Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Has the Muslim "blame Israel" excuse lost its potency?

When Arab or Muslim regimes or leaders have had domestic or political problems over the past fifty years, there has always been a reliable way out: blame the Jews, blame Israel, blame Zionists. As long as hatred could be redirected to the always reliable Jews, the heat would be off the true source of the problem, whatever it may have been. it was a free and very effective solution to all kinds of problems.

But it seems that nowadays, the "blame Israel" excuse has lost much of its power. Whether it is because of Israeli diplomatic moves or because of overuse, it seems that only Iran is still using it with any regularity, and that appears to be because Iran is increasingly isolated from its fellow Muslim nations. Indeed, Iran's constantIsrael bashing may be making it more difficult for other Muslim nations to follow suit nowadays.

Iran's isolation can be seen in this news story:

Saudi Arabia has agreed to end all economic boycotts of Israel, allowing the World Trade Organization (WTO) yesterday to admit the oil-rich kingdom as its 149th member, diplomats said.

The WTO's ruling general council, which includes the United States and Israel, endorsed the Saudi entry during a special session yesterday.

The kingdom's minister for commerce and industry, Hashim Yamani, signed the protocol of accession, which means that Saudi Arabia will become a full member on Dec. 11, just days before a big WTO meeting in Hong Kong.

To join, Saudi Arabia agreed to scrap all economic boycotts and it pledged not to resort to any future discriminatory trade measures against the Jewish state, diplomats said.

This story is nothing short of amazing, even if it is only an empty paper gesture. Saudi Arabia has always been at the forefront of the Israeli boycott and his shows that the boycott has been a complete failure. And it also shows just how out-of-step Iran has become in the world today. I think it is not surprising that in the face of such a crumbling of the united Muslim voice against Israel, Iran redoubles its efforts to paint Israel as a villain, and the general Arab world is not keeping to the Iranian company line::

Asefi condemned last week's bombings in Amman and hinted at Israel's involvement. "The bombings were suspicious. Reports indicate the Zionist regime has been behind the event," he stated.

It should be mentioned that the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper has retracted a report that Jordanian security services evacuated Israeli citizens staying in the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman beforethe bomb attack. At least one Israeli was confirmed dead in the blasts.

The second paragraph (not separated in the original story) is most interesting, in that it is a Jordanian news source that is going out of its way to show that Iran's blaming Israel is ridiculous - again, something that would not have been seen a few years ago.

Another indication that the "blame Israel" days may be on the wane among the general Arab population comes from this story about Arab-American comedians:

There are a few simple rules for being a "real Arab man."

Among them: Ignore the first few buttons on your shirt. Wear tremendous amounts of cologne. Oh, and blame every bad thing in the world on a Zionist conspiracy.

It may be a minor and amusing story but when Arabs can joke about how they always blame the Zionists for everything, it does show that the argument is not nearly as powerful as it used to be.

Our friends the Jordanians

Two factoids from an article about Jordanian reaction to the terror attacks in Amman.

In one, a man had to insult Zarqawi in the strongest possible terms:

Munder Moomeni, a 38-year-old former soldier who lives next to Zarqawi's house, 13 Ramzi St., described his former neighbour as "a bastard."

"By killing Jordanians here in Jordan, civilian Jordanians going to a wedding, they did something that not even a Jew would do," he said.

Yet another sad example of an Arab who didn't read the memo that said "Make sure you never say bad things about Jews to the press - only Zionists!"

But right after that example of tolerance and moderation from the Arab world comes this:

However, religious leaders in the impoverished town suggested the hotel bombings occurred because Jordan had "strayed from Islam."

"Those who care about the country's security and peace should strive to build the umma [Islamic nation]," the local imam said in his sermon without once directly condemning the attacks.

"What befell the umma happened because it strayed from Islam."

Yes, these are shining examples of that most liberal bastion of Islamic tolerance, and America's close ally in the war on terror.

Al-Qaeda justifies Jordan bombings, says it's just trying to fight Jews and Christians

A couple of points are noteworthy:

1 - Al-Qaeda does seem to be affected by Arab criticism. Which means that if the "moderate" Arabs had shown the same outrage after 9/11 as they are now for 11/9, Al-Qaeda might be severely weakened by now.

Unfortunately, we know that most of the Arab world was not unpleased by 9/11.

2 - Notice that this statement doesn't complain about "Zionists" in "Palestine", but "the presence of Jews." Let's not hold our breath to see Arabs protest against that, and trying to educate Zarqawi about the centuries of peace and tolerance between Jews and Arabs they always try to tell the West.

3 - It is pretty obvious that when Islamofascists say "Crusaders" they mean "Christians."

CAIRO, Egypt — In an apparent response to Jordanians who took to the streets to call for its leader to “burn in hell,” al-Qaida in Iraq took the rare step Thursday of trying to justify the triple suicide bombings that killed 56 people, mostly Arabs.

Earlier Thursday, the group posted a Web statement claiming responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks. Then a second al-Qaida statement appeared on the Internet “to explain for Muslims part of the reason holy warriors targeted these dens.” That statement appeared after Arab-wide expressions of outrage.

“Let all know that we have struck only after becoming confident that they are centers for launching war on Islam and support the crusaders’ presence in Iraq and the Arab peninsula and the presence of the Jews on the land of Palestine,” the group said.

Abbas finds suicide bombings immoral - if Palestinians die

Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Jordanian suicide bombings on a purely moral basis:

President Abbas expressed his solidarity with the brotherly Jordanian people, renewing his condemnation of such a terror attack, which he described as a crime against humanity.

As far as I can tell, he has never "condemned" any Palestinian suicide bombing attack against Israel on moral grounds, only pragmatic grounds as being against Palestinian interests:

RAMALLAH, October 26, 2005, (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas condemned on Wednesday the suicide operation in Khedera town, north of Israel. Abbas revealed that such operations harm the Palestinian people's interests and could widen the cycle of violence and bloodshed, expressing at the same time his absolute anger over the operation.
He said that the latest missile launching from Gaza Strip (GS) to Israel and this suicide operation are considered a severe breach to the truce agreement reached in Cairo, adding that it is not acceptable for anyone to take the law into his hands.

In other words, he might agree that the Jews deserved to die, but it should be done in a proper war by the PA at the right time.

He's still Arafat in a suit.

Hat tip to IMRA via Iris.

Wow - he really is irrelevant!

You know that Abbas has no power at all when his own diplomats don't listen to him. Arafat has more power today from the grave than Abbas ever had.

One has to ask the question - why can't he just refuse to pay their salary and housing costs? Does this mean that the PA's financial heads are also no longer working for Abbas? Is Kaddoumi on the PA payroll? For all the talk from the EU about overseeing the PA's finances and making sure that their millions in "aid" don't end up going to terror and corruption - are they following the money trail between the PA and its diplomats?

[S]ome of the PA's ambassadors in different countries are refusing to give up their posts to newly appointed envoys.

The PA Foreign Ministry recently decided to replace most of its ambassadors as part of a comprehensive plan to reform the diplomatic corps. Some of the ambassadors, who were appointed by Arafat, have been serving for nearly two decades.

But the move has been openly challenged by veteran PLO leader Farouk Kaddoumi, who is based in Tunis and who regards himself as the real foreign minister of Palestine.

Until recently, Kaddoumi was in charge of all the embassies around the world in the capacity of his job as director of the PLO's political bureau. Kaddoumi sent a letter to the ambassadors instructing them to ignore the new appointments and to remain in their posts.

'I wish to inform you that [PA Foreign Minister] Nasser al-Kidwa does not represent the PLO and, as such, he does not have the power to make changes in the diplomatic corps,' he wrote.

Two ambassadors have already announced that they would not step down - Tahsin Mikati, ambassador to Qatar, and Abdel Shafi Siam, ambassador to Mauritania. Their decision has seriously embarrassed the PA leadership, which is now trying to persuade the hosting countries to deport the two.

Sounds like we should redouble our efforts to give ammunition and advice to these guys!

The Palestinian Authority security forces are on the verge of collapse because of rampant corruption and growing anarchy, according to a letter sent by a large group of PA security officers to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The letter, the first of its kind since Abbas was elected earlier this year, reflects growing resentment among the various branches of the PA security forces. It also contradicts claims by Abbas and senior PA leaders that they have taken practical steps to reform the security forces.
...
But what is perhaps most worrying, as far as Abbas is concerned, is the fact that the officers went on to stress that their weapons would be used only against Israel and suspected "collaborators."

Addressing Abbas, the officers said: "We urge you to get acquainted with what's really happening inside the security forces, which have begun disintegrating because of corruption, mismanagement and placing private interests above the national interests of the people, especially with regard to the state of lawlessness prevalent in the Palestinian territories."

The officers also scoffed at the PA's efforts to consolidate the security forces by reducing their number from more than a dozen to three and retiring veterans.

"These measures have led to dissent among the security forces," they said. "Unless you [Abbas] start paying attention to the situation, the Palestinian security forces will collapse, only to be replaced by armed gangs which the Palestinian Authority won't be able to control."

PA security officials here told The Jerusalem Post that they were not worried by the letter "because it was written by a group of disgruntled officers who had been retired or dismissed."

So the PA "security forces" are saying explicitly that their job is to be an armed terror group, not a police force.

I especially like when they say that they aren't going to fight the lawless armed gangs or else they will become a group of lawless armed gangs.

Israelis inventing alternatives to oil

I don't know how much of this is strictly accurate and how much is wishful thinking, but one can only hope that serious alternatives to oil come soon - from both the environmental and terror-defense perspectives.

An Israeli inventor and company are trying to use garbage and leftover olive pulp from olive-oil factories, respectively, to replace oil in providing fuel and electricity to the Jewish State.

From one ton of garbage, half a ton of oil, 300 kg of gas or 150 kg of green coal, from which electricity is produced, can be extracted, according to inventor Dr. Sergei Rosenberg.

Dr. Rosenberg spoke with Arutz-7 about the development of his invention that turns garbage into oil. "I turned to the Ministry of Infrastructure with my invention and they told me to build such a machine outside Israel and they would consider bringing it here," Rosenberg described. "I built the machine in Moldova and demonstrated there that it works – with the oil undergoing tests demonstrating that the process is not toxic."

Asked by Arutz-7's Yigal Schok why Israel is not pursuing the invention to wean the Jewish State off of Arab-controlled oil, Dr. Rosenberg said that the state was afraid of implementing the changeover due to concern of taking away the monopoly of the oil tycoons. "To my surprise much of the interest actually came from Arab parties because they have a lot of refuse they want to get rid of in an efficient manner," Rosenberg said.

Dr. Rosenberg gained the experience necessary to come up with his invention from

working in Russia before he immigrated to Israel. "In Russia I helped with the building of an artificial reservoir, a number of power stations and I designed the water system for the nuclear core in Chernobyl, but Israel did not hire me for similar work since I don't have any connections. I have other ideas, such as wind turbines that operate on air and exploiting the power of the ocean's waves to produce power."

Another company, Genova Ltd., is also working on alternatives to Arab oil. The company has signed an agreement, according to Globes, with an olive press in the village of Julis, in the Galilee to establish a small facility to produce electricity from the waste from olive pressing.

The facility is slated to produce an estimated 200 kilowatts of power, enough to provide 70 homes with power. It will also provide for the disposing of olive waste formed during oil production, which has until now posed an environmental hazard.

Genova’s method heats the waste to temperatures abover 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, transforming it into a flammable gas. Burning that gas is environmentally-friendly, releases no greenhouse gases and causes no damage to the earth’s ozone layer. The gas operates an electricity-generating turbine.

The company hopes to market the product, which will be small enough to fit on a countertop, to other olive-oil producing countries such as Spain and Italy.

Saudi-funded hate in US mosques

Yesterday, the leader of the Freedom House, a relifious-freedom organization, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Saudi-funded hate literature that was found in US mosques.

Their initial report came out last January and the specifics in the messages that come straight from our "friends" in the Gulf are chilling. And all of them were published and funded by the Saudi government.

Excerpts:

Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law.
There is consensus on this matter, that whoever helps unbelievers against Muslims, regardless of what type of support he lends to them, he is an unbeliever himself.
Never greet the Christian or Jew first.
Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday.
Never befriend an infidel unless it is to convert him.
Never imitate the infidel.
Never work for an infidel.
Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel.
If relations between Muslims and non-Muslims were harmonious, "there would be “no loyalty and enmity, no more jihad and fighting to raise Allah’s work on earth.”
Freedom of thinking requires permitting the denial of faith and attacking what is sacred, glorifying falsehood and defending the heretics, finding fault in religion and letting loose the ideas and pens to write of disbelief as one likes, and to put ornaments on sin as one likes.
As for a Muslim who fails to uphold Wahhabi sexual mores through homosexual activity or heterosexual activity outside of marriage, the edicts found in American mosques advise, “it would be lawful for Muslims to spill his blood and to take his money.”
Regarding those who convert out of Islam, it is explicitly asserted, they “should be killed.”
A book for third-year high school students published by the Saudi Ministry of Education that was collected from the Islamic Center of Oakland in California, teaches students, including even now some American Muslims, to prepare for jihad in the sense of war against Islam’s enemies, and to strive to attain military self-sufficiency: “To be true Muslims, we must prepare and be ready for jihad in Allah’s way. It is the duty of the citizen and the government. The military education is glued to faith and its meaning, and the duty to follow it.”
[I]t is basic Islam to believe that everyone who does not embrace Islam is an unbeliever, and must be called an unbeliever, and that they are enemies to Allah, his Prophet and believers.
Residing among the unbelievers continuously is also forbidden because it is dangerous for the belief of the Muslim. That is why Allah made it obligatory to emigrate from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam.
The message is that the peaceful coexistence of Muslim and non-Muslim in a multi-cultural state is not simply unachievable, but is undesirable and even punishable: If a Muslim “thinks it is permissible to be under their control, and he is pleased with the way they are, then there is no doubt that he is no longer a Muslim.”

(Keep this in mind when people castugate the French for not assimilating the Muslims into French culture - the Muslims are more against assimilation than the French. - EoZ)

A Saudi government textbook for eleventh grade students, copies of which were collected at the King Fahd-supported Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., tackles the issue of atheism. It analyzes atheism’s causes and motives, and describes what the author, Mohammad Qutub, terms “the role of the Jews in the corruption of the European way of life.” He writes that the Jews have seized every available opportunity to attack Christianity, and have done so from every conceivable angle, including by such innocuous-sounding themes as “progress and civilization” or “individual freedom.” First, there is Karl Marx, “and he is a Jew,” who called people to embrace communism and atheism. It adds that he is the one who wrote the famous statement “religion is the opiate of the masses.” Second, there is Freud, “and he is a Jew,” whose theories about sex call people “to free themselves from religion, from morality, and from traditions, claiming that these cause psychological and nervous-system problems.” Third, the Jews guided and controlled the industrial-capitalist movement in Europe and invested their money in usury and so were able to dominate all aspects of European life, thereby causing great corruption.
“They lured women to go to work in the factories, and when the number of working women increased they lured them into wearing makeup and revealing clothes, to corrupt their morals, and to corrupt young men with them.”
The Saudi textbook also teaches that Jews destroyed the family when they enticed women away from the duties of motherhood and raising children by convincing them that these imposed “silly restrictions limiting their freedom and growth.” Generations of children have been raised “without families, because the mother is busy at her job,” and the result has been the proliferation of groups “like the hippies, punks, and others.” Lastly, under the banner of “freedom, brotherhood, and equality” the Jews spread atheism and moral corruption by using “individual freedom” as a blanket protection for every form of vice.
A Saudi government text for seventh-graders, copies of which were collected at the King Fahd-supported Islamic Center in Washington, D.C., maintains that the Jews only memorized the Torah without understanding it, and did not live by its teachings. For this reason, Washington mosque-goers are told that Jews “are worse than donkeys.”
A more vicious narration can be found in a fourth-grade Saudi state textbook [Document No. 34], copies of which were collected from the Islamic Center of America in East Orange, New Jersey. Titled For Reading and Memorization, this Saudi state publication gives a conspiratorial reading of the history of Palestine. Again, it was the “sinful conspiracy” of imperialism that allowed the Jews “to steal this dear Arab land and to establish a large Zionist state big enough for the largest number of Jews in the world.” This state was intended as,“a thorn in the back of the Muslim nations, and a window through which colonialism can sneak up among the ranks of the Muslims to work, on dividing them and light the fire of hatred between them.”
The account ends ominously by vowing that,
“the Muslims will not rest until they cut off this disease and purify the land of Palestine from the plague of Zionism, and until its rightful owners reclaim it….Victory comes from Allah alone.”

The Simpsons - in Arabic

A funnier story from Al Bawaba:

he American animated television series, "The Simpsons," is now finally available in the Arab world. The show, renamed “Al Shamshoon”, will be accessible to all viewers in the Middle East, as the show will be dubbed in Arabic for the first time. Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC), a Saudi-owned satellite TV network will air the Arabized version.

The show's main character, Homer, is renamed Omar, while his wily son Bart also adopts a new Arabic name - Badr. Similar changes to fit an Arab audience, including dubbing, will reportedly attempt to win over young audiences across the Middle East.

Such a strategy, though potentially successful as some 60 percent of the region is below the age of 20, may or may not fare well according to some.

Despite hopes on the part of MBC that the series will be as much of a hit in the Arab world and its youth as it has been for years in the US, many are skeptical since much of the series is based on expressly American humor and experience.

Nadia Rahman, a professor at the Zayed University Media Center in the United Arab Emirates told reporters regarding the experiment that "Translating the show linguistically, as well as culturally, as well as socially so that it appeals to the audience that's watching it here, I think there's a lot of details that one has to pay attention to.”

According to ABC News, Rahman added some questions which might be potentially problematic: "How does the mother dress? How does the sister dress?".

In response to these concerns, the Middle Eastern version of the series will also have significant content changes, including removing any references or use of alcohol or other elements which may be offensive to Muslim viewers.

Other examples of such changes include the replacement of American hot dogs with Egyptian beef sausages, and donuts with Arab "kahk" pastries.

I'll try to avoid the cheap shot jokes (like the "Maggie dresses up in a bomb belt for Eid - but Homer was too lazy to buy fake grenades and dressed her in the real ones!") and just wonder - if you take the beer out of Homer/Omar's life, how many minutes are left per episode?

Unfortunately, this sickening cartoon (linked to by Amshinover) is probably far more popular among some Arab children than the infidel Simpsons will ever be.

Guess which news source calls them "Muslim riots"?

Al Bawaba, from Jordan.

I'm always amused when the press pretends to be more sensitive to the feelings of a group that the group itself is.

Tehran terrified of Israel's economic and diplomatic successes

It isn't too hard to read between the lines of this article in the Tehran Times, castigating Muslim countries for diplomatic and trade relations with Israel. I don't think that the timing of the anti-Israel screed from Iran's president was a coincidence, coming on the heels of Israel's improved relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Since Iran sees its unending battle with Zionism as a zero-sum game, it stands to reason that each Israeli success isolates Iran a little more.

This explains the hysteria we are seeing from Iran. Of course, when a crazy person is cornered, that is when he becomes most dangerous.

This article is also amusing in the backhanded compliments that the author ends up giving Israel.

Trading with the enemy

By Behnam Elmi
Following the recent withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip, several economically weak countries began seeking opportunities to solve their economic problems by paving the way for establishing relations with the Zionist regime.

According to unconfirmed reports, a group of Indonesian diplomats traveled to Israel last month for talks on establishing relations with the Zionists. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono even announced on October 13 that bilateral relations between Israel and Indonesia were to the benefit of the Palestinians.

On the sidelines of the 60th summit of the world’s foreign ministers held at the United Nations in New York last summer, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda met Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

In addition, it is quite significant that high-ranking officials of some Islamic and Arab countries, including Pakistan and Qatar, met high-ranking Zionist officials such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Shalom at the United Nations summit of world leaders held in New York in September. So, the recent world summit had actually been turned into a festival for opportunist Islamic officials to seek their own national interests and to try to solve their economic problems, in one way or another, however wrongheadedly.

After the 1997 economic crisis in Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s economic boom came to a grinding halt, and the country never found an opportunity to return to its glory days of economic prosperity.

Also, in comparison with neighboring countries, Pakistan has never been very successful in attracting foreign investment and activating its own economy, and has always had a low Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an out-of-date economic model, and a high poverty rate.

In the competitive economic atmosphere of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, some developing Islamic countries failed to keep pace with other countries. A modern economic system requires the opening of all gates of the economy and attraction of foreign investment as the necessary stimuli for economic growth. Along these lines, certain countries tried to take advantage of the current political atmosphere in the Middle East and approached the Zionist regime, particularly after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

On the other hand, the Zionist regime, thanks to the support of Western countries and particularly the United States, has achieved considerable economic growth since its establishment and has become a gravy train for these opportunistic Islamic countries because of its political limitations in the region and the rest of the Islamic world.

The Zionist regime has actually served as a model for Indonesia, Pakistan, and Turkey. By establishing relations with the Zionist regime, Turkey has not only been supported by Israel but is also enjoying the full backing of Western countries.

Other Islamic countries will probably follow the same process. For example, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has recently expressed his willingness to meet Sharon.

However, it should be noted that some Islamic countries are well aware of both the Zionist regime’s unstable status in the Islamic world and Israel’s need to normalize relations with countries in the Middle East. Therefore, taking advantage of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, they are trying to attract the capital of the Zionist lobby by supporting the foreign policy of Israel.

Although no country can dictate the foreign policy of other countries, due to the religious customs of the Islamic world, all relations and meetings should be in accordance with the interests of Islamic communities and particularly the oppressed Islamic communities. Thus, all the recent meetings with Zionist officials being held in the name of supporting the Palestinian nation are against the causes of the Islamic world.

The economic systems of these countries are closed. Therefore, it is quite obvious that relying on a trickle of Zionist foreign investment would not only fail to cure their economic malady but would also tarnish the image of these countries in the eyes of other Muslim nations and would certainly increase the problems of the Islamic world.

Smells like desperation to me!

Terror update (Daily Alert)

From Daily Alert:

British MI5 Probes Suicide Attack Plots on Washington - David Leppard (Sunday Times-UK)
MI5 is investigating a suspected plot by Islamic terrorists to carry out multiple suicide bombings of the White House and the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Whitehall officials say the alleged conspiracy was organized by a senior al-Qaeda member using the codename Maximus, who communicated by e-mail with associates in Britain and elsewhere.

Canadian Terror Cell Busted - Al-Qaeda Bomb Expert Among Four Algerians in Toronto - Stewart Bell (National Post-Canada)
Canadian counter-terrorism investigators have dismantled a suspected terrorist cell in Toronto whose members included an al-Qaeda-trained explosives expert.
The cell consisted of four Algerian refugee claimants who had lived in Canada for as long as six years and were alleged members of a radical Islamic terror faction called the Salafist Group for Call and Combat.
The central figure was a former al-Qaeda training camp instructor who studied bomb-making at Osama bin Laden's Al Farooq and Khaldun training camps in eastern Afghanistan.

Australia Foils "Catastrophic" Terror Attack (Telegraph-UK)
Australian police say they have foiled a major terrorist attack on the country, and have arrested 17 men on charges of committing to "violent jihad in Australia."
In raids in Sydney and Melbourne, police seized chemicals, firearms, computers, backpacks, and travel documents.
"Intelligence was received that a group was making arrangements to stockpile chemicals and other materials capable of making explosives," said Morris Iemma, the New South Wales state premier.
Australian media had reported that possible targets were the Sydney Opera House, the harbor bridge, oil refineries, and the stock exchange.

Murder Attempt, Hijack Points to Al-Qaeda Presence - Leonard Doyle
A failed assassination attack on the prime minister of Somalia and an attempt to hijack a luxury American cruise ship off the coast has reinforced fears that the country is spiraling out of control as a center of al-Qaeda terrorism. The unsuccessful attack by pirates at the weekend was the first on a luxury cruise liner in the area. Political collapse in this failed state has created a power vacuum that is posing a danger to Somalis and the outside world. Since 2003, Somalia has witnessed the rise of a new, ruthless, independent jihadi network with links to al-Qaeda.
During the 1990s, extremism in Somalia was centered on the al-Ittihaad al-Islaami, a band of Wahhabi militants bent on establishing an Islamic emirate. Al-Qaeda also became established and attacked U.S. and UN peacekeepers, using the country as a transit zone for terrorism in neighboring Kenya. Leading members of al-Qaeda's East African network still hide in Somalia, according to the International Crisis Group. (Independent-UK)

Elder mentioned at Newsweek online

My last post was excerpted at the online MSNBC Newsweek site, which seems pretty cool.

But on further analysis, what Newsweek does is use Technorati to find blogs that link back to the original Newsweek article, so rather than this being an example of professional pundits seeing great value in my words of wisdom, it is only an example of being automatically chosen by a robot.

But my swelling head felt nice for a minute there!

UPDATE: It scrolled off. Such is life.

Thoughts on the European Muslim riots

Although the news coverage of the Paris riots took about a week to hit critical mass, the similar Muslim-fuelded riots in Denmark have yet to hit the major media outlets.

Is there a connection between the Moslem-led youth riots in France, and the ones taking place at the same time in Denmark?

The week of riots in poor neighbourhoods outside Paris, which has spread to 20 towns, has been well covered by the international media.

Not so for Århus, Denmark.

“Nothing of it has penetrated to the English-language sections of Danish media,” laments the Viking Observer.

The Observer took the trouble to translate into English the following from Danish Jyllands-Posten:“Rosenhoj Mall has several nights in a row been the scene of the worst riots in Århus for years. “This area belongs to us,” the youths proclaim. Sunday evening saw a new arson attack.

“Their words sound like a clear declaration of war on the Danish society. Police must stay out. The area belongs to immigrants.

“Four youths sit on a wall in Rosenhoj Mall Sunday afternoon, calling themselves spokesmen for the groups, that three nights in a row have ravaged and tried to burn down the restaurant and other stores.

“Around the parking lot, cars with youngsters from the immigrant community are swarming, and many are walking around, greeting each other with a sense of victory after the worst riots in Århus for years.

“Every night 30-40 youths took part, especially immigrants.

“Only two were arrested, “That was a victory.”"

Like the French riots (and the Palestinian intifada before that), the riots in Denmark started ostensibly from a trigger event that was proportionately much smaller than the resulting unrest. In this case, it was sparked by this incident:

ISLAM is no laughing matter. Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of 12 cartoons about the prophet Mohammed.

According to Islam, it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper's offices and kill the cartoonists.

The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no one to illustrate his book about Mohammed. Jyllands-Posten wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked 12 illustrators to draw the prophet for [it]. Carsten Juste, the paper's editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.

The publication led to outrage among Muslim immigrants living in Denmark. Five thousand of them took to the streets to protest. Muslim organisations have demanded an apology, but Juste rejects this idea: "We live in a democracy. That's why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country and you can make caricatures." Danish imam Raed Hlayhel [says]: "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims. Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world."

Flemming Rose, cultural editor at the newspaper, denied that the purpose had been to provoke Muslims. It was simply a reaction to the rising number of situations where artists and writers censored themselves out of fear of radical Islamists, he said. "Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society," he added. "In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or [become] a laughing-stock." The affair, however, has also led to a diplomatic incident. The ambassadors of 11 Muslim countries complained about the cartoons in a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They say the cartoons' publication is a provocation and demand apologies from the newspaper.

Jyllands-Posten was also included on an al-Qa'ida website listing possible terrorist targets. An organisation [that] calls itself the Glorious Brigades in Northern Europe is circulating pictures on the internet which show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper and blood flowing over the national flag of Denmark. "The mujaheddin have numerous targets in Denmark -- very soon you all will regret this," the website says.

There have also been similar incidents in Brussels.
How much of the unrest is a result of radical Islam and how much is just criminal behavior? It really is hard to separate the two. In the early days of the French intifada, the rioters were heard to shout out "Allahu Akbar" and "Jihad." (credit Iris Blog.) However, the activities seem to be more criminal, more reminiscent of LA riots than Al Qaeda.

The Muslim communities in Europe have not assimilated into European culture, but it appears that this is at least as much the fault of the Muslim leaders as the Europeans. Islamic leaders are always is suspicious of assimilation and nervous about the West influencing its youth. Combine this with the mindset that the world owes them something and they have no personal responsibility for the actions of their own people, and a smattering of the obsession that Muslims (and Arabs especially) have about controlling land (which effectively made the status quo of Muslim ghettoes acceptable both the the Europeans and to the immigrants) and you have the ingredients for a non-religious, but very Muslim, uprising.

Another factor, highlighted by the cartoon incident, is how much the liberal mindset of fake multiculturalism has instilled itself in world Islam. Since the privileged classes offending minorities is considered a major crime by the Left, but minorities that are deemed to be disadvantaged by the Left have no similar rule, we consistently see cases where Muslims cannot be offended and yet are allowed, and sometimes encouraged, to be offensive. (No similar consideration is given to Hindus or Jews.)

A generation growing up with these rules ingrained - no personal responsibility, no consequences for acting immorally, and a dash of Islamic supremacy - will inevitably turn out to be criminal. And while this is not terrorism, the types of people who participate are prime targets for terrorist networks.