The Indonesian Islamic party supports the decision to reduce the prison sentence of Abu Bakar Bashir, the convicted conspirator in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed over two hundred people. From the AFP, with thanks to Sr. Soph: Under a presidential decree all well-behaved prisoners are eligible for two annual sentence cuts, one to mark […]
Archives for 2005
Captain Yee Speaks Out
The case of Guantanamo chaplain Captain James Yee was a uniquely disturbing one, as it involved an American military officer — stationed at one of the nation’s most secretive installation — who had allegedly betrayed his nation to forces aligned with Islamic terrorists. Yee was allowed to walk away from the case a free man, […]
Pentagon Wants Powers to Spy on US Muslims
So says IslamOnline (thanks to Sr. Soph). I don’t know at this moment how accurate this is. In any case, it is a perfectly reasonable request given the utter failure of American Muslims to separate jihadists from their ranks. WASHINGTON, October 8, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) — The US Defense Department is seeking congressional […]
Fitzgerald: Clash of civilizations? Yes and no
UPDATE December 17, 2005: Certain parties are trying to make use of selected quotes from this article to attempt to discredit Jihad Watch, Mr. Fitzgerald, and me. For a clarification of my — and our — position on these matters, please see here. — Robert Spencer Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald explores some […]
Trifkovic: President Bush’s Speech on Terrorism: Meaning and Implications
Serge Trifkovic has written an enormously insightful assessment of President Bush’s Thursday speech at Chronicles (thanks to all who sent this in). Read it all, please, but here is the conclusion: The unprecedented danger is for us to forget that we are heirs to the greatest and best civilization the world has known, and that […]
Imam demands apology for Mohammed cartoons
Predictably enough, the depictions of Muhammad in Denmark’s Jyllandsposten have drawn an angry reaction. Flemming Rose, meanwhile, should run for President of the European Union. From the Copenhagen Post, with thanks to all who sent this in: Daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten is facing accusations that it deliberately provoked and insulted Muslims by publishing twelve cartoons featuring […]
Norway: Teacher told to drop Star of David
Because it might offend Muslims, of course. Interesting to note that Aftenposten lists as a “related story” one with the headline “No plans to ban hijab in Norwegian schools.” Apparently the hijab offends no one. From Aftenposten, with thanks to all who sent this in: A municipally employed teacher in Kristiansand has been prevented from […]
Islamists and secularists working together in Morocco?
Despite the differences in ideologies, these Moroccan activists work together to define the woman’s role in Islam. From WeNews: In a nation that has outpaced its neighbors in liberalizing Sharia family laws, two female scholars in Morocco–Latifa Jbabdi and Nadia Yassine–are swaying the religious debate about women’s role in Islam. Jbabdi is an ex-Marxist and […]
Laws and culture reject homosexuals
From the AP: When Ahmad Mahfouz told his mother he is gay, she took him to a psychiatrist, thinking he had a disease that could be cured by antidepressants. When that didn’t work, she urged him to date a woman. He ignored her advice. “So now, whenever she sees me, she beats me with anything […]
Fitzgerald: A brief MESA Nostra taxonomy
Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald offers a glimpse inside the bizarre world of the Middle East Studies Association: “The vast majority of people in the Arab world sympathize with al Qaeda only because it champions their issues and speaks their language and it’s seemingly effective against their enemies.” — the egregious Shibley Telhami […]