'In This Room There Is No Islam': The Shah's 'Special Relationship' With Iran's Israeli Community

+ 972 MAG: A new documentary tells about the lives the Israeli community living in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s. But will the film be enough to challenge the dominant Israeli narrative regarding the root of animosity between the two countries?

It seems that the mechanisms of remembrance and forgetfulness worked perfectly in shaping the collective memory of the relations between Israel and Iran. The Israeli narrative goes as such: during his reign, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi tried to create a modern, progressive, and western Iran (Iran’s relations with Israel were at the core and foundations of the shah’s geostrategic policies). The new documentary, Before the Revolutionby Dan Shadur, beautifully conveys the story of the large Israeli community in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s, progressing in two simultaneous lanes: the lane of memory, and the lane of forgetting.

The vast spectrum of interviewees in this documentary allows the audience to gain a fuller picture of those relationships. The interviewees come from different walks of life: from senior diplomats to teachers in Tehran’s Israeli school or employees of the myriad Israeli companies that worked in Iran at that time. They tell us how and why the picture of this “special relationship” was drawn in such this way. They also describe the creation of the “oriental fantasy” in which they lived. Fancy luxurious department stores that offered goods that did not exist in Israel at that time (like Pampers diapers) welcomed the Israelis who held “unbelievable earning power.” Many of them describe the wealth, huge houses, live-in maids, and the large and thriving community. » | Lior Sternfeld/Haokets | Saturday, June 08, 2013

Russia Detains Over 300 Muslims During Prayer
YA LIBNAN: MOSCOW – In a new crackdown on Russian Muslims, Moscow police have detained more than 300 worshippers after rounding them up during prayer at a Muslim prayer room in the Russian capital.

“The situation in the North Caucasus should be kept under particular control,” President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of security force officers, Reuters reported on Friday, June 7.

“The policy in the fight against corruption, crime and the insurgency has to be carried out harshly and consistently.”

In a raid carried on Friday, the forces detained 300 Muslims, including 170 foreigners, without disclosing reasons behind their arrest.

The forces, led by Federal Security Service (FSB), also confiscated Islamic literature to check its content.

Friday’s raid is the third targeting Muslim places of worship in Moscow or St Petersburg this year. » | Sunday, June 09, 2013

Hochrechnung: Schweizer stimmen für härteres Asylrecht
DIE PRESSE: Die Schweizer stimmen über Änderungen im Asylrecht ab, die im September in Kraft getreten waren. Die Zustimmung soll bei knapp 80 Prozent liegen.

Die Schweizer Bürger haben in einem Referendum ersten Ergebnissen zufolge mit großer Mehrheit ein verschärftes Asylrecht gebilligt. In neun der 23 Kantone wurde am Sonntag für eine im September in Kraft getretene Neuregelung gestimmt, mit der die Zuwanderung gebremst werden soll, wie Hochrechnungen des Schweizer Fernsehens zeigten. Demnach liegt die Zustimmung für die Novelle bei knapp 80 Prozent.

Angesichts steigender Zuwanderungszahlen hatten Umfragen bereits eine Mehrheit für die Verschärfung vorausgesagt. Die von der Regierung eingebrachte Asylrechtsänderung war Ende September vom Parlament in Bern in Kraft gesetzt worden. Unter anderem Kirchen, Menschenrechtsorganisationen und Gewerkschaften wollten mit dem Referendum erreichen, dass die Änderungen rückgängig gemacht werden. » | APA/AFP | Sonntag, 09. Juni 2013

The Guardian Audio Edition: The Hypocrisy at the Heart of the Bradley Manning Trial - 4 June 2013
Audio versions of a selection of articles from the Guardian newspaper and website

Conflict in the Middle East Is About More Than Just Religion
THE OBSERVER: Recently, Shia-Sunni conflicts have seen Hezbollah help Syrian government forces to recapture Qusair. Battles rage between the two sides in Lebanon while in Iraq the monthly death toll from Sunni-Shia violence has topped 1,000. But religion alone does not explain the escalating tensions. Fundamental political shifts begun by the Arab spring are helping create new regional disputes in the Middle East

Nine days ago the influential Sunni cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi denounced the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah movement – whose fighters helped Bashar al-Assad's regime retake the Syrian city of Qusair last week – as the "party of Satan".

Speaking in Doha not long before Qusair's fall, Qaradawi did not stop there: the cleric, whose speeches and sermons are heard by millions, went a dangerous step further, calling on Sunni Muslims with military training to support the Syrian uprising against Assad.

It was a sermon that not only marked a sharp shift in the sectarian tensions in the Middle East between Sunni and Shia but an escalation in Qaradawi's own rhetoric. When I heard him preach on Syria at Cairo's crowded al-Azhar mosque last autumn, he was sharp in his condemnation of the Assad regime, but stopped short of endorsing a jihad.

In Doha, however, Qaradawi's remarks embraced a more dangerous sectarian notion. "The leader of the party of the Satan comes to fight the Sunnis … now we know what the Iranians want … they want continued massacres to kill Sunnis," Qaradawi said. "How could 100 million Shias defeat 1.7 billion [Sunnis]? Only because [Sunni] Muslims are weak."

Qaradawi's comments – endorsed last week by Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Abdul Aziz al-Asheikh – did not come out of nowhere. They were a direct response to a speech made by Hezbollah's general secretary, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut, not only admitting that his fighters were in Syria but pledging that his men would help Assad – a member of the Shia Alawite sect – to final "victory".

If ever evidence was needed of the escalating sectarian dimension to the growing regional instability in the Middle East – in which the worsening conflict in Syria is playing a large part – it was visible last week. » | Peter Beaumont | Saturday, June 08, 2013

Click here for a pdf depicting key Sunni and Shia populations »

Turkey's Protesters Proclaimed as True Heirs of Nation's Founding Father

THE OBSERVER: Ataturk, the secular reformer, has become the symbol for young Turks defying what they see as Erdogan's reactionary reversion to the Ottoman past

Among the tents, snoozing youth and pleasant shady trees of Istanbul's Gezi Park there are portraits of one man in a European suit. Wherever you look Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the Turkish Republic – gazes sternly at you. Photos of the first president hang from branches, have been affixed to tea stalls, and even encircle a giant banner showing Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dressed as Hitler.

"We really love Ataturk. He changed our state. He made it into a modern republic," explained Murat Bakirdoven, a 24-year-old biology student who has been camping in the park for a week. Someone had stuck another photo of Ataturk – this time in a lounge suit, sitting on a leather chair, cigarette in hand – on a nearby tree. Bakirdoven added: "Erdogan wants us to forget him. Instead we are trying to create an Ataturk renaissance."

For the protesters who have taken part in Turkey's anti-government demonstrations, Ataturk is a hero. Dead for 75 years, he has become the reborn symbol of this student-driven anti-Erdogan movement. (The other motif is a penguin – a reference to the state media, which failed to report on the uprising for several days; one channel, CNN Turk, instead screened a nature documentary on Antarctica).

The symbolism goes to the heart of what this unprecedented uprising is about: Turkey's modern identity. At issue is whether Turkey should be the progressive, secular European nation-state that Ataturk originally envisaged and shaped from the ruins of the Ottoman empire, or a more explicitly religious country, a sort of Muslim version of Christian democracy. The protesters want the former; Erdogan, and his ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP), it appears, the latter. » | Luke Harding Istanbul | Saturday, June 08, 2013

Lady in the Red Dress and Her Dream of a Turkish Rebirth

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The reluctant heroine who symbolises the Istanbul protests tells Ruth Sherlock she believes people power will prevail in Turkey.

With her red cotton dress, white shoulder bag and flowing black hair, she has become the colour-coded emblem of Turkey's new people-power movement.

Caught on camera as she was sprayed head to toe in tear gas, Ceyda Sungur's treatment at the hands of Istanbul's riot police seemed the epitome of using a "sledgehammer to crack a nut" and encapsulated the government's heavy-handed response to a civilised protest.

Pictures of the "Lady in the Red Dress" quickly spread around the world via the internet. Those who shared the pictures online joined protesters in demanding to know why a woman who looked attired for a summer picnic had been treated like a masked, brick-throwing anarchist.

Last week, Ms Sungur said she was a reluctant heroine, describing herself as just part of a wider grass-roots movement, and pointing out in brief remarks to a Turkish newspaper that hundreds of others had been gassed in similar fashion.

Now, though, having declined requests for interviews from all over the world, Ms Sungur, an academic, has spoken briefly but vividly to The Sunday Telegraph about her involvement in what happened, and how she is now working in a makeshift clinic to help others hurt in demonstrations. » | Ruth Sherlock, Istanbul | Saturday, June 08, 2013

Bikinis Banned at Miss World to Avoid Offending Indonesia's Muslims
IBN LIVE: London: Miss World contestants will not wear bikinis when they vie for the pageant's crown in Indonesia this September to avoid causing offence in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Miss World organizers said the 137 women in the competition will instead wear one-piece swimwear, some of which will also have sarongs over the top.

"This is perfectly reasonable in a country that prefers one-piece swimwear," London-based Miss World Organization Chairwoman Julia Morley said on Thursday. Morley denied suggestions the decision to ditch bikinis was made after local complaints about the contest. However, reports in Indonesian newspapers said a number of conservative groups had taken issue with the staging of the contest, highlighting bikinis as a key objection. » | Reuters | Saturday, June 08, 2013

The Swedish Royal Wedding
To the photo gallery » | Saturday, June 08, 2013

Tunisian Salafi Cleric Khamis Mejri Rejects Democracy and Praises Bin Laden | Hannibal TV (Tunisia) - December 2, 2012 - May 26, 2013

Egyptian Cleric Sheik Abd Al-Qader Al-Sibai: Islamic Law Forbids Us to Greet Christians on Easter | Al-Hafez TV (Saudi Arabia/Egypt) - May 6, 2013

Australian Islamist Musa Cerantonio: Pentagon a Legitimate Target; Blood of Muslims More Dear Than That of Western Victims | The Internet - April 29, 2013

Turkey's Protests and Erdogan's Brutal Crackdown: How Long Can the Defiant Prime Minister Last?
THE INDEPENDENT: Tough and combative, he physically embodies the modern country he has done so much to shape. But this week’s protests are his biggest test yet

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the symbol as well as the architect of modern Turkey as it has developed over the past decade. His rule followed 80 years of quasi-military rule enforced by army coups of great brutality, in which hundreds of thousands were jailed and tortured under regimes as cruel and oppressive as anything seen in Argentina and Brazil. Dissent was crushed and organisations as small as local chess clubs permanently banned.

It was Erdogan and his AK (Justice and Development) Party that ended the dominance of the old elite after 2002 with three successive election victories. As important, since opponents of military rule had won elections before only to be ousted or overruled by army commanders, the AK leaders succeeded in outmanoeuvring the generals to remove the threat of another military takeover. Only in the past five or six years has the possibility of the return of the army ceased to be an option in Turkey, though the shadow of what Turks call the “deep state” is still in evidence with periodic unexplained assassinations. On the back of stable civilian rule, Turkey has developed economically into the 17th largest economy in the world.

It is important to restate Erdogan’s achievements, in order to understand his failings and the causes of the protests that began in Taksim Square in central Istanbul, and have now swept across the country. His aggrieved tone of voice, as he flew into Istanbul airport at the end of a week of turmoil, conveyed a certain bewilderment on his part as he combined appeals for unity with denunciations of the protesters. » | Patrick Cockburn | Friday, June 07, 2013

'Erdogan's Creeping Islamisation Deepens Divide Among Turks'

France's Fascism Fear as Activist Killed in Skinhead Attack
Thousands of enraged protesters gathered across France on Thursday in homage to a teenage activist who died after being attacked by skinheads. Police have arrested seven suspects in connection with an attack deemed "politically motivated"

Read more here »

Turkey Protests: Erdogan Rejects EU Criticism

BBC: Turkey must investigate the excessive use of force by police against anti-government protesters, a senior EU official has said in Istanbul.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele was speaking ahead of talks on Turkey's ambition to join the EU.

In response, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said similar protests in Europe would be dealt with more harshly.

Turkey has seen a week of civil unrest sparked by a police crackdown on a local protest over an Istanbul park.

Mr Fuele and Mr Erdogan were both speaking at a conference in Istanbul on Turkey's relations with the EU.

The EU enlargement commissioner said the EU had no intention of giving up on Turkey's accession, but Turkey had to maintain values of freedom and fundamental rights.

He urged a "swift and transparent" investigation and those responsible should be held to account.

"Peaceful demonstrations constitute a legitimate way for groups to express their views in a democratic society," he said.

"Excessive use of force by police against these demonstrations has no place in such a democracy". » | Friday, June 07, 2013

The Dark Presidency: Obama: Congress Knew About, Authorized NSA Surveillance
President addresses controversy over government eavesdropping

Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League Interviewed on Bill O'Reilly

HTs: Atlas Shrugs and Always On Watch »

Click here for a better quality video »

NSA Surveillance Scandal: Barack Obama's Credibility Under Scrutiny Like Never Before

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Commentary: In the wake of the NSA surveillance scandal, Barack Obama's credibility is under scrutiny like never before, writes Peter Foster.

Whether using drones for the 'targeted killing' of alleged terrorists, or data-mining the phone records of everyone in America, Barack Obama has a standard response to those who would question his use of these questionable clandestine programmes: "we welcome a debate".

That debate – which Mr Obama described last month as "the appropriate balance between our need for security and preserving those freedoms that make us who we are" – has exploded into the open following this week's revelations about the extent of National Security Agency surveillance programs.

Mr Obama's offer of debate sounds all very liberal, and reasonable but for his frustrated critics on both the liberal Left and libertarian Right the offer is nothing more than a cover for a president who campaigned as a liberal but on national security has governed as an outright authoritarian.

If Mr Obama really wanted a debate on drones, or the ethics of dragnet-surveillance of the phone records of all Americans, they ask, why has it taken a series of damaging leaks for his administration to even admit the existence of these programmes, let alone openly debate them? » | Peter Foster, Washington | Friday, June 07, 2013

Islamic Law's Foothold in German Legal System
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: A growing number of German legal exerts are now sounding the alarm about the rise of a parallel Islamic justice in Germany. "It follows its own rules. The Islamic arbiters aren't interested in evidence when they deliver a judgment, and the question of who is at fault doesn't play much of a role. Islamic conflict resolution, as I've experienced it, is often achieved through violence and threats. It's often a dictate of power on the part of the stronger family." — Joachim Wagner, German legal expert, author.

An appeals court in north[-]western Germany has decided a contentious divorce case based on Islamic Sharia law.

The ruling is the latest in a growing number of court cases in Germany in which judges refer or defer to Islamic law because either the plaintiffs or the defendants are Muslim.

Critics say the cases -- especially those in which German law has taken a back seat to Sharia law -- reflect a dangerous encroachment of Islamic law into the German legal system.

In the latest case, the Appeals Court [Oberlandesgericht] in Hamm, a city in German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, ruled on June 2 that whoever marries according to Islamic law in a Muslim country and later seeks a divorce in Germany must abide by the original terms set forth by Sharia law. » | Soeren Kern | Friday, June 07, 2013

'Stop Being Weak': EDL Leader Tommy Robinson in Vicious War of Words with Tony Blair

EXPRESS: TONY Blair seems to have earnt himself a new enemy after engaging in an ugly Twitter battle with EDL leader Tommy Robinson.

The very public spat came after the far-right group's leader tweeted his approval of a piece written by the former Prime Minister in which he strongly criticised Islam.

Robinson, also known by his real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, boasted that Blair's article, which said there was a "problem within Islam", was correct and "confirms everything we say."

The former Labour leader's representatives quickly took to Twitter to distance himself from the controversial group, posting under the username @tonyblairoffice.

"@EDLTrobinson Not the case at all," Blair's office responded.

"You obviously haven't read the article properly - there is nothing in common with what you have to say." Read on and comment » | Charlotte Meredith | Friday, June 07, 2013

France Reels from Skinheads' Savage Attack
Death of student brutally beaten in attack blamed on fascists sends shockwaves through France.

Financial Élite Hold Annual Meeting
Politicians, business leaders and royalty from Europe and the US are meeting near London for a secretive three day event to discuss global policy.

Slon.ru Calls the Bilderberg Group Meeting the ‘Congress of the Elders of Zion’ »

Turkish PM Erdogan Remains Defiant
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived home and urged people to distance themselves from what he calls lawless protests. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Istanbul.

Turkey Braced for Protests after Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Return

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Loyalists supporting Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied to support him overnight, setting up a potential showdown with angry protesters.

Greeted by thousands of cheering supporters as he landed back in Istanbul in the early hours from an overseas trip, the prime minister defied the protesters rallying against him and his conservative reforms as he fought to settle the sharpest challenge yet to his decade-long rule.

"I call for an immediate end to the demonstrations, which have lost their democratic credentials and turned into vandalism," Erdogan said in a speech at Istanbul's main airport.

He insisted he was the "servant" of all the people, but hinted that he would act against further defiance.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to anybody disturbing peace in the country and trying to hijack democracy," he said.

The stakes rose on Friday for Turkey's international image as Erdogan's office said he was due to meet with European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule [WIKI]. » | AFP | Friday, June 07, 2013

Twitter, Spies & Looters: Erdogan Blames 'Foreign Agents' for Turkey Riots
For a sixth night running in Turkey, it was more of the same. Clashes leading to police unleashing their water cannons and tear gas on protesters. A third fatality has been confirmed in the unrest, after a man died from head injuries in an Ankara hospital. Activists want the police chiefs responsible for their violent tactics removed and urged officials to ban the use of tear gas. Protesters also want all those that have been detained, released saying that could end the days of riots. The Turkish Prime minister returns from a trip to North Africa later, and will be expected to do something about the public discontent which has seen demands for him to reverse all his policies. But as RT's Irina Galushko reports, Erdogan appears to be looking for scapegoats.

Read more here

Verizon Treason: US Government Seizes Millions of Call Records at FBI's Request
Millions of Americans are reportedly having their phone records seized without their knowledge. The U.S. National Security Agency has allegedly secretly forced Verizon, one of the nation's biggest phone companies, to hand over all its call data. RT's Tom Barton reports.

here

NSA Spying: Sweeping US Data-mining Program Revealed
US intelligence confirms it is collecting the private messages of internet users but defends the move, claiming the mass surveillance was targeting only "non-US persons" outside the country. Earlier British and American papers reported that the US was tapping directly into the servers of leading American internet companies, getting access to personal e-mails, photos and documents. A leaked court order has become the first hard evidence of Washington's sweeping data collection program. RT's Anastasia Churkina reports. ¶ Eugene Puryear, an activist for the civil rights organization Answer Coalition, joins after to give his perspective on the issue.

France Has Too Many Immigrants, Says Francois [sic] Fillon
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: There are too many immigrants in France, former prime minister Francois Fillon has said, insisting that the country cannot cope with everyone who wants to come in.

Asked on the France 2 television channel whether there are already too many immigrants in France, Fillon replied "yes".

"France today is unable to accept, in decent conditions, everyone who wants to come and live here," he added.

"Therefore we must reduce the policy of immigration, " the right-wing UMP party figure declared. » | Edited by Barney Henderson | Friday, June 07, 2013

Truther Alert! NSA, FBI, Obama Indiscriminately Obtaining Phone Records, Domestic Surveillance

Obama Administration Defends Collecting Verizon Phone Data

'Germany Needs Moral Guidance of a Monarchy'
THE LOCAL – GERMANY: Germans might not know it, but they desperately need the moral guidance of a re-instated royal family, the great-great grandson of the last Kaiser, Prince Philip Kiril of Prussia, told The Local's Jessica Ware in an exclusive interview.

“Subconsciously, I think young Germans wants something they can orientate towards,” said Prince Philip. The 45-year-old father of six may work as a Protestant vicar, but he has become one of the loudest voices out of those who want to see Germany revive its monarchy.

Second in line to the throne Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918, Prince Philip believes that a royal family with divine right conferred by God could offer Germany what it is missing.

“When a leader answers to himself, and not God, an atheist-led country ends in disaster. Look at Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin,” he told The Local. Religion, “tames the selfishness naturally present in all of us.”

For the prince, a country guided by politicians and a ceremonial president means not only is there no strong family to look up to, nor is there anyone to rally up enthusiasm for family life. “A presidential head of state is not enough...what Germany needs is moral guidance and a friendlier face,” which, he added, “people do not get, and shouldn't expect, from politicians.”

Indeed, this appears to be what [an] increasing amount of young Germans want, after a survey for news agency DPA revealed last month that as many as one in three 18-24-year-olds would like the Kaiser back on the throne. Jump to the over-50s, and this figure dropped to one in six.

“Looking up to a king or queen would be much better for Germany's young people than to pop stars or football players,” Prince Philip said. He lamented that people were putting too much value on consumerism and material goods instead of having children – something desperately needed as Germany faces a demographic implosion. Von Preußen's own brood being between seven and 17 years old. » | Jessica Ware | Thursday, June 06, 2013

Vladimir Putin and His Wife Lyudmila Announce Split

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and his wife Lyudmila have ended years of speculation about their 30-year relationship, admitting that they had decided to end their marriage.

In a stilted – but clearly staged – interview on Russian state television after a night together at the ballet, the couple said they had agreed to a “civilised break-up” because they barely saw each other. It appeared that a formal divorce had not yet taken place.

The announcement will likely only fuel speculation about Mr Putin’s private life. The 60-year-old Russian president has been dogged by rumours for years that he had an affair with Alina Kabayeva, a 30-year-old politician and former Olympic rhythmic gymnast, although no hard evidence has ever been presented to confirm that.

The Russian leader and his wife, 55, spoke after attending a performance of La Esmeralda – a ballet inspired by the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame – at the State Kremlin palace, their first public engagement together since his returned to the presidency in May last year.

Mrs Putina appears only very rarely in public. She was said to be living far away from the Kremlin, in a £1m state-owned retreat on the border with Estonia. Some reports even suggested she joined a convent. » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Thursday, June 06, 2013

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin breaks Kremlin taboo by revealing break-up with wife: President Vladimir Putin's carefully stage-managed announcement that he and his wife of 30 years were divorcing came as a true shock in Russia. ¶ That his marriage to Lyudmila, a quiet ex-stewardess with an inherent dislike of publicity, may have long been dead has for years been the subject of gossip among the elites and ordinary Russians. ¶ But the Kremlin's move to officially announce Putin's divorce smashed a long-standing taboo on the private lives of the country's leaders. » | AFP | Friday, June 07, 2013

Don't Be Too Hard On Turkey's Islamists – They Are Just the Sort the West Should Want
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – COLIN FREEMAN: Watching the turmoil in Istanbul in the past few days, it’s easy to see why there is talk of Turkey hosting its own version of the Arab Spring. The scenario, at first glance, seems very familiar. First of all, thousands of protesters, mainly but not exclusively young and metropolitan, accuse their government of being authoritarian. The police respond with tear gas and truncheons. Then the country’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denounces the crowds as “bums and extremists”, and insists that this is not a “Turkish Spring”, thank you. Such blunt responses to people power elsewhere in the Middle East recently have often heralded a leader’s imminent demise.

Yet we in the West should perhaps be careful what we wish for in Turkey. For one, Mr Erdogan is democratically elected, with popularity ratings that many of his European counterparts would envy. And for another, whatever its shortcomings – and judging by the size of the crowds on Turkey’s streets in recent days, there are plenty – his Justice and Development Party is the nearest thing we have to an Islamist government that the West can work with. Read on and comment » | Colin Freeman | Thursday, June 06, 2013

My comment:

Another whitewash of Islamic Turkey! Colin Freeman clearly doesn't have a proper understanding of what Islam is all about. You can't compare Protestantism with Islamism, for goodness' sake. How naïve!

It seems to me that this blog post was written to soften us up for the accession of Turkey into the EU. No, Sir! We don't want Turkey in the EU. I don't care what an economic stick of dynamite it is. Europe has already got enough Muslims residing in it. It doesn't need any more.

I think I speak for the many when I say that I am tired of Muslims, Islam, the Jihad, the Prophet Muhammad, and all that goes with that political ideology wrapped up as a faith. For Christ's sake (and I am not blaspheming or swearing when I write that; I'm being literal), leave us alone! Islam has been allowed into the West by ignorant fools, by people who should have known better. Our forefathers did; alas people today do not.

This is not to say that all Muslims are bad; they are not. I have worked for many years with many delightful ones. But my experience of working with them, and my knowledge of Islam tell me that Islam and Western liberal democracy are immiscible: they cannot co-exist. That should be clear and obvious to most people by now.

Let Muslims do their thing in their own countries; and let us do our own thing in ours. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Douglas Murray - The Woolwich Attack
Douglas Murray, Anjem Choudary and Julie Siddiqi discuss the implications of Michael Adebolaj one of the perpetrators of the attack taking part in one of Choudary's protests previously on Channel Four News.

Douglas Murray - Fear of Radicalism is Not Irrational

The Vatican and Islam
THE JERUSALEM POST: As the world focused on a pope’s election and the enthusiasm that immediately followed, another significant religious event escaped detection.

As the world focused on a pope’s election and the enthusiasm that immediately followed, another significant religious event escaped detection.

Two weeks after Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis I, a prominent Italian commentator who converted from Islam to Catholicism in 2008 announced he would leave the Church.

Magdi Allam – an emigrant from Egypt who fights Islamism in Europe and who was baptized by Pope Benedict XVI – wrote in his March 25 column for Milan’s Il Giornale that he was leaving “because this Church is too weak with Islam.”

Allam is right.

Since Pope John Paul II’s tenure, the Catholic Church has refused to hold Muslim theologians and clergy accountable for the hatred and violence many of them preach. Instead, the Vatican promotes dialogue and mutual understanding at all costs – even at the cost of moral credibility.

John Paul II condemned what he called a “culture of death,” referring to the West’s tolerance for abortion and birth control. Yet when faced with a more virulent culture of death – a Palestinian Authority that promotes genocide by teaching children to become suicide bombers – the late pope fell silent. Given Pope Francis’ history and recent actions, Israelis and Palestinians can expect more tired, limp rhetoric about peace that hides Catholicism’s sentimental complacency. » | Joseph D’Hippolito | Thursday, June 06, 2013

Now Half of Sham Marriages Involve Foreign Students: Members of Bogus Colleges Who Face Being Kicked Out Marry Britons and EU Citizens to Prolong Their Stay
MAIL ONLINE: Figures come from a snapshot Home Office survey over three months / It is revealed 50% of ceremonies involved people who had first entered as students

In a major new immigration scam, half of all bogus weddings now involve foreign students.

The revelation shows the full scale of the past abuse of the student visa system.

The non-EU nationals faced removal from Britain after their bogus colleges were shut down in a crackdown by the Government.

But, instead of returning home, they are arranging fake weddings with British nationals or EU citizens to prolong their stay, often paying thousands of pounds in fees to 'fixers'.

Under a Brussels edict, marrying an EU citizen can grant the same rights to stay as marrying a Briton.

Officials say the trend shows that the migrants' true reason for travelling to the UK in the first place was to settle, not to study. Last year, they identified a suspected 2,000 sham marriages. » | James Slack | Thursday, June 06, 2013

Choudary ‘To Lose Benefits’

Blitz on preachers of hate
THE SUN: HATE clerics like Anjem Choudary may soon lose benefits.

Any claimant whose behaviour is ruled to be deeply offensive or harmful to society would be stripped of their handouts under a new law planned by ministers.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s move is aimed at extremists like Choudary — and hate preacher Abu Qatada, who is fighting deportation.

IDS met Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday to plot a joint approach.

Choudary scoops up nearly £26,000 in state giveaways a year — leading to accusations British taxpayers are being forced to fund terrorism. » | Tom Newton Dunn | Thursday, June 06, 2013

THE SUN: Serial offender – The case against Anjem Choudary » | Stephen Moyes, Dan Sales and Neil Syson | Thursday, June 06, 2013

Can David Cameron Explain Why He Has Put Us On Al-Qaeda’s Side?
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Just like Tony Blair over Iraq, the Prime Minister has lost touch with reality when it comes to Syria

The longer a prime minister remains in 10 Downing Street, the more likely he or she is to go mad. Something of the sort happened to Gordon Brown and also, from 2003 onwards if not before, to Tony Blair. No prime minister has left office in full possession of his or her mental faculties since Jim Callaghan in early 1979. » | Peter Oborne | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

My comment:

Why has Cameron put us on Al-Qaeda's side?

Do you want the short answer or the long answer?

If it's the short answer you want, it's this: He's a duffer when it comes to Islam. He needs to read a book such as Islam for Dummies. And if it's available, Islam for Duffers too.

If it's the long answer you want, I don't have the time right now; and in any case, it would probably be taken down by the moderators. In short, Cameron knows diddly sh** about Islam. – © Mark

This comment can also be found here.

La communauté turque de France soutient les manifestants
LE FIGARO: Plusieurs centaines de personnes se sont réunies mardi soir à Paris pour appeler à la fin des violences policières et à la démission du premier ministre Erdogan.

Loin de la place Taksim, au coeur d'Istanbul, où les manifestants hostiles au premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan sont toujours mobilisés, la communauté turque de France (environ 550.000 personnes) suit de très près le mouvement de contestation. Après quelques petits rassemblements la semaine dernière, ils étaient plus d'un millier à manifester mardi soir au Châtelet, à Paris, pour apporter leur soutien à la contestation. «Un rassemblement hétérogène, de gens qui ne manifestent pas normalement ensemble», selon Merve Ozdemirkiran, 30 ans, enseignante à Sciences Po Paris, présente mardi.

«Tayyip t'es foutu, la Turquie est dans la rue», «La Turquie est laïque et elle le restera», «Erdogan démission», ont scandé les manifestants, parmi lesquels de nombreux jeunes. Initialement dirigée contre un projet d'aménagement urbain menaçant le parc Gezi à Istanbul, la mobilisation turque s'est muée vendredi dernier en un mouvement de contestation politique après l'intervention musclée des forces de l'ordre. Les manifestants dénoncent l'autoritarisme du premier ministre. Le mouvement a gagné plusieurs villes, les heurts ont déjà fait deux morts. » | Par Anne-Laure Frémont | mercredi 05 juin 2013

La «femme en rouge» devient le symbole de la révolte en Turquie

LE FIGARO: Une photo montrant une jeune femme aspergée de gaz lacrymogène est devenue l'un des symboles de la révolte menée contre le gouvernement du premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

«La femme en rouge» est devenue malgré elle l'égérie du mouvement de contestation qui secoue depuis plusieurs jours la Turquie. Vêtue d'une robe rouge et d'un sac de toile blanc, la jeune fille apparaît sur des clichés capturés le 28 mai dans le centre d'Istanbul. On y voit notamment un policier, protégé par un masque à gaz, qui lui envoie du gaz lacrymogène à bout portant. Sur les différents clichés, la jeune femme semble impassible. Ses cheveux volent mais elle se contente de fermer les yeux.

La scène se déroule dans le parc de Gezi, dont l'améngaement en centre commercial est à l'origine de la contestation. Osamn Orsal, un photographe de Reuters, a réalisé plusieurs photos de l'incident lorsque la police est intervenue contre des opposants manifestant pacifiquement contre l'abattage d'arbres. » | Par Emmanuelle Germain | mercredi 05 juin 2013

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Türkei: Erdogan lässt Twitter-Aktivisten verhaften

DIE WELT: Der türkische Regierungschef Erdogan geht hart gegen Nutzer sozialer Netzwerke vor: 14 User des Kurznachrichtendienstes wurden in der Nacht verhaftet. Sie sollen "Desinformation" betrieben haben.

Es gibt Sprüche des türkischen Ministerpräsidenten Recep Tayyip Erdogan, die sind so beliebt bei den Demonstranten, dass sie bereits als Graffiti an Hauswänden prangen, nur diesmal gegen ihn gerichtet.

Etwa: "Geh, und nimm deine Mutter gleich mit." Das hatte Erdogan mal zu einem Bauern gesagt, der sich bei ihm zu beklagen wagte. Oder sein neuester Spruch: "Es gibt eine neue große Gefahr. Sie heißt Twitter."

Das hatte er am Montag gesagt, und es war einer der Augenöffner dieser Tage gewesen. Es zeigte den kulturellen Abgrund zwischen dem konservativen, patriarchalischen Erdogan und der Jugend seines Landes, die zu den Internet-freudigsten der Welt zählt. Konkrete Drohung gegen Twitter-User » | Von Boris Kálnoky | Mittwoch, 05. Juni 2013

Massenproteste: Iraner erheben sich gegen das religiöse Regime

DIE WELT: Bei der Beerdigung eines regimekritischen Ajatollahs sollen Tausende Menschen in Sprechchören die Freilassung der Oppositionsführer gefordert haben – und den Tod des religiösen Führers Chamenei.

In der zweitgrößten iranischen Stadt Isfahan ist aus einer Beerdigung ein Protest gegen die religiöse Führung des Landes geworden. Tausende forderten offenbar in einem Trauerzug am Dienstag in Sprechchören die Freilassung der Oppositionsführer Mir Hussein Mussawi und Mehdi Karrubi und den Tod des religiösen Führers Ajatollah Ali Chamenei, wie BBC berichtete. "Karrubi und Mussawi müssen freigelassen werden!", hört man Menschen in einemAmateurvideo, das auf der Videoplattform YouTube veröffentlich wurde, rufen. Und das nur zehn Tage vor der Präsidentenwahl.

Anlass der Unterstützungsbekundungen für die Oppositionskandidaten von 2009 war die Beerdigung des regimekritischen Ajatollahs Dschalaluddin Taheri. Der 87-jährige Geistliche, der im Jahr 2002 aus Protest gegen die religiöse Führung als Freitagsprediger für Isfahan zurücktrat, war am Sonntag verstorben.

Er galt als Unterstützer des Reformkandidaten Mussawi, nach dessen Niederlage vor vier Jahren im Iran viele Menschen gegen das Wahlergebnis protestierten. Die Regierung hatte die Proteste brutal niedergeschlagen. Mussawi und Karrubi stehen seit Februar 2011 unter Hausarrest. » | Von Sonja Gillert | Mittwoch, 05. Juni 2013

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BANNED: British Shopkeeper Forced to Stop Selling 'OBEY OUR LAWS OR GET OUT' T-shirt
EXPRESS: A SHOPKEEPER was threatened with arrest by police after he displayed a T shirt in his shop window with the statement: "Respect out beliefs or get out of our country."

T shirt printer Matthew Taylor created the shirt in the wake of Drummer Lee Rigby's tragic death.

But following a complaint from a member of the public, police came to his store in Newport, South Wales, and threatened to arrest him unless he removed the T shirt from sight.

Matthew said: "I had a visit from two community support officers because it has been reported by someone who felt it was offensive.

"It's not meant to be offensive, and that's not the reason I produced it. It's what I believe. » | Charlotte Meredith | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – SEAN THOMAS: The Muslim hate preacher and the T-shirt salesman: a bizarre study in double standards: Compare and contrast. A few days ago, one of Britain’s best-loved hate preachers, Anjem Choudary, a man so widely admired that we pay him £25,0000 a year in benefits so he can live in this country, was filmed saying murdered Woolwich soldier Lee Rigby will "burn in hellfire" as a non-Muslim. » | Sean Thomas | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Police Investigating Whether London Mosque Fire 'Racially-motivated'
Counter-terror police are investigating whether a fire that destroyed an Islamic community centre was started deliberately in a racially-motivated attack.

Read the article here | Josie Ensor | Wednesday, June 05, 2013
BBC: Al-Rahma Islamic Centre destroyed in 'racist attack': An Islamic centre in north London has been destroyed by a fire in an apparent racially motivated attack. (+ BBC video) » | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

THE INDEPENDENT: Muswell Hill mosque fire: Counter-terror police investigate 'EDL' graffiti found on wreckage after arson attack amid fears of Woolwich reprisals: Right-wing group denies involvement as police investigate potential link to Woolwich attack » | Rob Williams | Wednesday, June 05, 2013


THE SUN: Fire at mosque in Muswell Hill - feared to be EDL attack: A MOSQUE in north London has been destroyed after a blaze which began in the early hours of this morning – feared to be a revenge attack by the English Defence League. » | Karen Morrison | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Russia: Smoking Ban Met With Skepticism

THE MOSCOW TIMES: The new anti-smoking law that came into force last week and is seen by the government as a measure to fight population decline has been met more with skepticism than strict implementation.

The measures that took effect on June 1 are the first phase in a large-scale program designed to change the public's attitude to smoking by imposing strict restrictions in public places and significantly increasing prices on tobacco products.

Many of the restrictions introduced last Saturday pertain to smoking in places where it has already been prohibited, such as on public transportation and in schools, museums and hospitals.

But now, added to that list are universities, sports facilities, stairwells of apartment buildings, municipal and office buildings, playgrounds, beaches, filling stations and any area within 15 meters of a metro entrance, as well as bus stops, train stations and airports.

The law, developed by the Health Ministry and signed in February by President Vladimir Putin, was designed to put a dent in the death rate caused by smoking and help boost a dwindling population. » | Yekaterina Kravtsova | Tuesday, June 05, 2013