Author Archives: Yossarian

Fort Hood Murderer Shared Imam With 9/11 Hijackers

By Yossarian | Published: November 7, 2009

And guess who it was…

Whilst Sunny, Harry’s Place and many more speculate about what lay behind Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s murderous rampage in Fort Hood, the Huffington Post carries a piece written by Kamran Pasha, who has a Muslim soldier friend, Richard, who knew Hasan. It contains a fascinating and troubling detail.

As Richard got to know Hasan better over the next several months, he found the major to be a pious man who was at the mosque daily. But Richard also began to garner a sense of Hasan’s political views that troubled him. A black-and-white outlook on Islam and life that had no room for nuance or debate. Hasan had apparently attended a mosque led by an imam named Anwar Al-Awlaki, a Yemeni scholar whose political views Richard disagrees with.

Continue reading >>
Posted in International Affairs, Terrorism | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

‘Hardcore’ Islamist gets top anti-terror post at Home Office – the JC reports

By Yossarian | Published: November 6, 2009

The JC reports:

The appointment of Asim Hafeez as head of intervention at the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism has caused serious concern among more moderate Muslim advisers across Whitehall. [...]

Mr Hafeez was described by one fellow adviser as “hardcore Salafi”. Salafism is a strictly puritanical branch of Islam, often associated with Saudi Arabia. It does not promote violence, but does urge the creation of an Islamic state.

The new Home Office adviser is reported to have raised eyebrows at his new department during the Muslim festival of Ramadan, when he lectured guests at a reception about the benefits of fasting. Before his appointment at the Home Office, Mr Hafeez worked as an adviser to the Welsh Assembly, government where he had a reputation for his strict views on Islam. He also regularly lectured on Islamic issues at Welsh universities.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Islamism, PVE | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Legal Charity to Employ Jihad Supporter

By Yossarian | Published: November 5, 2009

For the last few years, Asim Qureshi has been working for Cageprisoners as a senior researcher. Tomorrow, he says, he will finish working at Cageprisoners and, in the new year, will start work at Reprieve, a legal charity which uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners.

You will remember that, back in August, it was Cageprisoners who tried to organise an event at Kensington Town Hall involving a video message from jihadist preacher Anwar al-Awlaki (and a speech by Reprieve employee Ahmed Ghappour). Fortunately, these plans were over-ruled by Kensington Council and Anwar al-Awlaki’s message was not broadcast. Cageprisoners is led by Moazzem Begg, who said of hate preacher Ali al-Tamimi.

He cannot be regarded as an extremist, fundamentalist, lunatic type terrorist scholar that they claim abound. He is one of the most reasonable and middle of the path scholars that I have come across, who not only make sense in everything that they say, but they back it up with evidence from the Qur’an. [8:45 onwards]

Continue reading >>
Posted in Islamism | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Zionist propaganda?

By Yossarian | Published: November 5, 2009

As a book read by nearly every child in Britain at some point, ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is one of the most important ways in which children can be introduced to the horror of the Holocaust. And, given many Arab and Middle Eastern countries’ horrific levels of Antisemitism, it was great news when Paris-based Aladdin Project announced that they were distributing Farsi and Arabic translations of this profoundly influential book.

However:

Naim al-Qalaani from Hezbollah’s Committee for the Boycott of Zionist Goods in Lebanon told the TV the book’s distribution was a flagrant violation and a move toward normalization with Lebanon’s archenemy, Israel.

The diary of Anne Frank has been sold in Lebanon for years, both in English and in earlier translations into Arabic, and it was not clear why Hezbollah’s TV chose to highlight its existence in the country now.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Antisemitism, International Affairs, Islamism | Tagged , | 6 Comments

A Tale of Two Protests

By Yossarian | Published: November 3, 2009

This Saturday, amid massive tabloid hype, al-Muhajiroun (AM) were supposed to be marching through central London calling for their vision of Shari’ah to be imposed in the UK. Under the name Islam4UK (a name they’ve admitted is simply associated with a website front-group for AM), al-Macaroon managed to grab headlines with their mocked up images of Buckingham Palace converted into a mosque and the fountains of Trafalgar Square converted to be used for ritual ablutions prior to prayer. This provoked a number of Muslim groups into organising counter-protests in Piccadilly Circus.

Then AM abandoned their plan to march in central London and instead held a rally in Walthamstow. Predictably, the Express covered this protest and incendiary comments made at it by AM’s current leader Anjem Choudary (referred to by the article’s author, James Fielding as a “Sheikh” despite the fact that Anjem doesn’t even know basic Arabic) but omitted to mention any counter protests.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Activism, Islamism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

West Midlands Police and Censorship

By Yossarian | Published: November 2, 2009

A film about gang life in Birmingham, 1Day, is to be launched this week. But something rather bizarre has been going on; a police officer in Birmingham has gone around tcinemas in the city trying to persuade them not to show the film. Hopefully this is just an exceptional case but two local cinemas, acting on police advice, have decided not to screen the film.

A West Midlands police spokesperson explains:

This may not be as serious as the Tomlinson case, nor as startling as the community support officer (also with West Midlands police) who warned Christian preachers off evangelising in an area with a high Muslim population, but it is still a troubling matter.

Individual cases like these are disturbing enough, but the real problem is the existence of a culture which seems to allow police officers to believe that they have unlimited powers. It is this which must be addressed in the forthcoming HMIC report into policing of protests, not just the most egregious examples of where the police have overstepped the mark.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Freedom of Expression, Media | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hizb ut-Tahrir Admit SRE Islamic Campaign is an HT Front

By Yossarian | Published: October 30, 2009

It was the Spittoon which first revealed that a campaign launched ostensibly by British Muslims to counter government plans for Sex and Relationship Education in schools was actually a less-than-subtle front for Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Independent then picked up on the story.

Well, now Hizb ut-Tahrir have admitted (pdf) to the duplicitous tricks they have been using to insinuate their way into British mosques, from which they have long been banned.

Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have also started raising awareness around the country on government plans to promote compulsory Sex and Relationship Education to children aged 5 years old and above, and encouraged parents to question the implementation of this policy in their children’s schools.

Posted in Islamism | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hamas: A Democratic, Legitimate Government?

By Yossarian | Published: October 29, 2009

We are endlessly being told that Hamas won an election in 2006 and therefore should be considered the democratic, legitimate rulers of Palestine. This is a particularly perverse understanding of democracy and legitimate government.

Democracy is not simply about holding an election once in a blue moon, it is about allowing the elements vital to a democracy (free spech, free press, freedom of association and so on) to flourish. It is about holding free and fair elections on a regular basis. It most certainly is not about killing opponents or this:

The Islamist movement Hamas has told Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to take part in elections called by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas said the elections set for 24 January had been called without its agreement and were illegal.

It said anyone in Gaza who co-operated with the poll would be “dealt with by the ministry or by other means”.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 1 Comment

Iceland Under Threat Of War

By Yossarian | Published: October 28, 2009

Thomas Friedman famously wrote about the “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention”, that no two McDonald’s-having countries will go to war.

Since Israel now has a kosher McDonald’s, since Saudi Arabia’s McDonald’s closes five times a day for Muslim prayer, since Egypt has 18 McDonald’s and Jordan is getting its first, the chances of a war between them are minimal. But watch out for that Syrian front. There are no Big Macs served in Damascus. India-Pakistan? I’m still worried. India, where 40 percent of the population is vegetarian, just opened the first beefless McDonald’s (vegetable nuggets!), but Pakistan is still a Mac-free zone.

Continue reading >>
Posted in International Affairs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dalia Mogahed Makes More Excuses for HT Show Appearance

By Yossarian | Published: October 25, 2009

As covered here at the Spittoon, one of President Obama’s advisors on Muslim affairs, Dalia Mogahed, appeared on a Hizb ut-Tahrir TV show on the Islam Channel. She then sent a letter to the Telegraph which, in a singularly unconvincing manner, tried to justify her appearance on the ‘Muslimah Dilemma’ show.

Now she has written another defence of her appearance, this time for the Huffington Post.

At Gallup, where I direct the Center for Muslim Studies, we do precisely this every day–measure and report what the world is thinking. While what we discover is not what some expect–or want to hear, denying these findings may help some score points with their ideological base, but only weakens our ability to meet our goals as a nation.

[...]

Continue reading >>
Posted in International Affairs, Islamism | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

  • Categories

  • Archives