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Posted on 05/01/2007 8:52:12 PM PDT by nwctwx
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SNIPPET - QUOTE:
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=68537
you are here: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: Yemen Explosions
Consular Affairs Bulletins
Middle East / N. Africa - Yemen
21 May 2007
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16 May 2007
Warden Message: Sanaa Demonstration, May 16
30 Apr 2007
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28 Apr 2007
Warden Message: Yemen Demonstration
10 Apr 2007
Worldwide Caution Public Announcement
2 Mar 2007
Warden Message: Southern Sana’a Fighting Ends
U.S. Embassy Sanaa released the following Warden Message on May 21:
In light of reports of explosions in Sanaa on Sunday, May 20, the Embassy remains concerned about the possibility of further incidents on and around Unity Day (Tuesday, May 22). The Embassy has instructed its staff to remain in their homes on Monday evening through Wednesday and to restrict non-essential travel outside of Sanaa through Saturday, May 26. The Embassy will be closed for Unity Day on Tuesday, May 22 and in honor of US Memorial Day on Saturday, May 26, but will be open on Wednesday, May 23 as normal.
The Embassy urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security: maintain a high level of vigilance, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile, vary times and routes for all travel, and ensure travel documents are current. The Embassy reminds American citizens that celebratory gunfire on the occasion of Unity Day and other events, can be dangerous.
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_936.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Tue May 22 2007 22:43:59 GMT-0700.
YEMEN
April 30, 2007
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373414
TERRORISM FOCUS
“Is Al-Qaeda in Yemen Regrouping?”
By Gregory D. Johnsen
(May 22, 2007)
Jihadis, do you know who is watching you — right now?
###
http://internet-haganah.org/hmedia/27apr07/27apr07-salafy_forums.html
alhanein.com
al-ommh.net
###
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373415
TERRORISM FOCUS
“Jihadis Post Scenario for the Defeat of the United States”
By Abdul Hameed Bakier, Erich Marquardt
(May 22, 2007)
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “On May 14, jihadi forum users Abu Kandahar and Roslan al-Shami posted a five-point scenario for the collapse of the United States and the rise of the Islamic ummah, entitled, “The Next Strikes in the Heart of America, When and How.” It appeared on the al-ommh.net forum, although at least one other jihadi forum, alhanein.com, reposted the scenario. The posting outlines a scenario for attacking the United States, although the sheer size of the operation suggests that it is jihadi propaganda and not an actual plan that could be operationalized. The alleged operation is dedicated to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq.”
###
###
Previously:
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/006062.html
20 May 2007
“’Kill the Kafr Now!’”
SNIPPET: “The fate of the BBC’s Alan Johnston, held hostage in Gaza by the jihadist “Jaish al-Islam” group, was put to a vote today on the Palestinian forum al-Ommh.
It was the opinion of the vast majority of participants that Johnston should be killed, and the sooner the better.”
#
~
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/006004.html
14 April 2007
“Demographics don’t lie”
by Aaron Weisburd
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Jihadi website demographics don’t lie. Morocco is a case in point.
The Society for Internet Research gathered demographic data for the leading Arabic-language jihadi forums during 2006, and the data indicates that Moroccans form a significant part of the rank and file of the global jihad.
• Across all the sites we studied Moroccans ranked third, immediately behind Saudis and Egyptians.
• On the Tajdeed forum Moroccans ranked second.
• On al-Hesbah forum Moroccans ranked third.
• On al-Ommh forum Moroccans ranked second.”
ON THE NET...
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www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=as%20sahab&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&search_category=0
video.google.com/videosearch?um=1&tab=wv&hl=en&q=as+sahab
video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=as+sahab&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
http://www.memri.org/jihad.html
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=9
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http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373417
“Al-Qaeda’s Media Doctrine: Evolution from Cheerleader to Opinion-Shaper”
By Michael Scheuer
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Most recently, al-Qaeda’s al-Sahab media organization has demonstrated an ability to present, and help others to present, a reliable source of near real-time news coverage from the jihad fronts for Muslims. From both Iraq and Afghanistan—where heretofore the Taliban took almost no interest in media operations—there now flow almost daily, high-quality videos of mujahideen military activity against the forces of the U.S.-led coalitions, interviews with important insurgent commanders and tapes of the retribution exacted from those Muslims who cooperate with the “occupiers.” These tapes are a solid contribution to al-Qaeda’s goal of reducing Arab and Muslim defeatism, and offer Muslims around the world a third news source option. In addition to Western outlets like CNN, VOA and BBC, and the Arab satellite channels like al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyah, al-Qaeda and its allies have, via the internet, given Muslims another option for viewing the news from the war zones, and one with a blatant but well-informed Islamist slant.
Beyond its battlefield successes, therefore, al-Qaeda and its allies have scored an impressive media achievement, moving from the status of jihadi cheerleaders to that of highly modern and competent media operatives and propagandists whose focus is on influencing the Muslim audience. In addition to al-Sahab’s ability to dominate the international media for days at a time when it presents new audio or videotapes of bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, it and the other media organizations it supports or cooperates with have established a pervasive media presence via the internet. This not only provides on-demand religious and military instruction and near real-time news coverage, but denies the militaries of the United States and its Western allies one pillar of their military doctrine—information dominance. The success of al-Qaeda and the Islamists in the media arena has denied Western military planners much of their previous ability to shape the battlefield environment by controlling information flows. Indeed, it may be that the U.S. military and its allies are now in the position of having to look for means with which to break the Islamists’ information domination on battlefields and contested regions across the Muslim world.”
http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdf
“Muslim
Americans
Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2007
PewResearchCenter
~
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/483/muslim-americans
“Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream”
May 22, 2007
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11977&Itemid=128
May 23, 2007
Release A070523a
COALITION FORCES RAID SECRET CELL CACHE, DETAIN 19
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed two terrorists, detained 19 suspected terrorists and uncovered a cache of Iranian money and bomb-making materials Wednesday morning in Sadr City.
The individual targeted during the raid is suspected of facilitating weapons shipments from Iran to secret cell terrorist elements in Baghdad, Basrah and Maysan province.
Coalition Forces searched 11 buildings during the operation. As Coalition Forces moved to the site, four armed terrorists engaged them with small arms and automatic weapons. The ground force, acting in self-defense toward the hostile threat, returned fire and confirmed two of the four terrorists were killed.
As they continued to search the buildings, Coalition Forces found a large quantity of Iranian money, more than $6,000 in U.S. money and improvised explosive device-making materials.
“Rogue militia elements and terrorists are seeking to destroy the future of Iraq,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “We will continue to capture or kill them and dismantle their organizations.”
-30-
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070523-123332-3915r.htm
“CBP recruiting volunteers to train Iraqi border guards”
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 23, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham is looking for a few good men and women, seeking out veteran U.S. Border Patrol agents and CBP officers willing to train Iraqis to guard their borders.
In a message to all Border Patrol agents and CBP officers, Mr. Basham said the agency wants to “support the reconstruction efforts in Iraq” by deploying volunteers as temporary advisers to help the U.S.-backed Iraqi government seal its border against insurgents.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070517-6.html
“Executive Order: National Security Professional Development”
(May 17, 2007)
~
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=turkey&ID=SP159607
Special Dispatch Series - No. 1596
May 23, 2007 No.1596
“Turkish PM Erdogan in Speech During Term As Istanbul Mayor Attacks Turkey’s Constitution, Describing it As ‘A Huge Lie’: ‘Sovereignty Belongs Unconditionally and Always To Allah’; ‘One Cannot Be a Muslim, and Secular’”
SNIIPPET: “Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose political origins are with the Milli Gorus -the radical and political Islamist movement founded by the former Islamist PM Erbakan - often attacked Turkey’s secular regime and it’s Constitution.
A video clip of one of PM Erdogan’s speeches delivered during his term as Istanbul’s Mayor, (1994-1998) can be watched at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3hkWCnA8c “
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iraq
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html
#
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1838291/posts
http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/05/22/iraq_iran_sign_pipeline_deal/5013/
“Iraq, Iran sign pipeline deal”
Published: May 22, 2007 at 6:57 PM
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “BAGHDAD, May 22 (UPI) — Iraq agreed to increase oil exports directly to Iran via a new pipeline in the south, though export capacity in the north remains stuck.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Voices of Iraq news agency reports the oil will be used in Iran’s refineries.”
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07050142.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Monday, May 21, 2007
Pastor, Wife Stand Strong after Muslim Attack
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
ACEH, INDONESIA (ANS) — Journalist Lucille Talusan, in a story written for www.CBNNews.com, has revealed that Pastor Luther Saragih and his wife Netty are standing strong after a Muslim attack in the troubled Indonesian region of Aceh.
Talusan said that last year an angry mob set fire to a church that had stood strong for 28 years.
“The pastor and his wife had to flee through the jungle for safety,” she said. “Netty is emotional as she recounts that fateful night when she and her husband were inside their church as angry Muslims poured liters of gasoline on the building and set it on fire.
“Her face was covered during television interviewees to protect them from retribution.”
“When I heard the Muslims say ‘Kill them, kill them,’ I thought I was dreaming,” Netty said. “I jumped at the back of the house and fell to the ground. I was crying and praying, “Where are you God, where are you God?”
Talusan said that Netty’s husband, Luther Saragih, has been the pastor of the Indonesian Evangelical Mission Church since 2003. He says it was about midnight when two trucks and 50 motorcycles carrying more than 100 Muslims surrounded their church building.
“The people were holding swords ready to kill us,” Pastor Saragih said. “But we were astonished when they just looked at us as we passed in front of them. I believe God’s angels were there to protect us.”
Pastor Saragih explained that the Muslims became enraged when they received invitations to a revival meeting at the church. Though he denied sending the invitations, police ordered him to cancel the revival gathering.
Despite the police order, 60 Christians continued to meet for prayer.
“The police said the people will be angry if we continue with the fellowship, but I did not see anything wrong if we worshiped God,” Saragih said. “We prayed and read Psalm 23.”
Talusan then wrote, “Pastor Saragih and his wife survived the attack by running into the jungle while their church burned to the ground. Netty, who was then three months pregnant, fell several times as she fled. She was hospitalized to prevent a possible miscarriage.”
Because of death threats, Pastor Saragih and his wife fled from danger only to find themselves preaching in a much bigger town. Several months later, CBN News met up with Saragih and Netty - and their newborn baby girl.
“At first I told myself I will stop sharing the gospel.” Saragih told CBN News. “I must admit I questioned God for what happened to us. But He allowed me this amazing experience with Him. We did not think we would survive, but God miraculously saved us and our baby, too.”
The journalist added that because his faith was strengthened by the attack, Pastor Saragih was inspired to attend Bible school. He’s now sharpening his evangelism skills.
While the church building in Aceh was destroyed, the congregation continues to hold prayer meetings in their homes while waiting for the completion of a new church building.
“At first, when our church was burned, we were afraid. But later on we realized we should not be afraid because we are followers of Jesus Christ,” said Augustus, an elder of the Indonesian Evangelical Mission Church. “We believe that if we die, because of Jesus, we will live again. We pray for the Muslims, for them to follow Jesus. They did not know what they did. We believe God has a good plan for us here in Aceh.”
Talusan concluded by saying, “These Christians insist persecution will not drive them from their village in Aceh. They intend to stay. They ask believers around the world to pray God will give them the strength to endure this ongoing test of faith.”
Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan
http://www.billroggio.com/cgi-bin/cms/mt-search.cgi?tag=Pakistan&blog_id=7
#
http://www.saag.org/papers23/paper2253.html
Paper no. 2253
23.05.2007
“THE CITIZEN JIHADI - INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR-—PAPER NO. 237”
By B. Raman
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07050144.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Pakistan in crisis: situation critical
- the inevitable consequence of systematic Islamisation.
By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service
AUSTRALIA (ANS) — In Pakistan sectarian tensions are soaring, persecution of Christians is intensifying, lawlessness is increasing, security and liberty are failing fast, Islamisation and Talibanisation are taking root in Islamabad, and in the midst of Musharraf’s political crisis a stand-off at the Lal Masjid approaches boiling point.
Since 9/11 Pakistan’s President Musharraf has persistently played two hands at once. Musharraf, a military general who seized power in a military coup, has allied Pakistan with the US in the War on Terror in exchange for military aid. Meanwhile he has allied himself to the pro-Sharia, pro-Taliban, Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA: an alliance of six Islamist parties) in exchange for votes in the National Assembly.
The MMA, an avowed enemy of secularisation, progress and “enlightened moderation”, is a minor party that has become disproportionately powerful because it holds the balance of power in Pakistan’s National Assembly. Yet this situation was engineered by Musharraf himself, for as was noted in the WEA RLC News & Analysis posting of 12 December 2006 entitled “Pakistan: Musharraf’s Manoeuvring - could see persecution escalate through 2007”, the elections were rigged specifically to ensure that Islamists would be present in force in the National Assembly for Musharraf’s purposes. (Link 1)
As President Musharraf makes quid pro quo deals with the MMA to advance his agenda, which is to stay in power and in uniform, he empowers the MMA to advance its agenda, the Islamisation of Pakistan.
Further to this, President Musharraf has always relied on evidence of domestic Islamic fundamentalism, agitation and terrorism to legitimise his military dictatorship, especially in Western eyes. For five years Musharraf has preached “enlightened moderation” while at the same time he has abjectly failed to bring about madrassa reform, rein in sectarian violence (Sunni vs Shiite), or prevent Islamisation and Talibanisation from taking root in Islamabad.
The situation may well have passed the point of no return. Pakistani society is fracturing violently along political, sectarian and ethnic lines; even the military is showing signs of political and ethnic fracture. Islamists (Sunni) are exploiting the present lawlessness and political instability to advance their agenda. So we are seeing persecution escalate to the point that Christians are being driven from their homes and extreme Islamist legislation is progressing through the National Assembly without objection.
Whilst this might sound alarmist, it is highly probably that before this year is over Pakistan’s Christians (comprising three percent of a population of 160 million) may well be facing catastrophe - just like their Iraqi brethren - as their liberty and security situation rapidly morphs from difficult but hopeful to catastrophic and out of control, thanks to lawlessness, sectarianism, Islamisation and political paralysis. The short and medium term future for the beleaguered Christian minority is looking very bleak indeed.
SECURITY: LAWLESSNESS AND SECTARIANISM SOARING
As a member of a minority community, Pakistan’s founding father Muhammed Ali Jinnah, a Shia, was keen to establish religious liberty as a core principle of Pakistan. Likewise the Bhuttos, as minority Shiites, have stood on a platform of religious liberty, equality and secularism.
However over the past two and a half decades Saudi Arabia and the USA have both pumped money into Pakistan to advance their own interests. The Saudis started investing massively in Sunni-majority Pakistan after Iran’s 1979 Islamic (Shiite) Revolution to create a Sunni fundamentalist bulwark against Shiism on Iran’s eastern border. The USA started investing in Pakistan in 1980, funding the mujahideen’s jihad against the Communists.
The combined effect is that Pakistan has been turned into a veritable factory for Sunni fundamentalist Deobani and Wahhabi ideologues and mujahideen. But Pakistan is (like Iraq but to a lesser degree) a Sunni-Shia sectarian fault-line state. Pakistan has the world’s second largest Shiite population after Iran. (Pakistan’s Shiite population is estimated at up to 20 percent. Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia both have Shiite populations of around 15 percent). Deobandi and Wahhabi Sunni Islam condemns Shiites as apostates. So as Saudi-sponsored, vehemently anti-Shia, Sunni fundamentalism has taken root and grown in Pakistan since the 1980s, Sunni vs Shiite sectarian tension and violence escalated, with Saudi Arabia and Iran funding and training their proxies in the struggle for dominance in the Muslim world.
According to sources as many as 4,000 people are estimated to have died in Sunni vs Shiite sectarian fighting in Pakistan in the last two decades and the conflict is intensifying. Pakistani Shiites have historically been linked to Najaf (Iraq), not Iran. But the explosion of Sunni-sponsored, anti-Shiite Wahhabism led many Pakistani Shiites to seek training in Qom (Iran). Sectarian violence has further escalated since the war in Iraq took on sectarian tones. And as is common, when Sunni vs Shiite sectarian violence escalates, so does violence against Christians.
On Friday 6 April, Sunni militants shot at Shiites as they were gathered at their mosque in Parachinar, about 150 miles southwest of Peshawar, the capital of the highly Islamised and Talibanised North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Normally Pakistan’s minority Shiite communities absorb the violence against them, which includes targeted killings and mosque bombings. But Parachinar is a majority Shiite town and this time the Shiites retaliated violently, burning down some 400 Sunni-owned shops and homes. At least 40 people were killed and more than 40 were wounded. (Link 2) (This may well have been a deliberate attempt to provoke a Shiite response that would elicit an even more violent and wider Sunni “response”.)
Christians in Charsadda district on the north-eastern outskirts of Peshawar have since been threatened with severe consequences if they fail to either flee or convert to Islam. Over recent months local market stalls trading in the “un-Islamic” (such as music, videos, fashion, and haircuts) have been bombed and threatened. Likewise, girls in Charsadda and neighbouring Mardan districts have been threatened with “consequence” if they don’t stop attending school. Girls Higher Secondary School at Gumbat, Mardan district, was bombed in the early morning of Friday 4 May. The region is being systematically cleansed, purged of all that is un-Islamic; Islamised by force and threat of death. The situation for Christians in Charsadda and throughout NWFP is intolerable. (Link 3)
But Islamisation and Talibanisation are no longer problems confined to NWFP or western Pakistan in general. Islamisation and Talibanisation are spreading eastwards across Pakistan like an air-borne virus. Pakistan’s national capital and nerve-centre, Islamabad, and the National Assembly are both succumbing.
LIBERTY: APOSTASY ACT 2006
On 9 May, the MMA tabled its Apostasy Act 2006 in Pakistan’s National Assembly. According to this Act, a male apostate (one who leaves Islam) would receive the death penalty and a female apostate would be imprisoned for life or until she ‘repents’. Apostates would also forfeit their property and lose legal custody of their children. The testimony of just two adult witnesses would be sufficient grounds for conviction in apostasy cases.
Pakistan’s Daily Times reports: “The government did not oppose the bill and sent it to the standing committee concerned. If passed, the bill will over-ride all other laws in force at present. The bills’ section 4 states that apostasy can be proved if the accused confesses to the ‘offence’ in court or at least two adult witnesses appear in court against the accused.
“Section 5 states that the court should give a proven apostate at least three days or a month at the maximum to return to Islam. If he refuses, he should be awarded the death sentence.
“Section 6 states that a pardoned apostate can face rigorous or simple imprisonment, extendible to two years, if he commits the offence for the second or third time. In case of the fourth commission he will be liable to death sentence, it adds.
“Section 8 proposes suspending all rights of the accused over property. If the accused is awarded death, the part of the property, which he owned before committing the offence, will be transferred to his Muslim heirs. It states that the property rights of a female apostate will remain suspended till her death or penitence. In case of her penitence, the rights will be restored and after death, her property will be treated the same way as adopted for male apostates.” (Link 4)
Shockingly, the National Assembly “did not oppose the bill”. Furthermore during the same session the Assembly rejected a draft bill moved by NA minority member Mr BP Bhandara which sought to amend the existing blasphemy law.
Government inaction (or complicity) has enabled Sunni fundamentalists to establish themselves in the heart of Islamabad. Only about a mile away from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Supreme Court and the Parliament is a mosque-madrassa complex run by two hard-line, Sunni fundamentalist brothers. The complex comprises the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) which is run by Maulana Abdul Aziz, and two madrassas: the Jamia Hafsa (for burqa-clad girls) and Jamia Faridia (for bearded male students), which are run by his brother Abdur Rashid Ghazi.
The madrassas, which are believed to be linked to domestic and international terrorism, have some 7,000 students. The brothers have established a Sharia Court, issued fatwas and launched a city-wide campaign against “vice”.
According to Kanchan Lakshman, writing for Asia Times, Pakistan’s Capital Development Authority has reportedly declared 87 mosques in Islamabad to be illegal, some of them built on public land. After the authorities demolished several illegally built mosques the warriors of the Lal Masjid complex (which was built illegally on public land) sprang into action.
After a brigade of armed Jamia Hafsa burqa-clad females kidnapped “prostitutes”, held them hostage, forcibly and illegally occupied a children’s library and threatened wide-scale suicide bombings and terror, the President of the ruling Muslim League (PML-Q), Chaudhry Shujat, entered into negotiations with Abdul Aziz and Ghazi Abdul Rasheed in search of a “peaceful settlement”. (Link 5)
According to Pervez Hoodbhoy’s comment in the Guardian, “Chaudhray described the burka brigade kidnappers as ‘our daughters’, with whom negotiations would continue and against whom ‘no operation could be contemplated’.
“Clerics realise that the government wants to play ball. Their initial demand - the rebuilding of eight illegally constructed mosques that had been knocked down by Islamabad’s civic administration - became a call for enforcement of Sharia law across Pakistan. In a radio broadcast on April 12, the clerics issued a threat: ‘There will be suicide blasts in the nook and cranny of the country. We have weapons, grenades, and we are expert in manufacturing bombs. We are not afraid of death.’ “ (Link 6)
Kanchan Lakshman (Asia Times) reports the cleric’s demands include, “the rebuilding of demolished mosques in Islamabad; immediate declaration of sharia (Islamic) law in Pakistan; immediate promulgation of the Koran and Sunnah in the courts of law; and ‘immediate discontinuation to declaring jihad as terrorism by the government, as it is the great sacred religious duty of Muslims’ “.
According to G Parthasarathy, a columnist with the Daily Pioneer, “The Government has agreed to reconstruct the seven illegal mosques it had pulled down. It has also agreed to act against alleged centres of prostitution. The clerics have refused to close down their shari’ah court and remain firm on their demands for the introduction of shari’ah.” (Link 7)
Kanchan Lakshman (Asia Times) reports: “The Wafaq-ul-Madaris, Pakistan’s main and influential confederacy of seminaries, which runs about 8,200 institutions, has supported the extremist program of the Lal Masjid brigade. The confederacy’s secretary general, Qari Mohammad Hanif Jhalandari, announced on April 15: ‘We are in complete support of their four demands - to enforce the sharia in Pakistan, have the government rebuild all the mosques it destroyed, close down all dens of vice across the country, and change the Women’s Protection Act in line with the Koran and Sunnah.’ “
The government is now in the process of providing land for the demolished mosques. As Parthasarathy notes (Daily Pioneer), Islamists around the nation will be watching and learning from the La Masjid and are likely to follow suit. “The process of Talibanisation moving eastwards from the NWFP appears to have commenced. In Lahore, the student wing of the Jamat-e-Islami, the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, has beaten up ‘un-Islamic’ students and proclaimed ‘Islamisation’ of the campus.”
And the stand-off with the Lal Masjid is far from over. In fact the situation is approaching boiling point. On 18 May students abducted four police officers (two have since been released). Students have barricaded the streets, declaring that if the authorities make any moves against the complex, then Islamabad will face jihad. According to the Pakistan Tribune the mosque’s loudspeakers are playing jihadi songs, and pamphlets have been distributed claiming that some 500 members of the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Jahngvi have entered Islamabad in preparation for jihad against the government forces who they falsely claim are largely Shiite. (Link 8)
Pervez Hoodbhoy (Guardian) writes, “In a sense, the inevitable is coming to pass. Until a few years ago, Islamabad was a quiet, orderly, modern city no different from any other in Pakistan. Still earlier, it was largely the abode of Pakistan’s elite and foreign diplomats. But the rapid transformation of its demography brought with it hundreds of mosques with multi-barrelled audio cannons mounted on minarets, as well as scores of madrasas, illegally constructed in what used to be public parks and green areas. Now, tens of thousands of their students with prayer caps dutifully chant the Qu’ran all day. In the evenings, they roam in packs through the city’s streets and bazaars, gaping at store windows and lustfully ogling bare-faced women.
“The stage is being set for transforming Islamabad into a Taliban stronghold. When Musharraf exits - which may be sooner rather than later - he will leave a bitter legacy that will last for generations, all for a little more taste of power.”
MUSHARRAF’S EXIT ?
Musharraf is facing a major political crisis caused by his 9 March suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. (Link 9)
This is not a trivial hiccup or passing spasm either. Stratfor Intelligence comments: “. . . with each passing day Musharraf appears to be losing his hold on power. Musharraf’s own constituency, the military, is beginning to show signs of concern — even his close generals are now privately admitting things have gotten out of hand.” (Geopolitical Diary, 16 May)
Pakistan’s descent into chaos is now virtually guaranteed, as Sunnis provoke and clash with Shiites, Islamists provoke and clash with “enlightened moderates” and secularists, and Islamisation and Talibanisation become entrenched in the very heart of the nation.
Once again, it looks like Pakistanis will be left in need of military “rescue”. No doubt there will be plenty of sponsors keen to hand Musharraf (or whichever general is in charge) yet more financial aid for the sake of “stability”. It is not surprising that some commentators are wondering if the entire Lal Masjid affair is “a government ruse”. (Link 10)
Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au
Links
1) WEA RLC News & Analysis, 12 December 2006
“PAKISTAN: MUSHARRAF’S MANOEUVRING
- could see persecution escalate through 2007”
By Elizabeth Kendal
http://ea.org.au/default.aspx?id=f067ba32-88da-48fb-bca3-b4aec68a24a3
2) 40 Killed in Pakistan in Sectarian Clashes. 7 April 2007
Gun battles flare between Sunni, Shiite Muslims, homes burned in Northwestern Pakistan. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/07/world/main2660296.shtml
ALSO
40 Killed, 70 Hurt in NWFP
Azhar Masood & Agencies
PESHAWAR, 8 April 2007
http://www.arabnews.com/?article=94689
3) Pakistan Christians demand help. BBC 16 May 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6663305.stm
ALSO
WEA Religious Liberty Prayer (RLP) 429, 16 May 2007
Pakistan: Christians Defying Purge in the NW Frontier Province
http://www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/news/view.htm?id=1113
4) — fails to oppose death for apostasy draft
9 May 2007
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C05%5C09%5Cstory_9-5-2007_pg1_7
LAL MASJID and the ISLAMISATION OF ISLAMABAD
Profile: Islamabad’s red madrassa
By Syed Shoaib Hasan. 28 March 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6503477.stm
Anti-madrassa protest in Pakistan. 5 April 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6530935.stm
ALSO
‘Their business is jihad’ 20 March 2007
Declan Walsh visits Islamabad’s Red Mosque, a hotbed of Islamic militancy at the heart of Pakistan’s capital.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2038568,00.html
Three excellent pieces on the Islamisation and Talibanisation of Islamabad.
5) More muscle to Pakistan’s madrassas
By Kanchan Lakshman 25 April 2007
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ID25Df02.html
(This report includes details of US financial aid to Pakistan, “US$4.75 billion to date”.)
6) Islamabad succumbs
Pakistan’s president is doing nothing to prevent the country’s capital from becoming a Taliban stronghold. By Pervez Hoodbhoy. 17 May 2007
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/pervez_hoodbhoy/2007/05/islamabad_succumbs.html
7) Talibanisation of Islamabad. By G Parthasarathy
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=parthasarathy%2Fparthasarathy137.txt&writer=parthasarathy
8) 500 members of banned outfit enter Federal Capital
20 May 2007. http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?178762
Lal Masjid students held positions at mosque, Jamia Hafsa
20 May 2007. http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?178763
POLITICAL CRISIS
9) Pakistan judge: Fight for rule of law. 5 May 2007
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/05/pakistan.judicial.ap/index.html
ALSO
How Pakistan’s Sacked Judge Became a National Hero
By Ghulam Hasnain in Karachi for TIME. 8 May 2007
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1618546,00.html
10) ‘Lal Masjid standoff a government ruse’
By Khalid Hasan. 22 May 2007
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C05%5C22%5Cstory_22-5-2007_pg7_10
Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.
Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
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#
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=25587_Death_Cult_Womens_Rights_Press_Conference&only
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
“Death Cult Women’s Rights Press Conference”
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20070521AlAqsaMartyrs01.jpg
#
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070521/ids_photos_wl/r2408134035.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION - QUOTE:
Reuters - Mon May 21, 2:00 PM ET
Female Palestinian suicide bombers attend a news conference in Gaza May 21, 2007. The bombers, members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, declared that they are ready to blow themselves up in attacks against the Israeli army if it attacks Gaza. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Wed May 23 2007 04:51:30 GMT-0700.
Worldwide Caution
April 10, 2007
READY.GOV
http://www.ready.gov
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