Free Republic

If .. Barack Obama isn’t happy with his press coverage in the United States, he ought to take a look at how he’s being portrayed in the Arab media. As Obama steps up his push for congressional authorization for a strike on Syria, the president is coming under withering criticism by opinion leaders throughout the Middle East, according to a review by POLITICO and experts of Arabic- and English-language media in the region. The increasingly unfavorable coverage Obama’s receiving in the Arab world - even come from the press in countries that support U.S. intervention in Syria - is doing...

CAIRO, Egypt - Saudi Arabia has indefinitely banned the distribution of a leading Arab newspaper, days after the paper disclosed that a Saudi extremist had played a key role in a violent Iraqi al-Qaida front group. One of the kingdom's most influential journalists immediately criticized the ban, calling it a sharp retreat from recent growing press freedoms. It was unclear if the Iraqi article was the main impetus for the ban, or merely the culmination of several weeks of disputes, mostly on other issues, between the Al Hayat newspaper and the kingdom's information minister. Saudi officials are sensitive to criticism...

An ultra-radical Islamic ideology mixing zealot-like devotion and holy war creed is drawing more scrutiny in anti-terrorist probes from the Middle East to Europe — with increasing indications that its base on the fringes of Islamic extremism could be widening. In existence since the 1960s, al-Takfir wa al-Hijra has offered intellectual inspiration to al-Qaida and other militant groups. But authorities now worry about followers becoming more aggressive with recruitment and retaliation against perceived foes of Islam, such as Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Officials in the Netherlands say the Dutch-Moroccan suspect — accused of killing Van Gogh on a busy...

A Top Secret Document Dated January 23, 2003 From Iraqi Intelligence: A Plan for Action in the Event of a Regime Downfall The London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat published a top secret document [1] found in the archives of the Iraqi intelligence services. The document is a plan to be acted upon in the event of a regime collapse. The events which have taken place in Iraq since the occupation carry a striking resemblance to the instructions detailed in the plan. The following is a translation of the document; click here to view a copy of the document as it appeared...

It has become clear that Israel played a major role in the battle for Fallujah, despite the American concern to conceal this fact. What news leaked of officers, soldiers, and even rabbis of dual citizenships that took part in the battles, some of which were killed by the resistance's bullets, is only the tip of the iceberg. The killing of an Israeli officer in Fallujah exposed the existence of a large number officers, snipers, and paratroopers in Iraq. Based on Israeli press statistics, Israel currently has no fewer than 1,000 officers and soldiers scattered around the American units working in...

Al Hayat: Arab country assisting Israel against Hamas London based Arab daily claims Arab intelligence service providing the Mossad with vital information.Itamar Inbari and Maariv International According to the report, the Mossad requested the assistance, as it was unable to obtain the required information by itself, and has had little luck in penetrating Hams and other Islamic terror organizations, due to their effective counter-intelligence operational capabilities. The information provided to the Mossad has given it detailed information on Hamas leaders, especially its leader Haled Mashal, who Israel attempted to assassinate in Jordan several years ago, and his deputy Mussa abu...

...Zarqawi in Fallujah, as interviewed in the Arabic language London daily Al Hayat and translated by the indispensable Middle East Media Research Institute (www.memri.org),... added that "there is no dispute regarding anyone who collaborates with the occupation -- he is a traitor and must be killed." The interview deserves the attention of anyone who thinks the violence we're facing has something to do with an awakening of genuine Iraqi patriotism. On the one hand, we have Baathists making a crass attempt to recapture the privileges they enjoyed under the former regime. Working hand in glove are foreign terrorists who conceive...

PA Daily: Murderer of Father and 2 Daughters, Samir Quntar: “A beacon of light for the generations to come!” Introduction A week after the horrific murder of an Israeli mother and her four daughters the Palestinian official daily has glorified murderer who was responsible for similar murder of a father and his 2 daughters, labeling him “a beacon of light for generations to come.” According to the daily “Al-Hayat Al-Jadida” Samir Quntar, murderer of Dani Haran and his two daughters in Nahariya in 1979, is a Palestinian hero and “authentic role model”. The following appeared in the PA daily on...

The State Department on Thursday denounced Syria's detention of the Damascus correspondent of the Pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the arrest of Ibrahim Hamidi underscores the lack of freedom of press and basic civil liberties in Syria. "We look to Syria, which is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and a member of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, to respect the rights of citizens to freedom of the press, speech and assembly and due process," he said. The US Embassy in Damascus will continue to follow the Hamidi case closely, Boucher added. Syria's...

Special Dispatch Series - No. 415 August 27, 2002 No.415 Palestinian Authority and Iraqi Media on Iraqi Support of the Intifada Since early 2002, Saddam Hussein has been trying to be on the forefront of Arab support of the Intifada. Recently, Palestinian Authority newspapers began reporting on this phenomenon. The following are excerpts from such a report, as well as a speech by Saddam espousing Arab support for the Intifada: Palestinian Authority Media Praises Saddam's Support The Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported on an event held by the Iraqi-sponsored Arab Liberation Front(1) in the Hebron home of the...

August 09, 2002 No.410 Islamist Leaders in London Interviewed London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat published a series of articles about the Muslim community in the UK. One of the articles included interviews with two Islamist leaders living in London: Sheikh Abu Hamza the Egyptian,(1) imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque and head of the Ansar Al-Shari'ah organization, and Sheikh Omar Bakri, originally from Syria, who established and heads the Islamic Religious Court in London and also heads the Al-Muhajiroun Islamist organization. The following are excerpts from the two interviews:(2) Abu Hamza: The West Will Never Reach the Level of Islam; The...

With rumors swirling of a possible link to the al-Qaida terrorist network, the FBI insisted Monday that investigators still don't know why Hesham Mohamed Hadayet went on an Independence Day shooting rampage at LAX. ONLINE EXTRA Recent stories on the shooting at LAX:• Outpouring of grief for 2 shot to death in LAX attack• Arab-Americans fear backlash• Jewish leaders urge calm• Airport security to be boosted• Victims mourned across Valley• LAX shooter full of anger• Local man slain, father of eight• El Al security tops in industry• 3 dead at LAX IN MEMORY Memorial funds have been created to...

Poem in support of the Palestinian martyrs27-04-2002 MARTYRS VS. WAR CRIMINALS You are martyrs Saudi ambassador to the UK, Dr Ghazi Al-Gosaibi’s poem in the praise of the martyrs of Palestine caused a stir and led the British foreign office express its displeasure forgetting that the whole Palestinian problem was a creation of Britain. A former Saudi health minister, Dr Al-Gosaibi is a prominent poet. In fact his earlier poem ‘A pen bought and sold’ (1984) cost him his ministerial berth. The poem was published by the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat on 13 April. Entitled The Martyrs, praises Ayat Akhras,...