From TheReligionofPeace.com - How 'bout it... you feelin' the Peace yet?: "This Week in Islam" Weekly Column for 8/15/05 (thanks to Hellush for alerting us to this site - it's a no-holds-barred critique of Islamo-fascism, definitely worth a look - they have a detailed list of terrorist actions since 9/11)...
Anyone who thinks that 'occupation' is never successful needs to pay more attention to the Middle East, where the Arab occupation of lands outside the Saudi peninsula is comfortably in its fourteenth century. This includes Iraq, of course, where the indigenous Assyrian population has been ground under the heel of Islam for so long that it's a wonder there are any left alive - particularly after the massacres of the early 20th century in which 3 out of 4 Assyrians were slaughtered.
Obviously, Muslims enjoy breathtaking hypocrisy on the issue of occupation. On the one hand, it is considered quite appropriate for their own warriors to spread Islam by the sword, invading, raping, and subjugating other people to collect the jizya (tax on infidels) and relegate native populations to miserable third-class status.
On the other hand, when a foreign power uses its might to topple a brutal dictator (responsible for the deaths of over a million Muslims) and provide an Arab people with civil rights and political freedom well, somehow that's considered immoral.
Indeed.
What is it about Islam that clouds one's judgment and fosters such ridiculous bigotry?
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Muslim radical barred entry to Australia
From The Australian: Muslim radical barred entry [August 11, 2005] by Caroline Overington...
ABDUR Raheem Green, a radical Muslim convert from Britain who has said Muslims and Westerners "cannot live peaceably together", has been blocked from coming to Australia.Mr Green -- whose name appears on the Immigration Department's "movement alert list" -- attempted to board a plane from Sri Lanka to Wellington on Monday. The plane was due to make a one-hour stop in Brisbane en route.
...Mr Green, a British citizen born Ashley Green, is due to make a series of speeches in Australia next week, including one at the Lakemba Mosque in western Sydney.
He has said conflict between Islam and the West is "ordered in the Koran", and "dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise and Allah's good pleasure".
He now claims to have moderated his views.
A spokeswoman for the Immigration Department said Mr Green had been prevented from boarding the plane because his name was on the movement alert list. "That doesn't mean he's been banned from Australia. The Australian Government has not come to any particular view about Mr Green," the spokeswoman said. ..."If he tries to board another plane to Australia, his name will pop up again and then we will consider his case and he may be allowed to enter."
Mr Green was invited to Australia by the Sydney-based Islamic Development Centre of Australia. It is not clear whether he will be cleared to enter the country in time for his planned lecture tour starting on August 17.
...Mr Green said he had changed his radical views about Islam over time.
"I was a bit younger then and maybe I was a bit passionate or whatever, and did say things I would never say now," he said. "For the past five, six, seven years, my message to Muslim youth has been to condemn terror, to be good Muslims and show people the real face of Islam."
Mr Green said he was "devastated" by the London bombings. "I hope Australia can understand I'm not a radical extremist," he said. "If I was going to go around recruiting people for suicide bombings, I'd expect the Government to ban me, but that's absolutely not what I'm about. I've always been known as a moderate. I condemn terror. Killing women and children is against Islam."
Mr Green said he would visit the Australian embassy in Wellington tomorrow to try to sort out the problem in time to give his lectures in Sydney. His New Zealand host, Javed Khan of the Federation of Islamic Association, said he was "very surprised" Mr Green was denied permission to board the plane to Australia. "He was very surprised too," Mr Khan said. "I was with him last night, and I assure you he's very moderate. He has always promoted peace and harmony."
ABDUR Raheem Green, a radical Muslim convert from Britain who has said Muslims and Westerners "cannot live peaceably together", has been blocked from coming to Australia.Mr Green -- whose name appears on the Immigration Department's "movement alert list" -- attempted to board a plane from Sri Lanka to Wellington on Monday. The plane was due to make a one-hour stop in Brisbane en route.
...Mr Green, a British citizen born Ashley Green, is due to make a series of speeches in Australia next week, including one at the Lakemba Mosque in western Sydney.
He has said conflict between Islam and the West is "ordered in the Koran", and "dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise and Allah's good pleasure".
He now claims to have moderated his views.
A spokeswoman for the Immigration Department said Mr Green had been prevented from boarding the plane because his name was on the movement alert list. "That doesn't mean he's been banned from Australia. The Australian Government has not come to any particular view about Mr Green," the spokeswoman said. ..."If he tries to board another plane to Australia, his name will pop up again and then we will consider his case and he may be allowed to enter."
Mr Green was invited to Australia by the Sydney-based Islamic Development Centre of Australia. It is not clear whether he will be cleared to enter the country in time for his planned lecture tour starting on August 17.
...Mr Green said he had changed his radical views about Islam over time.
"I was a bit younger then and maybe I was a bit passionate or whatever, and did say things I would never say now," he said. "For the past five, six, seven years, my message to Muslim youth has been to condemn terror, to be good Muslims and show people the real face of Islam."
Mr Green said he was "devastated" by the London bombings. "I hope Australia can understand I'm not a radical extremist," he said. "If I was going to go around recruiting people for suicide bombings, I'd expect the Government to ban me, but that's absolutely not what I'm about. I've always been known as a moderate. I condemn terror. Killing women and children is against Islam."
Mr Green said he would visit the Australian embassy in Wellington tomorrow to try to sort out the problem in time to give his lectures in Sydney. His New Zealand host, Javed Khan of the Federation of Islamic Association, said he was "very surprised" Mr Green was denied permission to board the plane to Australia. "He was very surprised too," Mr Khan said. "I was with him last night, and I assure you he's very moderate. He has always promoted peace and harmony."
Israeli gov't admits: US Pressures Determine Retreat Policy
from Unity Coalition for Israel: "Israel Resource News Agency - Aug 08, 2005 By David Bedein, Bureau Chief --- (emphasis added)...
The U.S. Department has made it clear to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: It wants the Jews out of the Katif district of Gaza by August 15th, with no excuses.
The Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, came to Jerusalem and pleaded with Sharon to reconsider his plan to retreat from Katif, which involves Israel's obliteration of the 21 Jewish communities there, including 325 thriving Jewish farms and 86 synagogues and Jewish study centers.
Sharon's answer to Rabbi Cohen: 'This is what the U.S. State Department is demanding that I do, and I must do it'.
...one of the common assumptions over the past two years is that The Sharon government's plan to expel Jews from Gaza and the Northern Samaria and unilaterally hand the area over to an independent Palestinian entity had been an entirely autonomous Israeli decision...
In meetings with concerned American citizens, Danny Ayalon, Israeli ambassador to the U.S, clearly states that Sharon's disengagement plan is part of an overall Israeli-American agreement. In late June, Ayalon met with representatives of the Orthodox Union, one of the largest contingents of United States Orthodox Jews, and told them clearly that "Prime Minister Sharon is left with no choice. He is doing exactly what the U.S. expects him to do."
In an interview with the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles published on June 22nd, 2005, Ayalon reversed earlier Israeli government statements, saying that Israel does not expect the Palestinian Authority (PA) to dismantle terrorist infrastructure until after the planned expulsion, mentioning that ending terrorism and anti-Israel incitement had been conditions Israel had demanded from the PA before carrying out the plan. However, Ayalon indicated that the agreement with the U.S. was more important than an agreement with the PA. Furthermore, the Israeli ambassador asserted that "Disengagement has to be viewed in the context of Israel-United States relations…"This pullout did not follow an agreement with the Palestinians, but it followed something which is much more important, an agreement with the United States.
...When asked how much the withdrawal depends on the Arabs, since the Israeli agreement is with Washington, Ayalon altered previous Israeli government demands that the PA control terrorism before the pullout.
This week's sudden announcement of the resignation of Israel Finance Minister Netanyahu was aimed at the US State Department more than the Israeli public. In the final interview given by Netanyahu to the Jerusalem Post on August 5th, 2005, two days before his resignation, he indicated that the current policy pursued by the government of Israel should be perceived as a threat to the security interests of the U.S. and of all western countries, since it creates a terror base in Gaza, since the Palestinian Authority has incorporated the Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations instead of dismantling them.
Yet the position of the U.S. State Department remains undaunted: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must dismantle and withdraw any and all Israeli presence from every Jewish community in the Katif district of Gaza by mid-August.
...U.S. Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice also demands that Israel find a way to assure Palestinian Arabs some kind of safe passage that will enable Palestinian Arab residents of Gaza to traverse Israel in order to reach their fellow compatriots in the other parts of the Palestinian Arab self-ruled areas in Judea and Samaria.
Rice is also demanding that Israel allow additional arms and ammunition to flow to the Palestinian Authority, ignoring the fact that the arms and ammunition supplied to the PA between 1993 and 2000 were turned against Israeli citizens since the fall of 2000, with a human toll of 1,073 people murdered in cold blood by armed Arab terrorists.
And when special U.S. presidential envoy, General William Ward, was asked two weeks ago by the U.S. International Relations Committee if the U.S. could account for the weapons that it had supplied to the Palestinian Authority in the mid-nineties, Ward's answer was in the negative.
...Another recently resigned Israel government minister, Natan Sharansky, confirms that the motivating factor for Sharon's retreat remains the pressure that he is under from the American government and the other democracies abroad. Sharansky wonders why it is that the world's democracies, led by the United States of America, are so keen to witness the creation of a new anti-democratic and anti-western and anti-American Islamic state in the Middle East.
The U.S. Department has made it clear to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: It wants the Jews out of the Katif district of Gaza by August 15th, with no excuses.
The Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, came to Jerusalem and pleaded with Sharon to reconsider his plan to retreat from Katif, which involves Israel's obliteration of the 21 Jewish communities there, including 325 thriving Jewish farms and 86 synagogues and Jewish study centers.
Sharon's answer to Rabbi Cohen: 'This is what the U.S. State Department is demanding that I do, and I must do it'.
...one of the common assumptions over the past two years is that The Sharon government's plan to expel Jews from Gaza and the Northern Samaria and unilaterally hand the area over to an independent Palestinian entity had been an entirely autonomous Israeli decision...
In meetings with concerned American citizens, Danny Ayalon, Israeli ambassador to the U.S, clearly states that Sharon's disengagement plan is part of an overall Israeli-American agreement. In late June, Ayalon met with representatives of the Orthodox Union, one of the largest contingents of United States Orthodox Jews, and told them clearly that "Prime Minister Sharon is left with no choice. He is doing exactly what the U.S. expects him to do."
In an interview with the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles published on June 22nd, 2005, Ayalon reversed earlier Israeli government statements, saying that Israel does not expect the Palestinian Authority (PA) to dismantle terrorist infrastructure until after the planned expulsion, mentioning that ending terrorism and anti-Israel incitement had been conditions Israel had demanded from the PA before carrying out the plan. However, Ayalon indicated that the agreement with the U.S. was more important than an agreement with the PA. Furthermore, the Israeli ambassador asserted that "Disengagement has to be viewed in the context of Israel-United States relations…"This pullout did not follow an agreement with the Palestinians, but it followed something which is much more important, an agreement with the United States.
...When asked how much the withdrawal depends on the Arabs, since the Israeli agreement is with Washington, Ayalon altered previous Israeli government demands that the PA control terrorism before the pullout.
This week's sudden announcement of the resignation of Israel Finance Minister Netanyahu was aimed at the US State Department more than the Israeli public. In the final interview given by Netanyahu to the Jerusalem Post on August 5th, 2005, two days before his resignation, he indicated that the current policy pursued by the government of Israel should be perceived as a threat to the security interests of the U.S. and of all western countries, since it creates a terror base in Gaza, since the Palestinian Authority has incorporated the Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations instead of dismantling them.
Yet the position of the U.S. State Department remains undaunted: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must dismantle and withdraw any and all Israeli presence from every Jewish community in the Katif district of Gaza by mid-August.
...U.S. Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice also demands that Israel find a way to assure Palestinian Arabs some kind of safe passage that will enable Palestinian Arab residents of Gaza to traverse Israel in order to reach their fellow compatriots in the other parts of the Palestinian Arab self-ruled areas in Judea and Samaria.
Rice is also demanding that Israel allow additional arms and ammunition to flow to the Palestinian Authority, ignoring the fact that the arms and ammunition supplied to the PA between 1993 and 2000 were turned against Israeli citizens since the fall of 2000, with a human toll of 1,073 people murdered in cold blood by armed Arab terrorists.
And when special U.S. presidential envoy, General William Ward, was asked two weeks ago by the U.S. International Relations Committee if the U.S. could account for the weapons that it had supplied to the Palestinian Authority in the mid-nineties, Ward's answer was in the negative.
...Another recently resigned Israel government minister, Natan Sharansky, confirms that the motivating factor for Sharon's retreat remains the pressure that he is under from the American government and the other democracies abroad. Sharansky wonders why it is that the world's democracies, led by the United States of America, are so keen to witness the creation of a new anti-democratic and anti-western and anti-American Islamic state in the Middle East.
Hezbollah insists it will not disarm
From Big News Network.com Tuesday 9th August, 2005 (UPI) ...
Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah said it would not disarm in conformity with U.N. Resolution 1559 even if Israel pulled out of a disputed border area.
Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary General Sheik Naim Kassem was quoted Tuesday in the daily An-Nahar as saying that armed resistance would be necessary even after a possible Israeli withdrawal from the Shabaa Farms area (on the Israel lebanon border) in order to deter Israel and stop it from violating Lebanese sovereignty.
The resistance movement is not merely aimed at liberating Shabaa Farms ... We need to keep up the resistance to protect Lebanon and defend it from Israeli dangers, Kassem said.
How could we possibly protect Lebanon and deter Israeli ambitions and threats except through maintaining armed resistance? he asked.
Kassem charged that Resolution 1559, which calls on Hezbollah to disarm, is aimed at serving Israeli interests."
Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah said it would not disarm in conformity with U.N. Resolution 1559 even if Israel pulled out of a disputed border area.
Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary General Sheik Naim Kassem was quoted Tuesday in the daily An-Nahar as saying that armed resistance would be necessary even after a possible Israeli withdrawal from the Shabaa Farms area (on the Israel lebanon border) in order to deter Israel and stop it from violating Lebanese sovereignty.
The resistance movement is not merely aimed at liberating Shabaa Farms ... We need to keep up the resistance to protect Lebanon and defend it from Israeli dangers, Kassem said.
How could we possibly protect Lebanon and deter Israeli ambitions and threats except through maintaining armed resistance? he asked.
Kassem charged that Resolution 1559, which calls on Hezbollah to disarm, is aimed at serving Israeli interests."
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Pullout timetable
From Jerusalem Post Aug. 8, 2005 21:52 Updated Aug. 9, 2005 1:23 IDF: Settlers remaining after Aug. 17 to be forcibly removed By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
The Kissufim crossing will be shut down at midnight on August 14 to begin the official process of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip...
...Up until August 16, settlers seeking to leave the area willingly will be able to drive in their vehicles out of the Gaza crossing, but beginning August 17, all those remaining will be forcibly removed by the army.
...By the end of the week, hundreds of personnel who will be responsible for removing the possessions of settlers, demolishing buildings and emptying structures, will move south in preparation for the evacuation.... completing the task will take up to two months before the area can be handed over to the Palestinian Authority in an orderly fashion.
...ministry workers will be required to demolish a total of 2,801 homes in the settlements slated for evacuation, and empty out 40 public buildings which will remain standing and be handed over to the Palestinian Authority after the pullout.
Furthermore, a total of 26 synagogues are slated for demolition after teams from the Religious Affairs Ministry have removed the holy items, prayer books and all items that can be packed and transferred elsewhere.
A total of 18 memorials and remembrance rooms will be transferred elsewhere and in coordination with the relevant communities. Telephone company crews, and teams from the electricity and water board will then move in to disconnect the settlements once the evacuation is completed.
....Once each settlement is cleared, squads will move in and partially demolish the homes, leaving cement blocks and wood for the Palestinians who can use them elsewhere ...
Israel will also remove all dangerous materials such as gas canisters and asbestos...
...Once the Israeli teams have completed their tasks, then Palestinian sub contractors hired by the World Bank will enter the area and remove the building rubble. Israel will pay to the World Bank the sum of $25 to $30 million that will cover the costs of removing the rubble....
...After the pullout is complete the ministry will focus on erecting a security fence with additional obstacles and technical measures along the border with Egypt....
The Kissufim crossing will be shut down at midnight on August 14 to begin the official process of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip...
...Up until August 16, settlers seeking to leave the area willingly will be able to drive in their vehicles out of the Gaza crossing, but beginning August 17, all those remaining will be forcibly removed by the army.
...By the end of the week, hundreds of personnel who will be responsible for removing the possessions of settlers, demolishing buildings and emptying structures, will move south in preparation for the evacuation.... completing the task will take up to two months before the area can be handed over to the Palestinian Authority in an orderly fashion.
...ministry workers will be required to demolish a total of 2,801 homes in the settlements slated for evacuation, and empty out 40 public buildings which will remain standing and be handed over to the Palestinian Authority after the pullout.
Furthermore, a total of 26 synagogues are slated for demolition after teams from the Religious Affairs Ministry have removed the holy items, prayer books and all items that can be packed and transferred elsewhere.
A total of 18 memorials and remembrance rooms will be transferred elsewhere and in coordination with the relevant communities. Telephone company crews, and teams from the electricity and water board will then move in to disconnect the settlements once the evacuation is completed.
....Once each settlement is cleared, squads will move in and partially demolish the homes, leaving cement blocks and wood for the Palestinians who can use them elsewhere ...
Israel will also remove all dangerous materials such as gas canisters and asbestos...
...Once the Israeli teams have completed their tasks, then Palestinian sub contractors hired by the World Bank will enter the area and remove the building rubble. Israel will pay to the World Bank the sum of $25 to $30 million that will cover the costs of removing the rubble....
...After the pullout is complete the ministry will focus on erecting a security fence with additional obstacles and technical measures along the border with Egypt....
Gaza militias moving to West Bank
From Jerusalem Post Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "Aug. 7, 2005 19:11 Updated Aug. 7, 2005 19:20 By KHALED ABU TOAMEH ...
The Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed militias in the Gaza Strip, announced on Sunday that it would start operating in the West Bank immediately after the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
'We will move our cells to the West Bank,' said Jamal Abu Samhadaneh, commander of the Popular Resistance Committees. ...He said that after the Israeli pullout, his group would employ the same "fighting tactics" used in the Gaza Strip in the West Bank. "...The withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem, which is even more precious to us than the West Bank."
...Abu Samhadaneh, who is wanted by Israel for his role in a series of terror attacks, revealed that the Palestinian Authority recently offered him a senior position in its Military Intelligence Force and that he was positively weighing the offer.
The Popular Resistance Committees was established in the Gaza Strip shortly after the beginning of the intifada in 2000. Its founders said then that they had been deeply influenced by the "great victory" achieved by Hizbullah following Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
According to Abu Samhadaneh, the Israeli pullout from Lebanon "enhanced our belief that the option of resistance can succeed, especially through qualitative operations against the occupation." The "qualitative operations" are a reference to suicide bombings, rocket attacks and drive-by shootings used by Hizbullah against IDF troops. "This was our model," Abu Samhadaneh explained.
...Abu Samhadaneh said he and his cohorts viewed the disengagement as an Israeli "surrender" to the will, determination and resistance of the Palestinians. "When [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon came to power, he had a plan to eliminate the initfada within 100 days," he added.
"Now, a few years later, he is admitting defeat in the face of the Palestinians' determination to pursue the resistance. ...."
Abu Samhadaneh said his group is planning to participate in the celebrations organized by the PA after disengagement. "Like the rest of the Palestinian groups, the Popular Resistance Committees will go to the settlements immediately after the withdrawal to participate in the celebrations," he said. "...We have already seen how the Lebanese people celebrated their victory and we want to dothe same. This is a beautiful victory."
He said his group would continue to launch attacks on Israel after the disengagement "to liberate the remaining Palestinian lands." The Palestinian armed groups, he said, were not established only to liberate the Gaza Strip. "Our goal is to liberate all Palestinian lands," he added.
...Abu Samhadaneh disclosed that at least 500 members of his group have been recruited to the PA security forces since PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas was elected in January. "We are entering the Palestinian security forces as soldiers to defend our people," he said. "If Israel tries to invade the Gaza Strip, we will be at the frontline to fight." ....
The Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed militias in the Gaza Strip, announced on Sunday that it would start operating in the West Bank immediately after the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
'We will move our cells to the West Bank,' said Jamal Abu Samhadaneh, commander of the Popular Resistance Committees. ...He said that after the Israeli pullout, his group would employ the same "fighting tactics" used in the Gaza Strip in the West Bank. "...The withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem, which is even more precious to us than the West Bank."
...Abu Samhadaneh, who is wanted by Israel for his role in a series of terror attacks, revealed that the Palestinian Authority recently offered him a senior position in its Military Intelligence Force and that he was positively weighing the offer.
The Popular Resistance Committees was established in the Gaza Strip shortly after the beginning of the intifada in 2000. Its founders said then that they had been deeply influenced by the "great victory" achieved by Hizbullah following Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
According to Abu Samhadaneh, the Israeli pullout from Lebanon "enhanced our belief that the option of resistance can succeed, especially through qualitative operations against the occupation." The "qualitative operations" are a reference to suicide bombings, rocket attacks and drive-by shootings used by Hizbullah against IDF troops. "This was our model," Abu Samhadaneh explained.
...Abu Samhadaneh said he and his cohorts viewed the disengagement as an Israeli "surrender" to the will, determination and resistance of the Palestinians. "When [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon came to power, he had a plan to eliminate the initfada within 100 days," he added.
"Now, a few years later, he is admitting defeat in the face of the Palestinians' determination to pursue the resistance. ...."
Abu Samhadaneh said his group is planning to participate in the celebrations organized by the PA after disengagement. "Like the rest of the Palestinian groups, the Popular Resistance Committees will go to the settlements immediately after the withdrawal to participate in the celebrations," he said. "...We have already seen how the Lebanese people celebrated their victory and we want to dothe same. This is a beautiful victory."
He said his group would continue to launch attacks on Israel after the disengagement "to liberate the remaining Palestinian lands." The Palestinian armed groups, he said, were not established only to liberate the Gaza Strip. "Our goal is to liberate all Palestinian lands," he added.
...Abu Samhadaneh disclosed that at least 500 members of his group have been recruited to the PA security forces since PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas was elected in January. "We are entering the Palestinian security forces as soldiers to defend our people," he said. "If Israel tries to invade the Gaza Strip, we will be at the frontline to fight." ....
Monday, August 08, 2005
Hamas launches contest for best pullout poster
....the cartoon is from Cox & Forkum
From Jerusalem Post, Aug. 6, 2005 14:23, By ASSOCIATED PRESS ...
Hamas launched a competition Saturday for the best design of a Gaza pullout poster, according to a statement posted on the Islamic group's web site. The design must portray the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a victory for Palestinian groups - in particular, Hamas. The design must also show Israel's "desperation and defeat.
In recent weeks, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have been competing for credit for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, each preparing elaborate celebrations, commissioning thousands of flags and frantically sewing clothing with their trademarks.
....Hamas officials said they plan to hang copies of the winning poster throughout the streets of Gaza in preparation for pullout celebrations.
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