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"US Latinas seek answers in Islam," heralds a recent feature article in The Christian Science Monitor (December 27). "Some young US Latinas say Islam offers women more respect," reports the paper's contributor Christine Armario. She quotes a head-scarved immigrant convert as saying that Muslim men "don't look at you like a sex object." According to Ms. Armario's account, "Many of the Latina converts say that their belief that women are treated better in Islam was a significant factor in converting." The report mentions in passing the skepticism that these conversions sometimes elicit in the Latino community, but then goes on...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

REVIEW: INSIDE AL QAEDA: How I infiltrated the World’s deadliest terrorist organisation. By Mohamed Sifaoui. Granta Books, London. 2003. Published in France as Mes “Freres” Assassins by Le Cherche Midi 2003. Background: February 1996. A sun- drenched spring day in Algiers. A van packed with 300 kg of TNT weaves slowly through the downtown traffic and stops outside Soir d’Algerie newspaper office as Mohamed Sifaoui steps onto the pavement outside the building. His colleague wants to share a joke. In a flash the office explodes into flames and the air plumes with black smoke and is reduced to a pile...

The US forcing Arabs to give up their weapons thus delivering them to Israel (Amjad Rasmi, Arab News,1 /9/04). The Cowboy and his Arab puppet rulers (Emad Hajjaj, Alquds Alarabi,1 /10/04). I Want Your Fingerprints (Baha Boukhari, Al-Ayyam,1 /6/04). The US delivering Iraq, Palestine, and the Syrian Golan Heights to Israel (Omayya, Alhayat Aljadeda, 1 /2/04). 2004: Two Arab nations (Palestine and Iraq) under Israeli-US occupation

(IsraelNN.com) All air force operations such as the counter-terrorism aerial strikes over Gaza last night are filmed by a drone pilotless aircraft. After a day of PA accusations and condemnations from the international community, the IDF revealed the unedited film of last night’s so-called “massacre” in Gaza. The film shows without a doubt that when both sets of missiles were fired at a vehicle occupied by Hamas terrorists [who were on their way to an attack], there were no more than 2-3 persons in the area. The film shows that after the firing of the first missile, the vehicle was...

Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Glorifies Martyrs and Martyrdom In the September 6, 2003 issue of the Syrian government daily Teshreen, the Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Dr. Buthayna Sha'ban, wrote in her weekly column that "The martyrs represent the conscience of the nation. They are the noblest men in the world and the most respectable of all human beings." Three years earlier, on May 6, 2000, Syria's annual Martyrs Day,(1) Sha'ban wrote a paean to martyrs titled "The Blood of Martyrs" which was published in Teshreen. The following is the full text of her submission: "The blood of martyrs gushes hot...

Organizers of an upcoming Islamic event in London dealing with the events of Sept. 11 2001 are reacting angrily to charges that the event is more of a celebration than a conference. A poster promoting the event, scheduled for Sept. 11 2003, features pictures of the 19 hijhackers, whom it promotes as "The Magnificent 19." Despite the apparently laudatory comments of the hijackers by Al-Muhajiroun, the radical Islamic sect based in London promoting the event, an official statement from the group insists that the upcoming event is not a celebration. To categorize it as such, the document insists, is just...

11:00 Islamic Jihad leader Ramanan Shalah: Cease-fire won`t last long and was purely tactical move

Editor's note: WorldNetDaily brings readers exclusive, up-to-the-minute global intelligence news and analysis from Geostrategy-Direct, a new online newsletter edited by veteran journalist Robert Morton and featuring the "Backgrounder" column compiled by Bill Gertz. Geostrategy-Direct is a subscription-based service produced by the publishers of WorldTribune.com, a free news service frequently linked by the editors of WorldNetDaily. For those with a benign view of Iran's nuclear program, consider this: Saudi Arabia is already thinking nuclear, reports intelligence newsletter Geostrategy-Direct. The Saudi royal family is alarmed by the prospect of its next-door neighbor having a nuclear bomb, U.S. intelligence analysts say. The Saudis...

RECORDS of Osama Bin Laden’s calls from his satellite phone reveal Britain was at the heart of the terrorist’s planning for his worldwide campaign of murder and destruction. Bin Laden and his most senior lieutenants made more than 260 calls from their base in Afghanistan to 27 numbers in Britain. They included suspected terrorist agents, sympathisers and companies. Some were prearranged calls to contacts using public pay phones. The records, obtained by The Sunday Times, show that the terrorist leader made more calls to Britain than any other country in the two years that he used the phone. He stopped...

PCPO Poll: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll of Palestinians: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll no. 111. Date: 23, April 2003 A poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) and Prepared by President Dr. Nabil Kukali. (55.3%) Support to varying degrees the President Arafat (40.5%) Support, to varying degrees Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" as a Palestinian Prime Minister. Majd Kokaly-Information Department: A poll recently conducted by the PCPO and prepared by Dr.Nabil Kukali included a random sample...

The US-led war on Iraq could cost as much as $1,000 billion in lost production in Arab countries, a UN economic seminar in Beirut warned on Monday. “A dark cloud is covering the whole world and the Arab region in particular,” said Mervat Tallawi, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA). She estimated the cost of the war at a trillion dollars in lost gross domestic product, on top of the $600 billion lost due to the 1991 Gulf War, at the start of a four-day session. Tallawi added that between four and five million...

Al-Jazeera calls on U.S. to ensure free press By Merissa Marr LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Banned on Wall Street and wiped off the Internet, Arab news channel al-Jazeera defended its controversial coverage of the Iraq war on Wednesday and demanded the United States come to its aid in the name of a free press. Al-Jazeera, which angered the United States by showing footage of dead and captured American soldiers, said it was deeply concerned after two of its reporters were banned from the New York Stock Exchange and its Web sites were hacked. "There has to be a national...

Muslim Panelists Confront Rushdie's Work Festival speakers discuss the writer's critical portrayal of Islam in The Satanic Verses. Muslim spiritual and intellectual leaders contributed new perspectives on the current production of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children in a panel discussion last night. While Rushdie has misrepresented Islam in the past and offended many worshippers, they said, the Muslim community is cautiously optimistic that the sensitive and critical atmosphere of the current Midnight's Children production may help to repair the past damage. Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, Professor Amir Al-Islam, and Ghazi Khankan delivered articulate, impassioned addresses to a small but eager audience...

Some 103 American soldiers were killed Sunday in a battle between US-British forces and Iraqi troops near Nasiriya in southern Iraq, Al-Arabia Satellite Channel said. The Dubai-based TV channel quoted Iranian sources as saying that the United States would be making a big mistake if they continue their campaign in such a manner. The sources anticipated the Americans would attempt to launch an attack from another direction. Deputy commander of US Gulf forces John Abizaid said at a Doha press conference that the coalition forces Sunday met with "toughest" resistance in the four-day campaign as 12 soldiers were listed missing...

Iraq anti aircraft shot down an invading jet over Baghdad Saturday, the al-Arabiya television channel said.The aircrafts pilot-a woman-and its co-pilot parachuted safely but were captured by Iraqi forces.

This present report, undertaken with the cooperation of the American Jewish Committee, presents the official Saudi worldview to which school students between the ages of 6-16 are exposed. 93 books taught in grades 1-10, mostly from the years 1999-2002 have been examined. Special emphasis is placed on the Saudi Arabian attitude to the "other", namely, Christian, Jews and the West as well as on the Middle East conflict, the concept of government , women's status in society and children's status in the family.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia March 10 — Saudi Arabia, as the birthplace of Islam, will not allow churches to be built on its land, according to Defense Minister Prince Sultan.Islam is the only accepted religion in Saudi Arabia, home to the faith's holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina."This country was the launch pad for the prophecy and the message, and nothing can contradict this, even if we lose our necks," Sultan told reporters Saturday. His comments were published by Saudi newspapers and confirmed by several journalists who attended the press conference.Sultan said that foreigners have been allowed to worship freely in...

What we don't know can hurt us What the press teaches about Islam and other religions is not nearly as important as what it leaves out of its reportingBy Marvin Olasky Last year WORLD examined the treatment of Christian conservatives in the press. This year, with the war in Iraq, the slant of stories about Saddam Hussein and the effort to stop him is significant. But it's even more important over the long run that our press educators alert us to the warlike propensities of a large chunk of Islam, not just an extremist faction. Christianity has had its...

AP World Politics Kuwaiti Islamic extremist accused in fatal attack on U.S. contractor denies charges to bail judge, says lawyer Sat Feb 8, 9:17 AM ET KUWAIT CITY - The Kuwaiti Islamic extremist suspected of killing a U.S. contractor and injuring another in an ambush near an American military camp last month denied to a judge Saturday that he committed the crimes, his lawyer said Saturday. Sami al-Mutairi, a 25-year-old civil servant, denied shooting two computer contractors from San Diego on Jan. 21 during a hearing Saturday arranged to extend his detention, counsel Mohammed al-Mutairi told The Associated Press. The...