LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 02/15

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.july02.15.htm

Bible Quotation For Today/An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah
Matthew 16/01-04: "The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, ‘When it is evening, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red." And in the morning, "It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening." You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.’ Then he left them and went away."

Bible Quotation For Today/God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised
Acts of the Apostles 13/13-25: "Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.’ So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: ‘You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, "I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes." Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, "What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet."

LCCC Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 01-02/15
Turkey's Wrong Bet on Syria/Burak Bekdil//Gatestone Institute/July 1, 2015
Extremism and Censorship/Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute/July 1, 2015
A Bloody Friday in Ramadan/Eyad Abu Shakra/ASharq Al Awsat/Tuesday, 30 Jun, 2015
Remote-Controlled Terrorism/Ali Ibrahim/Asharq Al Awsat/Wednesday, 1 Jul, 2015
Restraining extremists protects Islam/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/Wednesday, 1 July 2015
United against ISIS… or is it ISIL or the Islamic State?/Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/Wednesday, 1 July 2015
The changing face of female militants/Dr. Halla Diyab/Al Arabiya/Wednesday, 1 July 2015
ISIS and Operation Decisive Storm… Back to moderation/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Iran nuclear talks: What absolute deadlines?/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/Tuesday, 30 June 2015
“Lebanese Journalists, Nadim Koteich: Call To Recognize Connection Between Terrorism And Islam/ Nadim Koteich/MEMRI/July 01/15

LCCC Bulletin itles for the Lebanese Related News published on July 01-02/15
950 Hezbollah operatives, 300 Hamas members in Germany – intelligence report
Salam expresses solidarity with Egypt
Lebanese Army kills 5 militants along Syria border
Lebanese Cabinet can act with two-thirds majority: Berri
Report: Amazon Still Selling Hizbullah Flags following Confederate Flag Ban
Report: Security Measures in Beirut Counter Attack Schemes
At least Five Jihadists Killed in Lebanese Army Ambush
Several Injured in Mustaqbal-Resistance Brigades Clashes
Jumblat Optimistic on Cabinet, Says Federation Not Possible in Lebanon
Christian poll to be held ‘in coming days’

LCCC Bulletin Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 01-02/15
Canada Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Sinai, Egypt
Egypt Cabinet Passes Anti-Terror Law, Requests Faster Trials
Unprecedented IS Attacks Kill at Least 70 in Egypt's Sinai as Clashes Rage
Militants attack Egyptian army checkpoints in Sinai, kill 50
Egyptian security sources: Dozens killed in Sinai terror attacks
Tsipras Insists on Austerity Referendum, Says Greece Wants to Stay in EU
U.S., Cuba to Reopen Embassies as Early as July 20
Kuwait Makes DNA Tests Mandatory after IS Bombing
Shin Bet: Hamas attempt to build terror network in West Bank thwarted
Israel closes crossings with Egypt, Gaza, following ISIS Sinai terror attacks
ISIS threatens to 'uproot the Jewish state'
US: Iran blocked website educating on Holocaust, criticized FM for calling it 'tragedy'

Jehad Watch Latest links for Reports And News
Italian woman converts to Islam, promotes hate and beheading
“Al-Qaeda’s PR man in Denmark” loses his Danish citizenship
UK: 100 Islamic supremacists each year spread hatred of the West at universities
France has deported 40 imams for hate speech
Islamic State attacks 15 military bases in Sinai Peninsula, at least 74 dead
Israeli shot by “Palestinians” while riding in a car dies from his wounds
Palestinian” screaming “Allahu akbar” attempts to run through Jerusalem checkpoint
Christians in the Philippines Fear Creation of Muslim Sub-State, Sharia Law
Islamic Hate for the Christian Cross — on The Glazov Gang

950 Hezbollah operatives, 300 Hamas members in Germany – intelligence report
BENJAMIN WEINTHALJ.Post//07/01/2015
The number of Islamists in Germany increased to 43,890 in 2014 from 43,190 in 2013, according to a report released on Tuesday by the country’s domestic intelligence agency.
Radical Islamists are “the greatest danger to Germany,” said Hans-Georg Maassen, the president of the agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). “Germany is on the spectrum of goals for Islamic terrorists,” he added.
Hezbollah has 950 active operatives in the Federal Republic, and Hamas has 300. Germany has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Merkel administration along with the EU banned Hezbollah’s military wing in 2013, but allows its political wing to operate.
According to the BfV report, the number of Salafists in the country increased to 7,000 in 2014 from 5,500 the previous year. The Salafists are “the most dynamic Islamic movement in Germany” and serve as a recruitment pool for jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, the report said. The chapter on “Islamism and Islamic terrorism” states that at demonstrations against last summer’s Gaza war, there “were rather more Hamas-supporting events than peace demonstrations, and there was clearly public anti-Semitism.” The anti-Semitic slogans targeted “Jews and Israel” and resulted in attacks on Jews and pro-Israel activists. “Kill the Jews!” “Jews out!” and, “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas!” were some of the slogans chanted at the 2014 protests. The BfV cited the arson at the Wuppertal synagogue in North Rhine-Westphalia state in June 2014. A local court exonerated the perpetrators, German Palestinians, of anti-Semitism. It said the men sought to bring “attention to the Gaza conflict” by tossing Molotov cocktails at the synagogue.
“Hamas was successful” in mobilizing its organization and people outside of its core support to participate in anti-Israel protests, the BfV report said. There was “public anti-Semitism at pro-Palestinian demonstrations” against Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, the agency said, adding, “It was noticeable that a large number of mostly young people with an immigrant background expressed themselves in an anti-Semitic and hate-filled way.” While the demonstrations against Israel were driven by Islamists, the BfV noted that extremist Turks, as well as left-wing and rightwing fanatics, were present. Many participants had no recognizable extremist background, the agency wrote. The number attacks by right-wing extremists soared to 990 in 2014, a 23.6 percent from 2013. The spike was animated by xenophobia and attacks on political refugee housing and asylum- seekers The BfV report noted that the far Right “says Israel and means Jews in general, and the label ‘Zionist’ serves as a synonym for ‘Jew’ for rightwing extremists.” The unifying factor for Islamists, the far Right and far Left, is a deep loathing of Jews, it said. Participants at pro-Palestinian demonstrations attempted to camouflage their Jew-hatred by purporting to be solely anti-Zionist or anti-Israel, the report noted.

Salam expresses solidarity with Egypt
The Daily Star/ July. 01, 2015 /BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam Wednesday expressed solidarity with Egypt after a militant attack on the Egyptian army in Sinai killed 50 soldiers. "We declare our solidarity with Egypt and its people in this sad moment, and we affirm our confidence in the ability of the Egyptians – people, army and leadership – to overcome this ordeal and bring peace and security back to Egypt and its [neighboring countries],” Salam said in a statement.The attacks Wednesday came two days after the assassination in Cairo of the country's top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, and one day after President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi vowed to step up a two-year crackdown on militants. Salam had previously offered his condolences to Sisi over Barakat’s assassination.

Lebanese Army kills 5 militants along Syria border
The Daily Star/July 01, 2015 /BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army Wednesday said it killed five Syria-based militants trying to infiltrate the northeastern border town of Arsal overnight.A military statement said troops clashed with the militant group, killing five. It identified one of the victims as Syrian Ghaleb Saeed Ghiyeh. The National News Agency said the militants, who belonged to Nusra Front, were “ambushed” late Tuesday evening as they tried to infiltrate Arsal through Wadi Ata. “The Lebanese Army opened fire on the militants, leaving a number of them killed and wounded,” NNA said in a dispatch from Baalbek, east Lebanon. The report added that other members of the militant group retreated after failing to penetrate Arsal. The Lebanese Army has been engaged in a war against militants from ISIS and Nusra Front along the northeastern border with Syria.

Lebanese Cabinet can act with two-thirds majority: Berri
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/ July 01, 2015
BEIRUT: The Cabinet can meet and make decisions as long as two thirds of its 24 members are secured, Speaker Nabih Berri said Tuesday, dispelling fears of disruption by the ministers of MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and their allies.
He also said that the contentious issue of military and security appointments is likely to be brought up during the Cabinet session scheduled for Thursday.
Asked about the fate of the Cabinet session amid the lingering rift over security appointments, Berri was quoted as saying by visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence: “As long as the two-third ministerial majority is secured, the session will be held and will make decisions as stipulated by the Constitution. [Decisions] that require two thirds [of the 24 ministers] to be approved will be voted on by two thirds. [Decisions] that require half [of the ministers] plus one will be voted by an absolute majority.”
Berri added that decrees on Cabinet decisions did not need the signature of all the ministers.
“There is a possibility for the appointments’ issue to be raised at Thursday’s session,” he said. “The session will then take its constitutional course. If some [ministers] withdraw, the session will go on as long as the constitutional quorum for convening it is secured.”
Berri said that after the opening of an extraordinary legislative session, he would call Parliament to meet to act on draft laws. “I am adamant on holding legislative sessions because the situation in the country is no longer bearable,” he said.
The speaker’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Tammam Salam called the Cabinet to meet Thursday, ending three weeks of paralysis caused by disagreements over the appointment of senior military and security officers.
However, Salam’s decision did not herald an agreement on the thorny issue, as the FPM’s ministers insisted that they would not allow the Cabinet to discuss any topic before it addresses appointments of new security chiefs, including the appointment of Aoun’s son-in-law, Brig. Gen. Shamel Roukoz, the head of the Army Commando Regiment, as Army commander.
The FPM’s two ministers are backed by their allies in Hezbollah, the Tashnag Party and the Marada Movement. The four groups have six ministers in the 24-member national unity government.
Speaking at an iftar Tuesday night, Salam called on the rival parties to act with a sense of responsibility by putting aside divisive issues and addressing the people’s interests away from “obstruction and paralysis.”
“There are many extremely important and vital issues waiting for us,” he said.
Ministerial sources said they expected the Cabinet session to be calm and short.
Salam will open the session with a comprehensive review of the crisis amid the current grave conditions in the region, while stressing the need for solidarity in these difficult circumstances through which Lebanon and the region are passing, the sources said.
Salam will propose from outside the agenda opening an extraordinary parliamentary session to approve draft laws concerning billions of dollars in loans to Lebanon, the sources said.
MP Ibrahim Kanaan from the FPM warned of what he termed “a legal and constitutional violation” if the issue of security and military appointments was not included on the Cabinet agenda.
“We announce our commitment to our position. The [ministers] of the Change and Reform bloc will attend the Cabinet session and the bloc will exercise its right to debate. Unless the first item is the security appointments, no other topic will be discussed,” Kanaan said after a weekly meeting of the parliamentary Change and Reform bloc chaired by Aoun.
The parliamentary Future bloc praised Salam’s decision to call the Cabinet to meet and renewed its demand for the quick election of a president. The bloc implicitly blasted the FPM, blaming it for the obstruction of the Cabinet’s work.
“The bloc supports Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s decision to resume the Cabinet’s work following a deliberate and planned obstruction exercised by political parties, whose position has harmed the interests of Lebanese citizens and linked them to personal goals and family interests,” the bloc said in a statement after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Meanwhile, the Future Movement and Hezbollah will hold a new round of talks Thursday amid fresh tension caused by the two sides trading accusations over who was to blame for leaking the videos that showed police officers torturing Islamist inmates in Roumieh Prison, officials said Tuesday.
“Thursday’s dialogue session will tackle the Cabinet crisis, the presidential election deadlock and also Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi’s accusations against Hezbollah over the torture videos,” a senior March 8 source told The Daily Star.
MP Samir Jisr, one of three senior Future officials attending the dialogue sessions, said the talks would focus primarily on defusing tensions in the wake of a new war of words between the two sides sparked by the accusations over the torture videos.
Asked what the expectations are for Thursday’s meeting amid a new strain in ties between the two rival parties, Jisr told The Daily Star: “We have overcome more serious problems in past dialogue sessions. So, Thursday’s session will not be an exception.”Thursday’s will be the 14th round of dialogue between senior officials from the Future Movement and Hezbollah. Last week, Rifi accused Hezbollah of leaking the torture videos. Hezbollah dismissed the accusations as “baseless” and instead blamed Rifi for leaking the videos.

Report: Amazon Still Selling Hizbullah Flags following Confederate Flag Ban
Naharnet//July 01/15/The online U.S. retail giant Amazon is still selling the flags of Hizbullah and Hamas despite a pledge to remove Confederate flag merchandise from its website, CNSNews reported. “Flags of Hamas and Hizbullah, and armed Taliban action figures are among the offerings available with a few clicks of a mouse,” it said on Tuesday. Both Hizbullah and Hamas are considered terrorist organizations in the U.S. Last month, major U.S. retailers, led by Walmart and Amazon, said they will no longer sell Confederate flags after racially motivated killings in South Carolina. A white gunman, who had photographed himself draped in the flag, shot dead nine people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. But CNSNews said that items featuring the bright yellow flag of Hizbullah continue to be on sale on Amazon. “A pack of photographic prints of the flag are available for $3.99, a fridge magnet for $2.99, a small window cling flag for $2.99, and an “I love Hizbullah” infant bodysuit for $19.99,” it added.

Report: Security Measures in Beirut Counter Attack Schemes
Naharnet/July 01/15/Investigations with a Syrian female detainee revealed that she had a scheme to carry out a suicide attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut during the month of Ramadan, a report said. The suspect was recently arrested in al-Rahma Syrian encampment near the town of Bebnin in the northern district Akkar. Fruitful cooperation between two security apparatuses led to her arrest before she could do any harm, the report added. Moreover, two assailants were arrested after they were tasked by the Islamic State group to carry out an attack in Beirut taking advantage the lack of heightened security during the current phase, a security source told An Nahar daily on condition of anonymity. According to the source, the attack was planned to take place in a crowded area in Beirut to kill the largest number of civilians .

At least Five Jihadists Killed in Lebanese Army Ambush
Naharnet//July 01/15/The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday that it ambushed al-Nusra Front militants in the eastern Bekaa Valley overnight, leaving at least five jihadists dead. The state-run National News Agency said troops saw gunmen moving from the northeastern border town of Arsal to its outskirts when it ambushed the militants in the area of al-Khazzan that lies between Wadi Ata and Aqaba al-Jird. The army opened fire at the group of militants after issuing warnings to stop, said the military communique and NNA.At least five fighters were killed and several of them were injured, they said.The military identified one of the dead men as Syrian Ghaleb Saeed Ghiyyeh. According to the news agency, the army units that are deployed in and around Arsal took additional measures following the clash to avoid any possible vengeful attacks. Military patrols also combed the southern area of Arsal that stretches from Wadi Ata to al-Hosn and Wadi Hmeid, the agency added. In a related development, the army said it has arrested a Lebanese man identified as Tareq Mohammed al-Hujeiri at a checkpoint near Arsal for attempting to smuggle a Syrian into Lebanon. Khaled Braqi, the Syrian, later admitted to belonging to a terrorist organization, said the army communique.

Several Injured in Mustaqbal-Resistance Brigades Clashes
Naharnet//July 01/15/Heavy clashes erupted early on Wednesday in the area of al-Saadiyat leaving scores of people injured, including an army personnel, and triggering a state of chaos in the area, an army communique said. The sides involved in the clashes belonged to different political parties, it added. The army deployed heavily and cordoned off the area erecting temporary checkpoints as cautious calm prevailed. Troops also carried out raids in the region in search for the assailants, the communique added. On the other hand, the National News Agency said that around 1:00 AM, clashes erupted between supporters of al-Mustaqbal movement and the Hizbullah-affiliated Resistance Brigades. On its part, the March 14 alliance denounced the incident in a statement and said that “it has dangerous repercussions on Lebanon's stability and civil peace.”The alliance also called on the state to “take the necessary measures to control the state of chaos and arrest the perpetrators who seem to belong to Hizbullah according to residents of the area,” added the statement.
The wounded were taken to the Rafic Hariri University Hospital.

Jumblat Optimistic on Cabinet, Says Federation Not Possible in Lebanon
Naharnet/July 01/15/Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat was optimistic on Wednesday, saying the cabinet was on the right track to resume its activities.“The paralysis of the cabinet is a crime amid the presidential vacuum,” Jumblat told local newspapers.
“Everybody needs the government,” he said, adding that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel “Aoun might not give up his demands but could not paralyze the cabinet.”There are fears that FPM ministers and their allies would disrupt Thursday's session that will be chaired by Prime Minister Tammam Salam over their call for the appointment of high-ranking military and security officials. Salam suspended the sessions earlier in June after the FPM warned that its ministers would boycott any session whose agenda is not topped with the article on the appointments. But the PM has stressed that he called on the cabinet to convene on Thursday because he could no longer wait for the rivals to resolve their differences. “Unfortunately some (parties) are not paying attention to the dangerous economic indicators,” said Jumblat. He revealed that the latest World Bank report warns from the fragile fiscal situation. Jumblat also backed a call by Speaker Nabih Berri to invite for an extraordinary parliamentary session. Berri has been pushing for holding the session, saying in remarks published on Wednesday that he agreed with Salam for him to issue a decree along with the cabinet's simple majority. He stressed that after the opening of the session, he would call parliament to meet to act on several draft-laws “because the situation in the country is no longer bearable.” Jumblat was asked about recent statements made by politicians on the implementation of the federal system in Lebanon. “It is impossible to have a federation,” he said. “The Taef Accord is the only guarantee for Lebanon’s Christians.”
“Let them drop the issue of federation and confederation and let us protect the country together,” said Jumblat, adding “Berri and I agree on this issue.”

Christian poll to be held ‘in coming days’
Wassim Mroueh| The Daily Star/Jul. 01, 2015
BEIRUT: A presidential poll will be held in coming days, a Free Patriotic Movement MP said Tuesday, as the decision to hold it drew both support and opposition. “It will happen within days,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan told The Daily Star. “We are currently working out the details.”The poll was first proposed by FPM leader Michel Aoun in May as one of four options to end Lebanon’s presidential deadlock. The process is supposed to determine the most popular presidential candidates among Christians. It won the backing of FPM’s rival, the Lebanese Forces, when both groups began talks which culminated in announcing a joint declaration of intent last month. But several details related to the process have yet to be decided on, such as what company will conduct the poll, the size and geographical distribution of the sample and the number and content of questions. While acknowledging that the outcome of the poll was not constitutionally binding, Kanaan said it had a “moral effect.” When people make their choice, you either respect it or not, it is a matter of culture here.”
LF leader Samir Geagea reiterated Tuesday his support for the poll, saying it wasn’t directed against any Lebanese faction, was nonbinding and didn’t violate the Constitution. “The poll, which was proposed by Aoun, doesn’t target any political group whether Christian or non-Christian,” Geagea said. He said the election of a new head of state as soon as possible was needed to solve the presidential vacuum. “We will all congratulate the winner no matter who he is.
But Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh, an ally of Aoun, said that while he supported the poll, its outcome would not affect his voting choices. He said that he would vote for Aoun no matter what the result. The Zghorta MP made his remarks Monday after receiving Kanaan, who is trying to rally support for the poll.
The Future parliamentary bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called for electing a president away from “new” and “twisted norms.”“It is important to adhere to the Constitution and not to slide into any new novelties that aim at inventing new and twisted norms that obstruct the election of a president,” the Future bloc said in a statement Tuesday after its regular meeting under former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
“Based on this, it is necessary that a new president is elected according to the only election mechanism, which is Parliament in line with Article 27 of the Constitution.” The Article states that every MP is a representative of the entire nation and that no conditions or restrictions should be placed on him by his voters.
Lebanon has been without a president since May of last year, with each of the March 8 and March 14 coalitions having vetoed their respective candidates Aoun and Geagea.
The Kataeb Party is another group opposing the poll. “The only way to elect a president is through Parliament. The Lebanese people have tasked MPs with electing him,” Kataeb MP Fadi Habr told The Daily Star. He expressed his opposition to the “twisted and devious” ways of Aoun, adding that he had no trust in a company which would implement the process. “We don’t know which company will conduct the poll and what its orientation might be,” Habr said. “From where will the sample be taken? If they do it in Metn, then 80 percent of people there will express their support for [former] President Amine Gemayel, whereas if they do it in areas inhabited by Lebanese of Armenian origins, then Aoun will win,” Habr said. “What we need is the election of a president by Parliament.”Habr said it was “bad” of Geagea to back the poll. “Geagea recognized that his candidacy had hit a dead end. Who does he support from the remaining three [Maronite leaders]?” Habr said. “Does he want to support [former] President Amine Gemayel? Let him say so. Or does he back Gen. Aoun or Frangieh?”

Canada Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Sinai, Egypt
July 1, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement condemning the terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula:
“Canada condemns in the strongest terms the wave of attacks in Egypt today claimed by militants linked to the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] that resulted in dozens of military and civilian casualties. I offer my condolences to the families and friends of those killed in today’s attacks. “Canada stands with Egypt in its fight against terrorism. We must confront ISIS for the terror it inflicts on innocent people. This is a further reminder of the serious threat that jihadist terrorists pose, and why, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s leadership, Canada is participating with our allies in the international coalition against ISIS. “Canada fully supports Egypt’s on-going transition to democracy. We are confident that Egypt will not be deterred by murderous terrorist acts like these or the attack earlier this week that claimed the life of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat.”

Egypt Cabinet Passes Anti-Terror Law, Requests Faster Trials
Agence France Presse/July 01/15/Egypt's government adopted a controversial anti-terror law and requested a faster court appeals process on Wednesday, after the president pledged tougher laws following the assassination of the top prosecutor.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who vowed to adopt tougher measures following the killing of state prosecutor Hisham Barakat on Monday, is expected to swiftly ratify the laws.

Unprecedented IS Attacks Kill at Least 70 in Egypt's Sinai as Clashes Rage
Naharnet//July 01/15/Islamic State group jihadists launched an unprecedented wave of attacks Wednesday on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula that killed at least 70 people, in a major challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. F-16 warplanes bombarded the militants as they fought police and soldiers on the streets of the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid after striking military checkpoints in a surprise attack after dawn. The violence came two days after state prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a Cairo car bombing. He was the most senior government official killed in the jihadist insurgency. In the capital on Wednesday, police killed senior Muslim Brotherhood member Nasser al-Houfi and eight others during a raid on an apartment, security officials and a member of the Islamist movement said. The Sinai attacks, in which car bombs were used, were the most brazen in their scope since jihadists launched an insurgency in 2013 following the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The victims included several civilians, according to security and medical officials, who said 38 militants were also killed. "It's war. The battle is ongoing," a senior military official told AFP. "It's unprecedented, in the number of terrorists involved and the type of weapons they are using."
- Gunmen on the streets -
Militants took over rooftops and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in Sheikh Zuweid after mining its exits to block reinforcements, a police colonel said. F-16 jets struck the militants in several locations in the town, officials and a witness said. "There are gunmen on the streets. They have planted mines everywhere," said the witness in Sheikh Zuweid. Explosions were heard and plumes of smoke were seen over Sheikh Zuweid from the neighboring Palestinian Gaza Strip, witnesses there said. The Islamic State group said its jihadists surrounded the police station after launching attacks on 15 checkpoints and security installations using suicide car bombers and rockets. Security and medical officials said ambulances could not get to the scene of the attacks because of heavy fighting in which the military brought in Apache helicopters. "Ambulances are waiting in front of the hospital. They can't leave. People are bringing in the casualties," a health official told AFP. Troops regularly come under attack in the Sinai, where jihadists have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since Morsi's overthrow. In a statement released online, IS said the assault had involved three suicide bombers. "In a blessed raid enabled by God, the lions of the caliphate have simultaneously attacked more than 15 checkpoints belonging to the apostate army," the group said. Sisi pledged to toughen laws and suggested fast track executions following the state prosecutor's assassination, and a cabinet meeting on Wednesday was expected to pass the amendments. Sisi, the former army chief who toppled Morsi, won elections last year pledging to wipe out militants. The government designated Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist group" in December 2013 as part of a crackdown on the opposition that has left hundreds of his supporters dead and thousands in jail. Courts have sentenced hundreds to death, including Morsi, who was convicted of involvement in attacks on police stations.
His sentence is being appealed.
- Months of bloodshed -
The government often blames the Brotherhood for attacks, but the deadliest have been claimed by the IS affiliate in Sinai. Wednesday's attack was similar to a series of ambushes on April 2 in which dozens of militants attacked checkpoints, killing 15 soldiers. The militants kidnapped a soldier and later executed him, and made off with weapons. In January, a combined rocket and car bomb attack on a military base, a nearby police headquarters and a residential complex for troops and police killed at least 24 people, most of them soldiers. The attacks have come despite stringent security measures imposed by the army in the Sinai, including a night-time curfew and the creation of a buffer zone along the Gaza border to prevent militants infiltrating from the Palestinian territory. The dominant jihadist group in the Sinai, previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Partisans of Jerusalem in English, pledged allegiance to IS in Iraq and Syria last November. The group is believed to be led by a shadowy Egyptian cleric, Abu Osama al-Masry, and has recruited at least one former special forces officer who had left the military. The militants have mostly focused their attacks on soldiers and police, killing hundreds since Morsi's overthrow. They previously said they avoided targeting civilians but claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a tourist coach in February 2014 that killed three South Koreans and their driver. Police foiled an attempted attack at a pharaonic temple crowded with tourists in Luxor last month. Agence France Presse

Militants attack Egyptian army checkpoints in Sinai, kill 50
Agencies/ July 01, 2015 /EL-ARISH, Egypt: Islamic militants Wednesday unleashed a wave of simultaneous attacks, including suicide car bombings, on Egyptian army checkpoints in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 50 soldiers, security and military officials said. The coordinated morning assaults in Sinai came a day after Egypt's president pledged to step up the battle against Islamic militants and two days after the country's state prosecutor was assassinated in the capital, Cairo.
The scope and intensity of the attacks underscored the resilience and advanced planning by the militants who have for years battled Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai but intensified their insurgency over the past two years just as the government threw more resources into the drawn-out fight.
An ISIS affiliate in Egypt claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks, saying its fighters targeted a total of 15 army and police positions and staged three suicide bombings, two of which targeted checkpoints and one that hit an officers' club in the nearby city of Al-Arish.
The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified but it was posted on a Facebook page associated with the group. Except for the attack at the officers' club, the rest took place in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and targeted at least six military checkpoints, the officials said. The militants also took soldiers captive and seized weapons and several armored vehicles, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. At least 46 other soldiers were wounded, the officials said. As fighting raged, an army Apache gunship destroyed one of the armored carriers captured by the militants as they were driving it away, the officials added.
Egypt's military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Samir, said clashes were still underway in the area between the armed forces and the militants. His statement put the number of soldiers killed so far at 10, but the conflicting numbers could not immediately be reconciled in the immediate aftermath of a major attack. Samir's statement, posted on his official Facebook page, said some 70 militants attacked five checkpoints in northern Sinai and that Egyptian troops killed 22 off them and destroyed three all-terrain vehicles fitted with antiaircraft guns. The officials said scores of militants were besieging Sheikh Zuweid's main police station, shelling it with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and exchanging fire with dozens of policemen inside.
Northern Sinai has over the past two years witnessed a series of complex and successful attacks targeting Egyptian security forces, many of which have been claimed by a local affiliate of ISIS. Two of the six checkpoints attacked Wednesday were completely destroyed, the officials said. Army checkpoints in the area routinely have between 50 and 60 soldiers. The ISIS statement said the two checkpoints were hit by suicide bombers. The attacks came just two days after the assassination in Cairo of the country's top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, and one day after President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi vowed to step up a two-year crackdown on militants. Last week, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani called in an audio message on ISIS followers to launch massive attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is now entering its third week. Militants in northern Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, have battled security forces for years but stepped up their attacks following the July 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammad Morsi after days of mass street protests against his rule.
Sisi, then the nation's army chief, led the ouster and went to become Egypt's president, winning a landslide election a year ago on a ticket that emphasized security and economic recovery. Wednesday's attacks came in swift response to Sisi's pledge the previous day to carry out justice for the prosecutor general's assassination - and possibly move to execute Muslim Brotherhood leaders, an Islamist group from which Morsi hails. Pounding his fist as he spoke Tuesday at the funeral of Barakat, who led the prosecution and oversaw scores of cases against thousands of Islamists, Sisi's comments seemed to signal an even tougher campaign on the Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest Islamist group that is now outlawed and declared a terrorist organization. Egypt has since Morsi's ouster waged a crackdown that has led to thousands of arrests, mass convictions and death sentences. Morsi is among those condemned to die, but has a potentially lengthy appeal process ahead of him. Sisi said the government was ready to brush aside criticisms and free the judiciary's hand for a "battle" the country is prepared to wage. "The judiciary is restricted by laws, and swift justice is also restricted by laws. We will not wait for that," Sisi said. Action will be taken within days "to enable us to execute the law, and bring justice as soon as possible," he said. "We will stand in the face of the whole world, and fight the whole world." In a thinly veiled reference to jailed members of the Brotherhood, Sisi blamed the violence on those "issuing orders from behind bars," and warned: "If there is a death sentence, it will be carried out."

Egyptian security sources: Dozens killed in Sinai terror attacks
REUTERS/07/01/2015/ISMAILIA, Egypt - At least 20 Egyptian security forces were killed when suspected militants attacked checkpoints in North Sinai on Wednesday, security sources said, in one of the biggest coordinated assaults in the province. Five checkpoints were attacked by about 70 militants, an army spokesman said, adding that 22 of the attackers had been killed and 10 soldiers killed or wounded. The sources said a police station was also targeted and that 20 members of the security forces were killed, without specifying whether they were all soldiers. North Sinai is the epicenter of an insurgency seeking to topple the Cairo government. Hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after mass protests against his rule in 2013. The most active militant group in the region is Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. That group had urged its followers to escalate attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify Egypt as a target. Earlier this week, Egypt's top public prosecutor was assassinated in a car bomb attack on his convoy in Cairo, raising questions about the country's ability to contain the insurgency. Tuesday also marked the second anniversary of protests that preceded the ouster of Morsi.

Tsipras Insists on Austerity Referendum, Says Greece Wants to Stay in EU
Naharnet//July 01/15
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed Wednesday to push ahead with a controversial bailout referendum despite pressure from European leaders, and urged creditors to accept a fresh reform offer by Athens. Hours after Greece became the first advanced economy to default on the IMF, the leftist leader used a televised address to tell Greeks to vote 'No' on Sunday to creditor austerity demands. European ministers were due later Wednesday to consider a new proposal from Athens but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already insisted there can be no new deal before the referendum. "A 'No' vote does not signify a rupture with Europe, but a return to the Europe of values," Tsipras told the nation, rebutting accusations from EU leaders that the plebiscite was essentially a vote on whether to stay in the union. "Come Monday, the Greek government will be at the negotiating table after the referendum, with better terms for the Greek people," he added, standing between Greek and EU flags. The radical Greek leader spoke hours after Merkel effectively ruled out all negotiations until after Sunday, saying that Europe could "calmly" await the outcome of the referendum. "The world is watching us. But the future of Europe is not at stake," Merkel told Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament. But there were signs the crisis was opening rifts in Europe's united front, with France's leader Francois Hollande urging an "immediate agreement" after six months of stalemate with the radical-leftists in Athens.
- Uncharted waters -
A poll on Wednesday showed the 'No' camp in the lead with 46 percent, against 37 percent for 'Yes' and 17 percent undecided. However the 'No' vote share was down compared to before capital controls were introduced Sunday. The Council of Europe rights group meanwhile said the vote fell short of European standards. Greece entered uncharted waters with its default on a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) International Monetary Fund loan, the first by an advanced economy, and expiry of its current European bailout at 2200 GMT Tuesday. It is now without external financial assistance for the first time in five years, while at home the banks will be closed all week, although around a thousand branches opened Wednesday to allow the elderly to receive pension payments.
Greece on Tuesday made a last-minute proposal for a third bailout worth nearly 30 billion euros to follow the two rescue programs worth 240 billion euros that cash-strapped Athens has received since 2010. On Wednesday Tsipras said he was ready to accept terms offered by the creditors on Sunday, despite the fact that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that proposal was no longer on the table.
"The Hellenic Republic is prepared to accept this ... agreement subject to the following amendments, additions or clarifications," the letter said, referring to the reforms-for-cash contract binding Greece with its creditors.The government said any deal would have to allow Greece to maintain a 30 percent VAT discount on islands and postpone a 2012 pension reform until October 2015.
- Angry pensioners -
In Greece there were angry scenes as pensioners waited to be allowed into some banks that opened for them. For everyone else the only option was to queue -- sometimes for hours -- at cash machines to withdraw a maximum of 60 euros a day.
Finance ministry employees meanwhile hung a huge banner saying "No to blackmail and austerity" out of the window of their office. In Athens, around 20,000 people from the rival 'Yes' camp braved torrential rain late Tuesday to show their support for a bailout deal. European and Asian stocks mostly rallied on hopes of a deal while the euro slid against the dollar, to $1.1082 from $1.1139 late in New York on Tuesday.
The European Central Bank's governing council will also meet on Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Greece. It was the ECB's decision on Sunday to refuse to increase emergency funding for Greek banks that pushed Athens to close lenders and impose the capital controls, although it is thought likely to stick with its current stance. Missing the IMF payment means that Athens "can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared", IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement.
The IMF will rule "in the coming weeks" on Greece's request for a rare extension, a source close to the matter told AFP Wednesday -- something it has only done twice before in 1982 for Nicaragua and Guyana. Greece faces further big repayments to the ECB on July 20. Agence France Presse

U.S., Cuba to Reopen Embassies as Early as July 20
Naharnet//July 01/15/President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States and Cuba will re-establish full diplomatic relations, severed 54 years ago in the angry heat of the Cold War. The U.S. president and Cuban state television simultaneously announced the landmark agreement, aimed at easing decades of enmity across the narrow Straits of Florida. Under the deal, embassies in Washington and Havana will be reopened as soon as July 20, in what Obama described as a "historic step forward," and a "new chapter" in U.S. relations with Latin America. "Later this summer, Secretary John Kerry will travel to Havana formally to proudly raise the American flag over our embassy once more," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden. Meanwhile, Cuban President Raul Castro expressed his desire to "develop respectful and cooperative relations between our two peoples and governments," in a letter to his U.S. counterpart read by state media. The head of the U.S. interests section in Havana, Jeffrey DeLaurentis -- tipped by some to become the ambassador -- handed to Cuban diplomats a similar letter from Obama to Castro. President Dwight Eisenhower shuttered the U.S. embassy in the Cuban capital on January 3, 1961 after Fidel Castro came to power and quickly forged ties with the Soviet Union. The closure foreshadowed epoch-making conflagrations at the Bay of Pigs and over Russian nuclear missiles sites in Cuba. Obama has argued the decades-old policy of isolating the Communist-run island has failed and is a relic of a long-gone era. He rejected "clinging to a policy that was not working" and called on the Republican-controlled Congress to end a throttling U.S. trade embargo set up in 1962. "It's long past time for us to realize that this approach doesn't work. It hasn't worked for 50 years. It shuts America out of Cuba's future and it only makes life worse for the Cuban people."
- Republican opposition -
Polls show a majority of Americans support Obama's efforts to improve ties.But powerful Cuban-Americans oppose restoring ties with Havana's government and could yet pose problems for further rapprochement. Republican presidential candidates who have ties to Cuba, including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, have been outspoken in their opposition to the thaw. Rubio, a senator from Florida, accused Obama of giving concessions as Cuba continued to stifle democracy. "It is time for our unilateral concessions to this odious regime to end," he said. "I intend to oppose the confirmation of an ambassador to Cuba until these issues are addressed." In Vienna, Kerry acknowledged the "sharp differences" between the two sides on democracy and human rights, but also highlighted areas of cooperation such as transportation and environmental protection. After 18 months of secret talks between Havana and Washington -- and aided by the Vatican -- the two countries agreed in December to begin warming relations. The pair held a historic meeting in Panama in April -- the first sit-down between leaders of the U.S. and Cuba since 1956. Travel and communications restrictions between the two countries have been significantly eased. In May, the United States paved the way for further rapprochement by taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Havana had vehemently protested its 1982 inclusion on the blacklist, which hampered its access to global markets. Agence France Presse

Kuwait Makes DNA Tests Mandatory after IS Bombing
Agence France Presse/July 01/15/Kuwait's parliament, reacting to a suicide bombing last week that killed 26 people, adopted a law Wednesday requiring mandatory DNA testing on all the country's citizens and foreign residents. The legislation, requested by the government to help security agencies make quicker arrests in criminal cases, calls on the interior ministry to establish a database on all 1.3 million citizens and 2.9 million foreign residents. Under the law, people who refuse to give samples for the test face one year in jail and a fine of up to $33,000 (29,700 euros). Those who provide fake samples can be jailed for seven years. Parliament also approved a $400 million emergency funding for spending required by the interior ministry. "We have approved the DNA testing law and approved the additional funding. We are prepared to approve anything needed to boost security measures in the country," independent MP Jamal al-Omar said. A suicide bomber blew himself up during Friday prayers last week at a Shiite mosque in the capital, also wounding 227 people, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. IS's Saudi affiliate, the Najd Province, claimed the bombing and identified the assailant as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid. Kuwaiti authorities said his real name was Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qabaa, saying he was a Saudi born in 1992. Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled al-Sabah told parliament Tuesday security agencies had busted the "terror cell" behind the bombing. "We are in a state of war. Yes, we have busted this terror cell but there are other cells we are going to strike," Sheikh Mohammad said. He said the emirate has revised "all security measures, especially around mosques and all places of worship". Of an unspecified number of suspects arrested, five have been referred to the public prosecution service. They include the driver who took the bomber to the mosque and the owner of the car. Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Yacoub al-Sane told parliament the supreme judicial council has decided to create a special court to try the case.

Shin Bet: Hamas attempt to build terror network in West Bank thwarted
BEN HARTMAN/07/01/2015/The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in a joint operation with the IDF and the Israel Police has in recent months uncovered a Hamas terror network operating in and around Nablus in the northern West Bank, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday. According to the Shin Bet, they also uncovered an armed Hamas cell from the Jenin area which was planning terror attacks and had acquired binoculars and night vision equipment to use in a future attack. Altogether around 40 suspects have been arrested in the operation, including senior Hamas members and former security prisoners. The head of the cell was named by the Shin bet as Ranem Tufik Tzalah Salameh, 49, a senior Hamas official in Nablus. They also arrested Ahmed Tufik Yusef Tzalhah, 42, who they said was responsible for communication with Hamas officials abroad. The suspects also include six men who were each placed in charge of Hamas operations in separate villages outside Nablus. The Shin Bet said that under questioning, the suspects revealed that Hamas has been working to kick-start their operations in the northern West Bank through the founding of a central command center in Nablus, and has appointed a series of local chiefs in nearby villages with a clearly defined breakdown of labor and hierarchy. The cell also worked on issues in Nablus and the surrounding villages involving education, charity, legal disputes, research, and provided economic assistance to the families of Hamas prisoners jailed in Israel. The Shin Bet also said that the cell took orders from and was in direct contact with Husam Badran, a Hamas spokesman and official based in Qatar. Badran also sent money transfers totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the press release said. The money was transferred by way of gold and jewelry that was purchased in Jordan and then smuggled into the West Bank, with the assistance of a gold merchant from Nablus whose store in the city is used to launder money for Hamas, according to the Shin Bet. The Shin Bet said in their statement on Wednesday that the arrests show “once again the many means the Hamas leadership in the [Palestinian] territories and abroad use to build a wide, well-funded infrastructure capable of carrying out independent actions in Samaria, in the fields of social work, culture, education, intelligence, recruitment, and charity. All of this is done in order to strengthen the organization’s hold on the area and to prepare the ground when the time comes to carry out terror attacks.”

Israel closes crossings with Egypt, Gaza, following ISIS Sinai terror attacks
JPOST.COM STAFF/REUTERS/07/01/2015/Israel closed the Niztana and Kerem Shalom border crossings Wednesday following militant attacks in Egypt's North Sinai that killed at least 50 in one of the biggest coordinated assaults yet in the insurgency-hit province.
Islamic State's Egypt affiliate, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility for the attacks against security forces in North Sinai, according to a statement on Twitter. The group said it had attacked more than 15 security sites, and had carried out three suicide attacks.
The IDF was closely monitoring the border area with Egypt and Gaza in light of the events. It was second high-profile action in Egypt this week. On Monday, the prosecutor-general was killed in a car bombing in Cairo, raising questions about the government's ability to contain the insurgency. The army said five checkpoints were attacked by about 70 militants and that soldiers had destroyed three land-cruisers fitted with anti-aircraft guns. Security sources said militants were surrounding a police station in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and had planted bombs around it to prevent forces from leaving. Doctor Osama el-Sayed of El-Arish General Hospital in the provincial capital said 30 bodies had been brought in, "some of whom were wearing army fatigues". The exact breakdown of identities of those killed was not immediately clear. Security sources had said at least 20 security personnel were killed and 40 wounded. The army spokesman said 22 of the attackers were killed and 10 soldiers were killed or wounded. Security sources said the militants had planted bombs along a road between Sheikh Zuweid and an army camp to prevent the movement of any army supplies or reinforcements. Meanwhile, Apache helicopters and F-16 planes strafed the area. The insurgency based in the Sinai is seeking to topple the Cairo government and has managed to defy one of the toughest security crackdowns in Egypt's history. It has intensified since 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist, after mass protests against his rule. Hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks since then. The most active militant group in the region is Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. It said in Wednesday's statement that it had attacked more than 15 security sites and carried out three suicide bombings. The group had urged its followers to escalate attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify Egypt as a target. In a recent tactic, Sinai Province has fired rockets at the direction of an airport used by multinational peacekeeping forces. In late April, the army extended by three months a state of emergency imposed in parts of Sinai since October after 33 security personnel were killed in an attack claimed by Sinai Province. The army has taken several measures to crush the insurgency. Aside from bombardments in the region, they have destroyed tunnels into the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip and created a security buffer zone in northern Sinai. The army was also digging a trench along the border with Gaza in an effort to prevent smuggling. The measures have stoked resentment among some residents, who say they rely on the smuggling trade through the tunnels and complain of neglect by the state. Tuesday also marked the second anniversary of protests that preceded the overthrow of Morsi. President Sisi said he would bring in tougher legal measures in coming days after the killing of the prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, the most senior Egyptian official to die in such an attack in years. Sisi's government does not distinguish between the now-outlawed Brotherhood and other militants. The Brotherhood says it is committed to peaceful activism.

ISIS threatens to 'uproot the Jewish state'
REUTERS/07/01/2015/Islamic State insurgents threatened on Tuesday to turn the Gaza Strip into another of their Middle East fiefdoms, accusing Hamas, the organization that rules the Palestinian territory, of being insufficiently stringent about religious enforcement.
The video statement, issued from an Islamic State stronghold in Syria, was a rare public challenge to Hamas, which has been cracking down on jihadis in Gaza who oppose its truces with Israel and reconciliation with the US-backed rival Palestinian faction Fatah.
"We will uproot the state of the Jews (Israel) and you and Fatah, and all of the secularists are nothing and you will be over-run by our creeping multitudes," said a masked Islamic State member in the message addressed to the "tyrants of Hamas".
"The rule of sharia (Islamic law) will be implemented in Gaza, in spite of you. We swear that what is happening in the Levant today, and in particular the Yarmouk camp, will happen in Gaza," he said, referring to Islamic State advances in Syria, including in a Damascus district founded by Palestinian refugees.Islamic State has also taken over swathes of Iraq and has claimed attacks in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen. Hamas is an Islamist movement that shares the jihadis' hostility to Israel but not their quest for a global religious war, defining itself more within the framework of Palestinian nationalism. Deemed a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and viewed by neighboring Arab power Egypt as a regional security threat, Hamas's struggle against Islamic State-linked jihadis has not won sympathy abroad. Israel's intelligence minister, Israel Katz, accused Hamas on Tuesday of partnering with Islamic State affiliates in the Egyptian Sinai - a charge long denied by the Palestinian group. "There is cooperation between them in the realm of weapons smuggling and terrorist attacks. The Egyptians know this, and the Saudis," Katz told a Tel Aviv conference organized by the Israel Defense journal. "At the same time, within Gaza, ISIS (Islamic State) has been flouting Hamas. But they have common cause against the Jews, in Israel or abroad."

US: Iran blocked website educating on Holocaust, criticized FM for calling it 'tragedy'
By JPOST.COM STAFF /07/01/2015/The Iranian government has continuously blocked a Persian-language website dedicated to educating on the Holocaust, the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor said in its 2014 annual report on human rights practices.
The website, called the Aladdin Project, is a Paris-based NGO launched in 2009 to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and provide information in Persian on the Shoah and Jewish-Muslim relations. Offering content in Turkish, Arabic, English, French, and Dutch on top of Persian, the project was launched under the sponsorship of UNESCO in order to promote intercultural relations and curtail ignorance, particularly amongst Jews and Muslims. The Iranian Fars News Agency referred to the website in 2013 as the bearing of "international Zionism," created “to recognize the Zionists’ fabricated narrative about the Holocaust, which will enable them to present the creation of [Israel] as both legitimate and necessary." The anti-Semitic stance expressed by the media agency has been continuously reiterated by officials in the Iranian government. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was criticized by the Islamic Consultative Assembly for having referred to the Holocaust as a "tragedy" on national German television; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei referred to the Holocaust as an "unknown" on the occasion of the Persian New Year in 2014, questioning the actual occurrence of the Holocaust. The US state report estimates a Jewish population of 8,756 in Iran, with a single representative in the Iranian parliament. Iranian law acknowledges Jews as a minority and allows for the representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Turkey's Wrong Bet on Syria
Burak Bekdil//Gatestone Institute
July 1, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6087/turkey-syria
Today, instead of the free movement of labor and capital, there is, around the border area, the free movement of bombs and bullets.
Ankara considers the real security threat from Syria as not the jihadists, but the secular Kurds who fight the jihadists.
Turkey has worked so hard to create a "Peshawar" (Afghanistan) across its border with Syria -- hoping instead to create a Muslim Brotherhood zone.
It was supposed to be Turkish gambit: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's days in power were numbered; the Nusayri (Alawite) man would be toppled by Syria's Sunni majority in a popular revolt. The Sunni majority would set up in Damascus a Muslim Brotherhood type of regime that would be subservient to Ankara, and Turkey's southern border with Syria would be now be a borderless Sunni "Schengen" zone; cross border trade would flourish with the free movement of labor and capital. Peace would prevail along the 900-km border, and Turkish and Syrian Sunni supremacists would advance their agenda in the not-always-so-Sunni lands of the Middle East.
Today, instead of the free movement of labor and capital, there is, around the border area, the free movement of bombs and bullets. Turkey's miscalculated foreign policy on Syria has led to the creation of a neighboring Peshawar (Afghanistan) across its border.
Turkey's Islamist rulers were unhappy with Assad as their neighbor. Their efforts to unseat Assad have dramatically resulted in creating even less pleasant neighbors: an unknown number of jihadist groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Kurdish militants fighting to create an autonomous enclave.
Instead of a predictable Assad, the Turkish gambit has resulted in having as next-door neighbors an assortment of unpredictable, violent and alien groups too unwieldy to keep under control.
After the Syrian Kurdish militia, PYD -- which has links to the Turkey-based PKK, the outlawed Kurdish group that has fought a violent war for an independent Kurdish state since 1984 -- took over from ISIS the northern Syrian town of Tel Abyad, Ankara did not know if this was good or bad news. For Turkey, ISIS is "officially" a terrorist organization. But it is an open secret that Ankara has supported ISIS in its campaign for the downfall of Assad and the formation in Syria of an Islamist regime.
Hundred of Syrian Kurds gathered along the border with Turkey in the hope of crossing over, as Kurdish militias battled ISIS in nearby Tel Abyad, June 13, 2015. (Image source: Reuters video screenshot)
Immediately after Tel Abyad fell into the hands of Kurds in late June, ISIS jihadists staged bomb attacks, killing over 200 Kurds in Kobane, a Kurdish stronghold in northern Syria.
Figen Yuksekdag, a leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP), said that, "There is a high probability that Ankara facilitated the attack." She added that Turkey has for years supported ISIS. Turkey's government vehemently denies that.
But, with or without any Turkish involvement in the Kobane attack, the "official Turkey" reveals where it positions itself in the multiple-party warfare in Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it in very clear, loud words: "We will never allow the establishment of a [Kurdish] state in Syria's north and our south. We will continue our fight in this regard no matter what it costs... They want to complete the operation to change the demographic structure of the region. We will not turn a blind eye to this."
Once again, Turkey's threat perceptions are deeply divergent from its Western allies'. Ankara considers the real security threat from Syria as not the jihadists, but the secular Kurds who fight the jihadists. There are reports that the government has ordered the military to prepare for cross-border operations in order to destroy the Kurdish enclave -- siding, therefore, with ISIS, which also wants to destroy the emerging Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that any cross-border operation into Syria would be discussed at a meeting, which took place June 29, of the National Security Council. After the four-hour meeting, a statement from the Council said that the efforts aimed at a demographic change in Syria [in favor of Kurds] were worrisome.
Once again, the Turks openly tell the world that they view the secular Kurds more of a security threat than the jihadists.
The Turkish military, generally known for its hawkish stance on the Kurdish issue, is surprisingly (and realistically) opposed to a cross-border adventure to smash the Kurdish enclave. A senior general told this author on June 25: "We have warned the government about possible costs [of such an operation]. If they give us orders for an operation, supported with perfect domestic and international legitimacy, we will act. In any case the government should be responsible for any breach of domestic or international law, and/or for the political consequences."
This means that the Turkish government is preparing for an illegitimate military operation in Syria, although it probably will fail to initiate it for legal and logistical reasons. Against whom would the Turkish army be fighting in such a deeply contested territory? Who are its friends and foes? How would a cross-border operation be logistically supported? How would the ruling AKP party justify Turkish casualties, especially at a time when it is trying to compromise and form a coalition government after it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 2002 in June 7 elections?
Turkey has worked so hard to create a "Peshawar" across its border with Syria -- hoping instead to create a Muslim Brotherhood zone. It has its own cross-border "Peshawar" now. It just does not know how to deal with it.
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Extremism and Censorship
Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute
July 1, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5967/uk-extremism-censorship
There are obvious shortcomings in the British government's demand that all "beliefs" deserve "mutual respect." While it is important in a free society to tolerate beliefs we dislike, we should not be required to "respect" them. If the government would stop funding and backing religious separatism, and start using existing laws to prosecute preachers who incite violence and promote terrorism, these measures would go a long way to preventing extremists from operating with impunity. Censorship, on the other hand, will harm everyone.
On May 27, a few weeks after the elections, Queen Elizabeth II addressed the British parliament with a speech that laid out a number of important proposed bills, including changes to immigration and the welfare system; a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, and, most importantly, a series of new measures to tackle Islamic extremism.
The "Extremism Bill," the government has announced, will "unite our country and keep you and your family safe by tackling all forms of extremism." It will also "combat groups and individuals who reject our values and promote messages of hate."
To achieve this, the government is attempting to establish a number of new proscriptive powers. "Banning Orders" would allow the Home Secretary to outlaw designated "extremist groups." "Extremism Disruption Orders" would restrict the activities of individual, designated "extremists." They would be prohibited from appearing on television, and would have to submit any publications, including social media posts, to the police for prior approval. "Closure Orders" would allow the government to shut down institutions, including mosques, used to promote extremism.
In addition, the government has announced plans to take "tough measures against [television] channels that broadcast extremist content."
Changes to background checks would also mean that companies could find out whether a potential employee is an extremist. If so, they would be barred from working with children.
Alongside these counter-extremism efforts, the government will also attempt to introduce a "snoopers' charter," to allow the security services to track everyone's web and social media use. Additionally, according to a report in The Guardian, the Bill "moves to strengthen the security services' warranted powers for the bulk interception of the content of communications."
Critics argue that many of these new measures are draconian. Former deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has claimed that the rights of British citizens were being "threatened by a turbo-charged snooper's charter." These counter-extremism measures, others claim, threaten freedom of speech. Before the recent elections, the Liberal Democrats claimed to have blocked the Conservatives' proposals on "three different occasions." Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat MP, argued that, "Banning orders will undermine existing efforts to engage with communities and run the serious risk of criminalising legitimate groups who have a right to speak out against the government. It risks being a licence to silence any opinion the government doesn't like."
Conservative MPs have also voiced concern. In 2014, Dominic Raab MP, who was recently appointed a junior Justice Minister, wrote:
"The case for stronger law enforcement is overwhelming -- but legislation that erodes basic principles of freedom won't make us safer. ... The public should certainly expect the security services to track terrorists online, but the broad powers of proposed Extremism Disruption Orders could be abused. Those engaged in passionate debates -- such as Christians objecting to gay marriage -- could find themselves slapped down. Monarchists or communists could be swept up for peacefully expressing their political views."
Another Cabinet member, Sajid Javid, has also opposed the Home Secretary's plans to censor broadcaster's programs. As The Guardian revealed, Javid told the Prime Minister the proposed censorship would mark a "fundamental shift in the way UK broadcasting is regulated, away from the current framework which is designed to take appropriate account of the right to freedom of expression."
The government is evidently facing plenty of opposition to its proposals from both sides of the aisle.
Concerns about threats to freedom of speech have also been intensified by the vagueness of the terms. Home Secretary Theresa May has made repeated reference to the promotion of "British values." The proposed "Extremism Bill," she claims, is designed to "protect" these "British values." Leaked Home Office documents also advocate immigrants must adhere to "British values." In the wake of the Trojan Horse scandal, in which some English schools were found to have been infiltrated by Islamic extremists, the Education Secretary at the time, Michael Gove, announced that schools must promote "British values." And in a speech in March, Theresa May declared that, "Islam is entirely compatible with British values and our national way of life, while Islamist extremism is not."
What, then, are "British values"? And, for that matter, what is an "extremist"?
There is no statutory definition of extremism. Since 2011, however, the government has claimed, without legislative foundation, that extremism is a "vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs."There are obvious shortcomings in the government's demand that all "beliefs" deserve "mutual respect." While it is important in a free society to tolerate beliefs we dislike, we should not be required to "respect" them. Further, without a statutory definition of "extremism," there is no indication under the proposed new laws of what constitutes a "crime." These measures will be ripe for abuse. No wonder there is opposition to the government's plans. Similar vague rhetoric was heard under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labour Party. He declared that the promotion of "British values" necessitated discussion on "how we better integrate our ethnic communities" and "how we respond to Muslim fundamentalism."
Notions of "tolerance" and "mutual respect" sound promising but are largely meaningless, especially when faced with the very particular threat of Islamic extremism. By proposing a ban on "extremists" from appearing on television and vetting their writings, the present government demands that we "respect" others' beliefs, while it simultaneously proposes to censor their views.
Censorship is notoriously counter-productive. In the 1980s, similar bans on broadcasters had been introduced. This led, the journalist Padraig Reidy writes, "to the ridiculous scenario where [IRA leader] Gerry Adams and other republican representatives had their statements dubbed by actors before interviews were broadcast, as if it were not their words but their very voices that might attract sympathy for terrorism."
The government's proposals seem to many a combination of bluster and censorship. In 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron delivered an address in Munch, where he claimed that, "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream.... We've even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values."Despite this acknowledgement of the problem, not a thing has been done to resolve it. For progress to be made, Britain would do well to re-examine the state's relationship with religious groups. Mosques and community groups that promote extremist preachers continue to receive public funding. Further, the government refuses to shut down Islamic charities that openly support terrorist organizations. Interpal, for example, is a designated terrorist organization under U.S. law, but enjoys mainstream political support in the UK. Its trustees openly attend Hamas rallies in Gaza.
So long as the government, as part of its multiculturalism policy, funds and legitimizes extremist groups within religious communities, Islamist movements will continue to encourage segregation and foment extremism -- presumably not part of the "British values" advocated by government. "Extremism" is a nebulous term, begging statutory guidelines for what defines it. The state appears keen, in fact, to introduce further bureaucracy rather than enforce existing laws. Current legislation already allows the authorities to prosecute preachers who incite violence or express support for foreign terrorist organizations, but these laws are rarely enforced. The flags of outlawed terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah are frequently seen on London's streets, despite the Terrorism Act of 2000, which criminalized support for banned terrorist organizations. The Racial and Religious Hatred Act and various Public Order Acts also prohibit incitement to violence. Nevertheless, Islamic preacher Abu Usamah at-Thahabi has publicly said: "Take that homosexual man... and throw him off the mountain. If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it." Despite advocating murder, he has never been charged. If the government would stop funding and backing religious separatism, and start using existing laws to prosecute preachers who incite violence and promote terrorism, these measures would go a long way to preventing extremists from operating with impunity. Censorship, on the other hand, will harm everyone.

A Bloody Friday in Ramadan
Eyad Abu Shakra/ASharq Al Awsat
Tuesday, 30 Jun, 2015
Last Friday was indeed a painful and sad day in the month of Ramadan, yet it is no more sufficient to merely express sorrow and abhorrence and call for national unity. As targeting mosques and murdering innocent people continue, all talk may be both useless and meaningless. Some may link the Al-Sadiq Mosque bombing in Kuwait to the escalating sectarian tensions in the Gulf region—a direct result of the Khomeinist revolution sowing the seeds of extremism only to make us all reap Al-Qaeda’s discourse and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) atrocities.What happened in Tunisia may, in turn, be attributed to the accumulating bitterness within the country’s hardline religious communities against the era of Habib Bourguiba’s secularism. Such a phenomenon is given credence by the exceptionally high percentage of Tunisian nationals in the ranks of extremist groups fighting against the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria. In this instance it is worth mentioning, too, the effects of Libya’s chaos and tentacles of extremist current in the Sahara and Sahel.
As for the heinous atrocity committed in France, those still trying to defend it, and interpret crimes like it, may claim that it was a natural negative outcome of cultural alienation, a reaction against religious and racial prejudice, and a case of escapism from an ethnically rejectionist society.
There is little doubt that each of the three crimes committed in the same day across three continents has its own specific traits; however, the common denominator is much more significant and dangerous. Furthermore, it is the main issue while the rest are details. It is up to Muslims – particularly, Arabs – either to ignore the bitter truth and so leave the disease to get worse until it turns fatal, or to admit its existence as a first step to radically treating it. The three crimes are nothing but parts of a whole. They are examples of criminal actions committed in the name of the “true Islam” for years all over the world, without being firmly encountered, although they are pushing all Muslims in a real war against the whole world. What is even worse is that the criminals are either intent on provoking such a global war against those they label as the people of the “territory of war” (Dar Al-Harb); or they do not care about how the world would react. With the latter point in mind, it has to be said that the international community is quite capable of exterminating its enemies, but will stop short of that because it follows democratic processes and institutions and respects human rights. Murdering innocent men and women in Kuwait, Tunisia, and the Isère department in France must not be treated separately from crimes committed by several groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, its Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front, Boko Haram, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization, Hezbollah, Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Taliban, and all other “Islamist,” Sunni and Shi’ite, militant groups operating under the “true Islam” slogan.
This reminds me of an article written by my friend and colleague Nadim Koteish in which he commented on the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris last January, and the Muslim voices condemning it as being “not representative of the true Islam”!
Koteish asked in his brilliant comment: “What is this ‘true Islam’ those condemning crimes committed in the name of Islam are talking about, and where is the post-condemnation confrontation fought by the pro-‘true Islam’ since the demise of the Mu’tazilites that marked the defeat of rationalism in Islam, more than 1100 years ago?”
After giving several examples of crimes committed by extremist Sunnis and Shi’ites, Koteish said: “All perpetrators belonged to this ‘true Islam’ in its details, texts and margins. They belong to discourse and broad jurisprudence. Here is the battleground. The Islamic text itself, whether it is a Quranic text, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), or Hadeeth (of the Prophet)” “Murderers are not murdering wantonly, but rather quoting books, religious fatwas (legal opinions) and a long heritage that is an inseparable part of ‘true Islam,’” Koteish said. He added: “They [the murderers] are Muslims in as much as they declare the two attestations, and that no religious authority is courageous enough to update and categorize the requirements that define what being a Muslim is all about. Those murderers are us. They are [representatives of our] religion in its extremist form. They are ‘our true Islam’ taken to its furthest limits. Those [in short] are not out of context.”
I think here is the gist of the matter.
There is a real problem lying at the core of our thinking, and it is engendering our bad actions, and pushing us from a setback to a defeat, and from a defeat to a disaster. In one way or another, this problem has also contributed to the negative international attitude towards our great causes. Why should the international community agree with our concepts and principles when we disagree with its concepts and principles? Subsequently, how could we ask it to side with us – from a standpoint of human rights and protection of civilians – when from our midst emerge individuals and gangs that monopolize belief, religion, virtue, legitimacy and patriotism? What right do we have to call upon the countries of the world to help us and alleviate our suffering when we harm not only our own interests, but also our own people, killing each other and declaring segments of our people apostates or traitors? What sort of logic makes us believe that our extremism is attractive to others and our insistence on exclusion and elimination may neutralize them?
We simply refuse to understand causality, and reaction and counter-reaction! In Iraq, where ISIS frontline is only 50 km from Baghdad, there are 7,000 Sunni Muslims facing execution if Parliament abolishes the requirement of presidential signature; and yet the Iran-backed leadership acts as if there is nothing wrong, with scant regard to potential sectarian consequences! In Syria, too, where the regime has become nothing but a tiny cog in Iran’s regional wheel, opposition groups are in a race against time to control their hardline elements who until this moment refuse to comprehend that their excesses have extended the life of a regime that has already lost its legitimacy and loyalty of the majority of the country’s population. And finally, in Lebanon and Yemen, Iran’s well-armed henchmen are driving the two countries to the brink of a sectarian abyss, as Hezbollah and the Houthis are presenting themselves to Washington as the avant-garde of its war against Sunni “takfirists” in their ISIS and Al-Qaeda versions. By doing so they seem oblivious to the inevitable bloody reactions which we have seen and continue to see everywhere, including the Gulf states that have long been the last bastion of moderation and stability in the Middle East.
The time for excuses and apologies has long gone; and what we need now is radical solutions.

Remote-Controlled Terrorism
Ali Ibrahim/Asharq Al Awsat
Wednesday, 1 Jul, 2015
Terrorism hit three continents on the same day last week, causing dozens of deaths on a beach in Tunisia and a mosque in Kuwait as well as the beheading of a man at a factory in France where the murderer posed for a selfie with his victim’s decapitated body—an act betraying his mental derangement. In fact, the triple attacks appear to have been committed by sick people exploited for the purpose of terrorizing the world in the name of an organization that has managed to establish a base in Iraq and Syria as a result of negligence on the part of the international community. This passivity has allowed thousands of militants from across the world to spread in those two countries in a bid to indulge in their sick hobbies, such as chopping peoples’ heads off and other disgusting acts of violence. Another fact is that despite the many acts of terrorism and violence that take place in Iraq and Syria, they do not resonate as much as the ones committed elsewhere, such as the ones carried out last Friday by individuals in their early twenties who escaped the state radar. The perpetrators fell victim to the sick propaganda promoted by advocates of extremism and followers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Many of the techniques ISIS uses to recruit and brainwash people have started to unfold, something which opens the way to defeating the group which is keen on recruiting Westerners by spreading its propaganda on social media websites. It appears that many lost souls, who are looking for an identity, a sense of belonging, or even adventures, find in ISIS’s sick propaganda some sense of self-achievement. According to a New York Times report, many are willing to spend hours recruiting lost souls, such as a young American woman who found in her new friendships with terrorists she met online a refuge from loneliness. Many people said, according to another report, that boredom has led them to become attracted by ISIS’s propaganda, which aims at exploiting them to carry out suicide operations. Is there a way to stop the barrage of recruits and prevent ISIS’s ideology from igniting a sectarian war in the region and terrorizing the world? The answer is definitely ‘yes,’ providing that everybody acts seriously enough to cut ISIS’s supply routes, sources of recruits, and the funding it generates from the sales of oil and antiquities. As for its online recruitment methods, they can be countered but it will take a long time. Eliminating ISIS requires ideologically countering the worldview according to which it divides the world into Muslims and infidels who must be killed.

Restraining extremists protects Islam
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Strict legislative and security measures against extremist groups, even if they have not committed violent acts, is in the interest of Islam and Muslims in the West. This is the only way to save millions of Muslims and protect Islam from Muslims who distort the religion.
When Western governments expel extremist preachers, shut down suspicious institutions or pursue religious groups, they are protecting Muslims from extremists among them, and from the anger of the non-Muslim majority. Instead of hurting the West, extremists have harmed moderate Muslims and Islam, which found itself a great status outside its original home We must not look at such measures as racist, despite the presence of racism in the West. We must also not underestimate the magnitude of the expected clash with society in the West, which is adopting more hatred and hostility toward Muslims due to the hideous crimes that Muslims commit in the name of Islam.
Europe
The battle in the West is on multiple fronts. In France, the number of Muslims is estimated at 5 million, and France is the European country that has suffered the most from terror attacks in the name of Islam. France, like other European countries, is confronting several religious, security, political and legal problems when dealing with Muslims. Since the threat is related to both security and culture, the state must use its authority to protect society. So how can it expel extremists if they are citizens? How can it deport legal residents if it is proven that they are engaged in extremist activity but have not taken up arms? The most important question is how can tens of thousands of Muslim youths in France be protected from extremists who want to turn them into enemies of the state that has become their home? The controversy is heating up in most European countries as citizens who fear for their countries and for themselves accuse their governments of inaction. However, these countries’ law-abiding Muslim citizens refuse discriminatory laws and government practises that target them due to popular pressure. Despite that, more strict laws are expected that will target extremist groups, and we hope these laws distinguish between the latter and the majority of Muslims, even if this will be at the expense of some rights and freedoms.
Arab states
The situation is not so different from that faced by Arab governments, which are forced to pursue extremists and try to convince citizens that exceptional situations require exceptional measures. Tunisia will lose its tourism industry due to last week’s attack, which succeeded in harming the government’s major financial resource as tourists worldwide will now boycott the country. Therefore, Tunis has had to announce a series of decisions, such as shutting down mosques affiliated with extremist groups and carrying out multiple arrests.
Meanwhile, Morocco has requested those working in the field of religion not to be involved in partisan and political work. Egypt has said it will confiscate extremist publications and only support moderate religion. Some Gulf countries have begun restraining activity on extremist podiums, and are expected to close inciting TV channels such as Wesal. Hesitant Arabs will follow suit as we will witness more crimes, and it is evident that there is a strong relation between extremism and terrorism.
France
There is a lot of pressure on the French government as society there has been shaken by a series of crimes committed in the name of Islam. The most recent is that of Yassine Salhi in Lyon, who beheaded his boss. People were shocked by this horrific crime as they felt that France has become like Syria. The crime made them protest in front of mosques, blaming Islam rather than Salhi or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The interior minister tried to reassure people, saying: “Since 2012 [when Francois Hollande became president] we expelled 40 hate preachers and imams, while in the previous five years only 15 were expelled. We are currently investigating 22 other cases.” He also said they are in the process of shutting down many suspicious Islamic associations. This is a normal result of extremist ideology, which thought that tolerant societies in the West were fertile ground to reside, produce more extremists and change society. Instead of hurting the West, however, extremists have harmed moderate Muslims and Islam, which found itself a great status outside its original home.

United against ISIS… or is it ISIL or the Islamic State?
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Of all the fraudulent fictions and fantasies of the ‘war on terror’, the “we are united against a common enemy” mantra seemed the most hollow, the most disingenuous. It remains just that despite the 60 strong anti-ISIS coalition. The partners cannot even agree what to call the enemy let alone how to fight it - Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh. Others argue whether it is Islamic or nor. President Obama stated “ISIL is not ‘Islamic’” last year. British Prime Minister David Cameron has urged the BBC not to call it the Islamic State. Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister, insists he will call it Daesh as does Francois Hollande of France. John Kerry often does too. These are just the differences over the name to call it and just among some of the ‘Western’ leaders, not a vital issue but symbolic of a wider malaise.
ISIS storm troopers are not invincible superhumans from the latest comic strip blockbuster. They are very vulnerable
What more evidence of the need for unity than last week’s Ramadan massacres, the extremist attacks on three continents. The barbarous beach massacre in Tunisia, the sectarian atrocity in Kuwait, the attack by al-Shabaab on African Union soldiers in Somalia and gruesome beheading in France serve let alone the much ignored killings in Kobane (235 killed by ISIS) only to remind all just how little respect for life, liberty and even their faith adherents of such groups have. How should states, civil society and other actors react to this?
Political clichés
The standard manual of political clichés are dusted down though perhaps they have not gathered much dust. Politicians have been compelled to learn this lexicon only too well. They copy paste from previous statements. The language is particularly ratcheted up when governments are unsure what to do. Talking tough frequently serves to mask, for the time being, a lack of real action. This is understandable. Step up, British Prime Minister David Cameron. He spoke out forcefully, understandably given the killing of 18 British tourists. The attacks in Tunisia were the most deadly in terms of British fatalities since the London bombings almost exactly ten years ago. But did Cameron exaggerate? ISIS is an “existential threat,” he said. Existential? Is Britain that threatened by such a group? Existential threat heralds images of massive natural disaster, an asteroid hit or nuclear attack. Sounding out Middle East and security experts in the UK, none of them saw the need to hype the issue like this. ISIS themselves will delight in their upgraded status. It reminded me of the Iraqi foreign minister’s reference to “World War III.” Yet if ISIS does pose that existential threat to Britain and the West in general (let alone Muslim majority states) critics can argue that not nearly enough is being done.
A balanced assessment
A balanced assessment surely acknowledges a threat but by no means existential. ISIS storm troopers are not invincible superhumans from the latest comic strip blockbuster. They are very vulnerable. Their ideology and values are in fact largely unappealing to a large percentage of the Islamic World. Yet they thrive, largely on the weakness and disunity of others. It is a standard rhetorical staple to highlight unity, that we stand united as a people with other peoples. To start with, is there genuine solidarity? Did Europe and the Arab World rally round to ensure that Tunisia’s political transition was a success? Barely. Following the Bardo attack in March, plenty of fine words were uttered, but were there genuine efforts to assist Tunisia? And all too often is not the reaction of too many in the West so self-obsessed? Do Syrian and Iraqi victims of ISIS get a tenth of the coverage as the Western hostages or the dead tourists on the Sousse beach? World leaders marched in the streets of Paris after the Hebdo massacre? Do we see them in the Islamic World after attacks on Muslims? In actions against ISIS, no two states seem to have the same approach. This may be understandable given that there are no easy policies or answers to this. Most states have not joined the U.S. in military options in Syria. President Hollande wanted action to salve Palmyra, a call that went unheeded. Some politicians want ground troops; others want to cease all operations of any form. Turkey refuses to take any action until there is a No Fly Zone is Syria. But there are huge differences in priorities too. Israel of course has been marketing Iran as the Islamic State that poses the real threat. Many agree. The Egyptian authorities have targeted the Muslim Brotherhood as the primary threat. Turkey may be more nervous of the Kurds.
Real unity
Real unity needs to be cultivated to confront ISIS – this means addressing our differences. Internationally, the U.S. and Russia cannot continue to work against each other, not least in trying to stitch up a solution for Syria. Can Saudi Arabia and Iran find the exit from their cold war? What about the other regional squabbles such as Turkish-Egyptian tensions? ISIS thrives off divisions of others and attempts to expose and exacerbate these. The ISIS bombing of the Shiite mosque in Kuwait was designed to pit Shiite against Sunni, much as it has done elsewhere. The Emir of Kuwait rightly visited the mosque and let us hope other senior Sunni figures will do likewise. Sadly sectarianism does exist even where in the past it may not have done. Sunnis and Shiites have to find ways to stand together or be condemned to stand apart. A dim view must be taken of those who foment sectarian discord not least those in the media. Ethnic and tribal divisions are likewise the playthings of ISIS. They delight in pitting Arab against Kurd for example, even Kurd against Kurd. It was Kurdish members of ISIS who led the attack on Kobane. ISIS has a tribal affairs department and it is not to build harmony and peaceful relations. ISIS and like-minded groups are a threat, a very real one but it certainly does not require a World War III to end the threat. In fact, it is wars and conflict that gave birth to them, wars that none of the anti-ISIS coalition leaders seem willing or capable of ending. None of the conflicts in the Middle East were caused by ISIS or al-Qaeda - not in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen or even Afghanistan. Yet ISIS and al-Qaeda now flourish in all of them. Unity against ISIS, or ISIL, or Daesh means little if we cannot end the conflicts that spawn it and the divisions that hold us back.

The changing face of female militants
Dr. Halla Diyab/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Previously, in groups such as al-Qaeda, women who were associated with the terrorist organization were presented as tough and resilient as in the case of alleged militant supporter Sajida al-Rishawi who appears in her confessional videos with a seemingly callous composure and a facial expression wholly devoid of emotion. The recent emergence of ISIS female militants marks a transition in this archetype, with female terrorists being portrayed as sentimental, passionate and overtly emotional. Along with being increasingly romanticized, the characters of the females are also often strongly interwoven with the roles they occupy within their romantic relationships, with many being celebrated for travelling to Syria by breaking the laws of their countries to marry the jihadists that they have fallen in love with. It is this “forbidden love” narrative that adds an additional facet to their sentimentality as they are portrayed in their roles as wives as romantic and passionate in their quest for love. An example of ISIS’ perpetuation of this narrative lies in the case of reported Malaysian militant Shams, who details her innermost emotions in her “diary of a muhajirah” which documents each moment of her love story with her jihadist husband, from first sight to wedding day. With the newly-constructed image of the female militant, ISIS is effectively humanizing the female jihadists in an attempt to make them relatable to young, impressionable girls of today who could gradually find themselves becoming sympathetic to the cause of the female militants.
With male militants leading military operations, female militants are crucial to the structure of the average ISIS household where the male holds less significance than the female militant because he is expected to face death anytime
For the female militants, ISIS heralds their reconciliation with male jihadists as being pivotal to their evolvement process. This psychological and ideological evolvement revolves around the female militant taking the path to radicalization with the influence of the jihadist. An example of this is in the case of Dutch girl Aisha who was reportedly radicalized under the influence of the apparent jihadist Omar Yilmaz who she is said to have romanticized as the Muslim version of Robin Hood, with her going on to evolve under his influence into an extremist, eventually emigrating to Syria to reconcile with him. Preceding the reconciliation of these couples, ISIS’ narratives of these women are always marked by transitional binary oppositions which see the female militant evolving from liberal to radical; invisible to visible; or from un-practicing to extremist. ISIS acts as a match-maker, bringing together the correct components to ensure that the reconciliation process is successful; the right jihadist for the right female militant. Through this match-making process, ISIS as an organization gives the illusion to their members of working in their favor by granting them-through this reconciliation-the opportunity to be purified Muslims. An example of this reconciliation would be of that between the alleged jihadist Abu Bilal al-Homsi and his Tunisian bride who reconciled in Raqqa after months spent talking online and went on to convey the idyllic images of themselves in the role of typical ‘love birds’, eating ice cream while strolling hand-in-hand along the Euphrates River; an image intended to portray the militants reconciling with their purified souls.
Life and fertility
With ISIS female jihadists, there is a celebration of the female body with recurring images of marriage, and re-production. Unlike former female militants of al-Qaeda who were used as a medium for death through suicide bomb attacks, ISIS female militants are used as mediums for life and fertility. With limited involvement of female militants in ISIS’ suicide bomb operations- with exception of the “white widow” who according to media outlets “has joined ISIS and is training a female suicide bomber squad in Syria”-the suicide attacks are regularly reported to be performed by a male militant. This is mainly because female militants are important factors in the continuity and the survival of ISIS’ territorial existence through their production and rearing of children who can continue perpetuating the narrative of ISIS. Encouraging jihadists to marry has been a priority to ISIS as they recognize this to be pivotal to securing their survival as an ideology and as a state. In order to encourage re-production, they devote to the jihadists an allowance of $400 as a bonus for each child. With male militants leading military operations, female militants are crucial to the structure of the average ISIS household where the male holds less significance than the female militant because he is expected to face death anytime, whilst female militants can remarry another jihadist to resume the cycle of re-production. This role allocation marks a regression in the role of the male militant in the household, because he is dispensable, and can be replaced, and this gives a pivotal power to ISIS female militant.
The image of ISIS female militants is changing because the roles they play within the insurgency have evolved. Though female militants in Raqqa pose carrying weapons and dream of being martyrs, the narrative that surrounds them is full of references to food, love, poetry, marriage, and cleaning; images which reflect the celebration of these women and their daily lives rather than their immorality. The female militants are no longer defined and merely driven by the act of jihad but are shown to be wholly celebrating liberation and life in the land of death. It is a false notion of female empowerment which is being exported by ISIS to allure women across the globe to their cause under false pretenses.

ISIS and Operation Decisive Storm… Back to moderation
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
When Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm began in Yemen a few months ago, ISIS followers lead a smear campaign against it. Their traditional enemies, the Houthis, supporters of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and whoever shared their opinion among Iranians and Lebanese partisans did the same. When the campaign was launched to liberate Daraa, the spark that lit the Syrian revolution, ISIS supporters took the lead once again to compete with the regime partisans in yet another smear campaign. It’s understandable that such campaigns would affect the Houthis and the Syrian regime but how do they affect ISIS and its cyber army? It is unfair that an Irish or a French man joining the ranks of the Kurdish security forces, who achieved noticeable victories in northern Syria, is internationally accepted even though this group is accused of displacing Arabs and Turkmens Hassan Hassan, an independent researcher at the UK-based Chatham House think tank answered this question. He travelled to Syria on multiple occasions and met with rebels and ISIS supporters, culminating in a book entitled “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.” In an article published last April in UAE newspaper The National, Hassan said: “Two recent developments in the region appear to have caused more damage to ISIS’s popularity and relevance than nine months of air strikes and battles in Iraq and Syria.”
Stealing ISIS’ thunder
The first development is illustrated by the successive victories of Syrian rebels in northern Syria and their takeover of Idlib and then Jisr al-Shugour. According to Hassan Hassan, these accomplishments, along with the triumphs that followed in central and southern Syria, “have stolen ISIS’ thunder” costing the terrorist organization some of the accomplishments it uses to attract new blood. Furthermore, he added: “Several people inside Syria have told me that ISIS started to lose some of its sympathizers after the rebels swept through significant regime bases in recent months.”
Hassan’s explanation is correct as not all ISIS followers - especially the local ones - are fervent believers, at least that was not the case before they joined the organization which trained them and transformed them into narrow-minded, brainwashed individuals. Victory generates followers and power attracts vulnerable individuals hostile to the regime. These have found in ISIS, especially during the Syrian downfall period, a way to seek revenge against an unjust system which oppressed their people and loved ones. Therefore, the emergence of an alternative, combining strength, power and moderation is enough to pull the rug out from under ISIS. If it doesn’t succeed in attracting most of them, it will at least save those who are still on the margins as well as prevent the terrorist organization from recruiting new “victims.”
Robbing ISIS of appeal
According to Hassan Hassan, the second development that robbed ISIS of some of its appeal is the reaction of the public in the region regarding the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm launched in March against the Houthi militia. “There is a decided drop in positive mentions of the group. These who once subtly cheered for ISIS have shifted to enthusiastic support for the campaign against what they perceive as Iranian proxies in Yemen. This view of the situation comes amid the widespread belief that Saudi Arabia no longer perceives the Muslim Brotherhood as quite so much of a threat. This has created a sense of optimism and it is manifesting itself in public attitudes towards the campaign against the Houthis, ” he noted. In other words, those sympathizing with ISIS found in Decisive Storm a campaign that could counter their need to side with a terrorist organization.
Hassan’s theory may seem logical as not all of ISIS’ followers are takfirists nor were they when they first approached this terrorist organization. Defeat, frustration and the lack of an alternative that stands against injustice, tyranny and oppression boosted ISIS’ appeal among a youth demographic full of anger, seeking victory against Islam’s enemies. They are found in Riyadh and Tunisia and even in faraway cities such as Copenhagen and Brussels. They believe, and so do I, that the Sunni people in Iraq and Syria are under attack, tortured and slaughtered while the world sits idle. Hence, they leave their peaceful life of comfort and head to what they assume to be “the land of jihad, pride and dignity.” Once they arrive in ISIS occupied territories, the initial motive of their travel is transformed into blind violence, hatred, atonement and terrorism.
Hassan’s theory is backed up by the opinion of Saudi cleric Salman al-Ouda debated a few days ago in the renowned talk show “Fi Al Samim.” Al-Ouda believes that in order to face this violence, an alternative revival Arab-Islamic project must be provided, one that will absorb the tremendous energy of the Muslim youth. “One cannot shut down this energy. It must be rechanneled productively by achieving some of their dreams,” he said.
Rebuilding the region
Unfortunately, this “energy” is currently under scrutiny despite the fact that it was initially moderate. In the absence of a righteous project, a negative one picked up speed. The Decisive Storm experience and the victories of the Syrian rebels represent the true mediums through which this energy must be channeled and employed to achieve its robbed ISIS of some of its appeal of rebuilding the region and liberating it from both sectarianism and tyranny.
It is unfair that an Irish or a French man joining the ranks of the Kurdish security forces, who achieved noticeable victories in northern Syria, is internationally accepted even though this group is accused of displacing Arabs and Turkmens out of territories under their control. This is a war crime. Nonetheless, our friend had his photograph taken among Kurdish fighters while exhibiting his gun and posted it on Facebook. Then he came back home as a hero to conduct interviews. If a young Arab man had done the same, accusing fingers would have automatically been pointed at him!
This is a tremendous moral dilemma. Resolving it requires an tried and tested formula that can put an end to the likes of ISIS.

Iran nuclear talks: What absolute deadlines?
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
For yet another time, a deadline for Iran’s nuclear talks has been missed. Other deadlines, including the ones set for July and November of 2014 were also missed and later extended. The six world powers and Iran also ignored the deadline to reach a general framework that was set for March 31, 2015. The next deadline of July 9 might not be a final deadline as well; it can also be extended till a deal is sealed. Iran wants the deal, and the U.S. appears to want it more. It seems that an absolute deadline is really not “absolute” nor a ”deadline” when it comes to the nuclear negotiations between the six world powers (known as the P5+1; China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany) and the Islamic Republic. Both sides, particularly the United States and the Islamic Republic, have gradually deemphasized the importance of meeting the deadlines. The United States, has been quick to offer an extension for the missed deadlines in order to avoid the collapse and total failure of the nuclear talks altogether A key player, the United States, has been quick to offer an extension for the missed deadlines in order to avoid the collapse and total failure of the nuclear talks altogether. Nevertheless, it is crucial to point out that extensions have led to agreements at the end of the day.
De-emphasizing and missing the deadlines appears to be a result of concerted efforts by the United States and Iran to show their domestic constituents and the global community that both sides are taking the deal seriously by working on the agreement even past the deadline by working hard on the details and attempting to give less concessions.
The Islamic Republic is attempting not to reveal any desperation or underlying urges to clinch a final nuclear deal. This is due to the notion, from the Iranian leaders’ perspective, that they are likely to obtain more concessions by not showing their desperation for the final nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s trip to Tehran in the last moment, which led to the missed deadline, seems to be an attempt to project that the Islamic Republic is not really in need of such a deal and it can walk away from the agreement at any time. The Islamic Republic is well-known for playing such bargaining games. If the recent history of blowing deadlines and later reaching an agreement prevail, both sides will likely reach a final nuclear deal this time.
What are the remaining issues?
First of all, all the crucial issues that the six world powers and the Islamic Republic discussed and negotiated in the last 19 months, will come to surface again. At this stage, both sides are required to nail down the details of the final nuclear deal based on the preliminary agreement which was reached in April 2015. Nevertheless, while the parties celebrated the preliminary agreement in April, it soon became clear that both sides concluded different interpretations from the preliminary deal. For the Islamic Republic, two crucial issues are the lifting of financial sanctions and the restrictions on inspections of Iran’s military sites. On the other hand, domestically speaking, the Obama administration is attempting to show that the administration did not give concessions to the Iranian leaders.
As the skeptics of the nuclear deal argue, Iran’s economy will be bolstered while its nuclear program will only be limited for few years. After the time limit, there will be no restriction on Iran. Iran will be allowed to pursue its nuclear program at full speed legitimately and shrink its break out capacity to zero. As President Obama pointed out in an interview with NPR, “what is a more relevant fear would be that in year 13, 14, 15, they have advanced centrifuges that can enrich uranium fairly rapidly, and at that point the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero.”
In other words, the agreement is totally a win deal for Iranian leaders.
Iran has the upper-hand
On the other hand, the first and foremost objective of the Islamic Republic is the lifting of economic sanctions. Although both sides agree that financial sanctions will be ultimately lifted after a final nuclear deal is reached, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s redline is the immediate lifting of sanctions after the deal is sealed. While Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei seemed inflexible when issued a redline and demanded the lifting of all economic sanctions as a condition, the Islamic Republic can show some flexibility by altering the interpretation of the supreme leader’s redline without damaging his credibility. In other words, the Islamic Republic can wait a few months until all the sanctions (particularly the ones on Iran’s oil and banking systems) are lifted.
Secondly, the next stumbling block is the issue of inspection of nuclear and military sites. Although both sides have agreed to some kind of monitoring process by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the underlying hurdle is the scope of inspection rather than the inspection per se. Iranian leaders are opposed to allowing some of their military sites, which are under suspicion to have operated nuclear activities, to be inspected. This was the second redline of Iran’s supreme leader. Nevertheless, both sides are likely to reach common ground in this respect as well. Ayatollah Khamenei’s redlines in the last 20 months since the nuclear talks were initiated are more tactical moves to bolster Iran’s negotiating team's position in the nuclear talks. Such redlines are aimed at strengthening Iran’s nuclear team to obtain more concessions from the West. The deal is a good deal for Iran. In addition, Iran’s supreme leader would issue such redlines in order to project that the United States needs Iran- not vice versa. Being cognizant of President Obama’s desperation for obtaining a deal for his foreign policy legacy, Ayatollah Khamenei clearly pointed out in a recent speech that the United States needs Iran. The third issue is the scope of Iran’s nuclear enrichments and research in the 10-15 years of the agreement, and after the expiration of the agreement. As President Obama previously pointed out, Iran’s break-out capacity to build a nuclear bomb can come to zero by the end of the agreement. As a result, the question is how fast the Islamic Republic can head towards the break out capacity.
Finally, all the technical issues discussed in the last 19 months will come to the surface again in this last round of nuclear talks. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the gaps between Washington and Tehran are too deep to bridge.
In fact, signing a final deal is a political decision rather than a technical one. Since both Iran’s hardliners and President Obama view the nuclear deal as a good deal, the prospect of clinching a deal seems to be high.

“Lebanese Journalists, Nadim Koteich: Call To Recognize Connection Between Terrorism And Islam,”
MEMRI, June 29, 2015 (thanks to Robert):
Nadim Koteich: The ISIS Murderers Belong To Islam, Rely On Islam’s Texts
The following are excerpts from an English version of Nadim Koteich’s article, published January 13, 2015 on the “Now Lebanon” website:[2]
“These killers are us. They are our religion at its most extreme. Condemnations are no longer sufficient. They were never enough in the first place, and they never bore any weight except as an entry point to more advanced steps.
“They are not enough, especially when what follows them amounts to no more than idiotic expressions suggesting that a crime like the Charlie Hebdo massacre is not an expression of ‘the true Islam.’ In an effort to divorce Islam from responsibility for other crimes, some have said that the Islamic State (ISIS), Jabhat al-Nusra, Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haqq, Hizbullah, Boko Haram, Somalia’s Al-Shabab, the Taliban, and hundreds of other armed groups also do not represent true Islam.
“So what is this true Islam that those who condemn crimes committed in the name of Islam are supposed to be bestowing upon us? Beyond condemnation, what confrontation with the criminals have the proponents of true Islam been engaged in since the defeat of the Mu’tazila – the defeat of rationality in Islam 1,100 years ago?
“Condemnation alone is not enough. The people from the Sunni camp of contemporary Islam who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the Pakistani school massacre before it, the massacres by ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the 9/11 attacks, and other atrocities all belong to the true Islam. The same applies to the people in the Shiite camp of contemporary Islam who kidnapped and killed foreign journalists in Beirut, and issued and renewed the fatwa that said the blood of British writer Salman Rushdie could be spilled. They are a central part of the true Islam and its many schools of jurisprudence.
“It doesn’t matter which Islamic text, whether it is Koranic or jurisprudential, or a text recounting the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad; the killers do not kill for nothing, they kill in the name of books, fatwas, ayahs, and age-old tradition. All of these things are inseparable parts of true Islam. They will remain Muslims as long as they pronounce the shahada and as long as the religious institution doesn’t dare to modernize the criteria for being a Muslim.
“These killers are us. They are our religion at its most extreme. They are our true Islam taken to its furthest extent, and they are not beyond the scripture. If the West says in one united voice ‘we are Charlie’ we should say ‘we are ISIS.’
“As Muslims, what should we do with Ayat as-Sayf, the fifth verse of Surat at-Tawbah, one of the last Koranic chapters delivered to the Prophet in the city of Medina, and thus of central importance with regard to the structure of Islamic rulings and the system for the relationship with the other? The ayah says: ‘Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! God is Forgiving, Merciful.’
“With this in mind, was the ayah not instrumental in building Islam’s military glory? Didn’t Islam become a vast empire of might, dominion, high renown, money and power? Was this ayah not the central compass that directed the wars of the Muslims, from the preparations for the conquest of Mecca to jihadist pamphlet ‘The Neglected Duty,’ by Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj, one of the clearest and most dangerous pieces of jihadist literature ever written? For those who are unfamiliar with Faraj, he was the emir of the Al-Jihad group that assassinated Anwar Sadat in the name of the very same true Islam.
“What kind of ruling can there be against ‘idolaters’ in the 21st century and what should we make of the ruling to slay them ‘wherever [we] find them’ now that we have international law and the nation state? Where do today’s Muslims draw the line between Islamic jurisprudence and law?
“As Muslims, what should we do with the 20th verse of Surat at-Tawbah, which is dedicated to our relationship with Christians and Jews? The text is as follows: ‘Fight those who do not believe in God or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what God and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.’
This is actually the 29th, not the 20th, verse of Surat at-Tawbah — that is, Qur’an 9:29.
“Do these ayahs belong to the so-called ayahs of forgiveness that Muslims praise as evidence of Islam’s kindheartedness in conferences of flattery and social deception? Are they really all we have left of Islam in its latest incarnation?
“What is the verdict on the fatwas of Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah who still presides over the jurisprudence of jihad, eight centuries after his death, from the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS? What is his position, in the view of who he is in the history of Islamic jihadist jurisprudence, in today’s Muslim world? Who will draw the borders between the jurisprudence of jihad as one of the Islamic sciences and the criminal jurisprudence that was practiced in Paris, especially as both of them are derived from the same original texts?
“It was very telling that straight after the announcement of the Charlie Hebdo massacre people’s thoughts turned to Islamist extremists, despite the fact that the French magazine’s satire did not spare Judaism, Christianity, or the French political establishment. This is because Islam’s relationship with the present is in crisis, and any group going through such a crisis is always the first suspect. In fact, Islam as a whole stands accused in advance, and not only its extremist fringe.
“The original texts that form an inseparable part of the true Islam and that inspire the ongoing crimes committed in its name are also guilty. This will be true as long as there is no central authority to reorganize the relationship between the Islamic text, as a piece of history, and the necessities of the present day – in the same way that the Koranic text itself acclimatized as the ayahs were gradually sent down, with some new rulings replacing older ones…
“Nothing can [harm] Islam and Muslims as much as such crimes, and yet we still make do with saying that they do not represent the true Islam, without providing a clear description of what true Islam is – beginning with our religious schools, some of which are factories for crime, to our constitutions, which are rigged with the mines of Islamic jurisprudence and Sharia law.
“Nothing [harms] Islam more than the Charlie Hebdo massacre, which says, from the belly of the true Islam itself: Those of us who love the Prophet most are our greatest criminals.”
Endnotes:
[1]Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 28, 2015; Now.mmedia.me, January 13, 2015.
[2] Now.mmedia.me/lb/en, January 13, 2015. The original English has been lightly edited for clarity and standardization.