Free Republic

Observers say that by granting citizenship to all descendants of expelled Muslims, Spain, virtually overnight, would end up with the largest Muslim population in the European Union."Is Spain aware of what might be assumed when it makes peace with some but not with others? Is Spain aware of what this decision [not to include Muslims in the return] could cost?... Does Spain have alternatives to the foreign investment from Muslims? — Ahmed Bensalh, Morisco-Moroccan journalist. "Persecution of Jews was just that, while what happened with the Arabs was part of a conflict. There is no basis for comparison." — Jose...

Muslim persecution of Christians is the “Achilles’ Heel” of the global Islamic movement’s image—the surest way of exposing its supremacist and intolerant elements and one of the main reasons the major media and establishment rarely report or address it. The logic (fully explained here) can be summarized as follows: Islamic and jihadi attacks targeting the West or Israel pose no problem to the image of Islam. No matter how violent or brutal, no matter how many Islamic slogans are shrieked—“Allah commands the subjugation of infidels!”—Muslim violence against the West and Israel will always be dismissed as desperate acts of disempowered,...

BAGHDAD: A senior Iraqi official claims Al-Qaeda fighters hunkered down in a city they seized late last month west of Baghdad have enough heavy weapons to allegedly take the country's capital. Senior deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Asadi said Monday that Iraqi forces are fighting "fierce battles" against heavily armed militants to recapture parts of Ramadi, the capital of the western Anbar province, and also the nearby city of Fallujah. He says the weapons in Fallujah that are in the hands of Iraq's Al-Qaeda branch and other Sunni militant groups battling the Shiite-led government are "advanced and huge and enough to...

"When you meet the unbelievers, strike at their necks..." -- Qur'an 47:4"Violence against Christians in Syria is becoming 'one of the worst persecutions endured by Christians in this part of the third millennium.'" Shhh! "Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims." -- Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, February 8, 2013"Syria: Beheading of a Christian terrifies community," by Martin Barillas for Spero News, January 16:Islamists beheaded a young Christian man and seriously wounded another...

Militant Islamist rebels in Syria linked to Al-Qaeda have asked for “understanding and forgiveness” for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man’s head. In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar Al-Assad. But the head was recognised from the video as belonging to a member of Ahrar Al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist rebel group that often...

Lebanese militants have been streaming into Syria in recent months to help that government in its war with the rebels—and by all accounts, they’ve been making a difference in an ongoing and critical battle in eastern Syria. Desperate to slow that tide, Syrian rebels are trying a brutal new tactic to dissuade Hezbollah militants from crossing the border: They’re decapitating captured fighters and sending the heads back home to Lebanon, according to several reports and pictures posted on various sites. One Israeli Facebook page called “News In SOS” quoted and translated Syrian rebel sources late last month saying they sent...

For "America's Pastor," everything seems to be going extremely well right now in the USA. Lakewood Church is bursting at the seams. Pastor Osteen continues to be invited to speak on TV shows such as Larry King Live. AIROST will soon be adding routes to five new cities. Your Best Life Now has set numerous sales records. And now his new book (Become a Better You) is ready to come into stores all over the USA. One problem remains for Pastor Joel. His books are not selling well in a large part of the world: the "10/40 window." The "10/40...

In a fascinating article for FrontPage Magazine titled “Now the Twelfth Imam Can Come,” scholar of Islam Robert Spencer provides a crash course on the nature of Twelver Shi’ite theology, with particular reference to a nuclearizing Iran. Shi’ites believe in the return of the so-called Twelfth Imam who is descended from Mohammed’s son-in-law Ali ibn Abni Talib, the fourth caliph assassinated in 661 in a succession war, after which the split between Sunnis and Shi’ites eventually became permanent. As Spencer explains, the Shi’ites continued a line of imams, “members of Muhammad’s household and his prophetic heirs. Each one in...

Al-Qaeda-Linked Force Captures Fallujah Amid Rise In Violence In Iraq By Liz Sly, January 3 BEIRUT — A rejuvenated al-Qaeda-affiliated force asserted control over the western Iraqi city of Fallujah on Friday, raising its flag over government buildings and declaring an Islamic state in one of the most crucial areas that U.S. troops fought to pacify before withdrawing from Iraq two years ago. The capture of Fallujah came amid an explosion of violence across the western desert province of Anbar in which local tribes, Iraqi security forces and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have been fighting one another for days in a confusingly...

Lebanese security forces have captured Majid bin Muhammad al Majid, a Saudi jihadist who leads the al Qaeda-associated Abdullah Azzam Brigades, according to reports. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah for its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Majid was reportedly detained on or before Dec. 29, according to Reuters, but the circumstances of his capture were not disclosed. Lebanon's defense minister told AFP that Majid is in custody and is being interrogated. US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said that Majid is in Lebanese custody and was detained in early December. The...

The US financial aid designated for the Palestinian Authority (PA) is set to grow considerably in 2014 to $440 million, up from $426 million in 2013. The aid aims to bail out the PA, which in June was revealed to owe $4.2 billion in internal and external debt. Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) representative in Washington DC, Maen Erekat, reported the figure, saying the transfer was already agreed upon by Congress, but will be influenced by progress in the peace talks with Israel. The PA recently declared the talks have failed, and threatened diplomatic action against Israel. …

United States Secretary of State John Kerry has offered Israel the release of Jonathan Pollard, Channel 10 News reported on Friday. According to the report, Kerry’s offer was made as part of the discussions surrounding the upcoming planned release of 26 terrorists from Israeli jails as a “gesture” to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Kol Yisrael radio, which also reported about Kerry’s offer, said it relates to the fourth stage of the terrorist release and is conditional upon Israel agreeing to release Israeli Arabs who have committed acts of terrorism. Israeli officials were quoted by both outlets as having said...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called his Egyptian counterpart, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Sunday to again tsk-tsk the interim government for not being “inclusive.” It was the first such call in a month and comes after Egypt branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. That came in the wake of a bombing at the security directorate headquarters in Mansoura that killed 16, but Egyptians made clear that the designation was warranted by a long history of incitement and violence by the MB. “Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called Egyptian Minister of Defense General Al-Sisi today to discuss recent events in...

At least 10 people have been killed and 10 others injured in an explosion on a trolleybus in the Russian city of Volgograd, Russian media report. The blast comes a day after 17 people died in a suicide bomb attack at the central station in the city. Security has been tightened at railway stations and airports across Russia. Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run-up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi. The Olympic venue is close to Russia's volatile north Caucasus region. Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south...

Increasingly vocal in its frustration over U.S. policies in the Mideast, Saudi Arabia is strengthening ties elsewhere, seeking out an alignment that will bolster its position after it was pushed to the sidelines this year. It may find a solution in France, whose president is ending the year with 24 hours of high-level meetings with the Saudi leadership in a visit intended to showcase commercial and diplomatic strength. […] The Saudis also watch with trepidation at the warming ties between Iran and the West. The way the nuclear talks were handled—with U.S. officials secretly meeting their Iranian counterparts before more...

Cabinet spokesman Sherief Shawki blamed the blast on the Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, and said Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi had officially declared the group a terrorist organization.

As most Americans are planning for this week's Christmas Celebration, it seems the Obama Administration has found itself a nice little military conflict to get us involved in with the possible hope of deflecting from the failures that is Obamacare. CBS Evening News tonight reported that more than 120 U.S. troops station in Spain are heading for the African Nation of Djibouti to help with the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy Personnel from the nation of Southern Sudan, which has been in the grips of a civil war for months now. Last week 4 U.S. Military Personnel were wounded as...

There's a very big story developing in Turkey that all foreign policy mavens should be watching closely. Exactly how big remains to be seen, but the stakes are huge. At issue: Will the decade-long domination of Turkish politics by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) continue? Or is the Erdogan era about to come crashing down, fatally weakened by scandal, infighting, and authoritarian overreach? Early Tuesday morning, police in Istanbul and Ankara carried out a wave of stunning arrests that included powerful businessmen, the sons of three cabinet ministers, and the head of...

This is by far the most bizarre, repulsive observation, overview of the extent in which the Arab/Muslim culture defies the very concept of what it means to be human. I've taken to make the full transcript of the entire interview available here below as it appears on screen as translated by MEMRI-TV. MEMRI_TV is known to the West for their absolutely accurate transcription of the local Arab language into English. I do make an occasional comment of my own on specific statements that can not otherwise be described. I just want to state for the record that the content of...

Prince Charles has said he is “deeply troubled” by the plight of Christians in the Middle East. In an address on Tuesday at London’s Clarence House, the Prince of Wales said that Christians in the Middle-East were being persecuted by “Islamist fundamentalist militants,” and he called upon the followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam to unite to end the suffering. Prince Charles said: “I have for some time now been deeply troubled by the growing difficulties faced by the Christian communities in various parts of the Middle East. “It seems to me that we cannot ignore the fact that Christians...