The Method

The following is an excerpt from the article, Wilders Prosecution is a Welcome Opportunity to Expose Islam:

Tarek Ramadan visited the Islamic Center in Bilelefeld, Germany (May 21, 2008) and gave a speech. Before he began his speech, he asked if there were any journalists in audience. As the answer was negative, he said, “OK, now I feel free to say what I really want.” Ramadan is well-known for telling his infidel audience something and his Muslim audience another thing.

Ramadan said, “My brothers and sisters, we must exploit the so-called democracy and freedom of speech here in the West to reach our goals. Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Koran teach us that we must use every conceivable means and opportunity to defeat the enemies of Allah. Tell the infidels in public, we respect your laws and your constitutions, which we Muslims believe that these are as worthless as the paper they are written on. The only law we must respect and apply is the Shari’s.”

Ramadan added, “The Germans claim that they want to integrate you in their society. We tell them we are going to integrate them in our Umma (Muslim world) after converting them to Islam.”

The New Muslim Invasion

The following is an excerpt from the article, Wilders Prosecution is a Welcome Opportunity to Expose Islam:

Zaghlul Al Najjar rejoices in the rise and spread of Islam across the globe. He writes in the Egyptian daily Al Ahram (Nov. 14, 2008), “Islam now is everywhere. Gorgeous mosques are build everywhere in the heart of Europe, in Rome and Cologne. The number of Muslims all over the world is also rising. More than 20 million Muslims live now in Europe. Alone in Germany there are 3.5. Demographers estimate that the majority of citizens in Germany will be Muslims in the year 2050. Two decades ago very few women wore the Hijab (headscarf). Now you can see them everywhere. Sooner or later, Islam will be in control of the whole world. This time, we don’t need to fight the infidel West with our troops as we did at the gates of Vienna. This time we’ll infiltrate the West and convert it to Islam, willy-nilly.”

Why Muslims Kill Non-Muslims

The following is an excerpt from the article, Wilders Prosecution is a Welcome Opportunity to Expose Islam:

Ali Gom’a, the grand mufti of Egypt, the highest Muslim religious authority in the world, supports murdering non-Muslims. In the daily Al Ahram (April 7, 2008), he says, “Muslims must kill non-believers wherever they are unless they convert to Islam.” He also compares non-Muslims to apes and pigs, not only the Jews.

Muhammad Sayyid Al Tantawi, president of Al Azhar University also approves of killing and maiming Christians, Jews, and other infidels. He added, “This is not my personal view. This what the Shari’a Law says, the law of Allah, the only valid law on the earth.”

Yousef Al Qaradhawi, the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist organization, the Muslim Brothers, urged on Al Jazeera TV (Jan. 9, 2009) Muslims to kill the Jews, not only in Israel but also worldwide. He added, “No peace can be made between us (Muslims) and the non-believers. This what our holy book says. This what Allah says.”

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed al Sheikh said on Iqra’ TV channel, “Killing producers who show women unveiled is legal.”

The Saudi Sheikh Saleh Al-Lehadan, head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, told Al Watan daily, (March 25, 2008) “After getting rid of the Jews in our Arab land, we must turn to the Christians. They have three options: either they convert to Islam, or leave, or pay Jizia (protection taxes). Further, there is not such a thing as Shiites, Sufis, etc. There are only Sunnis. All these sects must renounce their pagan beliefs and return to Sunna, the right path of Islam.”

Focus and Motivation

How about a shot of courage and motivation? Here's an excerpt from a blog called Crush Pessimism:

IN THE MOVIE, Terminator 2 - Judgment Day, John (the kid) finds out the bad terminator is probably going to kill his mom. John wants to find her and warn her. The good terminator says, “Negative. It is not a mission priority.”

The kid starts yelling. The good terminator (Arnold) says, “This does not help our mission.”

Throughout the movie, Arnold plays a machine that has only one goal and never lets go of it, never gets distracted from it, never comes up with a new goal, and never gets discouraged by setbacks. During the whole movie, he evaluates every possible action with only that criteria: Does it help my goal or doesn’t it? If it doesn’t, he has no time for it. He doesn’t waste any time fuming about someone else’s behavior. He doesn’t waste any time thinking about what he “should have” done. He just stays on his purpose.

Good article. Read the rest: Does This Help My Goal?

Violent Jihad in the Qur'an

The following was posted by Archimedes as a comment after this article: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict In Brief.

Note: When it is written as two numbers, such as 9:33, that means it is from the Qur'an, chapter nine, verse thirty-three.

According to the Koran it is wrong (in general) for Muslims to kill other Muslims (4:93). I focus here generally on violent jihad, which is directed toward non-Muslims.

Extra rewards for jihad/fighting/killing in the name of Allah 2:149, 2:215, 2:244-245, 3:163, 3:169, 3:195, 4:57, 4:69, 4:74, 4:97, 9:20, 9:81, 37:40-49*, 48:19, 48:28-29, 61:2-4, 61:9-12. *Note that 37:40-47 says the true pure slaves of Allah will be rewarded with (among other things) lovely-eyed virgins of modest gaze.

Rewards for sheltering those who fight for Allah (8:74).

Believers must terrorize the disbelievers 3:151, 9:5, 59:13. Also see 33:35-36, 59:2, 21:97.

Entrap and “dismay” (some translations say “terrorize”) the disbelievers (8:59-60).

Along with prophets and saints, martyrs are best company and favoured by Allah (4:69).

Allah grades (or ranks) the honour among believers (4:95, 4:96, 8:4). He favours those who are active in promoting Islam rather than mere sedentary believers (4:95). Only single-minded slaves of Allah will escape eternal doom (37:127-128).

When believers kill non-believers, it is Allah that is doing the killing (8:17)

“Little do you remember My warning. How many towns have We destroyed as a raid by night? Our punishment took them suddenly while infidels slept for their afternoon rest. Our terror came to them; Our punishment overtook them.”(7:3)

The disbelievers should not think that they can bypass Islam; surely they cannot escape.
Koran 8:59 (see all of 8:57-59)

Believers must kill and be killed for Allah (9:111). Exhort the believers to fight the unbelievers (8:59-70, esp. 8:65).

Must not turn away from fighting the disbelievers, otherwise go to hell (8:15-16). Must fight, or receive a painful doom from Allah (9:39). Believers must wage war for Allah, whether they like it or not (2:216). Fight the disbelievers using your weapons (heavy or light) or your wealth (9:41), your wealth and your lives (61:11). Fight for Allah against the disbelievers (4:76)

Allah tests believers by compelling them to kill unbelievers (8:17); true believers will kill or be killed for Allah. Allah could punish the disbelievers directly, but instead he tests some people (believers) by using other people (disbelievers); those believers who are slain in battle will be rewarded (47:4). Allah uses the prospect of battle to find out what is in men’s hearts; disbelievers stay away from the fight, but believers go into the fight. Those who die fighting for Allah will be rewarded (3:154-159; 3:167-172).

Do not call for peace when you have the upper hand (47:35).

“Killing disbelievers is a small matter to us…” Tabari IX:69.

“Allah’s Apostle said, ‘I have been made victorious with terror.’” Bukhari: vol. 4, book 52, no. 220

Bukhari: vol 4 Book 53, no. 386. Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah alone or pay us the Jizyah tribute tax in submission.

Muslim vol. 9, book 1, no. 31. I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify to the fact that there is no god but Allah.

Tabari VI:138. Those present at the oath of Aqabah had sworn an allegiance to Muhammad. It was a pledge of war against all men. Allah had permitted fighting.

When Allah gave permission to his Apostle to fight, the second Aqaba contained conditions involving war which were not in the first act of submission. Now we bound themselves to war against all mankind for Allah and His Apostle.
Ishaq:208

‘Men, do you know what you are pledging yourselves to in swearing allegiance to this man?’ ‘Yes. In swearing allegiance to him we are pledging to wage war against all mankind.’
Ishaq:204

If you come upon them (infidels), deal so forcibly as to terrify those who would follow, that they may be warned. Make a severe example of them by terrorizing Allah’s enemies.
Ishaq:326

We have been dealt a situation from which there is no escape. You have seen what Muhammad has done. Arabs have submitted to him and we do not have the strength to fight. You know that no herd is safe from him. And no one even dares go outside for fear of being terrorized.
Tabari IX:42


Devotion to Allah.

A Muslim man’s wives and children are mere temptations and should not distract him from his devotion to Allah (63:9, 64:14-15)

“The life of this world is but comfort of illusion.” (3:185).


Policy Toward Disbelievers.
(“Disbeliever” generally refers to all non-Muslims).

The worst possible sin is disbelief in or denial of Allah 10:17, 11:18-19, 18:15, 32:22. Disbelief or turning away from Allah is a persecution worse than warfare (2:217) or slaughter (2:191). Allah boasts as having carried out multiple genocides throughout history to wipe out the disbelievers (17:16-17). Allah brings death through disaster upon those who disbelieve and dismiss his words as fable (16:22-26), causing the roof of their building to collapse on them.

If maintained, the sin of disbelief is not forgiven 4:48, 4:116. There are at least 250 verses wherein Allah condemns disbelievers to hell-fire, torture, etc., in the afterlife.


What Muslims should know about disbelievers and how they should regard/ act toward them (also see jihad):

fight/oppose/shun/strive against/regard as the enemy/never help/never befriend/sever family ties with/never compromise with/never obey/never forgive/chastise/curse/be ruthless toward/be stern toward/ etc. (not in order) 3:118; 3:28, 3:56; 3:87-88, 4:50, 4:63, 4:101, 4:139-140, 4:144, 5:54, 5:57, 8:65, 9:14, 9:23, 9:29, 9:73-74, 9:123, 25:52, *28:86, 31:7, 33:48, 45:7-8, 48:28-29, 53:29, 58:5, 58:22, 60:1, 60:4, 60:10, 60:13, 63:6, 66:9, 68:8-9, 76:24, 84:24.

Note that the ‘never help the disbelievers’ (*28:86) command means that Muslims’ good works should be limited to helping other Muslims or to otherwise pursuing Islam’s interests.

60:4 says followers of Allah will hate the disbelievers forever until they believe in Allah only.

4:144 "Believers, do not choose the unbelievers rather than the faithful as your friends. Would you give Allah a clear proof against yourselves?"

3:118 "Oh you who believe! do not take for intimate friends from among others than your own people; they do not fall short of inflicting loss upon you; they love what distresses you; vehement hatred has already appeared from out of their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater still; indeed, We have made the communications clear to you, if you will understand."

Disbelievers make a jest of the believers and Allah will punish/doom them for it (2:211-2:212). Those who malign the prophet and Allah will be damned (33:57), those who malign Muslims will be doomed, hypocrites and alarmists will be slain wherever they are found (33:58-61).

Kill the disbelievers wherever you find them 4:89-91. In those verses, ‘disbelievers’ refers to hypocrites and apostates, who turned back instead of following in the way of Allah (with Mohammad), and to disbelievers generally, who are not protected. Those protected would include taxed dhimmis, slaves owned by Muslims, or those with whom Muslims have some temporary strategic treaty.

Disbelievers: are “worst of created beings” (98:6), are “miscreants” (2:99, 24:55), are the worst beasts in Allah’s sight (8:55), are “a folk without intelligence”/ “most ignorant” (8:65, 6:111), “evil” is upon them (16:27), evil (2:91, 2:99), liars/they lie (2:10, 9:42, 16:39, 16:105, 59:11), the “wrong-doers” (2:254, 5:45), on the side of the devil (Satan) and are fighting for him (4:76-77); “enemy” and “perverted” (63:4); “wicked” (80:42, 9:125); hypocrites, i.e., those who only pretend to be religious (4:61); losers who are deceived by Allah (2:6), and deceived by Satan (4:60); have a “diseased heart” (2:10, 9:125); are ill (84:20); are “guilty” for disbelieving (45:31, 83:29); deaf, dumb, and blind, and have no sense (2:171); have no sense (5:103); their fathers were unintelligent and had no knowledge or guidance (2:170, 5:104); Allah assigns them devils for protecting friends (7:27); they choose devils for protecting friends (7:30); disgraced lives (22:9); “losers” (7:179); foolish and liars (7:66), liars and losers (58:18-19), false pride and schism (38:2); are partisan against Allah (25:55).

Disbelievers who do good works do so in vain, because they are going to hell anyway (5:5, 18:104-106, also 18:30, 33:19, 47:1, 47:32). Their works are as ashes blown away by the wind; they have no control over what they have earned (14:18).

Disbelievers are deceived by Allah, then Allah punishes them for it (17:97).

Those who lead Muslims away from Allah will receive hell-fire/ painful doom (22:9, 58:14-15)

Those who deny Mohammad’s revelations are evil (7:177).

When disbelievers are allowed to join together, there will be confusion and corruption in the land (8:73); believers must counter this by joining up together in opposition to the disbelievers.

Muslims should not believe non-Muslims (3:73).

Act hard against the disbelievers (non-Muslims) but be merciful to other believers (48:29).

Islamic Imperialism and Supremacism From The Qur'an

The following was posted by Archimedes as a comment after this article: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict In Brief.

Note: When it is written as two numbers, such as 9:33, that means it is from the Qur'an, chapter nine, verse thirty-three.

Allah sent Mohammad to conquer all other religions (9:33, 48:28, 61:9). Ultimate goal: kill/convert/subdue all disbelievers until all religion is for Allah 2:193, 8:39. Muslims must commit to the goals of Islam during their lifetime.

Muslims are the best people the world has ever seen (3:110) because of their belief in Allah only and strict adherence to Islam. Allah speaks Arabic (20:113, 41:3). (Arabic is one of the youngest languages and was not used for the books of the Judeo-Christian Bible).

Land Policy

Allah reduces the land occupied by the disbelievers (13:41, 21:44), and he makes (some) believers live in the land of the disbelievers (14:13-14), land known as Dar al Harb (land/house of war). This land of the disbelievers is granted by Allah to be inherited by believers so they (believers) may establish the authority of Allah (24:55) making it Dar al Islam. Once land is Dar al Islam, it remains so forever as far as Allah is concerned; if lost to the enemy, it must be regained. Non-Muslims must be banned from any land that was ever Islamic (21:95).

Treaties

Mohammad’s treaties/peace agreements with non-Muslims were merely temporary tactical moves; they could be overruled at any time by the greater goal of destroying non-Muslims (e.g., see 9:1-17). The tradition continues.

Final Policy Toward the Jewish People

A report narrated by a man named Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, the prophet said:
“The hour (of the Day of Judgement) will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. A Jew will hide behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say ‘Oh Muslim, O slave of Allah! There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ — except for the gharqad (bow thorn), for it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (Reported by Muslim, 2922). This passage was also quoted by Osama bin Laden, May 28, 1998, in an interview with John Bell of ABC News.

Hadith: Book 19, Number 4366: Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:

"Umar heard the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: 'I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Penninsula and will not leave any but Muslims.'"


Policy Toward Christians and Jews and Other Religious People

(They are viewed as disbelievers, except if they publicly (and presumably privately) convert to Islam fully and exclusively (i.e., must deny “partners” such as priests, rabbis, monks, Jesus, Mary, Ezra?!--Mohammad claims the Jews worship Ezra?!, and must accept Mohammad’s validity as a prophet). Note: People of the Book are Christians and Jews.

They (people of the book) disbelieve in Allah and confound truth with falsehood (3:70-3:71). Christians lie when they talk about the son of God (18:4-5).

Jesus taught them compassion and mercy in the Gospels, but Christians turned to monasticism…many of them are evil-livers (57:27).

Fight against them, kill, convert, or subdue them and (only if it is beneficial to Islam) force them to pay a tax that Muslims do not have to pay (9:29-35). If they refuse to pay, kill them. (Other option is slavery).

Condemned to hell/cursed/doomed/bad/evil/turned into swine or apes, etc. (2:61, 4:48, 4:50, 4:116, 4:47-52, 4:55, 4:157, 4:160, 5:12-5:13, 5:37, 5:51, 5:53, 5:59-60, 5:72-73, 5:79, 9:29-35, 18:52, 33:26, 59:14, 98:1).

Jews will face Allah’s wrath because they made friendships with those who disbelieve (5:80).

Must convert to Allah only, or else be doomed (2:62-65, 3:85). Note that 3:85 refers explicitly to the Islamic religion as the “Surrender.” Jews are wrong-doers who will face a painful doom unless they believe in Allah (4:160-161).

He who ascribes partners to Allah is lost, as if a bird has snatched him out of the air and taken him away (22:31)

Mohammad (Allah) says Jews look ugly and they are foolish (62:5). Jews are greedy (2:91), and are evil-livers (5:59).

Allah will mock Christians when they burn in Hell, asking them Where are your partners now? (40:73).

Priests and Rabbis do “evil work” (5:63). Many Jews guilty of evil conduct (5:81). Jews act like Christians when they are around Christians (5:82).

Some of them (people of the scripture) are believers, but most of them are evil-livers (3:110), wretchedness is upon them because they disbelieved, slew the prophets wrongfully, were rebellious and transgressed (3:112).

Muslims won’t get hurt fighting them (the people of the book), who will turn and flee and afterwards will not be helped (3:111)

The Jews and Christians flung the scripture behind their backs and gained evil (3:187)

Christians and Jews who disbelieve scripture are the worst creatures in Allah’s sight (98:6) and will receive hell-fire.

Idolaters are unclean (9:28). Turn away from idolaters (6:106). Don’t pray for idolaters (9:113). Let the idolaters kill their own children (6:137).

Islam's Shariah cited in 7 of 10 worst nations worldwide

(U.S.) Islam's Shariah cited in 7 of 10 worst nations worldwide
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87894

"Islam is the majority religion in seven of the top 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen and Uzbekistan"
http://newsblaze.com/story/20090203123053zzzz.nb/topstory.html

Open Doors 2009 World Watch List
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/UserFiles/File/Open%20Doors%20World%20Watch%20List%202009.pdf

The U.S. Should Apologize to the Muslim World?

Every once in awhile someone writes a piece so clear and so persuasive, it is spontaneously shared far and wide and changes peoples' minds. Or at least loosens their self-righteous certainty, opening the way for new knowledge to leak in. Charles Krauthammer's article, Outreach, Yes. Apology, No. is just such a piece.

The article is about two comments Obama made, and how those comments reflect Obama's and many others' lack of knowledge about recent history. Obama's comments implied that the United States should apologize to the Muslim world for our disrespect of them. Here are a few excerpts from Krauthammer's piece:

In these most recent 20 years — the alleged winter of our disrespect of the Islamic world — America did not just respect Muslims, it bled for them. It engaged in five military campaigns, every one of which involved — and resulted in — the liberation of a Muslim people: Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The two Balkan interventions — as well as the failed 1992-93 Somalia intervention to feed starving African Muslims (43 Americans were killed) — were humanitarian exercises of the highest order, there being no significant U.S. strategic interest at stake. In these 20 years, this nation has done more for suffering and oppressed Muslims than any nation, Muslim or non-Muslim, anywhere on Earth. Why are we apologizing?

Read the whole article (and please share it): Outreach, Yes. Apology, No.

FBI Cuts Off CAIR Over Hamas Questions

From ACT! For America:

!!! ACTION ALERT – CONTACT CONGRESS !!!

Finally, the FBI has figured out that CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) is not an organization it should be dealing with. This “better late than never” bombshell is reported in the Investigative Project on Terrorism story below.

Not only is this wonderful and welcome news that should encourage us that we are in fact seeing progress made in the effort to roll back the tide of Islamofascism. The timing is impeccable.

We have learned that CAIR is planning a lobbying blitz in Congress next week. ACT! for America members, it’s time to take ACTION !!!

STEP ONE:

Send emails and faxes, starting today and continuing through the weekend, to your Member of Congress and two Senators asking that they not meet with CAIR given that the FBI has severed contacts with CAIR. Include the story below in your emails and faxes. (Click here to find contact information for your Member of Congress and Senators).

STEP TWO:

On Monday or Tuesday place a follow-up call to your Member of Congress and two Senators. Ask to speak to their Defense or National Security Legislative Assistant (LA). When you have the LA on the phone, ask (1) if they got your email or fax and the article; (2) if they read it; (3) if the Member of Congress or Senator is aware of the issue. If the LA has not seen or read the email or fax, send it again if necessary.

If you don’t reach the LA, leave a message and phone number, and if you don’t hear back by the next day, call again!

LET’S SEND A RESPECTFUL, CLEAR MESSAGE TO CONGRESS: THE FBI HAS CUT OFF CONTACT TO CAIR DUE TO ITS TIES TO HAMAS. CAIR WAS AN UNINDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR IN THE HOLY LAND FOUNDATION TRIAL. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SHOULD NOT MEET WITH CAIR.

Forward this email to everyone you know! And email us at info@actforamerica.org to let us know what response you get from your contacts to Congress.

www.actforamerica.org

---

FBI Cuts Off CAIR Over Hamas Questions
by Mary Jacoby
IPT News
January 29, 2009
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/985

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has cut off contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) amid mounting concern about the Muslim advocacy group's roots in a Hamas-support network, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned.

The decision to end contacts with CAIR was made quietly last summer as federal prosecutors prepared for a second trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), an Islamic charity accused of providing money and political support to the terrorist group Hamas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

CAIR and its chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad, were named un-indicted co-conspirators in the HLF case. Both Ahmad and CAIR's current national executive director, Nihad Awad, were revealed on government wiretaps as having been active participants in early Hamas-related organizational meetings in the United States. During testimony, FBI agent Lara Burns described CAIR as a front organization.

Hamas is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, and it's been illegal since 1995 to provide support to it within the United States.

The decision to end contacts with CAIR is a significant policy change for the FBI. For years, the FBI worked with the national organization and its state chapters to address Muslim community concerns about the potential for hate crimes and other civil liberty violations in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

But critics said the FBI improperly conferred legitimacy on CAIR by meeting with its officials, even as its own investigative files contained evidence of CAIR leaders' ties to Hamas.

Last autumn, FBI field offices began notifying state CAIR chapters that bureau officials could no longer meet with them until CAIR's national leadership in Washington had addressed issues raised by the HLF trial, according to people with knowledge of the notifications.

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper declined to comment Wednesday when the IPT called for comment. Before hanging up, Hooper said "We're more than happy to cooperate with legitimate media. But we don't cooperate with those who promote anti-Muslim bigotry."

In one letter obtained by IPT News, James E. Finch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Oklahoma City field office, canceled a meeting of the local Muslim Community Outreach Program, a state-federal program designed to enlist Muslims in terrorism prevention and investigate reports of civil liberties violations.

"Regrettably, due to circumstances beyond my control, the meeting will be postponed until further notice as a result of the planned participation by the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations," Finch's Oct. 8, 2008 letter to Muslim groups in the Oklahoma outreach program said.

Finch made clear the Oklahoma office valued its relationship with local Muslims. He said the stumbling block to further outreach was CAIR's national leadership.

"[I]f CAIR wishes to pursue an outreach relationship with the FBI, certain issues must be addressed to the satisfaction of the FBI. Unfortunately, these issues cannot be addressed at the local level and must be addressed by the CAIR National Office in Washington, D.C.," the letter said.

A spokesman for the FBI's Oklahoma City office referred questions about the letter to the FBI's national press office. In Washington, FBI spokesman John Miller said, "We've certainly been in contact with CAIR chapters" about the un-indicted co-conspirator designation. "The letter speaks for itself."

Letters with similar wording were sent in other states, people with knowledge of the matter said. It is not known how many letters were issued, but the FBI has had strong working relationships with CAIR chapters in states including Ohio, Michigan, Arizona and Florida.

Hamas was formed in 1987 as the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the global Islamic political movement that aims to spread the rule of Shariah, or Islamic law, throughout the world.

A North American branch of the Brotherhood supervised HLF, CAIR and other organizations to build political, financial and public relations support for Hamas, evidence at the HLF trial showed.

The U.S.-based Brotherhood formed a Palestine Committee, headed by Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook, in 1988 during the first intifada uprising in Palestinian territories against Israel. Hamas's stated policy is for the destruction of Israel.

CAIR co-founders Ahmad and Awad were early active members of the Palestine Committee, evidence showed. Wiretaps recorded the two CAIR leaders participating in strategy meetings of the committee in the 1990s, and both were also on a phone list of its members, the evidence showed.

The first HLF trial in Texas ended in a mistrial in October 2007. In November 2008, the second trial resulted in convictions of five former HLF officials on all counts of providing material support to Hamas.

It is unclear what changed between the first and second HLF trials to make the FBI rescind its policy of outreach to CAIR. The un-indicted co-conspirator designations were made on May 27, 2007 in connection with the first HLF trial. Moreover, much of the evidence linking the CAIR officials to Hamas was aired in an earlier public trial in 2006.

CAIR, however, vigorously challenged the un-indicted co-conspirator designation as a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights, accusing the government of "demonization of all things Muslim" in a brief filed in the summer of 2007 with the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Click here to continue reading this article.

Speech By Robert Spencer

A Practical Way To Support Freedom Of Speech, Stop Islam's Relentless Encroachment, And Help a Good Man

THE FOLLOWING is a message from an excellent activist organization, somewhat like Amnesty International but specifically aimed at stopping Islam's relentless encroachment. It is called SITA. Here is their latest cause, which we would all do well to participate in:

Geert “Winston” Wilders, the Dutch Parliment member (and leader of the Party of Freedom) is fighting Islamic supremacism. He is one of the few politicians in the world who is speaking honestly about Islam. (See more about Geert Wilders here.)

Wilders is being prosecuted by dhimmis (a dhimmi is someone who accepts Islam's dominance) because he warned the European people about Islamic supremacism with his movie Fitna (watch the video here). The dhimmis harassing him obviously have a defective memory.

Let’s remember that both Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler had the same opinion about Islam: It is a totalitarian and violent religion. Churchill denounced and warned about that ideology while Hitler admired it.

Today Winston Churchill, the most stalwart anti-Nazi, would be arrested in Holland for incitement to hate and racism whereas Hitler would be free to promote Islam and recruit Muslims into his Nazi party unmolested.

As reported by the BBC, the Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put elected politician Geert Wilders on trial for making anti-Islamic statements.

“The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs,” the court said in a statement.

“The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders,” it added.

Things have changed for the worse since Europe defeated Nazism in 1945.

Winston Churchill, the most prominent European fighting Nazi tyranny, had this to say about Islam :

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity.

The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it.

No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.

Far from being moribund, Islam is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science -the science against which it had vainly struggled- the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”

Nazi leader Himmler had this to say about Islam :

“Muslims responded to the call of Muslim leaders and joined our side because of their hatred of our joint Jewish-English-Bolshevik enemies, and because of their belief and respect for, above all — Our Fuehrer.”

In his memoirs, Albert Speer wrote about Hitler’s appreciation of Islam, reporting a discussion which captures Hitler’s effusive praise for Islamic supremacism:

“…a religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and subjugating all nations to that faith. Such a creed was perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament.”

Hitler, according to Speer’s account, repeatedly expressed the conviction that :

“The Mohammedan religion…would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?”

Churchill likened Islamic terrorism to Nazism :

“In truth though, just as the British stoicism recalls the same from 65 years ago, so too, there is a deep and instructive similarity between the Nazis and the Islamic-fascist forces that attacked then and attack today. The fact of the matter is that even more important than invoking the famous British “stiff upper lip,” to fight this current war to victory requires understanding and accepting the similarities between the Nazis and the Arab-Islamic terrorist armies.”

Geert Wilders, among many others, likened the Koran to Mein Kampf. Jihad means “personal (supposedly) struggle.” Mein Kampf means “my struggle.” During WWII Muslims themselves — when they were completely free to make their own choice — did choose the Nazi side.

People trying to silence Geert Wilders need to be brought back to crude reality. Let’s explain to them, loud and clear, that European people will NEVER accept to lose freedom of expression, and even less to lose democracy.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT:

Doing something real and effective to support Geert Wilders — and freedom of expression above all — is very simple with the Amnesty International-SITA method: a letter in a stamped envelope, sent by snail-mail. Amnesty International has a strong record of success with this method.

For the letter itself, it is even simpler: A basic-rate stamp allows sending at least two sheets of paper. Here are some possible things you could include:

1. Print out the first two pages of this article (one sheet front and back). Dutch people commonly read English in addition to Dutch. (Note than another article supporting Geert Wilders is available too). So that's one page. For the second page...

2. You can add another sheet with information to help people better understand and face Islam. A small cartoon is worth a thousand words, and does not need any translation. For example you can print a Steph Bergol cartoon depicting the situation well. Here's another one.

Or you could include a leaflet about Islam, like this one (PDF document).

Or you might include the first two pages of chapter XXII from the 1923 book “Islam and the psychology of the Musulman” by André Servier.

Or how about including a letter to mankind from Ali Sina?

Or how about including two pages of comments chosen among the thousands on the internet petition for virtual support to Geert Wilders?

WHERE DO YOU SEND THE LETTER?

1. To the dhimmi lawyer who initiated that “legal” Jihad is Gerard Spong. Here's the web site of his office. And this is his postal address:

Gerard Spong
P.O. Box 15812
1001 NH Amsterdam
the Netherlands

Dhimmi lawyers are very sensitive to snail-mails. You might also want to send a message to his associates so they can choose if they really want to still work with somebody fighting democracy to install an Islamic dictatorship. Here are the names of Gerard Spong's associates. Send your letters to the same PO Box above, but with the associates' names.

2. It is the Amsterdam district which rules the case (court of appeal and public prosecutor’s department), so another place to send your letters is to them.

Here is their mailing address:

Gerechtshof Amsterdam
Postbus 1312
1000 BH Amsterdam
Telefoonnummer (020) 541 21 11

E-mail:
info@gerechtshof-amsterdam.nl

You can find the names of the three judges here.

3. Regarding the public prosecutor’s department, an article gives the name of a spokesperson, Otto van der Bijl, allowing to go back to the page giving all the names of the main people for the public prosecutor’s department of Amsterdam here:

Dhr. F. (Franklin) Wattimena
Mw. S.Q. (Sanne) van Meeteren
Dhr. D.M. (Dino) Daal
Dhr.mr. O.J.M (Otto) van der Bijl
Mw. mr. H.A.B. (Hanneke) Festen
Mw. mr. A. (Alexandra) Oswald

Send letters to them so that they can fully realize the tremendous mistake they made when accusing Geert Wilders. He will have no more escape than demonstrating publicly, in front of all the medias (thanks to them!) to the extent that the Qur'an is indeed an hypocrite hate book, and Islam is a fascist underhanded ideology, completely incompatible with Western democracy.

Use this mailing address for the six names above (this is the all-purpose address for the public prosecutor’s department of Amsterdam):

(put the person's name here)
Parnassusweg 220
Postbus 84500
1080 BN Amsterdam

4. And finally, the Minister and State Secretary of Dutch Justice must take a stand. If they stand against Geert Wilders they will have to face the consequences. You can send to them your letter supporting Geert Wilders in order to incite them to protect freedom of expression in Europe by politely sending back to their deserts the bedouins lost here in our infidel lands. Here is how to write to them:

The Minister:

Dr. E.M.H. Hirsch Ballin
Postbus 20002
2500 EA Den Haag

The State Secretary:

Mw. mr. N. Albayrak
Postbus 20002
2500 EA Den Haag

Choose someone to write to (or better yet, choose several), print the article, put it into an envelope, stamp it (”Europe” rate) and send it.

Support Geert Wilders against Islam to protect your freedom of expression (among other values). It is that simple.

Eventually, you can register your action on the Sitathon, to encourage more people to do as you did. You can also register for the newsletter (if you can read French) to be told about the future actions.

Take a stand: Spend a letter!

PS: In addition, Geert could use our financial help to face this “legal harassment jihad." If you can contribute, do not hesitate to make a donation on Geert’s website.

The above is a fleshed-out, edited version of SITAmnesty's article. Now here's an explanation of the Geert Wilders' situation by Pat Condell (five minutes, nineteen seconds long):



Support Geert in whatever way you can! Sooner is better than later. Convince your friends and family to support Geert. Even if you fail to motivate them to take action, your effort will help introduce them to what Islamic supremacists are up to, making them more open to information in the future (if you do it calmly and matter-of-factly, and think in terms of small bits and long campaigns). Let's help Geert Wilders and advance the cause!

In The Last Three Weeks...

The following is from a message from Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT! For America:

In just the past three weeks we have seen:

• A violent Islamic protest in Britain, where an angry mob shouting “Allahu Akbar” chased – yes, chased – dozens of British policemen for blocks. You must see this video to believe it! (Please be warned – there is offensive language and profanity). Click here to see this shocking video.


• Pro-Hamas, anti-Israel Muslims conducting demonstrations here in America, shouting praises to Hitler for what he did to the Jews, yelling “go back to the ovens,” and at times physically attacking counter-protestors.


• The Amsterdam Court of Appeals ordering the prosecution of Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders because he has made statements deemed “insulting” and harmful to “the religious esteem” of Muslims.


• Austrian parliamentarian Susanne Winter convicted of “incitement,” because of public statements she has made, including the claim that the prophet Mohammed was a pedophile.


• Muslim protest marches in Italy that ended with the protestors, in an obvious act of intimidation, conducting mass prayer vigils directly in front of Catholic places of worship.


• The release of an official U.S. government report stating that Hezbollah is forming terrorist cells here in the U.S. that could become operational.


• The UN continuing to move ahead with the “Durban II” conference and its document that is little more than an anti-Israel rant that calls for suppressing public “defamation” of religion – notably Islam. This has run parallel to an effort by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to get the UN Human Rights Commission to pass a resolution condemning public “defamation” of Islam.

The Most Successful Military Campaign In American History

This from the Gateway Pundit: Before President George W. Bush leaves office it's only fitting to give credit to where credit it due. Although you would not know this from the anti-Bush media or democrats, the US military has waged the most successful major military campaign in American history these past 8 years.

The War on Terror has been an amazing success not only in what has been accomplished but in what it has cost in lives. Two brutal regimes were obliterated, Al-Qaeda was decimated, fledgling democracies were established. But, most importantly, the US was able to do this while sacrificing the fewest number of soldiers monthly than in any other military campaign in US history. In fact, the US today is losing fewer soldiers each month in Iraq and Afghanistan combined than the average number of soldiers lost monthly during the Clinton years (~35 to 78).

Here's how the War on Terror stacks up with other US Wars:





The population today in the US is much larger than when these previous wars were fought. If you factor that in it really puts things into perspective.

In Afghanistan:

The US has suffered 604 fatalities in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda has suffered 12,000 fatalities. 28,700 militant Islamists have been captured.

In Iraq:

The US has suffered 4227 fatalities in Iraqi Freedom. More than 19,429 Al-Qaeda and Islamic militants have been killed. Over 18,900 insurgents have been captured.

Not only that but as Vice President Dick Cheney said this week we've achieved most of the objectives in Iraq that were established in the spring of '03:

We've got the violence level down to its lowest level since '03. We've had three national elections, a constitution written, a new government stood up, new army recruited and trained, the Iraqis increasingly able to take on responsibility for themselves. And we've now entered into a strategic framework agreement with the new Iraqi government that will provide for the ultimate withdrawal of U.S. forces.

You could not have asked for much more than that in terms of the policies that we started on in '03.

It's only fitting that this is reported before President Bush leaves office.

Obviously, you won't hear this from the liberal media.

It certainly doesn't fit their narrative that Bush's War was the worst foreign policy mistake in US history.

UPDATE: Terry Gain adds this:

1. More innocent Iraqis were being killed and dying because of sanctions when Hussein was in power than have been killed during the liberation of Iraq. The war has saved lives even as it’s being fought.

2. The vast majority of the killing of innocent Iraqis has been by the domestic insurgents and foreign terrorists. Americans have killed a small percentage of the innocents who’ve been killed.

3. The American war against Iraq ended on April 9, 2003. The war against Iraq by domestic insurgents and al Qaeda followed. That war is also largely over. The pacification of Iraq is continuing apace.

4. The pacification is also proceeding inexorably. Iraqis show every sign of keeping the gift of democracy they have received from the United States.

5. Calling for an end to the war – as have Reid and Pelosi – when it is insurgents and al Qaeda who are continuing the war is a brain -dead Democrat talking point. Even Obama understands that if the United States withdraws prematurely the hard won victory over the insurgents may be reversed.

6. Premature withdrawal will cause the war to continue, not end.

UPDATE 2: Bill Kristol added this on Bush's legacy today:

But I don’t think keeping us safe has been Bush’s most impressive achievement. That was winning the war in Iraq, and in particular, his refusal to accept defeat when so many counseled him to do so in late 2006. His ordering the surge of troops to Iraq in January 2007 was an act of personal courage and of presidential leadership. The results have benefited both Iraq and the United States. And the outcome in Iraq is a remarkable gift to the incoming president, who now only has to sustain success, rather than trying to deal with the consequences in the region and around the world of a humiliating withdrawal and a devastating defeat.

The above article was written by the inimitable Gateway Pundit.

C-SPAN Junkie

This is a site that has tons of clips from C-SPAN. Find out what's going on. Check out C-SPAN Junkie.

Geert Wilders Is In Trouble And You Can Help

GEERT WILDERS is the chairman of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and one of the few politicians in the world willing to speak honestly about the controversial issue of Islamic supremacism and the third jihad. (Read more about him, read a great speech of his, and see some interviews with him here.) This is from ACT! For America:

In a stunning decision, a Dutch court has ruled that Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has committed criminal “hate speech” due to his public criticisms of Islam, and should be prosecuted. (See the International Free Press Society release below).

When a court takes such a step in a country as “progressive” as the Netherlands, every person who cherishes liberty and the right of free speech should shudder.

Mr. Wilders has, at the risk of his own life, courageously spoken out against Islamofascism and everything that comes with it. The decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals is a crushing blow to free speech and a victory for radical Islamists who are bent on suppressing any public criticism of their ideology.

This is why we keep issuing warnings and action alerts to you about how politically correct governmental actions, in league with radical Islam, are moving us ever closer to the day where we cannot speak out against an evil that has produced 270 million deaths and caused untold suffering over the past 14 centuries.

This is why we must build a powerful, informed and organized citizen action network that will stand in unity against the evil of Islamofascism and the political correctness that aids and abets it. Whether we are Democrats, Independents or Republicans…conservatives, moderates or liberals…there is no choice. We cannot allow America to sink to a place where an American prosecutor would obtain an indictment against a Member of Congress for criticizing Islam.

If you would like to help us further this effort, whether by making a contribution or helping to start or get involved in a local chapter, please log on to www.actforamerica.org today.

While the Dutch court seeks to censor, through unjust criminal prosecution, the kind of political speech that has been the hallmark of free countries, it looks the other way when radical Muslims in its country call for the death of infidels and praise Hitler for what he did to the Jews.

The message is clear. It’s okay for a radical Muslim to call for your death, but don’t you dare criticize the Muslim for doing so.

And this is from the International Free Press Society:

January 22, 2009 - Washington, DC and Copenhagen, Denmark: A Dutch court yesterday ordered the criminal prosecution of Geert Wilders, Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), for his statements — written, spoken and filmed -regarding Islam. The Amsterdam Court of Appeals has deemed such statements "insulting," declaring that they "substantially harm the religious esteem" of Muslims.

Clearly, the effect of this Dutch court order is to set new limits to public debate in Dutch society, in this case about the highly controversial but nonetheless crucially important subject of Islam. This makes the prosecution of Geert Wilders an unacceptable breach of the sanctity of freedom of speech in Western society.

Having ordered a criminal prosecution for the opinions of a duly elected leader of a legitimate political party, Dutch authorities have dealt a devastating blow to political expression. While Dutch prosecutors prepare their indictment and Geert Wilders' future hangs in limbo, who in The Netherlands will dare discuss political and cultural matters related to Islam - Islamic law, Islamic integration, Islamic crime, Islamic policy - openly, freely and fearlessly? The chilling effect is instantaneous. If, indeed, Wilders is ultimately convicted, free speech will cease to exist in the heart of Europe.

The International Free Press Society believes this court-ordered prosecution against Geert Wilders, a central figure in the fight against the Islamization of the West, amounts to a dangerous concession to the strictures of Islamic law, which prohibits all criticism of Islam, over Western traditions of, and rights to robust and unfettered debate. As such, it is tantamount to a surrender to totalitarian influences that undermine all Western freedoms. And as such, it must be resisted.

It is important to recall recent history. Two Dutchmen, Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, have been murdered for their outspoken opposition to Islamization in The Netherlands. Another Dutch politician, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, has been infamously forced into exile. Wilders alone now carries this debate over Islam in Dutch society forward — forcefully but logically, outspokenly but reasonably, and always peacefully. In order to do so, this member of Dutch parliament lives in a virtual prison, consigned to 24-hour guard by Islamic death threats against his life. Now, Dutch authorities have ordered him to be prosecuted for the Orwellian crime of committing "insulting" words.

As Wilders puts it, "If I have to stand trial, I will not stand trial alone, but also with the hundreds of thousands of Dutch people who reject the Islamization of The Netherlands." He will also stand trial with those in The Netherlands and beyond who reject government prosecutions of free speech. In recognition of this dire situation, the IFPS immediately calls on every supporter of free speech to come to the aid of Geert Wilders. To assist in this effort, the IFPS has launched an international campaign in defense of Geert Wilders and his freedom of speech.

To support these efforts, we urge you to contribute to the Geert Wilders Defense Fund. Donation information can be found at the IFPS website at http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org.

Let's use Geert Wilders' prosecution to bring this vital issue to a wider audience. Help him win this case and let's publicize it and talk about it to everyone we know. His case is a clear example of the goals and methods of Islamic supremacists. This is long-range jihad.

Afghan Girls Defy Islamic Subjugation

We can only hope they will grow up to be proud apostates! Or at least Islamic apatheists. But for now, they are defying the Taliban, and that takes some courage. Below is the story from the New York Times. I'd like to thank the inimitable Damien for alerting me to this article:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — One morning two months ago, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking through the muddy streets to the local girls school when a man pulled alongside them on a motorcycle and posed what seemed like an ordinary question.

“Are you going to school?”

Then the man pulled Shamsia’s burqa from her head and sprayed her face with burning acid. Scars, jagged and discolored, now spread across Shamsia’s eyelids and most of her left cheek. These days, her vision goes blurry, making it hard for her to read.

But if the acid attack against Shamsia and 14 others — students and teachers — was meant to terrorize the girls into staying home, it appears to have completely failed.

Today, nearly all of the wounded girls are back at the Mirwais School for Girls, including even Shamsia, whose face was so badly burned that she had to be sent abroad for treatment. Perhaps even more remarkable, nearly every other female student in this deeply conservative community has returned as well — about 1,300 in all.

“My parents told me to keep coming to school even if I am killed,” said Shamsia, 17, in a moment after class. Shamsia’s mother, like nearly all of the adult women in the area, is unable to read or write. “The people who did this to me don’t want women to be educated. They want us to be stupid things.”

In the five years since the Mirwais School for Girls was built here by the Japanese government, it appears to have set off something of a social revolution. Even as the Taliban tighten their noose around Kandahar, the girls flock to the school each morning. Many of them walk more than two miles from their mud-brick houses up in the hills.

The girls burst through the school’s walled compound, many of them flinging off head-to-toe garments, bounding, cheering and laughing in ways that are inconceivable outside — for girls and women of any age. Mirwais has no regular electricity, no running water, no paved streets. Women are rarely seen, and only then while clad in burqas that make their bodies shapeless and their faces invisible.

And so it was especially chilling on Nov. 12, when three pairs of men on motorcycles began circling the school. One of the teams used a spray bottle, another a squirt gun, another a jar. They hit 11 girls and 4 teachers in all; 6 went to the hospital. Shamsia fared the worst.

The attacks appeared to be the work of the Taliban, the fundamentalist movement that is battling the government and the American-led coalition. Banning girls from school was one of the most notorious symbols of the Taliban’s rule before they were ousted from power in November 2001.

Building new schools and ensuring that children — and especially girls — attend has been one of the main objectives of the government and the nations that have contributed to Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Some of the students at the Mirwais school are in their late teens and early 20s, attending school for the first time. Yet at the same time, in the guerrilla war that has unfolded across southern and eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban have made schools one of their special targets.

But exactly who was behind the acid attack is a mystery. The Taliban denied any part in it. The police arrested eight men and, shortly after that, the Ministry of Interior released a video showing two men confessing. One of them said he had been paid by an officer with the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistani intelligence agency, to carry out the attack.

But at a news conference last week, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said there was no such Pakistani involvement.

One thing is certain: in the months before the attack, the Taliban had moved into the Mirwais area and the rest of Kandahar’s outskirts. As they did, posters began appearing in local mosques.

“Don’t Let Your Daughters Go to School,” one of them said.

In the days after the attack, the Mirwais School for Girls stood empty; none of the parents would let their daughters venture outside. That is when the headmaster, Mahmood Qadari, got to work.

After four days of staring at empty classrooms, Mr. Qadari called a meeting of the parents. Hundreds came to the school — fathers and mothers — and Mr. Qadari implored them to let their daughters return. After two weeks, a few returned.

So, Mr. Qadari, whose three daughters live abroad, including one in Virginia, enlisted the support of the local government. The governor promised more police officers, a footbridge across a busy nearby road and, most important, a bus. Mr. Qadari called another meeting and told the parents that there was no longer any reason to hold their daughters back.

“I told them, if you don’t send your daughters to school, then the enemy wins,” Mr. Qadari said. “I told them not to give in to darkness. Education is the way to improve our society.”

The adults of Mirwais did not need much persuading. Neither the bus nor the police nor the bridge has materialized, but the girls started showing up anyway. Only a couple of dozen girls regularly miss school now; three of them are girls who had been injured in the attack.

“I don’t want the girls sitting around and wasting their lives,” said Ghulam Sekhi, an uncle of Shamsia and her sister, Atifa, age 14, who was also burned.

For all the uncertainty outside its walls, the Mirwais school brims with life. Its 40 classrooms are so full that classes are held in four tents, donated by Unicef, in the courtyard. The Afghan Ministry of Education is building a permanent building as well.

The past several days at the school have been given over to examinations. In one classroom, a geography class, a teacher posed a series of questions while her students listened and wrote their answers on paper.

“What is the capital of Brazil?” the teacher, named Arja, asked, walking back and forth.

“Now, what are its major cities?”

“By how many times is America larger than Afghanistan?”

At a desk in the front row, Shamsia, the girl with the burned face, pondered the questions while cupping a hand over her largest scar. She squinted down at the paper, rubbed her eyes, wrote something down.

Doctors have told Shamsia that her face may need plastic surgery if there is to be any chance of the scars disappearing. It is a distant dream: Shamsia’s village does not even have regular electricity, and her father is disabled.

After class, Shamsia blended in with the other girls, standing around, laughing and joking. She seemed un-self-conscious about her disfigurement, until she began to recount her ordeal.

“The people who did this,” she said, “do not feel the pain of others.”

I thought that last comment was interesting. It is the definition of a sociopath. I've often thought that Islamic teachings, if they are internalized, are basically an artificially-induced sociopathy.

Wounding Religious Feelings — Should That Be Forbidden?

Christopher Hitchens wrote an article in Vanity Fair about the western media censoring itself out of fear of violent Muslim retaliation.

This fear is justified. Writers have been killed, publishing houses have been firebombed, and death fatwas have been declared, leaving writers and cartoonists living in fear for their lives. Hitchens writes:

Sometimes this fear—and this blackmail—comes dressed up in the guise of good manners and multiculturalism. One must not wound the religious feelings of others, many of whom are poor immigrants in our own societies. To this I would respond by pointing to a book published in 1994. It is entitled For Rushdie: Essays by Arab and Muslim Writers in Defense of Free Speech. Among its contributors is almost every writer worthy of the name in the Arab and Muslim world, ranging from the Syrian poet Adonis to the Syrian-Kurdish author Salim Barakat, to the late national bard of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Darwish, to the celebrated Turkish writers Murat Belge and Orhan Pamuk. Especially impressive and courageous was the list of 127 Iranian writers, artists, and intellectuals who, from the prison house that is the Islamic Republic, signed their names to a letter which said: “We underline the intolerable character of the decree of death that the Fatwah is, and we insist on the fact that aesthetic criteria are the only proper ones for judging works of art.… To the extent that the systematic denial of the rights of man in Iran is tolerated, this can only further encourage the export outside the Islamic Republic of its terroristic methods which destroy freedom.” In other words, the situation is the exact reverse of what the condescending multiculturalists say it is. To indulge the idea of religious censorship by the threat of violence is to insult and undermine precisely those in the Muslim world who are its intellectual cream, and who want to testify for their own liberty—and for ours. It is also to make the patronizing assumption that the leaders of mobs and the inciters of goons are the authentic representatives of Muslim opinion. What could be more “offensive” than that?

Read the whole article>>

Islam: What The West Needs To Know

This is the most informative video I've yet seen on what non-Muslims should know about Islam. Below is the entire video, broken up into ten parts. I encourage you to share this page with others, or better yet, to buy several copies of the DVD, Islam: What the West Needs to Know, and share them with your friends (or both).

Islam: WTWNTK Part 1

Islam: WTWNTK Part 2

Islam: WTWNTK Part 3

Islam: WTWNTK Part 4

Islam: WTWNTK Part 5

Islam: WTWNTK Part 6

Islam: WTWNTK Part 7

Islam: WTWNTK Part 8

Islam: WTWNTK Part 9

Islam: WTWNTK Part 10

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 10

Click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts.

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 9

Click here for Part 10
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 8

Click here for Part 9
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 7

Click here for Part 8
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 6

Click here for Part 7
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 5

Click here for Part 6
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts.

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 4

Click here for Part 5
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 3

Click here for Part 4
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts.

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 2

Click here for Part 3
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts.

Islam: What The West Needs To Know - Part 1

Click here for Part 2
Or click here to go to the page with a link to all ten parts.

How The KGB Helped Create Hamas

This is a very interesting article about how the Soviet Union created "Liberation Fronts" around the world to fight against "imperialists" (read "free countries"). Here is an excerpt from the article:

Arafat was particularly struck by Ho Chi Minh’s success in mobilizing left-wing sympathizers in Europe and the United States, where activists on American campuses, enthusiastically following the line of North Vietnamese operatives, had succeeded in reframing the Vietnam war from a Communist assault on the south to a struggle for national liberation. Ho’s chief strategist, General Giap, made it clear to Arafat and his lieutenants that in order to succeed, they too needed to redefine the terms of their struggle. Giap’s counsel was simple but profound: the PLO needed to work in a way that concealed its real goals, permitted strategic deception, and gave the appearance of moderation:

“Stop talking about annihilating Israel and instead turn your terror war into a struggle for human rights. Then you will have the American people eating out of your hand.”

At the same time that he was getting advice from General Giap, Arafat was also being tutored by Muhammad Yazid, who had been minister of information in two Algerian wartime governments (1958–1962): wipe out the argument that Israel is a small state whose existence is threatened by the Arab states, or the reduction of the Palestinian problem to a question of refugees; instead, present the Palestinian struggle as a struggle for liberation like the others. Wipe out the impression that in the struggle between the Palestinians and the Zionists, the Zionist is the underdog. Now it is the Arab who is oppressed and victimized in his existence because he is not only facing the Zionists but also world imperialism.

To make sure that they followed this advice, the KGB put Arafat and his adjutants into the hands of a master of propaganda: Nicolai Ceausescu, president-for-life of Romania.

Read the whole article>>

Song: The Black Cloud of Islam

Roy Harper wrote a song about Islam. As Pastorius of the Infidel Bloggers Alliance wrote, "We are not that familiar with Roy Harper here in America, but he a kind of legend in Britain. You could probably liken him to someone like Leonard Cohen. In other words, he is not tremendously well-known, but he is a beloved legend nevertheless."

He is the man who sang the lead vocals on Pink Floyd's song "Welcome to the Machine."

He was also featured on the album Led Zeppelin III. In fact, Led Zeppelin titled one song on that album, "Hats Off To Roy Harper."

Here's some info on Roy Harper from Wikipedia:

Roy Harper (born June 12, 1941), is an English rock/folk singer-songwriter/guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s.

As a musician, Harper is known for his distinctive, sophisticated fingerstyle playing and lengthy, complex compositions. He has released a large catalogue of albums as an artist, most of which are available on his own record label Science Friction.

His career and influence have been respected by many musicians including; Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both members of the 1970s band Led Zeppelin, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and more recently Californian harpist Joanna Newsom. Harper is also known for his guest lead vocals on Pink Floyd's song "Have a Cigar."

Harper has been referred to as “the longest running underground act in the world”.

Here is an audio of the song, and below it, the lyrics.



The Black Cloud of Islam

Well I'm sick to the teeth of the news on the screen
of the Hezbollah scum and Jihad the obscene
whose men plant the bombs and then live feeling free
to watch women and children be killed on TV.

Which Satan delivers a child a death curse
in the name of a worn out collection of verse?
I've not read the book so I cannot recite
but I'd b More..et Salman Rushdie is just about right
underneath the black cloud of Islam

What kind of publicity needs so much blood
that's not for some sad diabolical god
selling himself as a two-bit Macbeth
as the expert in sentencing cousins to death

And what kind of god can this be anyway
that you have to prostrate to it five times a day
with hate in your heart and a gun in your hand
is force the only thing to understand
underneath the black cloud of Islam?

And the butchers who've got all this blood on their hands
are the ones who need god to be stood where he stands
blessing this kidnapping, murder and war
with books written hundreds of ages before

And women in veils walking paces behind
doesn't sit easy in my kind of mind
it speaks of oppression and no other choice
than rigid compliance with the loudest voice
underneath the black cloud of Islam

And you can put a lead bullet clean through this guitar
'cos I'm not overjoyed with the story so far
sharing a world with the nutters of god
is as good as being six feet under the sod

And words that are written are all here to stay
and these are the latest there are anyway
and I am the prophet so don't believe me
I'm the same as the old ones except that I'm free
to give you a piece of my mind which is this
you're the worst of Jehovah's blind witlessnesses
with your feet in the door of the deepest abyss
which is underneath, which is underneath,
which is underneath the Black Cloud Of Islam

How Strong Is The Arab Claim To Palestine?

I thought this little article was pretty good. It certainly puts the issue in perspective:

There is a myth hanging over all discussion of the Palestinian problem: the myth that this land was "Arab" land taken from its native inhabitants by invading Jews. Whatever may be the correct solution to the problems of the Middle East, let's get a few things straight:

§ As a strictly legal matter, the Jews didn't take Palestine from the Arabs; they took it from the British, who exercised sovereign authority in Palestine under a League of Nations mandate for thirty years prior to Israel's declaration of independence in 1948. And the British don't want it back.

§ If you consider the British illegitimate usurpers, fine. In that case, this territory is not Arab land but Turkish land, a province of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years until the British wrested it from them during the Great War in 1917. And the Turks don't want it back.

§ If you look back earlier in history than the Ottoman Turks, who took over Palestine over in 1517, you find it under the sovereignty of the yet another empire not indigenous to Palestine: the Mamluks, who were Turkish and Circassian slave-soldiers headquartered in Egypt. And the Mamluks don't even exist any more, so they can't want it back.

Read the rest of the article.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

This is a good article to share with people who don't know much about the root cause of the conflict. Here's a quote from the article:

At that point these Arab states encouraged any Arabs remaining within Israel — around 400,000 — to leave. The refugee status of these unfortunates was prolonged by the Arab states’ general refusal to allow them to settle in their countries, despite the absence of any serious ethnic or linguistic differences between them and the people of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. (Jordan did grant Jordanian citizenship to the Arabs of the West Bank when it annexed this territory in 1950.) The Arab states wanted to use the refugee problem as a propaganda weapon against Israel, and thus had no interest in seeing these refugees settled in new homes.

Read the rest>>

Muslims Have a European Problem

I really like the way the Sultan Knish writes. In a recent article entitled, Whatever You Do, Don't Upset The Muslims, he writes:

While Europeans occasionally dare to speak about a Muslim problem, they won't for long. If you let the cockroach problem in your house get bad enough, you stop having a cockroach problem, and the cockroaches start having a people problem. Soon enough Europe won't have a Muslim problem, Muslims will have a European problem... and if anyone wonders how they will take care of it, a short look at the way Sudan, Indonesia, not to mention most of the Middle East have taken care of their Christian problem should answer that question. Men may have qualms about killing cockroaches, but cockroaches have no qualms about killing men.