Video - German-Egyptian Scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad Analyzes the Psychology of the Prophet Muhammad.

In one of a series of online lectures, German-Egyptian scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad analyzes the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, whose biography, he says, is "held captive in a prison of unwarranted over-sanctification and glorification." Abdel-Samad, who suggests that "there can be no reform or cleansing of the [Islamic] heritage until we rid Muhammad and the Quran of this sanctity," describes the Prophet Muhammad as a human being who was driven by human motivations and urges. "Did he have marital problems? Psychological problems? Some illness? We don't know," says Abdel-Samad, suggesting that Muhammad's revelations reflect "the psychology of a sick and rejected man, an outcast." The lecture was posted on the Internet on June 24, 2015.

Does Cardinal Dolan really believe Mother Mary worshipped Allah?

The-cure-of-folly-or-extraction-of-the-stone-of-madness -By H. Bosch.

Please click here to send your email to Cardinal Dolan and his staff.

Does Cardinal Dolan really believe Mother Mary worshipped Allah? HT: Florida Family Association.

There is great danger when prominent Catholic and Christian leaders proclaim that Allah is the same as Jehovah and that followers of Islam value the United States Constitutional liberties more than Sharia law.  Sadly, many Americans will blindly follow their lead to the spiritual and political empowerment of Islamists.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, made his first appearance at a mosque in New York City. The StatenIsland Advance reported:

• “You love God, we love God and he is the same God,” the cardinal said of the Muslim and Roman Catholic faiths.
• Cardinal Dolan stressed that Catholics and Muslims have a mutual love of the United States and of the religious freedom that this country affords.  Your love of marriage and family, your love of children and babies, your love of freedom — religious freedom particularly– your defense of life, your desire for harmony and unity and your care for others, your care for God’s creation and your care for those who are in need,” the cardinal said, were Islamic values also shared by Catholics and areas where there could be mutual cooperation.

Is it possible that Cardinal Dolan is unaware that the largest Islamic organizations in the country are fighting to stop dozens of state legislatures from banning Sharia law from being considered in their courts?  

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) are fervently fighting for Sharia law to be unrestricted in the United States.  Is it possible Cardinal Dolan is unaware that many provisions of Sharia law are antithetical to the rights afforded under the United States Constitution?  Or is this the “religious freedom” that Cardinal Dolan believes Islamists should have in America?

Unlike the followers of Islam who mock the Holy Trinity, Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Not so for the followers of Islam.

The Quran 004.171 states “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity” : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.”  Additionally, the Quran 5:17 states “In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary. Say: “Who then hath the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every – one that is on the earth? For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things.”

Sahih Muslim, The Book of Jihad and Expedition Book 019, Number 4366:  It has been narrated by ‘Umar b. al-Khattib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.

The Bible proclaims numerous times “The Lord God, the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” in Genesis 31:53, Genesis 32:9, Genesis 50:24, Exodus 3:6, Exodus 3:15, Exodus 3:16, Exodus 4:5, Deuteronomy 9:5, Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26, Luke 13:28, Luke 20:37, Acts 3:13 and Acts 7:32.  The scriptures do not include Ishmael in this proclamation.  Ishmael was the unwanted son of Abraham and Sarah, wrongfully conceived with a concubine.  Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations most of which are populated by followers of Islam.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email message for you to send to encourage Cardinal Timothy Dolan to stop making erroneous comments that wrongfully empower Islamists spiritually and politically.

To send your email, please click the following link, enter your name and email address then click the “Send Your Message” button. You may also edit the subject or message text if you wish.  Please Note if you have a problem with the prepared email:  Internet Explorer 10 is not compatible at this time with our Action Message.  If you are using IE 10 please click the link where prompted to “if you have trouble viewing the message text .” in order to send your email.
Please click here to send your email Cardinal Dolan.
Contact information:
Archdiocese of New York
1011 First Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-371-1000
Fax: 212-759-8077
Cardinal.Dolan@archny.org
Cardinal Dolan
Fran Davies
Director of Communication & Marketing
Tel: 212.371.1000 Ext. 2889
E-mail: Fran.Davies@archny.org
dsc@archny.org
communications@archny.org

Video - Former Egyptian MB Member Al-Kharbawi: 'The MB Is a Fascist Group that Wants to Take Over Egypt.'

Egypt - Al-Azhar cleric to Muslim Brotherhood: Stop ‘insulting, humiliating’ top Sunni authority.

Egypt - Al-Azhar cleric to Muslim Brotherhood: Stop ‘insulting, humiliating’ top Sunni authority.(AA).

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood must stop “humiliating and insulting” the Sunni Muslims’ top religious authority, Al-Azhar, a cleric from the highly-revered establishment told Al Arabiya Wednesday in an interview aired on Al Arabiya’s Panorama program.

 “Al-Azhar has never been insulted like it was today, not from the French, the Brits, not from the Turks, not from the Mamaleek,” Sheikh Ahmed Karima said. 

The spat between the Brotherhood and the center of Islamic learning was heightened when the principle of Egypt’s al-Azhar University, Osama al-Abed, was dismissed on Wednesday amid student protesting after alleged food poisoning struck more than 500 students. The university students surrounded the religious institution the same day to demand the grand mufti, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, also step down.
“I am saddened over the sacking of Osama al-Abed,” he told Al Arabiya, saying that he only expresses his “own personal view.” Al-Abed was made to manage the university on his own with little resources amid student protests, Karima said, adding that this was because the Brotherhood-led government wanted to put more pressure on the sacked principle. “Osama Al-Abed has worked hard during tough times… he had no deputies for the past seven months, he has managed the university on his own.” 
The cleric accused the Brotherhood of exploiting the food poisoning incident, saying: “The escalation of the situation has nothing to do with the poisoning of students’ stomachs but the poisoning of students’ brains.”
 He said the Brotherhood is bribing students and the Salafists were working hard to influence the students’ way of thinking. “
On Fridays, students are taken by buses to see Salafist sheikhs who accuse Al-Azhar of blasphemy.”
The cleric also accused the Brotherhood of giving a “militant man,” such as the Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniye, a platform inside the Al-Azhar establishment.Hmmmm......Salafi-jihadi sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti"democracy and Islam are incompatible."Read the full story here.

"From Kraft with Sharia" - Kraft Foods’ Cadbury Easter products submitted to sharia law.

"From Kraft with Sharia" - Kraft Foods’ Cadbury Easter products submitted to sharia law.HT: Creeping Sharia.

Why does Cadbury need Easter and Christmas products to be halal or legally permitted in Islam? Muslims not only don’t celebrate these days but here’s what the leader of a prominent Muslim group in the U.S. says recognizing such holy days is strengthening the pillars of Kufr.”

…a Muslim can’t enjoin in any aspect of Christmas in the disguise that Jesus is our Prophet too, we are just honoring him by celebrating Christmas. We should recognize the bidah of Christmas and the Prophet’s warning that all bidah should be rejected. Therefore, accepting Christmas invitations, attending Christmas parties, buying small plastic Christmas trees to please the kids (some Muslims actually do) should be avoided.
By greeting Christians with ‘merry Christmas’ we are legitimizing Christmas, by driving out on Christmas eve to witness the decoration of houses, we are appreciating bidah with our eyes, by placing our kids on the laps of Santa in the malls we are handing them in the hands of a fiend, by closing our Islamic Schools or shops during Christmas we are giving it our silent approval, by selling Christmas items in our shops, we are strengthening the pillars of Kufr.

The same must be true about Easter. h/t and pic via sheikyermami

Check out the non-sense being spewed by the dhimmi’s at Cadbury, via Vlad Tepes:

One of the main reasons some of our products are halal certified is to ensure that people of Muslim faith, both here in Australia and across our export markets, can identify our products as including ingredients that meet their consumption requirements.

Cadbury products do not contain ingredients from animals with the exception of fresh full cream milk which is present within our Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate recipe. The cows that we source this milk from are not slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law.
Following other consumer inquiries, Kraft Foods has written formally to the AFIC in order to seek clarification on its business activities. In response, the AFIC provided Kraft Foods with verbal and written assurances that it is not engaged in unlawful activities. As such, Kraft Foods has confidence in AFIC as a reputable organisation.
We would also like to make clear that the Halal certification of our products is not intended to offend any other cultural or religious belief; and does not prevent other faiths from being able to purchase and consume our products.

And how does not being halal prevent Muslims from purchasing or consuming these products? If you choose to be Muslim or stay Muslim (because you can be put to death if you choose to leave) then live with your decision. Don’t force others to live by Islam. Shame on Kraft and Cadbury.
Let them know how you feel.

The Bible has very harsh words against those in authority, who encourage or force other people to worship false gods (Deuteronomy 13:6-17).

 Christian concerns have to do with how Halal meats are ritually slaughtered. In this process (which can only be carried out by a Muslim), the Muslim prays to Allah while facing Mecca. Arguments can be made about how humane the process is, and groups like the RSPCA claim it is less humane than traditional slaughter methods.

But what about this ritual, and the prayers to a false God? Several Biblical passages speak to this, including :
Acts 15:28-29,"It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."
 1 Cor 8, 
and 1 Cor 10:14-33. The latter text for example speaks about foods offered to idols. Paul says in vv 19-20, “Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”

The question is whether eating Halal meats fits into this warning. It may well, and we need to proceed with caution here. If we accept the biblical worldview that there is one God, and that this God is not Allah, then those worshipping Allah are worshipping a false God.

Both Testaments make it clear that false religions are associated with the demonic, and thus this is a genuine matter of concern. But sadly even many Christians are quite confused about all this …

It seems to me there are two main worries here. One is the ever encroaching inroads made by Islam in the West, along with the gradual diminutions of our freedoms. The other is the sloppy and unbiblical thinking found in so many people calling themselves Christians.

Students face two-year jail sentence for throwing darts at Turkish PM Erdogan’s photo

I wonder how much the horse got?

Students face two-year jail sentence for throwing darts at Turkish PM Erdogan’s photo.(HD).

A local prosecutor has demanded two years in jail for two Samsun university students for allegedly throwing darts at a board covered with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's photo.

Yıldırım Beyazıt Besim and Mert Deniz Özkaya, students at the Black Sea province’s Ondokuz Mayıs University, participated in a protest against new educational reforms last year in August by throwing darts at a dart board featuring Erdoğan’s picture. After the two threw the darts, police forces intervened to prevent others from doing so. After a probe was launched into the incident, the two were charged with “overt defamation of a public official.”
"No kinds of opposition are tolerated in Turkey," Besim said, adding that their act was a democratic demand, not defamation. Similar protests have been held in different parts of Turkey, he said. The students’ first hearing will be held in June.Read the full story here.

Investigation launched after claims of mosque attack by US Soldiers in Turkish NATO base

Investigation launched after claims of mosque attack by US Soldiers in Turkish NATO base.(HD).The Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an official investigation into a mosque attack at the NATO İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, following claims that the attack was carried out by U.S. soldiers, Doğan News Agency has reported.
Turkish and U.S. generals, as well as other relevant authorities, will be asked for information about the incident as part of the investigation, reports said.
Local media in Adana had earlier reported that a number of soldiers at the İncirlik base entered the mosque on New Year’s Eve, destroying its minbar and windows along with the Quran. Turkey’s chief of staff subsequently denied the allegations.
Windows in the prayer room were broken by unknown individuals and there was some additional small-scale damage, the chief of staff said in a written statement issued late Jan. 10. Hmmm.....I can hear the White House response already...."The Future ..."Read the full story here.

Blasphemy as a National Security Threat.

Blasphemy as a National Security Threat.By DanielGreenfield.Spain has begun deportation proceedings against Imran Firasat, a Christian refugee from Pakistan, for making a documentary about Mohammed and thereby threatening the national security of Spain. If Firasat is deported back to Pakistan, he will face the death penalty proving that it’s a short step from the Spanish Inquisition to the Pakistani Inquisition.
The United States has a man sitting in prison for making another blasphemous movie, which the government spent weeks blaming for worldwide attacks on American embassies. And he isn’t the first man persecuted or prosecuted for offending Islam. Offending Islam has become a national security issue involving all levels of government. When Bubba the Love Sponge, a Tampa DJ, proposed to burn a Koran, the commander of the Afghanistan war contacted his girlfriend, who would later be stalked by Petraeus’ girlfriend, to contact the Mayor of Tampa to keep Bubba from burning a Koran. Instead of explaining how the American system works to the Lebanese temptress and her four-star general, the mayor wrote back that the city was working on it.
That month 50 percent more Americans were killed in Afghanistan in the long slow death march of the war, but a Koran was not burned in Tampa. Mission accomplished.
Muslims did not have to kill a great number of Americans to enforce blasphemy law in this country. Counting the various reactions to burnt Korans, rumors of a flushed Koran and assorted things of that nature, the number is still well below a hundred. Even counting every casualty in the war from September 11 onward, it took fewer deaths to make the United States give up on the Bill of Rights than it took to liberate it in the War of Independence.
Muslims have restored blasphemy prosecutions to the United States and Europe through violence. Like Khrushchev banging his shoe on the United Nations delegate desk, they did their best to convince the rest of the world that they were violently irrational and liable to do all sorts of things if their demands weren’t met. And their demands were met..
Muslim blasphemy, like the ghetto hood’s respect is an assertion of supremacy by identity. It isn’t a grievance, it’s a right of violence, and if you give into it, then you accept the inferior status that comes from being weak in a system where might makes right and killing people, or threatening to, is what makes one man better than another.
There are two laws that govern men; the law of faith and the law of force. The law of faith is followed when you do a thing because you believe it to be right. The law of force is followed when you compel others to do a thing or are compelled to do it by them. Faith at its strongest is more enduring than force, and yet force can be used to change faith.
America has lived under the law of faith, following the laws that it believed to be right. Islam conducts its affairs under the law of force, as it has since the days of Mohammed. American leaders are abandoning their laws of faith to force, giving up on freedom of speech to accommodate the violence of Islam, while forgetting that when you give up faith to force, then you also abandon any further reason to resist that force. Without faith, it is easier to let force win.Read the full story here.

Daniel Greenfield is a New York City writer and columnist. He is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and his articles appears at its Front Page Magazine site.

Video - How Pakistani Mullahs Mislead The World With Their Doublespeak.

HT: TarekFatah.

Pakistan mob burns man accused of desecrating Koran alive.

Pakistan mob burns man accused of desecrating Koran alive.(AA).A mob broke into a Pakistani police station and burnt a man accused of desecrating the Koran alive, police said Saturday, in the latest violence focusing attention on the country's blasphemy laws.
The man was a traveler and had spent Thursday night at the mosque, said Maulvi Memon, the imam in the southern village of Seeta in Sindh province. The charred remains of the Koran were found the next morning.
“He was alone in the mosque during the night,” Memon said. “There was no one else there to do this terrible thing.”
Villagers beat the man then handed him over to police. A few hours later, a crowd of around 200 stormed the police station, dragged the man out and set him on fire, said Usman Ghani, the senior superintendent of police in Dadu district.
Ghani said around 30 people had been arrested for the murder and seven police detained for negligence.
At least 53 people have been killed in Pakistan since 1990 after being accused of blasphemy, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, and accusations are becoming more frequent.
Blasphemy in Pakistan is punishable by death but it is not specifically defined by law. During court cases, lawyers often do not wish to repeat evidence against the accused for fear of being blasphemous themselves.
People have been arrested for just discussing or writing about Islam, making mistakes in homework or not joining protests against a film insulting Islam. In some cases, the accusers have had financial disputes with those who are accused.
Most recently, international attention focused on the case of Rimsha Masih, a Christian teenager accused of having some burnt pages of a child's exercise book quoting the Koran in a bag of rubbish she was carrying.
The case was dismissed last month after a neighbor came forward to say she was framed, possibly to chase Christians out of her neighborhood.
In the past two years, two senior Pakistani officials who suggested reforming the laws have been shot dead, one by his own bodyguard.
Lawyers threw rose petals at the killer and the judge who convicted him was forced to flee the country.Read the full story here, more here.

An Examination Of Egypt's Draft Constitution Part I: Religion And State – The Most Islamic Constitution In Egypt's History.

An Examination Of Egypt's Draft Constitution Part I: Religion And State – The Most Islamic Constitution In Egypt's History.(Memri). By: L. Lavi.* President Mursi recently declared commitment to implementing religious law. 

According to Mursi, "all agree that the Islamic shari'a is the constitution that rules all aspects of life. Only what was conveyed in the honorable Koran will be read and only it will be heeded… [The Koran] will be the basis for all matters pertaining to the general populace – not only Muslims – and to their activities in politics, agriculture, economy and all other fields." 

In practice, however, the MB has generally sided with the relatively moderate Al-Azhar in the partial (rather than full) implementation of the shari'a. Its stance on this matter points to the movement's pragmatism and its willingness to make compromises on its ideology as it makes the transition from a persecuted opposition to the ruling power responsible for the country's stability. Nonetheless, senior MB officials have made it clear that they still consider full implementation of the shari'a to be their end-goal, but one to be achieved at a later stage, once the people's hearts and minds have been gradually attuned to this.(Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi explains the general principle ... Sharia Gradually No Chopping Hands for 1st Five Years.)
Following is a summary of the articles in the draft constitution pertaining to the status of religion.

Article 1, which deals with Egypt's orientation, was amended. It now defines the Egyptian people as "part of the Islamic nation," a definition that did not appear in the previous constitution.

Article 2, which defines Islam as the "state religion" and "the principles [our emphasis] of Islamic shari'a" as "the main source of legislation," remains intact. The decision to leave it unchanged was a compromise between the Salafis and the liberals. The Salafis wanted the word "principles" either deleted or replaced with the word "directives"; in other words, they wanted full implementation of the shari'a, as in the early days of Islam. The liberals would have preferred to see the entire article deleted and Egypt defined as a civil state, or, at the very least, to leave the article with its original wording and to interpret the term "principles of the Islamic shari'a" as universal principles of justice, liberty, and equality. Leaving this article unchanged also reflects an effort of the MB to convey to the West and to the Egyptian citizens that its rise to power did not portend a radical Islamization of Egypt.

Article 219, added to the constitution to clarify Article 2, states: "[The expression] 'principles of Islamic shari'a' refers to the general methods of juridical argumentation, to fundamental juridical rules and principles, and to the [written] sources recognized by the Sunni juridical schools." Its role is to prevent a narrow reading of Article 2, like the liberals want or like the interpretation given by the Supreme Constitutional Court in 1996, according to which legislation from then on would be in keeping only with limited parts of the shari'a about which the various jurisprudential schools within Islam are in agreement. Article 219, in contrast, gives Article 2 a broader reading, which would enable the implementation of a larger part of the shari'a and require legislation to conform to the principles of Sunni law. The article was intended to appease the Salafis and to dispel the charges leveled against the MB that it had given up on implementing the shari'a by its opposition to the amendment of Article 2. Out of consideration for liberal circles, this article was placed toward the end of the constitution, and not immediately following Article 2, in order to indicate that it was of lesser importance. Article 219 allows the codification of the shari'a and enables discrimination against all who are not Sunni Muslims, including Shi'ites. It is not clear at this point how it will affect legislation in practice.

Article 3, newly added to the constitution, defines "the canon principles of Egyptian Christians and Jews" as "the main source of legislation for their personal status laws, their religious affairs, and the selection of their spiritual leaders." This article was introduced in order to create a semblance of tolerance and to appease the Copts, who claimed that Article 2 would serve as a basis for discrimination against them; however, it does not refer to other non-Muslim religions, such as Bahais.

Article 4 was added to the draft constitution in order to consolidate the status of Al-Azhar as the state's religious authority. It defines Al-Azhar as "an encompassing independent Islamic institution, with exclusive autonomy over its own affairs" and the Al-Azhar Sheikh as an "independent" position-holder who "cannot be dismissed." In other words, this article recognizes Al-Azhar as the supreme religious body of Egypt and presents it as an apolitical body independent of the regime. Nevertheless, Article 4 states: "Al-Azhar senior scholars are to be consulted in matters pertaining to Islamic law" – a concept that appeared in the platform of the MB's Freedom and Justice Party. The inclusion of this clause in Article 4 reflects the great influence of the MB on the draft constitution. Its inclusion is also aimed at requiring the Supreme Constitutional Court – the sole body with the authority to interpret the laws and determine whether they are in keeping with the constitution, including with the principles of the shari'a mentioned therein (Article 175) – to consult with Al-Azhar on matters pertaining to the shari'a. At the same time, the opinion of Al-Azhar in matters of Islamic shari'a is not binding. The phrasing is the outcome, on the one hand, of pressure by the Salafis to divest the Supreme Constitutional Court of its exclusive authority to interpret principles of shari'a, and, on the other hand, of taking into consideration the liberal voices that call to refrain from giving the religious establishment legislative authorities. The Supreme Constitutional Court, and not Al-Azhar, remains.

Article 5 states that "sovereignty is for the people; it is they who exercise and protect it, and safeguard national unity, and they are the source of authority, in the manner specified in the constitution." This phrasing is contrary to the position of the Salafis, who insisted upon writing that sovereignty is for the Lord.

Article 6 states that "the political system is based upon the principles of democracy and shura (an Islamic principle obligating the ruler to consult with authoritative advisors)." This addition, too, represents an attempt to please both the liberals, who wished to define Egypt's regime as democratic, and the Salafis, who wished to avoid the term democracy and use the term shura instead. The inclusion of both terms represents a compromise between the two approaches. The Salafis on the Constituent Assembly agreed to this phrasing on the grounds that it distinguishes Egyptian democracy from Western-style democracy and defines Egypt as a parliamentary regime subject to Islamic tradition, which means that practices such as same-sex marriage, for example, are not permitted. Conversely, moderate Islamic and liberal circles accepted this phrasing on the basis of the rationale that shura is a component of democracy and does not detract from the democratic character of the regime. The article goes on to state that the political system is based upon the principles of "citizenship (under which all citizens are equal in rights and duties), multi-party pluralism, peaceful transfer of power, separation of powers and the balance between them, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and freedoms." This was intended to clarify that despite the inclusion of Islamic principles, Egypt is not a theocracy.
Article 6 also abolishes the prohibition on forming denominational parties – which was part of Article 5 of the previous constitution – specifying instead that "no political party shall be formed that discriminates on the basis of gender, origin, or religion." The ban on denominational parties was added by Mubarak in 2005 to the 1971 constitution in order to prevent the MB from forming a political party and running for parliament. The new phrasing means that a party may not restrict its membership on the basis of religion.

Article 10 states: "The family is the basis of society and is founded on religion, morality, and patriotism. The state and society strive to preserve the genuine character of the Egyptian family, its cohesion and stability, and to protect its moral values, all as regulated by law. The state shall ensure maternal and child health services free of charge and shall enable the reconciliation between the duties of a woman toward her family and toward her work..." This article omits the clause, present in the previous constitution, that specifies that the state shall ensure equality between men and women without violating the directives of the Islamic shari'a. This clause was rejected by women's organizations, which feared that subjecting women's equality to the directives of the shari'a would lead to lowering the legal age of marriage, mandating the hijab, denying women the right to divorce, etc. The Salafis, for their part, insisted upon the inclusion of the reference to the shari'a, refusing to let the equality clause stand without it. The clause in the 1971 constitution that ensured women representation in parliament was also removed from the draft constitution. There is, however, some attempt to address the issue of discrimination – albeit not specifically with regard to women – in Article 33, which states: "All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination."

Article 43 states that "freedom of belief is an inviolable right" and that "the state shall guarantee the freedom to practice religious rites and to establish places of worship for the divine religions [our emphasis]." Human rights organizations wanted the article to include the words "absolute freedom of belief," claiming that the weaker phrase "freedom of belief" prevented one from converting to another religion. Moreover, this article provides for the worship of monotheistic religions only, in contrast to the previous constitution, which did not restrict freedom of worship to specific religions of any kind.
Article 44 states that "insult or abuse of all religious messengers and prophets shall be prohibited." This article was added on the initiative of Al-Azhar in order to prevent blasphemy. The original proposal was to prohibit affront to the essence of God and to the Companions of the Prophet, but, following pressure by Shi'ites and Copts, only part of Al-Azhar's proposal was accepted.Read the full story here.

* L. Lavi is a research fellow at MEMRI.

Trial in absentia of U.S. Copts opens in Egypt.

Trial in absentia of U.S. Copts opens in Egypt.(AA).The trial in absentia of seven U.S.-based Egyptian Copts and a U.S. pastor opened on Sunday, in which the defendants are accused of involvement in an anti-Islam film that sparked violent clashes worldwide. The defendants -- seven Copts and Florida pastor Terry Jones who is said to have promoted the film -- are based in the United States, according to the official MENA news agency.

The prosecution said the accused had “abused religion to propagate extremist ideas with the aim of inciting sectarianism, insulting the Islamic religion, harming national unity and social peace.” 

The Cairo criminal court after a brief hearing adjourned the trial to November 25. The film, believed to have been produced by a small group of extremist Christian Americans, last month sparked furious protests outside U.S. embassies and other American symbols in at least 20 countries, including Egypt. The crude low-budget production mocks Islam and portrays the Prophet Mohammed as immoral and violent, while touching on themes of homosexuality and pedophilia. Several cast members say they were duped into acting in the amateurish film, which has been linked to a non-profit group called Media for Christ, and was apparently produced by a convicted fraudster. Read the full story here.

"Mirror, mirror on the Wall" - Modern Warfare 2 map removed due to prophet text on Bathroom mirror.

"Mirror, mirror on the Wall" - Modern Warfare 2 map removed due to prophet text on Bathroom mirror.(Kotaku).

A Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map has been taken offline after gamers found Islamic text around a painting frame. The text was found within a bathroom in one of the map’s many rooms, which is frowned upon among the religion.

Over the weekend, those playing Modern Warfare 2 began to notice that one of the series' most popular multiplayer maps, Favela, had disappeared.

Why? Publishers Activision and developers Infinity Ward took the map off rotation after receiving complaints from Muslim gamers, who had discovered offensive imagery contained within a room of the stage. It'll return after edits to the content in question have been made.
In a single room on the map, two paintings had been hung whose frames contained a decorative representation of a quote (pictured above) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, which reads "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty". Those paintings were hung in a bathroom, one right above a toilet, and didn't appear to be found anywhere else on the map.
You can see the paintings in this video, dated October 2.
It can be offensive to those of Islamic faith - like those in the aforementioned video - to see holy teachings written on or in a bathroom, and with the paintings having been brought to Activision and Infinity Ward's attention, the map has been removed until it can be edited.

An Activision representative tells Kotaku:

We apologize to anyone who found this image offensive. Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries.
We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favella multiplayer map from online rotation.
Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players. We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention.Read and see the full story here.

Afghan cleric offers $300,000 cash for death of film producer, $100,000 for killing the French cartoonist.

Afghan cleric offers $300,000 cash for death of film producer, $100,000 for killing the French cartoonist.(AA).An Afghan cleric has offered rewards totaling $400,000 for anyone killing the producer of a U.S.-made anti-Islam film and a French cartoonist who drew caricatures of the Muslim prophet Mohammed. “I have offered $300,000 to anyone who kills the anti-Islam film producer and $100,000 for killing the French cartoonist,” Mir Faroq Husaini, a prominent cleric in the western province of Herat, told AFP Sunday. Husaini said he had first announced the reward during a sermon on Friday in a large mosque in the city. “I will sell all my properties, including my lands in Herat, to collect the money,” he said. Afghanistan is a devoutly Muslim nation and perceived insults to religion are taken seriously, often with violent consequences. The “Innocence of Muslims”, a crudely made film that mocks Islam, triggered violent protests in at least 20 countries including Afghanistan after excerpts were posted online last month. Immediately after the film gained notoriety, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons caricaturing the Muslim prophet. A Pakistani government minister last month placed a $100,000 bounty on the head of the maker of the film.
Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also called on the Taliban and al-Qaeda to join the hunt and help accomplish the “noble deed”.
 Meanwhile, in recent related news, Naveed Haider's print works went into overdrive in neighboring Pakistan, running off hundreds of U.S. flags for angry protesters to burn at demonstrations. Weeks of protests in Pakistan caused serious damage to major cities, but for Haider business is booming. When the mobilization against the U.S. film began, “I knew the tills would start ringing”, said the manager at Panaflex printers, housed in a dilapidated building in Rawalpindi, the twin city of Islamabad and headquarters of the military. “Whenever we have these demonstrations, I make 10 times as much money as normal,” he told AFP in a tiny room that stank of ink, as two huge rollers spat out Stars and Stripes. Sold for between 120 and 1,500 rupees ($1.25 to $16) depending on size and quality, the flags have been snapped up for demonstrations against the film in recent weeks, and Haider watched in delight as his products went up in smoke day after day on the TV news. The boom in the flag market has accompanied a surge in anti-American feeling in Pakistan, which has been battered and bruised by Taliban violence and US drone strikes since joining Washington's “war on terror” in late 2001.Hmmmmm........Islamophobes creating work in Afghanistan.Read the full story here.

Two Coptic children arrested in Egypt for 'insulting Islam'.

Two Coptic children arrested in Egypt for 'insulting Islam'.(Ahram).
Two Coptic Christian children Nabil Nagy Rizk, 10, and Mina Nady Farag, 9, were arrested, Tuesday, for insulting religion in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Beni Suef, after the imam of their local mosque filed a complaint against them. By order of the prosecution the two boys are now being held in the Beni Suef juvenile detention pending further investigation on Sunday. Ibrahim Mohamed Ali, the village imam, accused the children of tearing up pages of the Quran.
According to Ahram Online reporter in the area, Ali initially took the children to the church and requested that the priest punish them. Unsatisfied with the church's decision not to castigate the two boys, Ali, together with three other villagers, turned to the courts. Nabil's father Nagy Rizk defended the action of the boys in a public statement, explaining that they are illiterate and therefore did not know the content of the papers which they found in a small white bag, as they were playing near a pile of rubbish in the street. The events in Beni Suef come after a wave of arrests across Egypt of several individuals after they were accused by others of "committing blasphemy." Most of those arrested were Copts accused of "insulting Islam." Earlier this month in Sohag, a Copt school teacher, Bishoy Kamel, was sentenced to six years in prison for posting cartoons deemed defamatory to Islam and Prophet Mohammed on social-networking site Facebook, as well as for insulting President Mohamed Morsi and his family. Read the full story here, more here.

Who Is Alan Roberts, the Director of 'Innocence of Muslims'? We Think His Real Name Is Robert Brownell

                                                            Indonesia Protests

Who Is Alan Roberts, the Director of 'Innocence of Muslims'? We Think His Real Name Is Robert Brownell.(Vice).By Rocco Castoro.Early yesterday morning VICE was anonymously furnished with documents that link a California man named Robert Brownell (aka Robert Brown) to the pre-production of Innocence of Muslims, the F-grade anti-Islamic film that has resulted in violent protests at and around US embassies in Sanaa, Yemen; Cairo; Tripoli; and Doha, Qatar. He is a man who has, as of yet, not been named in association with the film.
The documents clearly state that in 2009 and 2011 Robert Brownell purchased pre-production services related to Desert Warrior, which has been widely reported as the working title of the film that the world now knows as Innocence of Muslims.
The documents also include Robert Brownell’s address in Tarzana, California (or at least his address when the purchases were made in 2009; the property is now up for sale), phone number, and “contact information,” which lists yet a different name—Alan Roberts.

If you’ve been following this story closely, you know that Alan Roberts was listed as the film’s original director alongside a man who produced—and some reports suggest ended up directing—the film: Sam Bacile, aka Sam Basselley, aka Nakoula Bassely Nakoula.
Peoplefinders.com lists a 65-year-old man named Robert Alan Brown in North Hollywood, California, as having the aliases Roboert [sic] Brownell and Alan B. Roberts. His “business associations” include Alan Roberts Entertainment. A cross-search on Nexis’s public records database seems to corroborate that Robert Brownell, Robert Brown, and Alan Roberts are all the same person.

Digging around on the person—or persons—named Robert Brownell, you’ll find myriad accounts for him on places like YouTube, GodTube, Jokeroo, and many other religious-themed video-streaming sites. (This video is particularly… interesting.) There’s also divinerevelations.info, a terribly designed website that on first glance appears to be an ode to a funny-looking Chinese Christian pastor named Yong Doo Kim, but if you keep digging you’ll discover that divinerevelations.info corresponds almost identically with a spiritlessons.com, “The Testimony of Robert Brownell,” a goofball account of some guy who was obsessed with porn but eventually found the lord.

After reaching out to crew members who worked on Desert Warrior/Innocence of Muslims, a few agreed to speak to me on background and confirmed that the Robert Brownell responsible for posting all of the pro-Christian videos I linked to above WAS NOT the Robert Brownell associated with the film, but they did confirm that the Robert Brownell in question is in his mid-50s to late-60s with gray hair and glasses.
So for now, exactly who directed this scourge of humanity—and whether or not it had multiple directors and producers—is still unclear, but I have a feeling it won’t be that way for long.Read the full story here.

                                                                Iraq protests 

"Sam Bacile"--a French Bloke, No?.....My Guess a 'Bacteria"

"Sam Bacile"--a French Bloke, No?.....My Guess a 'Bacteria".HT: Scaramouchee.It is obvious that someone is punking us with that name, which sounds to moi like the French pronunciation of "imbecile" (and not, as this PBS account would have it, like "bamboozled").Hmmm.....A bacteria translated in French is ('Une Bacille' ...my guess someone with some knowledge of French plays a Joke on 'Name calling'.Read the full story here.

Indonesian pro-Caliphate organisation says anti-Islam film declares war

Indonesian pro-Caliphate organisation says anti-Islam film declares war.(ET).More than 350 Muslim protesters and their supporters staged an anti-US demonstration in Jakarta Friday, spewing anger at America over an anti-Islam film. Outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, the protesters – men and women with children in tow – carried banners that read “We condemn the insult against Allah’s messenger”, and the Quranic verse “There is no God but Allah”. 
A speaker from the pro-Caliphate organisation Hizbut Tahrir that organised the protest, told the crowd: “This film insulted our prophet and we condemn it. The film is a declaration of war.” The crowd shouted back: “Allahu akbar!” (God is greatest), while police clad in riot gear stood guard nearby. Another speaker declared: “The US does not deserve to stay here,” as the crowd roared that Americans be expelled from the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Protests have erupted since Tuesday outside US diplomatic missions in several Arab and Muslim states against the low-budget movie “Innocence of Muslims”, made in the United States and deemed offensive to Islam.
Washington has sought to keep a lid on the demonstrations by spelling out that the controversial film which sparked the violence was made privately by a small group of individuals with no official backing. As the Hizbut Tahrir protesters dispersed, another group of 100 demonstrators from the country’s minority Shias took their place, shouting “death to America”, and demanding that the film’s director be executed. “Under Islamic law, the film director must be punished by death. We will keep protesting until the US government bans the film, apologises to all Muslims and prosecutes the film director,” Khadijah, one of the Shia protesters, told AFP. Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto, who goes by one name, said about 400 policemen had been deployed to guard security around the US Embassy in Jakarta. A strong police contingent, including dozens in riot gear, stood guard before the embassy grounds. The embassy posted a new security message for US citizens on its website, saying that in light of the protests “we strongly encourage you to follow good personal security practices, maintain a heightened situational awareness, and remain vigilant of your surroundings at all times”.Hmmm......Obama: "Indonesia is an example of religious tolerance".Read the full story here.

Iran - Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei Blames US, Zionists for Anti-Islam Movie.

                                                        Protests in Iran.

Iran - Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei Blames US, Zionists for Anti-Islam Movie.(Fars).In a statement issued on Thursday, the Iranian supreme leader said the US and Zionists' hands can be seen behind the move, and said if Washington statesmen claim to be not involved in this sacrilege of Islam and Islamic values, they should punish those who have designed and orchestrated the move.

"The filthy hand of the enemies of Islam once again revealed its deep-rooted malice by insulting the Grand Prophet [Mohammad] (PBUH) and with an insane and deplorable measure showed the fury of the evil Zionists at the daily-increasing radiance of Islam and Holy Qur'an in the present world.

"Behind this evil move lie the antagonistic policies of the Zionists and the US and other heads of the global arrogance, who in their vain delusions want to knock down the Islamic sanctities from their lofty position in the eyes of the young generations in the world of Islam and to extinguish their religious sentiments. Had they not backed the previous links in this evil chain, namely Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoonist, and the US pastors who burned the Holy Qur'an and had they not made orders for [production of] tens of anti-Islam movies to companies affiliated to the Zionist capitalists, things would not have lead to this great and unforgivable sin today," said the statement.

"The number one suspects in this crime are Zionism and the US. If the American politicians are honest that they had no role, then they must punish those who committed this heinous crime and their financial backers, who have wrenched the hearts of Muslim nations, in proportion to this great crime," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

"Muslim brothers and sisters must know that this desperate move by the enemies in the wake of the Islamic Awakening is a sign of the grandeur and importance of this uprising and heralds its increasing growth," it added.

Also on Thursday, a large number of Iranian university students staged a protest rally in front of the Swiss embassy in Tehran - which hosts the US interests section in Iran - to condemn the blasphemous movie against Islam, joining tens of thousands of protestors in Libya and Egypt who have taken to streets to condemn the insulting movie against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), named "Innocence of Muslims".

In a final statement issued at the end of the rally, the students said, "Based on article 7 of the UN Charter, any country which endangers the global security should account for its acts and we urge international organizations to seriously ask the US to present explanations." Hmmmm......I knew it....... "it's a Zionist plot."Read the full story here. 

Overnight Video - Submission....Sigh.....that's a bit of a problem.