Cardiff Mosque Where Isis Recruits Worshipped Says Don't Blame Us

THE GUARDIAN: Al-Manar centre denies that visiting preachers may have prompted two men to leave for Syria and join the terror group

The mosque in Cardiff that two young men attended before they left for Syria and appeared in an extremist recruitment video has denied having anything to do with their radicalisation – and instead claimed they could have been inspired by images in the mainstream media.

Reacting in detail for the first time, the Al-Manar centre in the Welsh capital denied that visiting preachers may have prompted the men to leave for Syria and join the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) terror group.

In a statement released to the Guardian and ITN, the Al-Manar centre said it did not control those who attended for prayers and officials would have sought to dissuade the men from leaving for Syria if they had known they were going.

The centre's denial came as more than 100 Islamic prayer leaders from various denominations of Islam signed a letter calling on British Muslims not to travel to Iraq or Syria to fight. » | Steven Morris | Friday, July 04, 2014

Obama Celebrates Ramadan Month, Plans to Host Islamic Dinner at White House

CHRISTIAN NEWS: WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have both released statements to celebrate the Islamic month of Ramadan, as the administration prepares for the annual Iftar dinner at the White House.

To commemorate the beginning of Ramadan, the White House released a statement from President Obama on Friday. In the statement, the President pays tribute to Muslims across the world and describes Ramadan as a “blessed month” and a “sacred time.”

“Here in the United States,” Obama wrote, “we are grateful to the many Muslim American organizations, individuals, and businesses that are devoted to creating opportunity for all by working to reduce income inequality and poverty, not only through their charitable efforts, but also through their initiatives to empower students, workers and families with the education, skills and health care they deserve.”

“At a moment when too many people around the world continue to suffer from senseless conflict and violence,” Obama continued, “this sacred time reminds us of our common obligations to pursue justice and peace and to uphold the dignity of every human being.”

Likewise, Secretary of State John Kerry praised the Ramadan tradition in a statement released Friday, wishing Muslims “a peaceful Ramadan and joyful month.”

“Across the globe, Muslims will assemble and celebrate a rich tradition with fasting and prayer, as generations have done every year since the time of the Prophet Muhammad,” Kerry stated. “Here in America, Muslims will commemorate Ramadan in ways that reflect the great diversity of our country and the spirit of community that binds us together.” » | Garrett Haley | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Hate-preacher Anjem Choudary’s Oslo Ally Calls Homosexuality ‘A Nasty, Cruel Disease’

BREITBART.COM: A Norwegian Islamist extremist with links to Anjem Choudary, the London-based hate preacher who wants to establish an Islamic state in Britain, has launched a Facebook campaign against the Europride festival in Oslo this week.

The Local reports that Ubaydullah Hussain was linked earlier this year with Egzon Avdyli, a 25-year-old from Oslo who was reported killed fighting in Syria with jihadist forces.

Following reports of Avdyli’s death, Hussain declared him a martyr in a Facebook post. Included in the post was a picture of Avdyli and Hussain standing on each side of Choudary. » | M. E. Synon | Tuesday, June 27, 2014

Exclusive: Norwegian Govt. Could Request Extradition of UK Islamist Anjem Choudary »

Threat to Diggers*

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Australia's most notorious jihadists fighting in Iraq have issued a macabre threat to Australian soldiers as their ranks were bolstered by a Melbourne-born preacher who has joined their new "caliphate".

Underscoring the deep concern the Abbott government has expressed in recent weeks about Australians involved with extremist groups, two prominent jihadists fighting with the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State took to Twitter to issue fresh threats.

Mohamed Elomar, a former boxer from Sydney who has been implicated in executions of unarmed Iraqis, posted on the social media site a distressing picture of what appears to be a captured Iraqi soldier who has been beaten and is about to be executed.

The accompanying message states: "Look at the end of these Iraqi maliki dogs bunch of girls can't wait to see a Australian soldier cyring (sic) saying bakia."

"Bakia" means "he cries" in Arabic and "maliki" refers to the Shiite-led Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki, the fervent enemy of the Sunni extremists who have swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks. » | David Wroe | National Security Correspondent | Friday, July 05, 2014

* Digger is a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. [Source: Wikipedia]

US Terror Threat: Britain Turning 'Blind Eye' to Extremists, Warn American Analysts

American security and political experts are warning that jihadists
in Iraq and Syria will return to Europe with their newly-acquired
terror training

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain has been too relaxed about the threat to transatlantic flights from Islamist terrorists, a series of America-based security experts, political analysts and academics warn

The threat by terrorists to blow up airliners travelling to the United States has been ignored for too long by Britain, a series of American-based analysts have said.

American officials on Wednesday publicly demanded enhanced security for airports in Europe and the Middle East which have direct flights to the US. They did not say whether they had intelligence about a specific plot, but their actions suggested alarm, and a Homeland Security Department official said the request was "based on real-time intelligence".

On Friday, France announced that it was stepping up security checks at its airports, in response to the US warning.

But many American security and political experts said that Britain had turned a blind eye to the threat for too long.

"British governments have allowed indoctrination centres in mosques and cultural centres, they have turned a blind eye to recruitment operations and they have asserted the rights of those who want to impose sharia rule in their own areas," said Frank Gaffney, former assistant secretary of defence under President Ronald Reagan.

"They have embraced extremists who are just as determined to overthrow us by professed peaceful means as violent jihadists.

"This has inexorably led to a situation where any good jihadist calculates that it is time to wage violent struggle." » | Philip Sherwell, New York, David Millward in Maine and Harriet Alexander | Friday, July 04, 2014

Happy Independence Day!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my American visitors a VERY HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Pat Condell: Sweden Goes Insane

British Jihadi: I Won't Return to UK until Black Flag Flies over Buckingham Palace

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jihadist says he doesn't want to come back to what he has left behind in Britain because it is 'just pure evil', says Abu Osama who is fighting with jihadists in Syria

A British man who claims he is fighting with jihadists in Syria has said he would not return to the UK until "the black flag of Islam" flies over Buckingham Palace and Downing Street.

The man, who called himself Abu Osama, said he had received military training, including how to build bombs and shoot weapons, during his time in Syria.

Speaking with a West Yorkshire accent in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, he described the 7/7 London bombers as “heroic lions”, claiming "there is nothing in Britain - it is just pure evil".

Osama said he was fighting with the extremist Al-Nusra Front, linked to Al-Qaeda. However the BBC said his claims had not been “officially verified”.

The man told presenter Nicky Campbell: "I have no intention of coming back to Britain, because I have come to revive the Islamic Khilafah [the Arabic term for the creation of a caliphate].

"I don't want to come back to what I have left behind.

"If and when I come back to Britain it will be when this Khilafah - this Islamic state - comes to conquer Britain and I come to raise the black flag of Islam over Downing Street, over Buckingham Palace, over Tower Bridge and over Big Ben." » | Raziye Akkoc | Friday, July 04, 2014

Man calls for 'black flag of Islam' over Buckingham Palace »

The Beginning of the End of Obama's Imperial Presidency?

Jun. 28, 2014 - 6:15 - Supreme Court strikes down president's recess appointments as Republicans prepare to sue

Rove on Obama's Downward Spiral and Voters' Remorse

Jul. 03, 2014 - 5:33 - The real reason voters have turned on President Obama and believe the country would be in better shape if they had elected Mitt Romney

Saudi Arabia: Sandwiched by Jihadists in Iraq and Yemen

Saudi Arabia believes it may be next in the Isis firing line

BBC: Along Saudi Arabia's long, lonely desert border with its northern neighbour Iraq, the Ministry of Interior guards have every reason to stay alert.

Isis, the well-armed and well-funded jihadist army that has seized control of most of western Iraq, is now effectively at the kingdom's doorstep.

Nearly half the 900km (560 mile) Saudi-Iraq border is with Iraq's Anbar province where The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), now rebranded as simply "The Islamic State", is largely able to move its fighters around at will.

Saudi Arabia may not yet be directly in its sights but officials fear this is only a matter of time.

Isis backlash

Many of its most violent frontline fighters are believed to be Saudi nationals who may eventually come home, radicalised and brutalised by the conflict.

King Abdullah has ordered "all necessary measures to secure the kingdom from terrorist groups or others who might disturb the security of the homeland". » | Frank Gardner | BBC security correspondent | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Now Google BANS Express Story about George Osborne’s ‘Muslim’ Brother

The article detailed how Dr Osborne had converted
to Islam to marry his then wife

DAILY EXPRESS: A STORY published by the Daily Express five years ago detailing the marriage of Chancellor George Osborne’s brother to a Muslim bride was today censored by Google.

Express.co.uk was today informed that an article published about Dr Adam Osborne on December 7, 2009, has been removed from Google’s search listings.

The 300-word piece detailed how the Chancellor’s younger brother, now 38, had converted to Islam in preparation for his marriage to Bangladeshi-born Rahala Noor, his plastic surgeon girlfriend of 14 years.

The article explained he had been studying the Koran and was praying five times a day and had been given the name Mohammed for the ceremony.

The piece, which did not allow reader comments, still exists on Express.co.uk.

However, it does not appear on Google when a user searches for ‘George Osborne, brother, Islam, Express’ or any variation of those terms.

Bizarrely, the original story, which had been broken by the Mail on Sunday in much greater depth the day before, still appears on Google’s results for MailOnline.

Versions of the article by the Daily Mirror, the Independent and other newspapers also still appear. » | Ted Jeory & Dion Dassanayake | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Spanish Royal Family Fraud Case: First Evidence against King Felipe VI's Brother-in-law

Inaki Urdangarin, the husband of Princess Cristina, the Spanish
king's sister, faces accusations of fraud

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An accountant and co-accused has provided written testimony of how Princess Cristina's husband allegedly creamed off millions of euros

A key suspect in the fraud case that has embarrassed Spain's royal family has given the first direct account of how King Felipe VI's brother-in-law allegedly embezzled millions of euros of public funds.

Marco-Antonio Tejeiro, an accountant, set out his claims in a detailed written statement to the Spanish court where Inaki Urdangarin, the husband of Princess Cristina, the king's sister, faces accusations of fraud.

The scandal, subject of a four-year investigation by a judge in Palma de Mallorca, soured the reign of former King Juan Carlos, who tearfully handed the crown to his son last month.

Mr Urdangarin, 46, a former Olympic handball player, is accused along with a former business partner, Diego Torres, of creaming off €6 million (£4.76 million) in public funds from contracts to stage events that were awarded to Noos, a supposedly non-profit foundation, partly because of his connections.

Mr Tejeiro, who was Noos's accountant, is to receive a lighter sentence for cooperating with prosecutors, according to a court source, [sic] » | By agencies | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Islamic State Seizes Key Oil Fields after Defections from Al-Qaeda Ally

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria's largest oilfield has fallen under control of Islamic State as the Jihadist group attracts support from al-Qaeda backed rivals


The extremist Sunni jihadist group that declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq has seized control of one of Syria’s most important oil fields after rebel fighters from other factions switched their allegiance to support it.

In a crucial strategic advance for Islamic State, the organisation that is tearing Iraq apart, anti-government rebels in Syria who had been loyal to the rival Jabhat al-Nusra switched sides - handing over the Al-Omar oilfield, which has the potential to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day.

The development represents a huge step up for the Islamic State in its struggle against al-Nusra, which is backed by al-Qaeda but regards the new grouping as dangerously extremist.

It means that the caliphate proclaimed by the Islamic State now controls a stretch of Syria from the town of Deir al-Zour in the middle of the country to Abukamel on the Iraqi border. Within neighbouring Iraq, to the east, it holds the cities of Mosul and Tikrit, has free rein in Anbar province and is threatening to attack Baghdad. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, July 03, 2014

America Growing Angrier at the Federal Government

Jul. 02, 2014 - 3:52 - Talking Points 7/2

Buyer's Remorse? Poll Says Romney Would Be Better President

Jul. 03, 2014 - 4:39 - Voters believe country would be better off under former Republican challenger

Wappnen sich die Saudis gegen die Isis-Krieger?

Einschätzung von Fredy Gsteiger, SRF-Experte für Sicherheitsfragen

Inside ISIS and the Iraq Caliphate

Russian View: The Murky Side of Exceptionalism: US Military Footprint All over Arab World

After declaring captured Iraqi territory an Islamic State, ISIS reveals its plan to take over a dozen countries. They call on jihadist fighters to help build an Islamic caliphate. What is Washington's role in this story? RT's Marina Portnaya finds out.

From Prison to Jihad: Islamists Seek Supporters among German Inmates

Muslim prison chaplain Husamuddin Meyer
visits a jail in Wiesbaden, Germany, several
times a week as he attempts to connect with
prisoners and prevent them from adopting more
extremist forms of Islam, like Salafism.

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Radical Islamists have found a new place for recruiting fresh followers: German prisons. In some jails, Muslim chaplains are successfully promoting a more moderate approach to the faith, but many more of them are needed.

The evening sun shines through the barred windows onto the 18 men. They're wearing ruby-colored T-shirts and black pants. Some nudge each other's shoulders out of sheer boredom, while others linger in groups at the corner of the sparse room. The men speak Turkish, Arabic and German. One keeps glancing out the window into the prison yard.

A man with a full beard and violet-colored turban strides before the prisoners, his colorfully striped linen robe flowing behind him. Husamuddin Meyer rolls out his prayer rug and begins to pray. Swaying back and forth, he seems almost to be singing the Arabic verses.

The men stand silently in two rows in front of Meyer, backs straight and eyes staring straight ahead. They then kneel, lowering their heads until their foreheads touch the ground. They repeat this four to five times before chanting, "Allahu akbar," God is great. Meyer gestures with his hand and the prisoners form a semi-circle around him to listen to him telling a story from the Koran. Nobody interrupts.

Meyer is a Muslim chaplain; he wears a beard, a turban and a ring on his finger as prescribed by the Sunna. He also walks with a wooden cane, whose thud announces his arrival when he swiftly makes his way through the prison corridors. He visits the correctional facility in the central German city of Wiesbaden three times each week, where he prays together with Muslim prisoners and provides them with religious counseling.

Meyer is hoping to show the prisoners the path to Allah. More importantly, though, he is seeking to sway the faithful away from more radical interpretations of the Koran. He warns in particular against Salafism, the fundamentalist stream of Islam that is currently enjoying growing popularity among young men. When he discusses the issue, his generally pleasant voice suddenly hardens. "Salafism is like a disease," Meyer says. "Once somebody has it, they start infecting others." » | Lisa Schnell | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Ermittlungen wegen Bestechung: Franzosen lehnen Rückkehr Sarkozys in die Politik ab

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der Bestechungsverdacht gegen Nicolas Sarkozy wiegt schwer: Laut einer Umfrage lehnt eine große Mehrheit der Franzosen ein Comeback des Ex-Präsidenten in die Politik ab. Die Sozialisten werfen ihm vor, die Regierung zu beleidigen.

Paris - Nicolas Sarkozy wollte sich eine Rückkehr in die Politik offenhalten, im August oder September sollte es eine Entscheidung geben. Nun haben die Wähler ihre Meinung kundgetan: Fast zwei Drittel der Franzosen lehnen eine Rückkehr des früheren Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy ins politische Geschäft ab. » | kes/dpa | Donnerstag, 03. Juli 2014

Der Kalif als Befehlshaber der Gläubigen

Hier regierten die Sultane: Blick auf Konstantinopel, die
Hauptstadt des Osmanischen Reiches, um 1869.

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Terrororganisation Islamischer Staat hat ein Kalifat ausgerufen. Was sich dahinter wirklich verbirgt, zeigt ein Blick in die Geschichte.

Die islamistische Kampf- und Terrororganisation Islamischer Staat versucht weiterhin, nach der Einnahme Mossuls und anderer Städte auf Bagdad vorzurücken und die Hauptstadt des Irak einzunehmen. Sie will die von den Schiiten beherrschte Regierung von Ministerpräsident Nuri al Maliki stürzen und hat jetzt ein „Kalifat“ mit ihrem Anführer Abu Bakr al Bagdadi als „Kalifen“ ausgerufen, das irgendwann einmal den Irak und Syrien umfassen soll.

Nur in einem solchen streng „islamischen“ Gebilde könnten Muslime angemessen leben, behauptet die Terrororganisation und rekurriert dabei auf die islamische Geschichte, wie sie sich seit dem Wirken des Propheten Mohammed (571 bis 632) bis zum Jahre 1924 abgespielt hat - als eine Reihe von sich religiös legitimierenden Herrschaften und Dynastien, von denen die meisten sich in der Tat in der Nachfolge des Propheten sahen, mit mehr oder weniger Berechtigung, und noch dazu in sunnitischen oder schiitischen Varianten. Ihr Gegensatz spielt auch heute wieder eine Rolle, er ist voll entbrannt. » | Von Wolfgang Günter Lerch | Dienstag, 03. Juli 2014

China Bans Ramadan Fasting in Muslim Province

AL JAZEERA: Students and civil servants in the northwestern Xinjiang province have been ordered to not observe traditional fasting.

Students and civil servants in China's Muslim northwest have been ordered by the state to avoid taking part in traditional fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

Statements posted in the past week on websites of schools, government agencies and local party organisations in the Xinjiang region said the ban would protect students' wellbeing and prevent the use of schools and government offices to promote religion, the AP news agency reported on Thursday.

Statements on the websites of local party organisations said members of the officially atheist ruling party should also avoid fasting, although the month of Ramadan, which began at sundown on June 28, is observed by Muslims.

"No teacher can participate in religious activities, instill religious thoughts in students or coerce students into religious activities," said a statement on the website of the "Number 3 Grade School" in Ruoqiang County in Xinjiang. » | Source: Associated Press | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Coffee Shop Attacked in Lebanon for Not Closing during Ramadan

AL ARABIYA: A café open for customers during the day of the fasting month of Ramadan in the Lebanese city of Tripoli was attacked by unknown gunmen with a grenade, wounding four people and causing material damages to the café.

Two unidentified men on a motorcycle threw the bomb at Makiya café whose owner insists on opening his shop for customers who do not observe Ramadan fasting.

Observant Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan.

One of the city’s residents, who refused to be named, said that Makiya is one of the cafés in the northern city which opens its doors to non-fasting customers who have chronic diseases, such as diabetes, pressure, kidney and ulcers, pointing out that they are regular customers. » | Nisrine Hatoum, Al Arabiya News | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Pope Francis Makes Exorcisms Official Catholic Practice as Demon-fighting Priests Recognised under Canon Law

THE INDEPENDENT: Pope Francis has given support to the work of exorcists in the Catholic church, after a group of priests who claim to save people from demons were officially recognised under canon law.

The International Association of Exorcists, a group of 250 priests battling the forces of evil across 30 countries, has now had its statutes approved by the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, the church’s newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported.

It gives legal recognition to the performance of an exorcism, and was a cause for joy – according to the head of the association.

The Reverend Francesco Bamonte told L'Osservatore: “Exorcism is a form of charity that benefits those who suffer.” » | Adam Withnall | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Airport Security May Be Tightened Permanently After US Warning – Clegg

THE GUARDIAN: US officials believe terrorists in Syria and Yemen could be developing explosives that could be smuggled on to planes

A tightening of security at UK airports may remain in place on a permanent basis in the face of a new extremist bomb threat to transatlantic aircraft, Nick Clegg has said as he warned of the dangers posed by a "medieval, violent, revolting ideology".

Speaking after the government announced an increase in airport security amid fears in the US that terrorists in Syria and Yemen were developing explosives that could be smuggled on to planes, the deputy prime minister said the new measures would not be temporary.

"I don't think we should expect this to be a one-off temporary thing," Clegg said on his weekly LBC phone-in. "We have to make sure the checks are there to meet the nature of the new kinds of threats. Whether it is forever – I can't make any predictions. But I don't want people to think that this is just a sort of a blip for a week. This is part of an evolving and constant review about whether the checks keep up with the nature of the threats we face."

Clegg was speaking after US officials told Reuters that security at European airports would be increased following intelligence that al-Qaida operatives in Syria and Yemen had joined forces to develop bombs that could avoid detection and bring down aircraft. The US did not specify which airports or countries would be affected, nor did it say what triggered the extra precautions. Read on and comment » | Nicholas Watt, Josh Halliday and Vikram Dodd | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Saudi Arabia Sends 30,000 Troops to Iraq Border

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia has announced it is sending 30,000 soldiers to monitor the border with Iraq, amid fears over the spread of Islamic State

Saudi Arabia has sent 30,000 troops to reinforce its long northern desert border after Iraqi troops withdrew from the other side, according to reports[.]

Fighters from Islamic State, the jihadist group, and its allies have already seized frontier posts on Iraq's western borders with Syria and Jordan. The southern border with Saudi Arabia, which regards itself as vulnerable to the threat of jihadism, is more than 500 miles long.

Large parts of it are with Anbar province, the centre of Islamic State power in Iraq and now almost entirely under the control either of the group itself or of Sunni Arab tribes that have allied with it.

The last serious incursion into Saudi Arabia also came from Iraq, after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. Iraqi forces were eventually repelled from the Saudi town of Khafji, the following January, but only after they were attacked from the air by American jets. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, July 03, 2014

Nicolas Sarkozy: Allegations against Me are Grotesque, and the Judges Are Biased

Nicolas Sarkozy, centre, is brought in by police for questioning
on Tuesday by a judge investigating allegations of corruption.

THE GUARDIAN: Former French president defends himself after being put under formal investigation for alleged corruption case

To the French right it was political persecution and a plot to undermine Nicolas Sarkozy's eventual return to power. To the left it was the country's justice system doing its job and showing that no man – not even a powerful former president – is above the law.

But on Wednesday night it was Sarkozy's turn to speak after a day in which he was put under formal investigation for allegations of corruption, trafficking influence and receiving information violating professional secrecy.

The move came more than 15 hours after he was first summoned to a police station on the outskirts of Paris and told he was being held in custody – a first for a former president in modern France.

Three others, Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog and two magistrates, have also been put under investigation in the case. All deny any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday night, Sarkozy appeared on television for the first time since leaving the Elysée Palace in 2012 to claim the justice system was being used as a "political instrument" against him and to lash out at the magistrates and France's Socialist government.

"In our country, the country of human rights and the right of law, there are things that are being organised … everything is being done to give an image of me that is not the truth. To all those watching and listening, I want to say that I have never betrayed their confidence. I have never committed an act against republican principles or the law," he said.

Wearing a sombre suit and tie, the former president looked tanned and clean-shaven – recent photos showed him with fashionable stubble – and came out fighting, describing the accusations as "grotesque", and accusing the judges of being politically biased and determined to humiliate and destroy him. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

The Lemon Seller Now Turkey’s ‘Sultan’

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan
greet AK Party (AKP) members at a meeting where he is named as his
party's candidate for the country's first direct presidential election in
Ankara on Tuesday. – Reuters

SAUDI GAZETTE: ANKARA – Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who rose from selling lemons on the streets to become Turkey’s most powerful modern leader, is hailed by supporters as the saviour of his country, but has become an increasingly polarizing figure.

The religiously devout but charismatic prime minister is now seeking to extend his 11-year domination of Turkey by standing in a presidential election that would make him Turkey’s longest serving ruler since its founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

But the man dubbed the “Sultan” is enduring the most turbulent phase of his career, accused of being an autocrat and lashing out erratically at critics, from former allies to Twitter users.

Months of political turmoil in the wake of the Gezi street protests have cast a shadow over Erdogan, once hailed as an emerging global player after Turkey’s decade of unprecedented growth.

“I am not a dictator. It is not even in my blood,” he said last year.

But as tales of official graft and sleaze spread through social networks, the 60-year-old has become increasingly irritable and combative, branding his critics “traitors” and “terrorists.” » | AFP | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Putin to West: Stop Turning World into 'Global Barracks,' Dictating Rules to Others (Full Speech – July 1, 2014)

Australian Jihadist Preacher Musa Cerantonio on His Way to Syria or Iraq

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: A firebrand Australian Muslim preacher says he is joining the ''caliphate'' established by ultraviolent jihadists in the Middle East - a move that could prove a powerful magnet to would-be extremist fighters.

Melbourne-born Musa Cerantonio, regarded internationally as an influential cheerleader for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, appeared on Twitter early Wednesday morning to heap praise on the group and its announcement of a new Islamic state.

The former Catholic is believed to have been hiding out in the Philippines for months and is reportedly wanted by the Australian Federal Police.

Mr Cerantonio's announcement came as Attorney-General George Brandis confirmed the government was looking at ways to make sure Australians returning from fighting with extremists in the Middle East would not pose a danger at home. (+ video) » | David Wroe | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Jihad 2.0

Read The Dish article here

Putin verbietet das Fluchen

DIE PRESSE: Neues Gesetz bestraft vulgäre Ausdrücke: Konservative Kräfte wollen damit "westlicher Dekadenz" entgegenwirken

Wladimir Putin mags offenbar lieber fein - zumindest was den Sprachgebrauch seiner Landsleute betrifft: So ist In [sic] Russland [ist] am Dienstag ein umstrittenes Gesetz in Kraft getreten, das vulgäre Ausdrücke in den Medien, im Theater und in Filmen untersagt. Der Staatspräsident persönlich hatte das Gesetz im Mai dekretiert. » | DiePresse.com | Dienstag, 01. Juli 2014

The Caliph Calls On All Muslims to Do Their Duty and Build the ‘Islamic State’

Read and comment on the Daily Mail article here

Nicolas Sarkozy Charged with Corruption

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Former president of France formally charged in a move which could wreck hopes of political comeback

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said on Wednesday, a dramatic move in a criminal probe that could wreck his hopes of a political comeback.

The decision came after Mr Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.

The right-wing leader had been detained at a police station in a Paris suburb in connection with a suspected attempt to illegally influence judicial proceedings in one of a raft of colourful corruption cases he is implicated in.

Mr Sarkozy turned up at the station in Nanterre in a black saloon car with tinted windows at 8:00 am (0600 GMT).

After the lengthy questioning, the former president was taken in the early hours of Wednesday to appear before a judge, where he was charged with corruption and influence peddling, the prosecution said in a statement to AFP.

If convicted of those charges, he could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. » | AFP | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Obama the 'Imperial President'?

Jul. 01, 2014 - 5:17 - A look at the various time President Obama has vowed to bypass Congress and 'go it alone'

Cameron's Ramadan Greetings

ASIAN TRIBUNE: I have heard and read so many Ramadan greetings from so many leaders all my life but the message from the British Prime-minister, David Cameron really touched my heart.

When I listened to his message twice over, in a video, one of my friends asked me whether I am memorizing it.

I listened to it a third time also; luckily he wasn’t there to cast another remark!

Cameron said ‘Very best wishes to everyone observing the holy month of Ramadan in the UK and around the globe.’

He continued that ‘This is an incredibly special time of year for Muslims at home and abroad; a time for charity, for contemplation and community.’

He acknowledged that British Muslims are the top charity givers in the country ahead of all other faiths.

‘Charity is one of the things that Islam is all about. Here in Britain, Muslims are our biggest donors – they give more to charity than any other faith group’ Cameron stressed. » | S.H.Moulana, Riyadh | Monday, June 30, 2014

President Obama Ramadan's Message to Muslims

ISIS Reaches 'Ultimate Goal' of Caliphate

Matt Frei talks to Lebanese-Australian journalist Rania Abouzeid, who has reported extensively on Islamic militants in the Middle East.

European Court Upholds French Full Veil Ban

There are calls beyond France too for public wearing of the
niqab to be banned

BBC: The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a ban by France on wearing the Muslim full-face veil - the niqab.

A case was brought by a 24-year-old French woman, who argued that the ban on wearing the veil in public violated her freedom of religion and expression.

French law says nobody can wear in a public space clothing intended to conceal the face. The penalty for doing so can be a 150-euro fine (£120; $205).

The 2010 law came in under former conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A breach of the ban can also mean a wearer having to undergo citizenship instruction. » | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: French ban on the wearing in public of clothing designed to conceal one’s face does not breach the Convention »

French Ex-President Sarkozy Held Over Influence Claims

BBC: French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy has been detained for questioning over alleged influence peddling.

Mr Sarkozy is being held at Nanterre, near Paris, in an unprecedented step against a former president.

Mr Sarkozy is being questioned about whether he sought inside information from a judge concerning an investigation into campaign funding.

The latest developments are seen as a blow to Mr Sarkozy's attempts to challenge for the presidency in 2017.

Investigators are trying to find out whether Mr Sarkozy, 59, who was president from 2007 to 2012, had promised a prestigious role in Monaco to a high-ranking judge, Gilbert Azibert, in exchange for information about an investigation into alleged illegal campaign funding.

They are looking into claims that Mr Sarkozy was warned his phone was being bugged as part of the funding probe.

Mr Azibert, one of the most senior judges at the court of appeal, was called in for questioning on Monday. Another judge, Patrick Sassoust, was also questioned, as was Mr Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog. (+ video) » | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

ISIS Leader Calls On Muslims in Ramadan Message to Build 'Islamic State'

ISIS militants near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit.

HAARETZ: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi demands that all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him in audiotape.

AP - The leader of the extremist group that has swept over much of northern Syria and Iraq called on Muslims Tuesday to immigrate to the territory his group has seized to help build an Islamic state.

The 19-minute audiotape from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi comes two days after his organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in the land it controls. It also proclaimed al-Baghdadi the caliph, and demanded that all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him.

In his first remarks since that bold declaration, al-Baghdadi urged Muslims to come build their caliphate. He made a special appeal to those with practical skills — scholars, judges, doctors, engineers and people with military and administrative expertise — to come "answer the dire need of the Muslims for them."

He also called on jihadi fighters to escalate fighting in the holy month of Ramadan, which began on Sunday. "In this virtuous month or in any other month, there is no deed better than jihad in the path of Allah, so take advantage of this opportunity and walk the path of you righteous predecessors," he said. "So to arms, to arms, soldiers of the Islamic, fight, fight." » | Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Sinan Salaheddin | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Terrorchef ruft Muslime weltweit zur Einwanderung in sein Kalifat auf

Dschihadisten-Chef Baghdadi:
Aufruf an alle Muslime zur Rache

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der Anführer der ISIS-Dschihadisten al-Baghdadi hat sich in einer Audiobotschaft an Muslime weltweit gewandt. Sie sollen beim Aufbau seines islamischen Staats helfen, fordert der selbst ernannte Kalif.

Bagdad - Mit einer 19-minütigen Audiobotschaft richtet sich ISIS-Chef Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi an alle Muslime weltweit: Der Dschihadist fordert sie auf, in die von der Miliz "Islamischer Staat im Irak und in Syrien" (ISIS) eroberten Gebiete zu kommen und beim Aufbau eines islamischen Staats zu helfen. "Muslime, eilt in euren Staat. Ja, es ist euer Staat", rief Baghdadi.

Der Führer der militanten Gruppe wandte sich vor allem an Studenten, Richter, Doktoren, Ingenieure und Menschen mit militärischer und administrativer Expertise. Er rief nach Rache für alles, was Muslimen angetan worden sei. Er rief Kämpfer auf, sich zu rächen. Es gebe in diesem "gesegneten Monat" nichts Besseres, "als den Wandel zu umarmen", sagte Baghdadi in der Botschaft, die online abrufbar ist, und rief zum Dschihad auf. » | vek/AP/Reuters | Dienstag, 01. Juli 2014

'No Place to Hide': Iraq's Christians Face ISIS Slaughter as Country Disintegrates

The ISIS attack on Iraq has opened up the already wide divisions in its society. There is religious strife between Sunnis and Shias, along with the separatist sentiments among Kurds in the north. And then there are other minorities like Christians and Turkmen, who are in a dire position as Lucy Kafanov reports.

New Dark Age Alert! Isis Baghdadi Calls for Muslims to Fight until Rome Is Conquered

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Muslims have been called to flock to the Islamic State to gather for a battle against non-believers throughout the world

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, has vowed to lead the conquest of Rome as he called on Muslims to immigrate to his new land to fight under its banner around the globe.

Baghdadi, who holds a PhD in Islamic studies, said Muslims were being targetted and killed from China to Indonesia. Speaking as the first Caliph, or commander of the Islamic faithful since the dissolution of the Ottoman empire, he called on Muslims to rally to his pan-Islamic state.

"Those who can immigrate to the Islamic State should immigrate, as immigration to the house of Islam is a duty," he said in an audio recording released on a website used by the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

"Rush O Muslims to your state. It is your state. Syria is not for Syrians and Iraq is not for Iraqis. The land is for the Muslims, all Muslims.

"This is my advice to you. If you hold to it you will conquer Rome and own the world, if Allah wills." » Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Nazi 'Perfect Aryan' Poster Child Was Jewish

Hessy Taft recently presented the Yad Vashem Holocaust
Memorial in Israel with a Nazi magazine featuring her baby
photograph on the front cover, and told the story of how she
became an unlikely poster child for the Third Reich

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hessy Taft's baby photograph was selected by Nazi party as the ideal Aryan infant, but Joseph Goebbels' propaganda machine never discovered that she was in fact Jewish

When Hessy Taft was six months old, she was a poster child for the Nazis. Her photograph was chosen as the image of the ideal Aryan baby, and distributed in party propaganda. But what the Nazis didn’t know was that their perfect baby was really Jewish.

“I can laugh about it now,” the 80-year-old Professor Taft told Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview. “But if the Nazis had known who I really was, I wouldn’t be alive.”

Prof Taft recently presented the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel with a Nazi magazine featuring her baby photograph on the front cover, and told the story of how she became an unlikely poster child for the Third Reich.

Her parents, Jacob and Pauline Levinsons, both talented singers, moved to Berlin from Latvia to pursue careers in classical music in 1928, only to find themselves caught up in the Nazis’ rise to power.

Her father lost his job at an opera company because he was Jewish, and had to find work as a door-to-door salesman.

In 1935, with the city rife with anti-semitic attacks, Pauline Levinsons took her six-month-old daughter Hessy to a well-known Berlin photographer to have her baby photograph taken.

A few months later, she was horrified to find her daughter’s picture on the front cover of Sonne ins Hause, a major Nazi family magazine. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Ich war Hitlers Propaganda-Baby »

The ISIS Map of the World: Militants Outline Chilling Five-year Plan for Global Domination as They Declare Formation of Caliphate - and Change Their Name to the Islamic State

MAIL ONLINE: Sunni militants have announced formation of Islamic state in Middle East / They demand Muslims around the world swear allegiance to the caliphate / Claim leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now has authority over all Muslims / Group has also now changed its name from ISIS to just the Islamic State / Announcement described as 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

ISIS has formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the vast stretches of the Middle East that have fallen under its control, and has outlined a vision to expand into Europe.

The announcement was described as the 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

Upon declaring a caliphate, the Sunni militants - whose brutality in attempting to establish control in Iraq and Syria has been branded too extreme even by Al Qaeda - demanded allegiance from Muslims around the world.

With brutal efficiency, ISIS has carved out a large chunk of territory that has effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria and laid the foundations of its proto-state.

The announcement, made on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, could trigger a wave of infighting among Sunni extremist factions that have until now formed a loose rebel alliance.

A spokesman for ISIS declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the leader of the new caliphate, or Islamic state, and called on Muslims everywhere, not just those in areas under the organization's control, to swear loyalty to him.

'The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,' said Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

'Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day,' he added in an audio statement posted online. Read on and comment » | John Hall | Published: Monday, June 30, 2014 | Updated: Tuesday, July 01, 2014