Tribute to the military

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Pakistan faces the Taleban's tentacles


In a remote Pakistani town, a singer lives in fear.

Zaher Uddin used to perform at weddings, now he sings only in the privacy of his home. The white walls are draped with festive garlands, tools of his newly defunct trade. Music has been banned by local religious militants, or Taleban.

Mr Uddin talks about the hardship of his job, but he won't talk about the Taleban, he's too afraid. Vigilante vice squads have recently begun to patrol the streets of Surai Norang, located near the city of Bannu in north-western Pakistan.

Read about the tentacles of the Taleban and extermists' version of Shari'ah: BBC Pakustan faces Taleban's tentacles

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Religion of Peace threatens Switzerland

The Religion of Peace threatens Switzerland, too. When is the world going to wake up.

Swiss warned terrorism remains a threat

Islamic inspired terrorism is still a threat in Switzerland, according to an internal Swiss security report published on Thursday. The Federal Police Office's annual report said that the country was in the "danger zone" in western Europe and that it was also used as a logistical and propaganda base.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

American Al Qaeda Threatens Attack Worse Than Sept. 11, Virginia Tech Unless U.S. Leaves Mideast


Did Adam Gadahn fall asleep on not pay attention to "religion of peace" lessons?

Fox News: CAIRO, Egypt — An American member of Al Qaeda warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape.Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said Al Qaeda would not negotiate on its demands.

"Your failure to heed our demands ..... means that you and your people will ...... experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech," he said in the seven-minute video.

Gadahn, who has been charged in a U.S. treason indictment with aiding Al Qaeda, spoke in English and the video carried Arabic subtitles.

The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of Al Qaeda's media wing, as-Sahab.


Source: Fox News Story: The Wrath of Islamic Jihad



FBI Information on Adam Yahiye Gadahn



Navy Christens Newest Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer


The Navy will christen the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Truxtun, Saturday, June 2, 2007, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Pascagoula, Miss.

Designated hull number DDG 103, the new destroyer honors Commodore Thomas Truxtun (1755-1822) who embarked upon a seafaring career at age 12. When the U.S. Navy was organized, he was selected as one of its first six captains on June 4, 1798. He was assigned command of the USS Constellation, one of the new frigates, and he put to sea to prosecute the undeclared naval war with revolutionary France. On Feb. 9, 1799, Truxtun scored the first of his two most famous victories. After an hour's fight, Constellation battered the French warship L'Insurgente into submission in one of the most illustrious battles of the quasi-war with France. Truxtun retired from the Navy as a commodore and has had five previous ships carry his name: a brig launched in 1842, a destroyer with the hull number DD 14, a destroyer with the hull number DD 229, a high speed transport with the hull number APD 98 (initially designated a destroyer escort with the hull number DE 282), and a nuclear-powered frigate (DLGN) later re-designated a cruiser with the hull number CGN 35.

Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Carol Leigh Roelker and Susan Scott Martin, descendants of the ship's namesake, will serve as sponsors of the ship. In accordance with Navy tradition, they will break a bottle of champagne across the ship's bow and christen the ship in the name of Truxtun.


Truxtun is the 53rd of 62 Arleigh Burke class destroyers. This multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of the National Military Strategy. Truxtun will be capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously and contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

Cdr. Timothy R. Weber, a native of Decatur, Ga., will become the first commanding officer of the ship and will lead the crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Truxtun is being built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations, Pascagoula, Miss. The ship is 510 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet, and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

For more information on Arleigh Burke class destroyers, visit: Navy Military, Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers .

Monday, May 28, 2007

Tributes nationwide mark Memorial Day

Tributes nationwide mark Memorial Day

NEW YORK (AP) - Veterans and active soldiers unfurled a 90-by-100-foot U.S. flag as the nation's top commander in the Middle East spoke to a Memorial Day crowd gathered in Central Park on Monday. Navy Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, said America should remember those whom the holiday honors. "Their sacrifice has enabled us to enjoy the things that we, I think in many cases, take for granted," Fallon said.....

'Jihad recruiters' held in Spain

Courtesy of BBC: 'Jihad recruiters' held in Spain:

Spanish police have arrested 14 suspected Islamist militants, mostly in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.

The suspects were allegedly involved in recruiting jihadi volunteers for training in Afghanistan and Iraq. Police
in Catalonia detained 11 in Barcelona and other towns. The others were arrested in Madrid and Malaga.

Source: BBC, Jihad Recruiters

What we need to know about Jihan: The LONG TERM goal of jihad is world domination under an extremist form of Shari'ah (Islamic) law as was seen in Afganhistan and Somolia. Jihad is not, as some Western apologists claim, simply a striving for individual perfection.

Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s chief henchman said in the summer of 2006: “Jihad seeks the liberation of Palestine, the entire country of Palestine and to liberate every land that used to be a territory of Islam, from Spain to Iraq.”

Additional sources of information:

JIHAD

JIHAD on CAMPUS

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Sunday, May 27, 2007

Memorial Day: 'A medal, a debt, both of honor'

Memorial DayOn April 25, 1945, U.S. Army Pfc. David M. Gonzales walked directly into heavy sniper fire in an attempt to save the lives of three men on the Villa Verde trail in the Philippines.

He dug out three soldiers, all buried by a massive bomb blast before a sniper finally got him.

Gonzales died and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Read the story: 'A medal, a debt, both of honor' by John Faherty, The Arizona Republic

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the "highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States," according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

Here is the official citation for David M. Gonzales:

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division.

Place and date: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 25 April 1945.

Citation: He was pinned down with his company. As enemy fire swept the area, making any movement extremely hazardous, a 500-pound bomb smashed into the company's perimeter, burying 5 men with its explosion.

Pfc. Gonzales, without hesitation, seized an entrenching tool and under a hail of fire crawled 15 yards to his entombed comrades, where his commanding officer, who had also rushed forward, was beginning to dig the men out.

Nearing his goal, he saw the officer struck and instantly killed by machine gun fire. Undismayed, he set to work swiftly and surely with his hands and the entrenching tool while enemy sniper and machine gun bullets struck all about him.

He succeeded in digging one of the men out of the pile of rock and sand. To dig faster he stood up regardless of the greater danger from so exposing himself. He extricated a second man, and then another. As he completed the liberation of the third, he was hit and mortally wounded, but the comrades for whom he so gallantly gave his life were safely evacuated.

Pfc. Gonzales' valiant and intrepid conduct exemplifies the highest tradition of the military service.

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Is Fear Keeping Australian Muslims Silent?

Is Fear keeping Australian Muslims Silent?

According to Australian News Service, fear 'keeping Muslims silent' on terrorism......MUSLIMS in Australia are refusing to give national security authorities counter-terrorism tip-offs, fearing they may implicate themselves or be labeled traitors by fellow community members.

For the rest of the story: Fear - News From Australia

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U.S. Frees 42 al-Qaida Captives in Raid

God bless our servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces raided an al-Qaeda hide-out northeast of Baghdad on Sunday and freed 42 Iraqis imprisoned inside, including some who had been tortured and suffered broken bones, a senior U.S. military official said Sunday.

The raid was part of a 3-month-old security crackdown that included the deployment of 3,000 more U.S. troops to Diyala, a violent province north of the capital that has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks, said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.

Caldwell said Iraqis told U.S. forces about the hide-out: "The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaeda." He said the 42 freed Iraqis marked the largest number of captives ever found in a single al-Qaeda prison. Some of those freed were held for as long as four months and some had injuries from torture and were taken to medical facilities for treatment, he said.

For the rest of the story: 42 Freed

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Friday, May 25, 2007

John "Semper I" Murtha

Hattip to my blogging buddy, Scott the Pirate:

Looks like "Semper I" John Murtha might be in a little hot water this time around.

Excuse me while I break out in the happy dance.

Link to >>>>>>> John Murtha

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

New al Qaeda Tapes Feature US Capitol under Attack

Courtesy of ABCNews Blotter

New al Qaeda Tapes Feature U.S. Capitol Under 'Attack'

From ABCNEWS BLOTTER dated May 22, 2007

by-line: Rhonda Schwartz Reports:

New_al_qaeda_ta_mn Al Qaeda has a new opening graphic for its propaganda tapes: the U.S. Capitol under "attack."

"The Islamic State of Iraq...March Toward Washington" reads the headline in English superimposed over a digitally created scene of the U.S. Capitol under attack in the introductory sequence of one tape released on the Internet this week.

Another from al Qaeda's "as Sahab" production arm announces "Holocaust of the Americans in the Land of Khorasan" and shows an image of the U.S. Capitol to introduce a short clip of al Qaeda fighters.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

"This is a disturbing new trend," says Laura Mansfield, an Arabic expert who monitors jihadi videos on the Internet.

For the rest of the article, visit: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/new_al_qaeda_ta.html

Allah Ak - Barf

R/ Bosun



.

Poll: One in Four U.S. Muslims OK With Homicide Bombings Against Innocent Civilians

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that one 25 percent of young Muslims think bombings are OK in some instances of defending Islam.

Key findings include:

  • Overall, Muslim Americans have a generally positive view of the larger society. Most say their communities are excellent or good places to live.
  • A large majority of Muslim Americans believe that hard work pays off in this society. Fully 71% agree that most people who want to get ahead in the United States can make it if they are willing to work hard.
  • The survey shows that although many Muslims are relative newcomers to the U.S., they are highly assimilated into American society. On balance, they believe that Muslims coming to the U.S. should try and adopt American customs, rather than trying to remain distinct from the larger society. And by nearly two-to-one (63%-32%) Muslim Americans do not see a conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society.
  • Roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims in the U.S. were born elsewhere. A relatively large proportion of Muslim immigrants are from Arab countries, but many also come from Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Among native-born Muslims, roughly half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam.
  • Based on data from this survey, along with available Census Bureau data on immigrants' nativity and nationality, the Pew Research Center estimates the total population of Muslims in the United States at 2.35 million.
  • Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in Western European countries. However, there is somewhat more acceptance of Islamic extremism in some segments of the U.S. Muslim public than others. Fewer native-born African American Muslims than others completely condemn al Qaeda. In addition, younger Muslims in the U.S. are much more likely than older Muslim Americans to say that suicide bombing in the defense of Islam can be at least sometimes justified. Nonetheless, absolute levels of support for Islamic extremism among Muslim Americans are quite low, especially when compared with Muslims around the world.
  • A majority of Muslim Americans (53%) say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Most also believe that the government "singles out" Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring.
  • Relatively few Muslim Americans believe the U.S.-led war on terror is a sincere effort to reduce terrorism, and many doubt that Arabs were responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Just 40% of Muslim Americans say groups of Arabs carried out those attacks.

Download the complete report

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

FLORIDA DOCTOR CONVICTED OF CONSPIRING AND ATTEMPTING TO SUPPORT AL QAEDA

Courtesy of the FBI

FLORIDA DOCTOR CONVICTED OF CONSPIRING AND ATTEMPTING TO SUPPORT AL QAEDA

NEW YORK—Rafiq Sabir was convicted today of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to the al Qaeda terrorist organization, and of attempting to provide material support or resources to al Qaeda, after pledging an oath of loyalty to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in a May 2005 ceremony secretly recorded by an undercover FBI agent, announced U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia for the Southern District of New York.

The evidence at trial proved that Sabir conspired with his good friend, Tarik Shah, to provide martial arts training and medical assistance to al Qaeda through a man whom they believed to be a recruiter for the terrorist organization. The recruiter was in fact an undercover FBI agent who recorded numerous conversations involving Sabir and Shah, including the May 2005 ceremony in the Bronx. During that meeting, Sabir and Shah pledged “bayat,” or allegiance, to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and agreed to provide Sabir’s medical expertise and Shah’s martial arts expertise to train al Qaeda fighters.

From September 2003 through May 2005, Shah engaged in multiple meetings and conversations, first with a confidential source (the “CS”) and later with the FBI undercover agent (the “UC”). In these conversations, the vast majority of which were recorded, Shah discussed his desire and intent to aid al Qaeda, and repeatedly discussed his friend, who was a doctor, as being someone who shared his desire. For example, Shah repeatedly indicated his desire to train Muslim “brothers” in the martial arts to help them wage jihad, regularly discussed his desire to find people who were willing to press the fight, and, when meeting the UC for the first time, offered himself and Sabir as a “package.” Shah also took steps to find locations where jihad training could be conducted and weapons could be machined.

Shah told the UC and the CS of his discussions with Sabir regarding their desire to move to Afghanistan in 1998, when it was under the control of the Taliban, and of his intention to attend terrorist training camps there. Materials recovered from Shah included the names and telephone numbers of other individuals who had gone overseas to attend such training camps, including Seifullah Chapman—a member of the Virginia Jihad Network who was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2004 for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba foreign terrorist organization.

At the meeting on May 20, 2005, in the presence of the UC and under the impression that the UC had the authority of al Qaeda, Sabir and Shah took “bayat” —pledging an oath of loyalty to al Qaeda, and committing themselves to the path of Holy War, to the oath of secrecy, and to the directives of al Qaeda and its leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. During that discussion, Sabir stated that he and Shah had been “talking about this for a long time.”

Sabir also told the UC that he would soon be returning to Saudi Arabia for two years to work at a hospital in Riyadh and that he enjoyed extraordinary freedom of movement within that country. Evidence at trial established that al Qaeda has engaged in a long-running terror campaign within Saudi Arabia that began in May 2003. Also at the May 2005 meeting, Sabir wrote down his telephone numbers in code, and gave them to the UC for the UC to provide to the “brothers” in Saudi Arabia, inviting them to call him and expressing his desire to meet them.
Sabir faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum term of supervised release of three years. Sabir is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska on Sept. 12, 2007, at 4:00 p.m.

The New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department, led the investigation of this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Rodgers, Victor L. Hou, and Karl Metzner are in charge of the prosecution.

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Monday, May 21, 2007

A New Direction in Iraq

Throughout 2006, the Democratic Party promised that it would provide a "New Direction In Iraq." They said they wouldn't cut the funding for the war. They demanded more troops, and they led voters to believe the plan was a plan for success via a new direction. They strongly denied it was a plan to abandon Iraq, but on election night, DNC Chairman Dean revealed to Chris Matthews that there never was a plan. They hadn't even formed a committee to brainstorm it. Since then, they've opposed sending more troops, opposed new plans for success such as The Surge, and they've advocated cutting funds and mandatory withdrawl dates regardless of whether or not Iraq is secure and stable; regardless of Iraqi Freedom. This video is the Democratic Party's New Direction In Iraq.

LINK to video >>>> DNC Plan For Freedom


Tags: Iraq War new direction democrats republican pelosi dean reid bush insurgent flag cut run funding defeat retreat

Friday, May 18, 2007

Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda

Courtesy of Central Command

Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, May 15, 2007 – A detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who previously lived in the United States, denied he had any involvement with an al Qaeda group or had planned to reenter the country to commit a terrorist act.
Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan whose family lives in Baltimore, Md., insisted during his Feb. 8 combatant status review tribunal hearing that he is not an enemy combatant. Pentagon officials today released a transcript of the hearing held at the Guantanamo facility.

The tribunal was an administrative hearing to determine only if Khan meets the criteria to be designated an enemy combatant.

Facts presented during the hearing linked Khan to al Qaeda and noted that he planned to use falsified travel documents to return to the United States.

Evidence presented during the tribunal revealed that in early 2003, Khan tapped Uzair Paracha, a U.S. permanent resident alien he met in Pakistan, to impersonate him in the United States. Khan wanted to make it appear that he had never left the United States and planned to use Paracha to obtain immigration documents that would enable him to reenter illegally. Paracha recently was found guilty of material support to terrorism and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Other evidence linked Khan to Lyman Faris, also imprisoned for providing material support and resources to al Qaeda, as well as conspiracy for providing al Qaeda information about possible U.S. targets. Faris was convicted in May 2003 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The evidence also revealed Khan was involved in transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and had expressed a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff by detonating a suicide vest.

Presented with evidence that a previously convicted terrorist had a debit card and five other identification cards in Khan’s name, Khan said he had no intention of using them himself.
Rather, he said, these documents were to be used by “desperate” people in Pakistan to travel to the United States so they could apply for asylum or refugee status.

Khan submitted a “statement of torture” at the tribunal, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced.

He said he protested by refusing to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. Khan said he also protested by chewing through one of his own arteries.

Khan was the 13th “high-value” detainee at Guantanamo Bay to receive a combatant status review tribunal hearing at the facility.

You Call…We Haul

Courtesy of Central Command

You Call…We Haul

17 May 2007
By Sgt. Chris Keller
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Instant mobility gives commanders what they need to be successful in the fast-paced Global War on Terrorism. And that’s exactly what the Iraq Assistance Group’s Personal Security Platoon provides.

When the IAG demands mobility, the PSP makes it happen. The PSP takes IAG personnel threw some of the most dangerous roads in Iraq to make sure transition teams and Iraqi forces get the support they need daily.

Brig. Gen Dana J. H. Pittard, IAG commander, knows the importance of the PSP and the role it plays in making the IAG successful. He relies on its support several times a week when leaving the “wire” to visit Iraqi forces and transition teams.

“The PSP has allowed mobility for both myself and Command Sgt. Maj. (Robert) Moore and staff elements of the IAG to be able to move around and support transition teams,” Pittard said. “They have been such a key enabler for the IAG.”

The PSP is ready at all times to support the mission of the IAG by offering secure transportation to any location in Iraq. The platoon has been running missions for the IAG since late August of 2006.

“Without the PSP we could not be out on the battle space like we are, point blank,” Moore said. “The PSP is as much a critical piece of the success of the IAG as any other part.”

All of the PSP Soldiers were hand picked from a list of more than 80 applicants, according platoon leader 1st Lt. Kevin Hughey. The top 28 were chosen based on their noncommissioned officer reports, physical fitness and weapons qualification scores and a recommendation letter from each Soldiers’ commander.

Hughey and his platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Scott Gibson, were chosen to run the PSP. Next, both of them selected the Soldiers who would make up the platoon’s Alpha and Bravo sections.

Alpha Company travels with Pittard, while Bravo escorts Moore. Sometimes the stars align and both convoy together.

The core of the crew is trained as infantrymen and armorers, while others are trained in communications, combat medicine and mechanics.

“This allowed us to be as self-sufficient as possible,” Hughey said.

“We are always ready to support the IAG and its mission. That is our mission,” he said. “Our job is to provide security and safety at all times for those traveling with us.”

Staff. Sgt. Travis Ott is one of two Soldiers assigned as personal security officers for Pittard and Moore. They never leave the side of their leaders while out on mission.

The platoon will finish their yearlong tour in July, at which time, they will return to Fort Riley, Kan.

All agree that they will do what it takes to make the mission a success -- no matter how long that takes.

“Our PSP has bridged the gap between the IAG and our transition teams,” Pittard said, “They’re phenomenal.”

Photo: Iraq Assistance Group Personal Security Platoon Officer, Staff Sgt. Travis Ott, guards Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Moore, IAG command sergeant major, during a cordon and search in West Rashid during a visit to a checkpoint. The checkpoint is operated by Iraqi National Police.

Professor Menahem Milson on The Saudi Novel: The Girls of Riyadh

Professor Menahem Milson on The Saudi Novel: The Girls of Riyadh

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: The Girls of Riyadh

In an April 14, 2007 interview on an Arabic program on Israeli TV, Professor Menahem Milson(1) discussed the novel Banat Al-Riyadh ("The Girls of Riyadh") by Saudi author Dr. Rajaa Al-Sanie, which describes the lives of four young women in Riyadh. The novel is structured as a series of emails sent anonymously by one of the young women.

Banat Al-Riyadh, which was published in 2005, sparked much controversy in the Arab world, especially in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, with some praising it for its boldness and literary merit, and others condemning it as provocative.

The following are excerpts from the interview:(2)


Interviewer Nazih Khayr: "An [until recently] unknown writer, the Saudi author Rajaa Al-Sanie – who has now become very well-known – published her novel Banat Al-Riyadh ['The Girls of Riyadh']... which has provoked a storm of criticism, though there are also some who support her... It seems like a struggle between [supporters of] enlightenment and obscurantists..."

Professor Milson: "It is no exaggeration to say that the appearance of this novel is an important event in the history of Arab culture and society. I think it quite probable that, in the future, this novel will be seen as a historical turning point in [terms of] social reform in the region, and especially in [terms of] the achievement of women's rights... particularly in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf states.

"The novel itself is a good novel; it is engrossing and well-written."

Interviewer: "Some say that the secret of the novel's success does not stem from its artistic value, but from other causes, namely, that the author dared to touch on matters that are considered taboo in Saudi society."

Professor Milson: "A literary work is judged by various criteria, some literary and [others having to do with] its social and moral role. Let me give you an example taken from the literature [of another country] and another culture. Everybody knows the famous 19th-century American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. This book may not be considered one of the most brilliant literary works of American or English literature, but it played a very important role in social reform. Published in 1852 – that is, nine years before the American Civil War – it influenced public opinion and thus paved the way for Abraham Lincoln's abolition of slavery. Abraham Lincoln later said that this little lady [i.e. Harriet Beecher Stowe] started this big war.

"Thus [Banat Al-Riyadh] is a good and engrossing novel, besides having great social significance, which in no way detracts from its literary value...

"The title of the novel is borrowed from a popular song, and it is something of a humorous borrowing. That is perfectly acceptable and proper.

"[As you mentioned] some have attacked the title "The Girls of Riyadh," saying that it is a generalization because [Al-Sanie] does not [really] describe all the girls of Riyadh. This [criticism] is ridiculous. Do they want her to call the novel 'A Study of a Sector among the Girls of Riyadh?'...

"There are those who ask: What's the secret of this novel's success? And they answer that the public went out to buy the novel because the author is a young woman – miracle of miracles! – or because the picture of the author was published... and other reasons of this kind. These are trivialities... This only shows that the people who give these explanations do not respect the reading public.

"Why don't they give the simple and true reasons? The public bought this novel because it is engrossing, because it has characters with whom we empathize, and because it deals with... an issue that is very important. It treats this sensitive issue with honesty, candor, and seriousness... We must respect the readers' taste.

"Her seriousness as a writer and thinker is evident from the fact that, in this novel, which runs to more than 300 pages, one does not find a single scene that could be described as provocative. The book is very far removed from what is considered sexually provocative. For example, there is no mention of [sexual] physical features. Naturally, she mentions love and thoughts about relations between men and women – that is normal. These are subjects that occupy the minds of young women and men... But she avoids what is considered provocative. The treatment [of the subject] is very dignified... It is also full of humor...

"The novel Banat Al-Riyadh has [internal] unity. True, there are four girls in the story, so that it has four plot lines, one for each of the girls. But these four plot lines are intertwined. They are held together by the narrator, namely by the writer of the emails. That's from the point of view of the story. But there is a more important kind of unity in the novel, namely a unifying idea. Each of the characters strives to achieve stability in her life while preserving her human dignity and her human rights. These are things that make the novel cohesive, and this is another factor that holds the readers' attention.

"As for the language, some criticize Rajaa Al-Sanie for using the spoken dialect – or, more accurately, a number of dialects. But that is not a flaw. Most Arab novelists use the spoken dialect when writing dialogue. This has been done in Arabic novels from the very beginning, starting with Muhammad Hussein Haykal's novel Zaynab from the early 20th century. True, a minority of authors avoided the use of the spoken dialect. Naguib Mahfouz generally avoided it, as did Taha Hussein. But most authors do not avoid it – for example Fathi Ghanim and Gamal Al-Ghitani in Egypt, Hanna Mina in Syria, and many others. That is precisely what our author is doing: mixing literary Arabic with various spoken dialects – such as the dialect of Riyadh and the dialect of Kuwait – and she does so with competence and wit...

"[As for the criticism that Rajaa Al-Sanie writes only about the privileged class], a novelist generally describes the social environment familiar to him, and he does not have to describe every economic problem or every social problem. Some criticized Naguib Mahfouz at the time for not describing the lives of the fellaheen. Mahfouz replied: I grew up in Cairo and I describe the Cairo environment, especially the middle class. This criticism [against Rajaa Al-Sanie] is unfair... Al-Sanie does mention the problem of Shiite-Sunni relations, inasmuch as it is relevant to the character's crisis...

"We must distinguish between the author, Rajaa Al-Sanie, and the narrator, who is a character in the novel. Dr Al-Sanie rightly insists on this distinction. The behavior and the ideas described in the novel are those of the characters. The reader becomes acquainted with the characters in the story; he does not become acquainted with the author herself, except indirectly, through the characters. The author doesn't have to reveal herself or her private life to us. She shows us the characters of the novel, she shows us a fictional world. This is not an autobiography or a personal diary. It is a work of the imagination, a work of fiction.

"As for the claim [that you mentioned] that the novel is influenced by Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse, it is a false claim. The two novels are completely different. This claim is totally false, it is absolute nonsense.

"There is one final point I wish to make about this writer. We often hear people say of young writers that they are promising. Such an assessment is a little ambiguous, because, on the one hand, it praises the young writer and encourages him, but at the same time, it expresses some reservation, as though the critic is reserving judgment. With Dr. Al-Sanie, it is completely different, because she has already given us a literary work that is important and valuable. Therefore, we should characterize her as a writer who has already fulfilled expectations, and who continues to hold promise [for the future]."

Endnotes:
(1) Menahem Milson, Professor of Arabic Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Chairman of MEMRI, is the author of several works on Arabic literature, among them Najib Mahfuz: The Novelist-Philosopher of Cairo (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997).
(2) Israel Channel One TV, April 14, 2007.


*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
Search previous MEMRI publications at www.memri.org

Lodi man's conviction for lying about terrorism ties upheld

Lodi man's conviction for lying about terrorism ties upheld

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a new trial for a Lodi man convicted last year of training at a Pakistani terrorist camp. Hamid Hayat, 24, faces up to 39 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 10. Defense attorneys said they will appeal.

Syrian Liberal Nidhal Na'isa On the West, Pan-Arabism, Islamism, and Al-Jazeera

Special Dispatch—Syria/Reform Project
May 18, 2007
No. 1590

Syrian Liberal Nidhal Na'isa On the West, Pan-Arabism, Islamism, and Al-Jazeera

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: Syrian Liberal Nidhal Na'isa
.

Syrian liberal author Nidhal Na'isa began his career in journalism as a teenager, at the government dailies Al-Thawra and Syria Times,(1) but today he is a vocal opponent of the Arab regimes and the pan-Arab ideology, as well as of Islamism and Islamist terrorism. He has written that due to the Islamist "tsunami," the Middle East could be declared an "intellectual disaster zone"; that if one were to try to sell pan-Arab identity to "the bushmen and the cannibals" they wouldn't buy it; and that the pan-Arab media is "a harbinger of ill, pain, and destruction." In contrast, he praises the West for its humanism and its respect for the individual, and writes that, given the current state of affairs in the Arab world, the real question is not "why does the West hate us?" but rather why it does not.

The following are excerpts from some of Nidhal Na'isa's recent articles:


"We Could Declare [The Middle East] an Intellectual Disaster Zone After the Surging Fundamentalist Tsunami Swept Through"

In an interview published April 23, 2007 on the liberal Arab website Aafaq, Na'isa discussed the Islamist phenomenon:

"The world is swept up in globalization, whereas our unfortunate regions are being swept up everywhere by fundamentalism. We could declare [the Middle East] an intellectual disaster area after the surging fundamentalist tsunami swept through it.

"This is a wave that came after the slaughter, on the debris of the failure and disintegration of the leftist pan-Arab projects, [when] their intellectual hollowness and the superficiality of their proposals... became evident...

"Fundamentalism is a notion that disturbs the sleep of everybody concerned with the present and the future of this region. All of us are fundamentalists, when fundamentalism is taken in the sense of tenacious clinging to [our] opinion and rejection of the other. I see fundamentalism on the faces of all, in their thoughts and proposals. Nobody comes to terms with the other; no one pays attention to anyone else. In my view, this is fundamentalism in its more important and fuller meaning..."


"In Our Totalitarian Societies... Leaving [the Fold of] Collective Thought is Considered Error, Heresy, and Atheism"

When asked about the phenomenon of increasing religiosity in Syria, Na'isa said that it was part of "the spread of the culture of the herd and 'group' thinking, which means the negation of the individual and the individual's importance in creation, development, and originality."

He continued: "Western civilization was founded on unleashing individual initiative and glorification of individual reason – and not collective reason, which is generally emotive and not of sound judgment.

"In our totalitarian societies, the collective 'I' prevails over the individual 'I,' and all become equals under the podiums of the [Islamic] jurisprudents. Leaving [the fold of] collective thought is considered error, heresy, and atheism..."

Na'isa's praise for the West does not, however, extend to current U.S. policy in the region, which he feels has been counterproductive and has fed extremism: "Much of the religiosity in our societies is based on the principle 'not out of love for 'Ali, but in order to spite Mu'awiya,' [i.e.] in order to spite the current regimes, and in order to goad George Bush and the U.S., which acts in a reckless, thoughtless, and foolish manner, and, through its policies, increases the strength of this [fundamentalist] current...

"So long as the [Syrian] nationalist opposition forces remain repressed and banned, and religious activity is the sole [kind of activity] permitted and tolerated, many will see in it a shelter for the expression of... their identities as [people who] reject the Arab constellation of despotism..."


The Syrian Media is "A Mongoloid Child, Retarded and Underdeveloped"

In the interview, Na'isa draws a clear distinction between past heroes of resistance to colonialism and those whom the modern Arab media crowns as martyrs:

"It goes without saying, and is clear to anyone with eyes to see, that there is a distinction between [on the one hand] someone who ends a life full of human giving and sacrifice... and who worked for a noble and lofty goal, and [on the other hand] someone with a black history... The lying pan-Arabist, Islamist-propagandist media will never succeed in creating saints and martyrs out of slaughterers, butchers, and hired killers...

"The hypocritical pan-Arab hissing [i.e. the pan-Arab media]... has poisoned our lives and turned them into a cheap lie.... The viper, before it bites, emits a hissing sound, which is a harbinger of ill, pain, and destruction."

Na'isa said of the Syrian media in particular that it is "a mongoloid child, retarded and underdeveloped."(2)


"In Truth, I Think That Those Wicked 'Infidels' Love Us More Than We Hate Them"

On April 22, 2007, Nidhal Na'isa published an article on the liberal Arab website Elaph titled "Why Don't They Hate Us?" in which he lampooned the Islamists' anti-West discourse:

"A great part of the fiery, devout, [Islamic] revivalist discourse... is based on [the claim] that the 'infidel' West is our mortal archenemy, that it hates us with the greatest hatred, and that it does not let any opportunity pass for hatching conspiracies and striking at us.

"[It is also based on the claim] that all of the backwardness, misery, deterioration, decline, defeats, and baseness currently present in the Arab and Muslim worlds are due to an uninterrupted flood of machinations on the part of those evil infidels. [The claim is] that they target our religion and our being because they have no religion, and because we are better than them in Allah's view, and that they envy us for this very reason.

"[The Islamists claim] that we are a great source of concern for [the West], and that we are their sole preoccupation and fear, and that the green [i.e. Islamic] 'giant' is ambushing them with its extraordinary capabilities of poverty, hunger, corruption, despotism, ignorance, prisons, delusion, superstitions, and preachers.

"[According to the Islamists, Islam] is, for this reason, the only one capable of destroying Western civilization, defeating it on its home ground, and wiping it out of existence through 'a few explosive belts' that do nothing other than kill and target Arab and Muslim children and their innocent blood.

"[They say that] the mother of all decisive [battles] – the fateful war with the atheist, sinful infidels – passes by way of those innocents, and that if it were not for accursed Israel, wicked America, the infidels, and the descendants of apes and pigs that lie in wait for us night and day, our countries and homelands would be like Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Oslo... When Allah rids us of those wicked, accursed people, we will live in tranquility and bliss, and live happily ever after, and we will have offspring, and girls whom we will dress in chadors, veils, and hijabs.

"But in truth... I think that those wicked 'infidels' love us much more than we hate them. If it were not for them, life would be transformed into hell and fire."


"London Has Become a Safe Haven for Fundamentalists Fleeing the Hell of Middle Eastern Despotism"

"[The West] has contributed greatly – through material aid, technical expertise, and advisory assistance – to many of the amenities of life we enjoy. Tens of millions of humans have benefited from the West's achievements in the sciences, and Western universities have opened [their doors] to the multitudes of students arriving from all countries of the world.

"They have granted citizenship and inducements – material and other – to all of the outstanding, the gifted, and the creative to live in those countries – and even to those who were chased out of their own countries. For instance... London has become a safe haven for fundamentalists fleeing the hell of Middle Eastern despotism. They release, from London, their fiery communiquĂ©s for the destruction of the infidel West ...

"The prophecy has been fulfilled, and [these Islamists in London] have, in fact, become the only group to be redeemed from the inferno of tyranny, the hell of oppression, and the fire of despotism.

"It was the infidel West, for instance, that extracted oil from the Arabian desert, and turned it into a green paradise and expansive oases full of vitality. [In these oases,] various kinds of economic, intellectual, athletic and artistic activities flourish, and conferences and conventions are held to revile the infidel West and to accuse [other Arabs] of treachery, in the intoxicating atmosphere of the heart of the desert.

"If it were not for this massive technological aid, those countries would be living now as [they lived] in the earliest period of that great, time-honored history of theirs, before there was a West and before there were infidels.

"In addition, this infidel West dedicated its utmost efforts and thinking... to the medical sphere, and eliminated many of the contagious, infectious diseases that used to be predominant in the world. And it is this same West that gives [the Arabs] electricity with which to desalinate water...


If the West Were To Reciprocate the Enmity of the Arab Satellite Stations, "It Could Turn Their Lights Off and Send Them Back to the Early Camel Age"

"And it was [the West] that launched satellites 'that float in the sky'(3) [that made possible] the [Arab] satellite TV stations which show up every day on the [TV] screens, and which sprinkle their unique 'masterpieces' over mankind. If the West wanted to, and if it were to act with the same logic of unveiled enmity [as the Arab satellite stations do], it could turn their lights off with one push of a button and send them back to the deep black depths and the Early Camel Age...

"I believe that applying oneself to putting forward all of the overwhelming conclusive arguments concerning the humanism of the West, the loftiness of its endeavors, and the nobility of its intentions, would be... a pointless linguistic digression. The general concept can be summed up by [the fact] that the West has not been grudging in [sharing] its humanism and its civilization with others, and it demands of them only a bit of quiet – if there is to be no good faith, recognition, and return of the favor...

"The world has become a narrow lane in a small global village. It listens, follows [developments], thinks, contemplates, and analyzes – and it cannot at all fathom the motives and the goals of this hostile and vicious discourse of incitement that some tirelessly market, exploiting their alliance with despotic regimes.

"One painful conclusion can be drawn from all of this... [and it is] that the more logical question... is not 'why do they hate us?' – if there is indeed some degree of hatred – but rather 'why don't they hate us?'...(4)


Al-Jazeera Talk Shows as a Window on Arab Society

In an April 15, 2007 article on Elaph.com, Na'isa took issue with those who criticize the popular Al-Jazeera talk show "The Opposite Direction." In a rather backhanded compliment, he "praises" the confrontational show as an accurate, if pale, reflection of the conflictual state of contemporary Arab society:

"I don't understand why many criticize 'The Opposite Direction'... and call it... a cockfight, or a boxing ring, or a dialogue of the deaf.

"All the aforementioned program does is to pass on, through its participants and its unaffected interviews, some random aspects of a head-butting, fragmented Arab reality...

"'The Opposite Direction' is a microcosm of the larger 'opposite directions' that are to be found in every home, in the street, within every institution, group, and political party, and in every small gathering, even those around a hookah and a backgammon table in a popular café, or in an out-of-the-way village.

"In fact, relatively speaking, ['The Opposite Direction'] is far less violent than what goes on in reality: the deafness, the anger, the resistance, the mutual shoving and head-butting. It often seems to me as though no one understands the other, and no one wants to listen to the other.

"If Allah, may He be praised and elevated – and the fact that he has not done this is [due to] His great wisdom – [but] if Allah were to bestow upon us weapons of mass destruction, we would destroy one another down to the last man... And then we could rest, and give tortured humanity a respite from our long and wearying problems, discussions, and talks.

"Hopefully our discussions will remain at the level of the 'The Opposite Direction' – a 'bit' of yelling and vituperation... and will not transform into a deadly hell and tremendous bloodshed...

"So first off, I would like to sincerely thank all of the participants... in this program, because they express, in a true and spontaneous manner, the nature of our societies, their innermost being, without any 'touchup'... These are our people and our peoples. This is how we are. This is what we have to offer..."(5)


On the Arab Media's Version of "Arab Identity"

In an April 26 article on Elaph, Na'isa wrote: "The charlatan... propagandistic media glories in the bombastic term 'Arab identity,' and it extols it and promotes it as the heavens' gift to those sinking into a morass of backwardness...

"In truth, I tried hard, exhausted with fatigue and worn down by sleeplessness, and I [still] am trying, to define the basic characteristics of this identity vaunted by the Arab nationalists, professional pan-Arabists, and the Islamists, [thinking that] perhaps I could find a single reason or convincing explanation as to the uniqueness of this gift of nature that they dote on night and day.

"[I thought that] perhaps I could stumble on just one find by which I could advance a single proof concerning the enigma of the Zionist, colonialist, Burmese, Bengal, and Nepalese conspiracies to make this identity disappear from existence...

"I couldn't find any convincing reason [to make] people cleave to this identity, apart from a wicked and obscure desire, not free of bad intent, to take revenge on them, deceive them, and keep them in their state of misery, decline, and in their humiliating position.

"This identity has come to mean... oppression, despotism, coercion, repression, prison, mass graves, security chases, exploitation, persecution, the organized plunder of national resources, odious racist discrimination against minorities and women, monopolization of thought, talent, and creativity, and the punishment of the free. It contains many distinguishing characteristics, such as: corruption, fragmentation, wars, tribal conflict, clannishness, blood feuds, and deep-rooted hostilities that never had any basis in the first place.

"[In the Arab world] the ruler is the army boot..., dictatorship, demagoguery..., military coups, and deification of the leaders. Without these unique characteristics, Arab identity loses its... customary and familiar luster and glamour...

"In light of all of these saddening and oppressive facts, if we were to put this identity... up for sale – to the bushmen or the cannibals in the jungle, to outcasts or refugees, to gypsies or to vagabonds – would any of them agree to buy it?..."(6)


Endnotes:
(1) www.aafaq.org, April 23, 2007.
(2) www.aafaq.org, April 23, 2007.
(3) Paraphrase of Koran 21:33.
(4) www.elaph.com, April 22, 2007.
(5) www.elaph.com, April 15, 2007. Several weeks after publishing this article, Na'isa himself was invited to appear on "The Opposite Direction" on Al-Jazeera; see MEMRI TV Clip No. 1448, May 8, 2007: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1448.
(6) www.elaph.com, April 26, 2007.


*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
Search previous MEMRI publications at www.memri.org

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Texas Town says NingĂșn Gracias to Illegals


Courtesy of Big Dog


Texas Town Says No MĂĄs to ILLEGALS

posted in Immigration |

ILLEGALS are parasites who sponge off this country. They use resources that they are not entitled to and that they do not pay for. Health care is just one item that is overburdened by the ILLEGAL population. Couple this with the burden on schools which are paid for with tax dollars from those working legally and the problems mount. The jackasses in Congress do not make this problem any easier to solve because they vote to allow ILLEGALS to collect Social Security and to receive welfare, more taxpayer money down the drain. I understand that many of these people are hard workers but that does not amount to anything when they are viewed as a whole. They got here by breaking the law and it does not matter whether they are hard workers or not. The executives at Enron were all hard workers but when they broke the law all hell broke loose and people, including the idiots in Congress, wanted their blood. This is because a lot of investors and employees lost a fortune because of those illegal acts.

Well, this country is losing a fortune because of the ILLEGAL acts of the immigrants who broke the law to get here. The fiscal strain is no less significant than it was for those affected by Enron but it goes unnoticed because it is spread out to all the taxpayers. You can bet that if this problem only affected the rich and famous then Congress would do something about it. But hey, they are use to using our money unwisely so it really does not matter to them because in the long run they (especially the Democrats) will gain a new voting base. Our nation is being over run by people who have no right to be here and we need to do something about it. One Texas town has.

Voters in Farmers Branch Texas made it clear that they do not want ILLEGALS living there. They passed a law that would require people renting property to determine that the prospective tenant is here legally or they will be subject to a fine. There are many who applaud this law and some who think it puts the burden of determining legal status on the wrong people. Lawyers representing people who are opposed to this say that the town has taken over something that is explicitly a federal task. The US Code is pretty clear that it is the duty of all law enforcement to report ILLEGALS. Be that as it may, there are many who will fight this new law. I think they should check each person who shows up to testify against it. They might be able to get rid of some more of the vermin.

Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis

I have heard the argument that it is the federal government’s responsibility to handle immigration. Those who oppose laws designed to stop this infestation have cited this a number of times. I believe that immigration is a federal responsibility but it is up to everyone to assist. Investigating bank robberies is a federal function but that does not preclude law enforcement from the states helping out. In any event, how about each state pass its own laws that say they will not allow ILLEGALS to be in the state and that they are allowed to check that at any time. Perhaps the states can not deport the ILLEGALS but they can arrest them for being ILLEGAL in that state and put them in jail for it. Perhaps the states could deport them to safe havens like San Francisco.

Regardless of how it plays out, one town in Texas has had enough and has decided to do what the federal government refuses to. This might be thrown out in court but we will never have success in thwarting the hoards of ILLEGALS unless we take a stand and try something new.

Big Dog

 


Taliaban Commander Reported Killed

The Junkyard Mullah, Dadullah Reported Killed

One of the top Taliban commander in Afghanistan has been killed in fighting with Western forces in the southern part of the country. The body of Mullah Dadullah was put on display by coalition forces in the city of Kandahar. Dadullah was personally implicated in a number of beheadings, warfare in Helmand Province, controlling suicide bombers and ordering kidnappings. The BBC reports that Dadullah was considered one of the most brutal and extreme of Taliban commanders.
Mullah Dadullah was a founding member of the Taliban and a close associate of Mullah Omar. In an early campaign against Ismail Khan, Dadullah stepped on a land mine and became a one legged jihadi. Dadullah was an aggressive and brutal commander, willing to take the fight to the enemy, and not afraid of casualties.
Good ridden to bad rubbish.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Islamberg, New York: "You can hear gunfire up there.

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views on the Paul Williams and Jihad Watch are not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of The Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with Bosun.

Courtesy of Jihad Watch

May 12, 2007

Islamberg, New York: "You can hear gunfire up there. I can't understand why the FBI won't shut it down"

pwilliams0511-2.jpg
Paul Williams at Islamberg

The intrepid Paul Williams has a report in Canada Free Press (thanks to all who sent this in) about his visit to Islamberg, New York, a camp run by the jihadist Jamaat ul-Fuqra group. The inhabitants wouldn't let him into the compound, but he talked to some of the locals, and found out a good deal:

Islamberg is not as benign as a Buddhist monastery or a Carmelite convent. Nearly every weekend, neighbors hear sounds of gunfire. Some, including a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, have heard the bang of small explosives. None of the neighbors wished to be identified for fear of "retaliation." "We don't even dare to slow down when we drive by," one resident said. "They own the mountain and they know it and there is nothing we can do about it but move, and we can't even do that. Who wants to buy a property near that?"

The complex serves to scare the bejeesus out of the local residents. "If you go there, you better wear body armor," a customer at the Circle E Diner in Hancock said. "They have armed guards and if they shoot you, nobody will find your body."

At Cousins, a watering hole in nearby Deposit, a barfly, who didn't wish to be identified, said: "The place is dangerous. You can hear gunfire up there. I can't understand why the FBI won't shut it down."

Islamberg is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc., a tax-exempt organization formed in 1980 by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, who refers to himself as "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr," Gilani, has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra or "community of the impoverished," an organization that seeks to "purify" Islam through violence.

Though primarily based in Lahore, Pakistan, Jamaat ul-Fuqra has operational headquarters in New York and openly recruits through various social service organizations in the U.S., including the prison system. Members live in hamaats or compounds, such as Islamberg, where they agree to abide by the laws of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which are considered to be above local, state and federal authority. Additional hamaats have been established in Hyattsville, Maryland; Red House, Virginia; Falls Church, Virginia; Macon, Georgia; York, South Carolina; Dover, Tennessee; Buena Vista, Colorado; Talihina, Oklahoma; Tulane Country, California; Commerce, California; and Onalaska, Washington. Others are being built, including an expansive facility in Sherman, Pennsylvania.

Read it all. And then contact your congressman.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Interview with Jihadist Azzam the America

Courtesy of the FBI

FBI - Counterterrorism

Text Transcript of Video Clip Interview With "Azzam The American”

Interviewer:

"You are an American who has joined a movement for waging war on America and killing large numbers of Americans. Don't you in any way feel you are betraying your people and country?"

Mujahid 'Azzam, the American:

"First of all, the allegiance and loyalty of a Muslim is to Allah, his Messenger, his religion and his fellow believers before anyone and anything else. So, if there is a conflict between his religion and his nation and family, then he must choose the religion every time. In fact, to side with the unbelievers against Islam and Muslims is one of the acts that nullifies one's Islamic faith and there's a verse in the Qur'an (recites a verse from the Qur'an in Arabic) you will not find any people who believe in Allah in the last day loving, loving those who resist Allah and his Messenger.

"Even if they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred or their clan. As such he has written faith in their hearts and strengthens them with spirit from himself. So, some of the early Muslims fought and killed their closest relatives during battle, prompting the revelation of this verse. And, even our Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, er, fought, uh, and after a lot of defeat the Quraish tribe, to which he belonged. when it fought to impede Islam's propagation, sought to impede the message of Islam, rejected the message of Islam, and sought to impede its propagation. And some of the staunchest enemies of Islam were from among his closest cousins like Abu Jahl. Thus, Allah's religion takes precedence over all else: Wealth, status, family and nationality."

Interviewer:

"OK, how do you respond to the Muslim clerics and governments around the world who say that you are a small fringe group of extremists, unrepres"

Mujahid 'Azzam, the American:

"Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? These Crusader pawns are the ones who don't represent Islam and Muslims, despite their claims to the contrary. And they know very well that the Mujahidin stature has increased substantially among the Muslims after September 11, and the events that followed, which poses a direct threat to their continuing hold on power. This argument of theirs is especially well liked by their masters in the White House and 10 Downing Street, who apply it not just to us, but to all Muslims who reject Crusader domination. Uh, but the truth in evidence is on our side. Open the Qur'an, open the books of Sirah, the prophetic biography, and Ahadith, the prophetic teachings. Open the books of Fiqh, jurisprudence, both modern and ancient and you will find our position well supported. Jihad isn't something that al-Qa’ida made up. Ruling by Islam law wasn't started by the Taliban. Hamas didn't invent the concept of martyrdom. Uh, where we differ from these defeatists and hypocrites is that we don't believe that these divine orders and principles are open to negotiation and compromise.

"I'd like to tell these people, this is our religion. If you don't like it, that's your problem. But don't tell me that you're the true Muslim and I'm the extremist. You know, the same clerics and people who call us violent extremists and outcasts and endlessly repeat that Islam is a peaceful faith, permit or even encourage their followers to join the American and European militaries and intelligence agencies and the armies of the idle kings in the Muslim world and take part in the killing of thousands of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. So in effect, they're saying that for the Muslim to kill unbelievers in defense of Islam and Muslims is unacceptable, and if he does so, he's an extremist. While for the same Muslim to kill fellow Muslims in the name of America and so-called freedom and the supposedly civilized world is just fine and dandy and he will be practicing moderation.

"Look at this logic. These are evil, uneducated, ignorant, backwards people who should not be speaking on behalf of Muslims, much less talking about what is true Islam and what is not and accusing others. We are defending those who have no defender. We are holding fast to genuine Islam at a time when it's under siege from all sides. And we're standing up to confront an enemy that has intimidated governments and international organizations with fear. It's only natural that the governments and individuals who stand the most to lose from the defeat of the crusaders and Zionists will seek to hide our true nature and goals from the Muslim majority that is desperately looking for a way out of the nightmare that these traitors have imposed upon them for decades.

"We have strong support from within all sectors of Muslim society and from within all Islamic groups. This is what terrifies the enemies of truth and causes them to resort to this sort of accusation. It's wishful thinking on their part. It's like they're telling themselves, 'Maybe if we repeat the lie often enough, it will come true.'"
_________________
Watch your six
Be ever vigilant,
Bos'un