Depressed Souls In A Lost City

Lately I have been so busy that I haven't been able to either make any videos or write about anything whatsoever. I just don't have the time to write regularly--my job is keeping me busy.

However, I have had the time to notice what's going on around me. First off, I notice more and more that there are less people on the flights, especially from Europe. And even the people that are flying are not going to Dubai as tourists, no, they are just connecting onwards to other destinations.

Every year, around December, we have a shopping festival here in Dubai and usually its hyped up with advertisements all over the place but this year we haven't heard a word about it. It might have something to do with the financial crisis that the government here pretends doesn't exist...but then I am just saying "it might" be the reason.

When the Israelis attacked the terrorists in Gaza (because they were tired of getting rocket attacked every day), there were places after places where they were asking for aid for the "poor children and families of Gazans". When Pakistan was hit by an earthquake (I believe it was 2005), again there were places for aid. However, no one gives a crap about Haiti. Yeah, I haven't seen any outcry about the way Muslim countries are not even willing to extend a helping hand. But of course the Swiss decide to ban minarets and the whole UMMA comes crying down on the Swiss.

Oh and just to add to all of this, I also noticed that a Hamas leader was murdered in Dubai. Aw, that's so sad!! I don't think anyone should ask what he was doing in Dubai in the first place--I thought Islam was a religion of peace and that Dubai was a prime example of how Muslims were "oh so modern" and tolerant of everyone and "oh so against violence".

This was just a random update on the depressed souls in this lost city.

For now, I am alive and well!

THE ISLAM TAX

The Islam Tax - Bill Warner

"Look at your next airline ticket and you will find a "Security Fee". What is the Security Fee that was passed after September 11, 2001? It is an Islam tax. It is more money out of an American's pocket to pay for the privilege of living with Muslims amongst us..."

"A TSA Spokesperson just told us that if you have an incident like this on board a flight you should immeidately report it to a TSA customer service person at the airport when you arrive."

Don't ya think that might be a little late? And WHY THE FUCK is the pilot asking the passenger whether they should take off or not?

UPATED

h/t Jawa (hop over there to watch the video -- my embed won't work)

Airline Passenger Says Concerns Ignored
Passenger: Pilot Asked Her Whether To Turn Back
A South Jersey woman got the scare of her life when she tried to report suspicious activity on board a plane Philadelphia International Airport.

The woman shared details of her terrifying ordeal only with Fox 29 News on Wednesday.

Now, she's wondering if it was some kind of sick joke or a test run for a terrorist.

Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser reported that 12 days after her red-eye flight from Los Angeles, the US Airways passenger is still upset over an incident on her flight, the reaction to it by the flight crew, and the lack of reaction from authorities.

"I was trembling, and I was just completely frightened," said the mother of three.

She won 't soon forget her latest US Airways flight from L.A. to Philadelphia after she encountered a passenger on board who scared the daylights out of her.

"He starts talking to himself. Then he goes, 'Detroit, huh-huh-huh,' like that, and it was really, really frightening," she said.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the passenger was Muslim and repeatedly made a reference to the latest terrorism incident in Detroit on Christmas Day with the so called "underwear bomber."

The passenger immediately told a flight attendant, who then told the pilot before the plane even left the gate.

What the flight attendant said next shocked the passenger: "'The pilot has asked me to ask you if you think we should leave the gate.' And I looked at her, and I said, 'What?'"

The woman told Fox 29 News no one from the flight crew spoke to the man or investigated further. Then, the pilot made a call to the flight attendant.

The passenger said the flight attendant, "Looks at me and says, 'We need an answer.' … She's like, 'We're gonna go, but I'll keep an eye on him.'"

The flight took off. The woman sat terrified for five hours all of the way to Philadelphia.

Then, just before the plane landed, the pilot ordered everyone to remain seated. The passenger said that's when the man got up, walked to the rear of the plane and put his backpack in an overhead bin, then went to the bathroom.

"I'm like, 'This is it, this is how I'm gonna die,'" she said.

No one questioned the woman or the suspicious passenger in Philadelphia.

When she tried to report it to the Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security, US Airways, even the FBI, she got nowhere.

"He listened to my entire story, never took my name, the flight information, nothing, and told me that, if there was an issue, US Air would have contacted them," the woman said.

The woman said US Airways told her if the man got through security, there's nothing to worry about.

A TSA spokesperson told Fox 29 that if you have an incident like this onboard a flight you should immediately report it to a TSA customer service person at the airport when you arrive.

Fox 29 is waiting for a response from US Airways.

UPDATE -

USAir told the woman via Fox:

“If the man got through security, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Security? You mean this security?

TSA worker moved to desk duty after being caught sleeping on the job at LaGuardia

Or this security?

Philly TSA worker gone after 'white powder' prank on passenger

Or the same boneheads who
leaked TSA Security Manual to internet?

Or the chief bonehead, Napolitano, who meets ethnic leaders to formulate security policy in a more sensitive manner?

Is it any wonder:

International air travel dropped most ever in 2009?

Even the flight crew has had enough of the, what's now become routine, flight 'disruptions':

Flight Attendants Call For Stronger Security Provisions

Friday Nooner!

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Méditation from Thais

Judicial Watch Uncovers New Documents Detailing Pelosi's Use of Air Force Aircraft

Judicial Watch h/t Weasel Zippers:

House Speaker’s Military Travel Cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a Two-Year Period, Including $101,429 for In-Flight Expenses
Contact Information:
Press Office 202-646-5172, ext 305

Washington, DC -- January 28, 2010
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the Air Force detailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s use of United States Air Force aircraft for Congressional Delegations (CODELs). According to the documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Speaker’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol. The following are highlights from the recent release of about 2,000 documents:

• 
  Speaker Pelosi used Air Force aircraft to travel back to her district at an average cost of $28,210.51 per flight. The average cost of an international CODEL is $228,563.33. Of the 103 Pelosi-led congressional delegations (CODEL), 31 trips included members of the House Speaker’s family.
  
• One CODEL traveling from Washington, DC, through Tel Aviv, Israel to Baghdad, Iraq May 15-20, 2008, “to discuss matters of mutual concern with government leaders” included members of Congress and their spouses and cost $17,931 per hour in aircraft alone. Purchases for the CODEL included: Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey’s Irish Crème, Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewars scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, Corona beer and several bottles of wine.
  
• According to a “Memo for Record” from a March 29—April 7, 2007, CODEL that involved a stop in Israel, “CODEL could only bring Kosher items into the Hotel. Kosher alcohol for mixing beverages in the Delegation room was purchased on the local economy i.e. Bourbon, Whiskey, Scotch, Vodka, Gin, Triple Sec, Tequila, etc.”
  
• The Department of Defense advanced a CODEL of 56 members of Congress and staff $60,000 to travel to Louisiana and Mississippi July 19-22, 2008, to “view flood relief advances from Hurricane Katrina.” The three-day trip cost the U.S. Air Force $65,505.46, exceeding authorized funding by $5,505.46.
  

“Speaker Pelosi has a history of wasting taxpayer funds with her boorish demands for military travel. And these documents suggest the Speaker’s congressional delegations are more about partying than anything else,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

Judicial Watch previously obtained internal DOD email correspondence detailing attempts by DOD staff to accommodate Pelosi’s numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft as well as the speaker’s last minute cancellations and changes.

Weazel Zippers:

EXCLUSIVE - Taliban commanders in talks with U.N. envoy
LONDON
Thu Jan 28, 2010 3:03pm ESTLONDON (Reuters) - Members of the Taliban's leadership council have met secretly with the United Nations representative for Afghanistan to discuss the possibility of laying down their arms, a U.N. official said on Thursday.

The regional commanders from the Taliban's Quetta Shura requested the meeting with U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide and it took place on Jan. 8 in Dubai, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official told Reuters it was the first time such talks had taken place with members of the Taliban's top leadership council, which U.S. officials say is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

"They requested a meeting to talk about talks. They want protection, to be able to come out in public. They don't want to vanish into places like Bagram," the official said, referring to a detention centre at the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Eide declined to comment on whether or not the talks took place.

The Dubai meeting was at a higher level than previously known talks which took place in Saudi Arabia between former Taliban officials and representatives of the Afghan government in 2008.

A regional analyst who followed the Saudi talks closely said the Dubai meeting appeared a significantly more important contact between the Taliban and international community.

The U.N. official said there had been no follow-up on the talks yet, but added: "We've had the initial approach and we are hoping that the Afghan government will now follow up and capitalise on it."

The Afghan government invited Taliban insurgents on Thursday to a peace council of elders as part of efforts to find a way out of a conflict which is trying the patience and resources of Afghanistan's Western allies.

Why Islam must be criticized

Jihad Watch:

What the West Needs to Understand About Islam
by Arslan Shaukat

How unfortunate it is that whenever someone attempts to show the facts of true Muhammadan Islam in unflattering manner in a public forum, he risks being tortured or killed by pious Muslims, even in the West. Alas!

The Muslim Ummah is utterly intolerant to criticisms of the Quran, Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Nonetheless, there are individuals who are brave enough to face the challenge of exercising their freedom of speech, their freedom of expression. Ibn Warraq, Ayan Hisri Ali, Wafa Sultan and Maryam Namazie are some of the courageous individuals who have chosen not to indulge in appeasing Muslims and political correctness. They have chosen to speak the historical, factual truth about Muhammadan Islam. And, unsurprisingly, they have been living under constant danger to their lives.

Another brave individual is the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. He drew the cartoons of Muhammad that appeared in a Danish newspaper in 2006 that hurled the entire Muslim world into violent frenzy. They started demonstrations and demanded death of the cartoonists and their publishers. On January 2, 2010, a Somali man, armed with an axe and knife, entered Westergaard's house and tried to kill him.

This incident prompted me to write this article.

The reason for the attempted murder of Westergaard is his comical depiction of Muhammad, produced here.



He has drawn other depictions of Muhammad as well. It's interesting to note that although the illustration may appear somewhat derogatory toward Muhammad, but it does make an accurate point in artistic form, i.e. the blood-soaked and war-filled life of Muhammad. That is exactly what the bomb depicts. I personally believe that it's not inflammatory at all; it just makes a true representation of Muhammad in pictorial form.

This incident entails a number of issues within the context of western nations and within the context of a truly democratic set-up, which I will address in this article.

First: Why criticize Islam? And why should non-Muslims/atheists etc. indulge in such criticisms and 'inflammatory actions' when it's already given that Muslim world will react violently.

Second: What is the use of such 'transgressions,' i.e. what good will come out of it?

WHY ISLAM SHOULD BE CRITICIZED:

1. Firstly: Islam is an unproven and unsubstantiated religious dogma. Islam is a truth claim. It's a claim; nothing more. There is no logical reason whatsoever as to why a claim about the basis of existence and morality should not be questioned and analyzed. In fact, reason tells us that such a monumental claim that affects humanity in a big way should be critically analyzed vigorously.

2. Secondly: A great many aspects of Islamic teachings, namely from the Quran and Muhammad's life, are very disturbing and worrying. It's not an opinion but a fact. Although somewhat unnecessary, I will back up the above mentioned statements with a few examples:

a. Al-Quran:

This supposedly 'holy' book incites violence, aggression, hatred and bloodshed:

- O Prophet! Urge the believers to war; if there are twenty patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand (Quran 8:065).

- Fight those who do not believe in Allah...nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection (Quran 9:29).

-Warfare is enjoined on you, and it is an object of dislike to you; and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know (2:216).

The list goes on and on. I believe I have made the point as to why Quran should be criticized and questioned.

b. Muhammad: The person responsible for inventing Islam had less than stellar prophetic career:

- He was involved in many wars and looting of caravans. He ordered the killing of those who showed dissent. He was a polygamist and a rapist. It is also a fact that he married Ayesha when she was very young (Life of Mahomet, William Muir (1861); Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad%27s_marriages).

I believe I have made the point as to why the character of Muhammad should be criticized and questioned.

3. Thirdly: The western civilization and nations believe in democratic values. In democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of expression is of paramount importance. Without freedom of speech and expression, a democratic society will become stagnant. It also includes criticism of religious dogma. So it's nonsensical to say that Islam should be or is somehow immune to criticism. Such a stance goes against the very core of liberal humanism and democratic values.

I believe these three reasons are more than enough justification as to why Islam should not be considered protected against criticism by the west.

WHY CRITICIZE ISLAM WHEN ISLAMISTS WILL REACT VIOLENTLY:

Now, why critics in the West, or everywhere for that matter, should criticize Islam despite however violent way the Muslim Ummah would react.

Firstly: Let me give the answer by asking a question:

Why should we criticize anything at all then? Isn't it possible that Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Marxists etc., living in the West will react violently if I criticize their ideology? Why not just ban criticism all together? Why not just 'respect' everything than?

Secondly: It is the responsibility of every conscientious citizen to uphold the ideals of democracy and civil liberty by exercising their sovereign right of freedom of speech and expression. To not criticize an ideology that is manifestly anti-democratic and against human freedom is tantamount to giving into imaginary fears and cowering to political correctness.

Thirdly: One may argue that it is counterproductive to indulge in unnecessary attacks and ad-hominem statements with regards to Islamic ideology. Most western countries have Muslim populations and it will decidedly be counterproductive and unintelligible to drum up misdirected rhetoric against Islam. But, Islamic dogma warrants criticism on many levels as I have striven to show. So, on one hand, we have Muslim populations in the West, and, on the other, we have Islamic dogma. The correct approach should be a justified and well-articulated criticism of Islam without indulging in too much anti-Islamic rhetoric. A balance so to speak (although it is extremely hard to imagine how such a feat is possible!!!)

Of course, disenfranchising Muslim populations in the west is not a good idea, but that does not mean that Islam is off limits. Muslims should be made to realize that they are living in a democratic system, and, in a true democracy, criticism of a truth claim is a very essential and healthy activity.

Therefore, I do not believe that a possibility of backlash is any justification to keep away from criticism of Islam.

WHAT GOOD WILL COME OUT OF CRITICIZING ISLAM?

Now, what good will ever come out of such criticism of Islam? Let me explain.

I will take England as an example. England is witnessing a minor yet subtle surge in fuming Islamic rhetoric, being propagated by different UK-based Islamists.

Although the majority of Muslims in England are well adjusted within its socio-cultural and economic milieu, there is a strong and vocal minority that is trying to win over these 'westernized and liberal' Muslims and convert them into true Muslims.

One such example is that of Anjem Chaudary, formerly the head of Islam for UK (Islam4UK), established by pious Muslims as a platform to "propagate the supreme Islamic ideology in the United Kingdom as a divine alternative to man-made law."

Islam4UK; the caption in itself explains the agenda. The UK government recently banned the organization for its vitriolic rhetoric. This is indeed a 'great set back' for Anjem (pun intended). All he has to do is change the name of Islam 4 UK and come back to the forefront of Islamist propaganda machine to forward its message.

In November 2008, Chaudary convened a meeting for Islam4UK to "convince the British public about the superiority of Islam, thereby changing public opinion in favor of Islam in order to transfer the authority and power, to the Muslims in order to implement the Shariah (in Britain)." In 2004, he said that a terror attack on the British soil was "a matter of time"; following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, he refused to condemn the atrocities. Anjem wants Sharia implemented in UK. He wants to dismantle the democratic system and replace it with Islamic law and Jurisprudence.

England has approximately 1.6 million Muslims. Now, suppose a raving, hate mongering, idiotic lunatic like Anjem Chaudary can sway even 2% of this Muslim population; that will amount to ~ 20,000 radical Muslims. Suppose out of these, just 2% are radicalized enough to engage in terrorist activities, there will be 200 to 400 Islamic terrorists on the streets of Britain. That is a large number, given that the 9/11 atrocity was orchestrated by no more than 20 individuals.

So how can we meet this challenge?

Well, one strategy to confront such people and fanatics is the strategy of Political correctness (PC) , 'opening a constructive dialogue', 'better understanding of their problems', 'addressing underlying socio-economic issues' that fuel such feelings.
But such a strategy of PC and appeasement is utterly flawed, short sighted and doomed to fail. I will say a few things as to why it is so:

WHY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, APPEASEMENT WILL NOT WORK:

This is perhaps the most important point of this whole article:

1. What the West must realize is that Islamists and Muslim fanatics are actually practicing and pious Muslims who follow the Quran and Sunnah and Muhammad. They have not hijacked Islam. They are simply following it to the letter. The above mentioned Quranic Surahs and a few tidbits of Muhammadan life is just a glimpse as to what Islam actually says about infidels and war. Thus, the strategy of PC, a 'constructive dialogue' etc; which assumes that there is something wrong with such people and their interpretation of Islam; in itself is illogical and fallacious.

The problem is Islam, Quran and Muhammad. People like Anjem Chaudary are but good Muslims. Tackle Islam and through that, tackle such Islamists.

2. These Islamists are utterly convinced of the supremacy and transcendence of Islam. To them, all that matters is forwarding the message of Islam and Quran. Nothing the west may do to appease these Islamists will work. Absolutely and literally nothing.

3. Dialogue is possible only where there is something to discuss. The West doesn't realize that there is absolutely nothing to discuss with Islamists and those who indulge in religious rhetoric. Such people follow Quran and Sunnah and according to those sources it is incumbent on every practicing Muslim to forward the message the Islam in what ever way and manner.

4. Also, what the West must understand is that such Muslims will inevitably increase in number, so will there radical voice. They will make increasing demands; there already are Shariah complaint courts in England. Next, there will be demands like separate schooling for Muslim children, segregation of Muslim women from non-mahram (unrelated) men in work places, and so on and so forth.

Although people like Anjem Chaudary are a fringe minority, to underestimate them will be disastrous. Even one good Islamic preacher and Islamist can sway, arguably, hundreds of moderate and westernized Muslims towards his/her Islamic ideology. It is an ideological war that such people are waging and they need to be taken very very seriously. The concept of tableegh or preaching Islam is central to Islamic dogma and such people have historically been very successful in swaying large number of westernized Muslims.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

The answer is simple; exercise the sovereign right of freedom of expression and speech. Show these radicals that their dogma is flawed, hollow and incompatible with civilized ethos. There is no other alternative. Such Islamists, although a small minority, must be challenged squarely; no more, no less. Their so-called divine religion, which they claim to be the best of all, must be analyzed and duly criticized. That is the only way to confront challenge of the Islamists.

Ad-hominem attacks and empty rhetoric against Islam will accomplish very little, but rational criticism of Islam, namely of the Quran and Muhammad, will accomplish a number of things:

1. It will make the Islamists realize that they are living under a democratic system and in true democracy; criticism of a truth claim is a very natural and healthy activity.

2. Criticism of Islam will make Islamists realize that no matter what they do or say, democratic system (which they are enjoying) will not become subservient to their rhetoric.

3. Such criticism will impact the psyche of Muslim and non-Muslim population and make them, at least, think that there, perhaps, are aspects of Islam that are incompatible with many a things they take for granted in the West.

4. Rational criticism of Islam will, in the long run, lead to greater understanding of issues and problems within Islamic dogma, and how they can be addressed.

Currently, many ex-Muslims, atheists and liberals in the West are raising concern about messages of the Quran and life of Muhammad. Individuals like Geert Wilders and Wafa Sultan are trying to shed light on exactly how dangerous the Islamic Dogma is. But much more needs to be done. Every ex-Muslim, Humanist, liberalist, and atheist must do whatever in his or her power to make sure that sovereignty of basic human rights such as freedom of expression and speech is protected.

If the West is to remain truly democratic, then there is simply no other choice then to assert their core values in effective and efficient manner.

Comments and feedback is welcome at: arslanshaukat706@yahoo.com

Arslan Shaukat is an ex-Muslim residing in Britain.

Nonie Darwish Interview

Front Page Mag:

Cracks in the Islamist Curtain
Posted by Jamie Glazov on Jan 29th, 2010

FP: Nonie Darwish, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

I would like to talk to you today a bit about the Muslim voices for change that are increasing through the Islamic world. There is an unprecedented defiance taking place behind the Islamic Curtain.

Can you tell us what is transpiring?

Darwish: As you know, Jamie, I lived for 30 years in the cocoon of the Muslim world and I can see a huge change going on inside the Muslim world. More and more people are challenging the status quo.

After 9/11 and with constant recurring explosive Islamic terrorism, it has become harder for the Muslim establishment to keep the lid on Muslims questioning their system, religion and holy wars. Criticism of Islam is coming at them from every direction, putting Muslim clerics in a quagmire unable to honestly answer questions. Muslim scholars were never trained to answer questions critical of Islam or engage in hostile debate. But now, suddenly, they are challenged to the core like never before, not by Western critics, but by brave hosts of Arabic language shows from unidentified locations in the West and hosted by former Muslims and/or Egyptian Christian Copts.

Father Zakareya Botros rocks the Arab world with his show “Howard Al Hak” or “Honest Debate” when callers from various parts of the Muslim world call in renouncing Islam. Former Muslim turned Christian, Rachid Hmami, originally from Morocco, has a popular show “Fil Samim”, or “from the core”. Hmami, who is the son of a Muslim cleric, is eloquent, respectful with a calm and peaceful demeanor — a characteristic in sharp contrast to the angry loud and cursing image of many Muslim clerics.

The Muslim leadership is suddenly under a lot of pressure to answer taboo questions rarely ever asked before; taboo topics such as questioning the validity of the Qur’an, the life and marriage of Mohammad, his violent wars and assassinations, the fact that there is no minimum age for marriage of women in Islam and about ridiculous Fatwas regarding breast feeding of adult males by Muslim women and Muhammad’s urine as a cure. Muslim callers to these Arabic shows have proved beyond doubt how many Muslims have no clue as to what is written in their scriptures and religious laws.

Many Muslims are demanding answers from their religious leaders and for them to vigorously defend such criticism of Islam. However, not one Muslim cleric has answered the questions on people’s minds. Their response is more yelling, threatening, hate speech, paranoid accusations and propaganda of misinformation. This led Hmami and Father Zakaria, for instance, to personally challenge Muslim leaders to a debate. A well-known Muslim cleric was exposed to have lied when he accepted the challenge to debate on TV, but privately, on recorded phone call with Hmami, the Muslim cleric was evasive, lied and declined the invitation to the debate, giving ridiculous excuses.

FP: Where do we stand with the apostate issue?

Darwish: For the first time in Egyptian Islamic history, a number of apostates have come out publicly demanding their right choose to leave Islam and practice Christianity. Their demand was legally rejected and fatwas of death issued against them. Maher al-Gohari, Mohammed Higazi, and prominent feminist attorney Naglaa Al Imam, are among a few courageous ones. From the number of callers to the shows who claim they left Islam, I believe the number of apostates inside the Muslim world to be significant but are mostly silent. The main power of Islam and its clerics lie in the Muslim death sentence for apostasy and blasphemy. A number of apostates living in the West have greatly impacted the Muslim world. Among those are Wafa Sultan, the Italian/Egyptian Magdi Allam who was baptized by the Pope, Ibn Warraq and myself, and many others such as several former graduates of the Islamic Al Azhar University living today in the West.

I have received a recently released Arabic poem claimed to have been written by Taha Hussein, the prominent Egyptian father of Arabic literature 1889-1973. The highly intellectual and well written poem is extremely critical of the God of Islam and admits the apostasy of its writer. Hussein was once prosecuted with the accusation of insulting Islam. Challenges to Islam are coming from intellectuals, artists and journalists across the Muslim world, such as the Egyptian Sayed El Qemany; they must walk a fine line lest they get accused of apostasy or blasphemy.

While this trend challenging Islam is significant when compared to recent history, we must caution from being over optimistic for a reformation in Islam since the new trend is still in its infancy and has not yet established itself legitimately to become part of the mainstream. The reaction to such a challenge is intense and often violently lashing out in the form of acts of threat and terror. Some Muslim people of influence have admitted recently that terrorism is a Muslim commandment. On January of 2006, a member of Egyptian Parliament, “Ragab Hilal Hamida’, said from the floor of the Egyptian Parliament that “the Quran directly commands us to commit terrorism, so why are we afraid of it?”

What is without denial is that Islam today is in turmoil and going through growing pains, tearing Muslim society apart. My fear is that while Islam is in the process of finding itself it might bring down others with it.

FP: While you caution over-optimism, what effects do you think this defiance might have? What are the possibilities?

Darwish: Such defiance to bring about much needed change in the Muslim world will, hopefully, bring its intended goals of respect for human rights, women’s rights, democracy and the end of Islamic violent jihad and the hate-filled educational system against non-Muslims. But before we celebrate the beginning of the trend towards Islamic reformation, we must realize how huge the magnitude of such change will be. It will take decades if not more. The outcome is not guaranteed, and it will come at a heavy price in violence, civil unrest, oil embargoes, and sadly with lots of innocent victims both inside the Muslim world and also in the West. And I mean this in the context of terror attacks.

Some view Islamic terrorism as a sign of power, which in many aspects it is, but it is also a sign of a desperate culture trying to shut off the shining light of freedom in the world surrounding it.

The reason for such a grim process is because 1.2 billion Muslims around the world are starting to wake up bit by bit to realize that they have been spoonfed total lies and fabrications for centuries about their own religion as well as the world outside of Islam. The greatest taqiyya (holy lie), and perhaps one of the greatest in history, is the one perpetrated on the average Muslim man and woman by their religious leaders, the men of Allah they are supposed to trust. Such an awakening will result in gradual but steady violence – which is already starting to bubble up in many Muslim countries.

The nations affected by the Islamic crisis will not only be Muslim, but also Western nations which took huge numbers of Muslim immigrants. Israel and the West, as usual, will be blamed for Muslim internal civil unrest and thus will suffer from terror attempts and shooting at them as a means to end Muslim internal civil unrest. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the two nations that produced the 9/11 terrorist, are already under internal threat and violence coming from terror groups such as ‘Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’ and ‘the Muslim Brotherhood’ who cannot wait to destroy the regimes in both nations.

I am worried about what will happen in the coming decades to the world while Islam is undergoing possible reform and change. The Muslim world right now is a disaster waiting to happen. They are living above a volcano that can explode any time. The status quo in Muslim countries cannot continue and Muslims are discovering they have been in massive tyranny and terror for 1400 years. Muslims are leaving Islam in large numbers and more will leave if the apostasy death penalty is lifted. Tyranny cannot last for ever, not even under Sharia Law.

Where this trend will take Islam is unpredictable, but change is certain. It can take the Muslim world to a great reformation but it can also take them and the rest of the world to a horrible confrontation and a period of decline and downfall. Islam, like communism, will probably never disappear, but eventually if Islam does not reform, it will be discredited as a religion.

FP: What can Westerners do to help inflict cracks into the Islamic Curtain?


Darwish: The first thing is get out of the way when Islam is about to explode, and it will. Muslim countries need not be rescued and they need to fall on their own and grow on their own. Do not try to help or hurt if a civil war happens in Saudi Arabia or Egypt. If we cannot have oil for a while, then let it be. When we try to help a Muslim country from self -destruction, due to Muslim on Muslim atrocities, like what happened to Kuwait by Iraq, we take away their ability to recognize their internal issues, see their true enemies and why they are in trouble.

The West must realize that it is not doing itself or the Muslim world a favor by political correctness — which actually has a negative effect on Muslims trying to reform their system. Western PC is telling them we just love you the way you are, terrorism, hate speech, good and bad, we still love you. The West must demand reciprocity and equal treatment from Muslim countries. If they build mosques in the US then we must have the right to build a Church in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. By accepting a one way cultural impact from Islam, we are welcoming a disaster waiting to happen.

Western governments so far have been ignoring Muslim critics and reformers who fully understand the problem and have been only strictly dealing with Muslim groups, such as CAIR and others whose goals are in fact as Islamist as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. It is time for Western officials to give respect to Muslim critics, reformists and former Muslims.

And finally, Western victims of Islamic terror need to file a huge class action suit against Saudi Arabia and all countries that produced terrorists who are the product of their hateful jihadist educational system. They cannot claim innocence.

FP: What are your primary concerns today? What is on your mind and what worries you the most in terms of the topic we are discussing here today?

Darwish: My fear concerns the safety and security of America and Western democracy. This threat is real and we must never underestimate it. While Muslim/Arab countries are undergoing major change, internal civil unrest and violence, there will be horrific acts of violence against Israel and Western nations in the near future. Remember in the Gulf war when Saddam was desperate, he started shooting at Israel. The same thing happened in Gaza when Hamas and Fatah were fighting; they also started shooting at Israel. When Israel shoots back for self protection, that is when Muslims end their massacres between themselves

I am also concerned about the many innocent beautiful people of the Middle East — who are after all my people. The violence has already started there and I fear for the Christian minorities as well.

FP: Nonie Darwish, thank you for joining us. Thank you for being such a courageous and noble freedom fighter.

Steve Coll: India facing high risk of Qaeda attack

Indian Express:

Posted online: Friday , Jan 29, 2010 at 0836 hrs

New Delhi : India is at greatest danger from being the target of the next attack from al-Qaeda or one of its several splinter groups, particularly those operating from Pakistan, the head of a prominent US think-tank has said.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and now president of the New America Foundation Steve Coll said that India-focused terrorist organisations operating from Pakistan had been successful in recruiting “talented operatives from educated classes and urban centres” and were much more powerful than their sister organisations fighting on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“India-focused groups such as Lashkar, having enjoyed collaborative support from the Pakistani state for so many years, are larger... (its) ranks include scores of volunteer doctors and other post-graduate professionals,” Coll said.

Coll, a former managing editor of The Washington Post, was speaking on al-Qaeda and the US Policy.

“If one of these sub-networks (of al-Qaeda) did carry out a spectacular attack, the overwhelming likelihood is that it would be directed against India, which would again raise the spectre of disruptive military conflict, undermining US efforts in Afghanistan,” he said.

Coll incidentally had expressed similar fears about India in a recent interview with The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta for NDTV’s Walk the Talk.

“The potential of these India-focused groups, with or without clandestine collaboration by Pakistani security forces or AQ (al-Qaeda) central, to repeat or exceed the scale of the provocative attack carried out in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, presents, in my judgment, one of the most serious current threats to the US interests in the complex of risks and dangers posed by al-Qaeda,” he told the US lawmakers.

Put 26/11 accused on trial: PC to Pakistan

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said India would have no option but to conclude that Pakistan was “dragging its feet” on bringing perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice if it failed to put the accused in the case on trial. Meanwhile, Chidambaram could visit Islamabad next month to attend the SAARC Home Ministers’ conference. “An invitation has been received, but no decision has been taken yet,” a Home Ministry official said. Sources said a final call on whether Chidambaram visits Pakistan to attend the three-day conference, which begins on February 20, will be taken “with the concurrence of the External Affairs Ministry”. ENS

Pakistan is shielding masterminds of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

Thaindian News:

New Delhi, Jan 28 (ANI): A day after Pakistan admitted the role of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday accused Islamabad of protecting the masterminds behind the incident.

Addressing the media, Chidambaram said, “Lakhvi is one of the masterminds. There are others. We know their names and we think Pakistan also knows their names.”

“If they do not bring others to trial then I would have to conclude reluctantly and regrettably that they are still dragging their feet,” he added.

Pakistan had on Wednesday said that there is ’sufficient incriminating evidence’ against the seven arrested terrorists for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror strike.However, despite India’s demands, no charges were filed against Let chief Hafiz Saeed.

The Pakistani investigators had in a report submitted to an anti-terrorism court confirmed the statements made by Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.

The reports presented to the court conducting the trial of seven accused, including LeT Operations Commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi confirmed that there is sufficient evidence on record against all those involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.

India had asked its counterpart to identify and take action against all those linked to the attacks. But Pakistan has backed out and not even mentioned the name of Hafiz Saeed in its report, while India wants Saeed to be prosecuted for his alleged involvement.

The FIA reports aired by Pakistan’s Dawn News confirm that there are enough evidences to prosecute all the seven accused.

The 61-page report that was presented to the Rawalpindi anti-terror court in July 2009 contains the pictures of all those accused, including those who have been declared ‘proclaimed offenders’. (ANI)

Front Page Interview With Nonie Darwish - Muslim Leadership Is Suddenly Under Pressure To Answer Taboo Questions Rarely Asked Before

From Front Page:

FP: Nonie Darwish, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

I would like to talk to you today a bit about the Muslim voices for change that are increasing through the Islamic world. There is an unprecedented defiance taking place behind the Islamic Curtain.

Can you tell us what is transpiring?

Darwish: As you know, Jamie, I lived for 30 years in the cocoon of the Muslim world and I can see a huge change going on inside the Muslim world. More and more people are challenging the status quo.

After 9/11 and with constant recurring explosive Islamic terrorism, it has become harder for the Muslim establishment to keep the lid on Muslims questioning their system, religion and holy wars. Criticism of Islam is coming at them from every direction, putting Muslim clerics in a quagmire unable to honestly answer questions. Muslim scholars were never trained to answer questions critical of Islam or engage in hostile debate. But now, suddenly, they are challenged to the core like never before, not by Western critics, but by brave hosts of Arabic language shows from unidentified locations in the West and hosted by former Muslims and/or Egyptian Christian Copts.

Father Zakareya Botros rocks the Arab world with his show “Howard Al Hak” or “Honest Debate” when callers from various parts of the Muslim world call in renouncing Islam. Former Muslim turned Christian, Rachid Hmami, originally from Morocco, has a popular show “Fil Samim”, or “from the core”. Hmami, who is the son of a Muslim cleric, is eloquent, respectful with a calm and peaceful demeanor — a characteristic in sharp contrast to the angry loud and cursing image of many Muslim clerics.

The Muslim leadership is suddenly under a lot of pressure to answer taboo questions rarely ever asked before; taboo topics such as questioning the validity of the Qur’an, the life and marriage of Mohammad, his violent wars and assassinations, the fact that there is no minimum age for marriage of women in Islam and about ridiculous Fatwas regarding breast feeding of adult males by Muslim women and Muhammad’s urine as a cure. Muslim callers to these Arabic shows have proved beyond doubt how many Muslims have no clue as to what is written in their scriptures and religious laws.

Many Muslims are demanding answers from their religious leaders and for them to vigorously defend such criticism of Islam. However, not one Muslim cleric has answered the questions on people’s minds. Their response is more yelling, threatening, hate speech, paranoid accusations and propaganda of misinformation. This led Hmami and Father Zakaria, for instance, to personally challenge Muslim leaders to a debate. A well-known Muslim cleric was exposed to have lied when he accepted the challenge to debate on TV, but privately, on recorded phone call with Hmami, the Muslim cleric was evasive, lied and declined the invitation to the debate, giving ridiculous excuses.

I have a friend, an Egyptian Coptic Christian, who maintains ties with Christians in the Muslim world. He tells me a story we don't often hear here in the Western World. That is, Muslims are converting to Christianity by the millions across the Islamic world.

Even Imams are converting.

Many of the Imams who are converting keep their positions as Imams, and use them as a pedestal to preach a more peaceful philosophy. Their thinking being, it is better for me to preach peace, which is not Islam, than to leave my post and be replaced by yet another hate preacher.

It is hard to believe that such a great thing is happening, but I do believe my friend. And, Nonie Darwishs' words back up his story.

from Christian Soldier

Song: With Arms Wide Open by Creed

Denmark: "The Burqa and the Niqab Have No Place In Danish Society"

From Dawn:

The Danish government said it would not enact a general ban but would allow schools, public authorities and companies to put in place their own restrictions. —Photo by Reuters

COPENHAGEN: Denmark said Thursday it would limit the use in public of the face-covering burka and niqab veils worn by some Muslim women but stopped short of introducing a law banning the garments, AFP reported.

Stating the veils had “no place in Danish society,” the centre-right government said it would not enact a general ban but would allow schools, public authorities and companies to put in place their own restrictions.

It also said it would present a bill shortly making it illegal to force a woman to wear a burka or niqab and another bill requiring witnesses in courtrooms to lift their veil to identify themselves.

“The burka and the niqab have no place in Danish society and the government is determined to combat this view of humanity and women,” read a statement from the office of Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.

It urged authorities to restrict the use of the veils “as much as possible.” Denmark has had tense relations with its Muslim minority following the publishing in 2005 of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed that were considered blasphemous and insulting by much of the Islamic world.

The minority government, which relies on the support of the far-right Danish People's Party in passing legislation, said that a general ban on the burka and niqab veils however would violate Denmark's constitution.

“Primary and high schools, universities and other learning institutes can legally require teachers and students to show their faces so that communication... can be open and fair,” the statement said.

Public sector employers will also be allowed to require their employees — teachers, home care, health care, daycare and social workers — to show their faces when interacting with people on the job.

Public sector employees will also be allowed to require a woman whose case is being examined by authorities “to lift her veil in order to see her reaction and assess her credibility.”

The government said public agencies and privately-run companies would be allowed to ask a woman to remove her veil “in order to confirm her identity” at border controls and when travelling on public transport.

A government-commissioned study by the University of Copenhagen published earlier this month claimed that “the use of the burka and niqab have major consequences for women.”

It said the veils “limit their access to education and employment, as well as their freedom and confine them to isolation and economic dependence” on men.

The government's planned legislation would make forcing a woman to wear a burka or niqab an offence punishable by up to four years in prison.

The burqa is a portable concentration camp. It is the chains of modern slavery.

The burqa ought to be banned the world over.

Obama Girl Turns On Obama

I'm not a fan of Sean Hannity, but this is too good not to post.

The Cartoon Wars Revisited

Minnesota Man Receives Misdemeanor Charges After Putting Anti-Muslim Cartoons Around St. Cloud, MN...His Lawyer Vows To Fight

I will keep trying to find a picture of the cartoon he put up . . . A Minnesota man faces misdemeanor charges after admitting to posting anti-Muslim cartoons around St. Cloud, MN.

Sidney Elyea said he posted the cartoons in front of a mosque and Somali-owned store in apparent violation of a city ordinance. He faces up to $250 in fines for posting materials on fixtures.

His attorney vowed to fight the charges – arguing Elyea was exercising his right to free speech.

The cartoons featured the Prophet Mohammad engaged in bestiality, a swastika and other offensive images. (If it had Jesus on it, the state would call it art - and pay for it! -ed)

St. Cloud city attorney Jan Peterson said the cartoons were sexually explicit and were designed to harass Muslim citizens. The city’s mayor wanted Elyea to face legal consequences.

“When people do something like this, they’re doing it because they want to create some kind of reaction,” Mayor Dave Kleis told WCCO. “So they should be ready for the consequences.”

Go to Weasel Zippers for the whole story.