Posted on 02/09/2006 10:02:26 AM PST by SmithL
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The leader of Hezbollah, heading a march by hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims Thursday, said President Bush and his secretary of state should "shut up" after they accused Syria and Iran of fueling protests over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Denmark, meanwhile, said it had temporarily closed its diplomatic mission in Beirut, which was burned by protesters Sunday, and all staff had left Lebanon.
Danes feared religious processions in Muslim countries Thursday to mark the Shiite festival of Ashoura would spill over into violence against its diplomats and soldiers after days of protests over the caricatures, which were first published in a Danish newspaper in September.
About 2,000 hard-line Muslims also rallied and burned a Danish flag Thursday in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.
In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah urged Muslims worldwide to keep demonstrating until there is an apology over the drawings and Europe passes laws forbidding insults to the prophet.
The head of the guerrilla group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, spoke before a mass Ashoura procession. Whipping up the crowds on the most solemn day for Shiites worldwide, Nasrallah declared:
"Defending the prophet should continue all over the world. Let Condoleezza Rice and Bush and all the tyrants shut up. We are an Islamic nation that cannot tolerate, be silent or be lax when they insult our prophet and sanctities."
"We will uphold the messenger of God not only by our voices but also by our blood," he told the crowds, estimated by organizers at about 700,000. Police had no final estimates but said the figure was likely to be even higher.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
JIHAD WATCH.org: "REACH OUT, REACH OUT AND TORCH SOMEONE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET (GLOBE AND MAIL): "Security experts say it's no surprise that a group linked to Hezbollah cloned the cellphones of Ted Rogers and other high-level Rogers executives. The Iranian-backed radical Shia group based in Lebanon -- regarded by many as even more sophisticated than al-Qaeda -- has sharpened its counterintelligence expertise over the years by keeping a step ahead of Mossad, Israel's secret service. Hezbollah, whose name means Party of God, has become ever more adept at intercepting electronic surveillance, penetrating cellphone networks and recruiting computer science technicians.") (December 21, 2005)
MEMRITV.org - Video Clip No. 962:"Lebanese Students at a Hizbullah TV Symposium: We Should Fight the Jews and Burn Them Like Hitler. Israel Should Be Wiped Off the Map" (SNIPPET: "Following are excerpts from a symposium of students at Universite Libanaise, hosted by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, and broadcast on November 29, 2005."
INTELLIGENCE.org.il: "IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH AS INSTIGATORS OF TERRORISM: Iran's Growing Involvement, through Hezbollah, in Palestinian Terrorism in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority Administered Territories in the Course of 2004" (Note: "Based on a report by the Israel Security Agency on Palestinian terrorist activities in 2004") (January 12, 2005)
"fayrouz.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_fayrouz_archive.html#109415983198622045" - "IRAN AND AL-ZARQAWI" - "posted by Fayrouz 9/2/2004" (ARTICLE - TRANSLATION - SNIPPET: "A former corps chief said Abu-Mosaab Al-Zarqawi escaped to Turkey last year, after being in Iran and entered Iraq more than a year ago. He confirmed to the newspaper that a meeting was held last June between Al-Zarqawi and a Lebanese fugitive, Emad Mughania, at one of Al-Quds corps centers in Kermanshah providence in western Iran. The source said Mughania played an influential role in forming the Al-Mahdi Army. Al-Mahdi Army belongs to the strict Shia religious cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr, and trains its members in camps inside Iran. He also mentioned the entrance of Shia fighters from Lebanon to Iraq dressed as religious studies students. These fighters then join Al-Madi Army under the supervision of Emad Mughania. Mughania underwent a cosmetic surgery recently in a sanitarium for the revolutionary guards in northern Iran to change his face. This is the 5th surgery for Mughania, who's been chased by Western and Arabic intelligence organizations for a number of years now. The source said Mughania kept his relationships with Aymen Al-Thawahiri, the number-two man in Al-Qaida organization despite the difficulty of contacting him lately. He added that Mughania submitted a report early this year to chief of the revolutionary guards intelligence after a visit to Iraq. The report outlined the importance of expanding a framework of collaboration between Al-Mahdi Army and Al-Zarqawi's group. Muqtada has lost his standing among the Iraqi shia, especially Al-Najaf, while gaining more supporters in the Sunni triangle.")
TREAS.GOV/OFFICES/ENFORCEMENT/OFAC/SDN/SDNLIST.TXT: "ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS" (SNIPPET: "HIZBALLAH (a.k.a. PARTY OF GOD; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD ORGANIZATION; a.k.a. REVOLUTIONARY JUSTICE ORGANIZATION; a.k.a. ORGANIZATION OF THE OPPRESSED ON EARTH; a.k.a. ISLAMIC JIHAD FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE; a.k.a. ORGANIZATION OF RIGHT AGAINST WRONG; a.k.a. ANSAR ALLAH; a.k.a. FOLLOWERS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMED) [SDT][FTO][SDGT]"
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