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SNIPPET: "The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué from Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announcing the foundation of a specialized media wing known as the "Andalus Foundation." According to the statement, "due to our belief that the battle of pen is no less important than the battle of the sword, and in continuation of our development of jihadi media,...""

In his Cairo speech, Obama made the following statement: Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition Can anybody explain precisely what Obama was referring to? On first glance, it looks like a reference to the so-called ‘Golden Age’ in Al Andalus. During the Golden Age, Jews - and Christians - were subject to a certain degree of formal discrimination, but largely prospered. Life was certainly better than in places like England, where Jews were repeatedly massacred and ultimately expelled. That “golden” period definitively came to an end...

Special Dispatch - No. 2323 April 22, 2009 No. 2323 Al-Qaeda Commander Abu Yahya Al-Libi in New Video: There Is No Difference Between Palestine and Other Jihads – Including Al-Andalus; If Helping the Israelis Is Apostasy, So Is Helping the U.S. In a 59-minute video produced by Al-Sahab, Al-Qaeda's media wing, and posted on jihadist forums on April 22, 2009, senior Al-Qaeda commander Abu Yahya Al-Libi tries to convince Islamist clerics of Al-Qaeda's positions on fighting against the U.S. and against the regimes in Muslim countries.

April 03, 2009 Think Islamist extremists don't have their eyes on conquering Europe? Think again. This video produced by Ibnul Akwa links the recent successes of Shabaab in Somalia and of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Eastern North Africa with the eventual reconquista of Spain. There's nothing original here...

Spanish Bishops Fear Rebirth of Iberian Caliphate Spain's bishops are alarmed by plans to reestablish the city of Cordoba - once the heart of the medieval Islamic caliphate of al-Andalus - as a pilgrimage site for Muslims throughout Europe. Plans include the construction of a half-size replica of Cordoba's eighth century Great Mosque, according to the head of Cordoba's Muslim Association. Other major mosques are reportedly planned for Medina Azahara near Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Last month, Spanish Muslims reasserted their right to pray in Cordoba's Great Mosque, known in Spanish as la Mezquita - which was reconsecrated as a...

Note: Photos included. MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police Tuesday arrested a Spanish soldier and his Russian girlfriend for allegedly posting videos on the Internet promoting Islamic extremist views and calling for attacks in Spain, a Ministry of Interior statement said.

Still in Control Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling...

IS "PALESTINE" the only "OCCUPIED TERRITORY" of MUSLIM WORLD? According to AL QUAEDA, the ANSWER is NO.... by Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi Published October 2007 Vol. 7, No. 16 11 October 2007Al-Qaeda: The Next Goal Is to Liberate Spain from the InfidelsLt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Dahoah-Halevi * Large parts of the Iberian Peninsula were under Islamic rule from 711 until 1492, with the final eviction of the Moors from what they called al-Andalus, and the memory of Islamic rule in Spain has become increasingly part of the discourse in radical Islam. * Osama bin Laden has written: "We...

Islamic Spain: History's refrain It's a model for interfaith ties, and a warning about religious division. By Alexander Kronemer   Washington The past sometimes provides examples of glory and success that serve as models. Other times, as the philosopher George Santayana said, it warns of impending calamity for those who do not learn from it. For the past several years, I've been immersed in a history that does both. As one of the producers for an upcoming PBS documentary on the rise and fall of Islamic Spain, I've witnessed its amazing ascent and tragic fall countless times in the editing...

RABAT, 15 July — Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Fahd, state minister and chief of the court for the Presidency of Cabinet affairs, yesterday inaugurated here the Center for Andalusian Studies and Dialogue between Civilizations. At the opening ceremony, he announced the center’s plan to institute an international annual prize for best research on Andalus. He also stressed the importance of bringing out an encyclopedia on Andalus. Prince Abdul Aziz commended the center’s efforts to organize seminars and studies on Andalusian culture and translate books and documents related to Islamic culture in the Spanish city. "The main objectives of the center...