Times of London, 21 Dec 09: Pass beyond what is described as government territory in the Somali capital — a few blocks between the airport, the harbour and the presidential palace — and you are at the mercy of al-Shabaab, the extremist Islamic group that holds sway across southern and central Somalia. Where it rules, it has implemented laws and punishments reminiscent of Afghanistan under Taleban rule.
It has banned bras, football, dancing and musical ringtones. This weekend al-Shabaab decreed that men must grow beards and shave their moustaches. Its fighters have destroyed Sufi tombs and disinterred colonial-era Italian corpses. Its Sharia courts have ordered public floggings, the chopping off of hands and feet of thieves, the stoning to death of adulterers and beheadings of apostates and spies.
Suicide attacks and roadside bombs have grown in number, leading Western intelligence agencies to conclude that there are growing links between al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda. The agencies warn that the country is becoming a haven for international terrorists. . . . .
Haaretz, 21 Dec 09: The military censors have prevented the release of a documentary on an espionage affair in an intervention unprecedented since the banning of Mohammed Bakri’s 2002 film “Jenin, Jenin.”
The documentary, “The Secret Kingdom” by Nir Toib, features extensive interviews with Brig. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak “Yatza” Yaakov. Yaakov is a veteran of the Palmach – the pre-state military strike force – Israel’s first chief scientist and a former research and development head for the Israel Defense Forces. He was arrested in 2001 and interrogated for 18 months on suspicion of espionage.
The film was due to be screened at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque and was to be shown later on a cable TV documentary station, Channel 8. The military censors demanded that the film be cut so substantially that Toib had no choice but to withdraw it altogether, he said. Toib said he will appeal the censor’s decision at the Supreme Court.
Yaakov, a resident of the United States, arrived in Israel in 2001 to celebrate his 75th birthday. The morning after the celebration, he was arrested and detained for 18 months. His arrest was prompted by an interview with Ronen Bergman for the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Yaakov’s trial was conducted behind closed doors. “He was eventually convicted of giving an unauthorized interview and got a suspended sentence,” Toib said. He says his film is an attempt to look into the affair and see how Israel’s defense establishment deals with people it sees as enemies. . . . .
AP, 20 Dec 09: President Barack Obama plans to deal with a Dec. 31 deadline that automatically would declassify secrets in more than 400 million pages of Cold War-era documents by ordering government-wide changes that could sharply curb the number of new and old government records hidden from the public.
In an executive order the president is likely to sign before year’s end, Obama will create a National Declassification Center to clear up the backlog of Cold War documents. But the order also will give everyone more time to process the 400 million pages rather than flinging them open at year’s end without a second glance.
The order aimed at eliminating unnecessary secrecy also is expected to direct all agencies to revise their classification guides — the more than 2,000 separate and unique manuals used by federal agencies to determine what information should be classified and what no longer needs that protection. The manuals form the foundation of the government’s classification system.
Two of every three such guides haven’t been updated in the past five years, according to the 2008 annual report of the Information Security Oversight Office, which oversees the government’s security classification.
The anticipated timing of Obama’s order was disclosed by a government official familiar with the planning who requested anonymity in order to discuss the order before its release. A draft of the order leaked last summer.
The still-classified Cold War records would provide a wealth of data on U.S.-Soviet relations, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, diplomacy and espionage. A Soviet spy ring in the Navy led by John Walker headlined 1985, which became known as “The Year of the Spy.” . . . . .
By Dr. Tawfik Hamid
Dr. Hamid, a CI Centre instructor, is a Muslim reformer and author of “Inside Jihad.”
The recent growth of cases involving home-grown Islamic radicalism in the US[1] raises an important question. How should Muslim leaders address the religious text that is used to promote violence among young Muslims?
According to a CNN report[2], Mustafa Abu Maryam who is youth coordinator at the I.C.N.A. Center, an affiliate of the Islamic Circle of North America, in Alexandria, Virginia defended the mosque’s activities, saying discussion of jihad had no place in the congregation or the youth program.
This passive approach regarding concepts such as violent Jihad did not protect the young Muslims from the radicalization process. Reciting the peaceful verses in the Quran without addressing and confronting the aggressive teaching and refuting it with new interpretations is an inefficient approach. Being passive in this situation means tacit approval of the violent interpretations.
It would have been much better if Abu Maryam addressed the issue of Jihad, rejected its violent interpretations in mainstream Muslim books, and provided new interpretations for it instead of remaining passive and avoiding its discussion.
Under-valuing human life is a main psychological and ideological factor that gives justification for the terrorists to do their barbaric acts. Without changing the values that under-value human life which are available in mainstream Islamic books, it is virtually impossible to prevent the phenomenon of terrorism. Some of these values are currently promoted in mainstream Islamic books inside the US.
The following are just two examples from a well known, modern and best selling Islamic jurisprudence book (Minhaj Al-Muslim) to illustrate how human life of Non-Muslims is disrespected and considered lower than Muslim’s lives. These are found in the mainstream Islamic books that are used to educate young Muslims. According to this book:
1-Value of the life of Non Muslims is less than a Muslim: “A Muslim is not killed for a disbeliever nor a free person for a slave. This is due to the Prophet’s statement, “A Muslims is not killed for a disbeliever”. (Ahmed and At-tirmithi and it is Hasan [the word Hasan in the last statement means a good Hadith based on the level of accuracy of the Hadith)- Minhaj al-Muslim by Abu Bakr al-Jazairy Vol 2 [p: 482] Note: according to the same book a Muslim should be killed if he intentionally kills another Muslim.
2- Blood Money (Compensation given to the family of the victim in cases of murder): “If the victim was a non-Muslim under the protection of the Islamic state (Dhimmi), whether he was a Jew, a Christian, or of some other religion, his blood money is half the blood money of the Muslim. The blood money of their females is half the blood money of their males. This is due to the Prophet’s statement: the blood money of the disbeliever is half the blood money of the (Muslim) man.” (At-Tirmithi and it is Hasan) [the word Hasan in the last statement means a good Hadith based on the level of accuracy of the Hadith) Minhaj al-Muslim by Abu Bakr al-Jazairy Vol 2 [p: 492-493]
The author, a Lecturer in the Noble Prophetic Masjid (Mosque) in Saudi Arabia, stated in the introduction of this book:
“I spared no effort in investigating and searching for the most sound opinion of the eminent scholars such as Imams Abu Hanifah, Malik, Ash Shafl’i, and Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on them all, when there was no conclusive text or apparent proof from the Book of Allah the Almighty and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (S) for a topic.”
Note: This means that the book represents the mainstream views in Islamic Sharia as the above mentioned four scholars represent all the approved Mazthhab or School of Jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.
In addition, this book is widely distributed all over the world and translated into several languages. In fact, it is published in London, Houston, and New York as well.
The book has been described as follows by the publisher[3] (A respected Islamic publishing house):
“A comprehensive work by the great scholar Abu Bakr Jabir Al-Jaza’ri comprising all that concerns a Muslim regarding creed, manners, providing direction for righteous character, acts of worship, and dealings with his colleagues.”
The book is sold and distributed on Amazon.com[4] and on many mainstream Islamic web sites such as OnlineIslamicStore.com and IslamicBookStore.com.
The book has also been described by IBS-Canada[5] (Division of ISNA Canada) as follows:
“This book Minhaj – Al – Muslim, or “The Way of a Muslim” is a very important book composed by the great scholar Abu Bakr Jabir Al-Jaza’iri, presently lecturer in the Noble Prophetic Masjid and former teacher in Al-Madinah University who worked there till his retirement. This book comprises all that concerns the righteous Muslim regarding his creed, manners, providing direction for righteous character and acts of worship, and dealings with his colleagues.”
Giving peaceful lectures during Friday prayers while remaining silent against such aggressive teaching is not only a passive form of endorsing this teaching but is also a fruitless and deceiving approach to the West. If Muslim leaders are truly willing to prevent radicalism of the young Muslims they must confront these violent areas and provide new theology or interpretations for it. Staying passive against this inhumane teaching is not enough.
[1] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580173,00.html
[2]http://m.cnn.com/cnn/ne/us/detail/414060/full;jsessionid=3AF22826157DBEE5C823AE440368136A.live7i
[3]http://store.dar-us-salam.com/product/133.html
[4]http://www.amazon.com/Minhaj-Al-Muslim-2-Books/dp/B001O989V8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261153538&sr=8-1
[5]http://www.islamicbookservice.ca/
Times of London, 20 Dec 09: Scotland Yard has warned businesses in London to expect a Mumbai-style attack on the capital.
In a briefing in the City of London 12 days ago, a senior detective from SO15, the Metropolitan police counter-terrorism command, said: “Mumbai is coming to London.”
The detective said companies should anticipate a shooting and hostage-taking raid “involving a small number of gunmen with handguns and improvised explosive devices”.
The warning — the bluntest issued by police — has underlined an assessment that a terrorist cell may be preparing an attack on London early next year. . . . .
. . . . Officials now report an increase in “intelligence chatter” — communications captured by electronic eavesdropping agencies. One senior security adviser said the police warnings had intensified and become much more specific in the past fortnight.
“Before, there has been speculation. Now we are getting what appears to be a definite plot to carry out a firearms attack on London,” he said. . . . .
. . . . Security sources said concerns had been raised by “chatter” on a prominent jihadist website two weeks ago.
One contributor suggested fighters could use automatic weapons to strike places such as nightclubs, sporting venues and Jewish centres.
In an online discussion hosted on December 2, another contributor invited suggestions for carrying out “guerrilla warfare” and proposed “a group of mujaheddin raid police stations and fire at them”.
Another said: “Make sure that all those at the location are of age, that there are no children and so on. Insist on the locations and times where no Muslims or children are to be expected.
“If machine guns are available, and explosive and expertise for [explosives] are not available, this is a good way … The [Mumbai] operation is the ideal scenario for operations you are talking about.”
A third contributor said targets should be “chosen in a studied manner”.
He added: “In general, targeting economic joints and intelligence centres if possible has priority over police stations.” . . . . .
