Tonight's Friday night music thread is dedicated to Lou Reed. A little uninterrupted Lou and his band, the Velvet Underground with Nico.
The Velvet Underground & Nico
John Cale -- electric viola, piano, celesta on "Sunday Morning", bass guitar, backing vocals
Sterling Morrison -- guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
Nico
-- chanteuse, lead vocals on "Femme Fatale", "All Tomorrow's Parties"
and "I'll Be Your Mirror"; backing vocals on "Sunday Morning"
Lou Reed -- vocals, guitar and ostrich guitar
Maureen Tucker -- percussion
Studio album by The Velvet Underground and Nico
Released: March 12, 1967
Recorded:
April 1966, Scepter Studios, New York City; May 1966, T.T.G. Studios,
Hollywood, California; November 1966, Mayfair Studios, New York City
Label: Verve
Producer: Andy Warhol; Tom Wilson
ACU's Suhail Khan at CPAC: "There is no Muslim Brotherhood in the United States." Of course, he's one of them.
Exposed: Muslim Brotherhood Operatives in the U.S. Raymond Ibrahim FrontPage Magazine November 1, 2013 (thanks to Mark)
El Watan,
one of Egypt’s most widely circulated and read newspapers, published a
report discussing the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence over the United
States, especially in the context of inciting pro-Brotherhood policies
against Egypt’s popular June 30 Revolution, which resulted in the
ousting of Muhammad Morsi and the Brotherhood from power.
Titled (in translation), “With Names, Identities, and Roadmap… El Watan
Exposes Brotherhood Cells in America,” it’s written by investigative
journalist Ahmed al-Tahiri, who begins the report by saying:
In the context of El Watan’s ongoing investigation
concerning the Brotherhood’s cells and lobby inside America that
support the regime of the ousted [Morsi], and which intensified their
activities to attack and defame the June 30 Revolution, informed sources
have disclosed to El Watan newspaper the names and cell entities
of the Brotherhood and their roadmap of activities all throughout the
United States of America.
The sources said that these organizations, which are spread
throughout the States, agitated for and were supportive of the decisions
taken by Muhammad Morsi’s project to “Brotherhoodize”
and consolidate power [in Egypt] and gave a favorable opinion to the
general American public that Morsi’s decisions were welcomed by the
public [in Egypt]. Following the June 30 Revolution, these groups
launched a malicious war in order to incite the American administration
to take hostile decisions against Egypt, with the aim of bringing back
the Brotherhood to the power.
El Watan then goes on to name names, saying that the following
activists and entities are Brotherhood operatives working within the
United States (reproduced verbatim):
• Union of Egyptian Imams in North America, represented by Sheikh Muhammad al-Bani
• The Egyptian American Foundation for Development
• Dr. Khalid Lamada, New York
• Dr. Hassan al-Sayah, Virginia
• The Egyptian Network in America, led by Dr. Muhammad Helmi
• Dr. Akram al-Zand, Sa’ad Foundation
• Muhammad al-Khashab, Head of ART channels in America
• Sameh al-Henawi, member, Business Association of America
• Dr. Hany Saqr, member, Egyptian Association in America
• Dr. Khalid Hassan, Maryland
• Dr. Muhammad Abdel Hakem, Seattle
• Dr. Ahmed Ismat al-Bendari, President, Islamic Society of America
• Walid Yusari, Chicago
• Ahmed Shadid, New Jersey
• Ahmed al-Hatab, Indiana
• Dr. Muhammad Morjan, Boston
• Ramadan Ridwan, Houston
• Ahmed Fayez, Las Vegas
• Dr. Amru Abbas, member, Egyptian Foundation in Michigan
• Dr. Safi al-Din Hamed, Pennsylvania
• Dr. Hamdy Radwan, North Carolina
• Ahmed Shehata, Director, Egyptian American Organization for Democracy and Human Rights
• Dr. Iman Shehata, New York
• Dr. Muhammad Amru Attawiya, member, Organization of Islamic Relief in the United States
• Dr. Khalid al-Sayes, member, Rebuilding of Egypt Foundation
• Dr. Tariq Hussein, member, American Islamic Relations Council (CAIR)
• Dr Hisham al-Gayar, member, Egyptian Foundation, Michigan
• Amin Mahmoud, Maryland
As a most recent example, El Watan quotes from an American op-ed published on October 16 (just two days before the publication of the El Watan report itself). Titled “Egypt: 100 days later” and written by Ahmed Shehata of the Egyptian American Organization for Democracy and Human Rights, the piece appeared in The Hill, the Capitol’s most widely circulated newspaper, published specifically for Congress.
The op-ed is certainly a prime example of pro-Muslim Brotherhood
propaganda that actually tries to “shame” U.S. policymakers into
returning the Brotherhood back to power in the name of “democracy.”
Key excerpts follow:
While the U.S. must consider its own interests in the
region, it is baffling and disheartening to think the current
administration would choose to discount the suffering that continues to
occur on a daily basis as well as the complete violation of democratic
principles which it espouses to the rest of the world…. As this past
week marked 100 days since the coup and the lives of the Egyptian people
continue to be sacrificed, the United States cannot be silent any
longer for the sake of their own interests and convenience…. To that
end, Egypt represents a golden opportunity for the U.S. to uphold
democratic values by pushing for the reinstatement of the democratically
elected government, despite their shortcomings. This would aid
tremendously in showing the world that, above any one particular
physical interest, stands the mantle of freedom and the rule of law.
Anyone familiar with the real happenings of Egypt knows that
Shehata’s assertions are complete opposites of the truth: the military
ousted the Brotherhood in response to the will of millions of
Egyptians—the people, the demos, as in democracy—who took
to the streets protesting against the totalitarian Morsi government.
Moreover, it is the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters who have
been committing numerous human rights atrocities—including the slaughter and persecution of Christians, the torture and murder of many Egyptians (including before the revolution), and the destruction and torching of some 85 Christian churches.
Shehata seems to think that, if the Muslim Brotherhood and their
supporters terrorize, murder, destroy, persecute, and betray their
nation—which is precisely why tens of millions of average Egyptians rose
up against them (though you might not know that following Al Jazeera-led Western media that distorted the popularity of the revolution)—as long as they won “elections” (which from the start many authorities insisted they didn’t),
then that is all that matters; and, if need be, the U.S. must war with
Egypt’s military and people on behalf of the ousted terrorists—all in
the name of “democracy” and “human rights,” as Shehata’s U.S.-based
Brotherhood front is laughably called.
That such a shameless piece of Muslim Brotherhood propaganda can be
published in the most influential and widely read Capitol Hill
publication certainly goes a long way in validating El Watan’s claims that the Brotherhood has its tentacles all around the United States’ points of influence.
The Saudis are outraged? Since when? Who are they kidding? This is par for the course. We see Saudis keep slaves here in the States and the Saudi government posts their bail.
Abuse video shocks Saudi Arabia by Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN November 1, 2013
(CNN) -- A video that appears to show a Saudi man beating a migrant worker is causing growing outrage in Saudi Arabia.
In the amateur video,
which went viral after it was posted on YouTube, a male worker in an
orange jumpsuit is first seen sitting on a floor, scared and submissive.
A man who government
officials believe is Saudi begins tormenting the victim, angry because
he thinks the worker has spoken to his wife.
"Why did you come here when she was here?" he asks in what sounds like Saudi-accented Arabic.
"I swear I didn't mean
it," pleads the man, who from his clothes and accent appears to be a
migrant laborer, adding, "I swear to God I didn't know."
The abuser begins
slapping his victim as he continues questioning him, demanding to know
why the worker would dare contact his wife.
Officials aren't sure where it happened, but they're looking into it.
The Saudi government-backed Human Rights Commission has condemned the video, telling CNN it launched an immediate investigation.
"We are taking this very
seriously and are looking into it with Saudi security," said the
commission's Mohammed Al-Madi. "We are doing our utmost to ensure the
accused abuser is arrested and tried. We are also doing everything we
can to find the abused man, so that we can help him in any way."
CNN cannot independently
verify the authenticity of the video, but another Saudi
government-backed human rights group, the National Society for Human
Rights, is also investigating.
"We don't know where it
took place, but it is under investigation and we'll release details in a
few days' time," said Mifleh Al-Qahtani, president of the society.
As awful as the incident
captured on video is, it is not an isolated one. Global human rights
groups have documented widespread abuse of migrant workers in Saudi
Arabia.
"It can't always be pleasant to do what is right," said Akkari. That's certainly true. If it's not rocks, it's stones. If it's not assassination, it's character assassination.
This is what happens to Muslims who try to stand up against the destroyers, the haters, the killers and the supremacists. This why most Muslims don't stand up to them.
Islam critic refuses to back down despite rock-throwing incident Copenhagen Post October 30, 2013 (thanks to Mark)
Ahmed Akkari (middle) was under constant protection by the police at a meeting in Aarhus last night (Photo: Scanpix)
Islam
critic and former imam Ahmed Akkari was escorted home by the police
after a meeting in Gellerup Parken housing estate in Aarhus last night.
Martin Kjær Jensen, a reporter for the tabloid BT, arrived with
Akkari and said people began throwing rocks at them upon their arrival.
"Someone threw rocks at the taxi Akkari was in," he said. "I was in the car with him and we had to run a red light to get away."
15 people arrested
Although Akkari was surrounded by 40 police officers who also
established stop-and-search zones, it didn't keep some young people from
harassing him and lighting maroons.
Today police released the 15 people they arrested during the course
of the evening. They also reported that they confiscated 209 maroons
they suspect were to be set off during the meeting.
Akkari has come under criticism from within the Muslim community for announcing in July that he regretted travelling through the Middle East in
2005 in order to encourage groups there to call on Denmark to
officially apologise for Jyllands-Posten newspaper’s printing of the
Mohammed cartoons earlier that year.
Two months ago a group of Islamists also posted a video featuring five Syrian rebels shooting a photo of Akkari and five other Danish Islam critics.
Still best meeting on the tour
Akkari's meeting at Gellerup Parken last night was the third stop on a
speaking tour with Christian Råbjerg Madsen, a Socialdemokrat candidate
for parliament. The two are visiting troubled neighbourhoods around
Denmark.
During their previous stop, in the Vollsmose council estate in Odense, they were shouted at and people threw rocks at them.
Despite the incidents, Madsen said last night's meeting was the best
attended so far and he still thinks it is important to carry on with the
tour.
"It can't always be pleasant to do what is right," he told
Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "The debate over how we can prevent people
from ending up the way Akkari was in 2005 is important for integration
in this country."
Why does it matter that the practice of honor killing has Islamic
sanction? Because if the roots of honor killing are never discussed and
always ignored, the practice will never stop. Until the Islamic roots of
the practice are discussed openly and human rights groups begin calling
for reform, honor killings will continue in the Islamic world -- and in
Muslim communities in the West.
"Father who started fire in attempt to stop daughter 'dishonouring family' by marrying for love is found guilty of murdering wife and three other daughters" Daily Mail, October 30, 2013
A father who killed his wife after he
set fire to his family home in a bid to stop his daughter marrying a
man he disapproved of was found guilty of murder today.
Mohammed
Riaz Inayat, 56, flew into a rage when his daughter, Kalsoom Bibi, told
him she
 planned to move to Dubai to marry a policeman.
He said she had brought ‘dishonour on the family’ before pouring gallons of petrol over his family home and setting it alight.
Mohammed Riaz Inayat (left), 56, was found guilty of murdering his wife today after he set his house on fire
On the night of April 17 Inayat
killed his wife Naika and injured his three daughters in a blaze that
took seconds to engulf the house.
Naika
died of carbon monoxide poisoning and one of his daughters, 16-year-old
Saimah, who jumped from a bedroom window, suffered 50 per cent burns.
He
was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of murdering his wife and
arson but was cleared of attempted murder of his three daughters.
During
his trial the court heard how the father-of-six soaked seven parts of
his home in petrol at about 5am as his family slept - only hours before
Miss Bibi, 28, was set to fly to Dubai to marry the CID officer.
After initially telling police
the fire was started by ‘a gang led by a white middle-aged woman’, he
admitted one count of manslaughter.
Philip Bennett QC, prosecuting, told the court: ‘For this defendant a love marriage was not appropriate.
‘He was traditional in his beliefs that marriage should be arranged.’
Miss
Bibi, who is already divorced from a marriage arranged by her father,
met her lover in 2011 but had to travel in secret to see him in Dubai.
When
her family discovered the affair in December last year, they
disapproved, and her father became increasingly angry and upset, the
jury heard.
Inayat, 56, flew into a rage when his daughter, Kalsoom Bibi (pictured), told him she planned to move to Dubai
Miss Bibi, who works for World Duty
Free, told the court: ‘He told me he would kill me and that he would
poison himself if I married him.
‘He
said I would bring disgrace to the family. He was not happy with it. I
understand why he wasn’t happy, it was because he had never met the man.
‘It took him a long time to accept it, but he did in the end because he could see it was what I wanted.’
On the night of the fire Miss Bibi woke to find flames coming under her bedroom door.
While
his wife, three daughters and a family friend slept upstairs, Inayat
used petrol as an accelerant both upstairs and downstairs in the family
home and then set it on fire, trapping his family upstairs.
Neighbours called the emergency services and they tried in vain to rescue the occupants of the house.
The three daughters and family friend jumped from the first floor bedroom windows resulting in them suffering broken bones.
When
the fire service arrived they entered the house and the found the body
of the defendant’s wife in one of the upstairs bedrooms. She had died as
a result of smoke inhalation.
Miss
Bibi suffered a broken arm and three broken vertebrae after leaping
from the window of the terraced house in Tyseley, Birmingham.
Inayat,
who is originally from Pakistan, told the jury he tried to kill himself
on the night of the fire, using three kitchen knives.
He then claimed he attempted to tie electrical cord around his neck before pouring petrol over himself.
Inayat poured gallons of petrol over his family home in Springfield, Birmingham, and set it alight
After the verdict, Zafar
Siddique, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor from West Midlands Crown
Prosecution Service, said: ‘Crimes committed to supposedly defend a
family’s honour will not be tolerated in our society and today’s
conviction of Mohammed Inayat demonstrates that.
‘Honour-based violence and forced marriages are ultimately about men policing the behaviour of women.
‘This
can include rights as fundamental as a choice of partner, as in today’s
case, and this abuse can escalate frighteningly quickly from
controlling behaviour to murder.
‘Inayat
committed a dreadful crime, a crime which he committed because he was
unable to accept the fact that his daughter wanted to get married to
someone that she loved, cared for and wanted to spend the rest of her
life with.
‘This he felt brought dishonour to him and his family, but today’s conviction has shown that the shame is his to bear.
‘The
CPS will not shy away from tackling honour-based violence. It is a
fundamental abuse of human rights and should not be tolerated in any
civilised society.
‘Our thoughts are today with the family and friends of Naika Inayat.’
Islamic Jew-hatred -- it's in the quran.
But apparently for Israeli officials, as for clueless and compromised dhimmi officials everywhere, the problem is not jihad terror -- it's "Islamophobia."
What's next? MEMRI? PMW?
"Tel Aviv blocks anti-Jihad websites"
Confronting anti-Semitism and Israel hatred in the UK October 31, 2013
 |
| Tel Aviv beach 31 October 2013 |
Anyone who spends a lot of time in Israel or with Israelis living in
Europe or the USA will know that a very sizable number (especially those
under 40) have been indoctrinated with left-wing (and at times
extremely anti-Zionist) views that would put most Guardian readers to
shame. It can also be surprising to discover, given that they are
effectively 'living in the eye of the storm', how little those same
Israelis know of the extent to which Islamists hate them and want them
destroyed. This is especially true of many in Tel Aviv.
The main stream
Israeli newspapers and TV channels are not much different
to those in the UK both in their left-wing bias and in covering up
Jihadist activities around the world
(e.g. still no main stream comment anywhere on the Jihadist suicide bombing in Beijing which the BBC -when it mentioned it - tried to
convince viewers was down to 'democracy dissidents').
 |
| Religion of Peace website:blocked as "Discrimination" |
I discovered today an example of the above, which confirms that those in
power in the Jewish State are determined to show that they are the
biggest 'dhimmis' of all. On LaLa beach in Tel Aviv today I noticed
that the Municipality was now providing a free wifi service (FREE_TLV).
I'm not sure how new this is because I normally go to Bograshov beach
and I have never noticed this service before. After checking my emails I
decided to catch up on some real news only to discover that websites
like Robert Spencer's excellent jihadwatch and thereligionofpeace
(which simply documents jihadist attacks and news stories) were blocked
as either "Discrimination" or (strangely) "Advocacy Organisation"
(curiously one of the only anti-Jihad sites not blocked was Pamela Geller's). I did a quick check of some well known antisemitic and anti-Israel websites and not one of those was blocked.
 |
| Jihad Watch website blocked |
Isn't is great to imagine that you can avoid a problem simply by trying
to make sure nobody knows about it? And is it any wonder therefore that
the Israeli Government can actually get away with
releasing convicted terrorist murderers (like the latest bunch freed yesterday to appease Obama and the PLO) without there being mass
demonstrations?
It is good to see Kenya not backing down or kowtowing or accommodating. The free nations of the world know they can't wait for Obama; they have to defend themselves on their own.
Kenya bombs Somali militant camp after mall attack Associated Press November 1, 2013
AP Photo: Jonathan Kalan
A woman who had been hiding during the gun battle runs for cover after armed police enter the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.
NAIROBI, Kenya
— Kenya's military says its air force has attacked a militant training
camp in Somalia in retaliation for last month's al-Shabab assault on
Nairobi's Westgate Mall.
Col. Cyrus Oguna said Thursday the
militants who carried out the Westgate attack received training at the
camp, which he said was 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Binswor,
Somalia.
Oguna said the military won't know how many of the 300
militants in the camp were killed or wounded until an assessment Friday.
He said four military trucks were destroyed. Oguna said "many more"
such attacks will be carried out.
The four-day siege of Westgate
Mall began Sept. 21. The al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab said it carried
out the attack, which killed at least 67 people, in retaliation for the
Kenyan military's push into Somalia in 2011.
The "Palestinians" get billions of dollars worth of aid from the EU, the US, the UN and others. This is what they do with it.
Hamas Attacks Soldiers as IDF Destroys Two Gaza Terror Tunnels IDF Blog November 1, 2013
IDF engineering forces destroyed a terror tunnel exposed
last month. During the operation, Hamas terrorists detonated an
explosive and wounded five Israeli soldiers. The Israel Air Force
destroyed a second terror tunnel located in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a complex mission executed by elite IDF engineering forces early
this morning (November 1), the IDF successfully detonated a segment of
the infrastructure of the terror tunnel exposed on Monday, October 7.
The defensive operation was aimed at preventing future terror attacks, utilizing the existing infrastructure leading to Israel.
The opening of the tunnel was discovered near Israeli civilian
communities. It was approximately 18 meters underground and extended 1.7
kilometers.
During the operation, Hamas detonated an explosive device at the
forces, wounding 5 Israeli soldiers. The soldiers were evacuated to an
Israeli hospital. In an immediate response the soldiers opened fire and
directly hit a terrorist.
Furthermore, following Hamas aggression, IAF aircrafts targeted an
additional terror tunnel located in the southern Gaza Strip. A direct
hit was confirmed.
In its offensive actions against Israel, Hamas has breached the arrangements reached following Operation Pillar of Defense.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman: “This mission was imperative
due to the potential to utilize the terror tunnel for future attacks
against Israeli civilians. The IDF is committed to preventing all terror
activities emanating from the Gaza Strip. This tunnel, similar to the
one used to kill two IDF soldiers and kidnap Gilad Shalit in 2006, was
built for this heinous purpose. Hamas, as the authority in the Gaza
Strip, is accountable and responsible for all activities aimed at
harming Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.”
This Tulsa World story doesn't say anything about Hamas-CAIR's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and opposition to counter-terror efforts around the country, which shows that the enemedia is the same everywhere -- even in Oklahoma, which has repeatedly shown more sense about jihad and Islamic supremacism than other parts of the country. Last April, the Oklahoma Senate passed the anti-Sharia American Law for American Courts bill by a vote of 40-3. And in 2010, 70% of Oklahomans voted to ban Sharia, although a politically correct leftist Clinton-appointed judge overturned the will of the people.
Islamic group's leader barred from terrorism seminar Tulsa World, November 1, 2013 (thanks to Jack)
OKLAHOMA CITY - A seminar promoted by the House media, to be
held Friday in the House chamber and billed as open to the public, is
now closed to the head of an Islamic advocacy group.
The action comes after Adam Soltani, executive director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations' Oklahoma chapter, criticized some
of the seminar speakers as anti-Muslim and for holding Islamophobic
views.
In a Monday press release
issued by the House Communications Office, the seminar, dubbed "Iran,
Hezbollah and the Drug Cartels: Counterterrorism Considerations," is
promoted as "open to the public and law enforcement."
"As we advertised, the
law enforcement seminar is open to members of the law enforcement
community and invited members of the public," Rep. John Bennett,
R-Sallisaw, said in an email to Soltani. "As you are neither, we must
respectfully deny your request to attend."
Bennett is chairman of
the Counterterrorism Caucus, which is sponsoring the seminar for which
Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training credit is given.
Bennett said the seminar
's purpose is to educate law enforcement officers regarding how to
protect residents. It is not a minority-rights issue, he said.
"When it appeared that we
would have additional open seats, we opened the event up to invited
members of the public," Bennett said. "Contrary to erroneous
information, this has never been an event that was open to the general
public. Registration is now closed, and all spots are filled."
House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, said he had little knowledge of the issue.
"It is his meeting,"
Shannon said of Bennett. "I don't usually follow who members invite and
disinvite. He has the authority to invite who he wants to his meetings
for sure. I have no knowledge about who he invited or didn't invite."
The Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations was expected to hold a press conference following the seminar.
At last, some common sense about our AFDI honor killing bus ads in Edmonton: "What's outrageous is the
politically correct claptrap that's being used not only to justify
removing the five ads, but to deny there is a problem with Muslim honour
killings in general."
Even one of the most prominent Muslim leaders in Canada has admitted this in the past. Atlas reader Dai Vai writes: "In 2006, Mahmoud Ayoub from the IIIT (MB outfit coconspirator, etc.)
testified on behalf of a Muslim man who killed his wife. Here is what he
said at the trial about the relationship between Islam and honour. The
conclusion of the judge at section 86 is very strong." Here it is:
[86] The thrust of Dr. Ayoub's evidence is not that Muslim
men will lose control and act in a rage when confronted with
their wives' infidelities, but rather that their religious and
cultural beliefs dictate that wives who are unfaithful deserve
to suffer significant consequences. If an accused relies on
religious and cultural beliefs like those described by Dr.
Ayoub to support a provocation defence, the trial judge must
carefully instruct the jury as to the distinction between a
homicide committed by one who has lost control and a homicide
committed by one whose cultural and religious beliefs lead him
to believe that homicide is an appropriate response to the
perceived misconduct of the victim. Only the former engages the
defence of provocation. The latter provides a motive for
murder.
That court case is here: http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2006/2006canlii12287/2006canlii12287.html
"Edmonton bus ad controversy is outrageous political correctness" Lorne Gunter, Sun News October 31st, 2013
Edmonton bus ads depicting Muslim women as
victims - and suggesting families of the faith practise honour killings -
have been pulled off the street by Edmonton Transit officials.
It's
not outrageous that Edmonton Transit removed ads from its buses
reaching out to Muslim girls and women who might be under threat of
honour killing by their families.
What's outrageous is the
politically correct claptrap that's being used not only to justify
removing the five ads, but to deny there is a problem with Muslim honour
killings in general.
Frankly, it's surprising the ads were put
up in buses in the first place. Singling out an identifiable group was
bound to be controversial. Might as well have framed each of the $500
ads with flashing neon lights that exclaimed, "Look here! Look here!"
Transit officials and the company that places the ads for them backed into this one butts-first.
The
ads were paid for by the Stop Islam of America campaign of the American
Freedom Defense Initiative, a New York based organization run by
anti-Sharia law activist and author Pamela Geller.
Each ad shows
the photos of seven young Muslim women. The text reads "Muslim Girls
Honor Killed by Their Families," then asks "Is your family threatening
you? Is there a Fatwa on Your Head?" Finally, contact information where
help can be found is given.
Predictably, the opposition to the
ads - led by Coun. Amarjeet Sohi and a handful of local Muslims - has
attempted to deny there is a particular problem with honour killing
among Muslims.
Sohi professed to be "deeply disappointed" when he
learned about the ads. He complained "These ads targeted one particular
group. Honour killings is a very serious concern in every community and
we need to speak up against it, but ... singling out one particular
group, does not help resolve it."
That's where the argument
against the ads goes off the rails. By denying that Muslim honour
killing is a particular problem, Sohi and the others are the ones
standing in the way of resolving the problem. Denial of a problem is not
the first step towards solving it. Quite the opposite.
To be
sure, there are honour killings in communities other than the Muslim
community. In Canada, there have been several high-profile honour
killings by Indo-Canadians. But "in every community?" I don't recall a
problem among Dutch-Canadians, for instance, or Presbyterian Canadians.
By
insisting a problem is more widespread than it really is - that it is
not a result of certain beliefs or cultural practices - we are actually
moving away from a solution, not towards one.
Worldwide, Muslims
commit over 90% of the 20,000 or more honour killings identified each
year, according to research published in the Middle East Quarterly. Over
half are motivated by a father's, husband's or brother's belief that a
daughter, wife or sister has become "too Western." Also, over half
involve torture before the fatal blow is struck.
Honour killings
are a growing problem in Canada, so much so that this past spring the
federal government gave the Canadian Council of Muslim Women a sizeable
grant to study the extent of it and to propose solutions. They didn't
give the money to the Council of Belgian Women or Baha'i Women.
The federal Tories also saw fit to condemn honour killings in the citizenship guide it gives to all new Canadians.
It
would have been much smarter if the American sponsors of the ads had
not singled out Muslim women. While internationally the percentage of
honour killings committed by Muslims is over 90%, in Canada it's closer
to two-thirds.
By concentrating solely on Muslim victims, the
sponsors show they aren't truly horrified by honour killings, just the
ones committed by Muslims.
The city would have no right to order the same ads taken down from private property. But the buses are city property.
Obama's jihad in Syria. Instead of backing Christians and religious minorities, he supports the ongoing genocide in Syria.
The facts are validating everything that I (and a few brave colleagues)
have been warning of for well over a year (the genocide of Christians
and Alawites). So despite al Qaeda and the
Muslim Brotherhood's wholesale slaughter of Christians and Alawites, the
mass beheadings in front of children, the cannibalism, etc., Obama
continues to support, train and arm the jihadis with lethal weapons.
Ghastly.
Islamists besiege two Christian villages in Syria; 13 people killed Christian Today October 30, 2013
Islamist rebels besieged two Christian villages in Syria, killing
around 13 people and forcing thousands of families to evacuate their
homes.
Militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front stormed Saddad and
Haffar on Monday last week (21 October). Until then, the villages had
been relatively safe, and thousands of internally displaced families had
sought refuge there.
A Barnabas Fund partner described the scene as 60 armed vehicles entered
Saddad: "As the vehicles and armed personnel made their way through the
streets, the shouting of “Allah Akbar” [“Allah is great”] and the
touting of the Quran made it clear to both permanent and displaced that
their time of relative tranquility was quickly coming to an end. As the
armed groups began to set up sniper posts and a campaign of shelling,
the day moved from bad to worse."
He said children were crying in fear as the militants took over the
villages. It is thought that they were being used as a launching point
for strikes against a nearby army base and arsenal. The villages are
strategically located between the central city of Homs and the capital
Damascus.
Around 13 people were killed, with many more wounded, and while many fled, thousands were held as a human shield.
Our partners helped Christian families to evacuate to neighbouring
villages, Homs and Damascus. Barnabas sent funds to provide transport,
blankets, food parcels and other essentials.
On Monday (28 October), government forces recaptured the villages, enabling people to return.
Our partner said on Monday: "My brother and 15 young persons were going
back to Haffar and they were all crying of joy when they learned they
could return. We are arranging for twelve minibuses to bring people from
Damascus and Homs today to the two villages. Tomorrow we are arranging
for two buses to bring people back from Damascus and will see how to
support the return of the others. We are preparing to give [everyone]
food parcels upon their return."
Saddad and Haffar are the latest Christian villages to be targeted by
Islamist rebels in Syria’s civil war. The attacks follow raids on
Saidnaya and the takeover of Maaloula; a version of Aramaic, the
language of Jesus, is spoken in both places.
More Recent Articles
|
