Monday, February 28, 2011

Caught On Tape: Children Beaten In U.K. Mosque

From Gateway Pundit:

Feb 14, 2011 7:50 PMCaught on Tape: Children Beaten at UK Mosque (Disturbing Video)from Gateway Pundit by Jim HoftAn Islamic school in Birminham, UK is the center of a controversy after video showed instructors beating children and making offensive remarks about Hindus and ranting: ‘Disbelievers are the worst creatures’.




The video was released later today.

Via The Blaze

Warning on Violence: Watch video clip from Lessons in Hate and Violence. This footage was part of a Dispatches undercover documentary and was filmed at the Markazi Jamia Mosque, Keighley. The clip shows scenes of children being hit which viewers may find distressing


 
The school says the beatings were an isolated incident.


The Daily Mail reported:



Teachers at the school insist the undercover reporter captured an isolated incident where a 17-year-old senior student was talking to pupils.



They have provided a letter which shows that he was expelled for his views last August – five months before the school was made aware of the tapes by producers.



A Birmingham faith leader has now backed the school’s record of teaching tolerance and MP John Hemming said he believed the documentary was irresponsible and had put schoolchildren at risk.



The school’s head of curriculum Mujahid Aziz said the decision had been to bring forward the school’s half-term by a week after meetings with police.



Pupils were being told not to return to classes until the start of March.



‘They filmed for six months and managed to collect a handful of comments which promote intolerance,’ said Mr Aziz

Obama's Pal Louis Farrakhan Says Mideast Uprisings Will Come To America's Door--This Is The Day Of Your Doom!

From Fire Andrea Mitchell:

Obama’s pal Louis Farrakhan says mideast uprisings will come to America’s door – This is the day of your doom!

Durie: "Churches Shold Not Wecome Into Their Buildings The Veneratin Of Isa, The Islamic Jesus, Who, As A True Muslim, Is Intended To Bring About The Final, Violent Destruction Of Christianity"

From Jihad Watch:

Durie: "Churches should not welcome into their buildings the veneration of Isa the Islamic Jesus, who, as a true Muslim, is intended to bring about the final, violent destruction of Christianity."


As CAIR's press release from the other day demonstrates, Islam gets a lot of mileage out of its appropriation of Jesus. One does not need to be a Christian to see that. But while Islamic apologists accuse us right and left of "cherry-picking" verses out of the Qur'an and taking them "out of context," the verses selected by CAIR do just that. Among others:



"Say: 'We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is to Him that we surrender ourselves'" (2:136).

Another verse in the Quran states: "Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those nearest to God'" (3:45).

Those selections deliberately and knowingly present a half-truth -- one that has been useful for Islam's cause both in proselytizing and in its claims for public consumption of being a peaceful religion. In both cases, apologists and dawah-peddlers depend on listeners who don't know better to project the Jesus they know onto those carefully selected Qur'anic verses.



And in too many cases, Islamic proselytizers have the element of surprise on their side when those who have otherwise well founded misgivings about Islam's intentions do not know about Jesus in Islam, or have heard an oversimplified version that slick apologists can deflect with deceptive use of chapter and verse. Those people are vulnerable to being won over by the half-truths of Islamic dawah.



Remaining uninformed about the content of Islamic teachings is not an option, if we are to defend our way of life.



In prior reporting about the reaction to Mike Huckabee's objections to allowing Islamic worship in designated Christian worship spaces, we have quoted Islamic texts that help fill in the rest of the story. Here, again, is a handy summary with additional sources and useful commentary on the "other" Jesus in Islam, whom apologists can't tell you about up front.



"DURIE: Stop opening churches to Muslims," by Rev. Mark Durie for the Washington Times, February 23 (thanks to Observer):



Last week, Fox News posted a report that Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., and Aldersgate United Methodist Church near Alexandria, Va., have made their church buildings available to Muslims to use as places of worship.

Critics of these outreach initiatives, such as Mike Huckabee, have been accused of ignorance. However, the contents of Muslim prayers and teachings about Isa, the Islamic Jesus, give reasonable grounds for churches to reject such arrangements.

A prominent element in Islamic daily prayers is the recitation of Al-Fatihah (the Opening), the first chapter of the Koran. Often described as a blessing, Al-Fatihah has a sting in its tail. After introductory praises, the final sentence of Al-Fatihah is a request for guidance “in the straight path” of Allah’s blessed ones, not the path “of those against whom You are wrathful, nor of those who are astray.”

Who are the ones who are said to be under Allah’s wrath or to have gone astray from his straight path? According to the revered commentator Ibn Kathir, Muhammad himself gave the answer: “Those who have earned the anger are the Jews, and those who are led astray are the Christians.”

Al-Fatihah is as central to Islamic devotion as the Lord’s Prayer is to Christians: It is recited at least 17 times a day as part of daily Muslim prayers. Yet according to Muhammad himself, this prayer, which is on the lips of every pious Muslim day and night, castigates Christians as misguided and Jews as objects of Allah’s wrath.

Another good reason for churches not to host Muslim worship, paradoxically, is their veneration of Isa, the Islamic Jesus.

Muslims venerate Jesus, but as a Muslim prophet. In the pages of the Koran, the disciples of the Muslim Jesus declare, “We are Muslims” (Sura 5:111). The Islamic Jesus is not the Christian Son of God, the divine suffering Savior who died on the cross for the sins of the world.

Certainly there are some similarities between Isa of the Koran and Jesus of the Gospels. The Koran calls Jesus “al-Masih” - the Messiah - and both figures are said to have been born of a virgin, to have performed miracles of healing and to have raised the dead. Yet here the similarities end. Isa of the Koran was not crucified and did not die but was raised up by Allah (Sura 4:157-158).

It is in Muhammad’s vision of the end times that the role of the Muslim Jesus comes into sharp focus. Muhammad taught that when Isa returns, he “will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill pigs, and abolish the poll tax. Allah will destroy all religions except Islam” (Sunan Abu Dawud 27:4310).

What can the apologists say to that? They will almost certainly try to throw Abu Dawud under the bus as an unreliable hadith. In the pecking order of ahadith, "Sahih" ahadith -- "sound, reliable" ones -- are so designated for having reliable provenance, and often repeat narrations about the same event to corroborate their authenticity. And Sahih Bukhari corroborates this narration from Abu Dawud several times (003.034.425, 003.043.656, 004.055.657).



Not that apologists won't try to throw Bukhari under the bus after Abu Dawud. When its appalling contents come under the scrutiny of non-Muslims, "Sahih" suddenly and magically becomes rather... "Squishih."



What does this saying mean? The cross is a symbol of Christianity. Breaking the cross means abolishing Christianity. According to Islamic law, the poll tax, or jizya, buys protection of the lives and property of Christians (and Jews). Abolishing this tax will mean that jihad will be restarted against Christians and no more protection shall be afforded to those who do not submit to Islam.

The Egyptian jurist Ahmad ibn Naqib stated in his compendium of Shariah, “The Reliance of the Traveller,” that the toleration of Christians living under Islamic law only applies “before the final descent of Jesus. … After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus’ descent … for he will rule by the law of Muhammad … as a follower of our Prophet” (translation by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, pages 603-4).

In this end-times scenario, the Islamic Jesus becomes the ultimate destroyer of Christianity, when, by his sword, he compels all followers of the Christ of the Gospels to become Muslims and live in accordance with the Shariah of Muhammad.

Churches should not welcome into their buildings the veneration of Isa the Islamic Jesus, who, as a true Muslim, is intended to bring about the final, violent destruction of Christianity. By all means, let Christians show kindness to their Muslim neighbors, but the sentiments embedded in Islamic daily prayers, which curse Jews as the target of Allah’s wrath and Christians for going astray, can have no place in a Christian church - even if recited in the cadences of classical Arabic.Posted by Marisol on February 27, 2011 10:29 AM

U.K. Muslims Have More Than Mastered The Art Of Spin To Naive Liberal Whites

From Jihad Watch:

U.K.: "The technique of saying one thing designed to appeal to white liberals, while in fact doing the exact opposite, has been brought to a fine pitch by Islamists"


Problems generated by Islamic "hate speech" (to borrow a fashionable term) and those who act on it set up an interesting sort of game of "rock-paper-scissors" when it comes to liberal causes.



We have already seen that, in practice, Islam beats feminism (no pun intended) when the two come into conflict. Even the most basic women's rights are off the table when defending them runs the risk of offending delicate sensibilities, and it is taken for granted much more easily that women who are oppressed according to Western standards are actually "happy" as participants in their "cultural heritage."



Next up: homophobia! Who will win when that issue comes into conflict with the desire, at once sanctimonious and fear-driven, to accommodate and placate an increasingly strident, aggressive, and supremacist Muslim population in Britain? So far, the latter camp has the upper hand, as those hell-bent on "tolerance" at any cost accept the lies of groups like the East London Mosque with grateful relief.



"East London Mosque keeps on lying," by Andrew Gilliagan for the Telegraph, February 26 (thanks to Ken):



The East London Mosque, that legendary home of tolerance and moderation, has condemned a series of posters which have appeared in its local area, Tower Hamlets, containing a Koranic invocation and declaring the borough a “gay-free zone.” Dilowar Khan, the mosque’s director, was quoted in a council press release saying: “We stand together with our fellow citizens against all forms of hatred, including homophobia. We are committed to building strong and cohesive communities in Tower Hamlets, and our strength is that we will not let incidents of hate divide us.”

As so often, however, the East London Mosque speaks with forked tongue. Yesterday, it was due to demonstrate its deep commitment to “standing together against homophobia” by hosting a gala dinner with one Uthman Lateef, a homophobic preacher who has stated: “We don’t accept homosexuality… we hate it because Allah hates it.”

Mr Lateef is one of at least half a dozen homophobic preachers hosted or promoted by the East London Mosque, three of whom have been officially invited to deliver the Friday sermon. In 2007, as my Dispatches programme on the East London Mosque disclosed, a “Spot The Fag” contest was staged at the mosque. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in homophobic hate crimes in Tower Hamlets – something which simply cannot be unconnected to the fact that hatred of gay people is allowed to be openly and regularly expressed inside one of the area’s most prominent institutions.

The technique of saying one thing designed to appeal to white liberals, while in fact doing the exact opposite, has been brought to a fine pitch by Islamists generally, and the East London Mosque in particular. The mosque’s idea of “standing against hatred” involves hosting literally dozens of hate, extremist and terrorist preachers on its premises – most famously, the al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. It now claims to have banished hate preachers from its building – but, as this blog has documented, continues to welcome them almost every month.

Why does the East London Mosque tell such obvious lies? Simply, because lies work. There is a part of liberal white society which would rather ignore or deny the problem of extremism, hatred and bigotry in some parts of some Muslim communities. The lies give them a form of permission to do so.

In that same council press release, the chairs of the Rainbow Hamlets LGBT Community Forum, a local gay group, condemned the anti-gay posters but added: “We also condemn those who use these incidents to create a moral panic and stoke up racist or Islamophobic sentiment. At present the people responsible cannot be accurately determined, but it is clear that whoever is responsible, they do not represent any of the local communities.”

It was an army of clones from a decades-old, top-secret DARPA project to replicate Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Oral Roberts (they got into the U.K. on student visas -- it's pretty easy!), goose-stepping through Tower Hamlets while menacingly humming that well known melody ("kill the wabbit") from the Ride of the Valkyries.



I mean... what else could it be?



This statement contains at least one palpable untruth, one questionable assumption, and one dubious elision. As any gay man in Tower Hamlets will tell you, and numerous victims of homophobic hate crime in the area have told me, “the people responsible” can be perfectly “accurately determined:” the hostility towards gay people in the borough comes largely from young Bangladeshis.

It seems rather unlikely that posters quoting the Koran were put up by evangelical Christians, yuppies, brogue-wearing trendies or members of the white working class, the other main parts of the Tower Hamlets community. And given the anti-gay activities allowed inside the area’s largest Muslim institution, and the expression of sentiments there almost exactly identical to those on the posters, it’s also hard to know how the LGBT Forum can be quite so confident that the posters are entirely unrepresentative of any of the local communities....

Read it all.

Posted by Marisol on February 27, 2011 11:15 AM

European Union Issues Timid Statement Denouncing Muslim Persecution Of Christians

From Jihad Watch:

EU issues statement of "stuttering timidity" in denouncing Muslim persecution of Christians


In so doing, the EU joins the mainstream media and the White House of trying to portray both sides more equally as perpetrators and victims when they bother to denounce the Muslim persecution of non-Muslims in the name of establishing and maintaining the dominance of Islamic law.



The European Union could commit to a substantive defense of human rights here (even for less fashionable groups like Christians), but by issuing such a timid document, it only signals that its hands are tied in fear of enraging the Islamic supremacists within.



"Europe’s stuttering timidity in denouncing the persecution of Christians," by Bernardo Cevellera for Asia News, February 27:



Rome (AsiaNews) - After more than three weeks of debate, the EU has managed to produce a text that explicitly mentions Christians as victims of persecution and the object of violent attacks. An earlier text had been prepared in January, after the terrorist attack on the Church in Baghdad and the massacre at the Church in Alexandria, but was it rejected because of the lack of references to Christians, since the EU preferred to use generic term "religious minorities".

The new text approved yesterday explicitly mentions "Christians and their places of worship" victims of "acts of religious intolerance and discrimination," but now hastens to include among the victims of such acts "Muslim pilgrims and other religious communities" as well.

The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, one of the promoters of the text, had condemned the draft as a sign of 'excessive secularism "present in the EU, but expressed satisfaction with the text adopted yesterday. Moreover, recalling that the European Constitution does not mention the Christian roots among the historic foundations of Europe, yesterday’s statement really is a gigantic departure.

Yet even this text does not satisfy in full. It seeks to balance the anti-Christian violence with those against other religious communities, in an "excess" of balance and equidistance, not taking into account that at least 70% of persecution in today’s world is carried out against Christians. Yet these impressive figures are the result of statistics (from the World Christian Encyclopedia to the Pew Research Centre) and not partisan reports, so much so that Pope Benedict XVI used the word "Christianophobia" for the first time in a papal speech....

Above all, the text approved by the EU does not go beyond some general exhortation on the defense of religious freedom as a universal human right that must be defended everywhere and for all. " [...]

Europe’s stuttering timidity on religious freedom is underscored by the continents approximation and inanity faced with the riots taking place in North Africa and the Middle East. As an epochal change unfolds before our very eyes - with non-violent demands for justice, equality and democracy - the EU is ineptly concealing its remorse, calling for a "transition" while it secretly sheds tears over all the fabulous economic contracts drawn up with fallen dictators, null and void or hanging in the balance.

It is said that the world and Europe have been taken by surprise by the riots in Tunisia, Egypt, etc. .. We think that this blindness is due to the fact that in all these years, the sole motivation for our Europe’s relationship with these countries was its own its narrow economic interests and thus "stability", not a shared communication of values, attentiveness to social questions, dialogue between cultures and religions. In practice, Europe’s identity was its wallet: and little more....Posted by Marisol on February 27, 2011 1:50 PM

Obama's Ambassador To France Tasked With Muslim Outreach

From Winds of Jihad:

Obama’s Ambassador to France Tasked With Muselmanic Missionary Work


by sheikyermami on February 28, 2011



US Government Community-Organizing — in France :



“We will focus our efforts in carrying out activities, described above, that prod, urge and stimulate movement in the right direction.”







Diana West



From Wikileaks, more vital evidence of a US government running amok with malpractice. This time the revelation is that US Embassy in Paris is community-organizing the French umma. The cable, signed by US Ambassador Rivkin, is breathtaking in relating its invasive and patronizing plan — a Minority Engagement Strategy for France, which, last time I checked, was still a functioning Western democratic republic.



Not good enough. Apparently, the United States must, and I quote, “help France realize its own egalitarian goals.” Oh, and guess what measures of success include? “Growth in the number of constructive efforts by minority leaders to organize political support both within and beyond their own minority communities,” and a “decrease in popular support for xenophobic political parties and platforms.”





In other words, US policy is to become actively engaged in both community-organizing the Muslim minority in France and running the anti-Islamization parties out of town.



If I were France, I’d send this US ambassador packing toute de suite.



Via Galliawatch, which explains below that this policy began under George W. Bush



Update from Vlad Tepes:



French Reporters Visits Chateau Quran, Get a Taste of the ‘Religion of Peace’





January 19, 2010:



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 000058



SUBJECT: EMBASSY PARIS - MINORITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY



Classified By: Ambassador Charles H. Rivkin, Reasons 1.4(b),(d).



¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: In keeping with France's unique history

and circumstances, Embassy Paris has created a Minority

Engagement Strategy that encompasses, among other groups, the

French Muslim population and responds to the goals outlined

in reftel A. Our aim is to engage the French population at

all levels in order to amplify France's efforts to realize

its own egalitarian ideals, thereby advancing U.S. national

interests. While France is justifiably proud of its leading

role in conceiving democratic ideals and championing human

rights and the rule of law, French institutions have not

proven themselves flexible enough to adjust to an

increasingly heterodox demography. We believe that if

France, over the long run, does not successfully increase

opportunity and provide genuine political representation for

its minority populations, France could become a weaker, more

divided country, perhaps more crisis-prone and

inward-looking, and consequently a less capable ally. To

support French efforts to provide equal opportunity for

minority populations, we will engage in positive discourse;

set a strong example; implement an aggressive youth outreach

strategy; encourage moderate voices; propagate best

practices; and deepen our understanding of the underlying

causes of inequality in France. We will also integrate the

efforts of various Embassy sections, target influential

leaders among our primary audiences, and evaluate both

tangible and intangible indicators of the success of our

strategy. END SUMMARY.



--------------------------------------------- -----

BACKGROUND: THE CRISIS OF REPRESENTATION IN FRANCE

--------------------------------------------- -----



¶2. (C/NF) France has long championed human rights and the

rule of law, both at home and abroad, and justifiably

perceives itself as a historic leader among democratic

nations. This history and self-perception will serve us well

as we implement the strategy outlined here, in which we press

France toward a fuller application of the democratic values

it espouses. This strategy is necessary because French

institutions have not proven themselves flexible enough to

adjust to the country's increasingly heterodox demography.

Very few minorities hold leadership positions in France's

public institutions. As President Sarkozy's own Diversity

Czar Yazid Sabeg told Ambassador Rivkin in December, the

National Assembly "serves as a mirror of the crisis of

representation in France" (reftel B). The National Assembly,

among its 577 deputies, has a single black member from

metropolitan France (excluding its island territories), but

does not have any elected representatives of Muslim or Arab

extraction, though this minority group alone represents

approximately 10 percent of the population. The Senate has

two Muslim Senators (out of 343), but no black

representatives and only a few Senators hail from other

ethnic or religious minorities. Sabeg also noted that none

of France's approximately 180 Ambassadors is black, and only

one is of North African descent. Despite Sarkozy's

appointment of leaders such as Rachida Dati, Fidela Amara and

Rama Yade, minorities continue to confront a very thick glass

ceiling in France's public institutions. The French media

remains overwhelmingly white, with only modest increases in

minority representation on camera for major news broadcasts.

Among French elite educational institutions, we are only

aware that Sciences Po has taken serious steps to integrate.

While slightly better represented in private organizations,

minorities in France lead very few corporations and

foundations. Thus the reality of French public life defies

the nation's egalitarian ideals. In-group, elitist politics

still characterize French public institutions, while extreme

right, xenophobic policies hold appeal for a small (but

occasionally influential) minority. Post will continue to

explore other underlying causes of the social, political and

economic barriers impeding the advancement of minorities in

France (see Tactic 6, below).



¶3. (C/NF) France suffers consequences when its leading

institutions fail to reflect the composition of its

population. We believe France has not benefited fully from

the energy, drive, and ideas of its minorities. Despite some

French claims to serve as a model of assimilation and

meritocracy, undeniable inequities tarnish France's global

image and diminish its influence abroad. In our view, a

sustained failure to increase opportunity and provide genuine

political representation for its minority populations could

render France a weaker, more divided country. The

geopolitical consequences of France's weakness and division

will adversely affect U.S. interests, as we need strong

partners in the heart of Europe to help us promote democratic



PARIS 00000058 002 OF 004



values. Moreover, social exclusion has domestic consequences

for France, including the alienation of some segments of the

population, which can in turn adversely affect our own

efforts to fight global networks of violent extremists. A

thriving, inclusive French polity will help advance our

interests in expanding democracy and increasing stability

worldwide.



-------------------------------

A STRATEGY FOR FRANCE: OUR AIMS

-------------------------------



¶4. (C/NF) The overarching goal of our minority outreach

strategy is to engage the French population at all levels in

order to help France to realize its own egalitarian ideals.

Our strategy has three broad target audiences in mind: (1)

the majority, especially the elites; (2) minorities, with a

focus on their leaders; (3) and the general population.

Employing the seven tactics described below, we aim (1) to

increase awareness among France's elites of the benefits of

expanding opportunity and the costs of maintaining the status

quo; (2) to improve the skills and grow the confidence of

minority leaders who seek to increase their influence; (3)

and to communicate to the general population in France that

we particularly admire the diversity and dynamism of its

population, while emphasizing the advantages of profiting

from those qualities by expanding opportunities for all.



--------------------------------------

TACTIC 1: ENGAGE IN POSITIVE DISCOURSE

--------------------------------------



¶5. (C/NF) First, we will focus our discourse on the issue of

equal opportunity. When we give public addresses about the

community of democracies, we will emphasize, among the

qualities of democracy, the right to be different, protection

of minority rights, the value of equal opportunity, and the

importance of genuine political representation. In private

meetings, we will deliberately direct questions about equal

opportunity in France to high-level, non-minority French

leaders. Rather than retreating from discussions involving

two sacred cows in France -- the concepts of "secularism" and

"communitarianism" -- we will engage French leaders directly

about the role that their terminology and intellectual

frameworks could play in creating (or diminishing) equality

of opportunity in France. We will endeavor to convey the

costs to France of the under-representation of minorities,

highlighting the benefits we have accumulated, over time, by

working hard to chip away at the various impediments faced by

American minorities. We will, of course, continue to adopt a

humble attitude regarding our own situation in the U.S., but

nevertheless will stress the innumerable benefits accruing

from a proactive approach to broad social inclusion,

complementing our French partners on any positive steps they

take. In addition, we will continue and intensify our work

with French museums and educators to reform the history

curriculum taught in French schools, so that it takes into

account the role and perspectives of minorities in French

history.



------------------------------

TACTIC 2: SET A STRONG EXAMPLE

------------------------------



¶6. (C/NF) Second, we will employ the tool of example. We

will continue and expand our efforts to bring minority

leaders from the U.S. to France, working with these American

leaders to convey an honest sense of their experience to

French minority and non-minority leaders alike. When we send

French leaders to America, we will include, as often as

possible, a component of their trip that focuses on equal

opportunity. In the Embassy, we will continue to invite a

broad spectrum of French society to our events, and avoid, as

appropriate, hosting white-only events, or minority-only

events. We will be inclusive, working in this way to break

down barriers, facilitate communication, and expand networks.

By bringing together groups who would not otherwise interact

together, the Embassy will continue to use its cachet to

create networking opportunities that cut through traditional

cultural and social barriers in France.



------------------------------------------

TACTIC 3: LAUNCH AGGRESSIVE YOUTH OUTREACH

------------------------------------------



¶7. (C/NF) Third, we will continue and expand our youth

outreach efforts in order to communicate about our shared

values with young French audiences of all socio-cultural

backgrounds. Leading the charge on this effort, the

Ambassador's inter-agency Youth Outreach Initiative aims to

engender a positive dynamic among French youth that leads to

greater support for U.S. objectives and values. Some



PARIS 00000058 003 OF 004



elements of our Youth Outreach Initiative have particular

importance for minorities, including:



-- Drawing heavily on new media, we aim first to build trust

and gain understanding among French youth from diverse

backgrounds.



-- While reinforcing mutual trust and understanding, we seek

to help France's next generation improve their capacity to

lead in their communities, while also conveying the

importance of transcending the bounds of their own

communities in order to make a broader, national impact.



-- To achieve these aims, we will build on the expansive

Public Diplomacy programs already in place at post, and

develop creative, additional means to influence the youth of

France, employing new media, corporate partnerships,

nationwide competitions, targeted outreach events, especially

invited U.S. guests.



-- We will also develop new tools to identify, learn from,

and influence future French leaders.



-- As we expand training and exchange opportunities for the

youth of France, we will continue to make absolutely certain

that the exchanges we support are inclusive.



-- We will build on existing youth networks in France, and

create new ones in cyberspace, connecting France's future

leaders to each other in a forum whose values we help to

shape -- values of inclusion, mutual respect, and open

dialogue.



----------------------------------

TACTC 4: ENCOURAGE MODERATE VOICES

----------------------------------



¶8. (C/NF) Fourth, we will encourage moderate voices of

tolerance to express themselves with courage and conviction.

Building on our work with two prominent websites geared

toward young French-speaking Muslims -- oumma.fr and

saphirnews.com -- we will support, train, and engage media

and political activists who share our values. As we continue

to meet with moderate leaders of minority groups, we will

also expand our efforts to facilitate grass roots inter-faith

exchanges. We will share in France, with faith communities

and with the Ministry of the Interior, the most effective

techniques for teaching tolerance currently employed in

American mosques, synagogues, churches, and other religious

institutions. We will engage directly with the Ministry of

Interior to compare U.S. and French approaches to supporting

minority leaders who seek moderation and mutual

understanding, while also comparing our responses to those

who seek to sow hatred and discord.



---------------------------------

TACTC 5: PROPAGATE BEST PRACTICES

---------------------------------



¶9. (C/NF) Fifth, we will continue our project of sharing

best practices with young leaders in all fields, including

young political leaders of all moderate parties so that they

have the toolkits and mentoring to move ahead. We will

create or support training and exchange programs that teach

the enduring value of broad inclusion to schools, civil

society groups, bloggers, political advisors, and local

politicians. Through outreach programs, Embassy officers

from all sections will interact and communicate to these same

groups our best practices in creating equal opportunities for

all Americans. We will also provide tools for teaching

tolerance to the network of over 1,000 American university

students who teach English in French schools every year.



--------------------------------------------- ----

TACTIC 6: DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM

--------------------------------------------- ----



¶10. (C/NF) Sixth, through focused contact work, reporting

and analysis, we will deepen the USG understanding of the

underlying causes of inequality and discrimination in France.

We will break new ground by examining how the very structure

of some French institutions may limit minority representation

in elected office and the high ranks of the civil service.

Examining significant developments in depth, such as the

debate on national identity (reftel B), we plan to track

trends and, ideally, predict change in the status of

minorities in France, estimating how this change will impact

U.S. interests. As our awareness expands and deepens, we

will adjust, accordingly, the minority outreach strategy

described here.



--------------------------------------------- --------



PARIS 00000058 004 OF 004



TACTIC 7: INTEGRATE, TARGET, AND EVALUATE OUR EFFORTS

--------------------------------------------- --------





¶11. (C/NF) Finally, a Minority Working Group will integrate

the discourse, actions, and analysis of relevant sections and

agencies in the Embassy. This group, working in tandem with

the Youth Outreach Initiative, will identify and target

influential leaders and groups among our primary audiences.

It will also evaluate our impact over the course of the year,

by examining both tangible and intangible indicators of

success. Tangible changes include a measurable increase in

the number of minorities leading and participating in public

and private organizations, including elite educational

institutions; growth in the number of constructive efforts by

minority leaders to organize political support both within

and beyond their own minority communities; new, proactive

policies to enhance social inclusion adopted by non-minority

political leaders; expansion of inter-communal and

inter-faith exchanges at the local level; decrease in popular

support for xenophobic political parties and platforms.





While we could never claim credit for these positive

developments, we will focus our efforts in carrying out

activities, described above, that prod, urge and stimulate

movement in the right direction. In addition, we will track

intangible measures of success -- a growing sense of

belonging, for example, among young French minorities, and a

burgeoning hope that they, too, can represent their country

at home, and abroad, even one day at the pinnacle of French

public life, as president of the Republic.

RIVKIN



—–



In Galliawatch’s entry, “American Instructs France,” we learn that the above policy is not the creation of the Obama administration, but rather the extension of the Bush adminstration. Galliawatch explains:



Most of the information in the Wikileaks cables [above] had already been “leaked” to the MSM, since I had reported on it as early as July 2008 when George Bush was still in office. This initiative is a project of both Democrats and liberal Republicans. We cannot blame Obama, since Bush was ahead of him. Ambassador Rivkin has been a most compliant servant of diversity and post-Western multiculturalism.



Here’s a related article about Sylvester Stallone’s visit to a French suburb in August 2010.



And another from WatchingAmerica that reproduces an article from Le Monde. In this article ghetto residents explain that there is a difference between Bush’s intervention and Obama’s:



Imagine George Bush doing the same! “We would not have come,” said the young people. Nevertheless, according to experts, Barack Obama’s projects strangely resemble those of his predecessor. The “Greater Middle-East”, for example, one of the former Republican president’s whims, is not without a link to the Obama administration’s partnership programs. However, there is an important difference, insists a diplomat: “Obama placed the political issue — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — at the center of his foreign policy. With his Greater Middle-East, Bush tried to get around it.”



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Islamic Indoctrination On The U.S. Tax-Payers' Tab

From World Net Daily and The Patriot Update:

GLOBAL JIHAD




Islamic indoctrination on U.S. taxpayers' tab

Founder of charter school chain called 'most dangerous Islamist in the world'



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: February 27, 2011

6:09 pm Eastern





By Michael Carl

© 2011 WorldNetDaily







One of the Gulen-linked charter schools

A large network of jihad-preaching schools dots the American landscape, and it's being paid for by taxpayer dollars.



The network of more than 100 facilities in 27 states is the result of the work of Turkish expatriate billionaire Fethullah Gulen, who lives in a heavily guarded compound near Saylorsburg, Pa.



Terrorism analyst, author and Family Security Matters contributing Editor Paul Williams explains that Gulen left Turkey under a cloud, and came to the United States carrying an agenda.



Get "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.



"Fethullah Gulen is a chap who fled Turkey in 1998. He was attempting to avoid prosecution from the secular government at that time; he wanted to set up an Islamic government," Williams explained.



"He moved to Pennsylvania and established a mountain fortress around Saylorsburg, which is in the heart of the Poconos," Williams explained.



Court records from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's federal courts indicate that Gulen won his removal case against Homeland Security by showing that he was an "alien of extraordinary ability," and that by staying in the United States he could pursue his work of "authoring articles and providing guidance 'to fellow scholar in the fields of theology, political science, Islamic studies, and education.'"



Williams says Gulen had help.



(Story continues below)









"The Department of Homeland Security uncovered that Gulen has over $25 billion in assets. That's more money than many countries have. Most of this money has been channeled to Gulen from the CIA," Williams asserted.



Koinonia Institute senior analyst Steve Elwart says Gulen was helped by a number of different factors.



"He was denied his visa the first time around by DHS by saying that he didn't have any experience since he was trying to come in as an educator. DHS said that he really didn't have the qualifications to hold himself out as an educator," Elwart observed.



Elwart says there was another concern.



"There were also concerns about his ties to the CIA and that as it turned out, those concerns were apparently valid, because when he appealed the decision, he got two letters of recommendation from the CIA," Elwart continued.



Listen to an interview with Elwart:







"That would strengthen the position that he did seem to have those ties," Elwart added.



Williams explains that U. S. officials may have had a reason for funneling money to Gulen.



"I'll tell you why the CIA is funding him. These countries (referring to the Middle East and former Soviet Central Asian Republics) have vast natural gas and oil reserves. They are afraid of where those reserves will go, so we want to gain some control over the supplies," Williams claimed.



Now his fingerprints are all over schools across Asia – and dozens more charter schools across the United States. Those are schools that are run on the taxpayers' money, but have private teaching agendas, often using the subtle inferences in social studies courses to advocate for Islam, observers report.



"He has these schools all over Central Asia and these counties, Tajikistan, Kurdistan, all have Turkish backgrounds. They speak Turkish. They share a Turkish culture. They share the same religion so it's really easy for him to establish these schools throughout Central Asia," Williams explained.



"They have prospered; they have grown and the countries where they are have become increasingly militant and increasingly anti-American," Williams added.



Williams says Gulen put his money to work, first in his home country of Turkey.



"He used that money to create this political party in Turkey and to take over the newspapers, and almost all of the Turkish media. He's also created a network of Islamic charter schools in Turkey that has spread through Central Asia, particularly in the newly created Russian republics," Williams also stated.



Listen to an interview with Williams:







"Gulen's movement is so radical that it is outlawed in Russia and even in The Netherlands, a country that's known for its tolerance, would not allow any funding for the Gulen schools," Williams added.



Elwart adds that there was one still another factor influencing U.S. assistance to Gulen.



"There has been a movement in the last two administrations to promote what they call moderate Islam by bringing these people forward and financing them to get people inculcated into the Muslim culture," Elwart explained.



"In terms of following the money trail, part of it I think was from the United States government. There were a number of people out there that see him as a religious leader which in fact he comes from a family of imams, and people donate to him," Elwart detailed.



Williams asserts that Gulen's long-range plans are to re-establish an Islamic caliphate.



"He created a party which is called the Justice and Development Party. The prime minister is Tayyip Erdogan. He's severed relationships with Israel and he's allied himself with Iran," Williams observed.



MEMRI Turkish expert Rachel Sharon-Krespin writes in an article in Middle East Quarterly that Fethullah Gulen is a major player in Turkish politics. Besides the Justice and Development Party, he also owns, controls or operates a network of schools and universities in Turkey, as well as the major newspapers and television stations.



In an American Thinker article, Center for Islamic Pluralism Director Stephen Schwartz says that Gulen is the power not only behind a movement in Turkey, but is the controlling force behind what Schwartz calls a Turkish Diaspora.



Elwart agrees that Gulen's intention is to use his schools to indoctrinate the students into Islam at taxpayer expense.



"Gulen has started his school system in the United States through the charter school system, which of course is publicly financed. That is one of the big worries about the Gulen movement is that they're using the charter schools to educate these kids and give them Islamic indoctrination, so to speak, and it's being done at taxpayer expense," Elwart observed.



Listen to another interview with Elwart:







Williams says the indoctrination is subtle and administrators say the schools aren't trying to be Islamic.



"They'll say these schools are completely secular. These schools don't promote any Islamic doctrine; they're not political in any way. But according to Gulen himself these schools serve, in the shadows, the creation of a new Islamic order," Williams maintained.



"If you read about Gulen in the foreign press, they have it pretty well nailed down. In speeches he talks about the importance of stealth jihad, of infiltrating places and appearing very secular," Williams added.



Gulen's claim to be a secular educator whose interest is simply in promoting interfaith dialogue appears to have been successful, as the claim was used to support District Judge Stewart Dalzell's opinion in Gulen's case.



"The final requirement is that an applicant show that his or her 'entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the United States.' 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(1)(A)(iii). The AAO did not find-and the Government does not contend-that Gulen fails to meet this criterion. Based on his unchallenged statement that the visa he seeks 'will allow me to continue to advocate and promote interfaith dialogue and harmony between members of different faiths and religions,' A.R. at 1053, activities that are certainly a benefit to the United States in these times of tensions between adherents of different religions, we find no basis for denying his application on that basis," Paragraph E of the opinion stated.



Williams disputes the judge's ruling and says that Gulen's own speeches say the opposite.



"In his own speeches he says you can really infiltrate a secular government in a place like the United States and wreak all kinds of havoc. That's what he's been doing. Once again the schools are funded by us. They're at least 140 of them. He's been called the most dangerous Islamist in the world and very little light is being shed on him and his activities," Williams stated.



Elwart says the potential indoctrination is very subtle, even though he believes it's intentional.



"There is a certain amount of an Islamic-centered slant to their teaching. One place they really start bringing in the slant is through their after-school programs and what they call their outside programs," Elwart observed.



"For example, they'll have Turkish festivals and the kids can compete in making costumes, writings and the like. Many times the prize for these in these competitions is a cultural trip to Turkey," Elwart also said.



Elwart believes that the Gulen charter schools are going largely unnoticed by the American public.



"This is a problem with the charter school system; it's fragmented. There is not a lot of oversight on the schools so people are disconnected from one another. If they see something that isn't quite right at their school they don't have any place to go to to raise the alarm," Elwart asserted.



Elwart says the schools are established and then each school brings in teachers from Turkey using H1B visas. These are visas granted to people with math and science skills.



Listen to another interview with Williams:







"Most of the time these applications will say they need to bring in these teachers because of the lack of math and science teachers available locally. The teachers that do come in are Muslim and almost all of them are from Turkey," Elwart explained.



He explains that administrators are usually brought in on more temporary visas which explains the frequent turnover in the Gulen-connected schools.



The web site, Charter School Scandals, reports that the Pioneer Charter School for Science in Everett, Mass., is a Gulen School.



Pioneer Charter School of Science Public Relations Director Aimee Mott says that her school was started by a group of concerned parents.



"It was a community of really parents and other concerned members of the community who thought that in this area, Everett, Chelsea and Saugus area, that the public schools were not meeting all the needs of all the students," Mott stated.



"They decided to get together, submit a charter to the state for our school and that was in 2006. So, our first year in operation was in 2007 and 2008," Mott said.



Mott also says that the school's newness means it relies on taxpayer dollars.



"Because we are a new charter school, all of our funding at this point comes from the state. We are funded just like a public, we are a public school. We are a public charter school," Mott described. "We are working on applying for a grant to get some funding for some things."



Listen to an interview with Mott:







The school's web site gives few details on the school's curriculum, provides no list of faculty members and lists only the principal and the board members.



The Massachusetts Department of Education school directory lists the head of the school as Barish Icin, and also gives the members of the school's board of directors.



Among the board members listed are Board Chairman Murat Kilic, Mustafa Ozdemir, Nuh Gedik and Ramazan Nigdioglu. A name origins web site, HearNames.com, verifies that all of the surnames are of Turkish origin.



Nigdioglu is also connected to the Cambridge Ridge and Latin School where he is on record as recommending that the best students at the Latin School be rewarded with a trip to Turkey.



Williams says that Gulen's school network is well-funded, well-organized and well-represented.



"He has set up lobbying groups and through his lobbying groups he has given millions and millions of dollars to both Republicans and Democrats. He has gained their favor and support so his schools are rubber-stamped," Williams observed.



Williams warns Gulen's compound in the Poconos is much like the one in Islamburg, N.Y., that Williams says he's visited.



"I went up there to take a look at his fortress and it is a fortress in the heart of the Pocono Mountains. Hundreds of Turks live there. According to all the neighbors there are helicopters constantly surveilling the area looking for intruders," Williams described.



"There are sentry posts there and the neighbors have complained to the FBI about gunshots and explosions," Williams added. "They have a foreign militia on American soil. If this doesn't get people up in arms, I don't know what will."





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sexual Slavery In Britain And Its PC Enablers

From Islamist Watch:

Sexual Slavery in Britain and Its PC Enablers


by David J. Rusin • Feb 28, 2011 at 4:06 pm



http://www.islamist-watch.org/blog/2011/02/sexual-slavery-in-britain-and-its-pc-enablers



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What do victims of the Fort Hood massacre have in common with scores of raped British girls? Both are evidence that failure to speak and act against Islamist threats due to fear of being called a racist or "Islamophobe" can lead to terrible suffering. While the missed signs concerning Major Hasan are well known, the UK scandal deserves attention as a study in official blindness.



MP Jack Straw sparked a firestorm in January when he highlighted a particular genre of sex crime: gangs of "Pakistani heritage men … who target vulnerable young white girls" and groom them as sex slaves. He hypothesized that Pakistani girls are off limits, so whites are "easy meat."



Some branded Straw a bigot, but sexual grooming by UK gangs does exhibit a clear cultural profile. University College London investigators "identified 17 court prosecutions since 1997, 14 of them in the past three years, involving the on-street grooming of girls aged 11 to 16 by groups of men," the Daily Mail summarizes. "Three of the 56 [found guilty] were white; 53 were Asian. Of those, 50 were Muslim and a majority were members of the British Pakistani community." Also note that 22 of the 27 victims of a recently convicted "Asian" gang from Derby are white.



The real disgrace is that Straw had to sound the alarm yet again in 2011. Former MP Ann Cryer warned about the problem in 2003; Muslim leader Mohammed Shafiq did the same in 2008. Why was it allowed to metastasize for so long? As exemplified in the shelving of a 2004 British documentary on the topic, PC-driven silence, especially by law enforcement, aided the rapists.



Now the finger pointing is in full swing. "To stop this type of crime you need to start everyone talking about it, but everyone's been too scared to address the ethnicity factor," lamented West Mercia Police detective Alan Edwards. Mick Gradwell, a retired Lancashire officer, seconded him. Police are "not coming out and saying it because you can't feel comfortable, because of allegations of institutional racism," he contended. Pakistanis also have joined in. "It is important that political correctness or fear of offending any particular group of people does not get in the way of protecting those who are vulnerable," community activist Shokat Lal stated in 2010.



However, is the core issue one of ethnicity or religious ideology? Martin Narey of Barnardo's, a charitable organization, inadvertently spotlighted Islamism when he criticized the focus on Pakistani street groomers: "My staff would say that there is an overrepresentation of people from minority ethnic groups — Afghans, people from Arabic nations — but it's not just one nation." (What do they have in common?) Sikh leader Indarjit Singh was more explicit, blaming "Islamic extremists [who] view all 'nonbelievers' as legitimate targets," including Hindu and Sikh girls.



The good news is that recent cases and Straw's remarks have made blindness untenable. There are hints that British authorities are taking the epidemic of rape gangs more seriously, though much work needs to be done to combat sexual slavery of this and other types. The bad news, of course, is that lives have been shattered because officials spent years walking on eggshells rather than fully protecting the public. With gangs of Muslim sex traffickers emerging in the U.S., now would be an excellent time to process these harsh lessons on how silence creates victims.



Sunday, February 27, 2011

Minnesota Islamic Charter School May Have To Repay $20 Million In Taxpayer Funding

From Creeping Sharia:

Minn. Islamic school may have to repay $20M in taxpayer funding


Posted on February 27, 2011 by creeping

If it loses the case that is. Interestingly, the ACLU has settled with terror-linked Islamic Relief which may not bode well for taxpayers. Read the update on one of Minnesota’s taxpayer funded madrassas Islamic schools, via Lawsuit vs. TiZA is headed for a June trial
StarTribune.com.



On Friday in St. Paul, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank signed off on a settlement between the ACLU and the school’s sponsoring agency, Islamic Relief USA, removing it from the litigation, except for its request that TiZA reimburse it for nearly $1 million in legal costs.



An agreement also has been reached that will remove the Minnesota Department of Education from the suit brought by the ACLU, although the judge has yet to sign that agreement.



Now, with the ACLU and TiZA as main litigants, a trial could last five or six weeks beginning in June, Frank said from the bench Friday.



If TiZA loses, it could be on the hook to repay about $20 million in public money disbursed to the school since 2003, its attorneys said Friday.



It’s not clear yet whether TiZA is insured for such losses, said School Board Chairman Mahrous Kandil.



The public school should not receive public funding if the separation between religion and state is not maintained, said Chuck Samuelson, executive director of ACLU in Minnesota.



“We think this is a fundamental issue for charter schools,” Shamus O’Meara, lead attorney for TiZA, said Friday. “TiZA is doing the right thing on behalf of its population and partnering with its families to provide not only reasonable accommodations but also an excellent educational experience for its students.”



Previous posts on TIZA here, and a little background on Islamic Relief via Discover the Networks:



IRW was established in England in 1984 by Dr. Hani Al-Banna, who remains its President to this day. Al-Banna is a former trustee of Muslim Aid (MA), a global charity based in London. While Al-Banna was associated with MA, the group was a “partner organization” to the Al-Salah Islamic Association, a Gaza-based entity that the U.S. Treasury Department designated as a “Key Support Node” for the terrorist group Hamas. (MS Director Ahmed Al-Kurd was also designated by the U.S. government as a “terrorist.”) Moreover, while Al-Banna was involved with MA, the group was a partner to organizations directly related to the Muslim Brotherhood of Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).



In 1999, IRW’s main office (in England) received $50,000 from a Canadian group that the U.S. Treasury Department called “a bin Laden front.” According to Moscow’s Obshchaya Gazeta, IRW has collected and funneled millions of dollars to the Chechen terrorist rebels in Russia, who also have ties to al Qaeda.



Jehangir Malik, now working out of IRW’s Landoor Street, United Kingdom office, was formerly the Program Coordinator for IRW’s American branch, IRW-USA. While based in IRW-USA’s Burbank, California office in May 1999, Malik was a featured speaker at an event sponsored by the Muslim Youth of North America.



In May 2006, 36-year-old IRW operative Iyaz Ali, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, was arrested by the British General Security Services (GSS) in cooperation with the police Gideonim Unit. At his GSS interrogation, Ali admitted that he had been working as a project coordinator at IRW’s Gaza branch since December 2005. His activities included assisting Hamas-related institutions and groups such as Al Wafa and Al Tzalah, both of which are officially illegal in Israel. He also admitted that he had worked in Jordan and cooperated with local Hamas operatives there.



Read it all

Pakistan: Hindu Temples Turned Into Picnic Spots, Hotels

From Jihad Watch:

Pakistan: Hindu temples turned into picnic spots, hotels


Authorities are apathetic, because as far as those authorities are concerned, these temples are offensive structures that have no right to exist in the first place. "Pak's Hindu temples turned into picnic spots, hotels," from Rediff, February 24 (thanks to e):



Hindus in Pakistan are watching helplessly as ancient temples turn into ruins due to the apathy of authorities, reports Tahir Ali from Islamabad.

Despite being the second largest ethnic majority in the country, Hindus in Pakistan have been unable to acquire possession of their religious places, agricultural land and other commercial areas. Due to lack of government action, most sacred sites for Hindus are in a dilapidated condition; the rest have been converted into schools, hotels or business centres.....





There is much more. Read it all.
From rediffnews:

Pak's Hindu temples turned into picnic spots, hotels


Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

A Hindu temple at Chakwal, PakistanHindus in Pakistan are watching helplessly as ancient temples turn into ruins due to the apathy of authorities, reports Tahir Ali from Islamabad.



Despite being the second largest ethnic majority in the country, Hindus in Pakistan have been unable to acquire possession of their religious places, agricultural land and other commercial areas. Due to lack of government action, most sacred sites for Hindus are in a dilapidated condition; the rest have been converted into schools, hotels or business centres.



According to the National Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism, Pakistan is home to 3.9 million (39 lakh) Hindus. Most members of the minority community belong to impoverished agricultural families.



A report of the Evacuee Trust Property Board reveals that 135,000 acres of land belonging to Hindu farmers is under the control of ETBP, of which 125,000 acres is fertile and suitable for cultivation.


A number of sacred sites, commercial spaces and other properties are also in the possession of ETBP. Ironically, to control Hindu assets and properties, ETPB employs extensive machinery comprising mostly of Muslim workers. Local Hindus have demanded that the ETPB should give them some jobs, as it is reluctant to hand over the possession of their assets.




"The Hindus are left behind in every walk of life. They don't have possession of their sacred places and other properties. If Hindus were given the possession of their assets, their misery could be alleviated," Haroon Sayab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement, told rediff.com.







Haroon Sayab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement

Image: Haroon Sayab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement




Hindu devotees at a temple in Pakistan


Image: Hindu devotees at a temple in Pakistan



Haroon Diyal says, "Handing over these properties to the original heirs would also enable the Hindu minority population to stand on its feet. Our youngsters will be able to avail the various educational opportunities. After receiving proper qualifications, they can function as citizens of Pakistan -- no one would then have to rely on special quotas for jobs."



Pakistani Hindus complain that their sacred sites are misused by illegal possessors. In Dera Ismail Khan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a group has illegally acquired the 700-year-old Kali Bari Mandir and is now using it as a hotel.


According to local Hindus, the occupants of the temple pay only Pakistani Rs 1,600 to the government and earn thousands of rupees per day from the hotel.




Vijay Kumar, a Hindu activist, says, "Due to the hotel's activities, the temple is used in an unholy way. Though a number of sacred idols are missing from the temple, this historically important site could attract Hindu pilgrims from around the globe."



Though the Hindu community has taken up this issue a number of times with the government, no action has been taken so far. "In April 2009, after our request to the then governor of KPK Owais Ghani, an inquiry was ordered in the case of the disputed Kali Bari Mandir, but no action was taken about it," says Diyal.



The issue of Kali Bari is not an isolated example. In Islamabad, Hindus have no access to a temple situated at Saidpur model village.







A tourist at an old temple near Islamabad

Image: A tourist at an old temple near Islamabad

Photographs: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters


Prev Next


The Raam Kunday Mandir in Islamabad, once considered a sacred site by Hindus, is being converted into a picnic spot.



"Authorities in the capital should hand this temple over to the Hindus of the country to represent Hinduism in the capital," says Haroon Diyal.



In Abbottabad city of KPK province, a Hindu temple called Araya Mandir is located next to the local Gurdwara. This temple, which is already in a decrepit condition, is being used as a school for children. Hindus have demanded that they should be granted the possession of the temple and the school should be relocated, as it is endangering the existence of the religious structure.







Devotees light oil lamps in a temple in Karachi

Image: Devotees light oil lamps in a temple in Karachi

Photographs: Athar Hussain/Reuters


A Jama Masjid is located in the same area and according to Diyal, a renovated temple at the site would present a concrete example of interfaith harmony, with a gurudwara, a mosque and a temple co-existing peacefully.




Members of the Hindu community have also demanded the possession of another temple in Hasan Abdal, but the authorities are yet to pay heed to them.



Eminabad in Gujranwala region has several temples dating back to the 15th century, which are in shambles today. Most of them are being used as stables to provide shelter to donkeys, horses and other animals.







A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan

Image: A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan


A famous Hanuman temple in Chakwal is being used by the workers of salt mines as their office. In spite of local Hindus demanding the possession of this temple, the authorities are allowing the mine workers to use it.




Another Kali temple in Peshawar has been taken over by some local traders, who are converting the temple into a building. Again, the authorities have been apprised of the situation but are yet to take any steps to prevent the violation of this sacred site.



In Punjab's Bakkar city, Sheeran Wali Mandir has been used by Islamic clerics as a madrasa.









Image: A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan





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Pak's Hindu temples turned into picnic spots, hotels

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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Hindus in Pakistan are watching helplessly as ancient temples turn into ruins due to the apathy of authorities, reports Tahir Ali from Islamabad.



Despite being the second largest ethnic majority in the country, Hindus in Pakistan have been unable to acquire possession of their religious places, agricultural land and other commercial areas. Due to lack of government action, most sacred sites for Hindus are in a dilapidated condition; the rest have been converted into schools, hotels or business centres.



According to the National Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism, Pakistan is home to 3.9 million (39 lakh) Hindus. Most members of the minority community belong to impoverished agricultural families.



A report of the Evacuee Trust Property Board reveals that 135,000 acres of land belonging to Hindu farmers is under the control of ETBP, of which 125,000 acres is fertile and suitable for cultivation.



Click on NEXT to read further...









Image: A Hindu temple at Chakwal, Pakistan





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'Hindus are left behind in every walk of life'

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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A number of sacred sites, commercial spaces and other properties are also in the possession of ETBP. Ironically, to control Hindu assets and properties, ETPB employs extensive machinery comprising mostly of Muslim workers. Local Hindus have demanded that the ETPB should give them some jobs, as it is reluctant to hand over the possession of their assets.



"The Hindus are left behind in every walk of life. They don't have possession of their sacred places and other properties. If Hindus were given the possession of their assets, their misery could be alleviated," Haroon Sayab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement, told rediff.com.









Image: Haroon Sayab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement





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'Hindus won't have to rely on special quotas for jobs'

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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Haroon Diyal says, "Handing over these properties to the original heirs would also enable the Hindu minority population to stand on its feet. Our youngsters will be able to avail the various educational opportunities. After receiving proper qualifications, they can function as citizens of Pakistan -- no one would then have to rely on special quotas for jobs."



Pakistani Hindus complain that their sacred sites are misused by illegal possessors. In Dera Ismail Khan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a group has illegally acquired the 700-year-old Kali Bari Mandir and is now using it as a hotel.









Image: Hindu devotees at a temple in Pakistan





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'The temple is used in an unholy way'

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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According to local Hindus, the occupants of the temple pay only Pakistani Rs 1,600 to the government and earn thousands of rupees per day from the hotel.



Vijay Kumar, a Hindu activist, says, "Due to the hotel's activities, the temple is used in an unholy way. Though a number of sacred idols are missing from the temple, this historically important site could attract Hindu pilgrims from around the globe."



Though the Hindu community has taken up this issue a number of times with the government, no action has been taken so far. "In April 2009, after our request to the then governor of KPK Owais Ghani, an inquiry was ordered in the case of the disputed Kali Bari Mandir, but no action was taken about it," says Diyal.



The issue of Kali Bari is not an isolated example. In Islamabad, Hindus have no access to a temple situated at Saidpur model village.









Image: A tourist at an old temple near Islamabad

Photographs: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters



Prev Next

'Authorities should hand over the temple'

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

Share

thisAsk

UsersWrite a

CommentPrev Next

The Raam Kunday Mandir in Islamabad, once considered a sacred site by Hindus, is being converted into a picnic spot.



"Authorities in the capital should hand this temple over to the Hindus of the country to represent Hinduism in the capital," says Haroon Diyal.



In Abbottabad city of KPK province, a Hindu temple called Araya Mandir is located next to the local Gurdwara. This temple, which is already in a decrepit condition, is being used as a school for children. Hindus have demanded that they should be granted the possession of the temple and the school should be relocated, as it is endangering the existence of the religious structure.









Image: Devotees light oil lamps in a temple in Karachi

Photographs: Athar Hussain/Reuters



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Temples are in a shambles today

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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A Jama Masjid is located in the same area and according to Diyal, a renovated temple at the site would present a concrete example of interfaith harmony, with a gurudwara, a mosque and a temple co-existing peacefully.



Members of the Hindu community have also demanded the possession of another temple in Hasan Abdal, but the authorities are yet to pay heed to them.



Eminabad in Gujranwala region has several temples dating back to the 15th century, which are in shambles today. Most of them are being used as stables to provide shelter to donkeys, horses and other animals.









Image: A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan





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Temple being used by salt miners

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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A famous Hanuman temple in Chakwal is being used by the workers of salt mines as their office. In spite of local Hindus demanding the possession of this temple, the authorities are allowing the mine workers to use it.



Another Kali temple in Peshawar has been taken over by some local traders, who are converting the temple into a building. Again, the authorities have been apprised of the situation but are yet to take any steps to prevent the violation of this sacred site.



In Punjab's Bakkar city, Sheeran Wali Mandir has been used by Islamic clerics as a madrasa.









Image: A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan





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Some temples are on the verge of collapse

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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According to Diyal, Hindus have no objection to the teaching of Islamic education, but the building is on the verge of collapse as no repair work has been undertaken there.



Similarly, Jogi Tala Jhelum, a sacred site for Hindus as well as Sikhs, is also in a pitiable condition. Hindus have also demanded the possession of Laho Maharaj Mandir, located in Badshahi Masjid, which is currently under the control of ETPB.









Image: A file photo of Pakistani police guarding a Hindu temple in Multan

Photographs: Asim Tanveer/Reuters



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Government not ready to take care of temples

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 13:55 IST

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Nearly 360 sacred Hindu sites are located in Pakistan, including Hanglaj Maata Mandir in Balochistan, Sadho Beela Mandir in Sindh, Hanuman Mandir in Kotri, Kali Ma and Shiva Mandir in Punjab's Imanabad, Ganga Khogi in Saidan Shah Punjab, Kali Bari Mandir and Kala Sathi Kewal Raam in Dera Ismail Khan, Raam Takht in Swat and a Shiva Mandir in Mansehra.



But neither is the government ready to ensure the upkeep of these sites, nor is it willing to hand them back to the Hindu community.







A temple in Chakwal, Pakistan

Image: Children play outside an old Hindu temple at Saidpur village on the outskirts of Islamabad

Photographs: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters


According to Diyal, Hindus have no objection to the teaching of Islamic education, but the building is on the verge of collapse as no repair work has been undertaken there.




Similarly, Jogi Tala Jhelum, a sacred site for Hindus as well as Sikhs, is also in a pitiable condition. Hindus have also demanded the possession of Laho Maharaj Mandir, located in Badshahi Masjid, which is currently under the control of ETPB.







A file photo of Pakistani police guarding a Hindu temple in Multan



Image: A file photo of Pakistani police guarding a Hindu temple in Multan

Photographs: Asim Tanveer/Reuters


Nearly 360 sacred Hindu sites are located in Pakistan, including Hanglaj Maata Mandir in Balochistan, Sadho Beela Mandir in Sindh, Hanuman Mandir in Kotri, Kali Ma and Shiva Mandir in Punjab's Imanabad, Ganga Khogi in Saidan Shah Punjab, Kali Bari Mandir and Kala Sathi Kewal Raam in Dera Ismail Khan, Raam Takht in Swat and a Shiva Mandir in Mansehra.




But neither is the government ready to ensure the upkeep of these sites, nor is it willing to hand them back to the Hindu community.







Children play outside an old Hindu temple at Saidpur village on the outskirts of Islamabad

Image: Children play outside an old Hindu temple at Saidpur village on the outskirts of Islamabad


 
 

 


Posted by Robert on February 26, 2011 5:24 AM

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Are We Facing The West's Last Chance?

From The American Thinker:

February 24, 2011


Are We Facing 'The West's Last Chance'?

By Janet Levy

In the first chapter of The West's Last Chance (2005), Washington Times Editor Tony Blankley presents a fictional account of a neck-and-neck political race in 2007 America. Entitled "The Nightmare Scenario," the chapter portrays a presidential candidate, facing polls that indicate an even race and rationalizing to seize an opportunity and secure his dreams for high office. In the heat of a political rally with a Muslim American audience clamoring for shariah law, he capitulates to their demands.





In 2005, when the book was published, U.S. political pandering to American Muslims was already an established reality. Since 9/11 and continuing today, our government bends over backward to avoid even a hint of negativity toward the purveyors of Islamic doctrine whose very mission is to destroy us. Pandering to Islam has reached epidemic proportions and threatens our very existence as a free society.





This dangerous trend began immediately after 9/11 when President George W. Bush reached out to Muslims, repeating the hollow-sounding mantra that Islam is a religion of peace. This occurred despite prima facie and doctrinal evidence to the contrary. Given that Muslims following the revered Koranic path of jihad had perpetrated (and continue now) the vast majority of worldwide terrorist attacks, the president's message was incongruous with reality. Of course, the silence was deafening from the Allah hu-Akbar ("Allah is Great") corner, which instead focused on fears of burgeoning Islamophobia rather than shared anguish over the loss of life and destruction or condemnation of the hijackers' martyrdom operation.





In 2001, following the deadliest attack on American civilians in history and with Muslims worldwide engaging in victory celebrations (including even inside the FBI translators office, per former FBI agent Sibel Edmonds), Bush visited a local mosque with hijabed female government officials and began the American "tradition" of Iftar, or, participation in the meal ending Ramadan fasting. Further, he retained close, visible ties to Saudi leaders despite common knowledge of their funding of radical American mosques, their training of the majority of American imams in extremist ideology and the reality that 17 of 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals.





Beginning with the Bush administration and zealously expanded under Obama, descriptive language identifying the enemy by name was expunged from the official government lexicon. Bush repeatedly emphasized, "America is not and never will be at war with Islam."





With his global war on terror (GWOT) nomenclature, Bush began the practice of referring to a strategy -- terrorism -- as the United States' archenemy as if it were unrelated to Islam and Muslims. In 2009, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano went beyond this camouflage attempt to infamously coin the term "man-caused disasters" as a euphemism for "terrorism," foregoing all descriptors that referenced Islam. This further muddled the threat by conflating criminal acts by the mentally disturbed to acts of terrorism.





Immediately upon taking office, Obama displayed unusual deference to the Muslim world by giving a speech at Cairo University to which the Muslim Brotherhood was invited, phoning Fatah leader Abu Abbas and granting an interview to the Arab network Al-Arabiya. Especially noteworthy, was Obama's unprecedented bow to Saudi King Abdullah and his directive to NASA to improve relations with the Muslim world and boost their self esteem regarding Muslim scientific achievements. Obama conducted a policy of "engagement" with the Iranian regime while Iran pursued nuclear weapons and suppressed true democratic protests over a rigged election. While visiting Turkey, Obama praised a fundamentalist Islamic regime that had endorsed a terrorist operation to supply weapons to Hamas in Gaza. Recently, it was announced that the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which spent $60 million to elect Obama and whose then president was the most frequent White House visitor in 2009, is being investigated for ties to Hamas. Obama reportedly has a close relationship with SEIU founder Wayne Rathke of ACORN fame and even appointed a former SEIU attorney, Craig Becker, to the National Labor Relations Board.





Despite the fact that Islam is in a permanent state of war with all non-believers as outlined in the Koran and confirmed by 67% of its contents, our government's pandering to the purveyors of Islamic doctrine has reached epidemic proportions. Contrary to the popular mythology advanced by many politicians, there is no "hijacking" of a great religion by a small group of radicals taking place across the globe. As Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogen said in 2007 while disparaging the Western-manufactured term "moderate Islam," "These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that's it."





Reminiscent of Tony Blankley's fictional account, flagrant increases have occurred in the number of questionable Muslims holding positions of power in the U.S. government as well as the number of alliances between American politicians and Muslims with ties to terrorist entities and organizations endeavoring to Islamicize the West. This is particularly concerning in light of recent Muslim-Brotherhood's major participation in inspired uprisings in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Tunisia and Sudan, plus the recent Hezb'allah coup in Lebanon. Further, a newly published report by the Center for Security Policy (CSP) in Washington D.C. ("Shariah: The Threat to America") found that "nearly every major Muslim organization in the United States is actually controlled by the MB or a derivative organization."





The CSP report further states that the Muslim Brotherhood is the most important entity promoting Islamic supremacy, Shariah law and the caliphate. Its mission in the West is sedition or dismantling the constitutional republic, "not peaceful assimilation and co-existence with non-Muslim populations," the report said.





Yet instances of dangerous alliances abound. In 2004, then-New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine and Representative Bill Pascrell, both Democrats, spoke at an annual meeting of the American Muslim Union (AMU). Co-sponsors included unindicted co-conspirators in the Hamas terrorist financing trial, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR); the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), whose co-founder and former imam, Mohammad El-Mezain, defended Hamas and admitted raising funds for the terrorist group; and the Dar-ul-Islah Islamic Center, co-founded by Waheed Khalid, who had defended the activities of Hamas. The link between AMU, these organizations and the elected representatives extends beyond the 2004 meeting. Several of AMU's current and former directors held leadership positions at the ICPC and AMU's president, Mohamed Younes, serves on the ICPC Board. Younes has held fundraisers for Representative Pascrell and personally contributed to his political campaigns.





At the 2007 annual AMU meeting, guest of honor Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was introduced by a leader from CAIR's New Jersey chapter. Menendez praised AMU's work and offered "the power of his office" as well as his "hand in friendship" to the organization. Representative Pascrell and Governor Corzine were also in attendance as guests of honor. At the same 2007 meeting, Rep. Pascrell recounted with pride his recent trip to Ramallah to visit Yasser Arafat, the father of modern terrorism, who endeavored to destroy the state of Israel.





In 2007, then-Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Esam Omeish, former Muslim American Society (MAS) president, to the Virginia Commission on Immigration. This appointment occurred even though in 2000, Omeish, who acknowledged Muslim Brotherhood influence in the MAS, had been caught on tape by terrorism expert Steven Emerson's Investigative Project for Terrorism, proclaiming his support for Hamas and Hezbollah and calling for jihad against Israel. The investigative project also revealed that Omeish had ties to the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque that harbored 9/11 terrorists. When this information was made public, Omeish was forced to resign from the post.





In 2010, when the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque held its annual fundraising dinner, special guests listed on the program included Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), Senator James Webb (D-VA) and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. After receiving a briefing paper about the mosque's ties to terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, and its connection to several terrorist acts from the Center for Security Policy, all but Congressman Connolly declined the invitation to attend. The Dar Al-Hijrah mosque had harbored at least three of the 9/11 hijackers. Its former imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki, is credited with being the mentor for Major Nidel Hasan who murdered 13 Americans at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, as well as the spiritual coach for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the attempted Christmas Day bomber on Northwest Flight 253.





U.S. Representative Keith Hakim Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, caused quite a stir in 2007 when he departed from congressional custom and took his oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible. The use of the Koran, a scripture that calls for worldwide Muslim conquest and proclaims the inferiority of non-Muslims, caused Representative Virgil Goode (R-VA) to issue a statement that the action represented a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America...." Ellison attended the Hajj in Mecca, which according to his office was funded by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. As part of the $13,350 trip, the Minnesota Congressman listened to a Saudi cleric call on participants to renounce capitalism in favor of shariah law. According to Islamic terrorism expert Steven Emerson, Ellison, who regularly attends CAIR functions, has received contributions from donors with Muslim Brotherhood connections, as well as a North Virginia think tank suspected of being part of a terrorist financing network. Recently, Ellison raised objections when Peter King, the new chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, stated he would hold investigations into the "radicalization" of American Muslims.





Recently, the nomination by New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie of AMU general counsel Sohail Mohammed for a Superior Court judgeship shed light on the extent of Islamist ties in that state's government and the special interest pandering for political support and campaign contributions. Previously, as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Christie, along with other prominent New Jersey officials, had thwarted U.S. government attempts to deport Mohammed Qatanani, the imam at the largest mosque in New Jersey. This was after Qatanani had admitted a Hamas member and was charged with raising money for the terrorist group. Christie's nominee, Sohail Mohammed, who has defended suspected terrorist detainees, had been Qatanani's attorney. Christie went so far as to attend a Ramadan dinner at the mosque where the terrorist financing took place. He has also been a vocal supporter of what has been referred to as the "victory mosque" at Ground Zero.





Many other examples exist that illustrate the connection between Islam and U.S. politicians, all of grave concern. For example, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) -- a past assistant to former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) and former State Senator Larry Shaw (D-NC) -- pledged support for CAIR. According to David Gaubatz and Paul Sperrry, authors of "Muslim Mafia," internal notes from CAIR meetings referred to Van Hollen's promise to support CAIR's agenda, including promoting Islamic curricula in public schools. Further, Gaubatz and Sperry contend that Congressman John Conyers, whose district contains active Hamas, Hezb'allah and Muslim Brotherhood operatives, worked with CAIR to stop FBI counterterrorism measures and pushed the "End Racial Profiling Act" to ban all profiling of Muslims. In 2009, CAIR elected then-North Carolina State Senator Shaw as their Board Chairman. A year earlier, Shaw had accompanied CAIR officials on a trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah. At the meeting, the King praised Islam as the world's greatest religion and decried those with concerns about Islamic violence.





These examples of Islamist or Muslim Brotherhood influence and infiltration in Washington are by no means exhaustive. Unfortunately, they represent the tip of the iceberg and are far from an innocuous-appearing brush of multi-culturalism. It is just a small leap from the current situation to the scenario described by Tony Blankley in "The West's Last Chance" wherein political and financial support is traded for concessions to replace our constitutional republic by a caliphate under shariah law. As more and more politicians and government officials are seduced by the influence peddling of Muslims seeking to Islamicize the United States, shariah law could very well be used as leverage for attaining political office and the caliphate could become a tragic reality in America.