Free Republic

This week, in Oakland, Calif., America saw yet another stellar example of the glories of diversity. At a taping of a rap music video in that fair city, eight people, including a one-year-old child, were shot. When a classical music video goes wrong, somebody busts a string. When a rap music video goes wrong, somebody busts a cap. Such observations, however, are now taboo. We're not supposed to suggest that the rap culture is any different from the classical music culture or that one is better than another. As white guy John Kerry put it, "I think there's a lot...

The Federation of Islamic Organizations In Europe (FIOE) has announced that it recently held a celebration in Brussels that was attended by “more than one hundred European diplomats, parliament members, officials, religious leaders and representatives of the civil society and cultural life” including the Ambassador of United Kingdom. According to the FIOE announcement: The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe held a celebration in Brussels on the occasion of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha. The celebration held on Monday evening (21st) was attended by a group of public figures. This high level celebration was also attended by more than one hundred European...

The Muslim Brotherhood held a rally at Cairo’s most important mosque. Demonstrators chanted, “One day we shall kill all Jews." Question 1: How can you tell they are “moderate Islamists?” Answer: They said “one day,” in other words, they aren’t going to do it this week. Question 2: At the rally someone said: "In order to build Egypt, we must be one. Politics is insufficient. Faith in Allah is the basis for everything. The al-Aqsa Mosque is currently under an offensive by the Jews." Who was it? Answer: Ahmed al-Tayeb, the “moderate” president of al-Azhar University and arguably the most...

Once upon a time there used to be billboards for Virginia Slims cigarettes with the slogans, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” The billboards are gone now, but in their place are billboards for All-American Muslim which substitute the hijab for the cigarette. The same left which was outraged at a company marketing cigarettes as a form of female empowerment is completely supportive of marketing 7th century Islamic misogyny as female empowerment. “The Fast and the Furious,” the second episode of TLC’s All-American Muslim, plays out like a hijab commercial, along with a pitch for the Ramadan fast. But what...

A parliamentary group to tackle Islamophobia has been re-launched at Westminster, with the support of MPs from across the political divide. The group originally sparked controversy after it was revealed that an anti-Zionist organisation was to act as its secretariat. The newly reformed All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia was set up last week and will begin work immediately on an inquiry into the extent of anti-Muslim prejudice in Britain today. The APPG will be co-chaired by Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes; Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Perry Barr, Birmingham; and Stuart Andrew, Conservative MP for Pudsey, Leeds. MPs voted...

A male registered nurse and Vietnam war Army medic has sued the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, saying he was fired for disobeying a Muslim supervisor's order not to treat women wearing conservative Islamic dress. John Benitez Jr. ... was fired... 'not because of any performance problem, but was instead carried out because the clinic's conservative male Muslim clientele did not want a male treating female patients.'

A leader of the jihad that has kept Afghanistan in turmoil for years says the violent "Occupy" protests across the United States are an outgrowth of his movement. The claim comes from Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, chief of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan, in a recent article in the Pashtu-language Pakistani daily Wrazpanra Wahdat. "We can say with full confidence that the latest spring in Africa and the Arab world and the uprising in Europe and the United States is the effect of Afghan jihad on [an] international level and all these revolutions have gotten inspiration from our [faithful] mujahideen and their resistance," he wrote.

A group that counts Islam among the ills facing the nation began a 24-hour prayer rally Friday evening in an area with one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States. The gathering at Ford Field, the stadium where the Detroit Lions play, is designed to tackle issues such as the economy, racial strife, same-sex relationships and abortion. But the decade-old organization known as The Call has said Detroit is a "microcosm of our national crisis" in all areas, including "the rising tide of the Islamic movement."

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...

Cambridge Students Observe Muslim Religious Holy DayCAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Public school students in Cambridge have the day off Monday as the schools are closed in observance of a Muslim religious holiday. Cambridge is the first district in the state to observe an Islamic holy day. The Cambridge School Committee voted last year to close on one Muslim holiday every school year. Students are getting the day off for Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice. The decision came after a group of Muslim students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School reached out to school staff, administrators and their...

IRAN: Act by 9 November to call for Pastor Nadarkhani's pardon during Eid Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in Rasht in 2009 while attempting to register his church. In 2010 he was tried and found guilty of apostasy (abandoning Islam), and was sentenced to death. He now awaits a decision on his case from the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, and a formal written verdict. His life is still in the balance.

So who is the man who got the “hug treatment”? Erdoğan has shown a commitment to Islamist politics, has demonstrated hostility toward Israel, recently downgrading relations and expelling its ambassador, and says he doesn’t believe Hamas is a terrorist organization. These views have increased his stature across the Middle East.

Mohammad Dehghan, a member of the Iranian parliament’s leadership board, announced that it is possible there will be no presidential election in 2013, which would significantly alter Iran’s political structure. He made these comments in response to the Supreme Leader’s recent statement about a potential shift from an executive presidency to a parliamentary system of government. In mid-October, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei spoke about the government’s decision in 1989 to abolish the position of the Prime Minister and how the possibility of altering the current structure of the executive branch still exists. During his visit to Kermanshah, a western...

Pastor Nadarkhani Is One of Many Christian Leaders Suffering Persecution in Iran Iranian officials are attempting to convert Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani while he awaits his verdict under the jurisdiction of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported. CSW has been informed that during Nadarkhani’s stay in prison, guards and officials have provided him with religious Islamic literature “allegedly as part of an official campaign to convert Christian prisoners.” “CSW is deeply concerned at news of a further increase in the harassment of Iranian Christians,” CSW Special Ambassador Stuart Windsor said in a statement. Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor,...

The Washington, D.C. Office of Human Rights is investigating the Catholic University of America. The Tower, a student newspaper at the university, says the charges allege the school does not provide Muslim students with places to hold frequent prayer services free of crosses or other Catholic symbols. John F. Banzhaf III, a George Washington University Professor of Public Interest Law, ade the complaint to the human rights agency. In a news release Banzhaf alleges: "It is alleged that CUA does not provide space -- as other universities do -- for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them...

Saudi Arabia's controversial Islamist and preacher, Sheikh Awad al Qarni, offered a bounty of $100,000 for the kidnapping of any IDF in 'Palestine' who can be used as leverage to force Israel to release more terrorists from its prisons. Qarni said on his Facebook page, "This award is in response to the allocation of funds to settlers who kill Palestinians prisoners released." Qarni claimed his initiative, highly praised by many in Saudi Arabia, was a response to reports in Israel's media that funds had been allocated by 'settlers' to kill terrorist Mustafa Muslimani, who was released under the deal for...

Libya’s transitional government, established as a result of President Obama’s intervention, announced its first rulings Sunday following the death of deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi. They include reestablishing polygamy for men and banning Western-style interest on bank loans. Both provisions are features of Sharia, or Islamic law; Mohammed, Islam’s founder, introduced both some 1,400 years ago. On Sunday, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil abruptly announced that Islamic law, or Sharia, would provide the “basic source” of Libyan law. “This revolution was looked after by Allah to achieve victory,” Abdul-Jalil, the leader of the Transitional National Council, said to a celebratory crowd in Benghazi. Libyans...

CAIRO — An Egyptian court sentenced a man to three years in jail with hard labour on Saturday for insulting Islam in postings on Facebook, the official MENA news agency reported. The Cairo court found that Ayman Yusef Mansur "intentionally insulted the dignity of the Islamic religion and attacked it with insults and ridicule on Facebook," the agency reported. The court said his insults were "aimed at the Noble Koran, the true Islamic religion, the Prophet of Islam and his family and Muslims, in a scurrilous manner," the agency reported. It did not provide details on what he had written...

A conservative media watchdog organization says left-wing billionaire George Soros is funding a course that teaches journalists how to downplay the negative aspects of Islam. The three-hour online course called "Covering Islam in America" is a project of The Poynter Institute, which claims the program is designed to "give a broad explanation of the religious, social, political, and geographical facts about Islam today." That organization has partnered with the Social Science Research Council and Washington State University to strengthen "accurate" reporting and to enhance "the ability of the media to fairly report on a range of pressing issues." But Dan...

(Reuters) - U.S. officials have met members of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, a U.S. diplomat said, after Washington announced it would have direct contacts with Egypt's biggest Islamist group whose role has grown since U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted.