A military strike by Russia against Islamist militants in its North Caucasus region is much more likely this year than last and would threaten the lives of scores of civilians, a report showed on Tuesday.
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A military strike by Russia against Islamist militants in its North Caucasus region is much more likely this year than last and would threaten the lives of scores of civilians, a report showed on Tuesday.
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On the eve of his federal trial, a Queens man charged with helping Al Qaeda pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Syed Hashmi, 30, faces up to 15 years in prison on one count of providing material support to a terrorist organization.
"We made the best deal available under the circumstances," said David Ruhnke, one of Hashmi's defense
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By Daniel Greenfield When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. And so liberals believe that the solution to every problem is more socialism. Americans often believe the solution to every problem is more democracy. And Muslims believe that the solution to every problem is Islam. Combine the three, and you arrive at the inevitability of Sharia law in the West. As Muslims harness democratic pluralities in countries that have become socialist and thus less free, they will impose Islamic law. In the conception of religion held by Western Liberals, religious moderates are people who are willing to allow the separation of religion from civic life, or even its domination by the civic code. Religious extremists they believe are people who want to impose religion on public life. By this standard however, there is virtually no such thing as a Muslim moderate, because Muslims do not recognize the hallowed ideas of Western liberals such as pluralism and the separation of church and state. Even the few exceptions such as Turkey, did not create separate spheres, so much as they imposed forced secularism in order to modernize the country. And these exceptions are also collapsing, notably in Turkey where the Islamists under Erdogan have come to power. The imposed secularism in countries such as Turkey originated at a time when it was thought that a Muslim country had to forcibly secularize in order to enjoy the benefits of a modern state. But the willingness of Westerners to accommodate Islam, and the billions in oil money that have flowed into Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have discredited that notion by showing that one can be a fanatical Muslim and still be a doctor in England, or own skyscrapers in Dubai, be a Lord or a Peer, a respected professor in a French university or have a nuclear reactor assembled in your country. Political correctness, appeasement and Dhimmitude have eroded the gains made by secularization, and helped radicalize Islam. Muslim countries who are socially, morally and politically backward, nevertheless have access to all the modern technology and conveniences of the West. Their backwardness makes it all but impossible for them to actually reform their countries so they provide opportunities for their own people, but makes it all too easy for them to export their surplus populations to the West. And so a goat herder who still believes that he has the right to kill his daughter if she so much as looks at a boy, can get on a 747 and arrive in London or Paris in a matter of hours. New York or Los Angeles in a matter of a few more. His children will go to Western schools, where they will be implicitly or explicitly taught the superiority of Islam, almost as much as they would be in a Madrassa. They will never be forced to choose between Islam and the benefits of the West-- and so they will inevitably choose both, benefiting from their free educations, their professional careers and the good life, while embracing increasingly fanatical Islamic ideas, in order to balance out their materialistic lives. This combination of a Western trappings and Islamic interior will doom the West. Because Islam is an ideology that is less about faith, than it is about governance. Unlike their Western liberal patrons, Muslims do not recognize any distinction between church and state. Which means they are bent on imposing their religion on the state. Western liberals believe that most Muslims are moderate. Most Muslims however believe that the remedy for all social, political and moral ills lies in Islam. A believing Muslim, whether Westerners consider him an extremist or a moderate, will believe that Islam and the Koran have the solution for all of society's ills. Social problems are caused by a lack of Islam. In his worldview, Muslim countries can only repair their problems through Islam. And non-Muslim countries in the Dar al Kufr (Realm of the Infidels), Dar Al Harb (Realm of the Sword) are bound to be even worse off, because they don't follow Islamic law. Which means their only solution is Islam. In such a scenario, Sharia is inevitable. Because as Western liberals think of social reforms in terms of added government control, Muslims think of reform as added clerical control. This makes Muslims and Socialists seem like natural allies, at least for a time, because both confuse reform with centralization that takes individual liberties. Meanwhile the Western Liberal is deluded enough to think that any application of Sharia law will be moderate, when in fact it will be no such thing. Because the Muslim understanding of the world is radically different than the Western understanding of the world. For example take the recent statement by a Muslim cleric that blames immodestly dressed women for earthquakes. Such an idea has a basis in Islam. It may seem utterly insane to the Western mind, but it demonstrates a worldview in which every individual action is inherently interconnected with the larger social welfare, (an idea shared by both Muslims and Socialists). And if indeed women not wearing a burka cause earthquakes-- then the greater good demands that they be compelled to wear them. After all what is more important, freedom of dress or people dying in earthquakes? Variations of that argument will accompany resistance to any Islamic ban. And the only response to it can be that the idea behind it is lunatic and unproven. Yet the former would be construed as denigrating Islam and the latter is a useless point, as there is also no way to disprove that (or any other insane linkage that a cleric might come up with). If you really doubt that such a thing can happen in the rational West, remember that much of our best and brightest currently believe that cow flatulence and human exhaling is destroying the planet, that gender differences are the product of nurture and that people who share their political views have superior genes. The belief of that Islamic cleric is no more absurd than these, and with enough force and propaganda behind it, is just as likely to be accepted. And much worse things will be as well. As a country's population rises, it will approach the Sharia tipping point. Sharia law's imposition will be sold as social reforms, just as they are throughout the Muslim world. And since only disruptive forces would be opposed to it, naturally criticizing its implementation would be one of the first bans. There is only one clean way to avoid it. Just as there is only one clean way to avoid a Communist or Nazi takeover. And that is not to have people inside your borders who want to see the country turn into a Nazi, Communist or Islamist state. If you fail to do that, then sooner or later, you will either face a bloody civil war, or/and live under a Communist, Nazi or Islamist state.Daniel Greenfield is a columnist born in Israel and currently living in New York City. He is a contributing editor at Family Security Matters and writes a daily blog column on Islamic Terrorism, Israeli and American politics and Europe's own clash of civilizations which can be found at Sultanknish.blogspot.com.
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From the Arizona border to the halls of Congress, the sudden reemergence of the divisive issue of U.S. immigration reform poses significant risks for both parties heading into November's congressional elections. Full Article
via www.reuters.com
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Monday, nearly 11 months after addressing the Muslim world from Cairo, President Obama delivered a major speech to Muslims in this country. But his audience was a group of entrepreneurs, investors and educators from more than 50 countries where Muslims are a majority of the population. The speech launched a two-day summit aimed at expanding business ties between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
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April 22, 2010 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - In a victory for freedom of expression as well as a push-back against expanding efforts to impose Shari'a compliance in the United States, the Miami Dade Transit Authority has reversed a previous decision, thus clearing the way for the return of a series of ads on Florida busses which offer advice to those who might be considering leaving Islam but are fearful of Muslim proscriptions against apostasy, the penalty for which some noted Muslim scholars say is death.
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"He was sentenced on June 9 to five years in jail for insulting sanctities, ridiculing the Koran and dishonouring the holy book of the Muslims," it quoted a Koran expert and plaintiff in the case, Abbas Salimi Namin, as saying.
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During an appearance on America's News Headquarters on Saturday, the congressman said "They risked their lives to capture the terrorist and for them to be court-martialed and accused of what they've been accused of bothers me. In addition it sends a terrible message to the men and women in the field in Afghanistan and Iraq, who are risking their lives every day. Do they have to use kid gloves when they go after the terrorists who have done horrible things? I don't think so."
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A key associate of admitted al Qaeda terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty on Friday at the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, as prosecutors alleged the men accused of an attempted bombing of the New York City subway were in contact with a top al Qaeda leader involved in an averted 2006 plot to bomb airlines over the Atlantic Ocean.
via abcnews.go.com
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Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe had been part of the team that last year captured Ahmed Hashim Abed -- mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four US contractors in Fallujah in 2004.
via www.nypost.com
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"We applaud this decision as a victory for common sense and good judgment," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Promoting one's own religious beliefs is something to be defended and encouraged, but other faiths should not be attacked or misrepresented in the process."
via pr-usa.net
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Hamas police have broken up the Gaza Strip's first major hip-hop concert. The B Boy Gaza group had just started a lively dance set late on Saturday in a crowded auditorium when police from the Islamist Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip ended the performance with shouts of "the show is over", witnesses said. "I told one of the policemen that rap meant respect for all people, but he didn't seem to be listening. He said it was an immoral dance," one of the dancers said. Advertisement Hamas officials said the performance, in a conservative enclave where most musical shows strike a nationalistic note, was shut down only because organizers had not applied for a police permit for the gathering. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said police confiscated cameras and tapes at the venue and arrested six of the performers. They were released after signing a pledge not to hold further performances without police permission. Hamas has denied accusations by Gaza human rights groups that it is trying to impose Islamic law in the enclave where 1.5 million Palestinians live. In public speeches, Hamas leaders have urged Palestinians to adhere to Islamic values.
via www.haaretz.com
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An immigrant from Afghanistan pleaded guilty to a plot to bomb New York City. His confession stated that he and two others residing in Queens, New York, went to Pakistan, to volunteer to attack GIs in Afghanistan. Their goal was to revive Taliban control, so as to establish “the perfect justice of Allah.”In Pakistan, Al-Qaeda leaders told them to return to New York and commit suicide bombings there. The returned, prepared, and were caught.Zarein Ahmedzay, who confessed, said, “And I believe that the real enemies of this country are the ones destroying this country from within.” “And I believe they are the special group, the Zionist Jews, I believe, who want a permanent shadow government within the government of the USA.” (William K. Rashbaum and Karen Zraick, NY Times, 4/24/10, A15.)I’m learning from that confessed attempted murderer that Muslim suicide bombers trying to murder thousands of innocent people in my, American city are not the real enemies of the U.S.. The real enemies are unidentified people who commit unidentified crimes.When the Taliban ruled before, they murdered dissidents, threw thousands of women out of work because they were women, and barred females from school. That was not divine justice. Amazing how the human brain can attribute its ugly deeds to a perfect god! Afghanistan suffered from Taliban rule, not divine rule.
via www.examiner.com
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Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport, business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV. Enhanced by Google
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Gulf Islamic banks eye conversion of conventional peersSun, Apr 25 2010Gulf Islamic banks eye conversion of conventional peersSun, Apr 25 2010Citigroup posts best results in nearly 3 yearsMon, Apr 19 2010UPDATE 1-Indian exchange operator delays Bahrain bourse startTue, Apr 13 2010AUB stake being sold to Qatar investors: sourceMon, Apr 12 2010
via www.reuters.com
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STORY HIGHLIGHTSAt least 88 girls and teachers became ill in separate cases at three girls' schoolsDoctor says "unknown gases" were responsible for the mass illnessesLocal physicians said Taliban may be the perpetrators
via edition.cnn.com
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The Islamic Jihad resistance movement has announced that it is completely ready to defend the Palestinians against any Israeli aggressions. "The Palestinian resistance has been supplied with better means to counter any Israeli aggressions," Islamic Jihad's deputy general secretary, Ziad Nakhla, said on Saturday. Nakhla further highlighted the significance of unifying the Palestinian armed resistance movements, including Jihad and Hamas, against Israel. Meanwhile, a group of Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday to protest the illegal confiscation of their land by Israeli forces for the creation of a 'security buffer zone' along the northern border between Gaza and Israel. The demonstrators also said that they were protesting the ongoing siege and attacks against the residents and their property. During the demonstration, Israeli troops opened fire on the protesters, wounding five Palestinians and an international peace activist. MSH/TG/HRF
via www.presstv.ir
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(AINA) -- On March 30 an administrative judicial court in Egypt dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mrs. Camilia Lutfi, mother of the Coptic Christian twins boys Mario and Andrew, against the Interior Minister, and the director of the Civil Status Department for refusing to re-instate the Christian religion on their birth certificates, and invalidate those which were forcefully changed to "Islam" in 2005 by their father Medhat Ramsis Labib, who had converted to Islam.
via www.aina.org
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New videos produced by al Qaeda in Yemen show the accused underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and others in his training class firing weapons at a desert camp whose targets included the Jewish star, the British Union Jack and the letters "UN."
via abcnews.go.com
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The fining of a French Muslim woman for driving whilst wearing a niqab, or face veil, has somersaulted, in the space of a weekend, from political embarrassment to political windfall for President Nicolas Sarkozy.
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Collins said earlier this week that the invitation to attend the National Day of Prayer event at the Pentagon wasn't from the military but from the Colorado-based National Day of Prayer Task Force, which works with the Pentagon chaplain's office on the prayer event.
via www.foxnews.com
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“South Park,” the Comedy Central series, is an animated show that tries its best to push buttons and the boundaries of free speech by mocking every high-profile target in sight, from Hollywood celebrities to religious figures. But its creators may have gotten more than they bargained for with two recent episodes that satirized the Prophet Muhammad — one that elicited an ominous message from an Islamic group based in New York, and one that was censored by the cable network that shows it.
via www.nytimes.com
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STORY HIGHLIGHTSGroups: Machines are intrusive, violate travelers' rights against unreasonable searchAbout 46 full body imagers are in place at 23 airports; 1,000 to be set up by end of 2011TSA has steadfastly defended their effectiveness and safetyGroups may seek legal action if the DHS does not act on the petition
via edition.cnn.com
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TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard held war games Thursday in the strategic Persian Gulf oil route, the Hormuz Strait, a show of its military strength at a time when the country's leaders are depicting President Barack Obama's new nuclear policy as a threat.
via news.yahoo.com
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(CNSNews.com) – A public transit authority in Florida has reversed a decision to take down banner advertisements on buses that offer help to Muslims wanting to leave their faith. Activists are hailing the move as a victory for free speech and religious freedom. Not only will the ten originally planned ads appear on Miami-Dade Transit buses in coming days, but an additional 20 ads will be run at no extra cost. The decision came after the group initiating the ad campaign threatened a lawsuit, claiming breach of contract and violation of First Amendment rights. It was confirmed in an agreement signed on Wednesday, according to lawyer David Yerushalmi, whose firm prepared a federal complaint together with the Thomas More Law Center. The bus company pulled the ads last week less than 48 hours after they had gone up, after a controversial Islamic pressure group complained that they promoted “anti-Islam bigotry.” Produced by an organization called Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), the ads alluded to the difficulties faced by Muslims wanting to leave Islam. Under Islamic law, or shari’a, any Muslim who abandons his faith is guilty of apostasy, an offense that leading scholars have taught is punishable by death. “Fatwa on your head?” the ads’ tagline read. “Is your community or family threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!” The ads also give the URL of a
via www.cnsnews.com
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — U.S. federal agents detained a passenger Thursday on a New York-bound jet from West Africa, with the jet's captain telling passengers the man was on a 'no-fly' list and ineligible for international travel for undisclosed security reasons. Customs and Border Protection agents detained the man while the Delta Air Lines jet stopped to refuel in San Juan, Puerto Rico after an overnight trip from Dakar, Senegal. The flight originated in Nigeria, the native country of a man accused of boarding a Detroit-bound airplane from Amsterdam in December with a bomb hidden in his underwear. It was unclear if the man detained in Puerto Rico boarded the plane in Nigeria or Senegal, and his name and nationality were not disclosed. He was not immediately charged with any crime and Customs and Border Protection issued a statement identifying him only as "potential person of interest," who was removed from the flight for questioning. Agency officials declined to provide further details. But passengers told The Associated Press that the captain announced over the intercom that a passenger had been identified as being on a no-fly list while the jet was over the Atlantic. He made the announcement shortly after a U.S. agent escorted the man in a T-shirt and jeans off the plane. The captain described the passenger as a "serious security risk," said Joan Mower, a passenger from Washington. The flight continued on to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport afterward. "The good news is nothing happened, we're all safe," Mower said. "The question is how did a guy who is on the no-fly list get on a Delta Air Lines plane headed for New York without Delta knowing it?" "He told us all of this and he was clearly not happy about it," Mower said. Passenger Nbaye Beye said the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, appeared nervous when approached by a U.S. agent but got off the plane quietly. "The other passengers were nervous but everyone was sitting calm and cool," passenger Hassane Diallo told Associated Press Television News. Delta vetted all passengers as required, checking to see if any are on a no-fly list, when the plane took off from Dakar, Senegal, said spokeswoman Susan Elliott. U.S. authorities declined to say why the man was determined to be a security risk. Flight 215 had taken off from Abuja, Nigeria on late Wednesday and stopped in Dakar, Senegal early Thursday before heading to New York. Delta said the diversion to Puerto Rico was to refuel. Elliott said such a diversion is not unusual for a full flight that runs into trans-Atlantic headwinds and was not related to the detention of the passenger.
via www.courant.com
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A Gulen school where students are indoctrinated in the tenets of radical Islam to bring about a New World Order under Sharia (Islamic law) may operate within walking distance to your home or business. Your tax dollars might be used to further “education jihad.” Your children or kids in your hometown might be groomed to take part in the restoration of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of a universal caliphate.
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"Threats that Lebanon now has huge missiles are similar to what they used to say about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Saad Hariri said. "Israel is trying to reproduce the same scenario for Lebanon."
via news.bbc.co.uk
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I have written many controversial blog posts that have elicited raging flames from all sides. I have gotten threats both implicit and direct from people who do not agree with my opinion. I also believe in...
via www.sfgate.com
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