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Sir Kier Starmer has come under fire for representing a notorious hate preacher in court. The leader of the opposition represented Abu Qatada at a hearing in 2008. While he was a leading KC (King's Counsel) barrister, Starmer was one of a number of human rights lawyers who represented Qatada in hearings. Sir Keir’s spokesperson has told The Telegraph that it was his job as a lawyer to represent people he doesn't agree with and has described the allegations as "desperate attacks from a Tory party that has given up on running the country." Qatada arrived in the UK on...

The Saudi man arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force yesterday in Idaho has ties to close associates of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and to four Arab men charged at the same time with channeling funds to Iraq. Sami Omar Al-Hussayen – a University of Idaho doctoral candidate supported by the Saudi government – was a terrorist bagman, according to a federal criminal justice source quoted by a Seattle newspaper. Saudi student Sami Omar al-Hussayen "He's in touch with people who could pick up the phone, call [bin Laden], and he would take the call," the source told the...

Raising doves and pigeons is a deadly pursuit in ISIS-controlled Iraq. The popular hobby is in the sights of extremist Islamist fighters, who this week rounded up 15 boys and young men in the eastern province of Diyala for pursuing a pastime now deemed un-Islamic. Three have already been executed. The recent crackdown on bird breeders stems from ISIS' need for new fighters to battle the Iraqi and Syrian governments, as well as residents' growing desperation, according to the security official. Suspicion of bird-breeders stems from the fact they tend to feed their animals at the same time devout Muslims...

SNIPPET: "The latest generation of jihadists has never been to an al-Qaeda training camp. These recruits learn everything they need to know online." SNIPPET: "This change, however, is not restricted to the younger generation. Many of the older elements have replaced the Afghan-style dress and long beard with an appearance that avoids attention from security officers." SNIPPET: "Herein lies the danger from sympathisers and supporters of al-Qaeda. That community is now deemed more active and effective than actual elements of al-Qaeda, especially after the crackdown by security agencies around the world. Therefore, we believe that al-Qaeda is now paying special...

Following are excerpts from an address delivered by Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 21, 2011: Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: The truth is that I do not want to say anything to Al-Qadhafi, because one should only address people who are reasonable. People who are not reasonable should not be addressed. That man is no longer reasonable. He has been crazy for a long time. Among the signs of his madness, as we have seen, he wanted to be a philosopher, and come up with theories, like Marx and...

A glance at several official fatwas, or religious rulings, by the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, the body of government-appointed clerics that is the voice of Saudi Arabia's ultraconservative Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. The fatwas, viewable in Arabic and English at http://www.alifta.net/, are in most cases in response to questions sent in by Saudis seeking advice. TAKING FLOWERS TO THE SICK: - "This practice is impermissible as it entails wasting money on non-useful purposes and imitating Allah's adversaries in this custom." [Snip] RELATIONS WITH NON-MUSLIMS: "A Muslim should not begin greeting the non-Muslims.

Norris and all Americans currently live under the "Rushdie Rules," which punish whoever disrespects Islam, Muhammad, or the Koran. Make fun of Muhammad and you're on your own. Local and national politicians had nothing to say about her plight. Journalists, usually keen to protect one of their own, went silent. No organization sprung up to raise money for her protection.

The Islamic population in the Middle East has been caught up in a new war, but it is its own enemy in the fight over a "fatwa" that authorizes the breastfeeding of adult men. "The fatwa-issuing thugs give orders, pass judgment, and make decisions: love is forbidden; looking [at a man] is a sin; expressions of love are contemptible – [but] as for breastfeeding, that is permissible, permissible, permissible," wrote Nadine Al-Budair, a presenter for the U.S. Arabic-language television station Al-Hurra. The dispute has been monitored by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has compiled a history of it...

Note: Photos included. Friday, April 16, 2010 Muslim Egyptian Girl Who Converted to Christianity Subjected to Acid Attack By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST Ministries ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (ANS) -- The Assyrian International News Agency (www.aina.org), is reporting the shocking news that Dina el-Gowhary, a 15-year-old Egyptian Muslim-born girl who converted to Christianity, has been subjected to an acid attack, the latest in a string of failed attempts by Muslim fanatics against her and her father, 57-year-old Peter Athanasius (Maher el-Gowhary), who converted to Christianity 35 years ago. In a story written by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, several Fatwa's were issued...

Special Dispatch - No. 2235 February 9, 2009 No. 2235 Jihadist Booklet: Islamic Scholars Apply Double Standard: Praise Jihad in Gaza, Condemn Jihad Elsewhere Jihadists have lately been complaining about what they perceive as a double standard in the response by Muslim scholars to the jihad in Gaza versus their response to jihad activity elsewhere. They point out that many scholars express unqualified support for the jihad in Palestine - especially for Hamas' resistance efforts in Gaza - but at the same time, these very same scholars condemn the jihad of Al-Qaeda, and even issue fatwas against it. This complaint...

"A nine-year-old girl has the same sexual capacities like a woman of twenty and over". Thus reads a fatwa issued by Skeikh Mohamed Ibn Abderrahmane Al-Maghraoui, according to Moroccan daily 'Aujourd'hui Le Maroc'. This immediately sparked off a hot debate, with most of the public opinion absolutely against this stance which is a permit for paedophilia, many say, among other things. Among the various stances against the fatwa (in the Islamic culture, a decree of religious character issued by Islamic experts which regulates issues of topical character), the daily reported those of extremist MP Abdelbari Zamzami and the president of...

A US publisher has cancelled the publication of a novel about the youngest wife of the Muslim prophet Mohammed amid a growing controversy over the book. The Jewel of Medina, a debut novel by journalist Sherry Jones about Mohammed's child bride A'isha had been due for release in the US last week. But publisher Random House released her from the contract amid the controversy and her agent said Jones was now looking for a publisher in another country to pick up the rights. "Random House made the decision to cancel its US publication of the novel The Jewel of Medina...

Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad. The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

With counter-terrorism agencies keeping a close eye on radical imams, moderate leaders fear impressionable young followers are seeking religious orders from other sources. The concern centres on overseas-based websites issuing personal fatwas -- religious decrees -- on jihad or fighting in the name of Islam. Senior Islamic leader Ameer Ali warned that it was difficult to ascertain the qualifications and identity of the clerics issuing the dangerous rulings. The Australian Federal Police is investigating Somali community figures accused of encouraging young men to return to their war-torn homeland and fight alongside Islamic jihadists. Dr Ali said young Muslims who embraced...

The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought (WFPIST) condemned the Fatwas attributed to certain extremist muftis which threaten destruction of Shiite holy shrines in Iraq.The WFPIST statement read, "Such Fatwas are the maniac decrees that have been issued by certain wise looking but insane individuals without taking their grave consequences into consideration."It added that such decrees would have no benefit but serving Iraqi occupiers and providing them a pretext for their continued illegitimate presence in the Islamic land.It warned that desecration of holy sites in Iraq -- as was the case with the holy twin shrines of...

Imams and religious scholars interpret the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad to issue fatwas that guide the faithful on matters of Sharia law. The New York Times reports that in Egypt, there is growing concern that "too many fatwas are being issued, and that many of them rely on ideology more than learning. … government-appointed arbiters of Islamic standards say the fatwa free-for-all has led to the promotion of extremism and intolerance." Case in point: The breast-feeding fatwa.About a month ago, religious scholar Izat Atiyah issued a fatwa that unmarried men and women can be together at work only...

The subscription site, STRATFOR or Strategic Forecasting, Inc. - issues almost daily a TERRORISM INTELLIGENCE REPORT with a self described "track record on accurate, insightful global intelligence and analysis earning itself a reputation as the world’s most respected private intelligence company". Strafor's Fred Burton updates the ongoing cartoon controversy (02.21.2006)as follows : "Fatwas and Rewards: An Inflection Point in the Cartoon Controversy" (I have highlighted key points received today via e-mail). "Two minor Shariah courts in India's Uttar Pradesh state have issued fatwas calling for the death of a Danish cartoonist who drew caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. The fatwas,...

Interviewer: "What do you have against the Shari'a courts?" Ghada Jamshir: "I have a lot against them. What they have done to Bahraini women is not a trivial matter. For years women have been going into these courts, only to be oppressed and treated unjustly. We have reached the point that we say: Enough. We have reached the breaking point." [...] "We have a problem with family planning. We have no family planning in Bahrain. The Shiites in Bahrain have marriages for the purpose of mut'ah [pleasure]. They bring multitudes of children into the world, without thinking, who grow up...

Fatwas, the legal opinions proclaimed by Islamic scholars, have proliferated in the Muslim world since the 1980's, driven by rising literacy rates and the Internet. The growth in fatwas - some of them contradictory - has led to a debate over who can legitimately issue them and has alarmed governments in the Middle East, since the decrees sometimes challenge state-sanctioned interpretations of Islam. Yet criticizing fatwas about divisive issues like the propriety of killing civilians and Shiites can be dangerous for officials. So the Saudi government is trying a different tactic, zeroing in on what it considers frivolous fatwas in...

Riyadh - Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti has called on the kingdom's Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to investigate scholars who issue "unofficial" fatwas which cause trouble in society. Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Aal al-Sheikh's appeal follows a recent fatwa which claimed that Islam prohibits football prompted three footballers on the Al-Rasheed team in Taif to give up the game and join the Jihad in Iraq. Two of the young footballers have since died carrying out suicide attacks and the third is now in prison after being caught while trying to carry out such an attack....