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Pro-Western Bloc Defeats Hezbollah in Lebanon Vote By MICHAEL SLACKMAN BEIRUT, Lebanon — An American-backed alliance appeared to retain control of the Lebanese Parliament on Sunday in a hotly contested election that had been billed as a showdown between Tehran and Washington for influence in the Middle East. Preliminary results reported on Lebanese television, showed the alliance, known as the March 14 coalition, had managed to preserve its majority in Parliament. If those results are confirmed, they would represent a significant and unexpected defeat for Hezbollah and its allies, Iran and Syria. Most polls had showed a tight race, but...

A powerful bomb killed a pro-government Parliament member and six others Wednesday in a Christian suburb east of the Lebanese capital, security officials said. The blast targeted Antoine Ghanem, 64, a member of the right-wing Christian Phalange Party, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. The Voice of Lebanon radio station, which is owned by the Phalange party, also confirmed Ghanem's death. The identities of the others killed were not immediately known. The attack occurred six days before Parliament was scheduled to meet to elect a new president in...

A powerful bomb killed a pro-government lawmaker and six others Wednesday in a Christian neighborhood of Beirut, threatening to derail Parliament's already deeply divided effort to elect Lebanon's next president in voting due to start in days. Firefighters try to extinguish burning cars in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday. A powerful bomb killed a pro-government Parliament member and six others Wednesday in a Christian suburb east of the Lebanese capital. Photo: AP Antoine Ghanem, a 64-year-old member of the right-wing Christian Phalange party, was the eighth anti-Syrian figure and fourth lawmaker from the majority assassinated since 2005, reducing the ruling coalition's margin...

Hizbullah is buying up large tracts of land owned by Christians and other non-Shiites in southern Lebanon as it rebuilds its defences in preparation for a new confrontation with Israel, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The land deals are part of Hizbullah's efforts to rearm and fortify the strategically important ravines north of the Litani River, just north of the front line in last year's 34-day conflict with Israel. Just south of the Litani, the UN is conducting hundreds of patrols each day in a bid to keep Hizbullah weapons out of the area. According to the British newspaper, Hizbullah "appears...

Ahmed sits on a plastic chair on the side of a quiet street. A large empty bypass stretches overhead in the direction of the wealthy Hamra district. In the darkness above, a tank can be seen sitting stationary on the road. One soldier is manning the gun turret, another stands guard beside the vehicle. Their weapons are pointed in Ahmed's direction, or more accurately, over his head. Ahmed is also on guard, but he is only equipped with a walkie-talkie. At 19, he is an idealistic member of Hizbullah and at midnight he can be found sitting at the entrance...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese troops inched toward Islamic militant strongholds in a north Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp Tuesday as mediators hinted at a possible cease-fire deal that includes the disarmament of the al-Qaida-inspired militants. Two Lebanese soldiers became the latest victims of the battle around the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli that began on May 20, security officials said. As the battle with the Fatah Islam group continued, mediators gave indications that a cease-fire deal with the militants was a possibility. According to a Palestinian Muslim cleric who has been acting as mediator, the deal...

Sharbel Mansour, a Christian in a Christian district of Beirut, sees a convoy of cars pass by, yellow Hizbollah flags waving in celebration of the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group's declaration of victory over Israel. He says he feels enraged and worried. Enraged because in Lebanon, a country still scarred by the sectarian civil war of 1975 to 1990, crossing another community's neighborhood for a political statement is a provocation. And worried alongside many Christians, Sunni Muslims and Druze Lebanese who think Hizbollah gained strength in withstanding 34 days of Israeli attacks. "They will not give up their weapons. They...

WISSAM ANDRUOUS'S family home lies in ruins after the war between Israel and Lebanon's Shiite Muslim militia, Hezbollah. Plastic sheeting flaps over a hole where a bomb ripped the side of the house in the Christian village of Ain Ibl in southern Lebanon. Only the mattress springs remain of a charred room where three of his younger brothers used to sleep. "We are Christians. We did not not belong to any party," said Mr Andruous, 31, a video technician and father of two, whose younger brother, Rany, 21, is studying in Sydney. "What if we rebuild this house and they...

As Israel pounded Hizbullah targets in southern Lebanon with bombs, artillery fire and advancing ground troops, some Lebanese at home and abroad were quietly applauding Israel's offensive. Most Lebanese oppose Israel's widespread bombardment of the country, and even those in the past who called for Hizbullah's disarmament have, in the face of Israel's military assault, lined up behind the Shi'ite militia. Yet a distinct minority of Lebanese are rooting for Israel to crush Hizbullah - silently if not explicitly. "I'm praying for flattening southern Lebanon," one Beirut native, Micheline Touma, told JTA recently after fleeing Lebanon for the United States...

South Lebanon Christians bitter over Israeli attack QLAIAH, Lebanon: Ever since a truce between Israel and Hizbollah took hold this week, Boulos Abu Hamad and his family have been cleaning up the damage they say was left by Israeli troops who occupied their home for a night. Their properties have only been moderately affected compared to the devastation of nearby Shi’ite Muslim towns, but residents of some Christian areas in southern Lebanon are just as angry with the Israelis. “We are Maronite Christians. We are neither with Israel nor with Hizbollah nor with any other party so why did they...

Via email from: http://msliwa.com * For Interviews with key pro-democracy activists inside and outside of Lebanon, contact: Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, 202-498-8644, keith.roderick@csi-usa.org IMMEDIATE RELEASE Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Contact: Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, 202-498-8644, keith.roderick@csi-usa.org Hezbollah is Using Christian Villages to Shield its Military Operations in Violation of International Law WASHINGTON, August 1, 2006: Hezbollah is using Christian villages to shield its military operations against Israel. Southern Lebanese Christian villages, such as Ain Ebel, Rmeish, Alma Alshaab, and others are being used by Hezbollah terrorists for launching missile attacks. "Hezbollah is repeating the same pattern that it practiced against...

Video on what every Westerner needs to know about Middle East Terror and Israel -- A Lebanese Christian woman's journey through Hell and beyond. If you have a hard time accessing the video, you can go to the website at www.americancongressfortruth.org and choose your connection speed and the interview at the bottom left of the page.

Washington DC, Aug. 03, 2006 (CNA) - Recent reports indicate that Hezbollah is using Christian villages to shield its attacks against Israel. According to Christian Solidarity International, Hezbollah is hiding among civilian populations, mostly in southern Lebanese towns, such as Ain Ebel, Rmeish, Alma Alshaab. Launching attacks behind human shields is in violation of the Geneva Convention's provision for the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, which prohibits the use of civilians as military shields. This is not a new strategy for Hezbollah. Col. Charbel Barka, a former South Lebanese Army commander, says Hezbollah is repeating what it did...

Christian villages across southern Lebanon have been left largely untouched as Israel battles to destroy the Hezbollah infrastructure embedded in Shiite communities between the Israel-Lebanon border and the Litani River some 18 miles to the north. That is due primarily to the Christian population's disdain for Hezbollah, and refusal to allow the terror group to operate from within its communities. Not only do Lebanon's Christians and Druse by and large oppose Hezbollah, many who previously fought alongside the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as part of the South Lebanon Army continue to foster strong pro-Israel sentiments. Speaking to the AP, Hamoudi...

Christian villagers have nowhere to run Caught between warring sides, many stay to protect their historic home AIN EBEL, LEBANON -- Therese Asrouni felt no love for either side as she watched an intense firefight between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah guerrillas out her window yesterday. She loathed them both for once more turning her tiny tobacco-farming community into a war zone. Residents of Ain Ebel say Hezbollah has been drawing fire toward the Christian village by launching Katyusha rockets from the nearby tobacco fields, just a few hundred metres from Ms. Asrouni's home. The militants leave when Israel returns fire,...

Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon The academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary is angry at evangelical Christians, Israel, Hezbollah, the U.S., and the international community. by Martin Accad ------------------------------------ Note: When covering international crises, such as the current fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Christianity Today takes care to listen to evangelical Christian leaders in the places most affected. We may find their views corrective, provocative, or even abhorrent at times, but in each case we learn about areas where we stand together and areas where we disagree. In the case of this submission from Martin...

While the world's attention is focused on westerners fleeing to Cyprus and the many Hezbollah civilians fleeing to Syria, another group of Lebanese people worldwide are counting the days until they will be going back to their homes in Lebanon and reunite with their families. These are the thousands of Lebanese Christian refugees who fled Lebanon before, during and after the civil war. The most recent wave of refugees fearing slaughter by Hezbollah came in 2000 with the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. With Israel's help, many moved on throughout the world while over one thousand remained in Israel. Most...

But for some of the Christians who had made it out in this convoy, it was not just privations they wanted to talk about, but their ordeal at the hands of Hezbollah — a contrast to the Shiites, who make up a vast majority of the population in southern Lebanon and broadly support the militia. “Hezbollah came to Ain Ebel to shoot its rockets,” said Fayad Hanna Amar, a young Christian man, referring to his village. “They are shooting from between our houses.” “Please,’’ he added, “write that in your newspaper.” In past wars, Christian militias were close to Israelis,...

For the millions of Christian Lebanese driven out of our homeland, "Thank you, Israel" is the sentiment echoing from around the world. The Lebanese Foundation for Peace, an international group of Lebanese Christians, made the following statement in a press release to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert concerning the latest Israeli attacks against Hizbullah: We urge you to hit them hard and destroy their terror infrastructure. It is not [only] Israel who is fed up with this situation, but the majority of the silent Lebanese in Lebanon who are fed up with Hizbullah and are powerless to do anything out...

"I had mixed feelings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for a long time. While I had always admired brave little Israel -- a sort of David against the Goliath Arab-Muslim world surrounding it -- I had also met some Palestinians (some of them, Christians) with horror stories about what happened to them at the hands of Israelis some years ago. Then one day, I met an Armenian woman from Lebanon who sort of set me straight. This Lebanese Christian woman told me that she too had sympathized with the Palestinians (as had many Lebanese) -- until they destroyed her country. Lebanon...

The once dominant Lebanese Christians responsible for giving the world "the Paris of the Middle East" as Lebanon used to be known, have been killed, massacred, driven out of their homes and scattered around the world as radical Islam declared its holy war in the 70s and took hold of the country. They voice an opinion that they and Israel have learned from personal experience, which is now belatedly being discovered by the rest of the world. While the world protected the PLO withdrawing from Lebanon in 1983 with Israel hot on their heels, another more volatile and religiously idealistic...

In the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a crowd of Muslim demonstrators tries to storm a Coptic church to protest at a play about a Muslim campaign to convert Christians. In Iraq, the Christian middle class is emigrating in droves, fearful of the daily violence and the hostility it now encounters from Islamists.  In Saudi Arabia, churches and other places of non-Muslim worship are banned, and foreign workers who try to hold secret Christian services are jailed, flogged and often deported. In the land of its birth, Christianity is in sad decline as the pressures of life under Israeli occupation and...

Anti Christian attack claims victim in Lebanon ... The killing of Gebran Tueni is the 14th attack targetting Christian interests in Lebanon since the death of Rafik al-Hariri in February. Tueni is the second journalist to be killed after Samir Kassir died in a car bomb attack in June. That day, Tueni was among the crowd: "This is a message for the whole of Lebanon," he said, "for the freedom of expression. It's a message for everyone who believes in the freedom of this country, a message sent by Syria's totalitarian regime, and Syrian agents in Lebanon."

BEIRUT - A powerful explosion struck a Christian suburb of the Lebanese capital on Monday, apparently targeting an official convoy, residents said. A local resident said the blast took place on the road from Beit Mery to the capital, near Mansuriyeh. "I overtook the convoy of a senior official in Mansuriyeh and the explosion occurred two minutes later," he said. "An explosion rocked the building where I live," said a journalist in the east Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh.

A car bomb has exploded in a Christian-dominated suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut, say reports. At least three people are believed to have been killed and several injured in the blast in the Mekallis area, according to unconfirmed reports. One local resident told the French news agency AFP they thought a passing official convoy was the target. Several cars were reportedly set alight and nearby shops and buildings damaged by the explosion.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A powerful bomb went off in a Christian neighborhood of eastern Beirut late Friday, wounding at least three people and sending soldiers scrambling to the scene. The blast detonated just before midnight near a bank, completely destroying a car. But it was not clear if the bomb was placed in the vehicle, under it or near it. Two other cars were also damaged. The explosion was the latest in a series of blasts that have shaken Beirut, some killing or wounding prominent politicians and others hitting public areas and causing panic. It came days after a U.N....

BEIRUT - a strong explosion of unspecified origin resounded Friday little before midnight (21h00 GMT) in the Christian part of Beirut, noted a journalist of AFP. The explosion occurred near a banking house in the district of Achrafieh, indicated the helps to AFP. Three cars are on fire and one is unaware of if there are victims, one specified of the same source.

Frontpage Interview guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a survivor of Islam's Jihad against Lebanese Christians. She is now an expert on the Middle East conflict who lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.FP: Brigitte Gabriel, thank you for joining us today. Gabriel: Thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to join you. FP: First things first, tell us a bit about your background. Gabriel: I was raised in the only Christian country in the Middle East, Lebanon. A lot of people think the...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A notorious anti-Syrian Christian warlord was released Tuesday after 11 years in prison, the latest reconciliatory step in civil war-scarred Lebanon after the recent collapse of Syria's military dominance. Samir Geagea, 53, left his Defense Ministry cell in Beirut and soldiers escorted him straight to Lebanon's international airport where he met with Lebanese Forces supporters, a senior Lebanese security officer said on condition of anonymity because the government had not officially commented on his release. Antoinette Geagea, spokeswoman for the banned Christian Lebanese Forces militia which Geagea headed during the 1975-90 civil war, told The Associated Press...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Lebanese Christian general who once fought the Syrian army and returned from exile just weeks ago appeared headed toward a surprising victory Monday in the third round of parliamentary elections. --snip--

Firebrand former Christian exile Michel Aoun scored a surprise victory in the third round of Lebanon's elections, dealing a major blow to the opposition alliance that led the campaign to drive out Syrian troops. Aoun's unlikely alliance with longtime Syrian allies swept the board in constituencies reserved for Christians in Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, according to preliminary results from Sunday's vote. Sunday's vote, the most hotly contested so far of the four-round elections, was the first since Syrian forces left in April after a 29-year military presence in the turmoil that followed the February killing of former prime...

BEIRUT -- Unlike Muslims, who won landslide victories in the first two rounds of Lebanon's general elections, estranged Christian candidates are gearing up for a fierce battle in the next polls on Sunday. Christians, along with Muslims and Druze, as well as Western powers, forced Syria to end its 29-year military presence in the country in late April. But they are now at odds among themselves after former exile and prominent Maronite Michel Aoun decided to forge an unlikely alliance with pro-Syrian candidates. Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, a leader of the anti-Syrian movement, recently aired his frustration at "the...

Catholic Radio Station Bombed in Lebanon BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- A Catholic-run radio station in Lebanon was destroyed in a bombing attack May 6, the latest in a series of attacks in Lebanon's Christian areas. The attack was an apparent response to the station's campaign regarding the plight of Lebanese detained in Syrian prisons. The Voice of Charity, operated by the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries in the port city of Jounieh since 1984, was completely destroyed in the attack, caused by an estimated 50 pounds of explosives in the main square outside the building. One person was killed, and...

Maronite bishops warn Syrian-tailored election law will disrupt fragile Christian-Muslim coexistence.  BEIRUT - Lebanon's Maronite bishops warned on Wednesday that a Syrian-tailored election law adopted for polls starting this month would disrupt the country's fragile Christian-Muslim coexistence. The law "violates... co-existence between Christians and Muslims and does not allow for fair elections", said a seven-point statement issued after a meeting called by Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. "We call on all the Lebanese officials to act and prevent the harmful repercussions of this law," it said. The Lebanese government, under pressure from the international community, said elections for a 128-seat parliament will...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, MAY 9, 2005 (Zenit.org). - An explosion in Lebanon destroyed the Voice of Charity Catholic radio station of the patriarchate of the Maronites. The blast in Jounieh, north of Beirut, killed two people and injured 27 on Friday. "I think it was hit directly and deliberately," said Bishop Bechara Rai of Jbeil of the Maronites on Vatican Radio. On Friday the radio station expressed its solidarity with family members of those imprisoned in Syrian jails in Damascus who "have denounced the atrocities of Damascus' prisons" and "what they saw." "I think those who have been harmed in Syria...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, MAY 9, 2005 (Zenit.org).- An explosion in Lebanon destroyed the Voice of Charity Catholic radio station of the patriarchate of the Maronites. The blast in Jounieh, north of Beirut, killed two people and injured 27 on Friday. "I think it was hit directly and deliberately," said Bishop Bechara Rai of Jbeil of the Maronites on Vatican Radio. On Friday the radio station expressed its solidarity with family members of those imprisoned in Syrian jails in Damascus who "have denounced the atrocities of Damascus' prisons" and "what they saw." "I think those who have been harmed in Syria or...

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon's Christian hardliner Michel Aoun returned home to a hero's welcome after 15 years in exile, hoping to reform the country where much-awaited legislative elections are due later this month. The anti-Syrian Aoun flew in from Paris on a specially chartered plane accompanied by close aides family members and around 50 journalists and cameramen, 12 days after the last Syrian soldier quit the country. Thunderous applause erupted on the tarmac of Beirut International Airport where hundreds of partisans and relatives, including a brother he had not seen in 15 years, his three daughters and grandchildren, greeted Aoun...

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A powerful bomb tore through a shopping center in the anti-Syrian Christian heartland north of Beirut on Wednesday, killing two people and bringing Lebanon closer to chaos weeks before general elections. The explosion, the second in a commercial Christian area in five days, was also set to sharpen a political rift following last month's killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Christian opposition leaders blamed Lebanon's Syrian-backed security agencies for the blasts. The opposition had demanded the resignation of the country's security chiefs and an international investigation into Hariri's killing. "It has become clear to everyone that...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — An explosion tore through a business center in a Christian town near Beirut (search) early Wednesday, killing at least two people in the second deadly attack against an anti-Syrian stronghold since the murder of Lebanon's former prime minister last month.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - An explosion rocked a commercial center in a Christian town north of Beirut early on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding another, police said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast in the coastal town of Kaslik.

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The patriarch of the Maronite church, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir called for Lebanon's Hezbollah militia to disarm along with Syria's promised withdrawal from the country. Sfeir, who has become a leading figure in the Lebanese Christian opposition in addition to his religious duties, spoke after meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) here to discuss the evolving situation in Lebanon. "They were a group that fought to free southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation," Sfeir said of Hezbollah, which helped push Israel out of the country in 2000 after 22 years. "But now that has...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A car bomb rocked a predominantly Christian neighborhood in northern Beirut (search) early Saturday, destroying part of a building and wounding at least seven people, police said. The explosive left a seven-foot-deep crater in the roadway and shattered windows for several blocks in the New Jdeideh (search) neighborhood. The target of the attack wasn't immediately clear but it came amid political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (search), and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria.

In their White House talks the two leaders reiterate the need for Syrian withdrawal. The Patriarch hopes international financial institutions will help Lebanon, expects international observers in the upcoming elections.Beirut (AsiaNews) – At the end of his meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nassrallah Sfeir, who came bearing the “hope for independence, sovereignty and freedom of all Lebanese, President George W. Bush said that the United States wants a free and democratic Lebanon and for this reason insists on the total withdrawal of the Syrian army and security services so that Lebanese can hold elections. “I assured His Eminence,” the President said,...

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said he has a deep desire to see Lebanon secure religious and political freedom as he welcomed a leading Lebanese Christian into the Oval Office on Wednesday. Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church, has been a longtime critic of Syria's control in Lebanon. Bush said he assured Sfeir that the United States is working with allies to insist that Syria completely leave Lebanon so the country can hold free elections. "His eminence and I discussed, of course, Lebanon and our deep desire for Lebanon to be a...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, a strong critic of Syria's control in Lebanon who left Monday for a meeting with President Bush (news - web sites), has emerged as a key opposition figure whose influence cuts across sectarian lines in this religiously diverse nation. The soft-spoken 84-year-old patriarch, head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church, began criticizing Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs when few dared challenge the authority of the pro-Syria government and its Syrian backers. His first major salvo came in September, months before Lebanon was thrust into the spotlight with the Feb. 14 assassination of former...

Lebanese officials and foreign diplomats denounced the bomb attack that injured a minister on Friday, as a grave attack on Lebanon's democracy. The injured minister recently resigned over Syria's domination of the country. Outgoing Economy and Trade Minister Marwan Hamadeh was lightly wounded, his driver killed and his bodyguard slightly injured in the Friday morning attack outside Hamadeh's house on the capital's Mediterranean seafront. President Emile Lahoud denounced what he said was an attack on "security and stability in Lebanon," while Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri ordered "security authorities to promptly uncover those behind this odious crime that targets all honorable...

Iraqi Columnist: 'It is Difficult to Recall a Period in which Christian Arabs Were in Greater Danger than Today' In an article in the Iraqi daily Al-Zaman, a newspaper published simultaneously in London and Baghdad with an independent and liberal pedigree going back to the 1940s, columnist Majid Aziza highlights the plight of the Christian Arab community in the Muslim world. The following are excerpts from the column: [1] "Christians, natives of Arab countries, are escaping their countries of origin. This is a common statement nowadays everywhere and it is correct one hundred percent. Statistics show that a large...

American reactions to the recent bombing of a foreign workers' compound in Riyadh reveal multiple misreadings of the Arab world and — more dangerously — of both al Qaeda and the Saudis. The media seem to equate Arab with Muslim and, along with some in the administration, think that al Qaeda's war is against Americans and Westerners per se, rather than against all "infidels," a group al Qaeda defines idiosyncratically and expansively as anyone who is not a strictly observant Muslim. Both mistakes are compounded by reliance on the Saudis' distorted account of the attack. The November 8 bombing took...

A few hours after the blasts in Riyadh, a chain of commentaries mushroomed around the world. These op-eds ran before the media broadcast the names of the victims. By the next morning, the official "version" of the attack (in Washington, D.C., and abroad) was to label it as a Muslim-on-Muslim attack, blaming the Islamist al-Qaida for mass murdering Muslims in their spiritual motherland Arabia, and during their holiest month of the year, Ramadan. A U.S. State Department official quickly spread the word. "This was is not against America and the West only, " he said, "it is also against Islam."...

A few hours after the blasts in Riyadh, a chain of commentaries mushroomed around the world. These op-eds ran before the media broadcast the names of the victims. By the next morning, the official "version" of the attack (in Washington, D.C., and abroad) was to label it as a Muslim-on-Muslim attack, blaming the Islamist al-Qaida for mass murdering Muslims in their spiritual motherland Arabia, and during their holiest month of the year, Ramadan. A U.S. State Department official quickly spread the word. "This was is not against America and the West only, " he said, "it is also against Islam."...