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

Pegida-Bewegung mobilisiert noch mehr Anhänger

DIE WELT: Auch an diesem Montag sind in Dresden Tausende auf die Straße gegangen. Anhängern der islamkritischen Pegida-Bewegung stellten sich Demonstranten des Bündnisses "Dresden für alle" entgegen.

Die Anti-Islam-Bewegung Pegida mobilisiert ungeachtet der Kritik etablierter Parteien an ihren Parolen immer mehr Sympathisanten. Am Montagabend folgten in Dresden rund 15.000 Menschen – mehr als je zuvor – dem Demonstrationsaufruf der "Patriotischen Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes"[.]

Zeitgleich mit den Pegida-Anhängern gingen in Dresden erneut deren Gegner auf die Straße. Zu Gegenkundgebungen, zu denen die Bündnisse "Dresden für alle" und "Dresden Nazifrei" aufgerufen hatten, kamen laut Polizei mehr als 5600 Menschen. Das waren deutlich weniger als noch vor einer Woche, als 9000 Gegendemonstranten gezählt wurden.

Nach der Kundgebung vor der Semperoper zogen die Gegner weiter zum Rathaus, wo sie in Sichtweite der Pegida-Auftaktkundgebung gegen Rassismus protestierten. » | dpa/epd/fp | Montag, 15. Dezember 2014

Dresden Marchers Fan Anti-Islam Flames in Germany

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 10,000 people march against the "Islamisation of the West" in Dresden

Heavily armed riot police were out in force on the streets of Dresden on Monday night as more than 10,000 people demonstrated against the "Islamisation" of the country, in the latest show of strength of a far-right populist movement that mainstream politicians have described as "a disgrace to Germany".

Pegida, a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West, is leading a grassroots movement that is setting the political agenda in Germany, despite being just two months old and with no links to existing parties.

The Justice Minister, Heiko Maas, said they were a "disgrace to Germany", while a state minister in North Rhine-Westphalia called them "Nazis in pinstripe".

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, condemned the protests earlier on Monday and called on those taking part to "take care that they were not exploited" by the far-Right.

"There is freedom to demonstrate in Germany, but there is no place for propaganda and slander against people who come here from another country," Mrs Merkel said.

In Dresden, police were out in force to keep rival protestors apart as thousands also took part in a counter-demonstration.

"Muslims come here and they want to build mosques and wear burqas, but if we go to their countries we have to follow their rules," said one of the Pegida protestors, a nurse who gave her name only as Bianca. » | Justin Huggler, Dresden | Monday, December 15, 2014

Sydney Siege Press Conference: Police Say Attack Was an 'Isolated Incident'

Police confirm that three people have been killed following a dramatic police shoot-out which ended a 16 hour siege at a cafe in Sydney's city centre

Read the Telegraph article here | Telegraph Video and agencies, video source APTN | Monday, December 15, 2014

Sydney Siege: Hostages Held in Lindt Café

BBC: Several people have been taken hostage by at least one armed man at a Lindt cafe in Sydney, Australia.

Hundreds of armed police have sealed off the normally busy Martin Place in the central business district.

At least three people have been seen inside the cafe with their hands up against a window, and holding up a black flag with Arabic writing.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the incident as "deeply concerning".

He said it was not yet clear who was behind the incident but that it could be politically motivated, and that the National Security Committee had been briefed.

"I can think of almost nothing more distressing, more terrifying than to be caught up in such a situation, and our hearts go out to these people," he said.

About six hours into the siege, three people were seen running from the building. The circumstances of their exit from the building are not clear. (+ BBC videos) » | Monday, December 15, 2014

CIA-Folterbericht: Grossbritannien liess Passagen schwärzen

Die britische Regierung liess Passagen des US-Folterberichts unkenntlich machen. Worin liegt das Interesse Grossbritanniens, dass nicht der gesamte Bericht öffentlich wird? Gespräch mit Grossbritannien-Korrespondent Martin Alioth.

The Number of Britons Choosing Islam Doubled in the Past Decade

WORLD BULLETIN: Inter-faith think report survey shows approximately 5,200 converts to Islam across Britain

The number of Britons choosing to become Muslims has nearly doubled in the past decade, with one of the most comprehensive attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam, according to news source the Independent.

While previous estimates placed the number of Muslim converts between 14,000 and 25,000 an inter-faith think tank estimates the real figures could be as high as 100,000 with nearly 5,000 converts each year nationally. » | World Bulletin/News Desk | Saturday, December 13, 2014

Britain's Unrequited Love

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Willing to be endlessly open and hospitable, Britain finds itself at a loss when that hospitality is neither respected nor returned.

It is worth asking why British Muslims should have their scripture represented in the coronation of the new monarch, when many will not even pray in their mosques for the well-being of that monarch. Including passages from the Quran in the coronation is a mistake because of the old problem of reciprocity — and at the same time as no Christian (let alone a Jew) can even set foot in Mecca. Then what about also representing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and atheists?

In synagogues in the UK, British Jews every week in their service have a prayer for the long life and happiness of the Queen. It is a moving and heartfelt moment, not to mention a clear signal that Jews in Britain are utterly loyal to the state. So why should British mosques not have a similar prayer? Because many Muslims in Britain simply do not share the good Lord Harries's kindness, tolerance, inclusivity or indeed liberalism.

What is the answer? Perhaps bit more kindness, a bit more generosity, the offering up of a few more of our treasured traditions. That will do it, we think, surely?

The tradition of liberal tolerance, fostered in Britain, was one of the greatest gifts this country gave to the world. That inclusive tradition of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, however, always leaves itself open to abuse by people willing to use liberalism's flaws — not least its tolerance of intolerance — to end liberalism. » | Douglas Murray | Monday, December 08, 2014

Germans Rise Up Against Islamization

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: There is a mounting public backlash over what many perceive as the government's indifference to the growing influence of Islam in German society. This backlash represents a potentially significant turning point.

Despite efforts by German politicians and the media to portray PEGIDA as neo-Nazi, the group has taken great pains to distance itself from Germany's extreme right. The group says that it is "apolitical" and that its main objective is to preserve what is left of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture and values.

"Many people in Germany have legitimate concerns about the spread of radical Islamic ideology, which promotes violence against non-Muslims, robs women and girls of their natural rights, and seeks to require the application of Sharia law.... Because the rule of law, tolerance and freedom of religion are fundamental Western values, the PEGIDA movement must leave no doubt that it is precisely these values that it seeks to defend." — Bernd Lucke, leader, Alternative for Germany Party and professor of macroeconomics, Hamburg University.

Thousands of German citizens have been taking to the streets to protest the growing "Islamization" of their country.

The protests are part of a burgeoning grassroots movement made up of ordinary citizens who are calling for an end to runaway immigration and the spread of Islamic Sharia law in Germany.

The guardians of German multiculturalism are fighting back: they are seeking to delegitimize the protesters by branding them as "neo-Nazis" and by claiming that the Islamization of Germany is a myth contrived by misinformed citizens.

But there is a mounting public backlash over what many perceive as the government's indifference to the growing influence of Islam in German society. This backlash represents a potentially significant turning point—one that implies that the days of unrestrained German multiculturalism may be coming to an end. » | Soeren Kern | Saturday, December 13, 2014

French Front National Vice President Florian Philippot 'Outed' as Gay

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Closer reveals that Florian Philippot, Front National number two, is homosexual, releasing photos of him with his boyfriend in Vienna, sparking row over private life, public interest and the FN's ambivalent attitudes to gays

A French gossip magazine sparked outrage across the political spectrum on Friday by "outing" the far-Right Front National's vice president, Florian Philippot, as homosexual.

The rare breach of Gallic press protocol is an embarrassment for the FN, whose attitude towards homosexuals has historically ranged from ambivalent to downright homophobic.

Closer, which scored a global scoop in January by publishing photos of French president, François Hollande, visiting his secret lover Julie Gayet, on Friday released pictures of Mr Philippot with his boyfriend, an unnamed TV journalist, on a trip to Vienna last week.

"At last a real weekend away from Paris," it headlined, followed by an inside article entitled: "Yes to love for all" – a play on words with France's recent Marriage for All bill legalising gay marriage.

Politicians across the board slammed the revelation as an unacceptable breach of Mr Philippot's private life. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, December 12, 2014

Merkel Condemns Racism as Dresden Anti-Islam Marches Grow

NEWSWEEK: Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned a series of anti-Muslim demonstrations centered on the eastern city of Dresden, saying via an aide on Friday that there was "no place in Germany" for hatred of Muslims or any other religious or racial group.

"In the name of the government and the chancellor I can say quite clearly that there is no place in Germany for religious hatred, no matter which religion people belong to," said the chancellor's spokeswoman, Christiane Wirtz.

"There is no place for Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or any form of xenophobia or racism," she said of the growing Monday evening marches in Dresden under the motto PEGIDA, standing for "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West".

Public expressions of anti-immigrant sentiment are largely taboo in mainstream German politics because of the Nazis' mass-murder of Jews and other groups in the Holocaust. Merkel argues that Germany needs immigrants to avoid demographic crisis. » | Reuters | Friday, December 12, 2014

Statement of Geert Wilders During His Interrogation by the State Police

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: As a democratically elected politician I name the problems that I see.... That is my duty. That is why I have been elected. I rely on objective facts and figures.... Because they are the truth.

I do not intend to hurt or offend people either... Already for over 10 years, I have lost my personal freedom.

In my fight for freedom and against the Islamization of the Netherlands, I will never let anyone silence me. No matter the cost, no matter by whom, whatever the consequences may be.

To speak with the words of Martin Luther King: "I close by saying there is nothing greater in all the world than freedom. It's worth going to jail for. It's worth losing a job for. It's worth dying for."

The Hague, December 8, 2014.

Today, Dutch parliamentarian and PVV leader Geert Wilders made a statement during his interrogation by the Dutch State Police. The State Police interrogated Mr Wilders on behalf of the Dutch Public Prosecutor, who is considering to prosecute Mr Wilders because the politician had asked his voters during the election campaign whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands.

Our freedom is being threatened. Threatened by a violent totalitarian ideology – Islam – that brings with it death and devastation. Threatened by a politically correct elite that does not tolerate criticism of Islam and mass immigration, and that nurtures cultural relativism.

I rise up against this. » | Geert Wilders | Tuesday, December 09, 2014

PEGIDA: Merkel verurteilt Anti-Islam-Bewegung

ZEIT ONLINE: Es gebe in Deutschland keinen Platz für Hetze gegen Gläubige oder Fremdenfeindlichkeit, sagt die Bundeskanzlerin. Joachim Gauck nennt die Pegida-Anhänger Chaoten.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) sieht die Demonstrationen der Anti-Islam-Bewegung Pegida kritisch. Mit Blick auf die jüngsten Proteste des Bündnisses sagte die stellvertretende Regierungssprecherin Christiane Wirtz in Berlin, es gebe in Deutschland keinen Platz für Hetze gegen Gläubige, für Islamophobie oder Fremdenfeindlichkeit. Merkel verurteile solche Tendenzen auf das Schärfste.

Dennoch müsse die Regierung die Sorgen der Bürger ernst nehmen. Die Zuwanderung nach Deutschland und die steigenden Asylbewerberzahlen beschäftigten die Bevölkerung, sagte die Sprecherin. » | dpa/sdo | Freitag, 12. Dezember 2014

La Belgique rend un dernier hommage à la reine Fabiola

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les Belges ont rendu hommage à la reine Fabiola lors de funérailles nationales.

La Belgique et le gotha mondial ont rendu ce vendredi 12 décembre un dernier hommage à la reine Fabiola. Les funérailles nationales ont été empreintes de sobriété, avec une touche très musicale, comme le souhaitait la veuve du roi Baudouin.

Sous une pluie drue, un corbillard, encadré par des cavaliers de la garde royale à cheval, a quitté en début de matinée le Palais royal de Bruxelles, où reposait la cinquième reine des Belges depuis mardi, pour rejoindre la cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule, distante de quelques centaines de mètres, accompagné par la famille royale au grand complet.

Le cercueil de chêne clair, sur lequel un petit drapeau belge noir, jaune et rouge avait été déposé, a été porté jusqu'au chœur de la cathédrale et posé à même le sol. » | ats/Newsnet | vendredi 12 décembre 2014

Gambian President Attends Rally with Protesters Declaring: ‘Homosexuality Is Forbidden in Islam’

Yahya Jammeh

PINK NEWS: The President of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has attended a mass rally against homosexuality in the country’s capital Banjul.

AllAfrica reports thousands of protesters marched from the Gambian Parliament on Tuesday carrying placards and banners declaring: “Homosexuality is Inhuman”; “Even cows don’t do it!” “Homosexuality is forbidden in Islam”.

Islam is the majority religion of Gambia, with around 95.3% of the population being Muslims.

In November, President Jammeh signed into law a bill which calls for life imprisonment for people caught taking part in same-sex sexual activity. » | Scott Roberts | Thursday, December 11, 2014

Monaco Princess Charlene Gives Birth to Twins

BBC: Monaco's Princess Charlene has given birth to twin babies, Gabriella and Jacques, the palace has announced.

Prince Jacques is next in line to the Monaco throne, a rich principality on the southern French coast.

A statement said both babies were doing well. Gabriella was born first, with Jacques arriving two minutes later.

Their father is Prince Albert II, 56, son of the late Hollywood actress, Grace Kelly. Charlene, 36, is a Zimbabwean-born former Olympic swimmer.

The couple married in 2011. » | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Switzerland Orders Community Service for Returned Islamic State Jihadist

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Convert to Islam, who spent two weeks in training camp in Syria before changing his mind, has been spared jail with 600 hours of community service

Switzerland has ordered a returned recruit of the Islamic State group to do 600 hours of community service and will not send him to prison, in the country's first sentencing of a foreign jihadist fighter. Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber's ruling went into effect this week, he told public broadcaster RTS late Wednesday.

The 30-year-old recent convert to Islam, from the western Swiss canton of Vaud, had travelled to Syria late last year to join an IS training camp.

The man, whose name was not given, told the broadcaster he had been indoctrinated over the Internet.

"I was new to Islam... The videos I saw and the discussions I had online made me feel like I had to go there," he said. » | AP | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

German Eurosceptics Embrace Anti-Islam Protests

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Political row in Germany as justice minister speaks out against protests gripping city of Dresden

The wave of anti-Islam protests gripping the German city of Dresden have ignited a political row, after the leader of the country's rapidly growing Eurosceptic party publicly backed the protesters.

Ten thousand people took to the streets of Dresden on Monday in the latest in a series of weekly rallies under the banner of Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of Europe, or Pegida, to protest against what they say is the erosion of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture by Muslim immigrants.

Bernd Lucke, the leader of the anti-Euro Alternative for Germany party (AfD), provoked outrage when he backed the protesters on his Facebook page, saying it is "good and right" that people are giving voice to their fears.

"It is a sign that these people do not feel their concerns are understood by politicians," he wrote.

The AfD, which opposes the single currency and further integration, but is not against the EU, has made considerable gains in recent state elections. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

EU Judge Gives Jean-Claude Juncker the 'Key Task' of Defeating Euroscepticism

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Your mission is to defeat Eurosceptics, the EU's most senior judge tells the president of the European Commission

Europe’s most senior judge has told Jean-Claude Juncker that his political mission is to prevent Eurosceptics from trampling on “the fruits of European integration”.

Vassilios Skouris, the president of the Court of Justice, Europe’s highest judicial body, made the extraordinary comments in a ceremony aimed at upholding the political independence of the European Commission.

He instructed Mr Juncker that his “key task” was to prevent the critics of the European Union from reducing the powers of institutions such as the Luxembourg court he oversees, or the commission in Brussels.

“I would like to say a few words about your mission,” Mr Skouris said.

“You are taking up office during the worst financial and economic crisis that Europe has suffered at a time when the European ideal is beset by criticism from Eurosceptic circles. Thus your key task is to prevent the fruits of European integration being trampled in the dust.” » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Isil Terrorists Throw Man Off Roof 'For Being Gay'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pictures of the murder posted on jihadist website provide further evidence of Islamic State's reign of terror in Syria and northern Iraq

Isil terrorists have released pictures of themselves throwing a man off a roof for allegedly being gay.

The murder took place in an area of northern Iraq controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Nine armed insurgents, their faces concealed by black balaclavas, are shown gathered on the roof of a three-storey building, while their victim plummets to the ground below. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Deutschland wacht auf. Wir sind das Volk! - PEGIDA

Friedlich und vereint gegen die Islamisierung und Verfremdung unserer Heimat! Für den Erhalt unserer Kultur, unserer Werte und für den Schutz unserer Familien.

Wir distanzieren uns von Gewalt und jeglicher Art von Extremismus.

British Christianity: Churches Decline While Islam Grows; Is America Next?

CHRISTIAN POST – OPINION: Gov. Mike Huckabee recently retraced the steps of Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan with a group of ministers and faith leaders. After touring Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the Churchill War Rooms, he remarked that both Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill were heavily criticized and often dismissed yet they remained steadfast to name and fight evil.

"During two periods of massive global change," Huckabee argued, "if these world leaders had been ambiguous about evil the world would be quite different."

For Churchill, evil was Nazism and fascism. In 1936 he said of Stanley Baldwin's government, "They go on, in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent."

For Thatcher, evil was socialism and communism. She said, "I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.

"And what a prize we have to fight for: no less than the chance to banish from our land the dark divisive clouds of Marxist socialism." Ronald Reagan alone stood with her, as the only world leader to call the Soviet Union what it was: "the Evil Empire."

Why did they fight, despite their opponents' incessant impotence, ignorance, and impudence?

According to Huckabee, they fully understood what evil is: "Evil creates oppression and takes from the human soul that which is most like God—because freedom, creativity, and joy all come from God. And when a government devalues human beings, it sins against God."

They also knew what is good. Thatcher said, "We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous and compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything, and no one is responsible for the state." » | Bethany Blankley | CP Op-Ed Contributor | Tuesday, December 09, 2014

David Cameron: I Still Want Turkey to Join EU, Despite Migrant Fears

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Prime Minister says a European Union without Turkey is 'not stronger but weaker'

David Cameron has said that he still “very much supports” Turkey joining the European Union, despite his Government's inability to control numbers of EU migrants coming to the UK.

The Prime Minister was quizzed about his support for Turkey’s accession to the EU during a visit to Turkey to meet the country’s Prime Minister and President.

Mr Cameron said he had discussed Turkey’s accession to the EU during talks in Ankara on Tuesday afternoon with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Prime Minister.

The visit was his first since 2010 when he told the Turks the backed the country’s goal of joining the EU. He said then that he wanted to “make the case” for Turkey’s EU membership.

Asked if he still felt that way despite his Government’s inability to control inward migration from EU countries and bring net migration down to the tens of thousands of people, he said that he had discussed it again with Turkish Prime Minister.

He said: “In terms of Turkish membership of the EU, I very much support that.

“That’s a longstanding position of British foreign policy which I support. We discussed that again in our talks today”.

In a speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara in July 2010, Mr Cameron said: “I’m here to make the case for Turkey's membership of the EU. And to fight for it.” » | Christopher Hope, Ankara, Turkey | Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Pegida: Patriotische Europäer gegen Islamisierung

Begleitet von Gegenprotesten sind in Dresden erneut rund 1.700 Menschen gegen eine von ihnen befürchtete Islamisierung auf die Straße gegangen. Es war bereits die fünfte Kundgebung des sogenannten Pegida-Bündnisses, "Patriotische Europäer gegen Islamisierung des Abendlandes", in der Elbestadt in Folge.

«Hass in Deutschland wird salonfähiger»

20 MINUTEN: Demos gegen Flüchtlingsheime, Proteste gegen eine angebliche Islamisierung Deutschlands, Randale von Hooligans und Rechten. Experten warnen vor gefährlichen Entwicklungen.

Was ist los in Deutschland? In Dresden versammeln sich seit Wochen selbst ernannte Patrioten zu Montagsdemonstrationen und protestieren gegen alles Mögliche: gegen angeblichen Asylmissbrauch, muslimische Extremisten, eine Verwässerung der deutschen Kultur und die vermeintliche «Islamisierung des Abendlandes».

Anfangs waren es ein paar Hundert Leute, nun sind es jede Woche mehrere Tausend. Und inzwischen gibt es in vielen anderen Städten Ableger der Dresdner Bewegung, bei der sich auch Neonazis, Hooligans und bekennende Islamfeinde unter das Bürgertum mischen.

Es mehren sich rechtsextreme Übergriffe auf Asylbewerberheime und Proteste gegen neue Flüchtlingsunterkünfte. Auch der Gewaltausbruch eines Mobs von Hooligans und Rechten in Köln vor einigen Wochen – im Namen des Kampfes gegen Salafisten – sorgt noch immer für Ratlosigkeit. Rechtsextremismus-Experten beobachten die Entwicklung mit Sorge und fürchten, dass sich etwas zusammenbraut im Land. » | sda | Montag, 08. Dezember 2014

Aufmarsch in Dresden: 10.000 Islamfeinde bei Pegida-Demo

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das rechte Bündnis "Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" zieht immer mehr Anhänger an. An einer Kundgebung in Dresden nahmen 10.000 Personen teil, offenbar kam es zu Zusammenstößen mit Gegendemonstranten.

Dresden - Anhänger wie Gegner des rechtspopulistischen Bündnisses "Pegida" haben am Montagabend in Dresden Tausende Menschen mobilisiert: 10.000 Demonstranten nahmen nach Polizeiangaben auf der Seite der "Patriotischen Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" (Pegida) teil - so viele wie noch nie. An den Gegenprotesten, zu denen unter anderem Kirchen und das Islamische Zentrum aufgerufen hatten, beteiligten sich 9000 Menschen.

Wie der MDR berichtet, kam es im Verlauf des Abends zu kleineren Auseinandersetzungen, bei denen von beiden Seiten Feuerwerkskörper flogen. Ein Pegida-Unterstützer sei festgenommen worden. Weitere Zwischenfälle wurden zunächst nicht bekannt. Die Polizei war mit 1200 Beamten aus mehreren Bundesländern im Einsatz. » | eth/dpa/AP | Montag, 08. Dezember 2014

PEGIDA »

Geert Wilders Defends ‘Fewer Moroccans’ Chant, Quotes Martin Luther King

DUTCHNEWS.nl: PVV leader Geert Wilders is sticking by his ‘fewer Moroccan’ statements made earlier this year, the anti-Islam campaigner said in a statement on Monday.

‘I am not taking back a single word I said,’ Wilders said in the statement he gave to police investigating claims he incited racial hatred.

Wilders was interviewed on Monday morning on the orders of the public prosecution department. The department said in October Wilders is ‘suspected of having insulted a population group with respect to their race and of incitement to discrimination and hatred’. Read on and comment » | Monday, December 08, 2014

Germans Take to the Streets to Protest against 'Islamisation'

Participants hold up their mobile phones and wave a German
national flag during a demonstration called by anti-immigration
group PEGIDA in Dresden

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anti-immigrant protests claim to want to preserve Judeo-Christian culture as critics accuse it of harbouring neo-Nazi elements

A new type of anti-immigration protest is sweeping across Germany, as thousands take to the streets against what they say is the growing “Islamisation” of the country.

The new protests, which began in the city of Dresden in the former East Germany, feature no neo-Nazi slogans and have nothing to do with the traditional far right.

Instead the demonstrators have adopted the old rallying call of the protests against the East German communist regime that brought down the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, “Wir sind das Volk”, or “We are the people”. They say they want to preserve Germany’s Judeo-Christian Western culture.

The protests come as Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union (CSU) is seeking to distance itself from a draft proposal for its party conference which said that immigrants should speak German not only in public, but at home as well.

Germany is now the second most popular destination in the world for migrants, after the US, and the country is struggling to cope with an unprecedented influx of asylum-seekers.

While Angela Merkel’s government has made clear it will block any attempt by David Cameron to curtail freedom of movement within the EU, the German debate over immigration has focused on those coming from outside the bloc, and on Muslims in particular. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Monday, December 08, 2014

DEUTSCHE WELLE: Dresden, Dusseldorf prepare for PEGIDA anti-Islamist protests: Right-wing groups have organized protests with less politically extreme citizens to voice their concern over what they see as the Islamization of Europe. Counter demonstrations, however, are expected to be bigger. » | Monday, December 08, 2014

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Vows to Impose 'Arabic' Ottoman Lessons in Schools

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to make Arabic-alphabet
Ottoman language compulsory in high schools

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Turkish premier wants to reintroduce the language of the old empire, comparing its abolition to cutting Turkey's "jugular"

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to make lessons in the Arabic-alphabet Ottoman language compulsory in high schools -- a highly symbolic move which enraged secularists who claim he is persuing [sic] an increasingly Islamist agenda.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, abolished the Ottoman language in 1928, replacing its Arabic alphabet with a Latin one.

He also purged the language of many of its Arabic, Persian and Greek words to create a new "pure" Turkish closer to the language people spoke.

Critics claimed Erdogan's vow to reintroduce teaching of the language "no matter what they say" was another bid to roll back Ataturk's secular reforms, which were based on a strict separation between religion and state.

Turkey's National Education Council, largely made up of members backed by Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government, voted over the weekend to make classes compulsory at religious high schools and an option at regular high schools.

The council also voted to ban bartending classes at tourism training high schools. » | AFP | Monday, December 08, 2014

Protests Erupt over British Decision to Open Military Base in Bahrain

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Human rights groups say Britain is being rewarded by the Gulf state's monarchy for its silence over political jailings

Britain’s decision to open a major naval base in Bahrain despite concerns over the country’s human rights record has been met with protests by opposition groups and human rights activists.

Hundreds of protesters were filmed marching through the town of Sitra, a Shia opposition stronghold, calling for the removal of the British ambassador, Iain Lindsay, after the decision was announced.

Activists said Bahrain’s decision to largely fund the base was a “reward” for Britain’s recent silence over the jailing of opponents to the Sunni monarchy.

International groups also objected to the decision. “As Bahrain pursues brutal crackdown, what better time for UK to build military base there?” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director. » | Richard Spencer, Manama | Sunday, December 07, 2014

Im Netz der Salafisten: Islam in Deutschland | ARD Doku 2014

Suisse : Fribourg: réunion du Conseil central islamique interdite

Islam Strikes in Warsaw

Arabien: Die Barbaren sind unter uns

Eine ägyptische Musikerin bei einer traditionellen
Aufführung in Kairo

ZEIT ONLINE: Die arabische Zivilisation ist zusammengebrochen. Zu meinen Lebzeiten wird sie nicht mehr auf die Beine kommen.

Mit seiner Entscheidung, militärisch gegen die Extremisten des "Islamischen Staates" (IS) vorzugehen, begibt sich der US-Präsident Barack Obama mitten in das Chaos einer Zivilisation, die zusammengebrochen ist. Denn die arabische Zivilisation, wie wir sie einmal kannten, gibt es nicht mehr. Die arabische Welt von heute ist so gewalttätig, so instabil, so fragmentiert und so sehr von Extremismus getrieben – Extremismus sowohl von Herrschern als auch von Oppositionellen – wie noch nie seit dem Ende des Osmanischen Reiches vor hundert Jahren.

Alle Hoffnungen der modernen arabischen Geschichte sind enttäuscht worden. Politische Mitwirkung, die Wiederherstellung der Menschenwürde – die Versprechen aus der Blütezeit der arabischen Aufstände sind verweht. Zurückgeblieben sind Bürgerkriege, ethnische, konfessionelle und regionale Konflikte sowie die Wiederkehr eines militaristischen Absolutismus. Nur die antiquierten Monarchien und Emirate am Golf sowie möglicherweise Tunesien widerstehen vorläufig noch den Fluten. Ansonsten existiert in der arabischen Welt von heute keine Legitimität mehr. Und abgesehen von den Amerikanern und den Staaten des Westens, ist niemand mehr da, der den Schlamassel aufräumen könnte, den wir Araber angerichtet haben. » | Ein Gastbeitrag für Zeit Online von Hisham Melhem | Samstag, 06. Dezember 2014

Japon : Un quotidien s'excuse pour une publicité antisémite

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le journal avait fait la promotion des livres d'un écrivain antisémite. Celui-ci prétend que les Juifs sont derrière le tsunami de 2011.

Un quotidien conservateur japonais a présenté ce samedi 6 décembre ses excuses pour avoir publié une publicité pour les livres d'un écrivain qui prétend que les Juifs sont derrière le séisme et le tsunami qui ont provoqué une catastrophe au Japon en 2011.

La publicité en question a été publié le 26 novembre dans une édition régionale du Sankei Shimbun, un quotidien national. Elle concernait les oeuvres de Richard Koshimizu, activiste et prétendu journaliste qui soutient également que les Juifs sont responsables des attentats terroristes du 11 septembre 2001 aux Etats-Unis. » | afp/Newsnet | samedi 06 décembre 2014

«Les chrétiens sont en train d'être chassés du Moyen-Orient»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le pape François a dénoncé l'exil forcé des chrétiens «chassés du Moyen-orient», dans une allocution vidéo qui doit être diffusée samedi 6 décembre au soir à Erbil dans le nord irakien.

Le pape François a abordé les difficultés rencontrées par les chrétiens du Moyen-Orient dans une séquence vidéo, à l'occasion d'une visite du cardinal Philippe Barbarin au Kurdistan irakien, où des dizaines de milliers de membres de la minorité chrétienne ont trouvé refuge après l'offensive du groupe djihadiste, sunnite Etat islamique.

«Les chrétiens sont en train d'être chassés du Moyen-orient, dans la souffrance», s'est ému le souverain pontife qui a pointé la responsabilité de l'EI, sans toutefois nommer ce groupe qui s'est emparé de larges pans de territoire en Irak comme en Syrie voisine, selon le texte de la déclaration reçu par l'AFP. » | afp/Newsnet | samedi 06 décembre 2014

Kuwaiti Cleric Tareq Al-Suwaidan: Our Struggle with the Sons of Zion Pertains to Our Very Existence, Requires Jihad

Jordanian MP: I Hate the Jews, I Hate the Jews, I Hate the Jews. They Are Worthy of Hatred

Turkish President Erdogan: Women Are Not Equal to Men

Saudi Writer Abdullah Hamidaddin: Israel Does Not Pose a Threat to Saudi Arabia, but Iran Does

Fatah Central Committee Member, Nabil Shaath: The U.S. Created ISIS and Occupied the Middle East

Iraqi Vice President and Former PM Nouri Al-Maliki Blames Saudi Arabia for the Rise of ISIS

Egyptian Human Rights Activist Ahmad Harqan: ISIS Is Doing What the Prophet Muhammad Did

Franklin Graham: 'Islam Is a Religion of War'

CHRISTIAN TODAY: The son of Billy Graham who now heads his father's evangelistic organisation has described Islam as a "religion of war" and urged Christians to attempt to convert Muslims to their own faith.

Franklin Graham, the fourth of Billy Graham's five children, said he had not softened his stance since he controversially referred to Islam as a "very wicked and evil religion" in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 that brought down the World Trade Centre in New York.

More recently, he criticised The Episcopal Church's National Cathedral in Washington for permitting its first Muslim prayer service. On his Facebook page he wrote: "It's sad to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything other than the One True God of the Bible who sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to save us from our sins."

His views contrast with those of the Pope, who on his recent three-day visit to Turkey was moved to pray alongside Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran in Istanbul's Blue Mosque. Beside working to build better relations with Muslims, Pope Francis is also reaching out to evangelicals, a move which came about because of his friendship with the late Bishop Tony Palmer, a charismatic of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.

Franklin Graham told Christian Today that his own views on Islam remained the same as in 2001. » | Ruth Gledhill | Saturday, December 06, 2014

US Express Fears as Isis Takes Control of Northern Libyan Town

THE GUARDIAN: Isis supporters declare Derna the first town in Libya to join Isis / US believes Isis is running training camps across Libya

It is a warm October evening in Derna, a small town on Libya’s north east coast, 450 miles from the capital, Tripoli.

The main square is packed with young men, brought by a summons from the town’s self-proclaimed emir to swear allegiance to a newly formed Islamic caliphate.

The emir, on a stage just visible through the jumping throng, calls for the crowd to repeat his calls to join the a caliphate, to listen and follow orders, and to acclaim that the Islamic State (Isis) is here to stay.

To each call, they repeat the chant, roaring their support – and with that, the emir declares Derna the first town in Libya to join the Islamic State, making common cause with fighters in Iraq and Syria. » | Chris Stephen in Tunis | Saturday, December 06, 2014

Barack Obama Condemns ‘Brutal Murder’ of American Photojournalist

Luke Somers, a 33-year-old British-born US journalist, who
has been killed in a failed rescue attempt.

THE GUARDIAN: British-born Luke Somers was being held in Yemen by al-Qaida militants after being kidnapped in September 2013

US president Barack Obama has condemned the “brutal murder” of American photojournalist Luke Somers, who was shot by his al-Qaida captors during a rescue mission by US special forces.

The 33-year-old was shot during the rescue attempt on Saturday morning and died while being transferred to a warship by American troops. A South African teacher being held with him, Pierre Korki, was also killed in the raid.

“On behalf of the American people, I offer my deepest condolences to Luke’s family and to his loved ones,” Obama said in a statement.

“As this and previous hostage rescue operations demonstrate, the United States will spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely, wherever they are located. And terrorists who seek to harm our citizens will feel the long arm of American justice. » | Martin Chulov in Beirut andEmma Graham-Harrison | Saturday, December 06, 2014

Tabac : l'achat à distance interdit

LE POINT: Pour lutter contre le marché parallèle, les acheteurs sur internet seront passibles d'une peine de cinq ans de prison ferme.

Les députés ont voté vendredi, dans le cadre du projet de budget rectificatif 2014, plusieurs mesures réclamées par les buralistes, comme l'interdiction de tout achat de tabac à distance dans un pays étranger et une modification du calcul de la fiscalité.

Pour lutter contre le marché parallèle, les acheteurs sur internet seront désormais passibles d'une peine pouvant aller jusqu'à cinq ans de prison ferme pour trafic en bande organisée. En France, le commerce du tabac relève du monopole des buralistes, mais au moins une cigarette fumée sur cinq n'a pas été achetée dans le réseau officiel et échappe donc aux taxes françaises. » | Source AFP | vendredi 05 décembre 2014

Belgium's Former Queen Fabiola Dies at the Age of 86

Passed away: Belgium's former Queen Fabiola,
pictured in 2008, has died at the age of 86 at
Stuyvenbergh Castle, the palace has announced

MAIL ONLINE:  Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said: 'A page in our country's history has turned'  The former Queen's cause of death has not been announced, but her health had been ailing since a bout of pneumonia in 2009  Fabiola became queen of Belgium when she married King Baudouin in 1960  She remained Queen Consort for 33 years - until Baudoin's death in 1993  The couple had no children, and Fabiola suffered five miscarriages over the course of her marriage

Belgium's former Queen Fabiola has died at the age of 86 at Stuyvenbergh Castle.

A statement from the palace today said: 'Their majesties the King and Queen and the members of the royal family announce with great sadness the death of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola in Brussels this evening.'

Foreign minister Didier Reynders said all Belgians would mourn her passing. 'A page in our country's history has turned,' he told Belgium's RTL television.

King Philippe of Belgium said he was left with 'great sadness' when he heard of the death of his aunt.

Although her exact cause of death has not been confirmed, Queen Fabiola, the childless widow of King Baudouin, had been suffering from osteoporosis for years, and had never fully recovered from pneumonia in 2009.

The former queen, who used a wheelchair, had looked increasingly frail over the past month as she increasingly limited her public appearances.

Fabiola was born in 1928 as Fabiola de Mora y Aragón into an aristocratic family in Madrid, Spain.

Her godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. She became queen of Belgium when she married King Baudouin in 1960. » | Annabel Fenwick Elliott for MailOnline | Friday, December 05, 2014

Luke Somers: Yemen Hostage's Family in Video Appeal

The journalist was abducted in Yemen in September 2013

BBC: The family of UK-born American hostage Luke Somers have appealed in a video to al-Qaeda militants in Yemen to "show mercy" and release him.

In the online statement, his mother, Paula Somers, says: "Please... give us an opportunity to see our Luke again."

A man identifying himself as Mr Somers, who was abducted in 2013, appeared in a separate video on Wednesday, saying his life was in danger and asking for help.

The US has revealed it tried to rescue him last month.

"Regrettably, Luke was not present, though hostages of other nationalities were present and were rescued," the National Security Council said on Thursday.

In a video posted on YouTube, Mr Somers' mother and brother said he was "only trying to do good things for the Yemeni population".

"Luke is only a photojournalist and is not responsible for any actions the US government has taken," his brother, Jordan, said.

Noting that her son "appears healthy" in his captors' video, Paula Somers said: "We thank you for that." (+ video) » | Friday, December 05, 2014

Bill Maher: Comparing My Islam Criticism to Nazi Propaganda Is ‘Beyond Stupid’

Bill Maher

RAW STORY: In an interview with Vanity Fair, HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher restated some of his criticisms of Islam while responding to a critic who said his rhetoric was similar to what was said about Jews in the 30′s and 40′s, calling the assertion, “beyond stupid.”

Speaking with Sally Kohn, Maher discussed the controversy over his upcoming speech, scheduled to be delivered at University of California Berkeley on Dec. 20, which has raised the ire of students who created a petition to disinvite him.

The comedian has been under fire for comments he made during a contentious episode of Real Time in early October when Maher told a panel, including actor Ben Affleck, Islam is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f*cking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.”

Calling the petition a “bullshit thing,” Maher addressed the students at the university — currently celebrating the anniversary of Free Speech Movement protests on campus 50 years ago — saying liberalism shouldn’t “squelch free speech.” » | Tom Boggioni | Friday, December 05, 2014

Alaskan Muslims Raising the Roof of State's First Mosque

The nearly-completed mosque.

AL JAZEERA AMERICA: The holy land is 6,000 miles away and for now they worship in a strip mall, but Islamic faithful head to Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s first mosque has risen quietly over the last few years in a gravel lot in a South Anchorage commercial district, a neighbor to a Korean Presbyterian church, a couple of auto repair garages, a drive-through Chinese restaurant and a Sons of Norway hall.

A few weeks ago, Sam Obeidi, vice president of the Islamic Community Center Anchorage Alaska, turned a key and pushed open the mosque’s door, flipping on a light in a hallway that smelled of drywall plaster and new carpet.

Palestinian by birth, Obeidi came to Alaska as a teenager to join his father, a refugee, who settled in Anchorage in the 1960s. In those days, Muslims met and prayed in his father’s home. Obeidi’s family now owns a frame shop and gallery. He has been involved with the mosque-building project for the last five years of an effort that began 15 years ago.

Anchorage Muslims have so far raised $2 million to build the 15,000-square-foot facility, and must raise $1 million more before the prayer hall is completed and two minarets are placed on the mosque’s roof. » | Julia O’Malley | Friday, December 05, 2014

“Counter Jihad Coalition” Takes to the Streets to Warn People About Islam

FRONTPAGE MAG: While Islam is waging a bloody battle across the entire world, instead of calling out their atrocities most of the media chooses to punish the people trying to warn the world about Islam. Freedom Fighters like Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Frank Gaffney, and Brigitte Gabriel are continuously denigrated for simply telling the truth.

Regardless of 9/11/01 and 9/11/12, and despite the fact that Americans are being beheaded by ISIS, if you dare suggest that the Islamic State is getting their killing orders directly from the Quran you are called ‘intolerant’ and ‘Islamophobic’. Meanwhile, ISIS is becoming more and more popular on social media and posters saying ‘ISIS is Here’ were seen in the original Ferguson riots. » | Ann-Marie Murrell | Friday, December 05, 2014

France to Pay $60m over Nazi Rail Deportations

Jews, many of them Polish, getting off the train in Pithiviers,
central France in 1941

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The French government will pay the money to Holocaust survivors in America who were transported using its trains 70 years ago

France has agreed to pay $60 million in compensation to hundreds of American survivors of the Holocaust who were deported to Nazi death camps using the country's trains.

The money will also be available to thousands of descendants of those who were transported on freight cars belonging to the French state rail company SNCF.

It follows a long legal battle after the US state of Maryland barred SNCF from bidding for contracts on a $3 billion transport project there.

There are around 250 survivors in the US who will be eligible for the reparations. They could receive up to $100,000 each, and spouses or heirs of survivors who have since died could get several tens of thousands of dollars. » | Nick Allen, and agencies | Friday, December 05, 2014

Großaufgebot der Polizei prüft salafistischen Verein

NORD-WEST ZEITUNG ONLINE: Bremen hat erstmals einen Moscheeverein verboten. Mehr als 200 Polizisten haben die Räume des salafistischen Kultur & Familien Vereins (KuF), eine Moschee und 17 Privatwohnungen untersucht.

BREMEN – Erstmals in Deutschland hat Bremen einen mutmaßlichen Unterstützerverein der Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat (IS) verboten. Mehr als 200 Polizisten durchsuchten am Freitag die Räume des salafistischen Kultur & Familien Vereins (KuF) im Stadtteil Gröpelingen, eine Moschee und 17 Privatwohnungen, wie Innensenator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD) nach dem Einsatz berichtete. Festnahmen gab es nicht, die Aktion verlief friedlich. Die Beamten stellten die Personalien von 53 Menschen fest, sie beschlagnahmten rund 12.000 Euro an Vereinsvermögen und fanden mehrere Waffen. » | Freitag, 05. Dezember 2014

German Far-Left Party Takes State Parliament

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH East German communists return to power 25 years after fall of Berlin Wall

Germany's far-Left party has returned to power in a state government for the first time since the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, stoking heated debate about its communist roots.

The Left Party, widely seen as the successor to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that once ruled East Germany, will head the government of Thuringia after the state parliament narrowly voted to approve a new coalition.

The new state prime minister, Bodo Ramelow, used his first speech in parliament to apologise to victims of the former communist regime, and said he wanted to "reconcile rather than divide".

Thousands of people braved sub-zero temperatures on the streets of the state capital, Erfurt, on Thursday night to protest against the expected result of the vote.

Angela Merkel predicted the decision would be "bad news" for Thuringia, while the German President, Joachim Gauck, broke with the traditional neutrality of his role to speak out against it. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Friday, December 05, 2014

NORD-WEST ZEITUNG ONLINE: Ramelow ist Thüringens neuer Ministerpräsident: Der 58-jährige Bodo Ramelow erhielt im zweiten Wahlgang 46 von 90 gültigen Stimmen. Damit stellt die Linke 25 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall erstmals einen Ministerpräsidenten in Deutschland. Bei der Wahl lief aber nicht alles glatt. » | Freitag, 05. Dezember 2014

Bahraini Activist Zainab al-Khawaja Sentenced over King's Photo

Zainab al-Khawaja has been detained several times since 2011

BBC: Bahraini pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja has been sentenced to three years in prison for tearing up a picture of King Hamad.

A court gave her the option of paying a fine to remain at liberty until her appeal.

Ms Khawaja, who comes from Bahrain's most prominent dissident family, faces other cases next week.

Amnesty International said it would consider Ms Khawaja "a prisoner of conscience" if she were jailed.

"Tearing up a photo of the head of state should not be a criminal offence," Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Said Boumedouha said. » | Thursday, December 04, 2014

Teetotal Muslims Partly to Blame for Decline of Pubs, Tory Peer Says

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tory peer says rise of Muslim population on British cities who do not drink has been 'exceptionally hard' for publicans

Muslims are partly to blame for the decline in the number of pubs in Britain because they are teetotal, a Conservative peer has said.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, who was previously a director at one of Britain's biggest brewers, said that the "tides of history" have led to large numbers of Muslims in Britain's cities who do not drink.

He said that "socioeconomic change" is more responsible for the decline of pubs than "rapacious" pub chains.

He said: "I identify three fundamental features behind this. The first is the rapid rate of socioeconomic change in Britain. Twenty-five years ago, the company of which I was a director would have operated probably a dozen pubs in Kidderminster, the home of the carpet trade. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Thursday, December 04, 2014

«Ihr seid Juden, ihr habt Geld»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Ein Überfall schockiert Frankreich: Drei Männer haben ein Paar in seiner Pariser Wohnung überfallen und die Frau vergewaltigt – weil sie Juden waren. Nun ist die Antisemitismus-Debatte im Land wieder entbrannt.

Nach dem brutalen Überfall auf ein junges Paar bei Paris ist die Debatte um den Antisemitismus in Frankreich wieder voll entbrannt. Präsident François Hollande verurteilte die «unerträgliche Gewalt» gegen die zwei jungen Menschen, die wegen ihrer jüdischen Religion gezielt überfallen und ausgeraubt worden waren. Der Staatschef und sein Premierminister Manuel Valls riefen zum Kampf gegen Antisemitismus auf.

Hollande hob im Elysée-Palast hervor, im Kampf «gegen den Rassismus, gegen den Antisemitismus» dürfe nicht so getan werden, «als hätten wir nichts gesehen». Der Überfall zeige, dass «das Schlimmste existiert». Dadurch werde das Beste an Frankreich «verletzt, beschädigt». Regierungschef Valls verurteilte die «Gräueltat» in einer Twitter-Botschaft. Der Überfall sei der «widerwärtige Beweis», «dass der Kampf gegen den Antisemitismus jeden Tag geführt werden» müsse. » | ajk/AFP | Donnerstag, 04. Dezember 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: Israel einfach: Französische Juden wandern zu Tausenden nach Israel aus. Nie waren es mehr. Sie gehen, weil sie die offenen Anfeindungen nicht mehr ertragen. » | Von Oliver Meiler, Korrespondent | Donnerstag, 14. August 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Die hässliche Fratze des Antisemitismus» : In Europa nimmt der Antisemitismus neue Dimensionen an. Auch Schweizer Juden erhalten deutlich mehr Hassbriefe und werden auf sozialen Medien offen angefeindet. » | Von Felix Schindler, Redaktor Inland | Donnerstag 14. August 2014

Schweizer Islam-Video irritiert

TAGES ANZEIGER: Fünf Jahre nach der Annahme der Minarettinitiative kursiert ein rätselhaftes Video im Internet. Es sei ein Aufruf zu mehr Toleranz, sagen die Macher. Viele sehen das anders.

Eine schwarz vermummte Gestalt trägt eine weisse Fahne mit dem muslimischen Glaubensbekenntnis auf einen Berg. Immer mehr Personen folgen ihr. Nach drei Minuten endet das Video mit der Botschaft: «Erwartet uns! Jederzeit. Überall.» Als Absender erscheint: «Die Muslime der Schweiz».

Das professionelle Video wurde vom Islamischen Zentralrat Schweiz (IZRS) gedreht und hat bereits beim Dreh für Aufmerksamkeit gesorgt. Es wurde in der Zentralschweiz auf öffentlichen Plätzen gedreht. Besorgte Passanten alarmierten die Polizei. Saïda Keller-Messahli, Präsidentin des Forums für einen fortschrittlichen Islam, sagte der «Neuen Luzerner Zeitung»: «Die Aktion ist eine totale Provokation.» Wer an einem öffentlichen Weg solche Aktionen durchführe, wo an einem Sonntag viele Spaziergänger entlanggingen, wolle auffallen, schockieren, Präsenz markieren und reine Propaganda betreiben. » | Claudia Peter | Donnerstag, 04. Dezember 2014

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Muslimfeindlichkeit in der Schweiz ist gestiegen» : Die muslimischen Verbände der Schweiz warnen vor einer zunehmenden Islamophobie. Die Stimmung im Land sei aufgeheizt, und das bekämen die Muslime zu spüren. » | Sunday, 02. November 2014

Polémique : Le Conseil Central Islamique publie une vidéo provocante

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Conseil Central Islamique Suisse (CCIS) a tourné une vidéo ambiguë que certains jugent menaçante, voire provocante à tout le moins. Même si ses dirigeants s'en défendent.

Le Conseil Central Islamique Suisse (CCIS) refait parler de lui, avec une vidéo qui fait polémique. Le petit film, de plus de trois minutes, en anglais et sous-titré en français, parle du «début d'une révolution islamique» et se termine avec des termes que d'aucuns jugent menaçants. «Attendez-vous à nous, à tout moment, n'importe où. Les musulmans de Suisse». Avec le logo CCIS. La séquence a été tournée par des professionnels dans la région de Lucerne dans des espaces publics où les passants ont alerté la police, comme l'explique le Tages-Anzeiger. » | Par Pascal Schmuck, Zurich | jeudi 04 décembre 2014