Islamism - 6

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-26-2007, 05:36 PM by Husky.)

Once again, two more reports from the Netherlands. The first is relevant to India.
Extent of global j-hadi network: Maroccan islamists who became terrorist-sidekicks in Kashmir are manufactured in a Dutch mosque.

http://www.elsevier.nl/nieuws/nederland/ar...3755/index.html for the original.
QUOTEState-endangering imam is allowed to stay after all
Thursday 2 November 2006

Imam Eisha Bersham of Einhoven's Al Fourkaan-mosque may remain in the Netherlands after all, even if he propagates radical islam and the AIVD (Dutch Intelligence and Security Services) classifies him as a danger to the state.

That is what the court in Amsterdam has decided on Thursday. With that, the court chairman [?] W.J. van Bennekom destroyed the decision of the minister for Foreigner Affairs and Integration Rita Verdonk (VVD), who wanted to expel the man as unwanted/undesirable alien.

The extremist imam, a Bosnian [I think this is an error, he is a Sudanese, see below], gave religious leadership to a mosque where in any case several young Maroccans subsequently radicalised so that in 2002 they reported at the border with Kashmir to fight along with the islamic rebels there. The two were shot dead by the Indian border-patrol.

Nourishing soil
The mosque has then also been the '(nourishing) soil' for the 'jihad', so concluded the AIVD, which poses that the Sudanese imam is a danger to national security. Investigation and findings of the intelligence services are secret, but the court did get a look into the pieces/evidence.

Even the the mosque had been known for years as a hot-bed of muslim extremism and terror plans, according to the court it has been insufficiently shown that the active imam was actively involved in the radicalising of the muslim youth in his mosque.

In the judgement, the court also expressed harsh criticism of Verdonk. The minister may not just expel foreigners, just because they are marked as dangerous-to-the-state by the AIVD. The court is also asking itself out loud whether declaring-as-undesirable is not a too heavy measure when it concerns the protection of national security.
(Dhimmi court. What's national security, right?)

By Bas BennekerSee also Post 264 of previous Islamism thread for more on this psycho imam.

http://www.elsevier.nl/nieuws/nederland/ar...1405/index.html has the original
QUOTEMore informal marriages muslim extremists
Wednesday 20 December 2006

Radicalising muslim youths in the Netherlands are increasingly more often making use of informal weddings, whereby very young converted girls come under the influence of muslim extremist networks.

That's what minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA, Justice) and minister Johan Remkes (VVD, Internal Affairs) write in the fifth Progress Report Terrorism-combat (pdf) that they have sent to the House of Commons/Representatives on Wednesday.

Substantial
The influence of the extremist islamic stream of salafism is increasing, so write the ministers, and the radicalisation of muslim youths is also going steadily further. With so-called living-room weddings, male muslim extremists bind very young converts to themselves. They too radicalise themselves, even if the marriages don't last long.

The threat-level for attacks of islamic terrorists on Dutch soil remains 'substantial'. There is, it is true, no concrete indications of an attack, but internationally, The Netherlands has sharpened its profile amongst muslim extremists.

The report refers to the media-reporting of supposed 'torture practises' of Dutch soldiers in Iraq, the presence in Afghanistan, and the international fuss about the proposed burqaban.

By Bas Benneker Post 262 of the previous Islamism thread has more on these wacky Dutch islamoterrorist weddings.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-26-2007, 05:36 PM by Husky.)

Mudy's post 116 is more important.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Terror_...how/1678419.cms
QUOTE'Terror threat to Britain highest since 9/11'
[ 25 Feb, 2007 1319hrs ISTPTI ]

LONDON: The threat of a terrorist attack in Britain by home-grown Al Qaida agents is higher than at any time since the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a secret British government report.

The number of British-based Islamic terrorists plotting suicide attacks against "soft" targets is far greater than the Security Services had previously believed, the government paperwork discloses.

It is thought the plotters could number more than 2,000. Under the heading "International Terrorism in the UK", the document - seen by The Sunday Telegraph - states: "The scale of al-Qaeda's ambitions towards attacking the UK and the number of UK extremists prepared to participate in attacks are even greater than we had previously judged."

It warns that terrorist "attack planning" against Britain will increase in 2007.

"We still believe that AQ (Al-Qaida) will continue to seek opportunities for mass casualty attacks against soft targets and key infrastructure. These attacks are likely to involve the use of suicide operatives." The document, which has been circulated across Whitehall to MI5, Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorist Command, the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence, also reveals that Al-Qaida has grown into a world-wide organisation with a foothold in virtually every Muslim country in North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia.

MI5 believes that soft targets, such as the transport system and economic targets such as the City of London and Canary Wharf, are most at risk.

02-26-2007, 08:54 PM

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...slam/article.do
Police protect girls forced to convert to Islam -This is London 
22.02.07
Extremist Muslims who force vulnerable teenage girls to convert to Islam are being targeted by police, Met chief Sir Ian Blair has revealed.

Police are working with universities to clamp down on "aggressive conversions" during which girls are beaten up and forced to abandon university courses.

The Hindu Forum of Britain claims hundreds of mostly Sikh and Hindu girls have been intimidated by Muslim men who take them out on dates before terrorising them until they convert.

Sir Ian spoke about the problem at a conference organised by the forum.

A Met spokesman said: "Neighbourhood officers work with university authorities in London and we would encourage anyone targeted in this way to seek help and support and where necessary use third party reporting facilities if they do not want to contact police directly."

Ramesh Kallidai, of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "Some girls are petrified because they are constantly being phoned up, having their door knocked.

"One girl was beaten up on the street and others have been forced to leave university."

â¢ Met police chiefs are to review a controversial stop-and-search power used in the fight against terrorism. Assistant commissioner Andy Hayman, the overall head of Britain's anti-terrorist operations, said he had concerns about the number of stops carried out in London using Section 44 legislation.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-27-2007, 12:18 PM by Husky.)

http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11965-7003744,00.html
QUOTEThree French Nationals Killed In Saudi Arabia
27/02/2007 10:34 AM
Reuters
Three French expatriates working in Saudi Arabia were shot dead during a desert trip on Monday in what appeared to be the first militant attack on foreigners in three years.

An Interior Ministry statement said gunmen in a car fired at a group of nine French nationals after stopping them near Medina in the west of the vast desert country.

"They are all residents who work in Riyadh and who had gone on a desert trip," Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told Saudi television, adding the attackers escaped after apparently stalking the group as they camped overnight.

The French Foreign Ministry said one was a teacher and two others worked with French firm Schneider Electric.

Islamic militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, with suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations including the oil industry.

There had been no major attacks targeting foreigners since 2004, when the violence was at its height. Frenchman Laurent Barbot was shot dead in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah by suspected al Qaeda militants in September 2004.

The Saudi wing of al Qaeda resurfaced earlier this month threatening new attacks on Westerners in the kingdom.

The ministry spokesman said the tourist group, thought to number 26, had split into two after a night in the desert near Medina, with some returning to Riyadh and the nine French nationals staying behind because some of them were Muslims who hoped to make a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Western diplomats said the group may also have visited the historical site of Madain Saleh, north of Medina.

The government statement said two men died at the scene and a third died later in hospital. One other is still in hospital in Medina. Saudi television said initially four had died.

Officials said the attackers had singled out the men in the group, which included women and children.

In Paris, President Jacques Chirac called for action to find the attackers and ensure foreigners' safety.

"He strongly condemns this hateful act," a statement said, calling on authorities to "track down, try and punish those guilty of the act and guarantee the safety of our compatriots".

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, the top government-appointed cleric, said Saudis should condemn the attack. "All citizens have a responsibility to warn against this (kind of) crime and condemn it," he said on state television.

Militant Attacks

The last major attack was in February last year when militants attempted to storm a major oil facility at Abqaiq in the east of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

Officials say more than 136 militants and 150 foreigners and Saudis, including security forces, have died in the violence which officials had said had been stamped out thanks to toughened security measures and a powerful publicity campaign.

The Saudi wing of al Qaeda recently threatened to renew its campaign of violence.

"For some time now, we have been preparing some quality attacks which will shake the foundations of the crusaders (Westerners) in the Arabian Peninsula," said the group's Web magazine, reappearing after a nearly two-year absence.

A senior Western diplomat told Reuters last week that Saudi authorities had taken impressive measures to crush the mini-insurgency in 2003 and 2004, but that the underlying causes were still there for it to re-emerge at any point.

"They ran a successful campaign, they act on intelligence and never let the grass grow under the terrorists' feet," the diplomat said. "But they still have got a long way to go on winning hearts and minds."

Analysts say the causes include widespread radical Islamist ideology in Saudi Arabia, which imposes a strict form of Sunni Islam as state orthodoxy, and anger at the inability of Arab and Muslim governments to challenge U.S. foreign policy widely seen as unbalanced and favouring Israel. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Francois Murphy in Paris)

02-27-2007, 08:43 AM

Surprise no News here. US media is very protective towards House of Sauds.

02-27-2007, 03:47 PM

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070227/2/12k8f.html
QUOTETuesday February 27, 06:31 PM
Blast in Afghanistan as Cheney visits
A blast near the gates of the main US base in Afghanistan, where US Vice-President Dick Cheney is visiting, has killed 18 people, according to the interior ministry.

The cause of the explosion outside Bagram airbase, 60km north of Kabul, is not yet known.
(It was the T-ban acting on ISI instructions, as reprisal for the US via Cheney having told off Terroristan and its Mushroomaff. <!--emo& Wink

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /> Hey, it's not impossible. ISI generally blows up kaffirs for far less...)

Cheney stayed at the base overnight after planned talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai were delayed by weather.

"The vice-president is fine," spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said.

The Afghanistan interior ministry said 15 Afghanis and three foreign soldiers were killed in the suicide attack.

"Initial reports are stating that 18 people were killed and three of them are foreign soldiers," interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.

"The 15 others are civilian Afghan workers who wanted to enter Bagram air base for their work. On injuries we do not have exact reports."
(Terrorists blow up 15 Afghans and only 3 kaffirs. Is that the going-rate for islamoterrorists these days: they murder 5 times as many of their own for every kaffir they get?)

Bagram is a sprawling complex and the main gates are some distance from offices and living quarters.

An Afghan official said the explosion occurred inside a shipping container, but gave no more details, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said.

Some containers are used as shops in the market lining the road to the base. Others are carried on trucks to bring supplies into the base.

A Reuters correspondent travelling with the US delegation said they were not aware of the blast until they heard sirens and were told by a military spokesman that the base was "under attack".

"We were told there was a 'red alert'," Caren Bohan said.

"There was a commotion, but it ended pretty quickly. We didn't hear any bomb or anything like that from where we were."

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-27-2007, 03:53 PM by Husky.)

This is Australia.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070227/2/12kbc.html
QUOTETuesday February 27, 07:16 PM
ASIO criticised over terror group bans
Government and ASIO processes for banning terrorist organisations have been criticised by a parliamentary committee.

Liberal David Jull, chair of the joint committee on intelligence and security, said the committee was "unconvinced by the robustness of the listing process".

However the committee would "err on the side of caution" and support the re-listing of four organisations.

Under anti-terrorist legislation, all listings and re-listings of terrorist groups must go to the committee, which has the power to recommend that they don't go ahead.

Its bipartisan report on the re-listing of the Abu Sayyaf Group, a Filipino Islamist separatist group; Jamiat ul-Ansar, a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist group; the Algerian Armed Islamic Group; and the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat, was tabled in parliament on Tuesday.

The report said that while some organisations which seemed to be concentrating on local activities and had no known Australian links were proscribed, others with membership and links to Australia have not been.

ASIO had told it that many such groups belonged to a global jihadist network, which could lead to people being brought to Australia.

More prominent groups, ASIO assured the committee, were kept under constant review.

The report said the committee asked ASIO for information about the four groups' activities since the last re-listing in 2004.

ASIO replied that there was a lack of available new evidence about each of them, but this didn't mean they weren't still active and dangerous.

A lack of "evident activity" may mean the group is preparing for a future act of terrorism, ASIO said.

The report said the committee accepted this may be the case, but believed that it could best decide if a re-listing is warranted by examining new information.

"Thus the committee continues to urge the Attorney-General and ASIO to provide it with as much relevant up-to-date information as possible when seeking to list or re-list a terrorist organisation," the report said.Man, how many islamoterrorist outfits are there? I've lost count. Three of the four in red above are new to me.
The islamoterrorist cells have so many names you'd think they'd have run out of them by now, and all of them sound positively Faithful to Allah in their jihadiness.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-03-2007, 02:51 PM by Husky.)

Unexpected comedy amidst tragedy. Islamoterrorist learns from none other than the pope. Lying runs in the christoislamic family, after all.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070215/2/12fsi.html
QUOTETuesday February 27, 08:09 AM
Suspect denies planning Madrid attacks
An Egyptian accused of the Madrid train bombings denied admitting he planned the attack and said a bugged conversation in which he apparently called the bombers "friends" had been misunderstood.

Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, 35, was arrested in Milan after Italian police recorded telephone conversations in which authorities believe he took credit for plotting attacks on March 11, 2004 which killed 191 people in the Spanish capital.

Ahmed, known as 'Mohamed the Egyptian', denied in a Madrid court that the voice on the recording was his and said another taped conversation had been misunderstood.

"I was just commenting on news I saw on television. I didn't mean anything more but that I had no relationship with these terrorist acts," he said, speaking in Arabic via a Spanish interpreter.

In a transcript of the wiretapped conversation, Ahmed apparently referred to the bombers as "friends" and said "now they're all in paradise", before warning his interlocutor not to mention the matter over the telephone.

Ahmed insisted he had been misunderstood.

"It's like when the pope, who is a highly educated man, spoke about Muslims and Islam and there were protests in the Islamic world and he said 'I didn't mean any harm, I was just commenting on history'," he said. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' />

Last September, Pope Benedict made a speech quoting a Byzantine emperor who said Islam was violent and irrational. His comments sparked angry demonstrations around the world and he later said he was sorry Muslims had been offended by the quote.
(They have only the pope to blame.
Islamoterrorist thinks: 'if the pope can get away with it, why can't I?')

Ahmed is one of four men prosecutors believe masterminded the commuter train bombings, the deadliest al-Qaeda inspired attack in Europe. He denies involvement in the attack, which was followed by the suicide of seven suspected bombers several weeks later when they blew themselves up during a police siege.

The wiretaps were also presented as evidence to an Italian court last year, which convicted Ahmed of belonging to a terrorist organisation.

One transcript used in the Milan trial and seen by Reuters, has a man's voice saying: "The attack in Madrid was my plan and those that died martyrs were my dearest friends."

"Nowhere in the recording did I hear me say 'the attack was my plan' ... That's not my voice," Ahmed told the Madrid court, criticising the tape's sound quality and translations.

Ahmed is on trial with another 19 Arab men and nine Spaniards for crimes ranging from terrorist murder to collaborating with a terrorist group.

Later this week, a main Spanish suspect, Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, will take the stand for the first time. He is accused of stealing dynamite from mines and selling it to the bombers.Am impressed. Papal legacy to humanity is increasing: nepotism, simony and many crimes even named for the pontiffs who first invented-and-committed them.
So is this technique going to be called The Ratzinger?

02-27-2007, 09:23 PM

QUOTESo is this technique going to be called The Ratzinger? 
Very handy technique and very soon lot of groups will use against who else "Ratzinger".

03-01-2007, 12:55 AM

Must watch - Muslim takeover farms in Texas <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/b_cowboy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='b_cowboy.gif' />
Watch complete video <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-01-2007, 10:14 AM by Husky.)

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070228/5/3f9.html
QUOTEThursday March 1, 03:04 AM
War-weary Afghans fear new offensive
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Steeling for a spring offensive, the Taliban said on Wednesday they had sent 1,000 suicide bombers to relatively quiet northern Afghanistan, a day after a suicide blast targeted Vice President Dick Cheney.

The United States and some NATO nations, led by Britain, are pouring troops in to battle the offensive and to try to crush the insurgents in what analysts say is the crunch year for both sides after the bloodiest 12 months since the Taliban fell in 2001.

At least 23 people, including an American soldier and a South Korean serviceman, died in Tuesday's suicide car bombing at the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, Bagram, 60 km (40 miles) north of Kabul in an area that has seen little violence since 2001.

"We reacted in a very short span of time to attack the base," Taliban commander Mullah Hayatullah Khan told Reuters by satellite phone from a secret location on Wednesday.

"They would have launched a major guerrilla attack on the base as the Taliban are prepared for any sacrifice to kill such an important person and a big infidel."

Cheney was never in danger from the attack, which occurred just inside a perimeter gate, and was whisked to a bomb shelter immediately after the blast. He later went ahead with talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul before leaving for Oman.

MORE SUICIDE ATTACKS FEARED

Khan repeated earlier Taliban warnings the insurgents had 2,000 suicide bombers ready -- plus more than that in training -- but this time said 1,000 had been sent to northern Afghanistan, which has seen relatively little violence.

More than 4,000 people died in fighting last year, mostly in the Taliban's southern and eastern heartland, bordering Pakistan.

The Taliban say they will step up suicide bombings as part of their return to conventional guerrilla fighting after suffering heavy losses in pitched battles against NATO in 2006.

Almost unheard of in Afghanistan until 2005 when there were 21 suicide bombings, the number jumped to 139 last year as Afghan rebels copied tactics from Iraq.

President George W. Bush said this month quashing the Taliban and restoring security in Afghanistan was vital to the United States' own security. He pledged 3,200 more troops and billions of dollars more for reconstruction and Afghan security forces.

Britain, whose foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, was in Kabul on Wednesday, pledged an extra 1,400 troops this week because other NATO nations refused.

Beckett said the extra British troops, which will soon outnumber London's deployment in Iraq, will help stability.

"I would say, in all sincerity, that none of us are doing enough to tackle the security problems," she told journalists.

"Because, if we were doing enough then we would have had a great deal more success than we have had so far."

She said more troops would help bring the security needed for reconstruction -- bringing water, power and healthcare to Afghans -- but some fear more foreign troops mean more fighting.

"This fighting has ruined us. We don't want them," 50-year-old beggar Shafia said in Spin Boldak near Pakistan.

"We lost our children and relatives. When the foreigners came, we thought they would bring peace and prosperity but now the situation is worse than before.

"The Taliban were good Muslims. They used to preach Islam and its laws, but now dacoits (bandits) and thieves are ruling.

"What use are these foreigners and their big tanks and planes when our children can't get enough food?"

But a 38-year-old shopkeeper in Zabul, who did not want to give his name, said more foreign troops were needed.

"It will definitely make a difference if troops also engage in reconstruction work instead of just fighting Taliban," he said.

"Afghan people are more interested in a resolution of their problems, not in fighting."Britain withdraws from Iraq's war theatre only to deploy in Afghanistan?

03-01-2007, 10:16 AM

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070228/5/3fr.html
QUOTEThursday March 1, 03:07 AM
Madrid bomb suspect loses UK extradition fight
LONDON (Reuters) - A Syrian-born man accused of complicity in the Madrid train bombings in 2004 on Wednesday lost his final appeal against being extradited from Britain.
Moutaz Almallah Dabas, who holds Spanish citizenship, is accused of providing support and accommodation to Islamist militants, including several alleged to have carried out the bombings that killed 191 people on March 11, 2004.

Five British Law Lords, the highest court of appeal, unanimously rejected Dabas' argument that the European arrest warrant under which he was detained in Britain in 2005 was invalid because its wording did not comply with British law.

Twenty-nine people are on trial in Madrid in connection with the bombs that ripped apart four commuter trains in Europe's deadliest al Qaeda-inspired attack.Appealing to St Ratzinger and his teachings will not miraculously save this islamoterrorist.

03-01-2007, 09:56 PM

"Not Possible to Modernize Islam"
Human rights activists have formed a "Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany" to help women renounce the Islamic faith if they feel oppressed by its laws. Its Iranian-born founder Mina Ahadi, under police protection after receiving death threats, talks to DER SPIEGEL about its goals.
QUOTEAn Iranian human rights activist living in Germany has formed a "Central Council of ex-Muslims in Germany" with 40 others and has received anonymous death threats after declaring she wants to help people to leave the religion if they so desire.

Iranian-born Mina Ahadi, 50, said she set up the group to highlight the difficulties of renouncing the Islamic faith which she believes to be misogynist. She wants the group to form a counterweight to Muslim organisations that she says don't adequately represent Germany's secular-minded Muslim immigrants.

Ahadi has been put under police protection in recent days. Renouncing Islam can carry the death penalty in a number of countries including Iran, Saudi-Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Mauritania. In other countries people who turn their backs on the faith aren't punished by courts, but they are often ostracized by family and friends. It's a difficult subject among Muslim communities in Europe too.

Ahadi said she wants the new organization to help women who feel oppressed by the rules of the faith to find a way out. The Council will hold a news conference in Berlin on Wednesday to outline its goals.

DER SPIEGEL spoke to Ahadi.

SPIEGEL: Together with 29 other immigrants from Muslim countries you have declared that you have renounced Islam. The campaign is similar to one launched in the 1970s by women who declared publicly that they had had abortions. What is your purpose?

Ahadi: I haven't been a Muslim for 30 years. I'm also critical of Islam in Germany and of the way the German government deals with the issue of Islam. Many Muslim organisations like the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) or Milli GÃ¶rÃ¼s engage in politics or interfere in people's everyday lives. They were invited to the conference on Islam (hosted by the government in Berlin last year). But their aims are hostile to women and to people in general."

SPIEGEL: Why?

Ahadi: They want to force women to wear the headscarf. They promote a climate in which girls aren't allowed to have boyfriends or go to discos and in which homosexuality is demonized. I know Islam and for me it means death and pain.

SPIEGEL: What will your organization do?

Ahadi: One example: One representative of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany said that a carnival procession float (during the recent carnival in Germany) showing Islamists with explosive belts had offended Muslims. But there was no evidence of that. The associations pretend that they represent everyone and to some extent are acknowledged as such by the German side. That's bad. We have to give a signal against that and say: Not in our name. We are secular humanists. We want to give these people a voice. Someone has to make a start. We're advocating human rights.

SPIEGEL: Some of your members are also active in communist organizations in their home countries.

Ahadi: Yes, many were active in left-wing groups. We have received more than 100 membership applications in recent days. We want to create a new movement, in other European countries too. We hope that soon there will be 10,000 of us representing many more people.

SPIEGEL: Won't your campaign just harden the battle lines?

Ahadi: I don't think it's possible to modernize Islam. We want to form a counterweight to the Muslim organisations. The fact that we're doing this under police protection shows how necessary our initiative is.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-02-2007, 02:33 PM by Husky.)

Australia:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5001028,00.html
QUOTEGroup promotes Muslim politicians
March 01, 2007 12:00
Article from: AAP

AN Islamic group is being formed to get more Muslim candidates into Australian politics.

It's hoped Australia's first Muslim federal MP would come from the Sydney-based group being spearheaded by Labor-aligned community leader Omar Yassine.

The proposed group will distinguish between religious and political Islam and promote the merits of Muslims from all political parties to the Islamic and mainstream communities, News Ltd reports.

âWe need someone from our community to represent us in the government and to be honest and straightforward,â Mr Yassine told News Ltd.

âWe have to achieve something and to show respect to ourselves for others to respect us.â

While Victoria has state Muslim Mps, NSW does not and nor are there any Islamic MPs at the federal level.

The proposed Muslim committee would comprise men and women from various professions and academic backgrounds.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070228/2/12kyl.html
QUOTEThursday March 1, 12:06 PM
Muslims like Mundine's motormouth
Boxer Anthony Mundine has turned down an approach by supporters of controversial Islamic clerk Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali to try his hand at politics, opting to keep his focus on winning a second world title.

The former world champion and outspoken aboriginal role model was asked by a political committee headed by the sheik's close friend Keysar Trad to run as a candidate against NSW Premier Morris Iemma in seat of Lakemba at the March 24 state election.

But while the Muslim convert considered the offer, he said he was concentrating on winning Wednesday's WBA super middleweight title bout against Sam Soliman.

"I had a little think about it but right now I'm just focused on my fight, becoming the two-time world champion and trying to elevate that status," Mundine told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

Mundine, also a former league footballer, said he was interested in one day entering politics to help improve the living standards of indigenous Australians.

"I want to put justice against injustice and to make changes for the better," he said.

"It's all about choices. Right now that's not my choice but I'm sure it will be down the line."

Mr Trad, who said he would back Mundine whenever he was ready to take the plunge into state, or even federal politics, was unfazed by the boxer's history of controversy.

Most recently, Mundine set fire to photographs of Prime Minister John Howard in a hip-hop music video and likened the treatment of Australian Aborigines in colonial times to the Holocaust.

"I think being outspoken is an asset not a weakness. Politicians generally tend to be indecisive and sit on the fence unless the issue is a clear winner," he said.

"Here's a man who puts his principles first ... rather than what will the electorate buy."

Mr Trad, who is also president of the Islamic Friendship Association, said there was a double standard when it came to how people reacted to comments from minority representatives compared to politicians' unpalatable opinions, lies and mistakes.

"Why do we ignore these things and sometimes even put a positive spin on them when a comment that sometimes rings too true for us from somebody who's in a minority is treated with indignant condemnation," he said.
(As if Trad, supporter of hateful Sheikh, cares a hoot about the Australian Aboriginal kafirs. Only as far as they can be converted. Else they'll be treated as all infidels are.)

Despite Mundine's decision not to stand at Lakemba, which is also home to the mufti's mosque, Mr Trad said he was confident Sheik Alhilali's supporters would have an influence at the ballot box.

He cited the Liberal candidacy of an Arabic Christian, and a Muslim for the Greens, in Lakemba as proof of success.

"Our original intention was to put adequate pressure on the existing parties to raise their game," Mr Trad said.

"I believe we have accomplished that and we will add to that by encouraging people to vote with their conscience and put aside traditional party loyalties."I'm all for Australian Aboriginals. But I think the moment they become christoislamic, they're traitors and not Australian Aboriginals at all anymore. There's no difference between this Anthony Mundine being a christian and a muslim. As a muslim, how can he speak for the Aborigines when his religion will make him against their kafirdom?
Sick.

03-02-2007, 04:13 PM

Thats reminde me afro-americans who converted to islam because christians make them slaves.What this guys dont know ,is that muslims also made trade whit african slaves.
Is true that muslims have a golden age of science betwin 700-1100?

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-02-2007, 05:28 PM by Husky.)

QUOTE(Honsol @ Mar 2 2007, 04:13 PM)Is true that muslims have a golden age of science betwin 700-1100?
[right][snapback]65167[/snapback][/right]The Islamic 'Golden Age of Science' got its science from elsewhere:

- It is already well-known what 'islamic contributions' were actually from Ancient Greek sources
- I think I read somewhere that there was some science taken from the Chinese too. But, seeing as I can't back this up, have a pinch of salt ready.

- See Post 89 of Vedic Maths thread, for a brief overview of India's Hindu originals in what is labelled as achievements of 'Islamic Golden Age'.
While islam killed Hindus, it also took credit for much of the Hindu science it took over.

- Scientists in Iran under islamic yoke, were actually Persians (Zoroastrians) working under islamic names:
http://politicalpakistan.blogspot.com/
QUOTEWhile modern day Muslims glorify the scientific and artistic pinnacles achieved under the Abbasids, few realise that over 75% of the scientists, scholars and artists at the apex of Islamâs historical past were in fact Persians who had embraced Arab/Islamic names.It is known that the famous Ferdowsi, who wrote the celebrated Zoroastrianism-centred Shahnameh, was obviously not muslim.

Not everything at the Pakistani's blog ( http://politicalpakistan.blogspot.com/ ) is right, though. For instance, he writes:
QUOTEIran has an extremely ancient and proud heritage (much older, for instance, than Indiaâs). Its roots began as early as 728 BC when the Deioces founded the Median kingdom at Ecbatana (modern Hamadan). Yes, Iran is ancient. But how does 728 bce make it older than India's roots? <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /> (Also, aren't Iran's Zoroastrian origins much older than that?)

Bharatvarsh · 03-02-2007, 07:12 PM

Ibn Warraq deals with this subject in "Why I am not a Muslim" where he takes some of the prominent people from this so called golden age and in the end we end up with a bunch of jews, xtians or free thinkers, from what I remember very few of those people were practicing Muslims and were despised by the Ulema.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-03-2007, 04:07 AM by Husky.)

To do with Bharatvarsh's post 137:
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/...inkersislam.htm
'Freethinkers of Islam' is an article devoted to how the key players in the 'Golden Age of Islam' weren't muslims and how many of them didn't even have much good to say about islam.

QUOTEFreethinkers of Islam
By Ali SinaÂ

Today Islamic countries are the most backward countries in the world. If it was not for the oil they would also be the poorest countries. But the Muslims keep recalling the great scientific luminaries of the so-called âgolden ageâ of Islam. They name great minds like Zakaria Razi, Abu Ali Sina, Ibn Rushd, etc who have contributed so much to the science and human understanding and pose the questions that have become clichÃ©, âIf Islam was wrong, could these great men not have noticed it?âÂ âIsnât it enough proof of the truth of Islam that so many great minds have been Muslims?âÂ

However, the truth is that these men, though born within Islam, were not Muslims.

âZakariya ar RaziÂ (865-925) for example was perhaps the greatest freethinker in the whole of Islamic world. He was one of the great physicians of all times. He wrote over two hundred books on a wide variety of subjects. He is the author of the monumental encyclopedia al Hawi, on which he worked for fifteen years. Ar Razi was an empiricist, who instead of following the standard procedures dogmatically carefully recorded the progress of his patients, and the effects of the treatment on them. He wrote one of the earliest treatises on infectious diseasesâsmallpox and measles.Â

Almost all of Ar Raziâs philosophical books are destroyed. His views on religion in general and Islam in particular earned him public condemnation for blasphemy. Only bits and pieces of his refutation of revealed religion are left in a refutation of his book by an Ismaili author. From this, it is clear that the greatest mind of the Islamic golden age was not sympathetic towards Islam at all. Here are his audacious thoughts on religion:

âAll men are by nature equal and equally endowed with the faculty of reason that must not be disparaged in favour of blind faith; reason further enables men to perceive scientific truths in an immediate way. The prophetsâthese billy goats with long beards, as Ar Razi disdainfully describes themâcannot claim any intellectual or spiritual superiority. These billy goats pretend to come with a message from God, all the while exhausting themselves in spouting their lies, and imposing on the masses blind obedience to the "words of the master." The miracles of the prophets are impostures, based on trickery, or the stories regarding them are lies. The falseness of what all the prophets say is evident in the fact that they contradict one another: one affirms what the other denies, and yet each claims to be the sole depository of the truth; thus the New Testament contradicts the Torah, the Koran the New Testament. As for the Koran, it is but an assorted mixture of âabsurd and inconsistent fables,â which has ridiculously been judged inimitable, when, in fact, its language, style, and its much-vaunted âeloquenceâ are far from being faultless. Custom, tradition, and intellectual laziness lead men to follow their religious leaders blindly. Religions have been the sole cause of the bloody wars that have ravaged mankind. Religions have also been resolutely hostile to philosophical speculation and to scientific research. The so-called holy scriptures are worthless and have done more harm than good, whereas the writings of the ancients like Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, and Hippocrates have rendered much greater service to humanity.â

âThe people who gather round the religious leaders are either feeble-minded, or they are women and adolescents. Religion stifles truth and fosters enmity. If a book in itself constitutes a demonstration that it is true revelation, the treatises of geometry, astronomy, medicine and logic can justify such a claim much better than the Quranâ

The next great luminary of the Islamic world is Abu Ali Sina, known as Avicenna in the West, his âmajor contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the "Canon" in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb is an immense encyclopedia of medicine extending over a million words. It surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources. Due to its systematic approach, formal perfection as well as its intrinsic value, the Qanun superseded Razi's Hawi, Ali Ibn Abbas's Maliki, and even the works of Galen, and remained supreme for six centuries" (1)Â This book was taught as the textbook to the students of Medicine in the University of Bologna until the 17th Century.Â

âAvicenna's philosophy was based on a combination of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism. Contrary to orthodox Islamic thought, Avicenna denied personal immortality, God's interest in individuals, and the creation of the world in time. Because of his views, Avicenna became the main target of an attack on such philosophy by the Islamic philosopher al-Ghazali and was even called apostate.â( 2 )Â

Next is Al-Ma'arri, (973-1057) the greatest Syrian poet. He referred to religion as "noxious weeds" and called it a "fable invented by the ancientsâ, worthless except for those who exploit the credulous masses. Maâarriâs contempt of all religions including Islam is clear from the following verses.Â Â

"Do not suppose the statements of the prophets to be true. Men lived comfortably till they came and spoiled life. The "sacred books" are only such a set of idle tales as any age could have and indeed did actually produce."
-- Al-Ma'arri, poet, 973-1057Â

And in another place:Â

âHanifs ( Muslims) are stumbling, Christians all astray
Jews wildered, Magians far on error's way.
We mortals are composed of two great schools
Enlightened knaves or else religious fools.âÂ

And as for the prophets he wrote:

The Prophets, too, among us come to teach,
Are one with those who from the pulpit preach;
They pray, and slay, and pass away, and yet
Our ills are as the pebbles on the beach.

Mohammed or Messiah! Hear thou me,
The truth entire nor here nor there can be;
How should our God who made the sun and the moon
Give all his light to One, I cannot see.

Another great mind of the Islamic world is Omar Khayyam. He was one of the greatest mathematicians, astronomers, and poets of Iran whose Rubaâiyat (quatrains) are translated into most of the languages of the world and who has earned a universal recognition by everyone. Khayyam was an epicurean philosopher, scornful of religion and in particular of Islam.Â Â

Edward Fitzgerald sums up the delightful nature of Omar and his philosophy thus:

"...Omarâs Epicurean Audacity of thought and Speech caused him to be regarded askance in his own time and country. He is said to have been especially hated and dreaded by the Sufis, whose practice he ridiculed, and whose faith amounts to little more than his own, when strips of the Mysticism and formal recognition of Islamism under which Omar would not hide.â

Khayyam did not believe in any other world except this one. He was more concerned to enjoy the simple pleasures of life than confused world of the unknown. He was an agnostic par excellence âpreferring rather to soothe the soul through the senses into acquiescence with things as he saw them, than to perplex it with vain disquietude after what they might be.â (see reference)

Here are some examples Omarâs quatrains translated by FitzgeraldÂ

Some for the Glories of This World; and some
Sigh for the Prophetâs Paradise to come;
Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go
Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!

Why, all the Saints and Sages who discussâd
Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust
Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn
Are scatterâd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.

Dreaming when Dawnâs Left Hand was in the Sky
I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry:
âAwake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup
Before Lifeâs Liquor in its Cup be dry.â

Next of these great minds of whom Muslims brag so much is Ibn Rushd.

âIbn Rushd was an important philosopher and scientist, known in the Western world as Averroes. He lived from 1126 to 1198 in Andalusia and Marrakesh. His influence on European thought tends to be forgotten by Arabs and Europeans alike. But in the 13th and 14th century Averroism was as influential as was Marxism in the 19th century. Ibn Rushd worked as a mediator between the Arabic and the Western world by commenting and interpreting Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, making them accessible to Arabic culture. In many of his works, he also tried to mediate between philosophy and religion. Religious leaders did not always praise his works; he was condemned for heresy by the Christian, the Jewish and the Islamic orthodoxy and his works were frequently banished and burnt.âÂ ( 3 )

Ibn Rushd was called to Marrakesh to work as a physician for the Caliph there but fell out of favor with the Caliph due to the opposition that theologians had raised against his writings. He was accused of heresy, interrogated and banned to Lucena, close to Cordova. At the same time, the Caliph ordered the books of the philosopher to be burnt, with the exception of his works on medicine, arithmetic, and elementary astronomy.

The works of Ibn Rushd also aroused admiration in Europe, even among those theologians who saw a danger for religious faith in his writings. In the XIIIth century, Ibn Rushd was condemned by bishops from Paris, Oxford and Canterbury for reasons similar to those that had caused his condemnation by the orthodox Muslims in Spain.

Abu Yaqub, the Caliph of Morocco, called him to his capital and appointed him as his physician in place of Ibn Tufail. His son Yaqub al-Mansur retained him for some time but soon Ibn Rushd's views on theology and philosophy drew the Caliph's wrath. All his books, barring strictly scientific ones, were burnt and he was banished to Lucena. However, as a result of intervention of several leading scholars he was forgiven after about four years and recalled to Morocco in 1198; but he died towards the end of the same year.Â

Obviously these great men upon whose shoulders rests the glory of the golden age of Islam were not Muslims and even were critical of it. Yet the Muslims who persecuted them in their lives are not abashed to list them among their own, now that they are dead and cannot defend themselves. Now these Islamic apologists brag about these luminaries and thus try to gain acceptance and credibility.Â Â âCould all these great minds be wrong?â is what they keep raising.Â

Today the Islamists are set to conquer the West and their attention is focused on the white man. But the âlogicalâ arguments of convincing them of the truth of Islam have not changed. They are still using the belief of others as the proof of Islam. Among their big stars is of course the ever-appearing name of Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) and to persuade the white women that Islam is good for them they have Maryam Jameelah to name.Â

But these people were not scientific minds. In fact there are no scientists that support the jumbo mumbo of Quran. Any school child can see the gross errors of Quran just by reading that book. So to counter this deficiency Muslims have bought two Western scientists to support the absurdities of Quran and call that book scientific. Dr. Maurice Bucaille and Dr. Keith Moore were just what Islamists needed. These two men who quoted the most bizarre verses of the Quran claiming that they are in accordance with modern scientific discoveries with logic that would make a child laugh, and said that Quran is miraculous, never became Muslims. This raises the question of their sincerity. But they loved enough the money that the oil rich Arabs offered them to step on their professional integrity and write absurd thesis about the scientific nature of Quran.Â

Why should two âdoctorsâ write such stupid books is clear: They liked money more than their professional integrity. But why should Muslims hire them for such a task? The answer is that they know that the testimony of people, especially if they are famous or carry the title of doctor in front of their names, about Islam goes a long way in influencing others to become Muslims. They can use the same old argument âAll these people must have seen something in Islamâ and lure the young and unlearned into blindly accepting it.Â

The importance of the conversion of the Westerners to Islam for the Islamists is such that if there are no such conversions they invent them. They would circulate rumors that this or that celebrity has converted to Islam. Since these claims are just rumors no one will report them officially or take responsibility for them but they have their effect on the less informed investigator of Islam and will give him/her more confidence to take the plunge and take his shahadah.Â Â

Some of the most famous names alleged by Muslims propagandists to have converted to Islam are;Â Neil Armstrong, Jaques Cousteau, Michael Jackson, Maurice Bucaille, King Offa, Abdu'l-Ahad Dawud (Professor David Benjamin Keldani), a former Catholic Bishop?, and The Coptic Cardinal Abu Ishaq

In the ridiculous story of Neil Armstrongâs conversion, it is said that he heard a strange sound when he landed on the moon. When later on the earth he heard the same song, he enquired and found out it was Adan (the Islamic call to prayer) and hence accepted Islam at once. It is amazing that some people are so naÃ¯f to make such tales and other so foolhardy to believe in them. The truth is that none of the above is Muslim or has shown any interest to become one.Â Â

The stories of the conversion of the Westerners to Islam have another effect on Muslims themselves. It strengthens their faith and makes them more zealous and fanatical. These stories are shared joyfully among the Muslims of birth and it gives a new breath of life into their languishing faith. Muslims do not care whether these stories are true or false. They donât think it is up to them to make an independent search of the truth and find the facts on their own. If they hear stories of the conversion of others it is enough proof to them of the truth of Islam. And the old mantra rings in their ears once more: ânot all these people can be wrongâ. Then they go about applying the atrocities that are prescribed in Quran and hadith as they already have got the confirmation that they need to live the teachings of Islam to the fullest.
This excerpt is about the Persian loss to islam and how Persian influence still carried on for some time before being wholly extinguished by the 'Religion of Peace and of the Science's Golden Age':
(Relevant excerpt from http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/brigit.htm )
QUOTEHistorically the Persians lost a lot to Islam. We lost our history, our libraries, our culture and the purity of our language. But more importantly we lost our humanistic values. Did you know that the first charter of Human rights was written in Iran 2500 years ago? But today the Islamic Iran is the main violator of human rights. There is yet another loss that is not Iranâs only but the loss to humanity. One thousand years ago, Iranian rulers were tolerant and they allowed free thought to flourish. The great luminaries of the so-called âGolden Age of Islamâ are all products of that era. Men like Ar Razi were so audacious that they called the prophets âcharlatansâ and praised Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Rationalism and freethinking became the vogue. But Islamic fundamentalism cut the life of this Golden Age of rationalism short because the fundamentalists had the Quran on their side and they put a halt on freethinking, science and knowledge.Â I cannot but imagine what would have been of science today if Islam was not a factor and freethinking had continued to flourish in Iran 1000 years ago. What would be of the world today if centuries prior to Europe Iranians had reached the Renascence? When you study the works of Ibn Sina, Ar Razi, Khayyam, Al Farabi and others of that era you see that they were so close to Renascence. But Islam slammed that door and the advancement of science was hold back for centuries. This I believe is the biggest loss to humanity. But this is all speculation, you say. Yes it is, I say, but there is no reason to dismiss it.Â Â

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-03-2007, 03:05 PM by Husky.)

Older news concerning the islamoterrorist of post 128, to do with the Madrid bombings. He's the one who denied the evidence against him by plagiarising the denial method pioneered by Ratzinger in recent times:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070215/19/12fop.html
QUOTEThursday February 15, 10:40 PM
'Mohammed the Egyptian,' alleged Madrid bombings mastermind

Photo : AFPÂ
MADRID (AFP) - Rabei Ousmane Sayed Ahmed, the first of 29 suspects to take the stand in the trial of the 2004 Madrid train bombings which opened, is considered by Spanish prosecutors to be one of four masterminds of the deadly attacks.

Nicknamed "Mohammed the Egyptian", the 35-year-old allegedly admitted being the organizer of the biggest terrorist attack in Spanish history in telephone conversations that were intercepted by police in Italy.

He is one of the seven main suspects and is charged with 191 murders, 1,824 attempted murders and running a terrorist organisation.

Ahmed was arrested in June 2004 in Italy. A court in Milan sentenced him last November to 10 years in jail for membership of a terrorist organization before returning him to Spain.

"The inquiry clearly demonstrates the role of Rabei: influential member inside Al-Qaeda and at the head of the Islamist cell accused of the Madrid killings," the two Italian judges who tried him wrote in a statement outlining their reasons for having sentenced him.

During questioning by Spanish judge Juan Del Olmo in December 2005, "Mohammed the Egyptian" admitted to knowing some of the other suspects, most of them Moroccans, held over the Madrid attacks, which claimed 191 lives and injured almost 1,900.

He is reported to have spoken about organizing the attacks during telephone conversations with associates that were recorded by Italy's secret service.

"I was prepared to be a martyr but circumstances prevented me. Everything is in the hands of Allah," he is reported to have said in a telephone conversation that was intercepted in May 2004.

He is understood to have been in Italy at the time of the blasts but spent time in 2003 in Madrid's high-immigrant district of Lavapies, home to several of the presumed bombers.

At the start of the train bombing trial on Thursday "Mohammed the Egyptian" rejected all charges against him and said he would refuse to give evidence.

If convicted he faces 38,656 years in jailÂ <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /> , although under Spanish law he could only serve a maximum 40 years.
(Huh? 38,656 years in jail? How did they arrive at this number, by multiplying number of murders/intended murders with length of sentence for murder/intended murder?
But what does this non-sensically bloated figures mean in the end? And why two figures: the period of his sentence, and a separate maximum serving time? And why will he only serve 40 years, and won't be imprisoned for life?)

The trial is expected to last until July with a verdict expected in October.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 03-06-2007, 06:08 PM by Husky.)

3 x news:
(1) Australia tries a j-hadist
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070305/2/12mm4.html
QUOTETuesday March 6, 05:15 PM
Terror suspect planned martyrdom: court
One of nine suspects in Australia's largest alleged terrorist conspiracy told his mother he was about to enter paradise, a Sydney court has been told.

The committal hearing for the nine Sydney men was told that Mazen Touma had told his mother "Allah's satisfaction is more important than yours".

Crown prosecutor Wendy Abraham, QC, told Penrith Local Court Touma had allegedly told a friend his mother had disapproved of his plan to die in a jihad.

"He said jihad was an obligation for every Muslim and that he did not need her permission," Ms Abraham told the court.

"It is alleged he said his mother should be patient because tomorrow her children would be in paradise.

"He spoke of Allah giving him a paradise for martyrdom."

In her opening address, Ms Abraham told the court the nine suspects - Mohammed Ali Elomar, Mazen Touma, Abdul Rakib Hasan, Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Khaled Sharrouf, Mirsad Mulahalilovic, Omar Baladjam and Mohammed Jamal - had the ingredients and instructions to construct highly sensitive explosives capable of killing and causing massive damage.

She told Magistrate Michael Price all nine men were Islamic extremists who were determined to carry out violent jihad to protect Islam.

The men were arrested in November 2005 following ASIO and Australian Federal Police raids in Sydney and were charged with conspiring to make explosives in preparation for a terrorist attack.

At the time of their arrest, NSW police alleged the Lucas Heights nuclear facility in Sydney was a target.

Ms Abraham also told the court the men purchased many mobile phones under false names and used pseudonyms on bank accounts to purchase the ingredients and equipment to construct explosives such as TATP and HMTD.

It was alleged the men sent each other coded text messages throughout their alleged conspiracy with Elomar sending one to Baladjam saying "babe, I need to see you now".

Ms Abraham also alleged the nine men had built a massive stockpile of equipment and ingredients including hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid, pvc piping and laboratory equipment purchased from stores such as Bunnings Warehouse, Big W and Soul Pattinson Chemists.

The hearing, which will determine whether the men should stand trial, is expected to run for up to three months. One of several attempted islamist attacks in Australia.

(2) Religion of Peace in Somalia again:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070306/15/12nbr.html
QUOTETuesday March 6, 11:05 PM
Heavy fighting erupts in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Heavy fighting erupted in Mogadishu after about 100 insurgents attacked Somali interim government troops and their Ethiopian allies at a base inside the former defense headquarters on Tuesday, a witness said.
"They are fighting with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machineguns," said a local reporter who declined to be named. The reporter, who was trapped by the gunfire at a nearby hospital, said she had seen at least one body.See also post 120

(3) Not terrorism, but Iran's space program that's touched a nerve in the US:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070305/2/12n18.html
QUOTETuesday March 6, 10:33 AM
Iran's space program sparks fear in West
IIran's claim to have launched a research rocket has called new attention to a space program that some fear may produce long-range ballistic missiles that could reach Europe or the United States.

Exactly what Iran launched over a week ago, or even what it aimed to do, remains the subject of much debate, speculation and possible misinterpretation.

But there are startling parallels to the controversy over its nuclear program.

In both cases, what Iran claims is a peaceful program could mask or be transformed into a weapons program, some experts say.

In both cases also, Iran's actual capabilities and the speed at which they are improving remain largely unknown.

"Initially, it seemed like a cover story for an unsuccessful satellite attempt," said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, referring to Iran's claims on February 25 that it had sent a suborbital research rocket soaring to the edge of space.
(GlobalSecurity is a US army site)

Conflicting statements by Iranian officials about how high the rocket travelled reinforced that idea.

But at least one US defence official has privately told reporters that no launch was detected at all.

Officially, the United States has not commented.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack would not discuss details of US intelligence on the launch, but he said the United States remained troubled by Iran's activities.

"We do have outstanding concerns about Iran's missile program and we are very much concerned about the possible nexus between that program and their nuclear ambitions," he told reporters.

A satellite launch had been expected ever since the magazine Aviation Week reported comments by a top Iranian lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, in January that Iran had assembled a space launch vehicle (SLV) that would lift off soon.

An SLV is any type of rocket used to launch a spacecraft or satellite into orbit.

The announcement raised eyebrows because experts say there is little difference between the technology needed to construct a space launch vehicle and that needed to produce intercontinental ballistic missiles that can carry warheads.

"They use the same core technologies, with some difference in guidance systems and fuel," said Dr John Sheldon of the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base in the United States.

Given such similarities, some in Israel have expressed grave concerns.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after Iran's suborbital rocket claim: "Once they have that capability, whether for satellites or anything else, once you can boost your way up there, then you're en route to ICBMs, and that's where they're headed."

Others demur that Iran is far from such a goal.

Iran is known to possess a medium-range ballistic missile known as the Shahab-3 with a range of at least 1,300 kilometres, capable of striking Israel.

In 2005, Iranian officials said they had improved the range of the Shahab-3 to 2,000 kilometres.

Experts also believe Iran is developing the Shahab-4 missile, thought to have a range between 2,000 and 3,000 kilometres, that would enable it to hit much of Europe.

Analysts believe both missiles are based on North Korean prototypes and suspect Iran has received ballistic missile assistance from Russia and China as well.

The Iranians initially acknowledged in 1999 they were developing the Shahab-4, but claimed it would be used only as a space launch vehicle to send up commercial satellites.

In 2003, Tehran declared it had ended the Shahab-4 program. But western intelligence agencies doubt these claims and Sheldon added, "We know there is a missile that seems to be significantly bigger than the Shahab-3."

At the same time, Iran has made no secret of major ambitions for its space program.

In 2005, the government said it had allocated $US500 million ($A650.3 million) for space projects over the next five years. Also in 2005, Iran launched its first commercial satellite, Sina-1, into orbit from a Russian rocket.

On February 24 of this year, Defence Minister Mostafa Najar confirmed that Iran is now constructing its own satellites and the rockets, or space launch vehicles, to send them up.

Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications.

Iranian officials also point to America's use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for their security.

But Iran's potential ability to move swiftly from rockets to ICBMs has the United States concerned.

In its 2001 National Intelligence Estimate, the US intelligence community warned that Iran was likely to develop space-launch vehicles to establish the technical base to produce ICBMs.

It estimated that Iran would attempt to launch an ICBM/SLV by the second half of this decade.

Craig Covault, an expert with Aviation Week, said the Iranians probably could accomplish a space launch by only slightly modifying the current Shahab-3, because the US used similar missiles in the 1950s for its space program.

"We used these to launch satellites, and then quickly switched to ICBMs," he said.

Not everyone agrees. Anton Khlopkov, a non-proliferation expert with the Moscow-based PIR-Centre think tank, said he believes it would take the Iranians a decade to build an ICBM.

He views Iran's latest rocket launch as all "bluff ... It was an attempt to influence both the domestic public opinion and the West."

Dr Mustafa Alani, a military analyst with the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre, said the Iranians are merely spouting propaganda to build domestic support - and blames the West for buying it.

He said the US and Israel "have an interest in making Iran bigger" than it is so they have a justification for striking it.

Despite such claims, Pike and others believe the trajectory of Iran's progress is clear, even if the timing remains uncertain.

"Eventually Iran will have long-range missiles that can threaten the US and Europe," Pike said.How well-founded are these fears?

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