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Portland State U: Film on ex-Muslims facing threats and abuse denounced as “atheist Islamophobia”

November 27, 2016

Portland State U: Film on ex-Muslims facing threats and abuse denounced as “atheist Islamophobia”, Jihad Watch, , November 27, 2016

“The documentary film featured the personal testimonies of ex-Muslims who have faced death threats, severe abuse and ostracization [sic] from their communities for leaving Islam….Some students found the event insensitive given the political climate, while others thought the event promoted discrimination. In the glass display case for Freethinkers, a note was left which read, ‘Atheist Islamophobia is not okay.’ Across campus, many flyers for the event were vandalized or torn down.”

The film is about Muslims being victimized, and the knee-jerk reaction of Leftist and Islamic supremacist students at Portland State University is that this makes Muslims victims. The plight of the ex-Muslims depicted in the film is lost in the brouhaha.

“In some traditional and conservative interpretations of Islam, death and imprisonment are punishments for apostasy.” Actually, the idea that apostates should be killed is the dominant mainstream in Islam, not just an idea held by those who favor “traditional and conservative interpretations.” The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law. It’s based on the Qur’an: “They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.” (Qur’an 4:89)

A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-‘ashriyyah, Al-Ja’fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”

Qaradawi also once famously said: “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, Islam wouldn’t exist today.”

But at Portland State University, to quote such statements is “Islamophobia.” Incidentally, I spoke at Portland State University a few years ago. Just before I was about to start, I was told that the Muslim Students Association was having a meeting at that moment in the same building. I immediately went over to the MSA meeting and invited them to come to my event and engage in free discussion and/or debate. None of the Muslim students took me up on my offer.

atheist-islamophobia-portland

“Documentary on ‘ex-Muslims’ sparks contentious debate at Portland State,” by Andy Ngo, The Ex-Muslim, November 25, 2016:

This is a guest post by Andy Ngo. He is a graduate student in political science at Portland State University. His academic interests include political Islam and secularism in the Middle East and North Africa. He can be reached on twitter at @MrAndyNgo and email at ango@pdx.edu .

On Nov. 23, over 60 people attended the screening of Islam’s Non-Believers at Portland State University. The documentary film featured the personal testimonies of ex-Muslims who have faced death threats, severe abuse and ostracization [sic] from their communities for leaving Islam. The film’s director, Deeyah Khan, is a Muslim and human rights activist.

The event was hosted by secular humanist student group, Freethinkers of PSU.

Controversy surrounded the event in the weeks leading up to the screening. Some students found the event insensitive given the political climate, while others thought the event promoted discrimination. In the glass display case for Freethinkers, a note was left which read, “Atheist Islamophobia is not okay.” Across campus, many flyers for the event were vandalized or torn down.

In response to the backlash, two ex-Muslim women featured in the documentary issued statements which were read or shown at the screening. “I hope you realize that discriminating against ex-Muslims is not an excuse to validate your savior complex,” Rayhana said in a pre-recorded video message.

Sadia sent Freethinkers of PSU a written statement. It read in part, “Islam’s Non-Believers was such an important documentary because for the first time ex-Muslims have been given a face and a voice. It has made us human.”

Despite the controversy leading up to the event, the screening proceeded without any disruptions. Dr. Peter Boghossian, professor of philosophy at PSU, facilitated a group discussion after the film ended.

In attendance were ex-Muslims of Saudi Arabian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Jordanian and Iranian backgrounds. Some of them shared their thoughts with the diverse audience, which included practicing Muslims. Several ex-Muslims requested that video cameras be turned off due to fears they could be publicly outed as apostates and because of concerns for their physical safety.

Apostasy is the act of leaving one’s religion. In some traditional and conservative interpretations of Islam, death and imprisonment are punishments for apostasy.

One Muslim woman in attendance objected to the narrative presented in the film. “The punishment for apostasy in the Qur’an is not death,” she said. “The Qur’an is written in Arabic and most people from Bangladesh, India and other parts don’t speak Arabic.” Two native Arabic speakers later challenged this assertion when they recited several Qur’anic verses which can be interpreted as prescribing death for those who reject God.

At one point, Boghossian had to interject in the contentious discussion. “We could be here for weeks if we are going to engage in an exegetical debate about Islamic theology and interpretation,” Boghossian said.

Despite strong disagreements, the discussion remained civil and engaging throughout the evening. Toward the end of the discussion, an Arab student pleaded to the audience: “To the people who are afraid to criticize Islam … I implore you to think about the minority within the minority. [Religion] is defended every day. The minority with the minority does not have a voice.”…

Categories: Atheist Islamophobia, Islam - leaving
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A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Germany: October 2016

November 27, 2016

A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Germany: October 2016, Gatestone Institute, Soeren Kern, November 27, 2016

Residents of Essen complained that police often refuse to respond to calls for help and begged city officials to restore order. One resident said: “I was born here and I do not feel safe anymore.” City officials flatly rejected the complaints.

The Sarah Nußbaum Haus, a kindergarten in Kassel, said that “because of the high proportion of Muslim children,” and because of the different cultures of the children, the school was “renouncing” Christian rituals.

During the first six months of 2016, more than 2,000 migrants who requested asylum were found to be carrying false passports, but German border control officers allowed them into the country anyway. Migrants with false papers could be linked to the Islamic State, security analysts warned.

German President Joachim Gauck said he believed that Germany will eventually have a Muslim president.

Muslims are attacking Christians at refugee shelters throughout Germany. “The religious minorities in refugee accommodations are now experiencing the same oppression prevalent in their countries of origin,” according to the NGO Open Doors.

The Federal Statistics Office reported that the birthrate in Germany reached the highest level in 33 years in 2015, boosted mainly by babies born to migrant women.

A 49-year-old Syrian refugee in Rhineland-Palatinate is seeking social welfare benefits in Germany for his four wives and 23 children.

October 1. Two migrants raped a 23-year-old woman in Lüneburg as she was walking in a park with her young child. The men, who remain at large, forced the child to watch while they took turns assaulting the woman.

October 2. A 19-year-old migrant raped a 90-year-old woman as she was leaving a church in downtown Düsseldorf. Police initially described the suspect as “a Southern European with North African roots.” It later emerged that the man is a Moroccan with a Spanish passport.

October 2. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble called for the development of a “German Islam” to help integrate Muslims in the country. In an opinion article published by Welt am Sonntag, he wrote:

“Considering the diverse origins of Muslims in Germany, we want to promote the development of a German Islam, the development of self-assurance of Muslims living as Muslims in Germany, in a free, open, pluralistic and tolerant order, according to our laws and the religious neutrality of the state.

“There is no doubt that the growing number of Muslims in our country today is testing the tolerance of mainstream society. The origin of the vast majority of refugees means that we are increasingly dealing with people from very different cultures…. In this tense situation, we should not allow for the emergence of an atmosphere in which well-integrated people in Germany feel alien.”

October 4. Münchner Merkur reported that the 2016 Munich Oktoberfest recorded its lowest turnout since 2001. Visitors reportedly stayed away due to concerns about terrorism and migrant-related sexual assaults.

2073This year’s Munich Oktoberfest recorded its lowest turnout since 2001. Visitors reportedly stayed away due to concerns about terrorism and migrant-related sexual assaults. (Image source: Flickr/Sergey Zhaffsky)

October 6. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on a German intelligence study which found that almost half the German Salafists who left for Syria or Iraq were active in mosques. “The mosques continue to play a central role in the radicalization of Islamists in Germany,” a spokeswoman for the German domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), said. The ongoing study analyzes the background and course of the radicalization of persons who left for Syria or Iraq. The study has collected data from 784 Islamists who left Germany or were actively trying to leave the country. The BfV estimates that there are 9,200 known Salafists in Germany.

October 6. More than 400 residents of the Altenessen district in Essen met local politicians in a televised “town hall meeting” to discuss spiraling violence and crime perpetrated by migrants in the area. Residents complained that police often refuse to respond to calls for help and begged city officials to restore order. One resident said: “I was born here and I do not feel safe anymore.” City officials flatly rejected the complaints. Mayor Thomas Kufen said: “Altenessen is not a no-go area, the people here are just angry.” Police Chief Frank Richter added: “I am sick and tired of hearing about no-go zones in Essen.” He insisted that Essen und Altenessen are perfectly safe.

October 7. The Sarah Nußbaum Haus, a kindergarten in Kassel, announced that it would not be celebrating Christmas this year, “because of the high proportion of Muslim children.” According to local media, there will be “no Christmas tree, no Christmas stories and no Christmas spirit.” Non-Muslim parents said that celebrating Christmas is a normal “part of the integration process to get to know the new culture.” School officials responded by saying that because of the different cultures of the children, the school was “renouncing” Christian rituals. They also said that teachers at the school are now required to ensure that the children do not exchange their sandwiches, to prevent Muslim children from eating pork.

October 8. Welt am Sonntag reported that during the first six months of 2016, more than 2,000 migrants who requested asylum were found to be carrying false passports, but German border control officers allowed them into the country anyway. Migrants with false papers could be linked to the Islamic State, security analysts warned.

October 10. Jaber al-Bakr, a 22-year-old refugee from Syria, was arrested after police found explosives in his apartment in Chemnitz. He was suspected of plotting to bomb an airport in Berlin. Two days later, he hanged himself in a jail in Leipzig.

October 14. German President Joachim Gauck, who is stepping down for health reasons, said he believed that Germany will eventually have a Muslim president. Of the eleven German presidents so far, nine have been Protestant and two have been Catholic. Gauck’s statement caused a stir in Germany. Some said that all German citizens are eligible for the position, regardless of confession, and others said a Muslim president would further divide society. Vice President of the European Parliament Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said: “A mullah with a turban would be impossible, but a representative of modern, enlightened Islam, such as the mayor in London, of course.” The Office of the President told Bild that the oath of office would never be changed from “so help me God” to “so help me Allah.”

October 14. Green Party politician Volker Beck called on Germans to learn Arabic so that they can communicate with migrants who do not speak German. When asked on NTV how migrants can integrate if there are no German speakers in many parts of German cities, he replied: “Other countries are more relaxed about the fact that, in some areas, a different language is spoken by a migrant community. In the US, you will find your Chinatown, you will find areas where Mexicans live, or whatever community is strong in a city.” He also said it was good that German is not spoken in many German mosques. “Arab sermons are a piece of home,” he said.

October 14. Volker Kauder, a key member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, threatened internet giants such as Facebook and Google with fines up to 50,000 euros ($53,000) if they fail to tackle online hate speech. The move comes amid a rise in anti-immigration sentiment in Germany.

October 15. A Syrian migrant disrupted a wedding at the Karmel Church in downtown Duisburg. He burst into the building and began fondling a statue of the Virgin Mary while shouting “Allahu Akhbar” (“Allah is the greatest.”) After undergoing a psychological evaluation, the man was released. The incident is one of a growing number in which Muslim migrants have disrupted or vandalized German churches.

October 16. A 16-year-old boy and his 15-year-old girlfriend were walking along the banks of the Alster, a lake in the heart of Hamburg, when a stranger ambushed him from behind and plunged a knife into his back. The attacker then pushed the girl into the water and walked away. The girl survived, but the boy died of his wounds. The suspect, a “southern-looking” (südländischer Erscheinung) man in his early twenties, remains at large. Police say the victims were not robbed and there is no evident motive for the crime: The suspect appears to have randomly stabbed the boy just because he felt like it. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the murder, but German police cast doubt on that claim.

October 17. The German Press Council reprimanded the weekly newspaper, Junge Freiheit, for revealing the nationality of three Afghan teenagers who raped a woman at a train station in Vienna, Austria, in April 2016. The press council said the nationality of the perpetrators was “not relevant” to the case, and by revealing this information the newspaper “deliberately and pejoratively represented the suspects as second-class persons.” In the interests of “fair reporting,” the council demanded that the newspaper remove the offending item from its website. The newspaper refused to comply, and said it would continue to publish the nationalities of criminal suspects.

October 17. The German branch of Open Doors, a non-governmental organization supporting persecuted Christians, reported that Muslims are attacking Christians at refugee shelters throughout Germany. The NGO documented 743 incidents between May and September 2016, but said they were only the “tip of the iceberg.” The report said:

“Many of the refugees concerned have previously been persecuted and discriminated against in their Islamic countries of origin and have therefore fled to Germany. The religious minorities in refugee accommodations are now experiencing the same oppression prevalent in their countries of origin.”

October 17. The Federal Statistics Office reported that the birthrate in Germany reached the highest level in 33 years in 2015, boosted mainly by babies born to migrant women. The rate was 1.5 births per woman in 2015, up from 1.47 births in 2014, and the highest figure since 1982 when it was 1.51. For German women, the birth rate increased only slightly from 1.42 children per woman in 2014 to 1.43 in 2015. For women of foreign nationality, the rate increased from 1.86 to 1.95 children per woman.

October 18. Sigrid Meierhofer, the mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in an urgent letter (Brandbrief) to the Bavarian government, threatened to close a shelter that houses 250 mostly male migrants from Africa if public safety and order could not be restored. The letter, which was leaked to the Münchner Merkur, stated that local police had responded to more emergency calls during the past six weeks than in all of the previous 12 months combined.

October 18. Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that during the first eight months of 2016, more than 17,000 migrants sued the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) for not giving them full refugee status. Most Syrian refugees in Germany receive only partial asylum status, known as subsidiary protection, which delays family repatriations by at least two years. According to Süddeutsche, 90% of the refugees who challenged the subsidiary protection status in court won their case and were granted full rights under the Geneva Convention. Refugees with full status are allowed immediately to submit applications to bring spouses and children to Germany. If all of the 17,000 migrants win their cases, hundreds of thousands of additional migrants would be allowed to come to Germany.

October 19. Bild reported that a 49-year-old Syrian refugee in Rhineland-Palatinate is seeking social welfare benefits in Germany for his four wives and 23 children. The man, identified as Ghazia A., told Bild that “according to our religion, I have the duty to visit and be with each family equally, and not show any preferential treatment.” Local officials told the newspaper that the family is integrating well and all of the children are going to school.

October 19. A 29-year-old migrant from Syria appeared in court on charges of sexually molesting ten children in Freiburg and Müllheim. The father of one of the victims took a photograph of the suspect, but police waited ten days before acting on the lead.

October 19. A 16-year-old German-Moroccan girl appeared in court on terrorism charges. In February 2016, when she was 15, she stabbed a police officer with a kitchen knife at the central train station in Hanover. Prosecutors say she was conducting a “martyrdom operation” for the Islamic State.

October 20. Pupils at a grade school in Garmisch-Partenkirchen were required to memorize and recite the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith (“There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.”), in both German and Arabic, for an interfaith chapel service.

October 21. In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Islam expert and Green Party member Kurt Edler said that Syrian migrants should be allowed to set up their own city in Germany as a way to prevent radicalization. He said: “Why do not we set up a New Aleppo in Pomerania? Then we can show that what the British and Irish emigrants have done in the North East of the USA is also possible with us.”

October 24. A group of Serbian teenagers in Hamburg were handed suspended sentences for gang-raping a 14-year-old girl and leaving her for dead in sub-zero temperatures. The judge said that although “the penalties may seem mild to the public,” the teens had all made confessions, appeared remorseful and longer posed a danger to society. The ruling, which effectively allowed the rapists to walk free, provoked a rare moment of public outrage over the problem of migrant sex crimes in Germany.

October 24. A YouGov poll found that 68% of Germans believe that security in Germany has deteriorated over the past several years. Also, 68% of respondents said they fear for their lives and property in German train stations and subways, while 63% feel unsafe at large public events.

October 25. Seven migrant boys, some as young as seven years old, sexually assaulted three girls (ages 9, 11 and 14) at a public swimming pool in Berlin.

October 25. The German edition of the Huffington Post published an article by a Syrian migrant named Aras Bacho in which he demanded that all signs and products in Germany be translated into in Arabic to make life easier for migrants. He wrote:

“As a refugee I believe that in Europe the street signs should be translated into Arabic. Likewise, food packaging should be in Arabic. It should also be possible to take exams in Arabic…. Most refugees have been driving in Syria. It would be helpful if the road signs were in Arabic. We should help these people more, no matter what it costs.”

October 25. Police in five German states raided a dozen apartments and a refugee shelter as part of a counter-terrorism investigation. Fourteen Chechens, all asylum seekers who arrived in Germany in 2013, are at the center of a probe into “terrorist financing.” No one was arrested.

October 25. A group of Muslim children shouting “Allahu Akbar” threw stones at a visiting Ethiopian priest who was walking to a chapel in Raunheim. Police said the priest was targeted because he was wearing a cross.

October 27. A ten-year-old girl was raped while she was riding her bicycle to school in Leipzig. Police published a facial composite of the migrant suspect with the politically correct warning: “This image is to be published only in print media products in the Leipzig region. Publishing it on the internet, including on social media such as Facebook, is not covered by the court order and is therefore not allowed.”

October 27. Officials in Monheim donated 845,000 euros ($890,000) of taxpayer money to two Islamic associations, to build mosques in the town. The money will be used to purchase land for the mosques, the construction of which will be paid for by the Turkish government. Mayor Daniel Zimmermann said he hopes the mosques will promote Muslim integration. “I hope the mosques will be city-shaping and also architectural monuments,” he said. The grant is subject to only one condition: the minarets must not be more than 25 meters (80 feet) high.

October 27. Deutsche Welle reported that the parents of a German teenager face prosecution for refusing to allow their son to enter a mosque during a school field trip. The parents were fined 300 euros ($315) for their son’s truancy. The prosecutor’s office in Itzehoe is now reviewing whether or not the parents should appear in court because they did not pay the fine. The school’s principal, Renate Fritzsche, said that there are no exceptions to Germany’s mandatory school law. The goal of education, Fritzsche emphasized, is to teach children about other cultures so they will be able to interact and tolerate them.

October 27. Berliner Zeitung reported that a 19-year-old Syrian migrant, identified only as Shaas Al-M., scouted out potential terror targets in Berlin for the Islamic State. He was allegedly actively recruiting assassins in Germany and was preparing to attack when he was arrested in March 2016. The man, who received religious and military training with the Islamic State in Syria, arrived in Germany in the summer of 2015 posing as a Syrian refugee.

October 28. Reuters reported that many Arab mosques in Germany are more conservative than those in Syria. The report states: “A dozen Syrians in six places of worship in three cities told Reuters they were uncomfortable with very conservative messages in Arabic-speaking mosques. People have criticized the way the newcomers dress and practice their religion, they said. Some insisted the Koran be interpreted word-for-word.”

October 28. A mob of 17 Muslim migrants sexually assaulted two women in front of a church in Freiburg. Police arrested three of the men, all from Gambia, who arrived in Germany as refugees in 2015 and had previously been detained for other crimes.

October 28. Der Spiegel reported that Justice Minister Heiko Maas wants to make it easier for German courts to void child marriages. There currently are 1,475 married adolescents in Germany; 361 of them are younger than 14 years, 120 are 14 or 15 years old. According to German law, young people above the age of 16 may marry, but only if the other spouse is 18 and a family court gives a so-called exemption. Maas wants to tighten the criteria for this. The exemption is to be granted only “if the intended marriage does not affect the welfare of the applicant.” Günter Krings (CDU), parliamentary secretary of state, said the measure does not go far enough. “For the sake of clarity of our legal system, we should consistently ensure that no marriages with minors can be concluded in our country, even in exceptional cases,” he said.

October 31. A 53-year-old woman attacked two police officers after they entered her apartment in Mülheim. The officers were checking in on her after she had allegedly thrown furniture out the window. When she refused to open the door, the officers broke it down. Once inside the apartment, the veiled woman attacked them with a box-cutter while shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is the greatest.”) Police said the woman was a Muslim convert and was already familiar to police after a series of earlier incidents linked with Islamic extremism.

 

Categories: Germany, Islamic invasion, Islamic perversions, Multiculturalism
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Palestinians recall fond memories of late Cuban leader Castro

November 27, 2016

Palestinians recall fond memories of late Cuban leader Castro, Jerusalem Post, Adam Rasgon, November 27, 2016

fidelcigarFile picture of Fidel Castro smoking a cigar during interview with the press in Havana. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Palestinian political and civil society leaders reacted to the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro over the weekend, remembering him as a strong supporter of the Palestinian people and cause.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas hailed the former Cuban president in a letter to current Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday. “On behalf of the Palestinian people, the State of Palestine, and myself, we offer you and the friendly Cuban people our deepest condolences on the passing of Fidel Castro, a man who spent his life sternly defending his country’s and people’s causes in addition to just and righteous causes around the world,” the PA president wrote.

Abbas ordered Palestinian flags to be set a half-staff on Sunday, according to Wafa, the official PA news site.

Raul Castro, the current Cuban President, announced on Cuban state television on Saturday that “the commander-in-chief of the Cuban revolution died.”

A Hamas leader in Gaza, who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on the condition of anonymity, said that Palestinians have fond memories of Fidel. “He was a symbol of the national struggle. His relationship to the Palestinian cause and Mr. Yasser Arafat was very strong,” the Hamas leader stated. “He was a brother in the resistance and stood in the face of colonialists, similar to Nelson Mandela.”

Cuba, under Fidel’s leadership, was the only Latin American country to vote against the 1947 UN Partition Plan, which recommended the division of the British Mandate of Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab-Palestinian states.

PLO Executive Committee Member Wasel Abu Yousif told the Post Castro’s death is a great loss. “He always supported the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people in their struggle to establish an independent Palestinian state and welcomed President Arafat to Cuba in the early 1970s,” the top PLO official remarked. “We thank Castro, who represented the revolutionary spirit, for everything that he did in terms of his political and moral support for Palestine.”

Fidel welcomed Arafat in Cuba in 1974 in his first of many visits to Cuba, where he was treated as a head of state. Fidel also supported the Palestinian leadership in a number of international forums including the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Sam Bahour, a Palestinian businessman and political commentator, told the Post, that Castro distinguished himself as a “consistent” supporter of the Palestinian people. “There’s a sense of respect for his consistent support to the Palestinian struggle,” Bahour stated. “He stood with the Palestine when it was alone without trying to impose any agenda on it. His support was in line with what Palestinians defined as what they needed.”

Fidel resigned as Cuban President in 2008 and largely remained out of the public’s eye in the remaining years of his life.

Categories: Abbas, Arafat, Castro, Cuba, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian heroes
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Failure of Democracy in Muslim Countries Eludes So-Called Experts

November 27, 2016

Failure of Democracy in Muslim Countries Eludes So-Called Experts, Jihad Watch, , November 27, 2016

francis-fukuyama

Given American policymakers’ ignorance of Islam, “I am just worried about people like me running around with big theories trying to set foreign policy,” stated famed intellectual historian Francis Fukuyama in Washington, D.C. His confession occurred at “Democracy in the Arab World: The Obama Legacy and Beyond,” a recent conference that did little to alleviate the knowledge deficit among hackneyed Islamism apologists.

Fukuyama’s luncheon address at the downtown JW Marriot luxury hotel focused on the cultural factors that aided the development of modern societies. While China benefited from the appearance 2,300 years ago of the “first modern, relatively impersonal state,” Fukuyama said, the “Arab world [is] where I think the fundamental problem is” for human progress today. Although he worried that the U.S. had not made an effort to understand Muslim societies comparable to its Cold War study of Russia, Fukuyama’s own knowledge of Islam was spotty. He described an often repressive and all-encompassing sharia law as a mere “balance to political power.”

Referencing the late scholar Ernest Gellner, Fukuyama maintained that “contemporary Islamism is basically just a different version of European nationalism in the nineteenth century.” Just as Europeans transitioning from intimate rural communities to urban anonymity during industrialization sought a new identity, Islamists invoke a “universal umma that extends all the way from Morocco to Jakarta.”  Similarly, this Islamism appeals to alienated second-generation European Muslim immigrants. Left unexamined was whether the cosmic worldview of a faith like Islam has considerably more ideological content, and can incite far more zeal, than nationalist allegiances, particularly in an increasingly globalized world.

At least Fukuyama didn’t minimize jihadist terrorism, unlike the preceding panelist, anti-Israel commentator Peter Beinart. He decried the “rise of ISIS and a massive increase fueled by cable news [coverage] of the threat of terror that emerged in 2014” and reflected upon President Barack Obama’s shared view that the “threat of terrorism had been exaggerated.” Obama rejected former President George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism” as the “new Cold War, the new World War II; there was fascism and communism, and now there was jihadism.”

In contrast to totalitarianism’s past appeal to, and rule over, millions, few “believed that you could build a new prosperous world based on the ideas of Osama bin Laden,” Beinart declared. His sanguine analysis ignored that faith-based jihadists have eternal timeframes capable of minimizing material setbacks. Contrary to the Third Reich’s twelve-year nightmare and the Cold War’s long twilight victory, Pope Francis’s warning of a “third [world] war … fought piecemeal” with jihadist movements and regimes worldwide has no end in sight.

Conference literature omitted the unsavory connection between this new kind of Third World War and Azmi Bishara, an Israeli-Arab writer and accused Hezb’allah operative who gave his conference keynote address online from Qatar. With terrorism charges hindering an American entry visa, this general director of the Qatari Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) hosted the conference via ACRPS’s Washington, D.C. affiliate. The former Knesset member fled Israel in 2007 to escape charges of helping Hezb’allah plot terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.

Reiterating his anti-Zionist take on Palestinian “territory occupied in 1948,” Bishara’s address text condemned Israel’s “colonial apartheid” and claimed conspiratorially that “Israel’s security was the fetish for whose sake [the] rights of people were sacrificed” during the “Arab Spring.” Contradicting Fukuyama’s speculations, Bishara insisted that “it is not the Islamization of society that makes people afraid of change” and that the “obstacle for democracy in the Arab world is not the political culture.” His assessment that “post-Islamic Brotherhood” parties with an “Islamic identity,” such as the “Christian Democratic parties of Europe,” are emerging in Tunisia and Turkey was wildly optimistic.

Likewise, Princeton University political science professor and boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) supporter Ms. Amaney Jamal labored to blame Israel for democracy’s poor prospects in the Arab world.  In yet another example of what Islam scholar Martin Kramer critiques as the false “linkage” between Israel and sundry Middle East problems, one of her slides listed the “Arab-Israeli Conflict as an Obstacle to Reform.” Another slide alleged that the “percent who say it is an impediment” from Arab countries ranges from 84 percent (Lebanon) to 33 percent (Algeria). Because dictatorships seek international investment by suppressing anti-Israel sentiment, Jamal maintained that the Arab-Israeli conflict is “always going to keep investors out of the region.”

ACRPS associate researcher Abdulwahab Al-Qassab strained credulity elsewhere by stating that in 2003, “Iraq, actually, before the invasion, was a secular state” and that in “Arab society in Iraq, we had many strong unifying factors.” Such claims reflect al-Qassab’s outlandish assertion at a 2014 conference that Iraqi “society was known throughout history to be a well-integrated one, notwithstanding its diversity.” Critical observers should maintain a healthy skepticism toward a former major-general under the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein promoting “diversity.”

More realistic were the comments of Qassab’s fellow ACRPS associate researcher, Marwan Kabalan, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Arab studies scholar Michele Dunne. Kabalan rightfully noted that “moderate” Syrian rebels are “lacking the ideological motivations that exist among the jihadis,” who “are actually bound by a very strong ideological bond.”

Dunne emphasized that Westernization had made Tunisia, the Arab world’s current hope for democracy, a “bit different from other Arab countries.” The “population was in general more educated … women were more liberated and empowered … the middle class was a bit larger … [and] the military was less involved in politics,” while Tunisia “was more connected to Europe.” “All of these things turned out to be very, very important,” she concluded.

Such realism reflects Fukuyama’s insight that not all cultural beliefs equally favor the development of peaceful and prosperous societies with liberty under law. Critical inquiry into Islamic doctrine and its troubled relationship with democracy will be necessary for overcoming the knowledge deficit in the free world’s latest struggle against tyranny. Whether ACRPS, based in Muslim Brotherhood-supporting Qatar, can alleviate this deficit is highly questionable.

Categories: Islam and democracy, Israel
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From Amsterdam to Cairo, Islamists Seek Domination

November 27, 2016

From Amsterdam to Cairo, Islamists Seek Domination, Clarion Project, Meira, November 27, 2016

egypt-coptic-christians-attacked-mohamed-el-shahed-afp-getty-images-640Coptic Christian attacked and set afire on the streetsof Cairo in 2013 (Photo: © Mohamed El Shahed/AFP/Getty Images)

History has shown that appeasement in the face of endless aggression only emboldens those whose quest is for total domination.

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An Islamist mob attacked property owned by Coptic Christians in a village south of Cairo after rumors that a church was being opened spread through the area, reported the news outlet Wataninet.com.

The guest house of a Coptic Christian doctor was burned, the façade of 10 Coptic-owned houses were damaged and a house and shop were looted.

The village of al-Naghameesh is home to 2,000 Coptic Christians, with the closest church located eight kilometers away in the town of al-Kosheh. Despite the fact that the Egyptian legislature passed a new law last August codifying the rights of Christians to build and renovate churches, the Christian community in Nagameesh has not received permission to build a church.

The community has been using their community center, which houses a pre-school and a home for the elderly, for prayer services.

Earlier in the week the village’s priest had asked the bishop from Kosheh to preside over a memorial mass for the priest’s father. While in the village, the bishop visited the village’s mayor and gave him a copy of the Quran.

Local Islamist suspected that the bishop had come to the village to open a church and waged the attack after prayers on Friday. While the attack was underway, the mob blocked the road so that fire trucks could not reach the burning building and cut of all water and power supplies to the village.

Police were called and eventually were able to disperse the crowd. Twenty arrests were made.

Although unfortunately a common occurrence, Islamist attacks on non-Muslim places of worship are not limited to the Middle East.

A plot to attack a synagogue in Amsterdam was recently uncovered and foiled by Dutch authorities, reported the Dutch daily De Telegraaf.

The Dutch Criminal Intelligence Agency described the planned attack by an Islamist terror cell as a “James Bond-like plan” and identified individuals connected with the Arrayan mosque in northern Amsterdam as suspects.

Attacks such as these against minority places of worship have become a trademark of Islamists worldwide. Until all governments unite against these supremacist movements, identifying and naming them for what they are, they will continue with impunity.

History has shown that appeasement in the face of endless aggression only emboldens those whose quest is for total domination.

Categories: Islamist persecution of Christians
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Obama Classified Number of Illegal Alien Muslim Migrants

November 27, 2016

Obama Classified Number of Illegal Alien Muslim Migrants, Front Page Magazine (The Point), Daniel Greenfield, November 27, 2016

(Please see also, WTF! Obama to import 1,800 Muslim illegals from Australia. — DM)

future-must-not-belong-to-those-who-slander-prophet-islam-mohammad-barack-hussein-obama-muslim_1

Obama is big on making up his own laws and rules. He rules by executive order and he’s gotten into the truly illegal habit of unilaterally signing treaties with foreign governments.

This is a very basic problem. And in the context of his deal to take in Muslim migrants rejected by Australia, he is being warned once again that his actions are grossly illegal and unconstitutional.

The U.S. government has agreed to accept refugees being held in Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Sunday. Mr. Turnbull didn’t disclose how many were likely to resettled by the U.S. or on what terms, but he stressed the arrangement wouldn’t be repeated or be extended to asylum seekers not already in the camps.

The conservative government has maintained a tough line on asylum seekers who have sought to cross the dangerous waters between Asia and Australia but has moved to empty the offshore immigration detention centers that critics have called Australia’s “Guantanamo Bay.” Negotiations in recent months with various countries to resettle the refugees became more urgent in April when Papua New Guinea’s highest court ordered the closure of Manus, ruling that hundreds of asylum seekers were being held there illegally on Australia’s behalf.

We’re not even being told the total numbers who will shortly be making their way to our shores, but the Journal notes that two of the camps located on Naru and Manus Islands currently hold a combined total of more than 1,300 of them. And where do these migrants come from? The majority are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Some Republicans are challenging the legality of the deal.

“This situation is concerning for many reasons,” the letter states. “First, your department s negotiated an international agreement regarding refugees without consulting or notifying Congress. Such information was not disclosed to Congress during the annual refugee consultation that occurred on September 13, 2016, even though your staff confirmed that the agreement had, at the time, been negotiated ‘for months.’ Second, the agreement and the number of refugees to be resettled has been deemed by your departments as classified, thus the American people are left in the dark as to the rationale for this agreement.”

Why exactly should it be classified? The only people the numbers need to be hidden from are the American people.

Categories: Australia, Illegal immigration, Islamic refugees, Obama and Islamic refugees
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Iranian Radioactive Iridium-292 Device Stolen from Bushehr Transport Car

November 27, 2016

Iranian Radioactive Iridium-292 Device Stolen from Bushehr Transport Car, Jewish Press, November 27, 2016

rouhani_and_salehi_in_bushehr_nuclear_plant_1-1Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi in Bushehr Nuclear Plant. January 13, 2015
Photo Credit: Hossein Heidarpour / Tasnim News Agency / Wikipedia Commons CC 4.0

A device loaded with Iridium-292 has gone missing in Iran, according to a report in the Saudi owned newspaper Asharq Al-Aawsaat.

A car transporting the radioactive material from Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was stolen. The car was later found, but the radioactive material was gone.

On November 18, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned the Gulf Cooperation Council of the missing radioactive isotope, after being informed of the loss by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). It is not clear when the device was actually stolen.

There is fear that the material can be converted into a dirty bomb by attaching the material to a conventional bomb.

Local Iranian hospitals have been told to look out for cases of radiation sickness or burns.

Iridium-292 in an unstable isotope that releases gamma rays. It’s used to find structural flaws in metals.

Close proximity to the exposed isotope will cause injury within minutes to hours, and death within hours to days.

In November of 2015, Iridium being used for industrial testing was stolen from a US company near Basra, Iraq, but it was later found in Zubair, Iraq, in February 2016.

Categories: Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran, Iridium-292
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Jason Kenney mocks Trudeau with eulogy for “Korean icon Kim Il-Sung”

November 27, 2016

Jason Kenney mocks Trudeau with eulogy for “Korean icon Kim Il-Sung” CIJ News, November 27, 2016

jason-kenney-photo-cijnews

Justin Trudeau’s controversial eulogy for the late Cuban President Fidel Castro continues to draw criticism in Canada and the US.

Jason Kenney, former federal minster of Defence, Immigration and Multiculturalism who runs for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, mocked Trudeau with an eulogy for “Korean icon Kim Il-Sung”:

“We mourn the death of Korean icon Kim Il-Sung, who continues to serve the Korean people as Eternal President of the DPRK.”

Others offered alternative eulogies for Castro and other notorious tyrants throughout history #trudeaueulogies:

“Mr. Castro inspired generations of innovative boat makers.”- gnorwreven‏ @tlynnleggie

“Bin Laden was charismatic leader who helped revolutionize airport security in his lifetime.” – Liars Never Win‏ @liars_never_win

“Bin Laden was a wonderful demolition expert. A true aviation and building savant. He’ll be missed but never forgotten.” – Gad Saad‏ @GadSaad

“It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of Saddam Hussein. His advancements in chemical research live on.” – Mikhail Menuck‏ @MischaMenuck

“As you know Mr. Hitler‘s life has come to an end, he was known as a dog lover and a strong supporter of his race” – Alberta View🌎👀‏ @Uwork4It

“Today we mourn painter and animal rights activist, Adolf Hitler. His death also highlights the need for suicide awareness” – Curtis‏ @FowlCanuck

“It’s with a heavy heart that I learn Stalin passed, only he was able to acheive full employment for his people” – Alberta View🌎👀‏ @Uwork4It

“Mr. Stalin‘s greatest achievement was his eradication of obesity in the Ukraine through innovative agricultural reforms.” – Melissa Lantsman‏ @MelissaLantsman

“Today we mourn the passing of Joseph Stalin, a man who greatly raised the GDP for Soviet citizens…” – Gaulois‏ @Le_Gaul

“my condolences to the family of Joseph Stalin. Through controversial, his policies in agriculture & industrialization….” – Mikhail Menuck‏ @MischaMenuck

“Today we say goodbye to Mr. Mussolini, the former Italian prime minister best known for his competent train-management.” – J.J. McCullough‏ @JJ_McCullough

“Let us acknowledge Mr Pol Pot‘s achievements in reducing overpopulation and building global sustainability” – Mikhail Menuck‏ @MischaMenuck

“While a controversial figure, even detractors recognize Pol Pot encouraged renewed contact between city and countryside.” – Andrew Coyne‏ @acoyne

“We’re saddened to hear the passing of Pol Pot. We are fondly reminded of his remarkable excavation techniques” – I’m the bubba‏ @Imthebubba

“Let us acknowledge Mr Pol Pot‘s achievements in reducing overpopulation and building global sustainability” – Mikhail Menuck‏ @MischaMenuck

“Though not universally liked by his compatriots, Mr. Ceausescu was a leader in urban design and affordable housing” – Cam Vidler‏ @camvidler

“Today we say farewell to Adi Amin who help so many non African Ugandans immigrate to Canada” – Dan Fraser‏ @FraserFraserdw

“I’m saddened to hear of supreme leader of N Korea Kim Jong-il passing, he fought childhood obesity like no other” – Alberta View🌎👀‏ @Uwork4It

“Today we remember Pablo Escobar‘s advances in spurring youth interest in pharmacology.” – Chris Magill‏ @cmagill

“We mourn the death of Vlad the Impaler, who spearheaded initiatives which touched the hearts of millions.” – Conservosaurus‏ @conservosaurus

“Today we bid farewell to Genghis Khan, the former Mongolian leader best known for opening new trade routes to China.” – Don MacLeod‏ @DonWMacleod

“Dauntless globetrotter, diversity-lover: Attila the Hun was indefatigably committed to advancing the East-West encounter.” – Rod Dreher‏ @roddreher

“While Emperor Nero was controversial, his dedication to song and writing poetry signaled a Roman artistic renaissance.” – Jason Hickman‏ @jasonhickman

“Today we say goodbye to Caligula former Roman emperor best known for his love of horses” – JSheehan‏ @TuesCheek

“If nothing else can be said for Hannibal Lecter, at least he had great taste in people.” – Prufrock‏ @Kansokusha10

“Though he didn’t shy away from controversy Pharaoh will be remembered for enhancing labor productivity in Egypt.” – Sohrab Ahmari‏ @SohrabAhmari

Diane Forsey‏ @peterdiane01 tweeted an eulogy for Trudeau’s victory in last federal election:

“Today Canada mourns the election of Justin Trudeau. You will be remembered as this countries biggest mistake!”

Categories: Canada, Castro, Cuba, Humor, Trudeau
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IAF strikes ISIS-linked cell in Syria after cross-border fire on Golan

November 27, 2016

Source: IAF strikes ISIS-linked cell in Syria after cross-border fire on Golan – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post

( This is a new strategy for Israel – Hit the terrorists, not the Syrian army.  I assume it reflects the new understandings reached with Russia and Egypt re the Syrian conflict. – JW )

Israeli forces return fire after shots, mortar shell emanating from Syrian strike southern Golan Heights.

Smoke rises during fighting in the village of Ahmadiyah in Syria

 Smoke rises during fighting in the village of Ahmadiyah in Syria, as seen from the Israeli side of the border fence between Syria and the Golan Heights [File]. (photo credit:REUTERS)

The Israeli Air Force struck and killed a cell of terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State group in Syria after shots were fired across the border at military forces in the Golan Heights on Sunday morning, according to an IDF statement.

The Israeli airstrike allegedly struck four operatives from the ISIS-linked Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade who had initially opened fire at IDF forces in the southern Golan Height.

The incident unfolded as forces from the IDF’s Golani Brigade operating in the area came under attack by small arms fire and a mortar shell from the terror operatives in Syrian territory, according to the IDF.

The IDF returned fire, and in the ensuing exchange the an Israeli Air Force aircraft targeted the terror cell along with a vehicle and weapons being used by the terrorists.

There were no reports of injury to the Israeli side.

In light of the incident, field workers and residents were told to evacuate the area near the border until calm was restored.

Earlier this month, a mortar landed in the Golan Heights following accidental spillover from internal fighting between factions in the Syrian civil war.

No injuries or damage were reported in the attack on November 9, 2016 as well.

Israel holds the Syrian government responsible for any hostile activities emanating from its territory.

Categories: Uncategorized

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Humor | Trump drops threat to investigate Clinton, forces her into 10-year-long cyber awareness training

November 27, 2016

Trump drops threat to investigate Clinton, forces her into 10-year-long cyber awareness training, Duffel Blog, November 26, 2016

cybergirl

WASHINGTON — After more than two years of investigations into the use of a private email server by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues have decided to punish her with what critics are describing as “absolute torture.”

Though Trump said on Tuesday that he would drop any further investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server, the President-elect said that she would instead be forced to endure up to 10 years of cyber awareness training instead.

”Secretary Clinton has proven she does not understand how to properly handle classified material,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said. “So she will be required to complete the annual Cyber Awareness training required for all military personnel. She will do so everyday, excluding weekends and holidays, for the next 10 years.”

Many Republicans and other top officials were stunned by the announcement.

”A fate worse than death,” said Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

”I wouldn’t wish that shit on my worst enemy,” said retired Marine Gen. James ”Mad Dog” Mattis, who is considered a frontrunner for Defense Secretary. ”I have always believed that the punishment should fit the crime but this, this is almost barbaric.”

”All I have to say is HA!” said Lance Cpl. Conrad Bowman. Bowman is an intelligence analyst with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines.

At press time, Clinton was reportedly asking close aides what difference does it make while mindlessly clicking through a suicide awareness brief.

Categories: Clinton e-mails, Cyber security, Humor, President Elect Trump, Trump and torture
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