Free Republic

A chaplain who was awarded the Bronze Star has spoken out about the tour – and what appears to have been misleading media coverage. In an interview with TheBlaze.com, Lt. Col. Jon Trainer, USAF, discussed the award and the PowerPoint presentation that has generated controversy. The presentation, which was titled, “Proper Handling and Disposal of Islamic Religious Material,” was written in the wake of the accidental burning of defaced Korans by American troops. The resulting riots when the news broke lead to 30 deaths, including two U.S. troops. Initial coverage of the medal in conservative media outlets lead former Congressman...

The president of one of the nation's oldest gun manufacturers closed down his Connecticut factory Thursday morning and bused 400 of his workers to the state Capitol so they could personally urge lawmakers not to pass gun control legislation that they say could risk their livelihoods.

There is an intensifying global campaign to impose Islamic blasphemy law on non-Muslims, including those living outside Islamdom, in non-Muslim societies. What follows are ten key points on the doctrinal origins and practical implications of this global campaign: 1) According to the Sunna (the traditions of Muhammad and the early Muslim community), by using foul language against the Muslim prophet Muhammad, Allah, or Islam, the non-Muslim transgressors put themselves on a war footing against Muslims, and their lives became licit (such as the poet Kaab b. al-Ashraf, who composed poems denigrating Muhammad, and was assassinated). [see 1.1, 1.2, 1.3] 2)...

Obscure al-Qaida Chemist Worries Experts By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent 7 minutes ago He's a mystery in a red beard, with a strange alias and a degree in chemical engineering. In the hands of this alleged al-Qaida operative, it's a specialty that summons visions of poison gas and mass terror. Al-Qaida is "wedded to the spectacular," notes U.S. counterterrorism analyst Donald Van Duyn, and elusive Egyptian chemist Midhat Mursi was said to be exploring such possibilities when last seen, brewing up deadly compounds and gassing dogs in Afghanistan. Van Duyn's FBI and other U.S. agencies are interested enough...

The path from believing in radical Islamist political ideology to plotting attacks in the homeland can be triggered by a number of factors, a new Congressional Research Service report finds. The report focuses on homegrown Islamic terrorism, which in itself is remarkable given the reluctance many in Washington have had to clearly naming a leading source of the terrorist threat. The title, "American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat," uses the kind of language all-but-banned by the executive branch since 2008. Cabinet officials in the Obama administration have strained to avoid references to jihadist violence. But the Congressional Research Service...

Oil-rich gulf state Qatar has a vested interest in the outcome of the north Mali crisis, according to various reports that have been picked up by French MPs, amid suspicion that Doha may be siding with the rebels to extend its regional influence. Since Islamist groups exploited a military coup in the Malian capital of Bamako in early 2012 to take control of the entire north of the country, accusations of Qatari involvement in a crisis that has seen France deploy troops have been growing. Last week two French politicians explicitly accused Qatar of giving material support to separatists and...

What amount of money will now have to be offered to non-Muslims to live and work in Muslim countries, and especially in the oil and gas facilities that are such obvious targets for Muslim terrorists? Perhaps it won't be possible to find enough foreigners willing, whatever the price, to work at such places. After all,there is great suspicion that the attack on the Algerian plant had inside help, among the Muslims working there, and it won't be possible -- or would it? -- to banish all Muslims from oil and gas plants all over the Muslim world? Wouldn't it be...

A French court agreed to the release of Lebanese George Abdallah, who was convicted for involvement in the murder of Israeli diplomat Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov in 1982. French judicial sources said that the 61-year-old Lebanese man was granted parole on condition that he is expelled from France. Abdallah was captured in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for the murder of American Lieutenant Col. Charles Ray and the killing of Israeli diplomat Bar-Siman-Tov, in Paris. Abdallah had been eligible for parole from 1999 onwards but failed in seven previous bids to be released. Bar-Siman-Tov was murdered in April...

A video disseminated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) should blow a giant hole in the fantasy the Obama administration refers to as their Muslim “outreach” initiative. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is shown in 2010 delivering an anti-Semitic diatribe, during which he referred to “the Zionists” as “bloodsuckers,” “warmongers,” and “the descendants of apes and pigs.” He also called for “military resistance within the land of Palestine,” further noting that the PLO “was created by the Zionist and American enemies.” The tape is a compilation of excerpts from two different interviews given by Morsi on March 20 and...

Military supposed to defend First Amendment rights After the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the erosion of our military’s moral principles, regretfully, continues. A recent Wall Street Journal article described the U.S. Army’s final-draft handbook, which indoctrinates our military personnel heading to Afghanistan in how to be sensitive to and accept Muslim and Afghan 7th-century customs and values — or possibly be killed by our Afghan partners. Unbelievable. This is being done to prevent the so-called “green-on-blue” attacks, which have cost 63 American lives this year. According to the Army’s Combined Arms Center at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., it is...

Is Islam tolerant of Christianity? Muslims say yes, but what are the facts? Mullahs around the world warn Muslims not to respond to the words 'Merry Christmas'. If Jesus is the 'prince of peace', it makes Mohammed look bad. In the last years of his life, Mohammed led and commanded violent aggression every six weeks. Mohammed was the 'prince of jihad'. Muslims believe angels announced the birth of Jesus, but Muslims do not believe the Gospel where the angels said, "Peace on earth." Peace with Kafirs is not possible. The Christmas greeting to Christians around the world is still the...

A media outlet for Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has released pictures purportedly showing three FBI agents who interviewed Ali al Harzi, a suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The release of the pictures on jihadist forums was first noticed by the SITE Intelligence Group. The US government had been seeking access to Harzi for more than two months, since he was arrested in Turkey and deported to his native Tunisia in October. Harzi's lawyer told the Associated Press yesterday (Dec. 22) that the FBI had finally been given permission to interview him. The interview last...

- -led opposition fighters JERUSALEM — The former director of Muslim outreach for President Obama’s 2008 campaign now is representing a charity raising money in the U.S. to fund the jihadist-tied Syrian opposition. Mazen Asbahi, a Chicago lawyer, resigned from Obama’s first presidential campaign after the Wall Street Journal reported that he sat on the board of an Islamic investment group called the Allied Assets Advisors Fund. Also on the board was Jamal Said, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation, which raised millions of dollars for the Hamas terrorist organization. The Allied Assets Advisors Fund was itself a...

Transcript follows: Imam of Al-Islam Mosque in Washington believes that the US and its allies’ so-called ‘war on terror’ is in fact a war on Islam and Muslims, not just in the Middle Eastern countries but all around the world. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the notion that the US may come to terms with Islam and Islamic movements is a mistake. In a meeting with hundreds of scholars, academics, thinkers and researchers participating in the International Conference of Muslim University Professors and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah Khamenei said that ‘any notion that the global arrogance,...

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Terry Waite, back in Lebanon for the first time since he was freed from years of captivity at the hands of Islamic militants, says he would gladly meet his erstwhile kidnappers. "I wouldn't mind meeting with them at all," the former Church of England envoy said on arrival at Beirut airport. "I'm sure that they have changed, that they have grown and developed, just as much as I have." Waite, who had helped free Western hostages held by extremists in Libya, Iran and Lebanon, came to Lebanon in 1987 to negotiate more releases. Accused of being a...

Saudi Arabia remains the world’s top financier of terrorism and sponsor of fundamentalist Islam throughout the Arab Spring. U.S. media and Treasury officials don’t really like to discuss it in public, but a report earlier this fall from France 24 gives further confirmation, if you needed it, of the fact that Saudi petrodollars are behind the latest Salafist inroads in the Middle East. Read it all: How Saudi petrodollars fuel rise of Salafism Since the 2011 Arab revolts, a loose network of underground zealots has evolved into a potent and highly vocal force. Behind the remarkable rise of Salafism lies...

Saudi King Abdullah is rumoured to be clinically dead. If the rumours are true then the death of a great reformist will bring sycophantic tributes from weapon-selling oil-guzzling nations. But by whose standards is the Guardian of the Kingdom a reformist? Perhaps in comparison to the Taliban King Abdullah could be considered reformist, but not by any standards in the west. Digital Journal reported the Saudi monarch has been acclaimed as topping the list of the 500 most influential personalities in the Muslim world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center (RISSC). The RISSC proclaimed the King's assurance of women’s...

Dr. Bill Warner appeared tonight on Michael Coren’s program to talk about what he means by "political Islam”, and why Islam is fundamentally and irreconcilably different from all other religions: Vid - 8:42

The most important goal of dialogue is "to introduce Islam" and "to correct the erroneous slanders raised against Islam." — Saudi Press Agency Saudi Arabia has officially opened the doors of a controversial new "interreligious and intercultural dialogue center" in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The King Abdullah International Center for Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue was inaugurated during an elaborate ceremony at the Hofburg Palace in downtown Vienna on November 26. More than 650 high-profile guests from around the world attended the event, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the foreign ministers of the center's three founding states, Austria,...

We all know CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN or Fox wasn't going to do it. "Imam’s Terrorist Ties Exposed by Local News Station," from Judicial Watch, November 26 (thanks to Pamela Geller): While the Obama Justice Department tours the nation condemning unfounded discrimination against Muslims at their place of worship, a local Florida news station uncovers an imam’s ties to a blind sheik behind the first World Trade Center bombing in the early 90s. Not surprisingly, the administration’s campaign to combat mosque intolerance is being heavily promoted while the shocking imam terrorist story gets swept under the rug. We only know...