AUSTRALIA will send troops to strife-torn central Mindanao in the southern Philippines under a landmark defence agreement designed to upgrade Canberra's role in the regional fight against Islamist terrorism.
As US-backed Philippines forces close in on Bali bombers and Jemaah Islamiah kingpins Dulmatin and Omar Patek, on southern Jolo island, Australian defence forces are planning military exercises with their Philippines counterparts in the Mindanao heartland of local and foreign al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Major-General Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the Philippine army's 6th infantry division, said he would meet with Australian ambassador to The Philippines Tony Hely and his defence attache Chris Burns tomorrow at military headquarters outside Cotabato City to discuss the details of the escalated defence co-operation program. Talks would centre on how the forces, in their joint exercises, would monitor al-Qaeda-linked terror cells and training camps.
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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21134072-421,00.html
Call to gag Muslim radicals (Australia)
January 29, 2007
NSW Jewish leaders want the state's anti-vilification laws applied to a radical Muslim group that has sparked outrage by bringing to Australia its call for an Islamic superstate. But they have stopped short of joining the Federal Opposition and NSW Government in demanding an outright ban on the extremist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir, a move that Prime Minister John Howard today reiterated that cannot occur until it is proven that anti-terrorism laws have been broken.
Indonesian cleric Ismail Yusanto yesterday outlined his vision for an Islamic utopia before a crowd of about 500 Muslims at Lakemba, in Sydney's south-west. Dr Yusanto and fellow members of Hizb ut-Tahrir said it could ease suffering around the world by creating an Islamic superstate - ruled by Sharia law - through jihad, or holy war.
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff today said Hizb ut-Tahrir's language - particularly in relation to Jews - overstepped the legal mark. But it was up to the authorities whether an outright ban should be slapped on the group. "Any ban is a matter for the Government to make a decision," Mr Alhadeff said. "
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http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21134271-662,00.html
A bleak picture of a generation of young British Muslims radicalised by anti-Western views and misplaced multicultural policies is shown in a survey published today. The study found disturbing evidence of young Muslims adopting more fundamentalist beliefs on key social and political issues than their parents or grandparents.
Forty per cent of Muslims between the ages of 16 and 24 said they would prefer to live under sharia law in Britain, a legal system based on the teachings of the Koran. The figure among over-55s, in contrast, was only 17 per cent. In some countries, people found guilty under sharia law face penalties such as beheading, stoning, the severing of a hand or being lashed.
The study, by the Right-wing think-tank Policy Exchange, also found a significant minority who expressed backing for Islamic terrorism. One in eight young Muslims said they admired groups such as al-Qa'eda that "are prepared to fight the West".
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/29/nmuslims29.xml
Yemeni Jews flee Islamist threat
Sunday, 28 January 2007
Forty-five Jewish people in Yemen have taken refuge in a hotel in northern Yemen after receiving death threats from Muslim extremists. The group fled their village 10 days ago when they were confronted by masked radical Islamist gunmen.
The minority community has followed a traditional way of life in the village of Salem for centuries. But, earlier this month, the Salem Jews received a letter accusing them of spreading vice and corruption. The message was clear - the Jews must leave the country or lose their lives.
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