Posted on 02/25/2006 7:10:24 PM PST by Imnotalib
KRASNODAR, Russia, July 24, (IslamOnline.net) - The United States has agreed to grant citizenship to 7,000 Ahiska Muslims who will be settled in Pennsylvania, reported a Russian newspaper on Friday, July 23.
The first 11-strong batch of the Ahiska Muslims, living in the Russian province of Krasnodar, left for Geneva on Thursday, July 22, before flying to Philadelphia, reported Novie Izvestia.
It added that the Muslims would be housed near the grand mosque in Philadelphia.
The paper recalled that Krasnodar governor Alexander Tkachev was notified of the American decision on February 15.
Izvestia said the Russian government does not treat Ahiska Muslims as citizens and has not therefore given them passports or IDs.
An official in Krasnodar administration had told Interfax on Tuesday, July 20, that of the 11,999 Ahiska Muslims living in the region, 4,943 have received Russian citizenship and 744 have embarked on Russian naturalization procedures.
He added that more than 5,000 others have expressed a desire to emigrate to the United States.
Earlier, Chingiz Neiman-zade, chairman of Vatan, a Meskheti Turks association based in Georgia, said the United States had offered to accept the Ahiska Muslims living in Krasnodar as immigrants.
"On February 16, the International Migration Organization began an information program in Krasnodar to explain the terms for the resettlement of the Ahiska Muslims in the U.S.," he told Chicago Tribune on Thursday, July 22.
"The immigrants will be provided with housing and furniture, they will be helped to learn the English language and to complete formalities needed for residence in the US, which is especially important, and have been promised life-long welfare allowances for pensioners and the disabled."
Happiness
Ahiska Muslims were happy with the American offer.
"This decision marks a great change in our life", said Tepeshon Swanidze, leader of the Ahiska Muslim community in Russia.
"We thank the US administration for its humanitarian decision", he added.
Ahiska Muslims , originally hailing from Anatolia, were exiled from their homeland after Russia seized the region of Ahiska following its 1828-1829 war with the Ottoman Empire.
Many Ahiska Muslims were forced to seek refugee in Erzurum in eastern Turkey after being persecuted by the Russian Cesar for supporting the Ottoman Empire.
Facing a similar fate under the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Ahiska Muslims fled to Uzbekistan in 1944.
One year later, they went to Azerbaijan where they currently reside.
Turkish and Azeri parliamentarians had recently appealed for an international intervention to pressure the Georgian government into allowing the return of Ahiska Muslims.
Ahiska became part of Georgia in 1918.
We work like hell and then retire (some of us, forced retirement or early retirement for various reasons) and our pension doesn't measure up to the bennies that the new immigrants get. And then our churches drill in us the need to "tithe" and then use that money to bring over more immigrants who are living better than we are. New apartment, new car, food stamps, checks cut from church coffers....oh well, the Lord is in control, I guess.
How can anyone continue to support the Bush government?
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You just don't get it. He's taking the issue away from the Democrats.
No wait.
They are taking welfare payments Americans won't take.
No wait.
I know. They are our best friends in the war on terror.
Besides, how dare you question anything he does? He's the greatest human who ever walked the earth. He looked on each one of these people's heart and pronounced it good.
Since I'm venting here: I too have stopped giving to the RNC and other Pubbies who hound me for donations. And I'm sick of the church telling me to give tithes and offerings over above my tithes. The pastors are living better than me, and then they send my money overseas or give it to immigrants who are taking our jobs. I am thoroughly sick of their pleas that I buy my way into heaven.
give me your tired, your poor, your oppressed, yearning to be free....
You think there might be a reason for this?
Surely, this is a joke.
The good Lord expects us to help others. He doesn't expect us to forfeit our own lives to do it. He said, "The poor you will always have with you." That was when Mary was going to anoint his feet with expensive oils.
The implication was that we should take care of our own too. Jesus would not want us to trash our own house that our family lives in, to help an endless stream of other poor people.
You provide for your family first. Our national family is getting screwed by this process and our leaders couldn't care less.
All you have to do to know the difference is to listen to Al Gore's recent speech in saudi arabia. The man is a total lunatic.
Picked it up on http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/ and posted it as more evidence that our government is incapable of realizing that Arabs/Muslims are not our friends and we need to protect ourselves from them. We're too politically correct to recognize that when all the terrorist attacks are perpetrated by Muslims, it isn't profiling to protect ourselves against.... Muslims.
Was checking recent headlines there because of some rants from some guy claiming all the opponents of the UAE deal are Arabaphobic.
I say there's good recent for that - check out the link to Islamic terror attacks. Over 3,000 listed since 9-11. we should be shipping Muslims out, not importing them.
If we want to do good deeds, there are plenty of people hurting in the world who don't believe in EverybodythatisntMuslimaphobia. Or EverybodythatisntSunniMuslimaphobia. Or EverybodythatisntShi'iteMuslimaphobia.
Right, call your congressman first thing Monday morning. They could all use a laugh at the first of the week, and a constituant who calls up paniced over an artical from an Islamist source that is over 7 months old with have the whole capitol laughing all week.
The immigrants will be provided with housing and furniture, they will be helped to learn the English language and to complete formalities needed for residence in the US, which is especially important, and have been promised life-long welfare allowances for pensioners and the disabled.That's insane: nobody can be forced to learn English in this country. If I was one of these people, I'd immediately sue for a big fat settlement, and then promptly move back to the home country, live high and fat on the hog, and hire a bunch of militia guys. I'd consider running for public office too.
Let them all in. Because, by God, He will soon sort the goats from the lambs.
Why would the Capital laugh all week long if we call-don't matter how long ago the article is-why would this be so funny.
is this Alice in Wonderland?
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