Meet Gisele Marie, The Niqab-Clad Heavy Metal Guitarist From Brazil

Gisele Marie, is a Brazil-based heavy metal guitarist who also happens to be a Muslim niqab-wearing convert. Yes indeedy, she was allegedly born to Catholic German parents in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 42 years ago, found her way to Wicca, and then converted to Islam in 2009 after her dad died.

"Spectrus" is her brothers heavy metal band, and she's been playing with them since 2012, though it appears she has recently parted ways and has started her own ban with a 2016 release of a new album.

Gisele Marie says of her:

“People do not expect to see a Muslim woman who uses a Burqa, practices the religion properly and is a professional guitarist who plays in a Heavy Metal band. " “So many people are shocked by it, but other people are curious and find it interesting, and others think that it is cool.

Surely she should know that those who are so uber devout that they feel the need to wear a niqab or burqa also believe that music is haram (forbidden) in their religion.

It's probably a gimmick, and she's probably a man. Check her out.

Clip about Gisele Marie here, if you can bear to listen to the music.

Photos and more on her story.

Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam Back On Tour After 35 Plus Years

I used to love Cat Stevens, until he abandoned music for Islam in 1977 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He also happened to support Iran's death fatwa against writer Salman Rushdie way back in the late 1980s by quoting the Quran regarding blasphemy. Though he claims he did not actually support the fatwa, per se, it's the same thing really. If you quote a verse from Islam's holiest of books that calls for death for blasphemy, you support it.

He ventured back into pop music back in 2006 with the release of a new album, and is finally back on tour after all these decades.

His North American tour is called "The Peace Train... Late again" and the first one in 38 years.

He's 66.

Here's an article about his sold out Canadian concert.

Here's some interesting information on the fatwa incident and what Yusuf/Cat has been doing since.

H/T Tarek Fatah

Al-Qaeda Planning To Blow Up 5 European Bound Passenger Planes Over Christmas

The U.K. is bracing for terror strikes, and has strong intel that Al-Qaeda is planning to blow up five passenger planes headed to Europe over Christmastime:

The warning comes as Whitehall officials admit that a terror strike on the UK is now "almost inevitable" particularly with British jihadis returning from fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

An airport security source told the Sunday Express: "We've been told that five planes are being targeted in a high profile hit before Christmas. They've been waiting for the big one.

"We have many scares but this one nearly got hand baggage pulled from all airlines. The threat is still alive and real."

The plot, which has been known about for the past two months, is thought to involve Islamists smuggling bombs on to planes bound for major European destinations before Christmas.

They may ban electronics, including cellphones, from carry-on baggage, if the baggage itself is not outright banned.

And there is talk about sleeper cells, many of whom could be white, blue-eyed, blond-haired converts, and middle-class females.

Dr. Leivesley, a former Home Office risk adviser, said that terrorists are now more likely to be "white, blond and blue eyed" who are radicalized in as little as five weeks.

She also claimed that female terrorists were becoming a significant risk, adding: "Crime profiling shows that white, middle class women, who are better than averagely educated, are susceptible to the terrorist narrative.

"They see themselves at the forefront of attempts to change the world and are represent a very dangerous tool for the terrorists.

Britain should really do something about people like hate-preachers and ISIS sympathizers like Anjem Choudary, or that country is headed for major disasters.

Scary times

The rest of the story here.

Germany Becoming a Haven For Radical Islam - France 24 video

Germany is becoming a haven for radical Muslim extremists- especially the Salafist-ridden city of Dusseldorf.  Many of them are converts, like Bernard Falk, who went from being a left-wing extremist to a Muslim extremist, after he converted to Islam in jail. One of his buddies is Sven Lau aka Abu Adam, ex-firefighter and former pothead. He too is a convert, and is responsible for the sharia patrols in the small town of Wuppertal. According to a Moroccan Muslim woman interviewed in a France 24 video, there are over 5,000 (and growing) radical Salafist Muslims in Germany, and she believes something must be done now to prevent the problem from becoming worse down the line.

There are estimated to be at least 400 of them fighting in Syria.

Watch the France 24 video here.

ISIS Justifies Yazidi Genocide- They Were Asked To Convert First

MEMRI has translated an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda video where an ISIS commander justifies the murder and rape of Yazidis. The man interviewing the Sheik asks him:

"Dear Sheik, various politicized media outlets published false reports that you had killed the Yazidis, (forced) them to convert to Islam, and violated the honor of their women. How do you respond to these reports?"

He doesn't specifically address the rape, but he does say they are trying get them to convert to save their kuffar souls, and were given that option first.

The video also shows a bunch of Yazidis who allegedly converted. But all you see is fear in their eyes. Check out the man at the very end of the video. So very sad.

Then you have the likes of this extremist Brit convert, ex-boxer Anthony Small, justifying the beheading of Foley, and terrorist violence.

German Muslim Convert Preacher Plans A Celebration For Osama Bin Laden

Idiot of the day. Or rather idiots.  Pierre Vogel aka Abu Hamza is a German Muslim convert- a former prize boxer-turned-preacher. But he didn't just convert to Islam, he turned to Salafism, the most extreme forms of Islam.

Role of women in society?  Not his concern, after all his wife wears a niqab.

In the Spiegel video below we see that 1,100 or so mostly male Islamists have followed him to Hamburg where his goal is to convert infidels, and he manages to do quite well at it. We get to see some fool of a woman convert, and the reporters talk with a newly converted young male. When asked if he finds the teachings of vogel to be compatible with democracy, someone in the background tells him not to answer, and the kid walks away. As the reporter asks if he's not allowed to respond, two aggressive Islamists pipe in with "he is allowed, but doesn't have to."

Reporter: "You have just sent him away."
Islamist: "We don't force him."

It's quite obvious they had.

When asked what will happen to those who change their mind about converting.

"The punishment, if one dies as a non-Muslim, is: one goes to hell."

Even though Vogel publicly rejects violence and terror, claiming to be a 'peace activist', the dude is planning a remembrance celebration for Osama Bin Laden.

Nicole Mansfield- The U.S. Muslim Woman Killed In Syria

Three westerners were allegedly killed by Syrian forces during an ambush, and it is thought that one of them was a female Muslim American convert who was fighting alongside Al Qaeda-linked rebels. Probably Jabhat al-Nusra. The black banner found in their car would probably be a good indication that they were.

The woman (though not yet confirmed) is thought to be 33-year-old Nicole Lynn Mansfield. Raised Baptist, the Flint, Michigan woman converted to Islam and began donning the hijab after marrying an Arab immigrant about five years ago. He dumped her after he got his green card, three years later. She has a daughter (now 18), the product of a teen pregnancy. She was apparently a lost soul searching for her purpose in life, which makes her conversion to Islam understandable. Carole Mansfield, her grandmother, said that Nicole told people:

“..that the best way of life was to be a Muslim. And that women should wear scarves ... women should always cover their head. ” She had a heart of gold, but she was weak-minded. I think she could have been brainwashed.”

Apparently local Syrian-Americans had never heard of Nicole.

Muna Jondy, a Syrian-American activist who is president of the Flint-based United for a Free Syria and who opposes the Syrian government, told the Detroit Free Press that she hadn’t heard of Mansfield. She also warned about accepting the Syrian television report because the station is linked to the Bashar al-Assad government, which is battling opposition forces and may be reporting propaganda.

According to her aunt, Monica Mansfield Speelman, about two or three years ago she made a trip to Dubai but was convinced to return home. Both aunt and granny said that Nicole did not keep in touch  much, and they had no clue what her ex-hubby's name was or that she had even traveled to Syria. It seems this lack of communication happened after her marriage and conversion to Islam.

The FBI paid a visit to grandma Mansfield for more information, but are still reluctant to confirm her death.  The Syrian government has her passport, though.

We make choices in life- she obviously made some bad ones.

Sources: CS Monitor, Al Arabiya

Geert Wilders' Ex-Colleague Turned Muslim, To Produce Mohammed Film

I truly do not understand the appeal of Islam to a Westerner, particularly a female. There are many ways of finding God and living a good spiritual life without having to go to such extremes. But somehow, it does appeal. To many. And sometimes to the most unlikely of converts. Take Arnoud Van Doorn, the Dutch politician who used to be a member of Geert Wilders far-right Freedom Party (PVV), until he converted to Islam. Apparently, he was even involved in producing the film FITNA, which caused an uproar for equating Islam with violence back in 2008.  But, Van Doorn, for some bizarre reason, was drawn to Islam and has just made a trip to Saudi Arabia for his first pilgrimage after converting this year.  Not the Hajj.  Yet. But a pilgrimage nonetheless.

Arnoud said of his Umrah:

“If any person told me that I will visit the land of the two holy shrines, I would have told him that he must be insane."

"But what happened now is realization of a dream and it is still unbelievable for me that I am now in the holy city that hosted the Prophet (pbuh). I couldn’t control my feelings when I stood in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as in Rawdah Sharif, near the pulpit used by the Prophet (pbuh). When I prayed at Rawdah Sharaif, my eyes were full of tears as I had the feeling that I am in a part of the Paradise.”

“Finding Islam is a dream came true,” a tearful Doorn added.

Doorn, a member of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) has embraced Islam earlier this year after an extensive study into the religion.

Apparently Doorn's interest was piqued after Muslims balked at the film.

Now, as penance for being such a bad Islamophobe, he is planning on producing a film about Islam and Mohammed, in association with the Canadian Dawah Association (CDA). The CDA was instrumental in getting him to convert to Islam, or revert as Muslims like to call it, since they believe all humans were born Muslim.

Since converts are often more zealous about their new found religion, Doorn hopes to dedicate his life to proselytizing.

“I will spare no efforts to protect the rights of Muslims in all European countries as well as to serve Islam and its followers throughout the world. I will try my best to repair the damage that I caused to Islam and its Prophet through the film ‘Fitna’."

As for repairing the damage that the film caused:

“I will use all my experience in producing an alternative film, which will speak about the true image of Islam and all aspects of the personality of the Prophet as well as his great qualities.”

As for his involvement in the film FITNA and his ultimate conversion:

 “It was unfortunate that I did not make any efforts to know what really Islam is and who is the Prophet before blindly believing in the misinformation campaign being unleashed by the anti-Islamic forces. When I came to realize that it was not Islam, I decided to study about the religion and that led to my conversion. Now, I am really enjoying the beauty of Islam and am extremely delighted in Allah’s great blessing to guide me onto His path. It is an explicable experience for me.”

As for  members of the PVV that are not happy with his conversion, he has this to say:

 “The party stands against Islam and its spreading in Europe. Some of them now consider me as a traitor.” [Snip]

 “Let me tell them that this is my personal decision and I see a new life in Islam that I don’t want any way to give it up. I happened to see on social networking sites several comments, expressing feelings of antagonism and hatred toward me.” 

According to Al Arabiya:

... he took a pledge in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) that he would strive to spread his true message and his great qualities that are instrumental in promoting peace and harmonious relations among the people worldwide.

Promoting peace and harmonious relations among the people worldwide? Maybe they should start with each other. When they start getting along with fellow Muslims, when they stop killing each other (and us), when they stop foisting their religion down our throats, then maybe people will start to respect their religion.

Is Obama's CIA Nominee John Brennan A Muslim Convert?

There is word (or rather hearsay) that Barack Obama's choice for CIA chief John Brennan, 57, is a Muslim convert. Former FBI agent John Guandolo seems to think that he converted sometime between 1996 and 1999 while stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was station chief for six years,  at the time. According to Guandolo, as discussed on the Trento Radio show:

... Brennan converted to Islam in Saudi Arabia and visited Mecca and Medina during the hajj season along with Saudi officials, who may have induced Brennan to convert.

In a Skype video interview with the radio show, Guandolo referred to a video showing Brennan saying that during his time in Saudi Arabia, he “marveled at the majesty of the Hajj and the devotion of those who fulfilled their duty as Muslims by making that pilgrimage.”

Guandolo concluded that this “video confirms Brennan converted to Islam” since non-Muslims are not allowed to visit Medina and Mecca especially during the Hajj season.

Brennan himself, in 2010, admitted that he visited Medina and Mecca during the Hajj. Guandolo went on to say:

“That fact alone is not what is most disturbing." “His conversion to Islam was the culmination of a counterintelligence operation against him to recruit him. The fact that foreign intelligence service operatives recruited Mr. Brennan when he was in a very sensitive and senior U.S. government position in a foreign country means that he either a traitor … [or] he has the inability to discern and understand how to walk in those kinds of environments, which makes him completely unfit to the be the director of Central Intelligence.”

Brennan is currently the Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter if he was indeed a Muslim, but 9/11 changed that.  If he did indeed convert, he is "unfit" for the position, as Guandolo believes. Many Muslims have a hard time divorcing their religious beliefs from secular and civil matters, which could endanger this country.

But I still would need more proof that he is.

Sources: Opposing Views, Al-Arabiya

Pro-Taliban Man Tries To Blow Up Bank To Set Off Civil War

Matthew Aaron Llaneza, the 28-year-old former marine and Muslim convert who calls himself  "Tarq Khan" who was arrested by the FBI for planning on bombing a Bank of America in Oakland, CA,  was a Taliban sympathizer.

The FBI press release states:

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on November 30, 2012, Llaneza met with a man who led him to believe he was connected with the Taliban and the mujahidin in Afghanistan. In reality, this man was an undercover FBI agent. At this initial meeting, Llaneza proposed conducting a car-bomb attack against a bank in the San Francisco Bay Area. He proposed structuring the attack to make it appear that the responsible party was an umbrella organization for a loose collection of anti-government militias and their sympathizers. Llaneza’s stated goal was to trigger a governmental crackdown, which he expected would trigger a right-wing counter-response against the government followed by, he hoped, civil war.
The complaint further alleges that Llaneza subsequently selected the Bank of America branch at 303 Hegenberger Road in Oakland as the target for the attack. Llaneza ultimately specified a spot next to a support column of the bank building as a good location for the bomb, expressed a desire for the bomb to bring down the entire bank building, and offered to drive the car bomb to the bank at the time of the attack.

According to the complaint, in January and February 2013, Llaneza and the undercover agent constructed the purported explosive device inside a sport utility vehicle (SUV) parked inside a storage facility in Hayward, California. As part of the process of assembling the device, Llaneza purchased two cell phones to be used in creating and operating the trigger device for the car bomb. One of these cell phones was incorporated into the trigger device itself. The other was reserved for use on the night of the attack.
The criminal complaint alleges that on the evening of February 7, 2013, Llaneza drove the SUV containing the purported explosive device to the target bank branch in Oakland. He parked the SUV beneath an overhang of the bank building where he armed the trigger device. He then proceeded on foot to a nearby location a safe distance from the bank building, where he met the undercover agent. Once there, Llaneza attempted to detonate the bomb by using the second cell phone he had purchased to place two calls to the trigger device attached to the car bomb. Federal agents then arrested him.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, he also happened to have a history of mental illness. Mental illness + Islam = Lethal combination.

It will be interesting to see what unfolds as more information is gathered.