bestcurrentnews ReCap

ReCap March 2013

ReCap LogoWelcome to the March edition of Best Current News’ ReCap series – brief summaries of selected articles chosen to keep you informed of threats to traditional Judeo-Christian values and western culture by Islamists. In each synopsis there are links provided to the original sources to provide you with more information.

United States: Hafiz Khan, imam of the Flagler Mosque in Miami, Florida was convicted by a federal jury of providing more than $50,00 to the Pakistani Taliban. Sentencing will be May 30, 2013.

United States: Ahmed Ferhani was sentenced to 10 years in prison for plotting to blow up synagogues in Manhattan. Ferhani said, “By targeting a synagogue…I intended to create chaos and send a message of intimidation and coercion to the Jewish population of New York City, warning them to stop mistreating Muslims.”

United States: A report released by Sanctuary for Families discloses the risk for a female in the United States to undergo female genital mutilation, the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia, increased by 35%. The U.S. has had a law against FGM since 1996, but as of 2012 there have been no prosecutions under federal law and only one criminal case brought forward through state law.

United States: The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) president, Mohamed Magid joined 10 other leaders in a conversation with President Obama about immigration reform. Magid also took part in a meeting with the President to give “recommendations” in preparation for President Obama’s Middle East trip. ISNA remains an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history that was held in Dallas, Texas in 2008.

United States – Syria: Pending Congressional approval, John Kerry committed the U.S. to sending nonlethal aid to the Free Syrian Army, the armed faction that is battling to remove President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. also pledged $60 million to help the anti-Assad group improve services to Syrians such as sanitation and education in areas it has already taken from the government. The $60 million is in addition to more then $50 million that has already been sent. Britain is also planning to send more nonlethal aid, and is consulting with other European nations regarding the type of aid they could send.

United States – Egypt:  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the release of $250 million in American aid to support Egypt’s “future as a democracy” after meeting with, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. This is part of more than $1 billion in U.S. assistance promised by President Barack Obama to Egypt last year.

United States – Palestine: The U.S. has unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, which had been frozen by Congress for months after President Mahmud Abbas won upgraded UN observer status at the UN General Assembly in November.

United States – Jordan: President Obama pledged an additional $200 million to deal with the growing number of Syrian refugees in Jordan pending Congressional approval. The U.S. is already the largest single donor of assistance to Syrian refugees.

Europe: Muslim gang rapes across Europe are under reported in the press due to political correctness. One report indicated that as many as 5,000 gang rapes occur in France alone each year. One particular gruesome case involved a 29-year-old Swedish mother of two who was raped by 12 Afghan refugees. The rape marathon lasted for seven hours during which the woman went into shock. She now lives in a psychiatric clinic and is wheelchair bound due to damage to her abdomen and suffers from fecal incontinence.

Belgium:  Politicians submitted a proposal in front of the Belgian Parliament to impeach or limit the influence of Muslim extremists in power, arguing that ultra-conservative Muslim beliefs are inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Right’s laws. According to recent estimates six percent of the Belgium population is Muslim.

France: A trial began for Bouchra Bagour, a French Muslim mother for “glorifying crime.” She was charged after sending her three-year-old son, named Jihad to nursery school wearing a shirt with the words “I am a bomb” on the front and “Jihad, born on 11 September” on the back.

Germany:  Three ultra-conservative Salafist Muslim groups were banned in Germany. Salafists are a militant group of Muslims who believe themselves the only correct interpreters of the Qur’an and consider moderate Muslims to be infidels. The banned groups wanted to overturn the German democracy and install a system based on sharia or Islamic law.

United Kingdom: The UK government is considering reviving plans to sell Islamic bonds to boost Britain’s role as a center for Sharia compliant financing. Zakat (which oftentimes funds terrorism) is required in order for a financial instrument to be considered sharia compliant.

Australia: Four men were found guilty of assault in an Australian court after they whipped a Muslim convert with an electric cord as punishment under sharia (Islamic) law.  His religious mentor and three other Islamic men punished the convert for drinking alcohol and taking drugs.

Australia: Cadbury Easter eggs are certified as halal (or permissible according to Islamic law) despite the fact Muslims do not celebrate Easter. A website called Halal Choices lists 340 companies in Australia that pay for halal certification of their products including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Franklins, Kellogg’s, MasterFoods, Nestle and Kraft’s Vegemite. Many companies pay for halal certification for products that do not require certification because in some cases their customers require the certification.

Malaysia: 27 people were killed after two deadly shootouts in Sabah on Borneo Island after an estimated 100 to 300 Islamic Filipino intruders claimed the state on behalf of the heir to a former Philippine sultanate. Follower of Islamic leader Jamalul Kiram III claim they are ready to die to defend his the Sultan’s claim to Sabah which was once controlled by the now-defunct sultanate.

Bangladesh: Jamaat-e-Islami supporters in Bangladesh are calling for a reunification with Pakistan and the creation of a “pure” state, free of non-Muslims. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is supporting the group, and calling for the current government to resign.  Jamaat has begun handing out weapons to women and children to “save Islam and its soul from danger.” They are calling for Hindus, atheists and Christians to be expelled from the nation. Within the first week of March, 87 people have died – mostly police and peaceful protesters.

Nigeria: Boko Haram, a militant Islamic group allegedly destroyed 50 out of 52 Catholic churches in Borno state in Nigeria. Since its founding in 2001, the group has been responsible for between 3,000 and 10,000 deaths.

bestcurrentnews ReCap

ReCap January 2013

ReCap Logo

Best Current News seeks to bring you timely, reliable information about the advance of radical Islam around the world. With hundreds of articles appearing each week, it can be difficult to keep up with events as they unfold. In an attempt to keep readers informed of threats to Judeo-Christian values and western culture by radical Islamists, Best Current News is beginning a new “ReCap” series. We will provide a short synopsis of articles of interest. In each synopsis there are links provided to original sources if you would like more information. If you have a suggestion for an article, please contact bestcurrentnews@gmail.com.

Articles of Interest

On the Internet:

  • A continuing concern for westerners is the use of the Internet and social media to promote terrorism. The Washington Free Beacon reported a suspected al-Shabaab terrorist and American citizen, Omar Hammami (aka Abu Monsoor al-Amriki) has been using both Twitter and YouTube to spread his terror message. Hammami was placed on the U.S. FBI’s most wanted list in November. Twitter has rules governing spam and abuse, but their rules do not address terror related tweets. YouTube has a user-regulated policy against terrorism. A user may flag a video and YouTube will review the clip and make a final determination although the Free Beacon reports that accounts that have been flagged by users remain open.

North America:

  • The Investigative Project on Terrorism reported a December 22nd story published in Egypt’s Rose El-Youssef magazine reveals the names of six American Islamist activists working in the Obama administration. The Egyptian magazine, named Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; Mohammed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference; Salam al-Marayati, co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council; Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America; and Eboo Patel, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships. The magazine says the six turned the White House “from a position hostile to Islamic groups and organizations in the world to the largest and most important supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
  • Former Vice President, Al Gore sold his television network, Current TV to Al Jazeera, an Arab television network known for its anti-American and anti-Israel bias. Gore and his partner Joel Hyatt announced the sale in a statement that read, “Current Media was built based on a few key goals: To give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling…Al-Jazeera has the same goals and, like Current, believes that facts and truth lead to a better understanding of the world around us.” Conservative commentator, Glenn Beck attempted to buy the network last year, but Current TV executives refused to sell to Beck. Current TV told officials for Beck, “the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us, and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view.”
  • Foreign laws and legal doctrines such as Islamic shariah law, which are frequently at odds with American constitutional rights, have been used in U.S. courts across the nation. The American Laws for American Courts Act (ALAC) was written to clearly protect the rights of American citizens and residents from foreign laws that conflict with American constitutional principles. Groups such as the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have fought against passage of ALAC in state legislatures falsely claiming the law discriminates against Muslims. Despite CAIR’s objections, four states have passed the legislation.

As part of CAIR’s ongoing fight against ALAC Creeping Sharia revealed CAIR in Washington state is urging Muslims to lobby their legislators to pass the Faith in Our State and Laws Resolution. This resolution, which says in part, “RESOLVED that this body has full confidence in the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the state of Washington and does not entertain any concern that any foreign or religious law offers a threat to the law of the land.” The report Shariah Law and American Courts by the Center for Security Policy, a review of 50 appellate court cases across the U.S., however reveals four instances where shariah law was used in cases in the state of Washington.

  • CAIR, co-founder, Nihad Awad told a Saudi TV station that Muslims preceded Columbus and Islam played a part in the establishment and development of the United States.
  • Prior to being elected as President of Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi called for a boycott of all products made in America because of our support of Israel. MEMRI-TV released a video of Morsi’s boycott comments. Despite Morsi’s comments, the United States is scheduled to deliver the first shipment of 20 F-16 fighter jets and 200 Abrams tanks from the United States as part of a $213 million foreign aid package to Egypt. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has collected more than 170,000 signatures on a petition opposing this shipment.
  • Canada’s National Post reported Islamist extremists are radicalizing Canadians at “a large number of venues.” An intelligence report released under the Access to Information Act revealed, in addition to mosques, the Islamist radical agenda is being spread in prisons, on the Internet and through foreign travel.

Europe:

  • French Interior Minister Manuel Vallis said 1,193 vehicles were burned New Year’s Eve in the Muslim majority districts of Strasbourg and Mulhouse in France. In addition, seven police officers were attacked. The Conservative Papers report the American media rarely reports on this issue and when they do, they do not mention the background or religion of the offenders
  • Gatestone Institute reports an English language textbook designed for foreign students and immigrants to the United Kingdom contain to the nation of Israel as “Occupied Palestine.” A pro-Syrian nationalist owns the publisher of the textbook, Garnet Education.
  • Because of an increase in violent anti-Semitism, Copenhagen’s Jewish community and Israel’s ambassador to Denmark have warned Jews in Copenhagen to not wear anything that would identify them as Jews and to lower their voices when speaking in Hebrew. Sadly the same advice is being given in other European nations such as Germany, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan Prayer Day 26 – Media: “A Self-Censored Press Is Not Free”

The Society of Professional Journalists, considered the trade guild of the U.S. press corps, states their mission is “dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty.” On the website the Society lists eight goals including, “To maintain constant vigilance in protection of the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.”

Pertaining to the press, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press;” This means our government cannot censor or control the press, however, when it comes to Islam, it is not our government, but self-censorship by the press that has whitewashed the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.

Following the 9-11 attacks by Muslim jihadists on our nation, The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) passed a resolution in October 2001 urging members to avoid racial, ethnic and religious profiling in covering the “War on Terror.” As part of this resolution, the Society published guidelines for journalists including the following:

  • When writing about terrorism, remember to include white supremacists, radical anti-abortionists and other groups with a history of such activity.
  • Avoid using word combinations such as “Islamic terrorist” or “Muslim extremist” that are misleading because they link whole religions to criminal activity. Be specific: Alternate choices, depending on context, include “Al Qaeda terrorists” or, to describe the broad range of groups involved in Islamic politics, “political Islamists.” Do not use religious characterizations as shorthand when geographic, political, socioeconomic or other distinctions might be more accurate.
  • Avoid using terms such as “jihad” unless you are certain of their precise meaning and include the context when they are used in quotations. The basic meaning of “jihad” is to exert oneself for the good of Islam and to better oneself.
  • Ask men and women from within targeted communities to review your coverage and make suggestions.

White supremacists and anti-abortionists have never murdered over 2,700 people in the name of their god. Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden made it quite clear in fatwas (Islamic religious rulings) through the years that it was the duty of all Muslims, not just members of al-Qaeda to attack America. Proof that other Islamist groups were involved in the 9-11 attacks has since emerged. A federal district court judge ruled in December of 2011 that Iran and Hezbollah materially and directly supported al-Qaeda in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Jihad can be a personal struggle, but it is also a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty. Dr. Muhammad Sa’id Ramadan al-Buti, Al-Azhar University Islamic scholar, in the book Jurisprudence in Muhammad’s Biography wrote, “The Holy War (Jihad), as it is known in Islamic Jurisprudence, is basically an offensive war.  This is the duty of Muslims in every age when the needed military power becomes available to them.  This is the phase in which the meaning of Holy war has taken its final form.  Thus the apostle of God said: ‘I was commanded to fight the people until they believe in Allah and his messages…”

Finally, groups with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood such as the Islamic Circle of North America and the Council for American Islamic Relations were the ones asked by our media to review their coverage and make suggestions. In an attempt to be “politically correct” and adhere to these guidelines, our media has allowed Islamists to control the information regarding radical Islam.

These guidelines have allowed Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood to keep average Americans ignorant of the agenda and the threat of shariah adherent Islam to our nation.

PRAY FOR MEDIA:

  • Pray for the media – that those who do not understand the truth about Islam will receive revelation and the self-censored media coverage of Islam will cease and truth will be revealed to the American people.
  • Pray for journalists to be courageous and bold in their coverage and to uncover the “doublespeak”.
  • Just as communism keeps people in bondage to the system, Islamic shariah law keeps Muslims in bondage.  The Muslim people are not the enemy to our form of government – rather the enemy is the system of shariah (Islamic) law.  Ask God to expose the truth of shariah law to our government, educators, media, and the citizens of our nation.