Algerian Village Ousts Salafist Imam

ALL AFRICA: Algiers — Residents of the Tizi Ouzou town of Imzizou just rallied for the removal a controversial salafist imam.

Algerians from several surrounding villages joined in the protest at the Fréha government administration site on Thursday (July 11th), claiming that the imam did not abide by their traditions and was trying to impose salafist practices.

According to local resident Hadj Ibrahim, citizens were outraged because the imam "had refused to conduct the usual and traditional funeral ceremony when a villager died, on the pretext that it was a bida'a (innovation)".

"This imam was already known for his salafist ideology," Ibrahim added. "He tried to impose it on the villagers several times."

The authorities responded quickly to the civil protest. The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued an order for the imam to be transferred elsewhere. But this did not appease the villagers, who said the problem was bigger than just their town.

"We are appalled not by this imam but by salafist ideology, which poses a threat to our society." Imzizou resident Hadj Mansour told Magahrebia.

"What is not good for our village is bad for the whole of Algeria", Mansour said. » | Fidet Mansour | Thursday, July 18, 2013

France: Le néo-nazi sympathisant de Breivik libéré

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Norvégien d'extrême droite Kristian Vikernes, 40 ans, arrêté mardi en France, est sorti libre jeudi soir de garde à vue, son audition n'ayant mis en évidence aucune préparation de projet terroriste.

Surnommé Varg ("loup" en norvégien), l'homme, musicien de black metal, avait été interpellé mardi matin avec son épouse française, Marie Cachet, 25 ans, à leur domicile de Salon-la-Tour (Corrèze, centre) dans le cadre d'une enquête sur des soupçons de visées terroristes.

Son épouse était sortie mercredi soir du commissariat de Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) tandis que Vikernes est ressorti jeudi soir après 48 heures d'audition qui n'ont pas mis en évidence de préparation de projet terroriste, a-t-on appris de source judiciaire. En revanche, il devra répondre prochainement devant le tribunal correctionnel de Paris de faits qualifiés de "provocation à la haine raciale" en raison de ses écrits sur son blog et des éléments tirés de l'exploitation de ses ordinateurs en perquisition, a-t-on précisé.

La provocation à la haine raciale est une infraction relevant du droit de la presse. Selon le ministère de l'Intérieur, Virkenes pourrait aussi être poursuivi pour apologie de crime de guerre. » | afp/Newsnet | jeudi 18 juillet 2013

Related »

WikiLeaks : Bradley Manning sera jugé pour collusion avec l'ennemi

LE POINT: Cette décision aura des implications inquiétantes pour les lanceurs d'alertes, ce chef d'accusation étant passible de la réclusion à perpétuité.

Une juge militaire a refusé jeudi d'abandonner l'accusation de collusion avec l'ennemi réclamée par la défense de Bradley Manning, la taupe de WikiLeaks, une décision aux implications potentiellement inquiétantes pour les lanceurs d'alertes, les fameux "whistleblowers". Ce chef d'accusation passible de la réclusion à perpétuité est le plus grave porté contre le jeune homme de 25 ans, qui dit avoir révélé des centaines de milliers de documents militaires et diplomatiques à WikiLeaks pour "provoquer un débat public" sur la politique étrangère et militaire américaine. » | Source AFP | vendredi 19 juillet 2013

Norwegian Woman Who Reported Being Raped in Dubai Is Jailed for 16 Months

MAIL ONLINE: Norwegian woman, 25, was in Dubai on a business trip / She was raped and reported the incident to the police / At the station, police took her passport and jailed her / She will now serve 16 months for illicit sex outside marriage

A young Norwegian woman has been sentenced to 16 months in jail after she reported a rape in Dubai.

The 25-year-old was in the United Arab Emirates on a business trip when she was raped and reported the assault to the local police.

Dubai police did not believe her, and instead took her passport and jailed her on suspicion of having had sex outside marriage.

The Norwegian woman reported the sexual assault in March this year, after which she had to spend days in a cell before she was allowed to use a telephone.

With the help of family members, the Norwegian consulate was able to negotiate a release and she has been living under the protection of the Norwegian Sailor’s Church until her sentencing this week.

'I received the harshest sentence for sex outside marriage, harshest sentence for drinking alcohol and on top of that I was found guilty of perjury,’ the woman told Verdens Gang.

‘It is a terrible situation she is in,’ said Gisle Meling, the priest at the Norwegian Sailor’s Church.

‘We are very surprised and had hoped it would go another way, but we live in a country which has a justice system which draws its conclusions with the help of Sharia law.’ » | Sara Malm | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Woolwich Terror Attack: Lee Rigby Murder Suspect Michael Adebolajo Beaten Up In Jail

THE INDEPENDENT: One of the men accused of murdering Fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks has been attacked in prison.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, of Romford, Essex, was set upon at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London on Wednesday.

It is understood that he lost his two front teeth in the attack, but no arrests have yet been made. The Prison Service refused to comment on the extent of his injuries or on suggestions that he had been “targeted” by prison officers. » | Agency | Thursday, July 18, 2013

Lib Dems Select Former Radical Islamist Maajid Nawaz as Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn

BRENT & KILBURN TIMES: Former Muslim radical and author Maajid Nawaz has been selected as the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn.

He won a majority of votes among local party members at a hustings held in West Hampstead last night.

Mr Nawaz, who was a member of hardline global Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, is the is the co-founder and chairman of Quilliam - a counter-extremism think-tank.

The organisation was set-up with Labour party member, Ed Husain, five years ago after publicly renouncing Islamist ideology following a stint in an Egyptian jail.

Mr Nawaz has also published a book Radical which follows his journey from religious extremist to pro-democracy campaigner. » | Amie Keeley | Friday, July 19, 2013

Related »

Beckmann | Der gläserne Bürger - ausgespäht und ausgeliefert? (18.07.2013 )

Men Questioned Amid Wolverhampton Mosque Explosive Device Inquiry

THE GUARDIAN: Police make links with other attacks as area around city's central mosque sealed off and military bomb disposal team deployed

Two men are being questioned on suspicion of terrorism offences as investigations continue at a mosque evacuated amid fears of "a possible device activation".

Police evacuated streets near the Wolverhampton Central mosque on Thursday night after receiving information about a possible explosive device. An area around the city's central mosque was sealed off at 8pm as a military bomb disposal team was deployed into the area.

West Midlands police said they were acting on information that an unspecified device had been "activated" on 28 June. » | Barry Neild and agencies | Friday, July 19, 2013

Haifaa al-Mansour: I Wanted to Have a Voice

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia's leading film director, Haifaa al-Mansour, says the taboos of her country, where women aren’t supposed to ride bikes, drive cars or show their faces, let alone make groundbreaking films, are there to be broken. Horatia Harrod meets her.

It’s hard to imagine becoming a filmmaker in a country with no cinemas. It’s especially hard if that country is Saudi Arabia, and you happen to be a woman, forbidden to drive, or show your face in public, or travel in or out of the country without permission.

(Every time a Saudi Arabian woman crosses the border a text message alert is sent to her male guardian, who could be her father, husband or son.)

Haifaa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia’s first female film director and the first person to shoot a film entirely in Saudi Arabia, was 30 years old when she decided she’d had enough.

Born and raised there, she went to university in Cairo before returning and finding a job in media relations with a leading oil company.

'It was hard as a single woman to find a place to live,’ says al-Mansour. 'They wouldn’t write a [rental] contract for an apartment until my father came and helped.'

'And then I had to find a driver to take me to work every day – and he didn’t show up, or slept in. I bought him an alarm, but he sold the alarm.’

She says, 'I felt, “I’m so invisible, nobody cares and I am no one.” I wanted to have a voice, and I wanted to say something.’ » | Horratia Horrod | Friday, July 19, 2013

Mike Huckabee Interviews Bill Maher About Religion

Mike Huckabee Interviews Bill Maher About Religion

Fascism: Mussolini in Power

Part 2
Part 3
Part 3
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Marine Speaks After 2011 Video Urinating Scandal

Read the article here | Monday, July 15, 2013

Kommentar: Amerikas Wahn

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die USA sind krank. Der 11. September 2001 hat sie verwundet und verstört, das ist seit knapp zwölf Jahren offensichtlich, aber wie ernsthaft die Krankheit ist, das verstehen wir erst jetzt. Die NSA-Affäre legt einiges offen, nicht nur die Telefongespräche und das digitale Leben vieler Millionen Menschen. Die Bespitzelung der Welt zeigt, dass die USA manisch geworden sind, dass sie pathologisch handeln, übergriffig; was sie tun, steht in keinem Verhältnis zur Gefahr. » | Ein Kommentar von Klaus Brinkbäumer | Montag, 15. Juli 2013

Wikileaks Accused Bradley Manning Loses Challenge to Most Serious Charge

BBC: A military judge has refused to dismiss the most serious charge facing a US soldier accused of leaking thousands of secret documents.

Lawyers for Pte Bradley Manning, 25, had argued the US has not proved that he "aided the enemy".

The charge carries a life prison term. He has previously pleaded guilty to 10 of the more than 20 charges he faces.

Prosecutors have argued he "systematically harvested" documents eventually seen by Osama Bin Laden.

"He was knowingly providing intelligence to the enemy," said Judge Colonel Denise Lind in Thursday's hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland.

The decision does not rule out the possibility of Pte Manning being ultimately acquitted of the charge. » | Thursday, July 18, 2013

Face the Nation: Iran "Closer and Closer to the Bomb," Netanyahu Says

G’Day Damascus: Australians Are Joining Syria’s Rebels in Surprising Numbers

TIME: A surprising number of foreign fighters joining the rebellion in Syria against the regime of President Bashar Assad hail from Down Under.

As many as 6,000 foreign fighters from nearly 50 nations have now joined the brutal 2½-year civil war to unseat President Bashar Assad of Syria. The vast majority are veterans from the the Arab Springs of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Islamist volunteers from Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and a few former Soviet republics bolster their ranks.

And then there are the Aussies.

Surprising estimates suggest that Australians now make up the largest contingent from any developed nation in the Syrian rebel forces. There are around 120 French fighters in Syria, about 100 Britons and a handful of Americans — but there are at least 200 Australians, according to a public statement made by David Irvine, director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). The total may appear small, but it is growing rapidly, having doubled since the end of last year — and when looked at as a proportion of the Muslim population of Australia, the figure is startling. The French, British and American rebel fighters are drawn from communities that number 4.7 million, 2.7 million and 2.6 million respectively. The Australian contingent is drawn from a Muslim population of just 500,000, and is causing concern to a government that fears the homecoming of a battle-hardened group of radicalized Islamists when the conflict ends.

In February, Norwegian terrorism expert Thomas Hegghammer released a paper showing that 1 in 9 Westerners who fight in foreign jihadist insurgencies ends up becoming involved in terrorist plots back home. With evidence that more than 100 Australian rebels in Syria are billeted with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-linked militia, it isn’t surprising that Canberra is becoming alarmed. » | Ian Lloyd Neubauer | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Terror Territory: Al-Qaeda Plans Own State in Syria North

Syria faces the prospect of terrorist forces gaining overwhelming control over the country's north. Sources in the Free Syrian Army claim the terrorist group Al Qaeda plans to take control over transit routes on the border with Turkey - ousting other rebel troops from the area. The relationship between radical groups and the FSA has been rapidly deteriorating - with a senior army commander recently killed by the Islamists. RT's Gayane Chichakyan investigates.

Army Chief: We Risk War with Syria

Britain has to be prepared to “go to war” if it wishes to restrain the Syrian regime by implementing no-fly zones and arming the rebels, the outgoing head of the armed forces warns today.

Read the Telegraph article here | Con Coughlin, Defence Editor and Robert Winnett, Political Editor | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Lib Dems to Announce Parliamentary Hopeful for Hampstead and Kilburn Seat

HAM&HIGH: The Liberal Democrat Party will tonight announce its parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn.

Among the party’s shortlist of five hopefuls is former Muslim extremist and author Maajid Nawaz, who set-up Quilliam – the world’s first counter-extremism think-tank. He was recruited into the hardline global Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir as a teenager and spent time in an Egyptian jail as a political prisoner before becoming a democracy campaigner.

Last year, he published a memoir entitled Radical, which recounts his journey from religious extremist to publicly renouncing Islamist ideology. » | Amie Keeley | Thursday, July 18, 2013

'Project Fear': UK Launches PR Offensive Against Scottish Independence

Scotland is looking ahead to its September 2014 vote on whether to become an independent country but in London, the government is campaigning hard against succession. RT's Polly Boiko has been investigating the warnings from Westminster that Scottish nationalists have dismissed as scaremongering.

Piers Morgan: The Luxury Life of Dubai & A Luxury Tour Of Dubai (2011)

Lawyer: Snowden Has No Plans to Leave Russia, Might Seek Citizenship

The man who exposed America's global surveillance network, Edward Snowden may be looking to settle in Russia - at least for the mid-term. The whistle blower has been stuck at a Moscow airport for three weeks now - because he lacks the papers to leave. Live to RT's Andrew Farmer and we are joined by RT contributor Afshin Rattansi.

Related »

Edward Snowden 'Considers Seeking Russian Citizenship'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Edward Snowden, the US intelligence whistleblower, could leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport within a week and has not ruled out seeking Russian citizenship, according to a lawyer helping him.

Anatoly Kucherena said in the Russian capital that Mr Snowden, a former computer technician for the CIA and the US National Security Agency, had applied for temporary asylum in Russia and would receive a document allowing formal entry into the country within seven days once his case was accepted for review.

Mr Snowden, 30, has been living in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport since flying in on June 23 from Hong Kong, where he released details of US surveillance programmes for monitoring US citizens' phone and internet activity.

The US wants to extradite him on espionage charges but Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, has refused to hand him over.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Kucherena said he expected Mr Snowden's asylum request to be successful. "There shouldn't be a problem because those grounds which he has indicated, why he has applied to us, are convincing enough. And America shouldn't regard our humanitarian act as an unfriendly one." The lawyer added that the American leaker did not plan to go anywhere else soon and "does not exclude the possibility of requesting Russian citizenship". » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Men Who Made Us Fat

Around the world, obesity levels are rising. More people are now overweight than undernourished. Two thirds of British adults are overweight and one in four of us is classified as obese. In the first of this three-part series, Jacques Peretti traces those responsible for revolutionising our eating habits, to find out how decisions made in America 40 years ago influence the way we eat now.

Delivery Error? US Weapons Show Up in Hands of Pro-Assad Fighters

US and European arms, intended for Syrian rebels - are ending up in the hands of pro-government forces. Pictures have flooded the internet, showing Shiite militias, fighting alongside President Assad's troops - using Western weaponry. And that's fuelled concerns that Washington is unable to control where its weapons are ending up, as RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports.

Gay Marriage Is Officially Legal in the UK

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay marriage is officially legal in the UK after the Queen gave royal assent to the new laws, paving the way for the first same-sex weddings by next summer.

The Queen gave her approval to the Bill – one of the most radical pieces of social legislation of her reign – this afternoon.

It opens the way for the first legally recognised same-sex weddings to take place in England and Wales by next summer and brings the centuries-old understanding of marriage as being solely between a man and a woman to an end.

Many MPs took to Twitter to say they were "delighted" with the news. Mike Weatherley, Tory MP for Hove and Portslade, said it had been "completely at odds with an open and democratic society to exclude gay couples from the important institution of marriage". Read on and comment » | Rowena Mason, and John Bingham | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Britain Needs Millions More Immigrants to Reduce Strain of Ageing Population

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain may need millions more immigrants over the next 50 years to reduce the "unsustainable" pressure that the ageing population is putting on the economy, the official forecaster has said.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said that spending on the state pension, social care and healthcare will rise from 14 per cent of Britain's GDP to almost a fifth.

The report found that allowing more than 140,000 immigrants into Britain a year, equivalent to 6million people, would help increase the overall number of people who are in work and improve public finances.

Its analysis suggests that Britain's borrowing as a propotion of GDP would rise to 99 per cent if there is a steady flow of immigrants. If there was a complete ban on immigrants, borrowing would rise to 174 per cent of GDP.

David Cameron has pledged to reduce the levels of immigration into Britain to "tens of thousands" during this Parliament. Last year the number of immigrants dropped by 89,000 to 153,000.

The report says: "Our analysis shows that overall migration has a positive impact on the sustainability of the public finances over our 50 year horizon.

"There is clear evidence that, since migrants tend to be more concentrated in the working-age group relatively to the rest of the population, immigration has a positive effect on the public sector’s debt dynamics." » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

My comment:

90% of them will be Muslim, no doubt. And millions more of them should secure their future and allow them to take over the United Kingdom. I wonder what they will call these isles? The United Islamic Kingdom? The Royal Family will, by that time, have 'reverted' to Islam, and all subjects will have been forced to submit to the will of Allah, of course. – © Mark

This comment appears here and here, too.

'US Citizen Has No Right to Free Speech?' State Dept Spokesperson Grilled Over Snowden

Tensions are high as NSA leaker Edward Snowden officially submitted application for temporary asylum in Russia on Tuesday. After Russian and international human rights advocates and lawyers met with Snowden at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Friday, the US said it is disappointed in Russia for considering the whistleblowers asylum. During a daily press briefing State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki was given a thorough grilling on the Snowden affair by journalists, including AP's Matthew Lee and CNN's Elise Labott and was left lost for words at almost every turn.

'Obama Hypocrite of Century': Full Interview with Controversial Irish MP Clare Daly

Outspoken and not afraid to say things as they are, Irish MP Clare Daly joins Oksana to discuss Ireland's unprecedented 'slobbering' over Barack Obama and his family, her country's involvement in secret CIA rendition flights and weapons sales to Syrian rebels, and the ongoing Edward Snowden saga.

'Force Only Tool Left for Bahrain Régime, Opposition Has to Act'

Opposition groups in Bahrain have called on the government to allow a major demonstration calling for greater freedoms, which is planned for next month. The Gulf state's been seeing violence for more than two years now, with thousands of anti-regime protesters clashing with police on a daily basis. Let's go to Saeed al-Shehabi - London-based activist from the Bahrain Freedom Movement.

Polens Juden und Muslime bekämpfen Schächtverbot

DIE WELT: Das Verbot des Schächtens erzürnt in Polen die betroffenen Juden und Muslime. Jetzt hoffen die Glaubensgemeinschaften auf einen Kompromiss: koscher und halal produziertes Fleisch für den Eigenbedarf.

Polens Oberrabbiner Michael Schudrich ist kein Freund des Streits. Aber in diesem Fall wählte der aus New York stammende, seit 1990 in Warschau tätige Geistliche deutliche Worte: Er könne nicht länger in seinem Amt verbleiben, er könne seinen "Glaubensgenossen nicht mehr angemessen dienen", wenn das gerade verabschiedete Gesetz nicht geändert werde.

Es geht um das Verbot des Schächtens, das der Sejm, das polnische Abgeordnetenhaus, gerade erlassen hat. Auch Polens Muslime protestieren gegen das Gesetz. Am Freitag hatte das Parlament den Regierungsentwurf, der das Schächten ohne vorherige Betäubung des Tieres erlaubt hätte, mit 222 gegen 178 Stimmen abgeschmettert. Vor allem die konservative Opposition stimmte für ein Schächtverbot, aber auch Abgeordnete quer durch die Bänke, auch aus der regierenden Bürgerplattform. » | Von Gerhard Gnauck, Warschau | Dienstag, 16. Juli 2013

Saudi Airlines Discriminating against Israeli Citizens - Refuses to Sell Tickets to Fliers with Israel Passports, de Blasio Probe Reveals

NEW YORK POST: Airline refuses tix

Something’s not kosher with this airline.

Saudi Arabian Airlines is discriminating against Israeli citizens by refusing to fly them from US airports — even when passengers are simply looking to transfer in Saudi Arabia to another country, The Post has learned.

The airline’s Web site asks for citizenship to book a ticket but has no option on a drop-down menu for anyone holding an Israeli passport. The oversight doesn’t appear accidental — the drop-down menu is so thorough it even has an option for Antarctica.

“No city in the world has closer ties to Israel than we do, and yet Israeli citizens are being discriminated against right here at JFK. It’s not only illegal; it’s an affront to who we are,” said Public Advocate, and mayoral candidate, Bill de Blasio, who conducted a recent telephone sting on the Mideast nation’s airline.

“We won’t stop with just exposing these practices. We’ll pursue this with authorities in Albany and in Washington until Israeli nationals’ rights are respected,” added de Blasio, who is demanding an end to the practice in a letter to the airline that was obtained by The Post. » | Beth Defalco | Monday, July 15, 2013

THE ALGEMEINER: NYC’s De Blasio Threatens to Pull JFK Airport Slot From Saudi Arabian Airlines for Blocking Israelis From Flights: Saudi Arabian Airlines discriminates against Israeli nationals attempting to fly the airline out of New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, the City’s Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said Monday, citing a probe his office conducted of the airline. ¶ At a press conference in Times Square Monday, De Blasio said that he sent a letter today urging Khalid Abdullah Almolhem, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines, to change the policy or else face consequences. ¶ “Saudi Arabian Airlines uses U.S. airports and yet bans Israeli citizens from being able to fly on their airline,” he said. If the airline does not change their policy, “we will act to make sure they’re excluded from United States airports, starting with JFK,” De Blasio said. » | Zach Pontz | | Monday, July 15, 2013

Ägypten: Große Hetzjagd auf die Muslimbrüder

ZEIT ONLINE: Hass und Rachegelüste gegen die Muslimbrüder prägen die öffentliche Debatte in Ägypten seit dem Militärputsch. Besonnene Stimmen sind fast verstummt.

Ägypten verliert seinen Kopf. Seit die Armee Präsident Mohammed Mursi abgesetzt und die Machtverhältnisse umgekehrt hat, ist eine nationalistische Massenhysterie, bösartige Verhetzung und taumelige Militärbegeisterung zu spüren, die nahezu alle mitreißt. Selbst Blogger und Intellektuelle, Liberale und Mitglieder der Demokratiebewegung übertrumpfen sich dieser Tage mit aufpeitschenden Reden – vor allem gegen die Muslimbrüder.

"Volk und Armee kämpfen gegen eine Terrorgruppe, die versucht, die Welt davon zu überzeugen, dass in Ägypten ein Militärputsch stattgefunden hat", sagte der Sprecher der Protestgruppe Tamarod, Mahmoud Badr. Ein Talkshow-Moderator diffamierte die Muslimbrüder als "sadistische und extrem gewalttätige Kreaturen". Der liberale Kolumnist Khaled Montaser nannte sie "schlimmer als Kriminelle und Psychopathen". Sie verstünden nicht die Bedeutung von Heimatland, sie kennten nur die Bedeutung von Kalifat.

Ausgerechnet im Sender ON-TV des koptischen Milliardärs Naguib Sawiris hetzte ein Moderator dazu noch gegen die syrischen Flüchtlinge im Land und verdächtigte sie pauschal als Sympathisanten der Muslimbrüder. "Wenn ihr richtige Männer seid, geht zurück in euer eigenes Land und löst eure Probleme dort", rief er aus. » | Quelle: Zeit Online | Dienstag, 16. Juli 2013

Latina Converts to Islam Growing in Number

WOMENSENEWS: NEW YORK -- For Zainab Ismail, a Bronx-born Hispanic woman, the turning point came in March 2009 after a wedding ceremony at a Catholic church.

"For some unknown reason, obviously now I know it was Allah--God--putting that thought and feeling in my heart, I no longer wanted to be Catholic. I didn't know what I wanted to be but I no longer wanted to be Catholic," Ismail recalls.

Less than three months later, Ismail embraced Islam and converted in June 2009.

"As a Latina, you are raised, if you got it, to show it, to flaunt it as much as possible," says Ismail, 44, raised in a Puerto Rican Catholic family.

Now she shows very little of her skin. Instead she wears the hijab, the Islamic veil or headscarf.

Since the 9/11 tragedy, the Hispanic community in the United States has witnessed a significant rise in conversions to Islam, especially among women, says Imam Shamsi Ali, a Muslim scholar and imam of the 96th street mosque in Manhattan, on the border of the city's Upper East Side and Harlem. They are "mostly educated, young and professional women."

Although 9/11 incited bias and discrimination against Muslims, many non-Muslims, who some had never heard about Islam, also started to question the meaning of the religion, explains Ali.

The percentage of new female converts to Islam in the U.S. has increased 9 percent since 2000, from 32 percent to 41 percent, according to the 2011 U.S. Mosque Survey, which interviewed leaders at 524 mosques across the country. Latinos--men and women--accounted for 12 percent of all new converts in the United States in 2011.

In 2006, the number of Hispanic Muslims was estimated at about 200,000 by the American Muslim Council, which has not provided any new figures since then. » | Hajer Naili | WeNews correspondent | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Snowden's Future Remains Murky, But Dangerous

NSA leaker urges journalist to keep documents secret

NSA Leaker Snowden Has Asked for Asylum in Russia, Lawyer Says

Read the article here | Associated Press | Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Related »

Fugitive Edward Snowden Applies for Asylum in Russia

BBC: Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, officials say.

The Federal Migration Service confirmed he had completed the relevant paperwork at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he has been for the past three weeks.

Mr Snowden is wanted by the US for leaking details of government surveillance programmes.

He has no travel documents so has been unable to take up asylum offers from a number of Latin American states.

"He reached the conclusion that he needs to write an application for temporary asylum, and this procedure has just been done," said Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer with strong links with the Kremlin who helped Mr Snowden with the paperwork.

"For now he is not going to go anywhere. For now he plans to stay in Russia," he said.

Mr Kucherena said the fugitive had stated in the application that he faced possible torture and execution if he returned to the US.

If his application is accepted, he will be free to work and move freely in Russia, said the lawyer. » | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

'Neo-Nazi' Singer Vikernes in French Terror Arrest

BBC: A Norwegian musician with links to mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested in France on "suspicion he was preparing a major terrorist act".

The French interior ministry said Kristian "Varg" Vikernes constituted "a potential threat to society".

He was arrested in central France after his wife bought four rifles.

Vikernes, described by French officials as a neo-Nazi, had in the past received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011. » | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Neo-Nazi linked to Norwegian killer Anders Breivik arrested in France: A neo-Nazi linked to Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested in southwestern France after investigators decided he might stage a large "terrorist act", Interior Minister Manuel Valls said. » | Reuters | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

LE FIGARO: Un Norvégien «susceptible de préparer un acte terroriste» arrêté en France : Le néonazi Varg Vikernes, musicien connu de la scène black métal norvégienne, constituait «une menace potentielle pour la société», assure le ministère de l'Intérieur. Sa femme, une Française, a elle aussi été arrêtée. » | Par Anne Jouan | mardi 16 juillet 2013

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Breivik-Sympathisant: Norwegischer Neonazi in Frankreich festgenommen: Er fiel den Ermittlern wegen fremdenfeindlicher und antisemitischer Kommentare im Internet auf: Ein norwegischer Neonazi ist in Frankreich festgenommen worden. Der 40-Jährige gilt als Sympathisant des Attentäters Breivik. » | als/AFP | Dienstag, 16. Juli 2013

Turkey Slams Media Report It Aided Israeli Airstrike in Syria

Turkey has slammed RT's report - based on information from a reliable source, claiming Israel used a Turkish military base to launch a recent airstrike on Syria. Ankara's also condemned the media for even mentioning the RT report. Here's the latest from our Middle East correspondent Paula Slier.

Putin: Snowden Will Leave Russia As Soon As He Gets Opportunity

Arabs Have Nothing to Offer Others

Gay Marriage Clears the House of Lords

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay marriage is set to become law after clearing the House of Lords.

The Queen is expected to be asked to give her approval to the Bill – one of the most radical pieces of social legislation of her reign – by the end of this week.

It opens the way for the first legally recognised same-sex weddings to take place in England and Wales by next summer and brings the centuries-old understanding of marriage as being solely between a man and a woman to an end.

Peers gave their assent to the third reading of the Government’s same-sex marriage bill without a formal vote after a short debate in the Lords, also backing plans for a review of pension arrangements for gay couples.

Unless MPs object to the bill at the eleventh hour during a short Commons debate set to take place on Tuesday, it is expected to receive royal assent within days.

Baroness Stowell, the Government spokesman who steered the bill through the Lords, told a chamber packed with peers wearing pink carnations, that it was an “historic” achievement. Read on and comment » | John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor | Monday, July 15, 2013

New Dark Age Alert! The World's Worst Place To Be Gay – BBC Documentary

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

Young British Muslims Drink On The Sly

As Muslims around the world prepare to mark the fasting month of Ramadan, religious leaders in Britain worry that an increasing number of young Muslims are turning their backs on key Islam's precepts, including not drinking alcohol.
Watch the video here

Muslims Drinking Alcohol

A report on Muslims purchasing alcohol and consuming it in Amman, Jordan. ¶ Funny how they can't own liquor stores but they are allowed to purchase alcohol.

Exclusive: Rudd's Sister Wants Putin-style Homosexuality Ban

NEWS.COM.AU: KEVIN Rudd's sister wants Australia to introduce a Vladimir Putin-style ban on schoolchildren being taught about homosexuality.

Loree Rudd - who says she is unlikely to help her brother on election day because she opposes his support for gay marriage - believes the maverick Russian leader's hardline view on homosexuality is more enlightened than Western leaders.

"It's like he (Putin) can see the problem ahead," Ms Rudd, 62, who has just returned from a visit to Russia, said.

"I think that there should be a law (in Australia) protecting children from the propaganda of homosexuality as normal. They're trying to build their family life and structure in Russia and people in the West don't seem to understand our family life and structures are breaking down.

"I guess the bottom line, if there's one thing I can say that can't be challenged, it's that society needs to protect its children as best they can." » | Kieran Campbell | News Limited Network | Sunday, July 14, 2013

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 Face Inquiry Over Anjem Choudary Interviews

THE GUARDIAN: Media regulator Ofcom launches investigation after radical cleric was given airtime in wake of Lee Rigby's death in Woolwich

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are to be investigated by media regulatorOfcom over their decision to give airtime to radical cleric Anjem Choudray in the wake of the Woolwich attack.

The media regulator has launched an investigation into interviews with Choudray aired on Channel 4 News, BBC2's Newsnight and ITV's Daybreak in the days after the death of Lee Rigby in May after receiving complaints from viewers that the preacher's comments were offensive.

In a series of interviews following the murder on 22 May Choudray, who is banned from entering France by the nation's interior ministry, refused to condemn the killing. » | Mark Sweney | Monday, July 15, 2013