Great, who’s guarding the nukes? “Pakistani governor bodyguard served on President Zardari’s security team,” by Dean Nelson for the Telegraph, January 14: Mumtaz Qadri was part of Punjab Police’s Elite Force whose members are selected to protect the province’s most senior ministers, politicians and VIPs. He had also served on security details for Rehman Malik, […]
Archives for January 2011
Another rally in Pakistan for blasphemy law: “Pope Benedict’s statement is an attack on the hearts of Muslims”
Piety A billion-plus Muslims, savagely and unsuspectingly attacked by an octogenarian pontiff! Casting their grievances in those terms is, of course, an attempt to broaden the conflict beyond Pakistan, by portraying the Pope’s criticism of the law as an attack on all Muslims. “Rally supports governor’s killer,” from the Press Association, January 14: Islamic extremists […]
CAIR’s Honest Ibe Hooper admits “Don’t talk to the FBI” poster “crossed a line,” but those who noticed that are part of “Islamophobic hate machine”
“Islamophobic Hate Machine.” Sounds like the makings of a brightly painted, ’60s-era van for a gang of sleuths and a lovable, cowardly (and unclean) dog. And they found a clue that confirmed what they suspected all along: that all criticism of Islamic teachings and groups is automatically branded as “hate” in an attempt to silence […]
Iran arrests 70 for apostasy from Islam
Here we go again: yet more evidence that statements about Islamic doctrine like these from Muslims in the U.S. do not reflect Islamic doctrine as it is actually understood in Sharia states. So are al-Marayati, Bassiouni, Eteraz and all the others who say such things actually reformers? Unlikely, given the fact that they do not […]
Pakistani interior minister orders blocking of websites, text messages “promoting an anti-Islam agenda”
No txt msgs? Srsly? 🙁 An update on this story. “Pak to block websites, SMS ‘propagating anti-Islam agenda’,” from Indian Express, January 13: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik today directed the authorities to block websites and SMS “propagating an anti-Islam agenda” within 24 hours. In south- and southeast Asian media, text messaging is most often […]
California chapter of Hamas-linked CAIR to take down image of poster urging: “Build a wall of resistance,” and “don’t talk to the FBI”
Quoth Honest Ibe, “I think it’s subject to misinterpretation,” true to the perennial pattern of claims that the source of any controversy involving Islam or Muslims has been “taken out of context.” Really, if one looks at CAIR’s track record on things like expecting bizarre accommodations from the TSA and its unindicted co-conspirator status in […]
U.K.: Planning council rejects mosque proposal after antisemitic video found on Islamic society’s website
The way these things usually go, we’ll hear next that this has all been “taken out of context.” Other reasons were put forth for ultimately recommending rejection, but one holds out hope that they were having none of that antisemitic barking in Dagenham or Barking. “Mosque plans criticised after ‘anti-Semitic’ row,” by John Phillips for […]
New evidence in Minnesota Madrassa lawsuit; case possibly in jeopardy over legal status of ACLU chapter
The ACLU is on the right side of this one, challenging the use of taxpayer money to fund a charter school found to be functioning as an Islamic academy. Technicalities do not subtract from the truth or merit of this case, and must not spell the end of attempts to hold those in charge of […]
Caucasus: Jihad against folk healers, ethnographers, and those who would celebrate New Year’s Day
Both the range of “un-Islamic” practices under threat and the targeting of civilians are increasing, as the jihadists’ actions show their determination to be “victorious with terror,” just like Muhammad said he was. “Killers Target Healers and Soothsayers,” by Nikolaus von Twickel for the Moscow Times, January 13: A series of killings of healers and […]
Saudi Arabia to bloggers: Hey, guess what you’re going to write about!
And guess what you’re not going to write about. “Saudi Arabia Now Forcing News Bloggers to Obtain Licenses, Promote Islam,” by Neal Ungerleider for Fast Company, January 12: The Middle Eastern kingdom has just enacted one of the world’s most stringent sets of blogging regulations: Non-citizens can’t write about news, chat room users are encouraged […]