C L O S E R

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com
Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida
Religious re-education program targets youths viewed as potential recruits for terror group

By David B. Ottaway
The Washington Post
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has mobilized some of its most militant clerics, including one Osama bin Laden sought to recruit as his spiritual guide, in a campaign to combat the appeal of al-Qaida.

The effort has targeted hundreds of young Saudis whom security forces here have arrested as sympathizers or potential recruits. They are then subjected to an intense program of religious re-education by clerics that sometimes lasts for months.
Saudi authorities say that about 500 youths have completed the program and been freed since it began in 2004. They remain under close surveillance.
“None has been found to get reinvolved in terrorism so far,” said Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry. “Their ideology has changed, and they are convinced they were wrong.”
Mohsen al-Awajy, an Islamic lawyer who is known here as a former radical, was skeptical of the effect. “I’m afraid about 85 to 90 percent of those who claim they are changing their minds as a result of this dialogue might not be truthful,” he said.
Al-Turki conceded that Saudi authorities were having great difficulty curbing the appeal of al-Qaida’s ideology among young people, who he said are incited by “the daily killings in Iraq” and a constant barrage of appeals to holy war on Internet sites run by Islamic extremists. Hundreds have crossed into Iraq to join the insurgency there.
Abdel Mohsen al-Obeikan, a former militant cleric now playing a prominent part in the reeducation program, compared the challenge to the war on drugs in the United States. “You cannot stop drugs, either,” he said.
As soon as one terrorist group is eliminated, he said, another pops up that is even more dangerous. “We need a long time. We should be patient.”
Still, Saudi authorities argue they have made real progress in uprooting al-Qaida inside the kingdom, and part of the reason is their efforts with the young people.
But a foiled attack on Feb. 24 against the world’s largest oil terminal at Abqaiq sobered U.S. and Saudi officials.
“Abqaiq shows the problem is not over,” U.S. Ambassador James Oberwetter said in an interview here.
The Internet has become the main battleground against al-Qaida ideology, according to three members of the counseling committee that the Interior Ministry set up to run the re-education program. The body has 22 full-time members, who get help from 100 Islamic clerics and 30 psychiatrists.
Islamic counselors selected by the committee have succeeded in infiltrating a number of extremist Web sites and chat rooms.
Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh al-Asheikh told reporters in February that the government had established dialogue with 800 al-Qaida sympathizers this way and succeeded in changing the thinking of 250.

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Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate
Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Cara Garretson, Network World (US online)

08/05/2006 08:11:17

Terrorists and extremists more and more are turning to the Internet to spread their views and incite readers to take action, according to a report issued this week by a Jewish human rights group.

Called “Digital Terrorism and Hate 2006,” the report was issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is available as an interactive CD, according to the group’s officials. The report focuses on more than 6,000 Web sites that raise money for terrorist groups and teach related skills, such as bomb building.

In particular, the report details Middle Eastern-run Internet forums that encourage attacks on Christians and Jews with tips on, for example, how to use a cell phone as a bomb detonator. It also highlights European online news groups used by sports fanatics to incite racial activity at sporting events. There’s also a trans-national Internet network used by North American, European, and Middle Eastern extremists to share ideas, the report says.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, established in 1977 and based in Los Angeles, is in contact with government officials and community activists regarding what its report reveals, officials say.

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Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate
Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Cara Garretson, Network World (US online)

08/05/2006 08:11:17

Terrorists and extremists more and more are turning to the Internet to spread their views and incite readers to take action, according to a report issued this week by a Jewish human rights group.

Called “Digital Terrorism and Hate 2006,” the report was issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is available as an interactive CD, according to the group’s officials. The report focuses on more than 6,000 Web sites that raise money for terrorist groups and teach related skills, such as bomb building.

In particular, the report details Middle Eastern-run Internet forums that encourage attacks on Christians and Jews with tips on, for example, how to use a cell phone as a bomb detonator. It also highlights European online news groups used by sports fanatics to incite racial activity at sporting events. There’s also a trans-national Internet network used by North American, European, and Middle Eastern extremists to share ideas, the report says.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, established in 1977 and based in Los Angeles, is in contact with government officials and community activists regarding what its report reveals, officials say.

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SITE Institute: SITE Publications – The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News

Posted on May 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

SITE Institute: SITE Publications – The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News
The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News
By SITE Institute

May 4, 2006

Sada al-Jihad, “The Echo of Jihad,” a periodic publication electronically distributed via the Internet and featuring articles concerning general mujahideen news from several regions, was recently issued in its April 2006 release. Within the 45-page magazine, authors discuss the relative importance of Islamic scholars versus mujahideen, the danger of jihadist groups joining government, the importance of security for these groups’ survival, and recent operations and media happenings of mujahideen in Chechnya, Waziristan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In addition, an article relating prisoner stories from Guantanamo Bay and another discussing the importance of jihad are prominently featured in this issue.

The magazine opens with a short editorial written by Abu Hajer al-Lubnani, which caustically tells of those the lies spread by “simpletons” that Usama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri are guilty of killing Abdullah Azzam, citing American and Jewish television channels as sources. Anyone who places faith in these channels, according to Abu Hajer, is guilty of helping the “Crusaders”.

Other articles, such as: “Though Ye Make Mock of Us, Yet We Mock at You,” by Abu Fahr, and “Our Flesh is Heard,” contain inspirational rhetoric for the mujahideen in particular and jihad in general. The latter article describes the merits of Islamic scholars and the importance of education, compared to the necessity of jihad: “Scholars usually sit [passively] and do not fulfill the duty of Jihad for the sake of Allah and of protecting the sanctum of religion as Allah has commanded them; and there are Mujahideen who wage Jihad without knowledge, and they spoil more than they correct, and do more damage than good”. However, the situation today is such that jihad is an individual duty, rather than education, and thusly, gives the mujahid greater importance.

The article, “Circumstances Enabling Survival of Jihadi Organizations,” written by al-Mu’taz Billah, emphasizes the critical importance of a security cover for a jihadi organization to prevent infiltration by spies of a “hostile country” or a different group. Al-Mu’taz states: “The downfall of the majority of jihadi organizations was due only to this issue”. He also quotes Saif al-Adl, an al-Qaeda chief, in this regard. Likewise, the piece titled: “The Security Principles and Guidelines of the Muslim Mujahid,” provides 26 qualities a mujahid should maintain, besides how he should act. These include: “pure intention,” knowledge in the field, stealth, capability of expressing thought clearly, and critical thinking.

Another article, “The Mujahideen in the Peninsula – Pain and Hope,” laments the absence of Saudi mujahideen media, be it video, audio or written word, believing that such is an important issue for every mujahid group or organization. It states that media bears “crucial importance in allowing people to know the Mujahideen, in explaining to them the path that they follow and in rejecting slander, accusations and lies”. The author urges for the resumption of Saudi jihadist publications, and advises to separate those specializing in media from participating in military operations due to security concerns.

A piece about three stories from prisoners in Guantanamo Bay alleges that American guards at the detention facility have been demonstrating respect for Usama bin Laden, converting to Islam, and being threatened with deployment to Iraq for this conversion. Also, another article, “What Benefit?,” openly questions what good can come of Hamas as a government administration, and for Islamic parties joining government, in general. It states: “Throughout the history of Islam, there were many sects, groups, men and peoples whose aim was to help religion, and they might have been devout to Allah almighty in this desire… Yet they did not achieve what they sought because the path that they followed does not help religion”.

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Reuters AlertNet – Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions

Posted on April 25th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Reuters AlertNet – Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions
Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions
24 Apr 2006 16:47:42 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Andrew Hammond

RIYADH, April 24 (Reuters) – An unprecedented verbal attack by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Saudi liberals will raise the temperature in a tense debate over reforms in his native Saudi Arabia, analysts and activists said on Monday.

Bin Laden said some Arab intellectuals were “scorning religion” and singled out Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi by name, according to the Web site of Al Jazeera television.

The attack is seen as a new tactic for the militant whose followers have waged a violent campaign against the Saudi government since 2003.

Al Qaeda analyst Faris bin Houzam said the comments by bin Laden, who has been in hiding since the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001, could lead to attacks on liberal writers.

“This is a sign to his supporters to target these people, and thus we could enter a new wave for al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Al Jazeera television, which aired parts of an audio tape by the Saudi-born militant on Sunday, published more of his remarks on its Web site www.AlJazeera.net.

“Bin Laden attacked ministers including Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, writers and journalists in Saudi Arabia and some (other) Gulf countries, accusing some of them of being unbelievers and apostates…,” the site said.

It quoted the al Qaeda leader as saying: “The heretics among us are mocking our religion and our Prophet, therefore be fearful of God, satisfy Him and do not seek opinions about killing these heretics.”

TAPPING ANTI-WEST SENTIMENT

The reference to Algosaibi echoed an Internet article by a Saudi Islamist activist — Mohsen al-Awajy — in March, which accused a clique of liberal advisers, including the minister, of influencing King Abdullah.

Awajy, who was detained by police for more than a week over the article, said bin Laden wanted to tap into widespread anger at secular reformers who are seen as pro-Western at a time when anti-West sentiment is strong over the U.S. invasion of Iraq and support for Israel.

“It is a fertile period for anyone to talk about this agenda. Anyone who attacks liberals and secularists is a hero. I think bin Laden picked up on this and waved his wand to mobilise more sympathisers,” he told Reuters.

Turki al-Hamad, a liberal writer attacked on one Internet forum on Monday as a “heretic”, said bin Laden was worried about the advance of reforms since the king came to power last year.

Women are an increasing presence in public life, senior officials have expressed hope women may be allowed to drive cars, and the authorities are trying to soften Saudi’s hardline version of Islam in education, media and mosques.

“For bin Laden to throw himself into the current struggle in Saudi Arabia is serious. But it is a recognition that they (liberals) are having an influence and that there are changes in Saudi Arabia,” al-Hamad said.

He said it was too early to say whether the diatribe against reformers would put their lives in danger. “We need time to absorb what he said.”

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C L O S E R – Al Turabi on ‘unquestionable issues in Islam’

Posted on April 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Internal Debates, Public Islam, Religious and Political Radicalization.

On Freedom for Egyptians an interesting article about the quite spectacular statements of the Sudanese Muslim Leader Dr. Hassan Al Turabi, still ignored by mainstream press. Thanks to my ISIM colleague Robbert for alerting me already two weeks ago:

Freedom for Egyptians الحرية للمصريين
Sudanese Islamic Leader Dr. Hassan Al Turabi gave new statements and released some new fatwas (religious opinions/edicts) that blew up many of what is believed to be basics or unquestionable issues in Islam, many related to the usurped righted of women.

In Islam, Muslim women are not allowed but to marry a Muslim man or a man who has converted to Islam. On the other hand, Muslim men are allowed to marry any woman from any faith with no restrictions.

Dr. Al Turabi, a party leader, said that a Muslim woman is allowed to marry a Christian or a Jew and not necessarily a Muslim. He asserted that forbidding her from marrying a man from another faith is aimed at dragging women backward. He added that Islamic Shariaa (Islamic jurisdiction) does not provide any restrictions for women to marry any man from another faith. He said that it was forbidden during war when Muslims were fighting with other armies. He said that when the reason is gone, the restriction is lifted.

Dr. Al Turabi, 74, in a seminar at the headquarters of the opposition Al Umma party said that women have the right to lead prayers. Current Muslim clerics forbid women from leading the prayers. Al Turabi said, if she has more knowledge, she has the right to lead the prayers. The criterion is the knowledge and not the gender.

He said that Prophet Muhammed permitted one of his followers who was a knowledgeable Muslim woman to lead the prayers at her home that included all men. He also cited the wife of the prophet, Aisha, as a model.

Al Turabi, PhD, said in this seminar entitled “The Role of Women in Establishing Good Governance” that women’s testimony at courts is equal to men. In Islam, one man’s testimony is equal to two women. Al Turabi denied this and said this is meant to go back to the dark ages and has nothing to do with Islam. He challenged anyone who could bring evidence that this is true.

He also refuted the idea of the Hijab, headscarves. He said that the Hijab is applied against the misinterpretation of some Quran verses and cannot be generalized on all the generations. He said that headscarves were made for the wives of prophet Muhammed not for all women.

Al Turabi called upon all women to invade politics, innovative, intellectual and sports domains and get all her rights and be an active participant in drawing strategies and stipulating legislations. He also attacked the Sudanese government and said the current regime does not enjoy any governance that is based on freedom, transparency and accountability and democratic participation.

Al Turabi said we living in Sudan in an age of corruption and there is a need for family and society reform and women’s inclusion. He emphasized the need for an election law that provides the participation of women so that they can play a role in political parties, elections and leadership positions.

Al Turabi also said that alcohol is not forbidden by Islam as agreed by most of Islamic clerics. He said that alcohol is only forbidden when drinking becomes an aggression. Practicing Muslims do not drink alchohol. Al Turabi’s article in Arabic.

On Memritv.org you can read the transcript and view the interview on Al-Arabiya TV: (more…)

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C L O S E R – Al Turabi on 'unquestionable issues in Islam'

Posted on April 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Internal Debates, Public Islam, Religious and Political Radicalization.

On Freedom for Egyptians an interesting article about the quite spectacular statements of the Sudanese Muslim Leader Dr. Hassan Al Turabi, still ignored by mainstream press. Thanks to my ISIM colleague Robbert for alerting me already two weeks ago:

Freedom for Egyptians الحرية للمصريين
Sudanese Islamic Leader Dr. Hassan Al Turabi gave new statements and released some new fatwas (religious opinions/edicts) that blew up many of what is believed to be basics or unquestionable issues in Islam, many related to the usurped righted of women.

In Islam, Muslim women are not allowed but to marry a Muslim man or a man who has converted to Islam. On the other hand, Muslim men are allowed to marry any woman from any faith with no restrictions.

Dr. Al Turabi, a party leader, said that a Muslim woman is allowed to marry a Christian or a Jew and not necessarily a Muslim. He asserted that forbidding her from marrying a man from another faith is aimed at dragging women backward. He added that Islamic Shariaa (Islamic jurisdiction) does not provide any restrictions for women to marry any man from another faith. He said that it was forbidden during war when Muslims were fighting with other armies. He said that when the reason is gone, the restriction is lifted.

Dr. Al Turabi, 74, in a seminar at the headquarters of the opposition Al Umma party said that women have the right to lead prayers. Current Muslim clerics forbid women from leading the prayers. Al Turabi said, if she has more knowledge, she has the right to lead the prayers. The criterion is the knowledge and not the gender.

He said that Prophet Muhammed permitted one of his followers who was a knowledgeable Muslim woman to lead the prayers at her home that included all men. He also cited the wife of the prophet, Aisha, as a model.

Al Turabi, PhD, said in this seminar entitled “The Role of Women in Establishing Good Governance” that women’s testimony at courts is equal to men. In Islam, one man’s testimony is equal to two women. Al Turabi denied this and said this is meant to go back to the dark ages and has nothing to do with Islam. He challenged anyone who could bring evidence that this is true.

He also refuted the idea of the Hijab, headscarves. He said that the Hijab is applied against the misinterpretation of some Quran verses and cannot be generalized on all the generations. He said that headscarves were made for the wives of prophet Muhammed not for all women.

Al Turabi called upon all women to invade politics, innovative, intellectual and sports domains and get all her rights and be an active participant in drawing strategies and stipulating legislations. He also attacked the Sudanese government and said the current regime does not enjoy any governance that is based on freedom, transparency and accountability and democratic participation.

Al Turabi said we living in Sudan in an age of corruption and there is a need for family and society reform and women’s inclusion. He emphasized the need for an election law that provides the participation of women so that they can play a role in political parties, elections and leadership positions.

Al Turabi also said that alcohol is not forbidden by Islam as agreed by most of Islamic clerics. He said that alcohol is only forbidden when drinking becomes an aggression. Practicing Muslims do not drink alchohol. Al Turabi’s article in Arabic.

On Memritv.org you can read the transcript and view the interview on Al-Arabiya TV: (more…)

0 comments.

Nonviolent but still a threat? – Islam in Europe – MSNBC.com

Posted on April 20th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Nonviolent but still a threat? – Islam in Europe – MSNBC.com
Inside ‘Islam’s political insurgency’ in Europe
In the war of ideas, Hizb ut-Tahrir stakes its ground, courts controversy

• Hizb ut-Tahir Q&A
Jamal Harwood, spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, answers MSNBC.com’s questions about the controversial group.

LONDON — Merely a radical Islamic political party or a “conveyor belt for terrorists”?That is the question British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government hopes to answer when it decides whether to join Germany, Russia and many Muslim-majority states in formally banning the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) for allegedly inciting violence.

Hizb ut-Tahrir says it is a nonviolent political party, but critics assert it is deeply divisive and potentially dangerous — especially in Europe — because it is openly anti-democratic, calls for a new world order based on uniting the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims in a new state and shares a worldview, if not methodology, with some violent groups.
(more…)

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C L O S E R – Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Confrontatie, geen verzoening

Posted on April 12th, 2006 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization.

C L O S E R

Het hele opinie-artikel van Ayaan Hirsi Ali, afgelopen zaterdag in de Volkskrant.

Confrontatie, geen verzoening
Door: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is lid van de Tweede Kamer voor de VVD

Het onheil dat de radicale islam over Europa zal brengen, is onafwendbaar bij voortzetting van een doormodderpolitiek. Moslims nemen niet duidelijk genoeg afstand van radicale islamieten. Die sluiten intussen een duivels verbond met de visieloze voorstanders van verzoenen. Dat is een historische vergissing, stelt Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Zij pleit voor een confrontatiepolitiek en zal haar keuze voor een VVD-leider daarop afstemmen.

Aan het begin van de 21ste eeuw zijn we op een historisch belangrijk moment aangeland. Leiderschap kan niet langer betekenen: ‘op de winkel letten’ of ‘de boel bij elkaar houden’. Dat zijn termen van vroeger, uit de tijd voordat de globalisering in zo’n hoog tempo op ons afkwam. Nu wordt van leiderschap en leiders een samenhangende visie verwacht, een strategische plaatsbepaling op ideologisch, economisch en ook militair terrein. De keuze van een leider is dus geen louter personele kwestie, maar niet minder dan een koersbepaling en kan daarom zelfs een richtingenstrijd worden.

De PvdA heeft inmiddels duidelijk een keuze bepaald – een keuze voor vroeger. Binnen het CDA broeit het ongenoegen. De VVD staat na een lange worsteling op het punt een nieuwe politiek leider te kiezen, die het voortouw moet nemen bij de aanpak van de grootste problemen van dit moment.

Een van die grote problemen is de islam, in het bijzonder de radicale islam. Te veel moslims gedogen de radicale islam. Dit stelt ons voor een ongekende uitdaging. Radicale islamieten willen een samenleving die gebaseerd is op de sharia, de leer die is terug te vinden in de koran en de traditionele geschriften. Dat streven is onverenigbaar met de westerse liberale democratie, zoals mag blijken uit de volgende punten:

– Het grootste verschil van mening tussen de beide denkrichtingen ligt in de opvatting over wat een mensenleven waard is. Westerlingen zien een leven als een heilig doel op zich, een op individuele autonomie gestoelde vrijheid waar je niet mag aankomen. Binnen de islam is alleen de gelovige, de moslim, een mens en zelfs diens leven is alleen heilig als de persoon in kwestie zich aan alle regels heeft gehouden.

Het leven van afvalligen is wel heel onheilig: zij mogen, nee moeten zelfs worden gedood. Dat staat in islamitische landen in de wetgeving en waar dat niet zo is, wordt de familie geacht deze doodstraf uit te voeren. Overspeligen dient men te stenigen, zoals ook homo’s worden gedood in landen waar men de sharia naleeft. Ook zogeheten vijanden van de islam (bijvoorbeeld zij die de godsdienst weigeren te aanvaarden) dienen te worden gedood.

– In het Westen hebben we de vrijheid van de individuele mens vastgelegd in de grondwet: jouw eigen vrijheid eindigt daar waar je de vrijheid van anderen belemmert. Maar in landen waar de sharia niet wordt nageleefd door de staat, voelen aanhangers zich verplicht om die toch na te leven. Is iemand in je familie een homo, dan moet jij als gelovige ingrijpen. Hetzelfde deed Mohammed B., toen hij vond dat Theo van Gogh de islam beledigde: hij besloot zelf op te treden tegen deze vijand van de islam.

– Een scheiding tussen staat en geloof is ondenkbaar voor de radicale islam, want dat is een totalitair geloof dat navolging eist in alle facetten van het dagelijks leven. Ook vrijheid van godsdienst is dan vanzelfsprekend onmogelijk: volgens de Saoedische premier is het niet voorstelbaar dat in zijn land, de bakermat van de islam, ooit een kerk zal verrijzen.

– In het Westen is de gelijkwaardigheid van man en vrouw inmiddels algemeen aanvaard, hoewel er vaak nog wel een kloof gaapt tussen ideaal en praktijk. Binnen de islam is een vrouw nooit oud genoeg om zelfstandig te zijn: eerst moet zij haar ouders als voogd accepteren, daarna haar man.

– Ook seksualiteit is een duidelijk zichtbaar verschilpunt. Westerse landen staan relaties tussen homoseksuelen toe en kennen zelfs het homohuwelijk. In een islamitisch land worden homo’s vervolgd en isoleert men lesbiennes in hun huizen tot de dood hen komt halen.

Het Westen wordt bedreigd door een zeer gevaarlijke, internationale ideologie die zijn wortels heeft in de radicale islam. Deze beweging wordt onderschat, zoals Bruce Bawer terecht signaleert in zijn boek While Europe Slept. How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within (zie ook Cicero, 7 april). Deze ideologie wint binnen de islam veel aanhang door middel van missiewerk, dat bekostigd wordt met oliegeld van de machthebbers in de Arabische wereld. Want naast de olie is religie het voornaamste wapen voor de oliesjeiks om aan de macht te blijven. Anders dan Bin Laden en zijn aanhang koesteren deze heersers geen authentiek geloof in een wereldkalifaat. Saoedische prinsen financieren in het Westen koranscholen, om zo hun problemen te exporteren. Relativering van Mohammed en diens leer kan alleen maar leiden tot aantasting van hun macht. Bovendien levert de opkomst van de radicale islam in Europa en Amerika de Saoedische heersers prima argumenten tegen de westerse roep om meer democratie in hun land: de democratische landen schenden immers zonder pardon de burgerrechten van militante moslims. En leidt een democratie niet alleen maar tot een gekozen theocratie, zoals in Iran?

Intussen worden overal waar moslims hun geloof serieus nemen de westerse vrijheden bedreigd. (more…)

2 comments.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

0 comments.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

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C L O S E R – ‘feisty, gutsy Muslim women’

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

A lot has been said about Wafa Sultan’s (an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles) appearance on Al Jazeera. On MEMRI TV you can find excerpts from her clash with Ibrahim Al-Khouli:

Wafa Sultan:

The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

[…]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[…]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don’t mind…

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people’s beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the “People of the Book,” and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath.” Who told you that they are “People of the Book”? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah’s wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others’ right to believe in it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural…

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don’t throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people’s beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

On the Net many people searching for ways to degrade Muslims/Islam have used it and also on islamist websites it is covered. I haven’t much to add to their arguments, but I found a particular reaction from Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld on MuslimsWakeUp! much more interesting.

When Dr. Wafa Sultan demanded respect from a Muslim cleric after being called a heretic, I cheered her on. When she criticized the Muslims who react violently in typical knee-jerk fashion, I was smiling with glee. And she nailed it when she said Muslims should learn from the example of the Jewish community who command world respect with their accomplishments despite decades of anti-Semitism and the decimation of the Holocaust. How could anyone disagree with that?

But when Dr. Sultan is quoted in a recent interview as saying Islam is beyond repair, riddled with teachings that exhort Muslims to kill non-Muslims, subjugate women, and disregard human rights; when she says “I don’t believe you can reform Islam,” and that the only reason the vast majority of the world’s Muslim population is peaceful is because they can’t read Arabic and don’t know what the Quran teaches, that’s when I stop cheering.

I’m a practicing Muslim. I’m peaceful. I don’t have any intention of killing off non-Muslims, and I don’t believe my religion asks me to.

In fact, Islam teaches me to value every life, and that murder – of Muslims or of non-Muslims – is wrong. And there are about 1.2 billion of us who agree with me.

What is it with people? Why can’t so-called intelligent people make the distinction between theology and human nature? Muslims throughout the world read the Quran and find a message of peace, of social justice, and of compassion and care for all people. They are inspired by verses regarding the equality of all human beings, and particularly the equality of men and women, to eradicate misogynist, racist, and classist discrimination. Is it Islam’s fault that human beings are cruel, sexist, or violent, or is it the fault of human beings, who all too often ignore the teachings of their religion?

Dr. Sultan says, “Islamic scriptures are riddled with violence, misogyny and other extremist ideas.” When she quotes snippets of Quranic verses dealing with warfare out of context and in isolation, then she is doing exactly what the militants who use the very same snippets to justify their actions do – distorting the message of the Quran. How is that going to reform anyone’s mind?

There are so many Muslims in America challenging unjust cultural traditions, confronting the established American Muslim institutions in religious practice, and calling for a humane implementation of Islam. The Progressive Muslim Union is one such organized entity. It is considered a pariah by some Muslim organizations because of its insistence that a woman’s spirituality is equal to that of a man, its advocacy for the human and civil rights for all, its unwavering commitment to the separation of church and state, and its promotion of freedom of conscience and religious practice.

Why are these progressive Muslims not on the front pages of American newspapers and news channels? Why aren’t non-Muslim organizations throwing money at progressive groups if change within Islam is what they claim to be advocating? What is it about Dr. Wafa Sultan that so intrigues the American media? Is it because she is an ex-Muslim “tattle-taleing” on her “people?” Is it because she has rejected a religion which many in this country have branded as “the enemy?” Or is it simply because she’s a feisty, gutsy, woman? If it’s the latter, I can introduce you to many feisty, gutsy Muslim women who believe that reform is best achieved from within. We’re not that boring you know!

Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld is Executive Director of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU).

Her last name sounds ‘Dutch’ but I do not know if that is actually the case.

1 comment.

C L O S E R – 'feisty, gutsy Muslim women'

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

A lot has been said about Wafa Sultan’s (an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles) appearance on Al Jazeera. On MEMRI TV you can find excerpts from her clash with Ibrahim Al-Khouli:

Wafa Sultan:

The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

[…]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[…]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don’t mind…

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people’s beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the “People of the Book,” and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath.” Who told you that they are “People of the Book”? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah’s wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others’ right to believe in it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural…

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don’t throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people’s beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

On the Net many people searching for ways to degrade Muslims/Islam have used it and also on islamist websites it is covered. I haven’t much to add to their arguments, but I found a particular reaction from Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld on MuslimsWakeUp! much more interesting.

When Dr. Wafa Sultan demanded respect from a Muslim cleric after being called a heretic, I cheered her on. When she criticized the Muslims who react violently in typical knee-jerk fashion, I was smiling with glee. And she nailed it when she said Muslims should learn from the example of the Jewish community who command world respect with their accomplishments despite decades of anti-Semitism and the decimation of the Holocaust. How could anyone disagree with that?

But when Dr. Sultan is quoted in a recent interview as saying Islam is beyond repair, riddled with teachings that exhort Muslims to kill non-Muslims, subjugate women, and disregard human rights; when she says “I don’t believe you can reform Islam,” and that the only reason the vast majority of the world’s Muslim population is peaceful is because they can’t read Arabic and don’t know what the Quran teaches, that’s when I stop cheering.

I’m a practicing Muslim. I’m peaceful. I don’t have any intention of killing off non-Muslims, and I don’t believe my religion asks me to.

In fact, Islam teaches me to value every life, and that murder – of Muslims or of non-Muslims – is wrong. And there are about 1.2 billion of us who agree with me.

What is it with people? Why can’t so-called intelligent people make the distinction between theology and human nature? Muslims throughout the world read the Quran and find a message of peace, of social justice, and of compassion and care for all people. They are inspired by verses regarding the equality of all human beings, and particularly the equality of men and women, to eradicate misogynist, racist, and classist discrimination. Is it Islam’s fault that human beings are cruel, sexist, or violent, or is it the fault of human beings, who all too often ignore the teachings of their religion?

Dr. Sultan says, “Islamic scriptures are riddled with violence, misogyny and other extremist ideas.” When she quotes snippets of Quranic verses dealing with warfare out of context and in isolation, then she is doing exactly what the militants who use the very same snippets to justify their actions do – distorting the message of the Quran. How is that going to reform anyone’s mind?

There are so many Muslims in America challenging unjust cultural traditions, confronting the established American Muslim institutions in religious practice, and calling for a humane implementation of Islam. The Progressive Muslim Union is one such organized entity. It is considered a pariah by some Muslim organizations because of its insistence that a woman’s spirituality is equal to that of a man, its advocacy for the human and civil rights for all, its unwavering commitment to the separation of church and state, and its promotion of freedom of conscience and religious practice.

Why are these progressive Muslims not on the front pages of American newspapers and news channels? Why aren’t non-Muslim organizations throwing money at progressive groups if change within Islam is what they claim to be advocating? What is it about Dr. Wafa Sultan that so intrigues the American media? Is it because she is an ex-Muslim “tattle-taleing” on her “people?” Is it because she has rejected a religion which many in this country have branded as “the enemy?” Or is it simply because she’s a feisty, gutsy, woman? If it’s the latter, I can introduce you to many feisty, gutsy Muslim women who believe that reform is best achieved from within. We’re not that boring you know!

Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld is Executive Director of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU).

Her last name sounds ‘Dutch’ but I do not know if that is actually the case.

1 comment.

Protected: TweeVandaag :: het nieuws- en actualiteiten programma van de TROS en AVRO op Ned.2

Posted on April 1st, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: RNW: ‘Fundamentalisme is geen terrorisme’

Posted on March 25th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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Protected: RNW: 'Fundamentalisme is geen terrorisme'

Posted on March 25th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) – Conflict prevention and resolution – France and its Muslims: Riots, Jihadism and Depoliticisation

Posted on March 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) – Conflict prevention and resolution

France and its Muslims: Riots, Jihadism and Depoliticisation
Europe Report N°172
9 March 2006

This report is currently only available French.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

France faces a problem with its Muslim population, but it is not the problem it generally assumes. The October-November 2005 riots coupled with the wave of arrests of suspected jihadists moved the question of Islam to the forefront of French concerns and gave new life to concerns about the threat of a Muslim world mobilised by political Islamism. Yet the opposite is true: paradoxically, it is the exhaustion of political Islamism, not its radicalisation, that explains much of the violence, and it is the depoliticisation of young Muslims, rather than their alleged reversion to a radical kind of communalism, that ought to be cause for worry. The key to minimising the risks of rioting and militant jihadism is to curb forms of state violence being exercised against predominantly Muslim, working-class neighbourhoods and to promote political participation by their residents.
(more…)

0 comments.

The saved sect| dutch: Islam volgens het begrip van de geredde groep

Posted on February 20th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

Sinds vandaag heeft de nieuwe Al-Muhajiroun (emigranten) site: Thesavedsect.com een Nederlandstalige/Nederlandse afdeling:

thesavedsect.com | dutch

De site zou gemaakt zijn door leerlingen van Omar Bakri en opgezet zijn vanwege het grote aantal vertalingen van Muhajiroun teksten (onder andere door Mohammed B.).

De groep claimt ‘de geredde groep’ te zijn; de enige groep Moslims die het paradijs zal betreden.

0 comments.

The saved sect| dutch: Islam volgens het begrip van de geredde groep

Posted on February 20th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

Sinds vandaag heeft de nieuwe Al-Muhajiroun (emigranten) site: Thesavedsect.com een Nederlandstalige/Nederlandse afdeling:

thesavedsect.com | dutch

De site zou gemaakt zijn door leerlingen van Omar Bakri en opgezet zijn vanwege het grote aantal vertalingen van Muhajiroun teksten (onder andere door Mohammed B.).

De groep claimt ‘de geredde groep’ te zijn; de enige groep Moslims die het paradijs zal betreden.

0 comments.

Internet jihad: tackling terror on the Web | csmonitor.com

Posted on February 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

Internet jihad: tackling terror on the Web | csmonitor.com

An interesting article in CSMonitor.com about mr. Ahmad, a British citizen faces US charges for running a militant site hosted in Connecticut.By James Brandon, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor.

“Measuring the impact of this material is problematic,” says Bunt. “People sympathetic to this material might express it in different ways. It certainly doesn’t mean that everyone who reads these sites goes off and does jihad.”

(more…)

0 comments.

Internet jihad: tackling terror on the Web | csmonitor.com

Posted on February 4th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

Internet jihad: tackling terror on the Web | csmonitor.com

An interesting article in CSMonitor.com about mr. Ahmad, a British citizen faces US charges for running a militant site hosted in Connecticut.By James Brandon, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor.

“Measuring the impact of this material is problematic,” says Bunt. “People sympathetic to this material might express it in different ways. It certainly doesn’t mean that everyone who reads these sites goes off and does jihad.”

(more…)

0 comments.

Protected: de Volkskrant – ‘Samir A. in afgesplitste terreurgroep’

Posted on January 28th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Expatica's Dutch news in English: 'Samir wants to die as a martyr to Islam,' court hears

Posted on January 28th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Expatica’s Dutch news in English: ‘Samir wants to die as a martyr to Islam,’ court hears

AMSTERDAM — Samir A. resumed plotting terrorist attacks in the Netherlands almost immediately after his release from a short jail sentence last year, a prosecutor told a trial in Rotterdam on Friday.

The criminal intelligence department of the police in Utrecht was told by an informant that the 19-year-old Dutch-Moroccan had had resumed his activities shortly after he served a a short sentence.

That jail sentence was imposed on him for assaulting a photographer following his acquittal by another court of plotting terrorism.

The prosecutor told the panel of three judges on the first day of the new trial on Friday that Samir A. “wanted to leave his mark on the world” and
“die as a martyr”. The informer told the police Samir A. had taken over the leadership role the man dubbed the “Syrian”.

This Syrian man left the Netherlands around the time filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by Islamic extremist Mohammed B. The Syrian, the authorities say, was the spiritual leader of the Hofstadgroep. This is the code name investigators gave to a group of young Muslims, including Mohammed B., who were allegedly part of a Muslim terrorist organization.

Samir A. and six young Muslims linked to him were arrested in police raids on 14 October last year. Two other people were arrested later. Four men remain in custody.

The police say they carried out the raids to prevent attacks on national politicians. They discovered a video testament made by Samir A,., which allegedly indicated he planned to launch a suicide attack.

[Copyright Expatica News ANP 2006]

0 comments.

Expatica’s Dutch news in English: ‘Samir wants to die as a martyr to Islam,’ court hears

Posted on January 28th, 2006 by .
Categories: Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Expatica’s Dutch news in English: ‘Samir wants to die as a martyr to Islam,’ court hears

AMSTERDAM — Samir A. resumed plotting terrorist attacks in the Netherlands almost immediately after his release from a short jail sentence last year, a prosecutor told a trial in Rotterdam on Friday.

The criminal intelligence department of the police in Utrecht was told by an informant that the 19-year-old Dutch-Moroccan had had resumed his activities shortly after he served a a short sentence.

That jail sentence was imposed on him for assaulting a photographer following his acquittal by another court of plotting terrorism.

The prosecutor told the panel of three judges on the first day of the new trial on Friday that Samir A. “wanted to leave his mark on the world” and
“die as a martyr”. The informer told the police Samir A. had taken over the leadership role the man dubbed the “Syrian”.

This Syrian man left the Netherlands around the time filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by Islamic extremist Mohammed B. The Syrian, the authorities say, was the spiritual leader of the Hofstadgroep. This is the code name investigators gave to a group of young Muslims, including Mohammed B., who were allegedly part of a Muslim terrorist organization.

Samir A. and six young Muslims linked to him were arrested in police raids on 14 October last year. Two other people were arrested later. Four men remain in custody.

The police say they carried out the raids to prevent attacks on national politicians. They discovered a video testament made by Samir A,., which allegedly indicated he planned to launch a suicide attack.

[Copyright Expatica News ANP 2006]

0 comments.

NMO – Amiran Yaghout wint WatNou..?!-wedstrijd tegen radicalisering

Posted on January 28th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

NMO – Nederlandse Moslim Omroep

De 16-jarige Amiran Yaghout uit Maastricht is de grote winnaar geworden van de WATNOU..?!-ideeënwedstrijd tegen radicalisering van moslimjongeren. Uit handen van juryvoorzitter Job Cohen ontving hij de hoofdprijs, een i-pod, vanwege zijn uitgewerkte 12-puntenplan om radicalisering op lange termijn aan te pakken. Volgens Amiran is de politiek te veel scorend op korte termijn bezig en moet er een onafhankelijke denktank komen die zich vooral richt op de lange termijn aanpak.

De jury, naast de heer Cohen bestaande uit Sadik Harchaoui van Forum, prees zijn volwassen visie en voorspelde de 4-gymnasium-leerling een grote toekomst in de politiek.

Tweede werd de 23-jarige Horia Abdellaoui uit Den Haag met haar oproep van binnenuit naar de jongeren om de slachtofferrol van zich af te werpen en zelf kansen te creëren in plaats van af te wachten.

De gedeelde derde plaats werd veroverd door de 24-jarige student communicatiewetenschappen Halil Kilic uit Tilburg en zijn leeftijdsgenoot Amira Belabbes uit Beverwijk.

De uitreiking vond plaats tijdens een live uitzending van het NMO-jongerenprogramma WATNOU..?! na een debat tussen de genomineerden en de jury. De winnaars werden gekozen uit meer dan 50 inzendingen van jongeren die een voorstel hadden ingediend.

Lees hier zijn voorstel: (more…)

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