Thanks for the ping!
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic relations (CAIR-Chicago) announced that it has filed a complaint in federal court today against Du Page County in response to the county’s rejection of a zoning permit for a proposed Islamic school in Naperville.
The complaint names 18 officials from the zoning process who voted against granting a permit to the Irshad Learning Center (ILC) and alleges unlawful reasons for the rejection.
All zoning requirements were met by the ILC, but no reasons were given for the rejection. Muslim community members believe Islamophobia influenced the decision. Anti-Muslim protests were taking place outside the county board meeting when the decision was made.
An online survey by the Naperville Sun showed that 64 out of the 101 people surveyed admit that they would be more welcoming to the center if it were not to be used by Muslims.
*****************
Population expert sees dangers as U.S. birthrate falls below replacement
The U.S. birthrate fell from 2007 to 2008 and is now below replacement rate. One population expert, noting that children are the “only future a country has,” warns that a scarcity of children condemns a country to stagnation, bankruptcy and eventually death.
The U.S. National Vital Statistics Report for April 2010 shows that the U.S. birthrate fell two percent from 2007 to 2008. It is a drop below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman to a rate of 2.08.
In 2008 there were 41.5 births per 1,000 teens aged 15 to 19, also a two percent drop. The report also indicates that more U.S. children are being born out of wedlock than ever before.
According to the Washington Post, an October survey by the Pew Research Center said that 14 percent of Americans ages 18 to 34 and eight percent of those aged 35 to 44 said they postponed having a child because of the recession.
**************
Minister claims senior Al-Qaeda arrive in Somalia
A Somali minister claims that at least 12 senior Al-Qaeda operatives have reached war-torn Somalia to assess the security for a possible relocation into the Horn of African country.
Somalia’s Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman (Yarisow) said they have received credible information that the terrorists have entered the country through Yemen and Eritrea in the last few weeks.
“Some of these fellows came all the way from Yemen through the waters while others flew from Eritrea and all are currently in Somalia,” he said. “They have come to assess the situation on the ground for a possible relocation of Al-Qaeda’s biggest military bases to Somalia since they are facing a lot of pressure in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he added.
He however did not categorically state the nationalities of the operatives but requesting the international community to urgently intervene.
Somalia’s embattled president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has previously warned that Al-Qeada is relocating to his war-torn country in a bid to use as a safe haven and carry out terror attacks.
Yemeni government recently claimed that some Al-Qaeda operatives have fled to Somalia after coming under intense pressure due to military offensives in the northern regions.
Somalia's Al Qaeda-inspired Al-Shabaab insurgent group is waging bloody war against the UN-backed government and African Union troops in Mogadishu.
******************
Iran's web of secret wars
Summary:
Iran’s geopolitical objectives go beyond the buildup of military power within its own borders. Iranian influence now stretches all the way to the horn of Africa. A web of self-sustaining secret wars has formed between Lebanon, Gaza, Somalia and Yemen with cooperation of Eritrea and Sudan. In Lebanon Iran has been fueling funds, weapons and training to Hezbollah, which in return delivers training to the Somali Al Shabaab and Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Somali conflict in return has delivered weapons, ammunition and even combatants to other conflicts through Iranian smuggle routes. Iran has also been smuggling weapons to Hamas in Gaza and the Sudanese government through Eritrea, the epicenter of Iran’s illegal smuggling activities. Iran is also believed to have constructed a naval base in Eritrea that supports these activities as well as military naval presence in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Through this activity Iran is not only able to tie down western resources, it has also succeeded in gaining a stronger position over for example Saudi Arabia as the Islamic state supporter of these rebellions.