MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Abbas Faiz – “To many, the Maldives are a paradise on earth. Tourists arrive in their droves – at least two for every Maldivian in the country – escaping to the islands’ unspoilt beaches and temperate waters. But a campaign of violent repression this year has shattered this idyllic image, exposing a human rights crisis that has gripped the country since President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation in February.

The televised resignation of Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected president, threw the country into deep political turmoil. Alarmed by this development, the international community began to get closely involved in efforts to resolve the political crisis. While these efforts were underway, the country plunged into a deep human rights crisis that threatened to derail it from its hard-earned gains of the recent past. It had held its first democratic elections as recently as 2008. The streets of the capital island Malé and a far away island city, Addu, became the scene of almost daily protests rallies by Nasheed supporters – which were quelled using unnecessary, excessive force by the police and military.

Earlier this year, I visited the Maldives, arriving less than two weeks after these events. The streets were calm, but I soon sensed the underlying tension and the fears of the people on both sides of the crisis who were afraid that things might get worse. I met with the former President, Mohamed Nasheed and I also met with the new President Dr Mohammed Waheed, the minister of home affairs, the minister of foreign affairs, the Speaker of the parliament, the chief justice, civil society activists, lawyers, journalists and many victims of human rights violations. While the authorities claimed they were committed to human rights protection, not a single person from the police or the army has to date been brought to account for the violations committed.” Read more.

Flashback: Maldives: New President to Appoint Pro-Sharia Islamists to Cabinet as Island Nation Slides Towards Extremism – “The Maldives’ new president has expanded his Cabinet to include members of the former autocratic ruler’s party, and Islamic conservatives will be appointed ministers in coming days. Conservatives have been demanding the introduction of strict Islamic laws in the Indian Ocean nation that relies on high-end tourism… Adhaalat, or Justice Party, which wants to see the introduction of Shariah law, and several other moderate parties will also receive ministerial positions, according to presidential spokesman Masood Imad.” Read more.

Flashback: Maldives: New Law Will Imprison or Banish Anyone Who Preaches Any Religion Other Than Islam – “President’s Office has gazetted the controversial Religious Unity Regulation, declaring it an offence to preach a religion except Islam in the Maldives… The regulation, which instructs scholars to consider the social harmony, states practices that should be avoided in preaching Islam in the Maldives, including the practice of making comments in contradiction with prophetic traditions and majority view of the scholars… A person who violates the regulation will be sentenced to 2-5 years in prison, banishment or house arrest.” Read more.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say the tattered & torn US flag was an intentional, not-so-subtle message to the American infidel …

Creeping Sharia – “Over at the Gateway Pundit, a commenter notes the sharia compliance enforced on women at the DNC Jummah. The real war on women, Islamic sharia (will not be televised).

Source: Dwayne Gross; NBC News

Macsmind points out that one of the leaders of the DNC Muslim prayer event is wearing a ripped and torn U.S. flag around his neck.

Note the complete disrespect of the flag, draped in a way that suggestion “submission”.

… And the media is scurrilously trying to now claim that the event wasn’t sanctioned by Obama and the DNC who mysteriously deleted the Islamic event from their schedule after public concern of Democratic support for sharia law and jihad-preaching participants.

Lest you have any doubts that Democrats whole-heartedly support Islamic sharia law, recall just weeks ago that a prominent Democrat stated on video that Voting Against Sharia Law Is GOP Fear Mongering, Bigotry.” Read more.

St. Louis Jewish Light – “(JTA) — A second anti-Semitic attack in Berlin within a week has prompted the launch of a state police investigation.

Berlin police said Monday that 13 girls from the Chabad Or Avner primary school were verbally abused with anti-Semitic slogans by four teenage girls fom the neighboring public school before their physical education class was to begin, according to the German news agency dpa. The Jewish school shares the gym with the secular school.

The four alleged attackers, aged 15 and 16, also reportedly photographed the Jewish pupils with their cell phones. Two young men accompanied the attackers.

A teacher tried unsuccessfully to intervene and speak with the teens, but they fled. At least one was wearing a Muslim headscarf, dpa reported.

The incident follows a brutal attack on Berlin Rabbi Daniel Alter, who was beaten by several men after they asked him if he was Jewish. Alter required emergency medical treatment. The attackers also reportedly threatened Alter’s 6-year-old daughter.

Reaction was swift from political leaders and the head of the Jewish community in both cases. Following the latest incident Gideon Joffe, the head of the Berlin Jewish community, said that Muslims must confront anti-Semitism within their community.

Some 11,000 Jews officially belong to the Berlin Jewish community, and it is estimated that another 10,000 to 20,000 live in the German capital.

For some Berlin Jews, the incidents are a disturbing reminder of underlying tensions with Arab neighbors.

Ayala Goldmann, who lives in the same neighborhood where Alter was attacked, told JTA that her first reaction was to consider ‘wearing a silver star of David pendant out of solidarity because I don’t agree that Jews should have to hide their identity in public.’

‘But then I thought about my 3-year-old son, and the fact that I don’t want any trouble with the Arab youth who live in the social housing near the commuter train station. I decided not to follow through on this idea because of [my son]. I just don’t want to take any risks.'” Read more.

Egypt Independent – “Bassam al-Zarqa, one of the advisors to President Mohamed Morsy, said the Egyptian people have ‘an overwhelming desire to implement Islamic Sharia, and not only its principles.’

Zarqa, who is the secretary of the Salafi Nour Party in Alexandria and a member of the constitution-writing assembly, told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat that while the majority of Egyptians want Islamic Sharia implemented, Article 2 of the Constitution states that only the principles of Sharia represent the main source of legislation. He said that the word ‘principles’ may have several interpretations, including one from the Constitutional Court saying principles need conclusive evidence, which could lead to a disregard of some authentic prophetic traditions, jurisprudential rulings and even a part of the Quran.

Zarqa added that he rejected ‘loose descriptions.’

Since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak, the popularity of Islamists has been rising and they won a majority in Parliament, which was later dissolved. In August, protests were staged to express rejection of the political hegemony of Islamists, and particularly the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party. Egypt’s newly elected president, Mohamed Morsy, also belonged to the Brotherhood.” Read more.

Flashback: Egypt: Increasing Number Of Egyptians Want To Ditch Peace Treaty With Israel, Model Its Government After Saudi Arabia – “As Egyptians prepare to vote for their first post-Mubarak president next week, the antipathy towards Israel espoused by the frontrunners aligns with the findings of a new survey, in which 61 percent of Egyptian respondents favor abandoning the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, up from 54 percent a year ago.” Read more.

Flashback: Crucifixion and Amputation: Egyptian MP Proposes Sharia Law Punishments – “… The proposed law calls for the application of ‘Heraba,’ an Islamic penalty for criminal actions that include overt robbery, murder, forcible taking of property with a weapon and vandalizing public facilities. The penalties according to Azzazy’s bill are execution in the case of murder, or cutting one arm and one leg from opposite sides of the culprit’s body in the cases of robbery and forcible taking of property. If the taking of possessions is accompanied by murder, the penalty would be death or crucifixion, to be determined by the judge.” Read more.