Islamists make excuses for genocide in Darfur

Al-Hayat Columnist: "The Lobby to Save Darfur" is Just a Nickname for the Israel Lobby
Jihad Al-Khazen, former editor and now columnist for the London daily Al-Hayat, claimed that the Israel lobby is exploiting the victims of Darfur in order to divert the world's attention from crimes being committed in Palestine and Iraq:

"In New York, Darfur is the most important issue in the world... In the subway tunnels and the streets, there are thousands of posters screaming 'genocide' and '400,000 people dead,' and there are ads in the newspapers and on television. The save-Darfur lobby claims that it includes 180 organizations representing 130 million Americans, and that its aim is to pressure Congress and the administration to stop this 'genocide' and punish the Khartoum government.

"Darfur is a terrible humanitarian disaster that should not be played down, and I myself am not doing so. However, the U.N. itself said that [only] 200,000 have been killed and that what has been done [in Darfur] was war crimes, not genocide.

"I choose to believe the U.N. rather than the save-Darfur lobby, because [the save-Darfur lobby] is just a nickname for the Israel lobby. [Its] goal is to divert attention from Israel's crimes, or from the disaster of the war in Iraq.

"The U.S. war in Iraq has killed, according to a medical estimate, 655,000 Iraqis. That is, more than three times the number of dead in Darfur, and perhaps five times, if we believe the higher estimate of nearly one million victims. Yet we do not see posters in New York for the Iraqi victims, nor read about 'genocide' or a [hear any] call to punish the war cabal on charges of genocide, or at the least for war crimes...

"In Darfur, the victims are Muslims. There are 200,000 Muslims killed by Muslims. This lobby, whether of Israel or Darfur, does not defend them. It uses them as a smokescreen to obscure the other crimes stretching from Palestine to Iraq. The Israel lobby has, after all, been very active in the pursuit of war and still [continues to] defend it - that is, it still supports the killing of young American [soldiers] in an unjustified war to protect Israel's security.

"Thus, the U.S. press is not interested [in Darfur] because the victims are Arabs and Muslims; [rather], the lobby's [aim is] to prevent any in-depth discussion and to divert the attention from the crimes being committed every day in Palestine and Iraq."

Senior Qatari Journalist: There is No Ethnic Cleansing in Darfur
Sudanese journalist Babker 'Issa, editor of the Qatari daily Al-Raya, also expressed suspicion over the U.S.'s motives in Darfur:

"The American public is showing extraordinary interest in the events in Darfur. The American administration shares this interest, as though the events [in Darfur] are meant to hide America's incompetence in Iraq, to divert attention away from Israel's actions in the occupied territories… or to disguise the daily massacres being committed in Somalia… We all know that the U.S. is pursuing its own interests in the world... and that there is no dimension of morality in American policy…

"The popular and official American interest in Darfur is exaggerated, especially as there is no ethnic cleansing being perpetrated [there, contra to] what is said in the American media and in official speeches. We acknowledge that great instability has taken hold in Darfur in the course of clashes between the Sudanese government, rebel movements and the Janjaweed - but this can not be described as ethnic cleansing or as mass annihilation of the African tribes...

"In addition, the steps taken by the American administration and the British government against Khartoum, while ignoring the rebel forces who refused [to sign] the Abuja agreement, are cause for wonder."

"...In an article titled "The Arabs and the Racist Indifference towards the Tragedy in Darfur" in the UAE daily Al-Ittihad, Palestinian intellectual and researcher Khaled Al-Kharoub harshly condemned the indifference of the Arab media and intellectuals towards the events in Darfur:
"Hardly any of us is innocent of the racist indifference towards the crimes against humanity that have been committed [in Darfur] in the last four years, in full view of the Arabs and the Muslims. This issue hardly receives any attention in [our] media... Our media, our writers, and our intellectuals (myself included) - whether in the satellite [TV channels] and the written press or at [various] conventions and academic conferences - devote minimal attention to Darfur, to the daily developments and [ongoing] crimes being committed there. Many are content to take a narrow and despicable [approach], shrilly repeating the old familiar [claim that the entire affair is] a Western plot against Sudan... If [the whole affair] is indeed a Western plot, and all of us (including the Sudanese government, of course) have 'exposed' it, then why is [the Sudanese government], up to this very moment, exacerbating [the crisis] and contributing to the perpetuation of the daily bloodbath?...

"What is happening in Darfur is an ongoing disaster. The body count [in Darfur] at the end of the day is sometimes higher than in Iraq, Palestine, and all the other Arab countries put together. The victims of Darfur are nameless statistics... How can we - not only as Arabs and Muslims but as human beings - take such a conciliatory [approach] towards this affair, with so many [people] being killed every day? [How can we] ignore the number of victims? Are not human dignity and human life the most sacred values by to every criterion, every holy book, and every faith on the face of the planet? Our conscience (and above all my own) needs shock therapy until it wakes up and says: No to the cheap taking of life in Darfur!

"Stopping the cycle of violence in Darfur is a goal of supreme [importance] that must be achieved quickly. Why has [human] life become so cheap and valueless? This goal must be achieved, through [intervention] of U.N., African or Western forces. The claim that the sovereignty [of Sudan] is sacred, and must be protected even at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, is a stupid and weak claim. A country and government that allows 200,000 of its citizens to be murdered on its own soil within four years - and even takes part in the chain of killing - must be held accountable.

"All of us who read, write and take part in the [shaping of] so-called Arab public opinion [must be considered] accomplices to the crime... We must hear the [cries of] anguish rising from Darfur and empathize with the [victims'] suffering. [We must] try to reach out and help, raise our voices in condemnation and demand that the governments in the region - which are even more complicit than we - undertake effective action. The respectable Arab League, which is quicker to defend the sovereignty of governments than the sovereignty of peoples, is also guilty... We must place the good of peoples before the good of governments, and prefer people to live instead of [letting them] die while we keep silent in the face of their murderers' [crimes]. Indeed, it may even be said that we are taking a hand in their murder."

Kuwaiti Columnist Dr. Khaled Al-Janfawi: "How Have We Arabs and Muslims [Managed to] Deteriorate to Such a Degree that the Suffering and Distress of Others Pass Before Our Eyes as Though They Were Nothing?"

In an article in the daily Al-Siyassa, Kuwaiti columnist Dr. Khaled Al-Janfawi condemned the Arab world's lack of empathy towards the victims of Darfur, and commended the involvement of the international community:
Moroccan Columnist: The Tyranny of the Sudanese Regime, Its Despotism, Its Exclusion of the Other, and Its Defiled Thinking Are the Reasons for Sudan's Problems

'Asasi Abd Al-Hamid, Moroccan Berber columnist for the reformist website http://www.rezgar.com/, mocked the Sudanese foreign minister's declaration accusing the Jews of inventing the Darfur crisis:

"'It is the Jews who were behind the invention of the Darfur crisis,' claimed Sudanese Foreign minister Mustapha 'Othman Isma'il in a statement to the international press, publicly accusing the Jews of being behind the Darfur crisis. He added that he had solid proof of the truth of his words.

"Statements of this kind do not amaze, especially from a senior [figure] like the Sudanese foreign minister - indeed, we have already become accustomed to them. Whenever the fascist Arab regimes fail in developing their countries and in providing wellbeing and security for their citizens, they project their failures on those whom Allah condemned, and first of all the Jews. Whenever these regimes - which are haunted by a single specter and by perverted Salafist thought - are powerless to provide a life of dignity to their peoples, they blame their historic enemies - and who are these but the dastardly Jews...

"Sixteen million Jews are responsible for all the crises... - from Malaysia in the east to Casablanca in the west - which afflict the nation of the Merciful [Allah] numbering 1.5 billion. Is it logical that such a tiny number of Jews, comparable to a miniscule point in a broad lake, [can] hold such a [great] measure of craftiness, cunning, and evil that it can shock the security of the countries in the region?...

"[I tell you,] Mustapha 'Othman: Sudan's problems - particularly the Darfur crisis - are the consequence of the tyrannical regime that has risen to power in Khartoum time and again, [and are the consequence] of your [regime's] inability to formulate a serious plan for comprehensive development in which the citizen will be a partner, and of the failure to give the [various] regions of Sudan the possibility of conducting their own affairs under a regional government that respects the uniqueness of each region.

"Your [regime's] tyranny and despotism, [its] exclusion of the other, and [its] defiled thinking are the reasons [for Sudan's problems]. Therefore, it is no wonder that you state that the Jews are working to divide Sudan, are striving to spread AIDS amongst the youth, are planning to poison the Nile in order to destroy your [regime], and are engaged in conspiring against [it].

Source: MEMRI

Khamenei: Iran leading nations against US

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Monday that his country was leading the world's nations in their confrontation against the US, Iranian state television reported.
Khamenei's comments came exactly one week before US and Iranian ambassadors are scheduled to meet in Baghdad to discuss the security situation in Iraq, providing one more reason to question whether the upcoming talks will be productive.

"In the field of confrontation of nations against the arrogant system of the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a command center for the nations' front," the television quoted Khamenei as saying while meeting a group of students.

Iran's leader, who has final say over all state matters, said his country's 1979 Islamic revolution sent shock waves through the international system because it produced a country willing to challenge the US.

Jerusalem Post Story

Iran looks like a fun place to live

Maybe we should send Nancy Pilosi, Ted Kennedy, and Hillary Clinton...

The face of the enemy

These are the people Hillary thinks will leave us alone just as soon as she gets elected and we all get to live in peace. Do you think they're ready to lay down their guns? Do you believe they lack the desire and conviction to kill you? They are coming, regardless of the excuses, regardless of our foreign policy. They've been trained since birth to hate us. For them to die while killing us gives them their greatest reward. We cannot waiver, we cannot rest and we cannot allow the cowards who will pretend they don't exist to dictate our actions.

And when they came for me there was silence, for there was no one left to speak

Islam: Religion or cult?

Al Qaeda's New Enemy

Al Qaeda's terrorists in Iraq now face a new enemy: Sunni tribesmen in Anbar Province. These tribal leaders in the heart of the insurgency are now backing coalition and Iraqi forces against the terrorists.You want good news from Iraq? There it is, in flashing neon.
These Anbar leaders aren't just jawing. Thousands of Sunnis have rushed to join local police forces, with tribal leaders' encouragement. "The progress has inspired an optimism in the American command that, among some officials, borders on giddiness," The New York Times reported. "There are some people who would say we've won the war out here," one Marine officer said.

That's a phrase you don't hear often in Iraq.While the Sunni tribal leaders probably haven't developed a sudden fondness for U.S. forces, they have apparently developed a deep disgust for the Al Qaeda agenda. The Sunnis don't want what Al Qaeda is peddling: a soul-crushing fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship.About a year ago, Army Col. Sean MacFarland began exploiting that split. He defied conventional wisdom by negotiating with a group of Sunni sheiks to fight Al Qaeda, according to USA Today. He built small, more vulnerable combat outposts in Ramadi's most dangerous neighborhood to expel insurgents and provide security. "I was going the wrong way down a one-way street," MacFarland told the newspaper.

Turns out it was the right way. Violence is down in Ramadi and the surrounding province. MacFarland's alliance has ultimately expanded to include more than 200 sheiks, the paper reported. The tribes started attacking Al Qaeda leaders on U.S. target lists.A rare success story? Yes. Like everything else in Iraq, caution is advised. The tribal elders might change sides again. The notion of a Sunni-U.S. alliance may not translate to other parts of Iraq, especially Baghdad. And Al Qaeda is still fighting. On Monday, for example, two suicide car bombers attacked a market and a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Ramadi, killing 13 people. "They committed this crime because we have identified their hideouts and we are chasing them," a Sunni police officer told The Associated Press.Many in Congress and across America will say any progress in Iraq is too little too late. They believe, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said, that the war is lost.But it is not.

In a recent op-ed in The Times, Owen West, a major in the Marine Reserve who has served two tours in Iraq, said that after years of failed strategies, the military "is finally making meaningful adjustments to the complex fight." Iraq can be solved, he suggests, but only by military and political strategies that complement one another. His suggestion: Double the size of the Iraqi army. Starting this fall, Iraqi units with American advisers would take the lead in fighting what he calls "a law enforcement war."

American troops could be embedded with bulked-up Iraqi units -- even as the U.S. force level declines.It's an intriguing idea. And the success in Ramadi is encouraging. But no strategy can work if Iraq's leaders don't meet the political and economic benchmarks that confront the government. Some of those benchmarks may be enshrined in a new U.S. military spending bill that the president and Congress are negotiating. That's an excellent idea: It dials up the pressure on Iraqi leaders to act.One thing we know: No compromise bill will include a timetable for withdrawing troops; that's a deal-breaker for President Bush.But there is a deadline of sorts for widespread, tangible progress. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, says we'll know by fall if the troop surge is working. That's when Petraeus has promised Congress a progress report. Rep. John Boehner, a key Republican House leader from Ohio, said Sunday that if the surge strategy has not yielded results by autumn, Congress will demand a "Plan B."But many Democrats are impatient. They may push a stopgap spending bill that would fund combat operations only through midsummer. The rest of the money would be withheld pending a progress report.In a Web video posted last weekend, Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, declared victory in Iraq. He pointed to the withdrawal timetables in the bill that Congress passed and President Bush vetoed.He's wrong. That's not proof of defeat; it's proof of growing American impatience.

Mustering more patience is a herculean effort for many Americans. But the surge strategy deserves a fair chance through the summer to work. Anbar suggests that a change in strategy can bring a welcome change in results.Remember: Al Qaeda doesn't have a Plan B.

Original Story

No question Iraqi terrorists are supported by Iran and Syria

Here is video of an Iraqi terrorist admitting to receiving aid from Iran and Syria. Despite what the media would have you belive, we are fighting a proxy war with Iran and Syria rather then a civil war. We cannot win because we have so far refused to take the fight to the real enemy.

The motivation of a wouldbe martyr

The Hitler of our time tells us his plan, why aren't we listening?

It's 1938 and Iran is Germany

Wake up and listen Europe and America

Will you be allowed to practice your religion under islamic law?

America under Muslim law?

Unlike many religions, Islam includes a mandatory and highly specific legal and political plan for society called Sharia (pronounced "sha-rée-uh"), which translates approximately as "way" or "path." The precepts of Sharia are derived from the commandments of the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and precedents of Muhammad as found in the reliable hadiths and the Sira). Together, the Quran and the Sunnah establish the dictates of Sharia, which is the blueprint for the good Islamic society. Because Sharia originates with the Quran and the Sunnah, it is not optional. Sharia is the legal code ordained by Allah for all mankind. To violate Sharia or not to accept its authority is to commit rebellion against Allah, which Allah's faithful are required to combat.
There is no separation between the religious and the political in Islam; rather Islam and Sharia constitute a comprehensive means of ordering society at every level. While it is in theory possible for an Islamic society to have different outward forms -- an elective system of government, a hereditary monarchy, etc. -- whatever the outward structure of the government, Sharia is the prescribed content. It is this fact that puts Sharia into conflict with forms of government based on anything other than the Quran and the Sunnah.
The precepts of Sharia may be divided into two parts:
1. Acts of worship (al-ibadat), which includes:
Ritual Purification (Wudu)Prayers (Salah)Fasts (Sawm and Ramadan)Charity (Zakat)Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
2. Human interaction (al-muamalat), which includes:
Financial transactionsEndowmentsLaws of inheritanceMarriage, divorce, and child careFood and drink (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)Penal punishmentsWar and peaceJudicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)
As one may see, there are few aspects of life that Sharia does not specifically govern. Everything from washing one's hands to child-rearing to taxation to military policy fall under its dictates. Because Sharia is derivate of the Quran and the Sunnah, it affords some room for interpretation. But upon examination of the Islamic sources (see above), it is apparent that any meaningful application of Sharia is going to look very different from anything resembling a free or open society in the Western sense. The stoning of adulterers, execution of apostates and blasphemers, repression of other religions, and a mandatory hostility toward non-Islamic nations punctuated by regular warfare will be the norm. It seems fair then to classify Islam and its Sharia code as a form of totalitarianism.
2. Jihad and Dhimmitude
a. What does "jihad" mean?
Jihad literally translates as "struggle." Strictly speaking, jihad does not mean "holy war" as Muslim apologists often point out. However, the question remains as to what sort of "struggle" is meant: an inner, spiritual struggle against the passions, or an outward, physical struggle.
As in any case of trying to determine Islamic teaching on a particular matter, one must look to the Quran and the Sunnah. From those sources (see above) it is evident that a Muslim is required to struggle against a variety of things: laziness in prayer, neglecting to give zakat (alms), etc. But is it also plain that a Muslim is commanded to struggle in physical combat against the infidel as well. Muhammad's impressive military career attests to the central role that military action plays in Islam.
b. Hasan Al-Banna on jihad
Below are excerpts from Hasan Al-Banna's treatise, Jihad. In 1928, Al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood, which today is the most powerful organization in Egypt after the government itself. In this treatise, Al-Banna cogently argues that Muslims must take up arms against unbelievers. As he says, "The verses of the Qur'an and the Sunnah summon people in general (with the most eloquent expression and the clearest exposition) to jihad, to warfare, to the armed forces, and all means of land and sea fighting."
All Muslims Must Make Jihad
Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded. Allah has ascribed great importance to jihad and has made the reward of the martyrs and the fighters in His way a splendid one. Only those who have acted similarly and who have modeled themselves upon the martyrs in their performance of jihad can join them in this reward. Furthermore, Allah has specifically honoured the Mujahideen {those who wage jihad} with certain exceptional qualities, both spiritual and practical, to benefit them in this world and the next. Their pure blood is a symbol of victory in this world and the mark of success and felicity in the world to come.
Those who can only find excuses, however, have been warned of extremely dreadful punishments and Allah has described them with the most unfortunate of names. He has reprimanded them for their cowardice and lack of spirit, and castigated them for their weakness and truancy. In this world, they will be surrounded by dishonour and in the next they will be surrounded by the fire from which they shall not escape though they may possess much wealth. The weaknesses of abstention and evasion of jihad are regarded by Allah as one of the major sins, and one of the seven sins that guarantee failure.
Islam is concerned with the question of jihad and the drafting and the mobilisation of the entire Umma {the global Muslim community} into one body to defend the right cause with all its strength than any other ancient or modern system of living, whether religious or civil. The verses of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Muhammad (PBUH {Peace Be Unto Him}) are overflowing with all these noble ideals and they summon people in general (with the most eloquent expression and the clearest exposition) to jihad, to warfare, to the armed forces, and all means of land and sea fighting.

Ask yourself, Is this what you want for America?

-Allahwatch