February 28, 2017

WORLD: Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL) Explains Why Islamists Hate Us, And It Has Everything To Do With Religion.

Counter Jihad
written by Immanuel Al-Manteeqi · @Al_Manteeqi
August 3, 2016

ISIS recently released a new issue (no.15) of Dabiq, their professionally produced magazine article. It is about 82 pages and is entitled, “Break the Cross.”[1] This magazine issue, as well as all of ISIS’s Dabiq issues, can be found here on Clarion Project’s website. The issue covers everything from a response to “pagan” Christianity and atheism to a rebuttal of politically correct narratives about (what Westerners would call) Islamism. The last of these topics is what makes the fifteenth issue of Dabiq a very important piece; it busts open the politically correct narratives that are so rampant about Islamists and their motivations.

Many politically correct journalists, politicians, analysts, and people from all walks of life and from all sides of the political spectrum– although mostly on the left–have been incessantly stating that Islamist groups like ISIS are not primarily motivated by religious ideology, but are merely using the veneer of Islam in order to perpetuate ulterior political motives. These people who have swallowed the politically correct narrative hook, line and sinker frequently try to explain the violence perpetrated by Islamists by appealing to the foreign policy, and so-called colonialist and imperialist mentality, of the West. This Dabiq issue explicitly tears apart this narrative, demonstrating once and for all that ISIS and Islamist hatred of the West is rooted in religious ideology.

While Pope Benedict XVI’s words on the incompatibility of democracy and Islam are praised, Pope Francis’ statement that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence” is called out as being deceptive.[2]

The above rebuke of Pope Francis is relatively mild compared to the rebuke of similar politically correct positions in this issue’s article called “Why We Hate You and Why we Fight You.” The article’s introduction contains the following sharp rebuke of the naivetรฉ of the “Islam-is-a-peaceful-religion crowd”:

Many Westerners, however, are already aware that claiming the attacks of the mujahidin to be senseless and questioning incessantly as to why we hate the West and why we fight them is nothing more than a political act and a propaganda tool. The politicians will say it regardless of how much it stands in opposition to facts and common sense just to garner as many votes as they can for the next election cycle. The analysts and journalists will say it in order to keep themselves from becoming a target for saying something that the masses deem to be “politically incorrect.” The apostate “imams” in the West will adhere to the same tired clichรฉ in order to avoid a backlash from the disbelieving societies in which they’ve chosen to reside. The point is, people know that it’s foolish, but they keep repeating it regardless because they’re afraid of the consequences of deviating from the script. There are exceptions among the disbelievers, no doubt, people who will unabashedly declare that jihad and the laws of the Shari’ah – as well as everything else deemed taboo by the Islam-is-a-peaceful-religion crowd – are in fact completely Islamic, but they tend to be people with far less credibility who are painted as a social fringe, so their voices are dismissed and a large segment of the ignorant masses continues believing the false narrative. As such, it becomes important for us to clarify to the West in unequivocal terms – yet again – why we hate you and why we fight you.[3]

The article goes on to list six reasons why they hate the West and why they fight Westerners. They six reasons are as follows:
  1. “We hate you first and foremost, because you are disbelievers, you reject the oneness of Allah.”
  2. “We hate you because your secular, liberal societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited while banning many of the things He has permitted.”
  3. “In the case of the atheist fringe, we hate you and wage war against you because you disbelieve in the existence of your Lord and Creator.”
  4. “We hate you for your crimes against Islam and wage war against you to punish you for your transgressions against our religion.”
  5. “We hate you for your crimes against Muslims; your drones and fighter jets bombs, kill, and maim our people around the world.”
  6. Sixth “We hate you for invading our lands and fight you to repel you and drive you out.”
After going into some detail on each of the above six points, the article concludes by stating the following:

What’s important to understand here is that although some might argue that your foreign policies are the extent of what drives our hatred, this particular reason for hating you is secondary, hence the reason we addressed it at the end of the above list. The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam. Even if you were to pay jizyah and live under the authority of Islam in humiliation, we would continue to hate you. No doubt, we would stop fighting you then as we would stop fighting any disbelievers who enter into a covenant with us, but we would not stop hating you…The gist of the matter is that there is indeed a rhyme to our terrorism, warfare, ruthlessness, and brutality. As much as some liberal journalist would like you to believe that we do what we do because we’re simply monsters with no logic behind our course of action, the fact is that we continue to wage – and escalate – a calculated war that the West thought it had ended several years ago. [emphasis added]

There you have it—straight from the horse’s mouth. Those advancing the politically correct narrative that ISIS has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam, and that ISIS members are not really motivated by religion but by socio-economic reasons, etc., need to get a reality check. Islamists are unquestionably drawing from early Islamic source texts—there can be no doubt here. Their acts are not “senseless” acts of violence, but cold and calculated steps based on an evil Islamofascistic ideology. Islamists wish to subjugate the entire world under sharia—a legal system that is antithetical to Western values and egalitarian principles of liberal democracy. Military campaigns against Islamists is insufficient. It is necessary to fight against their ideology of Islamism—it is the greatest threat of our time.

[1] The choice of title belies ISIS’ utter hatred of Christianity. Islamists—and indeed many Muslims—the world over look to the return of Jesus, when, according to a sahih hadith in Sunan Abi Dawood, Jesus will return to Earth and break the cross.

[2] Dabiq no. 15, p.75.

[3] Dabiq no. 15, pp. 30-1.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 4:45 PM 0 comments

IRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Calls On Palestinians To Pursue Intifada Against Israel. Leads Crowd To Chant, "Death To America". There You Have It.

Reuters News
written by Babak Dehghanpisheh
Tuesday February 21, 2017

Iran’s Supreme Leader called on Palestinians on Tuesday to pursue an uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a "cancerous tumor" that should be confronted until Palestinians were completely liberated.

"... by Allah’s permission, we will see that this intifada will begin a very important chapter in the history of fighting and that it will inflict another defeat on that usurping regime," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to his website.

The Supreme Leader’s bellicose comments, made during a two-day conference in Tehran focused on its support for the Palestinians, come at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric between Iran, Israel and the United States.

While on a visit to Washington last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel and the United States had a "grand mission" to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump has already been highly critical of a deal hammered out between Iran and world powers, including the United States, in 2015 intended to partially lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Iran says its program is for purely peaceful means.

When Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump’s then national security adviser Mike Flynn said the administration was putting Iran "on notice".

Ordinary Iranians have been posting their concerns about a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States on social media.

Khamenei did not mention any Iranian military attack against Israel in his comments on Tuesday and was focused on gains that Palestinians could make in any confrontation with Israel, which he described as tumor developing into "the current disaster".

"The Palestinian intifada continues to gallop forward in a thunderous manner so that it can achieve its other goals until the complete liberation of Palestine," he said, according to the transcript of the speech posted on his website.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:33 PM 0 comments

INDIA: Massive Oil Spill After Two Ships Collided Near Chennai Could Severely Impact Marine Life, Environmentalists Say. :(


Hindustan Times, India
written by Malavika Vyawahare
February 6, 2017

Environmentalists fear the massive oil spill after two ships collided near Chennai last Saturday will have a long-term impact on the marine life than previously believed.

The collision took place around 4am on Saturday when MT BW Maple - a ship from the Isle of Man that was on its way out of the Ennore port - hit MT Dawn Kanchipuram, an Indian ship carrying nearly 45,000 tonnes of petroleum. MT Dawn Kanchipuram was on its way to berth at the Ennore port, 24 km north of Tamil Nadu capital.

The Coast Guard said on Tuesday nearly 40 tonnes of oil sludge and 27 tonnes of oil and water mixture has been collected. The thick oil sludge washed ashore along 800m of shoreline north of Chennai harbour. The popular Marina Beach and a 2-3 km stretch of shoreline near Thiruvalluvar have also been affected.

V Arun, coordinator at the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network, said the oil can get into the lungs of marine species and cut off their oxygen supply effectively smothering them. Turtles, fish and prawns coated in oil have been found dead on the beaches.

“It is difficult to say if the deaths in the last few days are directly a result of the oil spill, but marine species are without a doubt being affected by the oil spill,” Arun said.

“Marine life is already under threat from commercial trawlers, with close to 150 Olive Ridley turtles being found dead in beaches in Tamil Nadu in January,” he added.

Unfortunately, Arun said, there is a lack of studies to gauge the impact of such events on the health of marine populations.

MD Dayalan, president of the Indian Fishermen’s Association, the incident has also affected the fishing community. Dayalan said although big trawlers have not been affected, small fishermen who fish in in country boats have not been able to go out fishing for the past few days and are under pressure.

“Almost 60 fishing villages have been impacted,” he said.

State fisheries minister D Jayakumar and senior government officials inspected the area on Tuesday after reports said people were hesitant of buying seafood as many fish were found dead after the incident.

“It is not true. People need not fear to consume fish,” Jayakumar said responding to a query.

“It is our duty to allay such fears. Therefore, we took some samples of the dead fish taken from Ennore, Marina, Thiruvanmiyur areas where there were reports of the oil slick. The results from the laboratory have clarified that it is safe to consume (them),” he told reporters.

The State Pollution Control Board has asked to activate the State Oil Spill Crisis Management Group. Owners of MT Dawn Kanchipuram have been directed to hire private agencies to contain the oil slick.

Several government agencies are engaged in cleaning up the shoreline following the oil spill. Over 1,000 personnel from various government departments were involved in the clean-up of the shoreline, Coast Guard has said. Volunteers from engineering colleges, fishing communities have also joined the cleaning operations.

Coast Guard helicopters, which were carrying out regular sorties for continuous monitoring of the oil slick, identified “stagnated thick oil slick about 100 metres wide near Ennore and 500 x 500 metres near Kasimedu harbour”.

Coast Guard ship Varada along with a helicopter integrated with pollution control equipment has sailed to clear the oil slick.


Hindustan Times, India
written by Staff
February 3, 2017

Several agencies, coordinated by the Indian Coast Guard, continued their fight for the seventh day on Friday against a giant oil slick that is spreading far and wide along the Chennai coast.

According to experts, the oil slick has spread across the coastline from Ennore to beyond Thiruvanmiyur, a distance of over 30 km.

Coast Guard and naval personnel, fire department and water supply and sewage department workers and hundreds of volunteers (most of them in orange tracksuits) worked from dawn on Friday to clear the slush.

The oil slick, which started after a leak due to the collision between two ships, carried with it bodies of marine species.

Coast Guard and naval personnel, fire department and water supply and sewage department workers and hundreds of volunteers (most of them in orange tracksuits) worked from dawn on Friday to clear the slush.

The oil slick, which started after a leak due to the collision between two ships, carried with it bodies of marine species.

He said the work was only half done, as the overall estimate of the sludge – a combination of oil, marine debris and water - was put at 116 tonnes.

The Coast Guard official said the actual oil leak was ten times more than what was originally reported and said the preliminary responsibility for tackling it was that of the Kamarajar port.

According to the Coast Guard, initial information from the management of Kamarajar port at Ennore said just 2 tonnes of oil had leaked after the collision between the two ships – MT Maple and MT Dawn Kanchipuram on January 28.

MT Maple had offloaded its LPG consignment in the port and was leaving when it collided with MT Dawn Kanchipuram that coming into the port, loaded with petrol and lubricants.

“Both the ships have been detained and secured at Kamarajar port and an inquiry is on,” said port chairman cum managing director MA Bhaskarachar.


The captains of both the ships too have been detained along with the crew members, he said.

The ships and crew would not be allowed to leave the port till the probe is over.

The port official, however, denied that there was any delay in response or action from the port.

“There was no oil spillage inside the port and this is my jurisdiction and I can speak only for the port area. Outside the port area, it is the responsibility of other agencies,” Bhaskarachar told a television channel.

Officials said 90% of the damage by the oil slick was limited to the north Chennai area of the coast, which is closer to the port at Ennore.

Fishermen close to the port area in north Chennai said the accident took place around 4am on Saturday (January 28) and instantly, oil started gushing out as if being pumped.

Coast Guard officials, meanwhile, denied that there was any delay in launching operations after assessment of the situation and said that the major damage was limited to just one km near the port in north Chennai.

“Ecological damage would not be very much,” a Coast Guard official said.

Oil spill dispersants are being sprayed in the sea by the authorities to minimise damage to the marine eco system.

“Coast Guard helicopters are carrying out regular sorties for continuous monitoring of the oil slick at sea and near the coast. During sorties, stagnated thick oil slick about 100 metres wide near Ennore chimney and a 50x50-metre patch was observed near Kasimedu harbour,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The Coast Guard has sent ICGS Varad along with an integrated helicopter with pollution control equipment to clear the oil slick, it said.

The cleanup operations could be carry on for another two days, said an official on the spot.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 1:07 PM 0 comments

FRANCE: Muslim ‘Human Rights’ Activist Threatens to Slit Le Pen’s Throat ๐Ÿ˜ฏ

The Geller Report, USA
written by Cheryl Chumley
Friday February 24, 2017

A 24-year-old Muslim blogger and so-called human rights activist, Mehdi Meklat, who was considered a rising star in France’s media, was outed for publishing vicious tweets under the pseudonym of “Marcelin Deschamps” that called for the killing of Marine Le Pen, the president of the National Front political party.

In one tweet, Meklat wrote, under the name of Deschamps, directly to Le Pen: “I am going to slit your throat Muslim-style.”

Meklat also sent around several tweets that praised Islamic terrorists Mohammed Merah, and that expressed his wish to “bring back Hitler,” the Express reported.

Other tweets: He said he wanted to “rape” former Charlie Hebdo editor-in-chief, Charb, with a “Laguiole knife.” And he said he “really missed Osama bin Laden.”

After Meklat was discovered to be the real writer of the messages, he cleared his Twitter feed and sent out a public apology.

From the Express:

“He tweeted: ‘I’m sorry if some of you were shocked by my tweets. They are obsolete… The words of my fictional character do not reflect my own personal thoughts and beliefs, quite the opposite. Via Marcelin Deschamps, a provocative character, I was trying to encourage critical thinking.’

“His apology, however, has largely fallen on deaf ears.

“On Sunday, Marion Marechal Le Pen, Mrs Le Pen’s niece, tweeted: ‘Praising Merah, threats, homophobia, hate and anti-Semitism. Why is the press protecting @mehdi_meklat?’

“Members of the Printemps rรฉpublicain, a left-wing organisation explicitly formed to promote and protect secularism in France, bitterly condemned Mr Meklat’s tweets in a press release and said that, had he been a member of France’s far-right, he would have been excoriated and denounced by the press ‘a very long time ago.’

“They wrote: ‘For years, Mr Meklat published racist, sexist and hate-filled tweets. And yet, editors and newspapers continued to hire and support him.

“‘If a far-right journalist had tweeted what Mr Meklat tweeted, he would have been lynched by the press and would probably have ended up in court.'”

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 12:07 PM 0 comments

FRANCE: French Music Festival Was Cancelled At The Last Minute After A 'Credible' Tip-Off That A 'Bloodbath' Was About To Take Place.

The Daily Mail, UK
written by Kelly McLaughlin
February 20, 2017

A music festival in France was cancelled at the last minute this weekend over fears of a terror attack after organisers received a series of phone calls threatening a 'bloodbath'.

The Lignerock Festival, which was scheduled to take place in the Vendรฉe department of Pays-de-la-Loire region in west-central France, was cancelled just minutes before showtime on Saturday night.

It came after a caller told the local police station in an anonymous call: 'There will be a bloodbath in Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron tonight.'

Festival organisers received two similar phone calls, according to the France Bleu radio station.

Organisers took to Facebook to announce that the show was being called off at 7.25pm, just minutes before doors were supposed to open for the 7.30pm show.

Four hours earlier, they had posted a photo of the band, Les Cameleons, preparing their set for showtime.

'After a terror threat we have had no choice but to cancel the concert tonight,' festival organisers wrote on Saturday. 'We're at a loss for words.'

Four bands were expected to perform at the show at the village's sports hall: Apes O'Clock, Les Bidons De L'An Fer, Les Cameleons and Eugene De Rastignac.

The sports hall was inspected by police officers and bomb-sniffing dogs, but no explosives were found, according to BFM TV.

Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron Mayor Thierry Richardeau said the content of the phone calls was 'of sufficient concern' to cancel the show.

Festival organisers have announced that they plan to take legal action, and police have opened an investigation into the anonymous phone calls.

French authorities canceled several events last summer after 84 people died in Nice in the Bastille Day truck attack in July.

France has been under a state of emergency since terror attacks across Paris killed 130 people in November 2015. The state of emergency will last until July 15, 2017.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 11:57 AM 0 comments

FRANCE: France Thwarts “Imminent” Jihad Terror Attack; 4 Muslims Arrested, Including 16-Year-Old Girl.

Jihad Watch
written and shared by Christine Williams
Friday February 10, 2017

“France is still under a state of emergency after several deadly attacks in 2015 and 2016.” Other countries in Europe are also on alert or scrambling to fix the chaos caused by Muslim migrants and jihadists.

Billions of dollars are already being spent by Germany and the EU to clean up the chaos caused by Muslim migrants who cannot assimilate. Now add to that figure the astronomical cost of security and preventative security measures.

It is immoral for Western leaders to be indiscriminately allowing in refugees without adequate screening, enabling jihadi criminals to enter who not only threaten our freedom and our societies, but also divert needed funds from the coffers of hardworking taxpayers, some of whom could barely afford healthcare and benefits for their own families. Westerners are generally willing to help anyone in need, but the West has been exploited by criminals: jihadists have been given free rein as they infiltrate the refugee stream by trusted politicians who will never suffer the consequences of their bad policy decisions.

“France Thwarts ‘Imminent Attack;’ 4 Arrests, Explosive Found”, by Lori Hinnant, Associated Press, February 10, 2017:

Anti-terrorism forces arrested four people Friday in southern France, including a 16-year-old girl, and uncovered a makeshift laboratory with the explosive TATP and other ingredients for fabricating a bomb. France’s top security official said the raid thwarted an “imminent attack.”

A police official said the teen had pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group in a recent video.

The prosecutor’s office said around 70 grams (2.5 ounces) of TATP were seized in the Montpellier-area home of a 20-year-old man, along with a liter each of acetone, oxygenated water and sulfuric acid. TATP, which can be made from readily available materials, was used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by Islamic State extremists.

Two other men were arrested, a 33-year-old and a 26-year-old, along with the teenage girl, according to the prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism investigations in France.

The police official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, said one of the suspects was believed to be planning a suicide attack but that the investigation had not yet uncovered a specific target.

He said person in the group had tried to reach Syria in 2015 and was known to intelligence services. The group — notably the girl — attracted new attention with their social media postings, he said.

Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said the arrests in three locations in the Montpellier area “thwarted an imminent attack on French soil.”

The country’s prime minister praised the work of anti-terror investigators.

“Faced with the heightened threat, there has been an extremely strong mobilization of our intelligence services to ensure the French are protected to the utmost,” said Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

France is still under a state of emergency….

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 11:43 AM 0 comments

USA: Report: President Obama Often Blocked Press Access To Information; Obama Booted Reporters From Conservative Papers Off His Plane In 2008.

USA Today
written by Roger Yu
October 10, 2013

Despite President Obama's promises of transparency, the White House blocks routine information for reporters, seeks aggressive prosecution of classified information leakers and uses its own media channels to shape its messaging, according to a scathing new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Authored by former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., the report portrays an administration gripped by strict policies about information flow and paranoid about leaks across all executive branch departments.

"This is the most closed, control freak administration I've ever covered," David E. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times, told Downie, who now teaches journalism at Arizona State University.

The administration has implemented an "Insider Threat Program" in all government departments to urge federal employees to monitor their colleagues for possible unauthorized information disclosures. Administration employees suspected of leaking classified information are given lie-detector tests and subject to reviews of their telephone and e-mail records, wrote Downie, who was assisted in reporting by Sara Rafsky.

The report is the latest in a series of portrayals by journalists and media critics of a president whose rigid public relations practices belie his earlier promises of change and open access to public information.

Such accusations had been mounting prior to the series of stories about widespread surveillance of telephone calls and e-mail in the U.S. by the National Security Agency, made possible by internal documents that were leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

Since 2009, six government employees have been subjects of felony criminal prosecutions in the leak of classified information to the press, vs. a total of three in all previous U.S. administrations, the report noted.

The White House disputed the report's characterizations and pointed out to Downie that the number of interviews Obama granted in his first four-plus years — including the ones made available to digital media and TV entertainment outlets, such as The Tonight Show — exceeds the combined total of former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

The administration has also put more government data online and worked to speed up processing of Freedom of Information Act requests. "The idea that people are shutting up and not leaking to reporters is belied by the facts," Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary, told Downie.

Still, the crackdown on leakers has made administration officials generally reluctant to talk to reporters even about unclassified information, the report said. Responding to their sources' fear of leaving digital trails of calls and e-mail, reporters also are worried about reaching out to sources, Downie wrote.

"There's a gray zone between classified and unclassified information, and most sources were in that gray zone," New York Times national security reporter Scott Shane told Downie. "Sources are now afraid to enter that gray zone. It's having a deterrent effect."

That even official spokespeople within government agencies are "unresponsive or hostile" to press calls exacerbates the relationship between the president and journalists, he said.

Digitally-savvy aides working for the Obama administration use its own sophisticated websites, social media and internally produced videos to channel information directly to users, much of it useful for consumers. But the amount of information available to the public through these managed channels — with content editorially bent to reflect the administration in a positive note — isn't sufficient, Downie concluded.
The Daily Caller
written by Michael Bastasch
January 12, 2017

President-elect Donald Trump’s team has taken a lot of heat for threatening to kick a CNN reporter out of Trump Tower for being “rude” during a Wednesday press conference.

The media heaped on Trump for his treatment of CNN, forcing incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer to say he would “absolutely not” kick out news groups for critical coverage.

But the media is forgetting that then-Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign kicked off three reporters from his plane who worked for papers that endorsed Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential race.

The Obama campaign did so in the final four days of the race, ABC News reported in 2008, claiming “a limited number of seats forced it to make the tough decision of which journalists would be permitted to follow” Obama on the campaign trail.

“Unfortunately, demand for seats on the plane during this final weekend has far exceeded supply, and because of logistical issues we made the decision not to add a second plane,” former Obama campaign adviser Anita Dunn told ABC.

But the conservative-leaning newspapers said they were targeted for endorsing Obama’s opponent, McCain. Obama even allowed nonpolitical writers with Glamour, Jet and Ebony magazines to remain on his plane. Meanwhile, reporters with The Dallas Morning News, Washington Times and The New York Post lost their seats.

“It feels like the journalistic equivalent of redistributing the wealth,” John Solomon, executive editor of the Washington Times, told ABC in 2008.

“We’ve covered him since 2007 and paid our dues,” he said. “By the numbers we’ve covered Obama longer and given more coverage to him than many of the other people who were given seats.”

The Obama campaign said they needed to make room for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, noting that The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, which lean right, got to keep their seats.

ABC News at the time noted this wasn’t the first time the press were kicked off presidential campaign flights.

“In 2004, The New York Times said it was not given a seat on Air Force 2 when Vice President Dick Cheney was stumping with President Bush, because the vice president was displeased with the paper’s coverage of him,” ABC News reported.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 9:28 AM 0 comments

February 27, 2017

GREECE: Greek Business Owners Unhappy Over Visa Cancellation For Turks

Daily Sabah, Turkey
written by Angelos Berberakis
Friday February 10, 2017

Under the direction of the European Commission, Greek authorities will not be renewing the special agreement between Turkey and Greece which overrules the Schengen Visa Agreement for seven Greek islands. Local business owners, however, have condemned the decision, saying they did not want to lose profits already hit hard by the country's weak economy.

While a comprehensive statement, regarding the European Commission decision, was yet to be issued, the Greek Ministry for Foreign Affairs was already pushing to reinstate the agreement between the two nations.

Under the special agreement, which came into force three years ago, Turkish tourists wishing to visit the islands of Chios, Lesbos, Samos, Symi, Rhodes, Kos and Kastellorizo, could apply for special Schengen visas, designed specifically for the seven islands, that permitted them to travel to the islands for between one and three days.

Greek business owners and local leaders on the islands say that this could result in disaster for the local economy which took a major hit not only from the sluggish Greek economy but also the unbearable influx of refugees to the islands over the previous months. The unprecedented wave of Syrian refugees left tourists avoiding the area but Turkish tourists had continued to visit, remaining loyal to travel plans.

Across from Turkey's seaside town of Ayvalฤฑk, on the island of Lesbos, Greek deputy and representative of the island George Palis of the Syriza ruling party said, "Not everything is over."

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry sources say Brussels will review the matter, adding that the Ministry expected a positive outcome.

Turkish tourists are major contributors to the local economy of the Greek islands, which lie across the Aegean Sea, facing the Turkish coast. Even if planned itineraries were short, Turks were known for spending substantial amount of money when visiting the islands.

The process of obtaining tourist visas to the Greek islands was streamlined for Turkish citizens in order to provide incentives for additional Turkish tourists to visit the region without the nitty-gritty paperwork from an official diplomatic authority that is commonly associated with the traditional Schengen Visa.

To the contrary, tourists only have to reach an agreement with a travel agency before being briefly screened, put on a vessel and allowed to travel across the sea before being escorted by the Greek authorities to receive temporary visas upon landing on the islands, upon presenting passports and necessary documentation.

The Schengen Visas Turkish tourists received were technically not different from any other Schengen Visa. However, instead of lasting weeks or months, these visas would expire in one to two days. The Greek Foreign Ministry has stated in the past that it wishes to extend that time period significantly.

The procedure saves Turkish citizens a lot of time and money and there have been no reports of Turkish nationals abusing the system. Furthermore, passengers aboard mainland-bound vessels undergo identification checks which determine if they were eligible for further travel; a protocol that would be nullified under this agreement.

There has been no clarification from the European Commission as to why this is happening now as opposed to during the apex of the migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea or why it is even happening at all.

If anything, strained relations between Greek and Turkish authorities were further exacerbated after the Greek Supreme Court's decision to deny Turkey's extradition requests of Turkish military officers accused of involvement in the failed July 15 coup attempt. The officers requested asylum in Greece in July last year after the coup attempt which left 248 people killed and over 2,000 injured.

The decision prompted Turkey to reconsider opening its borders to migrants and resulted in the cancellation of the EU-Turkey deal regarding the matter.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 4:27 PM 0 comments

DENMARK: Danish Mosque Refuses To Distance Itself From The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL)

Fria Tider
written by Mattias Albinsson
February 2, 2017

FOREIGN. Oussama El Saadi, the imam of Grimhรธjmoskรฉn in Danish Aarhus, refuses to distance itself from the Islamic State. There he says in an interview with BT.

- If it is right or wrong according to Islamic rules, I can not answer, he says.

1100 yazidiska girls and women in the past year received professional help in Germany to process the trauma they suffered as sex slaves in the Islamic state. It is about women and girls who either escaped on their own or freed with help.

The news agency AP interviewed one of them last summer, the 18-year-old girl who drowned herself in gasoline and lit himself on fire in a desperate attempt to avoid being a sex slave. She has severe burns and even though she lives in Germany, she is afraid of retaliation from the IS-sympathizers in Europe.

The article also mentioned an eight year old girl who resold as sex slave eight times and raped 100 times during a ten-month & shyperiod.

Such here and similar horrific stories of the IS rampage in the Middle shock many in the Western world. But Grimhรธjmoskรฉns imam Oussama El Saadi would still not take away from the terrorist group.

- I do not deny that IS has done what they have done. But if it is right or wrong according to Islamic rules, I can not answer, he tells BT.

- I'm not the ulama (Muslim scholar). So it is my assessment. I might say that it is wrong, but then there is a fatwa (Islamic edict) which entitles them to do so.

He continues the interview by saying that the mosque is "neutral" in terms of IS and also gives his own views on the Yezidis:

- You can not call them Muslims ... Yazidier. I think they worship the Iblis (Satan).

In Denmark Grimhรธjmoskรฉn notorious Islamist context. Several Muslim terror suspects linked to the mosque. Among them, the three men suspected of plotting to murder the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard who is known to have depicted the Muslim prophet Muhammad wearing a turban with a bomb.

22 of 27 Islamists from Jutland who traveled to Syria to join the militants, which is connected to the mosque. Furthermore the Danish TV2 documentary "The mosques behind the veil" revealed how an imam in the mosque to teach Muslims about stoning and flogging.

Thomas Hoffmann, professor of islam- and Koran studies at the University of Copenhagen, believes that Grimhรธjmoskรฉn gives its tacit consent to the IS terror.

- By avoiding to take a position, he could not deny the Sharia laws allowing slavery and sexual slavery. It is central to the literalist Salafi version Grimhรธjmoskรฉn sign on, he says.

Yilmaz Yildiz is spokesman for an organization representing the yazidiska ethnic group in Denmark. He is shocked that an imam can sit in Denmark and does not take away from the IS.

- He thinks that the IS. With the statements legitimizing Saadi IS persecution of us and makes us a target for the second fanatical Muslims, said Yildiz.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 4:17 PM 0 comments

CANADA: Protesters Outside Mosque Where Imam Prayed For Killing Of Unbelievers Could Face Hate Crime Charges. :o


VIDEO: Mosque sorry for “misspeaking” about killing Jews.

Published on Feb 22, 2017: Sun reporter Joe Warmington was the only MSM reporter who revealed that what really went on inside a Toronto mosque that had been the scene of a so-called "hate crime." Ezra Levant of TheRebel.media talked to Joe about what's next.
Jihad Watch
written and shared by Christine Williams
February 20, 2017

A group of Canadian protesters with placards stating “Say No to Islam” outside of Masjid Toronto could face hate crime charges. Toronto Mayor John Tory “criticized the protest, calling it ‘Islamophobia’ in a Tweet.” Yet authorities appear to have little to no concern about the actions of that mosque, which clearly played a role in eliciting the protests. This is where the imam prayed: “O Allah! Give us victory over the disbelieving people…slay them one by one and spare not one of them.”

The downtown Masjid Toronto is affiliated with the Muslim Association of Canada — a self-described offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. As reported by CIJ News:
In 2016, imams…at the mosque recited supplications to Allah in support of the “mujahideen (those of engage in jihad) everywhere”, the total destruction of the enemies of Islam and the purification of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the “filth of the Jews.”
Islamic schools and mosques across Canada are “filled with extremist literature,” according to an exhaustive study, and the jihad doctrine is being preached there. So while Canadian authorities should be investigating this mosque, they are instead targeting those who are protesting.

Meanwhile, a Toronto-area schoolteacher who called a jihadist who crushed the skull of a four-year-old Israeli girl a hero and martyr is back in the classroom, after receiving a mere rap on the knuckles for her abhorrently violent Facebook postings. A spokesperson for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School said that Nadia Shoufani returned to work at St. Catherine of Siena Separate School before Christmas. She was not charged with a hate crime, according to the announcement, and she is being entrusted with the well-being of children. Why should any Canadian child have to sit in a classroom led by a murder-minded, hate-filled teacher? The school administration should be prioritizing the well-being of the children.

Canada has been battered by an Islamic supremacist infiltration, which includes an attack on free speech disguised as an anti-racism initiative. Since October, two “anti-Islamophobia” motions were presented in Parliament. The first unanimously passed without contest, because few Canadians knew anything about it. The second, however – Motion M-103 – was met with unexpected resistance from Conservative MP’s and a substantial number of concerned Canadian citizens. This resistance led to an indefinite adjournment of the Parliamentary motion.

The two “anti-Islamophobia” motions were a culmination of prior efforts to bring the “Islamophobia” agenda into Canada. This is an outright Sharia scheme aimed at the curbing of free speech, as part of the larger initiative propelled by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Last summer, community leaders from six major “Canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, London, Windsor, Toronto, and Montreal) endorsed an Islamophobia charter.” As previously reported here at Jihad Watch:
The National Council of Canadian Muslims, formerly CAIR-CAN, drafted the charter. CAIR was deemed an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in the history of the United States — the Holy Land Foundation trial — during which the carefully calculated Muslim Brotherhood plan for North America was unveiled, with full partnership from so-called mainstream Muslim groups.
Islamic supremacists have been working overtime in Western nations to execute this plan. A similar strategic plan was uncovered by Swiss authorities in a document called “the Project” in 2001. Anti-terrorism consultant Patrick Poole writes:
What makes The Project so different from the standard “Death of America! Death to Israel!” and “Establish the global caliphate!” Islamist rhetoric is that it represents a flexible, multi-phased, long-term approach to the “cultural invasion” of the West. Calling for the utilization of various tactics, ranging from immigration, infiltration, surveillance, propaganda, protest, deception, political legitimacy and terrorism
Naรฏve Westerners continue to be used as pawns in clearly sketched-out plans to defeat the House of War (non-Muslim countries) and incorporate them into with the House of Islam. The method of conquest is an aggressive, but strategic and insidious assault using existing institutions; yet still, political correctness persists; many people are hesitant to speak about what is happening for fear of coming across as a conspiracy theorist, despite the clear documentation of this initiative.

In the case of the Masjid Toronto, authorities need to be investigating the activities inside that mosque. Canadians and other peace-loving citizens are not protesting outside Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish temples. They are concerned about a tangible danger posed by an organized network of Islamic supremacists (aka stealth jihadists).

“Canadian Anti-Muslim Protesters Could Face Hate Crime Charges,” by David Krayden, Daily Caller, February 19, 2017:

Police in Toronto, Ontario might charge a group of anti-Muslim protesters for violating hate crime laws.

A group with placards stating “Say No to Islam” was standing outside of Toronto’s Masjid mosque [sic] on Friday, and police say they received multiple complaints about the demonstration from some in the mosque and others who weren’t present.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, a former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, criticized the protest, calling it “Islamophobia” in a Tweet:

Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook told CBC News Saturday that the incident is being examined by police as a potential hate crime. The police constable claimed that there is a “fine line” between free speech and breaching hate crime laws but refused to specify what constitutes that distinction, adding, “That’s a conversation we’ve been having all day.”

The investigators plan to speak to witnesses, take statements and collect evidence if necessary. Mosque spokesman Abdul-Basit Khan claimed the protest was the worst he has seen since the mosque was built 15 years ago.

“You’re used to seeing this kind of vitriol in the comments sections of newspapers or online. You don’t necessarily see it in person. So that’s what was surprising about yesterday,” he said. “Especially in light of Quebec City…”

The event came just days after a Toronto-area Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) officially tabled a motion in the Canadian House of Commons that could potentially make “Islamophobia” another hate crime. Debate on Iqra Khalid’s motion began last Wednesday, with only the opposition Conservatives refusing to endorse the potential legislation because they say the definition of “Islamophobia” is too flexible and not even spelled-out in the motion.

Critics are wondering why an Islamophobia motion is necessary if people could be charged with a hate crime for a simple protest under existing law.

Conservative Party leadership candidate and Quebec MP Maxime Bernier told The Daily Caller that the motion represents a gross violation of free speech and said that he will fight it.

“I was one of the first in the Canadian leadership to oppose that motion. It is not good for freedom of speech and freedom of opinion in this country — the most important right that we have…..

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:23 PM 0 comments

USA: Hezbollah's New Crowdfunding Campaign: "Equip A Mujahid". Oooh my goodness. :(

The Foreign Desk
written by Lisa Daftari
Thursday February 9, 2017

The Hezbollah terror group has launched an online ‘crowdfunding’ drive inviting supporters to contribute toward the group’s purchasing of military equipment and gear for its militants.

The Lebanese-based terror group has created a series banners featuring helmets, bullet-proof vests, guns and ammunition with telephone numbers prominently displayed advising how to contribute.

“Mujahids on glorious battlefronts are in need of clothing and military equipment,” a statement on the website reads.

An accompanying video shows a Hezbollah fighter adjusting his military fatigues, preparing for conflict.

There is also a custom hashtag “equip a mujhaid,” that the group has been circulating to increase viral activity of the campaign on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

‘Financial jihad’ is nothing new, according to a website promoting the money-raising campaign; Rather, constant rejuvenation and reminders are needed so that those who can afford to contribute can fulfill their requirement to perform Jihad as prescribed by the Koran.

The website features a set of telephone numbers spread across regions in Lebanon and also provides a number for “international relations” as well as a special “women’s division.”

Hezbollah’s primary source of funding comes from Iran’s government and is estimated by the U.S. to be at around $100 million per year, though some analysts believe the figure could be as high as $200 million annually.

Iran’s regime also profits extensively from drug cartels across South America, funneling those funds to Hezbollah and the financing of other terror activities.

Critics in the Arab world have ridiculed the campaign as a sign of a weakness on Hezbollah’s part, questioning whether the terror group is ‘running a little low on resources.’

“Iran’s finances are running scarce due to its immersion in regional and international conflict,” one Lebanese anti-Hezbollah newspaper said, a reference to Iran’s involvements in conflicts across the Middle East.

Iranian involvement in the Syria conflict has been widely documented, with reports that as many as 70,000 troops have been deployed to the war-ravaged country.

At least 1000 Iranian soldiers have died in the conflict.

Iran has also been accused of running an ‘arms pipeline’ to Yemen’s Houthi rebels fighting a bloody civil war against a Saudi-backed campaign supporting the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah remains a continued threat to Israel. Described by the country’s defense establishment as the number one threat to Israel, the once guerilla-like army has been emboldened by the experiences of fighting a ‘real war’ in Syria and smuggling ‘game changing weaponry’ into Lebanon.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:06 PM 0 comments

USA: Four Muslim Groups Reject US Counter-Terror Funding

Clarion Project, USA
written by Ryan Mauro
Monday February 13, 2017

In a revealing trend, four nonprofits groups involved with the Muslim-American community have rejected federal funding for countering violent extremism. For these groups, their image -- as well as making a political point – is a higher priority than fighting radical Islam and helping their communities.

The four Muslim groups had been privileged to receive Homeland Security grants to support their efforts to “counter violent extremism,” a generic and politically-correct term that the Obama Administration used to avoid verbiage related to Islam.

Now, these groups are willing to sacrifice that funding and cut their programs just to stick it to President Trump. Their form of protest is not to use their voices, but to try to show how bad President Trump is by increasing the suffering and danger for their constituents and country more broadly.

An organization for Somali youth in Minnesota named Ka Joog is rejecting $500,000 that was supposed to promote education, prevent radicalization, drug use and other harmful activities. Whether you agree with the premise that radicalization is caused by those problems or not, the fact is that Ka Joog chose to deny help to Somali youth in need.

Apparently unaware of how ridiculous his sentence sounded, executive director Mohamed Farah said the decision was made because President Trump is “promoting a cancerous ideology.” Yes, he actually said he’d decline an opportunity to fight the cancerous ideology of radical Islam because he is offended by the so-called “cancerous ideology” of President Trump.

One local Somali activist with a record of standing against radical Islam, Omar Jamal, said he disagrees with President Trump but “the community desperately needs the money” and it’s better to work with the government as best you can, regardless of politics.

A group in Michigan, Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities, won't take $500,000 because it believes President Trump’s counter-extremism programs involve spying on Muslims. The group provided no evidence that accepting the money would actually require them to do that.

The organization’s programs involve public health, human services, youth development and education. They will suffer because of a hypothetical requirement that hasn’t happened yet or even been proposed by the Trump Administration.

The third group to join in, Unity Productions Foundation of Virginia, was offered $400,000 to develop films featuring Islamic scholars condemning terrorism and Muslim-Americans contributing to society.

Muslim-American leadership regularly complains that Islamic condemnations of terrorism do not get adequate attention and the public doesn’t seeing how Muslim-Americans are a positive part of the country.

This group was given a whopping $400,000 to do just that—but instead, it is responding to President Trump’s alleged anti-Muslim sentiment by rejecting money from his administration to combat anti-Muslim sentiment.

That makes absolutely no sense.

The Bayan Claremont Islamic school in California is the latest to join the trend, turning down $800,000 that was to be given to “improve interreligious cooperation, civic engagement and social justice.” About $250,000 of that would have been transferred to a dozen other nonprofits doing work for the Muslim-American community.

The school’s faculty includes some controversial Islamic leaders accused of spreading radicalism and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The staff includes Imam Suhaib Webb, Omid Safi and Ihsan Bagby.

Its president, Jihad Turk, said it was partially a response to reported plans by the Trump Administration to rename the Countering Violent Extremism programs to a title identifying radical Islam as the focus.

Keep in mind, Trump’s controversial plans—the travel pause (derided as a “Muslim ban”) designed to identify threats of radical Islam—don’t alter these services. These policies do not stop these groups from combating extremism on their own or from providing charity to those in need. You don’t have to agree with your president to help others and work to protect your country to the best of your ability.

By this logic, schools that dislike Education Secretary Betsy DeVos should punish their students by turning away federal funding.

Another element is at play here: Pressure from Islamists and their allies.

Fox News reports that two of the nonprofits “said they were rejecting grants they had already been awarded under the program because of concerns that it could damage their credibility or come with uncomfortable strings attached.”

Such attacks can make the Trump Administration lose Muslim partners, enabling Islamists to rally the community together like a single political party under their helm. An added bonus is that any danger and controversy that arises from the severed relationships can be blamed on Trump’s policies that these Muslim groups sabotaged.

The good news is that there are plenty of non-profits, including Muslim ones with an unequivocal stand against Islamism that deserve the grant money. These organizations generally lack financial support from which to build a network, provide services, etc.

If certain Muslim nonprofits choose to put politics and ego above fighting extremism, then there are plenty of other options for these grants.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:05 PM 0 comments

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