A Muslim-run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row

FRANCE 24: France most notorious and internationally best-known novelist Michel Houellebecq insisted Saturday that his new book “Submission”, which envisions a future France ruled by a Muslim government, is not a far-right racist scare story.

“Submission”, which is released in French on Wednesday, has been the subject of intense debate in recent weeks, particularly for its portrayal of Islam.

In 2001 Houellebeck described Islam as “the stupidest of all religions”, a position he has since vocally distanced himself from.

But his latest book has stirred criticism from all quarters and been attacked widely by the French media and on social media. France’s Muslim community accuse the author of inciting Islamophobia in a country with Europe’s biggest Muslim population.

Leading the barrage is Laurent Joffrin, editor-in-chief of left-leaning newspaper Libération, who argues that the novel “will mark the date in history when the ideas of the far-right made a grand return to serious French literature”.

“This is a book that ennobles the ideas of the [far right anti-Europe and anti-immigration] National Front (FN) party,” he added.

Not so, said philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, a member of France’s prestigious Academie Française, who described Houellebecq as a man, “with his eyes wide open and who is not intimidated by political correctness”. » | Sunday, January 04, 2014

Related »

Facebook and Twitter are 'Allowing Islamophobia to Spread by Refusing to Report Offensive Postings'

MAIL ONLINE: Posts include accusations of Muslims being rapists and paedophiles / Inflammatory messages flagged up to social sites by interfaith organization / But several accounts have not been suspended and posts not removed / Faith Matters said it is 'morally unacceptable' to leave up 'bigoted' views / Facebook says it has to 'strike balance' between freedom of expression and maintaining'safe and trusted environment' / Twitter said all threats reported against site's rules are investigated

Facebook and Twitter have been accused of allowing Islamophobia to flourish by refusing to remove hundreds of inflammatory posts which have been reported by anti-racism campaigners.

Some of the posts which have been flagged up to the two social media sites include accusations of Muslims being rapists, paedophiles and comparable to cancer.

In one shocking example, a Facebook user, who was referring to the beheading of Westerners in Syria said: 'For every person beheaded by these sick savages we should drag 10 off the streets and behead them, film it and put it online.

'For every child they cut in half … we cut one of their children in half. An eye for an eye.'

But, in several cases, the accounts behind the abusive messages have not been suspended, nor have the posts been removed, according to a report by The Independent. » | Steph Cockroft for MailOnline | Saturday, January 03, 2014

Enfant terrible's Literary Vision of an Islamic France

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michel Houellebecq, who first stirred controversy with sex novel Atomised, makes waves with book describing country after Islamist becomes president

Put France’s literary enfant terrible together with Europe’s most combustible political talking point, and sparks were always going to fly.

Michel Houellebecq, whose tale of sex, mother-hatred and cloning Atomised was the French literary scandal of the Nineties, is turning his attention to “Islamisation”.

His new novel Soumission (Submission), will not be published until January 7 but has already triggered a flurry of accusations that he is pandering to the growing Islamophobia gripping France.

It is set in 2022 and imagines the country electing a Muslim president, who goes on to convert France to his vision of society.

In a twist, he is not only able to implement his programme - but it works. France becomes more positive about its future, and more prosperous too.

Houellebecq has already been accused of aligning himself with so-called neo-réactionnaire writers and intellectuals such as Eric Zemmour and Renaud Camus who argue that France’s national identity has been irreversibly diluted by mass immigration and the growth of Islam. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Saturday, January 03, 2015

Cologne Cathedral Will Go Dark in Protest at Anti-Islam March

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Church authorities show their dismay at growing movement, as politicians call for faster deporting of failed asylum seekers

The floodlights of Cologne cathedral will be switched off as a counter-protest against a planned anti-immigrant march, due to take place in the city on Monday night.

Thousands of marchers, coordinated by a new far-Right protest movement, have demonstrated in Dresden in recent weeks against what they say is the “Islamisation” of the country by Muslim immigrants.

The announcement came as Angela Merkel's Bavarian coalition partners urged a radical overhaul of Germany’s asylum system, including the swift deportation of those turned down for refugee status.

Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union, which is also a member of Mrs Merkel’s federal coalition, has proposed a new fast-track asylum process, based on the system used in Switzerland, in which “simple” cases would be decided in just six weeks. A senior CSU figure, Joachim Hermann, the Bavarian interior minister, has called for those whose applications are rejected to be deported. » | Justin HUggler, Berlin | Friday, January 02, 2015

India Outrage over Mock 'Muslim' Terror Drills

BBC: There has been outrage in India after police in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat conducted mock security drills using fake "militants" dressed as Muslims.

A video of a drill in Surat district showed police restraining men wearing long tunics and white skullcaps.

Another video shot in the Narmada district had the "militants" shouting "Islam Zindabad (Long live Islam)".

Muslim leaders have called the videos "atrocious and highly condemnable".

Critics say the videos stereotype Muslims, who make up nearly 14% of the country's 1.2 billion population. » | Friday, January 02, 2015

Florida Man Decapitates Mother on New Year's Eve

BBC: US police say they have charged a man with first-degree murder after he decapitated his mother on New Year's Eve.

Florida officials said that 23-year-old Christian Gomez killed his mother with an axe on Wednesday.

Officers found the body of Maria Suarez-Cassagne outside the family home in Oldsmar, Pinellas County. » | Friday, January 02, 2015

Exodus from France Leads Aliyah to 10-Year High

THE JEWISH PRESS: Aliyah was up by 32 percent compared with 2013.

Immigration to Israel hit a 10-year high in 2014 with the arrival of approximately 26,500 new immigrants, 32 percent higher than last year’s 20,000 new “olim.”

France for the first time topped the list of countries of origin for immigrants, with nearly 7,000 Jews moving to Israel in 2014, double the 3,400 who came last year.

The other unusual rate of aliyah was from the Ukraine, from where 5,820 Jews moved to Israel, nearly three times the 2,020 who made aliyah in the previous year. » | Jewish Press Staff | Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Vœux du président François Hollande aux Français pour l'année 2015

Retrouvez les vœux du président François Hollande aux Français pour l'année 2015.

Österreichs Monarchisten hoffen auf Wende

In anderthalb Jahren zieht in Wien ein Neuer in die Hofburg. Es wird ein Präsident sein, nicht ein Kaiser. Doch wenn es nach den Monarchisten geht, wird zum letzten Mal ein Bürgerlicher Staatsoberhaupt werden. Denn nach ihren Plänen wird die Republik bald wieder altem Glanz Platz machen.

Den SRF Artikel hier lessen

Happy New Year! Bonne année ! Gutes Neues Jahr! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Felice Anno Nuovo! Felix sit annus novus! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! ! سنة سعيدة L'Shannah Tovah!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my visitors, followers, and Twitter followers a wonderful, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year. May 2015 be your year! Thanking you all for your continued and loyal support. – © Mark

Neujahrsansprache der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel aus dem Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin

Claptrap? Sir Winston Churchill’s Family Begged Him Not to Convert to Islam, Letter Reveals

THE INDEPENDENT: He might have been a staunch protector of the British Empire, but the British Prime Minister had a love of the Orient and Islam

The family of Sir Winston Churchill urged him to “fight against” the desire to convert to Islam, a newly discovered letter has revealed.

The Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in World War Two was apparently so taken with Islam and the culture of the Orient that his family wrote to try and persuade him not to become a Muslim.

In a letter dated August 1907 Churchill’s soon to be sister-in-law wrote to him: “Please don’t become converted to Islam; I have noticed in your disposition a tendency to orientalise, Pasha-like tendencies, I really have.

“If you come into contact with Islam your conversion might be effected with greater ease than you might have supposed, call of the blood, don’t you know what I mean, do fight against it.”

The letter, discovered by a history research fellow at Cambridge University, Warren Dockter, was written by Lady Gwendoline Bertie who married Churchill’s brother Jack.

"Churchill never seriously considered converting," Dr Dockter told The Independent. "He was more or less an atheist by this time anyway. He did however have a fascination with Islamic culture which was common among Victorians." » | Matilda Battersby | Sunday, December 28, 2014

This article seems to be ludicrous, given the fact that Churchill wrote the following about Islam:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die: but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.

Source: Wiki »

Islam's Dysfunctional State: In Isis-controlled Syria and Iraq Everyday Life Is Falling Apart

THE INDEPENDENT: Basic services such as water and rubbish collection are failing and residents are struggling to find food

Isis’s vaunted exercise in state-building appears to be crumbling, as living conditions deteriorate across the territories under its control, exposing the shortcomings of a group that devotes most of its energies to fighting battles and enforcing strict rules.

Residents say services are collapsing, prices are soaring and medicines are scarce in towns and cities across the “caliphate” that Isis proclaimed in Iraq and Syria, belying the group’s boasts that it is delivering a model form of governance for Muslims.

Slick videos depicting functioning governing offices and the distribution of aid fail to match the reality of growing deprivation and disorganised, erratic leadership, the residents say. A trumpeted Isis currency has not materialised, nor have the passports the group promised. Schools barely function, doctors are few and disease is on the rise.

In the Iraqi city of Mosul, the water has become undrinkable because supplies of chlorine have dried up, according to a journalist living there, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Hepatitis was spreading and flour for bread was becoming increasingly scarce, he said. “Life in the city is nearly dead, and it is as though we are living in a giant prison,” he said. » | Liz Sly | Friday, December 26, 2014

Die Freiheit Statement zum IS

Western Leftists Stand Up for Their Comrades in Islam

THE AUSTRALIAN – OPINION: THIS year was for Australia, as for much of the world, an annus horribilis. The downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by Russian-backed rebels and the Sydney siege by Islamist jihadist Man Haron Monis announced to our nation the return of an old foe: totalitarianism.

The Lindt cafe nestles in Martin Place, a cosmopolitan promenade steeped in the story of Australia’s rise as a liberal-democratic nation. At one end sits the General Post Office, rendered sublime by the imagination of immigrant Scottish architect James Barnet in a neoclassical revival of the Italian Renaissance. At the other there’s the Australian Provincial Assurance building, a towering art deco tribute to technology and modernity erected at the dawn of totalitarianism in 1937; it is this that houses the Lindt cafe.

Martin Place is a standing celebration of the Australian story, our civilisation’s love of aesthetic beauty, our embrace of modernity, our legacy of civic freedom. It is guarded by the Cenotaph, whose inscription “Lest we forget” is a melancholic reminder of that old adage: the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

Islamic State’s totalitarian ideology is clarified in Dabiq magazine and Flames of War, a documentary that justifies its genocidal barbarity using propaganda concocted by the 1960s communist Left. In socialist and Islamist propaganda, the West is portrayed as an imperialist colonial leviathan that stands between eternally oppressed minorities and the second coming of international socialism. The utopian socialists and Islamists both promise world peace — after their bloody revolutions, of course. » | Jennifer Oriel | The Australian | Saturday, December 27, 2014

Morocco Says Exodus Film 'Represents God' and Is Forbidden in Islam

THE GUARDIAN: Film’s distributor receives written notice to ban Hollywood import because scene depicts God in the form of a ‘child who gives a revelation to the prophet Moses’

Morocco banned the Hollywood biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings because it “represents God” which is forbidden under Islam, its distributor said on Saturday.

The distributor said it had received written notice that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster contained a scene that represents God in the form of a “child who gives a revelation to the prophet Moses”. Initially, cinema owners were informed verbally that the film had been banned, media reports had said.

“I deplore this censorship,” distributor Mounia Layadi Benkirane said in a statement.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, has also banned the movie, citing “historical inaccuracies”. » | Agence France-Presse in Rabat | Saturday, December 27, 2014

Syrie : Damas prêt à rencontrer l'opposition à Moscou

LE POINT: La Russie, principale alliée du régime de Bachar el-Assad, pourrait accueillir "une conférence de dialogue entre Syriens sans ingérence étrangère".

Le régime syrien est prêt à rencontrer l'opposition à Moscou pour tenter de trouver une issue à la guerre qui ravage le pays depuis près de quatre ans, a annoncé samedi le ministère des Affaires étrangères.

"La Syrie est prête à participer à une rencontre préliminaire et consultative à Moscou pour répondre aux aspirations des Syriens qui sont celles de trouver une issue à la crise", indique une source non identifiée au sein du ministère dans ce communiqué, cité par l'agence officielle syrienne Sana. » | Source AFP | samedi 27 décembre 2014

Boycott Halal Movement in Australia Set to Escalate

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: The virulent Boycott Halal movement in Australia is set to escalate with a petition to federal parliament in the New Year demanding the Corporations Act 2001 be changed to mean only Muslims bear the cost of halal certification on everyday products.

Halal products are those deemed permissible for Muslims to eat or use under religious law. Many mainstream products in Australian stores are halal certified including food from SPC, Nestle, Kelloggs and Kraft. Supermarket chains pay for certification for some products, as do dairy factories and meat processors. » | Chris Johnston | Saturday, December 27, 2014

Worse Than the Dictators: Egypt’s Leaders Bring Pillars of Freedom Crashing Down

THE GUARDIAN: Adly Mansour and now Abdel Fatah al-Sisi are ruling by decrees, banning protest and severely curbing freedom of speech

Egypt is enacting authoritarian laws at a rate unmatched by any regime for 60 years, legal specialists from four institutions have told the Guardian.

Since the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, Morsi’s successors in the presidency, Adly Mansour and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, have used the absence of an elected parliament to almost unilaterally issue a series of draconian decrees that severely restrict freedom of expression, association and assembly.

The speed at which the decrees have been issued outpaces legislative frenzies under the dictators Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, and is matched only by the period that followed the toppling of the Egyptian monarchy in 1952, according to Amr Shalakany, associate law professor at the American University in Cairo; Amr Abdulrahman, director of civil liberties at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights; Mohamed Elhelw, head of legal research at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms; and Ahmed Ezzat, a human rights lawyer, and previously a legal researcher at another prominent rights group. » | Patrick Kingsley in Cairo | Friday, December 26, 2014

Erdogan's 'New Turkey' Drifts towards Isolation

BBC: There is an old saying in Turkish: "The Turk has no friend but the Turk." As this country drifts towards isolation under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the proverb is ringing uncomfortably true.

During his 11 years as prime minister, Turkey rose in prominence. It began negotiations for European Union membership. It hugely increased its diplomatic presence, particularly in Africa. Its biggest city, Istanbul, now hosts one of the world's largest airport hubs with an airline that flies to more countries than any other.

But in the past months, perhaps two years or so, something has soured. The world's statesmen still stop by - the US Vice President, Joe Biden, arriving this week - but Turkey today is distinctly lacking friends.

When the UN General Assembly voted last month for new non-permanent members of the Security Council, Turkey confidently assumed it would secure a seat. But, humiliatingly, it lost out to Spain and New Zealand: A slap in the face for Mr Erdogan, elected president in August. » | Mark Lowen | BBC News | Istanbul | Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Erdogan Tells Europe to Stop Criticizing Turkey

REUTERS: (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed European countries on Friday for criticizing deteriorating press freedom in Turkey and said they should instead try to find a solution for what he said was increasing Islamophobia in the continent.

Turkish police earlier this month raided media outlets close to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan accuses of forming a 'parallel state' to undermine his rule and orchestrating a graft scandal targeting his inner circle.

The European Union, which Turkey has been seeking to join for decades, said the media raids ran counter to European values, a criticism already dismissed by Erdogan. On Friday, the President repeated his discontent, with a visibly harsher tone.

"We are not Europe's scapegoat," Erdogan told a symposium of civil servants. "We are definitely not a country that Europe can point its finger at and scold. Instead of criticizing us, Europe should find a solution to increasing racism and Islamophobia." » | Reuters | Istanbul | Friday, December 26, 2014

The Queen's 2014 Christmas Speech

Islamic State: German Author Given Unprecedented Access

BBC: A German author given unprecedented access to territory controlled by Islamic State (IS), has told the BBC that IS is stronger, more brutal and harder to confront than he had expected.

Juergen Todenhoefer spent 10 days in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria where he filmed daily life and spoke to fighters.

He told Caroline Hawley what he found. (+ BBC video) » | Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël ! Frohe Weihnachten! Buon Natale! Felix Nativitas!

'We Three Kings', an original painting by James C. Christensen.
Collage : Google Images

Germany: Thousands Stage Anti-immigration Rally, Rail against 'Islamization of West'

THE JERUSALEM POST: The rally by a fast-growing grass-roots movement calling itself PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, was its 10th and largest so far.

DRESDEN - More than 17,000 people took part in Germany's largest anti-immigrant rally to date on Monday in the eastern city of Dresden, gathering to sing Christmas carols and listen to speakers complain about immigrants and asylum-seekers.

The rally by a fast-growing grass-roots movement calling itself PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, was its 10th and largest so far.

"Germany is not a land of immigration," PEGIDA leader Lutz Bachmann told the cheering crowd, which waved Germany flags and chanted criticism of media it accuses of biased reporting. » | Reuters | Tuesday, December 23, 2014

North Korea Threatens to 'Blow Up' the White House after Claiming to Find 'Clear Evidence' that the Government Was behind Controversial Sony Film The Interview

MAIL ON SUNDAY: State news agency posted saber-rattling anti-U.S. statement / Claimed it would attack 'citadels' of United States including The Pentagon / Also said government officials dictated content of pulled film The Interview

North Korea has threatened more attacks against the U.S. government and other American institutions in the wake of the hack on Sony which cancelled the release of The Interview.

The government - which was outraged by the film showing the assassination of leader Kim Jong Un - also claimed to have 'clear evidence' that the U.S. government engineered the project as a 'propaganda' attack against North Korea.

In a ranting post published by the state news agency KCNA, Korean authorities hit back in an escalating war of words in which they say they will 'blow up' the White House - while bizarrely continuing to deny they have anything to do with the cyber attacks on Sony.

'Nothing is a more serious miscalculation than guessing that just a single movie production company is the target of this counteraction.'

'Our target is all the citadels of the U.S. imperialists who earned the bitterest grudge of all Koreans.

'The army and people of the DPRK are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the U.S. in all war spaces including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels.' Read on and comment » | Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline | Sunday, December 21, 2014

L'État islamique a exécuté 100 de ses djihadistes étrangers déserteurs

LE POINT: Selon le "Financial Times", l'organisation djihadiste a créé une police militaire pour éviter la désertion de ses membres étrangers voulant fuir les combats.

Le groupe djihadiste État islamique (EI) a exécuté cent de ses combattants étrangers qui tentaient de quitter la ville syrienne de Raqqa (nord), a affirmé samedi dans le Financial Times un activiste opposé au régime syrien et à l'EI. Ce militant, qui témoignait sous le couvert de l'anonymat et que le Financial Times dit "bien connaître", affirme dans le quotidien économique "avoir vérifié ces cent exécutions" de djihadistes étrangers tentant de fuir les combats. » | samedi 20 décembre 2014

French Police Shoot Dead Knifeman Who Was Shouting Islamic Slogans

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Investigation under way after man attacks officers in police station in central France

French police on Saturday shot dead a man who attacked them with a knife in a police station while shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic), a source said.

The man injured the face of an officer at the entrance to the police station in Joue-les-Tours near the city of Tours in central France and injured two other before he was shot, the interior ministry said.

Anti-terrorist investigators were probing the incident, a judicial source said.

The perpetrator was a French citizen born in Burundi in 1994 and known to police for common crimes, a source close to the case told AFP, adding that the attacker "shouted 'Allahu Akbar' from the moment he entered until his last breath." » | Agencies | Saturday, December 20, 2014

16 Tage Hawaii für die Obamas

TAGES ANZEIGER: Ein turbulentes Jahr geht zu Ende: Die «First Family» der USA reiste in die Weihnachtsferien nach Honolulu.

Nach einem hektischen Jahr mit internationalen Krisen und einer Schlappe bei den Kongresswahlen ist US-Präsident Barack Obama in die Weihnachtsferien gereist. Zusammen mit seiner Frau Michelle und den beiden Töchtern flog er nach Hawaii ab. » | Samstag, 20. Dezember 2014

Kreml will mit Kim Jong-un Sieg über Hitler feiern

Kim Jong-un wird voraussichtlich im Mai nach Russland reisen

DIE WELT: Nordkoreas Diktator Kim Jong-un tritt seine erste Auslandsreise an – Putin bat ihn nach Russland. Der Kreml hat ihn zur Feier des 70. Jahrestags des Sieges über Hitler-Deutschland eingeladen.

Russland hat den nordkoreanischen Machthaber Kim Jong-un zur Feier des 70. Jahrestages des Sieges über Hitler-Deutschland am 9. Mai 2015 nach Moskau eingeladen. "Ja, eine solche Einladung wurde verschickt", sagte Kremlsprecher Dmitri Peskow am Freitag der Staatsagentur Tass.

Es wäre die erste Auslandsreise seit der Machtübernahme Kims. Sein Vater, Kim Jong-il, besuchte Russland 2011 – kurz vor dessen Tod. Damals vereinbarten Moskau und Pjöngjang eine engere Zusammenarbeit. » | dpa/sogi | Freitag, 19. Dezember 2014

Turkey Issues Fethullah Gulen Arrest Warrant

Fethullah Gulen is now a fierce opponent of Turkey's leadership,
especially President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

BBC: A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for the influential exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Mr Gulen, who is based in the US, is accused of establishing and running an "armed terrorist group".

He was once an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but has now been accused of plotting to overthrow the Turkish government - a claim the cleric strongly denies.

The US is thought to be unlikely to act on any extradition request.

The move comes amid a national crackdown on perceived supporters of the cleric.

Over 20 journalists working for media outlets thought to be sympathetic to the Gulen movement were arrested last weekend.

Eight of them were freed on Friday on the orders of a court in Istanbul. Those released include Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper.

Four others, including a TV station boss, remain in custody. » | Friday, December 19, 2014

'We Will free India of Muslims and Christians by 2021': DJS Leader Vows to Continue 'Ghar Wapsi' Plans and Restore 'Hindu Glory'

MAIL ONLINE: Even as Opposition parties up the ante over alleged incidents of religious reconversion, the Dharm Jagran Samiti has declared that it will ensure India becomes a Hindu Rashtra by 2021.

Licence to stay

Speaking in Agra on Thursday, a Dharm Jagran Samiti (DJS) functionary said Muslims and Christians will have to convert to Hinduism if they want to stay in this country.

The DJS has been at the forefront of the reconversion - or ‘ghar wapsi’ - programmes in recent times in which some Muslims have been reportedly ‘reconverted’ to Hinduism.

However, their action drew widespread condemnation, leading to the arrest of one activist.

“Our target is to make India a Hindu Rashtra by 2021. The Muslims and Christians don’t have any right to stay here.

“So they would either be converted to Hinduism or forced to run away from here,” Uttar Pradesh DJS head Rajeshwar Singh said. » | Piyush Srivastava | Friday, December 19, 2014

Geert Wilders Was Right

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: "Hate Speech" was invented in the Kremlin of the USSR by political operatives who saw that it could be used effectively against anyone who did not agree with you, whom you wanted to silence.

It would seem indispensable for all people who want to defend their liberty to take a stand against criminal and violent people who aim to destroy or damage their societies. If those people are extremist Muslims, why should they be exempt? And if they are not extremist Muslims, why should they not be protected from the same threats and violence that menace us?

Ironically, however, it is not the violent Islamic teachings inspiring these crimes that are questioned, criticized -- or prosecuted -- as hate speech on major media outlets or among political circles. It is, instead, the victims of these teachings: among others, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Lars Hedegaard, Susanne Winter, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Imran Firasat, and Geert Wilders.

What Geert Wilders does cannot be called hate speech. It is legitimate a struggle, if occasionally imperfect, to protect the liberties of all of us in the face of unending threats and attacks, most recently from Islamic extremists.

Geert Wilders is not an extremist of any kind. He is a democrat who defends Western values, the most important of which are liberty and life. We should not prosecute Wilders. We should thank him for sacrificing his life to defend us -- and defend him back. » | Uzay Bulut | Friday, December 19, 2014

The Interview: Official Trailer

Homosexualité, la face cachée du Pakistan

LE POINT: Le pays punit l'homosexualité de la peine de mort. Pourtant, les rapports entre hommes n'ont rien d'exceptionnel. Explications.

Plus de 87 % de la population pakistanaise serait homophobe, selon un sondage du Pew Institute. Pourtant, selon les Google trends (tendances), le Pakistan serait le plus gros consommateur de porno gay au monde. Un paradoxe que l'on retrouve aussi bien dans les moeurs que dans la culture pakistanaise.

Akbar*, un musulman pieux à la longue barbe noire, vit à Lahore, deuxième plus grande ville du pays. Aujourd'hui, il ne va pas au travail. Sa femme n'étant pas là, il a accepté de nous parler de son passe-temps favori : se travestir devant un miroir. "Je fais mes prières et j'honore Allah tous les jours, confesse-t-il, en se mettant du rouge à lèvres. J'ai même une femme, pour faire plaisir à Dieu. Mais pour mon coeur, je vois des hommes." Comme beaucoup d'autres, Akbar doit cacher son homosexualité. Au Pakistan, les rapports entre personnes du même sexe sont en effet passibles de la peine de mort. (+ vidéos) » | Par Marie de Douhet, au Pakistan | jeudi 12 décembre 2014

* Le prénom a été changé.

Geert Wilders Charged with Incitement to Hatred over 'Fewer' Immigrants Chant

Geert Wilders demanded "fewer Moroccans" as an election slogan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Popular leader of Dutch anti-immigration party is charged with incitement to racial hatred over "fewer Moroccans” chant

Geert Wilders has been charged with incitement to discrimination and hatred after the Dutch far-Right leader led chants of "fewer Moroccans” at an election rally.

It is not the first time the leader of the Freedom Party, famous for his peroxide blond mane of hair and currently leading in the opinion polls, has found himself in the dock on charges for his comments on Islam and immigration.

“I have said what millions of people think and find. For the second time, one apparently wants to deal with someone who speaks the truth,” said Mr Wilders.

“It is a travesty that I have to defend myself in court for this. The public prosecutor would do better to devote his time to prosecuting jihadis instead of me. The Party for Freedom is the largest party in the polls. Apparently the elite does not like that.” » | Bruno Waterfield | Thursday, December 18, 2014

My comment:

Isn't it high time that the EU had a US-style First Amendment? – © Mark

Niederlande: Wilders muss wegen Äußerungen zu Marokkanern vor Gericht

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Wilders muss sich wegen Diskriminierung und Aufhetzerei vor Gericht verantworten - die Staatsanwaltschaft erhob Anklage. Hintergrund sind Wilders' Äußerungen gegen marokkanische Migranten.

Den Haag - Die niederländische Staatsanwaltschaft hat Anklage gegen den rechtspopulistischen Politiker und Vorsitzenden der "Partei für die Freiheit" (PVV), Geert Wilders, erhoben. Der Politiker müsse sich wegen Diskriminierung und Aufhetzerei strafrechtlich verantworten, teilten die Ankläger in Den Haag mit. Wilders werde vorgeworfen, "eine Gruppe von Menschen wegen ihrer Rasse beleidigt" zu haben, hieß es weiter. Politiker könnten in ihren Äußerungen grundsätzlich "weit gehen", dies sei Teil der Meinungsfreiheit, erklärte die Staatsanwaltschaft. Das Diskriminierungsverbot schränke die Meinungsfreiheit aber ein. Ein Termin für den Prozess steht noch nicht fest. » | anr/dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 18. Dezember 2014

After the Pakistan School Attack, We Need to Talk about Islam

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pretending that Islamist extremism has nothing to do with Islam simply plays into the radicals' hands: it is time to discuss religious reform


"There is nothing in Islam that justifies acts of terror." (Prime Minister David Cameron reacting to the beheading of British soldier Lee Rigby by two Islamists who shouted “Allahu Akbar" and quoted 22 verses from the Koran.)

"They don’t represent Islam or Muslims in Britain or anywhere else in the world." (David Cameron’s reaction to the massacre by Islamists in Nairobis’s Westgate shopping centre of anyone who failed to name the mother of the founder of Islam or recite verses from the Koran.)

"This hateful ideology has nothing to do with Islam... Let the message go out that we know Islam is a religion of peace." (Theresa May’s speech to Conservative Party Conference, 2014.) Islamic State has "nothing to do with the great religion of Islam, a religion of peace." (David Cameron, denying any connection between the creation of an Islamic caliphate and Islam.)

"[The massacre in Pakistan] is nothing to do with one of the world's great religions - Islam, which is a religion of peace." (Prime Minister David Cameron speaking after a group of Taliban gunmen murdered 141, including 132 children at a school in northern Pakistan.)

Please. Enough.

The mantra that Islamism "has nothing to do with Islam" is well-intentioned. It aims to delegitimise the terrorists and strengthen the vast majority of Muslims who oppose terror. It is no doubt what the "comms" experts are telling the Prime Minister to say. But they are wrong. The unthinking, kneejerk, pro-forma and near-Orwellian denial of the deep and manifold connections between Islam and Islamism has to stop.

Forget Alistair Campbell. We have to start "doing religion" because, as I learnt in 2008-2010 when interviewing 25 young British Muslims who had taken a journey in and out of extremism, we have to start "doing" Islam if we are to defeat Islamism.

We are petrified of speaking obvious truths. When a lord recently dared to invite Muslim leaders to address the violence in the Koran, he was condemned.

This groupthink has to stop. » | Alan Johnson * | Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Alan Johnson is the editor of Fathom and a Senior Research Associate at The Foreign Policy Centre

Around 15,000 Turn Out for Dresden's Biggest Ever PEGIDA Anti-Islam Rally

Netanyahu Slams European "Hypocrisy" as Court Orders Removal of Hamas from Terror Blacklist

Masked Hamas members take part in a rally in support of the
armed Palestinian factions in Rafah

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Decision to remove group from list on "technical" grounds comes as European parliament votes in faour of Palestinian statehood

Benjamin Netanyahu accused Europeans of failing to learn from the Holocaust on Wednesday after Europe's second highest court removed the Palestinian militant group Hamas from the EU's terror blacklist.

The Israeli's prime minister's furious broadside came on a day of frenetic diplomatic manoeuvering that saw the European parliament adopt a resolution backing Palestinian statehood while Palestinian officials at the UN prepared to table a motion setting a timetable for a peace agreement.

Mr Netanyahu ignored those developments in remarks issued by his office but instead focused on the European court decision, along with a meeting in Switzerland of signatories to the Geneva Convention which he said was aimed at examining war crimes allegations levelled against Israel.

"Today we witnessed staggering examples of European hypocrisy," the Israeli leader said, pointedly comparing European conduct to the "friendship of the people of the United States" in remarks welcoming the visit of Joni Ernst, a newly-elected US Republican senator.

"In Geneva they call for the investigation of Israel for war crimes, while in Luxemburg the European court removed Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations.

"Hamas that has committed countless war crimes and countless terror acts. It seems that too many in Europe, on whose soil six million Jews were slaughtered, have learned nothing.. The friendship we see from the United States stands in complete contrast to what we are seeing regretfully in Europe." » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Kommentar: Der unheimliche Islam - Warum Pegida so viel Zulauf hat

DEUTSCHE WELLE: Jetzt demonstrieren sie also wieder, die "Patriotischen Europäer". Wieder in Dresden und wieder gegen die "Islamisierung des Abendlandes". Die Aufregung ist groß - zu Unrecht, wie Daniel Heinrich findet.

"Pegida" ist ein Label. Nicht mehr und nicht weniger. Es ist ein Label für eine Bewegung, die weit mehr ist als Pegida, Hogesa, die AfD oder bierselige CSU-Parteitage in Niederbayern, auf denen die Wertegemeinschaft des christlichen Abendlands beschworen wird. Denn eigentlich ist es, um beim Bayerischen zu bleiben, schon fast "wurscht" wie man das Ganze nennt. Fakt ist: In Deutschland haben viele Menschen momentan Angst vor "dem Islam". Es ist ein diffuses, unkonkretes Gefühl des Unwohlseins, das sich speist aus einer ganzen Melange von Ereignissen und Themen: der 11. September und die allgegenwärtige Angst vor islamistischem Terror, Debatten um Kopftücher und Burkas, die Radikalität des "Islamischen Staates", Muslime aus Deutschland, die als Dschihadisten dort hinreisen, der Zustrom von Flüchtlingen aus den Ländern, in denen der IS wütet - und der Dauerbrenner, ob die muslimische Türkei jetzt zur EU gehört oder nicht. » | Von Daniel Heinrich | Montag, 15. Dezember 2014

Runa Khan: 'All Muslim Women Should Be How I Am'

BBC: A mother-of-six has been jailed for five years and three months for promoting terrorism on Facebook.

Runa Khan, 35, of Maple Road West, Luton, had admitted inciting terrorism in Syria by posting a picture of a suicide vest and messaging details of a route into the country on Facebook.

Before her sentencing, reporter Rani Singh met Khan on several occasions and on Sunday interviewed her for BBC Newsnight.

Khan talked about what she had done and was challenged about her views. (Watch BBC video) » | Friday, December 12, 2014

Anti-Islam Demos: Merkel warnt vor „Pegida“

HANDELSBLATT: Die Anti-Islam-Gruppe „Pegida“ hat viele Sympathisanten. Jeder zweite Deutsche hat Verständnis für die Demonstranten, die Mehrheit der Bürger fürchtet den Einfluss radikaler Islamisten. Die Kanzlerin ist alarmiert.

Berlin. Jeder zweite Deutsche hat Verständnis für islamfeindliche Demonstrationen wie die von „Pegida“: So lautet das Ergebnis einer repräsentativen Yougov-Umfrage im Auftrag von Zeit Online. Ganze 30 Prozent der Befragten gab an, voll und ganz Verständnis für Demonstrationen wie in Dresden zu haben, weitere 19 Prozent stimmten für „eher ja“. Nicht einmal ein Viertel der Befragten hat kein Verständnis für die Demonstranten.

Gruppierungen wie Pegida, die „Pflichtbewussten Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes“, spielen erfolgreich mit der Angst vieler Deutscher: Fast drei Viertel aller Bundesbürger hat Sorge vor einem wachsenden Einfluss radikaler Auswüchse des Islams wie etwa der Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat. Für die Umfrage wurden 1107 Deutsche zwischen dem 12. und 15. Dezember befragt.

Auch bezogen auf die deutsche Flüchtlingspolitik stimmt eine Mehrheit der Bundesbürger mit den Ansichten der Anti-Islam-Bewegung überein: 30 Prozent der Befragten sind der Meinung, Deutschland nehme „deutlich zu viele Flüchtlinge“ auf, für weitere 29 Prozent sind es „eher zu viele“. » | Montag, 15. Dezember 2014

Tagesschau 20:00 Uhr, 15.12.2014

Themen der Sendung: Erneut "PEGIDA"-Demonstration in Dresden, Diskussion über "PEGIDA"-Bewegung, Geiselnahme in Sydney gewaltsam beendet, BER-Chef Mehdorn kündigt Rücktritt an, Urteil zugunsten von HRE-Aktionären, EU-Kommission zu Mautplänen, Generalstreik in Belgien, Achtelfinal-Auslosung der Champions League, Das Wetter

Wieder "Pegida"-Demonstration in Dresden | Journal

Offene Fremdenfeindlichkeit oder demokratischer Protest? Die Organisation „Pegida“ löst heftige Reaktionen aus. Bei einer erneuten Demonstration in Dresden hat das rechtskonservative Bündnis mehr Sympathisanten denn je mobilisiert. Aber auch der Widerstand gegen die Rechtspopulisten wächst.

Angela Merkel condamne les manifestations anti-islam en Allemagne

SAPHIR NEWS: La chancelière allemande a condamné, vendredi 12 décembre, « avec la plus grande fermeté » les manifestations « anti-islamisation » qui se déroulent en Allemagne depuis plusieurs semaines, principalement à Dresde, dans l’est du pays.

« Il n'y a pas de place en Allemagne pour la haine religieuse, quelle que soit la religion d'appartenance », a déclaré la porte-parole d’Angela Merkel, Christiane Wirtz. « Il n'y a pas de place en Allemagne pour l'islamophobie, l'antisémitisme, la xénophobie ou le racisme », a-t-elle insisté.

Un groupe baptisé « Européens patriotes contre l’islamisation du pays » (Pegida) organise depuis quelques semaines des « manifestations du lundi », calquées sur celles qui ont conduit à la chute du régime communiste de l’ex-RDA. Pegida, emblématique de cette mouvance populiste, a récupéré le slogan de l’époque, « Nous sommes le peuple ». Lundi dernier, il a crée la surprise en réunissant 10 000 personnes à Dresde (et 9 000 contre-manifestants), en surfant notamment sur les fantasmes quant à l'influence de l'islam dans les société européennes. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | vendredi 12 décembre 2014

Le «Pegida» fait grossir la vague anti-islam

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le succès grandissant des «manifestations du lundi» contre l’islam et les réfugiés inquiète de plus en plus les autorités

Le cortège grossit chaque lundi et prend une ampleur qui commence à inquiéter les autorités. Les «manifs du lundi», dont les initiateurs revendiquent l’héritage des mouvements citoyens qui ont fait tomber le mur de Berlin, descendront de nouveau dans la rue aujourd’hui aux cris de «nous sommes le peuple» comme il y a vingt-cinq ans dans l’ex-RDA.

Mais le mouvement «Pegida», qui est l’abréviation en allemand de Patriotes européens contre l’islamisation de l’Occident, n’a rien à voir avec la révolution pacifique de 1989. Les revendications sont clairement dirigées contre l’islam et les réfugiés, et les cortèges infiltrés par les néonazis. » | Par Christophe Bourdoiseau, Berlin | TDG | Dimanche 14 décembre 2014