Algeria: three years in prison for owning a Bible

Argelia: tres años de prisión por tener una Biblia : Actualidad

El tribunal correcional de Tiaret, en el suroeste de Argelia, debía pronunciarse ayer martes sobre el caso de Habiba Kuider, de 37 años de edad, pero la decisión ha sido aplazada hasta el 3 de junio después de que el organismo solicitara “informaciones complementarias”. Esta educadora argelina convertida al cristianismo fue arrestada en un autobús en posesión de una decena de biblias, lo que ha hecho que sea enjuiciada por “prática no autorizada de un culto no musulmán”. Sobre este caso, el abogado del ministerio argelino de Asuntos Religiosos estimó que “las tentaciones de evangelización constituyen una amenaza para la seguridad nacional”. Por su parte, el procurador de Tiaret solicitó tres años de prisión contra Habiba.
El mismo tribunal juzga el caso de otros seis jóvenes convertidos al cristianismo y acusados también de”ejercicio ilegal de un culto no musulmán”. Los jóvenes fueron detenidos a la salida de una casa donde, según la acusación, acababan de pronunciar una misa sin autorización.
Desde hace varios meses las autoridades argelinas llevan a cabo una fuerte campaña contra el “proselitismo cristiano” en el país. El islam es la religión de Estado en Argelia.

Pero no sólo en Argelia ocurren estas cosas: Isaac Schrodinger postea sobre diez cristianos que se convirtieron del Islam al Cristianismo en Shiraz y han sido arrestados, porque según la nueva Ley si has nacido de padre musulmán y renuncias a tu fe y te conviertes a otra, te enfrentas a la pena de muerte.

*****

So Algeria has sentenced a woman to three years in prison for owning a Bible. Habiba Kuider, a 37-year-old teacher, converted to Christianity and was travelling in a bus with 10 Bibles, so she has been accused of «a non-authorised practice of a non-Muslim cult«. The lawyer of the Algerian Minitry of Religious Affairs stated that the «temptations of evangelization are a menace for the national security«.

Other six youths are on trial for converting to Christianity.

But Algeria is not the only country which is after converts to Christianity: Isaac Schrodinger posts that:

Ten Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity in recent months have been arrested in the southern city of Shiraz.
(…)Under the new law, anyone born to a Muslim father who decides to renounce Islam and convert to another faith, faces the death penalty.

This must be the basis for the Alliance of Civilizations….

Algeria: three years in prison for owning a Bible (+)

Argelia: tres años de prisión por tener una Biblia : Actualidad

El tribunal correcional de Tiaret, en el suroeste de Argelia, debía pronunciarse ayer martes sobre el caso de Habiba Kuider, de 37 años de edad, pero la decisión ha sido aplazada hasta el 3 de junio después de que el organismo solicitara “informaciones complementarias”. Esta educadora argelina convertida al cristianismo fue arrestada en un autobús en posesión de una decena de biblias, lo que ha hecho que sea enjuiciada por “prática no autorizada de un culto no musulmán”. Sobre este caso, el abogado del ministerio argelino de Asuntos Religiosos estimó que “las tentaciones de evangelización constituyen una amenaza para la seguridad nacional”. Por su parte, el procurador de Tiaret solicitó tres años de prisión contra Habiba.
El mismo tribunal juzga el caso de otros seis jóvenes convertidos al cristianismo y acusados también de”ejercicio ilegal de un culto no musulmán”. Los jóvenes fueron detenidos a la salida de una casa donde, según la acusación, acababan de pronunciar una misa sin autorización.
Desde hace varios meses las autoridades argelinas llevan a cabo una fuerte campaña contra el “proselitismo cristiano” en el país. El islam es la religión de Estado en Argelia.

(+) Crispal tiene más: al parecer una de las preguntas que le hicieron en el juicio fue: 

«¿Te han dado de beber los curas su agua bendita que te llevará al Paraíso?» Y al juez ¿le han dado un golpe en la cabeza por inútil? El agua bendita por sí misma no lleva a ningún sitio: es necesario a) fe en Cristo y b) cumplir con sus mandatos, no sólo por fuera, si no porque uno esté convencido de ellos…. De verdad, qué simplismo.

Pero no sólo en Argelia ocurren estas cosas: Isaac Schrodinger postea sobre diez cristianos que se convirtieron del Islam al Cristianismo en Shiraz y han sido arrestados, porque según la nueva Ley si has nacido de padre musulmán y renuncias a tu fe y te conviertes a otra, te enfrentas a la pena de muerte.

*****

So Algeria has sentenced a woman to three years in prison for owning a Bible. Habiba Kuider, a 37-year-old teacher, converted to Christianity and was travelling in a bus with 10 Bibles, so she has been accused of «a non-authorised practice of a non-Muslim cult». The lawyer of the Algerian Minitry of Religious Affairs stated that the «temptations of evangelization are a menace for the national security«. 

According to Crispal (link in Spanish), she was asked if «the priests had given her holy water to drink so she can go into Paradise». Hmm, yeah, what a faith they have: the holy water is like an elevator, you drink it and you go straight to Heaven… Oh, Gooooooooodddddddddd!!! Forget about acting like you think and believe it’s the right way to… just drink holy water.

Other six youths are on trial for converting to Christianity.

But Algeria is not the only country which is after converts to Christianity: Isaac Schrodinger posts that:

Ten Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity in recent months have been arrested in the southern city of Shiraz.
(…)Under the new law, anyone born to a Muslim father who decides to renounce Islam and convert to another faith, faces the death penalty.

This must be the basis for the Alliance of Civilizations….

Two Jihadis Dead in Philippines Terrorist Attack

Noblesse Oblige writes:

«In the Philippines 17 soldiers were wounded and two terrorists died in fighting after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (affiliated with Al Qaeda) attacked two outposts in the town of Tipo Tipo on Basilan Island. The military states that Abu Sayyaf fighters were involved as well, and the attack on the outpost was sophisticated, including IED’s planted on the retreat route. 

This is just another front in the global war on terror and the attack breaks a ceasefire just a week after the Islamists demanded that troops be removed from the island with the threat of attacks if they were not.

Capsule analysis:

The Southern Philippines Islamist Jihadis can bluster, but as elsewhere they can’t mount effective attacks against prepared military forces. Expect one to two more abortive attacks on military forces before they revert to form. They prefer soft, unprepared targets and will likely revert to terror bombings, kidnappings, and IED attacks in the months ahead if the truce is not re-established.»

Normally, there are NO news in Spain about Islamist terrorism in the Philippines, something which is striking specially considering that is one of the most menaced countries in the world, specially in the Mindanao region, by precisely the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It is really true what Thanos writes: MILF can’t mount any succesful attack against prepared military forces, with very few cases (i.e. the intent to free the Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi last year, which ended with several troops beheaded) being succesful and because the troops are severely outnumbered (in this case, there were 50 Marines against 300 terrorists). And this even when, as in this case, the attack was «sophisticated», that is, with good weapons and well prepared.

*******

De Filipinas nos llegan pocas noticias, así que las que veo las posteo porque es uno de los frentes más duros en la lucha contra el islamismo/terrorismo/fundamentalismo islámico que existen a día de hoy.

Las últimas, posteadas por Thanos, se refieren a que 17 marines filipinos han resultado heridos y 2 terroristas muertos en un ataque de estos últimos a una de los puestos de vigilancia de los primeros por parte del grupo terrorista islámico/islamista por excelencia de las Filipinas, el Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Frente Islámico de Liberación Mora), un afiliado de Al-Qaeda. Fuentes militares han asegurado que el ataque «fue sofisticado, incluyendo IED (Improvised Explosive Devices, esto es, Dispositivos Explosivos de Fabricación Improvisada) colocadas en una ruta de evasión (de los militares)».

A pesar de eso, como apunta Thanos, el MILF no acaba de ganarles la partida a los militares preparados (con pocas excepciones como la que enlazo arriba, cuando se intentó liberar al cura italiano Giancarlo Bossi, en la que varios marines fueron degollados pero es necesario añadir que había 50 marines enfrentándose a 300 terroristas). Lo que hace temer que vuelvan a atacar con bombas a objetivos menos preparados…

Anteriores posts:

Filipinas: explosiones en una iglesia católica y un café.

Filipinas: arrestados tres jihadis que iban a atentar contra las embajadas británica, americana y australiana.

El Gobierno filipino autorizará una modificación de la Constitución para la creación de un Estado islámico.

Nota: Un IED o Dispositivo Explosivo de Fabricación Improvisada es un dispositivo explosivo que se fabrica con lo primero que se tiene a mano, dicho vulgarmente, lo que no quiere decir que no sean peligrosos. Si alguien ha visto «El Equipo A» o, sobre todo, MacGyver, sabrá a lo que me refiero. Es más cada vez lo son más como consecuencia de la sofisticación que se emplea -cada vez mayor- en su fabricación como señala el enlace de Global Security que pongo más arriba:

An IED can be almost anything with any type of material and initiator. It is a “homemade” device that is designed to cause death or injury by using explosives alone or in combination with toxic chemicals, biological toxins, or radiological material. IEDs can be produced in varying sizes, functioning methods, containers, and delivery methods. IEDs can utilize commercial or military explosives, homemade explosives, or military ordnance and ordnance components.They are unique in nature because the IED builder has had to improvise with the materials at hand. Designed to defeat a specific target or type of target, they generally become more difficult to detect and protect against as they become more sophisticated.

Un IED puede prepararse con cualquier tipo de material o iniciador. Es un dispositivo «casero» que está diseñado para causar muerte o heridas usando explosivos solamente o combinados con materiales químicos o radiactivos o toxinas biológicas. Los IEDs pueden producirse en varios tamaños o con distintos métodos de funcionamiento, contenedores o métodos de desarrollo. Pueden usar explosivos de naturaleza comercial o militar, caseros o componentes militares.

Son únicos porque el constructos del IED ha tenido que improvisar con los materiales que tiene a mano. Diseñados para derrotar a una objetivo específico o tipo de objetivo específico, cada vez son más difíciles de detectar y de protegerse contra ellos porque cada vez son más sofisticados.

Entre otros sitios donde se usan normalmente, tenemos Irak o Afganistán. 

Cuban blogger censored by Raúl Castro is accused of being paid by CIA

Sobre Yoani, la autora de Generación Y, ya había escrito antes: Bloguera cubana censurada por el régimen comunista cubano. Pues bien acaba de ser acusada de estar a sueldo de la CIA. Para más información podeis ir a Martha Colmenares | Acusada Yoani Sánchez la bloggera cubana de estar al servicio de la CIA y Cuba Independiente. Lo peor es que según parece la acusación se inició en un foro del periódico español El País, acusación que después fue borrada. Recordemos que hace escasas semanas se le concedió el premio Ortega y Gasset.

*****

Yoani, a Cuban blogger who is the author of Generación Y, a blog written in Spanish which tries to describe the reality she sees in Cuba nowadays and which was censored by the Cuban dictatorship some weeks ago, has now been accused of being paid by CIA:

That is not a debate blog, that is a blog where all the scum against Cuba meets. Yoani is lucky, she has all those people there united and not walking aroung the net. I accuse Yoani of being linked to elements of CIA, specifically to Montaner, the true owner of that blog, I accuse her of being linked with terrorist elements who live in Europe, Montaner and I accuse of fulfilling the editorial policy imposed by Montaner, the true owner… 

As Laz tells us, this menaces probably have caused Yoani to moderate the comments in her blog, as it has been full of insults as a result of these accusations.

Cuban blogger censored by Raúl Castro is accused of being paid by CIA

Sobre Yoani, la autora de Generación Y, ya había escrito antes: Bloguera cubana censurada por el régimen comunista cubano. Pues bien acaba de ser acusada de estar a sueldo de la CIA. Para más información podeis ir a Martha Colmenares | Acusada Yoani S�nchez la bloggera cubana de estar al servicio de la CIA y Cuba Independiente. Lo peor es que según parece la acusación se inició en un foro del periódico español El País, acusación que después fue borrada. Recordemos que hace escasas semanas se le concedió el premio Ortega y Gasset.

*****

Yoani, a Cuban blogger who is the author of Generación Y, a blog written in Spanish which tries to describe the reality she sees in Cuba nowadays and which was censored by the Cuban dictatorship some weeks ago, has now been accused of being paid by CIA:

That is not a debate blog, that is a blog where all the scum against Cuba meets. Yoani is lucky, she has all those people there united and not walking aroung the net. I accuse Yoani of being linked to elements of CIA, specifically to Montaner, the true owner of that blog, I accuse her of being linked with terrorist elements who live in Europe, Montaner and I accuse of fulfilling the editorial policy imposed by Montaner, the true owner…

As Laz tells us, this menaces probably have caused Yoani to moderate the comments in her blog, as it has been full of insults as a result of this accusations.

Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all – International Herald Tribune

Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all – International Herald Tribune:

«(…) for those who live in the isolated, outlying hamlets of the delta, putting their lives back together after Nargis has been a sad affair – and a struggle that international aid workers have largely been unable to help ease. The Myanmar government, critics say, is distrustful of outsiders and does not want the villagers to meet foreigners. Meanwhile, the ruling junta is unable or unwilling to provide adequate help on its own.

‘I don’t expect anything from the government. I never have and I don’t now,’ Then Khin said. ‘I heard on the radio about foreign help on its way, but I haven’t seen any in the past 20 days. It’s the same as before, nothing changed.’

The only government help Then Khin has received was a small packet of rice, which she won by the luck of the draw. The village authorities came only once, with some rice, blankets and other relief from the central government. The supplies were distributed by lottery because there was so little. The rice packet was not enough for even one meal for the 20 surviving family members who now crowd her hut.

The village of That Kyar lies near the mouth of the delta’s Pyapon River, downstream from Pyapon, a major delta trading town about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, southwest of the principal city of Yangon.

A motorboat that left Pyapon carrying several visitors to That Kyar reached the village after more than two hours on the river, navigating around capsized ships and broken jetties.

Upon reaching a point in the river where the sea air finally smelled of salt and where gulls could be seen, the boat moved into a tributary and chugged upstream for another 40 minutes. Once a picturesque hamlet lined with coconut trees, That Kyar is now little more than a heap of rotting debris.

 

Unlike the cyclone victims who live near roads and receive help from private donors bringing supplies from the bigger cities, villages like That Kyar have been left to fend for themselves.

 

 

Three weeks after the cyclone came and went, the United Nations said that aid had reached less than one-fourth of the two million survivors in the hardest hit areas of the delta.

In what many observers hope will be a breakthrough, Myanmar’s generals finally told the United Nations last week that they would allow workers of all nationalities to go into the devastated areas to assess the damage. So far, virtually all foreign aid workers have been banned from the delta.

And it remained unclear how much access relief workers and aid agencies will have to those areas.

 

Many people there did not even know that Saturday was the day they were supposed to vote on a new Constitution, a document designed to prolong the junta’s grip on power.»

 

 

You can read more about Burmese situation after Nargis in 1972. Most of Enzo’s post is in English so there will be no problem, via Wind Rose Hotel.

And in this context UN continues to proof itself very useful, so it’s going to send 250.000 condoms because Burmese people needs to continue its contraception’s policy. They are not worried about lack of food, lack of clean water, lack of housing… no, they are worried about condoms. And there will also send contraception pills in special airplanes to Burma. Right. Good to see the priorities.

In related news, several National League for Democracy (NLD)’s members have been arrested some hours before fighter for freedom and Nobel Prize winner Aung Suu Kyi’s sentence has been extended.

Don’t know what happens but the link does not go well (at least for me). That’s why I have included the capture of the Irrawady’s daily mailing.

Burma Campaign UK has already sent a message to Facebook denouncing the extension of the arrest of Suu Kyi:

Yesterday, the regime extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention again. No formal announcement was made, but reports say the detention is for at least another six months. She has now spent over 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest. Her current period of house arrest began in 2003. The regime is once again breaking its own laws by extending her detention for a total of more than five years. The State Protection Law 1975, under which she is held, only allows the regime to detain her for a maximum of five years. Around 20 members of the National League for Democracy were also arrested yesterday as they marched to her home to call for her release. 

The detention is for at least«… Welcome to the security of the citizens under the Burmese law… Not only the law is not fulfilled by the Government (the maximum is five years of detention period and Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 years), but she is going to be detained for at least, so for the time the Burmese junta wants.

Oh, that legality under dictatorships…

******

La situación en Birmania empeora día a día sobre todo porque la ayuda internacional no llega a los damnificados. Sobre todo, la ayuda no llega a los pequeños pueblos del delta, a los que la Junta Birmana no quiere en especial que vayan los cooperantes internacionales. Es cierto que la Junta militar ha permitido que entren a evaluar los daños causados por el ciclón, pero lo cierto es que no se ha señalado la extensión de dicho permiso.

La situación en muchos sitios es desesperada, pero la ONU parece estar interesada sólo en una cuestión: los anticonceptivos. Muchas personas están sin comida, sin agua potable y sin vivienda, pero lo que va a mandar la ONU son un cuarto de millón de condones y unas 78.000 píldoras anticonceptivas. Esta decisión, que la ONU sustenta en que no quiere que los birmanos interrumpan su política anticonceptiva, es cuando menos curiosa si pensamos en la cantidad de gente que ha muerto (en especial niños) como consecuencia del ciclón.

El domingo pasado, además, se votaba la nueva Constitución con la que no cambiará nada, si no que la Junta aún aumentará más su poder. De hecho, una de las primeras decisiones ha sido la de detener al menos a 15 miembros del principal partido opositor, la Liga Nacional por la Democracia (NLD) y extender el arresto domiciliario de Aung Sang Suu Kyi, su líder, Premio Nobel de la Paz. Esta extensión del arresto incumple la ley birmana que no permite un arresto superior a cinco años (Suu Kyi lleva 12 de los últimos 18 años arrestada en su domicilio) y encima se le arresta durante al menos otros seis meses, permitiendo así tenerla arrestada el tiempo que la Junta quiera.

Eso sí, el resto del mundo callados, no vaya a ser que la gente en general se den cuenta del calvario birmano. El ser humano, en su máximo esplendor…

Burma after the Nargis

Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all – International Herald Tribune: 

«(…) for those who live in the isolated, outlying hamlets of the delta, putting their lives back together after Nargis has been a sad affair – and a struggle that international aid workers have largely been unable to help ease. The Myanmar government, critics say, is distrustful of outsiders and does not want the villagers to meet foreigners. Meanwhile, the ruling junta is unable or unwilling to provide adequate help on its own.

‘I don’t expect anything from the government. I never have and I don’t now,’ Then Khin said. ‘I heard on the radio about foreign help on its way, but I haven’t seen any in the past 20 days. It’s the same as before, nothing changed.’

The only government help Then Khin has received was a small packet of rice, which she won by the luck of the draw. The village authorities came only once, with some rice, blankets and other relief from the central government. The supplies were distributed by lottery because there was so little. The rice packet was not enough for even one meal for the 20 surviving family members who now crowd her hut.

The village of That Kyar lies near the mouth of the delta’s Pyapon River, downstream from Pyapon, a major delta trading town about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, southwest of the principal city of Yangon.

A motorboat that left Pyapon carrying several visitors to That Kyar reached the village after more than two hours on the river, navigating around capsized ships and broken jetties.

Upon reaching a point in the river where the sea air finally smelled of salt and where gulls could be seen, the boat moved into a tributary and chugged upstream for another 40 minutes. Once a picturesque hamlet lined with coconut trees, That Kyar is now little more than a heap of rotting debris.

Unlike the cyclone victims who live near roads and receive help from private donors bringing supplies from the bigger cities, villages like That Kyar have been left to fend for themselves.

Three weeks after the cyclone came and went, the United Nations said that aid had reached less than one-fourth of the two million survivors in the hardest hit areas of the delta.

In what many observers hope will be a breakthrough, Myanmar’s generals finally told the United Nations last week that they would allow workers of all nationalities to go into the devastated areas to assess the damage. So far, virtually all foreign aid workers have been banned from the delta.

And it remained unclear how much access relief workers and aid agencies will have to those areas.

Many people there did not even know that Saturday was the day they were supposed to vote on a new Constitution, a document designed to prolong the junta’s grip on power.»

You can read more about Burmese situation after Nargis in 1972. Most of Enzo’s post is in English so there will be no problem, via Wind Rose Hotel.

And in this context UN continues to proof itself very useful, so it’s going to send 250.000 condoms because Burmese people needs to continue its contraception’s policy. They are not worried about lack of food, lack of clean water, lack of housing… no, they are worried about condoms. And there will also send contraception pills in special airplanes to Burma. Right. Good to see the priorities.

In related news, several National League for Democracy (NLD)’s members have been arrested some hours before fighter for freedom and Nobel Prize winner Aung Suu Kyi’s sentence has been extended.

Don’t know what happens but the link does not go well (at least for me). That’s why I have included the capture of the Irrawady’s daily mailing.

Burma Campaign UK has already sent a message to Facebook denouncing the extension of the arrest of Suu Kyi:

Yesterday, the regime extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention again. No formal announcement was made, but reports say the detention is for at least another six months. She has now spent over 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest. Her current period of house arrest began in 2003. The regime is once again breaking its own laws by extending her detention for a total of more than five years. The State Protection Law 1975, under which she is held, only allows the regime to detain her for a maximum of five years. Around 20 members of the National League for Democracy were also arrested yesterday as they marched to her home to call for her release.

The detention is for at least«… Welcome to the security of the citizens under the Burmese law… Not only the law is not fulfilled by the Government (the maximum is five years of detention period and Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 years), but she is going to be detained for at least, so for the time the Burmese junta wants. 

Oh, that legality under dictatorships…

******

La situación en Birmania empeora día a día sobre todo porque la ayuda internacional no llega a los damnificados. Sobre todo, la ayuda no llega a los pequeños pueblos del delta, a los que la Junta Birmana no quiere en especial que vayan los cooperantes internacionales. Es cierto que la Junta militar ha permitido que entren a evaluar los daños causados por el ciclón, pero lo cierto es que no se ha señalado la extensión de dicho permiso.

La situación en muchos sitios es desesperada, pero la ONU parece estar interesada sólo en una cuestión: los anticonceptivos. Muchas personas están sin comida, sin agua potable y sin vivienda, pero lo que va a mandar la ONU son un cuarto de millón de condones y unas 78.000 píldoras anticonceptivas. Esta decisión, que la ONU sustenta en que no quiere que los birmanos interrumpan su política anticonceptiva, es cuando menos curiosa si pensamos en la cantidad de gente que ha muerto (en especial niños) como consecuencia del ciclón.

El domingo pasado, además, se votaba la nueva Constitución con la que no cambiará nada, si no que la Junta aún aumentará más su poder. De hecho, una de las primeras decisiones ha sido la de detener al menos a 15 miembros del principal partido opositor, la Liga Nacional por la Democracia (NLD) y extender el arresto domiciliario de Aung Sang Suu Kyi, su líder, Premio Nobel de la Paz. Esta extensión del arresto incumple la ley birmana que no permite un arresto superior a cinco años (Suu Kyi lleva 12 de los últimos 18 años arrestada en su domicilio) y encima se le arresta durante al menos otros seis meses, permitiendo así tenerla arrestada el tiempo que la Junta quiera.

Eso sí, el resto del mundo callados, no vaya a ser que la gente en general se den cuenta del calvario birmano. El ser humano, en su máximo esplendor…

U.S. courts the support of French Muslims – International Herald Tribune

U.S. courts the support of French Muslims – International Herald Tribune: 

«For Karim Zéribi, the highlight was shaking the hand of the candidate Barack Obama. For Ali Zahi, it was meeting the basketball star, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, his childhood hero. And Mohamed Hamidi still cannot quite believe that the minaret of a mosque he saw in Washington was taller than that in the village of his parents in Algeria. 

Hamidi, a well-known blogger, Zahi, a local politician and Zéribi, the founder of a recruitment agency, are all French, Muslim and under 42. Each grew up, and works, in suburbs that became emblematic of the rioting that rocked France for three weeks in 2005.

And, during recent months, all three joined the small but growing ranks of young minority leaders in Europe invited to the United States on 21-day, tailor-made trips organized by the U.S. State Department – tours that softened their view of a superpower generally distrusted and disliked in their communities.

‘Many young people think that America is waging a war on Muslims,’ said Zahi, 32, cabinet director for the mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois, the Paris suburb where the 2005 rioting started after the death of two teenagers.

‘I tell them: America is many things,’ he said. ‘It is a country that has a black presidential candidate and a self-confident Muslim community. I tell them, the American people are hospitable and generous.’

Since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, this kind of American diplomacy has tried to embrace the estimated 15 million Muslims in Europe, and the often frustrated young men and women increasingly likely to help shape the future of the Continent.

American embassies have been instructed to court second- and third-generation immigrants from North Africa, Turkey or Pakistan. The International Visitor Leadership program, whose past beneficiaries included President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, have sharpened a focus on young Muslims.

While «de-legitimizing the appeal of terrorist recruiters» is one aim, Bullock said, another is definitely «getting to know the future movers and shakers of Europe, because these young people are part of the future of Europe.»»

*****
La pregunta es ¿por qué quiere EEUU el apoyo de los musulmanes franceses? La razón es curiosa: «Siendo la deslegitimación del atractivo de los reclutadores terroristas una de las razones, Bullock dice que otra es «llegar a conocer estos futuros instigadores y agitadores de Europa, porque estas jóvenes personas son parte del futuro de Europa«.

Curioso que se señale esa razón…

U.S. courts the support of French Muslims

U.S. courts the support of French Muslims – International Herald Tribune: 

«For Karim Zéribi, the highlight was shaking the hand of the candidate Barack Obama. For Ali Zahi, it was meeting the basketball star, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, his childhood hero. And Mohamed Hamidi still cannot quite believe that the minaret of a mosque he saw in Washington was taller than that in the village of his parents in Algeria.

Hamidi, a well-known blogger, Zahi, a local politician and Zéribi, the founder of a recruitment agency, are all French, Muslim and under 42. Each grew up, and works, in suburbs that became emblematic of the rioting that rocked France for three weeks in 2005.

And, during recent months, all three joined the small but growing ranks of young minority leaders in Europe invited to the United States on 21-day, tailor-made trips organized by the U.S. State Department – tours that softened their view of a superpower generally distrusted and disliked in their communities.

‘Many young people think that America is waging a war on Muslims,’ said Zahi, 32, cabinet director for the mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois, the Paris suburb where the 2005 rioting started after the death of two teenagers.

‘I tell them: America is many things,’ he said. ‘It is a country that has a black presidential candidate and a self-confident Muslim community. I tell them, the American people are hospitable and generous.’

Since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, this kind of American diplomacy has tried to embrace the estimated 15 million Muslims in Europe, and the often frustrated young men and women increasingly likely to help shape the future of the Continent.

American embassies have been instructed to court second- and third-generation immigrants from North Africa, Turkey or Pakistan. The International Visitor Leadership program, whose past beneficiaries included President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, have sharpened a focus on young Muslims.

While «de-legitimizing the appeal of terrorist recruiters» is one aim, Bullock said, another is definitely «getting to know the future movers and shakers of Europe, because these young people are part of the future of Europe.»»

Interesting reason to court the French Muslims….

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La pregunta es ¿por qué quiere EEUU el apoyo de los musulmanes franceses? La razón es curiosa: «Siendo la deslegitimación del atractivo de los reclutadores terroristas una de las razones, Bullock dice que otra es «llegar a conocer estos futuros instigadores y agitadores de Europa, porque estas jóvenes personas son parte del futuro de Europa«.

Curioso que se señale esa razón…

Polygamy in Toronto

Daimnation!: Polygamy in Toronto:

«Polygamy is happening in Toronto; it’s not common, but it’s happening,’ said Hindy, imam at Salahuddin Islamic Centre.

Hindy, hardly a stranger to controversy, is well known for his friendship with the family of Omar Khadr, the young Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and his outspoken views on the implementation of Islamic law. In the past five years, Hindy said he has officiated or ‘blessed’ more than 30 polygamous marriages; the most recent was two months ago. Even some imams in the GTA have second wives, he added.

‘This is in our religion and nobody can force us to do anything against our religion,’ he said. ‘If the laws of the country conflict with Islamic law, if one goes against the other, then I am going to follow Islamic law, simple as that.'»

Oh, OK, so he is defending the fulfillment of the religious laws instead of the civil ones, which are universally applied in any modern system. Because they are the ones who sustain the equality of all citizens living under the State, regardless of sex, date of birth, place of birth, religion… I would like to know the opinion some people would have had if this statement was made by a Christian (regardless of his/her denomination) religious man or woman. I bet it would have been in the first page of ALL the newspapers…

H/T Free Mark Steyn.   

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Interesante reflexión sobre la poligamia y las leyes que hace este imán extremista canadiense: «Si las leyes del país entran en conflicto con la ley islámica, si una está contra la otra, entonces voy a seguir la ley islámica, es tan sencillo como eso«. Y, por tanto, voy a casar a la gente poligámicamente… Muy bien, abanderando el incumplimiento de la ley civil (que se caracteriza por su universalidad) y el cumplimiento de la ley religiosa… Me gustaría oír lo mismo que se hubiera dicho si esto hubiera sido dicho por un cura o religioso de cualquier denominación cristiana…

Lo sé, soy una ilusa.