"The Most Dangerous Group in Islam's History"

Here's a video that the BBC's inadequate "Middle East editor" Jeremy Bowen, and fellow Beeboid Paul Danahar, with their fuzzy conception of the Muslim Brotherhood, might like to watch and inwardly digest.

It shows an interview that Syrian intellectual Hashem Saleh gave on 19 April this year on Sky News Arabia TV (Abu Dhabi), in which he maintains that the Muslim Brotherhood, is "the most dangerous group" in Islam's history, the "mother" of other radical groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.   He argues that the biggest problem facing Arabs and Muslims is a "theological problem" and that Arab civilization must abandon the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology so that it can "rise anew."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCAQJWWs6g

A Memri.org video

Meanwhile, from The Clarion Project:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6_QK7LbhVw

Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist, explains the dangers in breeding child soldiers and why ISIS is successful in doing so. https://kidsthemovie.com/

Talking of the BBC, check out Hadar Saleh's exposé of the Corporation's recent despicably biased (against Israel) offerings on Newsbeat, intended for young adults. 

Oh, and for hypocrisy, check out this Twitter thread, regarding recently deceased former Aussie prime minister Bob Hawke, a man who was serially unfaithful to and ultimately left his long-suffering wife Hazel, mother of his five children (one deceased in infancy, one aborted in order to convenience his career), who "cavorted" with topless go-go dancers and used the obnoxious c**t word.

Now just imagine how Jezza, Mike and the lefties would react had that been Donald Trump!

"The West Decides to Pretend That Radical Islam Doesn't Exist" (updated)

I like this astute and brave young American guy, Ben Shapiro. 

Ben on BDS:

Ben on Leftist inconsistencies:

Ben on the Iran threat:

 Ben on the Islamic menace:

 Yesterday, in relation to the latter problem confronting the West, and the all too common denial voiced by world leaders including Angela Merkel and Barack Obama, Ben Shapiro wrote, inter alia:

'Last year, there were 452 suicide terror attacks across the world. Four hundred and fifty of them were committed by Muslims. Last month, Muslims pledging allegiance to ISIS murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California. Last week, thousands of Muslims around Europe, from Germany to Sweden to Switzerland, sexually assaulted hundreds of young women on New Year's Eve. Just days ago, a Muslim man shot a Philadelphia cop at point-blank range and declared that he did it in the name of Islam.

In response, Hillary Clinton declared, "Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with Islam." ...The mayor of Cologne, Germany, told young women not to walk within "arm's length" of young Muslim men, and leftist commentators explained that the wave of sexual harassment resulted from some generalized, nonspecific religious patriarchal attitudes. The mayor of Philadelphia said that the attack on the police officer had nothing to do with "being a Muslim or the Islamic faith," and that instead, we ought to focus our attention on the pressing issue of gun violence ....

If the West keeps this up, there won't be any West of which to speak.

.... The West is far too powerful to lose to ISIS or radical Islam -- unless the West decides to pretend that radical Islam doesn't exist. In pathological fashion, that's just what our leaders have apparently decided to do.'

Read all of Ben Shapiro's piece here

Read, too, the comparable warning, from across the Herring Pond, of the prescient and courageous Douglas Murray in The Spectator that concludes:

'Later this month the House of Commons will discuss the urgent issue of Mr Trump. This is because last month Trump said that he wanted to stop Muslim immigration into the US and added that Britain and Europe have a serious Muslim extremism problem. Because of this more than half a million people signed a petition calling for Trump to be barred from Britain. This now has to be debated in Parliament and doubtless all those MPs who rarely do much about problems they could deal with will grandstand their opposition to a foreign politician who doesn’t care what they think. In the last week we have been reminded that the British government not only doesn’t know who is coming into our country, but doesn’t even know who is leaving either. Still, it’s all fine so long as we divert ourselves by talking Trump. Perhaps this will be the European habit for some time to come. Perhaps it will finally do for us.

Millions of people whose identities and beliefs are unknown have been let into our continent. Many who have been here for a few years continue to present challenges which are by no means minimal. There seems to be a belief that so long as we have got Katie Hopkins, Donald Trump or Tommy Robinson to kick around then we can focus our energies on ignoring the problem.

Of course all one can do is warn. But it seems to me that, if we keep distracting ourselves from the problem and beating up on every response to it, then this continent of ours is going to go very bad, very fast.' 

Rest of Murray's article here

Oh, and by the way, I've come across an unpolitically correct gem of a video that puts the situation in a nutshell: "The fear to offend outweighs the will to survive".  It uses the mass assaults of German women as the peg on which to hang its warning about the bleak future facing Europe if things continue the way they are.  It makes uncomfortable viewing, but we ignore its inherent message at our peril.  Do take a look:

"The Most Important Issue of Our Time: Radical Islam" (video)

Raheel Raza, herself a Muslim, investigates:

Airhead Ashleigh (video)

Lots and lots and lots of people have seen this already, but I've only just caught up with it.

Another discussion on the same theme:

Muslim Intellectual: "I see Islamism as much more dangerous than Nazism" (video)

Here's part of Glenn Beck's radio interview with British-born, American-based pro-Israel physician Dr Qanta Ahmed, in which she compares Islamist antisemitism to Nazism's but asserts that the former ideology is even more dangerous than the latter.

More here

"There Is An Ill-wind of Hatred Blowing In The House of Islam & It Has Been Blowing For A Very Long Time Indeed"

The Rev Dr Mark Durie is one of Australia's foremost academic scholars of Islam and is also an Anglican priest.

He has written a two-part article on ISIS and its war on Christianity which is not of import to Christians alone.  In it  he states, inter alia:

'.... I ... wish to record, as a Christian and a pastor, my intense protest at the White House official statement of February 15 2015 concerning this event [the cold-blooded murder of twenty-one Copts in Libya].  This makes no mention of the reason the twenty one were killed: their Christian faith.  This culpable denial dishonours them, as it dishonours me and Christians everywhere.  

The White House statement claimed that “ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds. It is unconstrained by faith, sect or ethnicity.”  Not true.  The Islamic State’s actions are constrained by its theology, and in this case its targets are also determined on religious grounds; they were Christians.  It is not an endorsement of the killers’ Islamic beliefs to acknowledge that these jihadis follow a form of Islam, and that their sect and faith does constrain their behaviour accordingly. 

President Obama has defended his administration’s misrepresentations on the grounds that the radicals are “desperate for legitimacy” so “They try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in defense of Islam.” But these are not desperate people.  They are shockingly confident in their beliefs. They do not “try to portray themselves” as Islamic: they sincerely believe they are. Christopher Hitchens got it right over a decade ago when he suggested of Al Qa’ida recruits that “they believe their own propaganda,” and “absolutely subscribe to the tenets of their version … of their religion, Islam.”

Obama also stated that “we must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie.”  This too is nonsense.  A lie is a deliberate intention to deceive, and these self-described jihadis are – at least by their own understanding – speaking the absolute truth when they claim to speak for Islam.....

As Graeme Wood comments in an important recent Atlantic Monthly article, the Islamic State adherents are constantly referencing Islam’s sacred texts. In their everyday speech, “Koranic quotations are ubiquitous”.  This film [the video of the Copts' executions]  is no exception.  For anyone who knows anything about Islam it is impossible to view this film without being aware of the heavy constraining influence of the Qur’an and the Hadiths on the script.  These references are essential for understanding the true context, meaning and intent of the film.


.... There is a double standard in the house of Islam.  Examples are legion. The Jordanian royal house has been prominent in speaking up against attacks against Christians in Iraq and Syria, yet at the time when the Common Word letter was being released to the Christian world in 2008 under Jordanian royal sponsorship, its own Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought had posted on its website fatwas by its Chief Scholar – the former Mufti of Jordan – which declared death for Christians for the crime of leaving Islam, and even identified one person by name ...

King Abdullah has on the one hand been a champion of the rights of displaced Christians in the Middle East, and God knows they surely need one.  On the other hand he has held up the notorious Pact of Umar as evidence of Jordan’s history of religious tolerance:

“Jerusalem, which is, regrettably, subject to the worst forms of Judaisation today, stands witness to fourteen centuries of  deep, solid and fraternal relations between Muslims and Christians, enhanced by the Pact of Omar [ibn al-Khattab], and promoted by my grandfather, Sharif Hussein bin Ali, may God bless his soul.”

In contrast to this historical revisionism, the renowned Muslim jurist Ibn Kathir, accurately described the intent and effect of the conditions of the Pact of Umar as guaranteeing the continued degradation of Christians under Islamic rule:

“This is why the Leader of the faithful ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace.”

.... The problem is that as long as Muslims allow derogatory words like mushrik ‘associator, polytheist’ and kafir ‘infidel’ to be applied to Christians, while also preaching Qur’anic verses which denigrate non-Muslims, the hostility and hatred can only continue.

As long as the highest legal authorities of the Islamic mainstream continue to assert the right of Muslims to kill those who leave Islam, bursts of extreme religious hatred such as we have just seen in Libya can only continue.

As long as Muslims claim that the well-documented brutal slaughters of Islamic conquest and the ensuing oppression of nations under the Islamic system of dhimmitude were a mercy to the world, the ‘opening’ up (al-futuh) of dark nations to light and truth, hatred towards non-Muslims will continue to arise in the house of Islam.

The fundamental problem is not peculiar variants of extreme religious worldviews, it is a deeply engrained religious worldview that is not acknowledged by many who hold it.  Those who, like King Abdullah, allow it room to breathe by claiming that it is something other than what it really is are as much a part of the problem as the violent jihadis who are proud to own the worldview.

In the house of Islam, hatred has deep roots stretching back through time.  In 1836 Edward Lane reported in The Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians that it was standard practice in many Cairo schools to require Muslim school boys to invoke daily curses on the heads of Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims.  In essence these curses called for the looting, killing and enslavement of non-Muslims.   It is only against the backdrop of inter-generational hatred that a television series on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion could have become mainstream viewing in Egyptian society, and continuing kidnapping, rape and killings of Copts are perpetrated without justice for the victims.

There is an ill-wind of hatred blowing in the house of Islam and it has been blowing for a very long time indeed.  When this wind is whipped up into a tornado, the world is appalled, but it is the constant steady breeze of hatred that is the root of the problem....' [Emphasis added]

Read Marh Durie's entire sobering article here and here

"We Have To Label The Ideology ... As Islamist": Muslim doctor regarding Obama's avoidance of the term "radical Islam" (video)

Here's the very engaging British-born USA-based physician Dr Qanta Ahmed, a proud and practising Muslim who (all credit to her, and as we saw here and, more recently here) is pro-Israel:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tW8aJj1OaI)

Obama Spokesman On Avoiding The Term "Radical Islam"

".... Today we bow our heads in memory of the victims in Paris. However, as representatives of an ancient and proud people, we stand tall against evil because we can overcome it. "The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread" – because truth and justice are on our side. And here is the truth: Our shared enemy is Radical Islam, not Islam and not just radicals – Radical Islam. This form of Islam has many names: ISIS, Hamas, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, al-Shabab, Hezbollah; but they are all branches from the same poison tree.

Although the various factions of Radical Islam are given to local bloody conflicts, including amongst themselves, they all share the same aspiration: To impose a dark tyranny on the world, to return humanity one thousand years to the past. They trample anyone who does not share their path, first and foremost their Muslim brothers, but their greatest hatred is saved for Western culture, that same culture that respects freedom and equal rights – all the things they so despise.

For this reason it is not a coincidence that Radical Islam has sought to destroy Israel from the very day it declared its independence: Because Israel is the only Western democracy in the Middle East, because Israel is the only place that is truly safe for Christians, women, minorities, that respects all human rights.Well, here is another truth: Radical Islam does not hate the West because of Israel. It hates Israel because it is an organic part of the West. It rightly views Israel as an island of Western democracy and tolerance in an ocean of fanaticism and violence that it wishes to impose on the Middle East, Europe and the entire world.

Israel is not under attack because of this or that detail of its policies, but rather because of its very existence and nature. But we are not the only ones under attack. Look around you: The entire world is under attack, the entire world – the Twin Towers in New York, the subways in London and Madrid, tourists in Bali, students at schools in Russia and Pakistan, a hotel in Mumbai, the mall in Nairobi."

So said Bibi Netanyahu during his stirring speech at the Grand Synagogue, Paris, following the .Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher killing spree.

On "Meet The Press" on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough explains why the phrase "Radical Islam", which of course Bibi uses several times there, is best avoided:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjP7DQPbFkQ)

Meanwhile, as reported here:

'The head of BBC Arabic has instructed editors not to use the word "terrorist" to describe the Islamist gunmen who murdered 12 people at the Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.

Tarik Kafala told the UK's Independent newspaper that the term "terrorist" is too "loaded," and said the decision was in-line with the BBC's overall policy on reporting such attacks.

"We try to avoid describing anyone as a terrorist or an act as being terrorist. What we try to do is to say that 'two men killed 12 people in an attack on the office of a satirical magazine'. That’s enough, we know what that means and what it is," said Kafala.

"Terrorism is such a loaded word," he added. "The UN has been struggling for more than a decade to define the word and they can’t. It is very difficult to. We know what political violence is, we know what murder, bombings and shootings are and we describe them. That’s much more revealing, we believe, than using a word like terrorist which people will see as value-laden." .... 

Although Kafala's statement came as a surprise to some, the refusal by the BBC to use the word "terrorist" has long been a point of contention, particularly in its coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict....

However, while consistently reticent about referring to individuals as "terrorists," some have noted that while some attacks - including those against Charlie Hebdo - are often referred to as "terror attacks" or "terrorist attacks", equally brutal attacks against Israeli targets are simply referred to using the the more "neutral" term "militant attacks."'

 See reactions to Kafala's directive here

David Singer: Yemen Crumbles, Iraq Stumbles, America Fumbles ...

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.


He writes:

There are some 60 States in the American-led coalition pledged to degrading and destroying Islamic State – but only 21 – regarded as “key members” were at the Conference in London on 22 January – which UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond described in these terms:

“Today, 21 key members of the global coalition met in London to review and discuss our efforts to degrade and defeat ISIL not just through military force, but by addressing the underlying narrative of the organization, its financing, its flow of foreign fighters, and by reasserting our commitment to Iraq. In total, over 60 countries have signed up to the global coalition, showing the international will and commitment to combat this threat.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry was at pains to clarify why the other 39 States had not joined the talk-fest:

 “And all the coalition partners are continuing to make vital contributions .., and we mean all 60. Whether it’s sheltering refugees, training, advising Iraqi troops on the front lines, or speaking out against Daesh’s [Islamic State – Ed.] hateful, false ideology, we appreciate the contribution of every single member, each of whom has chosen one line of effort or another.

 But we also recognize the need to, as effectively as possible, be able to coordinate all of these contributions. And that’s what the small group that came here today set out to do. The small group will continue to meet on a regular basis and continue, obviously, to consult with the full 60 members of the coalition, who will meet again as a full membership.”

The non-participation of the world’s remaining 133 States in the American-led coalition did not escape Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s attention – as he wryly noted:

 “Daesh is a terrorist organization. It knows no race, no religion, no region. It spares nobody, so everybody must be facing Daesh.”

Al-Abadi was therefore being more than a little cynical when he stated:

 “that Iraq is not alone, the Iraqi people are not alone, but the entire world stands with Iraq”

One can only ask: why then are these 133 reluctant States not members of the American-led coalition? Are they prepared to let the other 60 States do the heavy lifting for them whilst they just sit by and watch? Will they only be motivated to join the American-led coalition when Islamic State comes knocking at their door?

Pointedly, the Joint Press Availability with UK Foreign Secretary Hammond and Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi – issued by the US State Department following the London Conference – made no mention of any discussion having taken place at the Conference concerning Yemen’s dramatic cave-in this week – resulting in the resignation of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi after having being held captive following a concerted assault waged by Houthi rebels.

Yemen had been allowing the United States to wage counter-terror drone strike operations targeting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from Yemen’s sovereign territory.

Membership of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State was respectively claimed by the perpetrators of two horrific massacres in Paris last week at the offices of publisher Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher supermarket – resulting in the murder of seventeen people whilst putting France on a state of highest alert to counter any further possible terrorist attacks in their wake.

The events in Yemen represent a spectacular collapse of President Obama’s policy for similarly countering Islamic State in Iraq – by training supplying and using Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State on the ground whilst the coalition counters Islamic State from the air.

President Obama laid out this policy on 10 September 2014 – citing Yemen as an example of how that policy was working:

 “Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL.  And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions.  But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.  This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.  This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.  And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year:  to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.”

Could Yemen’s fate herald the Iraqi Government’s possible collapse?

Al-Abadi ominously told the London Conference:

 “Another issue, which is being discussed today, is the fiscal problem for Iraq. You know oil prices have dropped to about 40 percent of their level last year. Iraqi economy and budget relies 85 percent on oil, and this has been disastrous for us…

… We don’t want to see a reverse of our military victory because of our budget and fiscal problems and we have been assured that every member of this coalition will stand with Iraq in its fight against Da’esh “

How long will it take Obama to understand that Islamic State can only be comprehensively defeated by military action undertaken on the ground by a properly equipped and authorised United Nations international force?

Sisi Sweet? (includes video)

As MEMRI.org explains:

 'In a speech delivered at Al-Azhar on December 28, 2014, Egyptian President Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi called to combat extremist ideology and said: "We need to revolutionize our religion." Calling for "religious discourse that is in keeping with its times," Al-Sisi warned that "the Islamic nation is being torn apart and destroyed" by extremism.'

Read more here

Obviously, such sentiments are to be applauded and welcomed.

But Islam-watcher Dr Andrew Bostom urges wariness: see here
Caroline Glick's take here

Thanks For The MEMRI: A call to action

As reported here, the highly illuminating and highly valued videos by MEMRI.org, which show, with translations from the Arabic, what is being said by Islamic extremists on Middle Eastern media regarding Israel, Jews, Jihad and infidels, have been taken down by YouTube.

 ("This account has been terminated due to repeated or severe violations of our Community Guidelines and/or claims of copyright infringement.")

This outrageous decision means that although the censored videos are still available on MEMRI's own website, they are not as widely distributed as they could and should be.  The videos from the MEMRI TV Channel that I and other bloggers have embedded on our sites or linked to do not show up now.

Aussie pro-Israel activist Shirlee Finn (aka "Shirl in Oz" as a commenter) is on the case, with this plea:

For some unknown reason YouTube, which allows the most vile antisemitic, anti-Christian, racist, sexually explicit, jihadist and homophobic videos to stand on its web site, has chosen to remove the MEMRI Channel which is nothing but the truth. It offers direct translations the vile trash taken from the Middle East media, as the name suggests.

 This Channel is bringing the truth to the world, yet Youtube deletes it. What an utter disgrace.

 Please contact them asking for it to be reinstated.

 Copy and paste the URL into the address bar

https://www.youtube.com/user/MEMRITVVideos

 Scroll down to HELP and then click send Feedback. You need to be on the page in order to send a screen shot

Please post this on you [Facebook] walls and share it where you can, this is an important web site which needs to be reinstated.

Please share widely!

Update: MEMRI has had its video channel restored! Catch it while you can.

"A Big Thank You To Israel For Helping Injured Civilians From Syria": One man & his sign at a London anti-Assad rally (video)

It's hard not to harbour a soft spot for this guy, whom we've encountered more than once on video, and to fret for his safety.  For this young pro-Israel Londoner of Iraqi/Iranian parentage goes where the faint-hearted fear to tread.

In the introduction to this latest video he explains:

"I went to Trafalgar Square with a couple of friends to see how big the anti-Assad protest would be. More importantly I wanted to see their reaction to my presence (with my sign and flag). A little flag can make so much noise! From being called a racist (typical) to a member of the Saddam Hussein school, of course the Palestinian 'refugee' playing the victim card, blaming Israel for his supposed plight.. Everyone was so angry at what I had, which was a sign saying 'A big thank you to Israel for helping injured civilians from Syria'."

While on the subject of Syria, Peter Martino writes:

"....During the past three years, thousands of young Islamic immigrants from France, Germany, Britain and all other European countries, as well as young Western Islamic converts, have gone to Syria, where they trained to be killing machines. Some of them have returned home, where they now constitute the biggest threat to domestic security in decades.

French authorities were able to capture [Mehdi] Nemmouche [the captured Brussels Jewish Museum shooting suspect] within a week because they had his name on a list of returned Syria fighters. Having his name on a list of jihadists, however, was not able prevent him from committing murder in neighboring Belgium.....

The ease with which Nemmouche was able to carry out his assault has frightened many all over Europe. How is it possible that this man, who was known to be a terrorism risk, could acquire an automatic rifle and take the weapon into the Jewish Museum? Why had he not been followed? Obviously such a practice is not feasible for all criminals, but for known jihadists? Had his phone and internet chats been tapped? It would be also be helpful, albeit unfortunately, if owners of buildings seemingly at risk invested in security guards and metal detectors for their entrances.

There are also political questions. Why had Nemmouche even been allowed to return to France after his stay in Syria?....

The problem affects not only European countries. American and Australian Muslims are also known to have travelled to Syria to join jihadist groups fighting the Assad regime. Russia is also familiar with the problem: more than a year ago, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, warned that the return of Russian Syria fighters will pose a terrorist threat.

It remains to be seen in what way the Western authorities react to this threat. So far, the signs are not encouraging. The Belgian authorities used -- or rather abused -- the murderous attack in Brussels to indoctrinate the public with multiculturalist propaganda.

Last week, for example, Brussels school children were given special lessons to warn against anti-Semitism and racism. The way to combat this, Yvan Mayeur, the Socialist Mayor of Brussels, said, was "to give room to the many cultures and religions in Europe." He said that his city needed more "diversity." But diversity does not mean diversity any more. Diversity is now the new code word for more Islam. Other politicians advocated punishing "hate crimes" more severely. But hate crime does not mean hate crime any more. It is now the politically-correct European "newspeak" code word for criticism of Islam.

So, rather than arming itself against the Islamist threat, the West still remains blind to the threat, while terrorists such as Merah and Nemmouche carry on killing Jews -- and others."

 See Martino's entire article here

"Listen, Obama, The Caliphate Will Return": On The Temple Mount, An Imam's Ramadan Rant (video)

With the crowd repeating, mantra-like, his fierce invocations, an Hizb-ut-Tahrir-supporting imam vows the destruction of America, France, Britain, and Rome.  The umma is "a strong nation, a great nation," he bellows, a nation stretching from the farthest East to the farthest West, and will, Allah-willing, teach the United States a punitive lesson "in politics and in war" ...

 
Hat tip: JL

Waking Up To Reality

"I think we need to wake up to the reality," says British Islamic extremist Anjem Choudary towards the end of this video, in which he vents shocking views towards non-Muslims in the wake of Drummer Rigby's murder.

He's right of course, we do need to wake up to reality, but not in the way he means. (See, by the way, this pertinent article re double standards in Britain towards the stirring up of racial hatred.)

On the very day that it's revealed that the Australian Minister for Immigration was kept in the dark for eight months about the fact that an illegal immigrant being held in a not highly secure family detention centre is a convicted member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, comes this article regarding the ostrich-like stance of American officialdom towards the jihadist terror threat:

"Why has the U.S. government called certain Islamic groups supporters of terror in federal court, and then turned around and called these same organizations “moderates” and embraced them as outreach partners? In a number of cases from the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, the leaders of these organizations (some of whom are now in federal prison) were under active investigation at the same time they were meeting with senior U.S. leaders at the White House and the Capitol and helping develop U.S. policy. Now these same Islamic organizations and leaders have openly encouraged a purge of counterterrorism training that have effectively blinded law enforcement, homeland security, and intelligence agencies to active terror threats as seen in the inaction of the FBI concerning the Boston bombing suspects and other terror cases. This study poses serious questions as to the efficacy and even security concerns about U.S. government outreach to Islamic groups, which often turn out to be Islamist militants, enemies of Islamic moderation, and even supporters of terrorism"

 Read the disturbing rest here

On rather different note,  regarding Arab media antisemitism, please sign this petition

(For a whacky example of Iranian antisemitism see Ian G's blog here)

"The Religion Of Peace": An Australian-born rabbi's warning to the West

David Bar-Hayim, the rabbi in the following video ( hat tip reader Rita, who has it on her blog) was born in Sydney and lives in Jerusalem.  I confess I'm unfamiliar with his organisation, and hold no brief for or against it, but his robust message here, following the barbaric killing of Drummer Lee Rigby (hat tip to reader Shirlee for this report about "Islamophobic" reactions to that act) seems worth heeding:

And (hat tip: Michelle H.) here is another Aussie with strong opinions: blogger Josh Holley expressing his contempt for this country's BDS Movement and the abhorrent anti-Israel stance of the Loony Left.  While Josh makes some valid points, I must point out that, historically at least, there has been a philosemitic thread running through Australia, as we read in a number of articles in the Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society and in the book Philosemitism: Admiration and Support in the English-Speaking World for Jews, 1840-1939.  Still, as elsewhere in the contemporary world the support for Jews on the part of many on the Left has proved inconstant, evaporating with the perception that Jews are no longer history's victims.

Do We Need An Islamic Reformation?

Against the backdrop of the ghastly butchery of British soldier Drummer Lee Rigby by evil jihadists (see here and here for the company one of his attackers kept), the following is cross-posted from the British Christian blog The Almond Rod,  Its author is Ian G:

After the terrible events in Boston (USA) and Woolwich (UK) , many Islamic organisations have united in condemning the attack. Forgive me for being cynical, but in the bad old days of the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland, Rome and the USA would routinely condemn the SinnFein/IRA/Noraid atrocities, but the terrorists were never handed over.

Islamism, radical Islam or whatever you chose to call it is the unacceptable face of Islam. There are those who call for a reformation. After all, it did a lot of good for the Christian Church (I'll deal with the antisemitism in a series I'm planning for later). For the most part, the reformers were a peaceable crew. Yes, there were some Roman Catholic martyrs and that was wrong, but a body count will prove my point. In due course, the Protestant Church abandoned force and subsequently the Roman Church has. The other denominations also followed suit.

Could this be a model for Islam?

I used to teach religion in schools. (Reminder to US readers, this is a UK blog). On one occasion, some 25 years ago, I taught Islam to Muslims using Islamic source material. That way, when we did Christianity, we could use the Bible and not refer to the Qur'an. They were great kids, genuinely interested in religion. I used to have to throw them out of the classroom at the end of the lesson! They were determined to prove me wrong and used the writings of one Ahmed Deedat to try to do it. A complete failure, Deedat, his writings and their efforts.

I used to plant thought bombs. Little ideas and questions that if followed through logically would completely undermine their worldview. I couldn't evangelise but I could try to make them think.

As I taught the subject, I realised that a clash between Islam and the West was inevitable. Sooner or later we would have to fight, not because the West wanted to but because it's at the heart of Islam. Park that for a moment and let's look at the Protestant Reformation.

The Reformation, was a back to the Bible, back to basics movement. Jesus was rediscovered by the masses and the core doctrines of salvation by grace through faith in the risen, crucified Lord Jesus Christ were preached and believed. In other words, the gospel as proclaimed by Jesus and His Jewish Apostles right at the start of the Church.

Now let us apply that model to other faiths.

It doesn't work for Hinduism as there is no agreed founder and a massive set of writings.
 
In Buddhism, you will discover that Siddartha Gotama wasn't really interested in this world or God.
 
Sikhism, which is a lot like Judaism, takes you back to a peaceable founder and a reasonable ethic, but no clear plan of salvation.
 
Judaism takes you back to Moses, to the Torah and the Tenach, to God's clear commandments and the hope of the Messiah.
 
Islam takes you back to Mohammad, the Qur'an and the unknowable Allah.

If you want to judge a religion, start with its founders. (Goodson's law of Comparative Religion - don't google it. You found it here)

Hinduism - no deal. Buddhism - traumatised youth leaves his wife and family and gets enlightenment after nearly starving to death.  Sikhism - Guru Nanak, a good man and peaceable. I wish he had encountered Jesus. Judaism - Moses. The meekest man who ever lived.God's friend.

Christianity - Jesus. See also Who killed Jesus? Murder or Suicide?

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

Islam - Mohammed. Go and read their own accounts.

A Reformation, in Islam, would be a back to basics, back to the Qur'an, back to following the example of Mohammed.

Oh, we've got one.

We are in the middle of the Islamic Reformation...

And that's the problem.

Full Of Eastern Promise

 I see that a merry affair is scheduled for next month in the dear deluded old Mother Country:

'The Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission has announced its 2013 ’Imam Khomeini’ Conference is to be held at the Islamic Centre of England on 2nd June 2013. This annual event features a number of extremist speakers offering praise to the founder of the brutal Iranian Republic.

Khomeini was the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, one of the World’s most hardline and bellicose regimes.In his book, Islamic Government, Khomeini expressed his hatred for Jews. The book is based on a series of lectures Khomeini gave in 1969 on what an Islamic government should be. Khomeini wrote:

“Since its inception, the Islamic government was afflicted with the Jews when they started their counter-activity by distorting the reputation of Islam, by assaulting it and by slandering. This has continued to our present day.”

In 1989, Khomeini issued a religious edict (fatwa) ordering Muslims to kill the British author, Salman Rushdie, for his novel, ‘The Satanic Verses,’ which he considered blasphemous to Islam.

Khomeini ensured Iran became the brutal regime it is today, one that has persecuted its Arab and Bahai minorities, encouraged hatred against Jews, sponsored terrorism abroad and executed its own people for ‘un-Islamic’ activity.

It is all the more worrying, then, that British Islamist groups seek to venerate him. It is not, however, surprising. The Islamic Centre of England is well-known for its support for the Iranian regime. Its head, Ayatollah Moezi (who has been announced as a speaker at the conference) describes himself as the personal representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.' (Read more here)

Meanwhile, here (with English subtitles) is a candid German look at the antisemitism that plagues Sweden's third city, an antisemitism stemming from Muslim immigrants in Malmo's Rosengaard district: (Hat tip: Vlad Tepes blog)

And, many miles to the south, here's a bloodcurdling exhortation to makes Jews' wives widows and their children orphans.

What do the anti-racist human rights watchers have to say about these heinous developments, I wonder.  Shtum's the word, it seems.

The War On Terror & Radical Islamism (video)

My technical problems Down Under are now (hopefully) fixed, which means that I'll be blogging regularly again.  As a starter after the hiatus, here's a mob of Israel-haters in Sydney last week, marking so-called Nakba Day (hat tip: reader Shirlee).

And below is a much longer video, from Shalom TV, featuring Daniel Pipes (founder and director of the Middle East Forum) and Rabbi Eric Yoffie (immediate past president of the Union for Reform Judaism) giving their differing views on the threat to the West posed by Islamism, the one arguably realist and the other overly phlegmatic:

Fighting Terrorism: A Double Standard In A Nutshell

Kudos to the unknown person who made this comment, quoted in an email I received just now:

“France is going to war in Mali because it says ‘we cannot have a terrorist state at the door of Europe,’ but when Israel launches a defensive operation to protect its citizens from missile attacks from terrorists in Gaza, all the French newspapers and television commentators scream about Israeli aggression. The distance between Bamako and Paris: 6266 km. The distance between Gaza and Israel: 1km.”

The writer adds that it evokes one of Natan Sharansky's triple D definition of  antisemitism: "double standards" (for his famous definition see here)

And for more on France and Mali see here from which the photo below is taken (it's a demo outside the French Embassy in Old London Town)

Photo: AFP/CARL COURT