Free Republic

IF you make your way over to the Javits Convention Center for the New York International Automobile Show — or if you've gone to any auto show in the last year or so — you'll know that hybrid cars are the hippest automotive fashion statement to come along in years. They've become synonymous with the worthy goal of reducing gasoline consumption and dependence on foreign oil and all that this means for a better environment and more stable geopolitics. And yet like fat-free desserts, which sound healthy but can still make you fat, the hybrid car can make people feel...

A 41-year-old imam from eastern Norway has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of raping a 30-year-old woman in the southern city of Kristiansand. The imam, originally from Pakistan, had been invited to Kristiansand by the local Muslim community during the holy season of Ramadan in the fall of 2004. Aften attending an evening meeting at the local mosque, the imam encountered the woman on a local street. She was intoxicated at the time, and he allegedly asked if she needed help. She claims she followed him to a room at the mosque, at which point...

The New York Times published a photograph of a young Pakistani boy recently standing with an old man next to an ancient, unfired artillery shell. It placed a caption under it that read: “Pakistani men with the remains of a missile fired at a house in the Bajur tribal zone near the Afghan border.” A short time later, the newspaper changed the caption to: “Correction: A picture caption on Saturday with an article about a U.S. airstrike on a village in Pakistan misidentified an unexploded ordinance. It was not the remains of a missile fired at a house.” The photograph...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police arrested nearly 200 Muslim Brotherhood activists on Monday in a crackdown the opposition Islamist group said was designed to weaken its chances in parliamentary elections this week. The Brotherhood has made a strong showing in four days of voting held so far, increasing its number of seats fivefold, despite arrests of its activists and the blocking of polling stations by riot police in Islamist strongholds. Arrests were made in areas north of Cairo, northern Sinai and Sohag south of the capital, where voting will take place on December 1 and 7, the officially banned Brotherhood...

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said it had won 34 seats in the first phase of legislative elections, a major advance for the banned but tolerated Islamist group. ADVERTISEMENT Its candidates, campaigning under the banner "Islam is the solution" in the three-phase election, are aiming for an overall tally of between 50 and 70 seats in the 454-seat parliament. Spokesman Hassan el-Eryan said Wednesday that the movement had already doubled its representation in parliament, winning 20 percent of the seats being contested in the first round, following a run-off election on Tuesday. It held a total of 15 seats from the previous...

Responding to last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Saudi Arabia’s role in the war on terror, entitled “Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror?”, Riyadh’s ambassador to the U.S., Prince Turki al-Faisal, charged the committee members with ignorance. "Judging by the statements made at the hearing, it appears that the members of the Committee are not fully aware of the significant steps Saudi Arabia has taken in the war on terrorism and extremism.” Worse, according to the prince, U.S. senators “chose to ignore the realities for the sake of political expediency.” Did they really? The U.S....

Washington D.C., 27 Sept. (AKI/DAWN) - North American Muslims have issued a religious edict or fatwa against extremism and terrorism to prevent disgruntled Muslims who might be tempted to use their religion to justify violence, says a pamphlet distributed at mosques and other religious places across the United States and Canada.The fatwa has been signed by representatives of more than 250 mosques and Islamic centres and endorsed by over 170 Muslim groups, leaders and institutions. The American fatwa followed a fatwa issued in March by the Islamic Commission of Spain, which declared Osama bin Laden an apostate and urged other...

The principle of Al-Takeyya The Arabic word, "Takeyya", means "to prevent," or guard against. The principle of Al Takeyya conveys the understanding that Muslims are permitted to lie as a preventive measure against anticipated harm to one's self or fellow Muslims. This principle gives Muslims the liberty to lie under circumstances that they perceive as life threatening. They can even deny the faith, if they do not mean it in their hearts. Al-Takeyya is based on the following Quranic verse: "Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will...

What steps should Western border agencies take to defend their homelands from harm by Islamists? In the case of non-citizens, the answer is simple: Don't let Islamists in. Exclude not just potential terrorists but also anyone who supports the totalitarian goals of radical Islam. Just as civilized countries did not welcome fascists in the early 1940s (or communists a decade later), they need not welcome Islamists today. But what about one's own citizens who cross the border? They could be leaving to fight for the Taliban or returning from a course on terrorism techniques. Or perhaps they studied with enemies...

It happened again this week. I came out of the office to find a flyer under my windshield wipers inviting me to a special informational presentation on God and family values, and how to bring them back to the forefront in America. I'm a parent so the flyer caught my interest. But as an analyst for the Northeast Intelligence Network, my eyes were riveted to the address on the flyer: The session was being held at a nearby mosque. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided it would be a good time for some onsite investigations of the...

In Islam, lying or omissions for the 'greater good,' according to a strict or radical Islam/Islamist philosophy is not only acceptable, it is holy and blessed work. It is called al-Takeyya (or al-Taqiyya) and is a strategy outlined in the Hadiths and supported by various interpretations of some of the Suras in the Koran. We have just seen it in action and most people never even caught the whiff of mental ether the Islamists were pouring into the airways of the already comatose and choking non-Islamist world. Al-Takeyya is a policy whereby a Muslim may lie, deceive or omit critical...

Woman settles lawsuit after being barred from public pool wearing Muslim garb LINCOLN, Neb. A Muslim woman in Omaha, Nebraska, says it's nice to feel like part of the community again now that a public swimming pool's dress code has been modified. Lubna Hussein had been barred from accompanying her three children to the pool area because she was fully clothed, even though she wasn't going in the water. It took a federal lawsuit to get dress code altered. The suit, filed by the A-C-L-U, has now been settled and the dress code accommodates religious or medical needs. Hussein says...

CAIRO , January 23 (IslamOnline.net) – A perusal through the annals of American history brings back bittersweet memories for African American Muslims, who pride themselves on being the indigenous people of this country and lament the loss of the Islamic heritage throughout ages. “Not only were there African Muslims who were here in America as explorers before Christopher Columbus, but a third of the African slaves who were brought here during the slave trade were Muslims,” Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid told The Seattle Times Saturday, January 22. “We, the indigenous Muslims of America, particularly the African Americans, are still waking...

I am appalled at how quickly the United States is leaping at the same old bait offered by the Palestinians. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, following the orders of our dear but naive president, is shoving Israel toward a disastrous agreement to grant a Palestinian state. As everyone applauds the "valiant efforts" of Mahmoud Abbas to secure a "cease-fire" from a bunch of terrorist gangs that have sworn they will never have a permanent peace with Israel, it is time to review the sacred Muslim concept of "hudna." It began with Islam's most revered founder, Muhammad. He declared a 10-year...

<p>Jamie Kellner, the entertainment wizard, announced last week that he is leaving the world of cable and taking the gold brick road back to his Land of Oz (Santa Barbara, Calif.).</p> <p>Kellner is the man who in 1995 formed The WB Network, which gave us "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."</p> <p>Earlier in his career, as president and chief operating officer of Fox Broadcasting Corp., he gave us such programming as "Married...</p>