Posted on 02/26/2007 4:18:14 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
Homemade Bomb Found Near Elementary School; Police Investigate
POSTED: 4:18 pm EDT April 12, 2007
UPDATED: 6:41 pm EDT April 13, 2007
PITTSBURGH — Students at Beechwood Elementary School were let out 30 minutes early on Thursday after the discovery of what Pittsburgh school police called a homemade explosive.
“This was definitely the real deal,” said Robert Fadzen, chief of safety for Pittsburgh Public Schools. “It could have caused a serious explosion in the parking lot.”
A bottle wrapped in duct tape was thrown from a passing car into a lot near the school on Rockland Avenue in the Beechview section of the city, police said. Parents saw the bottle smoking and called for help.
A city police bomb squad safely detonated the device before it had a chance to injure anybody.
School police said there could have been a tragedy if the explosive went off and caused the car next to it to explode.
Police are investigating. No arrests have been made.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/education/11736698/detail.html?rss=pit&psp=news
http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/154737.html
Arrest follows explosions on Roseville campus
By Linda Beymer - Bee Regional Staff
Published 5:21 pm PDT Friday, April 13, 2007
A 15-year-old male student from Roseville’s Woodcreek High School was taken to Placer County Juvenile Hall about 4 p.m. today after he was arrested at noon on suspicion of placing three explosive devices on campus.
Two of the devices were detonated while school was in session, but no injuries or property damage was reported.
The city Police and Fire departments and school resource officers responded when an explosive device inside a bottle was detonated outside the school cafeteria at 11:15 a.m., making a loud noise. A second bottle device exploded at 1:07 p.m. in a locker room. Later, a third device, which had not been detonated, was found in a bathroom.
Roseville Fire Department personnel determined that the devices were plastic bottles containing simple household products that, when combined in a confined space, can be exploded by impact.
The student was arrested on suspicion of possessing a destructive device in a public place, possessing a destructive device and using a destructive device to injure, intimidate or terrify.
No classes were canceled, and no students were evacuated.
Go to: Sacbee / Back to story
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Phone: (916) 321-1000
Copyright © The Sacramento Bee
[Pittsburg, Georgia and California all bombs at schools...]
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/11826402/detail.html
Hundreds Skip School After Suspicious Graffiti
POSTED: 11:34 am EDT April 13, 2007
UPDATED: 4:50 pm EDT April 13, 2007
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Some words scribbled inside a Bethel Park school prompted officials to send home a note warning parents on Thursday.
Police were called to Bethel Park High School after someone wrote the date “4-13-07” on a wall in one of the school’s bathrooms.
A spokeswoman for the Bethel Park School District said 824 students — more than eight times the usual amount, and nearly half of the high school’s total enrollment — were absent on Friday in grades nine through 12.
The school is not releasing any further details on what the note read or whether anyone was threatened.
“Nothing specific about it, but we felt it was a message that we should bring the police in to take a look at, and we’re working closely with the Bethel Park Police Department, and we’ve really turned this investigation over to them at this point,” said school district spokeswoman Vicki Flotta.
Officials said a full sweep of the school was conducted by police, and based on the searches, they felt the graffiti was simply a prank by a student wanting to get Friday the 13th off school.
School officials said they are looking for the person who painted that graffiti. They said if the person were caught, they would prosecute.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/11828912/detail.htm
Man Charged With Transporting Stolen Colonoscopes
POSTED: 11:52 am EDT April 13, 2007
UPDATED: 12:17 pm EDT April 13, 2007
PITTSBURGH — A man transported stolen colonoscopes across state lines and resold them to medical equipment distributors, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh on Thursday identified the man only as Michael Marburger, and did not release his address as part what prosecutors called an ongoing investigation.
Marburger was charged with transporting 66 colonoscopes stolen from 22 hospitals in Pittsburgh, Erie, Cleveland, State College, Clarksburg, W.Va. and elsewhere between March 2004 and July 2006.
The devices are used to examine people for colon cancer and other intestinal ailments. Their total value was more than $1.6 million, prosecutors said.
Ten colonoscopes were taken from United Hospital Center in Clarksburg in July 2006. Authorities did not say who they think took the devices or which distributors bought them.
Online federal court records did not list an attorney for Marburger.
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=113390
Posted Saturday, April 14 at 9:26 AM
I-85 reopened after tanker wreck
by staff reports
PENDERGRASS - Jackson County authorities Friday said a late afternoon accident involving a tanker truck shut down all lanes of I-85 north and southbound in Jackson County just north of the Pendergrass interchange.
Georgia DOT says the northbound lanes were reopened shortly after nine Saturday morning. Southbound lanes were cleared at 11 p.m. Friday.
State troopers said a car from North Carolina traveling southbound jumped the median and the tanker hit it head-on, causing an explosion.
Troopers say that HazMat teams from Hall and Gwinnett counties arrived on the scene to clean the spill of a chlorine mixture used to clean chicken houses.
Police diverted traffic from the interstate heading northbound onto US 129 in Pendergrass, where they were detoured to Hog Mountain Road to GA 82. Southbound lanes were diverted onto GA 42 to GA 347 to US 129.
Trooper Chad Garrett from Athens said the car occupant was killed and could not be positively identified.
The tanker truck driver escaped serious injury and was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=113404
Updated Saturday, April 14 at 4:16 PM
updated story Fire does $100,000 damage at Timco Pallets
from staff reports
GAINESVILLE - A fire early Saturday morning damaged three tractor trailers at Timco Pallets at 2156 Athens Highway, causig damages estimated at $100,000.
“Right now,” says Hall County Fire Marshall Scott Cagle, “we are labelling the fire suspicious in nature. The business was shut down for the evening, there was no power to the trailers involved.
“We do have some footage from security cameras,” says Cagle, “ that does show a person in view.”
A reward from the Georgia Arson Control Board may be available for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
“As always,” says Cagle, “we it comes to a suspicious fire, we need the public’s help. People who live near Timco Pallets who saw or heard anything , are encouraged to call the Fire Marshall’s office. “
“School incident”....interesting, won’t copy.
“riot at school”
Khalil Gibran School - A Jihad Grows in Brooklyn
http://www.pipelinenews.org:80/index.cfm?page=jihadschool41207.htm
Khalil Gibran School - A Jihad Grows in Brooklyn
By Beila Rabinowitz and William A. Mayer
April 13, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - In theory, the
creation of a publicly funded school singularly organized to promote a
particular culture, is neither good educational policy nor is it in
keeping
with the founding principles of “melting pot” America.
In the case of a school which is intended solely to serve Arabic
culture
this is even more so the case because of the fact that Arabic culture
is so
inextricably tied to the Islamic religion; hence the controversial
nature of
the New York City Board of Education’s intent to create the Khalil
Gibran
school along those very lines.
According to the Board of Education’s spokesman, David Castor the
“Khalil
Gibran International Academy...will not be a vehicle for political
ideology.”
What exactly does Mr. Castor mean and does it mitigate the concerns
expressed above?
We believe that when all of the issues surrounding the formation of the
proposed Khalil Gibran International Academy [KGIA] are examined, one
must
hasten to the conclusion that it’s a disastrous idea which will set a
dangerous precedent and that American citizens should not be forced to
accept a government funded madrassah.
Since the character of any institution is determined by those who
comprise
it, an examination of the players within the Arabic community who are
KGIA’s
primary advocates and who will be intimately involved in designing and
running it, seems reasonable.
Dhabah [aka Debbie] Almontaser has been chosen to be the principal of
the
KGIA. She a devout Muslimah and a long time practitioner of da’wa
[Islamic
propagation] operating stealthily until now, under the guise of
“multicultural educator.” Not surprisingly Ms. Almontaser has received
recognition for her efforts and an award from the Council on American
Islamic Relations [CAIR a Saudi funded Wahhabist front group for Hamas]
along with Ghazi Khankan [former director of CAIR’s New York Office]
for
“community service.”
As if to underline the philosophy of CAIR, Khankan is on record as
having
shouted “I bring you salaams and greetings from the Mujahideen at CAIR”
at
one of the group’s rallies.
The Yemeni born Almontaser wears a hijab - a conspicuous outward sign
of
devotion to Islam - and has spent years acting as a Muslim apologist in
the
public schools. She began doing this immediately after 9/11 because she
believes that Muslims were the real casualties of those attacks and
have
since suffered inordinate discrimination and fear because of it.
Almontaser’s statements post 9/11 reflect a Muslim-centric viewpoint of
victimhood and resentment which will be the sentiment that will be the
operative ethic of the Khalil Gibran school.
Through her da’wa outreach work in the NY school system Almontaser has
functioned as a 9/11 denier, having taken advantage of her created
position
as an authority figure to engage in a campaign of disinformation.
Speaking to a group of impressionable fifth grade children in
Brooklyn’s PS
51 Almontaser stated, “I don’t recognize the people who committed the
attacks as either Arabs or Muslims.” [source
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-06-10/584.asp]
The least one can expect from a professional educator is an
approximation of
truth and to allege that those who carried out and planned 9/11 were
not
Muslim Arabs is spectacularly untrue.
Seeking ever wider audiences to indoctrinate, Almontaser is a leader in
a
group called “Brooklyn Bridges” which is working to devise a “September
11
Curriculum” to be taught in schools across the city. We must assume
this
material will prominently feature Almontaser’s factually inaccurate
9/11
revisionism.
Continuing the mythology of Muslim victimization post 9/11, Almontaser
has
said, “After Sept. 11 there was an unending need to educate
people...and
because I had always had a passion for this type of work, I felt
equipped to
do it.”
The fact is that the events that transpired on September 11, 2001 were
themselves an education, on the nature of the Islamic radicalism and
the
danger that it poses to the same children that Ms. Almontaser is
propagandizing.
That Brooklyn school district supervisor Carmen Ferenia would have
sought
out and empowered Almontaser to preach the Islamist party line to
children
is indefensible, but beyond the scope of this article.
Therein lies the primary danger of multiculturalism, it denies citizens
the
right to assess threat levels posed by aggressively confrontational
cultures, branding reasonable judgment as base prejudice.
Such attitudes are calculated to advance and impose an ignorant
conformity
which is furthered by social mechanisms such as fear of being called a
racist and the resulting ostracism that moniker brings.
For this reason Ms. Almontaser’s “Islam Lite” program of miseducation
will
never mention who was responsible for what preceded 9/11 - the 1993
World
Trade Center bombing - and that one of the largest mosques in her
multicultural utopia, Al Farooq was the home to the first wave of
al-Qaeda
operatives who arrived in the United States in the 1980s.
Almontaser will bring her skewed viewpoint to the KGIA because she
lives in
a parallel Islamist universe where places like Atlantic Avenue are
presented
as shining examples of the immigrant experience instead of being seen
as
hotbeds of jihadism for over two decades.
A pivotal player in the push for KGIA is the Arab American Family
Support
Center [AAFSC] which suggests that the school will be a mere extension
of
the AAFSC.
“AAFSC plays an important role in the school. Their On-Site Coordinator
ensures that all students and their families have access to a wide
range of
services, Adult English language instruction (ESL) parenting classes,
Arabic
language instruction for the first year, counseling and access to
healthcare.”
The AAFSC is a controversial organization. They claim to be, and we do
not
challenge their assertion that they are “the first and largest
Arabic-speaking social service agency in New York.”
However the AAFSC operates from the bellicose perspective [a position
indistinguishable from Ms. Almontaser’s] that Muslims were victimized
by the
“backlash” created by 9/11.
“Arab-American immigrant community has been one of the most severely
impacted by the 9/11 backlash as evidenced by the campaign of sweeps,
raids,
detentions, deportations, interrogations and investigations conducted
by
government authorities.” [source
http://www.aafscny.org/word_docs/AAFSC_9_11_Report.pdf
This claimed discrimination serves as the basis for AAFSC’s outreach.
Not only is there no mention of the authentic victims of the 9/11
tragedy in
its literature - the 3,000 Americans who lost their lives due to
Islamist
terror - but the AAFSC has effectively employed its false sense of
victimhood as a means to fundraise.
“The discrimination and hostility directed against Arab-Americans
created a
general sense of anxiety, fear, and depression in the Community.To
respond
to these needs, AAFSC expanded its existing programs and initiated
several
new services to address the legal/immigration issues, youth problems,
and
mental health difficulties created by the post 9/11 hostile
environment.”
[source http://www.aafscny.org/word_docs/AAFSC_9_11_Report.pdf
In an examination of some of AAFSC’s tax filings, their 990s reveal
that the
overwhelming majority of their total funding [$881,967 in FY 2005]
comes
from government sources [$723,030].
View http://www.pipelinenews.org/images/AAFSC2005.pdf AAFSC 990 FY
2005
Approximately 10% of the group’s funding in that tax year went to their
executive director’s [there were three during this fiscal year; one
departing, one acting and the new director] salary, which in our
opinion is
an unusually large fraction. This was not an anomaly because in
previous
years, on gross receipts of approximately $900,000 the executive
director
was paid in excess of $90,000 [FY 2003]
To what purpose are these funds put and how many are actually served?
This is difficult to determine except through literature provided by
the
AAFSC on its website in which they claim to serve “thousands of clients
a
year.”
However in the organization’s “Post 9/11 Report” their core program
seems to
serve far fewer:
“The Child Welfare Program, funded by the NYC Administration for
Children’s’
Services (ACS), has been an AAFSC core program since 1994. The purpose
of
the program is to strengthen the family unit of newly arrived Arab
immigrants. At any given time, the program assists 60 underprivileged
Arabic-speaking immigrant families”
“AAFSC served 84 families with 239 children in FY 01-02, but the
increasing
demand for services compelled the Center to extend its services to 95
families and 292 children in FY 02-03, and to 108 families and 199
children
from July 03 to June 04.”
From the outside at least, such a level of outreach on one’s “core
program”
does not in our opinion constitute very much in the way of “bang for
the
buck.”
Rather this group, wedded to the effort to establish the KGIA seems to
function more as a cash cow, chanelling public funds to a group of
people
pushing an Islamist agenda.
Much higher on AAFSC’s list of priorities is legal assistance,
especially
with the Special Registration requirement of ICE.
The Special Registration program requires all male foreign visitors,
already
in the US, aged 16 and older from the specified countries [25 mainly
Arabic
countries] to register at designated immigration offices within a given
time
period.
During the three year period 2002-2004 AASFC seems to have provided
legal
counseling to approximately 1,000 individuals [source
http://www.aafscny.org/word_docs/AAFSC_9_11_Report.pdf figure 3]
Regardless, the AAFSC seems to function primarily as a conduit,
channeling
government funding into the pockets of its staff and director rather
than
providing the level of services and outreach that one might expect
given
this level of funding.
It seems unreasonable for an organization which obtains 75% of its
funding
from the government to then blame that institution for creating the
laundry
list of discriminatory offenses and grievances which AAFSC wears on its
sleeve.
Assad Jebara is a member of AAFSC’s board of directors [source
www.aafscny.org/bod.htm
He is the President & CEO of Zana Di Jeans/Alpha Garments, Inc., a
member of
the Board of Governors of the Arab American Institute and a Director of
the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee [ADC] [sources
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Assad_Jebara,
http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=6940]
In 2004 Jebara gave $100,000 to the ADC in what was the single largest
contribution during their fundraising banquet. In 2006 the ADC in
Michigan
gave Assad Jebara the Arab American of the Year award at their annual
banquet.
In January 2006 the ADC in New Jersey opened a new office and Jebara
was one
of the main financial contributors:
“Our efforts would not have succeeded without the gracious generosity
of two
ADC supporters. The financial contribution of ADC National Board Member
Assad Jebara made it possible for ADC-NJ to initiate the process of
locating
an office space and hiring a staff member. We could not be more
grateful to
Mr. Jebara for his generosity. In addition, Mr. Mohamad Matari of
Matari
Realty was instrumental in securing the office space and for making
ADC-NJ
an offer it could not refuse. The Arab American community, and ADC-NJ
in
particular, owes its undying gratitude to these committed gentlemen.”
[ source http://adcnj.us/ADc_Office.htm ]
The ADC is an Arab supremacist organization that uses its influence to
push
a radical agenda. It’s funded by Saudi donors, as noted below.
About the organization, Dr. Daniel Pipes observed in a March 10 entry
in his
weblog:
“the school [KGIA] was designed in part by the American-Arab Anti
Discrimination Committee (ADC). Need one say more?...ADC includes a
motley
collection of leftist and Islamist extremists.this.confirms my worries
about
it.” [ source http://www.danielpipes.org/ ]
Despite the great financial rewards his American business efforts have
produced, Jebara displays the same adversarial mindset against the
country
and citizens which made it possible, thus intellectually aligning
himself
with the ideology of those pushing the KGIA:
“We’re (Arabs and Muslims) going through a tough time right now. We’re
being
picked on and demonized? We have to fight hard to lessen the impact of
what
happened on September 11.”
Jebara recalled being on a trip to Aleppo during the 2001 World Trade
Center
attack.
“When I heard about it...I felt my heart drop.”
He also said he knew that from then on, things would be much harder for
Arabs in the U.S.” [source
http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=7564
AAFSC’s Partners:
Ahmad Jaber, M.D. - President, Arab American Association, NY
Dr. Ahmad Jaber is a senior attending physician at the Lutheran Medical
Center which is one of the collaborating partners of the AAFSC. He
implemented a halal program and opened a mosque there. He sits on the
board
of two mosques.
Jaber sits on the board of Beit Al Maqdis Islamic Center, Arab Muslim
American Federation, the Islamic Mission of America and is chairman of
the
board of the Dawood Mosque which is part of the Islamic Mission of
America.
Jaber has adopted Almontaser’s line on Muslim victimhood. In a New York
Times piece written less than two months after 9/11 Jaber stated that:
“the fear effect was rampant,” [and] said that a lot of women who cover
themselves with traditional head scarves faced harassment or abuse.
Lately,
though, some of the fear has turned into indignation.”You have to
understand
our background,” said Dr. Jaber, noting that many Middle Easterners
come
from countries where officials have the power to imprison people with
no
pretext. Even after 27 years here, Dr. Jaber said, he still
instinctively
veers away from policemen. As for recent arrivals, he said: “If
somebody
knocks from the F.B.I. or the N.Y.P.D., they are scared to death. These
are
immigrant people who don’t understand their rights.” [source
http://www.webcom.com/hrin/magazine/congressindark.html
Dr. Jaber apparently thinks that though “immigrant people” have rights,
they
have no matching responsibilities. Such an attitude less than 60 days
after
America suffered the most serious terrorist attack in its history
speaks
volumes.
One day after 9/11 an article in the Columbia Journalism School paper
titled
“Terror and Response” quoted Isam Mayrola the secretary of the Beit Al
Maqdis Islamic Center where Ahmed Jaber is a board member, said the
attacks
and footage of Muslims celebrating were both the work of Israel.
Mayrola said the footage of people clapping “is an old picture,” shot
on a
different occasion, that the Israelis have sent through their media. He
contended that “all Palestinians have condemned this attack.”
Mayrola went on to suggest that Israel itself might have masterminded
the
attack as a means of diverting attention from its violent interventions
in
the occupied territories. [source
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/terror/sep12/arab.asp
Emira Habiby-Browne, is the founder and former executive director of
AAFSC.
She claims to have started the organization because she was frustrated
by
discrimination.
“In 1994, frustrated by the discrimination she found in American
organizations, she founded the Arab-American Family Support Center in
downtown Brooklyn to serve the Arab immigrant populations of New York
City.”
[source
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/womenstudies/womencenter/AWV/Habiby-Brown.html
In Habiby-Browne we again see the misplaced sense of victimization and
resentment:
“HABIBY-BROWNE: When I heard, when I first heard it [about the 9/11
terrorist attack] and I heard them say Pearl Harbor, immediately I had
visions of being rounded up and being put into camps. I mean, every
time
anything happens I think all of us of Arab background feel this sense
of
incredible dread and fear of oh my gosh what is going to happen now?”
[ source http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6921 ]
Among the groups partnering with the KGIA, as listed on the AAFSC
website:
Alwan for the Arts is a politicized, anti Israel group promoting an
Islamist
and anti Western agenda. A recent speaker was Mustafa Bargouti a cousin
of
the terrorst Marwan Bargouti jailed for several life sentences for the
murder of Israelis.
In a piece titled “Arab Culture near the WTC” Alwan board member Anny
Bakalan made the following bizarre statement:
“There was a silver lining to Sept. 11th,” Bakalian said. “In as much
as
there has been stereotyping and persecution and negative pressure on
the
Arab and Middle Eastern community, there has also been a generosity of
spirit and an openness on the part of Americans to understand fellow
Americans.” and an openness on the part of Americans to understand
fellow
Americans.” [source
http://www.alwanforthearts.org/05_06/downtowne_rev.html ]
Under what construction of the term “silver lining” could be applied to
the
violent burning death of 3,000 Americans remains to be seen.
Bakalan’s words echoed that of the director of Alwan Ahmed Issawi who
stated
in the same article, that it was just a “happy coincidence” that Alwan
was
located in Lower Manhattan, the place most associated with the result
of
Arab anger and violence.”
This brings us back to the topic at hand, the Khalil Gibran
International
Academy which is slated to open in September.
As the Brooklyn’s first Arabic studies school it would be concrete and
brick
example of using public monies and buildings to spread the radical
Muslim
agenda of Islamization.
As we previously noted in
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=newyork3907%2Ehtm New York
Set
To Open A Public Jihad School
One might have hoped that the 9/11 attacks would have constituted an
“education by murder” for Americans, an example of radical Islam in its
most
lethal form; so why has the New York City Department of Education
decided to
open an Islamist public school whose curriculum shares the same
ideology as
the September 11 terrorists?
Slated to be the school’s principal, Dhabah [aka “Debbie”] Almontaser
was
presented an award by the Council on American Islamic Relations [CAIR,
the
Saudi funded front group for Hamas and a co-defendant in a 9/11
terrorism
lawsuit] and more importantly, the curriculum of her school has been
designed by the radical American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee
[ADC].
The ADC’s funder [and recipient of the ADC’s “Global Achievement
Award”]
Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s 10 million dollar donation to the
9/11
victims charity was rejected by then NY Mayor Giuliani because of
Talal’s
claim that American policy towards Israel was the reason for the
terrorist
outrage. Talal has also raised money to reward the family’s of suicide
bombers.
The ADC is also in the forefront of filing discrimination lawsuits and
legal
challenges aimed at obstructing the FBI, JTTF and Homeland Security
from
investigating Arab and Muslims who pose potential terrorism threats.
[source
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/671
Six years after the
attacks and still no memorial at Ground Zero, instead 2007 will see the
opening of the taxpayer funded Brooklyn based madrassah aka “The Khalil
Gibran International Academy for Arabic and Islamic Culture.”
Though the KGIA has been inaccurately described by principal Almontaser
as a
place where Arab American students can learn Arabic, “and have a better
understanding of where their ancestors came from” she has proven by her
actions and statements to be consumed with the propagation of a
philosophy
of Muslim victimology and rage.
By its very nature and organizing principles the KGIA stands against
the
American bedrock ideas of inclusion and social cohesion. The proposed
institution would represent the sanctification of Almontaser’s
misquided
theories of Muslim oppression and desire for Arabic separatism.
Those responsible for the design of the school curriculum, those
associated
with promoting the school as a concept and the person charged with
heading
the institution give great weight to legitimate fears that KGIA will
become
a hotbed of Islamist activism, a breeding ground for angry Muslim and
Arab
youth who will then have no wish to engage with non-Muslims - having
been
schooled in the belief that the “outside” non-Arabic community will
always
hold them in low esteem.
This is a dangerous policy because it creates a self-fulfilling myth
that
American Muslims are being forced to live under a siege mentality, that
they
are being threatened and harassed on a daily basis because of their
ethnicity and religion.
To prove that such a broad-based allegation of active discrimination is
a
fabrication, all one has to do is look at the board members of the
AAFSC
which clearly shows them to be successful professionals, graduates of
America’s top universities, with organization’ founder, an Arabic woman
having been paid $90,000 dollars a year. One of their board members is
also
part of the mayor’s office so the group has direct access to city
officials
which directly links the Arab and Muslim community to social welfare
programs providing food, healthcare, counseling, vocational training,
legal
immigration services and university tuition subsidies.
KGIA is a program built on a series of lies, whose only function will
be to
divide.
Going ahead with this program will push Brookyn one step further down a
path
that leads to an atomized society, full of recrimination and fear; the
perfect incubator in which radicalism can and most assuredly will
breed.
Regime Change In Iran Is On Its Way
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2629&cid=2&sid=4
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2629&cid=2&sid=4
Regime Change In Iran Is On Its Way
Ghazal Omid - 4/14/2007
Regime change in Iran is on its way, from within. However, an outside
attack
on Iran will give the Mullahs exactly what they want. Iran has,
rightfully,
been identified as the main target in the US Global War on Terror. The
regime has fostered the brutal insurgency in Iraq, nurtured terror
groups
like Hezbollah and Hamas, and committed many other violations of
international law. The recent kidnapping/release of the British Marines
may
make an attack seem a tantalizing quick fix.
This is a defensible position, and no one wants this government removed
more
than the Iranians living there now. For twenty-five years of my own
life, I
was taught to hate Americans, Israelis, and the rest of the Western
World.
At age fourteen, my challenge to the regime’s watch dogs was, “I am not
going to hate someone I don’t even know!” This, and other simple forms
of
resistance, sacrificed my dream of living inside my own country. When I
fled
Iran, under death threats from the Sepah Pasdaran, Iranians didn’t dare
to
speak against the regime publicly. Today, people are on the streets
every
day; they have abandoned fear, and are fighting tooth and nail to start
their revolution.
Yes, I said revolution! In the past two months, there have been at
least
three major protests in Iran.
There have been many clashes between the Iranian people and the
government’s
agents; they are fed up with a government that is banking on war with
the
West to guarantee its continued existence
Unfortunately, US politicians have either never read, or have
forgotten,
Persian history. Unlike the rest of the Arab world, our national fervor
as
Persians, not our religious fervor as Muslims, plays the preeminent
role. We
are compelled to fight the enemy of our country, even if we know the
attacking nation has the best intentions.
The government of Iran knows this all too well, and exploited
patriotism
during the Iran-Iraq war, when millions of Iranian young men, who could
now
rise up and challenge the current regime, died on battlefields as their
lives were just beginning.
Many more perished for speaking out against the government, inside Evin
and
other prisons. I know this intimately because I represent a group of
nineteen political prisoners, many of whom are on death lists. This is
how
Iran treats its own people.
Yet, if the US attacks Iran, the Iranian government’s fondest wish will
be
granted, and many more young men will die.
A US attack on Iran will spur the tyrants to genocide, killing any
Iranian
standing up to challenge the government. Unlike US tolerance of
opposition
in wartime, Iranian rules of war state that anyone speaking out against
the
government has committed treason. Punishment for such a crime in Iran
is a
swift and brutal death.
Knowing this, the US is preparing for a massive attack, and those who
can
read a map and understand military strategies can see it. Joel Pousson,
independent military analyst, has identified armadas now in the Arabian
Sea
as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean. Perhaps they are to attack
Iran,
and guard against a second front should Hizbollah attack Israel and the
government of Lebanon. He reports training exercises on the long-quiet
ranges of Ft Carson, Colorado, American reservists receiving unexpected
activation orders, and offices tasked with protecting reservists’
civilian
jobs suddenly receiving additional staff.
Preparations are underway, but it is unclear whether the US will make
the
smart strike on Hizbollah and their terror web, or head from Iraq into
Iran,
where the government is preparing the same sort of IED and suicide
attacks
the US has faced in Iraq.
Attacking Hizbollah, eliminating their terror training camps and
logistical
support will prevent the terrorism campaign awaiting the West if Iran
is
attacked. Iran can be cut off from its agents, and the West and the
Siniora
government in Lebanon can eliminate Hizbollah, stabilizing that young
democracy.
If, however, the US attacks Iran, the Straits of Hormuz could be
blocked
with just a couple of ships sunk. Thousands of university students,
will be
forced to don suicide vests, and will deploy as the terrorists that
shuttled
from Damascus airport for training and final dispositions in Iran
launch
attacks throughout the Mid East, Europe, and possibly, inside America.
The smart move, if a military move is to be made now, is to attack
Hizbollah, economically isolate the Iranian government, and fund
legitimate
resistance groups in Iran to remove the Mullahs without the loss of one
American life.
America is a smart nation. The leaders who call the shots can make the
smart
decision.
Ghazal Omid is an author of Living in Hell, human rights and women’s
rights
advocate, and an expert on Iran and Shiah Islam.
GNN: Margaret Beckett statement on comments by Boris Berezovsky
Friday 13 April 2007 20:44
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (National)
Margaret Beckett statement on comments by Boris Berezovsky
“I am aware of comments alleged to have been made by Boris Berezovsky
in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on 13 April, appearing to
call for the overthrow of the current Russian Government by force. I
deplore such sentiments. We expect everyone living or working in, or
visiting the UK, whatever their status, to observe our laws and
regulations. The Home Office will now seek to collate full information
on the alleged comments so that a review and full assessment can be
made.”
Press Office, Downing Street (West), London SW1A 2AL
GNN ref 146286P
Four terror suspects die in police raid
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/11/Worldandnation/Four_terror_suspects_.shtml
Four terror suspects die in police raid
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
Acting on a tip, Moroccan police surrounded a building where four
terrorism
suspects were holed up Tuesday, causing three to flee and blow
themselves up
with explosives. The fourth was shot dead by a police sharpshooter as
he
apparently tried to detonate his bomb. A police officer was killed and
10
people, including a young child and a police officer, suffered
injuries.
Coming just weeks after a bombing at an Internet cafe, the series of
explosions revived memories of five near-simultaneous suicide bombings
that
killed 45 people in the country’s biggest city in May 2003 - this North
African kingdom’s first brush with Islamic terrorism.
US scanning containers in Pakistan
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\13\story_13-4-2007_pg1_6
TEGUCIGALPA: Nuclear detection devices are up and running at ports in
Pakistan and Honduras, the first phase of a larger plan to increase the
security of shipping containers before they arrive in the US, Homeland
Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson announced on Wednesday.
Jackson toured Puerto Cortes, on Honduras’ Caribbean coast, and
inspected
the new devices that are screening containers for nuclear and
radiological
material. He said the Secure Freight Initiative, announced in December,
will
be expanded to four other non-US ports: Southhampton, England; Salalah,
Oman; Port of Singapore; and the Gamman Terminal, Korea.
“Terrorists and criminals use global shipping networks, and we are
deploying
multiple layers of advanced technology to counter their tactics,” he
said.
“Secure Freight creates a global nuclear detection network with
shippers,
carriers and foreign allies, to head off the worst possible form of
attack,
a nuclear or dirty bomb on our soil.”
The testing began on April 2 in Puerto Cortes. Tests in Port Qasim,
Pakistan, began in March. Another US official said separately the next
generation of radiation-detection technology should be ready for use at
US
ports and borders this year. Tests underway at the New York Container
Terminal have gone well enough.
Official Source: Suleiman Statements Don’t reflect Syria’s Viewpoint
Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 09:20 PM
www.sana.org/eng/21/2007/04/14/113236.htm
DAMASCUS, (SANA - Syrian News Agency) What the American of Syrian
origin
Ibrahim Suleiman is giving of statements don’t reflect the Syrian
viewpoint,
an official source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
” Syria, that is keen on the realization of just and comprehensive
peace,
has been repeatedly rejected making any secret talks or through
unofficial
channels.” The source stressed.
It added that it was natural for Ibrahim Suleiman or any other from
expatriates from Syrian origin to visit the motherland and he is like
the
others who propose to play a role in the peace process heard Syria’s
stance that asserts rejection of conducting any talks in the dark or
through
unofficial channels.
Ghossoun /
Media Jihad Brigade posted The Comprehensive Security Encyclopedia
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP154307
Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
April 13, 2007
No. 1543
ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR #82-85
*ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR No. 82
The Comprehensive Security Encyclopedia
On April 1, 2007, the Media Jihad Brigade posted on Islamist websites
a 118-page text titled “The Comprehensive Security Encyclopedia.” The
document includes 10 chapters dealing with Internet security (e.g.
data protection and information concealment), secure phone
communication (e.g. voice distortion and avoiding “trigger words” that
raise suspicion), secure ways of purchasing weapons and handling
explosives, and other matters including training safety, espionage
techniques, concealing information during interrogation and
imprisonment and deceiving lie detectors.
To view the front page of the document visit:
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP153207 .
*ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR No. 83
Iraqi Militant Group “The Arrows of God” Extends Ultimatum
On April 2, 2007, the group Iraqi militant group “The Arrows of God”
posted a second video, in which it issued a 10-day extension to its
ultimatum to the government of Germany. It had originally issued the
ultimatum on March 10, 2007.(1) In the video, German hostage Hannelore
Marianne Krause appeals once again to the German government, repeating
that she and her son will be killed unless Germany withdraws its
forces from Afghanistan. She also appeals to the Austrian government,
saying: “I worked at [the office] of the commercial attaché in the
Austrian Embassy for many years, and now I am paying [the price]... I
will be killed because Austria has troops in Afghanistan.” Finally,
she addresses her family, asking them to contact any person or party
that can help pressure the German government into complying with the
kidnappers’ demands.
At the end of the video, a group member reiterates that Germany has 10
more days to withdraw its troops before the two hostages are killed.
The video can be viewed at:
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=747610&ak=null.
To view images from the video visit:
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP153607 .
*ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR No. 84
Islamists Propose Ways to Transfer Funds to Islamic State of Iraq
A message posted on an Islamist website on April 10, 2007 proposed a
way of enabling Muslims to deliver funds to the Islamic State of Iraq.
The message suggests establishing phony online retail stores whose
URLs will only be distributed to supporters of jihad via an internal
e-mail list. According to the message, contributors will make payments
with no intention of receiving any product in return, “except for the
favor of the Lord of the world.” The message asserts that such on-line
retail stores require special programming that will allow the site
administrator to distinguish between someone intending to contribute
to jihad and unwitting customers.
One forum participant suggested using the CashU online service
(http://www.cashu.com), which allows paying and transferring money
online without risk of theft, fraud, or exposure of personal
information.
*ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR No. 85
ISI Qadi Makes Effort to Justify the Organization’s Military Activity
On April 11, 2007, the Islamist State in Iraq’s (ISI) media company
Al-Furqan issued a 19-minute video titled “Why Do We Wage Jihad?” by
ISI Qadi Abu Suleiman Al-’Utaybi. The video was posted as part of the
organization’s ongoing effort to establish its legitimacy and to
obtain support from the populace for the ISI and its military activity.
In his address, Abu Suleiman repeats familiar arguments about the
evils of the occupation and the suffering of the Iraqi people at the
hands of the Iraqi state troops, claiming that these hardships justify
the ISI’s military struggle against the Americans and the Iraqi
government as well as against Sunni groups that oppose the ISI.
At the end of the message, Abu Suleiman addresses “the political
forces that are trying to mix apostasy with belief and monotheism with
polytheism.” He accuses these forces of claiming to work for the good
of Iraq but in truth only cause harm, and warns them: “Beware the
consequences of [your] deception [both] in this world and in the world
to come.”
To view a frame from the video, showing Abu Suleiman visit:
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP154107 .
Large Sunni Iraqi Jihad Group Comes Out Against Al-Qaeda
On April 5, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué by Al-Jaysh
Al-Islami, which is one of the largest Sunni Iraqi jihad groups that
have not joined the Al-Qaeda-founded Islamic State of Iraq. The
communiqué accuses Al-Qaeda of numerous “violations of Islamic
shari’a,” including its threat to kill anyone who refuses to pledge
allegiance to Al-Qaeda – a threat which, according to the communiqué,
“turns all Sunnis into legitimate targets [for Al-Qaeda].” It is
further stated that more than 30 Sunnis have already been killed for
this reason.
Al-Jaysh Al-Islami therefore calls on the following parties to exert
their influence in order to put a stop to these killings:
1. Islamic clerics, who are called upon to issue fatwas on
important matters in order to protect the lives of Muslims.
2. The Al-Qaeda leaders, who are called upon to take religious and
operative responsibility for the actions of their organization.
3. The members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who are called upon to examine
their conscience and beg forgiveness from Allah.
4. All the other jihad organizations, which are called upon to give
[good] counsel to their brothers in Al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Claims Responsibility for the Bombing
of Government Facilities in Algeria
In a communiqué posted April 11, 2007 on Islamist websites, Al-Qaeda
in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly known as the GSPC) claimed
responsibility for the suicide attacks against government facilities
that occurred that day in Algiers. The message lists the attacks and
their perpetrators: The first attack, it says, was carried out by an
individual named Mu’adh Ibn Jabal, who drove a truck loaded with 700
kg of explosives into the government headquarters in Algiers. The
second was carried out by Al-Zubair Abu Sajda, who detonated a truck
loaded with a similar amount of explosives next to the Interpol
headquarters in the city. The individual responsible for the third
attack was Abu Dajjana, who detonated a truck carrying 500 kg of
explosives near the offices of the special police forces (i.e. the
General Directorate of National Security) in Bab Al-Zuwar in Algiers.
The communiqué then addresses the “apostates and their Crusader
masters,” saying: “We bring you good tidings about the arrival of the
Islamic youths who love death and martyrdom [as much] as you like the
life of wantonness and rowdiness. By Allah, we will neither return our
sword into its scabbard nor enjoy life until we liberate every...
[inch of] Islamic land from [the hands of] the Crusaders, the
apostates, and the collaborators, and until our ritually cleansed feet
walk [once again] in the stolen [land of] Andalus [i.e. Spain] and in
desecrated Jerusalem.”
Lastly, the communiqué complains that, despite the mujahideen’s
constant effort to avoid spilling Muslim blood, the “apostates and the
deceptive media are trying to focus on the painful aspect of the harm
[accidentally] caused [by the mujahideen] to innocent people, while
downplaying the harm caused to their [own] side...”
To view photos of the three suicide bombers that accompanied the
communiqué visit:
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP154107 .
Endnote:
(1) For the first video, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1500,
“Islamist Websites Monitor No. 75,” March 13, 2007,
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP150007.
*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the
Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as
background information, are available on request.
MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used
with proper attribution.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
The North Korean Connection
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/ethiopi/articles/20070413.aspx
The North Korean Connection
April 13, 2007: U.S. intelligence believes that Eritrea is backing
called Shabbab, a group aligned with Al Qaeda. Eritrea denies this
and blames the continued violence in Somalia on Ethiopia, backed by
the U.S.
April 11, 2007: The Ethiopian government said that its troops in
Somalia had detained 41 “international terrorists.” The terrorists
come from 17 different countries. Ethiopia said that foreign
investigators would be allowed to question the detainees. Somalia has
been a base area for Al Qaeda and its affiliates. With its various
clans, each village and neighborhood can be something of a separate
country. Thus it’s relatively easy for a terrorist with cash to buy
some protection. The Ethiopian offensive, however, re-made the local
rules. Many of the terrorists ran and were picked up as they tried to
make their way past Ethiopian troops. Some clan chieftains may have
decided to turn in a few of their “guests” as a gesture to the new
Somali government, which is an ally of Ethiopia.
April 10, 2007: A US State Department spokesman acknowledged that it
knew Ethiopia received a shipment of military equipment from North
Korea. The shipment arrived in January. The shipment was apparently
spare parts for tanks. The “scandal” behind this story is that North
Korea is under sanctions that prevent it from selling certain weapons.
However, Ethiopia is a U.S. ally battling radical Islamic radicals in
Somalia, so the U.S. looked the other way. Moreover, spare parts,
might be regarded as being in a “gray area.” North Korea is a major,
and low cost, supplier of spare parts for some elderly Russian type
weapons, like T-55 tanks. North Korea is one of the largest users of
T-55s in the world (actually, a Chinese copy called the T59).
Venezuelan military agents raid home of friend of anti-Castro militant Posada
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/caribbean/sfl-avenposada13apr13,0,5255853.story?track=rss
Venezuelan military agents raid home of friend of anti-Castro militant
Posada
By Fabiola Sanchez
The Associated Press
Posted April 13 2007
CARACAS, Venezuela · Intelligence agents raided the home of a close
friend of Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles, who is jailed in the
United States but wanted in Venezuela for a 1976 airliner bombing, the
man’s wife said Thursday.
Also, President Hugo Chavez accused the United States of shielding
Posada by holding him on minor immigration charges. Chavez called
Posada “the father of this continent’s terrorists.”
Military intelligence agents searched attorney Joaquin Chaffardet’s
home for five hours Wednesday night, saying they were looking for
weapons and documents, his wife, Maria Teresa Rosas, said.
She accused them of planting a C-4 explosive along with other
potentially compromising documents, saying “that wasn’t in my house.”
Military officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Chaffardet was out of the country at the time of the raid, Rosas said,
declining to say where he was and citing security reasons.
Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan, is wanted in both Cuba and
Venezuela, accused of masterminding the 1976 Cubana Airlines bombing
off Barbados that killed 73 people. He is accused of plotting the
attack while in Caracas, and he escaped from a Venezuelan prison in
1985.
Posada, 79, is being held in New Mexico on charges of lying to
immigration authorities.
The government has called Chaffardet an accomplice of Posada, saying
it was grossly improper that his court testimony helped convince a
U.S. judge that Posada faced a threat of torture if handed over to
Venezuela.
Chaffardet, a Venezuelan, was once a police colleague of Posada, who
held a prominent role in Venezuela’s secret police in the 1970s.
On Wednesday, Chavez accused Posada of being responsible for the
killing and torture of leftist activists during those years.
Posada trained with the CIA for the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and
served in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s.
Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb Wants Part in Global Jihad
French Intelligence Officials, Researchers Assess al-Qa’ida’s Maghreb Activities
Report by Piotr Smolar: “’Al-Qa’ida for Islamic Maghreb’ Now Wants to Take Part in Worldwide Jihad”
Originally published on 4/13/2007 by Le Monde (Internet Version-WWW) in French
When a multinational company changes name, it launches a publicity campaign. Therefore, in January, when the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat [GSPC] officially announced that it was becoming “Al-Qa’ida for Islamic Maghreb” [AQMI], anti-terrorism specialists feared the worst in both Algeria and Europe.
These fears were just confirmed with the kamikaze attacks in Algiers. According to a series of French intelligence service reports, which Le Monde has learned about, the change in name squares with mutual interests shared by the GSPC leadership and al-Qa’ida’s hard core. The former benefits from the prestige of a brand that is recognized worldwide and al-Qa’ida, for its part, benefits from the feats of its new representatives and develops its networks in the Maghreb.
In the region, the past few months were characterized by intense Islamist activity, as illustrated by the suicide of three kamikazes, who were being pursued by the police in Casablanca, Morocco, on 10 April. “We are faced with the third generation of activists after the FIS [Islamic Salvation Front] and later the GIA [Armed Islamic Groups]-GSPC,” explains researcher Olivier Roy. He then adds: “The GIA model, based on fighting in the maquis and the determination to create an Islamic state, no longer works. The new generation has no strategy for rallying the masses; it is part of an overall, supranational, plan. They are much too ‘modern’ to have an elaborate political plan. They simply want to lash out while having the greatest media impact.”
One of the chosen targets, the seat of government, resembles a veritable challenge and a show of force that comes as if it were in response to the vast military operation that has been in progress for two weeks in the Bejaia region of Kabylia. “AQMI is in keeping with a real coherent plan,” explains a top French intelligence official. “To them, it is a matter of going beyond the strictly Algerian dimension of the struggle and pursuing a jihadist agenda.”
Unification Attempt
The determination to destabilize the regime in Algiers, while being a part of the international Islamist movement, emerges from these latest operations. The modus operandi — booby trapped vehicles — of the 13 February simultaneous attacks in Kabylia is an exact copy of those carried out in Iraq. On 10 December 2006, the attack on a bus carrying the employees of an American company, BRC, the subsidiary of the Algerian government-owned SONATRACH and Halliburton, left one person dead in Bouchaoui, west of Algiers. In addition to killing the Algerian driver, the attack left nine persons wounded; eight of them foreigners. The intelligence services underscore that the technicians, who were the victims of the attack, are nationals of countries engaged in the Afghan or Iraqi front, while the economic sector they targeted is the keystone for the Algerian regime.
The leader of the former GSPC, Abdelmalek Droukdal (his nom de guerre is “Abou Moussab”), had allegedly been trying for a few months to resolve the [problem] of his organization’s fragmentation by affirming “his desire for democratic centralism,” to use the ironic expression of a top French official. He was allegedly trying to unite the khatibas (companies) in the various regions and develop contacts throughout all of northwest Africa; over an arc that stretches from Mauritania to Libya. “There is a clear desire to unify jihadist forces in the region,” explains Louis Caprioli, an adviser with GEOS and a former Territorial Surveillance Directorate [DST] assistant director in charge of antiterrorism. “For the time being, they lack a soul, a coordinator. Al-Zawahiri, al-Qa’ida’s second in command, did not appoint Droukdal to this role.”
The head of the Antiterrorism Coordinating Unit [UCLAT], Christophe Chaboud, expresses the same caution. “The possible link that may exist among the Islamists in these countries is ideological and undoubtedly operational,” he maintains. “Even if in a few months we witness succession of events in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, we cannot say that everything is linked; that some kind of centralized leadership decides to strike one day here and elsewhere on another. On the contrary, everything seems to be so unstructured....”
: Paris Le Monde (Internet Version-WWW) in French — leading left-of-center daily
Ethiopian Forces Reportedly Return to Somali Capital for ‘Mogadishu Battle’
Report by Khalid Mahmud in Cairo: “Ethiopia Sends New Reinforcements and Redeploys its Forces in Preparation for ‘Mogadishu Battle’
Originally published on 4/13/2007 by Al-Sharq al-Awsat (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic
Mogadishu, Al-Sharq al-Awsat — “Al-Sharq al-Awsat” has leaned that Ethiopia, which had earlier announced the withdrawal of almost two thirds of its fighters from Somalia, has sent hundreds of its soldiers back to the Somali capital Mogadishu in preparation for an intensive security campaign that they will carry out with the government forces of the Somali Transitional Authority that is led by President Abdullahi Yusuf to repress the growing danger of the attacks by the remnants of the Islamic Union organization in the city.
Speaking by telephone to “Al-Sharq al-Awsat” from the capital, Somali military sources said the Ethiopian army has returned to areas it had earlier withdrawn from reinforced with heavy weapons, tanks, and rocket launchers. They pointed out that the Ethiopian forces’ redeployment falls within the framework of an overall plan for launching what they called the final battle against the perpetrators of recent attacks on the Somali and Ethiopian forces in the city. The sources disclosed that the Somali and Ethiopian forces are preparing for street warfare lasting several weeks in order to crush the Islamic Union’s remnants that are believed to be behind the recent attacks on several Ethiopian military positions in Mogadishu. [Passage omitted citing AFP report on clashes between two factions in southwest Somalia and shooting in Mogadishu]
: London Al-Sharq al-Awsat (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic — Influential Saudi-owned London daily providing independent coverage of Arab and international issues; editorials reflect official Saudi views on foreign policy. URL: http://www.asharqalawsat.com/
Nilofar Bakhtiar Rejects Red Mosque Fatwa
Pakistani Minister Rejects Fundamentalists’ Fatwa Demanding Her Dismissal
Report by Umar Faruq in Islamabad: “Pakistani Tourism Minister: I Do Not Recognize Any Fundamentalist Fatwa Against me. Nilofar Bakhtiar to ‘Al-Sharq al-Awsat’: Islam Does Not Allow Defamation and Slandering of People. Those Demanding my Dismissal Not Qualified Under Shari’ah”
Originally published on 4/12/2007 by Al-Sharq al-Awsat (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic
Pakistani Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar has stated that she does not fear the threats of the fundamentalists who have demanded her dismissal after seeing photos of her embracing her veteran trainer in France after landing by parachute.
She said in exclusive statements to “Al-Sharq al-Awsat” that she does not fear the fundamentalists because her colleagues in the government, President Musharraf, and the Pakistani people support her.
The Pakistani authorities meanwhile tightened the security around Minister Bakhtiar. In their effort to “punish” her, the fundamentalists asserted that her actions violated the teachings of Islam and the social values of separation between the sexes.
Directors of the Red Mosque formed their own court last Friday and gave the government one month to apply Islamic shari’ah in the country. The Pakistani minister responded to the deluge of criticisms against her from the strong fundamentalist current by saying: “I do not recognize any fatwa [religious legal ruling] against me. The illegal court did not check the facts and issued the alleged fatwa without any basis.” She added that those who issued it “do not have a shari’ah degree that qualifies them to do this.”
She went on to say: “Islam does not allow the defamation and slandering of people. I took part in a parachute show and jumped from 6,000 meters to secure funds for the children affected by the 8 October 2005 earthquake in the Azad Kashmir region. I did what I had to do with sincerity and I fear no one but God.” She added: “I did nothing against Islam’s teachings and I am more devout than those who are criticizing me because I embraced a 71 years old man.” She pointed out that the woman under President Pervez Musharraf’s rule achieved many things but some groups in society want to turn her back to the rear ranks. She stressed that she would continue to implement President Musharraf’s policy “of enlightened modernization of the country” and said: “I do not fear these unrecognized fatwas but will jump again with the parachutists if I have another chance.” [Passage omitted on fatwa issued against her]
: London Al-Sharq al-Awsat (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic — Influential Saudi-owned London daily providing independent coverage of Arab and international issues; editorials reflect official Saudi views on foreign policy. URL: http://www.asharqalawsat.com/
ISI Statement Claiming Attack on Iraqi Parliament
Islamic State of Iraq Claims Responsibility for Attack on Parliament
Originally published on 4/13/2007 by Jihadist Websites — OSC Summary in Arabic
Terrorism: Islamic State of Iraq Claims Responsibility for Attack on Parliament
On 13 April, a jihadist website posted a statement issued by the Islamic State of Iraq in which the group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the Iraqi parliament building in Baghdad, which took place yesterday, 12 April. The statement was copied from the Al-Fajr Media Center.
A translation of the statement follows:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
“’Hast thou not turned Thy vision to those who declare that they believe in the revelations that have come to thee and to those before thee? Their (real) wish is to resort together for judgment (in their disputes) to the Evil One, though they were ordered to reject him. But Satan’s wish is to lead them astray far away (from the right).’ [Koranic verse; Al-Nisa 4:60]
“’Say: The command rests with none but Allah. He declares the truth, and He is the best of judges.’ [Koranic verse; Al-An’am 6:57]
“It is clearly known that legislation is a right that belongs only to the Almighty and whoever competes with Him over His right becomes infidel. These infidel parliament members are competing with God, the Lord of heaven and earth, in His rule, and thus they deserve to be killed. After careful scrutiny of the location, we were able to get to the most fortified site for the government of Al-Maliki and the Crusaders, who were responsible for the affliction suffered by our people, the Sunnis, between killing, displacement and violations, especially the killing and honor violation that had taken place, particularly in Tall Afar. O Sunnis! You have men who cannot sleep as long as there is injustice. God made some of you, O Sunnis, laugh at the sight of these monkeys from the parliament, who were crying and screaming out of shock by the enormity of the spectacle. This took place after a courageous knight and one the heroes of the Islamic State of Iraq from the Martyrs Brigade, may God bless its men, on Thursday, 24 Rabi al-Awwal 1428, corresponding to 12 April 2007, plunged into the gathering of the apostates in the so-called parliament, with an explosive belt around his person. At his hands, God destroyed the gathering of apostasy and non-belief.
“We had delayed the announcement of this, to ensure the safe withdrawal of our units. May God strengthen the men of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Muslims from within. [And may He] strengthen the scholars of the nation and its leaders, who do not forget us in their prayers. The success that was achieved by our brother against this fortress was by the grace of God alone. Expect from us more severe and more impacting strikes than the (Salam al-Zukub [as received]) strike, the parliament, and the freeing of the prisoners in Badush. May God guide you, oh men of the Islamic State of Iraq, and may He guide you, O, amir of Baghdad and all those who are with you, ‘And Allah hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not.’ [Koranic verse; Yusuf 12:21]. We pray to God to accept our brother among the martyrs, and to elevate his rank, and make him an inheritor of Paradise. Praise and thanks be to God.
“This comes as part of the “Avenging the Honors” Al-Karamah military campaign, which was declared by Umar al-Baghdadi, the amir of the Islamic State of Iraq, may God protect him.
“God is great. ‘Honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the Believers; but the Hypocrites know not’ [Koranic verse; Al-Munafiqun 63:8].
“The Islamic State of Iraq / Ministry of Information.”
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