LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 13/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june13.16.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006

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Bible Quotations For Today

Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10/01-07:"Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near."

But this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Letter to the Philippians 03/07-14:"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
 

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Do not tire of asking in prayer for the Lord’s help especially in difficulty.
Ne vous lassez pas de demander par la prière l’aide du Seigneur, spécialement dans les difficultés.
لا تتعبوا أبدًا من طلب المساعدة من الرب بواسطة الصلاة، ولاسيما في الصعوبات

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 12-13/16

Attacking Civilians Is a Crime no matter where/Elias Bejjani/12 June/16/

Only democracy can stop bloodshed/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
Amid offensive in Fallujah, civilians face hellish uncertainty/Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
A social media disease for which there is no vaccine/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
Why sectarianism is a noose around the neck/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
The West's Most Important Ally: Islam's Dissidents/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/June 12/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 12-13/16
Attacking Civilians Is a Crime no matter where
Two Hurt as Bomb Explodes outside BLOM Bank in Verdun
Jumblat Links Bank Blast to Hizbullah Sanctions, Warns of 'Israeli' Role
Geagea: Hizbullah's Policies Must Change to Repel Economic Danger
Hariri: Battle with Bombings, Direct and Indirect Messages Long but Lebanon Will Prevail
Fmr Lebanese PM Hariri renews attacks against Hezbollah, Iran regime
Firefighters, Army Struggle to Contain Huge Jeita Blaze
Health Ministry Launches Probe after Nine People Food Poisoned
Prostitution Ring Busted in Safra, Eleven Arrested
Armed Robbers Intercept Bus in al-Taybeh
National Liberals Party condemns blast: A serious message if proved to target banking sector
De Freij: Targeting banking sector will lead to catastrophes
Arslan condemns blast: People should avoid political analyses
Sleiman: Lebanese economy is the target
Bou Saab: Terrorism has no ideology or religion
Mohamad Machnouk: ZarifVerdun explosion can be interpreted in many ways
Finance Minister: Explosion targets banking sector and Lebanon's stability
Sleiman: Lebanese economy is the target
Basbous: Boobytrap placed outside BLOM bank building

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 12-13/16

Mass casualties in Florida nightclub shooting, gunman dead
US club shooter called 911 ‘swore allegiance to ISIS
Obama says Orlando killing was act of 'terror, hate'
Archbishop of Canterbury wants UK to stay in EU
Kazakhstan says all gunmen behind attacks arrested
Police ID suspected killer of 'The Voice' star Christina Grimmie
More support for Afghan troops part of latest Obama strategy
CIA: ‘No proof of Saudi involvement in Sept. 11’
World community must tackle the threat of Islamic fundamentalism emanating from Iran
Next U.S. president should recognize there are no moderates in Iran regime
‘Immorality’ among women is causing rivers in Iran to dry up – senior cleric
Iranian Resistance's President-elect and officials of Syrian opposition attend solidarity meeting with Syrian Revolution

Links From Jihad Watch Site for June 12-13/16
ACLU lawyers blame ‘Christian right,’ GOP for Orlando jihad massacre
Facebook removes SIOA page; Reddit bans users who say Orlando jihadi was Muslim
Video: Robert Spencer on why Ramadan is full of jihad terror
Obama on Orlando: Too early to know “precise motivations of the killer”
Orlando gay club jihadi reportedly recited prayers to Allah during attack
Islamic State claims responsibility for Orlando gay club jihad massacre
Orlando jihadi pledged allegiance to ISIS & mentioned Boston jihadis in 911 call
Guardian: “Let’s not give in to fear after the Orlando shooting”
Congressman: DHS says Orlando gay club jihad mass murderer made pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State
FBI: Orlando gay club jihad mass murderer bragged about “ties to terror organizations”
Orlando gay club jihad mass murderer was “person of interest” to FBI in 2013 and 2014
Florida officials invite Muslim cleric to address media “to preempt a possible backlash against the Muslim community”
Orlando gay club jihad mass murderer’s father says son got angry when he saw two men kissing
Death toll now at FIFTY in Orlando gay nightclub jihad massacre
Islamic State issued “kill list” including 600 Florida residents three days before Orlando gay club jihad massacre
Muslim who murdered 20 in Florida gay nightclub identified as Omar Mateen, a US citizen
FBI: Florida gay nightclub mass murderer had “leanings” toward jihad ideology, was “organized and well-prepared”
Ramadan in Orlando, Florida: Muslim murders 20, wounds 42 at gay nightclub after taking hostages
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 8: Juz Wa law annana
German pol calls for security review amid fear Islamic State has sent 100s of jihadis into country among migrants

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 12-13/16

Attacking Civilians Is a Crime no matter where
Elias Bejjani/12 June/16/Attacking civilians is a dire crime by all means either in Israel or in any other country makes no difference. Such barbaric acts must be denounced. In this context the recent terrorist attack that targeted civilians in Israel is strongly condemned. Meanwhile all those who hail such attacks must be put on trial for supporting terrorism.

Two Hurt as Bomb Explodes outside BLOM Bank in Verdun
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/June 12/16/A bomb went off Sunday evening outside a branch of the BLOM Bank in Beirut's Verdun area, injuring two people. The powerful explosion was heard across the western part of the capital. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced shortly after the blast that the explosion caused no casualties. But the Lebanese Red Cross said later that two people were injured, one of them lightly. The explosion occurred few minutes after residents sat down for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast for observing Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, when the streets in predominantly Muslim areas like Verdun are usually empty.Mashnouq said the bomb was inside a suitcase that was placed outside the bank, noting that the blast did not seem to be related to the previous wave of bomb attacks in the country or to any recent intel that security agencies have received about possible terrorist attacks. He later announced that the BLOM Bank branch was "clearly the target" of the bombing. And in remarks to AFP, Mashnouq said that a bomb containing about 3-4 kilos of explosives had been "placed behind the back wall of BLOM Bank."State-run National News Agency said the explosive device was placed under a car. “The explosive device was placed in a flower container outside the BLOM Bank and it is estimated to weigh around 15 kilograms,” Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous said after inspecting the scene. He also reassured that the army and security forces are “taking strict security measures to protect all touristic and economic sites across Lebanon.”BLOM bank has been criticized by some pro-Hizbullah politicians for taking a hard-line position after Lebanese banks began abiding by a U.S. law that sanctions doing business with the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Authorities say dozens of bank accounts related to Hizbullah's organizations have been closed in recent weeks. Saad Azhari, the head of BLOM bank, said no one should jump to conclusion as to who was behind the attack. "We are interested in being a serious bank that serves the interests of all (Lebanese). We don't take measures to harm any one particular group," he told reporters at the scene. He also said that no threats had been received by the bank prior to the attack. The sounds of ambulance sirens were earlier heard in the area near the busy shopping districts of Hamra and Verdun. An AFP correspondent saw almost all the entire glass facade of a branch of the BLOM Bank, one of the country's largest, blown out, with debris littering the ground. The AFP correspondent also saw damaged cars near the scene of the blast before an army patrol arrived and kept reporters back.

Jumblat Links Bank Blast to Hizbullah Sanctions, Warns of 'Israeli' Role
Naharnet/June 12/16/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has suggested that there is a link between a blast that went off Sunday evening outside a major bank in Beirut and a growing row between Hizbullah and the central bank governor over the implementation of U.S. financial sanctions against the party. “The objective of the bombing in Beirut is to deal a blow to the economy and the banking system and I had called for a calm dialogue about the U.S. sanctions,” Jumblat told An Nahar newspaper shortly after the explosion outside the Verdun headquarters of BLOM Bank. “Some parties do not want dialogue over the issue of the U.S. sanctions and we most preserve the baking sector and its coherence,” he added. He later told LBCI television that “we might be facing a wave of bombings,” urging an end to verbal attacks against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and “a roadmap between Hizbullah and the banks.”And in remarks to al-Jadeed TV, Jumblat warned that “Israel is the party that benefits the most from the destruction of the Lebanese economy.”“What's important is to cease the uncalculated statements about the issue of sanctions,” he said. The evening blast resulted in the wounding of two people and caused extensive damage to BLOM Bank's glass facade and cars parked in the area. Earlier in the day, the PSP leader urged a “smart approach” regarding the implementation of the anti-Hizbullah sanctions. “If I had to voice an opinion as an observer, seeing as I'm not an expert in the banking and financial issues, I would stress the need for ending the public exchange of tirades in newspaper and in the media and for halting the verbal attacks against the central bank governor,” Jumblat tweeted. “Because the confrontation today is targeted against Hizbullah, its supporters and Lebanon – entire Lebanon,” he added. “It is not a confrontation that uses missiles, tanks, warplanes or other weapons which the resistance jihadi fighters know well how to repel like they did in all the previous rounds, from the days of (Israeli) occupation to the 2006 war. The confrontation today is about how to alleviate the impact of the sanctions as much as possible and how to deal with the issue smartly in order to protect the banking sector,” Jumblat went on to say. He also warned that “any mistake would be intolerable in this regard, seeing as we are likely to face further economic adversity.” Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc had lashed out at Salameh on Thursday, noting that his remarks about the suspension of 100 Hizbullah-linked bank accounts reflect an inclination to renounce “national sovereignty.” And describing the statements as “ambiguous and suspicious,” the bloc said that “everyone must realize that the resistance's supporters and educational and health institutions are immune to any attempt to target them by anyone.”In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Salameh had announced that one hundred bank accounts related to Hizbullah had been frozen in accordance with a U.S. law that threatens to sanction anyone who finances the group. “The central bank is determined to maintain the country's financial stability, and make sure that the U.S. law is implemented,” he said. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on December 18. Hizbullah, which has members in parliament and the cabinet, is considered a “terrorist organization” by the United States. Many in Lebanon are worried that the U.S. legislation will have negative effects on the Lebanese banking sector, which is one of the most active industries in the country. "Our priority is to keep Lebanon on the international financial map,” said Salameh.

Geagea: Hizbullah's Policies Must Change to Repel Economic Danger
Naharnet/June 12/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Saturday that Hizbullah must change its internal and external policies to push away the danger threatening Lebanon’s economy. “Hizbullah is involved in pushing away the danger threatening Lebanon's economy. It has to introduce radical change to its internal and external policies to meet the interests of the Lebanese as a whole and not precisely its own audience,” said Geagea in a statement. Pointing out to the latest Hizbullah campaign against the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh for abiding by the U.S. sanctions law against the party, Geagea said: “The Governor has no alternative but to implement the international laws. Everyone knows that Lebanon's banking system is closely linked to the international monetary system.”Geagea pointed out that “it is illogical for Hizbullah to hold the governorship of the Central Bank responsible for the consequences of its own deeds.”He asked: “Are the Lebanese obliged to pay the price of Hizbullah's unilateral policies which the Lebanese people have never agreed on?”Salameh had assured early in May that the central bank will abide by the restrictions in the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act, which was signed into law in December. The U.S. regulations say Washington will target those "knowingly facilitating a significant transaction or transactions for" Hizbullah or any individual, business or institution linked to the group.

Hariri: Battle with Bombings, Direct and Indirect Messages Long but Lebanon Will Prevail
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri strongly condemned Sunday a blast that targeted a major bank in Beirut as a “terrorist” attack, while reassuring that Lebanon will emerge victorious from its “long battle” with “terrorism and bombings.”“Our battle with terrorism, bombings, killings, assassinations and direct and indirect messages is long. This is our battle and we will continue to fight it. Terrorism will not intimidate the Lebanese, we will all confront it and Lebanon will prevail in the end,” said Hariri at a Mustaqbal iftar banquet in BIEL that coincided with the time of the blast. The explosion outside the Verdun headquarters of BLOM Bank, one of the country's largest, wounded two people and caused extensive material damage to the building's glass facade and the parked cars. The explosion occurred few minutes after residents sat down for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast for observing Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, when the streets in predominantly Muslim areas like Verdun are usually empty. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said the bomb was inside a suitcase that was placed outside the bank, noting that the blast did not seem to be related to the previous wave of bomb attacks in the country or to any recent intel that security agencies have received about possible terrorist attacks. He later announced that the BLOM Bank branch was "clearly the target" of the bombing. BLOM bank has been criticized by some pro-Hizbullah politicians for taking a hard-line position after Lebanese banks began abiding by a U.S. law that sanctions doing business with the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Authorities say dozens of bank accounts related to Hizbullah's organizations have been closed in recent weeks. Saad Azhari, the head of BLOM bank, said no one should jump to conclusion as to who was behind the attack. "We are interested in being a serious bank that serves the interests of all (Lebanese). We don't take measures to harm any one particular group," he told reporters at the scene. He also said that no threats had been received by the bank prior to the attack.

Fmr Lebanese PM Hariri renews attacks against Hezbollah, Iran regime
NCRI Iran News/Sunday, 12 June 2016The head of Lebanon's Future Movement Saad Hariri Friday renewed attacks against Hezbollah and Iran's regime, blaming them for endangering Lebanon and causing the presidential void, The Daily Star wrote. In an address from his Downtown Beirut home, Hariri told Arab ambassadors and diplomats that "Lebanon is paying the price of foreign interference in its crises." He said Iran's regime was behind Hezbollah’s boycott of parliamentary sessions to elect a president. Hariri said Hezbollah's intervention in Syria has cost Lebanon "hundreds of lives and the wounding of thousands" more."It's not a secret that Hezbollah intervened in Syria, under Iranian orders, to defend Bashar Assad," he said

Firefighters, Army Struggle to Contain Huge Jeita Blaze
Naharnet/June 12/16/Civil Defense firefighters assisted by army helicopters were on Sunday struggling to bring under control a major blaze that erupted in a forestland in the touristic area of Jeita, east of the famous Jeita Grotto. A cableway that passes through the forest was immediately shut down as a safety precaution as tourists were asked to stay at the grotto's entrance due to the density of the bellowing smoke, the National News Agency said. The strong winds contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, the agency added. “The fire is spreading towards homes, specifically the al-Mazraani building, and residents are urging the Civil Defense and the army to intervene,” NNA said. The blaze risks to gut “tens of thousands of square meters of a historic forestland that is unique in Lebanon,” the agency added. Around 4:00 pm, Civil Defense chief Raymond Khattar told MTV that the spread of the flamed towards homes had been halted. "Several factors are complicating our efforts, especially strong winds, but we've managed to push the flames away from residential buildings," he said.

Health Ministry Launches Probe after Nine People Food Poisoned
Naharnet/June 12/16/Nine members of the same family have been food poisoned and transferred to the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday. The ministry did not mention the source of the food but noted that it has launched a probe into the incident. More than a year ago, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour launched an unprecedented food safety campaign that saw the closure and fining of several restaurants, grocery stores, slaughterhouses and farms. The ministry's measures have also targeted some beauty centers, hospitals and daycares.

Prostitution Ring Busted in Safra, Eleven Arrested
Naharnet/June 12/16/A prostitution ring has been busted inside an under-construction building in the Keserwan area of Safra and eleven Syrian and Lebanese nationals have been arrested, the Internal Security Forces said on Sunday. “A force from the Counter Human Trafficking and Morals Protection Bureau raided the aforementioned location on Saturday after obtaining information about the presence of a network that was facilitating prostitution for several women who lived in the building,” the ISF said in a statement. Five Syrian women, four Syrian men and two Lebanese males were arrested in the operation on charges of facilitating and practicing prostitution, the ISF added.

Armed Robbers Intercept Bus in al-Taybeh
Naharnet/June 12/16/Two people have been robbed at gunpoint in the al-Taybeh area in the southern region of Marjeyoun, state-run National News Agency reported. “Lebanese citizen Khaled al-Itawi, 25, and Syrian national Mohammed Naji Daoud, 25, filed a report with the al-Taybeh police station, saying four unknown gunmen had intercepted their yellow Toyota van in the al-Taybeh area and robbed them of the van itself, a million Lebanese pounds, their personal identification papers, and two cellphones,” NNA said. The gunmen, who arrived in a Toyota SUV with no license plate, fled to an unknown destination, the agency added.
 

National Liberals Party condemns blast: A serious message if proved to target banking sector
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - "National Liberals Party" denounced, in an issued statement on Sunday, the "terrorist bombing that targeted BLOM Bank today," while urging security forces "to work immediately on unveiling the perpetrators, especially that the area is under surveillance of cameras.""If the explosion proves to be targeting the banking sector, it would be a serious message aimed at destroying what is left of the State's elements in Lebanon," the Party statement concluded.

De Freij: Targeting banking sector will lead to catastrophes
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - State Minister for Administrative Development, Nabil de Freij, denounced on Sunday Verdun's blast, warning that "targeting of the banking sector will lead to catastrophes."He called on security bodies to reveal the identity of perpetrators the soonest possible, so as to prevent internal tensions."This explosion targets the entire banking sector on which Lebanon depends, and through which it can face many crises and internal and external financial dues," he pointed out.

Arslan condemns blast: People should avoid political analyses
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, MP Talal Arslan, condemned on Sunday, via Twitter, the bombing in Verdun while hoping that "people would stop their political analyses regarding issues related to the life and security of the Lebanese."

Sleiman: Lebanese economy is the target
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Former President Michel Sleiman said via "Twitter" following Sunday's explosion in Beirut, that "away from speculations, it is certain that the Lebanese economy is the target, and everyone ought to contribute to revealing the perpetrator in order to ward off suspicions."He concluded by saying: "God protect Lebanon!"

Bou Saab: Terrorism has no ideology or religion
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Education Minister, Elias Bou Saab, said on Sunday that terrorism knows no ideology or religion."We count on the Army, ISF, Intelligence and the Army's Information Branch to confront terrorism," Bou Saab underscored. He also indicated that official exams will take place on Monday at "Chakib Arslan High School" instead of "René Mouawad School" which incurred damages as a result of today's explosion.

Mohamad Machnouk: ZarifVerdun explosion can be interpreted in many ways
Sun 12 Jun 2016 /NNA - Environment Minister, Mohamad Machnouk, said that today's explosion can have many connotations."Condemning this attack is not enough, and our position should be unilateral to protect our banks and abide by the government's decisions to safeguard the Lebanese economy," added Machnouk.

Finance Minister: Explosion targets banking sector and Lebanon's stability
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said, via "Twitter" on Sunday, that "the blast which targeted BLOM Bank is actually aimed at de-stabilizing the banking sector, and therefore, targets the stability of Lebanon as a whole," adding that "it is certainly condemnable!"

Sleiman: Lebanese economy is the target
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Former President Michel Sleiman said via "Twitter" following Sunday's explosion in Beirut, that "away from speculations, it is certain that the Lebanese economy is the target, and everyone ought to contribute to revealing the perpetrator in order to ward off suspicions."He concluded by saying: "God protect Lebanon!"

Basbous: Boobytrap placed outside BLOM bank building
Sun 12 Jun 2016/NNA - Internal Security Forces Chief, Major General Ibrahim Basbous, inspected the explosion scene in Verdun, stating that "the booby-trap was implanted in a flower basin right next to Blom Bank and not inside the building.""The bomb weighs about 15 kilograms," said Basbous, adding that ISF and Army units are investigating the incident circumstances. Meanwhile, he reassured that "strict security measures are adopted to protect tourist and economic sites in all Lebanese regions."

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 12-13/16

Mass casualties in Florida nightclub shooting, gunman dead
Reuters/12/06/16/ORLANDO - A gunman shot dead about 20 people and injured 42 others in a crowded gay nightclub in Florida early on Sunday before being killed by police in what U.S. authorities described as a "domestic terrorism incident". A police officer working as a security guard inside the Pulse club exchanged fire with the suspect at about 2 a.m., police officials said. A hostage situation quickly developed before a squad of officers entered the club and shot dead the gunman. It was unclear when the victims were shot by the gunman. "At ... 0500 hours this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there. Our officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The suspect is dead," Orlando Police Chief John Mina told a press conference. At least one officer was injured in the gunbattle but the police action saved at least 30 lives, Mina said. The suspect was carrying an assault-type rifle and a handgun as well as an unidentified "device" on him, Mina said. Police did not immediately name the gunman or provide a possible motive for the attack but officials have classified the rampage as a "domestic terrorism incident," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said. Javer Antonetti, 53, told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that he was near the back of the dance club when he heard gunfire. "There were so many (shots), at least 40," he said. "I saw two guys and it was constant, like 'pow, pow, pow,'." Police said they had carried out a "controlled explosion" at the club hours after the shooting broke out, but did not explain why that was done.

US club shooter called 911 ‘swore allegiance to ISIS’
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English Sunday, 12 June 2016/A gunman killed 50 people and injured 53 in a massacre at a gay nightclub in the tourist hub of Orlando, Florida, early on Sunday, the city’s mayor and police said, in an attack US authorities are described as a “terrorism incident.”There were comflicting reports as to the motivation behind the attack. The shooter identified as Omar S Mateen, was said by a senior FBI official to might have had leanings towards ISIS militants, a claim carried by NBC News that reported that he called 911 and swore allegiance to ISIS before carrying out the massacre.
But ISIS has later claimed responsibility for the shooting. "The armed attack that targeted a gay night club in the city of Orlando in the American state of Florida which left over 100 people dead or injured was carried out by an Islamic State fighter," ISIS' Amaq news agency said. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said they had yet to uncover any contacts between the suspected gunman and any extremist group. “We have cleared the building, and it is with great sadness that I share we have not 20 but 50 casualties in addition to the shooter,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told a news briefing, raising the death toll from 20 previously. “There are another 53 that are hospitalized.” Police Chief John Mina also said the shooter had some sort of “suspicious device.” He said the suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the club around 2am, then went back inside and took hostages.
But speaking later on Sunday the father of the suspected gunman said he believed his son was motivated by hatred of gays - not by his Muslim religion. “This had nothing to do with religion,” Mir Seddique told NBC News. He said his son, Omar Mateen, recently lashed out in his presence after witnessing a gay couple embracing in downtown Miami, and suggested the incident may have triggered the atrocity. “He saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry,” Seddique told the network. At around 5am, authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages, and the suspect then died in a gunfight with those officers.
FBI spokesman Danny Banks initially said during a news conference that the mass shooting was being investigated as an act of terrorism. He said authorities were looking into whether this was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf. The local sheriff later announced that the shooting could be treated as a domestic terrorism incident. Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a “controlled explosion” at the scene of the shooting at Pulse Orlando. Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter. Mina Justice was outside the club early Sunday trying to contact her 30-year-old son Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police. He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: “He’s coming.” “The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in here with us,’” she said. “That was the last conversation.”
Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT team, swarmed the area around the club. At least two police pickup trucks were seen taking what appeared to be shooting victims to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Pulse Orlando posted on its own Facebook page around 2am: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.” Just before 6am, the club posted an update: “As soon as we have any information we will update everyone. Please keep everyone in your prayers as we work through this tragic event. Thank you for your thoughts and love.”Police said local, state and federal agencies were investigating. The incident follows the fatal shooting late Friday of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert in Orlando by a 27-year-old Florida man who later killed himself. Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on “The Voice.”Jon Alamo said he was at the back of one of the club’s rooms when a man holding a weapon came into the front of the room. “I heard 20, 40, 50 shots,” Alamo said. “The music stopped.”Club-goer Rob Rick said it happened around, 2am, just before closing time. “Everybody was drinking their last sip,” he said. He estimated more than 100 people were still inside when he heard shots, got on the ground and crawled toward a DJ booth. A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. People inside were able to then escape through the back of the club. Christopher Hansen said he was in the VIP lounge when he started hearing gunshots. He continued to hear shooting even after he emerged, where police were telling people to back away from the club. He saw injured people being tended to across the street. “I was thinking, are you kidding me? So I just dropped down. I just said please, please, please, I want to make it out,” he said. “And when I did, I saw people shot. I saw blood. You hope and pray you don’t get shot.”(With AFP, AP and Reuters)

Obama says Orlando killing was act of 'terror, hate'
The Associated Press, Orlando Sunday, 12 June 2016/President Barack Obama decried the deadliest mass shooting in American history on Sunday as an "act of terror" and an "act of hate" targeting a place of "solidarity and empowerment" for gays and lesbians.
He urged Americans to decide whether this is the kind of "country we want to be."Speaking hours after the shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Obama said the FBI would investigate the shooting as terrorism but that the alleged shooter's motivations were unclear. He said the US "must spare no effort" to determine whether the suspect, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen, had any ties to extremist groups. "What is clear is he was a person filled with hatred," Obama said of the alleged shooter. Obama said this was "an especially heartbreaking day" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and a sobering reminder that an attack on any American is an attack on all, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. "The shooter targeted a night club where people came together to be with friends to dance and to sing - to live," Obama said. "The place where they were attacked is more than a night club. It was a place of solidarity and empowerment, where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights."For Obama, the hastily arranged remarks were the latest in what's become a tragically familiar routine. Since he took office in 2009, Obama has appeared before cameras more than a dozen times following mass shootings and issued written statements after many others. The massacres have brought him to places like Newtown, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; and Charleston, South Carolina, to offer condolences and implore the nation to finally get serious about stemming gun violence.After a gunman in Newtown killed 20 first graders and six adults in 2012, Obama dedicated much of the start of his second term to pushing legislation to expand background checks, ban certain assault-style weapons and cap the size of ammunition clips. That measure collapsed in the Senate, and since then, the political makeup of Congress have made new gun laws appear out of reach. Still, Obama has sought to take incremental steps using his own authority to tighten rules for obtaining a gun. Obama spoke from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, named after the former press secretary who was shot and permanently disabled in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. He also signed a proclamation on Sunday ordering flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Thursday in honor of the victims. Vice President Joe Biden canceled a planned trip Sunday to Miami to hold a fundraiser for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.Biden's office said he would remain at his family home in Delaware while receiving updates about the shooting before returning to Washington in the evening.

Archbishop of Canterbury wants UK to stay in EU
AFP, London Sunday, 12 June 2016/Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced that he backs Britain remaining in the European Union in a newspaper article Sunday, as another poll suggested the “Leave” campaign was pulling ahead. Welby, the spiritual head of the Church of England and of the wider global Anglican Communion of 85 million Christians, said in a piece for the Mail on Sunday newspaper that he was in favour of “building bridges, not barriers”. “In no sense do I have some divine hotline to the right answer,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “We each have to make up our own minds. But for my part, I shall vote to remain.” Welby is the latest senior figure to come out in favour of EU membership ahead of the June 23 referendum. The International Monetary Fund and G7 have also said Britain should stay in the bloc. But the “Remain” campaign led by Prime Minister David Cameron appears to be struggling to make a clear breakthrough, less than two weeks before the vote is held. Opinion polls currently indicate 50 percent support each for the “Remain” and “Leave” sides, according to an average maintained by academics at the What UK Thinks project which excludes undecideds. A series of recent individual polls have appeared to hand the momentum in the race to “Leave”. One conducted online by YouGov for this week’s Sunday Times put “Leave” on 43 percent, up one percentage point, and “Remain” on 42 percent, down one percentage point. Welby argued that voting for Brexit would have a “negative” effect on Britain’s economy and that concerns about immigration must be addressed “without succumbing to our worst instincts”. On Tuesday, the archbishop suggested the leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party Nigel Farage had been “giving legitimisation to racism” for “political ends” during the referendum campaign.Farage denied the claim.Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has said he believes a vote to leave the EU would create “complex problems”.

Kazakhstan says all gunmen behind attacks arrested
AFP, Kazakhstan Sunday, 12 June 2016/Kazakhstan on Sunday said it had detained all the remaining gunmen involved in a series of shooting attacks last week that killed seven people and was blamed on radical Islamists. Four civilians and three soldiers were killed when a group of gunmen went on the rampage at gun shops and attempted to storm a military base on June 5 in the western city of Aktobe near the Russian border. In a statement, the national security service said "all the participants" in the June 5 attacks had been disarmed and detained. It did not say how many had been detained. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev called the incident a "terrorist attack" carried out by "followers of the non-traditional religious movement Salafism" in televised comments on Friday, referring to an ultra-conservative brand of Islam. The oil-rich Central Asian state has released few details about the group that hijacked a bus as it attempted to storm a military base, but police and government troops said they had killed 18 suspects as they hunted down the perpetrators.Nazarbayev on Friday said the attackers had received instructions "from abroad" and called for tighter controls on foreign financing of Kazakh organizations among other security measures. He did not say which foreign agents might have sponsored the attacks. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has largely avoided the chaos that has dogged other former Soviet nations in Central Asia. But social unrest in the majority Muslim nation has grown as the economy reels from low oil prices and the economic crisis in neighboring Russia, a key ally. Aktobe, a city of about 400,000 people, is located some 100 kilometers from the Russian border in Kazakhstan's oil-producing west. The city was the site of country's first ever suicide bombing in 2011 that targeted the local headquarters of the National Security Committee (KNB), although only the suicide bomber was killed in the attack.

Police ID suspected killer of 'The Voice' star Christina Grimmie
AFP, Miami Sunday, 12 June 2016/The gunman who fatally shot Christina Grimmie, an up-and-coming young singer who once appeared on the popular TV show “The Voice,” had two handguns and a hunting knife on him at the time of the attack, US police said Saturday.
In a tweet, the Orlando Police Department identified the suspect as Kevin James Loibl, releasing a headshot and saying that he was 27 and from St. Petersburg, Florida. Authorities said they believed he traveled from elsewhere in Florida to Orlando, where Grimmie had given a concert, intent on targeting her. Grimmie, 22, performed late Friday with the group “Before You Exit” at Orlando’s Plaza Live Theater and stayed on to sign autographs and sell merchandise. The gunman approached her and opened fire without warning, then fatally shot himself, according to police. Grimmie was rushed to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, but died of her injuries. In addition to two handguns and a hunting knife, the shooter was also carrying two loaded gun magazines, police said. “The suspect traveled to Orlando, apparently, to commit this crime, and then had plans to travel back to where he came from,” Police Chief John Mina told reporters. Detectives are scrutinizing the suspect’s cell phone and computer as they search for a possible motive.

More support for Afghan troops part of latest Obama strategy
The Associated Press, Washington Saturday, 11 June 2016/Far from ending the two wars he inherited from the Bush administration, Barack Obama is wrestling with an expanded set of conflicts in the final months of his presidency, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Libya and Syria, with no end in sight. In Afghanistan, where a Taliban resurgence has upset Washington’s “exit strategy,” Obama is giving the US military wider latitude to support Afghan forces, both in the air and on the ground. The White House says US forces are not taking on a new mission in Afghanistan but rather will “more proactively support” government forces. That amounts to an acknowledgement that the Afghans need more help than the Pentagonhad anticipated last year, and it is a signal to allies not to abandon the US-led coalition. Defense Secretary Ash Carter will be discussing this next week in talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan are scheduled to drop to 5,500 by the end of this year, but the pace of that decline has yet to be decided. One factor in deciding future troop levels is the extent to which NATO allies are willing to remain involved in training and advising the Afghans.Five years ago this month, in announcing the beginning of his effort to “wind down this war” in Afghanistan, Obama declared that “the tide of war is receding.” He had ended the US combat role in Iraq, but since then has gradually expanded a renewed US involvement there against the ISIS group. He also put US warplanes in the skies over Libya in 2011 in the name of preventing a slaughter of civilians, only to see chaos ensue, and now small teams of US special operations forces have been involved in activities there. Libya, along with Syria and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, became a breeding ground for extremism in a wider conflict against the ISIS. The administration says it remains committed to a partnership with Afghanistan to ensure that it does not revert to a haven for al-Qaida or other extremists with global reach, as it was before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In a letter to Obama last week, several former US ambassadors to Kabul and five retired US generals who commanded American troops there urged that the president keep current troop levels through the end of his term, allowing his successor to consider next steps. They argued that Afghanistan remains important to the broader campaign to defeat global terror movements.
“If Afghanistan were to revert to the chaos of the 1990s, millions of refugees would again seek shelter in neighboring countries and overseas, dramatically intensifying the severe challenges already faced in Europe and beyond,” they wrote. “Afghanistan is a place where we should wish to consolidate and lock down our provisional progress into something of a more lasting asset.”
With US special operations forces already focused on al-Qaida remnants in Afghanistan, the Afghan government says it can handle the Taliban if the US expands its air support. That is at the core of Obama’s decision, disclosed Thursday, to authorize US commanders to increase air support and to allow US soldiers to accompany and advise Afghan conventional forces on the ground in the same way they have been assisting Afghan commando forces. This will make a difference on the battlefield, Carter said Friday, by enabling US commanders to anticipate situations in which US support is needed, rather than to be reactive. He did not mention it, but an illustration of the problem with being reactive is the Taliban’s takeover of the northern city of Kunduz last September, which was reversed only after US special operations forces intervened. The intervention, while ultimately successful, led to one of the worst US mistakes of the 15-year war when an AC-130 gunship pummeled a hospital, killing 42 people. Carter said the changes Obama approved amount to “using the forces we have in a better way, as we go through this fighting season,” adding, “It’s a good use of the combat power we have there.”
Gen. John F. Campbell, who was the top US commander in Afghanistan until March and was among the retired generals who signed last week’s letter to Obama, said in an interview Friday that although he had not seen the specifics of the White House decision to expand US military authorities, he welcomed the move. Before Gen.John Nicholson succeeded him in Kabul in March, Campbell urged the administration to grant expanded authorities to assist the Afghans, arguing that they faced an especially difficult fight against the Taliban this summer.
“I had asked for more authorities for the commander on the ground to help the Afghans out, and if this is what that is, I would be all for it,” he said. “We have an ally there that we need to continue to support.”

CIA: ‘No proof of Saudi involvement in Sept. 11’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 12 June 2016
CIA director John Brennan told Al Arabiya News Channel's Washington Bureau Chief Nadia Bilbassy-Charters in an exclusive interview on Saturday that “there was no evidence” of a Saudi involvement in the 9/11 attacks.His remarks came after a 28-page congressional investigatory report claimed that there were proofs Saudi officials had supported al-Qaeda in the run-up to the attacks. In May, John Lehman, a member of the Sept. 11 commission, told CNN that the classified contained evidence that as many as six Saudi officials supported Al-Qaeda.But Brennan, in his first interview with an Arab media outlet, dismissed the claim. “The Sep. 11 commission looked very thoroughly at these allegations of Saudi involvement, Saudi government involvement and their findings, their conclusion was that there was no evidence to indicate that the Saudi government as an institution or Saudi senior officials individually had supported the Sep. 11 attacks,” he said. The director said “it is good” that this 28-page report will “come out.”“The assessments that have been done show it was very unfortunate that these attacks took place but this was the work of al-Qaeda, [al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman] al-Zawahri, and others of that ilk,” he added. He also said “over the last 15 years, the Saudis have become among our best counterterrorism partners.”Brennan described both Saudi King Salman and his deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “strong partners in this fight against terrorism.” Asked if he had contacts with Riyadh’s nemesis Tehran, Brennan said “zero.”“I continue to be very concerned about Iran’s support for terrorist activities and terrorist groups, especially the Quds force and their activities inside Iraq, Syria, and other countries throughout the region,” he added. Saudi has long expressed its concern over Iran’s involvement in both Syria and Iraq. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, chief of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was already seen rubbing shoulders with a Shiite paramilitary group during Iraq’s recent operation against ISIS to liberate the militant group’s stronghold in Fallujah. Saudi has also criticized Iran’s support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Iran still has a long way to go before I’m going to be convinced that they are interested in countering and destroying terrorism,” he said. However, he criticized ISIS’s “anti-Shiite dimension,” which is “very, very unfortunate.” “We have to be able to destroy that organization [ISIS] and destroy that anti-Shiite dimension,” he said. But he also said “unfortunately, there are a number of individuals on the Shiite side of the equation also who have a very strong anti-Sunni engine to them as well.” Brennan said he is not “convinced at all he [Gen. Soleimani] is trying to take those sectarian tensions down” as he “has been taking a leading role for Iran and Quds force inside of Iraq and Syria and other areas.”

CIA chief expects release of 9/11 documents to clear Saudi Arabia
REUTERS/06/12/2016/DUBAI - CIA chief John Brennan said on Sunday he expects 28 classified pages of a US congressional report into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to be published, absolving Saudi Arabia of any responsibility. "So these 28 pages I believe are going to come out and I think it's good that they come out. People shouldn't take them as evidence of Saudi complicity in the attacks," Brennan said in an interview with Saudi-owned Arabiya TV, according to a transcript provided by the network. The withheld section of the 2002 report is central to a dispute over whether Americans should be able to sue the Saudi government, a key US ally, for damages.The US Senate passed a bill on May 17 allowing the families of Sept. 11 victims to do so, setting up a potential showdown with the White House, which has threatened a veto. Saudi Arabia denies providing any support for the 19 hijackers - most of whom were Saudi citizens - who killed nearly 3,000 people in the Sept. 11 attacks. Riyadh strongly objects to the bill. It has said it might sell up to $750 billion in US securities and other American assets if it became law. Brennan called the 28-page section merely a "preliminary review.""The 9/11 commission looked very thoroughly at these allegations of Saudi involvement ... their conclusion was that there was no evidence to indicate that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually had supported the 9/11 attacks," he added. The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence is reviewing the material to see whether it can be declassified. Former US Senator Bob Graham, who co-chaired the congressional inquiry into the attacks, said in April that the White House will likely make a decision by June on whether it would release the classified pages.

World community must tackle the threat of Islamic fundamentalism emanating from Iran
NCRI Iran News/Sunday, 12 June 2016/As the world continues to struggle in its effort to find a solution to the ever growing threat of Islamic fundamentalism, a very simple reality is very often overlooked -- and at times deliberately neglected, Shahriar Kia wrote on Friday for Newsmax. In the years leading to World War II, the appeasement policy advocated by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain vis-a-vis the fascist regimes of Europe forced him to declare war on Nazi Germany after Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland, and the rest is history. Decades later, we are literally witnessing history repeating itself as the West, spearheaded by the Obama administration in Washington, has once again embraced the appeasement/engagement policy, wrote Mr. Kia, a press spokesman for members of the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran opposition group (PMOI, also known as MEK) residing in Camp Liberty, Iraq.
"This time, it is with a fascist regime in Iran. The objective is to encourage the emergence of moderates from within the mullahs’ establishment. This misguided policy has unfortunately led to the de facto rise of Islamic fundamentalism."
"The regime in Iran is relying on three main pillars and platforms to safeguard its ruling system: domestic oppression and harrowing human rights violations, perennial support for international terrorism, and the all-out effort to obtain nuclear weapons by any means possible.""Long before Daesh -- the Arabic acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL -- ever came to existence, the mullahs sitting on the throne in Iran claimed having the prophecy and manifestation to rule over all Islamic countries under such a caliphate.""For nearly four decades, Iran has literally posed the first and foremost threat for peace and security for Middle East and beyond.""The Obama administration sought to tame the regime in Iran through an outreach effort to seal an agreement over Tehran’s ongoing differences with the international community regarding its suspicious and clandestine nuclear program.""After years of overt and covert talks, the P5+1 finally closed an agreement in July 2015 for Iran to cooperate in curbing its emblematic nuclear program in return for certain concessions.""The international community expected Iran to at least principally alter previous methods, and remedy its menacing behavior.""However, the mullahs in Tehran – under pressure from their dismal base – built on this naïve expectation and continued wreaking havoc by meddling in the region, test-firing a string of ballistic missiles despite the U.N. Security Council denouncing such measures, and launching massive waves of executions in prisons across the country."
Newsweek raised the question of Iran ever maturing into an appropriate neighbor, describing how Tehran has resorted to pursuing “deterrence and military power projection through means of its ballistic missiles, an alliance with Lebanese Hezbollah and the rest of its regional proxy army, and its suite of asymmetric naval capabilities designed to threaten Persian Gulf shipping and U.S. maritime dominance.”
Interestingly, despite all these undeniable facts, the West, and the Obama administration in particular, simply refuse to accept the reality that Iran will not budge to denounce its past or welcome any change whatsoever, nor will it allow its already tenuous hegemony be tethered, Mr. Kia argued.We have to accept the fact that any talk of “moderates” and “hardliners” in Iran is merely playing into Tehran’s hands, he said."The mentality of all factions inside Iran is founded based on Islamic fundamentalism, denying freedoms for all and most importantly, strict gender segregation and discrimination.""Iran under its 'moderate' President Hassan Rouhani is known to have executed more than 2,400 people from June 2013 onward. Recent startling reports indicate Iran sent 23 prisoners to the gallows in the span of two days of May 17th and 18th, and placed in solitary confinement 10 young inmates aged between 21 and 25, all in preparation for their executions.""Further disturbing news from Iran show how dozens of high school graduates were arrested and lashed 99 times each for throwing, and dancing at, a graduation party. This should provide a clear insight about the mullahs’ temperament."
"This complex, defiant threat was first unearthed more than two decades ago by the Iranian opposition in a book titled Islamic Fundamentalism: The New Global Threat. It precisely evaluated the very foundation of this mentality."
"Had these warnings been taken seriously, and received the attention they deserved, rest assured that neither al-Qaida nor Daesh would have emerged. Iraq would not have been taken hostage by Iran-backed Shiite militias sowing the seeds of 'sedition and division.'"
"Nor would Bashar al-Assad, following the footsteps dictated by Iran, have massacred the Syrian people in a turmoil enduring for more than five years now."
"The regime in Tehran is the epicenter of provoking this multi-layered misery, and offers a safe haven for terrorists.""Four decades of their onslaught against the Middle East and world over has proven the international community has been neglecting the mainstream solution to this major dilemma.""The National Council of Resistance of Iran, symbolized in the leadership of Maryam Rajavi and her 10-point plan for Iran, presents a democratic alternative for Iran to dislodge the mullahs."As former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani stated at a major gathering back in June 2015: “This is a critical time for freedom in Iran. Now more than ever, it is essential for President Obama and Secretary Kerry to keep the pressure on the Iranian Government.”He added: “At the core of all these problems is the regime in Iran. It should be changed, it must be changed, it has to be changed…There should be support by the United States government for an opposition in Iran. The United States government should support the opposition groups, Mrs. Rajavi's being the most prominent, and the biggest."

Next U.S. president should recognize there are no moderates in Iran regime
NCRI Iran News/Sunday, 12 June 2016
Since the conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers last summer, the Iranian regime has carried out at least five provocative ballistic missile tests in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, Ali Safavi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran has pointed out. The three most recent were in early March, each followed by boastful comments from top officials, including the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the ultimate authority in all matters of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy. In a recent speech, Khamenei declared, “Those who say the future is in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors.” Such aggressive commentary underscores the Iranian threat, Dr. Safavi wrote on Friday in Roll Call. These tests are a crucial component in developing the capability to send nuclear warheads over long distances, at targets even thousands of miles away.
Earlier this month, the commander of the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned, “Our missiles that have become more precise and more destructive [and they] will be multiplied more than before.”The Iranian regime's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, defended the tests by saying in essence that Iran has the right to defend itself. Khamenei took the same line, saying, “If the Islamic Republic seeks negotiations but has no defensive power, it would have to back down in the face of threats from any weak country.”
Their embellishment misrepresents the restrictions the Security Council has sought to impose on nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Zarif neglected to mention that the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” was scrawled on the most recently tested missiles, Dr. Safavi pointed out.
"But what about the recent parliamentary elections, and the 'resounding victory for moderates' reported by the Western press? Unfortunately, those 'moderates' are the same politicians who preside over Iran’s ballistic missile program, who were instrumental in deceiving nuclear inspectors and who continue to wreak havoc across the region," he wrote."If these are the moderates, we’re in deep trouble."Both before the nuclear deal and since, Iran’s essential character and behavior have remained unchanged. This was underscored by Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the outgoing commander of U.S. Central Command, in remarks before the Congress on March 9: “Since the nuclear deal, Iran has not yet changed its acts in the region … Iran is the biggest factor of instability in the region.”This is true in Iraq, where it sponsors violent sectarian militias; in Syria, where it fuels the atrocities of the Assad regime; and in Yemen, where it instigated a rebellion, catapulting the country into chaos and bloodshed. Iran continues to arm rebel forces, as evidenced by the recent French and U.S. capture of ships carrying weapons for the Houthi fighters.“We will continue to support the survival of the Syrian government,” said Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, on April 5. Days later, Ali Akbar Velayati, a confidant of Khamenei, said, “The removal of Assad is a red line for us,” hinting at Tehran’s commitment to bolstering the Syrian dictator.
Even farther abroad, on Bulgarian soil, Iran's regime was responsible for a bus bombing in 2012 that killed scores of civilians, just as in Argentina it was responsible for killing hundreds of Jews in the 1990s.At home, the regime continues to execute opponents by hanging them from cranes, and to jail and torture minorities and anyone perceived as an opponent. Nearly 1,000 were hanged in 2015, according to Amnesty International. "This sickening practice of using construction cranes to murder people is in ironic contrast with other countries, where cranes symbolize progress, new building projects, economic growth and hopefully, improving living standards," Dr. Safavi wrote. "Those who advocate genuine change in Iran — and have not been killed for it — must live either under constant threat of violence, or in exile. Every summer, more than 100,000 exiled Iranian political activists assemble near Paris to demonstrate that this has not stopped the Iranian people and opposition groups from pursuing an end to Iran’s religious dictatorship.""The United States and its European allies must abandon their policy of appeasement because Iran’s extremists clearly have not changed. What is needed is quite simply a policy that recognizes the facts: There are no moderates in the Tehran regime, which is holding tight to its policy of terror at home and abroad." "The western response need not include direct military action against Iran, but it does need to be based on action, not simply harsh words, much less willful ignorance." "Iran has strong opposition forces. As opposition leader Maryam Rajavi has said, women play a crucial and central role in such activism. The movement that she leads foresees a transparent, modern Iranian democracy, a vision none of today’s theocratic 'moderates' would dare to even mention.""The Iranian people want their future democratic government to be secular, nuclear-free and respectful of human rights. They want a government that would reintegrate as a peaceful member of the international community. They do not want a regime that is reviled as the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism in the world.""So why are the people not receiving the support they deserve?""America's next president must confront the true face of the Iranian regime’s malevolent ambitions. That would be a good first step to really knowing who are friends and who are sworn enemies of freedom," Dr. Safavi added..

‘Immorality’ among women is causing rivers in Iran to dry up – senior cleric
NCRI Iran News/ Saturday, 11 June 2016/NCRI - Women’s immodest attire is causing rivers in Iran to dry up, according to a senior cleric of the Iranian regime who urged the regime’s fundamentalist storm-troopers on Friday to crack down on women for “improper veiling.”While referring to the issue of ‘improper veiling’, mullah Seyyed Youssef Tabatabi-nejad, the regime’s Friday prayers’ leader in Isfahan, in his sermon this week said: “My office has received photos of women next to the dry Zayandeh-rud River pictured as if they are in Europe. It is these sorts of acts that cause the river to dry up even further.”
His remarks were carried by the state-run ISNA news agency on Friday. He also criticized online social networks which “encourage improper veiling” among women. “I tell the Communications Ministry to clamp down on the instigators of the networks encouraging immodesty. If you don’t do so, then you will have failed to carry out your duty. The Communications Ministry can discover and suffocate these individuals,” he added. Tabatabi-nejad, who is also the representative of the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Isfahan, claimed that the regime had not been forceful enough in its implementation of its ‘cultural revolution.’“In the past few years we weren’t even able to gender segregate the universities. What kind of a cultural revolution is this in which no major actions have been undertaken?” Tabatabi-nejad urged the regime’s supporters to assist the so-called morality force hounding the streets to ensure that women are ‘properly veiled.’“If we see a sin it’s useless that we only bicker about it. The police force can use the [paramilitary] Hezbollahi forces in carrying out their operations to root out vice,” he said. Tabatabi-nejad sits as a member of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body of 88 senior mullahs who are tasked with appointing the regime’s Supreme Leader. Commenting on this latest position by a senior official of the mullahs’ regime, Afchine Alavi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on Saturday said: “This reflects the typical mindset of the theocratic regime ruling Iran which is no different to the culture of Daesh (ISIL or ISIL). Misogyny is a cornerstone of this mindset. The regime’s increasing isolation with each passing day results in more brutal methods of suppression being employed by the regime.”Last summer another senior cleric of the regime claimed that failure to conform to the Islamic Republic’s dress code, including wearing the mandatory black ‘chador’, or veil, causes women in Iran to become sick and suffer from illnesses in the intestines and stomach.

Iranian Resistance's President-elect and officials of Syrian opposition attend solidarity meeting with Syrian Revolution
NCRI Iran News/Sunday, 12 June 2016 /Maryam Rajavi: Solution to Middle East crisis involves eviction of mullahs from Syria and region and their overthrow in Iran
Saturday night, June 11, 2016, on the initiative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a meeting was held in solidarity with the Syrian people and their resistance. The Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi and a number of prominent personalities from Syria and Syrian opposition officials were in attendance. Haitham al-Maleh, chairman of the Syrian National Council legal committee; Michel Kilo, political bureau member of the Coalition; Soheir Attassi, member of the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition; Dr. Nasser Al-Hariri, member of the Coalition; Nagham Ghadri, member of the Coalition and former Vice Chairman; Dr. Taghrid al-Hagli, former Minister for Culture and Family Affairs of the Syrian Interim Government; Ghassan Aboud, head of Orient Television; Brig. General Mesghal Al-Batish; Brig. General Mustafa Sheikh, a commander of the Free Syrian Army; and Brig. General Abdallah Albashir al-Naimi, former chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army; were among those present in the meeting. Lauding the steadfastness and heroism of Syria's opposition fighters, Maryam Rajavi said: The most important component of a correct and effective solution to the crisis in the region is eviction of the clerical regime from countries of the region. So long as the IRGC is in Syria, the country will not experience peace and tranquility; so long as the Iranian regime is not expelled from the international negotiations, the talks will not produce any results; and so long as the regime is not evicted from Syria and Iraq, the fight against Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) will not amount to any decisive outcome.
Mrs. Rajavi reiterated: If the Iranian regime had not interfered in the affairs of Iraq and Syria and committed its crimes, the phenomenon of Daesh would not have spread in the Middle East and the terrorist attacks would not have taken place in France and other countries.
The mullahs justify the massacre and displacement of the people of Syria and the destruction of their country under the pretext of defending the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Zainab, to put an Islamic and Shiite veneer on the disaster. Yet the fact is that today, Shiites and Sunnis, Muslims and Christians, Arabs and Persians, Turks and Afghans, have no enemy worse than the Velayat-e Faqih regime.Addressing the Syrian people and revolution, Maryam Rajavi said: No major power has backed you over these years, while others have formed alliances with the butcher of Damascus, or at best, remained indifferent. You have resisted by relying on your own strength. This has given you the strength to remain firm and keep the initiative in the face of international pressures to make you back down from the Syrian people's demands.
With such steadfastness and self-reliance, the Syrian Revolution has created a huge deathtrap for the clerical regime. The mullahs are stuck in the quagmire of the Syrian war and they would be the losers in every conceivable development regarding Syria. The important experience is that showing the role of the Iranian regime in Syria and the need to confront it is the top priority in political and international area.The main dynamic force that has kept Assad in power is the Iranian regime that mobilizes all its influence and deception skills to involve international parties in the war against the opposition. This is particularly important because the US and other Western powers as well as the UN try to turn a blind eye to the Iranian regime's presence in Syria.
Maryam Rajavi stressed that Ali Khamenei and Bashar Assad must be prosecuted in international tribunals for their direct involvement in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and the destruction of Syria. The executions and torture of hundreds of thousands of Iranians and various types of other crimes comprise another part of Khamenei's record for which he must be held accountable. The Iranian regime is the greatest cause of war and discord in the world of Islam and it must be expelled from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
A number of French personalities participated in this meeting which was moderated by Ahmad Kamel, press advisor to the Syrian High Negotiations Committee. Other speakers included Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria; cleric Mohamad Ali Al Husseini, Secretary-General of the Arab-Islamic Council in Lebanon; Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, former Chief Justice of Palestine; Khalil Merroun, rector of the Evry Mosque and chair of the French Muslims' Committee in Defense of Rights of Ashrafis; Sheikh Dhaou Meskine, Secretary General of Council of French Imams and President of French Muslims’ Committee against Fundamentalism and for Human Rights; Dr. Anouar Malek, writer and former Syrian correspondent in the Arab Union; Abdallah Khalaf, coordinator of Saad Hariri’s Future Movement in France; Tahar Boumedra, former head of the UN human rights office in Iraq and in charge of the Camp Ashraf dossier in the United Nations; Reza Al-Reza, Secretary-General of the Jaafari Shiite Delegation of Iraq; Salah Sabah al-Mokhtar, president of the Arab Iraqi Lawyers Association Centre (UK); and Jalal Ganjeii, chairman of the NCRI Committee on Freedom of Religions.
The solidarity meeting also featured a photo exhibition of five years of the Syrian people's heroic resistance, shocking disasters in Syria and crimes of the Iranian regime and their allies in that country, as well as revolutionary mystical and popular performances by a Syrian music group led by celebrity singer Samih Shaker both warmly received by the audience.
The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/June 11, 2016

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 12-13/16

Only democracy can stop bloodshed
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
Democracy is passing through difficult times. In its latest edition, London-based weekly The Economist has dedicated several pages discussing the various dimensions of the crisis facing democracy. It established that there is a growing lack of confidence in democracy and suggested a number of steps to improve it so that people’s faith in it is restored and good governance is achieved. Democracy remains the most effective way to tackle terror, stop bloodshed and political violence in Arab countries. When the West deals with the crisis of democracy, it does so by tracking voting trends that are backing a reckless politician like Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Western countries are adept at finding the reasons behind low voter turnout in elections or to determine why people are unhappy with the parliament’s performance. While western countries are examining what can be done to revive democracy and to grapple with transformation amid communication revolution, Arab countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen are in deep need of democracy to be able to survive and to stop bloodshed that has killed hundreds of thousands.Arab citizens are losing faith in democracy even though it has been at the forefront of their demands. In Iraq, for example, demonstrators’ attack on Parliament clearly indicated the failure of democracy. It was followed by the chaos of demonstrations called by Iraqi cleric Muqtada al- Sadr, demanding political reform. While western countries are examining what can be done to revive democracy and to grapple with transformation amid communication revolution, Arab countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen are in deep need of democracy to be able to survive . Unfortunately, the failure of democracy in Iraq will become an excuse for the opponents of democracy. An enthusiast for tyranny would claim that Arab countries cannot be ruled by democracy, while a so-called liberal will insist that people must be prepared and be educated about it. Such opponents of democracy have a strong case now which is the failure of the creation of a viable democratic regime in Iraq.
Old regimes
In fact, the opponents of democracy do not have any other alternative for these countries. They only want restoration of old Arab regimes which collapsed in 2011 after being in power for more than half a century. They believe old regimes can restore security and stability as they compare the current situation with that of the one-man rules such as that of former Libyan leader Qaddafi or former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak. The use of hashtag “bring back Husni Mubarak” is an example. It clearly reflects the aspirations of some Egyptian people who once thought that breaking free from the cycle of misery, joblessness and tyranny of the regime can only be achieved by getting rid of the head of state. The idea that only democracy can stop bloodshed should be spread while at the same time regional players should be convinced against the idea of restoring old regimes. Yemenis and Syrians want democracy and exchange of power but such sentences are only found in constitutions of Arab republics and have not been applicable on the ground. Iraq’s new constitution is theoretically a model but has not delivered democracy or respect for the rule of law and human rights. Arab democracy project shall be sponsored by stable Arab countries even if they were not democratic. This must look like a contradiction but do we have a better alternative than this absurd tendency to advocate restoration of old Arab regimes? One day bloodshed will eventually stop in Arab countries and we should be ready to enable the transformation process and promote stability. When the battle ends, we will find demolished towns and fragmented communities divided along religious, ethnic and regional lines. There won’t be a united national army but several militias and no tyrant who prevails by force. The solution would be to impose democracy under international umbrella, to prevent disagreements and to pave the way for the return of federal governments. Let us take the Libyan example; all attempts to establish stability without democracy have not achieved results. After two years of violence that has almost ruined the country, a large section of the Libyan people is now convinced that democracy, based on consensus and participation, is the only solution under the umbrella of the United Nations. This solution is needed for other Arab countries as well. They should be aware that supporting one party to impose its control over the rest of the country will lead to more failures in the future. Experience has shown that violence has prevented one party or the other from achieving a decisive victory. Once the war is over, the greatest support that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries can provide to Yemen is not making it a member of the GCC, nor a Marshall plan or even billions worth of grant, but by helping it establish democratic mechanism regulating peaceful exchange of power and gathering different parties in a constituent assembly. The same should be implemented in Syria and Iraq. The details could vary but the essence of democracy remains the same.Stabilizing democracy and driving people to believe in it is the only way forward for peace. After accomplishing this, we should work to develop and rebuild the nation. Stopping bloodshed should be the priority at the moment.
This article first appeared in Al Hayat on June 11, 2016.

Amid offensive in Fallujah, civilians face hellish uncertainty
Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
At least 30 people, including women and children, were reportedly gunned down by ISIS militants when they attempted to flee from Fallujah, where the Iraqi military and allied Shiite forces remain engaged in a major offensive to retake the city from the barbaric militant group. The latest ISIS-executed massacre – as well as reports indicating brutalizing of Sunni civilians by Shiite militias – underscores the dire need to better protect trapped civilians in the besieged city and to ensure relevant humanitarian operations are fully financially funded. As the Iraqi military offensive continues, the humanitarian situation is rapidly worsening and the UN has warned that only 31 percent of the $861 million requested for aid operations in Iraq has been secured. Meanwhile, pro-Iraqi government Shiite militias continue to carry out atrocious crimes against people who have remarkably managed to survive both ISIS rule and the journey to flee the militant group’s strongholds. UN officials recently indicated they now assess as many as 90,000 civilians likely remain trapped in Fallujah, a significant increase from their previous estimate, which indicated approximately 50,000 civilians were thought to remain in the city. The grim update should add pressure on donors to fund the remaining 70 percent of the UN’s aid appeal and should also underscore the need to escalate humanitarian efforts to prevent the slaughter of tens of thousands. As the offensive drags on, civilians trapped in Iraq – just like those trapped in neighbouring Syria – face a reality of starvation and a near-death existence under siege. As the offensive drags on, civilians trapped in Iraq – just like those trapped in neighbouring Syria – face a reality of starvation and a near-death existence under siege. But even for people who’ve escaped, safety remains unreachable. Many people who have managed to flee ISIS-held areas have faced utter brutality and torment at the hands of Shiite militias. The Daily Beast reported that hundreds of civilians from the towns of Saqlawiyah and Karma were “heavily tortured” by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) militia group and that at least several hundred other people were “buried alive.” Human Rights Watch also issued a thorough report on recent abuse by the PMF with one witness reportedly claiming that he saw PMF members and Federal Police personnel open fatal fire on an unknown number of civilians carrying white flags in Sajar.
History of brutality
The past history of Shiite militias’ brutality is well-documented and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein seemed to confirm the grave reports regarding the most recent abuse. Al-Hussein stated that the UN had received reports of “armed groups “intercepting people fleeing the conflict, separating the men and teenage boys from the women and children, and detaining the males for ‘security screening’, which in some cases degenerates into physical violation..” He also confirmed that there were reports people had recently been “summarily executed.”Iraqi forces must act to halt the abuse or the long-term consequences of once again allowing Shiite militias to act with utter impunity will haunt Iraq long after the offensive in Fallujah concludes. As the military offensive continues in the immediate term, it is imperative that aid operations conducted by the UN and their partners are fully funded without delay. The nightmare scenario of ISIS holding tens of thousands of civilians hostage while Shiite militias carrying out atrocities against those fleeing or coming under their control is underway; how many innocent men and women are slaughtered will be determined by how committed the international community is in protecting civilians and whether Iraqi authorities prove willing and capable to hold Shiite militias accountable for their recent brutality.

A social media disease for which there is no vaccine
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
In a satirical Arab show this week, a minister was afraid of a Twitter user named “Cough Syrup.” He pleaded with the social media buff to help him keep his job by not leaking an inflammatory video to his superiors.The minister’s role was skillfully played by Saudi comedian Nasser al-Qasabi in the show titled “Selfie.” During the episode, the minister’s fear drove him and his team to devise a schedule in which he visits cities, towns and neglected areas in an attempt to redeem himself after the person who shot the video fled. The minister then resorts to “Cough Syrup” for further help. What’s surprising is that the Twitter user appears to be really young – as if he hasn’t even graduated from high school yet. Despite his age, he has an army of Twitter users following him - an army that he seems to lead from one hashtag to another. The price for his silence is 100,000 Saudi riyals and two free flights a year. There’s no doubt that social media has given “legions of idiots the right to speak” There’s no doubt that social media has given “legions of idiots the right to speak” as the late Italian novelist Umberto Eco put it - legions who used to be “quickly silenced” before all this technology came into existence. What’s strange though, is how social media has created socially-accepted platforms for many to criticize and judge others from. Younger generations that are so enthusiastic about technology are suffering from a disease that is yet to have a vaccine.There is more than one “Cough Syrup” across the world, acting freely on social media and creating rivalries. During this holy month of Ramadan, we ask God to guide them to the right path. This article was first published in Okaz on Jun. 12, 2016.

Why sectarianism is a noose around the neck
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 12/16
The second season of television series, Selfie, has once again highlighted the issue of sectarianism, through the prism of children and their families. It also highlighted the primary education they receive and the historical chronicles that form their opinion, define their identities and establish their independent personalities in its most extreme image. Children come to life as blank papers, free from any scratch or color. They do not choose their religion, sects or parents. There are biological, social and sectarian determining factors that are very powerful and compulsive; they influence the children and set the path for them without giving them the chance to object or approve. After becoming adults they start to deal with others who differ from them. They witness that what is around them is different from what they are used to, and thus, start questioning themselves. They begin to question others and the complex reality surrounding them. They enter this phase where they investigate, verify and make more independent choices. However, these questions do not usually affect the deep faith or the main chronicles that are the backbone of the identity being formed for so many years. Questions related to marginal issues remain, some of which are the result of the daily difficulties faced by individuals, requiring unconventional solutions. Absolute submission is the utmost scourge of sectarianism; it is what makes religions myopic, refusing to be questioned. Religions face rebels violently, the same way they do with their enemies.
Beyond margins
Sectarianism is no longer a marginal issue that can fade out with time. It has emerged in the form of transnational terrorist groups that promote themselves based on sectarian identity and justify killing of others. There is hence need for more decisive steps while dealing with sectarianism. Principled and religious speeches will not solve the problem of sectarianism. In fact, they are part of the problem. Many extremist clerics continuously incite and issue fatwas against each other. What can limit sectarian brutality is a regime that forbids it, a regime that is based on humane values respecting all religions and sects. Besides, there are “dishonest tolerance” speeches that taint the other and praise oneself. That is to suggest that the problem is not within me as I am well-informed and accept the other, the problem is in the other, who is at the receiving end of insult and hatred. This tactic can, however, convince only foolish people. What can limit sectarian brutality is a regime that forbids it, a regime that is based on humane values respecting all religions and sects. Regimes can regulate the relation between individuals and groups. They protect individuals from verbal, physical and even moral offense. They can hold the guilty accountable and prosecute those inciting hatred or racism, no matter how influential they may be. The Selfie series has made us laugh and cry over the reality facing sectarianism in our communities. However, even if it explicitly points to the disease, the reality will not change unless real initiatives are taken without taking into consideration any individual or sect. The country’s security should be of utmost importance. This article was first published on Al Riyadh on Jun. 10, 2016.
 

The West's Most Important Ally: Islam's Dissidents
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/June 12/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8227/muslim-dissidents

Today a new Iron Curtain has been erected by Islam against the rest of the world, and the new heroes are the dissidents, the apostates, the rebels, the non-believers and the heretics.
This rapidly growing army of Muslim dissidents is the best liberation movement for millions of Muslims who aspire to practice their faith peacefully without submitting to the dictates of fundamentalists and fanatics.
They are alone against all. Against Islamism which uses Kalashnikovs and against an intellectual terrorism which submits them to media intimidation. Seen as "traitors" by their communities, they are accused by the élites in the West of "stigmatizing."
We should support them -- all of them. Some of the bravest defenders of freedom come from the Islamic regimes. Europe should give financial, moral and political support to these friends of Western civilization, while our disgraced intelligentsia is engaged in slandering them.
Islam, warned the best-selling Algerian novelist, Boualem Sansal, is going to split European society. In an interview with German media, this brave Arab writer painted a vision of Europe subjugated by radical Islam. According to Sansal, the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels are directed at the Western way of life: "You can not even defeat the weak Arab states, so they have brought in fifth columns to bring the West to destroy itself. If they succeed society will fall."
Mr. Sansal, who has been threatened with death, belongs to a rapidly growing army of Muslim dissidents. They are the best liberation movement for millions of Muslims who aspire to practice their faith peacefully without submitting to the dictates of fundamentalists and fanatics. These Muslim dissidents pursue freedom of conscience, interreligious coexistence, pluralism in the public sphere, criticism of Islam, and respect for the rule of common law. For the Islamic world, their message could be devastating. That is why the Islamists are hunting them down.
It is always individuals, such as Lech Walesa, who make all the difference. The Soviet Union was defeated by only three beings: Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II -- and the dissidents. When Professor Robert Havemann died in East Germany, few people noticed it. This intrepid critic of the regime was confined under house arrest in Grünheide, guarded by the Stasi. But the old professor never allowed himself to be intimidated. He continued to fight for his ideas.
A hero of Czechoslovak anti-Communism, Jan Patočka, died under grueling police interrogation. Patočka paid the highest price of silencing. His brilliant lectures were reduced to a clandestine seminar. Although unable to publish, he continued to work in a tiny underground apartment.
Hunted by the KGB, Alexander Solzhenitsyn set down the chapters of his Gulag Archipelago and hid them with different trusted friends, so no one possessed the entire manuscript. In 1973 only three copies existed. When the Soviet political police managed to extort the typist, Elizaveta Voronyanskya, to one of the hideouts, thinking the masterpiece was lost forever she hanged herself.
Today a new Iron Curtain has been erected by Islam against the rest of the world, and the new heroes are the dissidents, the apostates, the heretics, the rebels, and the non-believers. It is no coincidence that the first victim of a fatwa was Salman Rushdie, an Indian-British writer from a Muslim family.
Pascal Bruckner called them "the free thinkers of the Muslim world." We should support them -- all of them. Because if the enemies of freedom come from free societies, those who kneel before Allah's enforcers, some of the bravest defenders of freedom come from the Islamic regimes. Europe should give financial, moral and political support to these friends of Western civilization, while our disgraced intelligentsia is engaged in slandering them.
One, an Algerian author, Kamel Daoud, who called Saudi Arabia "an Isis that had made it," recently sparked an "Islamophobia" row for having directed his own anger at the naïve people, who he says ignore the cultural gulf separating the Arab-Muslim world from Europe.
Another, an Iranian exile, now in the Netherlands, the jurist Afshin Ellian, works at Utrecht University, where after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, he is protected by bodyguards. After the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, while Europe's media were busy in blaming the "stupid" cartoonists, Ellian promoted an appeal: "Don't let terrorists determine the limits of free speech."
Another brave dissident and author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, had to flee from the Netherlands to the U.S., where she rapidly became one of most prominent public intellectuals.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a brave Muslim dissident and author, had to flee from the Netherlands to the U.S., where she rapidly became one of most prominent public intellectuals. (Image source: Gage Skidmore)
The Moroccan mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, is also guarded by police. He recently told fellow Muslims who protested against freedoms they found while living in the West to "pack your bags and f... off." A heroic Christian defender of these freedoms in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, is now on trial accused of "discrimination." "I am in jail," he has said, referring to his safehouses, "and they are walking around free."
Many of these dissidents are women. Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan politician and journalist, declared war on Islamic fundamentalists after the Taliban's religious police beat her for daring to walk without a male escort. A suicide bomber blew himself up near her car, killing three. Kadra Yusuf, a Somali journalist, infiltrated Oslo's mosques to denounce the imams, especially regarding female genital mutilation, not even required in the Koran or the Hadith (reports about Mohammad). In Pakistan, Sherry Rehman called for "a reform of Pakistani blasphemy's laws." She risks her life every day. She is branded by Islamists "fit to be killed" for being a woman, a Muslim and a secular activist. The Syrian-American author and psychiatrist, Wafa Sultan, was also branded an "infidel" deserving of death.
Le Figaro recently published a long report about Muslim French personalities threatened with "execution". "Placed under permanent police protection, regarded as traitors by Muslim fundamentalists, they live in a hell. In the eyes of Islamists, their freedom is an act of betrayal of the ummah [community]." They are writers and journalists of Arab-Muslim culture who denounce the Islamist threat and the inherent violence of the Koran. They stand alone against Islamism which uses the physical terrorism of Kalashnikovs, and against the intellectual terrorism which submits them to media intimidation. Seen as "traitors" by their communities, they are accused by the élites in the West of "stigmatizing."
The French journalist Zineb El Rhazoui has more bodyguards than many ministers in the government of Manuel Valls, and for security, has to change houses in Paris often in recent months. For this young scholar, born in Casablanca and who works at the French weekly, Charlie Hebdo, walking down the street in Paris has become unthinkable. A fatwa put out after January 7, 2015 reads: "Kill Zineb El Rhazoui to avenge the Prophet."
Threats against another dissident, Nadia Remadna, do not come from Raqqa, Syria, but her own city: Sevran, in Seine-Saint-Denis. They reflect the growing influence of Islamists in the lost territories of the French Republic. What "crime" was she found guilty of? She created the "Brigade of Mothers" to combat the Islamist influence on young Muslims.
A philosophy teacher, Sofiane Zitouni, has also quit his job at a Muslim French school over "insidious Islamism."
The French-Algerian journalist, essayist and author of several investigations into Islamist circles, Mohamed Sifaoui, is the victim of a double threat. He is a prime target for both fundamentalists and the "tolerant" grand inquisitors. Sentenced to two years in prison by the Algerian regime for "press offenses," then harassed by Islamists, Sifaoui requested asylum in France in 1999 and has never set foot in Algeria again. Since then, Sifaoui has seen his picture and name next to the words "le mourtad," the apostate, on Islamist websites, meaning that he is targeted for death. French police protection around him has been total since 2006, when he defended freedom of expression for the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
About fifteen witnesses made a deposition in favor of the magazine, Charlie Hebdo. Among them were the late Muslim Tunisian essayist, Abdelwahab Meddeb, who had the courage to challenge the entire French Muslim establishment which tried to stop Charlie Hebdo. Meddeb wanted to show "this is not about anyone against Islam, but enlightened Islam against obscurantist Islam."
Also in France, Hassen Chalghoumi, the courageous imam of Drancy, preaches while wearing a bullet-proof vest. When he goes out on the street, he is accompanied by five police officers with semiautomatic weapons. This is not outside Baghdad's Green Zone; this is in the heart of Paris. Chalghoumi backed the ban on burkas; made an unprecedented visit at Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial; paid tribute to the victims of Charlie Hebdo and favored a dialogue with French Jews.
Naser Khader, a Muslim liberal with Danish citizenship, who called for "a Muslim reformation," and authored "Honour and Shame," is threatened by Islamic groups with death.
In Italy, an Egyptian-born writer, Magdi Cristiano Allam, is protected by bodyguards for having criticized political Islam. As the deputy editor of Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, Mr. Allam published a book whose title alone was enough to endanger his life: "Viva Israele."
Ibn Warraq lives protected behind a pseudonym since writing a seminal book, "Why I am Not a Muslim."
The Palestinian blogger Walid Husayin is also a rarity. Jailed for "satirizing the Koran, he recently published a book in France about his experience in the Palestinian territories, where his "atheism" nearly cost him his life.
In Tunisia there are a handful of filmmakers and intellectuals who fight for freedom of expression, especially after a secular opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, was assassinated. Also Nadia El Fani, the director of "Ni Allah ni maître" ["Neither Allah nor Master"], and Nabil Karoui, the manager of Nessma TV, are threatened with death and are being taken to court to answer charges of "blasphemy." If Tunisia's "Arab spring" did not turn into an Islamist winter, as elsewhere, it is largely thanks to these dissidents.
Those heroes know what happened to their predecessors in "the war on Arab intellectuals." Writers such as Tahar Djaout were killed in 1993 by the Islamists in Algiers, as was the journalist, Farag Foda, famous for his sharp satires on Islamic fundamentalism. Prior to his murder, Foda had been accused of "blasphemy" by the great mosque of al-Azhar. A dozen Bangladeshi bloggers have also been murdered in cold blood by Islamists for the "crime" of "secularism."
Last year, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al- Sisi called for reforming Islam and the way it is taught as did Sunni Islam's leading cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al Tayeb, head of Cairo's al-Azhar University, the center of Sunni Islam. And he said it in Mecca, no less. Egypt's conservatives however did their best to tamp that down – at least for the moment.
There are, however, more and more dissidents successfully speaking out and leading bold, farsighted movements. In the U.S., M. Zuhdi Jasser, author of "A Battle for the Soul of Islam," and a practising physician, founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Last year, more than two dozen Muslim personalities promoted an appeal "to embrace a pluralistic interpretation of Islam, rejecting all forms of oppression and abuses committed in the name of religion."
In Canada, Raheel and Sohail Raza founded "Muslims Facing Tomorrow," and there is the outspoken Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, Salim Mansur.
In the U.K., Maajid Nawaz heads the influential Quilliam Foundation, and Shiraz Maher, who defected from the Islamist organization, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, now serves as a Senior Fellow at the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King's College London.
These are just a few of today's heroes. Some had to be left out; there were too many to list.
The proud and painful resistance of these "Allah's rebels" is one of the most beautiful testaments of our times. These "Allah's rebels" are also the only real hope of reform for the Islamic world -- and of preserving freedom for all of us.
Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
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