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EDITORIAL Swiss Ban On Minarets Is Pure Discrimination Sunday's referendum is a reminder that cultural anxieties can be inflamed even in the most tolerant country. December 2, 2009 Integrating Islamic immigrants has proved to be a multifaceted challenge for European nations unaccustomed to religious and cultural diversity. But there's nothing complicated about the decision of voters in Switzerland to prohibit further construction of minarets. It's religious discrimination pure and simple. Sunday's referendum, in which 57.5% of voters approved the ban on minarets -- a traditional feature of mosques -- is a reminder that cultural anxieties can be inflamed even in...

Vatican Criticises Swiss Minaret Ban 30 November VATICAN CITY: The Vatican on Monday endorsed criticism by Swiss bishops that a vote in Switzerland to ban the construction of mosque minarets was a blow to religious freedom. Antonio Maria Sveglio, president of the pontifical council on migration, told the ANSA news agency that "we are on the same page" as the Conference of Swiss Bishops. In a statement after Sunday's vote, the conference said it "heightens the problems of cohabitation between religions" while secretary-general Felix Gmur told Vatican Radio it was "heavy blow to religious freedom and integration". The decision by...

Swiss media say that exit polls appear to show a 59% yes vote for banning the construction of new minarets on mosques. However a definitive result will be known later today. The populist Swiss People’s Party put forward the proposal – Switzerland has four mosques minarets with two more planned.

A right-wing campaign to outlaw minarets on mosques in a referendum being held in Switzerland today has received an unlikely boost from radical feminists arguing that the tower-like structures are “male power symbols” and reminders of Islam’s oppression of women. A “stop the minarets” campaign has provoked ferment in the land of Heidi, where women are more likely than men to vote for the ban after warnings from prominent feminists that Islam threatens their rights. Forget about tranquil Alpine scenery and cowbells: one of the most startling features of the referendum campaign has been a poster showing a menacing woman...

The Swiss are to decide this weekend whether to ban minarets on mosques, in what is in effect the first direct vote in a European country on Islam and the practices of Muslims. "The minaret has got nothing to do with religion. It's a symbol of political power, a prelude to the introduction of sharia law," argued Ulrich Schlüer, of the rightwing Swiss People's party, an architect of the campaign. UN experts and human rights activists condemned the campaign as overtly racist. The rightwing anti-immigrant lobby has led the campaign, but it has been joined by some secularist leftists and...

In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government. Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story Manhattan office tower. Confiscating the properties would...

Prosecutors say building owners illegally funneled money to Iran NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company. The assets include Islamic centers in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston, more than...

In addition to the Building, the amended complaint seeks forfeiture of all other assets of the Alavi Foundation and Assa Corporation, including bank accounts owned by 650 Fifth Avenue Company, the Alavi Foundation, and Assa Corporation; and real properties owned by the Alavi Foundation in New York, Maryland, Virginia, Texas and California.

Federal prosecutors are taking steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization

NEW YORK -- Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company. The assets include Islamic centers in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston, more than 100 acres in Virginia, and a 36-story office tower...

And so a personnel file already teeming with red flags gets another giant one. If you’re wondering how a British newspaper managed to track down this information when the U.S. military apparently couldn’t, you’re not alone. There’s no question now that we need congressional hearings into how the army missed the warning signs on Hasan, especially given the suspicions as to why they might have looked the other way. Chop chop, Messrs. Boehner and Cantor. Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in...

Swiss Muslims Open Mosque Doors Swiss Muslims hope to promote better understanding of their religion Muslims in many parts of Switzerland have invited the public into mosques - three weeks before a vote on whether to ban the construction of minarets. Muslim organisations say they hope their open day will counter what they say are fears and prejudices. The conservative group that initiated the vote - the largest party in the Swiss parliament - says minarets are a symbol of Muslim political power. Opinion polls suggest the proposed ban will be rejected by voters. A Muslim community leader in Zurich,...

The Left, champions of strict separation of church and state, have come out in support of an American theocracy. How can this be? Could this possibly be the same political machine that ritualistically goes from town to town scanning courthouses for explicit references to God, or even worse, the Ten Commandments? Or the establishment telling little Susie she cannot pray at school? Or the organization forbidding the reading of scripture, even on a purely non-sectarian, academic basis? Surely we can't be talking about the same ideologues. But there is no mistake. The Left supports theocracy, as long as it is...

"Muslim in Washington, DC: "I'm not scared to die! I will kill you! I will blow people up and the Metro!"" SNIPPET: ""Three blocks of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest were cleared of cars and pedestrians. Adjacent buildings and restaurants were evacuated..." "DC Security Scare Becomes Federal Case," by Bob Barnard for MyFoxDC, October 8 (thanks to Heidi): WASHINGTON, D.C. - A man who was arrested in a security scare in Northwest D.C. on Tuesday night threatened to blow up the Friendship Heights Metro station, according to a criminal complaint in the case. It was a chaotic scene Tuesday night in Friendship...

Day 1: The Journey Begins Tonight my friend Bassam Tariq and I came up with an insanely random idea: What if we prayed at a different mosque every single day for the month of Ramadan? Hence, this Web site was born. Tonight we prayed at Masjid Rehman, located on West 29th Street and Broadway. The place was insanely jam packed, you should have seen how many taxi cabs were parked outside the place. This is a true story: I was so cramped inside the masjid, that when I went down for sajdah (the prostration), some guy behind me had his...

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.councillor.calls.for.action.against.megamosque.group/24166.htm "Christian councillor calls for action against ‘mega-mosque’ group" SNIPPET: "A Christian councillor is calling on an east London council to take action against the Islamic group planning to build a ‘mega-mosque’ close to the site of the 2012 Olympics." by Jenna Lyle Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 14:04 (BST) SNIPPET: "Tablighi Jamaat has come under the close observation of intelligence services in recent years over suspected links to terrorism, despite the group’s insistence that it does not preach violence. This week it emerged that the leader of the airline plot terrorist cell regularly attended a Tablighi Jamaat-controlled mosque in...

SNIPPET: "The Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) name has come up before in connection with terrorism plots, including the October 2002 Portland Seven and the September 2002 Lackawanna Six cases in the United States, as well as the August 2006 plot to bomb airliners en route from London to the United States, the July 7, 2005, London Underground bombings and the July 2007 attempted bombings in London and Glasgow, Scotland. Over the past several years we also have received several queries about TJ from U.S. law enforcement officials who are concerned about the group’s presence and activities in the United States. U.S....

State officials are examining whether public money has been improperly used to pay for Islamic mosques on charter school campuses in Blaine and Inver Grove Heights. Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, said officials will study Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy's (TiZA) use of state "lease aid'' grants, which were created more than a decade ago to help charter schools rent adequate facilities. "If it is subsidizing a mosque, in our view, that would be a violation of state and federal law,'' Anderson said. The probe is the latest in a series of church-vs.-state conflicts involving TiZA...

FBI Director Defends Use of Informants in Mosques June 08, 2009 LOS ANGELES — FBI Director Robert Mueller on Monday defended the agency's use of informants within U.S. mosques, despite complaints from Muslim organizations that worshippers and clerics are being targeted instead of possible terrorists. Mueller's comments came just days after a Michigan Muslim organization asked the Justice Department to investigate complaints that the FBI is asking the faithful to spy on Islamic leaders and worshippers. Similar alarm followed the disclosure earlier this year that the FBI planted a spy in Southern California mosques. "We don't investigate places, we investigate...

Burhan Hassan's family says he was gunned down in Somalia. Hassan was one of about 20 young men who vanished from the streets of Minneapolis in November, only to reappear as warriors in Somalia. Abubakar Assadique is the mosque Hassan attended. Yesterday, there were prayers there for Hassan, but there are also allegations from Hassan's family: they say the mosque was responsible for the 17-year-old's decision to go to Somalia. They also say that his death may be connected to his decision to return to Minnesota. The mosque denies any involvement in any of the young men's decision to go...

Assailants have carried out arson attacks on four separate mosques in Istanbul, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. According to a report on HaberTurk television, no one was wounded in the attacks, and damage to the mosques was minimal. Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti or chief cleric for Istanbul, confirmed Tuesday that fires had broken out in four mosques. He would not say if they had been caused by arson. Last year, police arrested a mentally unstable man for a series of arson attacks on mosques in Istanbul.

Italy: 60% of mosques run by Muslim Brotherhood 60% of the mosques in Italy are possibly controlled either directly or indirectly by Islamic fundamentalists, according to Alexandre Del Valle, a French researcher from the University of Paris and an expert on the Arab world. Del Valle says that more than 50%, maybe even 60% of the mosques in Italy are run by fanatical imams linked to the UCOII and the Muslim Brotherhood. He says the Italians should also be suspicious of financing initiatives by moderate Muslim states, such as Morocco. Del Valle also warns against halal butchers. While only 5%...

I admire Congressman Peter King---he just doesn't give a rat's ass who he angers, he is going to suggest what's right whether it makes him popular or not. He created a fire storm suggesting its time for the US government to more closely monitor Mosques in the US. He fought the Democrats in congress to provide whistle blowers with “immunity for reporting suspicious activities and mitigating terrorist threats relating to transportation security,” He also was a fighter for the cause of "Libel tourism," and he told the truth about Gitmo Prison. Now he is being attacked by the Terrorist enabling...

Muslim leaders Saturday attacked as "bigoted" comments made by Rep. Peter King involving mosques and terrorism, although King shot back that he believes there is a "real problem" involving some mosques on Long Island. In response to a recent Department of Homeland Security report about right-wing extremism, King told MSNBC Friday the department "has never put out a report talking about look out for mosques. Look out for Islamic terrorists in our country. Look out for the fact that very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police. If they sent out a report saying that, there would be...

Months of deteriorating relationships between the FBI and major American Muslim organizations came to a head when revelations of a FBI informant posing as a convert in mosques became public in February 2009. The incident, combined with the FBI's disengagement from communications with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has lead several American Muslim advocacy groups to consider a suspension of ongoing outreach with the FBI. The growing tension was raised during a Senate hearing where FBI Director Robert Mueller was questioned about the Bureau's conduct about investigating Muslim organizations. Alleged FBI Informant at California MosquesThe activities of undercover FBI...

Having forcibly taken over Buner district adjoining Swat Valley, Taliban militants have begun using mosques in the area as "recruitment centres" to attract youths to join their ranks. Almost all mosques in villages in Buner district are being used by the Taliban to recruit local residents for their cause of enforcing Sharia or Islamic law in the Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the rest of the country, media reports said on Monday. The entry of Taliban into Buner, which is just about 100 km from the federal capital, has raised alarm throughout Pakistan as to the intentions of the...

A Middle East expert and former Air Force special agent is set to launch a "counter-terrorism tour" across America in which he plans to visit a mosque in each state in 50 days to assess their threat to the nation's security. Dave Gaubatz told WND the ultimate aim of his project, which begins April 16, is to shut down Islamic centers "that advocate violence against America" and to prosecute the Islamic leaders "for sedition or treason if they are encouraging their worshippers to attack America from the 'inside.'" "This objective will only be met if American citizens become involved in...

A coalition of Muslim-American groups claims the FBI has been planting counterterrorism spies in mosques in some U. S. cities. Last month, 10 Muslim-American organizations threatened to stop working with the FBI on outreach efforts in the Muslim-American community. Dr. Khalid J. Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, said he is concerned about the situation and hopes the FBI provides some answers soon. “[Muslims] are asking questions, wondering if there are moles spying on mosques throughout the country,” Qazi told The Buffalo News. “People ask me about it, and I have to tell them...

"Unindicted co-conspirator in terror funding case complains about FBI informants in mosques" SNIPPET: "ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A Muslim advocacy organization said Friday that American Muslims are feeling "anger, disillusionment and mistrust" toward the FBI in the aftermath of reports that it used an informant to infiltrate Southland mosques. "The American Muslim community has never wavered from its commitment to keeping America safe, nor has it hesitated from cooperating with various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, in ensuring the security of all U.S. citizens," the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement."

The UK's mosques are out of touch with British Muslims and failing to root out extremism, a think tank has claimed. The Quilliam Foundation, a group which opposes radical Islam, quotes a study saying 97% of imams were born abroad. It says the lecture before Friday prayers in 44% of mosques is not in English, while nearly half have no women's facilities.

Right Side News' first issue of an eight part series written by Kathy Shaidle. excerpt: Today many Americans are either blissfully ignorant of, or simply indifferent to, the slow, incremental growth of radical Islam in their midst. We sometimes hear about terrorist cells or suspicious Muslim "compounds" on the news. However, these stories represent merely the tip of an Islamic iceberg that could very well doom America. Not today or tomorrow. But in our lifetimes? That is a real possibility. And don't shrug off Islam as "just another religion." Muslim sharia law deems women to be inferior to men, and...

January 26, 2009 Why we are helpless dealing with enemies on our own soil From the Cold War to the current Islamofascist threat--do we ever learn? By Wes Vernon "With a stroke of the pen, he [President Obama] effectively declared an end to the 'war on terror,' as President George W. Bush had defined it." So reads a front-page story in Friday's Washington Post. Stop right there. That is a snapshot of the wishful rose-colored-glasses mentality that opinion leaders in academia, media, big-money foundations, entertainment, etc., have foisted on Americans (with varying degrees of success) for decades. It lasted throughout...

ISLAMABAD: On the heels of their crusade against girls going to schools, the Taliban have now issued new dictum in the areas under their sway asking parents of the grown up daughters to marry them to militants or "face dire consequences". This new force-marriage campaign is being run in most of the areas in the Pakistan's troubled NWFP through regular announcements made in mosques to congregations. Such instances have come to light recently through some of the affected women daring to go to authorities for justice rather than meekly surrender to the militants’ dictates. Salma, who teaches in a primary...

When the five Muslims convicted this month of plotting to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix were charged, the New Jersey mosque where four of the men worshipped reacted to negative publicity by holding an "emergency town hall meeting" to calm neighbors and persuade Americans that Islam poses no threat. But having investigated the Islamic Center of South Jersey one year ago, Middle East expert and former Air Force special agent Dave Gaubatz insists not only is the mosque a threat to national security, it represents a pattern that has prompted him to launch a massive project to systematically classify...

UNCLE USAMA WANT'S YOU. Increasingly the Islamic terrorists are using the USA as a fertile field in recruiting Muslims for their next wave of sick bastards willing to kill themselves and more tragically, blow innocents up. So what is our Department of Homeland Security doing to stop this recruiting on our shores? As the commercial used to say, "Nuttin Honey." In a PJM column today, Patrick Poole says the lays out the severity of problem and the Department of Homeland Security's lack of action:

A banned Islamic terrorist group funded with cash raised in British mosques is believed to be behind the Mumbai attacks. Kashmiri separatists Lashkar-e-Taiba, ‘The Army of the Righteous’, which has strong links to Al Qaeda, is accused of previous terrorist outrages in India.  And intercepted telephone and radio communications before and during the latest attacks apparently suggest a link. Indian officials say at least one of the gunmen captured after the attacks is part of a Lashkar network. The group last week denied any responsibility and the unknown group Deccan Mujahideen said it was behind the atrocity.  But earlier...

The bizarre story behind the construction of Boston's most controversial building

A leading critic of Islam isn't surprised there has been virtually no coverage or action taken against a Muslim group that has been running an illegal "get out the vote" campaign in swing-state mosques. The group, Muslim Americans for Obama [MAFO], insists that all of its voter registration activity is non-partisan, despite the fact that its mission statement says it was launched in August 2008 "to provide a vehicle for Muslim-American supporters of Barack Obama to organize and mobilize our fellow citizens to get out the vote to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States." Continuing, the...

Does the NYPD guard churches during Lent or Advent? Doubtful. Jewish synagogues during Passover or Yom Kippur? Perhaps, but certainly not with anywhere near the show of force it will apparently display around mosques during Ramadan. From the New York Daily News:The NYPD Tuesday announced heightened security for the city's mosques during the upcoming Islamic holy observance of Ramadan.Local precincts will dispatch more officers on foot patrol and in squad cars to patrol the areas surrounding the mosques during the month-long religious observance that begins on Monday."Collaboration with the public is a vital ingredient in our efforts to keep...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – As Islam makes inroads in the United States, American Muslims are setting up mega-mosques that combine religious tradition with typical American convenience. Modelled on the huge, non-Catholic churches that offer their congregations of at least 2,000 members several different sites for worship, US mega-mosques have become a necessity in some places. "Frequently, we have buildings designed for the Friday prayer, which is the largest, for 1,000 people and you have 2,000 to 3,000 show up," said Corey Saylor of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). To accommodate the overflow, which also results in traffic jams when...

Islamic bigotry is still bigotry Last Updated: 12:01am BST 31/08/2008 In January 2007, Channel 4 broadcast Undercover Mosque, an investigation into what was being preached in mainstream mosques in Britain. The results were shocking: imams were shown praising the murder of British soldiers, attacking democracy, and condemning attempts to integrate Muslims into British society. The reaction to that programme proved the widespread reluctance to accept the reality of what takes place under the blanket of religion: Undercover Mosque was condemned for "damaging community relations" by West Midlands Police, who wanted to prosecute the programme makers and Channel 4 under racial...

Muslim beliefs are barely understood in the United States, if not intentionally distorted. It can also be hard for outsiders to know who speaks for Muslims, a diverse and complex group still finding its footing in America. **snip** Leaders hope that someday they will create a statewide body, a coalition for what may be the largest Muslim population in the nation.

AMSTERDAM, 30/08/08 - A majority on Amsterdam city council is distancing itself from Mayor Job Cohen's idea of subsidising mosques. Cohen wants the local authority to help religious groups build a house of prayer, as has already happened with the infamous Westermoskee mosque. It is not according to him a matter of subsidising a faith but of fostering integration. Labour (PvdA), conservatives (VVD) and Christian democrats (CDA) rejected Cohen's proposals in a council meeting. The leftwing Greens (GroenLinks), Socialist Party (SP) and centre-left D66 did support the Islam subsidies, proposed recently by Cohen in a report on the separation of...

Italy’s Northern League, the populist, xenophobic, sometimes separatist movement that is a key component of Silvio Berlusconi’s governing coalition, has proposed new legislation which would effectively halt construction of new Islamic mosques. The bill, which the League’s chief of deputies Roberto Cota is expected to send to parliament next week, would require regional approval for the building of mosques. It would also require that a local referendum be held, that there be no minaret or loudspeakers calling the faithful to prayer, and sermons must be in Italian, not Arabic. Chances of this being approved as it stands are slim, since...

Muslims are establishing Mosques all over America ranging from the ostentatious, such as in Washington D.C., to academically-cloaked university Islamic centers, to innocuous storefronts and even prison chapels. One and all have the same aims: Hold the faithful in line, recruit as many new adherents by any and all means, and indoctrinate one and all in the imperative of Islamic conquest. It is in these Islamic places that the impressionable young and the fanatical adults are drilled with the duty to carry out Jihad against the Dar ul Harb ("land of war"-anyplace not completely under the rule of Islam.) Operating...

This now available from the U.S. State Department: "2009 Mosques of America Wall Calendar: Limited Edition for Ramadan." "Yep, you read that correctly. It's 'perfect for Muslim outreach efforts," according to a commentary at the Gates of Vienna blog. "Where's the ACLU on this one?" Screen capture of State Department's offering of "Mosques of America" calendar The product was being advertised by "Global Publishing Solutions," a division of the U.S. State Department, until bloggers started talking about it. Officials then apparently hid the page behind the security of a password-protected wall. However, the page is still viewable in a Google...

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have replaced top police and security officials in the Muslim dominated Xinjiang province, which is the hotbed of separatism and political violence. They have also closed down 41 "illegal" places of worship. These places of worship were used as training ground for conducting a "holy war", Chen Zhuangwei Chen, the police chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province, said.

This now available from the U.S. State Department: "2009 Mosques of America Wall Calendar: Limited Edition for Ramadan." "Yep, you read that correctly. It's 'perfect for Muslim outreach efforts," according to a commentary at the Gates of Vienna blog. "Where's the ACLU on this one?" The product was being advertised by "Global Publishing Solutions," a division of the U.S. State Department, until bloggers started talking about the product. Officials then apparently hid the page behind the security of a password-protected wall. However, a number of sources said the "offering" still was available in a Google cache of the website. According...

The planned construction of over 180 mosques in Germany is mobilizing right-wing xenophobes but also an increasing number of leftist critics. They fear the Muslim places of worship will facilitate the establishment of a completely parallel society. ... the media reported "turmoil" and an "enraged" audience in a school auditorium in Ehrenfeld, a district of the German city of Cologne. The mood was almost comparable to that of the protest gatherings once held against nuclear missiles or reactors. Instead the outrage was directed at a huge mosque planned for the area. Still, the words used by the project's opponents called...

In celebration of Ramadan, Global Publishing Solutions (GPS) is offering a limited edition of the 2009 Mosques in America Wall Calendar. This 12-month calendar is perfect for Muslim outreach efforts, as well as office and event giveaways. The wall calendar features a vibrant photograph or photomontage for each month, displaying the beauty of mosques in America. The upper half of the hanging calendar depicts mosque facades or interiors, and the lower half displays a monthly calendar grid. The 28-page calendar is saddle-stitched and measures 23 x 30 1/2 cm (9 x 12 inches).