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Archive for August, 2013

Australia: New Assault Allegations Made Against Muslim Prayer Leader During Ramadan Visit

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

Here’s an update on the Muslim prayer leader from Egypt who blamed his sexual assaults in Australia on “cultural differences” …

You can hide your face from the cameras, but you cannot hide it from the Law

Face it: You can hide it from the cameras, but you cannot hide it from the Law

By Rachel Olding, The Sydney Morning Herald – “A visiting Muslim prayer leader who groped two teenagers and a grandmother on the northern beaches is facing fresh allegations of indecently assaulting two other women.

Ahmed Abdelshafy Mohamed El-Kahly, who has been visiting a mosque in Dee Why to lead evening prayers during the month of Ramadan, has appealed to a magistrate to be sentenced quickly for the crimes so he can return home to Egypt on Friday.

Magistrate Michael Barbour denied the request, saying he would require a pre-sentencing report to determine the seriousness of the charges, which may take several days.

His decision came as police revealed in North Sydney Local Court on Monday they are investigating further complaints from two women they were indecently assaulted by the 59-year-old sheikh.

El-Kahly pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a Dee Why reserve last Monday and a 16-year-old girl and 57-year-old woman on Dee Why beach last Wednesday…

Outside court, El-Kahly’s lawyer, Rick Mitry, said his client was highly distressed and needed to return to Egypt on Friday to avoid losing the cost of his air fare.

El-Kahly will be sentenced on September 16.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam

Mike Huckabee Hammers Islam For Threatening Violence During Their So-Called ‘Holiest Days’

08/06/2013 4 comments

The Green Horse is ugly. And it shows …

By Jeff Poor, The Daily Caller – “Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee railed against Islam Monday as the United States had been forced to close 21 embassies as the religion’s holy month Ramadan winds down.

Huckabee, now a Cumulus syndicated talk show host, explained on his radio program that his observations would not be perceived as being politically correct.

‘I know we’re not supposed to say anything unkind about Islam,’ Huckabee said. ‘I mean, it’s politically incorrect. I get that. But can someone explain to me why it is that we tiptoe around a religion that promotes the most murderous mayhem on the planet in their so-called ‘holiest days.’ You know, if you’ve kept up with the Middle East, you know that the most likely time to have an uprising of rock throwing and rioting comes on the day of prayer on Friday. So the Muslims will go to the mosque, and they will have their day of prayer, and they come out of there like uncorked animals — throwing rocks and burning cars. You know, I’m just pointing out that for all of the demands that we’re supposed to be so very polite, and I’m not saying all Muslims are radical and I am not saying that all Muslims are violent. I’m not. But we as a government recognize that the most likely times for them to erupt in some type of terrorist activity, violent storming of an embassy, is on their holy days.’

Huckabee went on to make the comparison of Muslims after their holy holiday to Christians after their holy holidays of Christmas and Easter, noting that the violence isn’t encouraged by Christianity.

‘Now, my point is — I mean do you ever say ‘Oh boy, it’s Christmas! Oh my gosh, these Christians are going to come out of that Christmas Eve service and they are going to Wal-Mart, and they are going to so rip that place apart, because you know what happens when they go in there and pray about Jesus. And they get out of there and they go straight to the mall, and they just, I mean they set fire to the place.’ I mean, when Christians get out of their Christmas services, about the worst thing they do is commit the sin of gluttony when they go to some Christmas dinner, be it at a restaurant or someone’s home. I mean, for most of us, the holiest days that come in the Christian world, particularly Christmas and Easter, I don’t really recall that the government has to issue a warning and say ‘Look Out! It’s Easter! Those Christians are coming. They’ll be throwing eggs all over town.’’

‘That’s just not what we do. It never occurs to us that on the days in which we are supposed to be humbled by the presence of God that somehow we would rise up and kill innocent people including children,’ he continued. ‘It just doesn’t seem to fit. And I know I’m likely to just get hammered for what I’ve just said. So be it. I bring it up because it just doesn’t make sense to me.’

Huckabee referenced one particular example in American culture which the government had to tiptoe around a radical element with the Read more…

Categories: Radical Islam

Syria: At Least 18 Killed After Suspected Islamists Detonate Car Bomb In Christian Suburb Of Damascus

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

For peaceful purposes …

Associated Press – “Syrian state media say a car bomb has struck in a Damascus suburb, killing at least 18 people and wounding 56.

The news agency SANA says the powerful blast hit the Syrian capital’s suburb of Jaramana late on Tuesday.

The suburb is an overwhelmingly pro-regime district located just a few kilometers (miles) southeast of Damascus.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad from power have frequently targeted areas where regime supporters and members of the government or security forces live.” Source – AP.

Flashback: Syria: At Least 10 Killed, Many Of Them Women And Children, After Another Car Bombing In Christian Suburb Of Damascus – “At least ten people were killed and 41 others were wounded Monday in a car bombing on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The blast blew apart pieces of surrounding buildings in the Christian and Druze suburb of Jaramana. Syrian state television said a ‘terrorist car bomb’ was responsible for the deaths, which included women and children, near a bakery in the southeastern district controlled by loyalists fighting for President Bashar al-Assad.” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Car Bomb Timed To Detonate In Christian Quarter Of Damascus As People Were Travelling To Church, 10 Killed – “A car bomb exploded outside a police station in the Old City of Damascus on Sunday, drawing the city’s historical Christian quarter into the civil war… ‘The bomb exploded as people were moving to go to Churches for Sunday mass. It exploded just outside the police station. There was a bus stop right beside it … Terrorists are doing this,’ said George, a Christian who, like many residents in Bab Touma lives in fear of the rebel fighters trying to gain control of the capital.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Incredible Violence And Incredible Suffering’: Suicide Bomber Detonates Near Church In Christian Area Of Damascus, At Least 4 Dead – “A suicide bomber killed at least four people in a Christian area of the Syrian capital on Thursday as aid groups said they cannot keep pace with the ever-growing suffering. State media said the bomber struck near a church belonging to an order of the Maronite church, killing four people, a toll confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. ‘A terrorist suicide bombing… in Damascus has left four people dead and several others wounded,’ state television reported said.” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Entire Christian Family Beheaded By Suspected Islamists In Damascus – “As reported by Fides sources in Damascus, the Christians in the suburbs of Jaramana (south-west of Damascus) and Zamalka (South-East of the city) are under pressure from armed groups jiahdisti and are terrified. Today in Zamalka a family of Armenian Christians was found murdered, and all members of the family horribly decapitated. The execution brings to mind the work of radical Islamist Salafis.” Read more.

Barack Obama Refuses To Order US Army To Suspend Contracts With Al Qaeda-Tied Companies

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

But this “Commander-in-Chief” will allow the firing of any service member who dares to speak the truth about Islam. It is becoming increasingly evident that this man’s allegiance lies not to America, but to the ideology that seeks its destruction

By Judson Berger, FOX News – “The U.S. Army is refusing to suspend contracts with dozens of companies and individuals tied to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups out of concern for their ‘due process rights,’ despite repeated pleas from the chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction.

In a scathing passage of his latest report to Congress, Special Inspector General John Sopko said his office has urged the Army to suspend or debar 43 contractors over concerns about ties to the Afghanistan insurgency, ‘including supporters of the Taliban, the Haqqani network and al Qaeda.’

Sopko wrote that the Army ‘rejected’ every single case.

‘The Army Suspension and Debarment Office appears to believe that suspension or debarment of these individuals and companies would be a violation of their due process rights if based on classified information or if based on findings by the Department of Commerce,’ Sopko said, summing up the Army’s position.

The Army claims that Sopko’s office did not provide enough evidence to support its claims.

‘The Army Procurement Fraud Branch did receive and review the 43 recommendations late last year, but the report did not include enough supporting evidence to initiate suspension and debarment proceedings under Federal Acquisition Regulations,’ an Army spokesman said in a written statement.

The Army further explained that it can’t debar a contractor unless a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ shows serious misconduct, and that the evidence the IG provided would not pass that test. However, the Army said it has already told the office it ‘stands ready to re-examine the 43 cases if all relevant unclassified and/or classified information is provided.’

The IG report was released last week, shortly before the U.S. government issued a global travel alert to Americans and shuttered nearly two-dozen embassies over the weekend out of concern over a possible Al Qaeda-driven plot.

The inspector general report covered everything from contractors to security to economic development. But it reserved some of its most pointed language for the Army’s refusal to cut ties with companies tied to the insurgency — calling the position ‘legally wrong’ and ‘contrary’ to good policy and national security goals.

Sopko pointed out the apparent disconnect between one part of the Army that is killing insurgents and the other part that allegedly is doing business with them.” Read more.

Flashback: The Calm Before The Jihadi Storm, ‘Why Are American Politicians Not Blowing The Whistle On Obama’s Suicidal Policies?’ – “… it’s important to remember that the very same U.S. policies that created al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the 1980s—leading to the horrific attacks of 9/11—are today allowing al-Qaeda to metastasize all around the Muslim world. As in the 80s, these new terrorist cells are quietly gathering strength now, and are sure to deliver future terror strikes that will make 9/11 seem like child’s play. To understand this dire prediction, we must first examine the United States’ history of empowering Islamic jihadis—only to be attacked by those same jihadis many years later—and the chronic shortsightedness of American policymakers, whose policies are based on their brief tenure, not America’s long-term wellbeing.” Read more.

Ohio: Muslim ‘Doctor’ Rapes And Kills Woman, Abuses Her Dead Body ‘In A Very Inhumane Way’

08/06/2013 1 comment

Creeping Sharia – “Immigration kills. via Ex-Ohio doctor raped and killed pregnant woman, lawsuit says – My News 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The family of an expectant mother, who authorities said was raped and killed by an ex-Ohio doctor, has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the physician, the hospital where he worked, and the online ad service Craigslist.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Delaware County court by the family of Deanna Ballman, blames former doctor Ali Salim for killing Ballman by injecting her with heroin after she answered a Craigslist ad he placed for cleaning services.

The lawsuit alleges that Salim used syringes he took from Knox Community Hospital, and said Craiglist should have known Salim was dangerous because other women who previously answered his ads had reported problems.

Messages were left Tuesday for Salim’s defense attorney, Knox Community Hospital and Craigslist.

Salim has pleaded not guilty to his criminal charges.

AP leaves out numerous facts including that this Muslim doctor not only raped & killed a pregnant mother of two but abused her corpse and accosted other women. He is also an immigrant.

The mother of two was found dead in the backseat of her car outside of New Albany on August 1. The Pakistani born doctor was charged with two counts of murder as well as rape, felonious assault, corrupting another with drugs, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. The 44-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will be released on $1 million bail Friday.

Kyle Rohrer, assistant county prosecutor said Salim mistreated Ballman’s corpse “in a very inhumane way.”

Source – Creeping Sharia.

Flashback: Oh Oh Ohio

Categories: Radical Islam

Iran: New President Boasts About Deceiving The West Over Iranian Nuclear Program

08/06/2013 1 comment

Here’s an important addendum to this story about Iran’s new “moderate” President, Mr. Hassan “Israel-Is-A-War-Monger” Rouhani. The Qur’an — which calls the god of Islam the greatest of all deceivers — is the quintessential source of influence for the Islamic Republic’s own constitution as well as its foreign policy. If the god of Islam, however, is the greatest of all deceivers according to the Qur’an, yet it is the Devil himself who is the one who deceives the “whole world” according to the Bible, then the implications of just who it is that Muslims around the world bow down to and worship each and every day are abundantly clear. Lies. Hypocrisy. Deception. Where would Islam be without them? …

Revelation 12:9a, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world …”

Qur’an Sura 3:54, “… Allah is the best of the deceivers.”

Revelation 13:4a, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast …”

Rouhani: Israel Must Be Removed

Rouhani: Israel Must Be Removed

By Reza Kahlili, WND – “In a newly revealed videotape of a pre-election interview, Iran’s new president bragged about deceiving the West over the Islamic regime’s illicit nuclear program and claimed credit for vastly expanding it.

Hassan Rowhani, dubbed a ‘moderate and reformist’ by worldwide media in June after his election, took the oath of office Sunday with the blessing of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, the video shows Rowhani is anything but a moderate – one who not only is committed to the ideals and goals of the Islamic regime, but also who proudly boasted of his deceptions during his tenure as the regime’s nuclear negotiator starting in October 2003 in talks with France, Britain and Germany.

‘The day that we invited the three European ministers (to the talks), only 10 centrifuges were spinning at (the Iranian nuclear facility of) Natanz,’ Rowhani said on the tape. ‘We could not produce one gram of U4 or U6 (uranium hexafluoride). … We did not have the heavy-water production. We could not produce yellow cake. Our total production of centrifuges inside the country was 150.’

But then Rowhani admitted the purpose of prolonged negotiations: ‘We wanted to complete all of these – we needed time.’

Rowhani said the three European ministers promised to block the U.S. desire to transfer the Iran nuclear dossier to the United Nations, using veto power if necessary. He called Iran’s claim that it stopped its nuclear program in 2003 a statement for the uneducated and admitted that the program not only was not stopped, but further was significantly expanded under his tenure.

While President George W. Bush was increasing pressure on Iran in 2007, a report by American intelligence agencies concluded that Iran halted its nuclear program in 2003 and that the program had remained frozen since.

In the interview, Rowhani said that when he took over the country’s nuclear project, the country’s 150 centrifuges grew to over 1,700 by the time he left the project.

‘Do you know when Bushehr’s (Iran nuclear power plant) first phase was completed? The beginning of 2004,’ Rowhani said on the tape. ‘Do you know when the next phase was inaugurated? The fall of 2004. Do you know when the project was completed? March of 2005. How about the heavy-water plant? Do you know when the production started? The summer of 2004. Do you know when yellow cake was produced? The winter of 2004. Do you know when the number of centrifuges reached 3,000? In 2005.’

Then Rowhani made his boldest statement: Read more…

Categories: Radical Islam

Islamist Group In America: We Will Impose Sharia Law Upon All Christians

08/05/2013 6 comments

Barack Hussein Obama is already doing that for them …

By Ryan Mauro, Frontpage Mag – “Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group so radical that the Muslim Brotherhood won’t even touch it, lives and breathes in America. Part of the reason it’s a fringe group in the U.S. is because it is mostly honest about its objectives. For example, one of its websites answers a question about the status of Christians in an Islamic State by frankly admitting that Sharia is imposed upon them and other non-Muslims.

‘Everyone who carries the citizenship of the [Islamic] state enjoys the rights and is bound by Shari’ah obligations,’ the Hizb ut-Tahrir (HUT) website says.

The article later reiterates that the Islamic state ‘implements Shari’ah upon all of those who carry the Islamic citizenship whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims…’

Of course, Islamists view this as a great aspiration, otherwise they wouldn’t believe in it. The article extols the fairness of Sharia-based governance. The ‘basic needs’ of all Muslims and non-Muslims are guaranteed, income is redistributed and health care and education are free. Non-Muslims can even be appointed to administrative positions and file official complaints if they are abused by authorities, at least in a way that isn’t consistent with Sharia.

The description sounds swell to those that don’t notice the important caveats.

Non-Muslims have religious freedom, as long ‘as they are within the general system.’ Non-Muslims’ attire and diet are regulated according to their own religions, as long as they are ‘within that which the Shari’ah rules have permitted.’

The HUT article, written by a spokesman in Lebanon, becomes vaguer when discussing the more sensitive issues. It was written in English for a non-Muslim audience, after all.

On the question of Muslims who abandon the faith, it explains, ‘The rule of the apostate is applied upon those who have apostatized from Islaam if they are apostates.’ That means execution, but that isn’t exactly the loveliest word you want to use when promoting your ideology.

HUT then glosses over the other aspects of Sharia law:

‘The state implements the rest of the Shari’ah rules and all remaining Islamic Shari’ah matters in regards to the [transactions], punishments, testimonies, ruling and economic systems amongst others upon everyone. The implementation of these matters is the Read more…

Loony Tunes: Egyptian ‘Donald Duck’ Tweets Desire To See Israel Destroyed, ‘I Have So Much Hate Inside Me’

08/05/2013 Leave a comment

Maybe he was trying to win a hundred ducks

By Ari Soffer, INN – “In most of the world, children’s entertainment is about happy, innocent fun, child-friendly education and positive vibes.

Not so in much of the Arab world, where children’s TV programs – from cartoons to poetry recitals – are all too often used as a tool to incite violence and hatred.

Who can forget Hamas’ answer to Mickey Mouse, Farfur, who together with his co-host Saraa, preached antisemitism and encouraged children to take part in terrorism?

At the time, after seeing how the Islamist terror group had appropriated her father’s workto encourage genocidal hatred, Diana Disney Miller – daughter of Walt Disney – voiced her disgust to the New York Daily News:

‘…Indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil. The world loves children and this is just going against the grain of humanity… What we’re dealing with here is pure evil.’

Now, the Egyptian voice of Donald Duck has illustrated how such hatred goes far deeper than a pre-written script, adding his voice to the chorus of hate by tweeting a distinctly non-child-friendly message.

Wael Mansour, who on his profile claims to be an ‘Egyptian Singer, TV & Radio Host… Official voice of Donald Duck in Disney Middle East,’ tweeted yesterday that ‘I truly wish #Israel is demolished, I hate Zionism, I have so much hate inside me with every child they murder or land they seize!'” Read more.

Flashback: Al-Qaeda: ‘Raise Your Children In The Cult Of Jihad And Martyrdom … Instil In Them A Love For Religion And Death’ – “The wife of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has congratulated Muslim women for the role they have played in the Arab Spring and urged them to raise their children for jihad. ‘I congratulate all Muslim women for these blessed revolutions,’ Umaima Hassan Ahmed Mohammed Hassan wrote in a letter posted on the Al-Fajr website on Friday. ‘I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instil in them a love for religion and death,’ she wrote.” Read more.

PA TV Gives $100 Prizes For Anyone Defining Israeli Cities As “Palestinian” (Video)

Categories: Radical Islam

Pakistan: Muslim Teacher Breaks 7-Year-Old Child’s Arm For Failing To Learn Qur’anic Lesson

08/05/2013 1 comment

Muslim teachers, clerics and scholars continually berate Jews and Christians as “the vilest of animals”, yet here they are once again behaving like vicious monsters …

Qur’an Sura 8:55, “Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve [non-Muslims] …”

Qur’an Sura 3:110, “Ye [Muslims] are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind …”

The Express Tribune – “A seven-year-old child’s arm was broken allegedly in beating by his seminary teacher on Sunday, Satellite Town police said.

He was taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors treating him said he was now out of danger.

A case has been registered against the teacher, but he had yet not been arrested. Rana Nadeem, an uncle and guardian of the boy, Ahmed Raza, alleged that Raza’s teacher Qari Ataullah had beaten him for not learning his lesson.

He said some of Raza’s class fellows told him that the teacher had twisted his arm and beat him with a stick. Nadeem said Raza had returned him crying in pain. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors said that his arm was broken.

He said he later went to the seminary to talk to the teacher, who, he said, started abusing him. He them went to the police station to report the incident, he added.” Source – The Express Tribune.

Flashback: Experience Is The Best Teacher

Categories: Radical Islam

Somalia: Islamist Militants Attack Mogadishu, Promise More Bombings Before The End Of Ramadan

08/05/2013 Leave a comment

For peaceful purposes. When Islam considers murder and death a holy endeavor to commit and to love for the sake of “Allah”, what better time to seek them both than during Islam’s “holiest” month? …

Proverbs 8:35-36, “For he who finds Me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against Me injures himself. All those who hate Me love death.”

By Abdi Sheikh, Reuters – “Islamist militants set off several explosions in the Somali capital on Sunday, their spokesman said, demonstrating the rebels’ ability to attack the heart of government-controlled areas despite security gains.

The guerilla-style attacks were typical of al Shabaab rebels who have waged a six-year campaign to impose their strict interpretation of Islamic law on the country.

The militants had fired five mortar shells and hurled several grenades, wounding at least two women, senior police officer Abdiqadir Mohamud said.

Somali security forces responded with volleys of gunfire, witnesses said. Casualty numbers were thought to be low.

‘We started a massive military operation across Mogadishu at dusk. It will go on until tomorrow morning,’ said rebel spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, promising more attacks over the next few days as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends.

Al Shabaab said late last month the rise in coordinated attacks conducted by its fighters pointed to its enduring strength and at the time warned of more attacks in Ramadan.

The African Union peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, has struggled to control areas won back from al Shabaab. The central government extends little influence beyond the capital where security has improved since peacekeepers flushed the militants out of their bases two years ago.

Uganda’s Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa told leaders from troop contributing countries – including Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti and Sierra Leone – at a summit in Uganda on Sunday that AMISOM had been stretched to its operational limit. But a summit communique stopped short of calling for extra troops.

‘I am afraid the remaining nights of Ramadan will be the worst for Mogadishu,’ local elder Farah Bulle told Reuters. ‘They have managed to indoctrinate many fighters to die in the holy month.'” Read more.

Somalia: Murder? Commit it. Death? Love it. For the sake of Allah.

South Korea: Red Tide Of Summer Wipes Out 11 Million Fish

08/05/2013 Leave a comment

Korea JoongAng Daily – “Fisherman Kim Yeon-bok, 58, went down to check his jwichi (tilefish or leatherfish) farm last week off Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, and found thousands of his fish floating on the sea or washed up on the beach.

They were killed by a toxic red tide that has engulfed a large swath of the southern coast.

The number of fish killed this year along the southern coast is 11 million, according to the South Gyeongsang Provincial Government yesterday, generating 6.05 billion won ($5.45 million) in losses.

‘The catch has been down this year,’ Kim said, ‘So I looked forward to selling 250,000 jwichi. But 90 percent of them have been killed by the red tide.’

The fisherman estimated his loss at over 500 million won. There were so many dead fish, Kim said it would take two to three days to clear them away.

Kim is one of hundreds of farmers suffering from the red tide, caused by massive algae blooms exuding chemicals harmful to marine animals. They are not good for humans to inhale either.

The algae blooms turned the sea a reddish brown color a few days ago.

‘My fish farm was totally ruined by the red tide,’ said Park Soon-bok, 59, who raises chamdom (red sea bream) and jwichi in the southern waters off Tongyeong.

‘It is really daunting to deploy cranes to move hundreds of thousands of dead fish from the sea into the land,’ he said.

In Tongyeong City, one of the most heavily-affected areas, 42 fish farms have lost 80 to 90 percent of their fish.

The government is considering offering financial assistance to the affected areas in the South Gyeongsang regions.

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Jin-sook visited Tongyeong last weekend and pledged compensation for the damages.

Fish farms along the coast off Yeosu and Goheung, South Jeolla have been put on a red tide alert.

‘I suffered a lot last year when the red tide killed a huge number of doldom [parrot fish],’ said a 57-year-old fish farmer in Yeosu.

This year’s red tide is expected to be more severe than last year’s, which was blamed on sweltering heat, although the exact cause was never conclusively determined.” Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

Syria: Islamist Rebels Threaten Christians With No Jobs, Death If They Fail To Comply With Islamic Law

08/05/2013 1 comment

Revelation 13:16-18, “… it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate [‘psēphizō’ – reckon] the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is χξς.”

AINA – “Accounts by Assyrian refugees from al-Thawrah (also known as al-Tabqah) reveal the real face of the Islamist undercurrent within the Syrian opposition. Furthermore, these accounts serve as a stark and chilling reminder of what has already been suffered by non-Muslim communities in Iraq since 2003.

On February 11, rebel fighters from the al-Nusra Front took control of the city and its strategic dam, the largest of its kind in the country. They also seized control of the three quarters that housed dam workers – many of whom were Christian Assyrians. Whilst they allowed the dam’s original staff to remain in the city in order to continue its operation, management and upkeep, those who were not Sunni Muslim were not afforded the same privilege.

‘Everything is now in Jabhat al-Nusra’s hands,’ complained one Assyrian refugee, ‘All the Muslims stayed there, but if any Christians want to go back they have to become Muslim or else they will be killed.’

Christians report their property being stolen, their homes being confiscated, and their possessions being sold on the black market in order to buy weapons and ammunition. In many of these cases, those forcefully dispossessed were not even allowed the chance to take with them any of their personal belongings.

According to the jihadist Islamist ideology espoused by such forces as the al-Nusra Front, the properties and possessions of such ‘infidels’ are halal (fair game), and it is not a sin to plunder them.

They also threatened Christians with death if they did not comply with strict Islamic laws. ‘They would call and text me on my cell phone, ordering me to do as they say, or else they would kill me! Can you imagine it?’ said a Christian man from al-Thawrah, who had lost all he owned, and is now internally displaced with his family. ‘Even though I have left they still call me from there to bother me, so I keep my phone switched off unless I really need to use it.’

The gruesome story (AINA 4-3-2013) of an Assyrian man from al-Hasakah Governorate, allegedly shot by rebels in an execution-style murder just outside al-Thawrah in April 2013, still sends shivers up the spines of those who knew him. He used to earn a living transporting people between al-Hasakah and al-Thawrah, until his car was confiscated by al-Nusra fighters. ‘They told him that he could buy it back from them, so he returned to his village to bring them the money,’ one refugee related, ‘He should have stayed put and thanked God that they hadn’t killed him then and there, but he didn’t listen to reason and left with the money they’d requested. No one ever saw him alive again. How will his wife and four children support themselves now?'” Read more.