Free Republic

SNIPPET: "Reckless doesn't mean not dangerous. Quite the opposite. They may fail spectacularly, or be wildly successful. One thing I believe we can count on is that they will take risks, act swiftly, and burn as many assets as they have to along the way in order to do what Khamenei wants."

Iran and al Qaeda's core leadership under Ayman al Zawahiri have established an "operational relationship" amid fears the terror group is planning a spectacular attack against the West. There are concerns such an attack, possibly targeting Europe, would be in revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US last year. Sky News' intelligence sources have said Iran has been supplying al Qaeda with training in the use of advanced explosives, "some funding and a safe haven" as part of a deal first worked out in 2009 which has now led to "operational capacity".

With Iran allegedly striking out at Israeli citizens and Jewish targets around the world, Israeli and American security officials in the U.S. are on high alert. "We expect it and we are ready," one senior Israeli official told ABC News. Israeli officials told ABC News that the level of personal security on high-ranking Embassy officials as well as other, lower profile officials in the U.S. is at its highest in at least five years, a response to what they called "a coordinated series of attacks." When Israeli officials travel to and from events, ABC News has observed a notable increase...

Islam is a religio-political doctrine, thus the policies of the State are only half of the intellectual arsenal needed to address its cold war with the West. For our civil society to survive the advance of Islam, we must confront it head on to block its efforts to subjugate all forms of government to Shariah law and to destroy all other forms of faith. We must use both political and religious strategies to successfully defeat Islamic supremacism. In the domain of politics, there exists an unfortunate failure of imagination by our government elite to confront Islam ideologically. There are a...

LONDON (Reuters)—A radical cleric once described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe" was freed from a British prison to live under virtual house arrest on Monday after a court ruled that his detention without trial was unlawful. The Jordanian preacher known as Abu Qatada must wear an electronic tag to allow the police to keep track of him, spend 22 hours a day at his family home and is banned from using the Internet and mobile phones. Twice convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement in terrorist plots, Britain says he is still a national security risk...

The healthcare reform law, ObamaCare, is unconstitutional and a violation of our First Amendment rights. It is also, by design, a political gift for Muslims in America, while Christians in America are further marginalized. Barack Hussein Obama is an appeaser. He favors Islam an anti-American force with an openly political agenda. “Appeasement is like feeding the crocodile, hoping that it will eat you last.” -Winston Churchill Sharia (Islamic Law) is, in fact, already being instituted on the national level by Obama himself. Muslims are exempt because a strict interpretation of Sharia forbids Muslims from participating in public or private insurance...

Resistance to a new bill aimed at limiting foreign law in Pennsylvania courts serves as a case study of how Islamists and their allies operate: peddling falsehoods about Shari'a, painting Muslims as victims, and denying that anyone seeks to institutionalize aspects of Islamic law — even as they vigorously promote that very agenda. With similar legislation being debated across the U.S., understanding their tactics is critical. At issue in Pennsylvania is House Bill (HB) 2029, which stipulates that "a tribunal shall not consider a foreign legal code or system which does not grant … the same fundamental liberties, rights and...

Catholic bishops are warning that if the Bashar al-Assad (left) regime in Syria falls to Islamists, there may well be a mass genocide of Christians, such as seen in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Though Christians cannot support the brutality of the Assad dictatorship, few believe that rule by Muslim extremists will be any better. Syria — home to Damascus, one of the most important cities of the ancient world and of special religious significance to Christians — has long had a tolerant attitude toward religious minorities. Syria's Christians — estimated to be about 10 percent of the...

A top representative of the U.S. State Department was in Tennessee this week to discuss a law dealing with the state's refugee resettlement program. The Refugee Absorptive Capacity Act, which originated from the desk of State Sen. Jim Tracy, became law last July. It's the first bill of its kind. It requires the state's refugee program agency, Catholic Charities, to meet four times a year with local governments to plan and coordinate "the appropriate placement of refugees in advance of the refugees' arrival ..." The law also allows local communities to apply for a "moratorium" on refugee resettlement if those...

Qatar, the most fraudulent "moderate," is "sparing no effort" to spread Wahhabi Islam across "the whole world," discouraging integration, encouraging jihad. The Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar says it plans to invest €50 million ($65 million) in French suburbs that are home to hundreds of thousands of disgruntled Muslim immigrants. Qatar says its investment is intended to support small businesses in disadvantaged Muslim neighborhoods. But Qatar, like Saudi Arabia, subscribes to the ultra-conservative Wahhabi sect of Islam, and critics say the emirate's real objective is to peddle its religious ideology among Muslims in France and other parts of Europe. Qatari...

Iran's leader issued a new threat to the West yesterday – warning that his country would soon unveil ‘big new nuclear achievements’. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on the announcement – but insisted Iran would never give up its uranium enrichment process. Western powers, including Britain and the United States, suspect the country’s nuclear programme is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

Anonymous hackers threaten "crusade" against Israeli websites10 Feb 2012 The world-wide internet hacker network ‘Anonymous’ has released a video threatening a cyber war against Israel.. urging hackers from across the Arab and Muslim world to target the websites of the Jewish state.http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/11308/anonymous_hackers_threaten_crusade_against_israeli_websites

Iran will soon unveil "big new" nuclear achievements, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday while reiterating Tehran's readiness to revive talks with the West over the country's controversial nuclear program. Ahmadinejad spoke at a rally in Tehran as tens of thousands of Iranians marked the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamic clerics to power. Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on the upcoming announcement but insisted Iran would never give up its uranium enrichment, a process that makes material for reactors as well as weapons. The West suspects Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday the Islamic Republic would soon announce "very important" achievements in the nuclear field, state TV reported. He was speaking on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Tens of thousands of Iranians joined state-organized rallies across the country to mark the occasion. Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who arrived in Iran on Friday for three-day trip, also spoke at the ceremony. Haniyeh vowed that the Hamas movement will never recognize the State of...

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal--million dollar benefactor of Middle East studies programs at Harvard University, Georgetown University, and beyond--spoke at Harvard this past Wednesday. The prince touts himself as a model of liberalism in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia--in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, he advocated for reform among Middle Eastern monarchies in response to the demands of the "Arab Spring"--and he has always claimed that his funding for Middle East studies in the U.S. springs from nothing more than a desire to promote cross-cultural understanding. Yet, as the following excerpt from this Harvard Crimson article reveals, the underlying...

Saying terrorism remained a significant threat, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews unveiled a national counter-terrorism strategy Thursday that put the emphasis on confronting the indoctrination that has led some Canadians to radical violence. The strategy, meant to guide federal counter-terrorism efforts, identified Sunni Islamist extremism as Canada’s top security threat and committed the government to making communities more “resilient” to the influence of extremist ideologues. “To succeed, the government’s counter-terrorism efforts cannot be limited to operations directed at groups or individuals already involved in terrorist activities. They must also be reinforced by preventive measures, aimed at keeping vulnerable individuals from...

Turkish media has published an interview with the Secretary-General of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in which he makes comments highly critical of Iran and Hezbollah. The interview begins: The Syrian issue entered a critical juncture after the Syrian government refused the solution offered by the Arab League in order to put an end to the killing machine and stop the situation from moving further toward a full scale war. This development came along with the regional and international efforts to convince Russia to change its position on Syria after the failure of all previous initiatives to contain the situation under...

A man was fatally injured after being “stalked” and blasted in the face with a shot gun, a jury heard. Gavin Clarke, 34, died four days after being allegedly shot by Afzal Arif in Savile Avenue, Chapeltown, Leeds, on August 8 last year. Leeds Crown Court heard Mr Clarke was shot after leaving nearby Savile Park where he had been doing fitness training. Arif, 23, is on trial for murder alongside Sohail Mahmood, 23, who is alleged to have helped by acting as a “scout” by identifying Mr Clarke. Three others are on trial accused of helping the pair cover...

Many homegrown Islamist terrorists labeled as "lone wolves" may not have been so lone after all, court papers filed Thursday in Virginia show. Jesse Morton, a founder of the radical website Revolution Muslim, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts related to communicating threats. The charges stem from threats posted on Revolution Muslim against producers of the animated comedy "South Park" after an April 2010 episode featured a character that was supposed to be the prophet Mohammed fully concealed in a bear suit. The reference was meant to lampoon the violent reaction some Muslims have to images of the prophet....

Here is a sterling example of how the mainstream media lies to the American people and misleads them about the nature and breadth of jihad activity in this country as well as elsewhere. "Motive of shooter who targeted military sites is unclear," by Josh White for the Washington Post, January 26: Yonathan Melaku was sneaking through Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery, his backpack filled with plastic bags of ammonium nitrate, a notebook containing jihadist messages, and a can of black spray paint. The 23-year-old former Marine was heading to the graves of the nation’s most recent heroes, aiming to...

WILMINGTON, N.C. — As a Muslim woman waits in jail for word on a possible indictment in her alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire beheading plot, her friends and family are using social media to rally support for her cause. Shortly after the arrests in late January of Nevine Aly Elshiekh and alleged accomplice Shkumbin Sherifi, their family and friends organized the website “Our Ummah, One Body” to fight for their release. The two residents of Raleigh, N.C., are being held as suspects in an alleged behind-bars plot to kill a witness in a terrorism trial that landed Sherifi’s older brother...

National and international rights groups have consistently criticized the recourse to the so-called "reconciliation meetings" -- dubbed "Bedouin sittings" -- that take place between Copts and Muslim assailant after every attack on Copts. The meetings are conducted under the auspices of state security. Last week a series of meetings were held by radical Muslims to decide on the fate of the Copts in a village in Alexandria, and Muslims insisted that the whole Coptic population of 62 families must be deported because of an unsubstantiated accusation levied against one Coptic man. Copts in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat (El-Ameriya), Alexandria, were...

BARCELONA, Spain -- Bullfighting is now illegal in the Spanish province of Catalonia. Some arenas have been converted into business spaces. But Muslims want to turn the most famous arena, the Coliseum, into a giant mosque. In fact, some cities in Spain now look more like the Middle East. Muslims, who once ruled most of nation, are returning in large numbers. In the city of Salt, parents have come to pick up their children from school. Muslims already make up 40 percent of city residents and will soon be the majority. But the city government has pushed back, placing a...

There is anger in Great Britain over the impending release of Abu Qatada, a terrorism suspect and Imam who was once described as Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe. The Jihadist Muslim cleric is believed to have raised funds for terrorist groups and the British government has declared him a risk to national security. Moreover, a court in his native Jordan has found Qatada guilty in his absence of involvement in two bomb plots, and a senior British judge has described him as a “truly dangerous” supporter of Muslim terrorist groups. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-08/anger-over-abu-qatada-release/3817190

Iran castigated its U.S. adversary on Tuesday over new financial measures to disrupt Iranian commerce, and a default on payment for rice purchases highlighted the encroachment of sanctions on the staples of everyday life. Lawmakers in Tehran vowed to ban crude exports to European countries even before an EU oil embargo takes effect. The U.S. sanctions, targeting Iran's central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets, were the latest in a tightening web of international measures aimed at forcing the Islamic Republic to scrap sensitive nuclear work. "It is an antagonistic move, psychological warfare which...

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm. Click here to find out more! The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West...

This is how it happens, folks. Little by little. Law by law. The proponents of sharia get themselves elected to positions of power – and then, before too long, they start trying to subject the rest of us to it, bit by bit:

Every Supreme Court justice is required, under Article VI of the United States Constitution, to be bound by his or her oath or affirmation “to support this Constitution.” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has just broken this commitment by insulting, in front of a foreign audience, the very document she is sworn to support.In an interview during her visit to Cairo, which aired January 30, 2012 on Al-Hayat TV, Justice Ginsburg advised the Egyptian people to ignore the U.S. Constitution in preparing their own new constitution. It’s just too “old,” she said. Instead, Justice Ginsburg lavished praise on several...

Dearborn police threw us in jail for having a peaceful discussion with Muslims at a public festival. They also took us into custody two days later for attempting to distribute copies of the Gospel of John outside the festival. The police seized our cameras for nearly a month and filed false police reports, while the mayor waged a smear-campaign against us. The city of Dearborn then had the nerve to try to have our civil case thrown out of court, arguing that police had "probable cause" to arrest us! Fortunately, our lawyers do not know the meaning of "sleep," and...

Washington, D.C. (February 7, 2012) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that earlier today Saudi Arabian officials sent a Muslim preacher to pressure Christian prisoners into converting to Islam. Saudi Arabia arrested 29 Christian women and six Christian men, all Ethiopian citizens, on December 15th after they held a prayer meeting in Jeddah. “The Muslim preacher vilified Christianity, denigrated the Bible and told us that Islam is the only true religion. The preacher told us to convert to Islam. When the preacher asked us, we didn’t deny about our Christian faith. I was so offended with her false teachings...

Gangs of brick-throwing yobs are making parts of Salford no-go areas for buses and taxis after a series of terrifying attacks. Passengers were left cowering in fear after a bus was stopped in Pendleton and pelted with bricks by up to 20 balaclava-clad youths. And taxi drivers have told how roads around Salford Precinct and Chimney Pot Park are now too dangerous to visit.

It is using extremist websites to radicalise the angels of death, says their chilling report. The Commons home affairs committee says it has heard evidence the terror group is "specifically launching and targeting women for violent acts". It is already a deadly tactic in the Middle East, where growing numbers of Palestinian women are volunteering for suicide missions against Israel. The MPs' report comes days after four Islamic extremists admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange. Woolwich Crown Court heard how the gang — who also had London mayor Boris Johnson on a hit list — had been brainwashed...

President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one. On Feb. 5, President Obama provided his own Super Sunday show. In some respects, it was almost as bizarre as Madonna's performance at half-time. In his interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Mr. Obama responded oddly to concerns raised last week by leaders of the U.S. intelligence community. They testified on Capitol Hill that the Iranian mullahs appear to be planning attacks on the United States. Yet, the president told Mr. Lauer, "We don't see any evidence that they...

From one end of the muslim world to the other, Christians are being murdered for their faith. We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The political Left has been accused of serial hypocrisies to the end of advancing ideology over celebrated causes. But according to Andrew McCarthy, the alliance between sharia-advancing Islamists and the Left is the most significant betrayal yet of claimed liberal causes like equal protection and basic civil rights. In The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America, Andrew McCarthy demonstrates that Leftists and political Islamists have mounted a dynamic double-front against American and Western traditions. While acknowledging that the alliance may be temporary while deferred cultural disagreements are tabled, McCarthy builds a strong historical and motivational case for...

President Barack Obama said on Sunday there were important risks to consider before any military strike against Iran and made clear he does not want to see more conflict in the oil-producing Gulf region. In a television interview, Obama also said he did not believe Tehran had the "intentions or capabilities" to attack the United States, playing down the threats from Tehran and saying he wanted a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff. "Any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices....

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SNIPPET: "Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities." SNIPPET: "It is not clear to what extent Salam's family knew of his radicalism, but on his Facebook page the month before he died, he posted an image of Anwar al-Awalki, the American al-Qaida leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, beside a burning American flag." SNIPPET: "The family, originally from Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. decades ago."

CAIRO—An explosion hit a gas pipeline running from Egypt to Israel Sunday, witnesses and state television reported. The pipeline, which also supplies gas to Jordan, has come under attack at least 12 times since Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011. The latest blast took place in the Massaeed area west of the Mediterranean coastal town of al-Arish. Gas pumping was stopped after the explosion. … Egypt's 20-year gas deal with Israel, signed in the Mubarak era, is unpopular with some Egyptians, with critics accusing Israel of not paying enough for the gas. Previous explosions have sometimes led to...

Iran will help any nation or group that confronts the "cancer" Israel, the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said. In remarks delivered to worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran and broadcast on state TV, he said the country would continue its controversial nuclear programme, and warned that any military strike by the US would only make Iran stronger. Khamenei warned that Tehran would reveal a letter sent by the US president, Barack Obama, to the Iranian leadership in an attempt to end the nuclear standoff. Khamenei said it showed the US could not be trusted. The White...

The Philippine military says it has killed three senior militants from al-Qaeda-linked groups in a raid in the south of the country. The air raid took place on Thursday in an area known as a militant stronghold. Officials said two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders and one Abu Sayyaf leader were among a total of 15 people killed. Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan, who was on the US FBI's most wanted list with a $5m (£3.2m) reward offered for his capture, was reported killed. According to the military, the militants were killed in the town of Parang on Jolo island,...

President Barack Obama, in a bid to reconcile with the Teheran regime, has blocked legislation that would hold Iran accountable for the Hizbullah bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines in 1983.

Eight years and three months ago, I wrote a column inspired by the furor over statements by General William Boykin attesting to the religious dimension of the so-called war on terror. The thought that there might be a religious dimension to Islamic terrorism is, absurdly and disastrously, the Big No-No-No of our age (as noted once or twice in my body of work). That a devout Christian might appreciate the religious dimension of Islamic terrorism and express it in Christian terms is similarly verboten. And if he dare express it in the uniform of the country that expunges this key...

(Judicial Watch) — A new Homeland Security report compares terrorism to “ordinary crime” in metropolitan U.S. cities and omits the radical Islamic factor, instead finding “significant variability in the ideologies motivating terrorist attacks across decades.” This appears to be part of the Obama Administration’s Muslim outreach effort, which includes hiring a special Homeland Security adviser (Mohamed Elibiary) who supports a radical Islamist theologian and renowned jihadist ideologue. The Obama Justice Department also created a special Muslim Engagement Advisory Group to foster greater communication, collaboration and a new level of respect between law enforcement and Muslim and Arab-American communities. And, in...

Just before 6 a.m. May 14, 2011, FBI agents surrounded a single-story, flat-roofed building that could be mistaken for a private home. Despite its humble appearance, the Flagler Mosque is one of the oldest in Miami. As the men inside began their morning prayer, they heard a loud banging on the door. An FBI agent removed his shoes and strode into the prayer hall. He grabbed the hand of a stooped, elderly man with a long white beard. "You're coming with me," the agent told the mosque's 76-year-old imam, Hafiz Khan. Ikram Khan attended his father's mosque in Miami the...

Pakistan government spokesman says anthrax sent to prime minister's office last year.

According to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), there is a grave threat to America that must be suppressed at all costs. The threat is that Lieutenant General William "Jerry” Boykin might be allowed to exercise his constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech. This proposition is bizarre on multiple levels. For one, General Boykin, who is a friend and greatly admired colleague of mine, is one of the United States’ most accomplished and decorated military heroes. He served in and led our most elite special forces units for decades, including in many of our most dangerous recent combat operations....

U.S. media is reporting on the visit to Jordan by Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, accompanied by former U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leader Abu Marzook. According to an AP report: Associated Press AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – A high-profile visit to Jordan by the leader of Hamas has revived contacts with the Palestinian militant group, but Jordan will not lift a ban on its activities there, a senior Jordanian official said Sunday. Khaled Mashaal’s visit was part of Jordan’s efforts to engage with previously shunned Islamists, who have been gaining ground across the region in Arab Spring uprisings. ”It will only break...

Federal departments and agencies tasked with safeguarding the U.S. must first safeguard themselves against Islamist infiltration. Recent news items about Muslims having security clearances rejected or revoked suggest that at least some government entities are forgoing political correctness and taking this problem seriously. More need to follow suit, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is determined to make life difficult for them. The disclosures began last June when the Investigative Newsource (IN), then called the Watchdog Institute, published a report in the Orange County Register describing how a multiagency probe had led the Department of Defense (DoD) one year...

A Egyptian military team plans to visit the United States next week as Cairo's crackdown on pro-democracy organizations has called into question the future of U.S. aid to Egypt, American officials said on Friday. … The Egyptian visit comes after Egypt's military-led authorities pounced on non-governmental organizations, including several funded by the U.S. government, and slapped travel bans on six American staffers including a son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former congressman. Political analysts say the crackdown, along with questions over Egypt's emergency law and security forces' treatment of women protesters, has clouded the outlook for Egypt's fledgling...