LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 02/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
Every firstborn male shall be
designated as holy to the Lord
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 02/22-24/:"When the
time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought
him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of
the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and
they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a
pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons."
King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the
Most High God, met Abraham, blessed him and to him Abraham apportioned
‘one-tenth of everything’
Letter to the Hebrews 07/01-10/:"This ‘King Melchizedek of Salem, priest
of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings
and blessed him’; and to him Abraham apportioned ‘one-tenth of everything’. His
name, in the first place, means ‘king of righteousness’; next he is also king
of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’. Without father, without mother, without
genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the
Son of God, he remains a priest for ever. See how great he is! Even Abraham the
patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. And those descendants of Levi who
receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes
from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended
from Abraham. But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected
tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. It is beyond
dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case, tithes
are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is
testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives
tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his
ancestor when Melchizedek met him."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 01-02/17
One Christian Died For Their Faith Every Six Minutes In 2016/ Ruth
Gledhill/Christian Today/January 01/ 2017
Perhaps 2017 will be a better year/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya English/January
01/17
Hobsbawm's prophecies and the effects of the 20th
century/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al
Arabiya English/January 01/17
Turkey's "Long Arm" in Europe/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/January01/16
New Year Speech to the Muslim World/Nonie Darwish/Gatestone
Institute/January 01/17
Now Is Time to Behead Unbelievers"/Muslim Persecution of Christians,
October 2016/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute./January 01/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on January
01-02/17
3 Lebanese Killed, 4 Hurt in Istanbul Nightclub Attack
Hariri in 'Direct Contact' with Turkey over Lebanese Wounded in Istanbul
Chemaitelly confirms death of 3 and wounding of 4
Lebanese in Istanbul attack
Hariri: Istanbul attack a message addressed to Turkey's attempts to stop
bloodshed in Syria
Kheir, medical team, number of victims' families
bound for Istanbul within minutes: No final count till the hour
Hasbani calls on hospitals to treat wounded of
Istanbul attack at expense of Ministry
Fenianos: Second plane to be secured to Istanbul, if
needed
Riachy: Good performance by Lebanese media towards
Istanbul attack
Aoun 'Determined to Solve Problems Facing Lebanese',
Vows to Build 'Strong State'
7 Syrians Held in Zgharta Town for 'Communicating
with Terror Groups'
Western Powers Call on Damascus, Hizbullah to 'Stop Wadi Barada Attacks'
Lebanon's Prestigious As-Safir Daily Prints Final
Issue
Lokman Slim/Lebanon: Iran’s Collateral Bonus
Egypt's Ambassador: To unite efforts in face of terrorism threatening the
region and the world
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January
01-02/17
Istanbul Nightclub Massacre Kills 39, Attacker on the Run
Canadian confirmed among 39 killed in Turkey nightclub shooting
Pope Francis Condemns 'Plague Of Terrorism' After Turkey Attack
Erdogan: Istanbul attack aims to create chaos
Seven Saudis among other Arabs killed in Turkey nightclub attack
Turkey Says Arabs, Lebanese among Victims of Istanbul Nightclub Attack
Israeli Killed, Another Injured in Istanbul Attack
Rebel Fire from Yemen Kills Saudi Soldier
Iran assigns new ambassador to Syria after three months’ vacancy
Suicide bombers kill two police officers in Syria’s Tartous
Hamas armed wing releases Israeli soldier mock video
ISIS launches deadly attack near Iraq’s Najaf
Iran: Arash Sadeghi Is In
"Critical and Worrying" Condition on 70th Day of Hunger Strike
Iran: 70% Increase in Military Budget During the Presidency of Rouhani
The Iranian Regime's IRGC and Militia Conspire to Violate the Truce in Syria
The Art Exhibition of the Iran Regime Canceled in
Berlin
Pressure on a Balouchi Political Prisoner
Iran: Political Prisoners Chanting: Down With Khamenei
Kim Says N. Korea in 'Final Stages of Test Launching ICBM'
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 01-02/17
3 Lebanese Killed, 4 Hurt
in Istanbul Nightclub Attack
Naharnet /January 01/17/Three Lebanese citizens were
killed and four others were injured in the New Year's Eve massacre at an
Istanbul nightclub, Lebanon's consul general in the Turkish city said on
Sunday. "After visiting Istanbul's forensic
department and after inspecting the bodies, Lebanon's
Consul General in Istanbul Hani Chemaitelli confirmed
the death of the three Lebanese citizens Elias Wardini,
Rita Chami and Haykal Musallem and the wounding of Francois al-Asmar, Nidal Bsherrawi,
Bushra Doueihi and Melissa Baralardo," Lebanon's National News Agency
reported. "The staff of the consulate general are
still visiting hospitals in the city of Istanbul
to confirm that there are no other Lebanese casualties, at the instructions of
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil,"
NNA added. Wardini, 25, was confirmed dead earlier in
the day after State Minister for Planning Affairs Michel Pharaon
and MP Nadim Gemayel
contacted sources in Turkey,
who said that Wardini's body was found in a
hospital's morgue. Earlier media reports had said that Wardini
escaped the attack after throwing himself into the Bosphorus Strait. The wounded Bushra
Doueihi is the daughter of Zgharta
MP Estephan Doueihi. She
was critically injured in the attack according to media reports. Hassan Bsherrawi, brother of wounded Lebanese national Nidal Bsherrawi, said earlier in
the day that “Nidal, Francois al-Asmar
and Nasser Beshara are in a stable condition while
the daughter of MP Estephan Doueihi
is in a critical condition and is undergoing surgeries.”Thirty-nine
people, including many foreigners, were killed when a gunman went on a rampage
at the Reina club, one of Istanbul's
most exclusive nightspots, where revelers were
celebrating the New Year.
Hariri in 'Direct Contact' with Turkey
over Lebanese Wounded in Istanbul
Naharnet /January 01/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri was on Sunday following up on the details of
the armed attack that targeted an Istanbul nightclub and caused many
casualties, including Lebanese citizens, his office said in a statement. “I am
in direct contact with the Turkish officials to follow up on the details of
this crime and on the situations of the Lebanese citizens who were present at
the place targeted by the attack,” Hariri said. He added: “The competent
authorities have been told to take all measures to ensure the safety of the
wounded and their safe return.”“This is a new episode
of the episodes of terror sweeping states and societies, and all international
efforts must unite to combat this scourge and eradicate it from its roots,”
Hariri said. He concluded: “The Lebanese government renews its solidarity with
the Turkish people and leadership, and expresses its deep sympathy to the
families of the victims of all nationalities, especially the Lebanese who were
targeted in this terrorist attack.”At least two
Lebanese citizens were killed and seven others were injured in the attack while
a young Lebanese woman, Rita al-Chami, was reported
as missing. Thirty-nine people, including many foreigners, were killed when a
gunman went on a rampage at the Reina club, one of Istanbul's most exclusive nightspots, where revelers were celebrating the New Year. Hariri later called
President Michel Aoun to brief him on the contacts
that were conducted with the Turkish authorities. “The president stressed the
need to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety of the wounded and to
repatriate the dead and the injured,” a statement issued by Hariri's office
said. “Accordingly, it was decided to dispatch a Middle East Airlines plane
carrying a delegation from the Foreign Ministry, a medical team and a team from
the High Relief Commission, in order to assess the situations of the wounded
and pave the way for transferring them to Lebanon,” the statement said. Public
Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos meanwhile announced that a plane will be put at
the disposal of the families of the victims.
Chemaitelly confirms death of 3 and wounding of 4 Lebanese in
Istanbul attack
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Lebanese General Consul in Istanbul, Hani Chemaitelly, confirmed on Sunday, after heading to the
forensic medicine department in Istanbul and inspecting the bodies of the
victims of the nightclub terrorist attack last night, the death of three
Lebanese, namely Elias Wardini, Rita Shami and Haikal Mussalem, and the wounding of four others, namely Francois Asmar, Nidal Bsherrawi,
Bushra Doueihy and Meles Paralardo. Meanwhile,
members of the General Consulate are following-up on the situation of the
Lebanese casualties in wake of the attack, under the guidance and instructions
of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Gebran Bassil. In this context, they are conducting visits to
hospitals in the city of Istanbul
to make sure they are free of any other Lebanese victims. On another note, a
joint delegation from the Higher Relief Commission and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs is scheduled to arrive this evening to Istanbul
airport, accompanied by a medical team, in order to oversee the transfer of the
victims' bodies to Lebanon.
The delegation will also assess the needs of the wounded and secure their
transfer back to Lebanon
on board a Middle East Airlines plane.
Hariri: Istanbul
attack a message addressed to Turkey's
attempts to stop bloodshed in Syria
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri
said, on Sunday, that "the terrorist attack in Istanbul
is actually a message addressed to Turkey's
cooperation with Russia in
an attempt to stop the bloodshed in Syria."In an interview to "MTV" Channel this
evening, he added "we should be careful, whether in Lebanon or
abroad, but we should not be afraid and should not allow anyone to change our
way of life". Asked to comment on the attack, Hariri said: "First, I
offer my condolences to the families of the martyrs and I wish all the wounded
a speedy recovery. This terrorism in the region, particularly what happened
today in Turkey, where
victims of various nationalities, including Lebanese, fell, is actually a
message addressed to Turkey's
cooperation with Russia in
an attempt to stop the bloodshed in Syria. It is clear today that
stable countries, or those trying to do something for Syria, are
targeted. Since the first moments of this terrorist crime, I contacted the
security services, and talked with President Michel Aoun.
We were trying to find out what is actually happening and who are the Lebanese victims".
He emphasized the necessity for the State and the media to act in a responsible
way. He added: "From the first moment, I spoke to the Turkish Prime
Minister to know with whom we must communicate and in which hospitals are the
injured, so it took a little time, and we couldn't do otherwise".Asked
if the reaction of the State and government to the attack was appropriate,
Hariri replied: "I hope that there will be a better way to deal with this
matter. Today, we exerted huge efforts but it is New Year's Day, and perhaps
there are parties in the Turkish state who have not seen the names yet.
Starting tomorrow, we will prepare a plan to cope with any similar disaster, so
there will be a quick response in case something similar happened, God forbid".
Asked what his message to the victims, and to the Lebanese in general, is
today, he said: "My message to the victims is to offer them my
condolences. To the Lebanese, I say we should be careful, whether in Lebanon or
abroad, but we should not be afraid and should not allow anyone to change our
way of life. Terrorism's main message is intimidation, and we will fight it
with all our strength. To whoever says that this terrorism belongs to Islam, we
say that it has nothing to do with Islam. What is happening is a crime, and
those who are doing it are killers and we will fight them with everything we
have. Therefore, we must support the military and security forces with all we
have as a country, because this terror will try to reach us in our country, and
we must be ready for it. We have an army doing a great job and you saw the
measures of security taken by the army or security forces during New Year's
Eve, because we were actually afraid of such incidents in our country. Thank
God, nothing happened in Lebanon,
but unfortunately the terrorism that took place in Turkey affected us. I see it as a
message to Turkey and
especially to President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who is trying in a way to stop the bloodshed
in Syria".
Asked if he feared that terrorism will target Lebanon, and what are the
precautions taken, Hariri said: "Certainly we fear this, and we are taking
pre-emptive action, by the army, internal security forces, army intelligence,
Information branch, General security or State security, all these apparels
perform their duties and are all fully prepared, and are trying by all means to
prevent terrorism from reaching our country. But will we stop our lives? No we
will not stop our lives, we will continue, we will try to restore Lebanon as it
was. We should know where to invest the State's possibilities. We will deal in
this government with all these things in the economic plan and the plan to
fight terrorism".
Kheir, medical team, number of victims' families bound for Istanbul within minutes: No final count till the hour
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Higher Relief Commission Secretary-General, Maj. Gen.
Mohammed Kheir, arrived a
short while ago at Rafik
Hariri International
Airport, where he boarded a Middle
East Airlines flight bound for Istanbul.
Kheir is accompanied by Ambassador Mira Daher and a medical crew of 3 doctors, envoys of the
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, in
addition to 9 members of the families of the Lebanese victims of the terrorist
attack in the Turkish capital. In a statement to reporters before departure, Kheir said: "All the necessary measures have been
taken to travel to Istanbul,
and Prime Minister Saad Hariri is coordinating with
the Turkish authorities regarding the issue of the Lebanese victims; however,
there is no final count until the hour."
Hasbani calls on hospitals to treat wounded of Istanbul
attack at expense of Ministry
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Vice Prime Minister, Health Minister, Ghassan
Hasbani, asked Lebanese hospitals to receive all
wounded persons of Istanbul nightclub terrorist attack and to treat them at the
expense of the Ministry. Minister Hasbani hoped for a
speedy recovery for the injured and expressed his condolences to the families
of martyrs Elias Wardini and Rita Chami.The
Minister also denounced the "culture of death" that paralyzed our
societies.
Fenianos: Second plane to be secured to Istanbul, if needed
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Public Works and Transport Minister, Youssef
Fenianos, indicated on Sunday evening that a second
plane will be secured in the coming hours, if needed, to transport families of
the victims of the terrorist attack to the Turkish capital, Istanbul.
Riachy: Good performance by Lebanese media towards Istanbul attack
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Information Minister Melhem Riachy described, in an interview to "MTV"
Channel on Sunday evening, the performance of Lebanese media in covering the
crime of Istanbul
terrorist attack as "good."Moreover, Riachy indicated that he requested the media body to
"respect the privacy of Lebanese homes in expressing their grief,"
adding that he did not issue any memorandum in this regards. "There is
always criticism of the State and its performance, but the circumstances impose
another pattern of dealing with events, and any approach cannot make-up for
what was lost," Riachy explained. "The
State's action was good, despite some delays," he added, noting that
"with positivity things improve, and criticism is essential, and
contributes to shedding light on errors for advancement."
Aoun 'Determined to Solve Problems Facing Lebanese', Vows
to Build 'Strong State'
President Michel Aoun has stressed that he is
“determined to confront the problems that the Lebanese are facing.”“With
the beginning of the year 2017, we are determined to confront the problems that
the Lebanese are facing and to start solving them,” Aoun
said in an interview with ad-Diyar newspaper.
“Inspection authorities, the judiciary and all state institutions will work
away from politics and we will try to build a strong state that serves the
interest of the Lebanese people,” he added. “The most important point that I
want to tell the Lebanese with the beginning of the year 2017 is that we will
fulfill what we have promised them,” the president pledged. Aoun's
election after two and a half years of presidential void and Saad Hariri's appointment as premier have raised hopes that
Lebanon
can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund
political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees. Analysts
have however warned that Aoun's election will not be
a "magic wand" for Lebanon,
which has seen longstanding political divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria.
In addition to pledges of economic growth and security, Aoun
said in his oath of office last month that Lebanon must work to ensure Syrian
refugees "can return quickly" to their country.Aoun
also pledged to endorse an "independent foreign policy" and to
protect Lebanon from "the fires burning across the region."
7 Syrians Held in Zgharta
Town for 'Communicating with Terror Groups'
Naharnet /January 01/17/Seven terror suspects were
arrested Sunday in the northern district of Zgharta,
state-run National News Agency reported. “An army patrol arrested seven Syrians
in the Zgharta district town of Iaal on charges of
communicating with terrorist groups,” NNA said. A three-member terrorist cell
had been arrested Thursday in the northern city of Tripoli and an explosive belt and a quantity
of medium- and light-caliber arms was seized.
According to As Safir newspaper, the cell had been
plotting to stage attacks in Lebanon
during the holidays. The daily said the cell received its orders from the
notorious fugitive Shadi al-Mawlawi,
who fled Tripoli
in the wake of the 2014 clashes to the Ain el-Hilweh
Palestinian refugee camp.
Western Powers Call on Damascus, Hizbullah to 'Stop Wadi Barada Attacks'
Naharnet /January 01/17/Western powers have called on
the Syrian regime and Hizbullah to “stop their
attacks” in the Wadi Barada
region near Damascus, a media report said on Sunday. All the ambassadors of the
Western powers agreed during a U.N. Security Council vote on Saturday that a
passed resolution should be a “strong message to Damascus and Hizbullah
to stop their attacks on Wadi Barada
and the rest of the regions,” the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat
said. On Saturday, Russia
and Turkey secured unanimous
passage of a U.N. resolution backing their efforts to "jumpstart"
talks aimed at ending the nearly six-year conflict in Syria. The
Security Council resolution aims to pave the way for talks next month in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, under the aegis of Russia and Iran
-- both Syrian government supporters -- and of rebel backer Turkey. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said
most of Syria
remained calm in the weekend, despite limited clashes. The government in Damascus called the
ceasefire a "real opportunity" to find a political solution to a war
that has claimed more than 310,000 lives and displaced millions since it began
in March 2011 with protests against the regime of President Bashar
Assad. Clashes were reported around Wadi Barada near Damascus, and
the southern city of Daraa, where one opposition
fighter was killed. The fighting in Wadi Barada has led to water shortages that have affected four
million people in the capital. Five rebel fighters and two civilians have been
killed in Wadi Barada and
the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus since the truce
started on Friday, said Syrian Observatory director Rami
Abdel Rahman. The forces in Wadi
Barada include Fateh
al-Sham Front, previously known as al-Nusra Front.
That group and the Islamic State group are excluded from the truce.
Lebanon's Prestigious As-Safir Daily Prints Final Issue
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/January 01/17/Its slogan was "the voice of the voiceless", but after
four decades the prestigious Lebanese daily As-Safir
published its final issue Saturday amid a crisis in the country's print media.
A front-page editorial entitled "The nation without As-Safir"
said the paper had "become exhausted... but we continue to see some light
on the horizon of the profession." Founded one year before the start of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war,
As-Safir was known for its pan-Arab outlook and
opposition to American policy in the Middle East.
It gave a platform to some of the Arab world's leading intellectual and
artistic voices, including Palestinian national poet Mahmoud
Darwish. In March, founder and editor-in-chief Talal Salman announced that the
paper, also known for its support for Hizbullah and
the Syrian regime, would be closing. "We've run out of funds and we're
desperately looking for a partner to finance the paper," he told AFP at
the time. Salman blamed Lebanon's
political stalemate and internal divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria.
As print media around the world struggle to adapt to the digital age, Lebanese
papers have also faced a slump in funding from rival regional powers. During
the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the
Palestine Liberation Organization's Yasser Arafat were key financiers. As-Safir acted as the voice of Arab nationalists and defenders
of the Palestinian cause while its rival An Nahar
stood for Lebanese pluralism. After the war, Saudi, Qatari and Iranian money
took over, but today even Riyadh's
vast coffers are running dry. Financial hardships have also hit An Nahar. On Friday it told 40 employees not to turn up to
work from January until its money situation was resolved, an employee told AFP.
The paper has not paid salaries for almost 15 months. The Lebanese journalists'
union said print media, the "national memory of Lebanon," was facing a
"major national crisis."
Lokman Slim/Lebanon: Iran’s Collateral Bonus
Dear Friends: At various times during recent years, a rather
Byzantine debate has ebbed and flowed regarding the veracity of characterizing
Hezbollah as having a “political wing” and a “military wing.” Yet following
General Michel Aoun's election as president
(Hezbollah’s candidate) and the formation of a government given the kitschy and
vacuous title of “national unity,” Hezbollah’s political opponents—and their
patrons—have effectively surrendered. At this point, then, those amateurs who
still aspire to join the debate over Hezbollah's nature can now start arguing
over its two "new" wings. The first is the “domestic” wing, through
which Hezbollah brokers “Lebanese” deals and with which it is politically
acceptable (from the perspective of its domestic opponents) to partner, while
the second, the “regional” wing, takes the kind of action that is well beyond
any Lebanese questioning. And while such amateurs will be happily continue to
theorize about all this ad nauseam, the fact remains that given the current
regional balance of power and Western disinterest in dealing strategically with
Middle East problems, Lebanon
must be seen now and well into the future as a collateral bonus, which Iran
obtained through its efforts in the Syrian war!
Lokman Slim
Best wishes for 2017
Egypt's Ambassador: To unite efforts in
face of terrorism threatening the region and the world
Sun 01 Jan 2017/NNA - Egyptian Ambassador to Beirut, Nazih
al-Nagari, expressed his sincere condolences to the
families of the Lebanese victims who fell in the shooting incident that
occurred in Istanbul last night, and to the Lebanese people in general, while
wishing all the injured speedy recovery. "This incident reminds us all of
the importance of uniting efforts in the face of the wave of extremism and
terrorism that threatens the region, and the world at large," said Nagari, referring to the statement issued by the Foreign
Ministry in Cairo in condemnation of this tragic incident.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 01-02/17
Istanbul Nightclub Massacre Kills 39, Attacker on the Run
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/January 01/17/Turkish police were hunting Sunday for the gunman who killed 39
people, including many foreigners, in a rampage at an upmarket nightclub in
Istanbul where revelers were celebrating the New
Year. President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said the carnage sought to sow chaos and
undermine peace, but vowed that Turkey
would never bow to the threat. The shooting spree at the waterside Reina
nightclub was unleashed when 2017 in Turkey was just 75 minutes old,
after a year of unprecedented bloodshed that saw hundreds of people die in
strikes blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants and a bloody failed coup. The
assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian at the club entrance and then
turned his gun on partygoers inside where up to 700 people were ringing in the
New Year. Many revelers threw themselves into the
freezing waters of the Bosphorus in panic. Prime
Minister Binali Yildirim
said the gunman was still at large after slipping away unnoticed after the
attack. But he denied earlier reports the person had used a Santa Claus costume
as disguise. The assailant "left the gun and went away from the scene of
the incident," he told reporters in Istanbul.
"It was an armed terrorist."No-one has yet
claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu
added that of 20 victims identified so far, 15 were foreigners and five were
Turks. Another 65 people were being treated in hospital. Soylu
said the gunman had arrived with a gun concealed underneath an overcoat but
subsequently exited the venue wearing a different garment.
Create chaos'
There were a number of Arabs among the dead and
wounded, including Saudis, Jordanians, Lebanese and Tunisians. France said a dual-national Tunisian-French
woman had died along with her Tunisian husband, while India said it
had lost two nationals. A young Israeli woman, reportedly aged 19, was killed
and another injured, Israel's
foreign ministry said. Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said at the scene on the shores of the Bosphorus that the attacker "targeted innocent people
who had only come here to celebrate the New Year and have fun"The
attack evoked memories of the November 2015 carnage in Paris when Islamic State
jihadists went on a gun and bombing rampage on nightspots in the French
capital, killing 130 people including 90 at the Bataclan
concert hall. Television pictures showed party-goers -- including men in suits
and women in cocktail dresses -- emerging from the Istanbul nightclub in a state of shock. Erdogan said in a statement that with such attacks,
"they are working to destroy our country's morale and create chaos."Turkey
would deploy every means to fight "terror organizations" and the
countries supporting them, Erdogan said, without elaborating.
'Walking on top of people'
From Sydney to Paris,
Rio to London,
security had been boosted over fears that the New Year festivities could be a
target for violent extremists. In Istanbul, at
least 17,000 police officers had been deployed and some, as is customary in Turkey, dressed
themselves as Santa Claus as cover, according to television reports. "Just
as we were settling down, by the door there was a lot of dust and smoke.
Gunshots rang out," witness Sefa Boydas, a professional footballer, told AFP. "When I
was walking, people were walking on top of people."Turkey in 2016
saw more attacks than any other year in the history of the country. On December
10, 44 people were killed in a double bombing in Istanbul after a football match
hosted by top side Besiktas, an attack claimed by the
Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed PKK
rebel group. In June, 47 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing and gun
attack at Istanbul's
Ataturk airport, with authorities blaming IS.
'No crime more cynical'
Mainly Muslim Turkey's religious affairs agency Diyanet
condemned the attack, saying the fact it took place in a nightclub "was no
different to it being in a market or place of worship."Turkey is still
reeling from a failed July coup blamed by the government on the U.S.-based
Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen
that has been followed by a relentless purge of his alleged supporters from
state institutions. "It's hard to imagine a crime more cynical than the
killing of civilians during a New Year's celebration," Russian President
Vladimir Putin said in a condolence message to Erdogan.
Two weeks ago, an off-duty policeman assassinated Russia's
ambassador to Turkey in an Ankara art gallery. The
United States and France voiced outrage at Sunday's attack and said they stood
alongside their NATO ally in its fight against terror.German
Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned "an inhumane, sneaky attack on people
who wanted to celebrate" while Pope Francis condemned the shooting in his
New Year message.
The bloodbath came as the Turkish army wages a four-month incursion in Syria to oust
IS jihadists and Kurdish militants from the border area, suffering increasing
casualties. Turkey is also spearheading a ceasefire plan with Russia aimed at
creating a basis for peace talks to end the near six-year civil war
Canadian confirmed among 39 killed in Turkey nightclub shooting
By Zeynep Bilginsoy
And Dusan Stojanovic The
Associated Press/January 1, 2017 9:02 pm
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Sunday that a Canadian citizen was
among the victims of a deadly mass-shooting inside the Reina nightclub in
Istanbul, Turkey.
“It is with deep sadness that I learned of the deadly terrorist attack on a
nightclub in Istanbul
that killed and injured innocent people celebrating the New Year and claimed
the life of a Canadian citizen,” Trudeau said in a statement.
“We mourn with the people of Turkey
today and with all countries who lost citizens in this vicious attack.”
Global Affairs said in an earlier statement that the department was
investigating reports that a Canadian was among those killed.
A manhunt is on in Turkey
for the assailant who unleashed a salvo of bullets in front of and inside the
crowded nightclub during New Year’s celebrations Sunday, killing at least 39
people before fleeing.
Foreigners were among the fatalities, including an 18-year-old Israeli woman,
three Indian citizens, a 26-year-old man from Lebanon and a Belgian national,
according to the countries’ respective foreign ministries and a relative.
There was no immediate confirmation from Turkish officials on the nationalities
of the dead.
Meanwhile, the state-run Anadolu news agency
identified a female security guard who was among those killed.
The agency says 29-year-old Hatice Karcilar as a private security guard at the Reina
nightclub. Her body has been taken to her hometown on the coast of the Marmara Sea.
Andalou says she is survived by her husband and a
3-year-old daughter.
Close to 70 others were injured in what authorities described as a terror
attack. Three of the wounded were in critical condition, Turkey’s prime
minister said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vehemently condemned “the terror attack in Istanbul’s Ortakoy neighbourhood in the first hours of 2017” and
offered condolences for those who lost their lives, including “foreign guests.”
The attacker, armed with a long-barrelled weapon, killed a policeman and a
civilian outside the popular Reina club at around 1:15 a.m. before entering and
firing on people partying inside, Gov. Vasip Sahin said.
“Unfortunately, (he) rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on
innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year’s and have fun,” Sahin told reporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and authorities
did not name any suspects. The bloodiest attacks that Turkey endured
in 2016 were the work of the Islamic State group or Kurdish militants.
Turkey
is a member of NATO and a partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic
State group. The country is also facing renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in
the southeast, and across the border in Syria
and Iraq.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu
said a suspect has not been identified and that the gunman remains at large. Soylu, describing the attack as a “massacre, a truly
inhumane savagery,” said three or four of the Turkish victims may have been
employees at the nightclub.
“Our security forces have started the necessary operations. God willing, he
will be caught in a short period of time,” Soylu
said. Private NTV news channel said the assailant entered the upscale
nightclub, on the shores of the Bosporus, on
the European side of the city, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. Security camera
footage obtained by The Associated Press from Haberturk
newspaper, shows the male assailant dressed in black and carrying a backpack as
he shoots down a police officer outside the Reina nightclub.
Footage taken by a different camera shows him inside the venue wearing
different clothes and a Santa Claus hat. However, Turkey’s prime minister denied that
the gunman wore a Santa Claus outfit. “There is no truth to this. He is an
armed terrorist as we know it,” Prime Minister Binali
Yildirim told reporters. Yildirim
said the attacker left a gun inside the venue and escaped by “taking advantage
of the chaos” that ensued. Some customers reportedly jumped into the waters of
the Bosporus to escape the attack. Mehmet Dag, 22, was passing by the club and saw the suspect
shoot at a police officer and a bystander. He said the suspect then targeted
security guards, gunning them down and entering the club. “Once he went in, we
don’t know what happened. There were gun sounds, and after two minutes the
sound of an explosion,” Dag said. Turkish media said the victims include a
22-year-old police officer and a 47-year-old travel agent, both of whom were
shot outside the club. The nightclub area remained sealed off on Sunday
afternoon.
Heavily armed police blocked the snowy street in front of the nightclub where
the entrance was covered with blue plastic sheeting below a Turkish flag.
Police patrolled the Asian side of the Bosporus
on the other side of the club. Crime scene investigators were seen inside the
club searching through piles of mingled chairs, tables and pieces of clothing
left behind during the panic among the guests. And there were emotional scenes
in front of a city morgue where those shot dead were brought for
identification. Some relatives cried out and fell to the ground as they
apparently learned the fate of their loved ones. Turkey’s
Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya
said citizens of Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, Lebanon and Libya were among those hurt in the
attack. The U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul
on Sunday warned American citizens to keep their movements in the city “to an
absolute minimum.”
A statement reminded U.S.
citizens that extremists “are continuing aggressive efforts to conduct attacks
in areas where U.S.
citizens and expatriates reside or frequent.”
The United States also
denied reports in Turkish new outlets and on social media that its security
agencies knew in advance that the nightclub in Istanbul was at risk of a terror attack.
The U.S. Embassy in Ankara
said in a statement issued Sunday that “contrary to rumours circulating in
social media, the U.S. Government had no information about threats to specific
entertainment venues, including the Reina Club.”Major
attacks carried out by IS or Kurdish militants killed more than 180 people in Istanbul and Ankara
alone in 2016.
On Dec. 10, a double bomb attack outside a soccer stadium near the Reina
nightclub killed 45 people and wounded some 150 others. The attack was claimed
by Turkey-based Kurdish militant group, the Kurdish Freedom Falcons. “Turkey
continues its combat against terror and is absolutely determined to do whatever
is necessary in the region to ensure its citizens safety and peace,” President Erdogan said in a written statement Sunday.
Prime Minister Yildirim vowed to keep fighting terror
organizations, but noted that, “The terror that happens here today may happen
in another country in the world tomorrow.”
The nightclub attack drew quick condemnation from the West and Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his Turkish counterpart a telegram of
condolences, saying “it is hard to imagine a more cynical crime than killing
innocent people during New Year celebrations.”“However,
terrorists don’t share moral values. Our common duty is to combat terrorists’
aggression,” Putin said. The White House condemned what it called a “horrific
terrorist attack” and offered U.S.
help to Turkey.
An estimated 600 people were celebrating inside the club that is often
frequented by famous locals, including singers, actors and sports stars.
Several shocked revelers were seen fleeing the scene
after the attack and the music fell silent. The prime minister’s office issued
a media blackout on the events and asked media to refrain from broadcasting and
publishing anything that may cause “fear in the public, panic and disorder and
which may serve the aims of terrorist organizations.”
Security measures had been heightened in major Turkish cities, with police
barring traffic leading up to key squares in Istanbul
and the capital Ankara.
In Istanbul, 17,000 police officers were put on
duty, some disguised as Santa Claus and others as street vendors, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported.
© 2017 The Canadian Press
Pope Francis Condemns 'Plague Of Terrorism' After Turkey
Attack
Ruth Gledhill/Christian Today/January 01/17/Pope Francis has led world
religious leaders in condemning the deadly New Year attack in an Istanbul nightclub. A
gunman murderd 39 people and injured dozens more when
he opened fire in the popular Reina nightclub on the shores of the Bosphorous, 90 minuts after midnight.The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby retweeted a Church of Engand prayer for the victims: "Restless with grief
and fear, the abandoned turn to you: In every hour of trial, Good Lord, deliver
us."At least 69 people were taken to hospital
with injuries.Speaking to pilgrims and tourists
gathered in St Peter's Square
for the New Year's Day Angelus, Pope Francis departed from his prepared text to
offer prayers for the victims. He said, "Deeply saddened, I express my
closeness to the Turkish people, I pray for the many victims and the injured
and for the whole nation in mourning, and I ask the Lord to support all people
of good will who courageously roll up their sleeves to face the plague of
terrorism and the bloody stain that envelops the world with a shadow of fear
and bewilderment."New Year's Day is
traditionally the day the Church honours Mary, mother of Christ. In his New
Year's Day homily, Pope Francis said: "Mary is the woman who can treasure,
that is to say, protect and guard in her heart, the passage of God in the life
of his people... She learned how to be a mother, and in that learning process
she gave Jesus the beautiful experience of knowing what it is to be a Son."He said mothers are the strongest antidote to
individualism and egotism. "A society without mothers would not only be a
cold society, but a society that has lost its heart." He said he had
learned much from mothers whose children are in prison, or lying in hospital
beds, or in bondage to drugs, or mothers who are in refugee camps, or caught up
in war.
Erdogan: Istanbul attack aims
to create chaos
Agencies Sunday, 1 January 2017/At least 15 foreigners were among 39 people
killed in the gun attack on an Istanbul
club during New Year festivities, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman
Soylu said Sunday. The majority of those killed were
foreigners - most of them tourists from Arab countries - while five were
identified as Turks. Another 69 people are being treated in hospital for their
wounds. Indicating that the attacker was still at large, Soylu
said: "The search for the terrorist continues... I hope (the assailant)
will be captured quickly, God willing."Many
party-goers threw themselves into the Bosphorus in
panic after the attack and rescue efforts were in progress to save them from
the waters, NTV television said. Dogan news agency
reported that some witnesses claimed the attackers were "speaking
Arabic" while NTV broadcaster said special force police officers were
searching the nightclub. According to Dogan, there
were at least 700 revellers celebrating the start of 2017 after a bloody 2016
in Turkey.
The attack comes less than a month after the twin blasts outside the Istanbul stadium of top
Turkish team Besiktas on December 10 killed 44 people
claimed by Kurdish militants. The city suffered multiple terror attacks last
year at the hands of ISIS militants and
Kurdish rebels. Amid fears of another attack in Istanbul, at least 17,000 police officers
were deployed in the city for New Year's Eve celebrations. President Barack
Obama expressed condolences on Saturday for the attack and directed his team to
offer US help to Turkish authorities, the White House said. "This
afternoon the president was briefed by his national security team on the attack
in Istanbul,"
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "The president
expressed condolences for the innocent lives lost, directed his team to offer
appropriate assistance to the Turkish authorities, as necessary, and keep him
updated as warranted."Erdogan: Turkey will
fight to end against terror attacks. President Tayyip
Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would
fight to the end against all forms of attack by terror groups and their backers
after the club shooting. "As a nation, we will fight to the end against
not just the armed attacks of terror groups and the forces behind them, but
also against their economic, political and social attacks," Erdogan said in a written statement. "They are trying
to create chaos, demoralize our people, and destabilize our country with
abominable attacks which target civilians ... We will retain our
cool-headedness as a nation, standing more closely together, and we will never
give ground to such dirty games," he (With AFP and Reuters)
Seven Saudis among other Arabs killed in
Turkey nightclub attack
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 1 January
2017/A source in Istanbul has confirmed that at least seven Saudi citizens were
killed and nine others injured in the attack on Reina nightclub in Sunday's
attack on Reina nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s Eve festivities. One
Kuwaiti was killed while five were injured, Al Arabiya's
correspondent reported. Tunisian foreign ministry also announced that two of
their citizens were among the killed while Lebanese authorities said as that
five Lebanese have been injured during the same attack. Among those injured are
Nidal Beshrawi, Nasser Bechara, Francois al-Asmar, in addition to the daughter of Member of Parliament Estephan El-Douaihy. Lebanon, Morocco
and Jordan's
foreign ministry confirmed that three of their citizens each were killed in the
attack. Arab foreign ministries said that following the attack, they are
following up on the situation of the injured with their representatives in Turkey. A
gunman stormed the Reina club, one of Istanbul's
most exclusive nightspots, and went on a shooting rampage inside, according to
Turkish officials who said the dead included at least 15 foreigners.
Turkey Says Arabs, Lebanese among
Victims of Istanbul Nightclub Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/January 01/17/The victims of the attack on revelers
celebrating New Year at an Istanbul nightclub include citizens of several Arab
countries, a Turkish cabinet minister said on Sunday. "There are
foreigners and Turks, but the majority are foreigners. From different countries
-- Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon,
Libya,"
said Family Minister Fatma Betul
Sayan Kaya, quoted by the Anadolu news agency. Authorities have said 39 people were
killed, including at least 15 foreigners, and 65 others wounded. However
Turkish officials have yet to give details on nationals of which foreign
countries were killed and wounded. Belgium's
foreign ministry has confirmed a Belgian-Turkish dual national was killed in
the attack while Paris
said three French nationals were injured. The Israeli foreign ministry said a
young Israeli woman was killed and another Israeli wounded.
Israeli Killed, Another Injured in Istanbul Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/January 01/17/An Israeli woman was killed and another injured in the New Year
attack at an Istanbul nightclub that left at least 39 people dead, Israel's
foreign ministry said Sunday. "The death of the Israeli woman previously
reported missing has been confirmed and a second Israeli woman is
injured," a ministry spokesman told AFP. Israeli news website Ynet reported that the Israeli woman killed was 19-year-old
Leann Zaher Nasser and that the injured woman was one
of her friends. Turkey
is a top tourist destination for Israelis, with tens of thousands visiting each
year. A gunman stormed the Reina club, one of Istanbul's most exclusive nightspots, and
went on a shooting rampage inside, according to Turkish officials who said the
dead included at least 15 foreigners.
Rebel Fire from Yemen Kills Saudi
Soldier
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
/January 01/17/Cross-border rebel fire from Yemen has killed a soldier in Saudi
Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting the insurgents in its war-torn neighbor, the interior ministry said. The soldier was
killed on Saturday in the southern border area of Jazan
as an army post came under a barrage of gunfire and shelling from the Huthi rebels in northern Yemen, state news agency SPA quoted
a ministry spokesman as saying. At least 110 civilians and soldiers have been
killed in southern Saudi Arabia
by rocket strikes or skirmishes since the coalition began operations in Yemen in
support of President Abedrabbo Mansour
Hadi's government. The Saudi-led alliance started air
strikes in Yemen
in March 2015 after the Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and moved on to other parts of the country. The Yemen conflict
has killed around 7,000 people since the coalition intervened, according to the
United Nations.
Iran assigns new ambassador
to Syria after three months’
vacancy
Saleh Hamid, AlArabiya.net Sunday, 1 January 2017/Iran has announced a
new ambassador to Syria
after three months of the role going unfilled due to reports of disagreements
on who should fill the role. Javad Turk Abadi was named to the role after the previous ambassador
completed his mission three months ago. The office remained vacant due to
reports of disagreements between Iran’s foreign ministry and the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over who should fill the role. Turk Abadi was previously the ambassador to Sudan from 2011 to 2015 before Khartoum
decided to shut down the office after cutting off ties with Iran. Before
that, he was Iran’s
ambassador to Bahrain, Nigeria and Kuwait. Iran’s parliament in recent weeks
threatened to question their Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif over the role’s vacancy since Mohammad-Reza Raouf-Sheibani left his post in October 2016. Iran’s embassy in Damascus
has played a major role in organizing meetings between political and military
leaders of Syria and Iran since the
conflict broke out in 2011.
Suicide bombers kill two police officers
in Syria’s Tartous
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 1 January
2017/Syria's state news agency SANA confirmed on Sunday, that two security
officers were killed during a double suicide bombing attack that struck the
city of Tartus, located in the Syrian coast. SANA reported that the
two officers on patrol determined that two men walking on the city's corniche looked suspicious and approached them after
midnight as residents were celebrating New Year's. The men then detonated
explosive belts they were wearing, killing themselves and the two security men.
According to Reuters, there were some casualties.[with agencies]
Hamas armed wing releases Israeli soldier
mock video
AFP, Jerusalem Sunday, 1 January 2017/Hamas’s military wing on Saturday
released videos of a mock birthday party for Israeli soldier Oron Shaul, who the army believes
was killed in the 2014 Gaza war. The Al-Qassam
Brigades said in a New Year’s Eve statement that it had posted online “two
video clips to mark the 23rd birthday of the Zionist soldier and prisoner Oron Shaul”. The statement went
on to say the Al-Qassam Brigades had previously
announced that it had killed 14 Israeli soldiers and abducted Shaul in eastern Gaza
on July 20, 2014. A 36-second video shows six people in military fatigues
sitting on chairs and surrounding another person on a wheelchair who is wearing
a shirt bearing the number 102. Their faces cannot be seen. In the middle of
them on a table is a cake with three candles bearing a message written in Hebrew
that reads: “Three years in Hamas jail”. In the
background a choir sings in Hebrew: “Happy Birthday Oron”.In
the second clip, which lasts 54 seconds, a person whose face appears to have
been digitally altered to that of Shaul’s is seen
sitting in a prison cell with their hands bound in ropes. In the final scene, a
man dressed as a clown and appearing to be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu enters the cell. Messages written in both Arabic and Hebrew read: “A
new year and the soldier Shaul is still away from his
family” and “the decision is in the hands of the government”. The Israeli army
believes that another soldier, Hadar Goldin, was killed along with Shaul
two years ago and that the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas is thought to
hold their bodies. In September, a senior Israeli official said that Israel had
been holding since the 2014 Gaza war 18 Palestinians from the enclave as well
as the bodies of 19 others and “offered to swap them for the bodies of the two
Israeli soldiers”.But Lior Lotan, who is in charge of prisoners and missing persons,
said that Hamas rejected the offer.
ISIS launches deadly attack near Iraq’s Najaf
Reuters, Hilla Sunday, 1 January 2017/ISIS militants
attacked a police checkpoint near the southern Iraqi city of Najaf on Sunday, killing seven policemen and
wounding 17 others including civilians, local police sources said.
The assailants were travelling through the desert in two vehicles around al-Qadisiya town west of Najaf. When police stopped the first
vehicle for inspection, the driver detonated an explosive load. The second
vehicle fled and was stopped by police who killed the two militants inside.ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a
statement distributed online by supporters. It said four gunmen had opened fire
before detonating explosive vests and then a fifth assailant launched a suicide
car bomb. It was not immediately possible to reconcile those accounts.Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, is far from the latest battle between ISIS and Iraq's military in the northern city of Mosul. The militant group
has never controlled territory in southern Iraq but has managed to launch
occasional attacks in the area, which is predominately Shi'ite.
The recapture of Mosul would probably spell the
end for ISIS's self-styled caliphate, but the
militants would still be capable of fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq and
plotting or inspiring attacks on the West. Since the US-backed offensive began
on Oct. 17, elite forces have retaken a quarter of Mosul
in the biggest ground operation in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion
that toppled Saddam Hussein. Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi has said the group would be driven out of
the country by April. The second phase of the campaign launched on Thursday
following weeks of deadlock has pushed ISIS
out of several more areas despite fierce resistance.
Iran: Arash Sadeghi Is In "Critical and Worrying" Condition
on 70th Day of Hunger Strike
NCRI/January 01/17/Sunday, January 1, Arash
Sadeghi’s health condition is dangerous, today he had
unconsciousness and severe seizures which according to his cellmates is
unprecedented. Today is the seventieth day of hunger strike. He had a meeting
with his father in which he vomitted blood and got
unconscious again. It should be mentioned that political prisoner Arash Sadeghi staged an
indefinite hunger strike on November 24 to protest unjustified arrest of his
wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraie, and unlawful process of their (himself and his wife)
arrest and trial. He is now in critical health condition after 67 days of
hunger strike but reiterates on continuing his hunger strike until his rights
are respected and his demands are met.
Iran:
70% Increase in Military Budget During the Presidency
of Rouhani
NCRI/January 01/17/The Economic analysts assess that the budget bill of
2017-2018 that is currently being reviewed by the Parliament of Iran is a
military-security budget. The annual budget of Iran is usually composed of two
parts. The greater part consists of public companies, banks, and governmental
enterprises. The costs and revenues are only spent on this part and it does not
include the ministries and governmental bodies. On the other hand, the smaller
part is called the public budget which determines the policies. This section will
be invested to the amount of 371 thousand billion Tomans
(92 billion&750million dollars.1$ is currently equivalent to 4 thousand Tomans.)Some amount of this budget will be allocated to the
following security-repressive and terrorist organizations:
-the Ministry of Defense (and its affiliated
institutions):22999.9 billion Tomans (5billion
&750million dollars).
-the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij Force: 24546 billion Tomans
(6 billion & 136million dollars).
-the Joint Staff of Iranian Army: 7852 billion Tomans (1 billion & 963million dollars).
-the General Command of Armed Forces of Iran: 3121
billion Tomans (750 million & 250000 dollars).
-the intelligence and security affairs of the Ministry
of Intelligence and Security Force: 11501 billion Tomans
(2 billion & 850 million & 25000 dollars).
-the export of terrorism that a large budget was
allocated to: 4924.9 billion Tomans (1 billion &
321million & 25000 dollars).
-the foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs
(affiliated with IRGC): 10840.6 billion Tomans (2
billion & 710 million dollars).
The sum of the above figures is equal to 85899 billion Tomans (21 billion & 475 million dollars). This amount
is more than 23 percent of the public budget of the next year. These figures
are published in the book of the national budget bill of 2017 by the Management
and Planning Organization of Iran.
In the next year's budget bill, the greatest increase is related to IRGC.
The budget allocated to IRGC was about 15816 billion Tomans
(3 billion & 954 million dollars) a year ago while this amount increased to
24546 billion Tomans (6 billion & 613 million
& 500000 dollars), this year; i.e. 55 percent of increase in comparison to
the last year.
During the 4-year presidency of Hassan Rouhani,
the military budget has increased more than 70 percent. This figure includes
the funding of IRGC, Basij Force, and Iran's Army as
well. The following figures are based on data that has been listed in the
official texts of the budget law:
2014: 32527 billion Tomans (8 billion & 131
million & 750000 dollars).
2015:42057 billion Tomans (10 billion & 514
million & 250000 dollars).
2016:50790 billion Tomans (12 billion & 697
million & 500000 dollars).
2017:55527 billion Tomans (13 billion & 881
million & 750000 dollars).
Last year, Hassan Rouhani had an interview with
a state-run TV channel and explained:"some say
that the government of plan and hope intends to curb inflation, end recessions
and improve healthcare and foreign policy and it does not intend to strengthen defense system. Well, I must say that during these two
years we have increased our strategic weapons and defense
forces by 80 percent in comparison to the past 10 years."(The state-run TV Channel, IRIB 2, 2nd August 2015).
We must consider that the above figures are in contrary to the reality
since a significant part of the cost is related to repressive measure and
warmongering exerted by commercial and financial cartels that are affiliated
with IRGC and the Supreme Leader. The organizations such as the Executive
Headquarters of Imam's Directive, Khatam-al Anbiya Headquarter, Ansar Bank, Ghadir Investment Company and so on are those bodies in
which their costs and budgets are totally hidden. Nevertheless, the above
figures are following an uptrend. This trend is especially due to the growing
involvement of the Iranian regime in the Syrian civil war.
The Iranian Regime's IRGC and Militia
Conspire to Violate the Truce in Syria
NCRI/January 01/17/The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its
affiliated militia are making every effort to breach the ceasefire and resume
killing innocent people on the orders of the Iranian regime's supreme leader
Ali Khamenei. The IRGC, its militia and the Assad
Army continued their criminal attacks in Wadi Barada, northwest of Damascus, on Thursday and Friday
(December 29 and 30) in a bid to rekindle the war.
The Iranian regime opposes the ceasefire in Syria and is the main party losing
its interests as a result of such truce.
To justify its attacks, the IRGC claims that this area and the armed
opposition forces based there are not included in the ceasefire accord.
However, the ceasefire accord includes this area with a population of 100,000
and the armed forces there are indigenous forces who are members of the Free Army.
The IRGC and Assad Army intend to forcibly displace the residents of this
region by heavy bombardments and shelling, in an attempt to change the
population structure of the suburbs of Damascus.
The IRGC forces in Syria
are mostly concentrated in a garrison by the name of Shaibani,
which lies next to Wadi Barada.
The location of IRGC clashes in breach of the ceasefire is a short distance
from this garrison.
Parts of Wadi Barada
have been under the control of the IRGC and its militia for a long time. Many
of IRGC forces and its Afghan militia were sent to this garrison upon arrival
to be subsequently distributed to other regions of Syria. Afghan forces and the
Lebanese Hezbollah have separate bases. The Lebanese Hezbollah is in charge of
protecting the garrison.
In April 2016, the NCRI Security and Anti-Terrorism Committee revealed
that, "The Assad Army has handed over to IRGC the big Shaibani
Garrison, located between Damascus
and Zabadani, which used to be the base for the
Presidential Guards. They have renamed the base as Imam Hussein Garrison.
Several thousand forces from the commando brigade of the 19th Fajr Division from IRGC of Fars (Province), the Fatemiyoun battalions, and the Hezbollah of Lebanon are
based in this garrison. They are the reserve forces on call to defend Assad's
palace."
The mission of the commando brigade of the 19th Fajr
Division is protection of the Presidential Palace and creating obstacles for
Free Army forces based in the city of Zabadani.
The IRGC and Assad Army have a joint command headquarters in a red
building in the center of the garrison. There is a big portable maquette of Syrian cities in this command center. The IRGC
and Assad Army commanders did their planning for the military control of Damascus on this maquette.
The Iranian Resistance condemns the IRGC's
violation of the ceasefire in Syria.
It once again emphasizes the fact that so long as the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards and their mercenaries, including the Hezbollah, are not expelled from
Syrian territories, there will be no peace or tranquility in that country, the
ceasefire would be in serious danger and the IRGC would resume the war and
killings.
The secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/January 1,
2017
The Art Exhibition of the Iran Regime Canceled in Berlin
NCRI/January 01/17/The art exhibition of the Iranian regime which was
already organized to be held in Berlin,
got canceled. According to Spiegel News, this
exhibition was going to be held in Berlin in
December and the Iranian Minister of Foreign affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif was going to travel
to Berlin in
order to attend the opening ceremony. The Spiegel News reported that the
exhibition was canceled by the Prussian Cultural
Heritage Foundation because of the Iranian regime's denial of the Holocaust.
However, The Iranian authorities made a lot of effort to hold this exhibition.
The negotiations between the representatives of the German Foreign Ministry and
the officials of the Iranian regime reached deadlock. The deputy Minister of
Culture of Iran, Ali Moradkhani also took part in the
talks. After a lot of struggle, Iran
has not yet granted permission to send 60 paintings to the Contemporary Art
Museum of Berlin. The experts believe that this project entitled "Cultural
Diplomacy" was going to be the first and the biggest diplomacy of
appeasement after Iran's
deal and it aimed to tie close bonds between Iran and the West.
Pressure on a Balouchi
Political Prisoner
NCRI/January 01/17/According to the reports, the agents of Ardabil prison
punished the Balochi political prisoner, Saber Malek Raeesi
by keeping him outdoors and in the sub-zero temperature of Ardabil.
The agents are punishing him harshly while the political prisoner is on hunger
strike. On Wednesday 28th December 2016, Saber Malek Raeesi was beaten by the
mercenaries of the prison since he complained about the cold water of bath as
well as inhumane conditions. In order to protest against these inhumane
conditions, this Balochi prisoner started his hunger
strike on 28th December 2016.Nevertheless, the agents kept him in
below-freezing temperature of outside instead of caring him. Saber Malek Raeesi
is one of the youngest political prisoners who was
less than 17 when he got arrested in 2009. He was then sentenced to 15 years of
imprisonment by the court of the regime and he has been serving time for 7
years. The agents of the Ministry of Intelligence promised his release provided
that he turns in his older Balochi brother.
Iran: Political
Prisoners Chanting: Down With Khamenei
NCRI/January 01/17/According to the news, a ceremony was held in Gohardasht prison of Karaj –
west Tehran, in
the afternoon of Thursday December 29th 2016 to commemorate the victims of the
massacre of 1988. The participants were 20 of political prisoners who were
chanting the slogan of "Death to Khomeini" to support 1988 Massacre victims..The participant became
silent in honor of the martyrs of the summer of 1988
and the ceremony began by the speeches of a participant about the interference
of the Iranian regime in Iraq,
Syria, and Yemen. The
speaker clarified the executions and massacres of the regime, repression of
nationalities and ethnic minorities from the beginning of revolution until now
and he acknowledged that he has witnessed the killing of Sunni prisoners in
this prison while they were sent for execution in handcuffs and blindfolded.
One of the other prisoners said:"we support the
litigation movement which has been developed by Maryam
Rajavi and call for holding an international trial to
punish the perpetrators of this crime." The speaker referred to the martyr
Ali Saremi who got executed in this ward in 2010
because he held a ceremony for the martyrs of the massacre of Khavaran.
Another prisoner also talked about the genocide of the most decent youths
who were mainly affiliated with the People Mujahidin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).During
the ceremony, the participants honored the martyr of Moezzi's family as well as 4 martyrs of Akbari
Monfared's family in which 2 of them were killed in
the massacre of 1988.They also commemorated the martyrs of the 80s decade. One
of the prisoners said:"No Iranian will ever
forget the summer of 1988, the suppression of 1999, and the martyrs of the
uprising of 2009.These are the stigmas in the record of the regime that have
made everyone hate them. At the end, the host of ceremony read out the
resolution with a loud cry while the prisoners were holding each other's hands.
The resolution reads:"we have not forgotten the
past incidents. We will continue litigating the massacre of 1988 as long as the
criminals are in office. We will witness that Khomeini stole the revolution of
truth seekers with his legacy 38 years ago. He carried out the massacre of 1988
and executed the freedom fighters.
The ceremony ended with slogans of "down with Mullahs' regime, Khamenei, and Khomeini."
Kim Says N. Korea in 'Final Stages of Test Launching ICBM'
Naharnet /January 01/17/
North Korea is in the "final stages" of developing an
intercontinental ballistic missile, leader Kim Jong-Un
said Sunday, adding the country had significantly bolstered its nuclear
deterrent in 2016. "We are in the final stages of test-launching the
intercontinental ballistic missile," Kim said in a 30-minute televised New
Year's speech, pointing to a string of nuclear and missile tests last year. Pyongyang had
"soared as a nuclear power," he said, adding it was now a
"military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy."The country carried out two nuclear tests and
numerous missile launches last year along in pursuit of its oft-stated goal --
developing a weapons system capable of hitting the U.S. mainland with a nuclear
warhead. "We have seen marvelous feats for
bolstering our military power, including the fact that our preparations for
test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile are in the final
stages," Kim added. Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realizing its full nuclear
ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). But all agree it has made enormous
strides in that direction since Kim took over as leader from his father Kim
Jong-Il, who died in December 2011. A senior U.S. defense
official said last month that the North has developed the capability to pair a
nuclear warhead with a missile and launch it, but has not mastered bringing the
weapon back from space and onto a target. There are growing concerns of fresh
provocations by Pyongyang
following last month's impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, which has left the country with a caretaker
leader -- Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn. On relations
with South Korea,
Kim said the North was willing to "hold hands with anyone who wishes to
improve North-South ties". But he denounced Seoul for pushing inter-Korean relations to
their "worst state." "We must launch all-out efforts to
pulverize actions by anti-unification forces like Park Geun-Hye,"
he said. Kim called for an end to the South's annual joint military exercises
with the United States
-- a perennial thorn in North-South ties.
Pressure on Trump
"Unless they stop the war of annual exercises, the DPRK (North
Korea) will keep increasing military capabilities for self-defense
and preemptive striking capacity with a main emphasis
on nuclear force," Kim said. Kim, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a dark
Western suit and tie, delivered his speech from behind a lectern in a
wood-paneled room in the ruling Workers' Party
Central Committee
Office Building
in Pyongyang.
No audience was shown although the address was regularly interrupted by what
appeared to be canned applause. Although Kim did not make a specific reference
to the incoming Donald Trump administration, he called on Washington
to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea
policy". Washington
has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept the North as a nuclear state.
Trump has never clearly stated his policy on the isolated state. "North Korea is indirectly pressuring the Trump
administration with its possible ICBM launch," said Kim Yong-Hyun,
professor of North Korea
studies at Seoul-based Dongguk University.
"It is stressing that if the U.S. upholds its policy of
pressuring the North, it will conduct an ICBM test in the first half of this
year," he said. Thae Yong-Ho,
North Korea's former deputy
ambassador to Britain
who defected to the South in August, has said Kim was planning a "prime
time" nuclear weapons push in 2017 to take advantage of leadership
transitions in Washington and Seoul.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 01/17
One Christian Died For Their Faith Every Six Minutes In 2016
Ruth Gledhill/Christian Today/January 01/ 2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/01/christian-today-one-christian-died-for-their-faith-every-six-minutes-in-2016/
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/one.christian.died.for.their.faith.every.six.minutes.in.2016/103495.htm
That is the shocking new figure about to be published in the latest
statistics on Christian martyrs.
Massimo Introvigne , director of CESNUR, the Centre for Studies on New
Religions, revealed the findings in an interview with Vatican Radio to mark St
Stephen's Day, which follows Christmas and commemorates the first Christian
martyr.
He said about 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith,
that is one every six minutes in 2016.
In addition, there are between 500 million and 600 million Christians who
cannot freely profess their Christian faith.
Pope Francis has repeatedly stated that there are more Christian martyrs
in today's world even than in the early days of the Christian church during the
persecutions of the Roman empire.
The figures will be published in the latest statistics from the Center
for Study of Global Christianity.
They actually represent a slight decline on the figure of 105,000 deaths
two years ago.
Of the 90,000 deaths, 70 per cent, or 63,000, were killed in tribal
conflicts in Africa.
The centre, based in the United
States, has included these figures in the
statistics because they believe that many of these Christians were slain after
they refused for reasons of conscience to take up arms.
Many of the Christian deaths in 2016 were in tribal conflicts in Africa. Earlier this year, the UK's Baroness Cox narrowly
escaped an ambush when visiting a village in Nigeria destroyed by the militant
Islamist Fulani herdsmenHassan John
The other 30 percent, or 27,000, were Christians who in terrorist
attacks, in the destruction of Christian villages and in government persecution,
such as in North Korea.
Introvigne said that combining statistics from
at least three different US research centres as well as his own, CESNUR, which
is based in Italy, and comparing statistics from 102 countries, led him to the
estimate of between 500 and 600 million Christians who can not practice their
own faith in complete freedom.
"Without wishing to forget or belittle the suffering of members of
other religions, Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the
world," he said.
He agreed that some people might dispute the figures and argue instead that there were just a few thousand or even a
few hundred Christians who died for their faith in 2016.
Introvigne said: "When the discrepancies
are so large, it is clear that you are counting different things."
If the statistics were just those who had been given a straightforward
choice - "Either deny your faith or perish" - the martyrs would
number a few hundred.
If they included also those murdered for certain practices to do with
their Christian faith, the numbers rise to several thousand.
"But if you talk to people who are killed in a broad sense because
they are Christians, then we get to 90,000, or one death every six
minutes," he said.
He revealed there were specific cases of Christian martyrs murdered by
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,
including some that the Catholic Church is considering for beatification.
"There are Christians who have consciously chosen to remain in these
areas and to continue, as they could, to bear witness to their faith.
"Speaking of the Islamic state, we must not forget that the Islamic
state also kills many Muslims and that in 2016, according to our estimates, the
number of Christians killed for their faith and the number of Muslims killed
for their faith, outside Africa and particularly in Asia,
is a very similar number.
"Muslims generally are killed by other Muslims: Shia
Muslims are killed by Sunni Muslims and this is the most frequent case.
"Sometimes Sunni Muslims are killed by Shiite Muslims,
Muslims who do not agree with a certain declination of Islam are killed by
extremist Muslims, as in the case of the Islamic State."
He warned of growing intolerance across all countries, which he described
as the "antechamber of discrimination" which then in turn is the
"antechamber of persecution".
And then he praised the "calm, noble, often exemplary attitude of
Christian minorities subjected to all sorts of harassment and who only in rare
cases respond to violence with violence.
"In most cases they peacefully demonstrated their faith, very often
their persecutors, forgiving and praying for them."
Perhaps 2017 will be a better year
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya English/January 01/17
This is the first day of the new year. It will be like
every other day of the past year - thousands, or perhaps even millions, of
Syrians will spend the sad nights of winter in the cold with little food and
blankets. Millions of others will spend their nights under temporary roofs in Syria, or in
shelters across the world amid difficult circumstances as they face an unknown
future. The situation for Syrians is like that of the Libyans and of residents
in disturbed areas in Yemen
and Iraq.
Despite that, amid the tears, destruction and fighting, we see a ray of hope
with the beginning of this new year. There is a
possibility of a solution in Syria
and a project for a solution in Yemen.
We've also heard calls for reconciliation in Libya. The invasion of the occupied
Iraqi city of Mosul - which we've long awaited -
may conclude with eliminating ISIS after two
years of fear, chaos and terrorism.
Reality or mirage?
Is it a ray of hope or a mirage? We don't know, but the signs are positive and
the promises are encouraging. We have to wait and hope that 2017 will be better
than the past five bloody years. Why is 2017 worthy of all these hopes? Because
US
President Barack Obama leaves the White House after he was an aide to the
Iranians, the Russians and the Syrian regime. It's because the incomplete
Iranian and Russian victories are in fact half-defeats, while the beginnings of
negotiation arrangements for a solution actually indicate that the next year
will be better than the past year. Is this a ray of hope or a mirage? We don't
know, but the signs are positive and the promises are encouraging
The desire to end disputes is a mutual characteristic
in Syria, Yemen, Iraq
and Libya
at the beginning of 2017. Perhaps this sentiment will become a reality.
Conflicts have exhausted fighters, and all parties have realized that
destruction and displacement do not achieve victories. For four years now, the
Syrian regime and its allies have on a daily basis dropped barrel bombs and
targeted civilians as they hoped they would cleanse entire areas of their
people. This has been such a revolting campaign. However, even after these
purges, the regime did not achieve the demographic hegemony that it committed
all these massacres for. The regime is still a minority and its forces have
shrunk greatly. The regime’s sons, from its own sect, abandoned it as they preferred
to flee with the rest of the Syrian people to Europe
and to other countries rather than allow their young children to be dragged
into battlefields in the name of compulsory recruitment. That's what a parent
in New York
told me. He said: "Many Alawite families would
have their sons escape Syria
as they refuse to see their sons die for the sake of the regime. There's
nothing that deserves being killed for." Those who are sending their
children to die for the sake of the Assad regime are hired militias, like the Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraq’s Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.
The Iranian regime boasts that it's fighting there with a small number of
Iranians as it uses Lebanese, Iraqi, Afghani and Pakistani militiamen.
Meanwhile in Yemen,
the war only stopped for few days in what was a failed test of the truce a
month ago. However, the peace project which the international envoy proposed is
still the only thing which fighters can meet around. There's great hope in
2017, especially as the new American administration takes over. Obama's
presidential exit brings some joy but it also brings worry. Obama has adopted
the policy of doing about multiple, simultaneous and dangerous crises until
they've become threats that cross over to different continents. The
administration of President-elect Donald Trump may adopt a policy that's more
committed and more relentless against chaos. This new administration may return
Iran
to the bottle which Obama got it out of and which caused the painful tragedies
- including terrorism - we see today. In all cases, 2016 was a harsh year. I
hope the new year brings the breakthroughs which
millions of displaced and distressed people and orphans look forward to. **This
article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Jan. 1, 2017.
Hobsbawm's prophecies and the effects of the 20th century
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya English/January 01/17
In a surreal, movie-like scene, Russian Ambassador to
Turkey Andrey Karlov was
shot dead at an art gallery last month by a young man who did not choose to dress
like Ayman al-Zawahiri or
Abu Hafs al-Mauritani. The
killer opted for a formal outfit instead, carrying out the crime and then began
to deliver a speech. He was later identified as police personnel. This incident
exposes the international tragedy we're currently living as the institution may
seem threatened and the theoretical establishment of the state and the
authority and their influence will not be like it was five centuries ago. The
biggest challenge which countries confront today is represented in the extent
of their capabilities to fortify power and search for modern pillars that help
them coexist with challenges which no one has thought of before as terrorism
has gone beyond operating in caves and tunnels and fortifying itself in
mountains and infiltrated institutions while eroding the authority's body. This
strengthens the hypothesis of major dwindling or perhaps breaking and collapse.
Recent developments in organized violence have triggered a wave of
unprecedented anger. The past century was concluded with talks about ends,
completion prophecies, proud statements about
technology, civilization and globalization and the end of geography, man and
borders. However, the beginning of the new century was loud and it was dramatic
as represented by the September 11 twin attacks.
Historian Eric Hobsbawm refuses to be exclusively
categorized within the Marxist ghetto. In his dairies Interesting Times, he
said it was not possible to separate between the fields of politics and
history. He then voiced gratitude that his Marxist characteristic allowed his
books to gain popularity in Hungary
and Slovenia.
In chapter 8 of his book, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century,
1914–1991, he wrote about the Cold War and mentioned a historical point that
may help us understand the challenges we confront. He says that what was
precisely different about the Cold War is that it brought about transformations
in the international arena - transformations which completely cancelled or
blacked out all rivalries and disputes that shaped international policy before
World War II. He then notes that these transformations will influence the third
millennium more than the Korean War or the Berlin
and Cuba
crises did.
Defiance of
authority
We recall what Hobsbawm said
for major reasons. He's a historian or like he describes himself "an
observer." He's provided results and foreseen outcomes for the 21st
century. He did not rule out a comprehensive nuclear war among humans. In an
important interview - which was perhaps a bit late - by the New Left Review in
October 2012, he said: "I see five main changes: the shift of the economic
center of the world from the North Atlantic to South and East Asia, the
worldwide crisis of capitalism, the clamorous failure of the US attempt at a
solo world hegemony after 2001, the emergence of the new bloc of developing
countries as a political entity and the erosion and systematic weakening of the
authority of states: of national states within their territories, and in large
parts of the world, of any kind of effective state authority. It might have
been predictable, but it has accelerated to an extent that I would not have
expected."
The fallout from a defiance of authority is the revival of violence. The
assassination of the Russian envoy in Turkey is an example.
The fallout from a defiance of authority is the revival of violence. The
assassination of the Russian envoy in Turkey is an example. Terrorism
revives in the world due to its power and dominance and it proves the extent of
retreat of states' structure and lack of means to renew their efficient
institutions in the world. Terrorism benefits from what can be described as
"the status quo" and from violent organizations that are always
forming and renewing and that have the ability to move in society and melt and
become part of different institutions. This makes it inevitable for those
concerned to look into other means to address this without limiting themselves
to the security aspect and while also including legal, political and municipal
aspects.
In his book Leviathan, printed in 1651, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, attributes
the violence eroding the state's body to "First, competition; secondly,
diffidence; thirdly, glory. The first maketh men
invade for gain; the second, for safety; and the third, for reputation."
The state, with all its content of symbolic or charismatic authorities or
influential efficient institutions, may retrieve what it loses due to political
and security problems. Perhaps the state's most prominent enemy is the spread
of violence and emergence of popular disturbance. The latter threat can be
confronted via political and security work. The spread of violence, however, is
an efficient culture that has its demonic capabilities to infiltrate, work
slowly, and through organized tactics, establish intelligence networks and
recruit followers in all sectors. This makes it the most prominent undisputed
enemy. And just like civil wars in Europe contributed to changing the classic
concept of the state and the pattern of the authority's work since Hobsbawm to Max Weber, the challenge now is related to
another wave that goes beyond the state post the civil war and that is about
establishing patterns for institutional work in a manner that suits the
challenges regarding the spread of violence. The clearest proof to that is what
happened in France, Germany, Britain,
Spain, America and Belgium.
We saw how terrorism exited mountains and found its way into art galleries
while wearing completely different outfits. English Poet Siegfried Sassoon perfectly
described the scene in his verse:
"Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud."
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat.
Turkey's "Long Arm" in Europe
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone
Institute/January01/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9640/turkey-long-arm-in-europe
Turkey
has finally won the title of having the world's first spook-imams.
Turkey is exporting its
political wars and tensions to Europe. That is
not a good sign for the Old Continent.
Officially, Turkey's
General Directorate for Religious Affairs (Diyanet in
Turkish) has a mission about offering institutional religious services
independent of all political ideologies. In practice, Diyanet's
understanding of "offering institutional religious services" can be
different from what the term should mean. Recently, the office of Istanbul's mufti, an
official of Diyanet, described the location of a
mosque as "... it was [in the past] a filthy Jewish and Christian
neighbourhood." After press coverage, the depiction was removed from the
web page.
Diyanet's "institutional religious
services" may sometimes even overlap with what in other countries people
call intelligence. In a briefing for a parliamentary commission, Diyanet admitted that it gathered intelligence via imams
from 38 countries on the activities of suspected followers of the US-based
preacher Fetullah Gülen,
whom the Turkish government accused of being the mastermind of the attempted
coup on July 15. As if it is the most normal thing in the world, Diyanet said its imams gathered intelligence and prepared
reports from Abkhazia, Germany, Albania, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Georgia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy,
Japan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia,
Mongolia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia,
Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
After several other political absurdities, Turkey has finally won the title of
having the world's first spook-imams -- and that is official.
This is unnerving for many European countries hosting millions of Turks. In
October, a Turkish-German political scientist, Burak Copur, warned that growing support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
could lead to Germans of Turkish descent creating a violent Turkish nationalist
movement. In July, Cem Ozdemir,
an ethnic Turk and leader of Germany's
Greens Party, warned of the influence of the Turkish-Islamic Union for
Religious Affairs (DITIB), which he claimed took its funding and its orders
directly from Erdogan's Justice and Development Party
(AKP). A similar statement was made the month before by integration
commissioner Aydan Ozoguz.
The Dutch government has warned people about "agent imams" from Turkey, and has
solicited complaints about malfeasance.
The Netherlands also said it
would challenge every instance of the "long arm" of Ankara extending to its territory, after a
report that the Turkish embassy had sent home many Dutch Turks who might have
sympathized with July's failed coup. Turkey's
ambassador to The Hague
was summoned after reports that a Diyanet official
acknowledged he had compiled a list of "Gülenists".
Germany
was less diplomatic in expressing its discontent about Turkish spies. Earlier
in December, German police arrested a 31-year-old Turkish man suspected of
providing information on Kurds living in Germany to Turkish intelligence
agencies, according to the German federal prosecutor's office. A statement from
the office said:
"The accused is strongly suspected of working for the Turkish intelligence
agency and providing information about Kurds living in Germany,
including their whereabouts, contacts and political activities".
Turkey is exporting its
political wars and tensions to Europe. That is
not a good sign for the Old Continent.
Mehmet Gormez, President of
Turkey's
Directorate of Religious Affairs. (Image source: İlke
Haber video screenshot)
**Burak Bekdil, one
of Turkey's leading journaists, was just fired from
Turkey's leading newspaper, Hurriyet, after 29 years
for writing what was taking place in Turkey for Gatestone.
© 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.
New Year Speech to the Muslim World
Nonie Darwish/Gatestone Institute/January 01/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9695/new-year-speech-muslim-world
By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an oppressive form of
government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer of protection from
the tyranny of total sharia law that must be enforced
by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West for the
sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to work, it
must be a two-way street between people that share common values of respect of
each other's culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from Islam.
It really does not matter what is "true Islam". That is
something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it does not serve us
in the West to try to evaluate what is "true Islam" and what is not.
Your religious leaders, whose salaries are paid by Islamic governments,
stand before your media cameras and call on Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill,
rape and humiliate the kafir
[non-Muslim] Jews, Christians and Pagans.
Islamic governments and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working
together for the same goal: enforcing Allah's law, sharia,
on the world. It is no secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion
or assassination, any Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia
and support jihadists.
As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for
jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim
countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government
has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation.
Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria and Iraq is not an act of compassion,
but gross negligence. Western governments have failed their citizens for too
long in that respect and that will end today.
After all, why should cultures that loathe the West seek to live in the
West? As President-elect Trump said, why should America -- or any country -- not
allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect our laws and way of life?
Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when
Islamic governments prove to the world that they have fundamentally changed,
that they have ended once and for all their obsessive jihadist propaganda and
hate education prevalent in the Muslim world.
Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be
suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will
surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim
nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.
Obama's first major speech after his election in 2008 was to the Muslim
world in Cairo.
His speech did not deal with the harsh realities of Islam and its impact on
world peace. No Muslim authority shook Obama's hand promising change, a new
relationship with the West based on mutual respect, or a reflection on what
went wrong on 9/11, even if they were not directly responsible for it. No Arab
leader publicly announced an end to the Islamic jihadist and anti-Western hate education
and Arab media propaganda. Instead, the Muslim world got an apology from Obama.
After Obama left Cairo,
the Muslim Brotherhood was empowered, and military rulers weakened and brought
down one after another. By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an
oppressive form of government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer
of protection from the tyranny of total sharia that
must be enforced by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Muslim
Brotherhood and then ISIS quickly filled the vacuum and the Muslim world is now
on fire.
Obama's first major presidential speech, on June 4, 2009, was to the
Muslim world in Cairo.
His speech did not deal with the harsh realities of Islam and its impact on
world peace. No Muslim authority shook Obama's hand promising change, a new
relationship with the West based on mutual respect, or a reflection on what
went wrong on 9/11. (Image source: White House)
A huge storm of Islamic darkness, spilling over and sweeping across our planet,
headed towards the West. Let us never allow our freedoms, built by generations
of Americans, be lost to fear and terror. It is time for the West to unite and
send a firm message to the Muslim World -- a message that should have been sent
by Obama back in 2009.
With the election of President-elect Donald J. Trump, citizens of the
West have renewed their hope to make America again the leader of the
free world and human rights for all, as should be. Trump hopefully will rally
leaders of the free world to give a firm message to the Muslim world:
The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West
for the sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to
work, it must be a Two-Way Street between peoples that share common values of
respect of each other's culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from
Islam. America, Europe and Australia have
been the safe haven of people from all over the world -- different
nationalities, religions and races. We love the Muslim people as we love all
people but our love to people of the world should never supersede our number
one duty, which is to protect of our citizens, our freedoms, our way of life,
and yes, our Biblical-based, Judeo-Christian values.
Today the Middle East is on fire,
overrun and ravaged by terrorists and extremists who have no respect for their
own governments or law and order. Groups such as ISIS
and others brought back ancient barbarity that humanity had mistakenly thought
it had transcended. We keep hearing that this has nothing to do with Islam and
that Islamic terrorists are just a small number of misguided Muslims who
misinterpret true peaceful Islam.
But now it is our turn to tell you what is on our mind: It really does
not matter what is true Islam and what is not. When a terrorist plows through a crowd with a truck aiming to kill, the last
thing anyone cares to hear is whether "the driver was a true Muslim or
not". That is something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it
does not serve us in the West to try to evaluate what is "true Islam"
and what is not.
Middle Eastern governments-run schools still teach hate propaganda
against the West, Jews and Christians. They still teach their children lies
such as that Yasser Arafat died from poisoning by Jews. They still teach in
their public schools that jihad is a holy war against non-Muslims; that killing
apostates and honor killing of girls is a duty under
Islamic law and those who do it will not be prosecuted, but will be rewarded
with virgins by Allah. Muslim Imams spread their hatred and incitement right
under the noses of the so-called moderate Muslim leaders, on your
government-run television screens. Your religious leaders, whose salaries are
paid by Islamic governments, stand before your media cameras and call on
Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill, rape and humiliate the kafir
[non-Muslim], Jews, Christians and Pagans.
We have done enough appeasing and looking the other way when it comes to
the dirty little secret that no one wants to admit: that Islamic governments
and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working together for the same goal:
enforcing Allah's law, sharia, on the world. It is no
secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia
and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia
law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion or assassination, any
Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia and
support jihadists. The world understands the plight of Islamic leaders who must
fulfill their sharia obligation before their
Islamists, otherwise they are "toast." Solving this problem is not
the responsibility of the West, but it is a major problem that the Muslim world
must address in the open and deal with.
While Muslim people and governments develop the courage openly to settle
their issues over their jihad duty, the unholy alliance game played by Islamic
governments and terror groups must be exposed for what it is, and emphatically
rejected. The West cannot afford to participate in such a dishonest game
anymore.
As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for
jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim
countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government
has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation. Islamic
nations that continue to breed terrorists in their media, schools and mosques
and then act innocent of the crime must be held accountable. Muslims themselves
have no tolerance for one Western cartoonist who offended them with a cartoon
of Muhammad. Instead of saying that this cartoonist does not represent all
Western nations, the Muslim public rioted, burned and killed several Westerners
and their embassies in retaliation for the actions of one, over a cartoon. That
is from the same nations that flooded the world with terrorists that use
airplanes, guns, explosives, knives and even trucks to kill non-Muslims.
Muslims need to live by the saying "If your house is of glass, do not
throw rocks at others."
Any Western nation that does not protect its own citizens first and
foremost should be a pariah among civilized nations. Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria
and Iraq
is not an act of compassion, but gross negligence. Western governments have
failed their citizens for too long in that respect and that will end today.
It would be insane for Western governments not to use extraordinary
measures for self-preservation. The doors of immigration to Muslim citizens
from nations overrun by terror will be closed. After all, why should cultures
that loathe the West seek to live in the West? As President-elect Trump said,
why should America
-- or any country -- not allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect
our laws and way of life?
Absorbing refugees from terror run Syria
is not only bad for the West, but also for Syria. If we take the moderate
Muslims out of Syria, then
who will be left to fight ISIS and rebuild the
country?
Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when the
war on Islamic terrorism is won and when Islamic governments prove to the world
that they have fundamentally changed, that they have ended once and for all
their obsessive jihadist propaganda and hate education prevalent in the Muslim
world. Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be
suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will
surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim
nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.
We are looking forward to the day when moderate Muslims will be able to
take control of their governments, their educational systems, and their law and
order, so the Western world could resume mutual constructive relations based on
friendship and respect. The whole world is looking forward to that day and
praying for a peaceful Middle East. The ball
is now in the Muslim world's court.
**Nonie Darwish, born and raised in Egypt, is the
author of "Wholly Different; Why I chose Biblical Values over Islamic
Values."
© 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.
"Now Is Time to Behead
Unbelievers"/Muslim Persecution of Christians, October 2016
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute./January 01/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/01/raymond-ibrahim-now-is-time-to-behead-unbelieversmuslim-persecution-of-christians-october-2016/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9694/behead-unbelievers"[W]e
heard that the [ISIS] militants grabbed six strong men working at the bakery
and burned them inside the oven. After that, they caught some 250 kids and kneaded
them like dough in the bakery dough machine.... Members of 200 different
families were killed right before our eyes." — Syria.
Some Christian and Yazidi women captured by ISIS
militants were sold at auctions in Saudi Arabia,
America's close friend, which
is supposedly part of the coalition fighting ISIS.
— Saudi Arabia.
"[T]he Christians who converted to Islam did so under threats, coercion,
compulsion, and force." — Bishop Alexios, Gaza.
"We have our sights set on you, and by Allah we will kill every single
infidel student at this school." — Social media message targeting McAuley Catholic School,
United Kingdom.
Authorities ordered the closure of house churches... after Muslims complained
that they were being disturbed by the Christian prayers. Christian
worship services in private homes has become more common. The closure of
these house churches is seen as the government's way of cracking down on them.
— Pakistan.
In compliance with Islamic law, the island nation banned the construction of
churches. — Brunei.
As Turkey's government
continues to build nearly 9,000 mosques in the last decade, it banned Orthodox
Christian liturgy in a monastery inaugurated in 386 AD, roughly 1,000 years
before Muslim Turks conquered Asia Minor. — Turkey.
"To all Muslims: now is the time to behead the unbelievers." A female
Iranian refugee said one night a group of men shouted: "Whoever finds an
Iranian woman today may rape and kill her. Kill them all. You may kill and rape
them. You can do it, everywhere. Wherever you find them, you may do that."
— Report from a refugee center, Germany.
Reports of Muslims torturing, raping, and forcing Christians to embrace Islam
continued to mount throughout the month of October. Alice Assaf,
a Christian woman recounted the experiences of Christians—including her son's
execution for refusing to deny his faith—in a village near Damascus at the hands of the Islamic State.
She also told how the Islamic State massacres children in cruel and unusual
ways—including by throwing them into an industrial sized dough mixer:
"[W]e heard that the militants grabbed six strong men working at the
bakery and burned them inside the oven. After that, they caught some 250 kids
and kneaded them like dough in the bakery dough machine.... Members of 200
different families were killed right before our eyes."
Some Christian and Yazidi women captured by ISIS
militants were sold at auctions in Saudi Arabia,
America's close friend,
which is supposedly part of the coalition fighting ISIS.
In Pakistan,
a group of armed Muslims kidnapped and took turns raping a teenage girl after
her Christian family refused to convert to Islam. According to the report,
after they broke into the Christian home in the middle of the night while
everyone slept:
Six men and a woman known locally by the family who were armed with guns,
sticks and metal poles began to beat the family asking them to convert to Islam
or die. Despite the pain and threats to their lives the family stayed resolute
to their Christian faith and refused to convert. This incensed the Muslim
attackers even more. All the family members were tied up and blindfolded and
two of them, 20-year-old Arif [male] and 17-year-old Jameela [female], were kidnapped and dragged into a van
outside. The two of them were taken to an unknown building and tortured but Arif refused to convert to Islam. He could hear her
screaming and was told by his captors that they were taking turns raping his
sister and that all he had to do to save her was to convert to Islam, but still
he refused though in great anguish for her.
Arif eventually managed to escape though the fate of
his sister was unknown.
In Gaza, recent
years have "witnessed a critical upsurge against the Christians,"
said an Arabic language report published in October. Local authorities have reportedly
abandoned the tiny Christian minority—2,500 people surrounded by approximately
1.5 million Muslims—to their fate. "At times we hear of the bombing of a
Christian bookshop and assaults on churches and other Christian institutions;
other times we hear of the kidnapping of Christians and the coercion of them to
embrace the religion of Muhammad," notes the report.
Christians in Gaza
led a protest, calling for the return of their kidnapped children and loved
ones. Bishop Alexios of the region "confirmed
that the Christians who converted to Islam did so under threats, coercion,
compulsion, and force." His church also submitted a formal petition to the
governor of the region, Ismail Haniyeh, calling on
him to investigate matters, but received no response. The report adds that Gaza's Christians are
calling on the Christian world to intervene. The bishop said that he is trying
to communicate all of this to the Vatican,
the United Nations, and the United
States.
Statistics concerning the global jihad on Christians also emerged in October.
Between 2003 and June 9, 2014, ISIS killed at
least 1,131 Christians and destroyed or damaged at least 125 Christian
churches. "Murder of Christians is commonplace" in Iraq, Syria,
and Libya,
states the report. "Many have been killed in front of their own
families."
Between January 2013 and May 2016 and in one Nigerian region alone—the Middle
Belt, Nasarawa—Muslims, often connected to the
Islamic terror group Boko Haram,
killed 826 Christians, injured 878 injured, destroyed 102 churches and 787
Christian houses, and displaced 21,000 people.
The rest of the month of October's worldwide Muslim persecution of Christians
includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches
Ethiopia: Three
separate attacks on one church took place over the course of a month revealed
an October report. One Christian was killed. On August 30, a Muslim mob
assaulted the church during service. They broke doors, windows, and chairs;
they beat men, women and children with their fists and sticks—seriously
wounding 30—and they hacked with machetes a 55-year-old founding member. The
father of eight died from his wounds. The day after the slaughtered Christian's
funeral, a group of Muslim men strangled a female member of the congregation
and left her for dead. On September 27, a Muslim mob attacked more church
members as they returned home after church.
United States: Wendell
Buchanan, a recent convert to Islam, shot up three rural churches in Shelbyville, Tennessee.
One, the Horse Mountain Church of Christ, was targeted three times and the
bullets caused thousands of dollars in damages. Before Facebook
deleted it, Buchanan had written on his account, "I'm just doing my job as
a messenger for my Lord, I owe absolutely everything to Allah because he has
set me free from my spiritual cage." The Muslim convert is facing four
counts of destruction of utility equipment, five counts of desecration of a
venerated object, and nine counts of felony vandalism.
Separately in San Antonio, unknown vandals defaced two churches—the Gethsemane
Lutheran Church and Saint Gregory Catholic Church—by spray painting "No to
wall" and "Islam or die" next to the entrance of the church.
Islamic terror cells are known to be operating across the border in Mexico.
Italy: A Muslim refugee from
Ghana severely vandalized
four churches in Rome
(video of rampage here). He first invaded the Church of San Martino
ai Monti and broke a
statue. Next, he went to the ancient Basilica of Santa Prassede,
where he demolished several more statues of saints, purposefully smashing them
to the ground and stamping on them. He then ripped a large crucifix from the
wall and was preparing to destroy it when he was stopped by a priest who
grabbed him by the leg. The refugee continued his rampage and vandalized two
other churches, San Vitale and the Church of San Giovanni dei
Fiorentini in Piazza d'Oro,
where he destroyed several other precious statues. He was finally arrested by
police in Rome's
historic district and charged with vandalism and religious hatred.
United Kingdom:
A Catholic school was threatened by a social media message saying, "We
have our sights set on you, and by Allah we will kill every single infidel
student at this school #McAuleySchoolMassacre."
The post, which targeted McAuley
Catholic High
School, Doncaster,
appeared on Instagram, Facebook
and Snapchat, and prompted widespread fear. The
school apparently downplayed the incident and said authorities and police were
alerted and investigating. But not all were reassured. Parent Shanie Varley took her
15-year-old daughter out of school and argued that, although many knew of the
message, "parents weren't told." When the mother contacted the
school, she was told that police were there and that it was "nothing to
worry about."
Kosovo: Muslims turned a Christian chapel and cemetery into a public toilet and
garbage dump. Earlier, a local Christian clergyman repaired and cleaned the
chapel, only to return and see it being used again as a toilet. The only action
taken by the local Muslim mayor has been to prevent Christians from accessing
the chapel and cemetery in order to clean it for visits from family members of
those buried there; but he has done nothing to prevent the site from being
desecrated, despite Christian petitions. Similarly, on September 10, Muslims in
Pristina set fire to Christ the Savior
Cathedral. "Immediately after the fire," noted the report, they
"started using it [the church] as a toilet.... Since the Albanian Muslims
took possession of this Orthodox land, hundreds of churches and monasteries
have been burnt to the ground."
Pakistan: Authorities
ordered the closure of house churches in the city of Bahawalpur after Muslims complained that
they were being disturbed by Christian prayers. Christians were ordered to hold
worship and prayer services in only one of four official churches in the city.
Because the construction of new churches in Pakistan is highly regulated with
countless hurdles to overcome—as in most Muslim nations—meeting and holding
Christian worship services in private homes has become more common. The closure
of these house churches is seen as the government's way of cracking down on
them.
Indonesia: Following local
Muslim protests, the mayor of South Jakarta
closed a Protestant church by claiming it lacked a permit. When pressed about
the claim, he said the congregation did have a permit, but only to build a
"home-office and not to the elevation of a church." The report adds
that "The process for the construction of a church in Indonesia—Catholic
or Protestant—is complicated and may take five to ten years to get all the
permissions required."
Brunei:
In compliance with Islamic law, the island nation banned the construction of
churches. There are currently three churches there; no more can be added.
Although the nation is Muslim-majority, approximately 10% of the population is
Christian. According to the report, "Christians living in Brunei feel the
brunt of the divisive law."
Turkey: As the government
continues building mosques—nearly 9,000 were constructed between 2005 and
2015—it banned Orthodox Christian liturgy in the Sumela
Monastery, a historic site inaugurated in 386 AD, roughly 1,000 years before
Muslim Turks conquered Asia Minor. According
to the report:
"The ban has caused great disappointment to thousands of Pontian people worldwide, and people from Greece who had
planned to travel to the region these days to celebrate the Feast of the
Assumption. Sources within the Patriarchate of Constantinople ... fear that
Christian mass will never be allowed in the historic monastery again. This
arbitrary ban seems to be yet another demonstration of the 'unofficial'
second-class status of Christians in Turkey.... What secular, democratic
republic builds thousands of mosques with state funds — taxpayer money — while
closing the Halki Seminary of the Eastern Orthodox
Church and confiscating countless Christian properties?"
The Turkish government recently banned Orthodox Christian liturgy in the Sumela Monastery, a historic site inaugurated in 386 AD,
roughly 1,000 years before Muslim Turks conquered Asia
Minor. (Image source: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia Commons)
Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Australia: A 42-year-old
Muslim man in Sydney
stabbed to death his 35-year-old wife for converting to Christianity. The
Iranian couple had been living on visas for four years. Prior to the woman's
apostasy, there was no known history of domestic violence between the couple.
The report adds that "Christianity has been spreading rapidly among
Iranians in recent years. This has caused many of them being forced to leave Iran as the
government doesn't tolerate conversion from Islam."
Pakistan: A 24-year-old
Muslim man from Lahore
murdered his 18-year-old sister for marrying a Christian, an act banned under
Islamic law. He shot her in the head with a gun. The arrested man later said,
"I told her I would have no face to show at the mill [where he worked], to
show to my neighbors, so don't do it. Don't do it.
But she wouldn't listen. I could not let it go. It was all I could think about.
I had to kill her. There was no choice."
Kenya:
Islamic militants raided a village in the Christian majority nation at 2 am
while everyone was asleep and slaughtered six people. The Islamic terror group
Al Shabaab—"the youth"—headquartered in neighboring Somalia,
claimed the attack on "Christianity's power in the region." It
released a statement: "We are behind the Mandera
attack in which we killed six Christians." One witness said that the
slain, "were gunned down mercilessly and their heads chopped off and
smashed by grenades. I do not know how to say it better. I am psychologically
bullied."
Nigeria:
Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed more than 40 people during a massacre in a
Christian village. The Fulanis have been responsible
for several other brutal attacks which targeted Christians. They are portrayed
as "infidels" who should be driven off the farming land.
Muslim Contempt for and Abuse of Christians
Germany:
A human rights group issued a report in October shedding more light on the
ongoing violence and discrimination Christian minorities
face in refugee camps. Almost 750 Christians reported that they have
experienced religiously motivated violence, including death threats and
"sentencing" from unofficial Sharia courts.
In one instance, Christian refugees returned from a church meeting to find a
notice in one of the rooms that said: "To all Muslims: now is the time to
behead the unbelievers." A female Iranian refugee said one night a group
of men shouted: "Whoever finds an Iranian woman today may rape and kill
her. Kill them all. You may kill and rape them. You can do it, everywhere.
Wherever you find them, you may do that." Iranians are being targeted for
being Shia and/or converting to Christianity. The
woman added:
"We came here to live a free life, but now we are being oppressed heavily.
It is just like the Daesh [ISIS]: we feel very oppressed... I am living her under constant pressure
and cannot take it any more. Nobody is allowed to know that I am a Christian,
for I am afraid that they might find out about it in Iran. I am living under constant
fear and oppression."
Nigeria:
A 40-year-old Muslim cleric, Saheed Gbadamosi, was arrested after he threatened to bathe a
local Christian pastor with acid and destroy his church. The prosecutor said
that the "accused conspired with others still at large and stormed the
defendant's church armed with different types of dangerous weapons as they beat
up the pastor identified as Emmanuel Ugbo, destroying
church property and threatening to pour acid on him."
Ethiopia:
Hours after releasing an 18-year-old Christian known only as Deborah on bail,
police re-arrested her. She and three younger teenage girls (two aged 14, one
15) were initially arrested for handing out a booklet entitled, "Let's
speak the truth in love: Answers to questions by Ahmed Deedat,"
which rebutted accusations against the Christian faith by the named and
prominent Muslim cleric. This enraged some local Muslims, who said the book was
an insult to Islam. They proceeded to riot and attack a church, damaging its
windows and doors; this onslaught led to the arrest of the four teenage
Christian girls. "It is not yet clear why Deborah was re-arrested. A
police investigation failed to bring formal charges against her and the three
other girls. Their bail application was approved by a judge, and the four
teenagers were released after paying Birr 3,000 (about US$135)," said the
report.
Sudan:
Six more Christians, three of whom are pastors, were jailed for refusing to
hand over a school run by their evangelical church to the government. They were
later released on bail. According to the report, "The arrests follow a
number of other arrests of Christians in the country, where Christians face
persecution.... Five other churches – three belonging to the Sudan Church of
Christ, one to the Presbyterian Church and the other to the Episcopal Church –
have been told their buildings will be demolished."
Kyrgyzstan:
A family of mixed religious background was forced to bury and exhume its
76-year-old mother three times due to religious restrictions. The family—the
daughter is Christian, the father is Muslim—were told they could not bury their
mother because she "had been a practicing Christian in a village that was
overwhelmingly Muslim, and local religious leaders restricted the cemetery to
Muslims," said the report. Authorities were said to be investigating the
case. One of the charges was "desecration of the dead."
Pakistan: A Muslim mob beat
Michael Robert, pastor of the Seventh
Day Adventist
Church in Farooqabad, and his family, before forcibly evicting them
from their home. According to the Muslim assailants, the house, which the
Christian purchased two years ago, is Muslim property. Robert's family filed a
suit for fraud and the judge issued a restraining order barring anyone from
forcibly evicting them until ownership was settled. Undeterred, 50 armed Muslim
men stormed the house and, according to a lawyer, "left Pastor Robert, his
father Robert Masih and his wife seriously injured.
The assailants arrived in the dark of night and started firing in the air with
their weapons to terrorize the locals. They then forced open Pastor Robert's
gate and attacked the family, thrashing them violently as they threw household
items out in the open."
Separately, authorities shut down 11 Christian television stations which they
described as "illegal broadcasts." In response, Father Mushtaq Anjum, a Pakistani priest
involved with the media, said, "The proclamation of the good news is now
illegal. Christians have no place in public television channels."
In Khanewal district, local authorities have allowed
the only Christian graveyard to deteriorate over the past thirty years and have
taken no restorative measures despite Christian pleas. One man said that local
authority, Muhammad Khan Daha, was contacted
repeatedly but has overlooked the matter, despite having pledged to allocate
funds to restore the boundary wall, and provide electricity and water
connections. He also said the graveyard was so full that in two years' time there
would be no more room to bury their dead.
Niger:
Jeff Woodke, a 55-year-old American Christian
missionary who had been living and serving his community for 24 years, was
abducted from his home by Islamic militants after they killed two security
guards. The mayor of the region said it was a "terrible tragedy" and that locals "wept with sorrow, lamenting the loss of a
friend" the day after his abduction: "This man has lived among us for
years, even in when it has been difficult to accompany vulnerable populations...
Everyone knows his goodness."
Egypt:
Armed Muslim men ambushed and abducted three Christian men and one of the men's
9-year-old son as they were driving their car near Assyut. After the family could not meet the initial ransom
demand of 500,000 Egyptian pounds, a ransom of 150,000 Egyptian pounds ($8,000
USD) was agreed upon and the kidnapped victims were freed.
Germany: A kindergarten in Kassel canceled all Christmas celebrations and banned Christmas
songs, trees, and any mention of the Nativity to accommodate the "diverse
cultures" of their students. Approximately 12% of the 200,000 population
are "foreign or have foreign roots." The report adds that
"Because of the high percentage of Muslim children at the Sara-Nussbaum-Haus Kindergarten, teachers at the school must pay special
attention to make sure the children don't swap food at lunch. This will make
sure the Muslim children do not eat pork. Pork is not offered on the school's
menu."
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by
Muslims is growing.
The report posits that such Muslim persecution is not random but rather
systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location.
Raymond Ibrahim is the author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on
Christians (published by Regnery with Gatestone Institute, April 2013).
Previous reports
- September, 2016
- August, 2016
- July, 2016
- June, 2016
- May, 2016
- April, 2016
- March, 2016
- February, 2016
- January, 2016
- December, 2015
- November, 2015
- October, 2015
- September, 2015
- August, 2015
- July, 2015
- June, 2015
- May, 2015
- April, 2015
- March, 2015
- February, 2015
- January, 2015
- December, 2014
- November, 2014
- October, 2014
- September, 2014
- August, 2014
- July, 2014
- June, 2014
- May, 2014
- April, 2014
- March, 2014
- February, 2014
- January, 2014
- December, 2013
- November, 2013
- October, 2013
- September, 2013
- August, 2013
- June, 2013
- May, 2013
- April, 2013
- March, 2013
- February, 2013
- January, 2013
- December, 2012
- November, 2012
- October, 2012
- September, 2012
- August, 2012
- July, 2012
- June, 2012
- May, 2012
- April, 2012
- March, 2012
- February, 2012
- January, 2012
- December, 2011
- November, 2011
- October, 2011
- September, 2011
- August, 2011
© 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
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