27-Jul-16: Pope "decries" what the Islamist terrorists do - disconnects it from religion

The church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where the priest's throat
was slit by a pair of young Islamists yesterday [Image Source]

Via Wall Street Journal today, this depressing reaffirmation of the confusion at the highest levels over terror and those doing it that keeps counter-terrorism so relatively ineffectual...

Pope Francis Says ‘World Is at War,’ Decries Terrorist Attack on French Church | As he arrives for visit to Poland, pontiff says conflicts inspired by economic, political interests | FRANCIS X. ROCCA | Updated July 27, 2016 11:22 a.m. ET | ...Pope Francis added that the current violence was over economic and political interests rather than religion. “There is war for money,” he said. “There is war for natural resources. There is war for the domination of peoples. Some might think I am speaking of religious war. No. All religions want peace; it is other people who want war.”

Decrying, compared with the alternatives, can be a good thing. But it's not a counter-terror strategy. It will do precisely zero to save lives in the face of murder-minded zealots, many of them shiftless young men freshly admitted to a mostly-unprepared Europe.

Europe is at a loss to formulate strategies for fending off the jihadists. And its security resources have for years already [link] been close to exhaustion.

Pope Francis arrives in Poland today [Image Source]

The WSJ piece refers to yesterday's Islamist terror murder of the Rev. Jacques Hamel, 85, whose throat was slashed by a couple of Islamist teens while he was celebrating Mass at a church in a small town in Normandy, Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. One of them is a known French jihadist Adel Kermiche, who was awaiting trial on terror charges and had been fitted with an electronic tag.

The murderous attack, says the WSJ reporter

broke the pattern of Islamist terrorist strikes in Europe, which have till now been limited to secular targets. Islamic State identified the two assailants, who were killed by police, as its “soldiers.” [Wall Street Journal, today]

Limited to secular targets? How about "07-Jun-15: In France, arrests in wake of an intended Islamist terror assault on a Paris church" and what about the many Jewish targets that have been threatened and attacked and the Jews who have lost their lives in jihadist attacks inside synagogues in France? And in Turkey? In Norway? In Denmark? In the UK?

22-Mar-16: Belgium's focus on Europe-based jihad just rose several notches

Candles and flowers are laid in tribute to the victims - outside the
Brussels stock exchange today [Image Source]

Just four days after Friday's arrest of an Islamist terrorist, Saleh Abdeslam, in Brussels, the city has found itself in the midst of serious drama... just as the Belgian government says (but only now admits) it expected.

Two massive explosions - one at the main international airport of Brussels at Zaventem a couple of minutes before 8:00 am, and a third in the Maelbeek subway station in the heart of the city a minute or two after 9:00 am -completely paralyzed the Belgian capital today.

At the time we are writing this, the updated count of losses [quoting "Explosions at Brussels Airport and Subway Kill 34", New York Times, today] is that 34 people are killed - 14 at the airport and 20 in the subway station. Many more are injured in the two attacks: more than 90 at the airport and more than 100 in the subway. Reports speak of children, of amputated limbs, of severe burns, and of the likelihood that the numbers will grow.

In the several hours that have passed since the first reports, the local authorities have gathered enough information to confidently define these as terror attacks. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, whom we mentioned here just a few days ago ["19-Mar-16: An arrest in Belgium sharpens the focus on Europe-based jihad"] spoke earnestly into national television cameras today, calling the attacks “blind, violent and cowardly.”

The impact on Belgium is wide and ongoing.

• From various reports, we see that Brussels' public transport system is shut down and the entire city is in a kind of lock-down state with residents being told to “stay where you are”, evidently via a government-authorized Twitter message. 
• Eurostar canceled all trains between Brussels and London. Thalys high-speed trains linking dozens of cities in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands were suspended [NY Times]
• Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has said Belgians should avoid making calls so that the city’s mobile network would not be as saturated as they evidently are, and to communicate via online messages instead. 
• Belgium's federal prosecutor, Frédéric Van Leeuw, says border controls have been strengthened and extra police officers had been mobilized. 
• Belgium’s official terror threat status was raised from three to four - the highest possible value. 
• Telegraph UK reports that the Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders expressed a concern that additional parties responsible for the killings today are still at large. 

There are, predictably, ripple effects that have not yet run their course.

• All flights into and out of the airport were cancelled right after the attack. An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Brussels was diverted to another airport in mid-flight. 
• Staff at Belgium's nuclear power stations have been asked to leave the sites "for their own safety" [Telegraph UK today]. It appears, according to the same source, that several people "were recently caught using a hidden camera to monitor movements at the home of a leading Belgium nuclear research executive. The development suggested that terrorists were preparing to kidnap him in order to gain access to nuclear materials or to get into a power plant." There's another concern: "The explosion of a radioactive so-called dirty bomb is one of the chief fears of the security services and was thought to be a little outlandish until the discovery in Belgium."
• President Barack Obama said this afternoon: "We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world." His Secretary of State, John Kerry, has told Belgium via his spokesperson on Twitter: "We are ready to support the investigation as appropriate." And "The United States stands with the people of Belgium." Donald Trump has said today that France and Belgium and other parts of Europe are "literally disintegrating". He predicts "many more" attacks. "In my opinion this is just the beginning, it's going to get worse and worse," he told Fox News. He reiterated his pledge to shut down America's border to Muslims "until we figure out what is going on... There's something going on. They're not assimilating into society, and there's something different," he said. "It's not our fault, it's their fault," he added, referring to Muslims." [Telegraph UK, today]
• Mr Trump placed some of the blame for the attacks on "no-go zones" in France and Belgium where, he said, police are afraid to enter
• France's president Francois Hollande said the Brussels savagery struck at "the whole of Europe" [AFP, today]. In a NY Times report, he says "Through the Brussels attacks, it is the whole of Europe that is hit". France ordered 1,600 additional police officers to patrol its borders, train stations, airports and ports. The Eiffel Tower will be lit with the colors of Belgium’s flag tonight.
• Pope Francis expressed his condolences [AFP]. The attacks, he said, are "blind violence, which causes so much suffering".

A handful of observations now about the way parts of the media are dealing with the harsh realities:

• Over at the BBC where using the word "terror" in news reports of jihadist barbarism of the sort that plagues our lives here is strictly controlled and mostly avoided [see "7-Aug-13: Political prisoners, political media"], it appears to have been a tumultuous day. Their lead story this morning appeared around 9:00 am London time under the heading "Brussels Zaventem airport and metro explosions 'kill at least 13'" [archived here], and had no mention of the word "terror". We and others noticed and criticized via Twitter which normally has little effect. Today however, some two hours later and with no fanfare or explanation, the same article (with the same URL) was given a new headline: "Brussels explosions: Many dead in airport and metro terror attacks" [archived here]. Fittingly, it calls the attacks terror - as it should.
• And confronted with the hideous horror of the pitiless bombings of ordinary people traveling places, a reporter ("mostly", he says) for The Times of London and The Economist tweets: "One of the ugliest rituals after any attack in Europe is the chorus of "we told you so!" from the Israeli right." That struck us as repugnant. We tweeted back: "That's the most serious fallout? For us, slavish avoidance of word "terror" in some news channels is both uglier and harmful". It fell on deaf ears, of course.
• And from the New York Times today, this cause-and-effect sound-bite:
  Few countries have been more vulnerable [in the wake of the huge influx of "undocumented migrants" as the New York Times delicately calls them] than Belgium. It has an especially high proportion of citizens who have traveled to Iraq, insular Muslim communities that have helped shield jihadists, and security services that have had persistent problems conducting effective counter-terrorism operations... 

A difficult day, and not yet ended.

UPDATE Tuesday March 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm: The Islamic State has claimed the Brussels attacks. The New York Times reports that:

The Islamic State-affiliated news agency has issued a bulletin claiming responsibility for the deadly attacks Tuesday in Brussels. The claim was disseminated on the group’s official channel on Telegram, a social media platform, and picked up by other official ISIS channels on Telegram and on Twitter. “Islamic State fighters carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices on Tuesday, targeting an airport and a central metro station in the center of the Belgian capital Brussels, a country participating in the coalition against the Islamic State,” the statement says. “Islamic State fighters opened fire inside the Zaventem airport, before several of them detonated their explosive belts, as a martyrdom bomber detonated his explosive belt in the Maalbeek metro station.”

29-May-14: Keeping people safe within reason often leads to uncomfortable questions...

Image Source: Calgary Herald

More on the Papal security strategy here. And on Israel's here.

15-May-09: What's really being done to Palestinian Arab Christians?

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to this neighbourhood over the past five days has elicited the usual rush of Israel-critical comment. Frequently based on very partial and distorted views of what actually happens here, there is something sadly consistent about the report flow - an insistent refusal to understand what is being done to the non-Moslem minorities among the Arabs. And that certainly includes among the Palestinian Arabs.

We have copied several Khaled Abu Toameh articles here in the past. He writes with an authentically Palestinian Arab voice, and as a proud Moslem. But unlike the thong of voices emanating from that demographic, Abu Toameh's insights are original and, for most observers, counter-intuitive. Meaning he writes what he believes makes sense, even if it runs strongly counter to the political-correctness winds that are such a problem in this complicated zone.

[To get a sense of what we mean, have a look at Ben White's sadly typical bash of Israel in the Guardian on Monday of this week: "Can the Pope help Christian Palestinians". "A vast majority of locals see the Israeli occupation as the primary reason" for all the problems, says White, expressing the reflexive hostility of many of his reporting brethren.]

In his piece below, written for the Hudson Institute, Khaled Abu Toameh analyzes what's being done to Christian society, and the wrongness of ascribing blame to Israel for the striking drop in the numbers of Christian Arabs living under Palestinian Authority control.

The Beleaguered Christians in Bethlehem

Khaled Abu Toameh, May 2009

Christian families have long been complaining of intimidation and land theft by Muslims, especially those working for the Palestinian Authority.

Many Christians in Bethlehem and the nearby [Christian] towns of Bet Sahour and Bet Jalla have repeatedly complained that Muslims have been seizing their lands either by force or through forged documents.

In recent years, not only has the number of Christians continued to dwindle, but Bethlehem and its surroundings also became hotbeds for Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters and members.

Moreover, several Christian women living in these areas have complained about verbal and sexual assaults by Muslim men.

Over the past few years, a number of Christian businessmen told me that they were forced to shut down their businesses because they could no longer afford to pay "protection" money to local Muslim gangs.

While it is true that the Palestinian Authority does not have an official policy of persecution against Christians, it is also true that this authority has not done enough to provide the Christian population with a sense of security and stability.

In addition, Christians continue to complain about discrimination when it comes to employment in the public sector. Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority 15 years ago, for example, not a single Christian was ever appointed to a senior security post. Although Bethlehem has a Christian mayor, the governor, who is more senior than him, remains a Muslim.

As a Muslim journalist, I am always disgusted and ashamed when I hear from Christians living in the West Bank and Jerusalem about the challenges, threats and assaults that many of them have long been facing.

The reason why I feel like this is because those behind the assaults and threats are almost always Muslims.

For decades, the delicate and complicated issue of relations between Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land was treated by Palestinians as a taboo. Most Palestinians chose to live in denial, ignoring the fact that relations between the Muslim majority and the tiny Christian minority [about 10%] have been witnessing a setback, particularly over the past 15 years.

On the eve of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land, a Christian merchant told me jokingly: "The next time a pope comes to visit the Holy Land, he will have to bring his own priest with him pray in a church because most Christians would have left by then."

Indeed, the number of Christians leaving Bethlehem and other towns and cities appears to be on the rise, according to representatives of the Christian community in Jerusalem.

Today, Christians in Bethlehem constitute less than 15% of the population. Five or six decades ago, the Christians living in the birthplace of Jesus made up more than 70% of the population.

True, Israel's security measures in the West Bank have made living conditions more difficult for all Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike. But to say that these measures are the main and sole reason for the Christian exodus from the Holy Land is misleading.

If the security fence and the occupation were the main reason, the Palestinian territories should by have been empty of both Muslims and Christians. These measures, after all, do not distinguish between Christians and Muslims.

On the other hand, it is also incorrect to assume that the Christians are leaving only because they are afraid of their Muslim neighbors. Christians are leaving because of the poor economy, and because they no longer feel secure in their homes. But they are also leaving because most of them, if not all, find it easier to merge into Christian-dominated societies in the US, Canada, EU and Latin America, where many of them already have relatives and friends.

In fact, Christians began leaving the Holy Land long before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. But the number of those moving to the US and Canada has sharply increased ever since the Palestinian Authority took control over Bethlehem and other Palestinian villages and cities. When the second intifada erupted in September 2000, Christian leaders said they were "terrified" by the large number of Christians who were leaving the country.

Ironically, leaders of the Palestinian Christians are also to blame for the ongoing plight of their people because they refuse to see the reality as it is. And the reality is that many Christians feel insecure and intimidated because of what we Muslims are doing to them and not only because of the bad economy.

When they go on the record, these leaders always insist that Israel and the occupation are the only reason behind the plight of their constituents. They stubbornly refuse to admit that many Christians are being targeted by Muslims. By not talking openly about the problem, the Christian leaders are encouraging the perpetrators to continue their harassment and assaults against Christian families.

And then the day will really come when the pope, on his next visit to the Holy Land, will not find any Christian to welcome him.‭‮

25-Sep-06: On Radical Islam and the Global Economy

Writing his weekly column on economic issues in the Jerusalem Post, the business journalist Pinchas Landau makes some original and worthwhile observations (in an accompanying note he calls them mildly apocalyptic) about Islam and the central role its plays in some relation to certain issues that you find surprising:

Looking back over the outgoing Jewish year, it is plain that the outstanding global events shared a common theme – they all involved radical Islam. These events were (a) the publication of and (belated – the fuss started two months later) uproar over the Mohammed cartoons in Denmark; (b) the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah; (c) the protests following the Pope's reference to Mohammed and his legacy in a lecture last week.

Of these, the last seems to me by far the most important, both in itself and because it confirms and extends the implications arising from the others. This conclusion is being borne out by the fallout from 'the Pope incident', as expresssed in every kind of communications medium – but most especially in the rapidly-growing 'blogosphere'. Whereas the response of the West, primarily its secular majority but also its religious minority, to the cartoons was dominated by confusion, embarrassment and ultimately surrender; and whereas the response of the West to the second Lebanon war was, overwhelmingly, to blame Israel and the Jews for causing trouble; this time is very different... The intensity of the response across the Moslem world tells its own story and reinforces the message from the earlier round of rage, inspired by the Mohammed cartoon.

Ironically, the secular world – from neo-liberals to Marxists to post-modernists – has been more shaken by the Moslem fury that followed 'the Pope incident', than it was by the backlash to the Mohammed cartoons. They and other neutral parties – such as Jews, Protestants and even Hindus – to this clash between Roman Catholicism and Islam seem to grasp implicitly that this is not funny, nor is their traditional dislike of the Catholic Church an excuse for some schadenfreude. On the contrary: people finally realised that there is a global war going on after all, and that, despite all protestations to the contrary, it is about religion.

Until this week, enormous efforts have been expended in 'the West' – a very loose term that in this context includes Japan, Russia and probably even China – to deny that the world has a problem with the extremist versions of Islam, which now dominate the Moslem world and agenda. This epiphanic moment is only partially due to 'the Pope incident' and is probably more the cumulative outcome of all the 'incidents' over the last year and indeed decade.

What has all this to do with the global economy? A great deal, actually. 'The Pope incident' may prove to be the turning-point for Europe, when it finally realises that it has a choice between seeking to preserve the culture it developed over the last 1000-1500 years – which is, at root, a Christian culture – and between rolling over and dying under a Moslem demographic and cultural onslaught. If so, everything now taken for granted by economists – such as the primacy of mainstream socio-economic issues in the political life of 'the West', and especially of European Union countries – goes out of the window. When you are fighting for your national, cultural -- let alone spiritual -- existence, inflation targets and debt: GDP ratios become less, dare one say, sacrosanct.

As for the Israeli economy, the idea that we are in peril has reasserted itself powerfully these last two months and is beginning to impact economic and social policy making. But if 'the Pope incident' proves to be the precursor to an anti-Moslem backlash in Europe, the continent's Jews will surely revert to their historic role of being caught in the middle. Expect, therefore, to hear a lot more French in your neighborhood soon.

The whole column's here.

25-Sep-06: If This is What Religious Tolerance Means, You Can Keep It

Courtesy of the ever-reliable Palestinian Media Watch, here at right is a cartoon that appears in the current (25th September 2006) edition of Al Risala, the official magazine of Hamas, published weekly in Gaza. For the near-sighted or unimaginative, it depicts Pope Benedict XVI brandishing a nazi swastika while wearing a scarf made up American and Danish flags. The Danish connection recalls the cartoons published last year in Denmark, the publication of which so enraged Islamic mobs on every continent that they rioted in the name of tolerance and injured pride, causing many deaths.

In a similar, peace-loving, tolerance-promoting vein, official Palestinian Authority Television, controlled by the 'moderate' Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, went to air this past Friday (22nd September 2006) with coverage of the Friday sermon delivered to the faithful by Hamas religious leader, Osama Al-Mazini. The sermon calls the Pope "criminal and arrogant," "ignorant and stupid," and warns him that his punishment awaits. Allah, the preacher thundered, does not necessarily punish the wicked immediately, but waits "until a day when eyes will stare (in terror)."

"The second message is for the criminal Benedict the 16th, the Vatican Pope. For this ignorant and stupid Pope, who has no one to attack besides Islam and the Prophet [Muhammad], may the Creator have mercy on him and protect him. He [the Pope] characterized Islam as a cruel religion, and characterized Muhammad, may the Creator have mercy on him and protect him, as a cruel man, spilling blood, who strove to kill. This hostile Pope refuses to apologize to Muslims; and, instead of apologizing he blames the Muslims for not understanding, thereby adding crime upon crime. This arrogant Pope sees the Muslims as too inferior that he should apologize to them. To this arrogant Pope - criminal and arrogant - this message is from Allah the Elevated and the Exalted, as it was said: 'Think not that Allah is unaware of what the wicked do. He but gives them a respite until a day when eyes will stare (in terror).' [Sura14:42]"

BBC World meanwhile leads this evening's news bulletins with a story headed: "Pope stresses respect for Muslims".

Pope Benedict XVI has expressed "total and profound respect" for the Muslim faith, as he attempts to defuse a row between Islam and the Catholic Church. He made the remarks in a meeting with envoys from the Muslim world, weeks after a speech in Germany prompted an angry reaction by some Muslims... In the space of just half an hour, the pontiff made a brief speech to envoys before greeting them individually, but there was no general discussion. Muslim leaders had been demanding an unequivocal apology from the Pope for his words. Ambassadors from 21 countries and a representative from the Arab League attended, as well as Islamic representatives in Italy... "I would like today to stress my total and profound respect for all Muslims," the Pope said in the speech. He called for "sincere and respectful dialogue", adding that Christians and Muslims alike must reject all forms of violence and respect religious liberty. Correspondents say the latter was a reference to restrictions on the church's activity in some Muslim countries. "Since the beginning of my pontificate I have had occasion to express my wish to continue to establish bridges of friendship with believers of all religions, showing particularly my appreciation in the belief in dialogue between Muslims and Christians... The inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims is, in effect, a vital necessity, on which a large part of our future depends."
But in a BBC interview, the ambassador of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, pointed out that the Pope had not referred directly to the speech which sparked the controversy. "We had hoped that there would have been a dialogue, but that was not the case," Bambang Prayitno said. "There was no dialogue between the Pope and the guests... In general, we were actually a bit surprised that the meeting was a short one and just like that."
...The [Pope's offending 14th Century] quote says: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." The Pope said his real intention had been to "explain that religion and violence do not go together, but religion and reason do".

Far be it from us to criticize the Vatican's foreign relations strategy, but if we were Catholics, we would be cringing with embarrassment and purple with humiliation.

19-Sep-06: For the Birds

And now a bonus for our loyal readers. Click here to get Aljazeera's insight into what the Pope really had in mind when he made his scholarly speech in Germany last week. It's not every day the rest of us get to view a page that's written entirely in Arabic and still manage to understand most of it. On reflection, "understand" might not be quite the right word, but the message they want to convey is straight-forward enough. Tip: the page is animated and slow, so be prepared to stick around for a minute or so while it runs its course.

18-Sep-06: Rare Moslem Voice: "Islamic Moderates Have Given In... They Will Be The Primary Victims"

As we said earlier, we're waiting for your invited contributions quoting Moslem leaders' calls for tolerance, forebearance, non-violence, understanding. Hello, is this mike working? Hello? Hello? Maybe our email is down.

Ah, here's one... and a very powerful and articulate one at that: Magdi Allam (pictured right) is an Egyptian-born Moslem, raised in Italy, and one of the leading journalists in Italy today. Deputy Editor of Corriere della Sera, one of Italy's leading newspapers, and an Arab and Islamic affairs commentator, he's an author as well as a prolific journalist and editor. Allam has consistently spoken out against extremism and in favour of tolerance and is one of the leaders in the fight for coexistence between civilizations. He has said: "A positive dialogue with moderate Islam is both possible and necessary". How tragic that he's so notable for having said such an obvious thing.

The Historical Truth

By Magdi Allam in the Corriere della Sera (September 15, 2006)

It is sad and worrying that Muslims have given birth to an international united front to attack the Pope and ask for public apologies. From Bin Laden to the Muslim Brotherhood, from Pakistan to Turkey, from al-Jazeera to al-Arabiya, the transversal and universal alliance, which has already come into being following the Danish cartoons affair, has reappeared, reaffirming very clearly that the root of evil is like a blind and prevailing ideology which outrages the faith and darkens the minds of many Muslims.

Why do not Muslims, especially the so-called moderates, react with such strength and intensity against the real and eternal desecrators of Islam ­ that is, the Islamic terrorists who kill other Muslims in the name of the same God, radical Muslims who legitimize the destruction of Israel and brainwash ordinary Muslims into martyrdom? Why do they now believe they must start a kind of Islamic "holy war" against the head of the [Catholic] Church who has the right to respectfully express his views about Islam, all the while with clarity on the evident difference between the two religions?

The pope's quoting the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus, regarding the expansion of Islam through the sword, either during the time of Mohammed and on the Arab Peninsula and after him, elsewhere, underlines an undeniable historical truth. The Quran itself states it; furthermore, the forced conversion of the entire Byzantine Empire, to Islam in the East and South of Mediterranean, and the further expansion northwards in Europe and Eastwards in Asia, demonstrates the point made by the Byzantine Emperor.

It is foolish to deny the truth, as it can only cause deranged reaction. In the mid-Nineties one of the most prominent scholars of Islamic studies, the Egyptian Mohammed said al-Ashmawi, told me that he did not approve the Arab tribes' military conquest of Christian lands in the Mediterranean and that he would have preferred Islam to expand peacefully, like it did in South-Eastern Asia.

The Pope is threatened because he has said things that every single honest and rational Muslim should accept: the historical truth.

Time has come for both the West and Christianity to stop thinking that they are the source of all that happens ­ good or evil ­ within Islam as well as around the world. The ideology of hate is an ancestral reality at the core of Islam; it has been so since its inception, due to its' refusal to recognize and respect the plurality of religious communities ­ a natural thing since in Islam the relationship between the believer and God is personal and there is no unique spiritual guide who embodies the absolute dogmas of faith. In fact, since the defeat of the Arab armies in the June 5th, 1967 war, the situation has been worsening while Islamic extremism has been on the rise starting from Iran to Indonesia, to the point where the advance of global Islamic terrorism has turned the West into a "Kamikaze factory".

This is the tragic truth of the ideology of hate which binds all Muslims who are obsessed with anti-Americanism, anti-West and the prejudicial denial of Israel's right to exist. They are able to find many pretexts to rage ­ from Israeli occupation, to the U.S.-led coalition into Iraq, to the cartoons about Mohammed and even the Pope's words. Nevertheless the problem is at the root of Islam itself, an Islam which extremists turned from a faith in God into an ideology aiming for a theocratic and totalitarian order to impose on everyone who is not like them. And I am really scared when I realize that even the so-called moderates have given in to a "holy war" where they will be the primary victims.

The search for rational, reasonable Moslem voices goes on. But this one needs to get circulated far and wide.

18-Sep-06: Who's Behind the Pope's Attack on Islam? The Iranians Know

Since we're all currently ruminating on how threatened the world's billion or so Moslems are by the recent words of the Pope quoting the 600 year-old words of an obscure Catholic philosopher, we're indebted to Tom Gross for getting to the rootest of root causes.

Iranian newspapers says U.S. and Israel behind pope’s comments

The Iranian daily Jomhuri Islami claimed that Israel and the United States dictated the pope's comments to distract attention from the recent war between Israel and Hizbullah.

The newspaper commented that "the reality is that if we do not consider Pope Benedict XVI to be ignorant of Islam, then his remarks against Islam are a dictat that the Zionists and the Americans have written (for him) and have submitted to him... The American and the Zionist aim is to undermine the glorious triumph of Islam's children of Lebanese Hizbullah, which annulled the undefeatable legend of the Israeli army and foiled the Satanic and colonialist American plot."

Another Iranian daily newspaper, Kayhan, argued that "There are many signs that show that Pope Benedict XVI's remarks regarding the great prophet of Islam are a link in a connected chain of a Zionist-American project... The project, which was created and executed by the Zionist minority, aims at creating confrontation between the followers of the two great divine religions."

As we learned from the tragic affair of the Danish cartoons, this is all far from being a joke. People die when the Moslem mobs are unleashed.

18-Sep-06: "We shall break the cross and spill the wine..."

They're getting more rational by the minute...

Qaeda-led group vows "jihad" over Pope's speech

Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:04am ET173
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group led by al Qaeda vowed a war against the "worshippers of the cross" in response to a recent speech by Pope Benedict on Islam that sparked anger across the Muslim world. "We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said an Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda.
"We shall break the cross and spill the wine... God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. ... God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen," said the statement. It was posted on Sunday on an Internet site often used by al Qaeda and other militant groups. Pope Benedict said on Sunday he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a Medieval quotation on Islam and violence. The remarks outraged Muslims and triggered protests and attacks on churches in several Arab towns.
Another militant group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, also vowed to fight Christians in retaliation.
"You will only see our swords until you go back to God's true faith Islam," it said in a separate Internet statement. Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups have staged suicide bombings and killings of foreign forces and members of the U.S.-allied government and security forces.

We're preparing a separate blog entry for the myriads, the reams, the torrents of Moslem voices from all over the globe calling for restraint, understanding, forebearance, patience and tolerance. If you come across such a voice, we'll be glad if you'd share it with us.

Finally for readers who ask: What's this affair got to do with this ongoing war? Everything.

18-Sep-06: Don't Get Into a Philosophical Argument with These People

Here's what happens when you have a philosophical disagreement with Islamic mobs. So imagine what it means to have a really life-and-death existential struggle over land, history, religion, everything.

AP/Washington Post
Palestinian Muslims Attack Five Christian Churches - Ali Daraghmeh

Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, following remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that angered many Muslims. The attacks left church doors charred and walls pockmarked with bullet holes and scorched by firebombs. At least five firebombs hit Nablus' Anglican church and firebombings left black scorch marks on the walls and windows of Greek Orthodox churches as well. Later Saturday, four masked gunmen doused the main doors of Nablus' Roman and Greek Catholic churches with lighter fluid, then set them afire. They also opened fire on the buildings. In Gaza City, militants opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church. Explosive devices were set off at the same Gaza church on Friday.
George Awad, a cleric at the Greek Orthodox church in Nablus, said he and other Christians have apologized for the pope's remarks and urged Muslims to use restraint. "There is no reason to burn our churches," he said.

Nun killed after Pope's speech

The attack may have been in response to the remarks. Meanwhile, the pope says he is sorry for the anger he sparked.
Associated Press and Los Angeles Times
MOGADISHU, Somalia - An elderly Italian nun who devoted her life to helping the sick in Africa was shot dead by two gunmen at a hospital Sunday in an attack possibly linked to worldwide Muslim anger toward Pope Benedict XVI and his recent comments on Islam.
Sister Leonella, 65, was shot in the back four times by pistol-wielding attackers as she left the Austrian-run S.O.S. hospital. Her bodyguard was also slain.

Shots fired at Oslo synagogue - police

17 Sep 2006 09:45:29 GMT
Source: Reuters
OSLO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Norwegian police said gunshots were fired at a synagogue in Oslo early on Sunday, the national news agency NTB reported.
It said armed police had sealed off the area around the synagogue in central Oslo. It did not report any injuries from the incident at around 2.30 a.m. (0030 GMT).
"We have searched the area with police dogs to secure any evidence, but we have still not found the perpetrator," police official Bjoern Oelstad was quoted as saying by NTB.
Norwegian police were not immediately available to comment.
The Mosaic Religious Community, which owns the synagogue, had asked for better protection of its property following threats and after the site was vandalised in early August.

Gazans warn pope to accept Islam

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Citing the words of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslim religious leaders in the Gaza Strip on Sunday warned Pope Benedict XVI that he must "accept" Islam if he wanted to live in peace.
The warning, the first of its kind, came as many Christians in the West Bank expressed anger over a spate of attacks on churches in protest against remarks made by the pope about the Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad.
Two more churches in the West Bank were targeted on Sunday in protest against the pope's remarks, bringing to seven the number of churches that have been attacked over the past three days.
In Tulkarm, arsonists set fire to the only Orthodox church in the area, causing heavy damage to the 150-year-old structure. Local residents said the attack occurred shortly after 4 a.m, when a number of assailants forced their way into the church and tossed several fire bombs into the building.
Some Christian families said they were living in fear because of the attacks and called on the Palestinian Authority to do its utmost to protect churches and Christians.
At a press conference in Gaza City, a number of Muslim clerics said the pope's statements were "the result of his hatred for Islam and not the result of ignorance."
One of them, Dr. Imad Hamto, called on the pope to "repent and ask for forgiveness." He added: "We want to use the words of the Prophet Muhammad and tell the pope: 'Aslim Taslam'" Aslim Taslam is a phrase that was taken from the letters sent by the Prophet Muhammad to the chiefs of tribes in his times in which he reportedly urged them to convert to Islam to spare their lives.
Some Muslim scholars, however, have endorsed a more moderate interpretation of the term, arguing that its real meaning was that those who surrendered to the will of God would find peace.
Hamto and his colleagues accused Christians of "resorting to the power of the sword in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine."
They also called on the pope to direct his words to the Jews who, they claimed, were "spreading corruption and destruction."

Islam Peaceful, Pope Deserves Reactions (Turkey)

Who says we're violent?

By Karina Dunger and Andrew Carswell
September 18, 2006 12:00
The Daily Telegraph
MUSLIM fanatics burned an effigy of the Pope, a Catholic nun was shot dead and terrorist organisation al-Qaeda called for holy war as protesters against Benedict XVI's comments linking Islam with violence resorted to just that.
Elderly Italian nun Sister Leonella was shot at a children's hospital in the Islamist-controlled Somali capital in an attack linked to the Pope's comments last week linking Islam to violence.
Two gunman entered the Austrian-funded SOS Hospital in Mogadishu's Huriwa District on Sunday and ambushed the nun, opening fire with pistols before killing a Somali bodyguard and escaping in the ensuing confusion, witnesses said.
In the Shi'ite city of Basra in Iraq, about 150 demonstrators demanding an apology by the Pope burnt his effigy. The agitators also burned German, US, and Israeli flags.
"No to aggression! We gagged the Pope!," the angry crowd chanted. The protest was organised by supporters of hardline Shi'ite cleric Mahmoud Al Hasani, who demanded the Pope and the Vatican be put on trial under UN Security Council resolutions.

As the Telegraph says: Who says they're violent? Anyone who says they're violent gets a bullet in the head, so shuddup already.

17-Sep-06: Did He or Didn't He? Meet the Press.

Trafalgar Square: "Soothing Moslem Rage"

One speech, followed by one press statement. And another Rashomon moment.

So... did the Pope apologize? Does the Pope regret he made his comments? Or certain passages from the comments? Or the reactions, or the hurt feelings, or the offence to Islam?

All of these versions of his state of mind and of his press announcement can be found in the media this morning - along with all their mutual contradictions.

Pay particular attention to the headlines below - that's all that many people read.

One might imagine that the reporters, editors and headline writers could agree on the correct interpretation of a simple very well-publicized speech and announcement. But like almost everything else on their pages and in their stories, there's a significant element of personal agenda, of prejudice, of ignorance and of politics.

In other words, exactly what we see every day in the media's reporting of this ongoing war.

Pope sorry his Islam speech found offensive
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Saturday the Pope was sorry Muslims had been offended by a speech whose meaning had been misconstrued, but Morocco withdrew its ambassador as anger at his words flared on. "The Holy Father thus sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement. [Reuters]

Pope Apologizes for Offense Caused by Islam Comments
By Flavia Krause-Jackson and Andrew Frye
Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI apologized today for causing offense to Muslims with comments he made in a university lecture this week implicitly linking Islam to violence, and reiterated his respect for the Islamic religion. The apology, on the Vatican Web site, comes after Muslim groups worldwide protested and Pakistan's parliament called on the pontiff to issue a retraction. Some Muslims welcomed the apology, with others saying it might not go far enough. [Bloomberg News]

Pope sorry, says Vatican
Rashmee Roshan Lall 17 Sep, 2006 0043hrs
LONDON: The Vatican said on Saturday the Pope is 'very sorry' and 'deeply upset' that his remarks on Islam offended Muslims but press and public opinion throughout Europe indicated Benedict XVI may need to say the words himself to stamp out the spreading flames of fury. [Times of India]

Pope Stops Short of Apology to Muslims
By FRANCES D'EMILIO : Associated Press Writer
Sep 17, 2006 : 12:44 am ET
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI "sincerely regrets" offending Muslims with his reference to an obscure medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman," the Vatican said Saturday. But the statement stopped short of the apology demanded by Islamic leaders around the globe, and anger among Muslims remained intense. Palestinians attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza over the pope's remarks Tuesday in a speech to university professors in his native Germany. [Associated Press]

Vatican fails to appease Muslims
Posted on Sun, Sep. 17, 2006
Statement explaining pope’s remarks doesn’t quell protests; five churches firebombed
From Wire Reports
CAIRO, Egypt — The Vatican issued a mildly worded apology Saturday after remarks by Pope Benedict XVI outraged Muslims around the world. But protests continued, including firebombing of churches in the Palestinian territories. The pope “sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful,” Deputy Pope Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said. The pope meant only to stress his “clear and radical rejection of religiously motivated violence,” Bertone said. [The State, South Carolina]

Pope says sorry for ‘offending’ Muslims
VATICAN CITY, Sept 16: The Vatican said on Saturday Pope Benedict was sorry that Muslims had been offended by a speech whose meaning had been misconstrued, but Morocco withdrew its ambassador as anger at his words flared on. “The Holy Father thus sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement. But Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood rejected the the statement. “This (saying sorry) does not constitute an apology. The Vatican Secretary of State says that the pope is sorry because his statements had been badly interpreted, but there is no bad interpretation,” Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a senior official, said. “The pope made a mistake, he must recognise his mistake and apologise.” [DAWN, Pakistan]

Palestinians open fire inside Nablus church
The Vatican issued a statement Saturday saying that the pope was "extremely sorry" for the offence his comments had caused.

Pope says he `regrets' Islam comments
CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL: Despite assurances from the Vatican that Benedict XVI respected Islam, many prominent Muslims worldwide were critical of the pontiff
AP , VATICAN CITY
Sunday, Sep 17, 2006,Page 6
Pope Benedict XVI "sincerely regrets" that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said yesterday amid demands for apologies from much of the Islamic world and some reports of violence. The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said... The pope "thus sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement. "Indeed it was he who, before the religious fervor of Muslim believers, warned secularized Western culture to guard against 'the contempt for God and the cynicism that considers mockery of the sacred to be an exercise of freedom,"' Bertone said, citing words from another speech that Benedict gave during the German trip. The cardinal's statement stopped short of any apology for what the pope said. [Associated Press]

Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam
Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry that a speech in which he referred to Islam has offended Muslims. In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words. [BBC]

Pope apologises but more needed: Muslim groups
Agence France-Presse
Vatican City, September 17, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI's statement, that he regretted causing any offence to Muslims fell short of an apology, Islamic groups said... The head of the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday said he "sincerely regretted" that he may have offended Muslims, but stopped short of retracting his words. The Muslim world seethed with fury over Pope's comments, which critics said linked violence and Islam. Reacting to Pope's statement, Muslim groups in Egypt said Benedict had not been sufficiently contrite. "This is not an apology. The Vatican secretary seems content to confirm that the Pope is sorry because his remarks were misinterpreted. But they were not misinterpreted," said Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood group. "Pope made a mistake, he must recognise it and apologise," he added. In Jordan, Zaki bin Arshid, general secretary of the Islamic Action Front—one of the country's most influential political parties—said Benedict's comments on Saturday were "a step in the right direction, but not enough". "The apologies must be accompanied by clear and calming letters," he continued, adding, "if Pope's declarations were just an error, then an apology will be sufficient." But he continued that he hoped the remarks made in the speech were "not the Pope's or the Roman Catholic Church's real views, because then the situation would be very serious." [AFP]

17 September 2006
POPE 'SO SORRY' FOR MUSLIM OUTRAGE
By Vincent Moss Political Editor
THE Pope said sorry yesterday after Muslims erupted in fury over his comments on Islam. Pope Benedict XVI sparked global outrage by quoting an ancient text linking the Prophet Mohammed with "evil and inhuman" things. [Sunday Mirror, UK]

Pope Benedict XVI Apologizes for Offending Muslims
Pope Benedict XVI apologized for causing any offence to Muslims following the furious reaction across the Islamic world over a speech where the Pope linked Islam and violence. [Toronto Daily News]

Sadly, the street mobs won't, in the end, care much whether he apologized or regretted; whether he took back his words or clarified them; whether he didn't mean to offend or whether he was conducting a crusade. Mobs don't respond to press statements. They're out there on the streets, serving the ambitions and political agendas of the religious and secular leaders who pull their strings, delivering a message of hatred, intolerance and threat.

A pity the editors, reporters, photographers and headline writers don't seem able to capture that insight.

30-Jul-06: A double standard

We are saddened by the news of the innocent women and children killed killed today in Qana.

We know first hand the pain that the death of a child inflicts on the entire family. Five years after our precious daughter was murdered, the grief is raw.

We are certain that some of those who have expressed their sorrow today over the Lebanese deaths did so out of genuine compassion for the victims.

However, let's be brutally honest. Many of those who claim to be outraged and distressed today over the unnecessary loss of life are thrilled at the opportunity to join in the bash-Israel free-for-all.

When the innocent women and children are Israelis, the reactions heard 'round the world are few, tempered and carefully "balanced" so that they include rebuke of the victim, Israel, as well.

A case in point is the suicide bombing of August 9, 2001, where our Malki died.

On that day, fifteen innocent people - most of them children - were murdered. A sixteenth person, a young mother, remains unconscious until today. More than 130 people, most of them women and children, were mutilated and maimed but survived.

On that day, Kofi Anan could not even trouble himself to face any journalists. His spokesman was sent to read his statement that he deplores not only the act in question but "all acts of terror" - code words, as we know, for acts by Israel against terror organizations.

On that day, the Belgian EU Presidency unreservedly condemned the bombing and abhorred the cowardly act which"mainly claimed the lives of innocent civilians." Of course, every last one of the Israeli victims was innocent. But apparently the EU head found that a bit hard to digest. Presumably he was bemoaning the loss of the life of the murderer himself.

On that day, Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian "hero", and now Israel's most molly-coddled murderer-prisoner, said the following:

"Attacks like today's are "the only way to end the occupation of Palestinian territories. This is a decision that the whole Palestinian people agree upon."

On that day, the Pope said nothing.

On that day, the Security Council of the United Nations did not convene.

The massacre at the Sbarro restaurant did not take place in a building adjacent to rocket launchers or in the vicinity of any other weapons of war. There were no militants and no soldiers in the targeted building.

And there was certainly no warning issued to the customers to vacate the building in advance of the attack.

In that massacre, one entire family was decimated. Mother, father and three of seven children perished.

In that attack, an American couple's only child, pregnant with their first grandchild-to-be, perished.

Does anyone still believe there is one standard for both sides of this conflict?