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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sunday Links Part 1

From Ian:

MEMRI: Egyptian Anti-Porn Activist: When Muslims in Islamic Countries Watch Porn, Disasters Occur in Gaza VIDEO

Islamic Universities Association Secretary-General: Martyrdom the "Most Lofty Form of Jihad" VIDEO

Analysis: Making sense of Hamas’s visit to Bulgaria
The hello-goodbye Hamas affair coincides with swirl of debate over Bulgaria report attributing Burgas bus explosion to Hezbollah.
According to Slateva, Mr. Vigenin said he would be ready to meet the delegation, but “when it was clarified what the background of those MPs was, and that they represent Hamas, the organizers of the event were informed that neither Mr. Vigenin nor any other representative of BSP [the Bulgarian Socialist Party] is ready to meet them.”
She said that ”BSP has no intention to challenge or to disregard the current status of Hamas as a terrorist organization. Our partner in Palestine is Fatah, full member of the Socialist International and observer member of the Party of European Socialists.”
Given the tendency among some left-wing parties in Europe to court radical Islamists, the BSP’s clear statement against Hamas is encouraging from a counterterrorism perspective.

Expelled Hamas leader claims Israel behind Burgas bombing
Salah Bardawil, booted out of Bulgaria along with three other Gaza lawmakers, claims Jerusalem told Sofia to send his group home

Khamenei: Even if We Wanted Nukes, U.S. Couldn't Stop Us
Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the U.S. could not thwart it, says its supreme leader.
Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the United States could not thwart it, its supreme leader said on Saturday.
"We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building" such weaponry, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website leader.ir and which were quoted by AFP.
But, Khamenei said, "if Iran had such intentions, the U.S. could in no way prevent it" from building an atomic bomb.

‘Iranian nuke chief was in N. Korea for atomic test’
Apparently successful detonation indicates both countries on the cusp of ability to assemble atomic warhead, Sunday Times reports
The man whom Western intelligence agencies say may very well be the head of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program was present as an observer last week when North Korea carried out a critical nuclear test, The British Sunday Times reported.
According to the report Sunday, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi very rarely leaves Iranian soil due to fear that Israel’s Mossad will make an attempt on his life, following an alleged pattern of previous assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Bahrain arrests 8 members of Iranian terror cell
Move follows widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain’s interior minister says police have arrested eight members of an alleged terrorist cell linked to Iran and other countries following widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.
A statement Sunday on the ministry’s website said the suspected terror network received training and financial support from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon — references to Iranian-backed Shiite groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and others.

Hezbollah chief warns Israel against attack
"They know their power plants, airports are under threat," Nasrallah states; says Hezbollah doesn't need weapons from Syria.

60 Arrested in Egypt Anti-Morsi Clashes
Egyptian police arrested 60 demonstrators across the country during violent protests targeting government and police buildings.
Opposition activists have organized nearly weekly protests every Friday that often dissolve into brutal clashes outside the presidential palace.
Last Friday, Islamist supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi staged their own rally in Cairo in support of the president.

Egypt: Christian Priests Threatened to Convert to Islam or Die
A few days ago in Safaga, an Egyptian town near the Red Sea, Christian priests from the local Coptic church reported to the local prosecutor that they were personally being threatened with death. According to the February 10, 2013 report from the Arabic news site El Balad, yet another new jihadi group in Egypt calling itself jihad al-kufr or “Jihad Against Infidelity—that is, jihad against all non-Muslims—has been sending the priests “invitations” to enter Islam, or otherwise be killed.

Egypt court orders belly dancing station off air
Judge says ads for sexual enhancement products aired on ElTet 'offensive' and can 'arouse' viewers
A court in Egypt has ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for showing "sexually explicit" content and operating without a broadcast license.
The judge Saturday said that ElTet airs ads that are "offensive" and can "arouse" viewers. The station carries advertisements for sexual enhancement products and matchmaking services.

Libya arrests suspected Christian missionaries
Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday.
Police spokesman Hussein bin Hamid said the suspects were from South Africa, Egypt and South Korea, and one held both Swedish and U.S. nationality. The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that a dual national Swedish-American citizen was arrested while traveling on a U.S. passport. The U.S. Embassy in Libya declined comment.
Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county.

Bomb rips through Pakistan market, killing 65
Attacks against Shiite Muslims on the rise in Sunni-dominated country
Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb, set off in a residential suburb, was detonated by remote control.
Another officer, Samiullah Khan, said the bomb was detonated while dozens of women and children were buying produce for their evening meal. Local residents rushed the victims to three different area hospitals, often in private vehicles because there weren’t enough ambulances to transport the victims.