U.S.: Israel's Prosperity a Problem

by Shoshana Bryen  •  May 24, 2013 at 10:30 am

Under the circumstances, the U.S. would do better to tell the Palestinians there is no deal to be had unless they -- both the Fatah and Hamas -- demonstrably accommodate the reality that Israel is a legitimate, permanent part of the region. Otherwise, it is for Israel to determine how best to defend itself from those "challenges over the horizon."

At first blush, it might have sounded like praise, but it wasn't. Before meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Secretary of State John Kerry pronounced Israel's prosperity an impediment to "peace" with the Palestinians. "I think there is an opportunity [for peace], but for many reasons it's not on the tips of everyone's tongue. People in Israel aren't waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security and a sense of accomplishment and of prosperity."

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The New, Improved Axis of Jihad

by Clare M. Lopez  •  May 24, 2013 at 5:00 am

Two years into the seismic shift that brought the forces of Islamic jihad and Sharia law to power in country after country in the Middle East and North Africa -- with the astonishing and extensive assistance from the U.S. -- Iran, Hizballah and al-Qa'eda apparently judge that the U.S. and its Western allies still need another nudge to ensure their complete retreat from "Muslim" lands. That nudge, according to independent, reliable and mutually-corroborating sources, has now been prepared by this Axis.

Indicators and warnings continue to grow concerning the resurgence of an "Axis of Jihad" comprised of Iran, Hizballah, and al-Qa'eda. This axis is not new: its three actors, both national and sub-national, have been working together in an operational terror alliance for over two decades. Still, so many seem unaware not just of this alliance, but of the ideological bonds that brought them together in Khartoum, Sudan, in the early 1990s and have kept them together to the current day. The bond is as old as Islam, and includes the commitment to jihad [war in the name of Islam] and Islamic Shariah law; the threat is to all free and democratic societies which stand in the way of global Islamic government and the forcible application of Islamic Shariah Law.

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Swedish Multiculturalism Goes Awry

by Soeren Kern  •  May 24, 2013 at 4:45 am

"Sweden is the best Islamic State." — Adly Abu Hajar, Imam based in Malmö

Hundreds of Muslim immigrants have rampaged through parts of the Swedish capital of Stockholm, torching cars and buses, setting fires, and hurling rocks at police.

The unrest -- a predictable consequence of Sweden's failed model of multiculturalism, which does not encourage Muslim immigrants to assimilate or integrate into Swedish society -- is an ominous sign of things to come.

The trouble began after police fatally shot an elderly man brandishing a machete in a Muslim-majority neighborhood. Although the exact circumstances of the May 13 incident remain unclear, police say they shot the 69-year-old man (his nationality has not been disclosed) in self-defense after he allegedly threatened them with the weapon.

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Why Doesn't the EU Condemn Palestinian Torture?

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  May 24, 2013 at 3:00 am

More than half the 306 complaints about torture last year came from Palestinians who had been detained or imprisoned by Abbas's security forces in the West Bank; 11 detainees died in Palestinian Authority and Hamas prisons according to a report by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights.

The EU has refrained from condemning the Palestinian Authority or Hamas in wake of a report that pointed to an increase in human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

This is the same EU that regularly condemns Israel for building in the settlements or seizing funds belonging to the Palestinian Authority.

More recently, the EU condemned Israel for demolishing 22 Palestinian structures in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

But when it comes to human rights violations committed by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, the EU is prepared to do its utmost to avoid angering the two Palestinian governments.

In response to the report, which was released by the Palestinian Independent Commission For Human Rights, the EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah, in an apologetic tone, only expressed "concern" over recurrent cases of torture and ill treatment of detainees in Palestinian prisons.

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Who is Really Desecrating Holy Sites?

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  May 23, 2013 at 5:00 am

The ultimate goal is to turn the conflict into a religious war between Jews and Muslims. If anyone is desecrating the holy site, it is those who smuggle petrol bombs and stones into the compound to use them against visitors.

Tensions have been mounting in recent months in Jerusalem over visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, or al-Haram al-Sharif [the Noble Sanctuary].

There is nothing new about Jews visiting the holy site: this has been taking place since 1967.

The visits, which are being held in coordination with the Israeli authorities, have triggered many confrontations between the Israeli police and Palestinian protesters.

Palestinians claim that the mere presence of Jewish visitors is a "desecration" of the holy site.

That is why some Palestinians have been resorting to violence to stop Jews from visiting the holy site.

The Palestinians say they are only trying to prevent Jews from destroying the mosques and rebuilding the Third Holy Temple.

But the truth is that the vast majority of Jews visiting the holy site are no different from other non-Muslim tourists who come to the area every day.

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A Woman's Voice at the Mosque

by Raheel Raza  •  May 23, 2013 at 3:00 am

Most of all, we have to use reason and logic and broaden the use of ijtihad – individual reasoning in religious affairs.

In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, Toronto and Montreal saw arrests of two Muslims charged with terror related activities. There's been some hand-wringing and questions about "what leads Muslim youth towards violence?"

Amid an array of reasoning, one constant factor that has emerged is the possible influence of Wahhabi mosques. This is not new. For years after 9/11, we were concerned about possible seditious messages coming from the pulpit, some of which I have heard.

While the sermon every Friday in the mosque may not ask Muslims outright to commit violent acts, I believe that what is not being said is the issue here.

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The Sheiks and WMD

by Ali Salim  •  May 22, 2013 at 5:00 am

Any sheikh, acting as a mouthpiece for a Middle Eastern regime, will be able to provide an Islamic seal of approval for the use of chemical and nuclear weapons. Verse 60 from the Surah Al-Anfal of the Qur'an permits the use of any and every weapon a Muslim can acquire that can frighten and deter an enemy of Islam.

Every side in every conflict in the Middle East has its own mufti who will interpret Islam and hand down fatwas, religious injunctions, favorable to that side's interests. Using one approach or another to exploit Islam's complex, often contradictory, religious laws, every sheikh can find justification for the need and duty to carry out any act.

Any sheikh, acting as the mouthpiece for a Middle Eastern regime, will be able to provide an Islamic seal of approval, according to the whim of the regime's leaders, for the use of chemical and nuclear weapons. The muftis issue these fatwas relying on traditions handed down from the days of the prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.). Readers of Arabic who follow blogs and Internet sites are aware that for the most part, Islam authorizes the use of WMD against infidels and the Crusaders of the West -- that is, anyone who is not a Muslim.

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Switzerland: Multicultural Paradise?

by Soeren Kern  •  May 21, 2013 at 5:00 am

In March, the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service announced that a growing number of jihadists are being recruited in Switzerland. The number of robberies and assaults on Swiss trains has skyrocketed to such an extent that the Swiss government recently opted to equip transport police with firearms, and at least 1,400 women in Switzerland have been victims of forced marriages.

A controversial new report by the Swiss government claims that Muslim immigrants are so well integrated into Swiss society that no further federal policies or programs are needed to promote Muslim integration or to counter Islamic extremism.

Published by the Swiss Federal Council [Bundesrat] on May 8, the 102-page study -- known by the short title, "The Situation of Muslims in Switzerland" -- so completely downplays the countless problems associated with Muslim immigration in Switzerland that the report has been ridiculed as being worthy of a "case study in political correctness."

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Future Russian Strategic Challenges

by Peter Huessy and Mark B. Schneider  •  May 20, 2013 at 5:00 am

The current administration is in a poor position to negotiate with Russia. There are press reports that the administration will attempt to evade Congressional approval of a new arms control agreement.

Russia clearly represents an increasingly serious strategic challenge. Russia has steadily become more anti-democratic and hostile to the US. The Kremlin encourages nationalism; Alexei Kudrin, Russian Finance Minister until September 2011, has noted: "Xenophobia is widespread" in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin is militarizing the country; his regime voices "anti-Western rhetoric," and "a sizeable number of Russians…see neighboring countries as part of our zone of influence." Russia's nuclear weapons policy doubtless derives from these views.

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Russia's Brinkmanship with US Clashes with Israel's Security

by Yaakov Lappin  •  May 20, 2013 at 3:00 am

Jerusalem will find Russia's delivery of the S-300 missile system to Syria to be an intolerable development; it is safe to assume that Israel will act to prevent this from happening.

Russia is aggressively squaring off with an indecisive and rather meek West about Syria, and in the process, is also threatening to undermine Israeli efforts to ensure that Iran and Syria do not ship strategic weapons to Hezbollah.

The Syrian civil war has become a dangerous and complex battle of multiple actors and their proxies: Sunni versus Shi'ite, Iran versus the Gulf states, Al-Qaeda versus Hezbollah, and on a global scale, the United States versus Russia.

Moscow is trying to deter a potential US or NATO-led initiative to set up a no-fly zone over areas of Syria, and is seeking to stop Western-led air strikes against chemical weapons sites.

Russia also seems concerned that recent air strikes in Damascus targeting Hezbollah-bound guided Iranian missiles -- strikes attributed by the foreign media to Israel -- will pave the way to such an intervention.

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Fatah's Drive Against "Normalization"

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  May 17, 2013 at 5:00 am

The Fatah activists who are threatening Palestinian teenagers for talking to Israelis and playing football with them are the same people who claim, at least in public, that they support the peace process with Israel. But how can there ever be a peace process when anyone who meets with an Israeli is immediately denounced as a traitor? It is worth noting that most of these denunciations are coming form the "moderate" Fatah, and not from Hamas.

While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was meeting in his office in Ramallah with Shelly Yacimovich, chairwoman of Israel's opposition Labour Party, his Fatah faction was busy threatening Palestinians who meet with Israelis.

That Abbas continues to meet with Israelis on a regular basis in Ramallah does not seem to bother Fatah.

Nor does Fatah seem to be bothered that Palestinian security officers work closely together with their Israeli counterparts in the West Bank. That is called "security coordination" between the Palestinians and Israel.

But when Palestinian youths are invited to meet with Israelis as part of an interfaith dialogue project, Fatah is quick to issue denunciations and threats.

When Palestinian and Israeli teenagers are invited to play football together as part of a project to promote peace and coexistence, Fatah is also quick to react.

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The U.S. Role in the Sunni-Shi'ite Conflict
With Allies Like These...

by Harold Rhode  •  May 17, 2013 at 4:00 am

America should back only pro-American forces who do not privately finance or publicly promote hatred against the U.S. It is in America's interest to rid the Muslim world of the Islamic fundamentalist forces whose goals and actions are inimical to American and Western interests; not to cozy up to them.

You might think that what the United States should be doing in the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict -- in which it has no theological stake -- is working to eliminate all forces in the Muslim world, whether Sunni or Shi'ite, who want to bring down the U.S. You might also think that what the U.S. should not be doing is looking the other way when countries it calls allies -- and wealthy individuals from those countries -- support, with both money and arms, forces who kill U.S. soldiers and citizens.

At present, this is not what is happening.

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Growing Threats to Academic Freedom

by Edward S. Beck  •  May 17, 2013 at 3:00 am

Hawking's behavior is based on inaccurate, biased information. If he has insightful thoughts about resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issues, let him come and share them. Stating them at the conference is the way for them to have impact.

Two recent developments within the academic community have signaled a serious, new level of escalation of hostility towards academic freedom and integrity: the recent announcement of Stephen Hawking to withdraw from presenting a keynote address at a gathering of leading world figures in Israel and the resolution by the Association of Asian American Studies to boycott Israeli academics. Unfortunately, this highlights, in both instances, scholars swayed more by propaganda than facts, and growing attempts to stifle academic freedom of enquiry.

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The Interfaith Racket: Passport to Credibility

by Douglas Murray  •  May 16, 2013 at 5:00 am

Because Ahmed was the first Muslim peer, most people were eager to do anything they could to cover for him, forgive him, reinstate him time and again – and even now are not able to believe the words that came from his mouth in Pakistan because they differed from the words that came from his mouth at interfaith meetings in London.

Interfaith dialogue is one of those things it can seem impossible to be against. What reasonable, rational person could possibly object to people of different faiths coming together and discussing their differences? Well, as with any negotiation, the problem only really comes if one individual, or group of individuals, heads into the discussion ignorantly or naively while another knows exactly what he is planning to get from it.

Such is the case with much of the interfaith dialogue conversations in Britain today and there can be no better exemplar than that thrown up by an old friend of this column – the disgraced ex-Labour peer Lord Ahmed of Rotherham.

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Muslims Demand Germany "Make Islam Equal to Christianity"

by Soeren Kern  •  May 15, 2013 at 5:00 am

Muslims attending the German Islam Conference were apparently offended by the insinuation that Islam could be radical or violent.

A major conference on German-Muslim relations has ended in failure after Muslims attending the event refused to acknowledge the government's concerns about the threats to security posed by radical Islam.

German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich had wanted the eighth annual German Islam Conference, held in Berlin on May 7, to focus on finding ways the government could work together with "moderate" Muslims in Germany to combat Islamism and extremism.

But Muslims attending the gathering were apparently offended by the insinuation that Islam could be radical or violent, and demanded instead that the German government take steps to make "Islam equal to Christianity" in Germany.

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