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President Obama’s Pro-Islamist Faith Adviser Makes ‘Anti-Israel’ Remarks

03/19/2012 Leave a comment

“Dalia Mogahed, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, is under fire for her remarks on Twitter about Israel.

WND first exposed Mogahed’s radical Islamic ties, including how she was a partner in an Islamic project whose stated goal was to ‘define, interpret and implement the concept of the Islamic State in modern times.’

Now she is attempting to deflect controversy after she wrote on Twitter about her opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in which she pointed out the embattled ruler can no longer ‘deliver … resistance to Israel.’

Her full Tweet read: ‘To those siding w/ Assad: he cannot deliver stability, protection of minorities, or resistance to Israel. He is a killer w/o legitimacy.’

After bloggers noticed, Mogahed tweeted, ‘I am criticizing (people) who support Assad because they think he resists Israel.’

However, her tweet in question can be easily interpreted to mean she is decrying Assad’s inability to ‘resist’ Israel.

‘Resistance’ is a term routinely used by Islamic extremists to mean terrorism targeting civilians.

Besides her White House advisory role, Mogahed is also on the advisory council of the Department of Homeland Security.” Read more.

Flashback: Three Muslim Brotherhood members employed by the White House, influencing policies of President Obama – “Rashad Hussain is Obama’s special envoy to the 52-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference. His background is entrenched in the Muslim Brotherhood… Dalia Mogahed is a speech writer and chief advisor on Islamic affairs for Barack Obama. Numerous sites provide information that show Ms. Mogahed is pro-Sharia and deeply entrenched with the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Muslim American Society… Azizah al-Hibri was appointed by the president to the Commission on International Religious Freedom. She is an intellectual professor and lawyer who defends Islamic law. She once served on the advisory board for Mohammed Alamoudi of the American Muslim Council, defending Alamoudi even after he made public statements supporting terrorism.” Read more.

Iran: At Least a Dozen Christians Remain Jailed as Authorities Detain Church Leaders and Members In Isfahan

03/19/2012 Leave a comment

“TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)– At least a dozen devoted Christians from Iran’s third largest city remained in jail Saturday, March 17, as part of an attempt by authorities to discourage Muslims and Christian converts to attend church services, Iranian Christians said.

Mohabat News, a news agency of Iranian Christians and activists, said security forces began a new crackdown last month in Isfahan, 340 kilometers (211 miles) south of the capital Tehran.

The agency said security forces detained both leaders and members of churches meeting in buildings, as well as some from underground house churches.

Among the latest known Christian converts detained in the Isfahan area is Fariborz Parsi-nejad, a Christian convert, who was reportedly taken into custody on March 2 while returning home from his work.

‘Security authorities raided his home and seized him without explanation,’ Iranian Christians said.

CHRISTIANS TAKEN

The crackdown began February 22 when security forces allegedly took at least eight Christians from their homes and work places.

Most of those jailed are members of the St. Paul Anglican church in Isfahan, Christians said. Mohabat News added that among those imprisoned at local prison facilities is Hekmat Salimi, pastor of St. Paul Anglican Church, who converted 30 years ago and authored theological books and Giti Hakimpour, 78, a female pastor at the same church.

Other church members include Shahram Ghaedi, an actor, Maryam Del-Aram, 54, Shahnaz Zarifi, a mother of two and Enayat Jafari, according to rights investigators.

Another Christian, Majid Enayat, was also detained on February 22 at his workplace. He is a member of a house church, and Mohabat reported that prior to his arrest, authorities detained other members of his group.

In a separate February 22 incident Iranian intelligence officers, initially introducing themselves as representatives of the regional electricity company, raided the Isfhahan home of Christian Enayat Jafari, seizing personal belongings, including a laptop, phone cards, books, compact disks and even children’s

cartoons, Mohabat News said.” Read more.

Syria: Islamists Expel 90% of Christians from Homs, Car Bombs in Christian Districts of Aleppo and Damascus Kill 30

03/19/2012 1 comment

“Al-Haqiqa has learned from church sources in Homs that the city has been emptied of almost 90% of its Christians. It is expected that a complete ‘cleansing’ of buildings owned by Christians will occur within a matter of days or weeks by armed men from the Wahhabi ‘Faruq Brigade.’ A source in the Orthodox metropolitan’s office told al-Haqiqa that armed men from the Faruq Brigade went to the homes of the Christians, house by house, in the neighborhoods of Hamidiya and Bustan el-Diwan, informing them that they must immediately leave their homes and the city of Homs. The source revealed that the lastest [sic] attempt to expel Christians by force of arms occured [sic] yesterday. It included Dr. Taleb Mashhour Gharibeh, professor of mathematics at Baath University in Homs, his brother the musician Marwan Mashhour Gharibeh (a musician in Sabah Fakhri’s group), both of whom live in the Hamidiya neighborhood, their sister Marie Mashhour Gharibeh, who lives in the Bustan el-Diwan neighborhood, as well as their father and his wife the schoolteacher Maha Habou, who live in the new neighborhood el-Wa’ar. This wave of expulsions also included the residents of a six-story building in Hamidiya, whose residents include eighteen families, almost all of whom are from the village Uyoun el-Wadi.

The church sources said that the armed men informed the owners of the homes before they departed that if they did not leave immediately they would be shot and pictures of their corpses would be sent to al-Jazeera with the message that the government had killed them. The source emphasized that all those who were expelled ‘were not allowed to take any of their possessions with them, not even extra clothes. Immediately after they left their homes, the buildings were occupied by armed men who considered it ‘war-booty from the Christians!”” Read more.

Bombings kill 30 in Syria as Christian districts targeted – “A CAR bomber yesterday targeted a security headquarters in a Christian district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing three and wounding 30. The explosion, the second in the city since unrest began, occurred at a time when the area is usually thronged with people on the first working day of the week. On Saturday, simultaneous suicide bombings in Damascus near an air force intelligence facility and the criminal investigation department killed 27 and wounded more than 100. The latter was in the al-Qasaa area, also inhabited by Christians. A third vehicle exploded near an army bus, killing its occupants… Sources in Aleppo have reported rebel activity north of the city and Christians have said churches have been attacked, creating the fear the community could be targeted, in the same way Christians in Iraq have been since the 2003 US occupation.” Read more.

Yemen: Al Qaeda-Linked Group Kills American Teacher for Christian Proselytizing

03/19/2012 Leave a comment

AP – “SANAA, Yemen – A group linked to Al Qaeda claims it killed an American teacher in Yemen for Christian proselytizing.

Joel Shrum, a 29-year-old English language teacher from Harrisburg, Pa., had worked for two years in the central city of Taiz.

Yemeni officials say Shrum was killed in his car Sunday morning when assailants in military uniforms sped up next to him on a motorcycle, opened fire and then sped away. Witnesses say he was killed instantly.

A text message sent to journalists said, ‘This operation comes as a response to the campaign of Christian proselytizing that the West has launched against Muslims.’ It claimed Shrum was ‘one of the biggest American proselytisers.'” Read more.

Al-Qaeda makes ‘alarming’ advances in Yemen, U.N. envoy warns – “A reinvigorated al-Qaeda has made ‘alarming’ advances in Yemen, expanding its military control over several southern towns and launching a series of brazen attacks that threaten the U.S.-backed political transition there, a senior U.N. envoy warned the Security Council in a confidential briefing last week. ‘The scale of these attacks serves as a stark reminder of the security threat posed by al-Qaeda,’ Jamal Benomar, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the 15-nation council Wednesday, according to a copy of the briefing notes obtained by The Washington Post. ‘Despite all counterterrorism efforts, al-Qaeda in Yemen has not retreated.'” Read more.

Angry Muslim Turk’s Message for Europe: Whether You Like It Or Not, ‘We are Coming’

03/19/2012 Leave a comment

By Soeren Kern – “A second-generation Muslim immigrant in Austria has authored a provocative new book in which he argues that Europe’s future is Turkish, whether Europeans like it or not.

The book’s short, sharp and confrontational title says it all: ‘We are Coming.’

The thesis is: ‘Regardless of whether or not you [Europeans] like us [Turks], whether or not you integrate us, whether or not you want us in the European Union, our influence in Europe is growing. We are more numerous. We are younger. We are more ambitious. Our economy is growing faster. We are stronger.’

The author, a 25-year-old Austrian-Turk named Inan Türkmen, says his objective in writing the book is to change the terms of the debate about Muslim immigration in Europe.

Türkmen — who was born in Austria to Kurdish migrants and speaks fluent German — says he is sick and tired of the way Turkish immigrants are being portrayed in the European media. He believes the time has come for Turks to fight back.

Taking a page from the playbook of the American Tea Party movement, Türkmen says he wants to establish an ‘angry citizen movement’ (Wutbürgerbewegung) in Europe. His Turkish Tea Party would unite Turkish immigrants in Austria, Germany and other European countries to protest against European ‘arrogance.’

In an interview with the Vienna-based newspaper Die Presse, Türkmen says he decided to write ‘We are Coming’ after getting ‘hot under the collar’ over a recent book about Muslim immigration by the renowned German economist Thilo Sarrazin.

Sarrazin’s best-selling book, ‘Germany Does Away With Itself,’ broke Germany’s long-standing taboo on discussing the impact of Muslim immigration. The book, which was first published in August 2010, is now on its 22nd edition. At last count, more than two million copies have been sold, making it one of the most widely read titles in Germany since the Second World War.” Read more.

Washington Times: Obama Administration Silent While Saudi Grand Mufti Targets Christianity, ‘Ignores These Types Of Provocations At Its Peril’

03/19/2012 Leave a comment

“If the pope called for the destruction of all the mosques in Europe, the uproar would be cataclysmic. Pundits would lambaste the church, the White House would rush out a statement of deep concern, and rioters in the Middle East would kill each other in their grief. But when the most influential leader in the Muslim world issues a fatwa to destroy Christian churches, the silence is deafening.

On March 12, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is ‘necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.’ The ruling came in response to a query from a Kuwaiti delegation over proposed legislation to prevent construction of churches in the emirate. The mufti based his decision on a story that on his deathbed, Muhammad declared, ‘There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula.’ This passage has long been used to justify intolerance in the kingdom. Churches have always been banned in Saudi Arabia, and until recently Jews were not even allowed in the country. Those wishing to worship in the manner of their choosing must do so hidden away in private, and even then the morality police have been known to show up unexpectedly and halt proceedings.

This is not a small-time radical imam trying to stir up his followers with fiery hate speech. This was a considered, deliberate and specific ruling from one of the most important leaders in the Muslim world. It does not just create a religious obligation for those over whom the mufti has direct authority; it is also a signal to others in the Muslim world that destroying churches is not only permitted but mandatory.

The Obama administration ignores these types of provocations at its peril.” Read more.

Flashback: Obama’s Christian Problem – White House Overlooks Christian Persecution While Pandering to Islam – “The Obama administration has been obsessed with Muslim outreach and recently tried to mend fences with the Jewish community. Given the state of the world, however, the White House ought to be focused on helping the world’s oppressed Christians. The United States has been wary to intervene in matters affecting Christians in the Middle East for fear of validating terrorist narratives that the West is engaged in a new crusade against Islam. The result of this passive policy has been to allow Islamic extremists increasingly to dominate the debate, often with tragic consequences.” Read more.

Libyan Police Too Scared to Arrest Cemetery Vandals Despite Capturing Three Who Desecrated Graves

03/18/2012 Leave a comment

Daniel 11:43, “He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission.”

We’re all watching the situation in Egypt deteriorate as the “man of lawlessness” steps in, but here’s an interesting update on this story about the recent grave desecrations in Benghazi. Apparently the new government of recently “liberated” Libya has succumbed to the belief that they now have no other choice than to submit to the even more radical Islamists in their midst. The Nubians (modern day northern Sudan) have already been taken over

“Police in Libya captured three members of an armed mob that desecrated British war graves in Benghazi – but released them after a few hours because they were ‘too dangerous’.

The extremists, who admitted smashing the gravestones with sledgehammers, belong to an Islamist militia with links to Al Qaeda.

During questioning, police were so nervous they made the men wear blindfolds so they would not be able to identify their interrogators.

‘We had no option but to release them, even though they admitted criminal damage,’ a senior officer told The Mail on Sunday.

‘We have no control over these men, they are too dangerous, they have more weapons. We have arrested members of this brigade in the past and their fellow fighters raided the police station to get them out.’

To worldwide outrage, this newspaper revealed two weeks ago that 150 memorials were systematically overturned, many of them shattered, while a sandstone cross was smashed.

It happened at a cemetery outside Benghazi, the headquarters of anti-Gaddafi forces during last year’s revolution.” Read more.

Flashback: Al-Qaeda Plants Its Flag in Benghazi, Libya – ‘Whomever Speaks Ill of This Flag, We Will Cut Off His Tongue’ – “Earlier this week, I went to the Benghazi courthouse and confirmed the rumors: an al Qaeda flag was clearly visible; its Arabic script declaring that ‘there is no God but Allah’ and a full moon underneath. When I tried to take pictures, a Salafi-looking guard, wearing a green camouflage outfit, rushed towards me and demanded to know what I was doing. My response was straightforward: I was taking a picture of the flag. He gave me an intimidating look and hissed, ‘Whomever speaks ill of this flag, we will cut off his tongue. I recommend that you don’t publish these. You will bring trouble to yourself.’” Read more.

Iranian Military Commander: We Must Raise Public Hate and Destroy America in Order to Build an Ideal Society, ‘As Long As America Exists, We Will Not Rest’

03/16/2012 1 comment

Don’t worry. President Obama seems to believe that the window of diplomacy still remains open somehow, as if to suggest there is still a chance that dialogue with the Ayatollahs can somehow, someway, somewhere, still convince Iran to turn from the error of its ways. So let’s not question him. Because the President was gifted with superior judgment skills. While we’re at it, let’s also not question the nearly imperceptible draft coming in through the military’s own window of opportunity …

By Reza Kahlili – “The head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force says his country has no choice but to destroy America in order to build an ideal society.

In a video broadcast to Basij members on Feb. 26, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi said the Islamic regime’s ‘independence and unhindered advance toward perfection is subject to removing the despotic powers and the Zionists,’ referring to America and Israel.

‘In every field in which the Islamic Republic of Iran tries to advance,’ Naqdi said, ‘America is there to create obstacles for us. … When we want progress in science, they enforce sanctions and kill our scientists.’

The Basij force is a militia unit, established in 1979 by revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini, best known as a security force responsible for reacting to protests and other assemblies of dissident groups. It is a subset of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Naqdi, who was born in Iraq, was a member of the Iranian Quds Force — another Guards subgroup — and involved in international terrorism before Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed him to command the Basij in 2009. He has previously threatened to assassinate American generals in retaliation for the killings of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Last year, the U.S. Treasury slapped sanctions on Naqdi for human rights abuses during the country’s 2009 pro-democracy uprising.

‘As long as America exists, we will not rest,’ Naqdi said. ‘In revealing the truth about America and the Zionists, we must raise public hate against the despotic powers and create the environment for the destruction of America.’

One week after Naqdi’s speech, during an event at the University of Tehran called ‘Quds [Jerusalem] Is Calling Us,’ Iranian ideologue Hassan Rahimpour Azghodi said the Saudi monarchy also must be destroyed, since it would result in the destruction of Israel. Read more…

Assad Adviser Says Syrian President Must Confirm That ‘The Islam of the Syrian People is the True Islam’ by Showing ‘Hostility to Israel, the First Enemy of the Muslims’

03/16/2012 Leave a comment

There’s that “first enemy” moniker again. Iran, Egypt, Syria. I wonder what other surrounding nations feel the same way? …

By Robert Spencer – “How is it that this Assad adviser got the crazy idea that ‘the true Islam’ would manifest itself in ‘hostility to Israel’? Doesn’t he know that Islam is a Religion of Tolerance that shows love for all, hatred for none? Or has he read that passage in the Qur’an that says that the Jews will be the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82)? Yet surely it doesn’t really mean that, does it? Maybe some of the enlightened Muslims in the U.S. can explain this puzzler for us. Honest Ibe Hooper? Boy Reza Aslan? Man of Peace Rauf? Anyone? Anyone? ‘Assad emails: ‘Suggestions for the president’s speech’ – translation,’ from the Guardian, March 14:

From: Hadeel Subject: this is from hussam Date: 31 December 2011 14:55:14 GMT To: sam@alshahba.comSee the original Arabic version

Attachment:

Suggestions for the president’s speech

After consultations with a good number of people, in addition to the media and the political attache to the Iranian ambassador, I have gathered some points that I think it is important should be mentioned in the speech:

Islam:

Since the majority of our people are from the Sunni sect and are also religious, I would suggest that the speech must carry an Islamic identity, since much of the opposition raise the flag of Islam it is therefore necessary for the president to snatch this identity from them, but in his own way, by using verses from the Holy Qur’an in the speech.

Confirming that the Islam of the Syrian people is the true Islam by connecting Islam with Syria’s principles,

1. Resistance

2. Hostility to Israel, the first enemy of the Muslims,

3. Protection of Read more…

Italy: Muslim Man Arrested While Planning ‘Jihad Mission’ Against Milan Synagogue

03/15/2012 Leave a comment

“(ANSA) – Milan, March 15 – Police arrested a suspected terrorist in the northern city of Brescia early on Thursday who they believe may have been planning an attack on Milan’s synagogue.

Jarmoune Mohamed, a 20-year-old Moroccan national who has lived in Italy since he was six, is also suspected of setting up secret Facebook pages providing training on making bombs and using weapons for budding terrorists.

Correlated investigations are being carried out in the United States and Britain and London police have arrested a woman suspected of being an accomplice of Mohamed in the synagogue plot.

Police said they found evidence in the man’s home and on his computer that he has conducted a thorough inspection of Milan’s synagogue, with information on the security measures used and the police who guard the building. They showed some of material they seized from his home to reporters.

Investigators added that they had intercepted messages in which the man talked about a ‘jihad mission’.” Read more.

Afghan Religious Leader on Recent Civilian Killings: ‘Religion is Much Higher a Concern Than Civilian or Human Casualties’

03/15/2012 Leave a comment

As I stated here four days ago, only one conclusion could be drawn if there were no mass riots within a few days of the “rogue soldier” incident: For Muslims, the unintentional burning of Qur’ans is much worse than the intentional killing of innocent men, women and children. Now The New York Times is coming to the same realization and attempts to delve into why, at least so far, this has proven to be the case …

By ROD NORDLAND – “KABUL, Afghanistan — The mullah was astounded and a little angered to be asked why the accidental burning of Korans last month could provoke violence nationwide, while an intentional mass murder that included nine children last Sunday did not.

‘How can you compare the dishonoring of the Holy Koran with the martyrdom of innocent civilians?’ said an incredulous Mullah Khaliq Dad, a member of the council of religious leaders who investigated the Koran burnings. ‘The whole goal of our life is religion.’

That many Americans are just as surprised that what appears to be the massacre of 16 people at the hands of an American soldier has not led to mass protests or revenge killings speaks volumes about a fundamental disconnect with their Afghan partners, one that has undermined a longstanding objective to win the hearts and minds of the population. After more than 10 years, many deaths and billions of dollars invested, Americans still fail to grasp the Afghans’ basic values. Faith is paramount and a death can be compensated with blood money.

‘To Muslims, and especially to Afghans, religion is much higher a concern than civilian or human casualties,’ said Hafez Abdul Qayoom, a member of Afghanistan’s highest clerical body, the Ulema Council. ‘When something happens to their religion, they are much more sensitive and have much stronger reaction to it.’

The attack by a still unidentified United States Army soldier near his base in the Panjwai district, in southern Kandahar Province, has certainly infuriated Afghans and added to already strained relations. But the anger has been more polemical than violent — at least so far.

‘We have to hold our breath here — people are jumping too fast on this idea that Afghans don’t care about 16 people being killed, compared to, say, the Koran-burning episode,’ said Haseeb Humayoon, who has studied the phenomenon of mass protests.

There have been delayed reactions to past foreign offenses, like when a Florida evangelist deliberately destroyed a Koran last year. And Friday Prayers, which often touch off mass protests, have yet to take place this week. Still, the contrast with the reaction to the Feb. 20 Koran burnings is striking. Within a day of the burnings, violent protests outside NATO bases broke out, and apologies from top officials did little to stem two weeks of violence that took at least 29 lives.” Read more.

‘Extraordinary and Unprecedented’: SWIFT Cuts Off Iran As Sanctions Vice Tightens

03/15/2012 Leave a comment

“BRUSSELS — Iran was largely cut off from global commerce on Thursday, when the company that handles financial transactions said it was severing ties with many Iranian banks – part of an international effort to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

The action is meant to enforce European Union sanctions, as global financial transactions are impossible without using SWIFT, and will go a long way toward isolating Iran financially.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is a banking hub crucial to oil, financial transactions and other trades.

Because of its reach, SWIFT’s decision to cut off some 30 Iranian banks and subsidiaries could hinder not only banking but also the country’s lucrative crude oil industry and possibly hurt Iranian households that depend on remittances from relatives living abroad.

‘Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT,’ said Lazaro Campos, chief executive of the company. ‘It is a direct result of international and multilateral action to intensify financial sanctions against Iran.'” Read more.

Flashback: Jim Sinclair: ‘This is as serious as it gets in nuclear and economic terms’ – “Iran is to be dropped out of the Swift system in Belgium. That means Iran could neither send or receive bank money wires. That would slam Iran’s economy. This is economic war at the highest level of conflict. This could start a greater move of central banks with fears of the West to increase and retrieve their gold positions. It certainly puts cash reserves held by central banks (which are computer entries anyway) into serious question as to security. This is as serious as it gets in nuclear and economic terms. The only weapon that can be effective against Iran’s nuclear industry is Western nuclear deep penetration bunker busters. Hold tight to your insurance investment positions.” Source – SGT Report.