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Weblog The State Department Promotes Palestinian Peoplehood February 26, 2004 The State Department Promotes Palestinian Peoplehood. In addition to endorsing Islamist organizations, the Department of State promotes on its website "the world of the Palestinians" to an English-speaking public ("a world vaster, and far richer, than the one portrayed on evening news broadcasts"). It does so in something called Asalah Magazine, four issues of which have been published since August 2002, the most recent of them this month. While Asalah's topics tend to be innocuous (appreciations of embroidery and olive trees), its underlying purpose is obvious: to establish that there...

Weblog The State Department Promotes Islamist Organizations February 25, 2004 The State Department Promotes Islamist Organizations. Not only does the U.S. government build mosques but it posts official pages on the Department of State website celebrating "Muslim Life in America" - something no other religion in the United States benefits from. In addition to the predictable feel-good writing and photography, the website also has a bibliography with select readings, Internet sites, and nongovernmental organizations. All of the sections hold interest, but the organizational one does most of all. A close look finds that the State Department provides links to and...

Weblog The U.S. Government Builds a Mosque February 24, 2004 The U.S. Government Builds a Mosque. An Agence France-Presse dispatch, dated today, reads "Matachina: The Madrassa of Martyrs Rebuilt by the USA Remains Empty." It describes a mosque complex in a town near Khost in Afghanistan's southeast. The unnamed reporter tells of finding a stone stele by the side of the road announcing (I am translating here from French) the "Matachina Mosque, rebuilt in 2002 with the assistance of the American people." The U.S. government has helped pay for a mosque!? Apparently so. The news report explains that at least...

Defund Middle East Studiesby Daniel PipesNew York Sun February 24, 2004 Here's a prime example, one that involves me personally, of how the radical Left and the Islamists, those new best friends, readily deceive.It has to do with a proposed piece of U.S. legislation passed by the House, the "International Studies in Higher Education Act of 2003," known familiarly as H.R. 3077, and awaiting action by the Senate. H.R. 3077 calls for the creation of an advisory board to review the way in which roughly US$100 million in taxpayer money is spent annually on area studies, including Middle East studies,...

Here’s a prime example, one which involves me personally, of how the radical Left and the Islamists, those new best friends, readily deceive.It has to do with a proposed piece of U.S. legislation passed by the House, the “International Studies in Higher Education Act of 2003” (known familiarly as H.R. 3077), and waiting action by the Senate. H.R. 3077 calls for the creation of an advisory board to review the way in which roughly US$100 million in taxpayer money is spent annually on area studies (including Middle East studies) at the university level.This board is needed for two reasons:...

Last Saturday, a young man in Karachi, Pakistan, greeted a young woman in a university classroom with Happy Valentine's Day. In most of the world these would be innocuous good wishes; in Karachi, they were fighting words. Other students objected to them, leading to a fist fight and the injury of two students. As this incident suggests, in some cultures Valentine's Day prompts controversy. The Saudi religious authorities issued an edict indicating that "There are only two holidays in Islam – Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha – and any other holidays ...are inventions which Muslims are banned from" and called...

Hating Valentine's Day by Daniel PipesNew York SunFebruary 17, 2004[This title and text are slightly altered from what The New York Sun published]Last Saturday, a young man in Karachi, Pakistan, greeted a young woman in a university classroom with "Happy Valentine's Day."In most of the world these would be innocuous good wishes; in Karachi, they were fighting words. Other students objected to them, leading to a fist fight and the injury of two students.As this incident suggests, in some cultures Valentine's Day prompts controversy.The Saudi religious authorities issued an edict indicating that "There are only two holidays in Islam -...

Weblog My Talk at UC-Berkeley February 12, 2004 My Talk at UC-Berkeley. I spoke on February 10 at the University of California-Berkeley to a crowd of about 550; a sizeable number could not get in. As I had expected, this was the most out-of-control talk of the roughly one thousand I have given, with a core group of about 150 Islamists, Palestinian radicals, and far-leftists constantly disrupting me, mostly with insults that I would prefer to forget. The best and fullest account of the event is by Cinnamon Stillwell, "Fascism at UC Berkeley: Muslim Student Association Disrupts Daniel Pipes Lecture,"...

Last Saturday, a young man in Karachi, Pakistan, greeted a young woman in a university classroom with "Happy Valentine's Day." In most of the world these would be innocuous good wishes; in Karachi, they were fighting words. Other students objected to them, leading to a fist fight and the injury of two students. As this incident suggests, in some cultures Valentine's Day prompts controversy. The Saudi religious authorities issued an edict indicating that "There are only two holidays in Islam - Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha - and any other holidays ... are inventions which Muslims are banned from" and...

Fascism at BerkeleyBy Cinnamon StillwellChronwatch.com | February 16, 2004 If reaction to Daniel Pipes’ lecture on Tuesday (2/10) was any indication, fascism is alive and well at UC Berkeley. Pipes was invited by the Israel Action Committee and Berkeley Hillel to speak at the college campus known for its leftist politics. But ironically, the home of ''free speech'' and ''tolerance'' has shown itself to be distinctly intolerant to those who express political views other than their own. And Daniel Pipes happens to fit that description. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum, a member of the U.S. Institute...

MAS FREEDOM REQUESTS MEETING WITH CONGRESSMAN PETER T. KING OVER ISLAMOPHOBIC STATEMENTS MADE ON NATIONAL RADIO PROGRAM The MAS Freedom Foundation contacted Ms. Nicole Lango the scheduler for Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY) and requested an urgent meeting with the congressman concerning his inflammatory remarks on Sean Hannity's nationally syndicated radio program. (SEE: http://www.Hannity.com about Muslims and their Mosque). Congressman King stated that 85% of mosques in America are ruled by extremists, "and I'll stand by that number of 85 percent. This is an enemy living amongst us." In calling for the meeting, MAS Freedom Foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray...

Staunch Israel Backer Attacks ‘Militant’ Islam By GEORGE DERK, MEGAN REITER AND EMMA SCHWARTZ Wednesday, February 11, 2004 A crowd reacts to the speech of Daniel Pipe’s at the UC Berkeley campus last night. He said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can’t be resolved until Palestinians recognize the state of Israel. The controversial head of a Middle East watchdog organization delivered a searing attack on militant Islam at a campus talk last night to an impassioned but divided audience. Like many campus events on the Middle East, Daniel Pipes’ speech ignited antagonism between fierce ideological opponents. Supporters welcomed him with a...

Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, has broken with decades of his own history and declared an intent to withdraw all Israeli habitations from Gaza, plus some from the West Bank. Doing so raises a basic question: Just how important are these "settlements" in the grand scheme of Palestinian-Israeli relations?

The forces of anti-truth in Berkeley are planning to gather at 6:00pm to oppose Daniel Pipes -- please forward to all Freepers in the San Francisco Bay area: __________________ Invitation   Dear Reader:   I invite you, at no charge to attend a talk of mine today:   Topic: “The Middle East Now: Up Close and On Campus”When: Tuesday, February 10, 2004, 7:30-9 p.m., PST Where: 145 Dwinelle Hall, University of California, Berkeley campus For further information :   Directions: http://www.berkeley.edu/visitors/traveling.html Map: http://www.berkeley.edu/map/ Parking: http://www.berkeley.edu/visitors/parking.html   The Muslim Student Association has stated an intention to demonstrate that I am “not welcome...

Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, has broken with decades of his own history and declared an intent to withdraw all Israeli habitations from Gaza, plus some from the West Bank. Doing so raises a basic question: Just how important are these “settlements” in the grand scheme of Palestinian-Israeli relations? (I use quotation marks around settlements because the dictionary defines this word as “a small community” or an establishment of people “in a new region.” This inaccurately describes the Jewish habitations in question, many of which boast tens of thousands of residents in place over several decades.) Some analysts...

As of 1:50 EST, Pipes still being introduced...

Hezbollah's Victory, Israel's Declineby Daniel PipesNew York Sun February 3, 2004 When asked in 1787, as the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia came to an end, whether it had created a monarchy or a republic, Benjamin Franklin replied. "A republic, if you can keep it."His pessimism comes to mind whenever a republic makes a terrible mistake, from the French policy of appeasement toward Germany in the 1930s to the American policy of incrementalism in Vietnam to the South Korean "sunshine policy" now under way.And Franklin's worry felt newly relevant on Thursday last week, as the state of Israel effected a most...

Golden Oldie The Saga of FBI Special Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz January 18, 2004 The Saga of FBI Special Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz. I wrote nearly a year ago about FBI Special Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, documenting how he "could have a key role helping America's premier anti-terrorist force protect the United States from harm. But evidence from high-profile terrorism cases suggests that Abdel-Hafiz, an immigrant Muslim, twice refused on principle to tape-record his coreligionists, harming the investigations." The most notable piece of evidence was his statement, "A Muslim does not record another Muslim." The Dallas Morning News today carries a story by...

Hezbollah's Victory, Israel's Decline - by Daniel Pipes New York Sun - February 3, 2004 When asked in 1787, as the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia came to an end, whether it had created a monarchy or a republic, Benjamin Franklin replied. "A republic, if you can keep it." His pessimism comes to mind whenever a republic makes a terrible mistake, from the French policy of appeasement toward Germany in the 1930s to the American policy of incrementalism in Vietnam to the South Korean "sunshine policy" now under way. And Franklin's worry felt newly relevant on Thursday last week, as the...