 Pope Benedict XVI believes the stunt would not
have been contemplated with a copy of the KoranJuly 28
The Pope made an excellent point this week about vandalism and whether it would be tolerated if Islam was on the receiving end of it.
From the Daily Mail The Pope has condemned a ' disgusting' taxpayer-funded exhibition in which visitors are urged to deface the Bible.
Visitors were offered pens by gallery bosses so they could scrawl comments on the text - leading to a host of puerile and obscene remarks.
Pope Benedict XVI believes the stunt would not have been contemplated with a copy of the Koran.
His anger over the show, organised by council-funded arts body Culture
and Sport Glasgow, was expressed by a senior Vatican priest.
The adviser to the Pope said: 'It is disgusting and offensive. They would not think of doing it to the Koran.'
 Morocco's "First Servant," King Mohammed VI and
Princess Lalla Salma at the royal theater in MarrakechFrom the western edge of the Muslim world, the King of Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in the Middle East conflict - the Holocaust. At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews "one of the most tragic chapters of modern history," and has endorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims. Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little about the Holocaust. Some disbelieve it outright. Others argue that it was a European crime and imagine it to be the reason Israel exists and the Palestinians are stateless. The sentiment was starkly illustrated in March after a Palestinian youth orchestra performed for Israeli Holocaust survivors, only to be shut down by angry leaders of the West Bank refugee camp where they live. "The Holocaust happened, but we are facing a similar massacre by the Jews themselves," a community leader named Adnan Hindi said at the time. "We lost our land and we were forced to flee." Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must tread carefully. Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted in 2003 by alQaida-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that included Jewish sites. Forty-five people were killed. The king's acknowledgment of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a ceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically different paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking. Morocco has long been a quiet pioneer in Arab-Israeli peace efforts, most notably when it served as a secret meeting place for the Israeli and Egyptian officials who set up President Anwar Sadat's groundbreaking journey to Jerusalem in 1977. Read more here,,,, Source: JP
 | | At least 500 people are believed to have been arrested during the mass protests in Iran [File: EPA] | | Iranian authorities have released 140 people detained during a crackdown on protesters following last month's disputed presidential election. The detainees were freed on Tuesday during a visit to the Evin prison in the capital, Tehran, by a parliamentary committee investigating prisoners' conditions. The protesters were among at least 500 people believed to have been arrested during demonstrations that erupted after the June 12 vote, which resulted in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country's president. Kazem Jalili, a spokesman for the committee, said another 150 people remain in detention across Iran and could be released soon, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Also detained are 50 "political figures and members of counter-revolutionary or foreign groups who meddled in the riots", Jalili said. Reports of abuse The move on Tuesday followed an order from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, to close a second detention centre where opposition protesters were detained. Iranian state media said the Kahrizak centre was closing because authorities there were unable to preserve detainees' rights. Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said the parliamentary committee was initially motivated to launch its investigation after reports of mistreatment and abuse of the prisoners. "But what appears to have been the main reason for the investigation was the death of the son of a highly respected conservative politician," he said. "Mohsen Rouhalamini, who was arrested on July 9, was said to be killed in prison. Authorities said he had died from meningitis, but there were reports that his teeth were smashed. "The news was taken very seriously by the conservatives as it revealed that the violence was spiraling out of control." Although the protests have largely been quelled, political tensions continue to run high in Iran with the defeated candidates refusing to accept the result. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two defeated presidential candidates, say the vote was rigged. Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 Source: Hizb ut-Tahrir rally in Gaza - http://www.paltoday.com/arabic/News-52929.html H/T: Gramfan
 Murad was studying in class five in Mingora, the main city in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley, when the Islamists abducted him and took him to their remote mountain base in Chuprial. Looking drained in his smudged clothes and dirty sandals, he gave a glimpse into the short life that awaits boys taken by the Taliban. The next stage of his training included 16 hours a day of physical exercise and psychological indoctrination. "My instructor told me that martyrdom is the biggest reward of Allah," Murad said quietly. Another boy, Abdul Wahab, 15, said the Taliban had lured him to the camp from his studies at a madrassa -- Islamic school -- in Mingora. "I was told that it was a religious duty of every Muslim to get training to fight the enemies of Islam," he said. "I panicked when a few days later I was told that I would be getting training for suicide bombing." The army believes between 1200 and 1500 boys as young as 11 who were trained in Swat to become suicide bombers were recruited after the Pakistani government signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February, handing the militants control of the valley. The agreement broke down after the Taliban started advancing on Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, which led to a military offensive that has all but driven the militants from the region. The boys were rescued after the Taliban were forced to abandon their camps. Many are still missing, however, having been sold to militants in other areas. "We are trying to track them down," said Brigadier Tahir, the commanding officer in Mingora. "We are not sure how many of them are still alive." The Taliban turned to children as potential suicide bombers because they were impressionable, less likely to be detected and better able to reach their targets. "They are told that the Pakistani army has become an enemy of Islam as it is fighting for Christians and Jews," said a senior official involved in interrogation of potential suicide bombers who have surrendered or been captured. On the day of a planned attack, the designated suicide bomber is taken to a mosque to be congratulated for being chosen by God. "Sometimes he is also heavily drugged before the attack," the official said. The children were told that they should not allow anyone, even their parents, to get in the way of jihad. "You must not hesitate even to kill your parents if they are on the wrong side," said Kurshid Khan, 14, who was selected for training that could have taken him to South Waziristan -- the lawless region bordering Afghanistan controlled by Baitullah Mehsud, the head of Pakistan's Taliban. Pakistani intelligence officials said 70 per cent of suicide bombers were trained at camps run by Qari Hussain, Mehsud's most trusted lieutenant. Hussain often boasted that he could convince anyone in 10 minutes to become a suicide bomber. They believe many of the children trained at Hussain's camps have carried out attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. A recent UN report said 80 per cent of bombers involved in attacks in Afghanistan came from camps in Pakistan. The army has set up a rehabilitation centre for the children. Murad is back in Mingora. "We did not have any clue where he went," said Mohammad Salman, his father. "I was horrified when I was told that my son could be a suicide bomber." Source:The Australian
Children at a Hamas-run summer camp re-enact the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in a photograph from a graduation ceremony. July 27 Idyllic days at summer camp usually involve kickball, arts and crafts and some smooth sailing on a placid mountain lake. But when the camp is run by Hamas, kids also have to make time to learn the finer points of kidnapping. Palestinian children in Gaza are being indoctrinated at Hamas summer camps, where they have re-enacted the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit — all while top Hamas officials look happily on, according to The Jerusalem Post. Young campers put on a show acting out the taking of Schalit in the presence of the senior Hamas official who is leading negotiations with Israel over the soldier's release, according to the paper. Schalit was snatched in a cross-border raid in June 2006 and is still being held hostage by Hamas. "This is Hamas's way of showing Palestinian children that kidnapping soldiers is the correct way of life," an Israeli defense official told the Post. Pictures obtained by the paper show children undergoing semi-military training with toy guns. Israeli officials say that more than 120,000 Palestinian children are spending the summer in Hamas-run camps, training-grounds for the militant group recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU. Source: FoxNews
July 28 By Boualam Ghimrassa
Algiers, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Algerian authorities have been trying to propagate Sufism in Algeria to contain a strong Salafi movement in the country, espoused by most members of the armed Islamist groups. An event was officially launched last Saturday, organized by the Zaouia [religious confraternity] Alaouia, with the participation of 5,000 people from 34 countries.
The event featured lectures and seminars calling for moderation and shunning hardline behavior, and Sufi chants. As part of a fierce war that has been going on with the extremist Islamist groups since the early nineties of last century, the authorities have found a different way of stemming the influence of the Salafi jihadist ideology which is espoused by the armed hardliners.
This new approach consists of propagating the Sufi thought through bodies that have thousands of followers inside and outside Algeria. In this respect, the Mostaganem Governorate, 250 km to the west of Algiers, has been the scene of festivals commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Allaoui religious confraternity, under the slogan: "Let us sow the seeds of hope in the minds of people." The organizers of this week-long event say that it is aimed at "encouraging people to return to traditional Islam, the Islam of tolerance and open-mindedness." Its aim is also to "revive the spiritual and cultural heritage."
The event's launching ceremony was marked by a parade of folklore troupes, with the participation of scout groups from several countries. The Algerian news agency said that 5,000 people would be watching the planned spiritual activities, including 2,200 coming from 34 countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, some European countries, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Japan and Indonesia. According to the event's program, the week-long lectures and seminars will go beyond broaching the spiritual aspects of Islam to include discussions on current world issues such as the environment and communication technology. This will be in parallel with lectures on "revelation," "Sufi spiritualism," and "awareness-raising education." For their part, the organizers of the event say that the Alaouia-Dargaria-Chadhilia religious confraternity dates back to the time of the descendants of Prophet Muhammad, God's prayers and peace be upon him, and is strongly inspired by the ideas of the man who revived it early in the 20th century, namely Cheikh Allaoui. The latter succeeded his master, Cheikh El Bouzidi, in 1909. The Cheikh Allaoui confraternity is known for associating traditions to modernity in Islam, and its current Cheikh is called Adlan Khaled Ben Tounis. He is a writer and lecturer on Sufism and Islam. These celebrations are sponsored by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika personally, and call for brotherhood, tolerance, fighting hatred and spreading the values of tolerance. They are keenly used by the Algerian authorities to confront the activity of the propagators of Salafia jihadi ideology, which is infiltrating society through mosques, books and compact discs distributed to the young in various places, including schools.
The Salafia jihadist ideology is also propagated through films inciting combat, which are shown on the Internet. Investigations indicate that a large number of armed groups' members have espoused this ideology as a result of the propagation of a discourse calling for war against the state. Moreover, the Algerian gendarmerie announced over the weekend that border gendarmes had seized four tons of drugs, two weapons, ammunition, and a mobile telephone in the small town of Oued Ritma, Bechar Governorate, 965 km to the south west of the Algerian capital Algiers. In this respect, an Algerian source stated that border guards in Oued Ritma ambushed and opened fire on a convoy composed of four vehicles belonging to drug smugglers; the gendarmes arrested four and seized 4,060 kg of treated drugs and an automatic weapon. Source: Asharq Alawsat
 By Phyllis Chesler An Ongoing Cultural AutopsyThe information is so overwhelming and so awful that even the mainstream media has increasingly been forced to describe the plight of women in Muslim lands. Over the weekend, Nicholas D. Kristof (who has always been good on this) tells the story of a new Pakistani hero: Sixteen-year-old, Assiya Rafiq, who was kidnapped, sold, beaten and raped for a solid year—and then raped again when she went to the police to press charges. She, her supportive parents and siblings now live in hiding as she prepares to prosecute both the gang-members and the police. Today, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both have articles about the return of the Taliban to the Swat Valley in Pakistan and about what that means: The increased kidnapping and indoctrination of children into becoming jihadic warriors and the parallel brutalization of women, infidels, and civilians through beheadings, acid attacks, forced, harsh veiling, and bans on women shopping. Read more ...Source: PJM
 The head scarves are designed to match the force's uniform | Avon and Somerset Police is issuing head coverings to its female officers so they can enter mosques. The force says the move will help its officers respect Muslim religious customs while carrying out their job. The garments, designed to match the force's uniform, were designed in consultation with Muslim groups. Imam Rashad Azami, of Bath, said: "This will go a long way in encouraging a trustful relationship between the police and the Muslim community." Mr Azami, director of Bath Islamic Society, said: "The police have been working closely with the Muslim community in the area on many levels for the last few years." There are two versions of the head coverings, to match the black of a police officer's uniform and the blue of the Police Community Support Officer uniforms. Both carry the force's crest. Source: BBC H/T: Jihad Watch
 Guilty plea ... Shane Kent outside a Melbourne courtMELBOURNE man Shane Kent has pleaded guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court to being a member of a terrorist organisation and being involved in preparing a terrorist act.Kent, 32, made the admission on Tuesday just before a jury was to be empanelled for what was to be his retrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in his original trial last September. He faced a trial last year along with 11 other men accused of being members of a Melbourne terror group that had discussed plans to bomb various landmarks in the city, including the MCG on AFL grand final day. Kent, from Campbellfield, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation between July 2004 and November 2005. The father of three also pleaded guilty to one count of making a document connected with the preparation of a terrorist act. Read more ... Source: The Courier-Mail
'This insolence will bring about the downfall of the American leadership' July 27,
By Aaron Klein
Rally at U.S. consulate in Jerusalem last night (WND photo) | JERUSALEM – President Obama's policies against Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank were slammed as "racist" today by participants in a rally drawing about 2,000 Israelis in front of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. "George Mitchell go home!" yelled protestors in front of the U.S. government building. Mitchell, Obama's envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is here discussing the American administration's call for a halt to all Jewish settlement activity, including natural growth or accommodating the needs of existing Jewish populations in the areas in question. "Obama should not be pressing Israel to compromise and freeze building in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem," protest organizer Yaacov Steinberg told WND. "All these steps in the past just brought more Palestinian terror and showed Israeli weakness," said Steinberg, director of a coalition of West Bank Jewish organizations. Speaking at the rally, Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, who heads the prestigious "Nir" Torah seminary in the West Bank city of Kiryat Arba, called Obama a "racist." "How dare he tell the Jews where they can or can't live! The era when Jews were banned from living in different places has ended," Waldman exclaimed. "Obama beware. This insolence will bring about the downfall of the American leadership. Anyone who dares give an order to prevent Israeli life in Jerusalem or anywhere else in the land of Israel is destined to fall," he said. Read more here,,,, Source: WND
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