Free Republic

Until modern times, there existed no form of legitimacy in the Middle East outside of Islam. Rulers ruled in the name of God; assassins struck them down in the name of God. The assassinations of the early caliphs and the struggle between the Sunni rulers and the Assassins in the Middle Ages took precisely this form: each side claimed to act in accord with divine will, revealed in divine texts. Religion played a crucial role in the rationale of assassination, but it also played a crucial role in the rationale of government, law, and warfare—indeed, of everything. This invocation of...

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A South African citizen has been arrested in Mexico for alleged involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terrorist activities, South African media reported on Thursday, prompting further speculation about al-Qaeda presence in the country. The man, so far unidentified, was carrying a South African passport and a mobile phone that had been used to make calls to South Africa when he was nabbed in Mexico near the US border on Tuesday, said local newspaper Thisday. However, the South African government has yet confirmed if the man is genuine South African citizen or foreign national holding South African travel...

Johannesbnurg - The government was urged on Tuesday to help two South Africans being detained in Pakistan on suspicion of being recruits of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. A Pakistani official said Abu Bakar and Zubair Ismail had told interrogators they had planned to attack tourist sites in Johannesburg. Last week, the foreign affairs ministry named the two men as Feroze Ganchi, a medical doctor from Fordsburg, Johannesburg, and 20-year-old student Zubair Ismail, from Laudium, Pretoria. The Media Review Network, an advocacy group which aims to dispel myths and stereotypes about Islam, urged the government and human rights organisations to...

Two Indonesian Muslim militants, who have confessed to bombing the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, have expressed remorse for the attack and apologised to families of the victims. "I admit that I did it - I apologise to families of the victims sincerely without any pressure from others and to the Muslim community who have felt the slander and negative impacts of my actions," Tohir told SCTV television. The August 5 car bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta killed 12 people, including a Dutch banker. Tohir and his alleged accomplice Ismail were arrested on Wednesday local time in their...