Bernard Lewis was in Washington recently, courtesy of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He put on quite a show. Lewis, 91, spoke for nearly 40 minutes, without notes, before taking questions. Google a few TV chat-show transcripts, and you'll see that, even among people who talk for a living, it is rare to find someone who speaks in complete sentences. It has famously been observed that Lewis - did I mention he's 91? - speaks in complete paragraphs.
The desert kingdom supplies the cash and the killers
Nick Fielding and Sarah Baxter, Washington
It was an occasion for tears and celebration as the Knights of Martyrdom proclaimed on video: “Our brother Turki fell during the rays of dawn, covered in blood after he was hit by the bullets of the infidels, following in the path of his brother.” The flowery language could not disguise the brutal truth that a Saudi family had lost two sons fighting for Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Gordon Brown now says he wants "British jobs for British workers".
Over the past 10 years he worked flat out to ensure that one particular British job would go to one particular Scottish worker, and he has at last succeeded. But in other respects, his recently declared ambition is failing.
Egyptian Columnist Criticizes Lack of Tolerance in the Arab World
In an article titled "Why Don't We Live As Free People?" in theLondondaily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the director of the Center for Political and Strategic Studies of the Al-Ahram publishing house, 'Abd Al-Mun'im Sa'id, criticized the Arab world's silence in the face of the oppression of religious and ethnic minorities such as the Baha'i in Egypt and the Kurds and the Yazidis in Iraq. The absence of protest against ethnic intolerance, he said, is one of the reasons for the absence of freedoms in the Arab world.
A federal judge in Dallas declared a mistrial in the case of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) when a jury was unable to reach a verdict on 197 counts brought by the government that accused the Muslim charity of funding terrorism.
Beginning in the 1970s, a little-noticed phenomenon called Islamic, or Sharia, finance made an appearance first in the Muslim world and eventually in the West. In the past few years, as oil prices climbed to unprecedented levels, generating huge pools of liquidity in the Middle East,
From the conference in Chicago, United Copts GB statement
NO DEMOCRACY FOR THE ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY
Why we call for Radical Muslims to be excluded
from the political process.
First, quoting from Victor Davis Hanson article “Traitors to the enlightenment” he said: ”The first Western Enlightenment of the Greek fifth-century B.C. was the beginning of an attempt to bring to the human experience empiricism, self-criticism, irony, and tolerance in thinking. The second European Enlightenment of the late 18th century followed from the earlier spirit of the Renaissance the Enlightenment nevertheless established the Western blueprint for a humane and ordered society.
Koran Commentary for Children Published in Egypt Features Incitement to Fight Christians and Jews
Jihad for Kids Update from MEMRI (thanks to Twostellas):
In an investigative article in the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef, journalist Asma Nassar revealed that a popular Koran commentary for children published in Egypt contains virulent incitement against Christians and Jews, and calls on both children and adults to fight them. Nassar's critical article presents excerpts from the book and comments from Muslim scholars who participated in its writing and from senior Al-Azhar figures.
When Osamabin Laden issued his videotaped message to the American people last month, a young jihad enthusiast went online to help spread the word.
“America needs to listen to Shaykh Usaamah very carefully and take his message with great seriousness,” he wrote on his blog. “America is known to be a people of arrogance.”
by Frederic L. Pryor Middle East Quarterly Fall 2007
Scholars and theoreticians have long argued about the compatibility of Islam and democracy. Bush administration support for export of democracy to the Middle East has brought the debate to the forefront of policy circles. As the discussion continues, statistical models can be useful to interpret the historical record. While recent studies have reached contradictory conclusions, as more data is considered, a nuanced relationship between Islam and democracy emerges: In all but the poorest countries, Islam is associated with fewer political rights.
Selected Government Exhibits & Documents from U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation
Prosecutors in the case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and its top officials are releasing scores of exhibits that provide unprecedented insight into the dizzying web of connections tying together a handful of alleged Hamas front groups that operated on American soil throughout the 1990’s and beyond, serving as a central node in the Muslim Brotherhood's U.S. network. In the coming weeks, NEFA Senior Analyst Josh Lefkowitz will review this treasure trove of documents and highlight select exhibits. Other material will also be included on this page for background purposes.
ARTICLESEditor’s Note: Tawfiq Hamid’s autobiographical account of the development of a jihadist’s mind will appear in Volume 5 of Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, which will be published in April 2007.What occupies the mind of a jihad-driven Muslim?
How is such fervor planted in young and impressionable believers? Where does it originate? How did I—once an innocent child who grew up in a liberal, moderate and educated household—find myself a member of a radical Islamic group? These questions go to the root of Islamic violence and must be addressed if free societies are to combat radical Islam.
The Muslim Brotherhood: An Association for Jihadists
Terrorism Frank Salvato, Managing Editor
One of the more clandestine groups in radical Islam is the Muslim Brotherhood. Originating in Egypt in 1928, the group has been outlawed in Egypt yet it members hold seats in the Egyptian government. That this radically fundamentalist Islamist group is the parent organization to some of the most violent terror groups operating today. It thrives as a pseudo professional association for terrorists while feigning legitimacy as a political movement. So, what is the Muslim Brotherhood and why should every American be concerned about its activities both within the United States and around the world?
Knights Templar Trial Records Made Public – After Seven Centuries
Early in 1119, a French nobleman named Hugues de Payns and nine of his companions dedicated themselves to protect Christian pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem, solemnizing this oath by adopting the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The group adhered to a rule not much different from that of other monastic orders, with the exception of provisions that permitted them to make war.
Egyptian Court: Freedom to Publish News is Not Absolute
In Egypt, Debate on Press Freedom Follows Imprisonment of Opposition Press Editors By: L.Azuri
Recently, Egyptian courts handed down prison sentences for editors of Egypt's opposition press for publishing material against senior government officials. These rulings have sparked public debate over freedom of the press in Egypt; the debate is also fueled by unconfirmed reports on the declining health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
How the Egyptian government agencies proceed to erase Coptic Assets
The Coptic Orthodox Bishopric of Baliana owns the property number1, Ref 2353, Baliana town, which consists of a St Makarious Church, and the bishopric building (residence + admin offices) and Ekhwan Botros Preparatory School.
Human Rights in Egypt, Discrimination Against Copts:
Adel Guindy
A recent report entitled “Discrimination at Work in the Middle East and North Africa” by the International Labor Organization (ILO), said that “One of the most resilient forms of discrimination is the targeting of Copts in Egypt, who are denied equal access to education and equal opportunities in recruitment and promotion. Very few are appointed to key positions in the Government or are candidates for parliament. Enrolment of Copts in police academies and military schools is restricted, and very few are teachers and professors.” (1)
Islam against citizenship in ‘hostile state’ Web posted at: 10/8/2007 3:58:44 Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA • Prominent Islamic cleric Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi has said that Muslims accepting the nationality of non-Islamic countries in times of war is against the teachings and tenets of Islam.
"It's a betrayal of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH)," the scholar said of a Muslim accepting the citizenship of a hostile non-Muslim country in times of war. His comments were carried by a local Arabic daily in a special Ramadan supplement yesterday.
"We're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here" has become a hymn for the American right and an abominable lie to the left. But drowned out by all the noise is the fact that "they" are here already, having landed a long time ago and gotten very busy indeed constructing the American wing of jihad.
Sudanese Columnist: Al-Qaeda's Infiltration of Sudan – The Result of Preaching to Jihad by the Sudanese Government
Following the uncovering of an Al-Qaeda cell in Khartoum, columnist Muhammad Hassan Al-Ahmad, a former editor of several Sudanese dailies, wrote in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that it is the conduct of the Sudanese government that has encouraged Al-Qaeda to infiltrate Sudan. The government, he wrote,has been spreading extremist propaganda and inciting jihad as part of its campaign against the deployment of international forces in Darfur, and it is this atmosphere that has inspired Al-Qaeda to operate in Sudan.
