Free Republic

Months after Karen Hughes assumed the role of diplomat-at-large to the Muslim world, she told Time magazine that one of her two key influences on understanding Islam was Georgetown Prof. John Esposito. She’s not alone. The FBI has repeatedly consulted him, and much of academia holds him in high regard. But when he’s not busy shaping U.S. policy toward the Muslim world, Prof. Esposito mentors a man who wishes he could be a suicide bomber and who recently (and publicly) reinforced his support for “martyrdom.” He has collaborated on two books with Dr. Azzam Tamimi, and he still maintains a...

What would possess a Muslim motorist to drive around San Francisco Bay Area streets in his SUV and deliberately run over pedestrians, including kids? Insanity, shrugs the mainstream media. Omeed Aziz Popal was taken into custody Tuesday after a hit-and-run spree that terrorized pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists for a full hour, killing one and injuring 14. The news treated the bloody rampage like a random act of violence. Those in the media who didn't brush it off as an "inexplicable tragedy" before moving on to the next story focused on the alleged mental illness and not the religion of suspect...

First of three parts The threat of the radical Islamists taking over Europe is every bit as great to the United States as was the threat of the Nazis taking over Europe in the 1940s. We cannot afford to lose Europe. We cannot afford to see Europe transformed into a launching pad for Islamist jihad. While we in the United States and Europe have vast resources for protecting ourselves, we have thought ourselves into a position of near impotence. Beyond the growing number of Muslims committed to terrorism is the threat from the Islamic diaspora's growing cultural and religious assertiveness...

Report Warns of Terrorists' 'Great Ramadan Offensive' By Sherrie Gossett CNSNews.com Staff Writer September 08, 2005 (CNSNews.com) - Al Qaeda's plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October, targeting American interests as well as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and said to be coordinated by Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- are the subject of a non-public report issued by terrorism experts this week. The attacks, planned to coincide with the Muslim observance of Ramadan and dubbed the "Great Ramadan Offensive," are designed to create a "fateful...

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Jack Wheeler, the publisher and editor of To The Point, a geopolitical intelligence subscription website at www.tothepointnews.com. He has been called the “Indiana Jones of the Right” by the Washington Post, the “creator of the Reagan Doctrine” which dismantled the Soviet Union by the Wall Street Journal, and he holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California with a specialty in Aristotle. He is the owner of Wheeler Expeditions, leading numerous expeditions to Tibet, Mongolia, the Sahara, Himalayas, the Amazon, 21 expeditions to the North Pole, and is listed in the Guinness...

DUBAI (AFP) - The group headed by Iraq's most wanted man Abu Musab al-Zarqawi hailed in an Internet statement what it said was the "start of the collapse" of the United States after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. "Congratulations to the Islamic nation, to our sheikh Osama abu Abdullah (Osama bin Laden).. and to sheikh Ayman Zawahiri (bin Laden's deputy) for the destruction of America, which is at the forefront of evil. It is the start of its collapse." The statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed, was referring to the hurricane that has devastated New Orleans and left...

In the aftermath of the ritualistic near-decapitation of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, as well as the death threats and frivolous “hate-crime” lawsuits directed against honest scholars writing about Islamic extremism, some Muslims and their western sympathizers appear determined to control, by fair means or foul, what is said and written about Islam in the West. A first-hand example of this trend can be seen in the response to the keynote address I delivered on June 9, 2005 in Krakow, Poland at the Annual Meeting of the Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-Net), an international academic organization, in which I discussed...

Efforts were under way on Sunday to calm the situation in this Christian village east of Ramallah after an attack by hundreds of Muslim men from nearby villages left many houses and vehicles torched.

One of President Bush’s closest confidants, Karen Hughes, this weekend is scheduled to address the annual conference of an organization whose primary purpose is the propagation of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabist Islam—and which has praised suicide bombers, whose president has publicly denied that al Qaeda was behind 9/11, and whose web site to this day sells a book that lavishes praise on Osama bin Laden. Not only is Hughes publicly endorsing the Islamic Society of North America with her mere presence, but this is the first major public address in her new role spearheading outreach to the Muslim world. In the process,...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law have been told to get out of Australia. A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown. Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament. "If those are not your values,...

Riyadh (AsiaNews) – With the death of King Fahd and the arrival of King Abdullah, the persecution by the Saudi Kingdom of believers of religions other than Islam, especially Christians, is on the rise. Sources close to AsiaNews in the Saudi capital have confirmed that the religious police, the Muttawa, has raided the homes of foreigners, especially suspect homes (i.e. those where Christians live). This has forced many groups, who used to meet in the privacy of their home to pray, to stop this activity. Furthermore, fear is such that people have stopped meeting out of fear that the police...

Do terrorist atrocities in the West, such as the attacks of September 11, 2001 and those in Bali, Madrid, Beslan, and London, help radical Islam achieve its goal of gaining power? No, they are counterproductive. That's because radical Islam has two distinct wings - one violent and illegal, the other lawful and political - and they exist in tension with each other. The lawful strategy has proven itself effective, but the violent approach gets in its way. The violent wing is foremost represented by the world's no. 1 fugitive, Osama bin Laden. The popular and powerful prime minister of Turkey,...

CNSNews has just updated it's article on Michael Graham and changed the headline from "Talk Show Host Fired Over Remarks About Islam" to "CAIR Hails Firing of Michael Graham". CAIR says in the article; "Just as Michael Graham has the right to hold bigoted views, so, too, does our society have the right to live free of hatred and incitement," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement. "We are saddened that Michael Graham would not take responsibility for his hate-filled words, but we do welcome WMAL's action as a step toward reducing the level of anti-Muslim bigotry on...

Michael Graham vs. CAIR08/23 09:27 AMOver at the homepage, Andrew McCarthy has a defense of Michael Graham, the ABC Radio talk show host who was fired for making the following comments: Because of the mix of Islamic theology that — rightly or wrongly — is interpreted to promote violence, added to an organizational structure that allows violent radicals to operate openly in Islam’s name with impunity, Islam has, sadly, become a terrorist organization. It pains me to say it. But the good news is it doesn’t have to stay this way, if the vast majority of Muslims who don’t support...

Forgive me if I interpreted the words (1st Amendment) incorrectly, but where does it say anything about not hurting anyone's feelings or pointing out facts even though they may be painful? With that, where does the Council on American-Islamic Relations get off going around suing people and getting people fired for stating what is to this day a fact that cannot be honestly refuted: Islamic fanatics want to kill everyone not Islamic?

The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, DC. On July 25th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that I be “punished” for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism. Three days later, 630 WMAL and ABC Radio suspended me without pay for comments deemed “hate radio” by CAIR. CAIR immediately announced that my punishment was insufficient and demanded I be fired. ABC Radio and 630 WMAL have now complied. I have been fired for making the specific comments CAIR deemed “offensive,” and for refusing to retract those statements in a...

A group of American Muslims produced a video that shows its members on a city street corner declaring Islam's dominance over America as they tred on a U.S. flag and then rip it apart. In the video, released by the New York-based Islamic Thinkers Society, one of the Muslims is shown placing a sign on the flag that says, "Oh Muslims! Do you know your enemy? Isn't it obvious?" Author and researcher Robert Spencer, who posted the video on his weblog Jihad Watch, commented that Muslim lobby groups such as the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations have helped foster an...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a $1.35 million lawsuit against the founder of a website that accuses the controversial lobby group of supporting terrorism. The Washington, D.C.-based CAIR charges five statements made by its Internet critic, Anti-CAIR, amount to "libelous defamation." CAIR seeks $1 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages in addition to its legal fees and interest. Anti-CAIR's founder is Andrew Whitehead, 46, a retired Navy enlisted man in Virginia Beach, Va., who says he simply wants to see CAIR "go away." He told the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper last week he has no money,...

One of the nation's leading experts on Islam says that "moderate" Muslims are actually a tiny minority of the entire Islamic movement, with most Muslims either being jihadists or supportive of jihadists. Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the book 'The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades'. He says there is a gross misunderstanding about moderate Muslims. "People talk about a tiny minority of extremists, [but] actually in terms of the truth about the Islamic world, it's the moderates who are the tiny minority -- not the jihadists," he says. Spencer says while...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 HOMELAND INSECURITY Symposium on Islamic terror resisted Organizer finds opposition to event from politicians, media, bank Posted: August 16, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Ron Strom � 2005 WorldNetDaily.com The organizer of a Connecticut symposium addressing the threat of Islamic terrorism to the U.S. has run into resistance from the media, politicians and even a bank. Jeff Epstein, who is working to stage the conference "The Radical Islamist Threat to World Peace and National Security," is determined to continue to get the word out about the Sept. 21 event, despite roadblocks that have been thrown in...

Conventional wisdom would dictate if you, your group-organization and/or religion as a whole were viewed with contempt by some, skepticism by many and distrust by nearly all, it would be prudent to try to diffuse ill-will. But said logic is not part of a reasoned thought process when it comes to the Council on American-Islamic Relations – at least, it doesn't appear to be part of Ibrahim Hooper's, their director of communication. Appearing on my talk show "Straight Talk with Mychal Massie," Mr. Hooper displayed the character of a petulant child as he feigned indignation so as to cut short...

In every society where family affairs are regulated according to instructions derived from the Shariah or Islamic law, women are disadvantaged. The injustices these women are exposed to in the name of Islam vary from extreme cruelty (forced marriages; imprisonment or death after rape) to grossly unfair treatment in matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance.

THE AGENDA OF ISLAM - A WAR BETWEEN CIVILIZATIONS by Professor Moshe Sharon This article is adapted from a lecture presented at the Feast of Tabernacles Celebration 2001 by Professor Moshe Sharon. Sharon received his Doctorate in Medieval Islamic History from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has served as an Advisor on Arab Affairs to former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as well as the Ministry of Defense. Prof. Sharon is a former director of the World Zionist Organization branch in Johannesburg, South Africa and currently lectures as professor of Islamic History at the Hebrew University. There is no...

Three women facing death threats appeared in public under heavy security last night to denounce a provincial move that would allow Muslims here to settle family disputes in accordance with religious laws, outside the court system. The activists, including Dutch parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali, say the religious laws known as sharia discriminate against women. "Why, if you have equal rights in Canada, would you take them away from Muslim women?" Hirsi Ali asked. She was joined by Iran's Homa Arjomand and Irshad Manji in a University of Toronto auditorium for an event in support of the International Campaign Against Sharia...

I watch, with increasing frustration, the politically correct flailing of our government and public officials in the face of the Islamic threat. I believe in civil liberties, but not in civil suicide. Isalam does not deserve the protections offered enlightened religions under our constitution. First, Islam is a philosophy, not a race. So, attacks on profiling are meaningless. Second, its tenets with regard to non-believers are more akin to the vengeful and intolerant "theology" of Nazism than to the enlightened acceptance preached by Jews, Christians, Bhuddists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and others. A good place to learn more about our enemies is...

A heated debate rages over the instigators of murderous jihad. Hawks often portray Islam as essentially violent—a creed for Holy Warriors—while doves usually make a distinction between the Koranic text and the murderous practices of its extreme adherents. Doves argue that Islam is one of the Great Religions, a "religion of Peace," whose Koran has been hijacked to serve the purpose of jihad. Maybe it is. But in 1948, my Hagana officers told us grunts to kill ourselves rather than face capture by jihadists: "Always keep a bullet or a grenade for yourself" was their considered advice. I doubt that...

Keep Quiet And Listen! The words of radical Islam speak for themselves. “You will find that the Jews were behind all the civil strife in this world. The Jews are behind the suffering of the nations.” When and where did that venom come from? This last May — and out of the hateful mouth of a prominent Palestinian cleric, Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris. He was broadcast on a Palestinian Authority station. The televised Sheik finished with an even more frightening thought: “The day will come when everything will be relieved of the Jews — even the stones and trees which were...

'Muslims are not cockroaches' The relative ease with which France deports Islamist clerics accused of inciting hatred or violence is raising alarm in the Muslim community, writes Jon Henley Thursday August 11, 2005 It may like to call itself proudly the "birthplace of human rights", but when it comes to dealing with Islamist clerics, France is rarely reluctant to set such scruples aside. The country waited only days after the London bombings before summarily expelling its first two radical preachers. It has since sent two more packing and plans to deport a total of some two dozen by the end...

(CNSNews.com) -- A violent video showing the desecration of a church and the murder of a Serbian soldier is one of many "jihad" videos currently making the rounds in Western countries to raise funds for Muslim terrorists, according to counter-terrorism experts interviewed by Cybercast News Service. The graphic footage, stamped Sept. 16, 1995, was videotaped approximately two months before the Dayton Peace Accords, which brought an end to the civil war in Bosnia. Darko Trifunovic, deputy director of the Center for Security and Investigation of Terrorism at the Belgrade Institute for Political Studies, provided Cybercast News Service with a copy...

London-based Group Seeks One-World Islamic State by Terence P. Jeffrey Posted Aug 10, 2005 After British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced last week that his government would deport foreigners found to be “fostering hatred” and ban a Muslim radical group called Hizb ut-Tahrir, the London Evening Standard reported that officials in Blair’s Home Office were “stunned.” “Home Office officials had advised against the move just a few weeks before,” the paper reported, “and the department’s own study of Muslim youth found the group was non-violent.” The Financial Times said: “Home Office officials have since confirmed that Hizb ut-Tahrir is not...

The fatwa denounces Islamic extremism. Or does it? The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) issued the fatwa — a religious decree — announced at a press conference held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The fatwa, in part, said, "Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives [emphasis added]. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram — or forbidden — and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not 'martyrs.' The Qur'an, Islam's...

Frontpage Interview guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a survivor of Islam's Jihad against Lebanese Christians. She is now an expert on the Middle East conflict who lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.FP: Brigitte Gabriel, thank you for joining us today. Gabriel: Thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to join you. FP: First things first, tell us a bit about your background. Gabriel: I was raised in the only Christian country in the Middle East, Lebanon. A lot of people think the...

Islamic law is coming to the University of Toronto. Not in the form of sharia tribunals for cheaters or strict dress codes for female students, but in the form of two professors hired to teach the subject at the university's law school. While students are excited about the opportunity to learn about another legal tradition, especially one that's often in the headlines, groups fighting to keep sharia out of Canada's legal system worry that the hirings are a setback to their efforts. Bringing in Anver Emon, 34, and Mohammad Fadel, 38, to teach courses in Islamic law is part of...

Why is it when the media have a question about Sami Al-Arian, they go to Ahmed Bedier, an official in the "Muslim civil rights group" CAIR? CAIRing for Sami Al-Arian By Joe KaufmanFrontPageMagazine.com | June 22, 2005Ahmed BedierAhmed Bedier, the Communications Director for the Florida Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida) and the Director of CAIR’s Tampa office, was being featured in a panel discussion on U.S. security and civil liberties in Miami, so we hopped in the car and headed south.  The speakers’ panel, which took place June 18, 2005, was being sponsored by the League of...

Commentary: Jihadists now targeting Saudi Arabia, oil HEALDSBURG, Ca- The violence being inflicted on the world by Islamic jihadists keeps escalating in terms of frequency and spreading in terms of geography. It is not just the inhabitants of New York, London or Madrid being targeted. Now it is the House of Saud, keepers of Islam's most holy cities, Mecca and Medina, which has been added to the list of infidels who have moved to the top of the list of the jihadists. In recent days both the Americans and British have been forced to close their embassies and consulates in...

Al-Naqqash: The claims about Islam's renunciation of violence are meaningless, unfounded, and illogical. Why? Because Islam is one of the greatest advocates of violence, when violence is warranted, and one of the greatest advocates of peace and compassion, when compassion is warranted.

LAHORE: The UK’s decision to deport 500 Muslim leaders, teachers and owners of Islamic bookshops is hasty, undemocratic and unjust

A radical Islamic group declared yesterday it would resist all attempts by Tony Blair to ban the organisation. Officials of Hizb ut-Tahrir warned that the government's proposals would be interpreted by the Muslim community as part of an 'anti-Islamic' agenda and could trigger civil unrest.

LONDON -- Babar Ahmad, a 31-year-old computer whiz and mechanical engineer, was hailed as a big catch by U.S. law enforcement officials when he was arrested here one year ago on charges that he ran a network of Web sites that served as a propaganda and fundraising front for Islamic extremists, including Chechen rebels, the Taliban militia and al Qaeda affiliates. …One top-selling video, titled "Martyrs of Bosnia," was produced in 1997 and featured a masked narrator -- thought to be Ahmad -- waving an automatic rifle and urging Muslims to go to the Balkans to kill nonbelievers.

Islamic group warns Blair about militants ban 05/08/2005 - 13:03:59 British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pledge to ban militant Islamic groups will be seen by Muslims as “stifling legitimate political dissent”, a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir said today. Imran Waheed, a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said the group would fight any ban through the courts and insisted it was a “non-violent political party”. He added: “There will be serious repercussions in terms of community relations if this ban goes ahead. We have a lot of support among the Muslim community in Britain and it will be seen by the...

In case you didn't know, Muslims are not a racial group. Like Christians, they come in a great variety. Islam is a religion, and what distinguishes the Muslim from the non-Muslim is his greater or lesser adherence to that religion. So when Hazel Blair, the British Home Office minister, promised Muslim leaders yesterday there would be no "racial profiling" of Muslims, she was talking complete bosh. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has struck a much different tone recently. He is intelligent enough to realize he is cornered by events. His increasingly short-tempered remarks are harbinger of an increasingly nasty "Jihad...

The controversial Islamic group CAIR (The Council on American-Islamic Relations) renewed their assault on Washington, DC. talk radio station WMAL-AM 630 today, accusing the station of promoting 'Islamophobia' and inciting anti-Muslim hatred over remarks made last Friday by substitute host Geoff Metcalf.Metcalf was filling in for regular morning host Michael Graham who was suspended by WMAL in response to pressure by CAIR for Graham's statements critical of Islam, which included saying, "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam."Even though Graham's remarks were said in the context of not denouncing every muslim, CAIR successfully lobbied station management and...

While I applaud the national ''Not in the Name of Islam'' campaign condemning terrorism, it is a sad commentary about America. Neither Christians nor Jews feel compelled to take out newspaper ads declaring their faith's innocence whenever acts of violence and extremism are carried out by individuals or groups who share their religion. And that's simply because we are enlightened enough as a nation to know that you can't condemn Christianity just because a few Christians committed the Oklahoma City bombing terrorism. The Not in the Name of Islam campaign is being sponsored principally by Muslim Americans who immigrated to...

Conservative talk-show host Michael Graham was suspended without pay on Thursday, July 28 by ABC Disney following threats by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) over his on-air comments regarding terrorism and Islam. The suspension came despite repeated statements of support for Graham’s free-speech right by management at 630 WMAL in Washington, D.C.; the ABC owned stations where Graham had worked as mid-morning host. The suspension is pending an “investigation” of comments he made regarding Islam’s ties to terrorism. "I honestly don't know what Disney is investigating me for, unless it's for doing a compelling talk show that gets people's...

The Prophet of Arabia THE LIFE AND RELIGION OF MOHAMMAD. By J. L. Menezes. (Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1912/2005 reprint), 194 pp. HB $24.95. Mohammed, the founder of the Islamic religion, was born in Mecca, Arabia, in 570 and he died in 632. Father Menezes, the author of this book, lived and worked in India, which has a significant Moslem population. He wrote this book in 1911 as a type of friendly letter to the Moslems of India, explaining to them the history and origins of their religion. The main purpose of the book...

American Muslim Scholars Call Terrorism a Violation of Islamic TeachingBy Rachel Zoll The Associated Press Published: Jul 28, 2005 American Muslim scholars who interpret religious law for their community issued an edict Thursday condemning terrorism against civilians in response to the wave of deadly attacks in Britain and other countries. In the statement, called a fatwa, the 18-member Fiqh Council of North America wrote that people who commit terrorism in the name of Islam were "criminals, not 'martyrs.'" "There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism," the scholars wrote. "Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or...

Bin laden himself spoke of ensuring that "the pious Caliphate will start from Afghanistan." His chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, also dreamed of re-establishing the caliphate, for then, he wrote, "history would make a new turn, G-d willing, in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world's Jewish government." Another Al-Qaeda leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, publishes a magazine that declares "Due to the blessings of jihad, America's countdown has begun. It will declare defeat soon," to be followed by the creation of a caliphate. Or, as Mohammed Bouyeri wrote in the note he attached to the...

I am fed up with the ceaseless requests by columnists, religious personalities and other American public figures for Arabs and Muslims to apologize for terrorist acts committed by thugs and murderers in the name of Islam. As far as I am concerned, the final straw came a couple of weeks ago when the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, paid for a national advertisement repudiating terrorism in the name of Islam. As soon as the advertisement was broadcast on America's media, I read a column by one of the nation's most ardent Islam-phobic columnists, Cal Thomas, now also a FOX...

Nuke Mecca? Nope.By Robert SpencerFrontPageMagazine.com | July 28, 2005 Why not bomb Mecca? Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has brought the issue to the table. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has demanded that he apologize to Muslims, and commentators left and right have subjected him to vociferous criticism. At the same time, however, he seems to have tapped into the frustration that many Americans feel about official Washington’s politically correct insistence, in the face of ever-mounting evidence to the contrary, that Islam is a religion of peace that has been hijacked by a tiny minority of extremists. Although Tancredo’s...

The funeral of British suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer was held in absentia in his family’s ancestral village, near Lahore, Pakistan. Thousands of people attended, as they did again the following day when a qul ceremony was held for Tanweer. During qul, the Koran is recited to speed the deceased’s journey to paradise, though in Tanweer’s case this was hardly necessary. Being a shahid (martyr), he is deemed to have gone straight to paradise. The 22-year-old from Leeds, whose bomb at Aldgate station killed seven people, was hailed by the crowd as ‘a hero of Islam’. Some in Britain cannot conceive...