MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

AFP – “Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike if Israel prepares to attack it, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander told broadcaster Al-Alam on Sunday, a day after his boss warned that conflict was inevitable.

Should Israel and Iran engage militarily, ‘nothing is predictable… and it will turn into World War III,’ Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iran’s Arabic-language television network.

Hajizadeh, who is in charge of Revolutionary Guards missile systems, said: ‘In circumstances in which they (the Israelis) have prepared everything for an attack, it is possible that we will make a pre-emptive attack. But we do not see this at the moment.’

He added that Iran would deem any Israeli strike to be conducted with US authorisation, so ‘whether the Zionist regime attacks with or without US knowledge, then we will definitely attack US bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Afghanistan.’

He warned that Israel ‘cannot imagine our response — and it will sustain heavy damage and that will be a prelude to its obliteration.’

On Saturday, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said war between Iran and Israel ‘will eventually happen, but it is not certain where and when.’

It was the first time a senior Iranian official had acknowledged a probability of war breaking out between the two arch-foes.

Jafari, quoted by the ISNA and Fars news agencies, also said such a conflict would lead to the annihilation of Israel.” Read more.

At least temporarily. In light of the burning chaos throughout the Muslim world, which is now calling for the death of America and the death of freedom, it wouldn’t be politically expedient at home to meet with a “death-in-the-name-of-Allah-is-our-goal” Islamist president who wants to destroy Western civilization from within. Because that would raise an eyebrow or two. Again. But if Obama is re-elected, expect the meeting to be rescheduled …

By Neil Munro, The Daily Caller – “President Barack Obama has quietly cancelled a politically risky plan to meet this week with Egypt’s new Islamist president.

The plan was cancelled amid a wave of riots and attacks in Arab countries that have damaged Obama’s campaign-trail claim to foreign policy competence.

In 2011, Obama had ‘bilateral’ meetings with 13 Arab and world leaders during the annual U.S. summit. This year, amid the foreign policy meltdown, his schedule shows no so-called ‘bilats’ with any foreign leaders.

The cancelled visit with Morsi was mentioned in a Sept. 23 New York Times article about Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist who now governs the Arab region’s most important country.

Despite critical 2011 support from Obama for the revolt that removed Hosni Mubarak, Morsi is now demanding restrictions on U.S. free speech that is critical of Islam, demanding more U.S. support for the anti-Israeli Islamist governments in Gaza and the West Bank, and more financial aid to help the cash-strapped Egyptian government buy food and fuel for its population of 82 million people.

These Islamist demands clash with Obama’s promise of good U.S.-Arab relations made in his June 2009 ‘New Beginning’ speech in Cairo.

That controversial speech reversed President George W. Bush’s policy of opposition to Islamists’ demands for theocratic governments in Egypt and other Muslim-majority states.

To emphasize the reversal, Obama even invited some members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement to his Cairo speech.

Following elections in 2011 and 2012, that Islamist movement now controls Egypt, and is taking steps to end the 1979 peace deal between Egypt and Israel.” Read more.

Flashback: Obama To Palestinians: Delay Next Bid For Statehood Until US Election Is Over – “Things that make you go ‘Hmmm.’ If President Barack Obama — who has never made a single visit to Israel during his first term — is re-elected in November then chances will be better than ever for the Palestinians to succeed where they failed last year. What could possibly go wrong? …” Read more.

By Guy Taylor, The Washington Times – “A Muslim cleric hosting an Egyptian television show recently outlined his version of Islamic instructions for wife-beating. In another show, a cleric claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood, now governing Egypt, one day will rule the world.

‘If not through peace, there is nothing preventing war. We welcome war,’ said the second cleric, who added that ‘one of the tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they cannot renounce,’ is the goal of global dominance by an Islamic caliphate.

The shows aired on Egypt’s Al Nas network, a hard-line Salafist Muslim outfit that for years has flown largely under the radar of international observers.

The network was thrust into the spotlight last week when it broadcast Arabic-dubbed movie clips from what it described as an English-language film insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Riots and protests erupted throughout the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world.

Protesters breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, destroyed the American flag and raised a black banner used by Islamic extremists.

In Libya, terrorists killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others in an armed attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Protests continued Sunday when hundreds of Pakistanis clashed with police as they tried to storm the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. One protester was killed and more than a dozen were injured.

U.S. officials last week cited Al Nas‘ attention to ‘Innocence of Muslims’ — a crudely made independent film produced in the United States — as a flash point behind the wave of anti-American unrest.

Like Al Jazeera, CNN Arabic and other international satellite stations, Al Nas broadcasts live on YouTube and is piped into millions of homes across the Middle East…

U.S. officials applaud the emergence of an independent Egyptian media spawned by the ouster last year of the nation’s longtime authoritarian leader, Hosni Mubarak. However, such independence appears to have made hard-line religious programming far more mainstream, especially for the strict, puritanical Islam of the Salafists…

An apparently neutral host on the [Egyptian network ONTV] asked [Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi] whether new fronts of war would need to be opened against Israel — including an Egyptian front — to ensure that Jerusalem can be made the capital of a new ‘United States of the Arab.’…

‘We seek peace,’ said the cleric, although he added that ‘if not through peace, there is nothing preventing war. We welcome war.’

‘The day will come when we will be the masters of the world,’ Mr. Higazi said.” Read more.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, The Jerusalem Post – “BERLIN – The Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg, widely considered by experts in Germany and abroad the long arm of Iran’s regime in the Federal Republic, appears to have violated the spirit – and perhaps the terms – of its contractual partnership with the city of Hamburg.

The mosque and its parent organization are said to have mobilized anti-Israel activists to call for the destruction of the Jewish state.

The city of Hamburg’s interior ministry sent the Green Party politician Antje Möller a list of responses to her September 10 queries about the role of the Imam Ali Mosque.

Möller questioned whether the Iranian religious institution mobilized groups and associations to travel to Berlin in August to participate in the annual al-Quds day march, which calls for the violent destruction of Israel.

According to Hamburg’s domestic intelligence agency – Germany’s version of Shin Bet – efforts to recruit for the anti-Israel al-Quds march have taken place since 2009 in ‘the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) association, which operates the (Shia) Imam Ali-Mosque.’

The intelligence agency added that ‘two buses with roughly 90 people traveled to Berlin this year. The costs for the travel were paid for by the IZH.’

The al-Quds day rally was attended by over 1,000 Islamists, including pro-Hezbollah members, who promoted the obliteration of the Jewish state in the heart of Berlin’s shopping district.

According to a report in the liberalleft taz on Wednesday, the IZH is a member of the council of Islamic communities (Schura) and a main partner of Hamburg’s senate contract between the city and Muslim associations.

The legal agreement provides that the Schura, which includes the IZH, is to actively outlaw discrimination and violence because of religion, national origin and religious views.

The taz reported that Möller is looking into the meaning of the IZH’s calls to abolish Israel based on the anti-violence and anti-discrimination language of the partnership agreement.

Hamburg has the largest German-Iranian and Iranian community in the Federal Republic. The northern city is believed to have the second largest European Iranian community.” Read more.

Revelation 13:15, “And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.” (ESV)

BBC – “A Pakistani government minister has offered a $100,000 (£61,616) reward for the death of the maker of an anti-Islam film produced in the US.

Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said he would pay the reward for the ‘sacred duty’ out of his own pocket.

A government spokesman condemned the remarks and said it was considering taking action against Mr Bilour.

The comments came a day after at least 20 people died in clashes between anti-film protesters and Pakistani police.

Friday’s violence occurred in cities throughout Pakistan, with Karachi and Peshawar among the worst hit.

‘I will pay whoever kills the makers of this video $100,000,’ the minister said. ‘If someone else makes other similar blasphemous material in the future, I will also pay his killers $100,000.

‘I call upon these countries and say: Yes, freedom of expression is there, but you should make laws regarding people insulting our Prophet. And if you don’t, then the future will be extremely dangerous.’

His ANP party, which is part of the governing coalition, told the BBC this was a personal statement, not party policy, but added that it would not be taking any action against him.” Read more.

France: Muslim Man Arrested After Calling For The Beheading Of Mohammed Cartoonist – “French police arrested a man for apparently calling on a jihadi website for the decapitation of the editor of a magazine that published cartoons mocking Mohammed, a judicial source said. The man was detained in the western city of La Rochelle for calling on the radical website for the head of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which on Wednesday published cartoons of a naked Prophet. ‘The essential thing is not to let him live in peace,’ the man allegedly wrote.” Read more.

Egypt: Cleric Issues Fatwa To Muslim Youth In America: Kill The Cast, Crew And Everyone Who Supported Anti-Mohammed Film – “A Salafist cleric in Egypt is calling for the deaths of all those involved in the making of an anti-Muslim film that has outraged the Islamic world, SITE Intelligence Group said on Monday. In a statement, the terrorism monitoring service said Ahmad Fouad Ashoush issued his fatwa, or religious edict, against the cast and crew of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ via jihadist internet forums over the weekend.” Read more.

Lebanon: Hezbollah Chief Issues Fatwa of Death Against Anti-Islam Film Makers – “The leader of Lebanon’s militant Islamist political party Hezbollah has issued a proclamation calling for the death of the producers and actors of the highly controversial film… Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah issued a fatwa — a religious judicial ruling based on conservative Islamic law, also known as sharia — calling on young Muslims in Western countries in particular to carry out the death sentence of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the film’s creator and an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian, as well as the film’s actors and all those involved in its making.” Read more.

By Kapil Komireddi – “What will happen in Syria? The answer to that question holds immense significance for Israel. Yet, preoccupied with Iran’s nuclear program, Israel is neglecting the more immediate threat to its security that’s crystalizing on the other side of the Golan Heights. What began as a limited but genuine people’s uprising against a kleptocratic dictatorship has now been overtaken by a Saudi-backed project to destabilize Syria.

Bashar Assad, like his father Hafez, was never a friend of Israel’s – but nor was his worldview shaped exclusively by antagonism toward the Jewish State. The foreign fighters seeking his ouster, on the other hand, receive sustenance from a medieval theocracy that, in the words of John R. Bradley a preeminent Middle East expert who predicted the Egyptian revolution as early as 2009 ‘spews out a kind of anti-Semitic hatred not known since the Nazis.’

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,’ he told me in Urdu. ‘We will treat non-Muslims kindly, but we have a big fight against the Jews ahead of us. We will take that up, God willing.’ This manifesto for the future was identical – almost word for word – to what Yahya Mujahid, a senior leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based outfit charged with carrying out the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, told me in Lahore in 2009: that the LeT would take up the ‘fight’ with the Jews after ‘liberating’ Kashmir from Indian rule. One was a Kashmiri, the other a Pashtun; neither had met a Jew in his life. But both were united by a deep hatred, completely alien to their richly syncretic native cultures, exported by a distant Wahhabi monarchy that has suffused countless young minds in Islamic seminaries across South Asia with a fervor for jihad against non-Muslims.” Read more.

Flashback: Obama Authorizes Secret U.S. Support For Muslim Brotherhood And Al-Qaida Rebels In Syria – “President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said. Obama’s order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence ‘finding,’ broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.” Read more.