Archived news and commentary: June 26 - July 2, 2006

2006/06/26 - 2006/07/02
2006/06/19 - 2006/06/25
2006/06/12 - 2006/06/18
2006/06/05 - 2006/06/11
2006/05/29 - 2006/06/04
2006/05/22 - 2006/05/28

› From 2001/09/11 -

Sunday, July 2, 2006

News and commentary:

"Will George be slayed as England's patron saint?" (Steve Doughty, Daily Mail, 2006/07/02)
"His dragon-slaying heroics have kept his legend alive through the centuries.
But the Church of England is considering rejecting England's patron saint St George on the grounds that his image is too warlike and may offend Muslims.
Clergy have started a campaign to replace George with St Alban, a Christian martyr in Roman Britain.
The scheme, to be considered by the Church's parliament, the General Synod, has met a cautious but sympathetic response from senior bishops.
But it clashes with the increasing popularity of the saint and his flag in England. The World Cup brought out millions of St George crosses as the symbol became increasingly mainstream and less frequently dismissed as a badge favoured only by far-Right political activists.
If St Alban replaced St George, the red cross on a white background would have to be replaced as England's flag by Alban's symbol, a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background that bears a strong similarity to St Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland." (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch. See also: "Race fears spark St. George ban" (CNN.com, 2005/10/04))

"Never have we seen immigration on this scale: we just can't cope" (Robert Rowthorn, The Sunday Telegraph, 2006/07/02)
"If you repeat something often enough, you can perhaps make people believe it. What you cannot do is turn it from being false into being true. And the Government's claim about the economic benefits of immigration is false.":
"Second: while Britain has always had immigration, the recent influx is totally without precedent in modern times. Relative to population, the scale of immigration is now much greater than during any period since the Anglo-Saxon and Danish invasions over a thousand years ago.
In 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 223,000 more people migrated into the UK than left it. Before Labour came to power, the number of people leaving Britain roughly balanced the number arriving, so the net contribution of immigration to population growth was modest. The total population of Britain was expected to remain roughly constant.
At the present rate of 223,000 additional immigrants every year, though, and adding the children that they will produce, the population of Britain will grow by more than 12 million to reach 73.2 million by 2046. There is no parallel for such a huge influx over a mere 40 years in our recorded history. ...
The only justification the Government has ever given for increasing immigration is the economic benefits it alleges immigration has for the existing population. But those benefits are a mirage, and if they are the only justification the Government has, it is following a policy which is based on a fundamental error.
We desperately need an honest debate on the issue. But if the Government's record is anything to go by, it will do everything it can to prevent one." (See also: "What Does Muslim Immigration Cost Europe?" (Fjordman, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/06/23))

"Focus: Undercover on planet Beeston" (Ali Hussain, The Sunday Times, 2006/07/02)
"Sunday Times reporter Ali Hussain spent six weeks in Beeston, where three of the 7/7 bombers came from. He found an enclosed community, rife with conspiracy theories":
"One of the sternest advocates of conspiracy theory was Imran Bham, a shopkeeper running Idoo PC, a computer equipment shop.
“You don’t get anywhere with the dirty kuffar (infidels),” he told me, claiming there was a widespread conspiracy against Muslims and that the 7/7 bombings were part of it. “These brothers never did it,” he said. “And understand this. In order for America and Britain to go to Iraq they have to have reasons and sometimes, I’m afraid, if you haven’t got a reason, you make up that reason.”
He showed me pictures of the bomb blasts from the BBC on his computer, claiming ID documents must have been placed at the scene by officials because the blasts would have destroyed them. ...
Once again, I felt as if I had entered a strange bubble, a world where the reality I had known before had been suspended. Bham then asked me if I would ever blow myself up for Islam. I replied that the Koran says you should not harm innocent people.
“What Koran was that?” he countered. “Don’t fool yourself by saying jihad is a struggle within, to get on with life, to motivate myself to get up for prayers and that sort of thing,” he said. 'That’s not jihad. Who told you that?'"

"Whites being lured into Islamic terror" (Sean Rayment, The Sunday Telegraph, 2006/07/02)
"Significant numbers of white Britons have been lured into Islamic terrorism, according to a Whitehall report.
Details of the document, which have emerged in the week before the first anniversary of the July 7 London Tube bombings, also reveal that white converts and other British Muslims are joining a "terrorist career path" after being targeted by radicalist recruiters at universities or by extremist preachers.
The report follows calls made by al-Qaeda in April last year for white converts to become suicide bombers because it was easier for them to travel and evade detection before carrying out their attacks.
The document, which was produced by officials from MI5 and the Home and Foreign Offices, also states that as many as 16,000 British Muslims - or one per cent of the Muslim population in Britain - "support" Islamist terrorist acts at home and abroad.
The document, entitled "Young Muslims and Extremism" and drawn up for the Prime Minister by officials at the Home and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices, also states that anecdotal evidence suggests that up to 13 per cent - or 208,000 of Britain's 1.6 million Muslims - defended the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, while 26 per cent or 416,000 Muslims have admitted that they feel no loyalty towards Britain."

"Prime minister's office hit" (Ravi Nessman, AP/MiamiHerald.com, 2006/07/02)
"GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft fired missiles at the Palestinian prime minister's office early today, just hours after a Palestinian official said the soldier whose abduction sent Israeli troops into the Gaza Strip is alive and in stable condition.
A Hamas militant was killed in another Israeli airstrike. ...
The Hamas-affiliated militants holding Shalit initially said they would trade information about him for all Palestinian women and underage prisoners in Israeli jails. The militants raised their demands Saturday, calling for an end to the Israeli offensive and the release of 1,000 other prisoners in Israel, including nonPalestinian Muslims and Arabs.
The new demand appeared aimed at rallying support in the Arab world. ...
Israel 'should understand that it is not easy for the Palestinian people to say, 'OK, we can release him,' . . . without a price," said Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas-led Cabinet."

Saturday, July 1, 2006

News and commentary:

"Car bomb kills 62 at Baghdad market" (Ali Jasim and Alastair Macdonald, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/07/01)
"A car bomb tore through a market in a poor Shi'ite district of Baghdad on Saturday, killing 62 people and wounding 114 in the bloodiest attack in Iraq for three months, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
It came a day after Osama bin Laden urged al Qaeda followers to avenge the killing by U.S. troops of their leader in Iraq.
Around the same time as the bombing, a Sunni Arab member of parliament and seven of her guards were abducted in the city.
Police said the market bomb went off in mid-morning as a police patrol was passing a parked car in a market area of the capital's eastern Sadr City district, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Angry crowds formed around the scene of devastation at the sprawling outdoor market along a main road in the slum district.
"May God curse the Sunnis," one man yelled. "If the government can't protect people, they should hand security over to the Mehdi Army or to the people," another told reporters.
It was the deadliest attack since U.S. forces killed al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in a June 7 air strike. Bin Laden, in an Internet recording, urged insurgents to avenge his death, describing the Jordanian as a 'lion of Jihad.'"

Friday, June 30, 2006

News and commentary:

"Wisconsin's Ward Churchill - Only Worse" (Charles Johnson, Little Green Footballs, 2006/06/30)
"Jessica McBride has lots of coverage and commentary on the case of UW-Madison wacademic Kevin Barrett, a Muslim convert and raving 9/11 conspiracy freakazoid, teaching a course called “Introduction to Islam” at UW-Madison this fall.

Barrett, who started a national group on 9/11 conspiracy theories, doesn’t believe the terrorists caused the World Trade Center attacks. He thinks the government used a controlled demolition to do it (with Dick Cheney the likely mastermind) and he thinks that Mohammad Atta was probably a government pawn and patsy. He thinks that al-Qaida as we know it is a myth fabricated by the government (or at the very least a US government front group and he calls it al-CIA-duh to underscore his point). He also believes that many of the 9/11 hijackers are alive and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks have nothing to do with Islam. He compares those who believe the terrorists caused 9/11 to the “good Germans” who bought into Nazi ideology and says we’re a bunch of stupid racists for believing the “Big Lie” that the terrorists, not the government, caused 9/11. He thinks the war on Terror and 9/11 are both “Orwellian hoaxes.” He refuses to say that bin Laden is evil.

In a presumably tongue in cheek letter to the Secret Service after he says a fellow 9/11 conspiracy theorist had weapons confiscated by them after predicting Bush would be shot for treason, Barrett predicts that a majority of Americans will soon eagerly anticipate Bush’s execution for the mass murder of Americans on 9/11 (read the whole letter at the end of this posting). It also discusses Bush being gassed, hung, and electrocuted.

I repeat. This guy is teaching Introduction to Islam at UW-Madison this fall."

(See also: Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth.)

"The New Cartoon Jihad" (Daryl Cagle, FrontPageMagazine, 2006/06/30)
"We all know that cartoonists can get into big trouble for drawing the Prophet Muhammad, but cartoonists around the world regularly get in big trouble for drawing all kinds of things. One cartoonist in Iran is in prison for drawing a cockroach.
Mana Neyestani drew a child talking to a cockroach; in the cartoon, a boy says the word "cockroach" in different ways, and the cockroach replies, "What?" in the Azeri language of Northern Iran. Mana has a lot of Azeri friends and colleagues, a minority group that constitutes about 25 percent of Iran's population and which is often the butt of local ethnic jokes.
It would seem that the Azeris have thin skins; when they saw Mana's cartoon, they rioted. Thousands of Azeris filled the streets to protest the cartoon; they set fire to a newspaper office then pelted government buildings and police with stones, injuring several policemen. ...
The response to the Danish Muhammad cartoons shocked the West, but came as little surprise to Third World cartoonists who are used to seeing nutty reactions to their cartoons. Cartooning is a dangerous profession in much of the world where the accepted response to an insult is vengeance. The fact that a murderer is prosecuting a cartoonist should be seen as a measure of Iran's dysfunctional society.
Most people in the West came away from the Danish Muhammad cartoon imbroglio with the idea that we need to be more tolerant of other religious views, and that drawings of Muhammad should be forbidden out of respect for the sensitivities of Muslims. Nothing could be more wrong as we see crowds riot in response to a drawing of a cockroach. The lesson to be learned from the Muhammad cartoons, from Mana, from Nik and from many other cartoonists who suffer from unreasonable Third World reactions to their cartoons, is that cartoonists are on the front lines in exposing the repression, intolerance and underlying chaos in totalitarian societies."

"Hirsi Ali dispute brings down Dutch government" (Ian Bickerton, Financial Times, 2006/06/30)
"A dispute over the citizenship of Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali brought down the Dutch government yesterday when D66, the junior member of the centre-right coalition, walked out after demanding the resignation of Rita Verdonk, the hard-line immigration minister.
Jan Peter Balkenende, prime minister, told parliament he would go to Queen Beatrix today to begin the process of consultations that could lead either to his Christian democrat alliance continuing to govern as a minority coalition with Mrs Verdonk's liberal VVD, or to a snap general election.
The crisis came as two D66 cabinet ministers and a state secretary with the centrist party resigned. ...
The crisis came as politicians sought to establish whether Ms Hirsi Ali was put under pressure to sign a declaration accepting blame for the citizenship affair, thereby vindicating Mrs Verdonk."

Added in archive:
"The Extremist Is Never Alone" (Fouad Ajami, OpinionJournal, 2006/06/25)
"Ayaan Hirsi Ali vs. Tariq Ramadan" (Robert Spencer, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/06/18)

Thursday, June 29, 2006

News and commentary:

"Usama bin Laden, the Emir of al-Qaeda, Speaks Regarding the Martyrdom of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in an Audio Speech Issued by as-Sahab, 6/29/2006" (SITE, 2006/06/29)
"An audio message attributed to Usama bin Laden, the Emir of al-Qaeda, in which he speaks of the martyrdom of the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was issued today, June 29 2006, by as-Sahab. ...
In the message, bin Laden talks of the Muslim Nation’s regret at the loss of its “brave knight” and “lion of jihad,” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Ahmad al-Khalayleh, after he was killed in a “sinful American raid”. Words of praise towards Zarqawi and his role in the Iraq jihad are proffered by the Emir; Zarqawi implicitly being referred to as a paragon for Mujahideen and Muslims, and stalwart against the “Pharaoh,” U.S. President George W. Bush. He states: “Yes, he is the knight of Islam that we are talking about, and who stood up in the face of American imperialism to the Pharaoh of our time after the international organizations failed and regional gatherings failed and after the whole world failed to stop this oppressive aggression [in Iraq]”.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s legacy and “good reputation,” according to bin Laden, should continue in poetry and prose, and be studied by the world to instill belief in Allah and opposition to aggression. He states: 'Abu Musab - Allah bless his soul - does not only honor his tribe and country, and nation, but honors all of humanity. He presented to it the meaning of glory, pride, sacrifice, and his legacy is a valuable symbol of this time.'" (Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)

"Hateful chatter behind the veil" (Omar El Akkad and Greg McArthur, The Globe and Mail, 2006/06/29)
"Wives of four of the central figures arrested last month were among the most active on the website, sharing, among other things, their passion for holy war, disgust at virtually every aspect of non-Muslim society and a hatred of Canada.":
"When another poster writes about how he finds homosexuality disgusting, Nada replies by pointing out that there are even gay Muslims. She then posts a photo of a rally held by Al-Fatiha, a Canadian support group for gay Muslims. "Look at these pathetic people," she writes. "They should all be sent to Saudi, where these sickos are executed or crushed by a wall, in public." ...
Ms. Farooq's hatred for the country is palpable. She hardly ever calls Canada by its name, rather repeatedly referring to it as "this filthy country." It's a sentiment shared by many of her friends, one of whom states that the laws of the country are irrelevant because they are not the laws of God.
In late April of 2004, a poster asks the forum members to share their impressions of what makes Canada unique. Nada's answer is straightforward.
"Who cares? We hate Canada." ...
As the June, 2004 federal election draws near, she repeatedly advises Muslim youth to completely avoid the process. Voting, she tells them, inherently violates the sovereignty of God, making it the most egregious sin against Islam.
"Are you accepting a system that separates religion and state?" she asks. "Are you gonna give your pledge of allegiance to a party that puts secular laws above the laws of Allah? Are you gonna worship that which they worship? Are you going to throw away the most important thing that makes you a muslim?"
Ms. Jamal's list of forbidden institutions goes beyond politics. Banking, membership in the United Nations, women's rights and secular law are all aspects of Canadian society she finds unacceptable."

"Hirsi Ali saga, Netherlands - Panama: 1-1" (Okke Ornstein, Ornstein op Afstand, 2006/06/29)
"The Ayaan Hirsi Ali affair has reached new depths after it turned out that despite Minister Verdonk's earlier decision that the Somali born legislator had never acquired Dutch citizenship she could keep her passport after all, but only after she signed a "guilty plea" letting Minister Verdonk off the hook. At least, that was the idea. But the day after the deal was made, Hirsi Ali stated on TV that she basically signed the Guilty plea under pressure, that it was a political compromise, that she was told that upon signing she would be declared a Dutch citizen immediately so that she could go on with her life. "I put my pride aside and signed," said Hirsi Ali, characterizing the last six weeks as "political satire".
But it's a lot more serious than that. It is the kind of political hustling and rustling that you'd expect in corrupt third world countries; I'll get you your papers if you don't rat on me. It comes dangerously close to a system where positions are maintained based on favors and knowledge about each other's wrongdoings. I have something on you, but if you help me I won't use it. ...
It is this type of political "I'll save your ass but you have to save mine" that Minister Verdonk - with full support of the government and a majority of Parliament - has been exercising in the Ayaan Hirsi Ali case. Only the smallest government party D'66 has had the decency of demanding that Verdonk resign, which she refuses. Subsequently, D'66 has withdrawn its support for the government which is now expected to fall."

"Supreme Court Rejects Guantanamo War Crimes Trials" (William Branigin, The Washington Post, 2006/06/29)
"The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions violate U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of war prisoners.
In a 5-3 decision, the court said the trials were not authorized by any act of Congress and that their structure and procedures violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949. ...
Writing the majority opinion, Stevens said, "we conclude that the military commission convened to try Hamdan lacks power to proceed because its structure and procedures violate both the UCMJ and the Geneva Conventions." He said four justices also found that the offense attributed to Hamdan is not one that can be tried by a military commission under the laws of war."

"Israel seizes Hamas ministers as settler slain" (Nasser Abu Bakr, AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/06/29)
"RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Israel has seized Hamas ministers and launched an air strike on Gaza militants, intensifying the pressure on Palestinians over the capture of a soldier that threatens to spiral into regional conflict.
The body of a Jewish settler kidnapped by gunmen was also found dumped in the West Bank, adding to the tensions in the worst crisis between Israel and the Palestinians since the radical Islamist movement took office in March.
"It is not a government, it is an organisation of killers with a leader in Damascus," charged Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, referring to Syrian-based Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal. ...
In the West Bank, Israeli troops rounded up more than 64 Hamas members, including eight ministers -- a third of the Palestinian cabinet -- and 24 lawmakers in a vast military sweep overnight.
Some were blindfolded and handcuffed as they were arrested, Palestinian sources said.
Hamas, boycotted by Israel and the West as a terrorist group, condemned the arrests as a declaration of "open war" aimed at destroying its government while Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas appealed for urgent international intervention."

"Mob stones 20-yr-old girl to death in Minna" (Wole Mosadomi, Vanguard, 2006/06/29)
"MINNA —The life of a 20yr old girl (name withheld) was prematurely terminated in Izom in Gawu Babangida Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday as she was stoned to death by irate youths for distributing inciting leaflets bordering on religion.
Trouble started at about noon when the girl whose identity is yet to be ascertained was said to have walked straight into the Jumat Mosque in Izom where she dropped the inciting letter in the Mosque.
As the letter was opened, it was discovered that it was a letter full of unprintable materials accusing both Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ and even some living and dead Pastors of some misdeeds.
The lady was immediately trailed and arrested by the people who also handed her over to the police.
While the lady was under protective police custody for interrogation, the news of the inciting letter had spread to the town while the youth immediately mobilized and stormed the Izom Police station where they demanded for the release of the girl for instant judgement.
The police station was damaged by the youth with dangerous weapons like sticks and iron as they tried to force themselves to the station to capture the lady.
The DPO, ASP. M. Ibrahim, his DCO and some other police officers were injured as they attempted to ferry the girl away for protection as the irate youth descended on them with dangerous weapons.
The helpless policemen including those on highway patrol drafted to the scene to protect the girl were overpowered and eventually got hold of the girl.
As the policemen flee the scene, the youth rained stones, sticks and other dangerous weapons on her and killed her instantly." (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch.)

Added today:
"A message that would be dangerous to ignore" (Tom Gross, New York Post/tomgrossmedia.com, 2006/06/27)
"What Does Muslim Immigration Cost Europe?" (Fjordman, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/06/23)

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

News and commentary:

"Israeli troops enter Gaza; bridges hit" (Steven Gutkin, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/06/28)
"GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli tanks and troops entered southern Gaza and planes attacked three bridges and knocked out electricity to the coastal strip early Wednesday, stepping up the pressure on Palestinian militants holding captive a 19-year-old Israeli soldier.
The soldiers and tanks began taking up positions in two locations about a mile east of the Gaza town of Rafah under the cover of tank shells, according to witnesses and Palestinian security officials. Palestinians dug in behind walls and sand embankments, bracing for a major Israeli offensive. ...
The Israeli military said in a statement that the object of the attacks on the bridges was "to impair the ability of the terrorists to transfer the kidnapped soldier." Knocking down the bridges cut Gaza in two, Palestinian security officials said.
Early Wednesday, Israeli warplanes attacked one of the bridges for a second time, Palestinian security officials said. Before daybreak, Israeli warplanes flew low over Gaza city, causing sonic booms and breaking windows.
Overnight, Israeli planes fired at least nine missiles at Gaza's only power station, cutting electricity to much of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security officials said. The station's three functioning turbines and a gasoline reservoir were engulfed in enormous flames that firefighters were unable to control."

Added in archive:
"[Pew Poll on] How Muslims Think" (Daniel Pipes, New York Sun/danielpipes.org, 2006/06/27)
"'Youths' Kick Man to Death on Crowded Antwerp Bus" (Paul Belien, The Brussels Journal, 2006/06/26)
"Wanted terrorist to head Somali 'parliament'" (AFP/The Australian, Reuters, 2006/06/26)
"Gaza militants make demands in soldier's kidnapping" (Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/06/26)
"Palestinians attack Israeli army post, kill 2 soldiers, kidnap a third" (Aron Heller, AP/Yahoo! News, Reuters, 2006/06/25)
"Iraqi Qaeda-led group says Russian hostages killed" (Inal Ersan, Reuters, 2006/06/25)
"The multicultural nirvana" (Melanie Phillips, melaniephillips.com, 2006/06/23)
"Poll shows Muslims in Britain are the most anti-western in Europe" (Julian Borger, The Guardian, 2006/06/23)
"Muslims 'Still in Denial' About 9/11, Pew Survey Finds" (Meg Bortin, The New York Times, 2006/06/22)
"Most Dutch say Islam incompatible with West" (George Conger, The Jerusalem Post, 2006/06/22)
"HRW's selective ire" (The Jerusalem Post, 2006/06/21)
"New Al Qaeda Chief: I slit their throats" (Mark Ellis, The Daily Mirror, 2006/06/21)
"France Detains 17 Suspected Finance Associates of Radical Islamic Terror Group" (AP/FOX News, 2006/06/20)

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

News and commentary:

"A message that would be dangerous to ignore" (Tom Gross, New York Post/tomgrossmedia.com, 2006/06/27)
A review of "Londonistan" by Melanie Phillips, plus an interesting introduction about how the book has been receieved: "In his review, [Brendan] O’Neill dismisses last year’s deadly London transport bombs as merely a “stunt executed by four bored and overgrown adolescents who had nothing better to do.” That is how he engages with the argument.":
"Radical Islamists in Britain have already produced some of the organizers behind the Bali bombings and the beheading of Daniel Pearl, the 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, the shoe-bomber Richard Reid, and suicide bombers that have murdered innocent Israelis, Iraqis and Indians. British-based terrorists have also been behind attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Russia.
Yet even now, when they have struck (and are trying to strike again) inside the UK itself, the country, warns Phillips, is still in a state of deep denial. In London, the chattering classes are simply asleep, or worse still are busy scapegoating Israel and “the Jews” rather than acknowledging the Islamist threat they actually face.
Many of her fellow countrymen regard Phillips as misguided. But such was the reaction too, to the few who spoke out in Britain against appeasing Hitler in the 1930s.
Phillips is a powerful writer and her book makes compelling reading. She sets out the evidence skillfully and even if she occasionally overstates her case, her message is one that would be dangerous to ignore." (See also: "Losing the plot" (Brendan O'Neill, New Statesman, 2006/06/12): "What Phillips presents as the handiwork of "clerical fascism" looks increasingly like Britain's Columbine, a murderous stunt executed by four bored and overgrown adolescents who had nothing better to do.")

"[Pew Poll on] How Muslims Think" (Daniel Pipes, New York Sun/danielpipes.org, 2006/06/27)
Pipes on the newly released Pew Poll on how Westerners and Muslims view each other: "Overall, the Pew survey sends an undeniable message of crisis from one end to the other of the Muslim world.":
"A proclivity to conspiracy theories: In not one Muslim population polled does a majority believe that Arabs carried out the attacks of September 11, 2001, on America. The proportions range from a mere 15% in Pakistan holding Arabs responsible, to 48% among French Muslims. Confirming recent negative trends in Turkey, the number of Turks who point the finger at Arabs has declined to 16% today from 46% in 2002. In other words, in every one of these 10 Muslim communities, a majority views September 11 as a hoax perpetrated by the American government, Israel, or some other agency.
Likewise, Muslims are widely prejudiced against Jews, ranging from 28% unfavorable ratings among French Muslims to 98% in Jordan (which, despite the monarchy's moderation, has a majority Palestinian Arab population). Further, Muslims in certain countries (especially Egypt and Jordan) see Jews conspiratorially, as being responsible for bad relations between Muslims and Westerners.
Conspiracy theories also pertain to larger topics. Asked, "What is most responsible for Muslim nations' lack of prosperity?" between 14% (in Pakistan) and 43% (in Jordan) blame the policies of America and other Western states, as opposed to indigenous problems, such as a lack of democracy or education, or the presence of corruption or radical Islam.
This conspiracism points to a widespread unwillingness in the umma to deal with realities, preferring the safer bromides of plots, schemes, and intrigues. It also exposes major problems adjusting to modernity." (See also: "Poll shows Muslims in Britain are the most anti-western in Europe" (Julian Borger, The Guardian, 2006/06/23) and "Muslims 'Still in Denial' About 9/11, Pew Survey Finds" (Meg Bortin, The New York Times, 2006/06/22))

Monday, June 26, 2006

News and commentary:

"'Youths' Kick Man to Death on Crowded Antwerp Bus" (Paul Belien, The Brussels Journal, 2006/06/26)
"The Belgian state is no longer able to guarantee the security of its citizens. On Saturday afternoon Guido Demoor, a 54-year old Flemish train conductor on his way to work, was kicked to death by six “youths” on a crowded bus near Antwerp’s Central Station. The incident recalls the rush-hour murder ten weeks ago of Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17 years of age, in a crowded Brussels Central Station on 12 April.
Guido Demoor, a father of two, intervened when six “youths” got on bus 23 in Antwerp and began to intimidate passengers. There were some forty people on the bus. Demoor asked the “youths” to calm down, whereupon they turned on him, savagely beating and kicking the man. At the next stop thirty passengers fled the bus. The thugs kept beating Demoor. They then pulled the emergency brake and jumped from the bus leaving their victim to die.
Three Moroccans, two of whom are minors, were arrested today. The website of the Dutch paper De Stentor reports tonight that a fourth suspect, believed to be the ringleader, fled into a shop as the police were poised to arrest him. He managed to escape from the shop when dozens of “youths” came to his rescue. Witnesses had described the culprits as immigrant youths of between 18 and 21 years of age. During the weekend the police had called for witnesses as only four people had come forward. The police offered the witnesses absolute confidentiality and promised not to reveal their identities. “Obviously people fear reprisals,” Gazet van Antwerpen wrote today."

"Wanted terrorist to head Somali 'parliament'" (AFP/The Australian, Reuters, 2006/06/26)
"MOGADISHU: Somali Islamists have named as the head of their new "parliament" a firebrand cleric wanted by the US for alleged links to al-Qa'ida.
Officials said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys -- a wanted "terrorist" in the US -- had been chosen to lead the Council of Islamic Courts, which will serve as a parliament for regions under the courts' control.
The appointment came as the body of a Swedish journalist, who was shot in the back and killed while covering a rally in Mogadishu on Friday, was being flown back to Sweden.
The assailant of Martin Adler, 47, has not been caught but the ruling militia said the killing was planned by a foreign enemy that wanted to shatter weeks of relative peace since the Islamic militia took over from a US-backed warlord alliance in Mogadishu earlier this month.
Sheik Aweys founded the capital's first Islamic court and is believed to have orchestrated the Islamic takeover. He has been operating in the central Galgudud region, where he has set up sharia or Islamic tribunals. He is subject to US sanctions for alleged ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network, blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US."

"Gaza militants make demands in soldier's kidnapping" (Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/06/26)
"GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militant groups on Monday demanded Israel free all Palestinian women and minors in its jails in exchange for information about an Israeli soldier kidnapped by gunmen from the Gaza Strip.
"Military Statement 1" from Hamas's Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Islamic Army, was issued after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert put the army on standby for a major offensive into Gaza.
"The Occupation (Israel) will not get any information about its missing soldier unless it abides by the following: release all female prisoners in Israeli jails ... and children under the age of 18," the statement said. ...
Israel has vowed reprisals that could include the re-invasion of Gaza, a coastal territory it quit last year after 38 years of occupation, or the assassination of Hamas leaders.
Troops and armor have massed on Gaza's borders. Israeli television broadcast footage of rows of tanks on the frontier.
"Let it be clear: We will reach everyone, no matter where they are, and they know it," Olmert said in a speech in Jerusalem. 'There will not be immunity for anyone.'"

 

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"When people accept futility and the absurd as normal, the culture is decadent. The term is not a slur; it is a technical label."

Jacques Barzun

Articles of the week

"Losing the Enlightenment" (Victor Davis Hanson, OpinionJournal, 2006/11/29)

"Allah’s England?" (Daniel Johnson, Commentary. November 2006)

"'Sex in the Park': The latest doings of the Danish imams" (Henrik Bering, The Weekly Standard, 2006/11/18)

"Narcissism on Stilts" (Harold Evans, New York Sun, 2006/11/16)

"Terrorists are recruiting in our schools, says MI5 boss" (Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph, 2006/11/10)

› AOTW Archive



From the archives

Oriana Fallaci, R.I.P.

"The Rage, the Pride and the Doubt" (Oriana Fallaci, The Wall Street Journal, 2003/03/13)

"How the West Was Won and How It Will Be Lost" (Oriana Fallaci, The American Enterprise, from the January/February 2003 issue)

"On Jew-hatred in Europe" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2002/04/13)

"Anger and Pride" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2001/12/19)

Weekly archive

2006/12/04 - 2006/12/10
2006/11/27 - 2006/12/03
2006/11/20 - 2006/11/26
2006/11/13 - 2006/11/19
2006/11/06 - 2006/11/12
2006/10/30 - 2006/11/05

› From 2001/09/11 -



Monthly index

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006

› From September 2001 -



Author index

› Ajami, Fouad - Johnson, Paul
› Kagan, Robert - Ye'or, Bat



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