Islamist Salafi Hate preacher Anjem Choudary finally behind bars.

Islamist Salafi Hate preacher Anjem Choudary finally behind bars. (UKCourtnews).

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary is finally behind bars after inspiring a generation of Muslim fanatics including Lee Rigby’s killers and suspected ISIS executioner Siddhartha Dhar.

It can today (Tues) be revealed the 49-year-old, along with disciple Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, 33, were convicted of inviting support for ISIS last month.

Choudary dreamed of establishing an Islamic State and met with his key circle of British Islamists, including Dhar, just days after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the ‘Caliphate’ in June 2014.

For decades, the trained solicitor had evaded prosecution by staying just within the law, while spreading propaganda on social media and his YouTube channel.

He revelled in his infamy and even told one associate in a text message: ‘I can’t help being the most hated man in England.’

But he crossed the line when he swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS along with banned cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad, Rahman, and Muhammad Fachry – the Indonesian leader of outlawed terror group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).

Over decades, Choudary influenced a string of vulnerable youngsters who went on to plot atrocities in the UK and fight with Islamic State abroad.

Jihadists around the world, including France and Belgium, looked to him for guidance through his association with banned terror group.

Police do not know exactly how many of the 850 Britons who have gone to Syria were directly influenced by Choudary but said he was a ‘key’ figure in the radicalisation and recruitment drive.

Anti-terror cops pored over 20 years’ worth of material following his arrest in September 2014 before charging Choudary and Rahman in August last year.

They both claimed their support for Islamic State was a purely religious consideration and had nothing to do with the terror group of the same name.

Mr Justice Holroyd told them: ‘You have been convicted by the jury of offences which you must expect to result in sentences of imprisonment.

‘Whereas previously you have attended court to attend your trial, what the court now needs you to do is to attend court to be sentenced.

‘It is true that you have complied with the conditions of your bail. I am afraid however, it has been an evidently grudging compliance and you have made your disregard for the court and its processes abundantly plain throughout these proceedings.’

The judge will sentence Choudary and Rahman on 6 September, when they face prison terms of up to ten years.

Choudary and Rahman were both followers of Syrian Salafi Muslim Omar Bakri Muhammad, who was banned from Britain because of his close links to al-Qaeda. Hmmm........What's the Odds of him going in appeal? Read the full story here.

Anjem Choudary: UK's favorite Radical cleric charged with inviting support for terror group ISIS.

Anjem Choudary: UK's favorite Radical cleric charged with inviting support for terror group ISIS. (DM).

Radical cleric Anjem Choudary has been charged with inviting support for ISIS, a proscribed terrorist organisation, Scotland Yard said.

A statement released by the Met says, Choudary, 48, of Ilford, north-east London, was charged with inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation, namely ISIL, also known as ISIS or the Islamic State, contrary to section 12 Terrorism Act 2000.

The alleged offences took place between June 29 2014 and March 6 this year.

Another man, Mohammed Rahman, a 32-year-old from East London, was charged with the same offence.

In a statement today, the police laid out the charges for both as: 'Between 29 June 2014 and 6 March 2015 invited support for a proscribed terrorist organisation, namely ISIL, also known as ISIS or the Islamic State, contrary to section 12 Terrorism Act 2000.'

Before answering his police bail at Southwark police station this morning, Choudary was confident he would be rebailed and criticised the government's policy of cracking down on hate crime.

He said: 'The whole issue is about people supposedly preaching hate but there's so much hate preached by people, by the far right, by animal rights activists.

'If people have strong views why should they be curtailed? If you believe in freedom of expression then why should they be curtailed?

'The government talks about British values - but what are they? Fish and chips? God save the Queen? One of the 7/7 bombers worked in a chippie.' Hmmm.....When younger he enjoyed other 'freedoms' (See Below).   Read the full story here.

Video - British Islamist Anjem Choudary Praises Paris Terrorists: May Allah Accept Them in Paradise

In a January 13 interview with the Lebanese Murr TV channel, British Islamist Anjem Choudary said that according to Islamic law, whoever insults the Prophet Muhammad should be punished by death. "May Allah accept [the attackers] in Paradise," he said. Hmmm.....By the way i'm blocked on Twitter by the guy, guess he doesn't like MFS The Other News  :)

Radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary is one of nine men arrested in terror raid in London.

Radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary is one of nine men arrested in terror raid in London. (DM).

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary was one of nine men arrested today as part of an investigation into Islamist terrorism.

Choudary, 47, and eight other men aged 22, 31, 31, 32, 36, 38, 39 and 51 were arrested by Metropolitan Police officers in London this morning, and have all been taken to police stations - where they remain in custody.

Some 19 residential, business or community premises were also being searched today as part of the investigation, Scotland Yard said. Eleven of these were in east London, one was in west London, one was in north-west London and five were in south London - while a residential address was also being searched in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

A police spokesman said: ‘These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism and are not in response to any immediate public safety risk.’

Officers confirmed that the nine men were arrested on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed organisation, supporting a proscribed organisation and encouraging terrorism.

Al-Muhajiroun is understood to be the banned organisation in question, sources said this morning. Earlier this week, it was reported that Choudary said he has no sympathy for Alan Henning, a volunteer aid worker who was captured in Syria. Hmmm....Notice the 'CHANGE'? No more 'Asian' but "Islamic terrorism. Read the full story here.

Video - Jihadi Leaders Anjem Choudary and Omar Bakri Acknowledge Sending Western Fighters to Syria.

Video - Hate preacher Anjem Choudary urging: “Claim your Jihad Seeker’s Allowance.”death threats to leaders such as David Cameron and Barack Obama.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary urging: “Claim your Jihad Seeker’s Allowance.”death threats to   leaders such as David Cameron and Barack Obama.HT: SunNews.He cruelly ridiculed non-Muslims who held down 9-to-5 jobs all their lives and said sponging off them made plotting holy war easier.

The Sun secretly filmed him over three meetings also saying leaders such as David Cameron and Barack Obama should be KILLED, grinning as he branded the Queen “ugly” and predicting a “tsunami” of Islamic immigrants would sweep Europe.
Former lawyer Choudary — twice banned from running organisations under the Terrorism Act — said some revered Islamic figures had only ever worked one or two days a year, adding: “The rest of the year they were busy with jihad (holy war) and things like that.”
He said: “Now we are taking over Birmingham and populating it. “Brussels is 30 per cent, Amsterdam 40 per cent Muslim and Bradford is 17 per cent Muslim.
Choudary, 45, joined with terrorist cleric Omar Bakri to run the group al-Muhajiroun which held anti-Western demonstrations before it was banned. He is also the former leader of Islam4UK — also outlawed in 2010 under the Terrorism Act. Now he is recruiting young Muslims to a new extremist group.
When confronted by The Sun he said: “Many people in the Muslim community are on Jobseeker’s Allowance and welfare benefits. As a joke I may say something about Jihad Seeker’s Allowance. Clearly it is not a Jihad Seeker’s Allowance.Hmmmm.......I hope the FBI takes action on the death threats .....or he might be the perfect candidate to try out the accuracy of the predator drones.Read and see the full story here.

"Did Mohammed Exist?"Robert Spencer and David Wood vs. Anjem Choudary and Omar Bakri on ABN Tonight!

"Did Mohammed Exist?"Robert Spencer and David Wood vs. Anjem Choudary and Omar Bakri on ABN Tonight!(AM).

The debate is set.If you don't get ABN via satellite, you can watch the debate live at 8:00 P.M. (EST) here.Also, if you haven't ordered Robert's new book, you can get it here.

British Islamist Anjem Choudary Launches 'Shariah for India,' Vows to Demolish Hindu Temples and Bollywood.

British Islamist Anjem Choudary Launches 'Shariah for India,' Vows to Demolish Hindu Temples and Bollywood; Muslims Urged to Join In New Delhi March Next Month Marking 88th Anniversary of the End of Islamic Caliphate.(Memri).By: Tufail Ahmad.
British Islamist Anjem Choudary and Omar Muhammad Bakri – both former leaders of British jihadist organization Al-Muhajiroun – have launched an organization called Shariah for Hind (India) to advance their agenda for reestablishing Islamic rule in India. The group has planned a major public event in New Delhi on March 3, 2012, which marks the end of the Turkey-led Islamic caliphate 88 years ago.

It should be noted that during the British rule, Indian leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Mahatma Gandhi campaigned for the Islamic caliphate led by Turkey – Gandhi doing so perhaps to gain Muslim support against British colonial rule in India.

Shariah for Hind plans to campaign for reestablishing Islamic rule in India with an ideological agenda which outlines a much purer form of Islamic rule for the country than that which existed during various periods of rule by Muslim kings in India both before and during the British era.

According to the ideological agenda stated on the group's website, Islamic Shariah will be enforced in India; temples and statues of Hindu gods and Indian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi will be demolished; and Bollywood, the world's largest movie industry, will be abolished in order to make way for a monotheistic Islamic rule in the country.
Shariah for Hind – The Ideology

"There is a Consensus among All Muslim Scholars That It is Not Permitted for Non-Muslims to Have Authority over Muslims; India Needs to Return Back to Her Glorious Islamic Past; India Needs a Muslim Revolution"

In a statement, titled "The Need for Muslim Rule in India," Shariah for Hind notes that Muslims cannot live under non-Muslim rule, stating:

"There is a consensus among all Muslim scholars that it is not permitted for non-Muslims to have authority over Muslims. Allah says in the Quran, 'I have created you (Muslims) a leading Ummah (nation) in order to witness the affairs of mankind.' [EMQ 2:143]

"Islam is the only religion to have maintained its relationship with God, with a miraculous book called the Quran and meticulous sciences that ensure texts recorded during the life of the final Messenger Muhammad can be verified, understood and authenticated. This cannot be said for any of the other world religions, which have literally been lost in translation.

"Fundamentally however, Islam is not a secular religion and, unlike the 'biggest democracy in the world' [i.e. India], always refers its governance back to the supreme commander, Allah (God).

"The Islamic constitution remains intact 1400 years after its inception, and emphatically puts the Indian constitution to shame. Political parties such as the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and Indian [National] Congress have let India down because just like their British predecessors they were never suited to be rulers and so ruined their country with backward and evil policies."

"India needs to return back to her glorious Islamic past. India needs a Muslim revolution."

What is on offer for Muslims in the battle for their votes is supposedly community empowerment, quality education, protection and sensitivity in one form or other. Even the Peace Party and Ulema Council [political parties led by Muslims] have emerged to claim their stake.
"Sadly, the true rights of Muslims … [are] nowhere to be seen and no Islamic Scholar has had the courage to demand it. This is that the whole of India is in fact [a] Muslim land, the authority belongs to them and that they should take it from the current ruling party to implement the Shariah. Instead [of] begging for rights from the Hindus, the Muslims in India must govern by the law of the creator Allah (SWT). In fact it is an act of shirk (polytheism) to [be] rule[d] by other than what Allah has revealed or to ask another to do so (i.e. by voting for them).

"There is no Islamic justification for the Deobandis or Barelvis to participate in the kufr (non-Islamic) electoral system to elect someone who will violate the sanctity of Allah (SWT) by ruling according to man-made law. This is an act of apostasy from any Muslim which must be condemned."
"We therefore call upon all Muslims to rise on the 3rd of March 2012 (the 88th anniversary of the destruction of the last Islamic State) in New Dehli [Urdu for Delhi] in a public demonstration and demand what is rightfully theirs i.e. the authority, to establish the Khilafah and rule by the laws of God alone. To raise awareness about this obligation and to call for it and to work to establish it is an obligation upon Muslims wherever they are and to accept anything less is an act of war against Allah and his Messenger Muhammad (saw).

"Once established, the Islamic State will guarantee the rights of all citizens, Muslim and non-Muslim. It will be the job of the Khalifah [Islamic caliph] to ensure that food, clothing and shelter are afforded to all citizens and that they have a good Islamic education. The Khalifah will also be responsible to remove all public idols and ban alcohol and free-mixing between the genders in the public arena. Moreover institutions such as Bollywood and the caste system will be eradicated.

"The non-Muslims, whether Hindu or Sikh will have certain rights and responsibilities as set out by the divine law, in summary the privileges that they will have are:

"1. In return for paying the Jizya [Islamic poll tax on non-Muslims], their life and property will have sanctity. The Imam (khalifah) will have a duty to protect the non-Muslim citizens from the Muslims and the non-Muslims because they are living under his authority. Moreover they will benefit from the same welfare as all other citizens except what Shari'ah specifies for them and as long as they commit to abide by the law of Islam in the public arena. They will live among the Muslims and take Daw'ah i.e. be propagated to by the Muslims to embrace Islam.

"2. The non-Muslims will be allowed to live in the Muslim land (India and other territories which will be annexed to it in due course) i.e. they can go everywhere except where Allah (SWT) or the Khalifah prohibits, such as the haram [the Holy Mosque] in Mecca or to live in the Arab peninsula, although they can go to trade there.

"3. Muslims will be obliged to protect the non-Muslims because they are part of the Islamic State.

"4. Muslims will never attack their own temples and not take their pigs or alcohol unless they demonstrate them publicly.

"5. The non-Muslims also have the right to access the welfare system. The Jizya is only taken from able-bodied mature men, not women or children or priest or majnoon (mentally ill) or those incapable or disabled."

"The Hindus or Sikhs or Other Non-Muslims… Must Not Build Any New Temples Nor Start to Sell Them and Buy New Ones, as Islam Forbids Us to Cooperate in the Bad Deeds; They Will Not Do Any Public Gathering of Their False Religion – Like Celebrating Christmas or Halloween or Diwali"

"In return, the Hindus or Sikhs or other non-Muslims will have certain duties, in summary:

"1. They must pay the Jizya depending on what the Khalifah adopts as the amount, for example a minimum of 1 Dinar a year or a maximum of 4 Dinar if rich.

"2. They must receive Muslims as guests if they are travelling. This applies to Muslims and non-Muslims if Muslims pass by.

"3. They must not build any new Temples nor start to sell them and buy new ones, as Islam forbids us to cooperate on the bad deeds.

"4. They must not show their symbols publicly or what is in their religion, like the pigs or alcohol or crosses or idols.

"5. They will not do any public gathering of their false religion – like celebrating Christmas or Halloween or Diwali or Guy Faulks night etc…

"6. Moreover they must be distinguished by their clothes so that we know who they are.

"7. They cannot raise their houses above ours.

"8. They must not harm Muslims in any way, not to insult Allah and his messenger or insult the book of Allah

"9. They will have the same liability in relation to the society i.e. the public law like in relation to adultery and stealing etc…"Read the full 'story' here.

MFS - The Other News

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Venezuela 5.0 ; Reunion 5.0 !More info here.

• Europe - Nuclear Event in MultiCountries situation update on Friday, 11 November.Here.

• Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.

• Was Obama's Harvard education been paid for by Khalid Al-Mansour, an advisor to Saudi prince Al-Walid bin Talah?(Westernjournalism).By Steve Baldwin.Most Americans don’t realize we have elected a president whom we know very little about.Researchers have discovered that Obama’s autobiographical books are little more than PR stunts, as they have little to do with the actual events of his life. The fact is we know less about President Obama than perhaps any other president in American history and much of this is due to actual efforts to hide his record. This should concern all Americans.A nation-wide network of researchers has sprung up to attempt to fill in the blanks, but at every opportunity Obama’s high-priced lawyers have built walls around various records or simply made them disappear. It is estimated that Obama’s legal team has now spent well over $1.4 million dollars blocking access to documents every American should have access to. The question is why would he spend so much money to do this?The president who campaigned for a more “open government” and “full disclosure” will not unseal his medical records, his school records, his birth records or his passport records. He will not release his Harvard records, his Columbia College records, or his Occidental College records—he will not even release his Columbia College thesis. All his legislative records from the Illinois State Senate are missing and he claims his scheduling records during those State Senate years are lost as well. In addition, no one can find his school records for the elite K-12 college prep school, Punahou School, he attended in Hawaii.What is he hiding? Well, for starters, some of these records will shed light on his citizenship and birth.For example, Obama’s application to Punahou School – now mysteriously missing – would likely contain a birth certificate. And, according to attorney Gary Kreep, “his Occidental College records are important as they may show he attended there as a foreign exchange student.” Indeed, Obama used his Indonesian name “Barry Soetoro” while attending Occidental. Kreep has filed lawsuits challenging Obama’s eligibility to be president and as part of his lawsuit he requested Obama’s records from Occidental. However, Obama’s lawyers quickly moved to stop Occidental from honoring this request.Furthermore, now that at least three document authentication experts have declared the scanned “Certificate of Live Birth” Obama’s campaign team gave to a pro-Obama website to be an obvious phony; we know that he is hiding something here as well.Over 49 separate law suits have been filed on the eligibility/birth certificate issue alone, with several of the suits making it all the way the United States Supreme Court, only to be denied a full hearing.What’s more, there are questions about how he paid for his Harvard Law School education since, despite a claim by Michele Obama, no one has produced any evidence that he received student loans. The Obamas will not release any student loan details despite repeated requests from the Chicago Tribune. However, it appears that his Harvard education may have been paid for by a foreign source. Khalid Al-Mansour, an advisor to Saudi prince Al-Walid bin Talah, told Manhattan Borough president, Percy Sutton, that he was raising money for Obama’s Harvard tuition. Incidentally, Prince Tala is the largest donor to CAIR, a Muslim group declared by the U.S. Government in 2007 as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist financing trial. At least three of CAIR’s leaders have been indicted for terrorist activities. Al-Mansour’s admission opens up speculation as to whether Muslim interests have assisted Obama’s career in the hope he would eventually be in a position someday to promote their interests.Read the full story here.

• "Occupy Kristallacht?"Cars set alight, anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed in Brooklyn NY.(JPost).NYC Mayor, ADL condemn use of Nazi imagery, arson in predominately Jewish neighborhood on 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht.NEW YORK – Anti-Semitic graffiti including swastikas, mentions of the Ku Klux Klan and profanities against Jews were painted on surfaces in a Brooklyn neighborhood early Friday morning, prompting the creation of a special New York Police Department task force.The Anti-Defamation league condemned the “shocking” incident of anti-Semitism on Ocean Parkway in Midwood. Three cars were also set on fire in the spree of graffiti on sidewalks and benches.“We condemn in the strongest possible terms these shocking acts of anti-Semitism,” said Ron Meier, ADL New York Regional Director. “The Nazi imagery and the burning of cars in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood is a chilling echo of a troubling past.”Meier noted that the incident took place on the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht in Germany.“It is sickening that decades later, Jews continue to be targeted by hateful crimes and it is necessary to act to bring those responsible to justice,” Meier said.“The fact that this most recent attack came on the heels of the 73rd anniversary of Kristalnacht may or may not be a coincidence,” Bloomberg said. “Either way, this kind of hateful act has no place in the freest city in the freest country in the world.”Hmmmmm..........."CHANGE"?Read the full story here.

• Mideast Diplomat Dennis Ross Leaving Obama's White House.(BigPeace).Dennis Ross, widely seen as one of the few strong pro-Israel advisers in the Obama administration, has announced that he will be stepping down as a presidential adviser.Ross’s departure comes as the Obama administration faces fresh criticism for private remarks last week between President Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy expressing hostility towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which were captured on an open microphone. It is not clear whether the controversy is related to Ross’s decision to leave.Ross led efforts to promote the so-called Oslo peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during the Clinton administration. He was brought into the Obama White House from the State Department in 2009, where he had been serving as an expert on Iran.Ross and former Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell were given the task of reviving stalled peace talks. The two had divergent views on how to do so, with Mitchell reportedly favoring a tougher line against Israel and Ross insisting that Palestinian leaders live up to past commitments to fight terror and incitement. Mitchell’s departure earlier this year was thought to be, in part, a protest against Ross.Ross also reportedly advised President Barack Obama not to confront Israel over housing construction in neighborhoods of Jerusalem which the administration–including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton–refers to as “settlements.” He perceived–correctly–that such demands, which reversed previous understandings with the Israeli government and exceeded Palestinian demands at the time, would encourage Palestinian intransigence.Pro-Israel groups, which have become frustrated with the confrontational stance the Obama administration has often adopted towards the Jewish state, saw Ross as a counterweight to Mitchell and to officials such as national security adviser Samantha Power, who is widely viewed as a critic of Israel.Though the Obama administration won praise from pro-Israel groups for opposing a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations that would have destroyed the peace process, Ross’s departure suggests that controversy over the Obama administration’s stance towards Israel will continue.Hmmmm.......“A good man brings forth good from the good treasure that is in his heart and the evil man brings out evil from the evil treasure that is in his heart. For the lips speak from the fullness of the heart.” ~ Luke 6:45.Read the full story here.

• New Documents Show Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s Comments on Obamacare Legislation While Serving as Solicitor General.(JW).Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained three new documents that provide additional information about Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) while she served as solicitor general. Justice Kagan has said she was not actively involved in the Department of Justice (DOJ) discussions regarding Obamacare. Moreover, the Supreme Court justice did not recuse herself from the High Court decision in April 2011 not to “fast-track” for Supreme Court review Virginia’s lawsuit challenging Obamacare.The following are highlights from the documents obtained by Judicial Watch pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on February 24, 2011. (Judicial Watch’s lawsuit has been consolidated with a similar FOIA lawsuit that had been first filed against the DOJ by the Media Research Center.):

1. An October 13, 2009, exchange between Kagan and former Deputy Solicitor General (and current Acting Solicitor General) Neal Katyal. Katyal informs Kagan, “We just got Snowe on health care,” referring to Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). (The bulk of the email exchange reflects a discussion about Kagan, and also provides instructions regarding a hiring decision within the agency, although the nature of the position is unclear. When Katyal asks if Kagan wants to handle the hire via email or in person meeting, Kagan responds, “In person. I’ll call a meeting when I return.”)
2. A March 21, 2010, email from Kagan to then-Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Laurence Tribe: “I hear they have the votes Larry!! Simply amazing...” Tribe responds, “So healthcare is basically done! Remarkable.”
3. A March 16, 2010, email from Kagan to David Barron, then-acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, asked if he had seen an article by Michael McConnell published in the Wall Street Journal that discussed a strategy by Democrats to “‘deem’ ObamaCare into Law without voting.” “Did you seee [sic] Michael McConnell’s piece in the wsj?” Kagan writes in an email with the subject line “Health care q.” “YES, HE IS GETTING THIS GOING,” replied Barron.

“These new emails are bound to raise additional questions about whether Justice Kagan ought to participate in High Court deliberations on Obamacare. Certainly, if these documents were known at the time of her confirmation, there may have been quite a different Senate debate. The Obama Justice Department dumped these documents just before a holiday weekend, hoping they would go unnoticed. This slow-walking of documents out of the Obama Justice Department is scandalous and makes one wonder what other information they are sitting on,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.Read the full story here.

• Erdogan's religious acrobatics: historic Nicaea council church back to being a mosque.(AsiaNews).Istanbul - The specter of Aghia Sophia continues to plague the Islamic world of Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey. Not the most famous symbol of the church of Constantinople, but another church, Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (now Izmit), which predates the Constantinople church, having been built in the fourth century. It passed into history in 787 AD, when it was the last church to host a united Christendom drawn to discuss the iconoclastic question, in a truly ecumenical synod, before the fatal schism of 1024.This Christian church, the Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (Izmit), was transformed into a mosque in 1331 by Orhan Gazi who led the Ottomans and which was later made a museum in 1920, has returned once again to being a mosque.
All that was needed was a directive from the Directorate General for Religious Affairs led by Mehmet Gormez, appointed by Erdogan instead of Ali Bardakoglu, the man behind the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, since retired. The move has elicited several considerations in Turkey and abroad in a period in which much importance and emphasis is placed on religious freedom. It is also noted that this decision by the Directorate for Religious Affairs, made in accordance with the Directorate General of Religious Foundations, to which the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit belongs, is in complete contrast with the decisions of the Ministry of Culture in Ankara, which granted permission for religious celebrations in Christian monuments that have since been transformed into museums. The President of the Republic of Germany, Christian Wulf, in his recent visit to Turkey, made the request for permission for a mass to be celebrated at the Church of St. Paul in Tarsus, a request that was granted by the Turkish authorities . The same Patriarch Bartholomew I, 26 December 2000 celebrated a liturgy in the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit on the anniversary of the second millennium of the birth of our Lord, as the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit was counted, according to the Directive of the Ministry of Culture in Ankara, among those Christians monuments turned into museums. Erdogan's decision is puzzling, but also brings to light lurking divisions within Turkish society. In recent times, especially after the 2007 elections, Erdogan's policy has been characterized by an opening towards non-Muslim religious minorities,. Thanks to these re-openings, religious communities have begun to breathe once again. In is enough to mention the recent decree that provides for the restitution of property illegally confiscated in the past, from the religious foundations, and the grant of permission to celebrate religious functions in Christian monuments that have since become museums. The most symbolic outcome was the celebration of the Mass officiated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2010 in the historic Monastery of Our Lady of Sumela on the Black Sea, the first after 80 years.These initiatives by Erdogan have never been welcomed by his Islamic-nationalist followers, who are not only present in Bahceli’s nationalist MHP party (which achieved about 14% in the last election), but they are also lurking in the ruling AKP party, under the wing of the Vice President Bulent Arinc, perhaps the most prominent politician in the Islamic conformist current within the ruling party. Arinc said during the inauguration the day before yesterday: "With this act we have regained the favor of our ancestors. The church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit is the result of conquest and as such, as it was used then, is right. A church can be transformed into a mosque. Both are places of prayer to God”. Bulent Arinc concluded, "How many mosques have been transformed into our churches?".There have however, been strong negative reactions within the Turkish intellectual world among which that of Professor. Selcuk Mulayim of Marmara University, who said that the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit has played an important role in Christian history and as such should be considered as with the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: a museum.Istanbul's comment diplomatic circles mummer that Erdogan, making a symbolic and instrumental use of the name of Aghia Sofia, has tried to satisfy certain sectors of his party, and not only. Consenting to the transformation of the church of Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (Izmit) into a mosque, he has calculated that certain "targeted" concessions will lengthen his stay in power.Hmmmm........"The Minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks, and the believers our army." Read the full story here.

• "Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel" only not in Israel!Israel rushes airliner defences as Libya leaks SAMs.(Reuters).Israel has accelerated the installation of anti-missile defences on its airliners, a security official said on Friday, seeing an enhanced risk of attack by militants using looted Libyan arms.Jets flown by El Al (ELAL.TA) and two other Israeli carriers are being equipped with a locally made system known as C-Music that uses a laser to "blind" heat-seeking missiles, the official said, giving a 2013 target for fitting most of the fleet.As a stop-gap, Israel is adapting air force counter-measures for use aboard civilian planes, said the official, who declined to elaborate on the technologies involved, or to be identified."We have long been aware of the threat and were ahead of the rest of the world in preparing for it. Libya has meant government orders to step things up even further," the official said, citing intelligence assessments that chaos during the North African nation's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi allowed trafficking of Libyan shoulder-fired missiles to Palestinians and al Qaeda-linked groups in the Egyptian Sinai.Israel began deploying another system, "Flight Guard", on El Al after al Qaeda tried to shoot down a planeload of Israeli tourists in Kenya in 2002. Flight Guard's use of diversionary flares set off safety concerns abroad and the Israelis turned to C-Music, manufactured by Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT.TA).According to the Israeli official, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is covering the $1 million to $1.5 million that it costs to fit C-Music to each plane.The bathtub-sized pods, built into the planes' bodies, increase drag in flight, meaning "a few million (dollars) a year" in extra fuel expenses, the official said, adding that this, too, would be borne by the government.Israel's main international gateway, Ben-Gurion Airport, is 10 km (6 miles) from the occupied West Bank where, along with the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, Palestinians want a state.The Israeli official said he had no information indicating the presence of anti-aircraft missiles in the West Bank -- unlike in Gaza, which has seen an influx of smuggled weaponry from Egypt since Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers in 2005.The official said Netanyahu had, in closed-door discussions, described C-Music as a way to help reassure the Israeli public about security should the government one day return occupied land to the Palestinians under a peace agreement.Asked for confirmation, Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, quoted him as saying that "in any possible peace deal there have to be effective security arrangements that can deal with a range of security threats, including shoulder-fired missiles".Israel also wants to protect traffic to its small airport in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, which abuts Jordan and Egypt, where Islamist militants have operated in the past. Armed infiltrators killed eight Israelis on the Egyptian border on August 18.Hmmmmm........Copter Crash (SAM?) Kills a Leader in Mexico’s Drug Fight?Read the full story here.

• Qatar arrests a five-man (Iran trained)cell that targeted Saudi embassy in Bahrain.(AlArabiya).Bahrain said on Saturday a cell planning to “target” the Interior Ministry building, the Saudi embassy in the kingdom and a causeway linking the island state with neighboring Saudi Arabia had been broken and its members captured.The state news agency BNA quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying that four Bahraini members of the cell were captured by authorities in neighboring Qatar after they entered the Gulf Arab state by land from Saudi Arabia and found them to be in possession of documents and a computer that included details on vital installations.The four members of the cell were detained in Qatar and turned over to Manama, while a fifth Bahraini was arrested inside the country, spokesman General Tareq al-Hasan said.Hasan said the four arrested in Qatar had been traveling by car from Saudi Arabia. Authorities seized “documents and a computer containing information of a security nature (and) details on certain vital sites,” as well as dollars and Iranian riyals.“They then confessed that they had left Bahrain illegally at the instigation of others and gone to Iran” to form an “organization to commit armed terrorist acts in Bahrain,” he added.Sent back to Manama on November 4, they denounced a fifth accomplice, who was subsequently arrested, and the five have been turned over to the judicial authorities.Earlier this year, Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy crushed pro-democracy protests, spearheaded by the majority Shiites, with the help of troops from other Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia.Read the full story here.

• Fifteen dead in military base explosion west of Iranian capital Tehran.(AlArabiya).Iran Military Arsenal Blast Death Toll Rises to 27.(NYT).An explosion occurred at a military base west of the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday killing fifteen people an official of the Revolutionary Guards told state TV. The student news agency ISNA quoted Alireza Janeh, head of security issues at the Tehran governor’s office, as saying: “The sound of this blast came from outside Tehran, to the west of the province ... it was in one of the military bases there.”The blast shattered the windows of residential neighborhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told AFP. It was heard in the city center. The incident occurred as troops were moving munitions at the base according to the Revolutionary Guards official who was quoted by Reuters. “The number of martyrs in today’s explosion in one of our ammunition depots stands at 15,” commander Ramezan Sharif was quoted as saying.Hossein Garousi, a lawmaker from the area, said the blast occurred when “a large part of an ammunition depot exploded,” parliament's website reported.Garousi said a crisis committee has been set up to investigate the incident.The arms depot belongs to the elite Revolutionary Guards, according to a statement on their website, which did not give further details.Several other members of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission confirmed the report on the blast in Bidgoneh, saying that it took place at an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) base. Read the full story here.

• Canadian tourist in Egypt dies after being shot in chest.(BikyaMasr).Cairo: The Canadian tourist who was shot in the chest on Wednesday died on Friday after being in surgery for hours and having part of his intestine and Pancreas removed.The man, identiied as Jean Francois was shot in the chest while on his way, being accompanied by a friend, to an ancient Egyptian Museum in Sohag, in southern Egypt.Francois was 23-years-old.Men from the tribe of Samatta, who were in constant battle with the al-Ashraf tribe throughout last week, fired at the car where the two Canadian men were riding in on their way to visit the Abydos temple.An Egyptian security source said armed men from the Samatta tribe opened fire directly at the car when the driver refused to stop for them, thinking that men from al-Ashraf tribe were inside.Francois was hit in the chest and the bullet came out of his back.He was transfered immediatly to the a hospital in Luxor, where he passed away after a number of surgeries.Read the full story here.

• Canada - Sharia mortgage bank fails, 200 Canadian Muslim families mortgages are in limbo.(CBC).The financial dispute between an Islamic bank and about 200 families whose mortgages are in limbo, moved to a Toronto courtroom on Thursday.The homeowners had interest-free mortgages with United Muslim Financial totalling about $32 million. Since 2005, UM Financial has offered loans and mortgages to people who want to adhere strictly to Islamic (Shariah) law, under which no interest can be charged on a loan.The court will now decide what to do with those mortgages.UM Financial was ordered into receivership on Oct. 7. "At this time our main focus is to work with all stakeholders to ensure that the legal and moral interests of the families affected by this case are protected," said Afroz Kapadia, spokesperson for the group United Muslim Homeowners.The court-appointed receiver, Grant Thornton Limited, says it is facing challenges getting key documents from Omar Kalair, the head of UM Financial.The receiver claims UM Financial, "purchased $2.1 million of precious metals (silver and gold) in the weeks leading up to the receivership order" and that "proceeds of approximately $2.1 million were paid to UM Financial's Shariah board."The receiver also claims "Omar Kalair has failed to disclose the location of assets."Muhammad Heft — one of the homeowners — sat through the hearing, also convinced UM Financial isn't being upfront."In our community we have to have the highest standard of ethics and Shariah banking is not just a document it's a behaviour, it's a communication, it's an organization of a company and I think this one failed miserably," he said.The lawyer representing Omar Kalair said his client won't be making any statements to the media.Read the full story here.

• U.K. - Poppy-burning group Muslims Against Crusades is banned by Home Secretary as members plan anti-Armistice Day protest.(DailyMail).An extremist Muslim group who burned poppies have been formally banned by the state amid fears they were planning a 'Hell for Heroes' outrage today. Members of Muslims Against Crusades had pledged to interrupt today's Armistice Day two-minute silence with a 'surprise'.In response, Home Secretary Theresa May announced yesterday that MAC would be made a proscribed terrorist group.This means that membership of the group, holding meetings or wearing clothing or 'articles' to show support for the organisation are now criminal offences punishable by up to ten years in jail.Last night police were poised to arrest any activists who ignored the ban, which was evoked under the Terrorism Act 2000.There was an outcry last year when MAC fundamentalists torched poppies on Armistice Day, chanting 'British soldiers burn in hell' while the rest of Britain fell silent to honour the war dead.Members of the organisation have also heckled troops returning from Afghanistan and threatened to hijack the Royal Wedding by burning effigies of Prince William and Kate Middleton.But in the past fortnight officials have become increasingly concerned about the group's activities after a Tory MP was threatened by extremists at a mosque following a chilling message posted on the MAC website. MP Mike Freer had to be locked in his private room for his own safety when a group of up to dozen Muslim extremists stormed a constituency surgery at North Finchley mosque in North London, chanting 'Jewish homosexual pig'.Yesterday the group planned to arrive with placards and interrupt the two-minute silence with a 'surprise'.But yesterday the Home Secretary moved to ward off violence after police warned of possible clashes between the fanatics and the English Defence League and British National Party, who went ahead with a 'Protect the Poppy' overnight vigil outside the Royal Albert Hall last night. Mrs May said she was satisfied the group was 'simply another name for an organisation already proscribed under a number of names' including Al Ghurabaa, The Saved Sect, Al Muhajiroun and Islam4UK.'The organisation was proscribed in 2006 for glorifying terrorism and we are clear it should not be able to continue these activities by simply changing its name,' she added. Yesterday firebrand preacher Anjem Choudary, who acts as the MAC spokesman, said the organisation would be disbanded and the protest cancelled.But he pledged to continue the group under another name, describing Britain as a 'terrorist regime' which is 'worse than the Nazis'.He added: 'The planned Hell for Heroes demonstration has undoubtedly struck a raw nerve in Parliament by exposing the blunt truth behind the poppy.'The poppy, Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday are the fig leaves behind which war crimes committed by serving British soldiers are covered and justified.'Muslims Against Crusades is the latest incarnation of an organisation originally set up by extremist preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed, who fled the UK six years ago. Julie Siddiqui, of the Islamic Society of Britain, said: 'We understand and share the Government's concerns about this organisation but feel that open debate exposing their shallow ideas is the way forward.Read the full story here.

• Breaking: Arab League suspends Syria over violence.(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: The Arab League, meeting in an emergency session on Saturday over the violence in Syria, has suspended Damascus from the regional body. The move has been welcomed by Arab activists across the region and could signal a change in policy toward the Bashar al-Assad regime.However, according to Arab League officials, the suspension does not go into effect until November 16.The decision came after activists and rights groups have reported over 225 people have been killed by Assad’s secuirity forces in November. At least 40 people were killed on Friday alone, which prompted the emergency meeting.The suspension also comes less than one week after an Arab League initiative was agreed upon by Damascus that aimed to end the violence.Damascus has refused to abide by the terms and has increased its attacks on civilians calling for an end to the Assad government.Activists also again called on the international community to enforce a no-fly zone on the country and intervene in the country, which has seen at least 3,500 people killed in protests since March 15, when the Syrian people began their street demonstrations against the government.Other organizations put the number of dead to over 5,000 people.In recent weeks, the violence has curtailed out of control as protesters have begun to arm themselves in self-defense. Soldiers who have defected from the military, if not shot on the stop as human rights organizations have reported, are engaging in street battles with the government-led forces.NATO, which intervened in Libya to help the popular revolt against Muammar Gaddafi and the subsequent civil war, has said publicly that they have no plans to become involved in a Syrian conflict.Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported this week that the government is employing tactics it described as “crimes against humanity” against civilians, including widespread torture and summary executions.In Lebanon, reports on the ground have stated the Syrian military is placing landmines along the border. Worries are that staunch ally Hezbollah in the country could become involved in a conflict that could see the region spill into a wider conflict.Read the full story here.More : Syria calls Arab League decision to suspend its membership ‘violation of charter’ :  Here.

• Mother, daughter stoned to death in Afghanistan.(BikyaMasr).An Afghani mother and her young daughter were stoned and shot to death on Thursday for “adultery and moral deviation” in the town of Ghazni, in the eastern part of the country. Security officials told the BBC that the armed men carried out the execution while the residents of the town abstained from intervening or calling for help.The armed men reportedly dragged the woman, a widow who lives with her daughter, out of their home and started stoning them; then the two were later shot.Police forces arrested two men over their involvement in the crime and they are believed to be affiliated with the Taliban.The town of Ghazni is supposedly under the control of the Afghani security forces, yet in reality much of the area is believed to be ruled by the Taliban.The Ghazni Province is one of the areas where security will be transferred over to Afghanistan’s security forces by NATO, as part of the withdrawal of forces from the country, by 2014.The militant group that was forced out of power by an international packed invasion, is still in control of many parts of the country and forces its own rules and sentences upon the Afghan people, such as this stoning and murder.Some Afghanis even turn to Taliban courts to solve disagreements, as the national government’s politicians are seen through a doubtful eye for the widespread corruption in the government.In the areas they control, the Taliban bans girls from attending school and enforces gender separation in public events, including weddings. They also collect taxes from residents to maintain their armed control of areas.However, an independent Afghan rights group says violence against women has increased in parts of the country and decreased in others.1,026 cases of violence committed against women were documented by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in the second quarter of the this year, compared to 2,700 cases for the entire previous year.Read the full story here.

• Gay Saudi diplomat fears for life, denied asylum by Obama Administration.(BikyaMasr).An openly gay former Saudi Arabian diplomat was denied asylum by the United States, despite publicly stating that he would “be openly killed” if he were to return to his native Saudi Arabia.According to Ali Ahmed Asseri, who is currently in the US, the Obama administration refused his asylum request because “giving him refuge might upset relations with the kingdom.”Washington and the conservative Gulf Kingdom have close ties and many insiders in DC believe that the move is politically motivated.“There is no reason to think that the US would consider a move that would frustrate or anger a key Middle East ally,” a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Bikyamasr.com.For Asseri, his future is uncertain now that his denial of asylum has been made public.Saudi dissident in Washington Ali al-Ahmed said the move by the US was entirely political, and feared for Asseri’s life.“This was a political decision by the Obama administration, who are afraid of upsetting the Saudis,” said Ahmed in an interview with the website Rasheed’s World.“His initial interview with Homeland Security was very positive, but then they came back and grilled him for two days after they found out that he had worked in the public prosecutor’s office in Saudi Arabia. He had been an inspector to make sure that judicial punishments, such as lashings, were carried out within the law—not more, not less. They then accused him of participating in a form of torture,” explained Ahmed.Hmmmm......Obama: “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”...And Obey Sharia law?Read the full story here.

• Controversy in India over Fatwa Against Celebrating Prophet Muhammad's Birthday.(Memri).By: Tufail Ahmad.India's Darul Uloom Deoband, the country's largest Islamic seminary, is caught up in a major controversy after issuing a fatwa (decree) against celebrating birthdays, including the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Established in 1866 in the town of Deoband in northern India, about 150 kilometers from New Delhi, the internationally renowned seminary, the second largest in the world after Cairo's Al-Azhar University, adheres to Saudi-backed Wahhabi Islam, opposing any practices that are seen as innovations in Islam. According to an Indian media report, the seminary stated in the fatwa that "Islam does not permit such a practice, which is a tradition of Western countries."The fatwa came in response to a query by a student of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) who asked if it was Islamic to celebrate the birthday of AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. On November 6, 2011, Maulana Kasim Naumani, the Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, said: "Muslims should not follow the tradition of Western culture of celebrating birthdays as it is against the Shariat law." Nauman also noted that the Darul Uloom Deoband does not celebrate the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. The prophet's birthday is marked across the Islamic world as Eid Milad al-Nabi every year.Darul Uloom Deoband receives numerous queries from Muslims across the world to clarify various issues in Islam. It had ruled earlier also that celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday is against Islam. On May 29, 2011, a Muslim from Brunei sent the following question: "I am an employee in Brunei (an Islami nation). In Brunei the government observes the Rabiul Awwal 12th as a National Holiday and celebrates the birth of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) grandly and conducts many grand functions (so-called Majlises) on the special day. I'm asking that Brunei being an Islamic nation, is doing all these things correct? Are there place for these type functions in our religion?"In a response to the question, the Darul Uloom Deoband issued a decree, "Fatwa: 889/653/L=1432" – noting: "Celebrating Eid Milad al-Nabi [the birthday of Prophet Muhammad]... on 12th of Rabi al-Awwal is not proved from Sahaba, Tabiyeen, Tabe Tabiyeen and Ayimah Mujtahidin...; hence it is unlawful and innovation to celebrate this day as festival..."The November fatwa against celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad has been criticized widely by various sections of Indian Muslims – an overwhelming majority of whom follows the Barelvi School of Islamic thought and visit the immensely popular shrines of Sufis (Islamic mystics) to mark their birth and death anniversaries. Both the Deobandi and Barelvi schools adhere to Sunni Islam. However, in contrast to the Deobandi School of Islamic thought, the Barelvi followers express an overwhelming, unconditional love for Islam's Prophet Muhammad, whose birthday is celebrated every year across most of the Islamic world by holding seminars, conferences, and public rallies. Mohammed Saeed Noori of the Raza Academy, a religious organization at the forefront of the orthodox Islamic movement in Mumbai, wrote a letter to the editors of Indian newspapers, warning that the Darul Uloom Deoband's fatwa will lead to sectarian clashes among Indian Muslims.His letter, written on behalf of the Raza Academy and published on its website, noted:

"The recent fatwa by Deoband published in a section of media has created a stir and led to a new controversy between the Muslims at large and the Ahle Sunnat in particular. Though the basic ideological difference between the Ahle Sunnah (also known as Barelvis) and the Deoband is based upon the status and respect of the Holy Prophet but it has hardly been brought out in the open [in the past] by the Deoband for fear of backlash from their own community."For more than 100 years, the Ahle Sunnat have been challenging the Deobandis to prove their stand, but either they entirely ignore or otherwise claim innocence about these beliefs being practiced by their peers. Hence it was surprising and shocking for the Ahle Sunnat to read the Deoband fatwa in the newspapers today, which prohibits Muslims from celebrating the Prophet’s birthday.... and making merry or feasting on that day."It is a known fact that the Prophet's birthday has been celebrated since the era of the Holy Prophet and prohibiting such a grand day clearly shows the evil intentions of the school of thought they follow. In fact, according to the Ahle Sunnat a person ceases to be a Muslim if he shows disrespect even for a second, or an ounce, for the Holy Prophet of Islam."Hence, we condemn this fatwa from Deoband and ask the Indian government to stop these kinds of fatwas before they result in sectarian clashes all over the country, as any Muslim will accept anything in his stride but the mere thought of insult to the Holy Prophet cannot be tolerable and acceptable even if it's done by a so-called Muslim or so-called Muslim organization."We warn the Darul Uloom Deoband of serious consequences if it tries to influence its belief on Muslims with political support and state that no one except Deoband would be responsible for any and every reaction on this fatwa."Perhaps the biggest criticism of the Darul Uloom Deoband fatwa came from the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), which represents thousands of Barelvi clerics and Sufis (mystics) from across India and is backed by 78 Sufi dargahs (monasteries and shrines). The dargahs are immensely popular and are visited by millions of Muslims and non-Muslims alike every year.According to a media report, AIUMB General Secretary Maulana Syed Ashraf Kichhouchhvi rejected the fatwa, arguing that most Islamic nations celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.Kichhouchhvi said: "The birth of the Prophet is the greatest favor of Allah on humanity. So, Muslims celebrate the Prophet's birth anniversary with traditional zeal on the 12th of [the Islamic month of] Rabi-ul-Awwal... Some 'mischievous elements devoid of spiritualism' are trying to impose a foreign ideology on Indian Muslims."The cleric also took the opportunity to throw in a remark about Israel, stating: "Israel and Saudi Arabia are the only countries in the Middle East who do not recognize Mawlid an-Nabi (the Prophet's birthday) as a national holiday."According to another media report, Maulana Syed Ashraf Kichhouchhvi added: "The fatwa is proof that Deoband would like to impose the foreign ideology of Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism on India..."Ateeque Ansari, an Islamic scholar and coordinator of the Committee of Arabic Madrassas in the northern Indian town of Varanasi, argued that the issue of celebrating birthdays is not an Islamic issue.According to a report, Ansari said that Islam is emphatic in differentiating between farz (duty) and haram (forbidden), adding that a Muslim has to essentially observe a farz at all times but avoid anything that is haram, or forbidden in Islam.Ansari argued that the issue of celebrating a birthday is neither farz nor haram and has to do more with culture than religion, adding: "It is definitely not anti-Islamic but it is clear from the life and times of the Prophet that he himself never participated in any birthday celebrations."Arshad Alam, a professor at the Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia University, also questioned the Darul Uloom Deoband's monopoly on issues concerning Islam. He stated: "What gives the Darul Uloom Deoband monopoly to define Islam? Various sects, including Barelvis and Ahl-e-Hadees, contest the Deobandi position on Islam."Over the past few years, the Darul Uloom Deoband has attracted national and international attention for regularly issuing a series of fatwas that curb the rights of Muslim women in India and enforce an orthodox version of Islamic teachings. In February 2011, the renowned seminary issued a fatwa declaring that Muslim women cannot preach religion in the country's interior areas as per Islamic tenets. According to a report in the Urdu-language daily Roznama Munsif, the Dar-ul-Ifta, the department of Darul Uloom that issues edicts, said that only Muslim men can preach Islam in interior areas, and added: "It is the duty of men to deliver sermons in such areas under Islamic laws, but the same cannot be said about women."In April 2010, the seminary issued a fatwa banning Muslim women from modeling and acting in movies. The fatwa was issued jointly by prominent clerics Mufti Habibur Rahman, Mufti Mahmood Hasan, Mufti Fakhrul Islam, Mufti Zainul Islam and Mufti Waqar Ali, all from Darul Uloom Deoband, who were of the opinion that exhibiting and exposing a woman’s body and women making gestures and wearing revealing dress before the masses is against the very basic tenets of Islamic Shari'a and therefore haram.In August 2010, the Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa that declared that women cannot become a qazi (Islamic judge) of a voluntarily established tribunal, which are set up in rural areas to resolve small disputes. Shaista Amber, an Islamic feminist and President of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, slammed the seminary for the fatwa, stating: "The harassed women can easily relate to a female qazi and can narrate their tale of distress more conveniently. It is difficult and at times indecent for a woman to discuss everything in detail with a male Muslim qazi."In another such anti-women fatwa, the Darul Uloom Deoband declared that talking to one's fiancé on the phone for no reason is haram (prohibited in Islam), stating: "Talking to one's fiancé on the phone even after the engagement without any reason is prohibited in Islam... Islam does not allow this." In November 2010, the seminary ruled in a fatwa that the word talaq uttered thrice by a Muslim man to his wife on a mobile phone will be considered valid divorce, adding that the unilateral talaq (divorce) will be valid even if the wife is unable to hear it all three times due to the network and other problems. "It is not necessary that talaq take place when the wife hears it or when witnesses are present," the ruling said.The above examples are just a few intended to show the anti-women nature of edicts issued by the Darul Uloom Deoband. Renowned social activist Javed Anand, co-editor of the magazine Communalism Combat, last year accused the Darul Uloom Deoband of launching what he called "gender jihad" against women.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                      Afternoon Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - May 06. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan  today  4.8! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 103.
  Source : Here .

• Japan  : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog

• Live Blog on Qsama Bin Laden  Here (Al -Jazeera).

• P.S. Turns out now, those photos of Obama giving his 'I caught Bin Laden' speech were faked.(LA.Times).Could the Obama White House communications folks have found anything else to step in over the presentation this week of their boss and the dramatic recounting and re-recounting of the execution and really rapid remains disposal of Osama bin Laden?It turns out now that all of the non-White House still photographs of the president's dramatic entrance down the hall into the East Room and the late Sunday evening speech itself were faked.They were not taken during the actual event, which was photographed only by official White House photographer Pete Souza during the live TV broadcast.The widely distributed press photographs were, in fact, shot during a reenactment of the entrance, the firm presidential strides down the carpeted hall and the speaking by the president right after the real event, as reported by our astute colleague James Oliphant.These staged news photos were immediately flashed around the world for millions to see with varying captions about the president reading his statement for photographers, distinctions that may well have been lost in translations and publications.It is a minor matter unless truth is a concern.Yes, of course, Obama's guys wanted maximum coverage of his proud "I got him and you-know-who didn't" moment. And independent news organizations always prefer their own material over a White House handout.But to use this arguably misleading photo gimmick around something as sensitive as killing the world's most wanted murderer in an era of bounteous conspiracy theories about the 9/11 events he engineered is naive at best, moronic at worst.Take these numerous inconsistencies and conflicting details. Add them to these faked photos. Mix in Americans' chronic civic cynicism and post-Kennedy assassination susceptibility to conspiracy consumption.Then add Obama's subsequent decision, against the advice of his CIA director, to withhold any photographic proof of Bin Laden's death and burial at sea, ostensibly from concern over jihadist sensitivities.Hmmmm....Is there anything 'real' about this 'administration?Read the full story here.

• Obama on Soaring Gas Prices: “We Can’t Drill Our Way Out of The Problem”.But we can pay Brazil to drill for us?(TheHill).President Obama called for the elimination of billions of dollars in oil industry tax breaks Friday, while stressing that the United States can’t drill its way out of high gas prices.“We can’t just drill our way out of the problem,” Obama said during an energy policy speech in Indiana Friday. “If we’re serious about addressing our energy problems, we’re going to have to do more than drill.”Obama’s remarks come as Washington policymakers are feeling pressure to take action to address high gas prices, which are nearing a nationwide average of $4 a gallon.Hmmm..........Even if he has to blow up every oil well in the US he will force us to drive an electric car?Read the full story here.

• Republicans Blast Obama Over Proposed Executive Order Requiring Companies to Disclose Political Donations as “Blatant” Assault on Free Speech.(TheHill).Republican leaders in the House are urging President Obama to nix an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their political contributions.In a letter sent to Obama on Friday, 21 Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), called the proposed executive order “a blatant attempt to intimidate, and potentially silence, certain speakers who are engaged in their constitutionally protected right to free speech.”If implemented, the executive order would require companies bidding for federal contracts to disclose their contributions to parties and candidates, as well as donations to third-party entities that spend funds on “independent expenditures and electioneering communications,” according to a copy of the draft order.The draft order is similar to the Disclose Act that passed the House but stalled in the Senate in the last Congress. That legislation would have mandated the disclosure of political donations to nonprofit groups.Another signee on the GOP letter, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), called the proposed executive order a “brazen attempt to skirt the legislative process and force partisan policies rejected by Congress last year."“This biased approach to selective free speech does not pass muster and should be abandoned,” Lungren said in a statement. “Instead of looking for regulatory solutions to his party’s campaign problems, the President should focus on the mounting problems plaguing individuals and American companies growing increasingly frustrated with Washington.”Hmmmm.....Not so fast "Comrade Obama"?Read the full story here.

• 'He's taking the spotlight': Obama under fire from 9/11 families as he prepares to meet SEAL heroes who took out Bin Laden.(DailyMail).Obama will visit SEAL Team Six to thank them for killing Bin Laden.After facing criticism from the families of 9/11 victims who claim he 'took the spotlight' over Bin Laden's death, it has emerged that President Obama will visit Fort Campbell, Kentucky, today to personally thank the Navy SEAL commandos who took down the al Qaeda leader. Fort Campbell is home to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which it is thought flew the SEAL teams to Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.According to a White House official, Obama has already met Vice Admiral William McRaven, thought to be the man in charge of the Bin Laden raid.The visit is part of a series of stops on a tour the President has embarked on since the SEALs took the terror leader out on Sunday.Yesterday, he started his trip to new York by visiting fire fighters who lost 15 men in the attack as well as laying a wreath at Ground Zero in a ceremony dedicated to the thousands who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.Despite keeping it deliberately low key - privately speaking to relatives of those who lost their lives as well as fire fighters and policemen caught up in the tragedy - he has had to fend off accusations that he was revelling in the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday.Some relatives of the 9/11 victims have criticised him for his 'self-congratulatory' handling of the killing.One, Debra Burlingame, said the president was 'using families in what is a transparent political ploy'.Her brother, Charles Burlingame, was the pilot whose plane crashed into the Pentagon.She said she was pleased Bin Laden had been killed, but was shocked when Mr Obama turned his back when she confronted him over the prosecution of the CIA agents who interrogated 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.David Beamer, whose son, Todd Beamer, helped stop hijackers on the fourth 9/11 plane, also criticised the president.Mr Beamer said Bin Laden's death was 'a cause for joy', but he told Fox News: 'I feel some chagrin now, though, about how the rest of it has been handled.'And frankly it started May Day 2011 when the president announced what had happened. 'The excessive use of the personal pronoun that he used in his remarks, I really felt that was the beginning of the Commander-in-Chief putting too much spotlight on himself, taking too much credit for what the remarkable Americans had done.'Mr Beamer went on to criticise the praise heaped on Mr Obama for taking the decision to kill Bin Laden, saying once the CIA had found the compound there was nothing else he could have done.He said: 'It's been hailed as one of the greatest wartime decisions, bold, gutsy, but quite frankly under the facts and circumstances I think it was anything but that.'Hmmmm.....A 'Man' who would use anyone and anything for his own personal goal?Read and see the full story here.

• USS Michael Murphy: Navy SEAL Honored With Warship Bearing His Name.A Great Man and a real leader.Not someone who 'thrives' on the valor of others!Read the full story here.

• Fury erupts outside U.S. Embassy in London as hundreds stage mock funeral for Osama Bin Laden.(DailyMail).A protest by hundreds of Osama Bin Laden supporters sparked fury outside the US Embassy in London today as they staged a mock 'funeral service' for the terror leader.Police stepped in to separate the protesters and members of the English Defence League amid threats of violence from both sides.Radicals carrying placards proclaiming 'Islam will dominate the world' branded US leaders 'murderers' and warned vengeance attacks were 'guaranteed'.The protest came shortly after the verdict into the 7/7 inquest was released by Lady Justice Heather Hallett.She recorded that the 52 victims had been 'unlawfully' killed when four terrorists attacked three London Underground trains and a bus in 2005.Lady Justice Hallett made a string of recommendations to both MI5 to prevent further atrocities and to 999 workers to react more effectively to major events.Relatives of the victims wept openly as the judge announced her verdict and she paid tribute to their 'quiet dignity' before reading the name of each person who died.However just three miles from the Royal Court of Justice, Muslim protester Abu Muaz, 28, from east London claimed 'it is only a matter of time' before another attack and that the 'West is the enemy'.The capital has seen heightened security in recent days over fears of a revenge attacks by Al-Qaeda members.The protest against Bin Laden's death was organised by controversial preacher Anjem Choudary - who praised both 7/7 and the September 11 attacks.The former UK leader of the outlawed al-Muhajiroun and member of the 'poppy-burning' Muslims Against Crusades extremist group called on the U.S. to return bin Laden's body to relatives.An EDL member did manage to slip through police lines to unveil an effigy of Bin Laden in the middle of the 300-strong group of extremist Muslims.It prompted screams of 'USA, burn in hell' and 'Obama, burn in hell' from angry protesters.The protests from both sides left onlookers in Grosvenor Square unimpressed.Hmmmm.....Obama "Osama Bin Laden was not a Muslim".Read the full story here.

• Egypt Permits Requiem For Bin Laden.(Memri).The Egyptian Religious Endowments Ministry has permitted prayers for the soul of assassinated Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, at Al-Nour mosque in Cairo today. Ministry official Sheikh Shawki Abd Al-Latif, said that bin Laden died a Muslim and therefore must be prayed for, even if there is a dispute over his path. He added that the assassination was carried out in a way that was against human values.Read the full story here.

• Cut U.S. Funding For Osama’s Mourners.(BigPeace).Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that runs Gaza, is mourning the death of Osama bin Laden. He is a “martyr” to these jihadists. And Hamas has just concluded a pact with the so-called Palestinian Authority (PA), or Fatah, the group that the U.S. recognizes and to whom we give lavish foreign aid. We are currently giving $600 million to the so-called Palestinian Authority.Fatah has held an increasingly precarious control over much of the West Bank of the Jordan River since 1988. It was then that the U.S. brokered a deal in which the PLO morphed into the Palestinian Authority (PA), promised to give up terrorism, and promised to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Many of us never thought the PLO would keep any of those promises—but we knew they would cash our checks and pocket as well huge sums from the European Union. All of this in the name of “peace.”Among the things that the PLO has done on the West Bank is to terrorize Christian Arabs, to name public squares after suicide bombers, and to conduct an all-out Hate Israel propaganda campaign in their schools, universities, and controlled media.Good faith? Arafat instigated yet another intifada against Israel when he got 98% of his territorial demands met and not 100%. Intifadas are uprisings characterized by stone-throwing Palestinian youths confronting Israeli troops. The visuals are great for their propaganda purposes. Israeli soldiers in armored personnel carriers or tanks are shown confronting a hail of stones. But less often noted in the leftist media—BBC, CNN, Reuters, AFP—is that these young warriors of the intifada are deadly accurate. Their stones have been a deadly form of action in that region since biblical times.Now, the PLO has made a pact with Hamas, their supposed rivals who control the Gaza Strip. For a decade, Hamas and Fatah have been fighting each other. Hamas is openly committed to the eradication of Israel. All maps of the Mideast produced by Hamas show Arab lands with no Jewish state—what they call the Zionist Entity—at all. But Fatah’s maps likewise show no Israel.The somber news of the Fatah-Hamas deal came out of—Cairo. Apparently, the post-Mubarak government is being strongly influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is merely the Palestinian branch of the MB. So this is the “Arab Spring” we’ve heard so much about?It’s time to put teeth into U.S. policy. Yasser Arafat was the man who invented airline hijacking for terror purposes. He murdered Americans. It was never a good idea to trust his word or to trust any organization formed by him. We have gotten nothing for the billions we have showered on him and his corrupt and murderous cronies.What we see with the Hamas-Fatah rapprochement is merely the open and brazen acknowledgment of what has always been the case: Both Hamas and Fatah are terrorist organizations. Only now has Fatah dropped its mask.Secretary Clinton urged us to send Fatah another $160 million on top of the $600 million.Here’s a fine candidate for cuts. Let’s cut off all U.S. support to these organizations. And we should press our European allies to do the same. It’s time to follow up the brave actions of our U.S. Navy SEALs with brave action in the diplomatic arena.Hmmmm.....Why is the Obama regime financing a terror organisation?Is their hate towards Israel really that Big?Read the full story here.

• The 'Muslim Brotherhood' that Obama pledged 1,57 Billion to in 2012 Hold Pro-Osama bin Laden Rally.(JawaReport).Watch the whole thing below, but I think the screenshot above pretty much sums it up. Apparently they marched from Cairo's famous cemetery, which is actually slum built on top of the old cemetery, toward the US embassy.I think you'll get the gist without a translation. The akhis over at one of the forums say that part of it is translated kinda like:Khyber, Khyber, O Jews, Osama's army will return!Hmmm....With 'friends' like Obama the Jews don't need enemies?Read the full story here.

• 'Hamas must reform if US to talk with Palestinian gov’t'.(JPost).In Italy, Clinton says Hamas must adopt the Quartet principles of recognizing Israel’s right to exist, renouncing violence.“We’ve made it very clear that we cannot support any government that consists [sic] of Hamas unless and until Hamas adopts the Quartet principles,” Clinton said at a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, referring to the conditions set by the US, UN, EU and Russia.Frattini said he, like Clinton, was waiting for further details on the exact nature of the new Palestinian Authority government, but stressed that Italy, too, felt Hamas must comply with the Quartet requirements to be a suitable partner.“There is no doubt that complying with the principles of the Quartet is a prerequisite before Hamas can be considered by Italy as a potential interlocutor,” he said.The surprise deal between the rival Palestinian factions has scrambled diplomatic calculations on all sides in what was already a chaotic Middle Eastern juncture.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be consulting with US President Barack Obama on the implications of Palestinian reconciliation among other regional developments when they meet in Washington on May 20.The White House put out an announcement on Wednesday night saying “the leaders look forward to discussing the full range of issues of mutual interest to the United States and Israel.”While in town, Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress, as well as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.Before the unity deal was announced, he was said to be preparing the outline of a path for reaching an accord with the Palestinians.In April, Clinton hinted that Obama would soon address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the changing Middle East regimes. But the Fatah-Hamas unity deal seems to have affected that plan.“President Obama has also been thinking about making a speech laying out his approach to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.When the agreement between Fatah and Hamas was announced last week, it caught both Washington and Jerusalem by surprise,” former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk told the Council on Foreign Relations.“That put an end for the time being to the idea that the president would come out with a peace plan, because if the environment was hostile before, it seemed to have grown even more hostile because of the Palestinian agreement negotiated by the Egyptians.”Hmmmm....The reconciliation was brokered with the help of Turkey,Obama calls Erdogan weekly,Obama surprised?Yeah whatevah!Read the full story here.

• A List of Who Supports the Hamas-Fatah Unity Deal.Read it all here.

• Morning Jay: If Our 'Food Stamp Recovery' Persists, Obama Will Lose Big.(WeeklyStandard).I have noticed something unsettling in my own life lately: I know a lot of people who are on food stamps or some kind of extraordinary government assistance. The count right now stands around 10 people, which is a lot for a small town denizen such as myself.That is a personal reminder of a very serious, yet rarely discussed economic, social, and indeed political problem: the fact that better than one out of seven Americans today requires government help to put food on the table.Call it the American "food stamp recovery:" take away the government supports, and the economic picture looks very bleak indeed.Read the full story here.

• Cornered Pakistan turns on India.(HindustanTimes).Initially on the defensive after US navy commandos raided Osama bin Laden's hideout in a Pakistani military town near Islamabad and killed the al Qaeda chief on Monday, Pakistan on Thursday charged the Indian establishment and armed forces with trying to subvert Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's peace agenda.In a statement that neither amused nor surprised New Delhi, Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir warned that "any misadventure" would lead to a "terrible catastrophe" in the region.He was reacting to army chief General VK Singh's remarks on Wednesday that all three wings of India's defence forces were capable of carrying out a US-like operation in Pakistan. Though Bashir criticised the US for violating Pakistan's sovereignty by carrying out the operation without keeping Islamabad in the loop, his tough talk was aimed at New Delhi."Any other country that would ever act (similarly) on the assumption that it has the might... will find it has made a basic miscalculation," Bashir said.Responding to Bashir's statement, an Indian official said, "When cornered, Pakistan usually employs such tactics to divert attention. This time, it is to divert attention from the present mess Islamabad is in." Read the full story here.

• Oversight rep. demands answers on TSA pat-down of 6-year old.(DailyCaller).A leading Republican on the House oversight committee is demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on why a 6-year-old girl was given an “enhanced” pat-down at an airport by TSA agents, an incident Napolitano defended as conducted “professionally and according to the protocols.”A video of the incident was posted on YouTube April 9 by the 6-year-old Anna Drexel’s parents, provoking outrage. Napolitano backed the procedure, and a blog post by the TSA said, “TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures.”But Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the oversight panel, says TSA has publicly stated that children younger than 13 years old are exempt from enhanced pat-downs.

“I am still failing to see how the [officer's] actions followed TSA’s publicly stated policy that children under the age of 13 are exempt from enhanced pat-downs and are to receive modified treatment. If the department has indeed conducted a thorough review of the incident, then I ask that it immediately produce its step-by-step analysis and findings to this subcommittee,” Chaffetz says in a May 5 letter to Napolitano.“On a related matter, I am also concerned that the department’s process and criteria for hiring personnel stationed at airports are substandard. For example, federal agents recently arrested Philadelphia International Airport screener Thomas Gordon Jr. for distributing child pornography via Facebook,” Chaffetz says, “The fact that Mr. Gordon had an opportunity to conduct invasive pat-downs of young children is sickening.”Chaffetz also asks for explanations, to be answered by May 20, including:

•TSA’s current policy on enhanced pat-downs for children under 13, and its policy the day Drexel was given an enhanced pat-down

•What a “modified” enhanced pat-down consists of, since on the video of Drexel’s pat-down appears the same as a normal enhanced pat-down

•A complete description of TSA’s hiring process

•A list of all TSA employees who have been arrested for, and convicted of, crimes, including sexual crimes.Read the full story here.

• House GOP (and 33 Dems) to Obama: Drill, baby, drill.(MichelleMalkin).The heat is on.And 33 Democrats joined the House Republican majority yesterday to put the White House on notice that they take America’s energy independence seriously.The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a measure intendedThe Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act would direct the secretary of the interior to conduct offshore oil and gas lease sales off the state’s coast within one year of the bill’s enactment. It also would trigger lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico but exclude any tract off Virginia that would conflict with military operations.Virginia’s lease sale was scheduled for this year but delayed until at least 2017 after the April-July 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.The bill was the first of three House measures meant to speed up drilling. None of the three is likely to pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders are more focused on ending tax breaks received by oil companies.Hmmmm.....This Date in History: Obama Imposes Job-Destroying Drilling Moratorium.Knowing the Obama regime he will veto it.Read the full story here.

• Bomb set off in front of Turkey Premier’s convoy, Erdogan safe, blames separatists.(Al-Arabia).One police officer was killed and another injured when the Turkish prime minister’s convoy was attacked on Thursday while he was en route to a campaign rally in Cankiri reported local TV station NTV. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not injured and immediately airlifted in a helicopter.A bomb exploded in front of the police convoy escorting the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party bus after it made a stop in Kastamonu in northern Turkey, according to news reports.No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Addressing a rally later in Amasya, Mr. Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the deaths and blamed the attack on separatist groups. “These dark minds who do not believe in democracy’s struggle; these separatist forces believe they can only achieve results this way and not through the ballot box,” the prime minister said.“We will not let anyone divide this land. My mighty nation will never yield to bandits,” the prime minister said, according to the BBC.Hmmmm......"My Mighty Nation" sounds more and more like Ahmadinejad .Read the full story here.

• Protest at Cairo embassy calls for intifada.(YNet).Hundreds rally at Israeli embassy to call for annulment of peace, Jews to 'return to birthplaces'.CAIRO – Hundreds gathered before Israel's embassy in Cairo on Friday to protest against the peace agreement with the state. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and called for another intifada on May 15, on which Palestinians in Israel mark the Nakba.Both men and women were present at the gathering, and participants were mostly young. They called to "return Palestine to the Palestinians" and held signs saying Jews should "return to their places of birth".Speakers at the rally said Jews who wanted to stay in "Palestine" should agree to live under Islamic rule. "On May 15 we should hold a convoy of Egyptian cars to Rafah," one young speaker said. Among the protesters were also those who demanded Egypt renege on its peace accord with Israel, and in addition refuse to sell natural gas to the state.Hmmmmm......War is coming closer by the day...thank you Hussein.Read the full story here.

• Prominent Writer on Jihadist Websites: All Americans and Europeans Are Now Legitimate Targets for Killing.(Memri).In a May 5 post, "Abu Shadia," a prominent writer on the jihadist forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, addressed all those who engage in "media jihad," urging them to launch a media campaign in response to bin Laden's reported death.Read the full story here.
• Related -Prominent Writer on Jihad Forums Proposes Unit For Assassinating All Those Connected To Bin Laden Assassination.(Memri). Focusing Efforts on Retaliation Against U.S., Israel, Pakistan.On May 5, 2011, "Abu Al-Fadl Al-Madi," a senior writer on the Shumukh Al-Islam jihadist forum, authored a post in which he suggested that Al-Qaeda not respond impulsively to U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of the assassination of Osama bin Laden, but that it focus its efforts on retaliatory operations.Read the full story here.