Washington Times Editorial: Obama: Entangled by Islam

I still vote for the “Qur’anic Cure“…

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES – “It’s no longer news that President Obama’s vaunted outreach to Islam has been a bust. Numerous polls over the past three years have shown that after a brief flurry of enthusiasm, regard for the United States among the world’s Muslims has declined precipitously. In some key countries, dislike for America is even lower than it was at the end of the administration of George W. Bush, whom liberal critics deemed culturally illiterate.

The State Department recently illustrated why reaching out has been such a failure. In mid-December, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participated in a three-day international conference called the Istanbul Process regarding the implementation of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution 16/18, adopted in March. The resolution ostensibly seeks to combat religious intolerance and was a U.S.-sponsored alternative to language pushed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that would have imposed global blasphemy laws against critics of Islam. Resolution 16/18 calls on states to ‘foster religious freedom and pluralism’ and – in typical Obama administration apologetic style – stop religious profiling, which purportedly is a widespread American vice.

In her keynote speech at the conference, Mrs. Clinton noted a study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that found ’70 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with a high number of restrictions on religious freedom.’ What she left out was that the 2009 Pew report ‘Global Restrictions on Religion’ found that most states that had ‘high’ or ‘very high’ religious restrictions were countries with Muslim majorities.” Read more.

Update: Report Details U.S. Government’s ‘Disastrous Muslim Outreach’ – “A new report documents the failures of Muslim outreach conducted by the U.S. government before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, faulting both Republican and Democrat administrations for reaching out to known terrorist funders and leaders. Published by the Israel-based Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center by Patrick Poole, a counterterrorism consultant and investigative reporter, the 14,000-word exposé details the federal government’s ‘long-standing policy of engaging extremists.’” Read more.

Political Correctness – Our Titanic – “Pandering will sink us, will weaken our foundations and our unique culture; a culture of tolerance yet of logic, of equality but also of independence. It is our behavior (and not our thoughts) that should be the real issue. How we treat each other, whether we abuse or respect each other, whether we acknowledge all people with equality and fairness. That is the American way. It is not the American way to become more like Saudi Arabia or Iran. There they have public dress codes, Shariah law and other niceties like stonings, beheadings and honor killings. Ours is a modern society based on humanistic behavior … The new imperialism is no longer British riflemen marching into the Punjab, or Catholic missionaries and Spain’s armies devastating the Indians of the South and Central Americas. No, the new imperialism is as insidious as it is subtle. It uses our laws, our freedoms, our delicate tolerances and passionate fair play to open our societies to all, to endlessly accommodate all, even those who would subvert, dominate and abuse our world and all its largely moderate citizens. We should draw a line in the sand and say, enough.” Read more.

Tajikistan: Muslim Fanatics Shouting ‘Infidel’ Murder Man Dressed as Santa Claus

Muslims make up about 98% of Tajikistan’s population. And the media expects us to believe that the murder of a ‘Christian infidel’ was not religiously motivated? …

DUSHANBE – “An outrageous incident occurred in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where a group of religious fanatics killed Santa Claus.

Parvis Davlatbekov wore as Santa Claus to congratulate his friends for the New Year. However, a group of fanatics attacked and stabbed him by crying ‘infidel’ in the street.

The young man died on Monday without coming into consciousness. The unprecedented tragic incident is widely discussed in Facebook, ITARR-TASS reports.

Tajikistani MFA acknowledged officially the incident. However, it rejected that the brutal killing occurred on religious grounds but claims it was a regular violence.

Meantime, local media calls to pay attention to the discussions whether it is right to celebrate the New Year in a state where 98 % of population is Muslims.” Source – News.am.

Staten Island Jihadist Blows Lid Off Plotter Network

By Robert Spencer – “Abdel Hameed Shehadeh wanted to join the U.S. Army so that he could turn and kill American soldiers. Instead, he has exposed a jihad network of impressive proportions that, if his assertions are true, should end the rush toward politically correct self-deception in the way law enforcement officials approach the problem of jihad terrorism in the United States.

The criminal complaint against him says that he ‘and several other individuals’ were being charged ‘in connection with a plot to travel overseas and wage violent jihad against the United States and other coalition military forces.’ Shehadeh had planned to wage this jihad from within the U.S. military: in 2008, he went to a recruiting station in Times Square and attempted to join the Army, so that he could, according to law enforcement officials, get training that he could use ‘to fight beside fellow Muslims against their enemies, including United States military forces.’

But things didn’t work out that way. Shehadeh got caught, and quickly began cooperating with authorities. He gave FBI agents a lengthy interview that fills a 22-page report that his lawyers are now trying to deep-six: although Shehadeh gave the interview in an attempt to get a better deal for himself, he quickly started worrying about ‘how much I incriminated myself,’ and so now wants the report suppressed.

Those he named no doubt also want his report suppressed. According to the New York Daily News, Shehadeh was ‘a fount of information.’ Among the jihad plotters he mentions in the report are ‘Brooklyn teachers of the Islamic orthodoxy Salafism’ and Muslims who ‘delivered pro-jihadist speeches at mosques or ranted in online chat rooms.’

Salafism is a form of hardline Islam that calls for the imposition of Islamic law in its fullness, including stonings, beheadings, amputations, and warfare against unbelievers. Salafis just made a strong showing in Egypt’s elections. But in the U.S., the Islamic establishment insists that all Muslims happily accept constitutional freedoms and pluralism, and that anyone who suggests otherwise is a venomous ‘Islamophobe.’ If Shehadeh’s claims are true, however, Salafism is

Judge in India Forbids Freedom of Speech, Orders Google and Facebook to Remove All Anti-Islamic Content

UK 'Protesters'

“Social websites including Google and Facebook have been ordered by an Indian court to remove all ‘anti-religious’ and ‘anti-social’ content within six weeks.

On Saturday a Delhi Court ordered 22 social networking sites, including Yahoo and Microsoft, to wipe the objectionable and defamatory contents and file compliance reports by February 6, 2012.

Additional Civil Judge Mukesh Kumar passed the order on a suit filed by Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi seeking to restrain the websites from circulating objectionable and defamatory contents.

Qasmi had objected to a number of images on the websites which he complained would cause ‘irreparable loss and injury to the people who are offended by them’.

He argued that some of the images defamed Hindu gods, Prophet Mohammed and other religious figures, India Today website reported.

The order will raise serious questions about how users’ posts and opinions will be edited, censorship and freedom of expression.

On December 22 Judge Kumar had issued summonses to the social networking sites, demanding they remove photographs, videos or texts that might offend religious sentiments, the Hindustan Times website reported.

The order comes a day after a criminal court issued summonses to the sites for facing trial for allegedly webcasting objectionable contents.” Read more.

Nigeria: Islamists Give Christians 3 Days to Leave, or be Killed

“Islamic militants in Nigeria gave Christians three days to leave the north following President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in four northern states.

Boko Haram, a Taliban-inspired group that has carried out a series of raids and bombings in the north and the capital, Abuja, also said Muslims should leave the south of Africa’s top oil producer.

The group urged ‘our fellow Muslims to come back to the north because we have evidence that they would be attacked,’ Abu Qaqa, a spokesman for the group, said today in an e-mailed statement. ‘We are also giving three days ultimatum to the southerners living in northern Nigeria to move away.’

Boko Haram, which means ‘Western education is a sin,’ says it’s fighting to establish sharia law in the north. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country of more than 160 million people, is roughly split between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

Qaqa said the state of emergency declared on Dec. 31 ‘was meant to attack Muslims and not to restore normalcy.’

Jonathan declared the emergency in parts of Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states and set up a special counterterrorism unit within the armed forces after attacks left at least 43 people dead and 73 wounded in a Christmas day bombing of a church near Abuja.” Read more.

India: Death of Hundreds of Crows Triggers Panic in Odisha

By Akshya Rout, Jajpur -“The death of many crows triggered panic among residents in Jajpur Road on Thursday who have been advised by forest and veterinary officials not to touch the carcasses.

‘Around 250 crows died in Jajpur Road on Thursday . People of the affected areas were instructed not to handle the dead crows without gloves. They were also instructed to bury the dead crows by digging deep holes so that the disease cannot not spread to more areas’, said Dr K. Mohanty the Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) of Jajpur on Thursday.

‘The panic is caused by the simple fact that crows tend to hover around human settlements and stay in close contact with humans and recently many crows died of the deadly disease bird flu or H5N1 virus in Jharakhanda areas bordering Odisha’, added Dr Mohanty.

Keeping in view the arrival of migratory birds in this winter , the veterinary department is ascertaining the sudden rise in the death of crows in Jajpur Road. , added Mohanty. A two member team of Animal Disease Research Laboratory (ADRL) collected samples of ten dead crows in Jajpur Road on Thursday which will be sent to the Bhopal’s Indian Veterinary Research Institute to ascertain the cause of the crows’ large-scale death , said Mohanty.” Read more.

Norway: Up to 20 Tons of Dead Herring Wash Ashore in Troms, Cause Unknown

Update: They’ve all just ‘disappeared‘ …

By Ralf Lofstad – (via Google Translate) – “(Dagbladet): The inhabitants of resin in Troms could hardly believe his eyes on the morning of New Year’s Eve, the beach was a large amount, an estimated tens of tons, dead herring, writes Northern Lights .

Various theories

No one knows for sure what’s happened in the popular hiking area in Nordreisa municipality. However, various theories have been tossed around, explains Jan-Petter Jorgensen (44), who took mass death in sight on the beach with his dog Molly.

– People say that something similar happened in the 80s, and there is speculation among others on the river which flows into the ocean behind a promontory on the site, may have had something to say. Maybe the fish have been caught in the long due, and then died of fresh water? Jorgensen says to Dagbladet.

He estimates each individual fish to be of 100-150 grams, and that the total might be about up to 20 tons. Now he’s worried about what might happen if no one comes and removing carcasses.

– When we talk about an environmental problem, the fish are in full resolution.” Read more.

Egyptian Bishop Warns of Another Massacre in Nag Hammadi

“(AINA) — Bishop Kyrillos, the Coptic Orthodox bishop of Nag Hammadi, received last week several threats of attacks to be carried out on churches in Nag Hammadi, either on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Eve on January 6. ‘I do not want another Nag Hammadi Massacre to happen again,’ he said in an interview on the Egyptian independent TV Channel Al Tahrir. On January 6, 2010 6 Copts were killed and more than 15 injured in a drive-by shooting of worshippers as they left church after celebrating the Coptic Orthodox Christmas Eve’s mass, which falls on January 6 according to the Julian Calender (AINA 1-7-2010).

The Nag Hammadi diocese will cancel all festivities for New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve, and will end the midnight service early and not after midnight as is the norm.

‘I have reported to the police all the threats received and asked for protection. I told them that I am ready to ask our youth to organize committees to protect the churches,’ said Bishop Kyrillos. ‘Yesterday I sent an appeal to Field Marshall Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the prime minister and the interior minister, asking them to secure Nag Hammadi, which has experienced repeated acts of violence.’

At the end of 2009, despite warnings by local church authorities in Nag Hammadi of possible violence during the Coptic festivities in January 2010, police had not bolstered security for Christmas.

Bishop Kyrillos believes that the reason behind these new threats is his unwavering support for the Copts of his diocese, who are plagued by an escalating series of kidnappings. The Bishop councils his parishioners not to give in to the kidnappers by paying the ransoms, but instead to report the crime to the police. ‘I cannot and will not stay inactive while I see the terrified Coptic families paying all what they have, and sometimes what they do not have, to get their children back.'” Read more.

Leader of Egyptian Al-Tagammu’ Party: The Christians in Egypt Have Every Right to Be Scared (Video)

Institute: Indonesia’s Religious Tolerance Wanes While Dogmatic Bylaws Gain Ground

By Ulma Haryanto – “The Wahid Institute, a Muslim organization that promotes tolerance, warned on Thursday that the worst was yet to come for religious freedom and tolerance if the country refused to take drastic measures.

‘We have been recording the state of religious freedom and tolerance since 2008, and I have to say that 2011 was the worst,’ said Rumadi Ahmad, program coordinator at the institute.

Aside from the increasing incidents of religious violence and intolerance — 276, up from 198 last year — the Wahid Institute also highlighted the steady growth of religious bylaws.

The institute reported that 36 regulations had been drafted or implemented that banned religious practices that were deemed as deviant from Islam, including the Ahmadiyah, required dress, respect toward holy days and obligation to pay alms.

In 2011, West Java and its districts issued 10 religious bylaws, more than any other region including Aceh, which partially adopts Shariah law.

West Java also ranked first in the number of religious violence and intolerance incidents with 160 recorded incidents this year, according to the institute.” Read more.

Flashback: Indonesia: Hundreds of Hard-Line Muslims Rally to Denounce the ‘Arrogance’ of Local Church Congregation for Continuing to Exist – “Hundreds of hard-line Muslims rallied outside the Bogor City Hall on Sunday to decry the ‘arrogance’ of a beleaguered church in the city that remains shuttered by authorities despite a Supreme Court order to open it. The protesters, from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami), said they wanted to show that all Muslims were united in opposition to the presence of the GKI Yasmin Church in the city. ‘We’re here to refute the arrogance of the church, which continues to insist on setting up in the Taman Yasmin [housing complex],’ said Achmad Imam, the Forkami head in Bogor.” Read more.

Flashback: Massive Increase of Radical Islamism Spreads Throughout Indonesia, Including ‘Top-Quality’ Universities – “The suicide bombing of a church in Central Java on Sept. 25 pointed not only to a new level of attacks on religious minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country but to a political bent that accommodates Islamist extremism. ‘Radicalization of Islamic teachings and understanding is a problem in Indonesia,’ admitted Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar, director general of Islamic Community Guidance under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. ‘There’s a need to re-explain the concept of jihad.’ Pino Damayanto, aka Ahmad Yosepa Hayat, who blew himself up wounding over 20 members of the Sepenuh Injil Bethel Church (Bethel Full Gospel Church) in Solo on Sept. 25, apparently believed it was his religious duty to kill ‘the enemies of Islam,’ according to his understanding of ‘jihad.’” Read more.

Is a Super-Volcano Just 390 Miles from London About to Erupt?

By Ted Thornhill – “A sleeping super-volcano in Germany is showing worrying signs of waking up.

It’s lurking just 390 miles away underneath the tranquil Laacher See lake near Bonn and is capable of ejecting billions of tons of magma.

This monster erupts every 10 to 12,000 years and last went off 12,900 years ago, so it could blow at any time.

It covered 620 square miles of land with ash and rocks and several small earthquakes in the region last year indicate that it could be awakening from its deep sleep.

Experts believe that if it did go off, it could lead to widespread devastation, mass evacuations and even short-term global cooling from the resulting ash cloud blocking the sun.

The effect on the UK is hard to predict but it’s possible that large parts of southern England could be covered ash.

It’s thought that the volcano is similar in size and power to Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which blew in 1991 and became the biggest eruption of the 20th century.” Read more.