Free Republic

SNIPPET: "The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué from Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announcing the foundation of a specialized media wing known as the "Andalus Foundation." According to the statement, "due to our belief that the battle of pen is no less important than the battle of the sword, and in continuation of our development of jihadi media,...""

In his Cairo speech, Obama made the following statement: Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition Can anybody explain precisely what Obama was referring to? On first glance, it looks like a reference to the so-called ‘Golden Age’ in Al Andalus. During the Golden Age, Jews - and Christians - were subject to a certain degree of formal discrimination, but largely prospered. Life was certainly better than in places like England, where Jews were repeatedly massacred and ultimately expelled. That “golden” period definitively came to an end...

April 03, 2009 Think Islamist extremists don't have their eyes on conquering Europe? Think again. This video produced by Ibnul Akwa links the recent successes of Shabaab in Somalia and of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Eastern North Africa with the eventual reconquista of Spain. There's nothing original here...

Note: Photos included. MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police Tuesday arrested a Spanish soldier and his Russian girlfriend for allegedly posting videos on the Internet promoting Islamic extremist views and calling for attacks in Spain, a Ministry of Interior statement said.

The Hunt for American al Qaeda The United States is turning up the heat in the hunt for the California boy turned al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. If caught and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. The State Department along with the Department of Diplomatic Security announced the beginning of a publicity campaign in Afghanistan urging locals to provide any information on Gadahn's whereabouts, with a reward if the information leads to his capture. Radio advertisements with information concerning the $1 million reward have...

Still in Control Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling...

Spanish Bishops Fear Rebirth of Iberian Caliphate Spain's bishops are alarmed by plans to reestablish the city of Cordoba - once the heart of the medieval Islamic caliphate of al-Andalus - as a pilgrimage site for Muslims throughout Europe. Plans include the construction of a half-size replica of Cordoba's eighth century Great Mosque, according to the head of Cordoba's Muslim Association. Other major mosques are reportedly planned for Medina Azahara near Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Last month, Spanish Muslims reasserted their right to pray in Cordoba's Great Mosque, known in Spanish as la Mezquita - which was reconsecrated as a...

The children's website Al Fateh, property of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, demands in its most recent issue the return of the Spanish city of Seville to the "lost paradise" of Al Andalus, as the Muslim part of Spain was called during its existence between 711 and 1492. The web magazine, whose name means "conqueror," says it is for "the young builders of the future." The web magazine, whose name means "conqueror," includes an article in which the city of Seville itself is the narrator, saying, "I beg you, my loved ones, to call me to return along with the...