Egyptian Doctor- Palestinian Suffering A Result Of Palestinian Leadership

Egyptian Islamic thinker and reformer Dr Tawfik Hamid claims Palestinian suffering is a result of Palestinian leadership- most notably Hamas, not Israel.  And it's up to Palestinians to change that.

BDS (Boycott Israel) toads, take note,

He also happens to be a former jihadist.

YouTube video here.

Who Is Behind The Campaign To Silence The Debate on Islam- by Muslim Journalist Asra Q Nomani

A former Wall Street Journal reporter and American Muslim, Asra Q. Nomani, has written an interesting article on the "organized campaign" to silence criticism of Islam. She, herself, has been a target for her progressive views, including the bullying attempts to silence her, the ad hominem attacks: "Zionist media whore" and "House Muslim,"  and, of course, the obligatory death threats.

She writes about when and where it all began:

The campaign began, at least in its modern form, 10 years ago in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when the Organization of Islamic Cooperation — a mini-United Nations comprising the world’s 56 countries with large Muslim populations, plus the Palestinian Authority — tasked then-Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu with combating Islamophobia and projecting the “true values of Islam.” During the past decade, a loose honor brigade has sprung up, in part funded and supported by the OIC through annual conferences, reports and communiques. It’s made up of politicians, diplomats, writers, academics, bloggers and activists.

In 2007, as part of this playbook, the OIC launched the Islamophobia Observatory, a watchdog group based in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, with the goal of documenting slights against the faith. Its first report, released the following year, complained that the artists and publishers of controversial Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad were defiling “sacred symbols of Islam . . . in an insulting, offensive and contemptuous manner.” The honor brigade began calling out academics, writers and others, including former New York police commissioner Ray Kelly and administrators at a Catholic school in Britain that turned away a mother who wouldn’t remove her face veil.

“The OIC invented the anti-‘Islamophobia’ movement,” says Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and a frequent target of the honor brigade. “These countries . . . think they own the Muslim community and all interpretations of Islam.”

Alongside the honor brigade’s official channel, a community of self-styled blasphemy police — from anonymous blogs such as LoonWatch.com and Ikhras.com to a large and disparate cast of social-media activists — arose and began trying to control the debate on Islam. This wider corps throws the label of “Islamophobe” on pundits, journalists and others who dare to talk about extremist ideology in the religion. Their targets are as large as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as small as me.

The official and unofficial channels work in tandem, harassing, threatening and battling introspective Muslims and non-Muslims everywhere. They bank on an important truth: Islam, as practiced from Malaysia to Morocco, is a shame-based, patriarchal culture that values honor and face-saving from the family to the public square. Which is why the bullying often works to silence critics of Islamic extremism.

It works for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The rest here.  Well worth the read.  We need more voices like Asra's. There are some, but they are very few.

Dutch Muslim Mayor Tells Muslims Who Don't Want Freedom- "F**k Off" "Pack your bags and leave"

The Moroccan-born mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, got it right when he told fellow Muslims in the Netherlands that if they don't want the freedom that is part and parcel of living in the West, then  "pack your bags and leave."  He came out with that pithy remark right after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris. he also told them to eff-off.

According to the U.K. Daily Mail, Aboutaleb was quoted as saying on live Dutch TV:

“It is incomprehensible that you can turn against freedom." “But if you don’t like freedom, for heaven’s sake pack your bags and leave.”

“..and if you can't accept humorists who create a newspaper, then I would like to say f*** off.”

This is stupid, this so incomprehensible. Vanish from the Netherlands if you cannot find your place here. All those well-meaning Muslims here will now be stared at'.

53-year-old Aboutaleb was a journalist before eventually becoming mayor in 2008.

His message to immigrants:

'stop seeing yourself as victims, and if you don't want to integrate, leave'.

Yes. His is a voice of reason. We need more Aboutalebs. Though who knows how long he'll last being this outspoken.

Video, photos and more info on Mayor Aboutaleb on the UK Daily Mail.

Saudi Cleric- Women Can Ditch The Hijab, Wear Makeup, and Post Selfies On Social Media

Saudi Cleric and former head of the Kingdom's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi has revisited his fatwa from several years ago claiming that women were not required to cover their faces or arms. Many in Saudi Arabia wear abaya's/niqabs that cover everything but one's eyes.

 It appears he is taking it one step further with another recent fatwa stating that a Muslim woman doesn't need to wear a veil at all:

 “Islam doesn’t require women to wear veil.” 

Plus they can wear makeup, take selfies, and post them on social media sites like Facebook.

Apparently, a Twitter follower asked if it was okay for Muslim women to post photos of themselves on social media, which prompted his response:

 “...there is nothing wrong if a woman showed her face or put make-up.”

He also posted on Twitter that it was only Prophet Mohammed's wives who were supposed to wear the hijab.

Quoting a Moroccan scholar, he said it was preferable but not mandatory.

More here.

Muslim Writer- "Losing My Religion To Islamic Radicals and Western Progressives"

And another Muslim voice uber-critical of  liberal progressives who enable and inadvertently support the radical Muslims.

Aly Salem is an Egyptian Muslim writer living in New York who wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, and posted on The Australian.

The commentary titled "Losing My Religion To Islamic Radicals and Western Progressives" is a must read. Here are some snippets:

"What is so compelling about radical Islamism may lie within its founding texts. It is time we acknowledged the powerful influence these texts have had even on ordinary Muslims. The political ideology based on them has already dragged the Middle East back towards the Stone Age."

 "— Islamism — is the dominant political ideology in most Muslim-majority countries, often taking root in vacuums where secular politics have never had space to develop. Polls by the Pew Research Centre, such as last year’s The World’s Muslims, indicate that in many Muslim countries, the population is overwhelmingly in favour of veiling for women, the death penalty for leaving Islam and stoning as punishment for adultery; rabid anti-Semitism is rampant. The few exceptions to these statistics tend to be countries with a long history of militant secularism (like Turkey), or former communist states (Tajikistan, Bosnia, Albania, etc.) where religion was effectively wiped out of the public sphere. But Islamism is now growing even in those places."

"Many of my fellow Muslims are trying to reform Islam from within. Yet our voices are smothered in the West by Islamist apologists and their well-meaning but unwitting allies on the Left. For instance, if you try to draw attention to the stark correlation between the rise of Islamic religiosity and regressive attitudes towards women, you’re labelled an Islamophobe."

"In the US, we Muslims are handled like exotic flowers that will crumble if our faith is criticised — even if we do it ourselves. Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats alike would apparently prefer to drop bombs in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, because killing Muslims is somehow less offensive than criticising their religion? Unfortunately, you can’t kill an idea with a bomb, and so Islamism will continue to propagate."

The full article here.

Liberals take heed.  Hello Ben Affleck!

Afghan President's Wife Backs Niqab Ban In France

When I first read the headline, I was pretty amazed that an Afghan woman would dare back France's niqab ban. But it appears Afghan's new First Lady, Rula Ghani aka Bibi Gul, is not your typical Afghan woman. Apparently, she's actually a Lebanese-American woman, has 5 languages under her belt, and attended the Sciences Po University in Paris, France in the late 1960s, and degrees from the U.S. and Lebanon. Was a reporter for Agence France-Presse for a few years while living in Beirut, and actually only returned to Afghanistan in 2002. She also happens to have been born a Christian, and there is no confirmation whether she converted to Islam or not.

Afghanistan’s cosmopolitan new first lady has backed France’s controversial ban on the niqab, comparing the full veil to “blinders” as she prepares to campaign for more respect for women in her conservative adopted homeland.

Rula Ghani shocked Afghan observers earlier this year when she appeared with her husband during the country’s presidential campaign, a rare example of a political wife sharing the spotlight.

Ghani says of France's niqab ban:

“Regarding the French law against the niqab and burqa which prevent women from being able to move freely and see, because the niqab is a bit like blinders, I am in full agreement with the government of France."

Regarding women's rights in Afghanistan, she hopes that by the time her husband Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's 5-year term ends:

 “men in Afghanistan will be more inclined to recognize whatever role their wives take”.

"In one word, more respect,” she said.

More on Al Arabiya.

I hope she has a slew of trustworthy bodyguards.  I wish them both good luck.

Former Iraqi MP Calls For A Secular Civil State To Defeat ISIS- Video

Former Iraqi MP Ayad Jamal al-Din (and Shiite cleric) claims the only way to defeat the Islamic State and other like-minded groups, is to establish a secular, civil state based on man-made laws not Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) which he says is followed by Sunnis and Shiites alike and is responsible for what happened to the Yazidis and others in northern Iraq. In his opinion, fiqh is more "dangerous than nuclear technology."

He calls ISIS just "the tip of the iceberg," with "extensions all over the world, not just Muslim countries."  He says that even in the U.S. there are many ISIS mosques, and thousands globally "preparing people to join ISIS." Daily they call for the reestablishment of the Caliphate. "School curricula that glorify the Caliphate, saying that the past of the Muslims is better than their present." He disagrees, citing all the modern wonders we avail ourselves of today.  He urges unity between all peoples of Iraq in order to defeat ISIS.

"We must not embellish things, and say that Islam is a religion of compassion, peace, and rose water, and that everything is fine. Brother, your Islamic history is full of wars, raids. From Tunisia alone, one million boys were taken as slaves to Damascus.  "Islam has been politicized and used as a sword."

Brave and enlightened man.

How long do you suppose he'll survive?

Muslim Zuhdi Jasser Condemns Obama's ISIS Is Not Islamic Statement

You might know Dr. Zuhdi Jasser from his stint as the narrator on the Clarion Fund's 2008 documentary film "The Third Jihad"- but he's also a medical doctor, a former US Navy officer, a devout Muslim, and a fierce opponent of political Islam or Islamism.

After so many people including Barack Obama, John Kerry, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest have stated that ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) aka ISIS aka Islamic State is neither a state nor does it represent Islam, Jasser felt compelled to respond.

In the interview below Jasser tells them all to "stop telling us Muslims what is Islamic."  He claims ISIS is "the byproduct" of the ideology of oppressive Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Obama is "burying the reformers from having a seat at the table" by enabling Islamic theocrats.

Jasser wants to reform Islam, to separate mosque and state, he believes Muslims have a problem and they need to "own" it, people like Obama and Kerry are making that very difficult.

We need more like Jasser speaking up.



Source: Western Free Press

Gazans Must Get Rid of Hamas- Claims Palestinian Activist

There are Palestinians who actually realize their future does not lie with the terrorist leadership Hamas. Bassem Eid, a political commentator and human rights activist who lives in East Jerusalem is one of those enlightened ones.

This was posted on YNetNews.

For 26 years I have been devoting my life to the mission of defending human rights. I have seen wars and terror. And yet, the past month has been one of the most difficult times in my life.

I live in East Jerusalem and witness the destruction of life around me. Highway 1 has once again turned into the line separating between east and west. The Palestinians in the capital attacked traffic lights and damaged the Light Rail and power supply lines. But I cannot accept that as a social protest – it's pure vindictiveness.

The coexistence I have been fighting for my entire life has been executed in the city square.

There is no doubt that the death and destruction Gaza has been hit by are like a tsunami. Both people are in pain, but each side denies the other side's pain, and so the pain gets worse.

And still, as a Palestinian, I must admit: I am responsible for part of what has happened. We can no longer deny our responsibility for the death of our own people.

Most of the Palestinians were against the rocket fire on Israel. They realized that the rockets would not give us anything. They called on Hamas to stop firing, knowing that it had paved the way for the death of its own people.

We knew that Hamas was digging the tunnels which would to lead to our destruction. We knew that three people live on every square meter in Gaza. And Hamas knew that an attack on Israel would lead to mass death, but it's leaders are more interested in their own victories than in the lives of their victims.

Indeed, Hamas depends on death, which gives it power and allows it to raise funds and purchase weapons. Hamas has never been interested in liberating the Palestinian people from the occupation. And Israel will never be able to destroy the infrastructures it has built. Only we, the Palestinian people, can do that.

It was the Gazan residents' responsibility to rebel against the Hamas rule. We knew what they were doing to us, but we let ourselves off easy and allowed it to happen.

Will all this death finally teach us a lesson? I hope so. The lesson is that we must get rid of Hamas and completely demilitarize Gaza. And then open the crossings.

I'm saying this as a loyal Palestinian. I'm saying this because I am concerned about my people's future.

Someone finally taking responsibility for the situation over there. Well done!

There is hope yet, as long as he's not a lone voice about to be snuffed out.

Saudi Journalist Blasts Conspiracy Theory Jews Involved In 9/11

And in this MEMRI video, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi balks when asked if the Jews were involved in 9/11 and was it really Al Qaeda.  As editor-in-chief of Arab News, he refused to publish the conspiracy theory that was floating around all the Arab news agencies at the time, blaming Jews for 9/11. If Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, then why would it not be true, and that it was preposterous to think that  "40 or 50 Jews convened and agreed- "Menachem, don't go to work today because something's going down," referring to one of the theories out there that passed through his news desk.

It's not just the Arabs who maintain the theory that the Jews were behind 9/11, there are plenty of Westerners who do as well. And in this country.

Arabs Should Apologize For "Occupation" Of Spain, Says Saudi Author

Hani Nakshabandi, an obviously enlightened Saudi author, addresses (on a UAE TV show) his inflammatory comment about the need for Arabs to apologize for the "occupation" of Spain (after the Umayyad conquests), and his belief that everything written in their history books should be reexamined.

"We present Europe as if it had been immersed in darkness and ignorance, until we came along and ushered in an era of light."

He then mentions that there are villages in the Kingdom with no electricity, and:

 "Wherever you go in the Arab world- in Egypt, in Morocco- you see villages where people still live like cavemen, yet you say that we ushered civilization into Europe?!"

He doesn't mention (that I know of) that there are a boatload of them who still act like cavemen, as well. All the violence in that region is a testament to that.

The interviewer, however, represents how most in the Arab world feel about Muslim imperialism, and the "occupation" of the conquered lands. He tells  Nakshabandi that Islam spread there during the Dark Ages in Europe and asks him about Cordoba. Part of his reply:

 "What kind of civilization did the Arabs leave behind in Andalusia? What did they leave there?"

Nothing, apparently. He says that even the Umayyad Mosque (like the one in Turkey) was originally a church.

This man at least sees the hypocrisy of those who balk at "occupation" (I assume he's referring to Palestine) and think it was perfectly all right for the Muslims to invade and conquer Europe.