Elbaradei wants backing from Obama while supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, saying "They are no way extremists. They are no way using violence."

I am confused.  Are we supporting a replacement for Mubarak who has no problem rallying around an Islamist group which has, as one of it's goals the destruction of Western culture and the destruction of Israel, or are we throwing our hat in for a civil/ humanitarian association which is just as caring and helpful as "...you know, new evangelical, you know, groups in the U.S., like the orthodox Jews in Jerusalem."

I am confused.


From Politics Daily Jan 39 by Bruce Drake

ElBaradei Says U.S. Should Tell Mubarak to Give Up Power in Egypt

Mohamed ElBaradei, who has emerged as one of the leading opponents of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, said Sunday that President Obama needed to press Mubarak to give up power and that failing to take more forceful action to make that happen will cost the United States "whatever is left" of its credibility.

"People expected the U.S. to be on the side of the people ... and to let go of a dictator, " ElBaradei said on ABC's "This Week."

(.)ElBaradei said the response of Mubarak so far to the protests and calls for reform by the United States "doesn't even begin to address people's concerns. Peoples' concerns right now is Mubarak has to go, immediately. The first step, if we need to get out of this mess -- and it's total mess, security is not there, it's a total chaos situation right now -- first step, he has to go."

(.)Asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether the "Obama administration still backs Mubarak as the legitimate president of Egypt," (Secretary of State)Clinton said: "We have been very clear that we want to see a transition to democracy. And we want to see the kind of steps taken that will bring that about. We also want to see an orderly transition."

We expect a Western democracy, but will get nothing of the sort.  A fools errand by Western leaders.

(.)ElBaradei said that the fear a post-Mubarak Egypt would turn into another Islamic fundamentalist country like Iran "was a myth that was sold by the Mubarak regime" to keep the support of Western governments.

He said the Muslim Brotherhood, which had the largest organized opposition to the government, did not pose the threat of turning Egypt into another Iran.

Look, it's the land of rainbows and unicorns where everything turns out OK!

Read it all

The Brotherhood of Islam in Egypt

Now we see the flexing of the Muslim Brotherhood muscle.  Even as they say they do not want to interfere in the "revolution" it is clear they want the influence to determine the outcome.  They say one thing and do another.  Not unusual for as Muhammad said, "War is deceit."

The MB is heavily invested in the outcome, they will not rest until their power is consolidated, and Islam becomes the dominate force in Egypt.

There may be some power-sharing between the MB, Iran and Hamas, but as the MB has been a thorn in the Egyptian government since the 1930s it is unlikely they would take a back seat to this Islamic passion play.


From ANSAmed Jan 31

EGYPT: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, NO TO NEW GOVERNMENT

ROME - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has given its thumbs down to the new Egyptian government and has called on people to continue demonstrating until the present regime falls. In a communique', the strongest opposition movement against President Hosni Mubarak speaks of a ''total refusal'' of the new administration, which ''does not respect the will of the people''.

''We call on Egyptians to carry on participating in the great demonstrations across Egypt until the whole of the regime - President, party, ministers and Parliament - is no longer in power''.

The looming clash of ideologies

Here it is, in plain english.  No mincing, no obfuscation, just the facts, ma'am. 

This is exactly what I have been talking about, and yet the media refuses to see the truth, from the mouths of our enemies.  Mind-boggling.

Remember, they said it, I merely report what is said.


From Jihad Watch Jan 31 originally from Pamela Geller and Forex Crunch

Muslim Brotherhood leader: Prepare for war with Israel

Remember that Obama went out of his way to invite Muslim Brotherhood representatives to his speech in Cairo in June 2009. So it is unlikely that he even sees the need to stand up to them.

"Muslim Brotherhood Wants War With Israel," from Forex Crunch, January 31 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Mohamed Ghanem, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, calls Egypt to stop pumping gas to Israel and prepare the Egyptian army for a war with it's [sic] eastern neighbor. Speaking with Iranian television station Al-Alam, Mohamed Ghanem blamed Israel for supporting Hosni Mubarak's regime. Ghanem also said that the Egyptian police and army won't be able to stop the Muslim Brotherhood movement....

Read it all

Target practice before the big game

It has been one week since Hamas fired indiscriminate rockets into civilian areas, presumably due to their preoccupation with the protests in Egypt.

Not any more.


From Ynet news Jan 31

Grad rockets hit near Netivot, Ofakim

Tensions in Egypt appear to be spreading to Gaza

Grad rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled territory Monday night landed near the southern Israeli cities of Ofakim and Netivot. Also Monday, a Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported

During the rocket attack on Netivot- the first attack on Israel since the mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began a week ago – four people suffered from shock, and damage was caused to a road and a parked car.

The rocket landed near a residential neighborhood.

Another Grad hit the Ofakim area a few minutes later, but there were no reports of injury or damage.

Read it all

When military support ends, so does Mubarak

Until this time, Mubarak has had the backing of the military.  As with any despot, having all those weapons directed at your enemies, on your command is a power motivator for those on the receiving end to conform to the rules.  When those guns start to turn towards you, that is a sure sign your days are severly limited. 

As the military withdraws support, Mubarak may have to seek asylum, and escape to a friendly country before he suffers the same fate as Saddam Hussein.

The pressure mounts each hour, and even as Mubarak re-arranges his cabinet and tries to sooth by spouting platitudes the damage is done and the reign is over.  Now he is merely shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic, and asking the musicians to play something light.


From AP/Yahoo Jan 31 by Hamza Hendawi and Maggie Michael

Egypt military promises no force against protests

CAIRO – Egypt's military pledged not to fire on protesters in a sign that army support for President Hosni Mubarak may be unraveling on the eve a major escalation — a push for a million people to take to the streets Tuesday to demand the authoritarian leader's ouster.

More than 10,000 people beat drums, played music and chanted slogans in Tahrir Square, which has become ground zero of a week of protests demanding an end to Mubarak's three decades in power.

With the organizers' calling for a "march of a million people," the vibe in the sprawling plaza — whose name in Arabic means "Liberation" — was of an intensifying feeling that the uprising was nearing a decisive point.

"He only needs a push!" was one of the most frequent chants, and a leaflet circulated by some protesters said it was time for the military to choose between Mubarak and the people.

And just who are these "people", does it mean the man on the street, or does it mean the men behind the curtain(Iran, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood) who claim to represent the man on the street? 

The latest gesture by Mubarak aimed at defusing the crisis fell flat. His top ally, the United States, roundly rejected his announcement of a new government Monday that dropped his highly unpopular interior minister, who heads police forces and has been widely denounced by the protesters.

The crowds in the streets were equally unimpressed.

No wonder, way too little coming way too late.

Read it all

It goes around, it comes around

It seemed obvious to me, and now that it has entered the realm of real possibility it will be hard to ignore.  Muhamed Elbaradei is now the de-facto choice to lead Egypt, as chosen by the Muslim Brotherhood.  Iran, and Hamas will, of course throw their two drachma's into the cauldron, and after stirring vigorously the resulting stew will be one of a bitter and poisonous nature. 

Elbaradei will be presented as a good "moderate" choice to replace Mubarak, even with the commections with the MB, Hamas and Iran.  Our Western leaders will tell us that Hamas is a group we can work with, that Iran really is not a threat to us directly, and the Muslim Brotherhood is just a social organization looking out for the welfare of poor Egyptians.


From Haaretz.com Jan 30

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood eyes unity gov't without Mubarak

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group,is in talks with other anti-government figures to form a national unity government without President Hosni Mubarak, a group official told DPA on Sunday.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned from running for elections for parliament, some movement members have presented candidacy for parliament as independents.

"War is deceit"

Gamal Nasser, a spokesman for the Brotherhood, told DPA that his group was in talks with Mohammed ElBaradei - the former UN nuclear watchdog chief - to form a national unity government without the National Democratic Party of Mubarak.

The group is also demanding an end to the draconian Emergency Laws, which grant police wide-ranging powers The laws have been used often to arrest and harass the Islamist group.

Nasser said his group would not accept any new government with Mubarak. On Saturday the Brotherhood called on President Mubarak to relinquish power in a peaceful manner following the resignation of the Egyptian cabinet.

Speaking to CNN later Sunday, ElBaradei said he had a popular and political mandate to negotiate the creation of a national unity government.

"I have been authorized -- mandated -- by the people who organized these demonstrations and many other parties to agree on a national unity government," he told CNN.

"I hope that I should be in touch soon with the army and we need to work together. The army is part of Egypt," the opposition leader added.

Depending on which side they are on, Mr. Elbaradei.

Read it all

New ground zero mosque imam says too much about Islam and is "distanced" by mosque organizers

Imam Adhami, the new moderate voice of the GZ mosque or, the Park51 project, or the "Cordoba Initiative" or whatever clever name they come up with this week, has expressed truths about Islam which have caused a backlash against him by the developers and organizers.  I posted about this imam trying to steal Moses here, and in this piece you will see his Islamist views about gays, and how those who leave Islam and preach any other religion should be jailed.

Imam Adhami views Islam with the correct eye, interpreting doctrine as a majority of recognized scholars and clerics do.  He is upholding sharia, and doing what Muhammad requires all Muslims to do, as laid down by the Qur'an and hadiths.

So why are his co-religionists complaining about what he has said, if it is all based in Islamic texts and tenets?

Simple.  He has given their hand away, and dared to speak the truth to the infidel.


From the New York Post Jan 30 by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein

Outrageous Teachings by new GZ mosque imam

The new imam at the Ground Zero mosque and cultural center believes people who are gay were probably abused as children and that people who leave Islam and preach a new religion should be jailed.

Abdallah Adhami's remarks on homosexuals, religious freedom and other topics have brought renewed criticism of the proposed community center and mosque near the World Trade Center site, which purports to be an inclusive organization.
Adhami, in a lecture on the Web site of his nonprofit, Sakeenah, says being gay is a "painful trial" caused by past trauma.

(.)"When a religious leader of his standing opens up his mouth and spews this kind of ignorance and hateful statements, it does put his greater judgment into question," said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay-rights group.

(.)Adhami, 44, who was born in Washington and says that he began his Islamic studies in Syria at age 8, claims to be descended from "the noble lineage of the family of the Prophet Muhammad."

Careful what you claim in the name of Muhammad, Adhami.  Insulting the prophet of Islam could get you those 72 virgins.

Read it all
 

The Noose Tightens

Iran wants to influence Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, active in Egypt since 1928 sees their chance for a power grab, and now, not surprisingly Hamas wants it's share of the treasure. 

Hamas is the spiritual sibling of the Muslim Brotherhood, and as such has the same ideals, goals and mission statement.  The preamble to the Hamas charter uses the words of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the MB, in which he says "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." 

Article 1 says:

"The Islamic Resistance Movement: The Movement's programme is Islam. From it, it draws its ideas, ways of thinking and understanding of the universe, life and man. It resorts to it for judgement in all its conduct, and it is inspired by it for guidance of its steps."

Article 2 says:

"The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam."

The first thing the MB/Hamas theocrats would do is gut the Egyptian constitution, invalidate any agreements between themselves and Israel, expand their capacity to wage war, and call all Muslims to fight in jihad, and drive the infidels from the land of Allah.

Article 8 of the charter says:

Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.

The clouds gather on the horizon while we play with our puppies.

From International Business Times Jan 29

Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas seek to increase role in Egypt : Stratfor

The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas are collaborating and seeking to increase their roles in Egypt.

Global intelligence firm Stratfor reported this, citing unconfirmed sources.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic opposition party in Egypt, is picking up the pieces left by President Hosni Mubarak’s police force by forming committees to protect public property. 

One side impact of the riots in Egypt is the loosening of rule of law as police forces retreat to certain areas of Egypt during certain times.

The Muslim Brotherhood is also supplying protesters with food and first aid.

And Hitler built the Autobahn, while Al Capone opened soup kitchens and bread lines.

Moreover, there are unconfirmed reports that as Egypt’s border with Palestine becomes unpatrolled, “Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt” and seeking collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Hamas is a Palestinian/Islamic political/terrorist organization that was founded as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Read it all

"This year is turning into a critical one for Israel(...)Turkey is gone and Egypt appears to be on the way."

With increased frequency, countries are turning against Israel.  Their once-allies are in turmoil, and the greatest threat now to the security and safety of Israel is Egypt.  What happens when, or if, as some in the Israeli administration say, Mubarak departs?  The day after will be the paradigm shift for the people of Egypt, and the world, especially Israel.  Egypt is the only Muslim country recognizing Israel's right to exist, and has diplomatic as well as economic ties to Israel.  The downfall of Mubarak will impact Israel much moreso than any other country, except maybe America. 

The concerns of Israel are well-founded, as this piece points out.


From The Jerusalem Post Jan 30 by Yaakov Katz

If Brotherhood takes over, IDF will face formidable enemy

The collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt is not yet about Israel but soon will be, depending on his successor.

If the Muslim Brotherhood grabs the reins in the massive Arab country, Israel will face an enemy with one of the largest and strongest militaries around, built on some of the most advanced American-made platforms.

The impact on Israel will be immediate – the IDF will need to undergo major structural changes, new units will need to be created and forces in the South will likely need to be beefed up. Since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the IDF has not had to worry about two fronts at once. Until now.

The appointment of Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman as the vice president in Egypt is a reassuring sign for Israel.

Suleiman has played a key role in Israeli- Egyptian relations over the years and is considered in charge of the “Israeli Dossier” His office has been responsible for coordinating efforts to stop smuggling via tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor with Gaza and he is considered something of a moderate in comparison to outgoing Defense Minister Mohamed Tantawi.

(...)Due to the peace with Egypt and Jordan as well as the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the IDF has spent the last decade focused on the internal Palestinian threat, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. Israel’s military buildup was performed accordingly, including procurement plans regarding the number of tanks, armored personnel carriers and fighter jets acquired.

“With its current assets, the IDF will currently find it very difficult to be able to deal with two live fronts at once,” a senior defense official admitted recently.

Read it all

 

The Rise of the Caliphate

Here it comes, with all the sound and fury commensurate with Islamists and jihadists.  The interplay now, between the eventual domino effect as Muslim countries fall and the abdication of Europe to Islamic sensibilities portends disaster for the US and it's remaining allies across the globe.

Europe, particularly England, Germany and France have already given up their identity and culture to Islam, although there is still a slim chance they can pull themselves out of the quagmire that is Islamic doctrine, if they can grow a set and treat their collapse as an invasion of a foreign body, rather than seeing it as just a problem with immigration. 

Muslim countries, looking at Egypt, are reassessing their role within the greater Middle Eastern narrative, and those who gain most from the unrest; Islamists and jihadists will take every advantage to gain control.  Leaders from Muslim countries will frame the change as "democratic" and "inclusive" but when the dust settles it will be Islam, as laid down by Muhammad that rules the day.

The Muslim leaders will always tell you that it is Israel, and the Western backing of the Jews which is the problem, and the demands for Israeli condemnation will increase.  As unrest becomes more prevalent, the cries for the destruction of Israel will come from those who, up to now have not expressed, publically, their preference for the death of Israel and Jews.

When the time comes that Europe is no longer our ally, and the Middle East is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam, we in the US will find no support, no allies, no friends where once there were many.  When we stand alone against an ideological enemy, we will be forced to act, in ways we have never considered, in order to save our culture.   

And remember, it is always the Jews fault, always.  It's in the Qur'an.


From APNews/MyWay Jan 29 by Jamal Halaby

Jordan's opposition: Arabs will topple tyrants
 
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - The leader of Jordan's powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned Saturday that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States.
 
Hammam Saeed's comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighboring Egypt demanding the downfall of the country's longtime president, Hosni Mubarak.
 
About 100 members of the fundamentalist group and activists from other leftist organizations and trade unions chanted "Mubarak, step down" and "the decision is made, the people's revolt will remain."
 
Elsewhere, a separate group of 300 protesters gathered in front of the office of Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai, demanding his ouster. "Rifai, it's time for you to go," chanted the group.
 
Jordan's protests have been relatively small in size, but they underline a rising tension with Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key U.S. ally who has been making promises of reform in recent days in an apparent attempt to quell domestic discontent over economic degradation and lack of political freedoms.

But as a monarch with deep support from the Bedouin-dominated military, Jordan's ruler is not seen as vulnerable as Mubarak or Tunisia's deposed leader. Even the Brotherhood - a fiery critic of Jordan's moderate government - has remained largely loyal to the king, who claims ancestry to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

It's always about who you know....

Read it all

Women Islamists support blasphemy laws in Pakistan

The burqa is seen as an obligation among pious Muslims, as well as a restriction on women and their rights by Western standards.  That said, it is no stretch to say that those women who support the wearing of the burqa also support Islamic doctrine as seen in the Qur'an, hadiths and sunna of Muhammad.  Punishing those who insult anything having to do with Muhammad or Islam must be upheld as right and correct.

Blasphemy, or the insulting of Islam has those burqa-clad women standing and supporting the laws which penalize those who do the insulting.  They walk the walk as far as sharia law and Islamic doctrine are concerned. 

The problem is that what constitutes an insult could be anything, from casting a shadow on a Qur'an to not bathing in accordance with the rules of Muhammad.  The insultee is the one who determines whether an insult has been committed, so one is forced to carefully choose words when expressing their voice.

This is censorship, plain and simple.  Censorship by implied violence.  Welcome to Islam.

From AsiaNews.it Jan 29 by Jibran Khan

Karachi, women on streets in support of the blasphemy law

Karachi (AsiaNews) - The women's wing of the Islamic movement Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has demonstrated on the streets of Karachi against possible amendments to the blasphemy law. The protest took place yesterday after Friday prayers: the crowd gathered in Mazar-e-Quaid - the National Mausoleum, better known as the tomb that houses the remains of the founder Ali Jinnah - and marched to the area of Numaish Chowrangi. The young women students - from different schools and institutions of the city - shouted slogans and brandished placards against those who want to change the "black law".

Addressing the crowd, Ghafoor Ahmed - a member of JI - confirmed that "no attempt to touch the law will be allowed", the spirit of the Pakistani students, he added, shows that the country "will soon become a true Islamic nation." The vice-president Ashraf Jalali, who led the protest, made it clear that any condemnation of Mumtaz Qadri - the murderess of the Punjab Governor Salman Taseer - will lead to further demonstrations and protests, because he is "a hero of the Muslim ummah".
Members of the fundamentalist movement also demanded the expulsion of all Vatican
officials in Pakistan, for what they call "interference" in internal affairs....

Read it all
  

A Governmentless Leader

As the people demand Mubarak's departure, the more it appears he has no intention of relinquishing his hold on the crown.  After 30 years of rule, his subjects want him gone and a new leader sitting in Cairo.  Despite this call for his head, he steadfastly refuses, and decides that the best course would be to dissolve the current government as a whole. 

With theinternet out it is more difficult to hear and see what the process is, and no one, not even Mubarak has an idea what to do now that there is no effective administration.  There is now a vacuum that I pointed out could suck in many unpleasant things, including the Muslim Brotherhood. 

I pity the Egyptian people, as they have asked for change, but got instead chaos and a governmentless leader.


From the National Post Jan 28 by Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh

Mubarak refuses to resign, dismisses government

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused on Saturday to bow demands that he resign, after ordering troops and tanks into cities in an attempt to quell an explosion of street protest against his 30-year rule.

Mubarak dismissed his government and called for national dialogue to avert chaos after a day of battles between police and protesters angry over poverty and autocratic rule. Medical sources said at least 24 people had been killed and over a thousand injured in clashes in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria.

The unprecedented unrest has sent shock waves through the Middle East, where other autocratic rulers may face challenges, and unsettled global financial markets on Friday. U.S. President Barack Obama said he had spoken with Mubarak and urged “concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people”.

(.)“There is a fine line between freedom and chaos and I lean towards freedom for the people in expressing their opinions as much as I hold on to the need to maintain Egypt’s safety and stability...”

 

Watch closely, as this scenario will impact the globe in ways we cannot imagine right now.

 

Read it all

 

Turkish Islamists say no to sexy sultan Suleiman

Turkish Islamists have decidced that the Sultan Suleiman, hero of Turkish history and almost- conquerer of Europe until his armies defeat at the Gates of Vienna on Sept 11, 1683 has been insulted, and has shut down a popular TV program about this iconic Muslim leader. 

Evidently, Islamists do not like the fact that Suleiman is portrayed, and rightly so as a human, with all the failings and attributes every human experiences.  It seems that his military and sexual exploits are not for the ears, or eyes of the Turkish public, thus the call for the banning of thi program.

I guess talking about a leader of Islam and his lust for sex and murder, no matter the context is right out. 

Another blow for supression of speech in Muslim countries.


From The Economist Jan 27

Magnificent no more

A television series feeds tensions between secular and Islamist Turks

SULTAN Suleiman the Magnificent, who earned his moniker for taking the Ottoman empire to the apogee of its glory in the mid-16th century, is widely regarded as sacred in Turkey. No matter that he had his own son murdered, among several dastardly deeds. Modern Turks like to boast of his armies reaching the gates of Vienna and to refer to him as the “lawgiver”. A British historian, Jason Goodwin, writes that Suleiman was “majestic enough to stock his court with an unusual number of buffoons, dwarves, mutes, astrologers, and silent janissaries” and that he ruled so long “that he became something of an Ottoman Queen Victoria.”

In recent weeks Suleiman has been at the centre of a new row that pits secular Turks against Muslim conservatives. The cause was a televised drama series, replete with scenes from the royal baths and the harem, which chronicled Suleiman’s military and sexual exploits. Pious Turks were incensed by scenes of Suleiman lusting over his most coveted queen, Roxelana, and drinking goblets of wine.

Read it all

The Muslim Brotherhood has long been a force in Egypt.  They began in Egypt, and have been part of Egyptian society since 1928, when Hassan al-banna forged the beginnigs of what is now a banned group in Egypt. 

The possibility of a coalition government in Egypt with the MB as a dominate player does not bode well for the secular future of Egypt, nor give the people hope for a future administration which will see their needs as humans paramount to the needs of Islam.

Mohamed Elbaradei, seen as a possible successor to Mubarak, may be viewed as a "moderate" by Western eyes, but if the MB gathers together all the opposition leaders under it's banner, and gets Elbaradei to accept his place as a viable replacement, it will not be too long before the MB starts to use their strength, through Elbaradei to affect change in Egypt towards a fully functioning sharia-compliant and doctrinally-based society.

The plan has been in the works since August of 2010, as evinced by this piece.


From The Washington Times Aug 1 by Kristen Chick

Muslim Brotherhood supports ElBaradei

Moves shows potential for change in Egypt

CAIRO | When Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel laureate and former head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, swept back to Egypt in February talking of democratic reform and possibly running for president, he reinvigorated a stagnant political opposition.

A loose coalition of opposition parties and reform movements sprang up with Mr. ElBaradei as the figurehead and began gathering signatures for a seven-point petition calling for democratic reform in Egypt.

But when the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, threw its weight behind that movement in early July, suddenly the numbers ballooned, from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The coalition now claims to have more than 300,000 petition signatures, with more than two thirds of them gathered by the Brotherhood.

It’s an indication of the powerful force for change in Egypt that could emerge if the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s notoriously fractious secular opposition groups were able to create a united front that demands an alternative to the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for 29 years.

And it is now happening before our eyes.  Don't blink.

Update: Now Elbaradei is calling for an intifada if the government does not accede to the demands of the people.  From ANSAmed Jan 29

EGYPT: INTIFADA UNTIL REGIME STEPS DOWN, EL BARADEI SAYS

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, JANUARY 29 - ''If the regime does not step down, the people's Intifada will continue''. So said leading Egyptian activist Mohamed El Baradei in an interview to Al Jazeera. ''A new Constitution is needed....

Read it all
  

The Iranian hand in Egypt

Iran makes no secret of their desire to control, either directly or by proxy, as many countries in the Middle East as they can.  The pressure they will be able to use against those regimes which resist, through nuclear weapons will, in effect make it impossible for any country to say no to Iranian support.  It is no wonder that Iran supports the turmoil in Egypt, and sees the opportunity to influence the outcome. 

Iran is a threat to all the ME countries, and by putting it's Shia hand into the affairs of those countries, and affecting change benefitting Islamic Shiia doctrine, we will see escalating violence, and expansionist rhetoric dramatically expand.


Egypt is in the throes of a revolution. The last thing needed is Iranian interference.


From Ynet News Jan 29

Iranian leaders hope for Islamic republic in Egypt

Clerics say protests against Mubarak government were inspired by 1979 revolution in Iran

Iranian leaders expressed satisfaction with the anti-government protests in Egypt, with one leader saying he believes the protesters were inspired by the revolution in his country in 1979.

“Today, as a result of the gifts of the Islamic revolution in Iran, freedom-loving Islamic peoples such as the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt and nearby Arab countries are standing up to their oppressive governments,” the New York Times quoted Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi as saying.


He congratulated the Egyptian people, saying their actions were "based on the principles" of the Islamic revolution.


Western officials fear Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be replaced by a hardline cleric similar to the ayatollahs in Iran, like the Muslim Brotherhood opposition party, which also gave rise to Hamas.


Mohammad-Javad Larijani, secretary general of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights and a conservative leader, also voiced a positive opinion. "In my opinion, the Islamic Republic of Iran should see these events without exception in a positive light," he said.

Read it all
  

The next class in the "What is Islam" series Monday, Jan 31

The class that Lane Community College was too afraid to allow to be taught, and the class that the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR) called "anti-Muslim" moves right along, with #2 to be held Monday, Jan 31.  The first one on Jan 24 went great, there were many people and the feedback/questions were excellent.  Try not to miss #2, it will open your eyes and get you to ask serious questions.

CALENDAR

WHAT:  "What is Islam" class #2, by Barry Sommer.

SUBJECT:  The meaning of jihad/What is sharia.

A critical analysis of what jihad means, and how sharia affects Western law and society.

This is the class you don’t want to miss.  The questions about sharia and jihad are complex, and Muslims won’t tell the truth when asked about these two concepts.  They may not understand them, or they may be practicing taqiyya.  Learn how Islam itself defines these terms, and how they are supposed to be applied. 

WHEN: Monday, Jan 31, 2011, 6PM-8PM

WHERE: Harris Hall,

125 E. 8th St

, downtown Eugene

COST: Free and open to the public.

For more information: whatisislam@ymail.com

See you there!

To sleep, perchance to dream, and dream the dreams of jihadists

My apologies to Shakespere, but it seemed appropriate when I wrote it.  There are sleeper cells in the US, one would have to be the fool to believe otherwise.  JIhadists and Islamists are here, have been for a while, and want nothing less than our death and the destruction of the West.  One day, many will be murdered while the shouts of "Allahu Akbar" hang in the air, unless there is a massive wake-up of awareness as to the reat threat we face to our freedom and liberty.

David Gaubatz elucidates this threat, and tells us what our future may look like if we keep our eyes shut.


From Family Security Matters Jan 26 by David Gaubatz

Sleeper Cells in the USA

There is every reason to suspect that we will endure suicide missions by Islamist sleeper cells. They are already in place. They are waiting for the right time. I know this from experience.

 

I have worked over 15 years as a U.S. Federal Agent, a U.S. State Department Arabic linguist, and the first civilian Federal Agent deployed into Iraq at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.  Since returning from Iraq I have been involved in terrorism analysis, specifically the mindset of terrorists. During my extensive research on sleeper cells I have talked with hundreds of people from the Middle East from all walks of life, and have talked with Iraqi Government officials, Iraqi military and Iraqi police officers.  In addition I have interviewed numerous counter-terrorism specialists in the U.S. and abroad.  In 2006 I trained over 4000 U.S. Law Enforcement officers in Basic Investigative Arabic and counter-terrorism. The conclusions of my research lead to the title of this article.

 

Before I departed for the Middle East in 2003 I had been assigned to Kirtland AFB, NM.  Kirtland has some of the best scientists in the world working on U.S. Government projects.  I had been working closely with these scientists who specialized in nuclear energy, directed energy, laser technology, bio-weapons and more.  I fully understand the impact if suicide bombers begin progressing from conventional explosives to unconventional methods.

 

The Middle East

 

In Jan 2003, I was assigned to Arar Air Base Saudi Arabia.  Arar is located near the border of Iraq. My mission was to interact with Saudi military officials in order to determine the support we could expect from the Saudi government, to determine if Iraqis were monitoring the activities of the U.S. forces at Arar, and to infiltrate the encampments of the Bedouin community (Saudis and Iraqis living in the desert of Arar). This involved leaving the relatively safe confines of Arar Air Base and driving to the Bedouin camps. 

 

It was most important the Saudis did not know we were leaving the compound because they had forbidden us to do so.  Four U.S. special Agents would use our ATV's and/or four wheel drive vehicles to conduct these missions. The Saudi Government had active spies collecting information pertaining to our troop strength, our weapons, and any other intelligence they could obtain. The Saudis were providing the intelligence to the Saudi Government, and we were very confident it was also being passed to Iraqi intelligence. 

 

During January 2003 and Feb 2003, Saudi Intelligence officers would boast that the American military was overreacting about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.  Their bravery changed as we approached the invasion of Iraq in Mar 2003.  The high-ranking Saudi officers were scrambling to obtain gas masks and other protective equipment.  They knew their equipment was substandard and they wanted U.S.-made protective equipment.  We gave them some of ours.  The Saudi Intelligence officers were visibly frightened about a potential chemical, biological, or nuclear attack and expressed their fears.

 

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Building that bridge, one faith at a time

The phrase "bridge-building" is a misnomer for it is always a one-way street.  It is also a phrase used mostly by Islam, in the hopes that when non-Muslims hear it, their guard will drop, and they will be receptive to the words of moderation presented by the "religion of peace."  Imam Rauf of the ground zero mosque used it quite frequently, along with "interfaith dialogue" which is also misleading, coming from a man who advocates for sharia law in the US.

It is no wonder then, that when a group claims to stand for "bridge-building" the progressives, lefties and those who see Muslims as victims will jump on the bandwagon, and call to the populace to embrace this multicultural label in the name of tolerance.

The end result of this coddling is more confusion and a muddying of the waters for those trying to understand what it all means.


From Ryan Mauro at Pajamas Media Jan 23

Muslims of the Americas’ New Target: Gullible Christians

On Saturday, January 8, 2001, a nice-sounding organization called the United Muslim Christian Forum ^[1] (UMC) held an event in Binghamton, New York, for members of both faiths to “share, in unity, their love and admiration for Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him).” Gullible Christians and officials have supported the event, unaware or unconcerned that it is a front for the anti-Semitic extremist group Muslims of the Americas ^[2] (MOA) and its leader in Pakistan, Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani.

There is no excuse for those who have embraced the UMC, as its website says it was founded by Sheikh Gilani and no effort is made to disguise UMC’s status as an MOA front. The UMC website also spouts the same ideology. At a 2008 event, the leadership proclaimed ^[3] that “…we will no longer be duped or manipulated by a ‘hidden hand’ into fighting, or going to war with each other.” The write-up on the event, which claims 3000 Muslims and Christians attended, then argues that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job” by the U.S., UK, Israel and international bankers. It describes the attacks as “Stage One of getting the Western world, on behalf of the Jews, to go to war with the Arab world.”

The UMC’s website also carries a letter ^[4] to President Obama asking him to stop an anti-Muslim conspiracy within the United States. It warns of a “hate campaign, within our own borders, against the American Muslims, [that] MUST come to an end. This campaign is an integral part of the nefarious scheme to bring this nation to its knees by those who have no love for humanity.”

Islamic castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually

When Bahrain decided to build artifical sand islands in the shapes of a giant palm tree, and sell the plots to the uber-rich, I thought well, there is a sucker born each 60 seconds.  The plan looked good on paper, but what happens when a storm hits, or if all the ice at the Antarctic melts and innundates those patches of sand, what then?  How will the sand stay in place?  Now I know little about geology, but it just seemed a bad idea.

Now, Dubai, with all of it's petro-dollars, has built a sand paradise of it's own, and the problems I pondered seem to be rearing their heads.  If sand is dredged up from the bottom, and placed so it stands only a few meters above the waves, is it not logical that eventually the sea will take back the sand?


From Yahoo News/AFP Jan 26 by W.G. Dunlop

In Dubai, the state of The World is in dispute

DUBAI (AFP) – A cluster of 300 artificial islands off Dubai's coast in the shape of a global map is stable, its developer Nakheel insists, despite a court claim alleging that "The World" was neglected and eroding away.

"There is no issue with the stability of The World islands that are approximately 70 percent sold and handed over," a Nakheel spokesman said when asked about the allegations.

"The island purchasers (have) the responsibility to proceed with their developments in due course," he added.

The islands, many of which represent individual countries and which can only be accessed by boat or helicopter, were meant to be one of the Gulf city-state's crowning developments.

Builders have announced plans for a few of the islands, but development has yet to begin on most of them.

A company contracted to provide logistics support to the islands filed a claim with a tribunal that handles cases related to the emirate's troubled Dubai World conglomerate, alleging that third-party developers had not been encouraged to develop the islands, and said they were being hit by erosion.

Nakheel subsidiary The World LLC "did not develop the project as anticipated at the time of the agreement and the project has lain largely undeveloped," according to the claim filed by Penguin Marine Boats Services LLC.

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The Fall of the 21st Century Pharaohs

By now most people have heard something on the riots in Egypt.  This situation is so in flux it is impossible to say, with any accuracy what the outcome will be.  For now, it appears the public is stirred to the point that nothing less than the ousting of Mubarrak will satiate the crowds.  However, the more important point is: what happens after he departs?  With so much confusion right now, the picture of the future of Egypt hangs by a thread, with no one seeing past the next few hours.  It is beginning to feel like Iraq in that the people wanted Saddam gone, but after he was gone, there was left a vacuum which sucked in ideas, people and concepts many Iraqis found to not be in their best interests.

When Mubarrak leaves, there will be a sigh of relief, but also there will be a groan of concern, as those who wanted change are now in a position to determine what kind of change.  That instability is a dangerous component, and one which could play the most important role in the type of change that Egypt has to deal with.

There are elements at work here, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, who will do what they can to wrest control into their hands, and if that occurs, you will see a paradigm shift of Biblical proportions not only in Egypt, but throughout the entire region.  Watch for the MB to exert it's influence in the coming days, and watch them present themselves as a "moderate" alternative to Mubarrak and any other challengers to the throne.


From PRonlineNews Jan 27

Egypt poised for unrest: shuts down Intenet and Twitter

Hours ahead of what are expected to be massive displays of anti-government ferment across the world’s most populous Arab nation, the internet went dark in parts of Egypt early Friday, and text messaging appeared to be blocked.

The country has been bracing for a huge outpouring of protests after Friday prayers.

The Muslim Brotherhood has called for its followers to demonstrate after weekly Muslim prayers, the first time in the current round of unrest that the largest opposition bloc has told supporters to take to the streets.
See the original story from CNN here.

Remember Mohammad ElBaradei, the former UN head of the International Atomic Energy Association(IAEA)?  He is out with the protesters, presenting himself as a "moderate" replacement for Mubarrak.  The problem is, he is supported by, and he supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  Watch for him to stir the pot, and watch the media canonize him as an acceptable replacement for Mubarrak.

Here are two other pieces on Egypt to help fill in the gaps and add context.  Remember, it is all about context.


From Yahoo News/AFP Jan 27

Egyptian Internet cutoff 'unprecedented': Renesys

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Egypt's four main Internet service providers (ISPs) cut off international access to their customers in a near simultaneous and unprecedented move, an Internet monitoring company said.

"Virtually all of Egypt's Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide," said James Cowie of Renesys, a New Hampshire-based firm which monitors Internet routing data in real-time.

"In an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet," Cowie said in a blog post.

"Critical European-Asian fiber-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now," he said.

"But every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, Internet cafe, website, school, embassy, and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their Internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world," Cowie said.

"Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and all their customers and partners are, for the moment, off the air," he said.

Cowie said Renesys observed a "virtually simultaneous" withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks at 2234 GMT on Thursday, "leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange Internet traffic with Egypt's service providers.
Cowie said one exception was the Noor Group, which still has 83 live routes to its Egyptian customers.

He said it was not clear why the Noor Group was apparently unaffected "but we observe that the Egyptian Stock Exchange (www.egyptse.com) is still alive at a Noor address."

Egypt has been rocked by days of protests against President Hosni Mubarak.

Mobile telephone networks were severely disrupted in the country on Friday along with the Internet.

Mobile phones and the Internet have been used by activists to organize the most serious anti-government demonstrations in decades, amid warning by the Interior Ministry that it would take "decisive measures" against protesters.

The protests were inspired by the groundbreaking uprising in Tunisia which led to the ouster of veteran Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.


And this from Yahoo/AP Jan 27 by Jordan Robinson

The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark

Egypt unplugs from Internet as protests loom; 'unprecedented in Internet history'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- About a half-hour past midnight Friday morning in Egypt, the Internet went dead.

Almost simultaneously, the handful of companies that pipe the Internet into and out of Egypt went dark as protesters were gearing up for a fresh round of demonstrations calling for the end of President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule, experts said.

Egypt has apparently done what many technologists thought was unthinkable for any country with a major Internet economy: It unplugged itself entirely from the Internet to try and silence dissent.

Experts say it's unlikely that what's happened in Egypt could happen in the United States because the U.S. has numerous Internet providers and ways of connecting to the Internet. Coordinating a simultaneous shutdown would be a massive undertaking.

"It can't happen here," said Jim Cowie, the chief technology officer and a co-founder of Renesys, a network security firm in Manchester, N.H., that studies Internet disruptions. "How many people would you have to call to shut down the U.S. Internet? Hundreds, thousands maybe? We have enough Internet here that we can have our own Internet. If you cut it off, that leads to a philosophical question: Who got cut off from the Internet, us or the rest of the world?"

In fact, there are few countries anywhere with all their central Internet connections in one place or so few places that they can be severed at the same time. But the idea of a single "kill switch" to turn the Internet on and off has seduced some American lawmakers, who have pushed for the power to shutter the Internet in a national emergency.

The Internet blackout in Egypt shows that a country with strong control over its Internet providers apparently can force all of them to pull their plugs at once, something that Cowie called "almost entirely unprecedented in Internet history."

The outage sets the stage for blowback from the international community and investors. It also sets a precedent for other countries grappling with paralyzing political protests -- though censoring the Internet and tampering with traffic to quash protests is nothing new.

China has long restricted what its people can see online and received renewed scrutiny for the practice when Internet search leader Google Inc. proclaimed a year ago that it would stop censoring its search results in China.

In 2009, Iran disrupted Internet service to try to curb protests over disputed elections.

And two years before that, Burma's Internet was crippled when military leaders apparently took the drastic step of physically disconnecting primary communications links in major cities, a tactic that was foiled by activists armed with cell phones and satellite links.

Computer experts say what sets Egypt's action apart is that the entire country was disconnected in an apparently coordinated effort, and that all manner of devices are affected, from mobile phones to laptops. It seems, though, that satellite phones would not be affected.

"Iran never took down any significant portion of their Internet connection -- they knew their economy and the markets are dependent on Internet activity," Cowie said.

When countries are merely blocking certain sites -- like Twitter or Facebook -- where protesters are coordinating demonstrations, as apparently happened at first in Eqypt, protesters can use "proxy" computers to circumvent the government censors. The proxies "anonymize" traffic and bounce it to computers in other countries that send it along to the restricted sites.

But when there's no Internet at all, proxies can't work and online communication grinds to a halt.

Renesys' network sensors showed that Egypt's four primary Internet providers -- Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr -- and all went dark at 12:34 a.m. Those companies shuttle all Internet traffic into and out of Egypt, though many people get their service through additional local providers with different names.

Italy-based Seabone said no Internet traffic was going into or out of Egypt after 12:30 a.m. local time.

"There's no way around this with a proxy," Cowie said. "There is literally no route. It's as if the entire country disappeared. You can tell I'm still kind of stunned."

The technical act of turning off the Internet can be fairly straightforward. It likely requires only a simple change to the instructions for the companies' networking equipment.

Craig Labovitz, chief scientist for Arbor Networks, a Chelmsford, Mass., security company, said that in countries such as Egypt -- with a centralized government and a relatively small number of fiber-optic cables and other ways for the Internet to get piped in -- the companies that own the technologies are typically under strict licenses from the government.

"It's probably a phone call that goes out to half a dozen folks who enter a line on a router configuration file and hit return," Labovitz said. "It's like programming your TiVo -- you have things that are set up and you delete one. It's not high-level programming."

Twitter confirmed Tuesday that its service was being blocked in Egypt, and Facebook reported problems.

"Iran went through the same pattern," Labovitz said. "Initially there was some level of filtering, and as things deteriorated, the plug was pulled. It looks like Egypt might be following a similar pattern."

The ease with which Egypt cut itself also means the country can control where the outages are targeted, experts said. So its military facilities, for example, can stay online while the Internet vanishes for everybody else.

Experts said it was too early to tell which, if any, facilities still have connections in Egypt.

Cowie said his firm is investigating clues that a small number of small networks might still be available.

Meanwhile, a program Renesys uses that displays the percentage of each country that is connected to the Internet was showing a figure that he was still struggling to believe. Zero.

On The Web: http://renesys.com/blog/

Religion and Relativism

I have been engaged recently in a discussion of the equality of religions.  Are they equal in all respects, and if not, why not?  During a discussion on whether Islam, Judiasm and Christianity were of equal footing regarding levels of violence, it was claimed that Christians, Jews and Judeo-Christian doctrine was just as repressive as Islamic doctrine, therefore to say that one was bad meant that one had to apply that to all religions across the board.  I awlays try, gently to point to the main difference: that Islamic doctrine, as defined today and practiced by some Muslims demands the conversion, subjugation or death for non-Muslims, but there is no equivalent demand in Christianity.

My dialogue fell on deaf ears, the listener refusing to accept that this was so, and pointed out the example of Tim McVeigh as if that was the end of his argument.  It was then I wanted to go back and read what some experts have said about this dialectic conversation. 

This is from Raymond Ibrahim, author of "The Al-Qaeda Reader" and a scholar of Islam of the finest order.  I have posted other pieces from him here before, this is especially prescient with all that has been happening to Christians in the Middle East in recent history.  His words need to be understood by those who continually claim that all religions are equal, and should be treated as such.


From The Middle East Quarterly Summer/2009

Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?

by Raymond Ibrahim

"There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur'an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam."[1] So announces former nun and self-professed "freelance monotheist," Karen Armstrong. This quote sums up the single most influential argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions, proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair share of violent and intolerant scriptures, as well as bloody histories. Thus, whenever Islam's sacred scriptures—the Qur'an first, followed by the reports on the words and deeds of Muhammad (the Hadith)—are highlighted as demonstrative of the religion's innate bellicosity, the immediate rejoinder is that other scriptures, specifically those of Judeo-Christianity, are as riddled with violent passages.

More often than not, this argument puts an end to any discussion regarding whether violence and intolerance are unique to Islam. Instead, the default answer becomes that it is not Islam per se but rather Muslim grievance and frustration—ever exacerbated by economic, political, and social factors—that lead to violence. That this view comports perfectly with the secular West's "materialistic" epistemology makes it all the more unquestioned.

Therefore, before condemning the Qur'an and the historical words and deeds of Islam's prophet Muhammad for inciting violence and intolerance, Jews are counseled to consider the historical atrocities committed by their Hebrew forefathers as recorded in their own scriptures; Christians are advised to consider the brutal cycle of violence their forbears have committed in the name of their faith against both non-Christians and fellow Christians. In other words, Jews and Christians are reminded that those who live in glass houses should not be hurling stones.

But is that really the case? Is the analogy with other scriptures legitimate? Does Hebrew violence in the ancient era, and Christian violence in the medieval era, compare to or explain away the tenacity of Muslim violence in the modern era?

Read it all 

More than a feeling, it could be a movement!

First Oklahoma passed a law outlawing sharia law in the course of determining legal cases.  Judge Vicki Miles-Lagrange has put the brakes on implimentation, but it is on the books.  I mentioned Wyoming and their attempt to elevate the dialogue about sharia through legislation recently, now we can add South Carolina to the roster.  It appears there is a groundswell of activity regarding sharia and American law, and this is only a good thing.  Maybe we need to start a movement here in Oregon to get the same law passed.


From Human Events Jan 26 by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Bill Aimed at Protecting S.C. From Foreign Law Introduced in Legislature

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A legislative initiative aimed at preventing “a court or other enforcement authority” from enforcing foreign law in the Palmetto State was introduced today in both the S.C. House and Senate by Rep. Wendy Nanney (who drafted the bill) and Sen. Mike Fair respectively, who say the bill will preempt violations of a person’s constitutional rights resulting from the application of foreign law.

Legislators and other proponents of the bill say America has unique values of liberty which do not exist in foreign legal systems. Yet foreign laws are increasingly finding their way into U.S. court cases, particularly in the area of family law, involving divorce and child custody where, for instance, Islamic Shariah Law has been invoked in several U.S. states.
According to Christopher Holton with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy (CSP), “There are numerous examples in dozens of states in which parties to such a dispute attempted to invoke Shariah.”

David Yersushalmi, general counsel to the CSP, argues it’s not just “patently bad foreign laws [creeping into our court systems],” it’s that once in the system, the state’s police power would be used to “enforce laws that could never pass federal or state constitutional muster.”

Exactly right.

Fair agrees, which is why he introduced the bill in the Senate.

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The South Rises Again, err, I mean for the first time, actually

Now that Sudan has been split into two separate entities, the President of the new North, Bashir, wants sharia and friendly relations with the new South.  The South, well, they are not sure yet. 

Let the party begin!


From Deutsche Welle Jan 26

Sudan mulls Islamic law after southern secession

As referendum results make southern Sudan's independence from Khartoum nearly certain, northern Sudanese are unsure what is in store for their country. The president has promised to base the constitution on Sharia law.

Results from a week's worth of voting showed that more than 95 percent of people in Southern Sudan wanted to break away from the Khartoum government with more than 98 percent of votes counted. Official results are expected to be released at the end of January.

In his first public speech since the referendum, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said on Tuesday he would support the new Southern state.

"Secession has become a reality, but we will not be sad ... we will go to the South and celebrate with them," Bashir said. "We will support the new Southern state and will hold onto its stability because we are neighbors and will remain friends."

But for how long, Bashir?  Are we to see the Janjaweed on the horizion soon?

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A new generation of "Baby BOOMers"

In Mark Steyn's book "America Alone" he makes the point that birth rates within Islamic communities across the West and Europe are sometimes five times higher than the indigenous population.  He tells us that within a few decades, Islam will enjoy a significant increase in power and control, setting off another round of demands, agitation, demonstrations and acquiescence by the now declining local peoples. 

Now we have one of the most respected polling companies, Pew, tell us that yes, Mr. Steyn is right.  If true, we may indeed be doomed.


From AOL News Jan 27

World Muslim Population Grows Twice as Fast as Others

The global number of Muslims is expected to jump 35 percent in the next 20 years, growing twice as fast as the non-Muslim population, according to a study published today. But Muslims are multiplying at a slower pace than before, and their numbers are expected to level out in the coming decades.

That's according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which published on its website today projections for growth in the Muslim population between 2010 and 2030. The analysis could stoke fears among critics of Islam in Europe and America, who claim the religion clashes with Western values and spreads extremism. But it could also abate those fears, with evidence that Islam is not exploding across the globe as fast as some pundits may have suggested.

So the creep of sharia will just slow down a little, and we have nothing to fear for at least another 20 years.  I feel better now.

According to the Pew report, the total number of people who identify themselves as Muslims is currently about 1.6 billion. That figure is expected to rise to 2.2 billion by the year 2030. That's an average growth rate of 1.5 percent, compared with forecast growth of 0.7 percent for non-Muslims over the next 20 years. If those trends continue, Muslims will make up 26.4 percent of the world's population in 2030, compared with 23.4 percent now.
While today's findings don't include information on the growth rates of other religious groups, other sources have estimated the world's Christian population to be 30 percent to 33 percent. Pew said it plans to release similar reports on the growth of worldwide Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism.

Today's figures show the rate of overall growth in the world's Muslim communities is slowing. As more Muslim women go to school longer and join the workforce, and as people move to cities and living standards improve, the birth rate among Muslims is forecast to drop -- approaching that of non-Muslims.

"The increase in the last 20 years is greater than what we expect in the next 20 years," Pew's associate director, Alan Cooperman, told CNN. He said Muslim population growth "is a line that's flattening out. They're increasing, but they're getting closer to the norm, the average."

Thus, any predictions that Europe may in the future become "Eurabia," with a majority Muslim population, don't pan out.

Basing that assumption on one aspect of Islam: more Muslim babies is silly.  There are many facets to Islamic hegemony, and many ways to achieve it.  Reat Bat Ye'or to see how the time lays out regarding the change from Europe to Eruabia, and why it is fact, not conjecture.

"There's this overwhelming assumption that Muslims are populating the Earth, and not only are they growing at this exponential rate in the Muslim world, they're going to be dominating Europe and, soon after, the United States," Amaney A. Jamal, an associate professor of politics at Princeton and a consultant for Pew on global Islam, told The New York Times. "But the figures don't even come close. I'm looking at all this and wondering, Where is all the hysteria coming from?"

According to the Pew report, 6 percent of Europeans are Muslim today, a proportion that's expected to rise to 8 percent by 2030. In France and Belgium, the numbers are a bit higher -- forecast to hit 10 percent in 20 years. Britain will have the same average percentage as the continent -- 8 percent.

In the United States, the number of Muslims is expected to double over the next 20 years, to 6.2 million. The proportion of U.S.-born Muslims in America is projected to rise from 35 percent to 45 percent over that period.

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Islamic Immigrants from the South

I never say "I told you so", but at times I am sorely tempted.  Just the other day I wrote about the deported Canadian cleric who supports sharia, had been found, as luck would have it, in the trunk of a BMW fleeing into the US from Mexico.  I pointed out the problems with what are called Other Than Mexican, or OTM, and how this segment of the illegal immigrant problem was not being attended to.  Well now there are two stories in tandem, the BMW Imam, and this piece about the problems with OTMs' and what should be done.

It looks like the answer is nothing, as the problem was talked about in 2004, and now it is 2011, and we are worse off than 7 years ago.


From FoxNews Jan 27 by William La Jeunesse

Iranian Book Celebrating Suicide Bombers Found in Arizona Desert

EXCLUSIVE: A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News.

The book, "In Memory of Our Martyrs," was spotted Tuesday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of the Casa Grande substation who was patrolling a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs.

Published in Iran, it consists of short biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died carrying out attacks.

According to internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents, "The book also includes letters from suicide attackers to their families, as well as some of their last wills and testaments." Each biographical page contains "the terrorist's name, date of death, and how they died."

Catching up on some light reading as they wait for their BMWs'

Agents also say that the book appears to have been exposed to weather in the desert "for at least several days or weeks."

Read it all