Free Republic

An even more devastating terrorism charge could be laid on Iran's doorstep if intelligence reports linking Iran to al-Qaeda are confirmed. Insight has learned of new links between top Iranian intelligence officials and the al-Qaeda leadership that suggest direct Iranian government involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. mainland. Documents and information provided to this magazine by a recent Iranian defector, if confirmed as authentic, could open a new front in the war on terror. The defector, Hamid Reza Zakeri, says he worked in the intelligence office of Supreme Leader Ali Khameini and personally handled security at two...

In a troubling revelation from Vienna, a concerned grandparent, Bernhard K., has exposed a growing crisis in Austria’s kindergartens. Speaking to the Austrian news outlet Heute, he described the stark reality at his grandson’s school, where only three of 25 classmates are fluent German speakers. During breaks and after-school activities, the children revert to Arabic, leaving his grandson isolated. When asked how the boy copes, Bernhard’s response was shocking: “He’s trying to learn Arabic! How else is he supposed to communicate with his schoolmates?” This is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a broader demographic shift. According to...

According to an Islam tradition, Muslim martyrs will go to paradise and marry 72 black-eyed virgins. But some Koran scholars point to a less sexy paradise. While beautifully written, Islamic texts are often obscure. The Arabic language was born as a written language with the Koran, and growing evidence suggests that many of the words were Syriac or Aramaic. Specifically, the Koran says martyrs going to heaven will get “hur,” and the word was taken by early commentators to mean “virgins,” hence those 72 concubines. But in Aramaic, hur actually meant “white” and was commonly used to specifically mean “white...

According to author Christoph Luxenberg, due to a possible mistranslation of the Koran (if one were to read certain words as Syriac instead of Arabic), the "virgins" some terrorists believe they will be rewarded with in paradise may be "white raisins" of "crystal clarity" instead.

If there is no emotional connection to their own children, how could there ever be a desire for peace, coexistence, and mutual respect for the Israeli people? Speaking to the children of Jenin in their native Arabic language, N12 Israeli television reporter Ohad Hemo confirmed what we’ve all known for a long time: the realization of why there can never be peace between Israel and the so-called Palestinians who live in Samaria. With special permission from the IDF, Hemo made his way through the rubble, which was once home to 14,000 people who lived in the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp,...

illing is still ongoing. Watch this video. According to my sources in the Alawites in Syria, he is one of the leaders of the Al-Julani army, from ISIS, he is openly telling his mercenaries to kill and slaughter the Alawites today, the tenth of March. The massacres continue. ... I am a Syrian Alawite citizen, I beg you with all forms of begging and request, help us stop the rivers of blood in Syria, the blood of the Alawites fills the streets, the New Syrian Army led by al-Julani is a terrorist army of mercenaries, more than 4 thousand have...

“This is not war. This is annihilation.” The UN won’t help them. On the contrary, they are aiding and abetting the jihad force. I am receiving hundreds of emails from people in Syria begging for help. How can the world stand by in the face of such atrocities? ... We, the Alawites on the Syrian coast, are facing extermination. Ethnic and religious cleansing is unfolding before the world’s silent eyes. They are burning our homes, slaughtering our families, and torturing our children. They rip out the eyes of our young, tear out their hearts, and leave their lifeless bodies as...

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing criticism over a campaign mailer featuring a nonsensical Arabic translation of election information, including the last day voters can cast their ballot. The campaign leaflet features Arabic script in which the characters appear in reverse order and are disconnected, deviating from standard Arabic script requirements. The mistake drew attention after Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a journalist, criticized the gaffe on X (formerly Twitter). He remarked that the disorganized script was emblematic of Ocasio-Cortez’s disconnect with Arab voters. The incorrect Arabic also drew comments from Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian studies professor at Reichman University. He equated the...

Finnish is known for its challenging grammar and vocabulary, which can be daunting for learners. It features a complex system of cases—15 in total—which can change the endings of nouns based on their function in a sentence. Additionally, Finnish is a language isolated from other European languages, so there are few cognates for English speakers to rely on. Nevertheless, Finnish is a language worth learning for its unique position in the world. Finland boasts a high standard of living, stunning natural landscapes, and a rich cultural history. Learning Finnish can enhance your experience if you plan to travel or work...

Trump wrote that the documentary was 'incredibly difficult to watch because, sadly, it graphically portrays the death and destruction that Hamas has unleashed.' Former US President Donald Trump urged people to watch the film Screams Before Silence by Sheryl Sandberg, which documents Hamas's sexual violence on October 7, in a post on his social network Truth Social on Tuesday morning. Trump wrote that the documentary was "...incredibly difficult to watch because, sadly, it graphically portrays the Death and Destruction that Hamas has unleashed."

The number of people using Gaelic has increased across Scotland despite a decline in the language's heartland, according to the latest census data. Experts say the increase in Gaelic medium education (GME) accounts for the rise. However, Gaelic is now a minority language in the Western Isles - while 52% reported speaking Gaelic in 2011, the figure in 2022 was 45%. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told BBC Scotland that Scottish Gaelic was part of a "modern, diverse Scotland". Ms Forbes – who is also minister for Gaelic – said she was “extremely optimistic” about the future of the language....

Leftward-leaning German politicians have lauded the decision to erect the nation’s first street sign in Arabic script as a “a symbolic expression of social inclusion.” This month, the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital of Düsseldorf has begun exhibiting the name of Ellerstrasse in Arabic letters: شارع إلَرْ. Touted as a campaign to underscore the diversity and international flair of Düsseldorf, the Arabic street sign has been placed in Oberbilk, a district with a particularly large number of people with Moroccan roots. According to a decision by the city’s “integration council,” there will eventually be bilingual street signs in ten different places...

Gibraltar finally joined the official list of British cities on Monday (Aug 29), after 180 years in which its status, granted by Queen Victoria, had been overlooked due to an administrative error. The British overseas territory bid to become a city earlier this year as part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, but research in the National Archives established it had in fact been granted city status in 1842. "It is excellent to see official recognition given to the City of Gibraltar, a huge accolade to its rich history and dynamism," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in...

ACI MENA will operate from the campus of Erbil’s Catholic University.EWTN Global Catholic Network has launched an Arabic-language news service headquartered in Erbil, Iraq, Michael P. Warsaw, EWTN's chairman of the board and CEO, announced March 25, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. The Association for Catholic Information Middle East and North Africa, or ACI MENA, will publish original news content in Arabic using a network of correspondents across the region. The news agency will operate from the campus of Erbil’s Catholic University (CUE). A ceremony marking the occasion was held in Erbil, which included Archbishop Bashar Warda of the...

I don't speak Arabic -- though I recently ordered the beginner module from Rosetta Stone which still sits in its wrapper on my desk shelf. (I am in the Arab world a lot however and learning more each trip) Perhaps after the conventions.But a friend, Foued Mokrani, speaks Arabic just fine -- and reported on his Facebook page the following after watching a film during a flight to Paris:I watched the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and noticed they translate the word ''gay" to ''pervert" in the Arabic subtitles!! Very dumb.Mokrani responded:Somehow there is no decent word to say...

In April, the language-learning app Duolingo added its 40th language to its program arsenal: Yiddish. A couple of decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for a mainstream non-Jewish language program to offer an expansive, comprehensive course in Yiddish. But Duolingo’s Yiddish addition only serves to reflect the increased global interest in learning a language that once had as many as 12 million speakers. Ladino, a Romance language of Sephardic Jews still spoken by hundreds of thousands worldwide, has also garnered much interest in recent years. Ladino classes, both online and in-person, are widely available to prospective learners. But while...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two years ago, Apple threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from its app store over concerns about the platform being used as a tool to trade and sell maids in the Mideast. After publicly promising to crack down, Facebook acknowledged in internal documents obtained by The Associated Press that it was “under-enforcing on confirmed abusive activity” that saw Filipina maids complaining on the social media site of being abused. Apple relented and Facebook and Instagram remained in the app store. But Facebook’s crackdown seems to have had a limited effect. Even today, a quick...

With Ramat HaSharon approaching its centennial year, archaeological evidence indicates the Tel Aviv suburb’s history goes back much further than previously thought. “The excavation unearthed evidence of agricultural-industrial activity at the site during the Byzantine period – about 1,500 years ago. Among other finds, we discovered a large winepress paved with a mosaic as well as plastered installations and the foundations of a large structure that may have been used as a warehouse or even a farmstead,” said Dr. Yoav Arbel, who directed the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Inside the buildings and installations, we found many...

Donovan Barnes, a first year student at Georgetown University, recently published a “viewpoint” article in the school’s student newspaper titled “Develop Gender-Neutral Language in Arabic.” Barnes’ March 25 op-ed in The Hoya expresses the opinion that “to aid the fight for gender inclusivity in the Arabic language, Georgetown students and instructors have the responsibility to work toward language that includes all gender identities, not just identities within the cisnormative male and female binary.” The student explained that he is studying Arabic at Georgetown and had “valid concerns” coming into the program because he is learning a language that is “radically...

With most of the votes counted and no decisive outcome as far as who the next Prime Minister will be, or if Israel will be headed to an unprecedented fifth national election in less than three years, one thing is clear, the big winners in Israel’s national election this week were Israeli Arabs. One might have said that a year ago, after Israel’s third national election in (what was then) a year. Then, the “Joint Arab List,” a faction made up of four Arab political parties running together, won a striking 15 seats in Israel’s Knesset (parliament). This made the...