Over a week ago the Fiqh Council of North America, which is a council of Islamic scholars who give religious opinions said that Body Scanners (Nude-Scanners) violate the requirements of  modesty and respect for human dignity and were, against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty. This is a respectable position since the objectives of the body scanner can be achieved through a pat-down by an officer of the same sex. When the Council came out with the verdict it was big news with the usual culprits on Fox News … Continue reading Robert Spencer, is the Pope a Dhimmi?

Know Your Conspiracies NEWSWEEK’s guide to today’s trendiest, hippest, and least likely fringe beliefs. By David A. Graham | Newsweek // Like recurring nightmares, conspiracy theories aren’t necessarily gone for good just because they disappear for a while. They often come back, sometimes in slightly different forms. Their last golden age came during the middle of the Bush administration, which saw rumors from the political left about connections between the Bushes and the bin Ladens, insinuations about the military-industrial complex and the Patriot Act—actually, pretty much every plotline in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Nothing breeds paranoid theories like political exile, … Continue reading Forget Pakistani – Check out American Conspiracies! LOL

Prevent – back to the drawing board Pouring money into ‘problematic’ Muslim communities isn’t effective: investment shouldn’t be limited by race or religion Anwar Akhtar guardian.co.uk, Once upon a time, police officers getting out and about to build trust in their community would have been considered basic police work. On Monday night, it was heralded as proof of the effectiveness of the government’s anti-extremism strategy Prevent. Viewers of the final instalment of the BBC’s Generation Jihad witnessed the story of Andrew Ibrahim, a young British Muslim convert from the quiet village of Frenchay near Bristol. Avon and Somerset police foiled … Continue reading Pouring money into ‘problematic’ Muslim communities isn’t effective

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran has raised the temperature of the nuclear standoff with Tehran a couple of degrees by claiming there is credible data that “raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile”. This reflects the more assertive stance of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog under Yukiya Amano, who took over as secretary general last December. Amano admitted in his first press conference there was no evidence of nuclear weaponization on Iran’s … Continue reading Revolution fuels Iran’s ambitions

Newsweek had an article on some of the trendiest, bizarre, and most trafficked conspiracy theories of 2009. The Muslim spy intern conspiracy made it to #9 and it had ole’ Robert Spencer in a fit. He railed against it with all the ineptitude, innuendo and verbal diarrhea we are used to from his clownish ways. Calling it “journalistic irresponsibility” and “bias,” etc. What has him in a uproar: Guide to Conspiracy: Know your Conspiracy 9. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is trying to infiltrate Capitol Hill and spread jihad. Author Dave Gaubatz alleges that the mainstream group is both connected … Continue reading Newsweek Top Ten Conspiracies: Muslim Spy Interns!

In a new report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests for the first time that Iran is actively pursuing a nuclear-weapons capability. Shannon Kile, a senior non-proliferation expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, discussed the report and the tougher mood at the UN watchdog agency with RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel. RFE/RL: The new IAEA report is the first issued since the agency’s new chief, Yukiya Amano, took over from his predecessor, Mohammad ElBafradei. The report presents new evidence to suggest for the first time that Iran is actively pursuing a nuclear-weapons capability. Do you detect a tougher … Continue reading IAEA heaps pressure on Tehran

By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH – Hamas has closed ranks and is licking its wounds following the January 20 assassination in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, of one of its top operatives, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. It is alleged that one of its own was responsible for providing the hit team with vital logistical information. Dubai’s chief of police, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, on Sunday called on Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar to launch an “internal investigation” into the operation. Tamim claimed an associate of Mabhouh, a high-ranking military leader, leaked information about the Hamas leader’s visit to Dubai and went as … Continue reading Dubai hit exposes Hamas’ weaknesses

By Institution for War and Peace Reporting South Korean firms are to explore for oil and gas in Uzbekistan after Uzbek President Islam Karimov, during a state visit to South Korea on February 10-12, signed an agreement for investment that could be worth more than US$3.5 billion in developing the Surgil gas field and building a chemicals plant. Surgil is on the northwestern Ustyurt plateau, which has 16 known deposits of oil and gas. The Korean investment should boost development of the plateau’s resources. Once the gas processing plant is up and running, it will produce polypropylene and polyethylene plastics, … Continue reading Korean cash to flow into Uzbekistan

By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR – The confiscation of books by Malaysian authorities is raising concern and demands in some quarters for the repeal of laws that allow the government to suppress freedom of expression. Home Ministry officials last week continued raiding bookstores to confiscate books and publications by Malaysiakini, an independent news website that has been critical of government policies. The ministry says it needs to “study and review” these books for content deemed to be against national security. But for Malaysiakini chief editor Steven Gan, the action amounts to harassment of writers and booksellers. Two publications by Malaysiakini, … Continue reading Malaysia’s ‘bad’ books sent into literary limbo

By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI – Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, a former minister of civil aviation in the Taliban regime, is likely to take over as supreme commander of the Taliban in Afghanistan following the recent arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. Taliban sources tell Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity that the appointment will be largely symbolic and primarily for coordination purposes as Taliban leader Mullah Omar, following difficulties in recent years, has decentralized the Taliban’s command structure. The idea is to give commanders in the field greater flexibility and allow … Continue reading Taliban’s mood swings against talks