouvernement de réduction du montant des retraites. Il y des milliers de personnes ici, mais connaissant les conservateurs, je doute qu'ils écoutent, a estimé Gerry Collier, 64 ans, employé dans une entreprise de vérification des alarmes incendie.

Les pancartes dans la foule affirmaient «Les coupes ne sont pas le remède», «Manchester, une ville unie contre les coupes» ou encore «Il doit partir», un message adressé au premier ministre conservateur David Cameron. » | Agence France-Presse | MANCHESTER | Dimanche 02 Octobre 2011

Une majorité de Français voient Nicolas Sarkozy perdre en 2012
REUTERS FRANCE: PARIS (Reuters) - Plus des deux tiers des Français prédisent que Nicolas Sarkozy perdra lors de l'élection présidentielle de 2012 en France s'il est candidat, selon un sondage Viavoice que publiera lundi Libération. » | Patrick Vignal, édité par Jean-Stéphane Brosse | Dimanche 02 Octobre 2011

Polizei nimmt mutmaßliche Islamisten fest
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Berlin - Die Polizei hat in Hessen und Nordrhein-Westfalen vier Männer festgenommen, die dem islamistischen Spektrum zugerechnet werden.

Nach Angaben der Kölner Polizei wurden drei Männer im Raum Bonn aufgegriffen worden, einer in Offenbach. Es habe Hinweise gegeben, dass sich die in Deutschland geborenen Männer im Alter zwischen 22 und 27 Jahren Schusswaffen beschafft hätten. … » | Reuters | Sonntag 02. Oktober 2011

Alberta's Conservative Party Chooses Redford as Leader

REUTERS CANADA: Alberta's ruling Conservative party has named Alison Redford, a former human rights lawyer, as the next premier of the province that is seeking to expand markets for its oil sands while fending off criticism from international environmental groups.

Redford won by a narrow margin in the early morning hours on Sunday. She beat out Gary Mar, a former health minister, and Doug Horner, who had been deputy premier.

Once sworn in, the 46-year-old former provincial justice minister will become the fifth Conservative premier in the party's four-decade dynasty in Alberta. She is due to call an election in the western province of 3.5 million people some time next year. » | Jeffrey Hodgson | Sunday, October 02, 2011

Familiar Sounds in Mideast Peace Calls
Oct. 2 - Israel welcomes efforts by international mediators to resume peace talks; with Palestinians calling for settlement halt before talks. Deborah Lutterbeck reports

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U.S. Economy Protests Spread
Oct.2 - Protests against mortgage foreclosures, unemployment and corporate bailouts spread beyond New York City. Paul Chapman reports.

Israël veut relancer les discussions
20 MINUTES ONLINE: Israël a accueilli «favorablement» la déclaration du Quartette pour relancer les négociations de paix. Il a appelé les Palestiniens à reprendre les discussions.

«Israël accueille favorablement l'appel du Quartette pour des négociations directes entre les parties sans pré-conditions, comme l'ont demandé à la fois le président Obama et le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu», indique un communiqué du bureau de M. Netanyahu.

Cette réaction officielle d'Israël est la première à la proposition du Quartette sur le Proche-Orient (Etats-Unis, Union européenne, ONU et Russie) de reprendre les négociations de paix avec l'objectif d'aboutir à un accord final fin 2012.
«Bien qu'Israël ait des réserves qui seront soulevées au moment approprié, il appelle l'Autorité palestinienne à suivre son exemple et engager des négociations directes sans tarder», souligne le communiqué. » | ats | Dimanche 02 Octobre 2011

Chris Christie: Bully, Punk, or Populist Genius? Meet the GOP's Latest Hope

THE GUARDIAN: Chris McGreal in Trenton reports on the controversial record of the man many believe could challenge Barack Obama

Some of Chris Christie's political allies have a telling way of describing the man who has become the most talked-about candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, even though he's adamant he's not running.

They have in recent times called the New Jersey governor "a bully and a punk", "vindictive", "deranged" and "a rotten prick".

Then there are Christie's political enemies – and that's how many regard themselves, not merely as opponents. They describe the governor, who claims to be the leader who can reach across the ideological divide and break the partisan deadlock in Washington, as conducting a "rule of anger", of having "a remarkable inability to have a civil dialogue" and of using his powers as an "instrument of revenge and rebuke". He has also been derided as "the king of liars".

Christie burst into the race for the presidential nomination, even without declaring his intention to run, with a speech at the Reagan Library in California last week that electrified many conservatives who fear their party's existing crop of candidates – led by Rick Perry and Mitt Romney – are not cutting it. » | Chris McGreal in Trenton, New Jersey | Saturday, October 01, 2011

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Danish 'Red Bloc' Alliance Formed to Take Leftwing Coalition into Power
THE GUARDIAN: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who will become Denmark's first female PM, will announce her new ministers on Monday

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark's prime minister-elect, has announced a deal to form a three-party centre-left coalition following her election victory two weeks ago. Thorning-Schmidt, the leader of the Social Democrats, and daughter-in-law of Neil and Glenys Kinnock, said the Socialist People's party and the Social Liberals would join her "red bloc" alliance. » | Agencies | Sunday, October 3, 2011

The Clamor for Chris Christie
October 01, 2011: What does the New Jersey governor have that the current GOP field doesn't?

Angela Merkel Bets All On Greek Myths

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The euro crisis vote has turned Germany's European dream into a nightmare, writes Clemens Wergin of Die Welt.

When George Papandreou addressed an audience of businessmen in Berlin on the painful subject of the euro crisis last week, he must have been surprised by the warmth of his welcome: far friendlier than anything the increasingly isolated Greek prime minister is used to back home.

Even more remarkable, given that Greece and its ever-expanding need for a bail-out is the cause of so much angst in Germany, the applause he received was louder than that for the Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

But the reason goes directly to the heart of the problem Germany faces. None of the industrialists – representatives of great German manufacturing companies like Siemens, BMW and Volkswagen – who gathered a 1960s conference centre in the former communist east of Berlin to hear him speak, want the euro to fail. Most would rather gamble just a little bit more of Germany's hard-earned cash to help Greece get out of its mess. And all wanted to believe his message, that the tough reforms promised by Greece would not only be delivered, but would work.

"We're not asking for applause, but we are simply asking for respect of the facts," he said. "Is there any hope? Will we ultimately succeed? My answer is yes, we can!"

As it turned out, last week was a decisive one for Mrs Merkel. On Thursday, she saw off a rebellion in her own ruling coalition and got the plan for an expanded bail-out fund through the German parliament, the Bundestag, with enough votes not to have needed the strong support that also came from the opposition.

But the question for Germany is still unanswered. Are Germans right to continue, grudgingly, to help their southern European cousins out of the mess that their bad habits have got them into? Or are we simply pouring good money after bad? Continue reading and comment » | Clemens Wergin*, in Berlin | Sunday, October 02, 2011

*Clemens Wergin is Foreign Editor of Die Welt

David Cameron 'We Need to Be in European Union'
The British Prime Minister tells Andrew Marr on his BBC show that the United Kingdom needs to be a part of the European Union.

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Top Al-Qaeda Associate Caught in Afghanistan
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nato and Afghan forces have captured the leader of the Afghan branch of the Haqqani network, dealing a severe blow to one of the country's most dangerous anti-Western insurgent groups.

The announcement marks the second major victory against militant figures in 24 hours, following the death of Anwar al-Awlaqi, the key al-Qaeda propagandist in Yemen.

The detention of Haji Mali Khan, the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani - the day-to-day leader of the group - comes amid intense American pressure on Afghanistan's neighbour Pakistan to act against the Haqqanis, who are closely associated with al-Qaeda and blamed for a string of high-profile attacks on Western targets.

Mali Khan was captured in Paktia, south-eastern Afghanistan close to the border with Pakistan, according to a statement issued by Isaf, the Nato-led force.

"Although he was heavily armed during the operation that led to his capture, Mali Khan submitted to the security force without incident or resistance," it said, describing his capture as a "significant milestone" in disrupting the group.

Officials said a large number of insurgents were also captured during the operation, including Mali Khan's deputy and bodyguard. » | Rob Crilly in Islamabad | Saturday, October 01, 2011

Conservative Party Conference 2011: Cameron Says UK Should Stay in the EU

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Prime Minister David Cameron today said he would not support a referendum on UK membership of the European Union.

It was revealed today that MPs are set to vote on a referendum within the next few months, after a petition with more than 100,000 signatures was submitted calling for the public to be given the chance to decide whether Britain should stay in the EU.

Speaking at the start of the Conservative Party in Manchester, Mr Cameron said he did not believe the UK should quit the EU.

And he played down the prospect of the Government repatriating powers from Brussels in the near future.

The Government's immediate priority on Europe is to get the crisis in the eurozone sorted out and revive the continent's economy, he said.

The Commons Backbench Business Committee is expected to set a date before Christmas for a one-day debate in the House of Commons on a referendum on EU membership. The vote will not be binding on the Government, but if MPs back a referendum, it will put massive pressure on Mr Cameron to put the issue to the country.

The committee's Labour chairman Natascha Engel told the Mail on Sunday: "Given the crisis in the eurozone, this issue has become more relevant than ever. There is a clear majority of backbench MPs who want to debate this and we have to respond to that.

"The EU today is completely different from the one the British people voted to join in 1975. It is time to examine the position again.

"For years it has suited successive governments to avoid debating whether Britain should leave the EU. The whole purpose of my committee is to make sure the big issues of the day are aired in Parliament. People in pubs and shops all over Britain are discussing our membership of the EU and it is time MPs openly debated it too."

But Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "It's not our view that there should be an in/out referendum. I don't want Britain to leave the EU. I think it's the wrong answer for Britain. » | Matthew Holehouse | Sunday, October 02, 2011