Posted tagged ‘Islam’

Palestinians to Trump: moving embassy to Jerusalem equals declaration of war…

January 7, 2017

Palestinians to Trump: moving embassy to Jerusalem equals declaration of warA close aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls Trump’s stated intention to move the US Embassy to the Israeli capital ‘a declaration of war on Muslims’, as another official threatens to call on Arab, Muslim countries to remove embassies from Washington.

Elior Levy|Published: 07.01.17 , 12:07

Source: Ynetnews News – Palestinians to Trump: moving embassy to Jerusalem equals declaration of war…

The Palestinian Authority has stepped up its combative rhetoric against US President-elect Donald Trump’s stated mission to transfer the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was repeated by one of his top aides.

The sentiment was expressed by Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas’s close advisor Mahmoud al-Habash, who on Friday called it “a declaration of war on Muslims.” The description was significant not only for its content, but also for the fact that it echoed a similar sentiment voiced by former Jerusalem Mufi Achrama Sabri, whose extreme views are normally not shared by the PA.

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AFP)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

“Everything can collapse if the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem,” said al-Habash. “It can open a wide door to possibilities that no one wants.” He added that they will not be able to sit idly by if such a move occurs.

US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump

Another official in the Palestinian Fatah party stated that if the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem, the PA will demand that that Arab and Muslim countries remove their embassies from Washington. The officials stressed that is not merely a Palestinian issue, but an Arab and Muslim one as well.

Abbas himself also commented on the possible scenario of the US Embassy moving to the Israeli capital. Abbas took a less militant tone, voicing his hope that Trump will not seek to implement his past statements, as it would cause irrevocable damage to the peace process.

“We heard a lot of statements relating to moving the US embassy, which we hope are not correct and will not be implemented, but if implemented then the peace process in the Middle East, and even peace in the world, will be in a crisis we will not be able to come out from,” stated Abbas.

The Palestinian campaign against transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem comes less than two weeks before Trump’s inauguration and days before the international peace conference that is set to be held next week in Paris. The conference will focus on trying to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel erased in UN schools

January 4, 2017

Israel erased in UN schools

UN-run schools in the West Bank and Gaza use textbooks which negate the existence of Israel; teach Western Wall, Cave of the Patriarchs are exclusively Muslim holy sites which the Jews strive to occupy; stamps from the British Mandate period are doctored to remove the Hebrew.

Elior Levy, Eitan Goldstein

Published: 03.01.17 , 19:03

Source: Ynetnews News – Israel erased in UN schools

An Israeli investigation into school books used by United Nations-run schools in the West Bank were found to consistently delegitimize and demonize the State of Israel.

These textbooks—written by the Palestinian Ministry of Education—are used in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in both Gaza and the West Bank.

However, the most shocking discovery is that the UN schools don’t teach Palestinian children to recognize Israel as a country—not within the 1947 borders, nor any borders at all.

Picture of the countries of the Middle East in one of the textbooks. "Palestine" is superimposed on the whole of Israel

Picture of the countries of the Middle East in one of the textbooks. “Palestine” is superimposed on the whole of Israel

The research was presented by Dr. Arnon Gross who translated the books, and Dr. Ronni Shaked from the Harry Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In one of the history books, Zionism is defines as a colonialist movement that was founded by European Jews in order to gather Jews from all over the world and to put them in Palestine along with in other neighboring Arab countries. The textbooks argue that the Zionists do this via methods such as immigration and forcing the Arab population off their land.

No mention is made of the religious or historical connection of Jews to the Land of Israel or to Jerusalem in these textbooks used by UNRWA. The schools also make no mention of Jewish holy sites anywhere in their materials—no Western Wall, no Cave of the Patriarchs, and no Rachel’s Tomb.

Instead, the textbooks teach that these are all Muslim holy sites which the Jews are trying illegitimately to take control of.

Also, children at UNRWA schools are taught that the Arab massacres of Jews in 1929 (specifically in Safed, Hebron, and Jerusalem) was called the “al Buraq revolt,” and was carried out to keep the Jews from conquering and occupying these holy cities.

Over 130 Jews were murdered by their Arab neighbors during these massacres.

British stamp from the Mandate Era. On the right, all three languages included on the original stamp. On the left, the doctored stamp used in Palestinian textbooks, completely erasing the Hebrew

British stamp from the Mandate Era. On the right, all three languages included on the original stamp. On the left, the doctored stamp used in Palestinian textbooks, completely erasing the Hebrew

The textbooks used by the UN to teach Palestinian children even negate the existence of Hebrew. One of the books has a picture of a stamp used during the British Mandate Period upon which is written Hebrew, English, and Arabic. However, the textbooks written by the Palestinians erase the Hebrew, leaving only the English and the Arabic.

Additionally, there is no reference to the presence of Jews in Israel, with Jewish cities and towns established after 1948 erased from the maps given to Palestinian children. Tel Aviv, originally named after the Hebrew title of Theodor Herzl’s book Altneuland, is re-named “Tel al-Rabia.” The word al-rabia means the season of spring in Arabic.

Tel al-Rabia, circled, appears in place of Tel Aviv on a "Map of Palestine" used in UN schools. No Jewish towns built after 1948 are included

Tel al-Rabia, circled, appears in place of Tel Aviv on a “Map of Palestine” used in UN schools. No Jewish towns built after 1948 are included

Incitement in Palestinian textbooks is well known and documented. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken about the issue several times, and has agreed to be a part of a joint Israeli-US–Palestinian committee to design new textbooks. However, this committee has yet to meet.

The research was conducted by the Center for Near East Policy Research, and was published less than two weeks after the UN Security Council resolution declaring construction and settlements in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem illegal.

UN schools were previously used as Hamas weapons storehouses during Operation Protective Edge.

 

New Year Speech to the Muslim World

January 1, 2017

New Year Speech to the Muslim World

by Nonie Darwish

January 1, 2017 at 5:30 am

Source: New Year Speech to the Muslim World

  • By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an oppressive form of government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer of protection from the tyranny of total sharia law that must be enforced by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
  • The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West for the sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to work, it must be a two-way street between people that share common values of respect of each other’s culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from Islam.
  • It really does not matter what is “true Islam”. That is something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it does not serve us in the West to try to evaluate what is “true Islam” and what is not.
  • Your religious leaders, whose salaries are paid by Islamic governments, stand before your media cameras and call on Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill, rape and humiliate the kafir [non-Muslim] Jews, Christians and Pagans.
  • Islamic governments and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working together for the same goal: enforcing Allah’s law, sharia, on the world. It is no secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion or assassination, any Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia and support jihadists.
  • As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation.
  • Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria and Iraq is not an act of compassion, but gross negligence. Western governments have failed their citizens for too long in that respect and that will end today.
  • After all, why should cultures that loathe the West seek to live in the West? As President-elect Trump said, why should America — or any country — not allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect our laws and way of life?
  • Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when Islamic governments prove to the world that they have fundamentally changed, that they have ended once and for all their obsessive jihadist propaganda and hate education prevalent in the Muslim world.
  • Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.

Obama’s first major speech after his election in 2008 was to the Muslim world in Cairo. His speech did not deal with the harsh realities of Islam and its impact on world peace. No Muslim authority shook Obama’s hand promising change, a new relationship with the West based on mutual respect, or a reflection on what went wrong on 9/11, even if they were not directly responsible for it. No Arab leader publicly announced an end to the Islamic jihadist and anti-Western hate education and Arab media propaganda. Instead, the Muslim world got an apology from Obama.

After Obama left Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood was empowered, and military rulers weakened and brought down one after another. By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an oppressive form of government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer of protection from the tyranny of total sharia that must be enforced by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood and then ISIS quickly filled the vacuum and the Muslim world is now on fire.

Obama’s first major presidential speech, on June 4, 2009, was to the Muslim world in Cairo. His speech did not deal with the harsh realities of Islam and its impact on world peace. No Muslim authority shook Obama’s hand promising change, a new relationship with the West based on mutual respect, or a reflection on what went wrong on 9/11. (Image source: White House)

A huge storm of Islamic darkness, spilling over and sweeping across our planet, headed towards the West. Let us never allow our freedoms, built by generations of Americans, be lost to fear and terror. It is time for the West to unite and send a firm message to the Muslim World — a message that should have been sent by Obama back in 2009.

With the election of President-elect Donald J. Trump, citizens of the West have renewed their hope to make America again the leader of the free world and human rights for all, as should be. Trump hopefully will rally leaders of the free world to give a firm message to the Muslim world:

The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West for the sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to work, it must be a Two-Way Street between peoples that share common values of respect of each other’s culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from Islam. America, Europe and Australia have been the safe haven of people from all over the world — different nationalities, religions and races. We love the Muslim people as we love all people but our love to people of the world should never supersede our number one duty, which is to protect of our citizens, our freedoms, our way of life, and yes, our Biblical-based, Judeo-Christian values.

Today the Middle East is on fire, overrun and ravaged by terrorists and extremists who have no respect for their own governments or law and order. Groups such as ISIS and others brought back ancient barbarity that humanity had mistakenly thought it had transcended. We keep hearing that this has nothing to do with Islam and that Islamic terrorists are just a small number of misguided Muslims who misinterpret true peaceful Islam.

But now it is our turn to tell you what is on our mind: It really does not matter what is true Islam and what is not. When a terrorist plows through a crowd with a truck aiming to kill, the last thing anyone cares to hear is whether “the driver was a true Muslim or not”. That is something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it does not serve us in the West to try to evaluate what is “true Islam” and what is not.

Middle Eastern governments-run schools still teach hate propaganda against the West, Jews and Christians. They still teach their children lies such as that Yasser Arafat died from poisoning by Jews. They still teach in their public schools that jihad is a holy war against non-Muslims; that killing apostates and honor killing of girls is a duty under Islamic law and those who do it will not be prosecuted, but will be rewarded with virgins by Allah. Muslim Imams spread their hatred and incitement right under the noses of the so-called moderate Muslim leaders, on your government-run television screens. Your religious leaders, whose salaries are paid by Islamic governments, stand before your media cameras and call on Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill, rape and humiliate the kafir [non-Muslim], Jews, Christians and Pagans.

We have done enough appeasing and looking the other way when it comes to the dirty little secret that no one wants to admit: that Islamic governments and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working together for the same goal: enforcing Allah’s law, sharia, on the world. It is no secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion or assassination, any Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia and support jihadists. The world understands the plight of Islamic leaders who must fulfill their sharia obligation before their Islamists, otherwise they are “toast.” Solving this problem is not the responsibility of the West, but it is a major problem that the Muslim world must address in the open and deal with.

While Muslim people and governments develop the courage openly to settle their issues over their jihad duty, the unholy alliance game played by Islamic governments and terror groups must be exposed for what it is, and emphatically rejected. The West cannot afford to participate in such a dishonest game anymore.

As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation. Islamic nations that continue to breed terrorists in their media, schools and mosques and then act innocent of the crime must be held accountable. Muslims themselves have no tolerance for one Western cartoonist who offended them with a cartoon of Muhammad. Instead of saying that this cartoonist does not represent all Western nations, the Muslim public rioted, burned and killed several Westerners and their embassies in retaliation for the actions of one, over a cartoon. That is from the same nations that flooded the world with terrorists that use airplanes, guns, explosives, knives and even trucks to kill non-Muslims. Muslims need to live by the saying “If your house is of glass, do not throw rocks at others.”

Any Western nation that does not protect its own citizens first and foremost should be a pariah among civilized nations. Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria and Iraq is not an act of compassion, but gross negligence. Western governments have failed their citizens for too long in that respect and that will end today.

It would be insane for Western governments not to use extraordinary measures for self-preservation. The doors of immigration to Muslim citizens from nations overrun by terror will be closed. After all, why should cultures that loathe the West seek to live in the West? As President-elect Trump said, why should America — or any country — not allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect our laws and way of life?

Absorbing refugees from terror run Syria is not only bad for the West, but also for Syria. If we take the moderate Muslims out of Syria, then who will be left to fight ISIS and rebuild the country?

Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when the war on Islamic terrorism is won and when Islamic governments prove to the world that they have fundamentally changed, that they have ended once and for all their obsessive jihadist propaganda and hate education prevalent in the Muslim world. Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.

We are looking forward to the day when moderate Muslims will be able to take control of their governments, their educational systems, and their law and order, so the Western world could resume mutual constructive relations based on friendship and respect. The whole world is looking forward to that day and praying for a peaceful Middle East. The ball is now in the Muslim world’s court.

Turkish ‘Ministry of Religion’ promotes martyrdom to children in colorful comic strips

December 31, 2016

Turkish ‘Ministry of Religion’ promotes martyrdom to children in colorful comic strips

Published time: 3 Apr, 2016 22:32 Edited time: 4 Apr, 2016 10:22

Source: Turkish ‘Ministry of Religion’ promotes martyrdom to children in colorful comic strips — RT News

The latest issue of a children’s magazine published by Diyanet, the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs, which is a government agency and the highest national religious body, contains a series of cartoons glorifying Islamic martyrdom.

A colorful cartoon titled “may god bless our martyrs, may their graves be full with holy light” features dialogues between parents and children that promotes an idea of religious martyrdom. In one box of the comics, a father says to his son: “How good it is to be a martyr…” He also adds that martyrdom gives a person an opportunity “to gain the right to go to heaven.”

In another box from the comics, a girl can be seen saying “I wish I could be a martyr.” “If you desire enough, Allah will give you that opportunity,” the mother in the box replies to the girl.

A statement near the last picture reads: “Our prophet says: a martyr feels the pain of dying as much as you feel pain when being pinched.”

Read more

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a dedication ceremony for an Islamic mosque in Lanham, Maryland, April 2, 2016 © Thomas Ramstack

Another statement attributed to Prophet Mohammed says: “A martyr would love to go back to the real world and be martyr 10 times more after the honoring and prestige they receive in the heaven.”

Psychologist and professor Dr. Serdar Degirmencioglu harshly criticized the latest issue of the Diyanet’s “Child Magazine” featuring the controversial comics, but said that introducing children into the ideas of radical Islam has long been part of the Turkish government’s policy.

“They want to use the drawings to transfer the message of martyrdom to children because they think it will be more attractive,” he said in an interview with the Turkish Evrensel newspaper adding that the idea of martyrdom promoted by the government describes it as a “painless death and a promise of heaven.”

“Religiosity has, in recent years, turned into a literal political tool. They do not even hide it. The Ministry of Religion was provided more money than several other ministries combined and continues intensive work for religious children,” he added.

Read more

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Brookings Institute in Washington March 31, 2016. © Joshua Roberts

The professor also equated the mentality promoted by such comics with the mentality of those who committed deadly terrorist attacks in Turkish Ankara and Suruc, as well as Brussels and Paris.

“Turkey is overwhelmed with the pain of these massacres and with those pursuing the mentality of religiosity. All this has led to the death of people. Exactly the same mentality that blinds people to the horrors is what the Presidency of Religious Affairs is trying to spread among the children in Turkey. The children will grow up and they will run toward death when those in power tell them to,” he told Evrensel.

Diyanet follows and promotes the orthodox Sunni Islam tradition not only in Turkey, but also abroad. On Saturday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a new multimillion Diyanet Center of America, calling it the Turkish-American Center of Culture and Civilization.

A complex, which, according to the Turkish Daily Sabah newspaper, contains “one of the largest Turkish mosques” alongside conference halls, basketball courts, a restaurant, Turkish bath and a cultural research center, was built by funds from Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs as well as some NGOs.

During the opening ceremony, Erdogan called the complex “a center of civilizations” and said that it would serve both American Muslims and people of other faiths, as well as promote Islam’s message of love and compassion.

READ: Netanyahu’s Chanukah Speech Blasts Obama, Salutes Soldiers

December 25, 2016

READ: Netanyahu’s Chanukah Speech Blasts Obama, Salutes Soldiers

by Breitbart News

24 Dec 2016

Source: READ: Netanyahu’s Chanukah Speech Blasts Obama, Salutes Soldiers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks on the first night of Chanukah this evening (Saturday, 24 December 2016) at an event in salute of wounded IDF and security forces veterans and victims of terrorism:

“Citizens of Israel, I would like to reassure you. The resolution that was adopted yesterday at the United Nations is distorted and shameful but we will overcome it. The resolution determines that the Jewish Quarter [in the Old City of Jerusalem] is ‘occupied territory’. This is delusional. The resolution determines that the Western Wall is ‘occupied territory’. This too is delusional. There is nothing more absurd than calling the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter occupied territory. There is also an attempt here, which will not succeed, to impose permanent settlement terms on Israel. You might recall that the last one who tried to do this was Carter, an extremely hostile president to Israel, and who just recently said that Hamas is not a terrorist organization. Carter passed sweeping decisions against us at the UN of a similar kind, and this was also unsuccessful. We opposed this and nothing happened.

“All American presidents since Carter upheld the American commitment not to try to dictate permanent settlement terms to Israel at the Security Council. And yesterday, in complete contradiction of this commitment, including an explicit commitment by President Obama himself in 2011, the Obama administration carried out a shameful anti-Israel ploy at the UN. I would like to tell you that the resolution that was adopted, not only doesn’t bring peace closer, it drives it further away. It hurts justice; it hurts the truth. Think about this absurdity, half a million human beings are being slaughtered in Syria. Tens of thousands are being butchered in Sudan. The entire Middle East is going up in flames and the Obama administration and the Security Council choose to gang up on the only democracy in the Middle East – the State of Israel. What a disgrace.

My friends, I would like to tell you on the first night of Chanukah that this will not avail them. We reject this resolution outright, just as we rejected the UN resolution that determined that Zionism was racism. It took time but that resolution was rescinded; it will take time but this one will also be rescinded. Now I will tell you how it will be rescinded. It will be rescinded not because of our retreats but because of our steadfastness and that of our allies. I remind you that we withdrew from Gaza, uprooted communities and took people out of their graves. Did this help us at all at the UN? Did this improve our relations at the UN? We were hit with thousands of rockets and at the UN we were hit with the Goldstone report!

“So I will tell you what is clear, I know, to the vast majority of Israeli citizens: We learned this lesson, and we will not go there. But I also want to tell you something else: We are not alone. I spoke last night with many American leaders. I was pleased to hear from members of the American Congress, from Democrats and Republicans alike, that they will fight an all-out war against this resolution with all the power at their disposal. I heard the exact same things from our friends in the incoming administration, who said that they will fight an all-out war against this resolution. And I heard this from across the spectrum of American public opinion and American politics – Republicans, Democrats, Jews and non-Jews. As I spoke yesterday with leaders in Congress and the incoming American administration, they told me unequivocally: ‘We are sick of this and it will not continue. We will change this resolution. We will not allow anyone to harm the State of Israel.’ They are declaring their intention to pass legislation to punish countries and bodies that try to harm Israel. They say that this will also include the UN itself. I remind you that the UN receives a quarter, 25%, of its budget from the US alone.

In my most recent speech to the UN, in September, I said that a storm was expected in the UN before it gets better there. We knew that this is possible and we expect that it will come. The resolution that was passed at the UN yesterday is part of the swan song of the old world that is biased against Israel, but, my friends, we are entering a new era. And just as President-elect Trump said yesterday, it will happen much sooner than you think. In the new era there is a much higher price for those who try to harm Israel, and that the price will be exacted not only by the US, but by Israel as well.

“Two countries with which we have diplomatic relations cosponsored the resolution against us at the UN; therefore, I ordered yesterday that our ambassadors be recalled from, Senegal and from New Zealand. I have ordered that all Israeli assistance to Senegal be halted, and there’s more to come. Those who work with us will benefit because Israel has much to give to the countries of the world. But those who work against us will lose – because there will be a diplomatic and economic price for their actions against Israel. Additionally, I have instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete, within a month, a reassessment of all of our contacts with the UN, including Israeli financing of UN institutions and the presence of UN representatives in the country. But I am not waiting; already now I have ordered to halt approximately NIS 30 million in financing for five UN institutions, five UN bodies that are especially hostile to Israel. I have already ordered that this be stopped, and there is more to come.

“We are on a campaign of improving our relations with the nations of the world. And it will take more time, and I have said this as well, until our improved relations with countries on five continents are also reflected in their decisions in UN institutions. But I would like to tell you something else, and listen closely to what I’m saying. Contrary to what you might expect, it is very likely that last night’s scandalous resolution will accelerate this process, because it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Last night’s resolution is a call to arms for all of our many friends in the US and elsewhere around the world, friends who are sick of the UN’s hostility toward Israel, and they intend to bring about a fundamental change in the UN. Therefore, this evening I tell you in the language of our sources, the sweet will yet come forth from the bitter and those who come to curse will yet bless.

“Here, on the first night of Chanukah, I stand next to the Maccabees of our times, IDF soldiers and wounded IDF heroes. I salute you and I say to you clearly: The light will dispel the darkness. The spirit of the Maccabees will overcome. Happy Chanukah.”

Iran to Trump: Death to America Will Live On

December 5, 2016

Iran to Trump: Death to America Will Live On

by Majid Rafizadeh

December 5, 2016 at 4:00 am

Source: Iran to Trump: Death to America Will Live On

  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made it clear that Trump’s presidency causes “no difference” to Iran-US relationships. He called the Americans’ election “a spectacle for exposing their crimes and debacles.”
  • “Thank God, we are prepared to confront any possible incident.” — Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
  • From the perspective of Iranian moderates, reformists and hardliners, the US is not a superpower anymore; but a weak actor in the Middle East and on the global stage.
  • Iranian leaders also made it clear that Tehran will continue supporting Hezbollah and other groups that have been designated as terrorist groups by the US Department of State. These groups pursue anti-American and anti-Israeli agendas.

Ideologically speaking, Iran’s hardliners, primarily Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who enjoy the final say in Iran’s domestic and foreign policies, have made it clear that Iran will not change the core pillars of its religious and revolutionary establishment: Anti-Americanism and hatred towards the “Great Satan” and the “Little Satan”, Israel.

Supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei and the IRGC enthusiastically shouted “Death to America” in response to a recent speech that Khamenei gave, applauding the 1979 hostage-taking and takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.

Iran’s major state newspapers carried anti-American headlines this week, quoting the Supreme Leader. In his latest public speech to thousands of people, which was televised via Iran’s state TV, Khamenei made it clear that Trump’s presidency will cause “no difference” to Iran-US relationships. Khamenei pointed out that, “We have no judgment on this election because America is the same America”. In his speech, Khamenei attacked President-elect Donald Trump and the American people. The Ayatollah called the US election “a spectacle for exposing their crimes and debacles.”

Other hardliners echoed the same message that there would be no change in Iran’s revolutionary principles and ideals against the US and its allies. The deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, told Iran’s Fars news agency: “When the Republicans were in power, they threatened us and showed their hostility… and when the Democrats were in power, the policies of the United States were the same.”

Khamenei also remarked that the US will remain the evil, or the “Great Satan,” saying:

“In the past 37 years, neither of the two parties who were in charge did us any good and their evil has always been directed toward us….We neither mourn nor celebrate, because it makes no difference to us… We have no concerns. Thank God, we are prepared to confront any possible incident.”

He added that the remarks made by Donald Trump “over the last few weeks on immoral issues — which are, for the most part, not baseless accusations — are enough to disgrace America.”

Militarily, strategically and geopolitically, Tehran’s core pillars of damaging US national interests, and scuttling US foreign policy objectives will remain intact.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, has heavily criticized Donald Trump for stating that the US will confront Iranian boats in the Gulf if they harass US Navy ships. In the last year, Iran has increasingly harassed and provoked US Navy ships, and detained 11 American sailors.

General Bagheri stated out that, “The person [Trump] who has recently achieved power, has talked off the top of his head! Threatening Iran in the Persian Gulf is just a joke.”

In 2016, the number of incidents of boats from Iran’s navy and Revolutionary Guards provoking and harassing the US Navy ships rose significantly to 31 incidents, highlighting that the IRGC evidently feels sufficiently emboldened to damage US national security publicly and on a regular basis. From the perspective of Iranian moderates, reformists and hardliners, the US is not a superpower anymore; but a weak actor in the Middle East and on the global stage.

In addition, Iran, with underlying anti-American objectives, is aggressively expanding its military presence and naval bases in foreign nations and international waters. Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqheri said, as cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency, that the expanding presence in international waters and naval bases in foreign countries “could be ten times more efficient than nuclear power.” For the first time, the Iranian Navy’s 44th flotilla, comprised of a Bushehr logistic warship and an Alvand destroyer, has now sailed into the Atlantic Ocean as well.

Tehran is also considering having naval bases on the coasts of Yemen and Syria to support the Assad government and the Houthis. As Iran’s Chief of the General Staff told a gathering of senior naval commanders, “One day, we may need bases on the coasts of Yemen and Syria, and we need the necessary infrastructures for them under international maritime law.”

Iran’s naval commander, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, also told the gathering of senior naval commanders that boosting military presence in international waters reflects Iran’s power.

According to the Tasnim news agency, Iran’s navy has already deployed 49 flotillas to various maritime zones. Sayyari added that the flotillas showcased Iran’s symbol of power.”

Iranian leaders also made it clear that Tehran will continue supporting Hezbollah and other groups that are designated as terrorist groups by the US Department of State.

These groups pursue anti-American and anti-Israel agendas.

Khamenei and IRGC are sending a strong message that Iran will neither alter its core religious and revolutionary pillar of anti-Americanism, nor change its foreign policy and military objectives of damaging US interests. Iran’s policy towards the “Great Satan” will remain as it has been since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientist and Harvard University scholar is president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He can be reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu.

Anti-Muslim Activist Katharine Gorka Named to Homeland Security Transition Team

December 2, 2016

Anti-Muslim Activist Katharine Gorka Named to Homeland Security Transition Team

November 30 2016, 10:32 a.m.

Source: Anti-Muslim Activist Katharine Gorka Named to Homeland Security Transition Team

Katharine Gorka, a controversial national security analyst who specializes in discussing the threat posed by Muslims to the United States, has complained bitterly that the Department of Homeland Security trains its agents — falsely, in her opinion — that Islam is a “religion of peace.”

Now, Gorka will have a chance to help Donald Trump remake the department. On Tuesday, she was selected by Trump to be part of the DHS “landing team” that will meet with Obama’s DHS officials to manage the handoff to new leadership.

Gorka, the president of a think tank called the Council on Global Security and the president of Threat Knowledge Group, a consulting firm, is a well-known figure among anti-Muslim campaigners.

Gorka argues that defeating terrorism depends “upon our being able to call the enemy by its proper name: Global Jihadism.” She has pushed legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group and impose sanctions on its “affiliates, associated groups, or agents.”

The affiliated groups mentioned in the legislation include mainstream civil rights organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America.

Gorka also writes about Islam for Breitbart News, a website described by its former executive chairman Steve Bannon as a “platform” for the white supremacist “alt-right” movement. Bannon is one of Trump’s top advisers. In one 2014 column, Gorka wrote that when “Presidents Bush and Obama both publicly declared Islam to be a religion of peace,” it “struck a sour chord for many,” and that “American and Western leaders have preemptively shut down any debate within Islam by declaring that Islam is the religion of peace.”

In another column, she defended five members of Congress, including then-presidential candidate Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., who were widely denounced by their own party leaders for spreading conspiracy theories in 2012 after they accused a top Clinton aide of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and called on President Obama to investigate.

Gorka claimed that the New York Times had “provided proof of Muslim Brotherhood influence” after it published an exposé on how Gulf-state monarchies were funding U.S. think tanks.

Katharine Gorka is married to Sebastian Gorka, another Breitbart contributor and former policy consultant to the Trump campaign. Sebastian Gorka has accused mainstream Muslim civil rights organizations like the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations of using “subversive tactics” and having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Speaking to the Family Research Council in June, Sebastian Gorka called the religious profiling of Muslims “a synonym for common sense.” When asked by The Intercept about Trump, Sebastian said Trump “is no fan of political correctness, he knows we are at war, and he wants to win. And my golly gosh isn’t that a refreshing attitude!”

 

Video added by JK

HT/ http://www.barenakedislam.com/

 

https://youtu.be/kgLRvTWa4DM

https://youtu.be/D5qIvNidQcw

German Intelligence Officer Arrested Over Suspected Terrorist Attack

November 30, 2016

Report: German Intelligence Officer Arrested Over Suspected Terrorist Attack

BY:

November 29, 2016 4:30 pm

Source: German Intelligence Officer Arrested Over Suspected Terrorist Attack

A German intelligence officer was recently arrested on the suspicion he was plotting to bomb the headquarters of Germany’s domestic spy agency in Cologne.

The 51-year-old, who converted to Islam two years ago, admitted in a “partial confession” that his goal was to “infiltrate” the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Der Spiegel reported Tuesday.

An official with the intelligence agency said the man attempted to pass on “sensitive information about [the agency], which could lead to a threat to the office.”

The suspect also used online chat rooms in an attempt to recruit radical Islamists to the spy agency to mount attacks against “non-believers.” The man was caught after chatting with an undercover agent from the office, according to Der Spiegel.

Germany is currently under a high-threat terrorist alert following a series of attacks in western Europe this past summer. U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned in April that ISIS had terrorist cells in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy similar to those operated by the jihadists who carried out attacks in Paris and Brussels.

Muslim cleric: We should take nuclear weapons and use them in service of Islam, and eliminate Jewish state

November 28, 2016

Muslim cleric: We should take nuclear weapons and use them in service of Islam, and eliminate Jewish state

By – on November 26, 2016

Source: Muslim cleric: We should take nuclear weapons and use them in service of Islam, and eliminate Jewish state – The Geller Report

They tell us who they are and what their objectives are. Why is the West in denial? Why would President Obama make a nuclear pact with the world’s leading state sponsor of terror?

What horror has to happen for us to take this war to the enemy?

“Muslim cleric: We should take nuclear weapons and use them in service of Islam, and eliminate state of the Jews,” thanks to Robert Spencer via MEMRI, November 25, 2016;

“We should take the Pakistani nuclear weapons from those criminals, and use them in the service of Islam. We should take these armies, and eliminate the state of the Jews in one or two strikes, and then bring Islam everywhere in the world.”
Why didn’t the vast majority of peaceful Muslims listening to his sermon rise up and remind him that Islam was a religion of peace?
“Palestinian Cleric ‘Abd Al-Salam Abu Al-‘Izz at Al-Aqsa Mosque following Trump’s Victory: We Should Take Matters into Our Hands, Use Pakistani Nukes to Destroy Jewish State,” MEMRI, November 16, 2016:
In an address dedicated to the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, delivered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian cleric Sheikh ‘Abd Al-Salam Abu Al-‘Izz said that Muslims should not wait for Trump to start a nuclear war, but rather toss all Muslim rulers “into the garbage bin of history” and “take the Pakistani nuclear weapons from those criminals and use them in the service of Islam.” He further said: “We should take these armies in order and eliminate the state of the Jews in one or two strikes.” The address was posted on the Internet on November 16, 2016.
Here is what he says in full:
The Muslims’ reaction to Trump’s victory was: “Hopefully, he will destroy (the US) and sit on its ruins. May he engage in nuclear wars, from which (the Muslims) will emerge intact.” This is not how things go. What is supposed to happen is that the nation of Islam will rise, and take its matters into its own hands. It should assume control and command over its armies. It should get rid of the governments, kings, sultans, sheikhs and emirs. It should toss them into the garbage bin of history. It does not matter whether we hang them on the gallows or not. What matters is that we should kick them out and move forward. We should take the armies and the weapons from them. We should take the Pakistani nuclear weapons from those criminals, and use them in the service of Islam. We should take these armies, and eliminate the state of the Jews in one or two strikes, and then bring Islam everywhere in the world.

Video here !

http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5761.htm

Live-Blog: Israel Battles #PyroTerrorism:

November 24, 2016

JewishPress.com is blogging the efforts of Israel’s firefighters and security personnel battling pyroterrorists.

By: Hana Levi Julian

Published: November 24th, 2016

Source: Live-Blog: Israel Battles #PyroTerrorism: Thursday, Nov. 24 | Hana Levi Julian | Thursday, November 24, 2016 | JewishPress.com

Romema, Haifa, in flames
Photo Credit: Fire and Rescue coastal district Spokesperson’s office

Jewishpress.com is blogging the efforts of Israel’s firefighters and security forces as they battle against the flames of pyroterrorism across the country.

Arabs have been caught and arrested in multiple locations setting fires.

6:52 PM Fire in woods near Ein Hod

6::49 PM Firefighter evacuated from Neve Ilan, Lightly injured.

6:49 PM Keren Kayemet looking for volunteers with 4x4s to help look for fires. Call Meir Tzafriri 053-850-0936 if you can volunteer.

6:47 PM View from a helicopter above the Neve Ilan area

https://youtu.be/xaiHyTLJB6c

6:38 PM Fire near Beit Safafa (Jerusalem)

6:04 PM Pre-arson setup found in Derech Karmit in Jerusalem.

5:57 Fire in woods near Nirit, houses on fire. Evacuations have begun.

https://youtu.be/3900RW_s3Kw