LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
February 11/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
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Bible Quotations For Today
Very truly,
I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers
greater than the one who sent them
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 13/13-17/:"You
call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I
have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their
master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know
these things, you are blessed if you do them."
A bishop, as God’s steward,
must be blameless; not arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or
violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness,
prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.
Letter to Titus 01/01-09/:"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the
truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that
God, who never lies, promised before the ages began in due time he revealed his
word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command
of God our Saviour, To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. I left you behind in
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 10-11/17
Perils of Doing a De Gaulle in Lebanon/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al
Awsat/February 10/17
Ali Al-Amin: The Recent Clashes Between South Lebanon Residents And UNIFIL
Forces Are A Message From Iran To The U.S./MEMRI/February 10/17
Defiant Assad tells Yahoo News torture report is 'fake news'/Michael Isikoff
/Yahoo/February 10/17
A Fixed Way of Looking at the World/Michael Devolin/Jihad Watch/February 10,
2017
Analysis: Trump presidency heralds new era of US-Egypt ties/Reuters/February 10,
2017
Muhammad’s Sexual Fantasies of Virgin Mary/Raymond Ibrahim/February 10/17
Iran’s lobbyists and spies in our midst/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/February
10/17
Is the Arab world truly independent/Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
Syria’s suffering must remain on our conscience/Fawaz Turki/Al Arabiya/February
10/17
Gratified absurdity and secrets of mysterious overestimation/Fahad Suleiman
Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
Jenadriyah festival showcases best of Arab heritage, culture/Mshari Al
Thaydi/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
The Muslim Council of Britain's Little Problem/Miqdaad Versi and Dodgy
Facts/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/February 10/17
Question: "How should Christians view refugees?/GotQuestions.org/ February
10/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
February 10-11/17
Aoun: We are working to secure minorities' representation
Raffoul from Tripoli Serail: New electoral law to see light soon
Arslan Adheres to Proportional Electoral Law, Says 1960 Law Unfair for Druze
Mustaqbal MP: Electoral Law Devised by Miqati Govt. 'Out of Question'
Report: Efforts Seek to Mend Hariri-Rifi Ties
Jumblat Hopes Lebanon's Judicial System Same as US, Wahhab Lashes out at Him
Group of Women Assault ISF Patrol in Baalbek
Report: Lebanon Facing Political Crisis if Electoral Law Debate Fails
Cautious Calm in al-Laylaki after Armed Clash between Families
Hasbani, Audi tackle local developments
Social Affairs Minister meets Ambassadors of Norway, Sweden, and Turkey
Hariri offers condolences to Geagea on his late mother
US Ambassador reaches Bsharri for condolences on Geagea's mother
Sarraf, Armenian Ambassador hold talks
Abi khalil, US ambassador hold talks
Majdalani: Mixed election law closest formula to consensus
Iranian Embassy celebrates 38th anniversary of Islamic revolution's victory,
Fathali highlights Iran's support for Lebanon
Perils of Doing a De Gaulle in Lebanon
Ali Al-Amin: The Recent Clashes Between South Lebanon Residents And UNIFIL
Forces Are A Message From Iran To The U.S.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 10-11/17
Iranians celebrate 1979 revolution with rallies/
France thwarts attack, arrests ISIS supporting teen
Trump tells Xi Jinping will respect ‘one China’ policy
Russian bombing in Syria kills three Turkish soldiers
Syria War Seethes Despite Cease-Fire
Saudi King Salman receives phone call from US secretary of state
Iran's Rouhani Warns those Using 'Threatening Language'
Trump Says Israel Settlement Growth not 'Good for Peace'
Pen: French Jews Will Have to Give Up Israeli Citizenship
Containing Iran Should Start With Blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards
Iran Regime's Lobby in U.S. Serving Khamenei and IRGC Interests
Iranian Revolution's 38th Anniversary, 38 Years of Media Repression
Bahrain Foils Attempt to Smuggle Fugitives to Iran - Reports
Iran: Metro Wall Collapses in Qom; Workers Buried Under Debris
Iran Regime's Most Fundamental Vulnerability Is Domestic Instability
UK House of Commons condemns Israeli settlement activity
Yemen Loyalists Retake Historic Port of Mokha
Egyptian Louvre attack suspect 'acted alone'
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on February 10-11/17
Georgetown
prof Jonathan Brown responds to Robert Spencer’s acceptance of his debate
challenge: “my God you’re ugly”
Hugh
Fitzgerald: Islam and the Propaganda War (Part I): In Print and Online
Appeals
court decision blocking Trump ban doesn’t even mention law empowering President
to restrict immigration
Trump
administration releases list of terror suspect cases from travel ban countries
Pakistani
government officials deny that blasphemy laws target Christians
Quebec
imam prays: “O Allah, destroy the accursed Jews…O Allah, kill them one by one”
Raymond
Ibrahim: Muhammad’s Sexual Fantasies of the Virgin Mary
The
Islamic State chops off children’s hands for refusing to execute prisoners
A
Fixed Way of Looking at the World
Raymond
Ibrahim: Muhammad and Forced Conversions to Islam
Germany:
Muslim migrant screams “Allah” as he slashes man’s face with knife on bus
Syria’s
Assad: Some refugees are “definitely” terrorists
Two
Muslims arrested in Slovenia on way to join the Islamic State — while under
house arrest in France
Hard-Left
appeals court rules against national security, Trump’s immigration ban
Venezuela
selling passports to Iraqis, may have sold them to jihadis
The
End of Countering Violent Extremism, the Start of Countering Islamic Jihad
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on February 10-11/17
Aoun: We are working to
secure minorities' representation
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed
that efforts are conducted to secure minorities' representation, whether
community or a minority within the community, as a means to "achieve
justice."President Aoun was speaking on Friday in front of a visiting
delegation of the Lebanese Democratic Party, led by Minister Talal Arslan.
"No one wants to annul any side because if we lost one of our social and
political components, we abolish the Lebanese character of our existence,"
the President noted. Aoun underlined that all currently proposals in the issue
of the poll law come in compliance with the Taef Accord, which stipulates an
electoral law that respects national coexistence.
Raffoul from Tripoli Serail: New electoral
law to see light soon
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - North Governor, Judge Ramzi Nohra, received on Friday at
Tripoli Serail State Minister for Presidency Affairs, Minister Pierre Raffoul,
who said following the meeting that the new electoral law would see the light
in a week or two. Minister Raffoul pointed out that the petroleum richness in
the Lebanese offshore was estimated by experts at around USD 1700 billion.
Raffoul said that the new era led by President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih
Berri, and PM Saad Hariri would not allow anyone to seize or violate such
wealth.
Arslan Adheres to Proportional Electoral
Law, Says 1960 Law Unfair for Druze
Naharnet/February 10/17/Minister for the Displaced Talal Arslan stressed on
Friday that the 1960 electoral law does not provide just representation for the
Druze community while proportional representation does, the National News
Agency reported.“The 1960 electoral law does not achieve justice for Druze
lawmakers,” said Arslan during a meeting with President Michel Aoun. Heading a
delegation from the Lebanese Democratic Party, Arslan added: “The 1960 law
gives the Druze community two MP seats at the parliament while the proportional
representation gives us 8 MP seats.” Arslan's position comes to contradict a
stance made by influential Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat. Jumblat had said that
proportional representation marginalizes the Druze which constitutes a major
component of the Lebanese community. While al-Mustaqbal Movement had previously
rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation,
arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's
strongholds, Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even
within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize” the minority Druze
community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, AMAL, the Free Patriotic Movement and the
Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called hybrid
electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all
system. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and
the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were
held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is
scheduled for May.
Mustaqbal MP: Electoral Law Devised by
Miqati Govt. 'Out of Question'
Naharnet/February 10/17/MP Ammar Houri denied on Friday reports claiming that
al-Mustaqbal Movement has shown “openness” to discussing an electoral law fully
based on proportional representation that had been devised by Najib Miqati's
government. “Reports circulating that Mustaqbal has reached a format close to
the so-called hybrid law is but the same format it has earlier agreed on with
the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party,” Houri clarified in an
interview with the VDL (100.5). The Mustaqbal MP stressed that Mustaqbal will
not take into consideration the so-called Miqati law saying: “The Miqati
election law is out of question because it calls for staging the elections
under a full proportional representation.”On Thursday, media reports said that
Prime Minister and Mustaqbal chief Saad Hariri has shown “openness” to
discussing Miqati's law. While Mustaqbal had previously rejected that the
electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that
Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds,
Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation,
even within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize” the minority
Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, AMAL, the Free Patriotic Movement and
the Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called
hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the
winner-takes-all system. The country has not organized parliamentary elections
since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The
last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the
next vote is scheduled for May.
Report: Efforts Seek to Mend Hariri-Rifi
Ties
Naharnet/February 10/17/Endeavors to ease the strained relations between Prime
Minister Saad Hariri and Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi have surfaced
lately, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported on Friday. The daily said that
efforts have “focused on a reconciliation between the two men in a bid to
re-embrace the northern city of Tripoli (of a Sunni majority) back under
al-Mustaqbal Movement on the anniversary of slain ex-PM Rafik Hariri,"
Saad's father.Relations between al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Hariri and Rifi,
once-close allies, have been strained since February 2016 over a number of
issues that led to Rifi's resignation from the cabinet. The resigned minister
has especially criticized Hariri's decision to nominate Marada Movement chief
MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency.
In one of his statements, Rifi claimed that Hariri has lost his influence
among the Sunni community, noting that “Saad Hariri is finished and the Sunnis
are awaiting a new Hariri.”Boasting about his own rising influence in the Sunni
community, Rifi had said: “I am strong in
Jumblat Hopes Lebanon's Judicial System
Same as US, Wahhab Lashes out at Him
Naharnet/February 10/17/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat
said on Friday that Lebanon must develop a judicial system similar to the one
in the United States after it refused to reinstate President Donald Trump's ban
on refugees. “I wish that the judicial system in
Group of Women Assault ISF Patrol in
Naharnet/February 10/17/The Internal Security Forces confiscated on Friday
massive amounts of hashish they found in a warehouse in the Bekaa town of
Report: Lebanon Facing Political Crisis if
Electoral Law Debate Fails
Naharnet/February 10/17/A new political crisis could be looming in Lebanon amid
concerns that political parties might fail to agree on a new law for the
parliamentary polls, and President Michel Aoun's insistence not to sign a
request calling the electoral bodies to stage the elections under the current
1960 electoral law, the Kuwaiti As-Seyasah daily reported on Friday. The matter
is a serious one, said the daily. Only ten days separate
The situation as is, does not seem to be heading towards a solution as
stated by prominent parliamentary sources of al-Mustaqbal Movement, said the
daily. Concessions must be made first in favor of the so-called hybrid
electoral law which does not trigger any provocations. The interests of the
country must be the major concern, it added. Political parties must understand
that raising the ceiling of their demands does not serve the country's best
interest, and they must not permit any vacuum at the level of the parliament.
Moreover, ministerial sources close to President Michel Aoun said the
political parties have no choice but to agree on a new law and to turn the page
on the 1960 law. The president is optimistic in that regard, because there is
an understanding between politicians that
Cautious Calm in al-Laylaki after Armed
Clash between Families
Naharnet/February 10/17/A dispute between the Zoaiter and Rahil families
escalated into an armed clash Thursday in the
Hasbani, Audi tackle local developments
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Metropolitan bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, Elias
Audi, met on Friday with Vice Prime Minister, Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani.
Minister Hasbani said in the wake of the meeting that technical discussions
regarding the electoral law were underway and would be soon finalized. Minister
Hasabani stressed the importance of fair representation and refused
denominational tensions.
Social Affairs Minister meets Ambassadors
of Norway, Sweden, and Turkey
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Minister of Social Affairs, Pierre Bou Assi, held on
Friday a series of meetings with ambassadors accredited in Lebanon, with whom
he tackled the bilateral ties and the reverberations of Syrians' displacement.
Bou Assi held talks with Ambassadors Leben Lind of
Hariri offers condolences to Geagea on his
late mother
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri offered condolences to
Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, on the passing away of his mother. On
emerging, Premier Hariri said in reply to a question that work is underway to
pass a new election law.
US Ambassador reaches Bsharri for
condolences on Geagea's mother
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - NNA field reporter in Bsharri region on Friday said
that
Sarraf, Armenian Ambassador hold talks
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Defense Minister, Yacoub Sarraf, met on Friday noon at
his ministerial office with Armenian Ambassador to
Abi khalil, US ambassador hold talks
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Energy and Water Minister, Ceasar Abi Khalil, met on
Friday noon with the
Majdalani: Mixed election law closest
formula to consensus
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - Member of Parliament, Atef Majdalani, said on Friday that
a mixed electoral law was the closest formula to be agreed upon by Lebanese
politicians. "There should be taken into consideration unified standards
at the level of administrative divisions," the lawmaker told the Voice of
Lebanon radio station. "There are no disagreements concerning the new law,
but discussions might take some time because this is a critical, yet not
impossible, mission," Majdalani added. On another level, the lawmaker said
that endorsing the salary scale should not be a problem for as long as
financing resources are ensured in a way that would not negatively affect the
national economy.
Iranian Embassy celebrates 38th
anniversary of Islamic revolution's victory, Fathali highlights Iran's support
for Lebanon
Fri 10 Feb 2017/NNA - The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon
organized a reception at BIEL on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the
victory of the Islamic revolution, attended by Minister of State for Presidency
Affairs, Pierre Raffoul, representing both the President of the Republic,
General Michel Aoun, and the Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, as well as by MP
Ayoub Hmayed representing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and ranking
political, diplomatic and religious figures. Iranian Ambassador Mohammad
Fathali delivered a speech in which he said "it is a pleasure and an honor
to welcome you to this blessed gathering on the occasion of the 38th
anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran led by Imam
Khomeini who paved the way towards freedom, sovereignty and independence away
from domination and subordination to the forces of authoritarianism and
arrogance in the world... This revolution was and still is the glimpse of hope
for vulnerable people who suffer oppression, injustice and
occupation.""The Iranian people have sought, over the past years, to
achieve the principles contained in the slogan of the revolution (...) and,
today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is headed with steady pace and
determination towards significant progress on the political, economic, cultural
and scientific levels," he said, stressing that his country will always be
an advocate of right and justice as well as of dialogue and unity. "We
will remain the true supporter and the strategic force for the peoples who
stand proud in the face of the Zionist occupation and the Takfiri terrorism,
particularly in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon to whom we have utmost respect and
appreciation," the ambassador said, reiterating Iran's permanent support
for Lebanon against all challenges and conspiracies. He concluded his speech by
addressing the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and
congratulating him "on the achievements made thanks to the unity of the
people, the army and the resistance," in the hope for further development
of fraternal relations between the Lebanese and the Iranian peoples for the
good and prosperity of both countries.
Perils of Doing a De Gaulle in Lebanon
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/February 10/17
“Lebanon’s De Gaulle!” This was the sobriquet that Parisian political circles
used for General Michel Aoun as he arrived in
The sobriquet was not totally fanciful.
Like De Gaulle, Aoun was a soldier, in his case having one star more than de
Gaulle in 1940. Risking his own life, Aoun had led Lebanese resistance to
Syrian occupation while De Gaulle had launched the French resistance against
the Nazis from a safe-haven in Carlton Terrace,
Also like De Gaulle, Aoun belonged to a political party and tried to stand
above rival factions by emphasizing what united rather than what divided the
Lebanese.
The careers of the two generals had other similarities. Nazi occupation of
In the case of
In the post-occupation period, Aoun – like De Gaulle – enjoyed a brief period
of glory before being sidelined by factions that wielded real power on the
ground. Both men had to spend years in the proverbial political desert before
they could don the mantle of presidency.
There, however, similarities between the two generals end.
De Gaulle was invited to assume leadership by a rare consensus among
If anything, we now know that both the
Aoun, however, owes his presidency to strong support from the Islamic Republic
in
De Gaulle owed nothing to any foreign power while Aoun has repeatedly
acknowledged his debt of gratitude to
De Gaulle created his party after he had won power and garnered nationwide
support for a new Constitution that created the
Aoun, in contrast, reached the presidency after becoming leader of a political
faction which, judging by last election’s results, enjoyed the support of some
11 per cent of the Lebanese.
Those who know Aoun’s temperament, especially his extremely high opinion of
himself, know that, in private at least, he resents the fact that he owes his
presidency to
It was, perhaps, that sentiment that Aoun wished to convey in a number of
recent meetings with foreign visitors, including political and media figures
from
“Aoun is a genuine Lebanese patriot,” a mutual French friend who met him
recently claims. “The last thing he wants, deep down, is to be beholden to his
former enemies.”
Visitors claim that Aoun told them that his “principal aim” was to “restore
According to the reading suggested by mutual French friends, Aoun is also less
than willing to risk
From what we know of Aoun, and the inner workings of Lebanese politics,
we find it hard to take the retired general’s profession of pure patriotism at
face value. There is nothing so far to back the claim that Aoun wants to be his
own master or that he wishes to foster a national strategy to keep
To be fair, Aoun has not been in office long enough to make a full
reading of his intentions possible. Despite his advanced age he may well be
playing a long hand in contrast with the quickened tempo of Lebanese politics
in recent years.
And, yet, some disturbing signs could already be detected.
President Aoun has made a number of moves clearly designed to settle
personal scores with political rivals inside and outside the Lebanese Maronite
community.
He has also joined the Iranian scheme aimed at promoting within various
Lebanese communities a “new leadership” loyal to
Part of Aoun’s game plan is to parody another aspect of De Gaulle’s style
by proposing a referendum.
De Gaulle held his first referendum to secure national approval for a new
Constitution and won because the overwhelming majority of the French saw him as
the only leader capable of ending the war in
With an eye on securing greater, perhaps unchallenged, powers for
himself, Aoun hopes to impose a presidential system through a new Constitution.
But
De Gaulle believed that his presidential system is based on “the meeting
of a man and a nation”, something that worked between 1958 and 1968 when the
May “revolution” forced the general to flee to
For his part “
Aoun’s best bet is to drop being “the next De Gaulle” that could
transform him into a caricature of the original, but to wait and see how things
turn out in a region currently gripped by rapid fissiparous tendencies.
**Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in
Ali Al-Amin: The Recent Clashes Between
South Lebanon Residents And UNIFIL Forces Are A Message From Iran To The U.S.
MEMRI/February 10/17
In South Lebanon on Friday, February 3, 2017, local residents clashed, in two
separate but simultaneous incidents, with UNIFIL patrol units, one of them
Slovenian and the other Italian, stationed there as part of UN Security Council
Resolution 1701; as a result, both units withdrew from the area. These two
incidents followed a relatively long period of calm between the sides, leading
to speculation regarding the instigators' motives and aims.
On February 5, 2017, in reaction to the clashes, 'Ali Al-Amin, an
anti-Hizbullah Shi'ite Lebanese journalist and editor of the website Janoubia,
attributed the events to the recent increase in Iran-U.S. tensions, arguing
that Hizbullah was directing the local residents according to orders from Iran
as a way of conveying a message to the U.S. and the West. He noted that UNIFIL,
The following are excerpts from Al-Amin's article:[1]
Clash between UNIFIL force and residents in South Lebanon (image: Janoubia.com,
February 5, 2017)
"After years with no incidents or instigated clashes between
'Hizbullah supporters' and international forces, Lebanese circles, particularly
those in South Lebanon, were surprised when two instigated clashes took place
on the same day and at the same time, two days ago on Friday [February 4,
2017]. What were the aims of these incidents, and the reasons for them?
"It has been some time since we heard of any confrontations between
UNIFIL forces and [South Lebanon] residents – [the last] confrontations took
place following [the adoption of UN Security Council] Resolution 1701 during
the 2006 war [with
"We were [recently] reminded [of this by] the incident that took
place in the area between the towns of Majdel Zoun and Al-Mansouri, in the
western sector of
"According to another version [of the events], the [Slovenian]
patrol entered the Majdel Zoun area [alone,] without a Lebanese army patrol,
prompting suspicious residents to confront it. A group gathered in front of the
UN patrol and the [soldiers] became frightened and fled towards Al-Mansouri.
But as they fled, the UNIFIL vehicles collided with and damaged three civilian
vehicles, increasing the tension between them and the residents. [In the second
incident,] an Italian patrol unit happened to be at Al-Mansouri, and a clash
ensued between its soldiers and the residents.
"This [situation] raises questions about the ramifications of these
events. The UN [issued a statement] clearly explaining that there was no
justification for what happened, and that as far as it is concerned someone
instigated the problem with the [two] UNIFIL patrols. While the two incidents
did not cause loss of life, and the damage was only material, the incident
needs to be addressed now in light of the escalating U.S.-Iran [tension]...
"These events, which some [Lebanese] officials were careful to call
incidental, could have gone unaddressed if not for the language of the
statement by UNIFIL [command] regarding 'two UNIFIL patrols... obstructed by
groups of aggressive men.'[2] This indicates the possibility of a renewal of
tension between UNIFIL and the so-called 'residents,' as there was in the past,
primarily because the signs of the escalation in Iran-U.S. tension are
manifested in provocations of various kinds, and
"These two incidents may have been incidental or may have been
planned. Either way, either [event] could be a message to the relevant parties
that any U.S.-Iran conflict will have implications for
Brandishing the card of the south [that is, threatening to escalate tensions in
"The 'Trumpist' escalation of the tension with
[1] Janoubia.com, February 5, 2017.
[2] The statement by UNIFIL command read: "This morning, two UNIFIL
patrols in the general area of Al-Mansouri-Majdel Zoun (Sector West) were
obstructed by groups of aggressive men who attempted to cause physical harm to
the peacekeepers and UN assets.' It continued: "While exercising utmost
restraint, UNIFIL patrol vehicles had to push aside some civilian vehicles used
as roadblocks in order to safely pull out from the locations."
Unifil.unmissions.org, February 3, 2017.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 10-11/17
Iranians celebrate 1979
revolution with rallies
By AMIR VAHDAT Associated Press/February 10/17
Iranians began a nationwide celebration Friday to commemorate the 38th
anniversary of the 1979 revolution with rallies around the country, and
President Hassan Rouhani called the new U.S. administration "a
problem."Demonstrators in
In downtown
The rallies commemorate Feb. 11, 1979, when followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini ousted the U.S.-backed Shah Reza Pahlavi. The
President Rouhani told reporters prior to addressing the crowd that Iranians
will make the
"Anyone who speaks the language of threat to this nation, the Iranian
nation will make him regret" it, he said, without elaborating. "This
presence (of demonstrators) is a response to wrong comments by new leaders in
the White House, and they announce with their presence to the world that they
should talk with respect and not use threatening language to the Iranian
nation."State television aired footage of commemorations in
Nation & World
France thwarts attack, arrests ISIS
supporting teen
The Associated Press, Paris Friday, 10 February 2017/Anti-terrorism forces
arrested four people Friday in southern
Trump tells Xi Jinping will respect
‘one China’ policy
AFP, Washington Friday, 10 February 2017/President Donald Trump on
Thursday told Chinese President Xi Jinping he would respect the “One China”
policy, the White House said, in their first conversation since the US leader
came to power. “President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to
honor our ‘One China’ policy,” the White House said in a statement, adding that
the two leaders had “extended invitations to meet in their respective countries.”In
a swift response, Xi embraced the announcement on the highly sensitive issue
which had cast a pall over relations after Trump suggested it was up for
negotiation. “Xi Jinping appreciates Trump’s emphasis on the American
government’s commitment to the One China policy and pointed out that the One
China principle is the political foundation of US-China relations,” official
broadcaster CCTV reported. The White House called the phone discussion – which
came on the eve of Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe –
“extremely cordial,” saying the leaders “look forward to further talks with
very successful outcomes.” The billionaire president had seemed intent on
adopting a hard line against the Asian giant on a wide range of issues from trade
to security. The White House said earlier that Trump had sent a letter to Xi,
weeks after receiving a letter of congratulations from the leader of the Asian
giant. Trump said in the missive that he looked forward to developing “a
constructive relationship that benefits both the
Russian bombing in
Reuters, Amman/Ankara Friday, 10 February 2017
Russian air strikes on Thursday accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers
during an operation against ISIS in
“During an operation by a Russia Federation warplane against ISIS targets in
the region of the Euphrates Shield operation in
Also read:
Closing in on Al-Bab
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels pursued a major offensive against the
ISIS-held Syrian city of al-Bab, 30 km south of the border with
A rebel commander said fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), working
with Turkish commanders, were moving forward from territory near the western
gates of al-Bab, which they had stormed on Wednesday. “The battles began a
short while ago to complete what had been achieved yesterday,” said a commander
of a leading FSA group fighting in al-Bab, who requested anonymity. The capture
of the town would deepen
Also read: UN peace talks on
The Turkish military said it had killed 44 militants in aerial and
artillery strikes and clashes in northern
Associated Press/Naharnet/February 10/17/Syria's fronts are on
fire despite a cease-fire reached in December between the rebels and the
government. Though the two sides sat face-to-face in the Kazakh capital of
Astana a month later, the government has pressed offensives against rebels
around the capital,
Rebels, for their part, struck at government positions in central
DAMASCUS
Despite a rebel ultimatum delivered in Astana against further aggression around
the capital, Syrian government forces along with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant
group pressed on with an offensive against rebels holding Damascus's primary
water source, and defeated them one week later. About 2,000 rebels, opposition
activists and their families chose exile from the Barada valley rather than
remaining under government authority. This has become the hallmark of the
government's strategy — to squeeze its opponents through siege then offer them
exile. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes from bombardment across the
country, with thousands more fleeing to northwestern Idlib province instead of
submitting to government rule. Opponents call the strategy "forced
displacement." Government forces have also intensified their assault on
the eastern Ghouta region outside
Rebel factions are fighting back with tank, artillery, and other heavy weapons
fire.
IDLIB
This province in northwestern
But it is hardly safe. Multinational aircraft are constantly raiding the
province, striking al-Qaida-linked rebels as well as civilian positions. U.S.
coalition aircraft are believed to have killed more than 100 al-Qaida-linked
fighters on the last day of Barack Obama's presidency, according to the
Pentagon, while government or Russian aircraft are believed to be behind a
string of raids on the provincial capital, also called Idlib, that killed at
least 26 civilians and more than a dozen militants earlier this week, according
to the Observatory.
Rebels, meanwhile, are fighting one another in the province as they divide into
competing camps over whether to engage in the diplomatic process in
CENTRAL SYRIA
Pro-government forces have intensified their bombardment of al-Waer, the only
enclave for the opposition in the country's third-largest city,
ISLAMIC STATE TERRITORY
The Islamic State group seized Palmyra and its ancient ruins on Dec. 11 and has
maintained its grip on it ever since. It has gone so far as to threaten the
government's position at the strategic T4 air base in central Syria, but the
military has so far stood up to the test. The group has seized and destroyed
several natural gas fields and facilities, with consequences for the national
economy for years to come. The extremists also stepped up their campaign for
Deir el-Zour, which has been under siege since 2015, and for a nervous two
weeks in January forced the U.N. food agency to abandon its air drops due to
safety fears. The U.N. estimates more than 90,000 civilians are trapped inside.
Government troops and loyal militias are fighting back. With the U.N. planning
to convene peace talks in Geneva on Feb. 20, hopes for success hinge on the
intentions of the three powers closest to the conflict — Turkey, Russia and
Iran — who together pledged to guarantee the tenuous cease-fire. And nowhere
will their intentions crystallize more clearly than in al-Bab, where each side
has a stake —
Saudi King Salman receives phone call
from US secretary of state
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 10 February 2017/Saudi Arabia’s King
Salman bin Abdulaziz has received a phone call from the United States Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson. King Salman began the conversation by congratulating
Tillerson who in turn applauded
Iran's Rouhani Warns those Using
'Threatening Language'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 10/17/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
warned Friday that those using "threatening language" against Tehran
would regret it as the regime faces increasingly hawkish rhetoric from the new
US administration. Rouhani was speaking at a march attended by hundreds of
thousands of people in the capital marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic
revolution. "This turnout is a response to false remarks by the new rulers
in the White House and the people are telling the world through their presence
that the Iranian people must be spoken to with respect," Rouhani said.
"Iranians will make those using threatening language against this nation
regret it," he said."Anyone threating
Trump Says Israel Settlement Growth not 'Good for Peace'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 10/17/US President Donald Trump does not
believe Israeli settlement growth in Palestinian territories is "good for
peace", he told a paper Friday, in his most direct comments on the matter
since inauguration. In the interview published in Hebrew by the Israel Hayom
newspaper, Trump also said he was thinking "seriously" about moving
the
Pen: French Jews Will Have to Give Up Israeli Citizenship
Haaretz Feb 10, 2017/Leading contender in French election tells interviewer she
won't allow dual citizenships with non-European countries. Asked specifically
about Jews and
'We just want to preserve our identity - like Israel and Trump,' Le Pen party
official tells Haaretz
Russian media fuels gay affair rumor about French presidential candidate Macron
In a France ruled by the far-right Marine Le Pen, Jewish citizens will be
forced to give up their Israeli citizenship, the Front National party leader
said on Thursday.
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Le Pen, a leading contender in the upcoming French presidential contest, told
France 2 TV that if elected, she will not allow French citizens to hold on to
any citizenship in a non-European country. When asked specifically about
Le Pen said that the ban will also apply to citizens of the
A recent poll showed Le Pen advancing to the second round of balloting in May
but still losing handily to front-runner Emmanuel Marcon. Her political party,
the National Front, was founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who routinely
minimized the Holocaust.
The younger Le Pen has sought to move the party past her father’s
controversies, but French Jewish leaders still consider the National Front
anti-Semitic.
For the frequent travelers, the symptoms of jet lag are all too familiar. While
you may not be able to stop jet lag when ...
Last week, Le Pen said French Jews should give up the wearing of yarmulkes as
part of the country’s struggle to defeat radical Islam.
In an interview with
“Honestly, the dangerous situation in which Jews in France live is such
that those who walk with a kippah are in any case a minority because they are
afraid,” Le Pen said, using the Hebrew word for yarmulke. “But I mainly think
the struggle against radical Islam should be a joint struggle and everyone
should say, ‘There, we are sacrificing something.’”
Referring to French Jews, Le Pen added: “Maybe they will do with just
wearing a hat, but it would be a step in the effort to stamp out radical Islam
in
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/1.770915
Containing
NCRI Iran News/Friday, 10 February 2017/The Obama administration provided a
period described by an Iranian regime figure as the “golden era”, and
Interestingly, while Europeans are not famous for any tough talk,
especially regarding
Despite the
NCRI Iran News/|Friday, 10 February 2017
The recent Executive Order affecting immigration by citizens of seven
Muslim-majority countries has prompted fierce discussion from all quarters,
including arguments on who does or does not actually endanger the national
security of the
Some believe that there are people already in the
However, more fundamentally, some think that the focus should also be on the
threat coming from a well-knit group and gilded circle of the Islamic Republic
of Iran’s operatives or lobbyists, who are determined to cajole, prod and
persuade US policy-makers into believing that appeasement and a soft touch is
the only peaceful means to contain the top state sponsor of terrorism.
Serving Khamenei and IRGC interests
Many argue that some of Iran’s lobbyists work in plain sight and had
access to top officials at the White House and State Department; they lobbied
for the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, top state sponsor of
terrorism, and subsequently lifting of sanctions against Iran’s Revolutionary
Guards Corp (IRGC), while demonizing Iranian-Americans who called for firmness
against Iran’s ruling clerics and ayatollahs. In addition, some ask, although
the
As Frank Figliuzzi, the former assistant director for counterintelligence
for the FBI, previously told Bloomberg ‘We have intelligence and cases
indicating that US universities are indeed a target of foreign intelligence
services.’
Many believe that no one can, with any credibility, defend their
paymasters’ export of terrorism, military adventurism, meddling in other
countries’ affairs, vicious abuses of human rights or persecution of religious
and ethnic minorities. Over the years,
Cutting to the chase, it seems that the lobbyists and advocates for the
Islamic Republic, next dismiss anyone suggesting the
It also seems that the way to improve
There are none, those talking heads appear to insist. There is no popular
opposition, they appear to say, and the organized resistance to the regime, the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its main component, the
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), is demonized as cult-like.
Obama’s failure: Listening to
Let’s take a closer look. It seems that to its discredit, the Obama
administration listened to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lobbyists and bought
the “no popular opposition” part, which explains why it was so surprised and
then stood silent when in 2009 millions of Iranians took to the streets and
called for the theocracy’s overthrow.
The NCRI’s main component, the MEK, has been described by bi-partisan
majorities in the House of Representatives and a significant number of Senators
as “a legitimate resistance movement,” and “a prominent anti-fundamentalist
organization adhering to a tolerant Islam,” and “a major player in confronting
this ominous phenomenon and terrorism emanating from it.”The longest-standing
political coalition in Iran’s history (36 years), the NCRI’s annual convention
is regularly attended by leading bi-partisan political, military and diplomatic
officials from around the world, who speak to crowds of mostly Iranian-exiles
exceeding 100,000. As far back as 2001, nearly three-dozen Senators wrote: “
Why haven’t our policy-makers listened? Some who ask the question believe
that this is because some of those superficial and so-called Iran experts and
scholars – subtle, often sophisticated, well- heeled and well trained – who are
likely working for the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran’s Intelligence
Ministry have been spoon-feeding them the Iranian regime’s gruel. They add that
they can ill-afford to allow their presence among them, and in particular their
access to our politicians and officials. And finally, they believe that Iranian
agents pose a real and present danger and they should be dealt with swiftly and
decisively.
_______________________
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist, is
president of the International American Council. Harvard-educated, Dr.
Rafizadeh serves on the board of Harvard International Review at
Iranian Revolution's 38th Anniversary, 38
Years of Media Repression
NCRI Iran News/Friday, 10 February 2017
Iran is one of the world’s biggest prisons for media personnel
Reporters Without Borders February 9, 2017
Media freedom was one of the key demands of the revolution that toppled the
Shah and swept Ayatollah Khomeini to power 38 years ago, in February 1979, but
it is a promise that has never been kept and Iran is now one of the world’s
biggest prisons for media personnel, with a total of 29 journalists and
citizen-journalists detained.
The Islamic Revolution has seen a succession of leaders during the past 38
years but the persecution of journalists has never stopped. Only the methods
used to silence them have evolved. The revolution’s first ten years were marked
by massive arrests and the execution of several journalists who supported the
Shah’s regime, including Ali Asgar Amirani, Simon Farzami and Nasrollah Arman.
The deaths of left-wing journalists Said Soltanpour and Rahman Hatefi-Monfared
followed. After the official executions of the “dark years,” extra-judicial
executions were used to eliminate journalists. Late 1998 saw a series of
murders. Journalist and editor Ebtekar Ebrahim Zalzadeh’s body was found with
15 stab wounds. Potassium was used to murder Majid Charif, a journalist with
the magazine Iran-e-Farda. Journalists and writers Mohammad Mokhtari and
Mohamad Jafar Pouyandeh were strangled to death. No one ever found the body of
Pirouz Pirouz Davani, a newspaper editor who had been abducted in 1997.
Letting journalists die slowly
The revolution has adopted a different strategy during the past 15 years,
one that is less visible but no less effective in throttling freedom of
information. By holding journalists for years in prison, where they are
subjected to torture, mistreatment and denial of medical care, the regime lets
them die slowly. The blogger Sattar Beheshti was tortured to death at the
headquarters of the FTA (
Arbitrary arrests
The run-up to the revolution’s anniversary brought no relief for
journalists this year. In fact, the persecution has clearly intensified because
of the presidential election due to be held in May. The past two months have
been marked by another series of arbitrary arrests under procedures that deny
journalists the right to due process, have no basis in Iranian law and
constitute a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human rights
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The blogger Baran Mehdi Khazali was arrested for the eighth time since
2009 on 5 February, after openly criticizing the regime in interviews for Voice
of America and DorTV. He was one of the first to question the official reason
for former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death and to suggest he might
have been murdered by drowning. Now held in
Zeniab Karimian, a woman journalist who hosts a programme on
Prison or flogging
Prison is not the only method used to silence journalists. Under the
Islamic penal code, corporal punishment can often be applied. The various
penalties available to judges include flogging in addition ot stoning, torture
and death. Under articles 609 and 698, criticizing government officials or
publishing false news is punishable by 74 lashes. Although inhuman, degrading
and primitive, this punishment has often been used during the past ten years.
Five journalists were sentenced to be flogged from 2000 to 2005. And
since 2009 (and the protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s
controversial reelection in June of that year), no fewer than 40 journalists
and citizen-journalists have been sentenced to a total of 2,000 lashes.
The tendency to use this cruel and humiliating punishment has increased
of late. In 2016, journalist and documentary filmmaker Kaivan Karimi was
sentenced to 223 lashes, the journalist Mohammad Reza Fathi was sentenced to
459 lashes and Shahrood News website editor Mostafa Sharif was sentenced to 40
lashes. Gilan Novin and Gilan Noo news website editors Mostafa Brari and Arash
Shoa Shargh were sentenced at the end of last month to 114 lashes and 40 lashes
respectively. In their case, the sentences have yet to be carried out. But
Najafabad News website journalist Hossein Movahedi was administered 40 lashes
on 4 January – his sentence for allegedly publishing false information.
NCRI Iran News/Friday, 10 February 2017Bahrain’s security forces have foiled an
attempt to smuggle by sea to
Iran: Metro Wall Collapses in Qom; Workers
Buried Under Debris
NCRI Iran News/Friday, 10 February 2017On Thursday February 9, 2017, the
southern wall of Metro, in the City of Qom (Southwest of Tehran) collapsed, six
injured workers have been transferred to hospital, and more people are buried
under the debris, according to the head of Iran’s Emergency Services in an
interview with the state run Fars news agency. The director of
So far, the details and causes of the accident remains unknown, there are
people trapped beneath the rubble and one person has been pulled out of the
rubble, according to another report published by the IRGC affiliate ‘TASNIM
news agency’.
NCRI Iran News/Friday, 10 February 2017
Time to turn up the heat on Iran
By testing their ballistic missiles in a provocative act last month,
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s promise of swift action should
violations continue has turned the Obama administration’s era of appeasement on
its head, at least in spirit. Wrote Ali Safavi on THE HILL on February 9, 2017,
the article continues as follows:
Given Tehran’s military saber-rattling, including a second missile launch
this week and continued support for international terrorism, the time for
action may come soon. There are a number of reasonable options for the Trump
administration to turn up the heat without immediate, full-scale military
engagement.
First, the
Not only is the IRGC, along with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, a
crucial component in the regime’s crackdowns and human rights abuses at home,
it functions as a regional terror production factory.
As Gen. Flynn acknowledged in his forceful denunciation of Iran’s
destabilizing role in geopolitics, they have sown chaos throughout the Middle
East by supporting the Houthis in Yemen, Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Shia
militias in Iraq, and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, among others.According to U.S.
intelligence analysts and court rulings, the IRGC was directly involved in the
bombings of the Jewish Community Center in Argentina and the Khobar Towers in
Saudi Arabia, as well as in the development and deployment of roadside bombs
that killed hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq. The IRGC is embedded in a
strictly-managed kleptocracy aimed at enriching those in power at the expense
of the Iranian population. Controlling an enormous business empire consisting
of key national industries, including energy and real estate, the ICRG is
reaping the benefits of the lifting of sanctions by the Obama administration.
By tightening capital flows and sanctioning key IRGC personnel, the Trump
administration can diminish some of
Strategically speaking, however, applying sanctions and confronting the
export of terror is not sufficient. To effectively undermine and confront the
regime,
The main enemies of the theocratic regime are the Iranian people, who
yearn for a democratic, representative and secular government. Brutally
suppressed by the mullahs for decades, they have risen up a number of times,
including in 2009, when millions poured onto the streets to protest the
velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule). Trump’s initial
The principal member, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), exposed the regime’s
clandestine nuclear program in 2002 for the first time, which triggered the
IAEA inspections of
The MEK, which also exposed the terror network of the Iranian regime in
the region, is considered an “enemy of state” by the mullahs, with thousands of
its supporters having been brutally massacred.
Standing with the Iranian people as they strive for democratic change
would give
Dialogue and engagement by previous administrations had the opposite result.
Condemning
It will show that the
As it partners with the Iranian people, the Trump administration must
step away from the regime’s multimillion-dollar public relations apparatus,
which has an unsettling grip on the imagination of the pundits and media inside
the Beltway.
For years,
It is a carefully curated, fear-driven propaganda campaign that glosses
over a multitude of options and regime vulnerabilities. Keeping opposition
groups and the Iranian people at arm’s length has been central to that
misleading narrative.
The Iranian people have always welcomed the opportunity to forge a
strategic alliance against the terrorist mullahs, to bring about the free and
democratic
A policy reset on
Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and president of Near East
Policy Research, a research and policy analysis firm in
Tovah Lazaroff, Adam Rasgon/Jerusalem Post/February 09/17
The UK was one of 14 countries, out the UNSC 15 member body, that voted in
support of Resolution 2334.
The United Kingdom House of Commons passed a resolution on Thursday that
condemned Israeli settlement activity and affirmed United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 that call on
Although the debate had been pre-scheduled it came during a week when European
government, including the
With passage of that law, a “dangerous threshold was cross,” Minister for the
Middle East Tobias Ellwood told the House of Commons.
The
Member of Parliament John Howell from the Conservative Party took issue with
the focus on settlements as a stumbling bloc to peace. “Why are we picking on
settlements, when there are a whole rang elf issues,” Howell said.
The UNSC resolution, he said, is part of the internationalization of the peace
when what is needed is for Israelis and Palestinians to hold direct talks
without pre-conditions. Unfortunately, he said, the Palestinians “come up with
pre-conditions each and every time and it usually involves the release of more
terrorists.”
He detailed the steps
He also pointed to the 2008
The Palestinian Authority, he warned, is scared to hold elections,
because it fears it will be replaced by
MP Simon Danczuk of the Labour party said that
Why should the Palestinians believe that
MP Helen Goodman of the Labour party urged the
In the late afternoon, the House of Commons passed a resolution that
condemned settlement activity.
In
“What
Israeli settlement activity, he said, “is an assault against our people,
a violation of international law, and a wanton challenge to international law,
which has been expressed through UNSC resolution 2334."
“We will confront [these acts] in all international bodies and we will
continue our work with international courts to protect our existence and
survival on
“We need to not allow for the reinforcement racist discrimination,
apartheid,” Abbas said.
He also spoke by telephone with EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica
Mogherini who is in
On Thursday the residents of the Amona outpost called on Netanyahu to
approve the new settlement he promised them prior to departing. Trump has been
largely silent on the issue of West Bank settlement activity but two weeks ago,
the White House issued a statement asking
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 10/17/Yemeni government forces took full
control of the historic Red Sea
More than 400 combatants have been killed since the offensive began.
Egyptian Louvre attack suspect 'acted
alone'
By AFP, Paris Thursday, 9 February 2017/A 29-year-old Egyptian arrested after a
machete attack at the Louvre in Paris last week has said he acted on his own
and was not under orders from ISIS, a source close to the probe said Wednesday.
Police have confirmed him as Abdallah El-Hamahmy, a sales manager
resident in
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 10-11/17
EXCLUSIVE: Defiant Assad
tells Yahoo News torture report is 'fake news'
Michael Isikoff /Yahoo/February 10/17
Confronted with new evidence of torture and mass hangings in one of his
military prisons, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an exclusive interview
with Yahoo News that the allegations were the product of a “fake news era” and
charged that a human rights group, Amnesty International, had fabricated
evidence to discredit his embattled government.
“You can forge anything these days,” Assad said when asked about a new Amnesty
International report estimating that between 5,000 and 13,000 prisoners were
killed in a “calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution” at a military
prison outside of Damascus between 2011 and December 2015. “We are living in a
fake news era.”
Assad, combative and unyielding, also insisted the
The Syrian president was also confronted for the first time with chilling
photographs taken by a former regime photographer, code named Caesar, depicting
rows of emaciated, brutally beaten bodies of detainees — many of them believed
to be political protesters — at his military prisons. The photographs — which
U.S. officials have likened to images from Nazi concentration camps — were the
basis for a landmark lawsuit filed in Spain’s National Court last week accusing
nine senior Syrian intelligence and security officials of international human
rights crimes.
Assad at first suggested the photos may have been edited and “Photoshopped.”
Shown an FBI report concluding that the photos were not manipulated and
appeared to depict “real people and events,” Assad dismissed it. “If the FBI
say something, it’s not evidence for anyone, especially for us,” he said. “The
most important thing: If you take these photos to any court in our country,
could they convict any criminal regarding this? Could they tell you what this
crime is, who committed it? If you don’t have this full picture, you cannot
make judgment. It’s just propaganda.”
Assad made the comments during a 34-minute interview, his first since the
inauguration of Donald Trump — recorded by five presidential cameramen in one
of his offices in
“As you can see,
Assad warned the Trump administration about placing new troops inside
Assad also appeared to lend support to one of the Trump administration’s
arguments for its controversial executive order suspending the settlement of
Syrian refugees in the
The man credited with smuggling 50,000 photos said to document Syrian
government atrocities, a Syrian army defector known by the protective alias
Caesar (disguised in a hooded blue jacket), prepares to speak to the House
Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in July 2014.
In Assad’s account,
He was dismissive of
While he has had no communications with the new
Assad claimed there was not a “shred of evidence” for the report. Told that it
was based in part on interviews with former Syrian prison officials and guards,
judges and doctors, Assad replied, “It means nothing. … When you need to make a
report, you need concrete evidence. You can make any report. You can pay money
to anyone like
“Do you know what goes on in that prison? Have you been there?”
“No, I haven’t been. I’ve been in the presidential palace, not in the prison.”
The Syrian president defended the execution of prisoners as “part of the Syrian
law.” Asked if secret trials with no lawyers present was also part of Syrian
law, he answered: “Why do they need it, if they can make it legally.”
Assad has admitted that his troops have made “mistakes” in pursuing his
campaign against rebels, saying “there are always mistakes in any action.” But
he vigorously denied that his forces have bombed hospitals in
“Why to bomb a hospital? Can you convince your audience that we have interest
in bombing hospitals? … The proof that it was a lie, every time they talk about
bombing hospitals, every time they say this is the last hospital in eastern
part of Aleppo, and the second time they talk about another hospital and they
say the same ‘they bombed the last hospital.’
“So it’s lies and lies and lies.”
A Fixed Way of Looking at the World
By Michael Devolin/Jihad Watch/February 10, 2017
“A myth is a fixed way of looking at the world which cannot be destroyed
because, looked at through the myth, all evidence supports that myth.” — Edward
de Bono
In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Thomas Woodley tells his readers that
“Islamophobia” is defined as a “dislike of or prejudice against Islam or
Muslims, especially as a political force.” My question is, Who says I have to
like Islam or even Muslims? I don’t like Trotskyites, nor do I like Montreal
Canadiens (on or off the ice), and I sure as hell don’t like Liberal Party of
Canada members, especially not our Prime Minister. Is my dislike of all these
people some sort of phobia? The Liberal Party of Canada is also a “political
force,” and I am nauseated at the very thought of any of their members coming
to my door around election time, asking for my vote. But is my dislike for
these people and this “political force” somehow immoral, even so much as to
deserve the imposing attention of the state?
The anti-Islamophobia petition in
Omar Alghabra is now one of PM Justin Trudeau’s top advisors. This is a man
who, as Paul Lungen reports in the Canadian Jewish News, condemned “CanWest
newspapers for labelling Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.” Lungen
goes on to reveal of Alghabra that, during an interview with B’nai Brith’s
Jewish Tribune back in 2006, “he declined to condemn suicide bombers; he said
he didn’t believe Hamas was dedicated to Israel’s destruction; and he claimed
UN Resolution 242 required Israeli withdrawal from all captured territories,
which the clause itself leaves indeterminate, and that he’d criticized
Toronto’s police chief for taking part in a charity walk for Israel. He also
said he mourned the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. And when
I haven’t noticed any petition condemning Judeophobia. During my time in the
Jewish Defense League, I have seen many placards on the opposite of the street
calumniating Jews, Zionism, and the State of Israel. Apparently such
calumniation, if it’s directed at the Jewish people and the State of Israel, is
permissible in
The anti-Islamophobia bill will become a veritable rooftop podium from which
Canadian Muslim groups supportive of Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist
entities such as al-Qaeda and ISIL will push their anti-Israel and
anti-democratic/pro-sharia agendas with an invigorated impunity. Anyone who
opposes their views, who dissents from what always was and always will be their
imperialistic objective; anyone who points out the intention of many Muslim
advocacy groups, which is to obtrude their religiously embedded cultural
practices into Western societies; will be prosecuted by the state and labelled
as racist and “Islamophobic.”
The myth Canadians are now being forced to accept is that Islam is an innocuous
and salubrious religion: Muslims do not have a history of violent imperialistic
tendencies; and they really do like Jews, regardless what their Quran says. The
way things are looking for Canadians right now, thanks to Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau’s Liberal Party and Thomas Mulcair’s NDP, this myth will not be
destroyed anytime soon, as any voice of dissent, any public objection to their
myth, will be met with the full force of the courts. Welcome to
Analysis: Trump presidency heralds new era
of US-Egypt ties
Reuters/February 10, 2017
Egyptian and US officials say the Trump administration will likely seek to lift
or ease conditions imposed under Obama on the payment of $1.3 billion in
The mutual admiration dates back to a UN meeting in September, when
then-presidential candidate Trump found common ground with President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi's hard line on extremism. Trump described the ex-general, who
rights groups criticize as authoritarian and repressive, as a fantastic
guy".
Sisi, the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory,
returned the favor last month after the newly inaugurated president barred citizens
of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the
For Trump, Sisi appeals as an uncompromising leader who came to power by
overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood and is fighting Islamic State in northern
Sinai and on his border with
For Sisi, Trump appeals as a
"The rhetoric alone of this Trump administration is much more forward
leaning in its support towards Sisi than Obama," said one US official, who
declined to be named. "I expect it to be a much closer relationship."
In contrast, weeks into Trump's presidency, the White House has already
discussed declaring the Brotherhood a terrorist group - sure to be welcomed by
Sisi, who was condemned by Obama for his crackdown on
Egyptian and
Officials and analysts do not expect a major jump in the size of US
military aid overnight, but describe a relationship that is more aligned and
mutually supportive.
"During the Obama's administration there were difficulties,"
said an Egyptian government official, who declined to be named.
"When the administrations have common goals it makes cooperation
easier. The military is the backbone of the relationship. We have a common
enemy, which is terrorism."
MILITARY SUPPORT
Obama froze aid for nearly two years after Sisi overthrew president
Mohamed Morsi, an elected Brotherhood official, in mid-2013 after mass
protests.
Though Sisi went on to win an election and the aid was restored in March
2015, new rules were introduced to ensure it was used for counter-terrorism and
border security and Sinai.
Congress also made aid dependent on the
That experience has left a bitter taste among some in
"What interests
The Egyptian government official said the overall size of the aid package
had barely changed in decades, but it would weigh any request for increases
carefully.
What
"(The administration) could ask Congress to no longer impose
conditions on the funds and they could request increases in certain types of
assistance," said Tim Rieser, a foreign policy aid to Senator Patrick
Leahy, the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"But President Trump's positive statements offer President Sisi a
kind of affirmation and encouragement to continue what he is doing, which in
some ways is worth more than dollars."
NEW ERA
Egypt has witnessed years of upheaval since the 2011 uprising helped to
end Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, a change ultimately supported by the Obama
administration.
When the ensuing elections saw Islamists win parliament and presidency,
Obama engaged them in an effort to encourage democratization in the aftermath
of the Arab Spring uprisings.
But
"The (Trump) administration has signaled repeatedly that it sees the
Muslim Brotherhood as virtually indistinguishable from groups like al Qaeda or
even Islamic State," said Eric Trager, a fellow at The Washington
Institute for Near East Policy.
"This is something
On the street, Trump's victory was met with delight by Sisi supporters,
who saw in Hillary Clinton an extension of Obama. The early invitation to the
White House is seen by Egyptian officials as a sign they will again be heard.
But while Egyptian officials like Trump's more aggressive approach to
Islamic State they say they have yet to see detailed policies. "The warmth
of the rhetoric is definitely something that's different, that makes the
Egyptians feel very comfortable," said H.A. Hellyer senior non-resident
fellow at the Atlantic Council in
Muhammad’s Sexual Fantasies of Virgin Mary
Raymond Ibrahim/February 10/17
At a time when Western people are constantly warned to speak respectfully of
Muhammad, or else offended Muslims might respond with violence—to the shame and
blame of those who exercise their freedom of expression—consider what Muslims
regularly say about the things non-Muslims hold dear.
Recently during his televised Arabic-language program, Dr. Salem Abdul
Galil—previously deputy minister of Egypt’s religious endowments for
preaching—gleefully declared that, among other biblical women (Moses’ sister
and Pharaoh’s wife), “our prophet Muhammad—prayers and peace be upon him—will
be married to Mary the Virgin in paradise.” (Note: the Arabic word for
“marriage” denotes “legal sexual relations” and is devoid of Western,
“romantic,” or Platonic connotations.)
Where did Galil—this governmental official who also holds that Muslims can wear
the hated crucifix to deceive Christians—get this idea? As usual, from Muhammad
himself. In a hadith that was deemed reliable enough to be included in the
renowned Ibn Kathir’s corpus, Muhammad declared that “Allah will wed me in
paradise to Mary, Daughter of Imran”[1] (whom Muslims identify with Jesus’
mother).
If few modern Christians are aware of this Islamic claim, medieval Christians
living in Muslim-occupied nations were not. There, Muslims regularly threw this
fantasy in the face of Catholic and Orthodox Christians who venerated Mary as
the “Eternal Virgin.”
Thus, Eulogius of Cordoba, an indigenous Christian of Muslim-occupied Spain,
once wrote, “I will not repeat the sacrilege which that impure dog [Muhammad]
dared proffer about the Blessed Virgin, Queen of the World, holy mother of our
venerable Lord and Savior. He claimed that in the next world he would deflower
her.”
As usual, it was Eulogius’ offensive words about Muhammad—and not the latter’s
offensive words about Mary—that had dire consequences: he, as well as many
other Spanish Christians vociferously critical of Muhammad, were found guilty
of speaking against Islam and publicly tortured and executed in “Golden Age”
Cordoba in 859.
Not only do many Western academics suppress or whitewash such historical
anecdotes of Muslim persecution of Christians, but some—whether intentionally
or out of ignorance—warp them in an effort to portray Christian victims of
Islam as Christian persecutors of Islam. Thus, after quoting Eulogius’
aforementioned lament against Muhammad, John V. Tolan, a professor and member
of Academia Europaea, writes:
This outrageous claim [that Muhammad will marry Mary], it seems, is
Eulogius’s invention; I know of no other Christian polemicist who makes this
accusation against Muhammad. Eulogius fabricates lies designed to shock his
Christian reader. This way, even those elements of Islam that resemble
Christianity (such as reverence of Jesus and his virgin mother) are deformed
and blackened, so as to prevent the Christian from admiring anything about the
Muslim other. The goal is to inspire hatred for the “oppressors” …. Eulogius
sets out to show that the Muslim is not a friend but a potential rapist of
Christ’s virgins (Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination, p.93).
As already seen, however, it was Muhammad himself—not any “Christian
polemicist”—who claimed that Mary would be his eternal concubine. But facts
apparently don’t matter to academics like Tolan, who are more eager to demonize
Eulogius in an effort to exonerate the “offended” Muslims who slaughtered him.
Putting real or feigned history aside, let’s return to modern day Egypt
and consider why Dr. Galil—a governmental official described as a “moderate,” a
bridge-builder between Muslims and Christians—would openly say what he knows
millions of Orthodox Christians in Egypt will find repugnant: that Christ’s
mother would be given to—and have sex with—what Christians deem a false
prophet?
To be sure, many Egyptian Christians did express outrage, including on
social media, though none responded with violence. Had a leading Christian
cleric, or even a little Coptic boy, claimed that Aisha—Muhammad’s favorite
wife, who holds a venerated place in Sunni tradition—will be married to and
have sex with a false prophet, he would’ve been beaten and, if not killed in
the process, imprisoned under Egypt’s “anti -defamation of religions” law,
which supposedly protects both Islam and Christianity.
But as every Muslim and Christian knows,
After all, Islam—beginning with its prophet and all throughout its
scriptures—is built on defaming non-Muslims and their religions, Judaism and
Christianity in particular. So how can repeating what Islam holds to be true
ever be deemed blasphemous by Muslims—sensitivities of infidels be damned?
[1] From al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, an early collection of hadith
compiled by Imam Tabarani.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
The recent Executive Order affecting immigration by citizens of seven
Muslim-majority countries has prompted fierce discussion from all quarters,
including arguments on who does or does not actually endanger the national
security of the United States. As we wait to see how that debate plays out in
the weeks and months ahead, there is a sense that we may be closing the
proverbial barn door after the horse has run. Some believe that there are
people already in the
Serving Khamenei and IRGC interests
Many argue that some of Iran’s lobbyists work in plain sight and had access to
top officials at the White House and State Department; they lobbied for the lifting
of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, top state sponsor of terrorism, and
subsequently lifting of sanctions against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp
(IRGC), while demonizing Iranian-Americans who called for firmness against
Iran’s ruling clerics and ayatollahs. In addition, some ask, although the
As Frank Figliuzzi, the former assistant director for counterintelligence for
the FBI, previously told Bloomberg ‘We have intelligence and cases indicating
that US universities are indeed a target of foreign intelligence services.’
Many believe that no one can, with any credibility, defend their paymasters’
export of terrorism, military adventurism, meddling in other countries’
affairs, vicious abuses of human rights or persecution of religious and ethnic
minorities. Over the years,
Cutting to the chase, it seems that the lobbyists and advocates for the Islamic
Republic, next dismiss anyone suggesting the
It also seems that the way to improve
There are none, those talking heads appear to insist. There is no popular
opposition, they appear to say, and the organized resistance to the regime, the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its main component, the
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), is demonized as cult-like.
Obama’s failure: Listening to
Let’s take a closer look. It seems that to its discredit, the Obama
administration listened to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lobbyists and bought
the “no popular opposition” part, which explains why it was so surprised and
then stood silent when in 2009 millions of Iranians took to the streets and
called for the theocracy’s overthrow.
As far back as 2001, nearly three-dozen Senators wrote: “
They add that they can ill-afford to allow their presence among them, and in
particular their access to our politicians and officials. And finally, they
believe that Iranian agents pose a real and present danger and they should be
dealt with swiftly and decisively.
Is the Arab world truly independent?
Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
The number of foreign journalists coming to our part of the world is on the
rise. However, what is noticeable is the replacement of seasoned journalists by
younger and less experienced reporters. Gone are the days of David Hirst, Peter
Mansfield, David Lamb, Carlye Murphy and many others. Now we have those who are
more tech-savvy and are somewhat quicker to jump to conclusions. Unfortunately,
they do not always have the same political and social insight as their
predecessors. Moreover, they are also sometimes blinded by their prejudices and
mindset. They ask many questions and, of course, it is their job to do so.
Those journalists of the past did not ask questions for which they already knew
the answer. However, a couple of days ago, a young journalist asked me a
question that made me think deeply. “Is the Arab world truly independent?” he
asked. Frankly speaking, this took me by surprise as I remember having written
about this some time ago. It was a good question and my reply to him was: No,
you cannot be independent until the major elements of national power are all in
place. You cannot be truly independent when food and water security depend on
external sources.
To be totally independent, we have to have homegrown solutions that come from
within and are not based on what others expect of us
You cannot be independent when there are obstacles that prevent free thought
and which sow the seeds of self-destruction. Military coups, revolutions and
the importing of foreign ideas contribute to all of this. In order to be fully
independent, we have to work hard and relentlessly pursue monetary and
financial stability. I truly mean it when I say that unless we have a holistic
approach in evaluating our present situation, we will not get out of the
quagmire we are in.
The fourth estate
For this, we need the fourth estate – a vibrant media not influenced by
political parties or religious groups. We need a media that focuses on societal
development and good governance and is a platform for understanding. It should
not be a divisive media. To be totally independent, we have to have homegrown
solutions that come from within and are not based on what others expect of us.
Look at
This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on February 08, 2016.
Syria’s suffering must remain on our
conscience
Fawaz Turki/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
Tired though you may by now be after six years of reading about Syria’s
seemingly unending travails, you still cannot but turn away in nauseated
disbelief at the news, widely reported in the international media earlier this
week, that the Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 people in mass
hangings in just one of its prisons, a military correctional facility outside
Damascus known as Saydnaya, between the start of the uprising against President
Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in 2011 and December 2015. Amnesty International,
which released the report about the hangings last Monday, claimed that its
findings were based on interviews with 84 people, including former detainees,
guards, judges and officials at the prison, and that the executions had been
authorized at the highest levels of government. Details in the report,
grotesque to the extreme, show how every week, and often twice a week, groups
of between 20 and 50 prisoners were executed in total secrecy at the facility.
Before execution, the victims were brought to a military court for “trials”
that lasted only a few minutes. No defense. No lawyer. No appeal. And lest we
forget, last August, Amnesty International reported that an estimated 17,723
people had additionally died as a result of torture, or of deprivation of food,
water and medical care, between March 2011 – the outset of the uprising – and
the end of December 2015. Predictably, the Syrian government disputed all this,
with the Justice Ministry in
Deaths on massive scale
In an article on the BBC’s website last Thursday, the British broadcasting body
quoted several human rights experts who had gone on record last year saying
that witness accounts strongly suggested that “tens of thousands of people”
were being detained and that “deaths on a massive scale” were occurring in
custody. While at the beginning of the conflict these detainees were primarily
protesters, later the target became journalists, social critics, intellectuals,
academics, lawyers and others, snatched from the country’s streets, homes and
workplaces, and later taken to official or secret detention facilities – from
there to vanish without a trace, presumed “disappeared.” The term “disappeared”
or “forced disappearance” gained currency first in
Beyond the law, beyond UN statutes, beyond Amnesty International, lies the
impact on the mind and soul of those who survived the noose, the sadistic
beating, the unattended wounds, the starvation, hearing the eerie screams of
fellow-prisoners being tortured – and now are free to live in the outside world
In international human rights law, a “forced disappearance” occurs when a
person is secretly abducted with the authorization, support or acquiescence of
a state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that person’s fate and
whereabouts. The practice is thus vehemently proscribed. According to the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court, when committed as part of a
widespread or systematic attack directed at any civilian population, a “forced
disappearance” qualifies as a “crime against humanity.” No mincing of words
here.
Beyond the law, beyond UN statutes, beyond Amnesty International, lies the
impact on the mind and soul of those who survived the noose, the sadistic
beating, the unattended wounds, the starvation, hearing the eerie screams of
fellow-prisoners being tortured – and now are free to live in the outside
world.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The consequence of experiences like that reach far beyond the immediate pain
the victim feels while incarcerated, for survivors go on to suffer the ravages
of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, whose symptoms, well known to the
therapeutic community, include flash-backs, severe anxiety, insomnia,
nightmares, depression and memory lapses. Therapists – being therapists, and
thus imbued with a penchant for wanton psychologizing – see all that as a
normal human response to an abnormal human condition. Torturing prisoners – in
this case, before hanging them in batches of 20 to 50 once or twice a week – is
not only a dreadful act but is also, at a seminal level of relating to it, an
ironic act. For to silence, incarcerate or torture to death a man because you
disagree with his views is to pay tribute – a sinister tribute to be exact, but
tribute nevertheless -- to the value of ideas in human affairs. Let’s face it,
torture has been practiced throughout human history, from slow death in the
desert sun in ancient Egypt to slow death by crucifixion in imperial Rome; from
slow death on the rack during the Inquisition to slow death by electric shock
in “French” Algeria in recent decades Still, torture is torture, even where the
methods employed are different in kind and in degree, in locale and in era.
Torture inflicts pain on human beings for the perverse purpose of fulfilling a
torturer’s desire to extract information, force a confession or derive sadistic
gratification. We mourn the horrible deaths of those 13,000 or so victims who
perished in the prison yards of Saydanya, as we feel with the tens of thousands
of others who remain behind bars and who, should they survive their ordeal and
be released, will need years to heal. These folks’ only crime, really, was
that, by a trick of fate, they lived in modern-day
Gratified absurdity and secrets of
mysterious overestimation
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
There was a time when absurdity was a failure in interpreting what is said;
this was either due to weakness in entailment, ignorance of its proper meaning
or a pure desire to turn serious things into absurdity. Since the emergence of
smartphones and tablets, some authors and writers have delightfully decided to
stop being intellects as they considered that they have shined and have now
their own platform as popular journalists or writers who believe that
technology has given a medium for everyone. However, the problem of social
absurdity is that it is a stale copy of a thoughtful text, similarly to what
happened in France when Sartre was turned into mere fashion and was limited to
clothes, hair style and wicked behavior. The sidewalks became runways for young
men and women obsessed with trivial and worthless fashion that had nothing to
do with existential philosophy, for Kierkegaard and Gabriel Marcel, or atheism,
Heidegger and Sartre. It was a juvenile rebellion, where some existential ideas
were abused, but on the intellectual level, they were trivial and can only be
actualized through absurdity.
Social technology
This social technology phenomenon triumphed over everyone. It was a sweeping
deluge and denouncing it would not weaken it. The hardest task was to try to
consolidate the root of absurdity or search for its cause and condition.
Talking about this phenomenon and the breakdown of centers and references
getting everyone back to their corner, gives the circumstances more depth than
they deserve. However, we can tackle this problematic on two levels: first, the
technical rise and its technological vogue. This began ever since the world was
amazed by the atomic bomb. A philosopher like Heidegger looked into the
manufacturing technique, and called it ‘the era of metaphysics’. He wrote an
essay in 1953 titled ‘The Question of Technology’, where he wrote: “I am trying
to understand what is technology”, and in the answer, he saw that “Technology
is the first emergence of a much deeper mystery” that he calls ‘event’. “You
should understand that you cannot talk about technology resistance or
condemnation, but rather about the nature of technology and the technological
world,” he explained. We must raise awareness in order to limit gossiping
because its invasion and turning everything into absurdity will make everything
superficial
‘The postmodern condition’
Another idea was put forward by François Léotard in a book that was published
in the 30s of the 20th Century. It was an extension of Heidegger’s idea about
‘undermining’. The book titled ‘The Postmodern Condition’ has made this
snowball bigger and it initiated debates on how to ‘overtake’ modernity at the
level of art, architecture, philosophy, literature and others. It has also
initiated a debate about technology, its rise and its connections with capitalism,
borders, cultures and centers. Habermas, who was against Léotard’s ideas,
elaborated this concept in his book ‘Science and Technology as Ideology’.
Despite the criticism that was based on socialist grounds, Terry Eagleton was
not wrong when he considered that the emerging modernity and its goals go
against the depth, centers, roots and foundations.
It is a “reflexive, self-meditated, etymological, eclectic and pluralistic art,
that destroys the boundaries between fine and popular cultures, and between art
and the daily experiences.” That was the first level, and technology is surely
a phenomenon that is manifested through explosions and revolutions in industry,
medicine and humanities. As for the second level, it is based on diagnosis and
practice. Technology has resulted in people who mastered education and
lectures. They have scientific careers sometimes, which may be useful. I will
only criticize the ‘absurd stars’ who rise on platforms and impose themselves
as role models for current and future generations.They emerge like fungus,
without root or basis. They talk about trivial issues and get overwhelmed by
the shallow mass surrounding them. This social phenomenon has engendered a lack
of manners, propagation of insults and tampering of social morals.
Unfortunately, these names are presented on platforms as valuable, but in fact,
they are a state of organized ignorance.
Indulging in absurdity
Students ditched their books and got addicted to social platforms. Technology
proliferated into self-doping and unreal overestimation. This phenomenon can
only be diagnosed as ‘absurd’ and here, absurdity is not an insult but a
neutral, decent description for people who interfere in things that they do not
know.Etymologically, absurdity is derived from the act of being dull or
tasteless. In the Hadith, the absurd person was “the one who speaks about
trivial issues” and was part of Anas bin Malek story that was narrated by Ahmad
in his musnad and later on corrected by Albani. This social phenomenon is not
linked to a certain meaning and does not achieve a goal. We must raise
awareness in order to limit gossiping, because its invasion and turning
everything into absurdity will make everything superficial.
Beauty in artistic, literary and linguistic levels can only be seen in depth.
Giving everyone the opportunity to talk about findings, facts and dogmatism
while labeling themselves as inspirational, conversant and experts, is a major
catastrophe that destroys all beauty. It is a decline, collapse and madness. I do
condemn this phenomenon.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on February 09, 2017.
Jenadriyah festival showcases best of Arab
heritage, culture
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/February 10/17
The Jenadriyah festival is being held in the Saudi capital
The festival also features poetry reading panels loaded with Jenadriyah spirit,
and no one can beat the poetry of the Saudi desert man and I mean here, Khalaf
bin Hazal al-Otaibi, may God protect him. The perfect capper can only be through
the great operetta, combining the finest art and artists in
The Jenadriyah, with all its scenes, seminars and markets, is a rich cultural
showcase for
Happy Jenadriyah festival!
**The article was first published in Asharq Al-Awsat
The Muslim Council of Britain's Little
Problem/Miqdaad Versi and Dodgy Facts
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/February
10/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9889/muslim-council-britain-miqdaad-versi
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) presented themselves in the manner of
debt collectors: standing beside a big bruiser stressing how sorry they were to
have to demand this payment, but that they were only just holding back their
big, angry friend.
Unfortunately for them, during the last Labour government in Britain the
MCB's behaviour and beliefs were exposed by the more progressive Muslim voices
who were by then coming along, and also by a wider society which had become
wise to the tricks of these self-appointed "community leaders."
The Daily Mail issued an apology, allowing supporters of the radical
National Union of Students president to pretend that she was the victim of a
smear campaign by self-confessedly inaccurate media reports rather than a nasty
anti-Semite whose back was being covered by a full-time pedant with dodgy
facts.
Miqdaad Versi is happy to apply rigorous standards to others, but holds
exceedingly lax standards himself so long as he can carry on his own
campaigning work against the
Sadly for Versi, the British public's security concerns are not caused by
very slightly inaccurate media reports but rather by the deadly accurate bomb
blasts and shooting attacks around the world which nobody needs to make up and
nobody can fully cover over.
When considering the roles that various people worldwide play in
advancing various causes, a lot of attention is paid to the people who blow
themselves up. A fair amount of time is spent on the victims of such people.
But relatively little time is spent focusing on the people whose role is
clearly to tire everyone to death.
In this regard, it is worth introducing to a wider audience the existence
of a man called Miqdaad Versi. This man works for the Muslim Council of Britain
(MCB), an organisation which enjoyed a certain amount of access to the British
government after the Satanic Verses affair, 9/11, 7/7 and other atrocities.
During those years, they presented themselves in the manner of debt collectors:
standing beside a big bruiser stressing how sorry they were to have to demand
this payment, but that they were only just holding back their big, angry
friend.
Unfortunately for them, during the last Labour government in Britain, the
MCB's behaviour and beliefs were exposed by the more progressive Muslim voices
who were by then coming along, and also by a wider society which had become
wise to the tricks of these self-appointed "community leaders." The
Labour government took a strong exception to the MCB's then-Deputy Secretary
General, Daud Abdullah, signing the 'Istanbul Declaration'. As Home Office
Minister Hazel Blears said at the time, it "supports violence against
foreign forces -- which could include British naval personnel... and advocating
attacks on Jewish communities all around the world."
In the years since then, the MCB has had a problem. Its self-appointed
task is to act as an interlocutor with the government, but the government will
not speak to them, a state of affairs which leaves the leadership of the MCB
with a lot of time on their hands. Happily, the group's Assistant Secretary
General, Miqdaad Versi, has found a way to fill that time. Last year he hit the
headlines in
By watching the clip over and over again, Mr Versi discovered that the
page of writing resembled a passage from chapter 67 of the Quran. As a result,
the makers of "Fireman Sam" were forced to issue a statement assuring
the world that a full-scale investigation was underway into how this happened,
and that, in addition:
"We are taking immediate action to remove this episode from
circulation and we are reviewing our content production procedures to ensure
this never happens again."
Then last month -- thanks to the BBC -- we got an update on Miqdaad Versi's
activities. In January, the Victoria Derbyshire show ran a special feature on
Mr Versi. The article -- "The man correcting stories about Muslims"
-- portrayed Versi as an intrepid crusader for truth. In particular, it
focussed on his work of systematically and continually complaining to the
The BBC report described, for instance, how Versi had managed to get a
major correction from the Sunday Times. In a front-page piece on a recent
report into the state of integration in
Versi's complaint about this piece centred on claiming that Bouattia had
not said that cuts were the "only" reason people were joining ISIS,
and that her suggestion that a British university was a "Zionist
outpost" was not "because" of its large Jewish society. Both
claims were highly disputable. Versi also complained that a use of the word
"groups" should have been the singular, "group." On the
basis of this, the Daily Mail issued an apology, allowing supporters of the
radical National Union of Students' (NUS) President to pretend that she was the
victim of a smear campaign by self-confessedly inaccurate media reports rather
than a nasty anti-Semite whose back was being covered by a full-time pedant
with dodgy facts.
One interesting aspect of Mr Versi's work, and the hagiographic write-up
he received from the BBC, is that Versi is not immune from a bit of inaccuracy
himself. He often seems, in fact, given to a considerable level of inaccuracy
himself.
On the day that the BBC were giving Versi his rave review, he was on
social media sharing an untrue story claiming that the government's Prevent
counter-radicalisation strategy was forcing King's College London to monitor
all student emails. The story was wholly bogus (KCL's policy of reserving the
right to monitor all emails on their system came a year before such a policy
became a legal duty). But the fact that Versi was sharing this story was
typical of the double-ledger he runs when it comes to facts. He is happy to
apply rigorous standards to others, but holds exceedingly lax standards
himself, so long as he can carry on his own campaigning work against the
None of this came up in the BBC's report, nor would any observer have
particularly expected it to. The story of this double book-keeper would
certainly make a more interesting story. But it would be less exciting than the
story of the lone, caped crusader whose meaningless pedantry appears to be
exercised in the hope of boring everyone else into submission. Sadly for
Miqdaad Versi, the British public's security concerns are not caused by very
slightly inaccurate media reports but rather by the deadly accurate bomb blasts
and shooting attacks around the world -- attacks which nobody needs to make up
and nobody can fully cover over.
**Douglas Murray, British author, commentator and public affairs analyst,
is based in
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed
here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Question: "How should Christians
view refugees?"
GotQuestions.org/ February 10/17
Answer: One of the things that have marked the 21st century so far is the
global refugee crisis caused by warfare, genocide, and oppression in various
places around the world. Some estimates place the number of displaced people at
close to 60 million globally.
First, all Christians should be able to agree that the issues surrounding the
refugee crisis are more complex than the rhetoric on social media would have us
believe. There are Christians who, in the name of compassion, believe we should
open all borders and take in all refugees, no matter what. There are other
Christians who, in this era of terrorism, believe we should close all borders
and refuse most refugees. For one group to malign the other as “un-Christian”
or “unloving” or “racist” is wrong. To insist that one’s own view on refugees
is the only possible view for a Christian to have is neither helpful nor
realistic. It’s not as simple as “love vs. hate” or “compassion vs. security.”
There are nuances to consider. There may, in fact, be more than one Christian
view on the matter of refugees.
Second, still laying the groundwork for considering the refugee crisis, we
should acknowledge that forming personal convictions concerning refugees is a
separate matter from setting governmental policy. Christians have many shared
priorities, but the practical outworking of those priorities can vary from
person to person. A government, even when informed by Christian principles, has
different priorities. Governments must be concerned with national security,
even if Christians give no thought to personal security. An individual
Christian may be willing to risk everything in order to assist refugees, but
that same Christian cannot demand that his neighbors share that risk. We must
strike a balance between our (God-given) personal responsibility to show
compassion and the (God-given) state responsibility to protect its citizens.
It’s good to look to Scripture for some examples of displaced people. Jacob and
his family could be considered refugees in
The Old Testament Law contained this instruction pertaining to refugees and
immigrants in
The New Testament does not give any specific command concerning nations
admitting refugees. The New Testament was not written to be a civic handbook or
legal charter. What we do find in the New Testament are specific commands
concerning individual treatment of others. Jesus said the greatest commandment,
right after the command to love God, is “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark
12:31). And in one of the end times’ judgments, Jesus will commend those who
helped the hungry, the thirsty, and the stranger (Matthew 25:35). So, without a
doubt, Christians have a mandate to show compassion to the needy.
The Christian response to refugees must include love. And it’s worth pointing
out that biblical love always includes risk. It’s impossible to love someone
the way Christ loves us and not face a certain amount of risk. And that
factor—risk—is what necessitates that Christian compassion be tempered with
caution when implementing national policy. Any nation that brings in refugees
opens itself to the possibility that terrorists have infiltrated the ranks of
displaced internationals. The
So, a Christian forming a biblical response to the refugee crisis will do
several things:
1) Commit to administering care and compassion to refugees. Christians should
welcome refugees into their homes and churches as a way to show God’s love and
share the gospel. Standing before the throne of the Lamb one day will be those
“from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9).
2) Pray for our nation’s leaders. Governing authorities have a divine
responsibility to “bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4) and to
ensure “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and
holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2). Pray that our leaders would have the wisdom of a
Daniel or a Joseph.
3) Support ministries that assist refugees. Many Christian ministries exist to
help refugees in relocation, job training, language skills, and cultural
adjustment.
4) Promote government policies that are effective in screening refugees to
prevent those with evil intent from entering. We must show compassion to those
in need; at the same time, we must show compassion to our fellow citizens and
not place them at undue risk.
5) Pray for the refugees, their families, and their troubled homelands. “Be
exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the
earth” (Psalm 57:5).
6) Research the best ways to help the displaced. From “safe zones” abroad to
Christian ministries at home, there are many options that deserve serious
consideration.
Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matthew 28:18–
20). With the surge of refugees, the mission field is coming to us, and many of
those who come are from nations closed to traditional missions. Wouldn’t it be
just like God to turn a bad situation into something good and full of glory?
Recommended Resource: Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee
Crisis by Bauman, Sorens, & Smeir