 According to the Tampa Tribune, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and several other leaders of the US Muslim Brotherhood network met with jailed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian earlier this week, endorsing Al-Arian's continued obstruction of justice in refusing to divulge details of his knowledge of terrorist support operations in the US. Al-Arian has admitted to fundraising and otherwise aiding PIJ terrorist leaders - several of whom are relatives. After their jailhouse visit with Al-Arian, Awad said that "they were there to support him". CAIR also issued a press release highlighting the meeting with the terrorist leader. Read more ...H/T: Atlas
 "Insulting our Prophet is freedom of expression, but criticism of a small Jew rabbi or a church is a big crime. Bombarding the buildings which collapse onto our women and children is spreading democracy, but defending ourselves by killing the invaders and their agents is terrorism". H/T: Atlas
By Damien McElroy A young Saudi Arabian woman was murdered by her father for chatting on the social network site Facebook, it has emerged. The unnamed woman from Riyadh was beaten and shot after she was discovered in the middle of an online conversation with a man, the al-Arabiya website reported. The case was reported on a Saudi Arabian news site as an example of the "strife" the social networking site is causing in the Islamic nation. Read more ...Source: Telegraph
By Alex Alexiev If you've seen Geert Wilders's film Fitna, you may not have noticed a single headline amongst all the bombings, beheadings, and earnest expressions of Islam's eventual world domination: Halal-fund: investments for Muslims. But the investment vehicles referenced are an essential part of radical Islam’s efforts to insinuate itself into Western societies in order to destroy them from within. And Wall Street, barely out of the woods from its disastrous run-in with sub-prime mortgages - and having lost one of its historic investment houses, Bear Stearns, in the process - is now chasing the very kind of "sharia finance" against which Wilders's movie warns, a business line that may eventually wind up being even more calamitous than the subprime-mortgage fiasco. Read more ...Source: NRO
The Muslim Student Union (MSU) at the University of California - Irvine (UCI) was founded in 1992 by a group of Muslim students who said they wanted “to establish a presence on campus.” Today MSU seeks to “build an environment that enhances good, discourages bad, and provides networks of resources, knowledge, people, and companionship to its members.” Toward these ends, MSU offers “daily congregational prayers, daily free iftars the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during Ramadan that serve over a hundred Muslims, over eight weekly classes, a quarterly magazine Alkalima, coalition building with other clubs on campus, and a gateway to the larger Muslim community …” MSU also provides career advice and a study/tutoring program to help Muslims at UCI. Read more ...Source: FrontPage Magazine
 Treasury official expresses frustrations with the administration's efforts to force action by the kingdom. A Senate panel orders a review.
By Josh Meyer
WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia remains the world's leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks and has failed to take key steps requested by U.S. officials to stem the flow, the Bush administration's top financial counter-terrorism official said Tuesday.
Stuart A. Levey, a Treasury undersecretary, told a Senate committee that the Saudi government had not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable contributions, sometimes unwittingly.
"Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to terrorism, to Sunni terror groups and to the Taliban than any other place in the world," Levey said under questioning.
U.S. officials have previously identified Saudi Arabia as a major source of funding for extremism. But Levey's comments were notable because, although reluctant to directly criticize a close U.S. ally, he acknowledged frustration with administration efforts to persuade the Saudis and others to act.
"We continue to face significant challenges as we move forward with these efforts, including fostering and maintaining the political will among other governments to take effective and consistent action," Levey said, later adding: "Our work is not nearly complete."
Levey was the sole witness before the Senate Finance Committee, which Tuesday ordered an independent review of the efforts to choke off financing used by Al Qaeda and other extremist groups.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the committee chairman, announced the review at the end of the hearing held to assess the money-tracking campaign by Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, headed by Levey.
The Bush administration created the office in 2004 to spearhead efforts to disrupt the flow of money to extremist causes, primarily from wealthy donors in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf.
However, U.S. officials and counter-terrorism experts have said that international support for the effort has waned while terrorist groups have found ways around the financial restrictions. At the same time, there have been turf battles among the 19 federal agencies that work on the problem.
Senators praised work done by Levey but expressed concerns about the overall U.S. effort. The committee's Democratic and Republican leaders cited a Los Angeles Times report last week detailing problems undermining the effort.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican, said extremist groups had adapted to changing U.S. investigative methods: "We are simply not prepared right now to keep up with them and put them out of business once and for all."
Levey said the campaign has succeeded in disrupting terrorist financing by freezing suspicious assets and in gathering intelligence that could be used to identify extremists and disrupt their activities.
But under questioning by senators, Levey also spoke of difficulty in getting Saudi Arabia to take the steps U.S. officials consider necessary.
Levey said the Saudis had been aggressive in going after terrorist cells. But he said they had not lived up to promises to establish the kind of financial intelligence unit needed to trace the money trails of terrorists. Another problem is that the Saudi government has not set up a charity oversight commission to track whether donations end up in the hands of extremists.
Levey said the Saudi government has not moved to publicly hold accountable those within the kingdom who have been the subject of enforcement actions by the U.S. and other authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the Saudi failures mean that Americans who pay more than $100 a barrel for oil are in effect bankrolling extremism because wealthy Saudis "back-door" their profits into charities that fund extremist causes.
Nail Jubeir, press attache for the Saudi embassy in Washington, dismissed those concerns, saying the Bush administration has repeatedly praised Saudi Arabia for its efforts to combat terrorism.
"We have been very vigilant in our campaign against terrorism financing," Jubeir said. "We have come a long way since 9/11 on this issue."
Jubeir confirmed that Saudi Arabia has not set up the financial intelligence unit or charity commission, but said it was cracking down on the financiers of terrorism in other ways, such as making it illegal for anyone to send money outside the kingdom "without going through official government channels."
Alleged financiers of terrorism identified by the United States are being investigated, and their assets have been frozen, Jubeir said. "But unless we have evidence to try them ... we don't parade them in public," he said. "What if it turns out they are innocent?"
At the hearing, senators also expressed concern about disputes among U.S. agencies and other administrative and investigative functions of Levey's office. Baucus and Grassley asked that the Government Accountability Office review its internal efficiency and effectiveness as well as its cooperation with foreign governments.
Levey said he had not seen the request from Baucus and Grassley, but added: "We welcome any source of advice as to how we can improve." josh.meyer@latimes.com Source: Los Angeles Times
By Hassan Daioleslam   Inside the National Iranian-American Council.Robert William (Bob) Ney is a current federal prisoner and a former Ohio Congressman from 1995 until November 3, 2006. On October 13, 2006 Ney pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery scandal. Ney reportedly received bribes from Abramoff, other lobbyists, and two foreign businessmen – a felon and an arms dealer – in exchange for using his position to advance their interests. Conspicuously missing from this dossier of disservice to the country is Ney's masterful creation of an active and disguised Washington-based lobbying enterprise for the Iranian theocratic regime, The National Iranian-American Council (NIAC). NIAC is an effective node of Tehran's comprehensive US lobbying web. This article will address the creation of NIAC, the motives underlying its formation, NIAC's manifesto, Tehran's role, NIAC's connection to Iran's oil mafia, and NIAC attempts to penetrate the US political system. Read more ... Source: Intellectual Conservative
Ayatollah Fadel al-Maliki, an Iraqi living in Qom, blasted the Iranian Ayatollahs for interfering in Iraqi affairs. He asked all religious people not to be involved in politics saying:" the Iraqi government is being run by Turban-wearing religious people". He also blasted those who interfere in Najaf affairs yet allow no Iraqi to participate in affairs of Iranian religious cities. Read more (Arabic)Source: al-Arabiya
 Cybercast News Service is reporting today that the government of Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic state, has warned YouTube to remove Geert Wilders' controversial movie " Fitna" or face being blocked. The movie, a sixteen-minute film that heavily criticizes Islam's holy text, the Koran, has sparked protests and threats in a number of countries and has drawn criticism from the European Union, The Arab League, and The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Mohammad Nuh, Information Minister of the former Dutch colony, issued a statement in Jakarta yesterday (Tuesday) stating that if YouTube did not comply with the request, the government in cooperation with Internet service providers would block the site. The article continues ... YouTube Warned to Remove Koran Film
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
April 02, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - The government of the world's most populous Islamic state says YouTube has two days to take down a Dutch lawmaker's provocative film on the Koran or it will block access to the popular video-sharing Web site.
The warning by Indonesia came as the U.N.'s primary human rights watchdog ended a month-long session amid allegations by Western member-states and non-governmental organizations that Islamic nations are working to curtail free speech.
Geert Wilder's 16-minute film linking Islam's revered text with terrorism has sparked protests in a number of countries. It also drew criticism from the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union.
In Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, Information Minister Mohammad Nuh told a press briefing in Jakarta Tuesday he had sent a letter to YouTube demanding the film, "Fitna," be removed. If it did not comply, he said, the government in cooperation with Internet service providers would block the site.
As of early Wednesday afternoon Indonesian time, attempts to view at least one earlier-available upload of the movie on YouTube brought up a message saying, "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."
But the film has been uploaded on YouTube by multiple users and can still be found with a simple search in both its English and Dutch versions.
In response to queries, a YouTube spokesperson said the site allows people "to express themselves and to communicate with a global audience."
"The diversity of the world in which we live -- spanning the vast dimensions of ethnicity, religion, nationality, language, political opinion, gender, and sexual orientation, to name a few -- means that some of the beliefs and views of some individuals may offend others," she said.
Videos that breach YouTube guidelines are removed, and some graphic material is restricted if not suitable for all audiences, the spokesperson added.
Wilders first uploaded Fitna late last week on a British video-sharing site, LiveLeak, where several million views were recorded before the company took it down, citing threats against its staff.
LiveLeak later lifted the suspension, saying it had tightened security measures, only to have Wilders himself withdraw the film, saying he planned to edit it because of copyright infringement complaints, and would upload an amended version later.
By then, however, the film - which includes a mix of images of terror attacks, verses from the Koran, and menacing quotes by radical clerics and others - was already available on numerous other sites on the Internet, including YouTube.
Go here to read the rest of the article.Source: Cybercast News ServiceSubmitted by kmacginn via Hummers & Cigarettes
"Liberty, if it means anything at all, is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear." There is one ideal that unites all those who love liberty, a concept that also unites the free world - the right to speak freely. Read more ...Source: Thoughts on FreedomH/T: Gramfan
Legislature Passes Libel Terrorism Protection Act To Protect American Journalists and Authors From Overseas Defamation Lawsuits  Albany, NY (March 31, 2008) – The New York State Legislature today unanimously passed the “Libel Terrorism Protection Act” (S.6687/A.9652), sponsored by Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre). When signed into law by Governor David Paterson, this legislation will protect American journalists and authors from foreign lawsuits that infringe on their First Amendment rights. In Ehrenfeld v. Mahout, New York State’s highest court held that it would not protect Dr. Ehrenfeld from a British lawsuit filed by Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim Bin Mahfouz, where she was ordered to pay over $225,000 in damages and legal fees to Bin Mahfouz, as well as apologize and destroy existing copies of her books. Dr. Ehrenfeld sought a court order in November of 2006 to protect her constitutional rights, but in a ruling with national First Amendment implications which sent legal shockwaves throughout newsrooms across America, as well as potentially undermining our ability to expose terrorism’s financial and logistical support networks, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to protect Americans – on U.S. soil – from foreign defamation judgments, which contradict the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Libel Terrorism Protection Act declares overseas defamation judgments unenforceable in New York unless the foreign defamation law provides, in substance and application, the same free speech protections guaranteed under our own constitution, and it gives New York residents and publishers the opportunity to have their day in court here in New York. “This is a great day for free speech and freedom of the press, and I urge Governor Paterson to quickly sign this legislation into law. This law will protect our journalists and authors from trumped up libel charges in kangaroo courts in overseas jurisdictions which don’t share our commitment to free speech and freedom of the press,” said Lancman. “This law will give New York's journalists, authors and press the protection and tools they need to continue to fearlessly expose the truth about terrorism and its enablers, and to maintain New York's place as the free speech capitol of the world,” Lancman concluded. Lancman’s remarks on the Assembly floor are viewable here. “The truth is a critically-important component in the War on Terror,” said Senator Skelos. “This important new law will protect American authors and journalists who expose terrorist networks and their financiers. In its decision, the Court of Appeals called upon the State Legislature to revise the law. Today, we made clear that New York State will safeguard the First Amendment and these courageous writers.” Source: American Center For Democracy
 |
|
|
Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
|
|
|
According to the Tampa Tribune, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and several other leaders of the US Muslim Brotherhood network met with jailed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian earlier this week, endorsing Al-Arian's continued obstruction of justice in refusing to divulge details of his knowledge of terrorist support operations in the US. Al-Arian has admitted to fundraising and otherwise aiding PIJ terrorist leaders - several of whom are relatives.
Posts
