Protected: Fadila Blue Girl Molenbeek – Ophef over weervrouw in België

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues.

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International Crisis Group – Egypt’s Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integ

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Religious Movements.

International Crisis Group – 76 Egypt’s Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integ
Egypt’s Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integration?

Middle East/North Africa Report N°76
18 June 2008

Cairo/Brussels, 18 June 2008: The three-year clash between the government and the Muslim Brothers is damaging Egypt’s political life. Ending this confrontation and moving towards the long-term goal of integrating the Brothers into the political mainstream is a far better option.

Egypt’s Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integration?,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the ruling National Democratic Party’s (NDP) hard-line stance and the Muslim Brothers’ ambiguous approach to political participation. At a time of political uncertainty surrounding the presidential succession and serious socio-economic unrest, it offers an alternative to the current short-term thinking that carries very uncertain longer-term returns.

Since their surprisingly strong electoral performance in 2005, when they won nearly a fifth of parliamentary seats while running as independents, the Muslim Brothers have redoubled efforts to contest elections. The resulting backlash and mass arrests have further discredited Egyptian electoral democracy and increased political tensions. Although the regime has used the Brothers to frighten domestic and foreign audiences into accepting the status quo, this has mainly served to reinforce the Brothers at the expense of other political currents. By restricting the political field, the regime has assisted a hybrid organisation that is uniquely positioned to evade restrictions on recognised political parties and work outside a strict legal framework.

The Muslim Brothers also carry their share of responsibility. While they more explicitly embrace political reform as a main goal and have built alliances with opposition groups, their program’s distinctly non-democratic and illiberal tone, as well as its ambiguous pronouncements on the role of women and the place of religious minorities, is cause for genuine concern.

To break this standstill, the regime should recognise the Muslim Brothers’ ambition to create a legal political party, take the opportunity to set clear standards for integration and end its campaign of mass arrests, made possible by the draconian Emergency Law. For their part, the Muslim Brothers should finalise and clarify their political program in order to reassure their critics.

“Ultimately, the Muslim Brothers are too powerful and too representative for there to be either stability or genuine democratisation without finding a way to incorporate them”, says Issandr El Amrani, Crisis Group’s North Africa Analyst.

The Muslim Brothers’ regularisation and participation in political life should be framed as part of a wider process of reform designed to restore confidence in electoral politics.

“Although this likely will be a gradual process, the regime should take preliminary steps to normalise the Muslim Brothers’ participation in political life”, says Robert Malley, Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director. “Their integration should be pursued not just for its own sake, but as an essential step to a genuine opening of the political sphere that would also benefit secular opposition forces.”

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BBC NEWS | UK | Abu Qatada released from prison

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

BBC NEWS | UK | Abu Qatada released from prison
Abu Qatada released from prison

Qatada must wear an electronic tag and must not attend a mosque

The radical Islamist preacher Abu Qatada has been released from jail.

Abu Qatada, 47, was freed from Long Lartin Prison, in Worcestershire, at about 2020 BST after winning his fight against deportation from Britain.

A senior judge earlier signed papers authorising the release of Abu Qatada, previously described as Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe.

The Palestinian-Jordanian preacher will be subjected to a 22-hour home curfew and tight restrictions on his liberty.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she is “disappointed” with the decision to release him, and says the government will appeal.

Abu Qatada was once described by a judge as a “truly dangerous individual at the centre of al Qaeda’s activities in the UK”.

Last month the Court of Appeal blocked his deportation to Jordan, where Abu Qatada has been convicted in his absence of involvement in terror attacks.

Appeal Court judges feared evidence gained from torture could be used against Abu Qatada in a future trial.

Restrictions

Mr Justice Mitting of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) granted Abu Qatada bail on Tuesday with strict conditions.

He must wear an electronic tag and must not attend a mosque or lead prayers or religious instruction.

The government’s priority is to protect public safety and national security and we will take all steps necessary to do so
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith

Abu Qatada must also stay in his west London home for at least 22 hours a day, and cannot attend any kind of meeting. He is also forbidden from using mobile phones, computers or the internet.

Police have special permission to enter and search his home while Abu Qatada is banned from having guests other than family and solicitors.

Among the people he is banned from meeting in London is al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Others include bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Rachid Ramda, who has been convicted in France of masterminding a series of bombings in 1995.

Also named is hate preacher Abu Hamza.

Public safety

Ms Smith said she was disappointed that Abu Qatada had been granted bail, even though the conditions were strict.

She added: “I am appealing to the House of Lords to reverse the decision that it is not safe to deport Qatada and the other Jordanian cases.

“The government’s priority is to protect public safety and national security and we will take all steps necessary to do so.”

Abu Qatada became one of the UK’s most wanted men in December 2001 when he went on the run, on the eve of government moves to introduce anti-terror laws allowing suspects to be detained without charge or trial.

In October 2002 the authorities tracked him down to a council house in south London and took him to Belmarsh Prison.

He was eventually freed on bail in March 2005, but was made the subject of a control order to limit his movements.

In August that year he was taken back into custody pending the extradition to Jordan.

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BBC NEWS | UK | Abu Qatada released from prison

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

BBC NEWS | UK | Abu Qatada released from prison
Abu Qatada released from prison

Qatada must wear an electronic tag and must not attend a mosque

The radical Islamist preacher Abu Qatada has been released from jail.

Abu Qatada, 47, was freed from Long Lartin Prison, in Worcestershire, at about 2020 BST after winning his fight against deportation from Britain.

A senior judge earlier signed papers authorising the release of Abu Qatada, previously described as Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe.

The Palestinian-Jordanian preacher will be subjected to a 22-hour home curfew and tight restrictions on his liberty.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she is “disappointed” with the decision to release him, and says the government will appeal.

Abu Qatada was once described by a judge as a “truly dangerous individual at the centre of al Qaeda’s activities in the UK”.

Last month the Court of Appeal blocked his deportation to Jordan, where Abu Qatada has been convicted in his absence of involvement in terror attacks.

Appeal Court judges feared evidence gained from torture could be used against Abu Qatada in a future trial.

Restrictions

Mr Justice Mitting of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) granted Abu Qatada bail on Tuesday with strict conditions.

He must wear an electronic tag and must not attend a mosque or lead prayers or religious instruction.

The government’s priority is to protect public safety and national security and we will take all steps necessary to do so
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith

Abu Qatada must also stay in his west London home for at least 22 hours a day, and cannot attend any kind of meeting. He is also forbidden from using mobile phones, computers or the internet.

Police have special permission to enter and search his home while Abu Qatada is banned from having guests other than family and solicitors.

Among the people he is banned from meeting in London is al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Others include bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Rachid Ramda, who has been convicted in France of masterminding a series of bombings in 1995.

Also named is hate preacher Abu Hamza.

Public safety

Ms Smith said she was disappointed that Abu Qatada had been granted bail, even though the conditions were strict.

She added: “I am appealing to the House of Lords to reverse the decision that it is not safe to deport Qatada and the other Jordanian cases.

“The government’s priority is to protect public safety and national security and we will take all steps necessary to do so.”

Abu Qatada became one of the UK’s most wanted men in December 2001 when he went on the run, on the eve of government moves to introduce anti-terror laws allowing suspects to be detained without charge or trial.

In October 2002 the authorities tracked him down to a council house in south London and took him to Belmarsh Prison.

He was eventually freed on bail in March 2005, but was made the subject of a control order to limit his movements.

In August that year he was taken back into custody pending the extradition to Jordan.

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'Lyrical Terrorist' Samina Malik cleared on appeal – Telegraph

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

‘Lyrical Terrorist’ Samina Malik cleared on appeal – Telegraph
Lyrical Terrorist’ Samina Malik cleared on appeal
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent

A Heathrow shop assistant who dubbed herself the “Lyrical Terrorist” has won her appeal against conviction.

HEATHCLIFF O’MALLEY

Samina Malik, the ‘lyrical terrorist’, has been cleared on appeal

Samina Malik, who worked air-side for WH Smith and was the first Muslim woman in Britain found guilty of terrorism offences, posted a series of poems on websites across the internet about killing non-believers, pursuing martyrdom and raising children to be holy fighters.

She was described as a “committed Islamic extremist who supports terrorism and terrorists” and had a library of material for that purpose.

It was alleged she used her job to assess the security at Heathrow on behalf of Sohail Qureshi, a dental assistant from Forest Gate, East London, who was jailed for four and a half years for planning to travel to Afghanistan on a mission of “revenge” against British troops.
Article continues
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Miss Malik, 24, was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months at the Old Bailey last December, for possessing information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

But today judges at the Court of Appeal said they believed the jury had become “confused”.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, sitting with Mr Justice Goldring and Mr Justice Plender, quashed the conviction after the prosecution conceded that it was unsafe.

The judges said: “We consider that there is a very real danger that the jury became confused and that the prosecution have rightly conceded that this conviction is unsafe.”

In February Lord Phillips was among the Appeal Court judges who quashed the sentences of three students and another man from Bradford accused of possessing radical material.

They were accused of recruiting 17-year-old Mohammed Irfan Raja from Ilford, Essex, who left a note to his parents which said: ‘If not in this (world) we will meet in the Garden of Paradise, Inshallah [god willing].

In the judgment the Appeal Court said: “We do not consider that it was made plain to the jury, whether by the prosecution or by the Recorder, that the case that the appellants had to face was that they possessed the extremist material for use in the future to incite the commission of terrorist acts.

“We doubt whether the evidence supported such a case.”

Afterwards, the Crown Prosecution Service said it has decided not to seek a retrial in the Malik case.

Sue Hemming, head of the CPS’s counter terrorism division, said: “Since Ms Malik’s conviction, the law has been clarified by the Court of Appeal.

“The result is that some of the 21 documents we relied on in Ms Malik’s trial would no longer be held capable of giving practical assistance to terrorists.

“However, other documents in her possession, including the al-Qa’eda Manual, the Terrorist’s Handbook, the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook and several military manuals, clearly retain that potential. We therefore have no doubt that it was right to bring this prosecution.

“Nevertheless, taking into account the time Ms Malik spent on remand before her first trial, and the likely non-custodial sentence she would receive upon conviction in a retrial, we have decided not to seek a retrial on those manuals.

“Ms Malik was not prosecuted for her poetry. She was prosecuted for possessing documents that could provide practical assistance to terrorists.”

Qureshi, 29, was stopped at Heathrow airport with military equipment, thousands of pounds in cash and an autobiographical book called “My father the bomb maker.”

In internet conversations, Qureshi claimed to have been trained by al-Qa’eda and said he was going to Pakistan, Afghanistan or Waziristan, an area which straddles the borders, for two weeks, adding: “Pray that I kill many, brother. Revenge, revenge, revenge.”

0 comments.

‘Lyrical Terrorist’ Samina Malik cleared on appeal – Telegraph

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

‘Lyrical Terrorist’ Samina Malik cleared on appeal – Telegraph
Lyrical Terrorist’ Samina Malik cleared on appeal
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent

A Heathrow shop assistant who dubbed herself the “Lyrical Terrorist” has won her appeal against conviction.

HEATHCLIFF O’MALLEY

Samina Malik, the ‘lyrical terrorist’, has been cleared on appeal

Samina Malik, who worked air-side for WH Smith and was the first Muslim woman in Britain found guilty of terrorism offences, posted a series of poems on websites across the internet about killing non-believers, pursuing martyrdom and raising children to be holy fighters.

She was described as a “committed Islamic extremist who supports terrorism and terrorists” and had a library of material for that purpose.

It was alleged she used her job to assess the security at Heathrow on behalf of Sohail Qureshi, a dental assistant from Forest Gate, East London, who was jailed for four and a half years for planning to travel to Afghanistan on a mission of “revenge” against British troops.
Article continues
advertisement

Miss Malik, 24, was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months at the Old Bailey last December, for possessing information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

But today judges at the Court of Appeal said they believed the jury had become “confused”.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, sitting with Mr Justice Goldring and Mr Justice Plender, quashed the conviction after the prosecution conceded that it was unsafe.

The judges said: “We consider that there is a very real danger that the jury became confused and that the prosecution have rightly conceded that this conviction is unsafe.”

In February Lord Phillips was among the Appeal Court judges who quashed the sentences of three students and another man from Bradford accused of possessing radical material.

They were accused of recruiting 17-year-old Mohammed Irfan Raja from Ilford, Essex, who left a note to his parents which said: ‘If not in this (world) we will meet in the Garden of Paradise, Inshallah [god willing].

In the judgment the Appeal Court said: “We do not consider that it was made plain to the jury, whether by the prosecution or by the Recorder, that the case that the appellants had to face was that they possessed the extremist material for use in the future to incite the commission of terrorist acts.

“We doubt whether the evidence supported such a case.”

Afterwards, the Crown Prosecution Service said it has decided not to seek a retrial in the Malik case.

Sue Hemming, head of the CPS’s counter terrorism division, said: “Since Ms Malik’s conviction, the law has been clarified by the Court of Appeal.

“The result is that some of the 21 documents we relied on in Ms Malik’s trial would no longer be held capable of giving practical assistance to terrorists.

“However, other documents in her possession, including the al-Qa’eda Manual, the Terrorist’s Handbook, the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook and several military manuals, clearly retain that potential. We therefore have no doubt that it was right to bring this prosecution.

“Nevertheless, taking into account the time Ms Malik spent on remand before her first trial, and the likely non-custodial sentence she would receive upon conviction in a retrial, we have decided not to seek a retrial on those manuals.

“Ms Malik was not prosecuted for her poetry. She was prosecuted for possessing documents that could provide practical assistance to terrorists.”

Qureshi, 29, was stopped at Heathrow airport with military equipment, thousands of pounds in cash and an autobiographical book called “My father the bomb maker.”

In internet conversations, Qureshi claimed to have been trained by al-Qa’eda and said he was going to Pakistan, Afghanistan or Waziristan, an area which straddles the borders, for two weeks, adding: “Pray that I kill many, brother. Revenge, revenge, revenge.”

0 comments.