Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip Vlad Tepes
This video comes to us from London, via Vlad Tepes, where a demonstration was held outside St James Church. You will see an argument among 4 people, one of whom is pro-Israel and identifies himself as an Arab. (He apparently produced the video because in the captions, he is identified as "me".) He is engaging mostly with a grey-haired man labeled as "useful idiot". Early in the video, a woman identifies herself as Palestinian, asks him to turn his back, leave, and tells him she can tell by his features that he is Israeli, which the young man denies. Most tellingly, at the 4:15 mark, another man (labeled as "barbarian"), who is pro-Palestinian, heatedly tells him that he is a "frigging Jew". He then catches himself and says, "Sorry. You are a Zionist."
This exchange is about 16 minutes long and is rather tedious after the above-mentioned portion.
To me, the comment by "barbarian" calling the man a "frigging Jew", is instructive. He then catches himself and changes it to "Zionist". That is the code word, but the man made a slip of the tongue.
You see, it is not so much about the land as it is about religion.
*Update: Hat tip Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers
Why St James Church in London? Here is some necessary background.
http://proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2013/12/crossing-line-in-london.html
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Muslim Persecution Of Christians: October, 2013
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
Two of the most tragic Islamic attacks on Christians, killing several women and children, took place in the month of October, one in Syria, another in Egypt.
On October 21 in Syria, U.S.-supported Islamist rebels invaded and occupied the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad for over a week, until ousted by the Syrian army. What took place that week was "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," in the words of Orthodox Archbishop Alnemeh. Among other things, 45 Christians—including women and children—were killed, several were tortured to death; mass graves were discovered; all of Sadad's 14 churches, some ancient, were ransacked and destroyed; the bodies of six people from one family, ranging from ages 16 to 90, were found at the bottom of a well (an increasingly common fate for "subhuman" Christians).
The jihadis also made a graphic video (with English subtitles) of those whom they massacred, while shouting Islam's victory-cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Greater!," meaning "than anything"]. Another video, made after Sadad was liberated, shows more graphicatrocities.
The day before rebels invaded Sadad, on Sunday, October 20, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq, near Cairo, Egypt, was attacked during a wedding ceremony. The attack left four dead and nearly two dozen wounded. According to a report issued by a forensic team, two of those murdered were young girls, each named Mary: 12-year-old Mary Nabil Fahmy, who was shot five times in the chest, and 8-year-old Mary Ashraf Masih ("Masih" meaning "Christ"), who was shot in the back.
The security forces charged with protecting the church were seen leaving their posts immediately before the massacre began, as happens frequently in Egypt and other Islamic nations. In the words of Asia News, "Eye-witnesses of the al-Warraq attack confirm that despite numerous distress calls, police and ambulances only arrived on the scene two hours after the shooting."
These massacres in Syria and Egypt received scant attention and even less condemnation from Western media and governments. Instead, people such as Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, condemned Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt as promoting "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Although Christians are habitually killed in Muslim countries, as this series attests, the U.S. government rarely condemns the practice or even acknowledges it. When five Muslims were killed in western Burma, however, the U.S. issued a formal condemnation, according to Voice of America, "urging authorities to do more to address the long-standing sectarian tension there."
The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:
Bangladesh: "A local government official in central Bangladesh has halted the construction of a church, forced Christians to worship at a mosque and threatened them with eviction from their village unless they renounce their faith," said Morning Star News.
"The Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church in Bilbathuagani village… was created Sept. 8 by a group of about 25 Christians who had been meeting secretly for three years. However, local council chairman Rafiqul Islam Faruk joined around 200 demonstrators Sept. 13 to protest against the start of the building of the church. The following day, the Christians were summoned to his office. More than 1,000 Muslims waited outside, following an announcement at all local mosques to gather at the chairman's office." There, they were ordered to embrace Islam or suffer the consequences. Said one of the Christians: "Their threats chilled me to the bone. That is why I pretended to accept Islam, but faith in Christ is the wellspring of my life." Another said: "The chairman is clipping the wings of our faith. I do not know how long we can grin and bear it. We want religious freedom. We want to practice our religion freely." Since Sept. 14, under the chairman's orders, eight Christians agreed to return to Islam. Apparently, the chairman and his associates
had already beaten some of these Christians three years ago for accepting Christianity.
Iran: Mariam Naqqash, a female convert to Christianity, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tehran. The Christian convert was found guilty of "endangering national security by spreading religious propaganda in the country," and allegedly being a spy for Britain and Israel. According to Adnkronos News, "renouncing the Muslim faith is punishable [in Iran] with the death penalty. Over 300 Iranian converts to Christianity have been arrested over the past two years, according to opposition websites."
Kazakhstan: After Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, a 67-year-old pastor, was released from five months' detention, based on charges his family and others insist are spurious. After being reunited with his family, he was arrested again within minutes, now accused of "propaganda of terrorism or extremism, or public calls to commit an act of terrorism or extremism, as well as the distribution of material of the content indicated." His son, Askar, told Forum 18 News Service, "These new accusations are complete rubbish. They're trying to turn my father into a terrorist." Grace Church in Astana, where Kashkumbayev served, has, according to the report, long been subject to state harassment, including accusations of being involved in espionage, fraud, money laundering, distributing extremist texts and using hallucinogenic communion drinks.
Kenya: Charles Matole, pastor of the Redeemed Gospel Church, was found shot dead while still sitting with a Bible on his lap: "We found him with blood oozing from the head," said a choir member. The pastor had been receiving threatening phone text messages. Similarly, Pastor Ebrahim Kidata of the East African Pentecostal Churches was found murdered, strangled to death, in a patch of bushes.
Pakistan:
Egypt: After Muslims in al-Minya district accused a young man of having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman, violence erupted against the village's Christians (see September report). The father of the Christian man insists that there was no relationship between his son and the Muslim woman, whose family, in his words, "actually had their daughter undergo a gynecological exam, which proved the woman is 'untouched' [a virgin]." Instead, according to the father and many Copts in the village, "the whole story was fabricated by Muslim hard-liners from neighboring village to cause sectarian strife." According to a separate Arabic report, "criminal groups and gangs managed to acquire guns and weapons and, as usual, have attacked and abused the Christians … [and] forced Copts to pay large amounts of money as tax [jizya] in order not to steal and/or plunder their lands." The report also points out that no one does anything to oppose these gangs: "they simply kill Christians and their families as happened in the village of Shameiya when two Copts refused to pay the tax: the gang killed them and this was repeated in many other villages belonging to the governorate of Asyut. It is becoming so normal now to watch as these crimes against Christians occur day by day and nothing is done."
Indonesia: Still insisting that Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, a Christian woman appointed governor of the sub-district of Lenteng Agung, in West Java, be removed solely because of her faith (see September report), Muslim protesters stepped up their threats, including carrying a coffin in a protest march of some 600 Muslims—a clear death threat —and waving flags symbolic of death. The Christian woman had been promoted in June by the Governor of Jakarta, who said in response: "I make my choices based on merits, not looking at religion."
Iran: After being arrested in a house church December 2012 and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the Islamic theocracy's laws, four Christians were sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking communion wine. "The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord's Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably," a human rights activist said.
Iraq: The nation's Christians, more than half of whom have fled since the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, are now also being targeted in and fleeing from northern Iraq, which until recently was considered a relatively safe region for Christians fleeing violence in the south. Recently, for example, a suicide bomb went off outside the home of Christian politician Emad Youhanna in Rafigayn, part of the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three of his children. Several more bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. According to Christian News, "In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they 'should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory.' Violence in the south of the country is also escalating. Church leaders in Baghdad say that there are attacks onChristians every two or three days."
Lebanon: Muslims in the historically Christian nation are appropriating Christian land. According to Agenzia Fides: "An urgent reminder to curb the misuse of land belonging to Christians in order to build housing for the Muslims was launched on Monday, October 14 from Talal al- Doueihy, leader of the Movement 'Lebanese Land, our Land'…. Across the Country there are outbreaks of clashes due to problem regarding land. Last week, in the Christian village of Alma (district of Zghorta) residents had complained that the Muslims of the area of al-Fuar had begun to build houses without permission. Already at the end of August, the same Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai had called Christians to limit the sale of their property to avoid jeopardizing the demographic-confessional balance."
Pakistan: After the bombs in the church of All Saints in Peshawar, where nearly 90 people, including many women and children, died, Agenzia Fides reported that, "the situation remains tense in the Pakistani society: not only tragedy but also horror. The Christians said they were 'horrified' by the rumors that link the bombs in Peshawar to the vast problem of organ trafficking: this is what some members of NGOs in civil society in Pakistan told Fides. Some of the 'jackals,' presumably local paramedics, seem to have taken advantage of the high number of deaths and injuries in order to steal the bodies of victims and exploit them for the illegal organ trade. 'If this were true, it would mean that there are criminals who are taking advantage of the suffering of Christian victims in a truly blasphemous and sacrilegious manner,' notes Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a priest of Karachi." Meanwhile, some of the Christian survivors who mourned the deaths of loved ones too openly, were attacked, beaten, and threatened with death. Finally, in a separate story, a Christian, Harrison Masih, working in a store, who used to debate religion with a Muslim customer, Maulvi Khalad, got into an argument when Khalad tried to get him to convert to Islam, "telling him that he would enter paradise that way." But, as Harrison related, because he refused to convert and apparently did not want want any trouble, "I quit my job at the medical store but Khalid, and three other men, came to my house and threatened me and my family."
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching pandemic proportions. "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
Two of the most tragic Islamic attacks on Christians, killing several women and children, took place in the month of October, one in Syria, another in Egypt.
On October 21 in Syria, U.S.-supported Islamist rebels invaded and occupied the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad for over a week, until ousted by the Syrian army. What took place that week was "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," in the words of Orthodox Archbishop Alnemeh. Among other things, 45 Christians—including women and children—were killed, several were tortured to death; mass graves were discovered; all of Sadad's 14 churches, some ancient, were ransacked and destroyed; the bodies of six people from one family, ranging from ages 16 to 90, were found at the bottom of a well (an increasingly common fate for "subhuman" Christians).
The jihadis also made a graphic video (with English subtitles) of those whom they massacred, while shouting Islam's victory-cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Greater!," meaning "than anything"]. Another video, made after Sadad was liberated, shows more graphicatrocities.
The day before rebels invaded Sadad, on Sunday, October 20, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq, near Cairo, Egypt, was attacked during a wedding ceremony. The attack left four dead and nearly two dozen wounded. According to a report issued by a forensic team, two of those murdered were young girls, each named Mary: 12-year-old Mary Nabil Fahmy, who was shot five times in the chest, and 8-year-old Mary Ashraf Masih ("Masih" meaning "Christ"), who was shot in the back.
The security forces charged with protecting the church were seen leaving their posts immediately before the massacre began, as happens frequently in Egypt and other Islamic nations. In the words of Asia News, "Eye-witnesses of the al-Warraq attack confirm that despite numerous distress calls, police and ambulances only arrived on the scene two hours after the shooting."
These massacres in Syria and Egypt received scant attention and even less condemnation from Western media and governments. Instead, people such as Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, condemned Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt as promoting "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Although Christians are habitually killed in Muslim countries, as this series attests, the U.S. government rarely condemns the practice or even acknowledges it. When five Muslims were killed in western Burma, however, the U.S. issued a formal condemnation, according to Voice of America, "urging authorities to do more to address the long-standing sectarian tension there."
The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:
Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism
Iran: Mariam Naqqash, a female convert to Christianity, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tehran. The Christian convert was found guilty of "endangering national security by spreading religious propaganda in the country," and allegedly being a spy for Britain and Israel. According to Adnkronos News, "renouncing the Muslim faith is punishable [in Iran] with the death penalty. Over 300 Iranian converts to Christianity have been arrested over the past two years, according to opposition websites."
Kazakhstan: After Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, a 67-year-old pastor, was released from five months' detention, based on charges his family and others insist are spurious. After being reunited with his family, he was arrested again within minutes, now accused of "propaganda of terrorism or extremism, or public calls to commit an act of terrorism or extremism, as well as the distribution of material of the content indicated." His son, Askar, told Forum 18 News Service, "These new accusations are complete rubbish. They're trying to turn my father into a terrorist." Grace Church in Astana, where Kashkumbayev served, has, according to the report, long been subject to state harassment, including accusations of being involved in espionage, fraud, money laundering, distributing extremist texts and using hallucinogenic communion drinks.
Kenya: Charles Matole, pastor of the Redeemed Gospel Church, was found shot dead while still sitting with a Bible on his lap: "We found him with blood oozing from the head," said a choir member. The pastor had been receiving threatening phone text messages. Similarly, Pastor Ebrahim Kidata of the East African Pentecostal Churches was found murdered, strangled to death, in a patch of bushes.
Pakistan:
- After a Muslim man slaughtered a Christian—in broad daylight and in front of police—accusing him of being "an infidel who blasphemed against Muhammad" (see September report), a group of armed men broke into the dead man's family home, threatening to kill its members if they did not withdraw their police complaint against the murderer, and convert to Islam. Fr. Arshad Gill, a priest in Karachi, told Asia News "about this 'sad story' in which the victim is 'an innocent man' and his family is told to convert to Islam or die. For him, the case epitomizes the situation of Pakistan's minorities, forced to live 'in conditions of profound insecurity' in which events such as this one tend to exacerbate the situation…. Found in Article 295, B and C of the Pakistan Penal Code, the [blasphemy] 'law' punishes with death or life in prison anyone who desecrates the Qur'an or defames the name of the Prophet Muhammad." Those few political activists who have tried to repeal the law—such as Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, a Muslim, and Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian—have been murdered.
- Three other Pakistani Christians face a possible death sentence on what lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill says are "trumped up charges" of blasphemy. One of the Christians, Asif Pervaiz, is accused of sending phone text messages with "abusive language against Muslims, Islam, Prophet Mohammed and the Koran." Two other Christians, Pastor Adnan and Mushtaq Masih, were also arrested for allegedly writing "derogatory remarks" about Islam. Gill also said, "Days back we received some heart breaking information that there is one group who forced Christians to
accept Islam at gun point."
- Another Christian man accused of blasphemy, 26-year-old Adnan Masih, trained as a pastor at a United Pentecostal seminary, is being hunted by police. In addition, the banned Islamic extremist group, Jamaat ud Dawa, in Lahore, issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, calling for his death because he sought to correct misconceptions about Christianity in a Muslim book by noting biblical verses that refuted Islamic characterizations of Christianity. A source said that the hunted man had no idea that "pointing out false references in a book would land him in such big trouble." In the words of a representative of Jamaat ud Dawa: "The police better arrest the blasphemer and hand him over to us on Saturday [Oct. 19]. We will not be responsible for any law-and-order situation in the city if the police fails to keep its assurance. How dare someone use derogatory language against our beloved prophet … Don't they know that the Koran orders us to slit the throat of whoever is disrespectful to Allah's beloved prophet."
- Rana Tanveer, a chief reporter for The Express Tribune, received a one-page letter in Urdu threatening him to stop covering the plight of minorities. He was further accused of being an "apostate" for allegedly sympathizing with Christians and Ahmadis, instead of with their Sunni Muslim oppressors. He was also threatened with death, "from where you cannot even imagine." Tanveer, a Muslim, insists that all his reports are objective and based on facts.
Dhimmitude
Indonesia: Still insisting that Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, a Christian woman appointed governor of the sub-district of Lenteng Agung, in West Java, be removed solely because of her faith (see September report), Muslim protesters stepped up their threats, including carrying a coffin in a protest march of some 600 Muslims—a clear death threat —and waving flags symbolic of death. The Christian woman had been promoted in June by the Governor of Jakarta, who said in response: "I make my choices based on merits, not looking at religion."
Iran: After being arrested in a house church December 2012 and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the Islamic theocracy's laws, four Christians were sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking communion wine. "The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord's Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably," a human rights activist said.
Iraq: The nation's Christians, more than half of whom have fled since the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, are now also being targeted in and fleeing from northern Iraq, which until recently was considered a relatively safe region for Christians fleeing violence in the south. Recently, for example, a suicide bomb went off outside the home of Christian politician Emad Youhanna in Rafigayn, part of the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three of his children. Several more bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. According to Christian News, "In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they 'should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory.' Violence in the south of the country is also escalating. Church leaders in Baghdad say that there are attacks onChristians every two or three days."
Lebanon: Muslims in the historically Christian nation are appropriating Christian land. According to Agenzia Fides: "An urgent reminder to curb the misuse of land belonging to Christians in order to build housing for the Muslims was launched on Monday, October 14 from Talal al- Doueihy, leader of the Movement 'Lebanese Land, our Land'…. Across the Country there are outbreaks of clashes due to problem regarding land. Last week, in the Christian village of Alma (district of Zghorta) residents had complained that the Muslims of the area of al-Fuar had begun to build houses without permission. Already at the end of August, the same Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai had called Christians to limit the sale of their property to avoid jeopardizing the demographic-confessional balance."
Pakistan: After the bombs in the church of All Saints in Peshawar, where nearly 90 people, including many women and children, died, Agenzia Fides reported that, "the situation remains tense in the Pakistani society: not only tragedy but also horror. The Christians said they were 'horrified' by the rumors that link the bombs in Peshawar to the vast problem of organ trafficking: this is what some members of NGOs in civil society in Pakistan told Fides. Some of the 'jackals,' presumably local paramedics, seem to have taken advantage of the high number of deaths and injuries in order to steal the bodies of victims and exploit them for the illegal organ trade. 'If this were true, it would mean that there are criminals who are taking advantage of the suffering of Christian victims in a truly blasphemous and sacrilegious manner,' notes Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a priest of Karachi." Meanwhile, some of the Christian survivors who mourned the deaths of loved ones too openly, were attacked, beaten, and threatened with death. Finally, in a separate story, a Christian, Harrison Masih, working in a store, who used to debate religion with a Muslim customer, Maulvi Khalad, got into an argument when Khalad tried to get him to convert to Islam, "telling him that he would enter paradise that way." But, as Harrison related, because he refused to convert and apparently did not want want any trouble, "I quit my job at the medical store but Khalid, and three other men, came to my house and threatened me and my family."
About this Series
- To document that which the mainstream media often seems to fail to report.
- To suggest that such persecution is not "random" but systematic.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
DOJ Charges "Knockout" Hate Crime
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
It was so predictable. After a wave of "knockout" incidents in East Coast cities by blacks targeting whites and Jews, the Eric Holder Justice Department has charged a 27-year-old white thug for carrying out a similar crime against a 79 year-old-black man.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/27/doj-charges-knockout-game-suspect-with-hate-crime-why-now/
Let me be clear: I have no sympathy whatsoever for Conrad Barrett, the man charged with carrying out the crime. Depending on his previous record, I hope he gets a long term in prison to think about his deed.
Yet the obvious question must be asked: Why now? Why hasn't the Justice Department stepped in in all these previous cases which involved black on white "knockout" assaults? Aside from whites in general, Jews have been specifically targeted. Where was the Justice Department?
The conclusion that must be drawn is that this Justice Department does not consider black on white assaults to be hate crimes no matter how clear it is they were racially motivated. Thus, only certain "victim groups" are protected. That apparently does not include whites or Jews (the largest victim group among religiously-motivated hate crimes according to the last several years of FBI statistics). Can we add Asians to that mix? In recent years, there have been many complaints of Asian students being assaulted in Philadelphia schools by black students.
It is undeniably true that blacks were routinely victimized by violence at the hands of whites up until a few decades ago in the South. It was wrong then, and it is just as wrong now when blacks target whites for assault. Furthermore, as we become an increasingly diverse population, and whites are transitioning from being the majority to only a plurality among several groups of "people of color" (a fashionable term that is used to divide us), the rationale for only recognizing particular ethnic groups as perpetrators or victims becomes less justifiable. Hate is wrong and acting out on that hate is wrong.
If we are going to have hate crimes on the books, then they must be applied equally across the board. We can not expect that from Eric Holder and his Justice Department.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
It was so predictable. After a wave of "knockout" incidents in East Coast cities by blacks targeting whites and Jews, the Eric Holder Justice Department has charged a 27-year-old white thug for carrying out a similar crime against a 79 year-old-black man.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/27/doj-charges-knockout-game-suspect-with-hate-crime-why-now/
Let me be clear: I have no sympathy whatsoever for Conrad Barrett, the man charged with carrying out the crime. Depending on his previous record, I hope he gets a long term in prison to think about his deed.
Yet the obvious question must be asked: Why now? Why hasn't the Justice Department stepped in in all these previous cases which involved black on white "knockout" assaults? Aside from whites in general, Jews have been specifically targeted. Where was the Justice Department?
The conclusion that must be drawn is that this Justice Department does not consider black on white assaults to be hate crimes no matter how clear it is they were racially motivated. Thus, only certain "victim groups" are protected. That apparently does not include whites or Jews (the largest victim group among religiously-motivated hate crimes according to the last several years of FBI statistics). Can we add Asians to that mix? In recent years, there have been many complaints of Asian students being assaulted in Philadelphia schools by black students.
It is undeniably true that blacks were routinely victimized by violence at the hands of whites up until a few decades ago in the South. It was wrong then, and it is just as wrong now when blacks target whites for assault. Furthermore, as we become an increasingly diverse population, and whites are transitioning from being the majority to only a plurality among several groups of "people of color" (a fashionable term that is used to divide us), the rationale for only recognizing particular ethnic groups as perpetrators or victims becomes less justifiable. Hate is wrong and acting out on that hate is wrong.
If we are going to have hate crimes on the books, then they must be applied equally across the board. We can not expect that from Eric Holder and his Justice Department.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
How Will Obama Respond to Egypt?
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Now that the Egyptian government has called a spade a spade and labeled the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, isn't President Obama put in a bind? Surely, the Egyptians will arrest more MB members for being active in a terrorist organization. How will Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, respond? After all, the Brotherhood is the bunch that they prefer to see in power.
So now will Obama condemn the action? Will the US cut aid to Egypt?
In spite of the thousands of protesters that the MB is sending out into the streets to battle the police, the coup was supported by the majority of the Egyptian people, who had taken to the streets of their cities by the millions to protest the Morsi regime's heavy-handed tactics. They wanted the military to restore order to the country. We hear a lot of lip service from Obama and Kerry that "the Egyptian people must decide". But if the majority of the Egyptian people support the coup and the taking down of the Muslim Brotherhood, who is Obama to complain?
The fact of the matter is that despite all the protestations of innocence from Ikhwan Web, the MB's English-language web site, the Brotherhood has engaged in massive violence. Today, it stands accused by the government of the bombing of police hqs in Mansoura. Just since the military coup, They have driven their followers to destroy over 80 Christian churches.
It will indeed be instructive to see how Obama responds to this latest development. If he takes the side of the Brotherhood, it will be one more indicator that he does, indeed, prefer Islamists to rule Middle Eastern countries as opposed to more friendly and secular governments. We see it also in Syria. We have seen it in Libya, with tragic results. We see it in Turkey. Coupled with his antagonism toward Israel, it is troubling to say the least. Meanwhile, in the face of massive persecution of Christians from one corner of the Islamic world to the other, Obama and his administration are silent. Troubling, indeed.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Now that the Egyptian government has called a spade a spade and labeled the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, isn't President Obama put in a bind? Surely, the Egyptians will arrest more MB members for being active in a terrorist organization. How will Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, respond? After all, the Brotherhood is the bunch that they prefer to see in power.
So now will Obama condemn the action? Will the US cut aid to Egypt?
In spite of the thousands of protesters that the MB is sending out into the streets to battle the police, the coup was supported by the majority of the Egyptian people, who had taken to the streets of their cities by the millions to protest the Morsi regime's heavy-handed tactics. They wanted the military to restore order to the country. We hear a lot of lip service from Obama and Kerry that "the Egyptian people must decide". But if the majority of the Egyptian people support the coup and the taking down of the Muslim Brotherhood, who is Obama to complain?
The fact of the matter is that despite all the protestations of innocence from Ikhwan Web, the MB's English-language web site, the Brotherhood has engaged in massive violence. Today, it stands accused by the government of the bombing of police hqs in Mansoura. Just since the military coup, They have driven their followers to destroy over 80 Christian churches.
It will indeed be instructive to see how Obama responds to this latest development. If he takes the side of the Brotherhood, it will be one more indicator that he does, indeed, prefer Islamists to rule Middle Eastern countries as opposed to more friendly and secular governments. We see it also in Syria. We have seen it in Libya, with tragic results. We see it in Turkey. Coupled with his antagonism toward Israel, it is troubling to say the least. Meanwhile, in the face of massive persecution of Christians from one corner of the Islamic world to the other, Obama and his administration are silent. Troubling, indeed.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Susan Rice Calls Benghazi "False Controversy"
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
National Security Adviser Susan Rice went on 60 minutes and told Lesley Stahl that Benghazi was a "false controversy", which she doesn't have time to think about.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2964855246001/susan-rice-dismisses-benghazi-as-false-controversy/
Where does one begin? A US ambassador and three other embassy employees murdered by an attack on our consulate. Pleas for help denied during the attack. A false narrative about what the attack was all about. Subsequent revelations about previous requests for more security denied by the State Department. Survivors held incognito. Lies before Congress. A president and secretary of state who were missing in action.
And this woman has the gall to call this "a false controversy". How dare she? I want her to look the families of the four killed in that attack and tell them that this is a "false controversy."
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
National Security Adviser Susan Rice went on 60 minutes and told Lesley Stahl that Benghazi was a "false controversy", which she doesn't have time to think about.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2964855246001/susan-rice-dismisses-benghazi-as-false-controversy/
Where does one begin? A US ambassador and three other embassy employees murdered by an attack on our consulate. Pleas for help denied during the attack. A false narrative about what the attack was all about. Subsequent revelations about previous requests for more security denied by the State Department. Survivors held incognito. Lies before Congress. A president and secretary of state who were missing in action.
And this woman has the gall to call this "a false controversy". How dare she? I want her to look the families of the four killed in that attack and tell them that this is a "false controversy."
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Hatem Bazian: Professorial Conspiracy Theories
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
"Although recent French medical reports suggested otherwise and that he died of natural causes, yet we are left to ponder the reasons and the hands that carried out the murder not whether it was a murder."
-Hatem Bazian
Al Jazeera
Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian is a two-trick pony who divides his time trying to delegitimize Israel and pushing the Islamophobia line that Muslims are being persecuted notwithstanding the fact that Muslims are the world's greatest practitioners of religious persecution in the world today. In this article written recently for Al Jazeera, Bazian tries to make the argument that:
1 Yasir Arafat really was poisoned-even though the French just announced from their forensic tests that he was not.
2: The Israelis ordered it.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/why-was-arafat-killed-201312394616797450.html
Rather than try to argue all the conspiratorial arguments as to why the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat, let me cut to the chase on a couple of points.
First of all, it has not been proven that Arafat was murdered. The French report refutes it (Huffington Post/Reuters).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/yasser-arafat-not-poisoned_n_4377739.html
Of course, the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat. He was a terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent human beings. Were I in charge of Israel, I would have ordered his death decades ago.
However, with Bazian's "evidence" you couldn't put a dog in the pound. All he has is his suspicions. When you have as much blood on your hands as Arafat, it may be surmised that a lot of people might have had a motive. Maybe some Palestinians were upset at the millions Arafat and his wife stole. At the time of Arafat's death, his wife was living in luxury in Paris.
Until Bazian can produce real proof, this belongs right up there with claims that LBJ had JFK assassinated and the white "establishment" had Malcolm X murdered.
Hopefully, Professor Bazian is not spouting this black helicopter stuff in his classroom.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
"Although recent French medical reports suggested otherwise and that he died of natural causes, yet we are left to ponder the reasons and the hands that carried out the murder not whether it was a murder."
-Hatem Bazian
Al Jazeera
Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian is a two-trick pony who divides his time trying to delegitimize Israel and pushing the Islamophobia line that Muslims are being persecuted notwithstanding the fact that Muslims are the world's greatest practitioners of religious persecution in the world today. In this article written recently for Al Jazeera, Bazian tries to make the argument that:
1 Yasir Arafat really was poisoned-even though the French just announced from their forensic tests that he was not.
2: The Israelis ordered it.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/why-was-arafat-killed-201312394616797450.html
Rather than try to argue all the conspiratorial arguments as to why the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat, let me cut to the chase on a couple of points.
First of all, it has not been proven that Arafat was murdered. The French report refutes it (Huffington Post/Reuters).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/yasser-arafat-not-poisoned_n_4377739.html
Of course, the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat. He was a terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent human beings. Were I in charge of Israel, I would have ordered his death decades ago.
However, with Bazian's "evidence" you couldn't put a dog in the pound. All he has is his suspicions. When you have as much blood on your hands as Arafat, it may be surmised that a lot of people might have had a motive. Maybe some Palestinians were upset at the millions Arafat and his wife stole. At the time of Arafat's death, his wife was living in luxury in Paris.
Until Bazian can produce real proof, this belongs right up there with claims that LBJ had JFK assassinated and the white "establishment" had Malcolm X murdered.
Hopefully, Professor Bazian is not spouting this black helicopter stuff in his classroom.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Muslim Persecution of Christians: October, 2013
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
Two of the most tragic Islamic attacks on Christians, killing several women and children, took place in the month of October, one in Syria, another in Egypt.
On October 21 in Syria, U.S.-supported Islamist rebels invaded and occupied the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad for over a week, until ousted by the Syrian army. What took place that week was "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," in the words of Orthodox Archbishop Alnemeh. Among other things, 45 Christians—including women and children—were killed, several were tortured to death; mass graves were discovered; all of Sadad's 14 churches, some ancient, were ransacked and destroyed; the bodies of six people from one family, ranging from ages 16 to 90, were found at the bottom of a well (an increasingly common fate for "subhuman" Christians).
The jihadis also made a graphic video (with English subtitles) of those whom they massacred, while shouting Islam's victory-cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Greater!," meaning "than anything"]. Another video, made after Sadad was liberated, shows more graphic atrocities.
The day before rebels invaded Sadad, on Sunday, October 20, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq, near Cairo, Egypt, was attacked during a wedding ceremony. The attack left four dead and nearly two dozen wounded. According to a report issued by a forensic team, two of those murdered were young girls, each named Mary:
These massacres in Syria and Egypt received scant attention and even less condemnation from Western media and governments. Instead, people such as Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, condemned Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt as promoting "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Although Christians are habitually killed in Muslim countries, as this series attests, the U.S. government rarely condemns the practice or even acknowledges it. When five Muslims were killed in western Burma, however, the U.S. issued a formal condemnation, according to Voice of America, "urging authorities to do more to address the long-standing sectarian tension there."
The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:
Bangladesh: "A local government official in central Bangladesh has halted the construction of a church, forced Christians to worship at a mosque and threatened them with eviction from their village unless they renounce their faith," said Morning Star News. "The Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church in Bilbathuagani village… was created Sept. 8 by a group of about 25 Christians who had been meeting secretly for three years. However, local council chairman Rafiqul Islam Faruk joined around 200 demonstrators Sept. 13 to protest against the start of the building of the church. The following day, the Christians were summoned to his office. More than 1,000 Muslims waited outside, following an announcement at all local mosques to gather at the chairman's office." There, they were ordered to embrace Islam or suffer the consequences. Said one of the Christians: "Their threats chilled me to the bone. That is why I pretended to accept Islam, but faith in Christ is the wellspring of my life." Another said: "The chairman is clipping the wings of our faith. I do not know how long we can grin and bear it. We want religious freedom. We want to practice our religion freely." Since Sept. 14, under the chairman's orders, eight Christians agreed to return to Islam. Apparently, the chairman and his associates had already beaten some of these Christians three years ago for accepting Christianity.
Iran: Mariam Naqqash, a female convert to Christianity, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tehran. The Christian convert was found guilty of "endangering national security by spreading religious propaganda in the country," and allegedly being a spy for Britain and Israel. According to Adnkronos News, "renouncing the Muslim faith is punishable [in Iran] with the death penalty. Over 300 Iranian converts to Christianity have been arrested over the past two years, according to opposition websites."
Kazakhstan: After Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, a 67-year-old pastor, was released from five months' detention, based on charges his family and others insist are spurious. After being reunited with his family, he was arrested again within minutes, now accused of "propaganda of terrorism or extremism, or public calls to commit an act of terrorism or extremism, as well as the distribution of material of the content indicated." His son, Askar, told Forum 18 News Service, "These new accusations are complete rubbish. They're trying to turn my father into a terrorist." Grace Church in Astana, where Kashkumbayev served, has, according to the report, long been subject to state harassment, including accusations of being involved in espionage, fraud, money laundering, distributing extremist texts and using hallucinogenic communion drinks.
Kenya: Charles Matole, pastor of the Redeemed Gospel Church, was found shot dead while still sitting with a Bible on his lap:
Egypt: After Muslims in al-Minya district accused a young man of having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman, violence erupted against the village's Christians (see September report). The father of the Christian man insists that there was no relationship between his son and the Muslim woman, whose family, in his words, "actually had their daughter undergo a gynecological exam, which proved the woman is 'untouched' [a virgin]." Instead, according to the father and many Copts in the village, "the whole story was fabricated by Muslim hard-liners from neighboring village to cause sectarian strife." According to a separate Arabic report, "criminal groups and gangs managed to acquire guns and weapons and, as usual, have attacked and abused the Christians … [and] forced Copts to pay large amounts of money as tax [jizya] in order not to steal and/or plunder their lands." The report also points out that no one does anything to oppose these gangs:
Iran: After being arrested in a house church December 2012 and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the Islamic theocracy's laws, four Christians were sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking communion wine. "The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord's Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably," a human rights activist said.
Iraq: The nation's Christians, more than half of whom have fled since the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, are now also being targeted in and fleeing from northern Iraq, which until recently was considered a relatively safe region for Christians fleeing violence in the south. Recently, for example, a suicide bomb went off outside the home of Christian politician Emad Youhanna in Rafigayn, part of the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three of his children. Several more bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. According to Christian News, "In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they 'should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory.' Violence in the south of the country is also escalating. Church leaders in Baghdad say that there are attacks on Christians every two or three days."
Lebanon: Muslims in the historically Christian nation are appropriating Christian land. According to Agenzia Fides: "An urgent reminder to curb the misuse of land belonging to Christians in order to build housing for the Muslims was launched on Monday, October 14 from Talal al- Doueihy, leader of the Movement 'Lebanese Land, our Land'…. Across the Country there are outbreaks of clashes due to problem regarding land. Last week, in the Christian village of Alma (district of Zghorta) residents had complained that the Muslims of the area of al-Fuar had begun to build houses without permission. Already at the end of August, the same Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai had called Christians to limit the sale of their property to avoid jeopardizing the demographic-confessional balance."
Pakistan: After the bombs in the church of All Saints in Peshawar, where nearly 90 people, including many women and children, died, Agenzia Fides reported that, "the situation remains tense in the Pakistani society: not only tragedy but also horror. The Christians said they were 'horrified' by the rumors that link the bombs in Peshawar to the vast problem of organ trafficking: this is what some members of NGOs in civil society in Pakistan told Fides. Some of the 'jackals,' presumably local paramedics, seem to have taken advantage of the high number of deaths and injuries in order to steal the bodies of victims and exploit them for the illegal organ trade. 'If this were true, it would mean that there are criminals who are taking advantage of the suffering of Christian victims in a truly blasphemous and sacrilegious manner,' notes Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a priest of Karachi." Meanwhile, some of the Christian survivors who mourned the deaths of loved ones too openly, were attacked, beaten, and threatened with death. Finally, in a separate story, a Christian, Harrison Masih, working in a store, who used to debate religion with a Muslim customer, Maulvi Khalad, got into an argument when Khalad tried to get him to convert to Islam, "telling him that he would enter paradise that way." But, as Harrison related, because he refused to convert and apparently did not want want any trouble, "I quit my job at the medical store but Khalid, and three other men, came to my house and threatened me and my family."
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching pandemic proportions. "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
Two of the most tragic Islamic attacks on Christians, killing several women and children, took place in the month of October, one in Syria, another in Egypt.
On October 21 in Syria, U.S.-supported Islamist rebels invaded and occupied the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad for over a week, until ousted by the Syrian army. What took place that week was "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," in the words of Orthodox Archbishop Alnemeh. Among other things, 45 Christians—including women and children—were killed, several were tortured to death; mass graves were discovered; all of Sadad's 14 churches, some ancient, were ransacked and destroyed; the bodies of six people from one family, ranging from ages 16 to 90, were found at the bottom of a well (an increasingly common fate for "subhuman" Christians).
The jihadis also made a graphic video (with English subtitles) of those whom they massacred, while shouting Islam's victory-cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Greater!," meaning "than anything"]. Another video, made after Sadad was liberated, shows more graphic atrocities.
The day before rebels invaded Sadad, on Sunday, October 20, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq, near Cairo, Egypt, was attacked during a wedding ceremony. The attack left four dead and nearly two dozen wounded. According to a report issued by a forensic team, two of those murdered were young girls, each named Mary:
12-year-old Mary Nabil Fahmy, who was shot five times in the chest, and 8-year-old Mary Ashraf Masih ("Masih" meaning "Christ"), who was shot in the back.The security forces charged with protecting the church were seen leaving their posts immediately before the massacre began, as happens frequently in Egypt and other Islamic nations. In the words of Asia News, "Eye-witnesses of the al-Warraq attack confirm that despite numerous distress calls, police and ambulances only arrived on the scene two hours after the shooting."
These massacres in Syria and Egypt received scant attention and even less condemnation from Western media and governments. Instead, people such as Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, condemned Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt as promoting "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Although Christians are habitually killed in Muslim countries, as this series attests, the U.S. government rarely condemns the practice or even acknowledges it. When five Muslims were killed in western Burma, however, the U.S. issued a formal condemnation, according to Voice of America, "urging authorities to do more to address the long-standing sectarian tension there."
The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:
Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism
Bangladesh: "A local government official in central Bangladesh has halted the construction of a church, forced Christians to worship at a mosque and threatened them with eviction from their village unless they renounce their faith," said Morning Star News. "The Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church in Bilbathuagani village… was created Sept. 8 by a group of about 25 Christians who had been meeting secretly for three years. However, local council chairman Rafiqul Islam Faruk joined around 200 demonstrators Sept. 13 to protest against the start of the building of the church. The following day, the Christians were summoned to his office. More than 1,000 Muslims waited outside, following an announcement at all local mosques to gather at the chairman's office." There, they were ordered to embrace Islam or suffer the consequences. Said one of the Christians: "Their threats chilled me to the bone. That is why I pretended to accept Islam, but faith in Christ is the wellspring of my life." Another said: "The chairman is clipping the wings of our faith. I do not know how long we can grin and bear it. We want religious freedom. We want to practice our religion freely." Since Sept. 14, under the chairman's orders, eight Christians agreed to return to Islam. Apparently, the chairman and his associates had already beaten some of these Christians three years ago for accepting Christianity.
Iran: Mariam Naqqash, a female convert to Christianity, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tehran. The Christian convert was found guilty of "endangering national security by spreading religious propaganda in the country," and allegedly being a spy for Britain and Israel. According to Adnkronos News, "renouncing the Muslim faith is punishable [in Iran] with the death penalty. Over 300 Iranian converts to Christianity have been arrested over the past two years, according to opposition websites."
Kazakhstan: After Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, a 67-year-old pastor, was released from five months' detention, based on charges his family and others insist are spurious. After being reunited with his family, he was arrested again within minutes, now accused of "propaganda of terrorism or extremism, or public calls to commit an act of terrorism or extremism, as well as the distribution of material of the content indicated." His son, Askar, told Forum 18 News Service, "These new accusations are complete rubbish. They're trying to turn my father into a terrorist." Grace Church in Astana, where Kashkumbayev served, has, according to the report, long been subject to state harassment, including accusations of being involved in espionage, fraud, money laundering, distributing extremist texts and using hallucinogenic communion drinks.
Kenya: Charles Matole, pastor of the Redeemed Gospel Church, was found shot dead while still sitting with a Bible on his lap:
"We found him with blood oozing from the head," said a choir member. The pastor had been receiving threatening phone text messages. Similarly, Pastor Ebrahim Kidata of the East African Pentecostal Churches was found murdered, strangled to death, in a patch of bushes.Pakistan:
- After a Muslim man slaughtered a Christian—in broad daylight and in front of police—accusing him of being "an infidel who blasphemed against Muhammad" (see September report), a group of armed men broke into the dead man's family home, threatening to kill its members if they did not withdraw their police complaint against the murderer, and convert to Islam. Fr. Arshad Gill, a priest in Karachi, told Asia News "about this 'sad story' in which the victim is 'an innocent man' and his family is told to convert to Islam or die. For him, the case epitomizes the situation of Pakistan's minorities, forced to live 'in conditions of profound insecurity' in which events such as this one tend to exacerbate the situation…. Found in Article 295, B and C of the Pakistan Penal Code, the [blasphemy] 'law' punishes with death or life in prison anyone who desecrates the Qur'an or defames the name of the Prophet Muhammad." Those few political activists who have tried to repeal the law—such as Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, a Muslim, and Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian—have been murdered.
- Three other Pakistani Christians face a possible death sentence on what lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill says are "trumped up charges" of blasphemy. One of the Christians, Asif Pervaiz, is accused of sending phone text messages with "abusive language against Muslims, Islam, Prophet Mohammed and the Koran." Two other Christians, Pastor Adnan and Mushtaq Masih, were also arrested for allegedly writing "derogatory remarks" about Islam. Gill also said, "Days back we received some heart breaking information that there is one group who forced Christians to
accept Islam at gun point."
- Another Christian man accused of blasphemy, 26-year-old Adnan Masih, trained as a pastor at a United Pentecostal seminary, is being hunted by police. In addition, the banned Islamic extremist group, Jamaat ud Dawa, in Lahore, issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, calling for his death because he sought to correct misconceptions about Christianity in a Muslim book by noting biblical verses that refuted Islamic characterizations of Christianity. A source said that the hunted man had no idea that "pointing out false references in a book would land him in such big trouble." In the words of a representative of Jamaat ud Dawa: "The police better arrest the blasphemer and hand him over to us on Saturday [Oct. 19]. We will not be responsible for any law-and-order situation in the city if the police fails to keep its assurance. How dare someone use derogatory language against our beloved prophet … Don't they know that the Koran orders us to slit the throat of whoever is disrespectful to Allah's beloved prophet."
- Rana Tanveer, a chief reporter for The Express Tribune, received a one-page letter in Urdu threatening him to stop covering the plight of minorities. He was further accused of being an "apostate" for allegedly sympathizing with Christians and Ahmadis, instead of with their Sunni Muslim oppressors. He was also threatened with death, "from where you cannot even imagine." Tanveer, a Muslim, insists that all his reports are objective and based on facts.
Dhimmitude
Egypt: After Muslims in al-Minya district accused a young man of having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman, violence erupted against the village's Christians (see September report). The father of the Christian man insists that there was no relationship between his son and the Muslim woman, whose family, in his words, "actually had their daughter undergo a gynecological exam, which proved the woman is 'untouched' [a virgin]." Instead, according to the father and many Copts in the village, "the whole story was fabricated by Muslim hard-liners from neighboring village to cause sectarian strife." According to a separate Arabic report, "criminal groups and gangs managed to acquire guns and weapons and, as usual, have attacked and abused the Christians … [and] forced Copts to pay large amounts of money as tax [jizya] in order not to steal and/or plunder their lands." The report also points out that no one does anything to oppose these gangs:
"they simply kill Christians and their families as happened in the village of Shameiya when two Copts refused to pay the tax: the gang killed them and this was repeated in many other villages belonging to the governorate of Asyut. It is becoming so normal now to watch as these crimes against Christians occur day by day and nothing is done."Indonesia: Still insisting that Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, a Christian woman appointed governor of the sub-district of Lenteng Agung, in West Java, be removed solely because of her faith (see September report), Muslim protesters stepped up their threats, including carrying a coffin in a protest march of some 600 Muslims—a clear death threat —and waving flags symbolic of death. The Christian woman had been promoted in June by the Governor of Jakarta, who said in response: "I make my choices based on merits, not looking at religion."
Iran: After being arrested in a house church December 2012 and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the Islamic theocracy's laws, four Christians were sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking communion wine. "The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord's Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably," a human rights activist said.
Iraq: The nation's Christians, more than half of whom have fled since the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, are now also being targeted in and fleeing from northern Iraq, which until recently was considered a relatively safe region for Christians fleeing violence in the south. Recently, for example, a suicide bomb went off outside the home of Christian politician Emad Youhanna in Rafigayn, part of the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three of his children. Several more bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. According to Christian News, "In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they 'should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory.' Violence in the south of the country is also escalating. Church leaders in Baghdad say that there are attacks on Christians every two or three days."
Lebanon: Muslims in the historically Christian nation are appropriating Christian land. According to Agenzia Fides: "An urgent reminder to curb the misuse of land belonging to Christians in order to build housing for the Muslims was launched on Monday, October 14 from Talal al- Doueihy, leader of the Movement 'Lebanese Land, our Land'…. Across the Country there are outbreaks of clashes due to problem regarding land. Last week, in the Christian village of Alma (district of Zghorta) residents had complained that the Muslims of the area of al-Fuar had begun to build houses without permission. Already at the end of August, the same Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai had called Christians to limit the sale of their property to avoid jeopardizing the demographic-confessional balance."
Pakistan: After the bombs in the church of All Saints in Peshawar, where nearly 90 people, including many women and children, died, Agenzia Fides reported that, "the situation remains tense in the Pakistani society: not only tragedy but also horror. The Christians said they were 'horrified' by the rumors that link the bombs in Peshawar to the vast problem of organ trafficking: this is what some members of NGOs in civil society in Pakistan told Fides. Some of the 'jackals,' presumably local paramedics, seem to have taken advantage of the high number of deaths and injuries in order to steal the bodies of victims and exploit them for the illegal organ trade. 'If this were true, it would mean that there are criminals who are taking advantage of the suffering of Christian victims in a truly blasphemous and sacrilegious manner,' notes Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a priest of Karachi." Meanwhile, some of the Christian survivors who mourned the deaths of loved ones too openly, were attacked, beaten, and threatened with death. Finally, in a separate story, a Christian, Harrison Masih, working in a store, who used to debate religion with a Muslim customer, Maulvi Khalad, got into an argument when Khalad tried to get him to convert to Islam, "telling him that he would enter paradise that way." But, as Harrison related, because he refused to convert and apparently did not want want any trouble, "I quit my job at the medical store but Khalid, and three other men, came to my house and threatened me and my family."
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching pandemic proportions. "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
- To document that which the mainstream media often seems to fail to report.
- To suggest that such persecution is not "random" but systematic.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Swarthmore College and the Question of an Open Hillel
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip to JJ and the Huffington Post
Aryeh Younger, Editor-in-Chief of The Beacon, has written an op-ed in the Huffington Post supporting the Hillel chapter of Swarthmore College in defying the new national leadership of Hillel when it comes to being open to anti-Israel points of view and inviting anti-Zionist speakers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aryeh-younger/post_6423_b_4435021.html
Fousesquawk comment:
Mr Younger,
While I applaud your openness to viewpoints counter to yours, I would like to raise a point you may not have considered. As a non-Jew who supports Israel, fights against anti-Semitism, I have had a fair amount of experience with the Hillel chapter at the University of California at Irvine, where I teach part-time. At times, they have stepped up and said the right things in the face of anti-Semitism, and at times, they have been disappointing.
When it comes to the question of Israel, I wonder if you have considered whether Hillel's willingness to invite speakers who oppose Israel has ever been matched by any chapter of the Muslim Student Association-at any university-willing to invite a pro-Israel speaker. I suspect it has not.
You see, Sir; it is not a fair fight. As you well know, Jewish students are very diverse when it comes to their degree of faith, political orientation, or devotion to Israel. They are up against Muslim Student Association chapters and Students for Justice in Palestine chapters who are not so diverse-at least when it comes to Israel. At UC Irvine, Jewish students have reached out to the Muslim Student Union on several occasions in an effort to have a respectful dialogue-only to be rebuffed.
Every year at UCI, as on many campuses, the MSU puts on a week of events in May dedicated to bashing Israel. Some of the invited speakers, like Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Mohammed al-Asi, have made out-and-out anti-Semitic statements on our campus. In 2011, Ali told Jews in the audience that they (the Jews) were "the new Nazis". In 2001, Al Asi said that, "You can take the Jew out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Jew". They are readily available on YouTube.
So you can continue to be fragmented and inclusive all you want. Israel's enemies on college campuses are not so divided.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip to JJ and the Huffington Post
Aryeh Younger, Editor-in-Chief of The Beacon, has written an op-ed in the Huffington Post supporting the Hillel chapter of Swarthmore College in defying the new national leadership of Hillel when it comes to being open to anti-Israel points of view and inviting anti-Zionist speakers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aryeh-younger/post_6423_b_4435021.html
Fousesquawk comment:
Mr Younger,
While I applaud your openness to viewpoints counter to yours, I would like to raise a point you may not have considered. As a non-Jew who supports Israel, fights against anti-Semitism, I have had a fair amount of experience with the Hillel chapter at the University of California at Irvine, where I teach part-time. At times, they have stepped up and said the right things in the face of anti-Semitism, and at times, they have been disappointing.
When it comes to the question of Israel, I wonder if you have considered whether Hillel's willingness to invite speakers who oppose Israel has ever been matched by any chapter of the Muslim Student Association-at any university-willing to invite a pro-Israel speaker. I suspect it has not.
You see, Sir; it is not a fair fight. As you well know, Jewish students are very diverse when it comes to their degree of faith, political orientation, or devotion to Israel. They are up against Muslim Student Association chapters and Students for Justice in Palestine chapters who are not so diverse-at least when it comes to Israel. At UC Irvine, Jewish students have reached out to the Muslim Student Union on several occasions in an effort to have a respectful dialogue-only to be rebuffed.
Every year at UCI, as on many campuses, the MSU puts on a week of events in May dedicated to bashing Israel. Some of the invited speakers, like Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Mohammed al-Asi, have made out-and-out anti-Semitic statements on our campus. In 2011, Ali told Jews in the audience that they (the Jews) were "the new Nazis". In 2001, Al Asi said that, "You can take the Jew out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Jew". They are readily available on YouTube.
So you can continue to be fragmented and inclusive all you want. Israel's enemies on college campuses are not so divided.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
How Many Of America’s “Poor” Are Like This Lady And Her Husband?
Stolen from Observations
The way that many welfare recipients think was revealed in a call to a radio talk show on KLBJ-AM in Austin, Texas. Lucy, a 32 year-old married mother of three, whose parents also had been on welfare, said this about her situation:
“I just wanted to say while workers out there and people like you that are preaching morality at people like me that are living on welfare, can you really blame us? I mean, I get to sit home, I get to go visit my friends all day, I even get to smoke weed, and people that I know that are illegal immigrants, that don’t contribute to society, we still going to get paid. Our check’s going to come in the mail every month and it’s going to be on time. And we get subsidized housing, we even get presents delivered for our kids at Christmas. Why should I work?”
“So you know what? You all get the benefit of saying, ‘Oh, look at me. I’m a better person,’ because you all are going to work. We’re the ones getting paid. So can you really blame us?”
Asked if her husband works, she said he does sometimes, but “he doesn’t really see the need for it.” Has she ever worked? “A couple of times.” Does she ever feel guilty about gaming the system and taking money other people have earned? “But you know, if someone offers you a million dollars, would you walk away from it? It’s easy to preach morality, and that’s the only reason why I called. It’s easy to say, ‘Well, yeah, you know, you’re making your living off of other people’s backs.’ But, you know, if somebody gave you a million dollars, and said that, here, you don’t got to work for it, no strings attached. Here, just take it, you can do whatever you want to do with it. You would take it, too.”
The host asked if she was calling in on an “Obamaphone” (a cell phone provided by the federal government) and she answered that she was. Then, when asked how much she received each month, she said she only pays $50 a month for rent that should be $600, so that’s $550, $425 in food stamps, $150 for her electric bill, and $100 on her water bill from the City of Austin. That comes to $1,225 a month, $14,700 a year, just less than the current federal minimum wage. Plus the cell phone.
She also said that when you are in government programs, “they are always coming to you and offering more programs,” and will even pay you to go to find out about where you can get more money. “They encourage you to stay on the programs.”
Asked if her money was cut off, would she get up every day and go to work, she said, “yes, I’d have to.”
This situation makes perfect sense to people like Lucy and her husband, who never learned the lesson that mature, responsible human beings make their own way in life, and who now live a relatively comfortable life without having to do anything to help themselves. They are a product of the failed War on Poverty for which we can thank President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), the namesake of the radio station Lucy called. They are among a large and growing number of Americans being taught that the government will take care of them, and they don’t have to do well in school, or learn a trade, or look for a job, or do much more than draw breath.
Last year the Census Bureau reported that 46 million Americans were in “poverty.” But how many of those are really poor and need some help, and how many are like Lucy and her hubby; playing a system that allows those eager for a free ride to get one?
Census Bureau data reveals the following about people classified as “poor”: eighty percent of poor households enjoy air conditioning; nearly three-fourths own a car or truck, and 31 percent own two or more cars or trucks, nearly two-thirds subscribe to cable or satellite television, 50 percent own a personal computer, and one in seven owns two or more computers; 43 percent subscribe to Internet access; one-third own a wide-screen plasma or LCD television; one-fourth own a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo; more than half of poor families with children own a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
Poverty ain’t what it used to be.
It isn’t government’s job to help individuals who are down on their luck, and as the War on Poverty has demonstrated, it does a lousy job of it. And it surely isn’t government’s job to give taxpayer’s money to people who don’t really need it, or to actively recruit people who don’t need welfare onto welfare roles. That is the epitome of government disservice, and elected official’s self-service.
George Bernard Shaw’s famous quote has been used a lot recently, but it has never been truer than today: “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
The way that many welfare recipients think was revealed in a call to a radio talk show on KLBJ-AM in Austin, Texas. Lucy, a 32 year-old married mother of three, whose parents also had been on welfare, said this about her situation:
“I just wanted to say while workers out there and people like you that are preaching morality at people like me that are living on welfare, can you really blame us? I mean, I get to sit home, I get to go visit my friends all day, I even get to smoke weed, and people that I know that are illegal immigrants, that don’t contribute to society, we still going to get paid. Our check’s going to come in the mail every month and it’s going to be on time. And we get subsidized housing, we even get presents delivered for our kids at Christmas. Why should I work?”
“So you know what? You all get the benefit of saying, ‘Oh, look at me. I’m a better person,’ because you all are going to work. We’re the ones getting paid. So can you really blame us?”
Asked if her husband works, she said he does sometimes, but “he doesn’t really see the need for it.” Has she ever worked? “A couple of times.” Does she ever feel guilty about gaming the system and taking money other people have earned? “But you know, if someone offers you a million dollars, would you walk away from it? It’s easy to preach morality, and that’s the only reason why I called. It’s easy to say, ‘Well, yeah, you know, you’re making your living off of other people’s backs.’ But, you know, if somebody gave you a million dollars, and said that, here, you don’t got to work for it, no strings attached. Here, just take it, you can do whatever you want to do with it. You would take it, too.”
The host asked if she was calling in on an “Obamaphone” (a cell phone provided by the federal government) and she answered that she was. Then, when asked how much she received each month, she said she only pays $50 a month for rent that should be $600, so that’s $550, $425 in food stamps, $150 for her electric bill, and $100 on her water bill from the City of Austin. That comes to $1,225 a month, $14,700 a year, just less than the current federal minimum wage. Plus the cell phone.
She also said that when you are in government programs, “they are always coming to you and offering more programs,” and will even pay you to go to find out about where you can get more money. “They encourage you to stay on the programs.”
Asked if her money was cut off, would she get up every day and go to work, she said, “yes, I’d have to.”
This situation makes perfect sense to people like Lucy and her husband, who never learned the lesson that mature, responsible human beings make their own way in life, and who now live a relatively comfortable life without having to do anything to help themselves. They are a product of the failed War on Poverty for which we can thank President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), the namesake of the radio station Lucy called. They are among a large and growing number of Americans being taught that the government will take care of them, and they don’t have to do well in school, or learn a trade, or look for a job, or do much more than draw breath.
Last year the Census Bureau reported that 46 million Americans were in “poverty.” But how many of those are really poor and need some help, and how many are like Lucy and her hubby; playing a system that allows those eager for a free ride to get one?
Census Bureau data reveals the following about people classified as “poor”: eighty percent of poor households enjoy air conditioning; nearly three-fourths own a car or truck, and 31 percent own two or more cars or trucks, nearly two-thirds subscribe to cable or satellite television, 50 percent own a personal computer, and one in seven owns two or more computers; 43 percent subscribe to Internet access; one-third own a wide-screen plasma or LCD television; one-fourth own a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo; more than half of poor families with children own a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
Poverty ain’t what it used to be.
It isn’t government’s job to help individuals who are down on their luck, and as the War on Poverty has demonstrated, it does a lousy job of it. And it surely isn’t government’s job to give taxpayer’s money to people who don’t really need it, or to actively recruit people who don’t need welfare onto welfare roles. That is the epitome of government disservice, and elected official’s self-service.
George Bernard Shaw’s famous quote has been used a lot recently, but it has never been truer than today: “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Electric Intifada and American Muslims for Palestine
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip to whomever created the above pic
December 7's Palestinian conference in Irvine has created quite a stir among the very people who held it.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/12/zionist-thugs-another-big-palestine.html
Yes, Folks, victimization was in full mode as the AMP put on one of their off-the-shelf Israel-bashing events. The event was held at the Southern California Chinese Cultural Center (CCC). What set the little rascals off was the fact that Stand With Us, a Jewish pro-Israel organization, had sent a letter to the CCC expressing their concern that such an event was being held by sponsoring organizations like CAIR, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Muslim American Society and the Muslim Students Association. In spite of the letter-and a letter from yours truly- the CCC allowed their space to be let out for the event. The dinner, however, had to be switched to an outdoor tent in the parking lot at the Irvine Mosque across the street because the CCC needed the room for another event.
In addition, Yours truly joined with two middle-aged Jewish ladies and held signs outside on the sidewalk protesting anti-Semitism and Palestinian terrorism.
Zionist thuggery, Dear Readers.
Here from the above link is how two of the scheduled speakers reacted in horror.
Here is the "shocking" report from Mr Abunimeh's blog, Electric Intifada, a vicious site dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, which claims that SWU tried to pressure the CCC to not allow its space to be used,.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/letter-reveals-standwithus-bullying-socal-chinese-center-over-palestine
Mr Abunimeh will have to look long and hard for wording in either letter requesting that the CCC actually cancel the event.
Apparently, they also think that SWU "pressure" caused the switch in dinner venues. That is a questionable claim, but one that would have to be answered by the CCC.
And this from Hatem Bazian, one of the organizers of the event.
"Speaking at the conference, AMP chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian thanked SCCCA for “not buckling” to StandWithUs pressure."
What a joke.
At any rate, here is what comes out of Saturday's fiasco. They held their event without any disruption. What bullying are they talking about? They are the ones who are trying to turn this Israel-Palestinian conflict into the biggest issue of contention in our country. On college campuses, they have succeeded largely through real bullying. One of their co-sponsors, Jewish Voice for Peace, is a bunch that knows how to engage in real disruption as when they violently disrupted Bibi Netanyahu's speech in New Orleans a couple of years back. If you want to know about disruption, you could ask the so-called Irvine 11 Muslim Student Union members who disrupted the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US at UC Irvine in 2010. One of them was present Saturday at the event. I saw him. None of that took place Saturday. If they find a couple of letters and three peaceful protesters outside so intimidating, then they are a bunch of cowardly cry babies in my humble view.
Man up, crybabies!
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip to whomever created the above pic
December 7's Palestinian conference in Irvine has created quite a stir among the very people who held it.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/12/zionist-thugs-another-big-palestine.html
Yes, Folks, victimization was in full mode as the AMP put on one of their off-the-shelf Israel-bashing events. The event was held at the Southern California Chinese Cultural Center (CCC). What set the little rascals off was the fact that Stand With Us, a Jewish pro-Israel organization, had sent a letter to the CCC expressing their concern that such an event was being held by sponsoring organizations like CAIR, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Muslim American Society and the Muslim Students Association. In spite of the letter-and a letter from yours truly- the CCC allowed their space to be let out for the event. The dinner, however, had to be switched to an outdoor tent in the parking lot at the Irvine Mosque across the street because the CCC needed the room for another event.
In addition, Yours truly joined with two middle-aged Jewish ladies and held signs outside on the sidewalk protesting anti-Semitism and Palestinian terrorism.
Zionist thuggery, Dear Readers.
Here from the above link is how two of the scheduled speakers reacted in horror.
Max Blumenthal :
@MaxBlumenthal: I'm speaking at @ampsocal conference. Chinese SoCal Cultural
Center canceled our dinner after pressure from Zionist group @StandWithUs.
1/2
Ali Abunimeh:
@AliAbunimah: Zionist thugs @StandWithUs tried to pressure Chinese Cultural
Ctr in Irvine to drop @AMPalestine conf citing my presence among others.
Here is the "shocking" report from Mr Abunimeh's blog, Electric Intifada, a vicious site dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, which claims that SWU tried to pressure the CCC to not allow its space to be used,.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/letter-reveals-standwithus-bullying-socal-chinese-center-over-palestine
Mr Abunimeh will have to look long and hard for wording in either letter requesting that the CCC actually cancel the event.
Apparently, they also think that SWU "pressure" caused the switch in dinner venues. That is a questionable claim, but one that would have to be answered by the CCC.
And this from Hatem Bazian, one of the organizers of the event.
"Speaking at the conference, AMP chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian thanked SCCCA for “not buckling” to StandWithUs pressure."
What a joke.
At any rate, here is what comes out of Saturday's fiasco. They held their event without any disruption. What bullying are they talking about? They are the ones who are trying to turn this Israel-Palestinian conflict into the biggest issue of contention in our country. On college campuses, they have succeeded largely through real bullying. One of their co-sponsors, Jewish Voice for Peace, is a bunch that knows how to engage in real disruption as when they violently disrupted Bibi Netanyahu's speech in New Orleans a couple of years back. If you want to know about disruption, you could ask the so-called Irvine 11 Muslim Student Union members who disrupted the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US at UC Irvine in 2010. One of them was present Saturday at the event. I saw him. None of that took place Saturday. If they find a couple of letters and three peaceful protesters outside so intimidating, then they are a bunch of cowardly cry babies in my humble view.
Man up, crybabies!
Sunday, December 8, 2013
"Zionist Thugs"- Another "Big" Palestinian Conference in Irvine
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Recently, I announced that there was going to be another "big" anti-Israel event in Irvine on December 7.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/11/jewish-voice-for-peace-again-teaming-up.html
Yeah, that one.
This one was apparently sponsored mainly by the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) whoever the Hell they are. I guess their "chairman" is your friend and mine, Hatem Bazian, from UC Berkeley, a man who wears many hats, none of which are very becoming. Other sponsors were CAIR, MPAC, MSA and MAS (You can look up what the acronyms stand for. I'm too lazy to write them out and frankly, they are not worth the effort.)
Hatem Bazian
Oh yeah, there was also JVP-Jewish Voice for Peace, a bunch of wacko Jewish folks who hate Israel and have joined up with her enemies to help destroy the Jewish state. They are basically a bunch of leftist anarchists seriously in need of professional help.
Prior to the event, I had joined with Stand With Us and some other Jewish friends in writing to the Southern California Chinese Cultural Center of Irvine, who rented out their space for the event, to try and educate them as our concerns about this event. As a result, they made sure their name was removed from the ads by the event promoters. The event itself went forward.
Just prior to the beginning of the event, I visited the registration table and asked how much the registration (admission fee) was. Contrary to the initial flyer, which you can see above, it had jumped from $15 to $35-not counting the dinner. (Special price for me, perhaps since I was no stranger.) I picked up a copy of the program booklet, which listed all the "distinguished" speakers including my old pal and colleague from UC Irvine, Sohail Daulatzai.
And who is Sohail Daulatzai, you ask?
You don't wanna know.
I also noted that the above co-sponsoring organizations' names were no longer on the brochure with the exception of the AMP. I don't recall having sent them any letters. (I will be posting the brochure shortly.)
At any rate, I returned outside and joined two of my Jewish lady friends in standing across the street in the rain and carrying posters that read, "Say No to Anti-Semitism" and "Stop Palestinian Terrorism" (Made 'em up myself.) Within minutes, 5-6 nice people took up positions across the street with professionally made signs about peace and love. Their organization was "Interfaith Witnesses". One of my cohorts walked over and chatted with them learning that they were against any and all forms of religious persecution, and they were there because "Israel was persecuting Palestinians". Later, my other friend walked over and offered them some materials from Stand With Us, which gave the Israeli side of the conflict. They declined to accept them. Here is their website:
http://www.interfaithwitnesses.org/
I think you get the flavor.
As we continued our lonely, wet vigil, a couple of young girls came over and asked us some questions why we were there. They said they were doing media work for the AMP event. We expressed our concerns about the event and allowed them to take our picture. They were very nice.
However, an Arab guy drove past us, stopped, rolled down his window and snapped our picture with his cell phone. Another guy stopped, gave us a dirty look, and continued on.
Finally, one of my friends and I went back into the CCC and asked to speak to one of their supervisors. We wound up meeting with one of them, a nice lady who took us back into an office and listened to our concerns. She was aware of the letters we had written and told us that as a result of our letters, one or more of the board members was sitting in on the event and monitoring it to check the content for himself. The lady also assured us that the board would be reviewing its policies for events like these since they are not supposed to let their space out for political events. According to the lady, the organizers had assured them that the event was "educational" in nature. We renewed our request for a meeting with the CCC Board of Directors in the future.
Meanwhile, here is what the tweety birds of the AMP event were saying about our letter-writing campaign:
"Zionist thugs"
Note: We did not ask the CCC to cancel the event.
The above are two of the featured speakers. I hear Maxie is the son of Sid (Vicious) Blumenthal, ex-Clinton hatchet man. Anyway, Maxie needn't worry. The dinner wasn't cancelled.
"#*^# Zionist thugs"
Update; Here is a post from Electric Intifada reacting to the SWU contact with the CCC. Apparently, their dinner was moved to a tent in the parking lot of the Irvine Islamic Center across the street.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/letter-reveals-standwithus-bullying-socal-chinese-center-over-palestine
"An Israel lobby group attempted to pressure the Southern California Chinese Cultural Association (SCCCA) to cancel today’s American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)conference in Irvine, California."
Not true.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Recently, I announced that there was going to be another "big" anti-Israel event in Irvine on December 7.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/11/jewish-voice-for-peace-again-teaming-up.html
Yeah, that one.
This one was apparently sponsored mainly by the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) whoever the Hell they are. I guess their "chairman" is your friend and mine, Hatem Bazian, from UC Berkeley, a man who wears many hats, none of which are very becoming. Other sponsors were CAIR, MPAC, MSA and MAS (You can look up what the acronyms stand for. I'm too lazy to write them out and frankly, they are not worth the effort.)
Hatem Bazian
Oh yeah, there was also JVP-Jewish Voice for Peace, a bunch of wacko Jewish folks who hate Israel and have joined up with her enemies to help destroy the Jewish state. They are basically a bunch of leftist anarchists seriously in need of professional help.
Prior to the event, I had joined with Stand With Us and some other Jewish friends in writing to the Southern California Chinese Cultural Center of Irvine, who rented out their space for the event, to try and educate them as our concerns about this event. As a result, they made sure their name was removed from the ads by the event promoters. The event itself went forward.
Just prior to the beginning of the event, I visited the registration table and asked how much the registration (admission fee) was. Contrary to the initial flyer, which you can see above, it had jumped from $15 to $35-not counting the dinner. (Special price for me, perhaps since I was no stranger.) I picked up a copy of the program booklet, which listed all the "distinguished" speakers including my old pal and colleague from UC Irvine, Sohail Daulatzai.
And who is Sohail Daulatzai, you ask?
You don't wanna know.
I also noted that the above co-sponsoring organizations' names were no longer on the brochure with the exception of the AMP. I don't recall having sent them any letters. (I will be posting the brochure shortly.)
At any rate, I returned outside and joined two of my Jewish lady friends in standing across the street in the rain and carrying posters that read, "Say No to Anti-Semitism" and "Stop Palestinian Terrorism" (Made 'em up myself.) Within minutes, 5-6 nice people took up positions across the street with professionally made signs about peace and love. Their organization was "Interfaith Witnesses". One of my cohorts walked over and chatted with them learning that they were against any and all forms of religious persecution, and they were there because "Israel was persecuting Palestinians". Later, my other friend walked over and offered them some materials from Stand With Us, which gave the Israeli side of the conflict. They declined to accept them. Here is their website:
http://www.interfaithwitnesses.org/
As we continued our lonely, wet vigil, a couple of young girls came over and asked us some questions why we were there. They said they were doing media work for the AMP event. We expressed our concerns about the event and allowed them to take our picture. They were very nice.
However, an Arab guy drove past us, stopped, rolled down his window and snapped our picture with his cell phone. Another guy stopped, gave us a dirty look, and continued on.
Finally, one of my friends and I went back into the CCC and asked to speak to one of their supervisors. We wound up meeting with one of them, a nice lady who took us back into an office and listened to our concerns. She was aware of the letters we had written and told us that as a result of our letters, one or more of the board members was sitting in on the event and monitoring it to check the content for himself. The lady also assured us that the board would be reviewing its policies for events like these since they are not supposed to let their space out for political events. According to the lady, the organizers had assured them that the event was "educational" in nature. We renewed our request for a meeting with the CCC Board of Directors in the future.
Meanwhile, here is what the tweety birds of the AMP event were saying about our letter-writing campaign:
Max Blumenthal :
@MaxBlumenthal: I'm speaking at @ampsocal conference. Chinese SoCal Cultural
Center canceled our dinner after pressure from Zionist group @StandWithUs.
1/2
Ali Abunimeh:
@AliAbunimah: Zionist thugs @StandWithUs tried to pressure Chinese Cultural
Ctr in Irvine to drop @AMPalestine conf citing my presence among others.
Note: We did not ask the CCC to cancel the event.
The above are two of the featured speakers. I hear Maxie is the son of Sid (Vicious) Blumenthal, ex-Clinton hatchet man. Anyway, Maxie needn't worry. The dinner wasn't cancelled.
"#*^# Zionist thugs"
Update; Here is a post from Electric Intifada reacting to the SWU contact with the CCC. Apparently, their dinner was moved to a tent in the parking lot of the Irvine Islamic Center across the street.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/letter-reveals-standwithus-bullying-socal-chinese-center-over-palestine
"An Israel lobby group attempted to pressure the Southern California Chinese Cultural Association (SCCCA) to cancel today’s American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)conference in Irvine, California."
Not true.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Hussam Ayloush's Tribute to Siraj Wahhaj
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Siraj Wahhaj Hussam Ayloush
"One of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in America"
-Hussam Ayloush, November 16, 2013 in Riverside referring to New York imam Siraj Wahhaj
On November 16, the director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) for Southern California, Hussam Ayloush, spoke before the Universalist Unitarian Church in Riverside, California on the on-going crisis in Syria. During the question and answer session, he was asked by a member of the audience (me) about the fact that the previous week during the annual CAIR conference in Anaheim, one of the featured speakers was Imam Siraj Wahhaj from New York. Wahhaj has referred to the US on video tape as a "garbage can", has repeatedly called for an Islamic takeover of the US, and was a character witness for the so-called "Blind Sheikh", Omar Abdel Rahman, currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in a plot to blow up New York City.
In his response to the questioner (me), Ayloush called Wahhaj, "one of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in America" and accused the questioner (me) of being a bigoted Islamophobe. The exchange can be viewed here at the 2:50 mark of the 4th video.
Here is what the questioner was referring to. First, the statement of Wahhaj that America is a garbage can.
As stated by the questioner in Riverside, Wahhaj testified as a character witness for Abdel Rahman at his trial. The transcript can be viewed here.(Hat tip Investigative Project on Terrorism)
Not only did Wahhaj testify as a character witness for Abdel Rahman, he himself was listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the case (number 158). (Hat tip Peter Lance.com)
And if you are looking for quotes of Wahhaj advocating an Islamic takeover of America, you don't have far to look (Hat tip Clarion Project).
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/popular-muslim-iman-working-towards-sharia-america
“Islam is better than democracy. Allah will cause his deen [Islam as a complete way of life], Islam to prevail over every kind of system, and you know what? It will happen.”
"If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we’d elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word, if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us.”
“We don’t need to arm the people with 9mms and Uzis. You need to arm them with righteousness first. And once you arm them with righteousness first, then you can arm them.”
This, Ladies and Gentleman, is Siraj Wahhaj, the man whom CAIR's Hussam Ayloush described in Riverside on November 20 as, "one of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in the US."
No doubt.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Siraj Wahhaj Hussam Ayloush
"One of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in America"
-Hussam Ayloush, November 16, 2013 in Riverside referring to New York imam Siraj Wahhaj
On November 16, the director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) for Southern California, Hussam Ayloush, spoke before the Universalist Unitarian Church in Riverside, California on the on-going crisis in Syria. During the question and answer session, he was asked by a member of the audience (me) about the fact that the previous week during the annual CAIR conference in Anaheim, one of the featured speakers was Imam Siraj Wahhaj from New York. Wahhaj has referred to the US on video tape as a "garbage can", has repeatedly called for an Islamic takeover of the US, and was a character witness for the so-called "Blind Sheikh", Omar Abdel Rahman, currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in a plot to blow up New York City.
In his response to the questioner (me), Ayloush called Wahhaj, "one of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in America" and accused the questioner (me) of being a bigoted Islamophobe. The exchange can be viewed here at the 2:50 mark of the 4th video.
Here is what the questioner was referring to. First, the statement of Wahhaj that America is a garbage can.
As stated by the questioner in Riverside, Wahhaj testified as a character witness for Abdel Rahman at his trial. The transcript can be viewed here.(Hat tip Investigative Project on Terrorism)
Not only did Wahhaj testify as a character witness for Abdel Rahman, he himself was listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the case (number 158). (Hat tip Peter Lance.com)
And if you are looking for quotes of Wahhaj advocating an Islamic takeover of America, you don't have far to look (Hat tip Clarion Project).
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/popular-muslim-iman-working-towards-sharia-america
“Islam is better than democracy. Allah will cause his deen [Islam as a complete way of life], Islam to prevail over every kind of system, and you know what? It will happen.”
"If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we’d elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word, if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us.”
“We don’t need to arm the people with 9mms and Uzis. You need to arm them with righteousness first. And once you arm them with righteousness first, then you can arm them.”
This, Ladies and Gentleman, is Siraj Wahhaj, the man whom CAIR's Hussam Ayloush described in Riverside on November 20 as, "one of the most prominent and respected religious leaders in the US."
No doubt.
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