Terror Plot Thwarted As Explosive Packages Seized

From the Jerusalem Post:

UPS packages with explosives sent from Yemen to two synagogues in Chicago intercepted after US intelligence tip-off; search for more devices ongoing.

Chicago synagogues were the intended destination of two packages sent from Yemen and filled with explosives intercepted by authorities late Thursday.

US President Barack Obama described the incident as “a credible terrorist threat against our country” on Friday afternoon, and raised the prospect that Al Qaida was behind the attempted terror attack without directly blaming them.

“Although we are still pursuing all the facts, we do know that the packages originated in Yemen. We also know that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group based in Yemen, continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens, and our friends and allies,” said Obama, who himself was due to travel to Chicago Saturday night for a campaign rally.

He declared that the US would “spare no effort in investigating the origins of these suspicious packages and their connection to any additional terrorist plotting.”

The two packages were identified on cargo airplanes, with one found in Dubai and the other at the East Midlands Airport in the United Kingdom, after US national security officials became concerned of a threat emanating from Yemen.

In addition, several other packages on other flights were inspected Friday, though by later in the day US authorities had found no other packages containing explosives.

Still, John Brennan, assistant to the president for Homeland Security, who addressed the press soon after Obama, acknowledged that, “we don't want to presume that we know the bounds of this plot” and said all possibilities were being investigated.

He thanked Britain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia for helping disrupt the plot.

Brennan noted that the federal government has been in touch with local authorities to make sure local institutions have been secured.

"Since two of the suspicious packages that were intercepted were addressed to religious institutions in Chicago, all churches, synagogues and mosques in the Chicago area should be vigilant for any unsolicited or unexpected packages, especially those originating from overseas locations," FBI Special Agent Ross Rice in the bureau’s Chicago office told The Jerusalem Post.

Jewish institutions in the Chicago area heightened security after being informed of the situation.

Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago said he was in touch with Jewish institutions throughout the city to make sure they were aware of the situation and were taking the necessary steps.

“We’re taking the appropriate precautions,” he said. “It’s good that we know what to do and now we’re going to do it.”

“These warnings and apparent threats against Jewish institutions comes as no surprise,” said William Daroff, who heads the Washington office of the Jewish Federations of North America, pointing to the many times Jews and Jewish institutions have been targeted in the wake of 9-11.

Daroff said the federal government is well aware of the threats and has provide substantial assistance to protect the Jewish community.

Of the $99 million allocated by the Department of Homeland Security since 2005, he said, “The vast majority, unfortunately due to the high threat level, has flowed into Jewish institutions to enhance their physical security.”

Islamic Jihad Holds Terror Rally In Gaza, Hamas Participates

From Jihad Watch:

But no, really, they want peace! Only on their exact terms, and only after they have everything they think they are entitled to have. So they are interested in "peace," but under the same conditions that Hitler's Germany and Imperial Japan were: peace as a last resort just as soon as they've run out of things to fight over.

And that could be a while. If the worst came to pass and Israel fell, they would then turn on each other, as already happened between Hamas and Fatah after Israel left Gaza. "Big rally by Islamic Jihad in Gaza, joined by Hamas," by Nidal al-Mughrabi for the Associated Press, October 29:

GAZA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of supporters of the militant Islamic Jihad movement rallied in the streets of Gaza on Friday, chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

Young men and boys wearing white T-shirts with a slogan in the shape of a rifle bore portraits of militants killed in combat, under the black flags of Islamic Jihad.

Ramadan Shallah, the group's exiled chief in Damascus, sent a recorded message marking the anniversary of the assassination of the group's leader Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta in 1995, by presumed Israeli secret agents.

"Israel will not bring peace to the region, it will only bring war and destruction and therefore, the slogan of all should be that Israel must be wiped out of existence," said Shallah, who is on a United States wanted list.

Senior leaders of the ruling Islamist group, Hamas, joined the open-air gathering, the largest for years in honor of Islamic Jihad with up to 100,000 attending according to its organizers.

Hamas allowed the group to use city terrain it usually reserves exclusively for its own rallies, and Hamas forces provided security for the parade by its smaller rival....

Obama Administration Exempts Sudan, Yemen From Child Soldiers Prevention Act

From the Associated Press:

In a move criticized by human rights organizations, the Obama administration has decided to exempt Yemen and three other countries that use child soldiers from U.S. penalties under the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act.

In a memorandum to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Barack Obama said he had determined that "it is in the national interest of the United States" to waive application of the law to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Yemen. He instructed Clinton to submit the decision to the Congress with a written justification for the move.

Obama's memo, released by the White House on Monday, did not include the justification. Administration officials have said, however, that cutting off military aid to those four countries as required by the law would do more harm than good. And they have said that continuing close cooperation with them can be a more effective way of changing their practices.

Jo Becker, children's rights director at Human Rights Watch, said Obama had supported the legislation when he was in the Senate.

"This is a ground breaking law," she said. "This is the first year it has taken effect and he's undercutting it."

The law was signed by President George W. Bush shortly before he left office but did not take effect until this year.

Becker said the U.S. has legitimate national interests in the countries given the waiver, but that the administration could have made use of a provision in the law that permits targeted cuts in military assistance, while continuing aid aimed at professionalizing armies.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the countries who received the waiver deserve more time to correct their practices.

"In each of these countries we are working with the governments to stop the recruitment of child soldiers or demobilize those who may already be in the ranks," Crowley said. "These countries have put the right policies in place but are struggling to effectively implement them. These waivers allow the United States to continue to conduct valuable training programs."

Accused D.C. Jihadist Was A "Quiet, Suburban Father"

This is an update on this story.

From Jihad Watch:

Dear Old Dad

Decent Fellows Update: "Terror suspect described as quiet, suburban father," from Dawn, October 29 (thanks to Digital Nihilism):

BALTIMORE: Farooque Ahmed, the Pakistani-born Virginia man accused of plotting to bomb Washington-area subway stations, lived in middle-class suburban comfort with his wife and their infant son. They held steady jobs in northern Virginia's technology industry and mostly kept to themselves.

They got along with neighbours, sometimes even cooking saffron rice and chicken for them. Ahmed enjoyed fishing, and his English-born wife, Sahar Mirza-Ahmed, was part of a group of "Hip Muslim Moms." Both were on social-networking sites.

Yet Ahmed had a burning desire to join the global jihad, according to federal authorities. Beyond his alleged terror plot, which involved scouting Metro stations that he believed al-Qaeda would bomb, authorities said he wanted to travel to Afghanistan to kill American soldiers.

Ahmed, 34, emigrated around 1993 to the United States and later became a citizen, according to an FBI affidavit. He lived in Staten Island, NY, and earned a bachelor's degree in computer science in 2003 from the College of Staten Island before he moved to Virginia....

He worshipped at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, a mosque with several branches in northern Virginia, coming to prayers occasionally by himself, said Robert Marro, a member of the board of trustees. The ADAMS Center, as it's known, issued a statement Wednesday expressing outrage at Ahmed's alleged plot. It also urged people to alert authorities if they know about Ahmed's activities or see any suspicious behaviour.

"He comes in just for prayer services and then leaves right after," Marro said.

Imam Mohamed Magid said cases like this make Muslims worry about how they are perceived by the larger community.

"In northern Virginia, people are very understanding," Magid said. "They know that the act of one person like this does not represent Islam and Muslims."...

He had money in the bank, according to the affidavit, which said he spoke about sending $10,000 to foreign terrorists -- in $1,000 increments to avoid arousing suspicion. But when he made an initial appearance in federal court, he said he could not afford a lawyer....

Mirza-Ahmed wasn't the most outgoing, but she was well-liked, said Bani, who was "shocked and shaken" by the allegations.

"They're a regular, everyday family," Bani said. "That's why it's very shocking to hear this."

It was unclear where Ahmed worshipped. Imams at two large mosques in the area said they had no records of Ahmed and they were quick to condemn his alleged actions.

Of course. They almost never know these guys -- the ADAMS Center above admitting some acquaintance with Ahmed is unusual. But how is it unclear where he worshipped if he was known to have attended the ADAMS Center?

In any case, in general it's funny how these self-proclaimed devout Muslims never seem to have darkened the door of a mosque. Or could it be, just possibly, that their arrest provokes amnesia down at the local House of Peace?

Iraq: 22 Dead In Suicide Terror Attack

From Reuters:

The number of people killed when a suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi cafe northeast of Baghdad on Friday reached 22, with more than 45 injured, a provincial official said.

Muthana al-Timimi, head of the security committee of the Diyala provincial council, said there might have been a second attack by another suicide bomber on the hospital where the wounded from the cafe blast were taken. Other officials could not confirm the second explosion.

Yemen: Terrorism Leads To Loss Of $1 Billion In Tourism Income

From ANSAmed:

(ANSAmed) - ROME, OCTOBER 28 - The terrorist attacks that shook Yemen in 2009 led that country's tourist sector to loose around one billion dollars through a reduction in the number of foreign visitors. The estimate comes in a report by the Yemeni government which has been cited in the daily Al Hayat. According to the report, the damage was not limited to the tourist sector, but also contributed to slowing down forecast economic growth and forced an increase in military and security expenditure. The report also stresses the reluctance of donor countries and organisations to repeat financial commitments made with Yemen: in 2009 international aid reached its lowest level at 87 million dollars.

Despite this situation, the tourism development plan for up to 2015 includes the creation of 37,000 direct jobs and thousands more in ancillary sectors. Among the other objectives in the plan is an increase in the number of foreign tourists by 15 per cent, bringing the number up to 2.5 million by 2015 and to attain a contribution to GDP of two billion dollars.

Child Marriages Prevalent Among Kerala's Muslims

From Khabrein:

Child marriages are prevalent among Muslims in Kerala, and the custom can be combated only by creating awareness, the state's women's commission chairperson said Thursday.

"We are doing a lot of awareness programme to change the mindset of the people and that's all what we can do. We do get help from the NCW (National Commission for Women) to this effect and we will continue our efforts," Kerala Women's Commission chairperson D. Sreedevi said.

She said that precise figures were not available, though the state administration has identified the regions where the practice was prevalent.

"This is happening in districts of Kasargode, Malappuram and Kannur. Even though we have not done any survey to this effect and do not have the actual numbers, it is for certain that this is happening," she said.

Girija Vyas, chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), said the commission has been going around the country to find out people's views on the issue, and will submit a report to the Supreme Court on the ideal age for marriage.

"We are of the view that the present age of 18 for women and 21 for men should stay, but then we will insist in our report that registration of marriages be made mandatory," said Vyas, who was attending a conference here.

"We chose Kerala to have a dialogue because in this state the rate of child marriages is the least. We will submit our report in three months," she added.

"According to Muslim law, the marriage of a minor is valid," said Vyas.

Community leaders, however, said instances of child marriages might have been common in the past, especially in north Kerala, but such marriages were merely a ritual since the bride and the groom do not live together till they attain maturity.

Saifudeen Haji, state secretary of the Muslim Jamath Coordination, explained: "Look, what happens now, is that if a minor's parents want to marry off their daughter, they conduct the 'nikaah'. This ceremony is attended by the boy's and girl's relatives, two witnesses and a person well versed in Muslim rituals."

"After this ceremony, the girl and the boy are technically husband and wife, but they don't live together. The marriage is solemnised only after the girl turns 18. Maybe this is being interpreted as a child marriage."

Muslims constitute 24 percent of Kerala's population of 3.2 crore, according to government figures.

UK: Terror Fanatic Freed From Jail

From The Sun:

TERROR fanatic Abu Izzadeen was freed from prison today — and shamelessly attacked the poppy as he left.

The al-Qaeda supporter — caged for inciting hatred and raising funds for terrorism — got a hero's welcome from 50 bearded cronies at the gates of Pentonville nick in North London.

Izzadeen, 35 — who shot to fame in 2006 when he roared down Home Secretary John Reid in public — climbed on to the prison's ten-foot wall to give a rabble-rousing speech to his demented band of followers.

And he called for a boycott of the poppy, worn to commemorate our troops' sacrifices in conflicts.

Crackpot

The bile-spouting crackpot launched a tirade against Our Boys in Afghanistan, saying: "I don't believe anybody, even non-Muslims, should buy a poppy because they should not endorse this illegal war.

"I know today is about the poppies, but I want to talk to you about many of the atrocities in Afghanistan.

"The troops are carrying out illegal murders abroad. Houses are being destroyed, mosques are being destroyed. Muslims are being murdered and tortured by the forces.

"I would advise everyone to look to their conscience and see if supporting the occupation of an independent state which involves killing, bombing and entering people's houses is something they can sit with in their hearts.

"Here the issue is should we support people regardless - but the fact is this is an illegal war and it involves the killing of innocent people."

It's believed Izzadeen — formerly known as plain old Trevor Brooks — will now take centre stage as the public face of Muslim extremism in Britain.

His every word was cheered by a flock including sidekick Anjem Choudary and jailed hate cleric Abu Hamza.

During a 20-minute rant he DEMANDED Sharia law be introduced in Britain and VOWED not to tone down his incendiary language.

He said: "When it comes to the Muslim community in this country you've got to shut up and tow the line - but I'm not going to do that."

Next Izzadeen, who once called for the beheading of British soldiers, claimed his human rights had been ignored in the courts.

The motor-mouth preacher claimed: "In this country you are innocent until proven Muslim. Human rights does not apply to the Muslims. It applies to the animals, the cats and the dogs."

The authorities will be watching Izzadeen's every move and he must report to the police if he ever leaves the country.

Izzadeen, from Leyton in East London, moaned: "I've got to inform the police if I ever leave the country and I'll tell you why that is.

"Here, they don't involve themselves directly in torture. They use surrogates to do so. If I went to Morocco, they would inform the authorities over there and that's where I would be tortured.

"If I went to the Lebanon I'd be tortured over there, that is how this government works."

Izzadeen was jailed for four and a half years in April 2008 for terrorist fundraising and inciting terrorism abroad.

The appeal court cut his sentence and he was freed in May last year before being recalled seven weeks later after a bust-up with cops who called on him to check he was at an approved address and not associating with extremists.

War Criminal Sharia “Judge” Backs Rape In Marriage

From Harry's Place:

The senior cleric of Britain’s main Islamic sharia court has sparked outrage by claiming that non-consensual sex in marriage cannot be called rape and is, therefore, not a criminal offence. In an interview with the Samosa blog, Sheikh Maulana Abu Sayeed, speaking as the head of the Islamic Sharia Council, said:

“Clearly there cannot be any rape within the marriage. Maybe aggression, maybe indecent activity… Because when they got married, the understanding was that sexual intercourse was part of the marriage, so there cannot be anything against sex in marriage. Of course, if it happened without her desire, that is no good, that is not desirable.”

British law was changed in 1991, making rape within marriage illegal but this is a detail which the head of the Islamic Sharia Council dismisses as an “aggression” against the man.

Abu Sayeed considers it “not Islamic” to classify non-consensual marital sex as rape and prosecute offenders. In an astonishing exchange with the Samosa journalist, Sayeed revealed why he believes the prosecution of marital rape was due to misguided Western values, such as equality and justice:

“Why it is happening in this society is because they have got this idea of so-called equality, equal rights. And they are misusing these equal rights in every single aspect of human conduct. That’s why. It is one aggression against another, and that is bigger aggression against minor one.”

I asked Sheikh Sayeed what he considered to be the “bigger aggression”.

“To call it rape. Rape is a criminal offence in this country; man will end up in prison for three, five years or more.”

So the non-consensual sex is the minor aggression, and calling it rape is the major aggression?

“Yes”

Why is calling it rape a major aggression?

“Because within the marriage contract it is inherent there that man will have sexual intercourse with his wife. Of course, if he does something against her wish or in a bad time etc, then he is not fulfilling the etiquettes, not that he is breaching any code of sharia – he is not coming to that point. He may be disciplined, and he may be made to ask forgiveness. That should be enough.”

It is deplorable that the head of the main Islamic Sharia court should maintain a position completely at odds with British law and to claim that the majority of women who say they have been raped or violently abused by their husbands are merely fabricating their stories to “expedite” divorce proceedings.

Abu Sayeed in 1971

But Imam Abu Sayeed has a sordid and viciously violent past which few people in Britain know anything about.

In 1995, Channel4 aired a Dispatches documentary called ‘War Crimes File’ which exposed Abu Sayeed as one of three war criminals who had fled Bangladesh to live in Britain. Sayeed was then a “head teacher of a Muslim school and a co-opted member of Tower Hamlets Education Council” but the documentary revealed that he was a senior member of the Al-Badr death squad, a paramilitary offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islam, which was responsible for the death of thousands of men and the systematic rape of untold more women during the Independence War of Bangladesh in 1971.

Soon after the documentary was broadcast, it was quickly banned in the UK and remains so to this day, thanks to the litigious hair-trigger of Choudhury Mueen-Uddin, senior trustee of Muslim Aid, who, along with Sayeed, was exposed in the documentary as one of the three war criminals.

Fortunately the internet is still the bane of censors, because the documentary footage can be found in its entirety on the superb Bangladesh Genocide Archive.

As a young man, Sayeed was involved with the Islami Chattro Shangyo – the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islam. The Jamaat was then, as it is today, an extremist group of Muslim fundamentalists. In July 1971, the Jamaat-e-Islam organised a secret meeting in Dhaka, the purpose of which was to form the Al-Badr death squad, a violent jihad force created to aid the Pakistan army. Jamaat wanted to remain a part of the Islamic state of Pakistan and was violently opposed to the Independence movement. And in his home town of Sylhet, Abu Sayeed was recruited as a senior member of the Al-Badr.

Abu Sayeed’s role in the brutal Al Badr death squad is confirmed in the War Crimes File documentary by numerous eye-witness accounts and first-hand sources.

In August 1971, Al-Badr sent Sayeed to Dhaka for training in both military and intelligence gathering techniques. He then returned home to Sylhet where he was involved with secret meetings with the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. His task was to draw up killing lists of people suspected of involvement in the liberation movement. The names were then handed to the Pakistan army who, with the help of local collaborators, would execute them.

In addition to preparing hit lists, the Jamaat and Al-Badr were also involved with organising mass rape and abducting women for Pakistani soldiers.

Here in Britain, Abu Sayeed has recreated himself into a respectable Muslim cleric, helped along the way by well-placed puff pieces in the media. The UCL Hospital newsletter ran a short vignette on him under ‘A Day in the Life of Maulana Abu Sayeed’:

When the trust’s Muslim Chaplain Imam Abu Sayeed left Bangladesh he arrived with a heavy heart. “I cherish my home and its people. I intended to stay a couple of years and then go back,” he says. Thirty years and four children on, he’s still here and doing the rounds at UCLH wherever he is needed. themselves physically before spiritually cleansing themselves within, which their faith requires.

And from another syrupy piece in the Guardian:

“In the council’s backroom, however, surrounded by gold-embossed tomes of Islamic jurisprudence and brown cardboard boxes, Sayeed puts his hand on his chest with pride as he explains what his work means to him. “I feel I could at last do some real good thing in the practical life of people,” he says. “I am not doing it for any financial gain in this world; I am doing it for immense reward from the Lord Almighty in the hereafter, so it fills my heart with all these riches”.

Abu Sayeed has very successfully laundered his personal history of the last 39 years. After all, he is now “Sheikh Sayeed”, an ex-headmaster as well the Muslim “chaplain” at UCL Hospital and the head of Islamic Sharia Council of Britain. However his subversion of British law in support of marital rape comes as no surprise to those who know the man’s history and background.

Germany Moves To Outlaw Forced Marriages, Chancellor Tells Muslims They Must Obey Constitution

From Reuters:

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government moved on Wednesday to outlaw forced marriages against a backdrop of a growing debate about immigration and integration in the country that is home to some four million Muslims.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said forced marriages would be treated as a criminal offence with a jail term of up to five years if the law is passed by parliament. Forced marriages are currently treated as a form of coercion.

"Forced marriage is a problem in Germany and we must take it seriously," de Maiziere said. He added it would be wrong to tolerate forced marriage and merely consider it a tradition belonging to other cultures.

The law would give affected parties more time to annul forced marriages.

There have been several high profile cases in Germany of forced marriages in Germany's Turkish community. But the government said the problem is not limited to Islamic circles.

The government also revealed plans to put tougher demands on immigrants to better integrate them into German society.

Authorities will, for example, have to check whether immigrants have taken compulsory "integration courses" before extending their residency permits. Those who fail to take the courses may find their applications are rejected.

The proposals come after weeks of heated debate about integration in Germany -- a sensitive issue in the country that saw minorities persecuted under Hitler and now tries to present itself as a tolerant, liberal society as a result.

The debate started when German central banker Thilo Sarrazin made controversial remarks about the failure of many Muslim immigrants to integrate in a book -- "Deutschland schafft sich ab" (German does away with itself).

President Christian Wulff encouraged Germans to accept that "Islam also belongs in Germany," which also stirred the debate.

Merkel said earlier this month that multiculturalism had "utterly failed" in Germany. She told Muslims they must obey the constitution rather than Sharia law if they wanted to live in Germany.

India: One Of The Muslims Accused In Chopping Off Christian Professor's Hand Over "Blasphemy" Wins Local Election From Jail

From Jihad Watch:

The prospects for a democracy to succeed in upholding human rights and a free society are ultimately only as good as the values that inform those who participate in it. An update on this story. "Kerala man accused of chopping hand wins poll," from the Press Trust of India, October 28 (thanks to GS):

Thiruvananthapuram: Contesting from prison, an accused in the sensational case of chopping off the hand of Thodupuzha Newman college lecturer TJ Joseph, has won from a block panchayat division in Ernakulam in the civic body elections.

Anas won from the Vanchinad division of Vazhakkulam block in Ernakulam district on a ticket of Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), political arm of Popular Front of India (PFI), whose activists were allegedly behind the attack on Joseph for preparing a question paper containing blasphemous references to Prophet Mohammed.

First, whose prophet? And Joseph was then fired in addition to being maimed.

Anas, now in judicial custody and lodged in the Viyyur central jail in connection with the case, won from the division defeating the nearest UDF candidate by a margin of more than 1,000 votes, while the LDF candidate came third.

The accused, who contested the seat after getting permission of the local court, could neither campaign for the poll nor cast his vote. Anas is the 47th accused in the case.

Malawi: Muslim Students Destroy Christian Bibles

From Catholic Culture:

Muslim students attending a Catholic primary school in Malawi tore up New Testaments that were being distributed by the Gideons International organization, which promotes the distribution of Bibles.

“Although the school’s director had made it absolutely clear that no New Testaments were to be given to the Muslim pupils and that in no way was any student obliged to take a copy of the book, there was a subsequent uproar on the part of some Muslim youths, who tore up the New Testaments, threw them, howling at their teachers, and then threw the torn-up pages out onto the streets,” Aid to the Church in Need reported.

“The behavior of the youths has been an indicator of a danger in our midst,” said Father Medrick Chimbwanya, the parish priest. “Normally, the primary school youth in Malawi would not have the courage to tear up any book in the presence of their teacher, let alone a holy book. My conclusion is that there must be some awful training given to these youths which if left unchecked, means that we may have dangerous militants in Malawi in the near future.”

28% of Malawi’s 13.2 million residents are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; 52% are Protestant, and 13% are Muslim.

More Anti-Semitism From The Palestinian Authority

From Palestinian Media Watch:

A history program on official Palestinian Authority television has repeated an odious PA distortion of history.

Since its inception, the PA has been rewriting the history of Zionism, teaching that the Jews came to Israel not because of their historical ties to the land, but because Europe wanted to be rid of "the burden of its Jews," [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 12, 1998] and "wanted to get rid of the Jews and their problems," [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 15, 2009].

This message has appeared again in a PA TV history program, Witnesses and Testimonies. The program featured two Jordanian academics, who explained that the Jews' behavior had been "harmful" to Europeans because of the Jews' "great love of money." They cited Shakespeare's fictitious character, the moneylender Shylock, as proof of this "harmful" Jewish trait.

"This is how they harmed the societies that embraced them," one of the academics explained.

Click here to see excerpt from the TV program.

As Palestinian Media Watch has reported, the idea that Jews were a threat to every nation in which they lived, and therefore had to be expelled, is an essential concept in the Palestinian Authority's denial of the Jewish connection to Israel, and the denial of Israel's right to exist.

According to this historical revision, Jews never had a history in Israel and would therefore never have created and supported the Zionist movement. In order to explain the Jewish ties to Israel, the PA claims that the Jews were so despised and were such a threat to every country in which they lived that the European nations sent their Jews to Israel to be free of the Jewish "burden."

PA TV is controlled by the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Click here to see more examples from PMW's website about the PA's portrayal of Zionism as a European plot to get rid of the Jews.

Following is an excerpt from the program:

Jordanian academic Arafat Hijazi:
"150 years ago, when there were no Jews in Palestine, the Jews were in Europe, in Eastern Europe, but the Jews suffered from persecution by the European nations.

The reason was that they would harm the people of the lands in which they lived.

They had a problem: Wherever they went, they were expelled, and were imprisoned."

Jordanian academic Muhammad Dohal:
"The Jews are hated in every society in which they have lived, because of their behavior relating to their great love of money.

Their behavior led to [Shakespeare's] famous story, the story of Shylock about money lending, which clings to the Jews. This is how they harm ed the societies that embraced them."

[PA TV (Fatah), Oct. 10 and 17, 2010]

Saudi Woman Imprisoned For Disobeying Father Is Freed After Six Months

From Jihad Watch:

The tyranny of the mahram, or "male guardian" turns women into perpetual minors at any age. To artificially limit the rights of adult women in this way is to render them second-class citizens, in keeping with Muhammad's declaration that women are "deficient in religion and intellect" (Sahih Bukhari 1.6.301).

Stories like this are the consequences of such provisions in Sharia, as the inherent injustice and absurdity of such rules set the stage for further abuses. "Saudi woman jailed for disobeying father freed," from Middle East Online, October 26 (thanks to Twostellas):

JEDDAH - A Saudi woman jailed for disobeying her father has been freed after more than six months in prison, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

Samar Badawi, who was thrown in prison without formal charge or trial by a Jeddah judge, was released on Monday after a 12-day concerted media and internet campaign on her behalf by human rights activists inside and outside Saudi Arabia, said lawyer Waleed Abu Alkhair.

The activists had petitioned for King Abdullah to intervene in the case, which they said was an example of the abuses of the country's rigid guardian system for women.

Repeating from the introductory comments above: "The inherent injustice and absurdity of such rules set the stage for further abuses."

"The release came after judges saw the 12-day campaign, which made a lot of people pay attention to the case," Alkhair said.

Badawi was released into the guardianship of her uncle but was seeking hospital treatment for an unidentified ailment, the Jeddah-based lawyer added.

"She told me, 'if you didn't write about me in the newspapers and internet, I would still be in jail,'" he said.

Under the guardian system, a Saudi woman must have the permission of her official "mahram" or male guardian -- her father, husband, son, or another male relative -- for matters such as travel, work and marriage.

It is enforced by the kingdom's uniformly male judges, clerics who enforce the kingdom's strict version of Islamic sharia law with broad powers to set charges and punishments.

Badawi, a 32-year-old divorced mother, had filed her own case asking the court to remove her father as her guardian, saying he had mistreated her since childhood and had denied her permission to remarry.

Badawi had fled her father and lived in a shelter for women.

The judge instead accused her of being disobedient to her father and sent her to prison on April 4.

She remained in jail despite the governor of the Mecca region Prince Khaled al-Faisal having written to the courts three months ago asking for Badawi's release and recommending her uncle become her guardian, Alkhair said.

While Badawi's own case is finished, Alkhair said the activists have petitioned the court for an investigation into the judges who summarily threw her into jail.

Wiki Leaks Exposes Iranian-Islamic High-Tech Jihad Suicide Vest

From Arutz 7:

The latest Wiki Leaks exposure on the war in Iraq reveals Islamic Jihad and Iran teamed up for deploying a camera-operated suicide vest that can cause maximum deaths and be detonated by remote control.

Wiki Leaks, which has no connection with Wikimedia, has been charged by American officials of risking the lives of soldiers in Iraq by exposing the documents dealing with war operations.

The leaked material outlines American charges of Iranian backing for anti-Iraqi government terrorist militias. Intelligence information reveals the connection between Iran and the Islamic Jihad, a major competitor to Hamas in Gaza. Cooperation between Islamic Jihad, Al-Qaeda and Iran poses a problem for Hamas, which is held responsible by Israel for all terrorist activity in the Gaza region.

"Instructors at the Islamic Jihad Center in Tehran are teaching a new tactic for SVIED (Suicide Vest Improvised Explosive Device) deployment,” guided by a camera, according to a document quoted by British newspapers.

A miniature camera in the suicide vest monitors the bomber’s movements as he approaches his victims. The images are sent to the terrorist’s handlers, who then can guide the bomber in a direction where his charge can cause the most deaths and damage. The handlers also can detonate the charge by remote control if the suicide bomber fails to do set off the charge or has second thoughts about ending his life.

The leaked files also report that Syria uses the camera in surplus U.S. army uniforms. However, no actual camera-embedded suicide vests have been located.

The DebkaFile news site also reported that its sources confirm the development of a camera-equipped suicide vest, which virtually guarantees that the bomber can hit his or her target, turning him into a “human guided missile.”

Debka said that the Islamic Jihad’s Jerusalem Brigades in Gaza possess the new suicide vest, which now is reportedly in the hands of Al-Qaeda terrorists in Gaza, although no physical proof of the "optical suicide vest" has been revealed.

Man Arrested Over Plot To Blow Up Metro Station In D.C.

From BBC News:

A man has been arrested over a plot to bomb Metro stations in the US capital.

Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn in the state of Virginia was conspiring with people he believed were from al-Qaeda, the Department of Justice said.

Mr Ahmed was taken into custody on Wednesday morning. If convicted he faces up to 50 years in prison.

The suspect allegedly conducted surveillance of Metro stations in Arlington, on the outskirts of Washington DC, on four occasions.

Mr Ahmed appeared in a federal court in Alexandria in the state of Virginia, on Wednesday. He did not make a plea and was held in custody.

The suspect told the judge he was unable to afford a lawyer. Prosecutors said they would be using classified information during the case.

Mr Ahmed's arrest is the latest in a line of investigations of US citizens or residents for involvement in alleged domestic terror plots. Last year there were arrests over plans for attacks in Texas, Colorado and Illinois.

More recently Faisal Shahzad was convicted of attempting to bomb Times Square in New York.

"It's chilling that a man from Ashburn is accused of casing rail stations with the goal of killing as many Metro riders as possible through simultaneous bomb attacks," US Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement.

"Today's arrest highlights the terrorism threat that exists in northern Virginia and our ability to find those seeking to harm US citizens and neutralise them before they can act."

Three counts

Officials said the public were never in danger during the investigation and that they had been aware of Mr Ahmed since the beginning.

Mr Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, has been indicted on three counts.

These are attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organisation, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings.

The indictment against Mr Ahmed said that on 18 April he drove to a hotel in Dulles, Virginia, to meet someone who he believed was a terrorist courier who had details of locations for future meetings.

Officials said that on 15 May, at a nearby hotel in Herndon, Virginia, Mr Ahmed agreed to carry out surveillance on a hotel in Washington and a Metro station in Arlington, Virginia, to determine security and the busiest times.

Mr Ahmed, according to the indictment, later provided a USB stick with video of the station to a person he believed was from al-Qaeda. On 28 September, Mr Ahmed allegedly handed over another USB drive with more images of stations.

In that meeting, he also allegedly suggested terrorists use rolling suitcases to blow up Metro stations, rather than backpacks.

Bin Laden Threatens Terror Attacks Over France's Burka Ban

From Jihad Watch:

It's been done. Indeed, there has been a general rise in the number of threats against France, and counterterror activity in response to them.

Those in the West who would object to the burqa ban as "causing" this round of threats by "radicalizing" Muslims are submitting to the jihadist mindset that the ban is as severe a provocation as they claim, and that attacks are the logical or even natural response to being so "provoked."

But consider the set of priorities. Think of all the "human rights" one could strive for in the name of a just society. Which one did the jihadists pick? The "right" of a woman (assuming it's even her choice) to shroud her face in public in the name of Islamic piety, with all of the symbolism the burqa and niqab carry for Islamic supremacism, and the utter subjugation and objectification of women.

"Bin Laden threatens to launch terrorist attacks in France over move to ban burkas," from the Daily Mail, October 27 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatens in a new audio tape to kill French citizens to avenge their country's support for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and a new law that will ban face-covering Muslim veils.

In the tape, obtained by satellite television station Al-Jazeera and then posted on its website on Wednesday, Bin Laden said France was aiding the Americans in the killing of Muslim women and children in an apparent reference to the war in Afghanistan.

He said the kidnapping of five French citizens in the African nation of Niger last month was a reaction to what he called France's oppression of Muslims.

'How can it be right that you participate in the occupation of our lands, support the Americans in the killing of our women and children and yet want to live in peace and security?' said Bin Laden, addressing the French.

'It is a simple and clear equation: As you kill, you will be killed. As you capture, you will be captured. And as you threaten our security, your security will be threatened....

Or, as we ban burqas and niqabs, apparently we'll be in line for all of the above: killing, capturing, and threats. Quite the proportionate response there, Osama.

Why Are So Many Modern British Career Women Converting To Islam?

By Eve Ahmed for the Daily Mail (UK):

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law announced her conversion to Islam last weekend. Journalist Lauren Booth embraced the faith after what she describes as a ‘holy experience’ in Iran.

She is just one of a growing number of modern British career women to do so. Here, writer EVE AHMED, who was raised as a Muslim before rejecting the faith, explores the reasons why.

Rejecting her faith: Writer Eve Ahmed was raised a Muslim
Much of my childhood was spent trying to escape ­Islam.

Born in London to an English mother and a ­Pakistani Muslim father, I was brought up to follow my father’s faith without question.

But, privately, I hated it. The minute I left home for university at the age of 18, I abandoned it altogether.

As far as I was concerned, being a Muslim meant hearing the word ‘No’ over and over again.

Girls from my background were barred from so many of the things my English friends took for granted. Indeed, it seemed to me that almost anything fun was haram, or forbidden, to girls like me.

There were so many random, petty rules. No whistling. No chewing of gum. No riding bikes. No watching Top Of The Pops. No wearing make-up or clothes which revealed the shape of the body.

No eating in the street or putting my hands in my pockets. No cutting my hair or painting my nails. No asking questions or answering back. No keeping dogs as pets, (they were unclean).

And, of course, no sitting next to men, shaking their hands or even making eye contact with them.

These ground rules were imposed by my father and I, therefore, assumed they must be an integral part of being a good Muslim.

Small wonder, then, that as soon as I was old enough to exert my independence, I rejected the whole package and turned my back on Islam. After all, what modern, liberated British woman would choose to live such a life?

Well, quite a lot, it turns out, including Islam’s latest surprise convert, Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth. And after my own break with my past, I’ve followed with fascination the growing trend of Western women choosing to convert to Islam.

Broadcaster and journalist Booth, 43, says she now wears a hijab head covering whenever she leaves home, prays five times a day and visits her local mosque ‘when I can’.

She decided to become a Muslim six weeks ago after visiting the shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom, and says: ‘It was a Tuesday evening, and I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy.’

Before her awakening in Iran, she had been ‘sympathetic’ to Islam and has spent considerable time working in Palestine. ‘I was always impressed with the strength and comfort it gave,’ she says.

How, I wondered, could women be drawn to a religion which I felt had kept me in such a lowly, submissive place? How could their experiences of Islam be so very different to mine?

Convert: Lauren Booth, who is Cherie Blair's half sister, decided to convert to Islam after what she described as a holy experience in Iran
According to Kevin Brice from ­Swansea University, who has specialised in studying white conversion to Islam, these women are part of an intriguing trend.

He explains: ‘They seek spirituality, a higher meaning, and tend to be deep thinkers. The other type of women who turn to Islam are what I call “converts of convenience”. They’ll assume the trappings of the religion to please their Muslim husband and his family, but won’t necessarily attend mosque, pray or fast.’

I spoke to a diverse selection of white Western converts in a bid to re-examine the faith I had rejected.

Women like Kristiane Backer, 43, a London-based former MTV presenter who had led the kind of liberal Western-style life that I yearned for as a teenager, yet who turned her back on it and embraced Islam instead. Her reason? The ‘anything goes’ permissive society that I coveted had proved to be a superficial void.

he turning point for Kristiane came when she met and briefly dated the former Pakistani cricketer and Muslim Imran Khan in 1992 during the height of her career. He took her to Pakistan where she says she was immediately touched by spirituality and the warmth of the people.

Kristiane says: ‘Though our relationship didn’t last, I began to study the Muslim faith and eventually converted. Because of the nature of my job, I’d been out interviewing rock stars, travelling all over the world and following every trend, yet I’d felt empty inside. Now, at last, I had contentment because Islam had given me a purpose in life.’

‘In the West, we are stressed for super­ficial reasons, like what clothes to wear. In Islam, everyone looks to a higher goal. Everything is done to please God. It was a completely different value system.

'Despite my lifestyle, I felt empty inside and realised how liberating it was to be a Muslim. To follow only one god makes life purer. You are not chasing every fad.

‘I grew up in Germany in a not very religious Protestant family. I drank and I partied, but I realised that we need to behave well now so we have a good after-life. We are responsible for our own actions.’

For a significant amount of women, their first contact with Islam comes from ­dating a Muslim boyfriend. Lynne Ali, 31, from Dagenham in Essex, freely admits to having been ‘a typical white hard-partying teenager’.

She says: ‘I would go out and get drunk with friends, wear tight and revealing clothing and date boys.

‘I also worked part-time as a DJ, so I was really into the club scene. I used to pray a bit as a Christian, but I used God as a sort of doctor, to fix things in my life. If anyone asked, I would’ve said that, generally, I was happy living life in the fast lane.’

But when she met her boyfriend, Zahid, at university, something dramatic happened.

She says: ‘His sister started talking to me about Islam, and it was as if ­everything in my life fitted into place. I think, underneath it all, I must have been searching for something, and I wasn’t feeling fulfilled by my hard-drinking party lifestyle.’

Lynne converted aged 19. ‘From that day, I started wearing the hijab,’ she explains, ‘and I now never show my hair in public. At home, I’ll dress in normal Western clothes in front of my husband, but never out of the house.’

With a recent YouGov survey ­concluding that more than half the ­British public believe Islam to be a negative influence that encourages extremism, the repression of women and inequality, one might ask why any of them would choose such a direction for themselves.

Yet statistics suggest Islamic conversion is not a mere flash in the pan but a significant development. Islam is, after all, the world’s fastest growing religion, and white adopters are an important part of that story.

‘Evidence suggests that the ratio of Western women converts to male could be as high as 2:1,’ says Kevin Brice.

Moreover, he says, often these female ­converts are eager to display the ­visible signs of their faith — in particular the hijab — whereas many Muslim girls brought up in the faith choose not to.

‘Perhaps as a result of these actions, which tend to draw attention, white Muslims often report greater amounts of discrimination against them than do born Muslims,’ adds Brice, which is what happened to Kristiane Backer.

She says: ‘In Germany, there is Islamophobia. I lost my job when I converted. There was a Press campaign against me with insinuations about all Muslims supporting ­terrorists — I was vilified. Now, I am a ­presenter on NBC Europe.

‘I call myself a European Muslim, which is different to the ‘born’ Muslim. I was ­married to one, a Moroccan, but it didn’t work because he placed restrictions on me because of how he’d been brought up. As a European Muslim, I question ­everything — I don’t accept blindly.

‘But what I love is the hospitality and the warmth of the Muslim community. London is the best place in Europe for Muslims, there is wonderful Islamic ­culture here and I am very happy.’

For some converts, Islam represents a celebration of old-fashioned family values.

‘Some are drawn to the sense of belonging and of community — values which have eroded in the West,’ says Haifaa Jawad, a senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham, who has studied the white conversion phenomenon.

‘Many people, from all walks of life, mourn the loss in today’s society of traditional respect for the elderly and for women, for example. These are values which are enshrined in the Koran, which Muslims have to live by,’ adds Brice.

It is values like these which drew Camilla Leyland, 32, a yoga teacher who lives in Cornwall, to Islam. A single mother to daughter, Inaya, two, she converted in her mid-20s for ‘intellectual and feminist reasons’.

She explains: ‘I know people will be surprised to hear the words ­“feminism” and “Islam” in the same breath, but in fact, the teachings of the Koran give equality to women, and at the time the religion was born, the teachings went against the grain of a misogynistic society.

‘The big mistake people make is by confusing culture with religion. Yes, there are Muslim cultures which do not allow women individual freedom, yet when I was growing up, I felt more oppressed by Western society.’

She talks of the pressure on women to act like men by drinking and ­having casual sex. ‘There was no real meaning to it all. In Islam, if you begin a relationship, that is a ­commitment of intent.’

Growing up in Southampton — her father was the director of Southampton Institute of Education and her mother a home economics teacher — Camilla’s interest in Islam began at school.

She went to university and later took a Masters degree in Middle East Studies. But it was while living and working in Syria that she had a spiritual epiphany. Reflecting on what she’d read in the Koran, she realised she wanted to convert.

Her decision was met with bemusement by friends and family.

‘People found it so hard to believe that an educated, middle-class white woman would choose to become Muslim,’ she says.

While Camilla’s faith remains strong, she no longer wears the hijab in public. But several of the women I spoke to said strict Islamic dress was something they found empowering and liberating.

Lynne Ali remembers the night this hit home for her. ‘I went to an old friend’s 21st birthday party in a bar,’ she reveals. ‘I walked in, wearing my hijab and modest clothing, and saw how ­everyone else had so much flesh on display. They were drunk, slurring their words and dancing provocatively.

‘For the first time, I could see my former life with an outsider’s eyes, and I knew I could never go back to that.

‘I am so grateful I found my escape route. This is the real me — I am happy to pray five times a day and take classes at the mosque. I am no longer a slave to a broken society and its expectations.’

Kristiane Backer, who has written a book on her own spiritual journey, called From MTV To Mecca, believes the new breed of modern, independent Muslims can band together to show the world that Islam is not the faith I grew up in — one that stamps on the rights of women.

She says: ‘I know women born Muslims who became disillusioned an d rebelled against it. When you dig deeper, it’s not the faith they turned against, but the culture.

'Rules like marrying within the same sect or caste and education being less important for girls, as they should get married anyway —– where does it say that in the Koran? It doesn’t.

‘Many young Muslims have abandoned the “fire and brimstone” version they were born into have re-discovered a more spiritual and intellectual approach, that’s free from the cultural dogmas of the older generation. That’s how I intend to spend my life, showing the world the beauty of the true Islam.’

While I don’t agree with their sentiments, I admire and respect the women I interviewed for this piece.

They were all bright and educated, and have thought long and hard before choosing to convert to Islam — and now feel passionately about their adopted religion. Good luck to them. And good luck to Lauren Booth. But it’s that word that sums up the difference between their experience and mine — choice.

Perhaps if I’d felt in control rather than controlled, if I’d felt empowered rather than stifled, I would still be practising the religion I was born into, and would not carry the burden of guilt that I do about rejecting my father’s faith.

Jihadist Admits Throwing Grenade

From Jihad Watch:

He was happy to have discharged his duty in jihad. "Khadr admits throwing deadly grenade," by Colin Perkel for The Canadian Press, October 26 (thanks to Ima):

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - In the midst of a deadly firefight in Afghanistan in 2002, a 15-year-old Omar Khadr -- believing his death was at hand -- wanted to kill as many Americans as he could, jurors heard Tuesday as they prepared to pass sentence on the Canadian-born man newly convicted as a war criminal....

The statement described how Khadr, with U.S. soldiers on his doorstep in Afghanistan, tossed the Russian-made F1 grenade from behind a wall, dealing a mortal head wound to Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, who succumbed to his injuries 12 days later.

"Khadr threw the grenade with the specific intent of killing or injuring as many Americans as he could," Groharing said.

The Toronto-born Khadr, now 24, was holed up with other members of a terrorist cell in a compound that was coming under American attack. They made a "pact" that they would sooner die than surrender to their western enemies.

In the statement, Khadr -- who pleaded guilty to five war-crimes charges, including Speer's murder -- admitted to being "happy" at the news that he had killed an American soldier, and would take comfort in it while in custody at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul.

"Khadr indicated that when he would get 'pissed off' with the guards at Bagram, he would recall his killing of the U.S. soldier and it would make him feel good."...

"Khadr considered himself to be an active member of al-Qaida and he shared the same goals as the organization, which are to target and kill all Americans -- whether civilian or military -- anywhere they can be found, and to 'plunder their money,'" the statement read....

...Khadr was "cold and callous" and "almost bragging" when he discussed his role in killing Speer in 2002.

Pakistani Muslims Beat Elderly Christian Couple Unconscious

From Compass Direct News:

SARGODHA, Pakistan, October 21 (CDN) — An 80-year-old Christian in southern Punjab Province said Muslims beat him and his 75-year-old wife, breaking his arms and legs and her skull, because he refused a prostitute they had offered him.

From his hospital bed in Vehari, Emmanuel Masih told Compass by telephone that two powerful Muslim land owners in the area, brothers Muhammad Malik Jutt and Muhammad Khaliq Jutt, accompanied by two other unidentified men, brought a prostitute to his house on Oct. 8. Targeting him as a Christian on the premise that he would not have the social status to fight back legally, the men ordered him to have sex with the woman at his residence in village 489-EB, he said.

“I turned down the order of the Muslim land owners, which provoked the ire of those four Muslim men,” Masih said in a frail voice. District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Vehari officials confirmed that he suffered broken hip, arm and leg bones in the subsequent attack.

His wife, Inayatan Bibi, said she was cleaning the courtyard of her home when she heard the four furious men brutally striking Masih in her house.

“I tried to intervene to stop them and pleaded for mercy, and they also thrashed me with clubs and small pieces of iron rods,” she said by telephone.

The couple was initially rushed to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Burewala in critical condition, but doctors there turned them away at the behest of the Jutt brothers, according to the couple’s attorney, Rani Berkat. Burewala hospital officials confirmed the denial of medical care.

Taken to the hospital in Vehari, Inayatan Bibi was treated for a fractured skull. The beatings had left both her and her husband unconscious.

Berkat said the Muslim assailants initially intimidated Fateh Shah police into refraining from filing charges against them. After intervention by Berkat and Albert Patras, director of human rights group Social Environment Protection, police reluctantly registered a case against the Jutt brothers and two unidentified accomplices for attempted murder and “assisting to devise a crime.” The First Information Report (FIR) number is 281/10.

Station House Officer Mirza Muhammad Jamil of the Fateh Shah police station declined to speak with Compass about the case. Berkat said Jamil told her that the suspects would be apprehended and that justice would be served.

Berkat added, however, that police appeared to be taking little action on the case, and that therefore she had filed an application in the Vehari District and Sessions Court for a judge to direct Fateh Shah police to add charges of ransacking to the FIR.

Doctors at DHQ Vehari said the couple’s lives were no longer in danger, but that they would be kept under observation.

Six Murdered By Machete-Wielding Islamic Extremists

This is not the first violence against Christians in Nigeria and it sadly won't be the last.

From Reuters:

JOS, Nigeria, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Attackers armed with machetes killed six people in a village in central Nigeria on Tuesday in a raid reminiscent of ethnic clashes in which hundreds died earlier this year, a military spokesman said.

Herdsmen thought to be from the mostly Muslim Hausa-Fulani ethnic group raided the small Christian village of Rawhinku, some 10 km (6 miles) east of the city of Jos, in the early hours of the morning, residents said.

"Six people were killed in similar murders to those in Dogo Nahawa. Three others sustained various degrees of injuries," said Kingsley Umoh, spokesman for a special military and police taskforce in the region.

Dogo Nahawa, just south of Jos, was one of the villages that bore the heaviest casualties during clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian villagers in January and March. [ID:nLDE6260AW]

President Goodluck Jonathan -- who was then the country's acting leader -- deployed hundreds of soldiers and police to quell the clashes between mobs armed with guns, machetes and knives, but periodic attacks have continued.

Thousands of people have died over the past decade in religious and ethnic violence in the "Middle Belt" of Africa's most populous nation, where the mostly-Muslim north meets the predominantly Christian south.

DECADES OF RESENTMENT

The tension is rooted in decades of resentment between indigenous groups, mostly Christian or animist, who are vying for control of fertile farmlands and for economic and political power with migrants and settlers from the north.

Nigeria is a generally peaceful nation of more than 200 ethnic groups but regional rivalries and tribalism bubble under the surface. It can ill-afford instability as it prepares for presidential, parliamentary and local elections next year.

The presidential race is set to be the most fiercely contested since the end of military rule a decade ago, with the controversy focused on a ruling party "zoning agreement" which is supposed to ensure power rotates between north and south.

The aim of the unwritten agreement is to prevent the sort of rivalries that have fuelled the violence in the Middle Belt from becoming a factor in federal politics.

Jonathan's candidacy is controversial because he is from the south and his victory would disrupt zoning. He inherited the presidency in May after the death of northern President Umaru Yar'Adua part way through his first term, and Jonathan's opponents say only a northerner should run.

Pakistan: Boy Accused Of Theft, Tortured By Fellow Citizens

From the Daily Times (Pakistan):

LAHORE: Some influential people hammered nails into a boy’s legs after subjecting him to brutal torture in Moro, a private TV channel reported on Monday. Some influential people captured 11-year-old Mehtab, an orphan, near old railway station in Moro. They accused him of theft, and instead of reporting the matter to police they ruthlessly tortured the boy before hammering iron nails into one of his legs. The cries of the boy attracted the attention of his neighbours who rescued and transferred him to the hospital. Due to his critical condition, the boy was referred to the Nawabshah Hospital. Moro SHO said that the boy’s neighbours took him to the hospital in a critical condition, but none of his relatives had came to register a case. Judicial Magistrate Sohail Ahmed took suo moto notice of the incident and ordered the local police to immediately arrest the culprits

Genie Interrogated Before ‘Magic Committee’

From the Saudi Gazette:

MADINA: A licensed “ruqya” reciter of the Qur’an has entered the drama surrounding the Madina judge charged with accepting money to pass verdicts through his court and who claims he was “under a spell” at the time of the alleged acts of corruption.

Ruqya practitioner Fayez Al-Qathami told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that he questioned what he said was a “jinni”- or “genie”, as traditionally rendered in English – that spoke in the voice of the judge in a ruqya session conducted in the presence of the “Magic Committee” from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Al-Qathami said that Sheikh Fahd Al-Muhaimeed, the president of Madina Court, asked him to prepare a document detailing “the information provided by the genie during interrogation”, including the offences the judge committed and information concerning a real estate broker who the judge claimed put a spell on him.

The judge told investigators that the broker had “taken control of his thoughts” and made him rule on cases “without being conscious of committing any illegal act.” The broker is also a suspect in the case but has fled justice, while the judge said he was later cured by ruqya Qur’anic recitation.

The judge was first taken into custody during Ramadan, and several businessmen and state employees along with seven engineering and planning firms are all suspected of involvement in the various cases that passed through his court.

Continuing investigations into the case, which involves alleged bribes to arrange through the judge’s court illegal ownership of real estate, have revealed that the owner of one engineering firm has fled the country. His flight reportedly followed the discovery of SR100 million in his account.

An engineer who was arrested for overseeing the execution of plans for the illegally owned land provided investigators with information on 30 more state officials and businessmen involved in the corruption case.

Indonesia: 700 Churches Attacked In Past Decade

From Catholic Culture:

Some 700 Catholic and Protestant churches have been attacked in Indonesia over the past decade, according to the Indonesian Christian Communication Forum. Between October 12 and October 17, a Catholic parish was attacked, another was threatened with attack, and a Protestant church was burned down.

“The violence and attacks, against Christian churches of all denominations, has grown in recent years and now in the past several days,” said Bishop Johannes Pujasumarta of Bandung, secretary general of the Indonesian bishops’ conference. “Those responsible are small radical Islamic groups that are sowing panic among our people, especially in the Dioceses of Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor. They are minority groups, but they should be stopped. The violence also increases the indifference of the civil authorities and police, who shrug off the violence. We demand more attention and protection for the Christian communities and that such acts may not remain unpunished.”

3% of the nation’s 224.9 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; 6% are Protestant and 86% are Muslim, making Indonesia the country with the largest Muslim population. Some 700 Catholic and Protestant churches have been attacked in Indonesia over the past decade, according to the Indonesian Christian Communication Forum. Between October 12 and October 17, a Catholic parish was attacked, another was threatened with attack, and a Protestant church was burned down.

“The violence and attacks, against Christian churches of all denominations, has grown in recent years and now in the past several days,” said Bishop Johannes Pujasumarta of Bandung, secretary general of the Indonesian bishops’ conference. “Those responsible are small radical Islamic groups that are sowing panic among our people, especially in the Dioceses of Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor. They are minority groups, but they should be stopped. The violence also increases the indifference of the civil authorities and police, who shrug off the violence. We demand more attention and protection for the Christian communities and that such acts may not remain unpunished.”

3% of the nation’s 224.9 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; 6% are Protestant and 86% are Muslim, making Indonesia the country with the largest Muslim population.

Crackdown On Bloggers Targets Hardline Cleric's Son

From the Los Angeles Times:

When an Iranian court sentenced "blogfather" Hossein Derakhshan to nearly 20 years in jail, many observers assumed the punishment was exceptional and intended to make an example of the former democracy activist.

If so, it appears the government is looking to make a few more examples.

Mehdi Khazali, an opthamologist, blogger and the son of a well-known hardline cleric, was arrested in Iran on Oct. 13, local press reported. Khazali had been especially vocal in his criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since the disputed 2009 presidential election and already had spent several short stints in jail.
Khazali's arrest came just a few weeks after blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was sentenced to 15 years in prison for insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the president and creating and using proxy software to circumvent government filters. Maleki's mother and lawyer have told the press he was beaten and forced to sign a confession.

The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders has pronounced a trend in harsher punishments for bloggers and netizens, especially those who encourage public debate.

"Like journalists, bloggers have been treated for months as if they are enemies of the regime," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement condemning the crackdown.

"But the authorities have now started to impose much harsher sentences on them," it continued. "Bloggers involved in censorship circumvention are being particularly targeted as they help their fellow citizens to gain access to banned information."

This isn't the first time Khazali, who has the website DrKhazali.com, has been in hot water with authorities. When he was arrested and held for a month in June 2009, he was able to gain freedom by posting bail, which reportedly ran into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Whether he'll be able to buy his way out again remains to be seen. He no longer enjoys the support of his powerful cleric father, Ayatollah Abolghassem Khazali, who publicly distanced himself from his son in a statement released after the elections, according to Radio Free Europe.

In addition to using his website to accuse Ahmadinejad of lying about his military service and organize online debates with opposition leaders, Khazali is known for giving interviews to Western press outlets such as the U.S.-funded Voice of America, which has been accused by Iranian authorities of acting as an American government mouthpiece.

Australian Terror Leader Denied Reduced Sentence

From the AFP via Google News:

SYDNEY — A Muslim cleric who led an Australian terror cell which plotted to kill thousands Monday lost an appeal against his jail term, but a court found that some sentences given to his group were excessive.

Algerian-born Abdul Nacer Benbrika was in February 2009 sentenced to 15 years in jail for leading an organisation which was committed to violent jihad and had discussed bomb and firearm attacks.

Victoria's Court of Appeal ruled that his main sentence was appropriate but that a seven-year term Benbrika was serving concurrently for being a member of the group was "manifestly excessive" given its relatively low seriousness.

In its judgement, the court said that a terrorist organisation may include "anything from a ragtag collection of malcontents whose commitment to terror never advances further than a conception" to groups such as Al Qaeda which have a "proven record of committing the worst terrorist acts imaginable."

It said that Benbrika's group was "towards the lower end of the scale of seriousness. Therefore, the sentence to be imposed on Benbrika for being a member of it should accord to that relativity."

The court said that Benbrika should have been given a five year sentence for his membership, also reducing the term given to six of his followers convicted of the same charge by two years.

It ordered a retrial for Benbrika on a charge of possessing a CD connected with preparation for a terrorist act because the jury had been misdirected.

The appeals court said that Benbrika's 15-year sentence for leading the organisation was appropriate given his determination to direct terror attacks either in Australia or overseas.

It noted the irony of Benbrika's commitment to violent jihad given that "the evidence suggests that he was a procrastinator" and his group was shut down before it could commit a terror act.

Benbrika and the other men were arrested in November 2005 after the government strengthened laws to detain those in the early stages of planning terror acts following the London transport bombings in July that year.

Video Urges Detroit Area Muslims To Attack

From Freep.com:

In a video released today, a senior al-Qaida leader calls for Muslims living in metro Detroit to commit jihadist attacks inside the U.S. -- a call that was condemned by a local Muslim-American leader.

In a 48-minute recording posted on the Internet, Adam Gadahn -- a native of California who is now al-Qaida's American spokesman -- called upon Muslims living in what he called "the miserable suburbs of Paris, London, Detroit" to attack Americans, citing as examples the Ft. Hood shooter in Texas and the man who tried to set off a bomb on a plane descending into Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day.

Metro Detroit, known for its Muslim population, was the only U.S. city mentioned by the al-Qaida leader. London and Paris also have significant Muslim communities in their metro areas.

This was the first time in memory that al-Qaida referenced metro Detroit's Muslim population, say local leaders.

The video was publicized today by the Maryland-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorism. The video has been posted on YouTube.

Detroit FBI Special Agent Sandra Berchtold said: "We are aware of the matter and are currently looking to verify the authenticity."

Speaking into a camera, Gadahn said he had a message "to my Muslim brothers residing in the states of the Zio-Crusader coalition … from the emigrant communities, like those which live on the margins of society in the miserable suburbs of Paris, London, Detroit."

He also addressed Muslims "arriving in America or Europe to study in its universities or seek their daily bread in the streets of its cities."

Gadahn tells Muslims living in metro Detroit and across the West:

"Know that jihad is your duty as well, and you have an opportunity to strike the leaders of unbelief and retaliate against them on their own soil. As long as there is no covenant between you and them, here you are in the battlefield just like heroes before you." Gadahn claimed that Muslims are religiously justified in the attacks because of U.S. military opearations in the Muslim world, but Gadahn's views have been slammed by other Muslims.

Gadahn then praises the actions of terrorists such as Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers; Nidal Hassan, the Ft. Hood shooter, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the native of Nigeria who tried to set off a bomb on a Michigan-bound airliner. Gadahn also calls upon Muslims not to harm other Muslims or their property when committing jihadist attacks.

Gadahn's comments were attacked by Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"He obviously doesn't know Muslims in Detroit," Walid said today. "It appears to be a desperate plea by al-Qaida, which has virtually no support among Muslims in any Western countries."

Gadahn "should turn himself in and renounce al-Qaida's murderous ideology," Walid said. "Up to 85% of al-Qaida's casulties are Muslims. His whole discourse is irrational and insane. … Al-Qaida is an enemy to Islam itself."

Tarek Baydoun, 26, of Dearborn also slammed Gadahn's remarks.

"He's either mentally ill or utterly evil," Baydoun said. "He has nothing to do with any faith tradition. He's disconnected from Muslim-American as can be."

Referring to Gadahn's remarks about what he called the "miserable suburbs" of Detroit, Baydoun said: "We have wonderful suburbs and communities."

SITE said on its website that Gadahn "urged Muslims to take initiative and carry out acts of individual jihad in states of the 'Zio-Crusader coalition' in a video released on jihadist forums."

The video was made by the media branch of al-Qaida, as-Sahab, and is called "The Arabs and Muslims: Between the Conferences of Desertion … and the Individual Duty of Jihad,” said SITE.

The video also contains clips featuring Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni cleric who previously lived in the U.S. and influenced the Christmas Day bomber.

Iran: Hand Of Convicted Thief Cut Off

From UKPA via Google News:Authorities in Iran have amputated the hand of a convicted thief in front of other prisoners, state radio is reporting.

The report did not identify the 32-year-old convict, whose hand was reportedly cut off in the central city of Yazad, or provide details of his crime.

Iran's judiciary uses a strict interpretation of Islamic law in handing down such sentences. Cutting off the hands of thieves has been rare in the past, but the amputation was the second this month.

A week ago, a judge ordered the same punishment for a man who stole from a sweet shop.

Critics say amputations, public executions and floggings hurt Iran's image and reflect badly on Islam.

A death-by-stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery has also sparked an international outcry.

Islamic Fundamentalists Against Church Named After Mother Teresa

From Asia News:

Plans to build a Catholic place of worship in Cikarang, some 60 kilometres east of Jakarta, is generating opposition among Muslim groups. At least six churches were attacked since last year. Several Protestant clergymen were also assaulted. The authorities have been criticised for failing to stem the wave of intolerance.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Anti-Christian intolerance is raising its ugly head again. Islamic fundamentalist groups are increasingly trying to stop the construction of churches in areas where the Catholic Church is present. Government slowness in reacting to such phenomena has come under fire because it effectively adds more fuel to the flames of intolerance fanned by such groups (See Mathias Hariyadi, “Religious intolerance rising among Indonesian Muslims,” in AsiaNews 5 October 2010)

The most recent example of this trend involves the Saint Mother Teresa Parish in Cikarang, some 60 kilometres east of Jakarta. The situation here is the more worrisome since Indonesian authorities have shown little or no desire to intervene in the matter, and this despite sharp criticism from inter-faith and human rights groups.

In recent days, some provocative banners opposing plans to build a new church in Cikarang have appeared. “The Islamic Group Ukuwah Islamiyah rejects any plan to construct a church in Bunda Teresa Cikarang,” read one banner displayed in front of a local mosque in Taman Sentosa Cikarang.

Another one on Bandung Street, in Cinere, carried the same message but against another Christian place of worship slated for construction only 200 metres from a local police station.

In both cases, it is clear that the lack of action by the authorities against this kind of protests to ensure a spirit of harmony between religions has fuelled intolerance.

Opposition to the Mother Teresa Church in Cikarang started in September when someone began spreading rumours about the potential “Christianisation” of the Bekasi Regency (district), a predominantly Muslim area.

According to the rumour, a church and other buildings would be built that together would constitute the largest Christian centre in Asia.

Opponents to the Church charged that the latter would become a magnet for proselytising, thus threatening the district’s Muslim majority.

Saint Mother Teresa Parish was founded in 2004 and has a congregation of some 6,000 members. It does not have a church building, and has to celebrate Mass in the gym of a local Catholic school.

In recent weeks, Bekasi Regency has seen a number of episodes of intolerance directed at Christians from different confessions. Since 2009, at least six churches have been attacked and several Protestant clergymen have been the victims of assault.