Saturday, March 29, 2008

Return of Fitna, the Movie, Parts I & II

Geert Wilders' movie Fitna was removed from Liveleak because of death threats. Wilders is a racist. His conclusions that all Muslims are Islamists and intolerant are unwarranted, but he is entitled to his opinion. 
 
Is Wilders' critique totally unwarranted? The fact is, Liveleak removed his movie. What else will fanatics censor? An Islamist wrote:
 
"The correct Sharia (Islamic law) response is to cut (off) his head and let him follow his predecessor, van Gogh, to hell,"
 
Where are the Muslims who will speak out for free speech?
 
If you want to see it, it's at YouTube in two parts:
 

And here is part II:

 

Muslims wild over Wilders: Off with his head

Muslims are furious over the film by Dutch racist Geert Wilders, which slanders Islam. As everyone knows, Islam is a tolerant and kindly religion, and no law is more just than Islamic Sharia law. A Muslim commented (tolerantly):
 
"The correct Sharia (Islamic law) response is to cut (off) his head and let him follow his predecessor, van Gogh, to hell,"
The film was removed from the Internet owing to death threats.
 
Ami Isseroff
 
28 Mar 2008 23:48:24 GMT
Source: Reuters
 
By Niclas Mika

AMSTERDAM, March 28 (Reuters) - Muslim nations on Friday condemned a film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, and Dutch Muslim leaders urged restraint.

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Freedom Party, launched his short video on the Internet on Thursday evening, prompting an al Qaeda-linked website to call for his death and increased attacks on Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan.

"The correct Sharia (Islamic law) response is to cut (off) his head and let him follow his predecessor, van Gogh, to hell," a member of Al-Ekhlaas wrote on the al-Qaeda affiliated forum, according to the SITE Institute, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring service.

Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who made a film accusing Islam of condoning violence against women, was murdered by a militant Islamist in 2004.

Wilders' film "Fitna" -- an Arabic term sometimes translated as "strife" -- intersperses images of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran, Islam's holy book.

The film urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran and starts and ends with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, accompanied by the sound of ticking.

The cartoon, first published in Danish newspapers, ignited violent protests around the world and a boycott of Danish products in 2006. Many Muslims regard any depiction of the Prophet as offensive.

"The film is solely intended to incite and provoke unrest and intolerance among people of different religious beliefs and to jeopardise world peace and stability," the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the film as "offensively anti-Islamic" and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said it was "hateful".

Iran called the film heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic, and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a former Dutch colony, said it was an "insult to Islam, hidden under the cover of freedom of expression".

The Saudi Arabian embassy in The Hague said the film was provocative and full of errors and incorrect allegations that could lead to hate towards Muslims, news agency ANP reported.

HEAVY GUARD

Dutch Muslim leaders appealed for calm and called on Muslims worldwide not to target Dutch interests. The Netherlands is home to about 1 million Muslims out of a population of 16 million.

"Our call to Muslims abroad is follow our strategy and don't frustrate it with any violent incidents," Mohammed Rabbae, a Dutch Moroccan community leader, told journalists in an Amsterdam mosque.

The Dutch Islamic Federation went to court on Friday to try to stop Wilders from comparing Islam to fascism.

Pollster Maurice de Hond found that only 12 percent of those questioned thought the film represented Islam accurately, but 43 percent agreed Islam was a serious threat to the Netherlands over the long term.

Wilders has been under guard because of death threats since the murder of van Gogh and Freedom Party support rose in anticipation of the film to about 10 percent of the vote.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders and tried to prevent the kind of backlash Denmark suffered over the Prophet cartoons.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he was proud of how Dutch Muslim organisations responded to the film but that it was too early to draw conclusions about the international consequences: "There are reasons for continued alertness."

NATO has expressed concern the film could worsen security for foreign forces in Afghanistan, including 1,650 Dutch troops. A Belgian government spokesman said security had been stepped up at Dutch diplomatic missions in the country.

Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard objected to the use of his drawing of the Prophet Mohammad, saying it was shown out of context and that he had taken legal action to have it removed.

SITE said responses to the Wilders film on al Ekhlaas and another al-Qaeda affiliated website, al Hesbah, were significantly lower in volume compared to the cartoons uproar.

(Additional reporting by Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Jakarta, Tehran, Islamabad, Aarhus and Brussels bureaux; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Jon Boyle)
 

Friday, March 28, 2008

U.S. Military Aircraft Drop Bombs on Militia Positions in Basra

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. aircraft bombed militia positions in Basra overnight, joining the fight four days into an operation by Iraqi forces against Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army in the southern oil hub.

U.S. aircraft bombed ``positively identified militia targets,'' including ``groups of militia that were targeting Iraqi forces,'' Major Tom Holloway, a spokesman for U.K. forces based on the outskirts of Basra, said today by telephone. ``The support was requested by Iraqi forces.''
 

Fitna, The Movie

Judge for yourself if Geert Wilders' movie about Islam is telling the truth and the whole truth.
 
If you can't see the video below, click here.

 

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Exchange Rate Policies in the Gulf: A New Challenge to American Preeminence?

Like hundreds of other decisions taken by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries since it was formed 47 years ago, the decision taken two weeks ago not to respond to American urgings to boost oil production came in for heavy criticism by the U.S. administration. In many previous cases, OPEC refrained from open confrontation with the U.S. This time, however, the cartel chose to rebuff American claims with unprecedented forcefulness. The President of OPEC, Chakib Khalil, argued that nervousness in the oil market stemmed from the "mismanagement" of the American economy and that the jump in oil prices reflects, not inadequate supply, but rather the weakness of the dollar and the prevailing uncertainty in the financial markets.
 

The price of Washington's obsession with the Palestinians

While the West fiddles, the Middle East threatens to burn. Recent months have seen a renewed surge in American efforts to jump-start the political process between Israel and the Palestinians, as a stream of high-level officials have made their way to the region. We've had visits by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice looks set to be upgraded to "platinum" in whatever frequent flyer program she takes part in. The Secretary of State has already been to Israel twice this year, and it's only March.

Of course, these labors have thus far failed to achieve anything, other than to send a message to the Palestinians that they can continue to use violence against the Jewish state while hoping to wring out still more concessions at the negotiating table.

But there is a much deeper, and even greater, cost involved in all the American time and energy that are being expended on cajoling the recalcitrant Palestinian leadership.

 
For just as there are a finite number of hours in the day, so too there are a finite number of issues that senior US diplomats can grapple with. And the more time they spend banging their heads against the Palestinian wall, the less they have to devote to a far more pressing matter, one which threatens to shake the foundations of the entire region - the growing danger of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
 

Sadr followers march to demand downfall of Maliki

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad on Thursday to protest against a three-day-old crackdown against his followers and call for the downfall of the U.S.-backed government.

Mass demonstrations were held in the Sadr City, Kadhimiya and Shula districts. An Interior Ministry source said hundreds of thousands had taken to the streets.

"We demand the downfall of the Maliki government. It does not represent the people. It represents Bush and Cheney," said Sadr City resident Hussein Abu Ali.

"The government wants to root out the Sadr movement ahead of provincial elections. We are demonstrating -- women, children and men -- to demand an end to the military operation. These are our brothers," said a man who gave his name as Abu Ammar.

Authorities imposed curfews across southern Iraq in an effort to halt the spread of violence after the largest military offensive carried out by Iraqi forces independent of major support from U.S. or British combat units.
 

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Israeli crimes in Humsa and Hadidiya - Amnesty International Hoax

The anatomy of a typical Israeli "Human Rights Violation..."

Israeli crimes in Humsa and Hadidiya - Amnesty International Hoax

Amnesty International is sending out letters to the faithful asking them to protest an Israeli crime: Israel is denying water and electricity to Arab Palestinians, destroying their villages that have existed since time immemorial and driving them off their land - another Nakba. If it were true it would be truly frightening and shameful. From what I can learn, this circular letter ought to be listed in Snopes and Urban legends.

The letter reads:

"Dear Ehud Olmert - Prime Minister,

I am concerned to learn that house demolitions are continuing and that currently the residents of Humsa and Hadidiya face the demolition of their homes and expulsion from their area. I call for the demolition and expulsion orders to be rescinded, for harassment to end, and for confiscated property to be returned.

Another grave concern is the restrictions placed on the residents living in the area and the failure to be allowed access to essential resources such as water and electricity. I urge you to remove any hindrance to the residents' access to water, electricity and other basics needed to survive. Please allow the Palestinian villagers in the Jordan Valley to move freely within the Jordan Valley, and between the valley and the rest of the West Bank.

I ask that you impose a moratorium on house demolitions and forced evictions in the occupied West Bank until the law is amended to bring it into line with international standards.

Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to urge you to remove the responsibility for planning and building regulations in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories from the Israeli military authorities and to transfer it solely to the local Palestinian communities.

Many thanks for your attention to this serious matter. I look forward to receiving your response."

This supposed humanitarian protest has included a number of political demands that add up to "end the occupation now, unconditionally." The letter is not intended to really influence PM Olmert, who is no doubt informed about the actual nature of activities in the Jordan valley. However it does influence the Amnesty International recipients and donors who get the letter. Any reasonable person would infer from the letter, that Israel is uprooting thousands of Arab Palestinians from a verdant paradise where they have lived since the time of Goliath, tending their flocks like the patriarchs of old. Evil Zionists driving Caterpillar bulldozers demolished the picturesque stone houses of the Palestinian Arabs, which have stood for hundreds, maybe thousands of years in Filastin. Fat Nazi-like IDF officers cutting the electric wires and settler fanatics poisoning the wells. Veritably a second Nakba. Worse than the Holocaust without a doubt.

Here is a picture of the "verdant paradise" and the great metropolises that Israel is destroying, from a pro-Palestinian source, POICA:

Verdant Arab Palestinian village destroyed by Israel
(source: poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1123 )

A picture is worth 10,000 words. The light brown stuff is called sand. This type of region is generally called "desert.

More at Israeli crimes in Humsa and Hadidiya - Amnesty International Hoax

 

Monday, March 24, 2008

Saddam's Terror Links

Five years on, few Iraq myths are as persistent as the notion that the Bush Administration invented a connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. Yet a new Pentagon report suggests that Iraq's links to world-wide terror networks, including al Qaeda, were far more extensive than previously understood.

Naturally, it's getting little or no attention. Press accounts have been misleading or outright distortions, while the Bush Administration seems indifferent. Even John McCain has let the study's revelations float by. But that doesn't make the facts any less notable or true.
 

The labor of hate - anti-Semitism in Russia

It so happened that soon after finishing the Russian parents, beware post, I have received a link to a Russian-made movie made sometime in 2005. Seeing its first few frames, I was inclined to quit immediately. After all, the title of the movie is "Russia stubbed in the back" (precise translation is "Russia with a knife in the back"), its subtitle is "Jewish Fascism and the genocide of the Russian people".

But seeing the surprised reaction of some friends who considered the case described in
"Russian parents, beware" to be a singular outbreak of anti-Semitic plague, I have decided to give the movie my full attention. If only to show that the blood libel episode described in that post is only a symptom of a much more serious malady that continues to eat its way into the very heart of Russia, that great and unfortunate nation that for so many years cannot find its way to true democracy and true freedom.

The movie clearly shows that:

  1. The blood libel case is only a single incident in a well-organized anti-Semitic campaign
  2. The campaigners are numerous and occupy positions of power and influence in modern Russia
  3. The worst and more revolting incidents in rich Russian tradition of anti-Semitic libel are alive and well, being tirelessly revived
It is with heavy heart that I come to this task.

See the full text (three posts) here.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Israel loses a Muslim friend

Israel had a warm Muslim friend, which is rare. Now he has converted to Catholicism...
 
Prominent Italian Muslim Converts To Catholicism
 CBS News Interactive: Eye On Religion
VATICAN CITY (AP) ― Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service.
 
An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim who is married to a Catholic, Magdi Allam infuriated some Muslims with his books and columns in the newspaper Corriere della Sera newspaper, where he is a deputy editor. He titled one book "Long Live Israel."
 
As a choir sang, Pope Benedict XVI poured holy water over Allam's head and said a brief prayer in Latin.
 
"We no longer stand alongside or in opposition to one another," Benedict said in a homily reflecting on the meaning of baptism. "Thus faith is a force for peace and reconciliation in the world: distances between people are overcome, in the Lord we have become close."
 
Vatican Television zoomed in on Allam, who sat in the front row of the basilica along with six other candidates for baptism. He later received his first Communion.
 
Allam, 55, told the newspaper Il Giornale in a December interview that his criticism of Palestinian suicide bombing provoked threats on his life in 2003, prompting the Italian government to provide him with a sizable security detail.
 
The Union of Islamic Communities in Italy-which Allam has frequently criticized as having links to Hamas-said the baptism was his own decision.
 
"He is an adult, free to make his personal choice," the Apcom news agency quoted the group's spokesman, Issedin El Zir, as saying.
 
Yahya Pallavicini, vice president of Coreis, the Islamic religious community in Italy, said he respected Allam's choice but said he was "perplexed" by the symbolic and high-profile way in which he chose to convert.
 
"If Allam truly was compelled by a strong spiritual inspiration, perhaps it would have been better to do it delicately, maybe with a priest from Viterbo where he lives," the ANSA news agency quoted Pallavicini as saying.
 
The nighttime Easter vigil service at St. Peter's Basilica marked the period between Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus' crucifixion, and Easter Sunday, which marks his resurrection.
 
Benedict opened by blessing a white candle, which he then carried down the main aisle of the darkened basilica. Slowly, the pews began to light up as his flame was shared with candles carried by the faithful, until the whole basilica twinkled and the main lights came on.
 
The pope administers baptism "without making any 'difference of people,' that is, considering all equally important before the love of God and welcoming all in the community of the Church," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
 
Allam, who has a young son with his Catholic wife and two adult children from a previous relationship, indicated in the Il Giornale interview that he would have no problem converting to Christianity. He said he had even received Communion once-when he was 13 or 14 - "even though I knew it was an act of blasphemy, not having been baptized."
 
He did not speak to the press Saturday and his newspaper said it had no information about his conversion.
 
Allam said in the interview that he had made a pilgrimage to Mecca, as is required of all Muslims, with his deeply religious mother in 1991, although he was not otherwise observant.
 
"I was never practicing," he was quoted as saying. "I never prayed five times a day, facing Mecca. I never fasted during Ramadan."
 
Allam also explained his decision to title a recent book "Viva Israele" by saying he wrote it after he received death threats from Hamas.
 
"Having been condemned to death, I have reflected a long time on the value of life. And I discovered that behind the origin of the ideology of hatred, violence and death is the discrimination against Israel. Everyone has the right to exist except for the Jewish state and its inhabitants," he said. "Today, Israel is the paradigm of the right to life."
 
In 2006, Allam was a co-winner, with three other journalists, of the $1 million Dan David prize, named for an Israeli entrepreneur. Allam was cited for "his ceaseless work in fostering understanding and tolerance between cultures."
 
There is no overarching Muslim law on conversion. But under a widespread interpretation of Islamic legal doctrine, converting from Islam is apostasy and punishable by death-though killings are rare.
 
Egypt's highest Islamic cleric, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, wrote last year against the killing of apostates, saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims who abandon their religion and that punishment would come in the afterlife.
 
On Wednesday, a new audio message from Osama bin Laden accused the pope of playing a "large and lengthy role" in a "new Crusade" against Islam that included the publication of drawings of the Prophet Muhammad that many Muslims found insulting.
 
Lombardi said Thursday that bin Laden's accusation was baseless. He said Benedict repeatedly criticized the Muhammad cartoons, first published in some European newspapers in 2006 and republished by Danish papers in February.
 
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
 

About Geert Wilders' anti-Islam film - Judge for yourself

Geert Wilders's film about Islam has stirred up a controversy. Network solutions has decided they would not host a Web site advertising the film.
 

About Fitna, the Netherlands and Wilders

Very rarely has a film sparked off as much pre-release controversy as Dutch MP Geert Wilder's 'Fitna,the movie'. Even without knowing what's in it, 'Fitna' has got the world asking questions. Questions about the man who made it and his motives, about the country he lives in where his film is allowed. Questions about that country's government – which issues warnings about the film but does nothing to stop it. And questions about the position of Muslims in The Netherlands. The central character in this film is also struggling with these questions, and decides to travel to The Netherlands in search of answers.

 
Here's a film about Wilders' film, from Netherlands Radio.
 
And here is a selection of recent articles about Geert Wilders.

Project Nur hopes to enlighten students about the Muslim culture

By: Kristine Duker

Posted: 3/14/08

Sacred Heart University has become "enlightened."

 

A new chapter of Project Nur has been opened on campus. The project, which is a student-lead initiative of the American Islamic Congress (AIC), is being co-sponsored by the Middle Eastern Studies Program.

 

The AIC is a Muslim civil rights organization that works to promote tolerance and exchange ideas between Muslims and non-Muslims. Nur, which is Arabic for "enlightenment," will help students from all backgrounds and cultures to understand the differences and bring knowledge to their communities.

 

"Project Nur aims to engage SHU students through various events on topics of human rights, social dinners, intimate dialogues and other interactive activities with the purpose of building bridges between students through cross-cultural communication," said Sana Saeed, director of Project Nur.

 

In an interview with Jason-Guberman-Pfeffer, a Civil Rights Fellow with Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance, another initiative of the AIC, and SHU Nur organizer, he said that in this "time when understanding of 'the other' has never been so vital, and yet is so seldom attained, Project Nur, in the spirit of the Enlightenment, seeks to foster the freedom of inquiry by bringing together students from various backgrounds to engage in critical dialogue."

 

"The hope of Project Nur is that students will come to recognize the ignorance embodied by stereotypes and other forms of anti-Muslim bigotry, and the necessity to openly discuss issues within the Muslim community that have previously been neglected for fear of discrimination," said Guberman-Pfeffer.

 

In Aug. 2007, a group of students in the Washington D.C. area began to work together to bring awareness about the genocide that is going on in Darfur. The students from there decided to further their work and realized that there needed to be a student group on campus that dealt with raise awareness of issues between Muslims and non-Muslims.

 

Following the students lead, George Mason University was the first university to open a Project Nur chapter, and other schools in Boston Mass. and Washington D.C. have also opened chapters.

 

"Project Nur aims to involve students by engaging them in issues that are important to them, and then hosting events and activities in order to raise awareness. Such activities include, hosting film festivals, concerts, petitioning for issues, panel discussions and intimate dialogues," said Saeed.

 

The students' efforts will be organized around the fundamental guiding principles of the AIC: nonviolence, women's equality, and free expression. The students will never loose sight of their belief that terrorism should be denounced unequivocally, Muslim women should be treated as individuals with equal rights, and free speech advocates need to be supported.

 

Recently, Project Nur sponsored a peace vigil for Sayed Kaambaskh, a 23-year-old student journalist. The peace vigil which took place in front of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington D.C. was to protest the arrest and death sentence conviction of Kaambaskh for publishing an article on women's rights and sharing it with university classmates.

 

According to Guberman-Pfeffer, this project is a way to get students from all different backgrounds and cultures together. Students will learn more about cultures that they do not understand and get a new understanding of and appreciation for people from different backgrounds.

 

"Project Nur provides the entire Sacred Heart community with an opportunity to discuss important issues and support individual human and civil rights. Also, they'll have hummus," said Guberman-Pfeffer.


For more information visit: http://www.aicongress.org/prog/index.html#nur

Or contact:

Jason Guberman-Pfeffer

jasondgp@gmail.com

AIC-HAMSA Civil Rights Fellow

Jewish anti-Zionists bent on suicide

Jewish suicide bombers

Jewish suicide bomber Jacqueline RosePrior to WWII, there was a controversy between Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews about whether the best option for Jewish survival lay in the Diaspora or the creation of a Jewish state. One would think that the experience of European Jewry would have settled that question for once and for all, but apparently it did not.

In today's atmosphere of resurgent antisemitism, and particularly that expression of it which I've called extreme anti-Zionism, we have a new phenomenon, that of Jews who are not simply philosophically opposed to the Jewish state but who are doing their best to destroy it.

Continued at Jewish suicide bombers

Video: Jamal Al-Durrah presents: Scars from the past

Please watch the video
Jamal Al-Durrah presents: Scars from the past

New testimonies in the death of -- 12 year old Palestinian child -- Muhammad Al-Durrah affair. The father, Jamal Al-Durrah, of the "martyrdom" icon from 2000, presented scars from bullets he was supposedly hit from on the day his son was killed but an Israeli doctor claims that they are actually from an old injury he had treated in 1994.


In 2000, the IDF was accused by the local Palestinian cameraman who took the heavily contested pictures, Talal Abu Rahmeh, of shooting directly at the child and father for 45 minutes and of killing the boy; A statement that has been put under heavy scrutiny with the cameraman's images of the boy and father lasting only approx. 50 seconds and numerous staged 'fight' scenes being reported that day.
( see also: Pallywood, Three bullets and a dead child )