MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

For peaceful purposes …

By Neil Connor, AFP – “A court in China’s restive Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang sentenced three men to death on Tuesday after they were found guilty of trying to hijack an aircraft and detonate explosives, state media said.

The men, along with a fourth who received a life prison term, were among a group of six that tried to seize the aircraft after it had taken off from Hotan in the northwestern region and were thwarted by passengers and crew, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a court statement.

The other two gang members died in the struggle, which also resulted in injuries to 24 crew members and passengers, the statement said.

They were confronted after they tried to ‘detonate explosive devices’, the statement from the Intermediate People’s Court in Hotan Prefecture said, adding that ‘converted metal crutches and explosives’ were used in the hijacking.

The men attempted to commandeer the Tianjin Airlines flight 1,400km away from its destination, the regional capital city of Urumqi.

They were influenced by religious extremists and ‘loudly shouted religious extremist cries’ on board the aircraft, the Xinhua report said, citing court testimonies.

‘They decided to blow up the aircraft and die along with all the other passengers,’ it added.

Ringleaders Musa Yvsup and Arxidikali Yimin, along with Eyumer Yimin, who played a major part in the attempted hijack, were sentenced to death.” Read more.

Flashback: China: Rioters Shout ‘Allah is the Only God’ While Hacking People to Death – “Police shot down 14 rioters who attacked a police station in Hotan city of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Monday, a Communist Party official in Hotan said Wednesday. The official, who declined to be named, said the attack left four people dead, including an armed police officer, a security guard, a woman and a teenage girl. At least three others were injured… Shouting frantic religious slogans like ‘Allah the only God’, the rioters ran to the top floor and police opened fire to stop them …” Read more.

For peaceful purposes …

Reuters – “A Russian court jailed four alleged Islamist militants on Monday for plotting to bomb a high-speed train between Moscow and St Petersburg last year.

Moscow City Court handed prison terms of 15 to 18 years to Islam Khamzhuyev, Fail Nevlyutov, Mansur Umayev and Mansur Edilbiyev, natives of Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region.

Prosecutors said they had tried to attack the Sapsan train in summer 2011, state news agency Itar-tass reported. A lawyer for the accused said the defense would appeal.

The Kremlin is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency in its mostly Muslim North Caucasus that continues in the wake of two wars between Moscow’s security forces and Chechen separatists in the region.

Insurgents seeking to establish an Islamic state claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 27 people on a Moscow-St Petersburg train in 2009, a suicide bombing that killed 37 at Moscow’s busiest airport in 2011 and bombings on the Moscow metro that killed 40 in 2010.

Earlier this year, Russia jailed 10 people – four of them for life – for the 2009 bombing on the Moscow-St Petersburg line.” Source – Yahoo! News.

Flashback: Russia: Pious ‘Religion Of Peace’ Followers Unite Together To Kill Muslim Cleric Preaching Sermons Of Peace And Unity – “Attackers have shot dead an imam and two of his male relations, as they drove to a mosque in the Russian North Caucasus region of Dagestan. They were shot on their way to morning prayers, close to the imam’s home in the Caspian Sea town of Derbent, law enforcement sources told reporters. The cleric was named as Kalimulla Ibragimov, 49, who is said to have delivered sermons calling for peace.” Read more.

Flashback: Russia: Prominent Muslim Lawyer Promises To ‘Cover Russia In Blood’ and Turn Moscow Into ‘A Second Dead Sea’ If Sharia Law Is Not Implemented – “Police in the Russian capital said on Wednesday they will examine a video in which a prominent Muslim lawyer pledges to ‘cover Russia in blood’ if the authorities refuse to establish courts to implement Islamic law. ‘May be you are foreigners here, and this is our home. We will set our rules, whether you want this or not … Any attempts to stop this will result in blood. We will turn the city (Moscow) into a second dead sea,’ he was quoted as saying.” Read more.

Flashback: Russia: Convert To Islam Calls For Killing Of All Non-Muslims To Unite The Muslim World Under A ‘Global Islamic Caliphate’ – “The Moscow City Court has sentenced radical Islamist Tatyana Tarasova to 1.5 years of probation for posting an article promoting terrorism on a Muslim advocacy website that she administered… Tarasova converted to Islam and began supporting radical Islamic views and the idea of committing terrorist acts against non-Muslims in an effort to unite the Muslim world under a ‘global Islamic caliphate.’” Read more.

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper could teach a thing or two to Barack Obama. But then again, only the teachable will ever learn …

By Kathryn Blaze Carlson and Stewart Bell, National Post – “Canada told the Syrian opposition Tuesday it must reject extremism and embrace minorities before Ottawa will recognize its legitimacy as a successor to President Bashar Al-Assad, according to a federal official.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird explained Canada’s preconditions for official recognition at a meeting with representatives of the opposition Syrian National Coalition in Morocco on Tuesday, the official said.

‘He outlined the importance of rejecting extremism, the inclusion of minorities, and the importance of the role of women in a post-Assad era,’ said the official, who did not want to be named.

On Wednesday, Mr. Baird will publicly spell out those preconditions during an address before the Friends of the Syrian People meeting — a gathering of more than 100 countries in Morocco’s Marrakesh working to bolster legitimate opposition to the Assad regime.

While France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council have already recognized the newly formed Syrian National Coalition, and President Barack Obama confirmed Tuesday the U.S. would do the same, Mr. Baird was taking a more cautious approach.

The international gathering comes as Western nations struggle to co-operate with the Syrian resistance while at the same time sideline al-Qaeda-aligned extremists who have been trying to hijack the anti-Assad opposition.” Read more.

Flashback: Iranian Gov’t Threatens Canada After Canadian PM Closes Iranian Embassy, Expels All Diplomats, Cuts All Ties – “Iran accused Canada on Saturday of ‘hostile behavior’ under Israeli and British influence after Ottawa cut diplomatic relations, and it raised the prospect of swift retaliation. Canada said on Friday that it was closing its embassy in Tehran and gave Iranian diplomats five days to leave the country, branding the Islamic Republic as the ‘most significant threat to global peace and security’.” Read more.

Flashback: Officials: Canada A Refuge For Persecuted Egyptian Christians – “Christians in Egypt will increasingly see Canada as their chance to escape from a country whose president belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, immigration officials warn. ‘The (permanent resident application) volume continues to trend upwards and the number of applications submitted may accelerate, given the election of a new, Islamic government in Egypt,’ a Canadian immigration program officer said in documents obtained by immigration lawyer Richard Kurland through Access to Information requests.” Read more.

Flashback: Canadian Prime Minister: ‘Islamic Militancy’ Poses Greatest Security Threat to Canada – “Prime Minister Stephen Harper sees Islamic terrorism as the greatest threat to Canada’s security, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Tuesday. In an exclusive interview that is to air in its entirety Thursday, the Conservative prime minister told the CBC he believes Canada is safer now than it was when al-Qaida terrorist cells attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. However, he said, ‘the major threat is still Islamicism.’” Read more.

If the UN can reward Islamic terrorism by making the Palestinians an observer state, then why can’t Obama? The West once again willingly lies in bed with Islamic fundamentalism, and once again Obama has done nothing but embolden, encourage and empower one of the greatest destroyers of peace that the world has ever known. If he was perfectly satisfied with the “destroy-Western-civilization-from-within” Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt, then why not also be perfectly satisfied with anti-American jihadists in Syria who would love nothing more than to see the complete downfall of freedom as we know it? This American President is either a devastatingly sad example of naivete in the world today, or one of the greatest political deceptions of our modern era …

By DEVIN DWYER ABC News – “In a diplomatic shift, President Obama said today his administration now formally recognizes the newly-formed, leading coalition of Syrian rebels who are fighting to topple Syria’s embattled President Bashar Assad.

‘We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime,’ Obama said.

The announcement, made during an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters, grants new legitimacy to the rebel group and marks a new phase in U.S. efforts to isolate the Assad regime.

‘It’s a big step,’ Obama said of the decision. The United States follows Britain and the European Union, both of which last month recognized the Syrian opposition group.

The diplomatic designation will allow the United States to more closely support rebel efforts, including the organization of a future post-Assad government, administration officials said.

‘Obviously, with that recognition comes responsibilities,’ Obama said of the young coalition. ‘To make sure that they organize themselves effectively, that they are representative of all the parties, [and] that they commit themselves to a political transition that respects women’s rights and minority rights.'” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Islamist Rebel Commander Injects Syringe Filled With Diesel Fuel Into Christian, ‘Die Slowly, Christian Dog’ – “Who are these snipers? Are they locals? This question seems crucial. Everyone in the region is either for or against Bashir al-Assad’s regime, it’s a bipolar world: Christians and Shia mostly for, Sunnis mostly against… ‘This is what they are like. One of the killers, the commander of the ‘Bara’ brigade, was found with a syringe full of diesel. He injected it into a man, a Christian, saying, ‘Die slowly, you Christian dog’.’” Read more.

Flashback: Syrian Rebels: After Assad ‘We Have A Big Fight Against The Jews Ahead Of Us’ – “The results of Saudi Arabia’s tireless efforts were on display in Al-Midan, a suburb in southern Damascus where I recently interviewed rebel fighters. Mateen, a fighter who claimed to have traveled from Afghanistan, shared his ideas for Syria’s future after ridding it of the Assad dynasty. ‘We have to build a society of respect and brotherhood in accordance with the Prophet’s commandments … we have a big fight against the Jews ahead of us. We will take that up, God willing.’” Read more.

Flashback: Syrian Islamist Rebels To Christians: Prepare To Die If You Refuse To Convert To Islam Or Pay The ‘Jizyah’ – “This led to a question about the future of Syria’s minorities such as the Christians. Ahmed, Basah, and Hamid Hassan all agreed – Christians could only live there if they either converted, or paid the ‘Jizyah’ – a special tax levied on non-Muslims in previous centuries in the Middle East. If not said Bahar, they could be killed. When asked why, the answer was, to them, quite simple – because the Prophet Mohammed said so.” Read more.

The Local – “German security officials on Tuesday said one man had been arrested amid a police investigation into a Salafist terrorist connection to a suspected explosive device found at the Bonn train station.

Bild newspaper reported that it had inside information that school children had identified two Salafists known as terror suspects as those who had left the blue sports bag at platform one of the station on Monday.

And Focus magazine’s website said on Tuesday afternoon that one man had been arrested while making his way to his lawyer in Bonn. Security sources told the DPA newswire they expected the federal prosecutor and the federal criminal police to take over the case.

The police have not commented on either report, saying only that they were keeping a completely open mind as to who might have been responsible.

Bonn’s main train station was closed for much of Monday in the bomb scare, which saw explosives experts use a water cannon to smash it to bits.

Examination of the pieces showed the bag contained metal holders filled with powder which could have been explosive, although no detonator was found.

On Tuesday the police said they were conducting a state-wide search across North Rhine-Westphalia, but offered no details of who their targets might be. ‘We are completely open in our investigation,’ a spokesman said.” Read more.

Flashback: Downfall Part 2: German Politicians Welcome Introduction Of Sharia Law In Germany, ‘Good For Integration’ – “Most politicians in Germany have gotten the message: The quickest way to spark a career-damaging controversy is to make a facile comment about Nazis or the Holocaust. Media critics and political opponents are quick to pounce. But that isn’t the only way to attract unwanted attention, as Jochen Hartloff, the interior minister of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, found out this week. In an interview with the Berlin tabloid BZ, Hartloff said that Sharia law, in a ‘modern form,’ would be acceptable in Germany.” Read more.

Flashback: Germany: Hundreds Of Radical Islamists Riot In Bonn, 29 Police Officers Injured, 2 Stabbed – “Clashes erupted in Germany when police tried to separate competing rallies by an ultraconservative Muslim group and a small far-right march, injuring 29 officers, authorities said Sunday. More than 100 Salafist protesters were briefly arrested. The trouble in the western city of Bonn started late Saturday when hundreds of Muslims protested against the rally of about 30 supporters of the local far-right party Pro NRW, which has angered Muslims by showing unfavorable cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Strict Muslims oppose any depiction of their prophet. About 110 Salafist protesters were arrested after they started attacking security forces with stones and bottles, police said. Two of the injured police officers were hospitalized with serious wounds after being stabbed.” Read more.