Free Republic

Syria Al-Baath news­pa­per op-ed: From Hillary Clin­ton to the Head of the NATO Anders Rasmussen … Those who con­demned the pub­li­ca­tion of Wik­ileaks doc­u­ments, not a sin­gle per­son said “sorry” for the killing of Iraqi civil­ians at U.S. checkpoints. In the his­tory of racism, there are no racists more than those peo­ple, O, with the excep­tion of the fas­cist ter­ror­ist entity of Israel. From Saudi Ara­bia news­pa­per Al-Riyadh: If crimes were pros­e­cuted on behalf of the [inter­na­tional] law, then what hap­pened in Iraq is no less hor­ri­ble of what hap­pened in Bosnia and Herze­gov­ina, or what said on the exter­mi­na­tion...

In case you’re wondering exactly what the Israeli’s are up against there’s this (video). It may be 2 years old but I think it’s emblematic of the situation. Watch the video again and let it sink in how chilling this is. A crazed anti-semite comes out saying that Muslim men should sexually harass and even rape Israeli women and what does this arab tv network do? They invite her on and interview her as though she were just another political commentator with a provocative position.

The former press secretary to George Bush has announced he is backing Barack Obama in the race to replace his ex-boss as US president. Scott McClellan said on Thursday that he had decided to back the Democrat because he wanted to support the candidate with the best chance of changing the way Washington - the political heart of the US - works and gets things done. His announcement is yet another blow to the campaign of John McCain, the Republican contender, who is struggling to erode Obama's opinion poll lead. McClellan is the second former Bush administration figure this week...

Among the international broadcasters that will cover the Democratic National Convention in Denver is al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news network based in Qatar. Al-Jazeera English (launched in 2006) and al-Jazeera Arabic, separate but collaborative networks, will send two dozen staffers each. "This presidential election is the biggest story of the year, even on the international level," according to Camille El Hassani, senior producer for al-Jazeera English, based in Washington. "The next president's ideologies and his philosophies affect our viewers. Al-Jazeera is making a commitment to be at all the big events, including the conventions, Democratic and Republican." Al-Jazeera English will...

An Arab-language television network and radio station, founded by the Bush administration to promote a positive image of the United States, has aired anti-American and anti-Israeli viewpoints, has showcased pro-Iranian policies and recently gave air time to a militant who called for the death of American soldiers in Iraq. So far, U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $500 million to fund those broadcasts. The television station, called Alhurra, and the radio network, Sawa, were meant to provide an American perspective on world events and counter the wave of global criticism that had been building against the Bush administration since the invasion...

(CBS) American taxpayers are paying for a Middle Eastern television network that broadcast an anti-Israeli diatribe as recently as last month, a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and ProPublica reveals. This, despite the fact that Al Hurra management promised Congress nearly two years ago that they would take measures to prevent such mistakes, which had occurred repeatedly before. The joint investigation will be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, June 22, at 7 p.m. ET/PT and be detailed on ProPublica's Web site simultaneously. Al Hurra is headquartered in Springfield, Va.; it was created four years ago by the Bush Administration...

Al Jazeera English’s only bureau in the western hemisphere occupies five floors of a nondescript office building on Washington, D.C.’s K Street. The lobby is drab — just a hallway and two elevators. There is no sign on the door, no gold symbol affixed on the wall. In fact, the name Al Jazeera does not appear anywhere. If you didn’t know better, you might think the building was home to dentist’s offices or mid-level lobbying firms, instead of the most controversial news channel in the world. To get upstairs, a non-employee must have an escort, and on a cold day...

But Publicly Excludes Muslims @ Rally -- While the Obama campaign is allegedly publicly staying away from Muslims and reportedly barring them from pics at an Obama event (though Detroit Newsistan and Reuters photos show otherwise), privately he's hanging with them. Yesterday, Barack Hussein Obama wrapped up his trip to Michigan by meeting with a group of "community leaders." But one of those so-called leaders has been identified as an agent of Hezbollah--Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News. Siblani,, an open supporter of the terrorist group, was handpicked for the invite by the Obama campaign and spoke one-to-one...

Obama's church supports Hamas and puts down Israel, and Hamas is now supporting Obama's campaign. How nice! From Obama's book the Aud... (see video at link)

Reporters from the Al Jazeera television network were questioned by Matagorda County Sheriff deputies when they were found filming near the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company plant site Tuesday, June 3. The reporters were from Al Jazeera English’s Washington D.C. broadcast center. Al Jazeera English is a television network — headquartered in Doha, Qatar — that purposes to be the English-language channel of reference for Middle Eastern events. According to Captain Stephen Crow, Matagorda County Sheriff Department spokesman, three individuals were spotted filming on the public road right-of-way just outside of the one-mile buffer zone in front of the...

DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, has been arrested in Iraq, the Arabic television station al-Arabiya reported on Friday, quoting the Iraqi Defence Ministry. Arabiya said Muhajir, successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been detained in a joint Iraqi-U.S. operation in Mosul in northern Iraq.

In the very real war on terror, a nosy squabble over “fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here” clouds a simple truth: namely, that “they” are here already. Indeed, Islamists are busy constructing a wing of jihad in America’s backyard. A potential audience of one million Arab-speaking cable subscribers of Time Warner in the greater New York area can feast on the Arabic Channel known as TAC to choose a menu that includes: A daily dose of Islamic jurisprudence from a sheik — most often Egyptian Amr Khaled, who wears a suit instead of a robe,...

Who’s fault is it that the ‘war on terror’ is so hard to overcome?1) The Islamists brain washers, from those that teach that non Muslims are Apes, Pigs, Cows, those that teach that the west in the enemy and one mush wage war on all non Muslims kafirs, those that instill extreme hatred & death cult to be glorifying death & mass murder over the value of any life, those that build up the fantasy on among young Muslims to be striving for an all out Islamic Caliphate, to be dominating the entire world. 2) Mainstream Muslim leaders, the “normal”...

The U.S. Constitution says that a president can be impeached for high crimes and misdeameanors. Knowing this, would you favor or oppose impeaching George W. Bush? Favor Oppose Not sure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you like George W. Bush as a person or don't you like him? Like him Do not like him Not sure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you proud or ashamed to have George W. Bush as your president? Proud Ashamed Not sure What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Oklahoma? Now some questions about travel. Are you planning to relocate to another nation for...

Hot Air points readers to an excellent 43-minute documentary by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), hosted by Ron Silver, about the coverage and analysis of 9/11 in the Muslim world. It's an excellent perspective on the widespread paranoia and denial that conspiracy theorizing has brought to the ummah. If you want the short version, here it is: the Jews did it. In fact, some of the assertions made in this video sound uncomfortably similar to rhetoric emanating from far-Left circles. Also, Allahpundit also recommends this CBS site, which has unedited clips of 9/11 coverage. You'll see many scenes...

Arab Media Accuses Iran and Syria of Direct Involvement in Lebanon War Posted Friday, August 18, 2006 Paris, 19 Aug. (IPS) As pro democracy groups in Lebanon, known as the “Forces of 14 March” went into attack against what they call “a coup” by the Iran and Syria-backed Hezbollah in the one hand and “a call for sedition from the Syrian president Bashar Asad”, Arab media, except in Syria, strongly came out, accusing Damascus and Tehran on direct involvement in the Lebanon War. Saad Hariri, the son of the former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri assassinated last year very probably on...

The Palestinian prime minister has vowed that his Hamas-led government will not give in to force, saying Israel has to halt its Gaza offensive if it wants to free a captured soldier. "No concessions will be made," Ismail Haniya said on Friday in his first public appearance since the abduction of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit. Addressing Muslims praying in Gaza's main mosque, Haniya said that the Israeli offensive was premeditated to bring down the Hamas-led government, but said his government "would not fall and would not change its position". "Our people are patient. They can arrest leaders, assassinate leaders, but...

Only two more days until the United American Committee's rally against Al-Jazeera's planned English language station. Please forward information on the rally to anyone you know on the East Coast who may be interested. What: Protest against Al-Jazeera Network's planned English language station aimed at Americans. Rally/Protest in front of Al-Jazeera's new Washington DC studio.Date & Time: Sunday, April 30th At 12:00 NoonLocation: 1627 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006 If you can not make it to DC, please help the campaign by writing letters to your local cable provider telling them not to carry Al-Jazeera International. Click here for...

The coalition of the dispossessed in the Middle East consisting of Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria and Iran has made great gains in the first three months of this year. Their systematic and consistent work in the diplomatic arena is dictating the new realities on the ground. The Arab League affirmed these realities this week in its summit communiqué. Most Arab and foreign observers belittled the significance of the gathering and its final decisions. But this was a rare occasion where the leaders of Arab states did not undermine the aspirations of their own people. This by itself was a great accomplishment....

Uncle Boutros and Uncle Tom…A Lesson In Arab Tolerance   by Gerald A. Honigman2006/02/12      My friend  and scholar, Jerry Gordon, sent me a note the other day alerting me to Diane West’s great article in the The Washington Times referring to the essential historian, Bat Ye’or’s, writings on dhimmitude.      Having written somewhat myself on the subject of the forced Arabization of much of the region’s lands and peoples since Muhammad’s successors burst out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century C.E. and spread Islam by their imperial Caliphal sword in all directions, events of late sired in Denmark also...

Even as the Muslim world protests against the Muhammad caricatures printed in the West, a number of Arab newspapers publish virulently anti-Semitic cartoons. But nobody's paying much attention. After all, Jew baiting in the Arab world has become the norm. In the end, it was the image of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse that proved perhaps most offensive. After all, as the Web site of the Arab-European League -- a group supporting the rights of Arab and Muslim communities in Europe -- pointed out: "The issue for us is not about depicting the prophet...

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Feb. 2) - In the most expensive Turkish movie ever made, American soldiers in Iraq crash a wedding and pump a little boy full of lead in front of his mother.

The site describes itself as: A selection of cartoons from the media of seven Arab countries (Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Syria and Egypt) and from the Palestinian Authority is displayed below. A number of these countries are regarded as moderate or allied to the West. Most print media in the Arab world are under the full or partial control of the ruling regimes. One picture can sometimes be deadlier than a thousand words. -- Tom Gross

ABU DHABI — Iran has forced the United Arab Emirates of Dubai to halt live Persian-language television broadcasts. Western diplomatic sources said the broadcasts contained Western programming and discussed democracy. They said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his advisers regarded these broadcasts as part of a U.S.-led effort to foment unrest in Iran. Iran also pressured Holland to end support for the Persian-language broadcasts. The sources said Teheran awarded several major projects to the Netherlands in wake of its decision to withdraw support for the broadcasts.

In the wake of the current Muslim rioting and attacks on western embassies in reaction to the cartoons depicting Mohammed, I thought it would be instructive to see how the Arab media have depicted Jews and Jewish leaders. Popping the term "anti-Semitic cartoons" into Google yielded innumerable examples. Below are a number of cartoons that the Anti-Defamation League assembled a few years ago:And of course we all remember Jews around the world storming various Arab embassies. Oh, wait. No we don't . . .

A new audio tape purportedly from Osama Bin Laden has been broadcast as an exclusive on al-Jazeera, the Arab TV station that first made its name by showing al-Qaeda messages before and after 9/11. It is the first new tape said to carry the voice of the al-Qaeda leader for just over a year. During that time, two other figures have taken Osama Bin Laden's place as the leading voices of radical Islamic militancy. They are al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the Islamic militant leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Both have released communications this month and both have...

Arab Analysts Give Nod to Favored Oscar Contenders News Analysis, Jalal Ghazi, Pacific News Service, Jan 06, 2006 Editor's Note: Arab media are lauding several Hollywood films that portray Muslims and Arabs with newfound depth, sympathy and fairness. SAN FRANCISCO--For many years big budget Hollywood movies depicted Arabs as terrorists or greedy oil barons, but since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq, it seems such films are finally falling out of fashion. Arab analysts and media are lauding portrayals of Arabs and Muslims in the recent films "Syriana" and "Munich," and the smaller budget independent film "Paradise Now."...

Bush: Arabic TV gives false impression of US By Sue Pleming 20 minutes ago President George W. Bush complained on Thursday that Arabic television often gave a false impression of the United States, saying Americans needed to do a better job of communicating their ideals. Launching a National Security Language Initiative to boost the teaching of foreign languages, Bush said it was a way to help combat the notion that the United States was bullying in imposing its concept of freedom. "You can't convince people unless you can talk to them," Bush told a State Department audience. The language initiative,...

It comes as a relief to learn that Karen Hughes, who runs the public diplomacy shop at the U.S. State Department, has suspended the pathetic effort to reach out to Arab and other foreign audiences via a taxpayer-funded magazine named Hi International (best remembered for a notorious June 2005 article, "Sharp-Dressed Men," that told how "real men moisturize"). It's startling to realize that $4.5 million a year produced a mere 55,000 monthly copies of Hi and (according to alexa.com) a website that ranks about 900,000th from the top, suggesting it gets about 100 hits a day. The magazine has been...

WASHINGTON -- The US State Department on December 22 said it was suspending the publication of the multimillion dollar Hi magazine that targeted Arab youth. "The State Department is conducting a review of its Arabic language magazine, Hi, to assess whether the magazine is meeting its objectives effectively," it said in a statement. "During the period of this review, the print version of Hi magazine will be suspended." The magazine's Website, www.himag.com, will remain active during the period. The magazine was launched in July 2003 in a bid to win the hearts and minds of Arab youth. Some 55,000 copies...

Saudi television featured an interview with a young Palestinian girl who called Jews "villains" and "dogs" and said the Palestinians have no desire for peace with Israel. In the segment on Iqra TV aired Dec. 7, the young girl said that in 1948, "the Jews occupied our land, our country. They drove us out of our homes, and put us in tents. Then they would destroy our homes. They'd put our clothes out on the sand, and then demolish the homes. They would get them out, destroy their homes, demolish and bring them down." The excerpt, translated by the Middle...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Arab governments appeared reluctant Thursday to condemn Iran's president for calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world. While official Arab reaction in such cases is usually slower than international reaction, any issue involving a defense of Israel is a thorny one for Arab governments, who risk appearing to side with Israel against a Muslim nation. The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, broadcast live Wednesday on state-run Iranian television, drew quick condemnation from Israel, the European Union and the United States. However, in...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Arab governments appeared reluctant Thursday to condemn Iran's president for calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world. While official Arab reaction in such cases is usually slower than international reaction, any issue involving a defense of Israel is a thorny one for Arab governments, who risk appearing to side with Israel against a Muslim nation. The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, broadcast live Wednesday on state-run Iranian television, drew quick condemnation from Israel, the European Union and the United States. However, in...

It sure seems like it. See this cover from AlJazeera.com and then read the text of the article (mostly via John Kerry) click here

Saudi state-run Channel One TV broadcasted the first episode of a new series aimed at dissuading young Saudis from following in the footsteps of many of their contemporaries to join the jihad (holy war) earlier this week. “Jihad Experiences, the Deceit” is a five part series which will tell the stories of several young Saudis who left to Iraq to fight alongside Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Zayd Asfan, Abdullah Khoja and Walid Khan narrated their journey from ordinary Saudi youth to mujahideen and discussed the recruitment and brainwashing techniques used by al Qaeda. At the end of the program, Channel...

11/24/2005 Clip No. 942 Al-Jazeera TV Staff in Ramallah in Anti-Bush Demonstration: Down with Fascist America Following are excerpts from a demonstration of Al-Jazeera TV staff against U.S. President Bush. Footage of the demonstration was aired on Al-Jazeera TV on November 24, 2005. Crowd: Bush is a criminal against humanity. Demonstrator: Stop this aggression. Crowd: Stop this aggression. Demonstrator: George Bush, give and take. Crowd: George Bush, give and take. Demonstrator: George Bush, give and take. Crowd: George Bush, give and take. Demonstrator: You are an enemy of the (United) States. Crowd: You are an enemy of the (United) States....

I found this Arabic Music Video recently and I wanted to share it with you guys. Click on the blue print.

The founder of the nation's first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims. The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman. The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials. "Some of them call and say they are Muslims and need to know more about Christ," Mr. Estefanos said. "Other people are...

Syrian director's show decrying violence ignites praise, criticism. DAMASCUS, Syria — When an al Qaeda car bomb attack in Saudi Arabia killed 18 people two years ago, Najdat Anzour's patience ran out. It wasn't just that most of the victims were fellow Muslims from other Arab nations. It wasn't merely that the victims included five children or that the attackers later admitted making a mistake. What really propelled Syria's most renowned film director from private expressions of disgust to noisy public condemnation was one of the victims: the pregnant wife of a Lebanese colleague. Further reticence — his own or...

The founder of the nation's first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims. The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman. The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials. "Some of them call and say they are Muslims and need to know more about Christ," Mr. Estefanos said. "Other people are...

The US President, George Bush, planned to bomb the pan-Arab television broadcaster al-Jazeera, according to a British newspaper that cited a Downing Street memo marked "Top secret". The five-page transcript of a conversation between Mr Bush and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, published in the Daily Mirror yesterday, reveals that Mr Blair talked Mr Bush out of launching a military strike on the station, unnamed sources told the newspaper. The transcript of the pair's talks during Mr Blair's visit to Washington on April 16 last year allegedly shows Mr Bush wanted to attack the satellite channel's headquarters. Mr Blair...

MEMRI: Saudi Professor on Saudi Al-Ikhbariya TV on the "Myth of the Holocaust" The following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi political science professor Ahmad bin Rashed bin Said, which aired on Al-Ikhbariya TV on November 13, 2005. For more on professor Ahmad bin Rashed bin Said, see: MEMRI TV Clip No. 254 "Saudi Professor Ahmad bin Rashed Criticizes Arab Media for Lack of Support of Suicide Bombers (Archival)" http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=254 . MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 860 "MEMRI TV Monitor Project - Special Coverage of the Saudi Counter-Terrorism Conference and Jihad on Saudi TV," http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP86005 *Clip No. 926 - Saudi...

Thursday, November 03, 2005 ARAB MEDIA Hi, End of Ramadan and Eid greetings to all the Muslim peoples of the world, I pray to God that he may bless them and inspire thoughts of peace and humanity in their minds and give them a true understanding of the tolerant and charitable essence of religion.. As I have said before, the War on Terror should take into account that perhaps the main arena of the struggle is the Media and Information fields. This terrorist phenomenon combines primitive urges and ideologies with the use of the modern technologies of satellite T.V. the...

CAIRO – In addition to the fasting, feasting, and prayers, in most Egyptian households the Muslim holy month revolves around TV. Once the sun sets in the Arab world, the 30 days of Ramadan are like November television-sweeps month in the US - and then some. This year there are dozens of mini-series and specials ranging from the story of an Arab living in post-9/11 America to a Kuwaiti drama featuring a character who is a lesbian. But every night at 10, the Refaat family gathers in their living room to watch the most talked about show in the Middle...

A blockbuster Ramadan television drama broadcast across the Arab world has broken new ground by daring to question the motives of terrorism committed in the name of Allah. The plotline of al-Hur al-Ayn (Beautiful Maidens), has proved enormously controversial with its makers denounced by an angry fundamentalist minority. But it has also been hugely popular with an Arabic-speaking public fed up with the cliched portrayal of all Muslims as gun-toting fanatics. By highlighting the way innocent Muslims can also become victims of religious extremism, the drama is challenging the stereotypes that bedevil the Arab world. Another recent drama entitled al...

LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC World Service is launching an Arabic-language television service and closing down 10 local language radio services, mostly in eastern Europe, as part of a broad restructuring. The Arabic Television Service will compete with Arab TV channel Al Jazeera, which was founded in 1996 after the collapse of BBC Arabic, an earlier joint venture between the World Service and the Saudi-owned broadcaster Orbit. Al Jazeera has been accused by Washington of biased reporting on Iraq, and has often shown video of hostages pleading at gunpoint for their respective governments to withdraw troops. "The changes add up...

(IsraelNN.com) According to the Palestinian Media Watch, Jordanian TV Al-Mamnou is now airing a series for the month of Ramadan which depicts Jews as trying to take over the world. The show, produced in Syria, is being broadcast on Arabic language Satellite TV. The program was first broadcast In 2003 on Al-Manar (Hezbollah TV) and in 2004, on Iranian TV. The series revolves around the “Secret Jewish World Government” whose members meet and plan how to control the leaders of the world and thus direct all of history. It includes graphic scenes depicting the old blood libels of Eastern European...

The Simpsons might not be the first show you would introduce to the Arab world, with its constant references to things forbidden by the Koran, such as beer and bacon, but Arab Satellite Network MBC has done that."The Simpsons," now called “Al Shamshoon,” features Omar instead of Homer, and Badr substituting for Bart. With 60 percent of the Arab world 20 years old or younger, MBC hopes “Al Shamshoon” will bring in those coveted young viewers. Michel Costandi of MBC TV Network, Inc., says, “I think ‘The Simpsons’ will open new horizons for us to the future." But with a...

A new TV serial tells the story of Arabs living in residential compounds in Saudi Arabia and the militant Islamists who want to blow them up so they can collect rewards in heaven, including 70 beautiful virgins. The director's message: terrorism is giving Islam a bad name, and Muslims are suffering because of the actions of a few. "Silence toward injustice; another injustice. Forgetting the crime; another crime," said an English promotion for the show, which began on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. But except for some messages of praise, the show has come under...