 June 23, 2011 - An enormous victory for free speech was won in the Netherlands (Holland) on June 22, 2011. Dutch politician Geert Wilders has been fighting charges of "inciting hatred" by speaking out against sharia law and other Islamic practices. Wilders' Freedom Party is the Netherlands' third largest political party in the nation's parliament. (Below is a video report by AlJazeera, followed by a video titled "Geert Wilders' Warning to America.") "The acquittal yesterday of Dutch anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders on charges of inciting hatred," reports The Independent (UK), "has split the Netherlands down the middle as effectively as the populist MP's right-wing rhetoric." The report about the acquittal of Geert Wilders noted that the judge "ruled that some of Mr Wilders' comments may have been "crude and denigrating" but they did not amount to inciting hatred against Muslims and remained within the boundaries of free speech." “I am delighted with this ruling,” wrote Geert Wilders on his own website today. “It is a victory, not only for me but for all the Dutch people. Today is a victory for freedom of speech. The Dutch are still allowed to speak critically about islam, and resistance against islamisation is not a crime. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak.” Wilders's final remarks in his Amsterdam trial were powerful. You can watch a video Wilders' closing remarks on YouTube (in Dutch with English subtitles).
Source: Chicago News Bench
 In twenty years of working as a cop in the Colorado Criminal Justice System, I never heard anything from a judge like what the Amsterdam Chief Judge said yesterday at the opening of Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders’ criminal prosecution. Wilders, who is on trial for producing his movie “Fitna” and for opposing the Islamization of Europe, sat motionless as the litany of charges was read aloud. The Judge addressed Wilders and asked him how he was feeling. I could laugh at this sadistic inanity, but the defendant is on trial for his freedom. All that is missing from this proceeding is the thumbscrew or the rack. And like Galileo (pictured above during trial), who faced his Inquisitors in 1633, Wilders is playing against a stacked deck. From Radio Netherlands Worldwide comes this report from John Tyler: “Geert Wilders sat expressionless next to his lawyers at the defendant’s table while the public prosecutor read out the charges, including incitement toward hatred of Muslims, incitement toward hatred of Moroccans, and discrimination against Moroccans and non-western immigrants… …The panel of three judges said it was unnecessary, but did instruct the prosecutor to read out Mr Wilders’ statements on which the case is based. After the statements had been read, the senior judge had the following exchange with the defendant (translated): Judge: “Mr Wilders, I can see that you are listening very intently, but what are you feeling right now? I cannot sense any emotion in you whatsoever.”
Wilders: “Indeed, I have been listening intently, but some things were missing. Particularly the quotes from Fitna [his anti-Islam video, ed.], I was trying to reconstruct it, to see if they were right. Some were, some weren’t.”…” Wilders claims the quotes attributed to him in the Charges are not accurate – as if that should matter to the prosecution and to this Court. Perhaps the Judge expected Wilders to break down in tears and confess his guilt, like some soppy Perry Mason TV episode from the 1960s. I don’t know. I do know that this entire proceeding has taken on a medieval Inquisition-like countenance.
But this time it is the 21st Century Dutch Government, intimidated by and acting as a de facto agent of the World of Islam, that is persecuting one of its own elected public officials in a scene that is a throw-back to the Middle Ages. It is a sham. It is a shame on all the governments of Europe that have chosen to surrender to Sharia and silence their patriots rather than to resist Islamization. And if you think this cannot come to The United States, you had better think again. NewsReal Blog 
English translation: Mister Speaker, judges of the court, I would like to make use of my right to speak for a few minutes. Freedom is the most precious of all our attainments and the most vulnerable. People have devoted their lives to it and given their lives for it. Our freedom in this country is the outcome of centuries. It is the consequence of a history that knows no equal and has brought us to where we are now. I believe with all my heart and soul that the freedom in the Netherlands is threatened. That what our heritage is, what generations could only dream about, that this freedom is no longer a given, no longer self-evident. I devote my life to the defence of our freedom. I know what the risks are and I pay a price for it every day. I do not complain about it; it is my own decision. I see that as my duty and it is why I am standing here. I know that the words I use are sometimes harsh, but they are never rash. It is not my intention to spare the ideology of conquest and destruction, but I am not any more out to offend people. I have nothing against Muslims. I have a problem with Islam and the Islamization of our country because Islam is at odds with freedom. Future generations will wonder to themselves how we in 2010, in this place, in this room, earned our most precious attainment. Whether there is freedom in this debate for both parties and thus also for the critics of Islam, or that only one side of the discussion may be heard in the Netherlands?
Whether freedom of speech in the Netherlands applies to everyone or only to a few? The answer to this is at once the answer to the question whether freedom still has a home in this country. Freedom was never the property of a small group, but was always the heritage of us all. We are all blessed by it. Lady Justice wears a blindfold, but she has splendid hearing. I hope that she hears the following sentences, loud and clear: It is not only a right, but also the duty of free people to speak against every ideology that threatens freedom. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States was right: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. I hope that the freedom of speech shall triumph in this trial. In conclusion, Mister Speaker, judges of the court. This trial is obviously about the freedom of speech. But this trial is also about the process of establishing the truth.
Are the statements that I have made and the comparisons that I have taken, as cited in the summons, true? If something is true then can it still be punishable? This is why I urge you to not only submit to my request to hear witnesses and experts on the subject of freedom of speech.
But I ask you explicitly to honour my request to hear witnesses and experts on the subject of Islam. I refer not only to Mister Jansen and Mister Admiraal, but also to the witness/experts from Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Without these witnesses, I cannot defend myself properly and, in my opinion, this would not be an fair trial. With thanks to JihadWatch
  The Dutch Legal System for cowering to Political Correctness and Islam, and thereby destroying Free Speech.
 The depths of treachery, mind-numbing legal prejudice and undisguised prosecutorial malice in the upcoming trial of Parliamentarian Geert Wilders within Amsterdam’s Criminal Court are a truly alarming indication of how deeply Islam has sunken its tentacles into the Dutch government. Wilders goes to trial on January 20 for numerous accusations that are crafted to kill Free Political Discourse.
A December 4, 2009 indictment was handed down after Muslims voiced objections to Wilders’ movie “Fitna”, which exposes bellicose Koranic verses, acts of Islamic violence and the in-progress Islamization of Europe. The fix is in, ladies and gents. Members of the Press were summarily barred from a January 13 pre-trial hearing, prosecutor Paul Vellerman said that the trial will not occur in a “super-secured” Courtroom, and more charges were added, to wit: Racism Against Muslims and Moroccans.
The tentacles of Islam and PC have a strangle-hold. There will be no fair trial. Besides facing two years in prison if convicted, Wilders’ life will be at risk. The trial will be held in a Courtroom that is not equipped to afford adequate security, making him more accessible to jihad assassins. Diana West’s take is in her blog here. Danish Free Press’ Arthur Legger’s coverage is here: “Any one who still claims that the trial against Geert Wilders MP, leader of the Party for Freedom (9 seats in Parliament and 27 in the polls), which starts on the 20th of January, is not a political process: get a grip. Accused by the Dutch ‘Openbaar Ministerie’ exactly a year ago for insulting Islam, comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf and delivering hate speeches, the coming trial against Wilders suddenly got a Kafkaesque and potentially murderous twist… … “It is irrelevant whether Wilder’s witnesses might prove Wilders’ observations to be correct”, the ‘Openbaar Ministerie’ stated, “what’s relevant is that his observations are illegal”… This is incredible. It does not matter to the prosecutor that Wilders might be telling the truth.
It is illegal to speak the truth. Please, awaken me from the nightmare and tell me that this cannot be happening in a “free” nation in the 21st Century. “…(the indictment) which Wilders received on the 4th of December and sums up in verbatim all of his Islam and Koran critique in interviews and Fitna, was amended with new accusations of racism against muslims (sic) and Moroccans… Paul Vellerman, the public prosecutor of the Amsterdam Court decided that the Wilders trial had to be regarded as “an ordinary trial open for public and with a normal procedure, which doesn’t deserve the Department of Justice’s highly secured bunker…” Really? Parliamentarian Pim Fortuyn and film maker Theo van Gogh, outspoken Dutch opponents of Islamic doctrine and Islamization, were both murdered on public streets, in the day time, in plain view of passers-by. A Muslim killed van Gogh and a pro-Muslim-immigrationist dispatched Fortuyn. Vellerman, knowing full-well Wilders’ status as a marked target of Islam, refuses to give him the protection of a properly secured Courtroom during trial. This is dastardly. It is villainy. A squid kills by attaching its tentacles and drawing the victim toward its beak-like mouth, where it is torn apart and eaten. We are now witnessing no less than the devouring by prosecution of an unarmed and innocent prey in The Netherlands’ Court. NewsReal Blog
 Who is the most important European alive today? I nominate the Dutch politician Geert Wilders. I do so because he is best placed to deal with the Islamic challenge facing the continent.
He has the potential to emerge as a world-historical figure. That Islamic challenge consists of two components: on the one hand, an indigenous population's withering Christian faith, inadequate birthrate, and cultural diffidence, and on the other an influx of devout, prolific, and culturally assertive Muslim immigrants. This fast-moving situation raises profound questions about Europe: will it retain its historic civilization or become a majority-Muslim continent living under Islamic law (the Shari'a)? Wilders, 46, founder and head of the Party for Freedom (PVV), is the unrivaled leader of those Europeans who wish to retain their historic identity. That's because he and the PVV differ from most of Europe's other nationalist, anti-immigrant parties. The PVV is libertarian and mainstream conservative, without roots in neo-Fascism, nativism, conspiricism, antisemitism, or other forms of extremism. (Wilders publicly emulates Ronald Reagan.) Indicative of this moderation is Wilders' long-standing affection for Israel that includes two years' residence in the Jewish state, dozens of visits, and his advocating the transfer of the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem. In addition, Wilders is a charismatic, savvy, principled, and outspoken leader who has rapidly become the most dynamic political force in the Netherlands. While he opines on the full range of topics, Islam and Muslims constitute his signature issue. Overcoming the tendency of Dutch politicians to play it safe, he calls Muhammad a devil and demands that Muslims "tear out half of the Koran if they wish to stay in the Netherlands." More broadly, he sees Islam itself as the problem, not just a virulent version of it called Islamism. Finally, the PVV benefits from the fact that, uniquely in Europe, the Dutch are receptive to a non-nativist rejection of Shari'a.
This first became apparent a decade ago, when Pim Fortuyn, a left-leaning former communist homosexual professor began arguing that his values and lifestyle were irrevocably threatened by the Shari'a. Fortuyn anticipated Wilders in founding his own political party and calling for a halt to Muslim immigration to the Netherlands. Following Fortuyn's 2002 assassination by a leftist, Wilders effectively inherited his mantle and his constituency. The PVV has done well electorally, winning 6 percent of the seats in the November 2006 national parliamentary elections and 16 percent of Dutch seats in the June 2009 European Union elections. Polls now generally show the PVV winning a plurality of votes and becoming the country's largest party. Were Wilders to become prime minister, he could take on a leadership role for all Europe. But he faces daunting challenges. The Netherlands' fractured political scene means the PVV must either find willing partners to form a governing coalition (a difficult task, given how leftists and Muslims have demonized Wilders as a " right-wing extremist") or win a majority of the seats in parliament (a distant prospect). Wilders must also overcome his opponents' dirty tactics. Most notably, they have finally, after 2½ years of preliminary skirmishes, succeeded in dragging him to court on charges of hate speech and incitement to hatred. The public prosecutor's case against Wilders opens in Amsterdam on January 20; if convicted, Wilders faces a fine of up to US$14,000 or as many as 16 months in jail. Remember, he is his country's leading politician. Plus, due to threats against his life, he always travels with bodyguards and incessantly changes safe houses. Who exactly, one wonders, is the victim of incitement? Although I disagree with Wilders about Islam (I respect the religion but fight Islamists with all I have), we stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the lawsuit. I reject the criminalization of political differences, particularly attempts to thwart a grassroots political movement via the courts. Accordingly, the Middle East Forum's Legal Project has worked on Wilders' behalf, raising substantial funds for his defense and helping in other ways. We do so convinced of the paramount importance to talk freely in public during time of war about the nature of the enemy. Ironically, were Wilders fined or jailed, it would probably enhance his chances to become prime minister. But principle outweighs political tactics here. He represents all Westerners who cherish their civilization. The outcome of his trial and his freedom to speak has implications for us all. Mr. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. Daniel Pipes
 The Tundra Tabloids had contacted the Dutch embassy in Helsinki on Thursday, 14.01.10, and spoke with one of its representatives, who agreed with the TT that such a court proceeding against Geert Wilders would never see the light of day in a US court.
The TT also brought up the fact that it was the grossest of ironies that the man who vindicated Osama Bin-Laden in a mock court trial on Dutch tv, Gerard Spong, was also the individual responsible for filing charges against the Dutch politician.
So it's interesting that the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington D.C. has posted this notice on its website, which basically says that: "there's no political influence going on here, so please move on, nothing to see……..". KGS
January 14, 2010"In September 2009, the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam ordered the criminal prosecution of Mr. Geert Wilders, Member of the Dutch Parliament, for inciting hatred and discrimination based on his statements in various media about Islam. Various people and organisations had asked for his prosecution. In June 2008, the Public Prosecutor had determined that his statements were not against the law and had dropped the case, but the plaintiffs appealed this decision before the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal determined that statements equating Islam to Nazism were a punishable insult to Islamic worshippers and therefore constituted ground for criminal prosecution.
The Court of Appeal did not convict Mr. Wilders of a crime, but ordered the Public Prosecutor to start a criminal procedure against him before the District Court of Amsterdam.
On January 13th, the District Court in Amsterdam dismissed a motion made by Mr. Wilders to limit the charges against him. The Court ruled that the indictment was in line with the decision of the Court of Appeal and that there were no new facts that would give reason to limit the scope of the indictment.
On January 20th, the District Court in Amsterdam will start the proceedings in the case. Ultimately, it will decide whether or not mr Wilders has committed a criminal offense.
The Court of Appeal and the District Court are fully independent from the Dutch government. As the procedure is ongoing, any further comment by the Netherlands government on the case itself would be inappropriate. Mr. Wilders is a member of parliament and continues his work while the case goes through the legal process."
 While many of us here at Women Against Shariah do not believe in banning books, the Netherlands is hypocritical for choosing to ban some violent and hateful texts, such as Hitler's "Mein Kampf," and permitting other texts. That is exactly what Wilders has pointed out-- the hypocrisy.Meanwhile hate-mongers like Anjem Choudary are free to incite hatred in the UK and Europe. Whether or not you agree with Wilder's assessment that Islam is a problematic religion which advocates violence (which it does and is a reason to support reformers), he should have every right to free speech as he does not advocate for harming Muslim people. From Dutch News: Wilders faces five counts of religious insult and anti-Muslim incitement.
News agency AFP says Wilders is charged with insulting Muslims by describing Islam as a fascist religion and calling for the banning of the Koran, which he likens to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.
The MPs is also accused of inciting hatred and discrimination for stating Moroccan youths were violent, for calling for Holland's borders to be closed to all non-western immigrants and urging an end to 'the Islamic invasion'.
AFP says he faces up to one year in jail if convicted.
The case against Wilders is due to start next Wednesday, when the legal framework and timetable will be set out. The main process will begin later in the year.
 by Stephen Brown When it comes to the scourge of Somali piracy, the latest incident leaves one wondering whether to laugh or cry. At the very least, it should cause heads to shake and have people asking how the West is ever going to win the War On Terror. The military news publication, Strategy Page, reports this week that the Dutch frigate, HNLMS Eversten, was ordered to release 13 Somali pirates it had captured earlier this month.
The pirates were attacking a merchant ship when the Dutch intervened and apprehended them and their vessel. However, instead of being clapped in irons to await trial, the Dutch captain was ordered to put the pirates back on their boat and release them. In addition, the Dutch sailors’ also had to provide the pirates, who not long ago would have been hung on the spot, with food and fuel to return to Somalia. (It is a wonder they were not sent on their way with apologies for any inconvenience.) The only consolation regarding this sad state of affairs concerned the pirates’ weapons: they were not returned. But the way things are going, Western naval crews may eventually have to do just that, or be required to supply a substitute, like cash or DVDs (The Pirates of the Caribbean might be a big hit) to keep their former captives entertained during their trip home. Once back at their bases, one can be assured such pillow-soft treatment will see the pirates not hesitate to return to terrorizing international shipping as soon as possible. They can easily obtain new weapons in war-torn Somalia. The International Maritime Bureau estimates the pirates’ number at about a thousand, organized in well-armed groups of 15 to 20. Last year, they earned about $50 million in ransom money from ships they had seized. In the past, al Qaeda and Islamists in Somalia have both praised Somali piracy as part of the “fight against the West.” A leader of a Somali Islamist group called the pirates “part of the mujahedeen. “They are waging war against Christian nations, who want to misuse the Somali coast,” he said. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the surge in pirate attacks in 2008. It called the campaign to seize ships and hold them for ransom a justifiable “new strategy”, since “fighters who aspire to establish the caliphate must control the seas and waterways.” Counterterrorism consultant Olivier Guitta revealed the importance of the Somali piracy campaign to al Qaeda. Guitta stated al Qaeda “intends to take control of the Gulf of Aden and the southern entrance of the Red Sea, calling the area “strategic” to the Islamic terrorist group. Al-Qaeda’s goal in seizing control of the vital waterways around the Horn of Africa leading to the Suez Canal is the removal of Western military bases from the Arabian Peninsula. It believes sea lanes weakened by “acts of piracy” and mujahedeen attacks will accomplish this. The Somali piracy campaign also fits in nicely with al Qaeda’s plan to disrupt the American and other Western economies. It knows Western countries derive their military and cultural strength from their economic power, hence al Qaeda’s attack on America’s World Trade Center. Al Qaeda wants to draw America and its allies into as many security sideshows as possible in order to further drain their treasuries. The New York Times reports that after 9/11, for example, the Department of Homeland Security spent $40 billion on the aviation security system alone. Tens of millions more can probably be added to that sum after the Northwest Airlines terrorist incident on Christmas Day, making it an al Qaeda victory in this respect despite the plot’s failure. On the high seas around Somalia, al Qaeda’s strategy of death by a thousand financial cuts sees Western and other countries facing, besides ransom payments and the huge expense of maintaining an anti-piracy naval presence, increased insurance costs. Ships that reroute around South Africa to avoid the Somalia region, while escaping the insurance penalty, incur higher operating bills due to the longer voyage. Considering the importance the Somali pirate campaign holds for al Qaeda in its long-term plans, it is a wonder that Western strategists have only come up with the harmless “catch and release” tactic as its main counter measure. Resembling a form of appeasement, it has not worked and instead has led to an increase in attacks. Statistics from the Piracy Reporting Center of the International Maritime Bureau, as reported in New York Times this week, bear this out. Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and along the Somali coast have increased 200 per cent since 2007.
While 111 ships were attacked in this area in 2008, 214 have been attacked this year. Only last Monday, pirates seized a chemical tanker with a crew of 26 and a Greek bulk carrier. Strategy Page notes that although the number of attacks was higher this year, the international naval patrols established to thwart the pirates reduced the number of successful attacks from 40 per cent in 2008 to 25 per cent in 2009. The ransom demands, however, increased and the pirates are now operating off Somalia’s east coast and in the Gulf of Aden to avoid the anti-piracy patrols. Unfortunately, one can only expect the number of pirate attacks around Somalia to increase in the future. Somali pirates know Western countries seldom use force to free ships and pay large ransoms. According to Strategy Page, Western countries also refuse to attack the pirates’ bases for fear of causing civilian casualties and to avoid becoming bogged down in a land campaign in Somalia. The fact the pirates seldom face prosecution and are usually released make piracy in that region almost a risk-free crime that encourages attacks. More unsettling, however, is that these weak, ineffective policies on the part of Western countries indicate a moral bankruptcy that could decide the issue of this war. FPM
 The Dutch government has said that it will commence using full-body scanners on flights to the US from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport within three weeks, after a failed Christmas Day airliner bomb attack. The interior ministry made the announcement on Wednesday after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, boarded a flight from Lagos to Detroit in the US, via Schiphol, with highly explosive material sewn into his underwear. An investigation by the Dutch government will look into the incident, but a preliminary inquiry said that the plot was of professional standard but its execution was "amateurish". "It is not exaggerating to say the world has escaped a disaster," Guusje Ter Horst, the interior minister, said. Abdulmutallab passed through a security check that included a hand baggage scan and a metal detector, during the lay over in Amsterdam on Friday, Ter Horst said. For his part, Erik Ackerboom, head of the Dutch counterterrorism bureau, dismissed suggestions that Abdulmutallab should have aroused suspicion when he paid for a round-trip ticket from Lagos to Detroit in cash and had no check-in luggage. Paying cash in Africa is not unusual, he said, and the lack of a checked suitcase "wasn't a reason for alarm". Schiphol airport already has 15 body scanners, but privacy concerns have restricted their use and the issue has been previously raised in the European parliament. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ter Horst said: "We will use them for American passengers flying to the United States and we do not need the approval of the European parliament." Nadim Baba, Al Jazeera's correspondent in The Hague, said: "We've been hearing from people in the Netherlands that they are quite willing to undergo that [full-body scanning] to make sure that they're safe when they travel. "The Dutch authorities want to widen the use of these full-body scanners that can see through people's clothes. "Now there have been objections to that in Europe for privacy reasons, and health reasons, and not so long ago the European parliament actually blocked the introduction of these full-body scanners across Europe. "They did allow Schiphol airport to introduce them on a reduced basis and they [the Dutch authorities] say that they've tweaked the technology now so that a computer, rather than a person, looks at the first image, so the privacy issue is now out of the way they say." Abdulmutallab carried 80 grams of the highly explosive PETN onto the Northwestern Airlines flight, and allegedly assembled the device in the aircraft's toilet. He is then believed to have attempted to detonate the device with a syringe of chemicals. Part of the aircraft's cabin wall was set alight and Abdulmutallab suffered burns, before the situation was brought under control by passengers and crew. Schiphol airport was said to have carried out the required security checks correctly and US authorities had cleared the passenger list. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that two US officials, who it did not name, had said that the US government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas Day that leaders of a branch of al-Qaeda had mentioned that "a Nigerian" was being prepared for a terrorist attack. "No suspicious matters which would give reason to classify the person involved as a high-risk passenger were identified during the security check,'" Ter Horst said. She said that full-body wave scanners are able to identify chemicals, unlike metal detectors currently used on passengers. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Norman Shanks, ex-head of security at the British Airport Authority, said: "Since 9/11 there have been significant increases in airport security. "The European Community then set common standards for all its states and some others joined those measures, such as Switzerland. "These are higher than other nations' standards." Shanks said that trials of body scanners had been held at airports, for example at Schiphol and London's Heathrow, and that they are quite effective in identifying items under clothing.
"The reason they are not used as a matter of routine is the belief held by many people that it infringes human liberties," he said. The use of body scanners, which cost the equivalent of $125,000-$140,000 per unit in the UK compared to $6,500-$9,500, is set to increase the cost of security measures, Shanks said. It will also require extra space and time to scan passengers. "I think we will see a growing trend towards observation of passengers to select those who appear not to be acting normally," Shanks said. "This has been called profiling, but it is assessing people's behaviour." Al Jazeera
 A central intelligence source says in response to the additional scanning equipment at Schiphol airport that al-Qaeda have their own scanning and x-ray equipment with which they practice making bombs as much as possible. More than that: al-Qaeda practiced in the past in passing body-scanners at major European airports.
"Al-Qaeda is being constantly under-estimated. They have at their disposal high-quality technical equipment and train with it.
They undertook 'test-runs' in European airports in order to deceive the inspections," according to the intelligence source, who was active in the Dutch military security service for years.
Schiphol purchased in recent years fifteen body-scanners, which looks at the bodies of passengers through their clothing using sound waves. they also see non-metallic objects and materials.
Due to strict European privacy regulations, the body-scan can only be used now in trials on internal European flights and for inspecting airport personnel.
Schiphol doesn't guarantee that the body-scans would have detected Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab's explosive powder. Al-Qaeda says on a website that Friday's unsuccessful attack was a retaliatory operation for an American attack on the group in Yemen and calls to kill workers in Western embassies in the region.
Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Airport guards cheered 9/11 With thanks to Islam in Europe
 If that information proves out, Mudallad (or Mutallab, or whatever) will fit the usual Muslim terrorist profile: young, well-educated, from a prosperous family, oriented toward science and engineering. UPDATE: This account comes from the man credited with stopping the bomber, Jasper Schuringa, a film director from Amsterdam: Schuringa, sitting in seat 20J, in the right-most section of the Airbus 330, looked to his left. "I saw smoke rising from a seat ... I didn't hesitate. I just jumped," he said. Schuringa dove over four passengers to reach Abdul Mutallab's seat. The suspect had a blanket on his lap. "It was smoking and there were flames coming from beneath his legs." "I searched on his body parts and he had his pants open. He had something strapped to his legs." The unassuming hero ripped the flaming, molten object -- which resembled a small, white shampoo bottle -- off Abdul Mutallab's left leg, near his crotch. He said he put out the fire with his bare hands. Schuringa yelled for water, and members of the flight crew soon appeared with fire extinguishers. Then, he said, he hauled the suspect out of the seat. "I took him in a choke to the first class and all the people were like, 'What's going on?!"
It seems likely that the explosive device, which apparently was designed to circumvent limitations on the amount of liquid that can be brought on board a flight, had already failed or never could have worked. Still, Schuringa obviously did the right thing and deserves great credit. With the airplane reportedly descending for a landing and panic breaking out in the cabin, taking quick and decisive action is no doubt easier said than done. Of course, film directors from Amsterdam have good reason to be attuned to the threat of Islamic terrorism. FURTHER UPDATE: Mark Steyn comments on the sociology of terrorism: The men eager to self-detonate on infidel airliners are not goatherds from the caves of Waziristan but educated middle-class Muslims who have had the most exposure to the western world and could be pulling down six-figure salaries almost anywhere on the planet. And don't look to "assimilation" to work its magic, either. We're witnessing a process of generational de-assimilation: In this family, yet again, the dad is an entirely assimilated member of the transnational elite. His son wants a global caliphate run on Wahhabist lines. Power Line
Jim Hoft Al Qaeda members and supporters in Yemen held a massive rally 4 days ago in a remote area of the poor Muslim country. The members declared war against the US just days before the attempted plane bombing on a flight from The Netherlands to Detroit.
The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen.
Men claiming to be leaders of al Qaeda have made a rare public appearance in Yemen, telling an anti-government rally the fight is against the US, not the country’s army. The statement was made at an al Qaeda training camp in southern Yemen – the same one that was attacked by the Americans leaving more than 30 dead. Al Jazeera’s Tarek Bazley has this exclusive report. The Jawa Report posted video that shows how easy it is for terrorists to build their explosives. With thanks to Gateway Pundit
 Dutch and foreign intelligence services are at high alert due to a five-day international Islamic conference in Eindhoven, starting today. The intelligence services fear that the congress participants will secretly collect funds for armed Islamic battle. It's also feared that the speakers in the conference will reverse the integration of Muslims in the Netherlands. The conference is organized by the Al Waqf al Islami organization in Eindhoven, a board member of which was linked in the past with financing al-Qaeda. The organization invited renowned Islamic scholars to speak. One of those, an imam from Saudi Arabia, was blacklisted by the Saudi royal family due to his radical opinions. The conference participants will meet in the Al Fourqaan mosque in Eindhoven, a prayer house that is known to be radical and that the AIVD keeps an eye on. According to intelligence sources, the aim of the conference is not the 'integration of Muslims in the Netherlands and the challenges," as it is formally named, but rather there's a secret agenda to stop the integration of Muslims in the Netherlands and collect money for Islamic battle. The intelligence services are particularly interested in secret meeting outside the congress. A spokesperson for the Waqf organization said he was not accountable for secret meetings of participants outisde the msoque. He says that during the conference various Islamic issues would be discussed, such as dealing with money and that everybody can enter, they have no door-policy. Dutch imams, who are positive about integration, say they are unanimous against the conference. "An imam who lives, works, and lives in for example Saudi Arabia, has a completely different scope of reference, experiences and opinions about issues which in the Netherlands are completely normal. If Dutch Muslims ask in such a conference if their wife may drive a car, such a foreign imam will expressly forbid it, because he lives in Saudi Arabia, where that is absolutely banned," says one sources, who says this will work against integration. "This sort of conference frustrates all the good intentions of Dutch imams." Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)
 The prosecution in the Hague will investigate 49 cases of child abuse during Koran classes in mosques in the city, it was announced Tuesday.
The local GGD (municipal health department) received so many reports of child abuse that according to the youth health department (JGZ), it's a pattern.
This is because the number of reports (49), is almost equal to the number of indications of domestic child abuse (52). While generally, in 93% of the cases of child abuse the offender is a parent or somebody else directly in charge of raising the kids. In total, about 4,600 files were investigated.
In April the Hague municipal council asked the city executive to study the problem after they got stories of children being beaten during Koran classes.
Half of the reports of child abuse were linked to classes in the El Islam mosque. On Monday Mayor Jozias van Aartsen and Alderman (Education, youth and sport), had a pointed talk with the mosque administration.
The mosque administration agrees with the municipality that child abuse is unacceptable and promised to be cooperative and open. The mosque also promised more supervision of Koran classes and to directly intervene if there's concrete indications of violence against children.
The El-Islam mosque also promised to suspend the work of the teachers suspected of child-abuse during the investigation.
The city executive will speak with more mosque administration in the near future. In addition, JGZ social workers will attempt to convince parents to lodge complaints if they suspect their children are being beaten. So far none of the parents was ready to do so in the cases which were discovered.
The Socialist Party in the city council wants a criminal case opened against the mosque. SP councilor Hiek van Driel: "I can't imagine that people from the administration didn't know that children in this mosque were so badly mistreated."
SMN, the umbrella organization for Moroccans in the Netherlands, says they've got reports from their people of possible cases of child abuse in mosques in the Hague, but also elsewhere.
"We know from our network that there are mosques where corporal punishment is meted out. That happens not only in the Hague but in a manner of speaking also in Amsterdam and Utrecht," said chairman Farid Azarkan Wednesday.
SMN says in a press release that it's "intolerable that children get corporal punishment." Azarkan says that teachers should keep their hands off the children. "That we've agreed with each other here in the Netherlands and everybody should keep to it."
The organization calls on mosque administrations to act against teachers who overstep the line and to take seriously parents and children who complain about child-abuse. The SMN will draw attention to this in its regular meeting with mosque organizations.
Azarkan asks for a nuanced discussion on the topic, saying that only a few mosques are guilty of such practices.
Sources: Telegraaf 1, 2; West (Dutch) Thanks to Islam in Europe
 Mosheb here once again reminds us that the real haters are those who arrayed against Geert Wilders, not Geert Wilders himself, although he is the one who faces trial for inciting hatred. All he did was depict Qur'an-inspired hatred and violence; people like Mosheb glory in that hatred and violence. "Dutch rapper convicted of threatening lawmaker," from Legal News, December 18 THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A Dutch rapper has been convicted of threatening an anti-Islamic lawmaker in a song. The song by the rapper Mosheb refers to lawmaker Geert Wilders and includes the lyrics, "Geert, this is no joke/Last night I dreamt I hacked off your head." Rotterdam District Court has sentenced Mosheb to do 80 hours of community service and handed him a two-month suspended prison sentence. In Friday's ruling the court rejected Mosheb's defense that he was entitled to freedom of expression as an artist. Wilders did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wilders faces a trial in January on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims. In the past he has called for the Quran to be banned and compared it to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf." With thanks to JihadWatch
 The court in Amsterdam sentenced Younis K. (39) to nine years on Monday. They were shown evidence that he beat his wife, Aisha K (36), to death in their home in Amsterdam-Zuidoost in August 2007. His cousin, Tariq S (38) was acquitted. The prosecution had asked for 14 years in prison for both men.
K. supposedly murdered his wife because she wanted to divorce him and go live with another man. In this way the mother of four shamed the honor of his Pakistani family. The man killed his wife buy beating her many times, probably also with cricket bats. The court called the murder 'horrible' and said that Aisha K. must have suffered 'terrible pain'. "That the victim wanted to divorce can in no way even somewhat justify the acts of the suspect." During the trial K. more of less blamed his cousin for the death of his wife. He had asked him to come and mediate on that day. After which he had gone outside for a minute. When he came back, his wife was lying seriously injured in their home. The court did not deem this plausible, as nobody saw K. outside at the time of the murder.
The prosecution said that K. didn't beat his wife to death on his own, but that his cousin helped him. The court concluded that there were indications this was so, but that there was insufficient evidence that the injuries of the victim were caused by two people. The court gave K. a lighter sentence than demanded by the prosecution. They sentenced him for manslaughter and not for murder, which was the demand of the prosecution. The investigation of the case was not without difficulties. For a long time K. claimed that he had beat his wife himself. When he appeared in court in April, he suddenly said that he hadn't touched her at all, but that his cousin had been home at the time of the murder. S. was subsequently arrested.
K. will appeal his sentence, said his lawyer, Richard van der Weide. "My client is very disappointed and affected by this wrongful conviction, in his eyes." He says the court looked too much at the man's first statements, which were demonstrably inaccurate. The public prosecution didn't say yet whether they'll appeal.
 An elementary Catholic school in Weert (Netherlands) decided to serve just halal food this year for its Christmas meal. The school has about 400 students and about ten Muslim students. However, after some parents complained, the school backed down.The Christmas meal is organized every year together with the parents association. According to principal Margo Janssen they decided for practical considerations to serve halal for everybody. In previous years they took the Muslims into account and served them separate halal dishes, but this wouldn't be necessary if everybody is served halal. Janssen points out that this is also done in hospitals and prisons. This year they thought it would be simpler and cheaper to serve everybody halal. According to Janssen this also follows Christian thought, which says you should take others into account. He says that there's no real reason to make a fuss about it. "It's the spirit of the times. We have no intention at all to give a signal with this. It's still a Christmas meal with a Christian background." They would have a nativity scene and a candle march. It all happened with the best of intentions, he says. Jean Paul van der Donk, chairman of the parents association, says they've received eight complaints from angry parents. But, he says, those parents should understand that they didn't choose halal food for religious reasons, but purely for practical reasons. Catholics aren't forbidden to eat halal meat, while the opposite is the case for Muslims. After getting complaints from parents the management decided to review the issue. The school has since changed its mind and decided to offer every student a choice of what to eat. "We've been naive as a school," the school's site says. They hope to now go back to having a festive Christmas meal, and hope the school's name won't be damaged by one not so well thought out decision. Sources: Telegraaf, Trouw, Rorate (Dutch), h/t NRP
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