Islamisation of the UK

I blogged a while back about the plans for a mosque in Oxford to be allowed to broadcast the calls to prayer. I read yesterday that residents of the Torquay are already having their peace and quiet disturbed by the broadcasting of the early-morning call to prayer to hundreds of Muslims who have been converging on the Trevelgue Holiday Park where they have been celebrating the Persian new year. The call to prayer has been broadcast three times a day, the first at 05:30.

Just to remind you, the Muslim call to prayer is not just a friendly reminder to get to the Mosque on time. The Muslim call to prayer is not the equivalent of a church ringing bells on a Sunday morning, it is a statement of superiority of Islam over any other religion and of Allah over any other deity, it is a claim of Islamic supremacy.


Here is the call and a translation (from Islam Online's own website (my emphasis):

"The adhan is the call given to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual Prayer). Five times a day the adhan is raised from mosques throughout the world. It is a Sunnah (optional duty) that brings its own reward from Allah (God). The person who gives the adhan is called a muadhdhin. (The English word “muezzin” is a mispronunciation of the Arabic term.)

The adhan begins with an affirmation of the supremacy of Allah (God). Then comes the shahadah (profession of faith), which consists of the profession of the Unity of Allah (God), the negation of shirk (polytheism), and the confirmation that Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) is the Messenger of Allah (God). And after that, comes the call to the Prayer and to success — our eternal home in Paradise — which also implies our return to the Creator. Each line is repeated for emphasis.


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.


Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.


Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah


Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah


Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah, hayya ‘ala-s-Salah.

Hasten to the Prayer, hasten to the Prayer.


Hayya ‘ala-l-falah, hayya ‘ala-l-falah.

Hasten to real success, hasten to real success


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


La ilaha illa-llah

There is none worthy of worship but Allah.



In the adhan for the Subh (Dawn) Prayer (also commonly called the Fajr Prayer), the following words are added after Hayya ‘ala-l-falah:

As-Salatu khairun min an-naum, As-Salatu khairun min an-naum.

Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep.


The Sunnah (practice of the Prophet) recommends that while the adhan is being called, one should listen attentively and repeat it silently after the muadhdhin, but when he says “Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah” and “Hayya ‘ala-l-falah” one should say:

La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.

There is no might or power except with Allah. "



If I was being woken from my slumbers at 05:30 by an amplified voice telling me that Allah is the greatest and the only one worthy of worship, I might be somewhat annoyed.

The Islamic takeover of parts of this country

"The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester and the Church's only Asian bishop, says that people of a different race or faith face physical attack if they live or work in communities dominated by a strict Muslim ideology."

Do read the rest in today's Daily Telegraph, it is a powerful comment on what is happening to this country.

"Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, gives warning that attempts are being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character by introducing the call to prayer and wider use of sharia law, a legal system based on the Koran.

In an attack on the Government's response to immigration and the influx of "people of other faiths to these shores", he blames its "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for allowing society to become deeply divided, and accuses ministers of lacking a "moral and spiritual vision"."


I link this article with the story that "Oxford has become the latest place in Britain where Muslims have submitted an application to broadcast calls to prayer from a mosque. Residents have urged the council to reject the request for a two-minute call three times a day, warning that it would turn the area into a Muslim ghetto."

To help you decide, the Muslim call to prayer is not just a wake-up call, it means something and here is an explanation, the call and a translation (from Islam Online's own website:

"The adhan is the call given to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual Prayer). Five times a day the adhan is raised from mosques throughout the world. It is a Sunnah (optional duty) that brings its own reward from Allah (God). The person who gives the adhan is called a muadhdhin. (The English word “muezzin” is a mispronunciation of the Arabic term.)

The adhan begins with an affirmation of the supremacy of Allah (God). Then comes the shahadah (profession of faith), which consists of the profession of the Unity of Allah (God), the negation of shirk (polytheism), and the confirmation that Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) is the Messenger of Allah (God). And after that, comes the call to the Prayer and to success — our eternal home in Paradise — which also implies our return to the Creator. Each line is repeated for emphasis.


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.


Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa-llah.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.


Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah


Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah


Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah, hayya ‘ala-s-Salah.

Hasten to the Prayer, hasten to the Prayer.


Hayya ‘ala-l-falah, hayya ‘ala-l-falah.

Hasten to real success, hasten to real success


Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.


La ilaha illa-llah

There is none worthy of worship but Allah.



In the adhan for the Subh (Dawn) Prayer (also commonly called the Fajr Prayer), the following words are added after Hayya ‘ala-l-falah:

As-Salatu khairun min an-naum, As-Salatu khairun min an-naum.

Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep.


The Sunnah (practice of the Prophet) recommends that while the adhan is being called, one should listen attentively and repeat it silently after the muadhdhin, but when he says “Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah” and “Hayya ‘ala-l-falah” one should say:

La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.

There is no might or power except with Allah. "




The Muslim call to prayer is not the equivalent of a church ringing bells on a Sunday morning, it is a statement of superiority of Islam over any other religion and of Allah over any other deity.

Barack Obama and the truth

BorderFire reports that

"Terry Anderson, an African-American talk show host in Los Angeles, provides a list of 39 things Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama claims are facts, but further investigation shows they are not exactly correct.

Senator Obama is easily sailing through his campaign without media scrutiny, while reporters rummage through Gov. Sarah Palin's past in order to discover anything that may hurt her politically.

While Oprah Winfrey practically lap-danced for Obama, she's refusing to have Palin as a guest on her show (see petition urging Oprah to invite Gov. Palin to be a guest on her syndicated television show http://www.palinpetition.com).

Anderson's list is quite interesting:

1.) Selma March Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google'Obama Selma ' for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.)

2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.

3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.

4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga's follower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that...and for more. Obama's cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get Sharia muslim law in place there. Whe n Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians' homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth.
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/290390

5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982271/posts

6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama. Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother's side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father's side. While Barack Hussein Obama's father was from Kenya , his father's family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama's father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father's birth certificate even states he's Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more....go to.....http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?Barack_Hussein_Obama_-_Arab-American,_only_6.25%25_African

7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office. 4-3-08 Article 'Obama was 'quite religious in islam'' http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559

8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book). February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it'll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.' This is just one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says 'Obama's narrative is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.'

9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says you could speak the language.

10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn't even speak the language. What did you learn except how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.

11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.

12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine

13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.

14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.

15.) I Won't Run On A National Ticket In '08 - NOT EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.

16.) Voting 'Present' is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.

17.) Oops, I Misvoted -&nb sp;NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.

18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.

19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.

20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you didn't write it, introduce it, change it or create it.

21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days from start to finish.

22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.

23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.

24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.

26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.

27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rath er handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.

28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them.

29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction off Israel

30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the delegates decide.

31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.

32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26, most of which you didn't write yourself.

33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.

34.) I Don't Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it.

35.) I don't Have Lobbysists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting.

36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.

37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren't in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time.

38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 (That's 15 Million) who don't have to buy it.

39.) My uncle liberated Auschwitz concentration camp - NOT EXACTLY, your mother had no brothers and the Russan army did the liberating."

A nice summary of the slipperiness of Barack Obama and not items that will be covered by the MSM, not when there are stories about Sarah Palin's sunbed to cover.


Any comments MergeDivide?

Is Barack Hussein Obama a Muslim? Does it matter?

Victor Volsky at Israel Against Terror has written an interesting piece, here's an extract:

'Is Barack Hussein Obama a Muslim? Even if he were, it would hardly matter. For his policies are apparently animated by an ideology that, even though a polar opposite of militant Islam, is little different from it in terms of objectives and results.

One can understand why so many people believe that Obama might be a Muslim. After all, his first official phone call as U.S. President was to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, signaling the new administration's foreign policy priorities. His first foreign trip was to Egypt. His first major foreign policy initiative proclaimed in his June 2009 Cairo speech was an extended hand to the Muslim world.

And how about his close friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a PLO propagandist and former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat? His rhapsodic observation that the muezzin's call to prayer is the "prettiest" sound in creation? His beyond-ludicrous assertions that America is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world and that from the time of America's founding Muslims have enriched the American legacy? His sonorous proclamation in the Cairo speech that "Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance"? His frequent deeply reverential references to the "Holy Koran" (has he ever referred to the Bible as "Holy?")? His deep bow to the Saudi King?

Even his famous gaffe that the U.S. comprises 57 states may have been a Freudian slip suggesting that the entity he actually had on his mind was the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which indeed has 57 member-states. Sometimes his seemingly infinite affinity for all things Muslim goes to ridiculous lengths, as when he tasked NASA with a new mission of raising Muslims' self-esteem by pointing out their invaluable historical contribution to aerospace science (did he by any chance mean the magic carpet from the Arabian Nights?).

...

But is such overt and boundless Islamophilia evidence of Islamic affiliation? Not necessarily. There is a more plausible explanation: Barack Obama is simply a far-left radical progressive, a member in good standing of a community whose ideology is not all that different from the Islamist worldview. This makes the two movements allies, as it were. Name just about any policy area, and everywhere the objectives of radical progressives and militant Muslims dovetail so closely as to be virtually indistinguishable.

At the root of such harmony of visions lies their shared visceral hatred for America.

Both Islamists and far-left radicals see the U.S. as the focus of all evil. Both believe that America must get her comeuppance. The Islamists call the U.S. the Great Satan, which is exactly what the radicals would call their country were they religiously inclined. But since they are not, they call America a greedy, imperialist aggressor and vicious oppressor, the paramount enemy of mankind.



...

Another point of agreement between the far left and radical Islam is their shared anti-Semitism and implacable hostility toward Israel. Is it a coincidence that Obama has demanded that Israel return to its 1967 borders, which would place her in a totally untenable position and which is exactly what the Palestinians want? Again, there is a slight divergence of ultimate goals between the two: the Islamists dream of destroying the Small Satan and exterminating all Jews, while the American radicals would be content to see Israel wiped off the map and its inhabitants (what's left of them, anyway) merely dispersed to all four corners of the world. But for practical purposes the Islamists and the radicals are allies, forming two prongs of a pincers squeezing Israel.

...

Now imagine that an Islamist mole has been planted in the White House. Would he behave any differently from Obama? Maybe he would be more cautious for fear of being found out, but ultimately he would pursue exactly the same kind of policies. So is Obama a Muslim? Maybe he is, and maybe he isn't. But when all is said and done, it doesn't make a dime's worth of difference.'

Do read the whole article and spread it around, it's a good one.

Because on the BBC some 'holy sites' are holier than others

The BBC's report on the Pope's visit to Jerusalem is fascinating for what it reveals about the BBC different attitudes to Jewish and Muslim 'holy sites'.

The BBC article has these two lines near the top of it:

At the al-Aqsa mosque compound, the Pope urged people of all religions to "work together for justice and peace".

He then prayed at the Western Wall, which lies just beneath it, bowing his head as he touched the stones.

Note how the BBC carefully crowbar the word into the Al-Aqsa line but leave any mention of peace out of the Western Wall line, subtle but effective?

Note how these two lines don't ponder why Jews worship at a wall not a standard place of worship, nor why the Al Aqsa mosque compound stands above the Western Wall.

The BBC soon bring in one of their favourite pieces of rubric:

Pope Francis began the third day of his trip by visiting the compound, considered the third holiest site in Islam.  

No mention of for how long the Al Aqsa mosque has been considered the 'third holiest site in Islam', I wonder why.


Moving on, the BBC article then has some more about the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount:

Known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as the Temple Mount, the status of the site is one of the most contentious issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict .

Pope Francis took off his shoes to enter the Dome of the Rock, from where Islamic tradition says the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The Pope then walked to the nearby al-Aqsa Mosque.

Speaking to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the Pope deviated from his prepared remarks to call on Christians, Jews and Muslims to "love one another as brothers and sisters".

"May we learn to understand the suffering of others. May no-one abuse the name of God through violence," he said.

Afterwards, he headed to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism. It is part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount dating back to a time when a Jewish temple stood there.

The Pope spent a few minutes praying at the wall, as he did on Sunday at the controversial Israeli security barrier that separates the biblical town of Bethlehem in the West Bank from Jerusalem.  

The Western Wall is described as 'one of the holiest sites in Judaism' there is no mention of what would be the holiest site in Judaism - the Temple in Jerusalem - because Jews don't choose to have a wall to worship at, they only have a wall because Islam has built a bloody great Mosque on top of the Jewish Temple.  The BBC do at lease mention that a Jewish Temple did once stand there but it's left to the reader to put two and two together and reach the uncomfortable (for the BBC) truth that is the number four.

Note also how the BBC equate prayer at the Western Wall with the 'controversial Israeli security barrier'. No mention of why Israel needed to build that security barrier, oddly the BBC choose not to call it a wall here but the comparison with the Western Wall does that for them in this instance and the BBC would have loved the idea of comparing the two walls.


The BBC piece continues:

Later, the Pope travelled to Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial, where he kissed the hands of several survivors in a sign of honour.

At a solemn ceremony at the Hall of Remembrance, he spoke of the "boundless tragedy of the Holocaust", describing it as an "unfathomable abyss".

"Never again, Lord, never again!" he said. "Here we are, Lord, shamed by what man - created in your own image and likeness - was capable of doing."

Our correspondent says the visit to the memorial holds special significance because of questions over the Vatican's position during the Holocaust.

Now the BBC know that the holocaust was a bad thing and like to attack (quite correctly) the Catholic Church for its failure to oppose the holocaust. Oddly the BBC are less willing to link the Muslim population of the Middle East and in particular their leader, the Mufti of Jerusalem, with the holocaust. I suppose such links would, whilst truthful, go against their view of Islam...

The BBC piece continues:

The Pope then met Israel's two chief rabbis before attending a private audience with President Peres, whom he asked to guarantee pilgrims free access to Jerusalem's holy sites.

Did the Pope not bring up the matter of Islamic persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Territories? If not, why not? If he did then why do the BBC not report it, or ask why he didn't?

Finally the BBC include this bit:

Shortly before departing for Rome from Ben Gurion airport, he celebrated Mass at the site known as the Cenacle, where Jesus is reputed to have taken part in the Last Supper with his Apostles on the eve of his crucifixion.

The Cenacle is located in a historic building on Mount Zion that is also sacred to both Jews and Muslims. The reputed burial place of King David is on the ground floor of the Cenacle, while a mosque is situated on the roof.

 What a coincidence, another Jewish holy site with a mosque built on top of it. What are the odds on that happening more than once? For the BBC this is a matter of no interest at all, just one of those things.


So there you have it, another superbly unbiased piece of Middle East reporting from the BBC:

1. for whom the holocaust was a bad thing but Islam's links to it must never be mentioned
2. for whom Jerusalem's place as the third holiest site in Islam is sacrosanct whilst it's position in Judaism is an inconvenience to peace
3. for whom the presence of Jewish religious sites underneath Muslim ones is of no interest or relevance
4. for whom any reference to prayer at the Western Wall must be linked to the security wall

 

Dear William Hague - some historical facts re Jerusalem

'
Dear Mr Hague:

I write in support of a petition I have recently signed, asking the British Foreign Office to alter its position on what has become an unnecessarily vexed question concerning the capital of Israel. As you know, Israelis are unanimous in regarding Jerusalem as their capital, not Tel Aviv (where the British embassy is currently located), nor Haifa nor Jaffa nor Petah Tikva nor anywhere else in the country. 

It is not hard to understand why the first Israeli parliament chose Jerusalem as its seat, even before it had built an edifice suitable to the needs of the men and women who sat in its chamber.  For many centuries, Jews in the Diaspora had clung to a hope, not only of a return to the Holy Land, but to Jerusalem in particular, the erstwhile home of its holiest Temple and the scene of so many primary events in Jewish and Christian history. This might be dismissed on the grounds that religious belief should not determine a city’s status, but many cities derive their significance from their role as religious centres, from Mecca and Medina (the latter having been the first capital of Islam), to Karbala’ and Mashhad, to Varanasi (Benares) and the Vatican City. This original attachment, intensified by daily prayers while facing Jerusalem and repeated wishes to return there, was later supplanted by the governmental, educational, trading, defensive, legal and bureaucratic concerns of the capital of a secular state.

As a people who have been deeply wronged in the past, Jews have tried to build their own state along lines of equal citizenship, a single legal system, human rights, and the protection of all holy places. But when Jordan occupied East Jerusalem from 1949 to 1967, Muslim holy places were renovated while 58 synagogues were destroyed and 38,000 Jewish graves were demolished. In addition, Jews were not allowed to set foot in their own holy places, notably on the Temple Mount. By contrast, when Israel retook Jerusalem in 1967, the Temple Mount was handed to a Muslim authority on account of two Islamic structures built on top of it, the al-Aqsa mosque and the Qubbat al-Sakhra or Dome of the Rock.

Such depredations and a lack of reciprocity have made Israelis wary of a Muslim takeover of East Jerusalem, where the holiest sites are located: the Temple Mount, the Western Wall (the Kotel), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, and the famous Jewish graveyards, still vandalized horribly by Arab criminals.

But the Palestinians have made it their business to turn Jerusalem into a bastion of Islamic holiness, not just because the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock are there, but because they now claim that there has never been any Jewish connection to the city or to the land of Israel. There was, they boast, no Jewish Temple there. All Biblical references to the Temple and to Jerusalem as a city built by King David are summarily and ahistorically dismissed. 

Given that Muslims have demolished the holy places of more than one religion, the Jews are rightly concerned lest Jerusalem fall under Islamic control. In Saudi Arabia for decades now, the government has been engaged in the destruction of Islamic holy places in Mecca and Medina. Lest you think me in the grip of some obscure fantasy, I should explain that the Wahhabi form of Islam, which governs Saudi Arabia, is utterly ruthless in its condemnation of anything that may be worshipped instead of God. They have demolished over 200 historical sites to prevent pilgrims praying at them. In Mali, a similar form of Islam – Salafism – has recently demolished dozens of shrines belonging to the Sufi form of Islam. And in Iran, the government has demolished all the holy places and cemeteries of the persecuted Baha’i religion. Israel, by way of contrast, protects and nourishes the large international headquarters and two holiest shrines of the Baha’is, places now recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Is it surprising that the Israelis, backed by Jews and others like myself round the world, are desperate to maintain the integrity of the city, knowing as they do that Muslim Arab rule would carry a greatly heightened risk to the Old City and its environs? Israel has been generous towards Muslims and their holy places, but they fear that if increased pressure were to come from Saudi Arabia or Iran or, nearer to hand from Hamas, everything Jewish might be eliminated. Palestinians have taken control of the Jewish Tomb of Rachel, the third holiest site for Jews. They have commandeered most of the Ma’arat Ha-Machpelah, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and made access for Jews to a tiny space very difficult, as I can personally attest. This is the second holiest site for Jews, containing as it does the tombs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.

In the earliest days of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad adopted from his Jewish neighbours the practice of turning towards Jerusalem during the five daily prayers. But in the year 622, a few months after his arrival in Medina, he did an about turn during one prayer session and from then on directed his followers to pray towards his home city of Medina. He severed all direct ties with Jerusalem, and in the centuries that followed Jerusalem was never a provincial capital, nor the heart of a Muslim country or empire. Medina in the first years, then Damascus, Baghdad, Istanbul and other cities became the capitals of Islam. Cairo was the major city in North Africa, Fez and Rabat capitals of the west, Esfahan, Tabriz, Tehran and others the royal cities of Iranian dynasties. And so on. But Jerusalem was never given such signal importance. This is significant. Palestinian wishes to make Jerusalem defy centuries of insignificance would lock us into a dispute that could last one thousand years.

For this reason, Jews everywhere will refuse to relinquish a city that was theirs from the beginning, and they will not reward people who have tried to take what was never theirs, who have tried to deny the historical record concerning the Jewish presence in a city that has been Jewish for 3000 years. To confirm the place of Jerusalem at the heart of Jewish life and prayers and as the eternal capital of their only homeland, Jews and Israelis appeal to honest governments to do the right thing and recognize that Jerusalem is the city where all the key aspects of Israeli life converge. No Israeli regards Tel Aviv as his or her capital. It is demeaning to treat Israelis as children by telling them this or that foreign government knows better than they and their government when it comes to designating Jerusalem their capital. I do not think you treat any other capital city in this way. You do not call Cork the capital of Ireland, nor Glasgow the capital of Scotland, nor the cathedral city of St. David’s the capital of Wales, nor Marseilles the capital of France. I do not believe the Foreign Office means to be insulting in this matter; but if foreigners called Birmingham the capital of England and the UK, would you not feel aggrieved?

Israel’s enemies call in all seriousness for the destruction of the country. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on all Islamic nations to ‘exterminate Israel’ (my translation). The Arabs, faced by their repeated failure to achieve this by military means or terrorism, have turned to secondary means, saying that there never any Jews in Israel, that they themselves were there first, an impossible 9000 years ago, and that Jerusalem was always an Arab city (a claim that directly contradicts the accounts of Arab historians like al-Tabari). It is a cheap and dishonest attempt to rewrite history itself and to introduce confusion into a simple narrative. Denying the historicity and modern reality of Israel, of Jerusalem, and of Israelis by refusing to liberate the city from the string of fictions that has tied so many in knots, allows falsehood and deceit to rule in international affairs. Britain is still a great country that is admired the world round for its probity. I do not doubt that you, like myself, wish to see that image remain untarnished. But I have to say that it is in some measure tarnished when you try to steal the Israeli capital from the Israelis themselves.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Denis MacEoin'

This letter has been sent by Denis MacEoin to William Hague and others at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Please spread the word... I wonder if Tarik Kafala, the BBC's Middle East Editor, could usefully learn something from this letter?

Ignoring the evidence of their own eyes and ears

I have had a difficult weekend on Twitter, there seem to be number of people who make outrageous claims that are at variance with reality but when they are made aware of the truth they just don't accept it. I will be addressing three people's inability to process evidence this week, @aarondellaria, @natashasuleman and @SarahIJoselh, today I start with @aarondellaria who appears to be ignoring me on Twitter now, unable to deal with the truth it would seem.

I posed a question to @aarondellaria and that question was if he accepted that 'Hamas wanted to destroy Israel and kill all Jews'. He wriggled and wriggled, here's some early attempts to evade answering the question:

Pathetic but I persisted so he had to change tack:

"Hamas can say whatever" - indeed they can but I want this individual to admit that 'Hamas want to destroy Israel and kill all Jews'. So I keep on asking... Here's @aarondellaria's next reply:

So he accepts that Hamas dream about destroying Israel and killing all Jews but as they know that's not realistic we can ignore it.

I wasn't satisfied as I hadn't asked if they could destroy Israel and kill all Jews but if they want to destroy Israel and kill all Jews, so I asked again and this was the response:

So it's just rhetoric and Israel should ignore the rhetoric, although previously @aarondellaria said it was a dream - so just an aspiration not a realistic aim.

I asked again and got this response from @aarondellaria.

There you go, the last refuge of the scoundrel, an accusation (albeit tangentially) that I was a racist. Not bad, he managed several hours before he resorted to that trick.Brighter than some I have had to deal with in the past.


I am not a member of the BNP, nor a supporter, but don't see why that would be relevant to my questioning him about what Hamas wanted that for a certain type of agitator an accusation of racism trumps all and I am sure Aaron Dellaria is used to people backing down before his accusations and his refusal to ever concede. Fortunately I have met his type before and beaten them (in argument) many many times.


Anyway for @aarondellaria here's some evidence of how Hamas view Israel and Jews.


1. Let's start with Hamas's Charter:

'– In the Palestinian state only Jews who lived in Palestine before 1917 will be recognized as citizens [Article 6]:
– Only the Palestinian Arabs possess the right of self-determination, and the entire country belongs to them [Articles 3 and 21].
– Any solution that does not involve total liberation of the country is rejected. This aim cannot be achieved politically; it can only be accomplished militarily [Articles 9 & 21].
– Warfare against Israel is legal, whereas Israel's self-defence is illegal [Article 18].'

That 1968 Charter does not call for Israel to return to 1967 borders it calls for 'the entire country' to return to Palestinian control.

Let's take a look at Article 7 of the Charter:  

"Hamas has been looking forward to implementing Allah's promise, whatever time it might take. The prophet [Muhammad] said: 'The time (of Resurrection) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: 0 Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him!'" Sahih Muslim, Book 41, Number 6985]

2. Let's look at what Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, said on his visit to Tunisia in early January 2012. The comments were all recorded and broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV:

"I say to you now, in the capital of south Tunisia: We will never ever recognize Israel."

"The land of Palestine, oh brothers and sisters, is an Islamic, as decreed by the second caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab. We shall not relinquish the Islamic waqf on the land of Palestine, and Jerusalem shall not be divided into Western and Eastern Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a single united [city], and Palestine stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and from Naqoura [Rosh Ha-Niqra] to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat] in the south."

This is Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, saying on 14 December that whilst Hamas may work for the "interim objective of liberation of Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem," this in an "interim objective" and "reconciliation" with Fatah will not change Hamas' long-term "strategic" goal of eliminating all of Israel. Ismail Haniyeh also said this:

"The armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel]... We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine."

From the sea to the river, now where have I heard that before? Oh yes, remember that every time someone chants "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" they are calling for the destruction of Israel, the ending of the Jewish state. The river is the Jordan, the sea is the Mediterranean; from the river to the sea is not calling for a two state solution, it is calling for the destruction of Israel.


3. Some video evidence - This video from Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV is a prayer pleading with Allah to "vanquish your [Allah's] enemies" and to "strike" the Jews and their "sympathizers", "the Christians and their supporters", and to not leave "even one".

"Allah, oh our Lord, vanquish Your enemies, enemies of the religion
[Islam] in all places.
Allah, strike the Jews and their sympathizers,
the Christians and their supporters,

Allah, count them and kill them to the last one, and don't leave even one."
Al Aqsa TV (Hamas) Dec. 3, 2010 (1 min)




4.How about another Hamas leader, this time Nizar Rayan, Hamas religious and military leader at the time he said this in on 1 January 2009:

"Regarding the Jews, our business with them is only through bombs and guns... the prophet [Muhammad] promised that we will fight you, with Allah's help, until the tree and stone say: "Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."

5. How about another Hamas cleric from 2008:
Source: Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 13, 2008

"The Meccan [Quran] chapter entitled 'Jews' or 'Children of Israel' is remarkable... It's about today's Jews, those of our century, and speaks only of extermination and digging graves... This chapter sentences the Jews to extermination before a single Jew existed on earth... Palestine's blessing is linked to destruction of the center of global corruption [Jews of Israel], the snake's head. When the snake's head of [global] corruption is cut off, here in Palestine, and when the octopus' [Jew's] tentacles are cut off around the world, the real blessing will come with the destruction of the Jews, here in Palestine, and it is one of the splendid real blessings in Palestine."

6. This time we'll look at a Hamas newspaper report on the words of a Hamas MP
Source: Al-Rissala (Hamas weekly), Mar. 13, 2008

"You [Jews] will taste the punishment of Scorching Fire." [Quran 3:181]
"This [Quran] verse threatens the Jews with the punishment of Fire... the reason for the punishment of Fire is that it is fitting retribution for what they have done... but the urgent question is, is it possible that they will have the punishment of Fire in this world, before the great punishment [of everlasting Fire in Hell]?...many of the [Islamic] religious leaders believe that the [Jews'] punishment of Fire is in this world... therefore we are certain that the Holocaust is still to come upon the Jews." [Sheikh Yunus Al-Astal, Hamas MP]

7. Let's go back another year and to a Hamas newspaper
Source: Al-Rissala (Hamas weekly), Apr. 23, 2007

"We find occastional condemnation and denunciation of the resistance operations and bombings [suicide attacks], carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches... [Eventually] everyone will know that we did this [suicide attacks] only because our Lord commanded so - 'I did it not of my own accord' [Quran] - and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the world."

8. Let's lighten the mood with some Hamas children's TV from 2009

The bear puppet host, Nassur, of a Hamas children's TV program used different words for "slaughter" to describe how to rid Israel of Jews.
First the bear explains that all Jews must be "erased from our land." Later in the conversation he adds, "We want to slaughter them, Saraa, so they will be expelled from our land." He repeats, "...We'll have to [do it] by slaughter."

He first uses the Arabic expression for "slaughter," "Nidbah-hom," and later on uses the word "Shaht."

The following is the transcript from the children's program Tomorrow's Pioneers:

Nassur: "There won't be any Jews or Zionists, if Allah wills. They'll be erased."
Saraa: "Chased away."
Nassur: "And just like we will visit the Qaaba [in Mecca]... everyone will visit Jerusalem."
[Seven-year old Palestinian child on phone tells how his father, a member of the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades, "died as a Shahid (Martyr)."]
Nassur to child on phone: "What do you want to do to the Jews who shot your father?"
Child on phone: "I want to kill them."
Saraa: "We don't want to do anything to them, just expel them from our land."
Nassur: "We want to slaughter (Nidbah-hom) them, so they will be expelled from our land, right?"
Saraa: "Yes. That's right. We will expel them from our land using all means."
Nassur: "And if they don't want [to go] peacefully, by words or talking, we'll have to [do it] by slaughter." (Shaht)
[Al-Aqsa (Hamas) TV, Sept. 22, 2009

9. Here's a short extract from an anti_Israel film that is shown regularly in Universities

The words of that prayer are (my emphasis):

'Allah is the greatest.
He who thanks Allah will be rewarded.
Oh Allah, loosen your power and strength on the Jews. (Amen.)
Please Allah, kill them all...
And don't leave any of them alive. (Amen.)
Oh Allah, with your great power. Allah!
We are asking you with your infinite power, dear Allah. Allah!
Please dear Allah, take revenge for our martyrs' blood. Allah!
Please Allah, get rid of the Jews.
Bring them down.
They are not as powerful as you.
Please Allah, make the earth shake and destroy the pillars of their civilisation.
Please Allah, cast fear and terror into their hearts.
Oh Allah disperse them so they become lost once again.
Oh Allah, show us a sign.
Oh Allah, surprise them in a way they don't expect.
Oh Allah, cast fear and terror into their hearts.'

10. Enough videos, back to the words of Hamas:
From a sermon delivered by 'Atallah Abu Al-Subh, former Hamas minister of culture, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV, April 8, 2011, translation by MEMRI:

"Whoever is killed by a Jew receives the reward of two martyrs, because the very thing that the Jews did to the prophets was done to him.

"The Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl upon the face of the Earth, because they have displayed hostility to Allah.

"Allah will kill the Jews in the hell of the world to come, just like they killed the believers in the hell of this world.

"The Jews kill anyone who believes in Allah. They do not want to see any peace whatsoever on Earth."

11. Do you recognise these words?

"Palestine is Islamic, and not an Islamic emirate, from the river to the sea, that unites the Palestinians. Jews have no right in it, with the exception of those who lived on the land of Palestine before World War I."

They were said by Hamas official Halil Al-Hayya, as quoted in Al-Hayat newspaper, November 11, 2010
That's right, they are rater similar to the point I started with, Hamas's 1968 Charter.


12. How about another Hams leader? Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, Future News TV, June 15, 2010, Source: MEMRI.org

"We have liberated Gaza, but have we recognized Israel? Have we given up our lands occupied in 1948? We demand the liberation of the West Bank, and the establishment of a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital – but without recognizing [Israel]. This is the key – without recognizing the Israeli enemy on a single inch of land. ...
"Our plan for this stage is to liberate any inch of Palestinian land, and to establish a state on it. Our ultimate plan is [to have] Palestine in its entirety. I say this loud and clear so that nobody will accuse me of employing political tactics. We will not recognize the Israeli enemy."

13. How about some more comments about not living alongside Israel but destroying it?

"[Hamas will] never recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist state that was founded on our land."

That's Khaled Mashaal, Hamas leader, February 3, 2006, Al-Hayyat al-Jedida


14. Another one?

"[Hamas] will not change a single word in its covenant [which is calling for the destruction of Israel]."

That's Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas leader, after casting his vote in the Gaza Strip, January 25, 2006, Ha'aretz


15. Another one?

"We do not recognize the Israeli enemy, nor his right to be our neighbor, nor to stay (on the land), nor his ownership of any inch of land.... We are interested in restoring our full rights to return all the people of Palestine to the land of Palestine. Our principles are clear: Palestine is a land of Waqf (Islamic trust), which can not be given up."

That's (Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas leader and candidate to the Palestinian legislative council, Palestinian TV, January 17, 2006, Newsday


16. More?

"The vanquishing of the enemy in Gaza does not mean that this stage has ended. We still have Jerusalem and the pure West Bank. We will not rest until we liberate all our land, all our Palestine. We do not distinguish between what was occupied in the 1940s and what was occupied in the 1960s. Our Jihad continues, and we still have a long way to go. We will continue until the very last usurper is driven out of our land."

That's Sheik Nizar Rayan, Hamas "political" leader, at a rally in Gaza, Al-Jazeera TV on September 16, 2005, MEMRI


17. You want more?

"We stand here on our liberated land, near the armistice borders. We remember when Sharon said that Netzarim is like Tel Aviv. Hamas has said, via the lion of Palestine [Rantisi], that Gaza is like Tel Aviv. The promise that has been fulfilled and will be fulfilled in the future, oh Sharon, is the promise of Allah, and the promise of Hamas. Behold, Palestine is being liberated, Allah willing..."

"We have come here in multitudes to proclaim that Hirbiya and Ashkelon will be taken by the mujahideen. We have come here to say that the weapons of the resistance that you see here will remain, Allah willing, so that we can liberate Palestine – all of Palestine – from the Sea to the River, whether they like it or not."

That one was from Mushir al-Masri, Hamas spokesman, at a rally in Gaza, Al-Jazeera TV on September 16, 2005, MEMRI


18. Another Hams leader?

"By God, we will not leave one Jew in Palestine. We will fight them with all the strength we have. This is our land, not the Jews..."

"You will have no security except outside the homeland Palestine.... We have Allah on our side, and we have the sons of the Arab and Islamic nation on our side."

Those two are from Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Hamas leader, June 10, 2003, interview with Al-Jazeera, Jerusalem Post


19. How about Hamas's spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin, interviewed in the Australian Muslim youth magazine, Nida'ul Islam, June/July 2002

"We reject this US domination and this frantic war. From our side, we concentrate on striking blows to it here in Palestine, with the aim of ironing out the Jewish entity in Palestine, which is the cause of trouble in the world..."

20. Some more video now.

That's Dr. Walid Al-Rashudi, head of the Department of Islamic Studies at Saud University in Saudi Arabia, in a speech broadcast in 2009 on Hamas TV. The religious scholar prays for the extermination of all Jews: "Kill them one by one and don't leave even one."


I could go on and on and on and on, there's so much out there of Hamas's desire to destroy Israel and kill all Jews but even I haven't got all day. I'll give the last word to Lt. Col Ralph Peters in an interview on American television in 2009 "Hamas's mission is to kill Jews, you cannot persaude its leaders to pick a new mission... Hamas exists to destroy Israel... their mission is to kill Israelis, kill Jews"

I am sure that @aarondellaria has a good explanation as to how I have misunderstood Hamas, if so I'd love to hear it.

Our friends in Saudi Arabia

I have blogged before about Saudi Arabia and their attitude to religions other than Islam. Now I read at Mission Network News that:

"Saudi Arabia (MNN) ― The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi Arabia deported 15 Christians on Tuesday, August 5th, for holding private worship meetings in a house in the city of Taif.

On Friday, April 25, twelve Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting. The first officer to enter the house after breaking down the main gate pointed a pistol at the Christians and ordered them to hand over their resident permits and mobile phones. The other 11 police followed quickly and started searching the entire house. They confiscated an electronic drum set, an offering box with 500 Saudi Riyal in it ($130), 20 bibles, and a few Christian books.

The police initially accused the Christians of preaching the Bible and singing. They later changed the charge to holding a "dance party" and collecting money to support terrorism.

During the raid, the police mocked, questioned and harassed the Christians for four hours. Then they took them to a police station where the head of the station interrogated them. The official then wrote down their "statements" in Arabic and forced the Christians, who are immigrants and not able to read or write Arabic, to sign the statements.

After the interrogations, the Christians were incarcerated and held incommunicado. After three days, the Christians were finally released on April 27, 2008 at 8 PM.

Upon their release, one of the Christians permanently departed the country. The others, thinking that their ordeal was over, went back to their daily lives and work. But they soon received letters demanding that they leave the country immediately.

ICC's President Jeff King says this has been typical behavior of Saudi officials. "They'll say, 'We don't want political pressure.' So [once foreign Christians are] arrested, they release them quickly. The next thing you know, the whole group is deported out of the country."

While deportation isn't good, it's far better than what happens to Saudis who come to Christ. "They could be killed" says King. "They would be arrested. They would be in grave danger. And those are the cases, unfortunately, we can't talk about. There's tremendous pressure to convert them back to Islam."

The decision to deport them runs contrary to recent attempts to portray the Saudi kingdom as a beacon of reconciliation among Christians, Muslims, Jews and others. Three weeks ago, Saudi Arabia hosted an interfaith conference in Madrid, Spain. During the conference that took place from July 16-19, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called for reconciliation among various religions.

King says this is ironic. "The [Saudi] king is saying that Christians and Muslims need to get along better. Then, look at what's happening at home! This just shows and exposes the heart of Saudi beliefs. They can spend money and spin things, and they can do PR. But what matters is what happens at home."

King says, "Deporting Christians for worshipping in their private homes shows that King Abdullah's speech is mere rhetoric, and his country is deceiving the international community about their desire for change and reconciliation."

While persecution continues in Saudi Arabia, the church is growing. "There is a tremendous hunger for Bibles in the persecuted church," King says. "You could see up to 30 people sharing one Bible. They tear off little pieces, and each person has like one book. One of our big drives is to get Bibles into the hands of these guys. It makes all the difference. I always call it 'spiritual fertilizer.'""

I think that you should be reminded of a few Saudi facts:

1) No symbols of any faith other than Islam are allowed into Saudi Arabia and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited.

2) Only Muslims are allowed into Mecca & Medina, the street signs are really quite shocking when you see them.

3) The Saudi government does not permit non-Muslim clergy to enter the country for the purpose of conducting religious services.

4) According Saudi policy for tourists, it is not permissible to bring Christian or Jewish religious symbols and books into the kingdom and they are subject to confiscation

5) Until March 1, 2004, the official government website stated that Jews were forbidden from entering the country - the situation now is less clear


Our friends the Saudis, thank the Lord that they are friends can you imagine how they would behave if they were our enemies? And whilst they expel Christians for worshipping in private, the Saudis complain about how Muslims are persecuted in Europe:

Back in October, "Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) will urge its counterparts in the European Union to ask their governments not to link terrorism to Islam and also to issue regulations to protect Muslims from prejudice and discrimination because of their faith." Standard stuff from the Saudis and not something that I would ordinarily comment upon It was the next bit that got me thinking "the government-funded rights body will also address various human rights issues in Europe: when Muslims are unjustly interrogated, treated with disrespect, physically or mentally abused, or not allowed to practice their faith freely such as Muslim girls being prevented from wearing the hijab (head cover) in some schools."

Double standards anyone?

Because once land has been Muslim land it must always be Muslim land

Under Islam, land once possessed by Islam, if subsequently lost to an invader, remains land that is holy to Islam. It is especially imperative that such lost lands be restored to the rightful rule of Islam. Historically, of course, such lost lands now lost to Islam include not only Israel but large portions of Southern Europe, Spain and North Africa.


So is it at all surprisng to anyone who understands this concept that Typically Spanish reports this:

'Al Qaeda group wants to recover Al-Andalus

The group, Ansar Al Din, talks about its plans in an internal document intercepted by the Spanish State Security Forces.

Granada, Valencia, Sevilla and Córdoba, are named as terrorist objectives for Al Qaeda.

The Jihadist group, Ansar Al Din, has released an internal document which said the cities ‘which were governed by the Muslims’ must be liberated and Al-Andalus must be restored.

Spanish State Security Forces are giving credence to the threat after they intercepted the internal communication. After study they concluded that Spain remains one of the main targets of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.'

The best part of four years ago Militant Islam Monitor was reporting in great detail, here'sa short extract:

'It is in Southern Spain, though, that one can really speak of a trend of rapid "re-Islamization." For a period of about 800 years Southern Spain was ruled by Muslims and this vast area was then known as "Al-Andalus." (At one stage, Muslims even occupied nearly two-thirds of Spanish territory.) The Muslim rule came to an end on January 2, 1492, when Granada, the last Muslim stronghold, capitulated to the Roman Catholic kings. But even after the victories of the "Reconquista" ("reconquest"), a demographical problem continued to play a part in 16th and 17th century Spanish politics. The birthrate among Muslims ("Moriskos") was much higher than among Christians ("Cristianos"). In the Kingdom of Valencia, for example, the Muslim population saw an increase of about 70 percent between 1563-1609. The Catholic Spanish rulers decided to expel large numbers of Muslims many of whom settled in Northern Africa.3

There is now a widespread feeling among Muslims that the territories they lost during the Spanish "Reconquista" still belong to them. That they have a right to return and establish their rule there. This is based on the Islamic idea that terrorities such as "Palestine" and Southern Spain which were once occupied by Muslims must remain under Muslim domination forever. This also applies to individuals: once a Muslim, always a Muslim. The Koran says that "apostates" must be killed. In Muslim lands Christians are not allowed to make any converts among Muslims whereas Muslim missionary activities are not restricted at all.

There are two ways to achieve the goal of re-conquering lost territories: by holy war ("jihad") or by massive emigration to the areas from where Muslims were once evicted.

Al-Qaida's claim to "Al-Andalus"

A Syrian immigrant named Mustafa Setmarian Nasar ("Abu Musab-Al-Suri") arrived in Spain in early 1985. He was a member of the outlawed Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. He joined the jihadists in Afghanistan and would later become a close associate and friend of Osama bin Laden's. Al-Suri first lived in Madrid, later he moved to Granada, a city which he liked to call "the last Muslim stronghold in Andalucia."

...

It is not just the extremists and the terrorists who lay claim to parts of Spanish territory. In a recent article the German weekly "Focus" pointed out that Muslim immigrants in Southern Spain become increasingly assertive. Muslim businessmen now own whole streets in the city of Granada. They invest large sums of money in private property and are willing to pay much more than the market price. A local butcher no longer sells traditional "Serrano ham" but "halal sheep meat." In Granada there are now parallel societies and Muslims demand that traditional Sharia law be applied there instead of Spanish law. They also demand Muslim education and special Muslim schools for their children. They even want an equal share in the money made with ticket sales for the Alhambra which they regard as part of the cultural heritage of their Muslim ancestors.

A growing number of women wear the veil or even the gloomy black "niqab" which covers most of their face. A huge new mosque has been built recently, largely paid by money donated by Muslims from Morocco, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Muslim couples are rumored to receive extra money for children born during the marriage. The more children the more money. In this way Muslims will sooner or later demographically outweigh the Spanish population of the city. 14

It was in October 2007 that Amr Moussa, the Egyptian Secretary-General of the Arab League made a special request to the Spanish government: why should not Muslims be allowed to also worship in the cathedral of Córdoba? This building was a mosque in the times of "Al-Andalus," it later became a Roman Catholic cathedral. The Arab League now proposes that the original functions of the cathedral be partly restored and Muslims be allowed to worship there with a view to introducing the Friday afternoon prayer service. The "mosque-cathedral" should then be used jointly by Catholics and Muslims. Remember, the same Arab League showed a lot of understanding for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir after he was charged with war crimes and genocide by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Now the Arab League uses the fine Western forum of a "Conference on Intolerance and Discrimination" in Córdoba to launch a proposal for Muslim Friday afternoon prayers in Córdoba's cathedral. This conference, by the way, was sponsored by the Spanish socialist government which, apparently, regard "Islamophobia" as a mortal danger to society.'

Why is no one asking about Jeremy Corbyn’s worrying connections? Per James Bloodworth in The Guardian in 2015

Don't say that you weren't warned. Read the whole piece, it's on the money apart from... "I genuinely believe that Corbyn does not have an antisemitic bone in his body" - that now seems wishful thinking or delusional. 

'Then there is Corbyn's apparent proximity to antisemitism. While I genuinely believe that Corbyn does not have an antisemitic bone in his body, he does have a proclivity for sharing platforms with individuals who do; and his excuses for doing so do not stand up.

Take the fact that Corbyn once described it as his "honour and pleasure" to host "our friends" from Hamas and Hezbollah in parliament. According to Corbyn, he extended his invitation to the aforementioned groups – and spoke of them glowingly – because all sides need to be involved in the peace process.

So far, so reasonable. Yet negotiation is not on Hamas's agenda, as Corbyn ought to know. In its charter Hamas states: "Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement… There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad."

It isn't a peaceful negotiated solution that Hamas wants; it's the destruction of the Jews. Here is a direct quote from Hamas's charter: "The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: 'The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!'" If this were not bad enough, Corbyn has also:

• Taken tea on the parliamentary terrace with Raed Salah, who he described as "a very honoured citizen" despite that fact that Salah was charged with inciting anti-Jewish racism and violence in January 2008 in Jerusalem and sentenced to eight months in prison. He was found by a British court judge to have used the "blood libel", the medieval antisemitic canard that Jews use gentile blood for ritual purposes;

• Written a letter defending Stephen Sizer, the vicar disciplined by the Church of England for linking to an article on social media entitled 9/11: Israel Did It;

• Presented a call-in programme on Press TV, a propaganda channel of the Iranian government which was banned by Ofcom and which regularly hosts Holocaust deniers;

• Been accused of donating money to self-proclaimed Holocaust denier Paul Eisen, whose Deir Yassin Remembered group has been shunned by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in the name of refusing to "turn a blind eye to antisemitism". Corbyn has addressed that claim via his spokesman, who said that "Jeremy Corbyn's office" had had no contact with Eisen and that Corbyn disassociated himself from his extreme views – a denial that seems neither forceful nor convincing.

And there is more: on 22 August Corbyn is scheduled to share a platform with Carlos Latuff, a cartoonist who regularly uses antisemitic imagery in his cartoons but denies being antisemitic. Middle East Monitor, the group organising the event, has been accused by the Community Security Trust of promoting conspiracy theories and myths about Jews.'

Over and over again Corbyn is seen to associate with antisemites, those who want to destroy Israel and kill all Jews, and yet his followers and the BBC turn a blind eye. 

What will it take to revolt the BBC enough? What will it take to get his followers to forsake him? Short of seeing video of him singing "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free" whilst burning an Israeli flag and pissing on a Sefer Torah I can't think of anything.*

*For the avoidance of doubt, I don't believe Jeremy Corbyn has ever pissed on a Sefer Torah. I doubt that he's ever set fire to an Israeli flag but it's highly possible that he's been at an event where Israeli flags were burned. As for singing "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free" that seems eminently believable. Why should that matter you may ask. Because that means supporting, not a two state solution to the Israel/Palestinian issue but a single state, another Muslim state. However I believe that that position is common to many of his supporters and a fair number at the institutionally anti Israel BBC. 

The whole original article is here https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/13/jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership-foreign-policy-antisemitism

Meanwhile rumours circulate of the big Jeremy Corbyn antisemitism reveal coming tomorrow, we will see... 

An anniversary that the BBC will not commemorate

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar starts at sunset tonight.

I remember Yom Kippur 1973, I was but a child and did not stay at synagogue all day with my father. Rather naughtily, I was at home sitting in front of the television when I saw the reports of war in the Middle East. For some reason I didn't say anything to my mum. Shortly thereafter we were all back at synagogue for the Neilah service. The congregation was shocked from its prayer by the phone in the rabbi's office ringing. Someone ran to answer it and admonish the caller for daring to call a synagogue on Yom Kippur. A minute or so later the news was broken to the congregation that Israel had been attacked on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. My claims that I had heard this on the news earlier that day went unbelieved.

The Yom Kippur war was deliberately timed for when the Jewish state would be at its least prepared for an attack, with many soldiers praying rather than on guard. The combined forces of Egypt and Syria totalled the same number of men as NATO had in Western Europe. On the Golan Heights alone, 150 Israeli tanks faced 1,400 Syria tanks and in the Suez region just 500 Israeli soldiers faced 80,000 Egyptian soldiers. There are many places you can read a history of this war, including the run up to it. But what must be borne in mind at all times is that the Israeli armed forces and nation had to work to one simple equation: if they lost, the state of Israel would cease to exist. Thus, for Israel, it was a fight to the finish as to lose would mean death. Contrastingly, if the various Arab nations lost, they could survive for another day. I find the Israeli tactics pre the war interesting, this passage from Wikipedia gives you a flavour:

'The Israeli strategy was, for the most part, based on the precept that if war was imminent, Israel would launch a pre-emptive strike. It was assumed that Israel's intelligence services would give, in the worst case, about 48 hours notice prior to an Arab attack. Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and General David Elazar met at 8:05 am the morning of Yom Kippur, six hours before the war began. Dayan opened the meeting by arguing that war was not a certainty. Elazar then presented his argument in favor of a pre-emptive attack against Syrian airfields at noon, Syrian missiles at 3:00 pm, and Syrian ground forces at 5:00 pm "When the presentations were done, the prime minister hemmed uncertainly for a few moments but then came to a clear decision. There would be no preemptive strike. Israel might be needing American assistance soon and it was imperative that it would not be blamed for starting the war. 'If we strike first, we won't get help from anybody', she said." Other developed nations, being more dependent on OPEC oil, took more seriously the threat of an Arab oil embargo and trade boycott, and had stopped supplying Israel with munitions. As a result, Israel was totally dependent on the United States for military resupply, and particularly sensitive to anything that might endanger that relationship. After Meir made her decision, at 10:15 am she met with US ambassador Kenneth Keating in order to inform the United States that Israel did not intend to preemptively start a war, and asked that US efforts be directed at preventing war. An electronic telegram with Keating's report on the meeting was sent to the US at 16:33 GMT (6:33 pm local time). A message arrived later from United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger saying, "Don't preempt." At the same time, Kissinger also urged the Soviets to use their influence to prevent war, contacted Egypt with Israel's message of non-preemption, and sent messages to other Arab governments to enlist their help on the side of moderation. These late efforts were futile. According to Henry Kissinger, had Israel struck first, it would not have received "so much as a nail."'

It is fascinating that even in 1973 Israel had to wait to be attacked for fear of losing American support.

In 1973 the United Nations kept very quiet when the Arabs armies, supported by the Soviet Union invaded Israel. In fact the UN kept quiet right up until when Israel turned the war around, pushed Syria & Egypt back and had isolated the Egyptian Third Army and were in a position to advance on Damascus and maybe even Cairo. Then the UN called for a ceasefire.



You may find it interesting that October 6 is a national holiday in Egypt called Armed Forces Day, it is a national holiday in Syria as well. There is also a 6th October Bridge in Cairo and the cities 6th of October City and 10th of Ramadan City.

There is not a word about the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war on the BBC news website, maybe they will commemorate it with some more anti-Israel articles on 6 October. 

Yom Kippur 39 years on

I remember Yom Kippur 1973, I was but a child and did not stay at synagogue all day with my father. I was at home sitting in front of the television when I saw the reports of war in the Middle East. For some reason I didn't say anything to my mum. Shortly thereafter we were all back at synagogue for the Neilah service. The congregation was shocked from its prayer by the phone in the rabbi's office ringing. Someone ran to answer it and admonish the caller for daring to call a synagogue on Yom Kippur. A minute or so later the news was broken to the congregation that Israel had been attacked on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. My claims that I had heard this on the news went unbelieved.

The Yom Kippur war was deliberately timed for when the Jewish state would be at its least prepared for an attack, with many soldiers praying rather than on guard.The combined forces of Egypt and Syria totalled the same number of men as NATO had in Western Europe. On the Golan Heights alone, 150 Israeli tanks faced 1,400 Syria tanks and in the Suez region just 500 Israeli soldiers faced 80,000 Egyptian soldiers. There are many places you can read a history of this war, including the run up to it. But what must be borne in mind at all times is that the Israeli armed forces and nation had to work to one simple equation: if they lost, the state of Israel would cease to exist. Thus, for Israel, it was a fight to the finish – literally "death or glory". Contrastingly, if the various Arab nations lost, they could survive for another day. I find the Israeli tactics pre the war interesting, this passage from Wikipedia gives you a flavour:

'The Israeli strategy was, for the most part, based on the precept that if war was imminent, Israel would launch a pre-emptive strike. It was assumed that Israel's intelligence services would give, in the worst case, about 48 hours notice prior to an Arab attack. Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and General David Elazar met at 8:05 am the morning of Yom Kippur, six hours before the war began. Dayan opened the meeting by arguing that war was not a certainty. Elazar then presented his argument in favor of a pre-emptive attack against Syrian airfields at noon, Syrian missiles at 3:00 pm, and Syrian ground forces at 5:00 pm "When the presentations were done, the prime minister hemmed uncertainly for a few moments but then came to a clear decision. There would be no preemptive strike. Israel might be needing American assistance soon and it was imperative that it would not be blamed for starting the war. 'If we strike first, we won't get help from anybody', she said." Other developed nations, being more dependent on OPEC oil, took more seriously the threat of an Arab oil embargo and trade boycott, and had stopped supplying Israel with munitions. As a result, Israel was totally dependent on the United States for military resupply, and particularly sensitive to anything that might endanger that relationship. After Meir made her decision, at 10:15 am she met with US ambassador Kenneth Keating in order to inform the United States that Israel did not intend to preemptively start a war, and asked that US efforts be directed at preventing war. An electronic telegram with Keating's report on the meeting was sent to the US at 16:33 GMT (6:33 pm local time). A message arrived later from United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger saying, "Don't preempt." At the same time, Kissinger also urged the Soviets to use their influence to prevent war, contacted Egypt with Israel's message of non-preemption, and sent messages to other Arab governments to enlist their help on the side of moderation. These late efforts were futile. According to Henry Kissinger, had Israel struck first, it would not have received "so much as a nail."'

It is fascinating that even in 1973 Israel had to wait to be attacked for fear of losing American support. In 2012 with Iran promising genoicide against Israel, the same strictures could well apply.

Transmitting the call to prayer

I have blogged before my objections to Mosques using an amplified adhan. Now I see that there is a technological way out of this stalemate. The use of a radio broadcast, that can be picked up by all who want to hear it seems a good idea to me, so long as thos who pick up the signal don't put set their receivers to play at an obtrusively loud volume.

What encourages Islamic radicalisation? What doesn't?

This comment from KafirMe on Biasedbbc.org neatly sums up where we are now.

'Putting restrictions on Muslims traveling to the West encourages radicalisation as the West is so bigoted. Not putting restrictions on Muslims traveling to the West encourages radicalisation because the West is so bigoted towards them when they arrive.

Criticising Islam (i.e. Islamaphobia) encourages radicalisation as it risks alientating the Muslim community. Not criticising Islam (i.e. Islamaphilia) encourages radicalisation because it reinforces that the crackpot doctrine is correct.

Criticising Islamic terrorists encourages radicalisation as it alientates the Muslim community. Not criticising Islamic terrorists encourages radicalisation as it embodlens their actions.

Drawing cartoons of Mo encourages radicalisation. Not allowing halal products encourages radicalisation. Not allowing a call to prayer encourages radicalisation. Not allowing sharia courts encourages radicalisation. Insisting that women are not possesions or sex slaves encourages radicalisation as it show a lack of respect to the culture. All these things risk alientating the Muslim community

Interveaning in Middle East dictatorships and bloodbaths encourages radicalisation as it is the West meddling in Muslim lands. Not interveaning in Middle East dictatorships and bloodbaths (or letting migrants in en masse) encourages radicalisation as the West is complicit in the the butchering of Muslims.

Arresting and jailing loony terrorists or hate preachers encourages radicalisation as it risks alientating the Muslim community. Not arresting and jailing loony terrorists or hate preachers encourages radicalisation as it emboldens them……

It is almost like, short of accepting dhimmitude, bowing down to Islam and paying the jyzra, anything any non-Muslim says or does encourages radicalisation in some way, shape or form.Perhaps one day it will dawn on us that maybe we're not the entire problem.'

Taken from here https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2017/02/23/midweek-open-thread-27/#comments