The Toronto Star Is Full Of Crap!

Full story can be found here.

In an effort to be politically correct the Toronto Star reports the following on the alledged bombing conspiracy broken up by the Canadian authorities:

"In investigators' offices, an intricate graph plotting the links between the 17 men and teens charged with being members of a homegrown terrorist cell covers at least one wall. And still, says a source, it is difficult to find a common denominator. "

 Let me see if I can help clear this up…

They are all Muslim.  They all believe God's law comes before man's law, and that the freedom loving countries around the world should embrace Allah (PBUH), and impose Sharia on their populations.  They all believe in the subjugation or death of non-believers.

 How hard was that to figure out?

Indonesia Slowly Caves To Radicals

From The LA Times:

After model Andhara Early posed for Indonesia's first Playboy edition and landed on its cover, police called her in for questioning.

Investigators asked her to explain what she was doing in each of the five photos in her eight-page spread. It made no difference that she didn't pose nude — or that the photos were no more revealing than a lingerie ad.

"Police asked me whether my picture was pornography or not," she recounted. "I said, 'It's not. It's art, definitely art.' "

Playboy's entry to the Indonesian market has fueled debate over what constitutes pornography and how women should behave in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Indonesia, more moderate than most Muslim nations, faces mounting pressure from a growing conservative Islamic movement to pass a law redefining the concept of pornography and outlawing behavior that clerics consider an affront to Islam.

A measure before parliament would ban "pornoaksi," or porno action, a newly created offense so broad that it could include wearing a miniskirt or baring a navel. Kissing in public would be punishable by up to five years in prison. Dancing erotically could bring seven years. Exposing body parts that could be deemed erotic would be punishable by as much as 10 years.

"If you wear something sensual or sexy, it will be considered pornography," said Gadis Arivia, a professor of human rights and Western philosophy at the University of Indonesia who has helped organize opposition to the bill. "It will criminalize a lot of women in Indonesia."

Opposition to the measure has been especially strong in Bali, the predominantly Hindu island that depends heavily on tourism. Some worry that restrictions on attire could ban traditional Balinese dress and scare off foreign tourists accustomed to wearing revealing clothing. At one point, the governor of Bali threatened to secede if the bill was passed.

The threat of having to cover up has stirred moderate and middle-class Indonesians to political action, something that has seldom occurred since President Suharto was ousted and democracy was ushered in eight years ago. Opponents have organized demonstrations, launched a petition drive and pressured members of parliament to reject the measure.

"It's frightening because we see Indonesia being slowly turned into a conservative country," said Arivia, who attended high school in the United States. "We are scared to death that Indonesia will become an Islamic state. The majority of people would not want that."

Although more than 85% of the population is Muslim, the country is officially secular. Conservative Islam has been gaining ground since Suharto's fall in 1998. A series of deadly bombings funded by Al Qaeda and carried out against Western targets by local terrorist cells has demonstrated the success of Islamic extremists in appealing to disaffected young Indonesians.

Authorities in Aceh province on Sumatra and the city of Tangerang on Java have adopted Sharia, or Islamic law, leading to harsher treatment of suspected gamblers and prostitutes. Other communities are considering following suit.

Advocates of the anti-pornography legislation contend that a new national law is needed because existing laws and penalties are not "repressive" enough. Under today's standards, people may become too accustomed to seeing sensual dress or behavior, said Fauzan Alanshari, spokesman for the militant Indonesia Mujahedin Council.

"People might say that breasts are not pornography because they get used to seeing breasts," he said. "People might lose their sensitivity. We need the bill so that it will be more specific and thus it will be more repressive."

Alanshari said the bill would protect children from the possibility of encountering women wearing erotic attire.

"I'll give you an example," he said. "There's a prostitute wearing a sexy dress. I can control myself by not looking at her. But what about my children? So, we have to have a regulation to protect the public's rights. The public's rights include my right to protect my children."

The bill's sponsors say it has strong support in parliament, which is roughly 90% male. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general, has not taken a public position on the issue. But he recently disclosed that he had stopped a singer from appearing at a presidential function because her belly button was showing.

"I was really disturbed," the president said. "I told the singer to go home even before she performed in front of me at the state palace."

Opponents of the bill point to the adoption of Sharia in Tangerang, a city of 2 million next to Jakarta, as reason to be concerned.

During a police sweep one evening in February, Tangerang authorities arrested Lilies Lindawati, a 35-year-old waitress, and 26 other women as suspected prostitutes. The pregnant mother of two had been on her way home after trying to collect her last paycheck from the restaurant where she had worked.

She was not allowed to contact her husband, a teacher, and was denied a defense lawyer for her trial the next day.

"Lots of government officials and residents were gathered there," she told reporters later. "They were laughing at us as if we were part of a show."

Despite her denial, she was found guilty of prostitution because she had lipstick and other makeup in her purse. She couldn't afford the $35 fine and spent three nights in jail. She filed a wrongful arrest suit last month against the mayor, seeking $57,000 in damages.

Although the first Indonesian edition of Playboy contained no nudity — disappointing many buyers — anti-pornography activists targeted the magazine because of its international reputation.

Soon after release of the first edition in April, Islamic militants demonstrated outside the magazine's Jakarta office. Some threw rocks at the building, breaking windows of the bank downstairs.

Cheap pornography is readily available in major cities, but Playboy Editor Erwin Arnada says the Indonesian edition is a "lifestyle" magazine. He says he wants people to buy it for the articles. The first edition carried pieces on politics and global warming and one of the last interviews with noted author and former political prisoner Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who died soon after.

"We have to change the content to fit Indonesian culture," he said. "We will never publish nude pictures."

After receiving complaints from Islamic activists, police called in Arnada, cover girl Early, and centerfold model Kartika Oktavini Gunawan, who had posed showing a bare midriff in one photo and a naked shoulder and bare thighs in another.

Arnada, 41, who runs several other magazines and has produced half a dozen horror films, said officers questioned him for more than five hours but could not uncover any violation of the law. Police asked him not to distribute Playboy at newsstands in Jakarta, the publication's biggest market, but it is unclear whether Playboy will honor the request.

The first edition sold all 100,000 copies and has become a collector's item, going on EBay for as much as $100. But the controversy has cost the magazine most of its advertisers, and the price of the next issue will more than double to $10.

Early, 26, a Muslim and the mother of a 9-month-old baby, said she was "proud" to be on the cover of the first Indonesian Playboy. Her sudden notoriety has resulted in a flood of job offers and interviews. But she is concerned that the proposed anti-pornography law would hinder the growth of democracy and impose a strict form of Islam on all Indonesians, whether Hindu, Christian or Muslim.

"I don't support pornography, but this bill is vague," the model said. "It's about freedom of speech. People should be able to say whatever they want."

Sweedish Muslims Demand Separate Laws

From The Local:

Sweden's largest Muslim organisation has demanded that Sweden introduce separate laws for Muslims, according to Swedish television. Sweden's equality minister Jens Orback called the proposals "completely unacceptable".

The Swedish Muslim Association, which represents around 70,000 Muslims in Sweden, has sent a letter to all Sweden's main political parties suggesting a number of reforms, SVT's Rapport programme reported.

The proposals include allowing imams into state (public) schools to give Muslim children separate lessons in Islam and their parents' native languages. The letter also said that boys and girls should have separate swimming lessons and that divorces between Muslims should be approved by an imam.

The letter provoked an instant, and damning, response from integration and equality minister Jens Orback.

"We will not have separate laws in Sweden. In Sweden, we are all equal before the law. In Sweden, we have fought for a long time to achieve gender-neutral laws, and to propose that certain groups should not be treated like others is completely unacceptable."

Orback said he had spoken to representatives of the Swedish Muslim Council, and they did not support the association's position.

"We have freedom of speech, we have the right to opinions and we have the right to make proposals – but if a law is going to be changed, it must be the same for everyone."

Asked whether the proposal plays into the hands of racists, Orback said that it did.

"I think it is very problematic and unfortunate that people who have been in Sweden for so long make proposals such as this that are so opposed to our intentions, when we are fighting for women's rights and the right to divorce," Orback replied.

Liberal Party leader Lars Leijonborg also slammed the idea of separate laws.

"Sweden has equality between men and women. To introduce exceptions for Muslims so that women can be oppressed with the support of the law is completely unacceptable to me," Liberal leader Lars Leijonborg wrote in a statement.

Islamists Post Hit List of ‘Apostates’

From The Jawa Report:

A number of Arab intellectuals living abroad, including several Egyptians, has received death threats from a previously unknown group. In an email message, seen by Asharq al Awsat, the “Supporters of God’s Messenger” (AL Munasirun li Rasul al Allah) threatened to kill so-called atheists, polytheists and their supporters unless they repent by today. The message was sent to a number of non- Muslim intellectuals and signed by Abu Dhar al Maqdisihi, the media spokesperson for the group.

Asharq al Awsat spoke to several recipients of the email and asked them about their reactions to its threatening content.

Dr. Wafa Sultan, who lives in California , pointed out that the source of the latest threat differed from the dozens she had previously received because it was made by a group and not an individual. She expressed fear for her life as the message included personal information about the recipients, as well as the names of some of their spouses and children. Sultan vowed to inform the U.S authorities of the email and seek their protection.

From Clarity & Resolve:

An Egyptian group calling itself the "al-Jama’ah Consultative Council" has sent an e-mail hit list to people deemed 'apostates' yesterday. The group warned that those people on the list who had left the faith would have three days (as of yesterday) to repent or they would be killed. The group also warned that the wives and children of the Muslim apostates were being followed & would be killed.

Under Islamic Law, the maximum penalty for apostasy is death.

The list includes prominent Muslims living in the West who have spoken out against violent Islamic extremism and intolerance, some still living in Muslim countries, as well as Coptic Christians who have advocated equal treatment in Egypt.

According to Copts-United the group issued the following threat if the 'apostates' did not publicly repent:

we will follow them everywhere they go and at anytime; and they can never be far from the swords of truth, and they are closer to us that our shoelaces.They are monitored day and night. We are fully aware of their hiding places, their houses, their children’s schools, and the times when their wives are alone at home.

We gave our rules to the soldiers of God to execute the rule of God so that their blood can become close to God [to kill them] and burn their houses.

And we thank God that many of those infidels and atheists do not exist in the land of Islam, so that they do not defile the Islamic land with their rotten blood. They are in the land of infidelity, the land of idols, pagans, and Cross worshippers: in America, Canada, Switzerland, and Italy.

If they existed on a spot in the Islamic land, let us wash the places of their slaughter and beheading seven times to purify the Islamic land of the impurity of their blood. And let us captivate their women and enslave their children loot them. Let us apply the Islamic rule to them; and whoever kills one of them, will get his loot.

The fatwa was signed by Abu Dhur Al-Maqdishi, media commander in Al-Jama’ah.

The list includes:

Wafa Sultan — American Muslim psychologist who has spoken out against jihad, the silence of mainstream Muslims over terrorism, and the treatment of women in Islam. Sultan lives in the Los Angeles area.

Ahmad Subhi Mansur (Mansour)–a liberal Egyptian theologian condemned as an 'apostate' because he accepts only the Quran as authentic and rejects the sunnas. Mansur argues in his book "The Punishment of Apostasy" (out of print) that religious liberty is fundamental to Islam. Mansur's wife and children are also specifically threatened. Mansur live in the Virginia.

Adly Abadir — Egyptian born Christian Coptic priest, exiled from Egypt and now living in Switzerland. Abadir is an outspoken advocate against the subjegation of Christians in Egypt and has testified before the U.S. Congress on the plight of Coptic minorities living under the thumb of Muslims.

Jamal Al-Banna— moderate Egyptian theologian & brother of the founder of the Muslim Bortherhood who publicly disputes traditional Islamic teachings about the treatment of women & jihad, but like most Muslims justifies aggressiona against Jews. Al-Banna is probably under condemnation for his firm stance against dhimmitude and for freedom of religion and for his creation of the "Committee for the Defense of Victims of Terror-Fatwas"

Majdi Khalil— American Muslim who has spoken out against terrorism and those that justify it in the Islamic world.

Hasan Ahmad Umar— former President of the Egyptian Court of Appeals.

Muhammad Sha’lan— possibly the same Dr. Muhammed Sha'lan who is a professor of psychology at the oldest and most prestigious Islamic universty in the world, al Azhar.

Father Zakarias Butros— Coptic priest living in Holland who runs a website devoted to standing up for Christians in Egypt, against attrocities committed by Muslims against Christians, and which invites Muslims to engage in dialogue.

Sa’d Al-Din Ibrahim— liberal Egyptian human rights activist , board member of the Ibn Khaldun Center, and Professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo. Ibrahim is a leading human rights activists who was arrested by the Egyptian government in 2000 to the applause of Islamists around the world. He is accused by Islamists of being a 'Zionist'.

Salah Muhsin–Egyptian who has spoken out against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Dr. Shakir Al-Nabulsi — a Jordanian born liberal Muslim, chairman of the American Academic Association in Jordan, and co-signer of an anti-Islamist petition to the U.N calling for an end to the preaching of violence against apostates. Nabulsi now lives in Denver.

Al-Afif al-Akhdar–72 year old Tunisian born French secular Muslim. The Tunisian Islamic movement Al-Nahdha, issued a death fatwa against the him for his book "The Unknown in the Prophet's Life". In addition to exposing the hypocrisy of Muslims on terrorism, Akhdar has also been at the forefront of exposing the political motivations behind Muslim regimes using the Danish Mohammed cartoons to drum up anti-Western sentiment. More on Akhdar here.

Unknown targets– if you know who these individuals are, please warn them that they may be the target of Muslim extremists!

America — Nidal Na’isah, Fatin Nur

Canada– Uthman Muhammad Ali & his family.

Holland– Nahid Mitwali

Italy–Khalid Hilal

Jordan–Umar Abu Rassa, Ramadan Abd AlRahman Ali

Syria–Samir Hasan Ibrahim

Egypt–Abd al Fattah Asakir, Muhammad Shibl, Muhammad Said al Mushtahari, Abd al-Latif Sa’id, Ayman Muhammad Abd Al Rahman, Walid Muhammad Abd al-Rahman, Taha Hilal, Isam Nafi, Ahmad Sha’ban, Amru Ismail, Abd-Al-Karim Sulayman

Clerics Renew Call for Christian Convert’s Death

From FoxNews:

Clerics Call for Christian Convert's Death Despite Western Outrage

Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity must be executed and if the government caves into Western pressure and frees him they will incite people to "pull him into pieces."

The trial of Abdul Rahman has fired passions in this conservative Muslim nation and highlighted a conflict of values between Afghanistan and its Western backers.

"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate and was jailed three times for opposing the Taliban before the hardline regime was ousted in 2001.

Rahman, a 41-year old former medical aid worker, faces the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for becoming a Christian. His trial, which began last week, has caused an international outcry. U.S. President George W. Bush has said he is "deeply troubled" by the case and expects the country to "honor the universal principle of freedom."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that she received assurances from Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call that Rahman would not be sentenced to death.

"I have the impression that he (Karzai) has a firm willingness" to abide by the human rights requirements and "I hope we will be able to resolve this," Merkel said going into pre-EU summit talks.

Diplomats have said the Afghan government was searching for a way to drop the case, and on Wednesday authorities said Rahman is suspected of being mentally ill and would undergo psychological examinations to see whether he is fit to stand trial.

But three Sunni preachers and a Shiite one interviewed by The Associated Press in four of Kabul's most popular mosques said they don't believe Rahman is insane.

"He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian," said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque.

"The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed."

Raoulf, who is a member of the country's main Islamic organization, the Afghan Ulama Council, agreed, saying, "The government are playing games. The people will not be fooled."

"Cut off his head!" he exclaimed, sitting in a courtyard outside Herati Mosque. "We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there's nothing left."

He said the only way for Rahman to survive would be for him to go into exile outside Afghanistan.

But Said Mirhossain Nasri, the top cleric at Hossainia Mosque, one of the largest Shiite places of worship in Kabul, said Rahman must not be allowed to leave the country.

"If he is allowed to live in the West then others will claim to be Christian so they can too," he said. "We must set an example. … He must be hanged."

The clerics said they were angry with the United States and other countries for pushing for Rahman's freedom.

"We are a small country and we welcome the help the outside world is giving us, but please don't interfere in this issue," Nasri said. "We are Muslims and these are our beliefs. This is much more important to us than all the aid the world has given us."

Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which is interpreted by many Muslims to require that any Muslim who rejects Islam be sentenced to death.

Hamidullah warned that if the government frees Rahman, "There will be an uprising" like one against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s.

"The government will lose the support of the people," he said. "What sort of democracy would it be if the government ignored the will of all the people."

Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty International issued a statement, saying that if Rahman has been detained solely for his religious beliefs, he would be a "prisoner of conscience."

"The charges against him should be dropped and if necessary he should be protected against any abuses within the community," the London-based group said.

Rahman is believed to have lived in Germany for nine years after converting to Christianity while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He returned to Kabul in 2002.

It was not immediately clear when Rahman's trial will resume. Authorities have barred attempts by the AP to see him and he is not believed to have a lawyer.

Democracy Malasian Style

From news.com.au:

MALAYSIA’S de facto law minister has threatened to jail or fine non-Muslims who insult Islam, amid concern over recent articles perceived as attacking the religion.

Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz said the country’s sedition act could be used on non-Muslims who make comments construed as belittling Islam.
“We will not think twice about using this law against anybody who incites,” Mohamad Nazri, a minister in the prime minister’s department, was quoted as saying in the Star newspaper today.

The minister said he was concerned over recent articles written about Islam by non-Muslims, and warned there was a limit to what could be said in the Muslim-majority country.

“I want to remind non-Muslims to refrain from making statements on something they do not understand,” he said.

“We do not want to take away your rights but religion is an important matter, especially to the Muslims.”

The minister’s comments come amid heated debates over Islamic family legislation passed by Parliament last year, which critics say will help Muslim men to take multiple wives and claim property after divorce.
Malaysia also faced a storm of controversy in January over the Muslim burial of a Hindu whose wife disputed claimed he had ever converted to Islam, with non-Muslims protesting their rights were being infringed.

The daughter of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, Marina Mahathir earlier this month lashed out against a climate of fear surrounding the discussion of Islam in Malaysia, where Muslims live alongside ethnic Chinese and Indians.

A leading social activist and critic of the family legislation, she said it was becoming difficult for anyone other than Muslim men with religious backgrounds to speak about Islam.

The Sedition Act, introduced by former British rulers, is used to curb speech detrimental to the Government, inciting racial hatred, or questioning the rights of Malaysia’s ethnic Muslim Malay majority.

Penalties include up to three years in jail or a fine of 5000 ringgit ($1880) or both.

Rights activists say the Government uses the act to curb political opponents and the media.

 

Democracy Afghan Style

From ABC News:

Afghan Man Prosecuted for Converting From Islam to Christianity, Could Get Death Sentence

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic laws, a judge said Sunday.

The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take here four years after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime.

The defendant, 41-yer-old Abdul Rahman, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told The Associated Press in an interview. Rahman was charged with rejecting Islam and his trial started Thursday.

During the one-day hearing, the defendant confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Mawlavezada said.

"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam."

Mawlavezada said he would rule on the case within two months.

Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which is interpreted by many Muslims to require that any Muslim who rejects Islam be sentenced to death, said Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Repeated attempts to interview Rahman in detention were barred.

The prosecutor, Abdul Wasi, said he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman converted back to Islam, but he refused.

"He would have been forgiven if he changed back. But he said he was a Christian and would always remain one," Wasi told AP. "We are Muslims and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty."

After being an aid worker for four years in Pakistan, Rahman moved to Germany for nine years, his father, Abdul Manan, said outside his Kabul home.

Rahman returned to Afghanistan in 2002 and tried to gain custody of his two daughters, now aged 13 and 14, who had been living with their grandparents their whole lives, the father said. A custody battle ensued and the matter was taken to the police.

During questioning, it emerged that Rahman was a Christian and was carrying a Bible. He was immediately arrested and charged, the father said.

Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country. Some 99 percent of its 28 million people are Muslim, and the remainder are mainly Hindu.

A Christian aid worker in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said there was no reliable figure for the number of Christians, though it was believed to be only in the dozens or low hundreds. He said few admit their faith because of fear of retribution and there are no known Afghan churches.

An old house in a war-wrecked suburb of Kabul serves as a Christian place of worship for expatriates. From the muddy street, the building looks like any other. Its guard, Abdul Wahid, said no Afghans go there.

The only other churches are believed to be inside foreign embassies or on bases belonging to the U.S.-led coalition or a NATO peacekeeping force.

Hakim, the human rights advocate, said the case would attract widespread attention in Afghanistan and could be exploited by Muslim conservatives to rally opposition to reformists who are trying to moderate how the religion is practiced here.

"The reformists are trying to bring about positive changes," he said. "This case could be fertile ground for extremists to manipulate things."

Muslim clerics still hold considerable power in Afghanistan, especially in rural areas where most women wear all-encompassing burqas and are dominated by men.

Hakim said that if Rahman was acquitted, it would be a propaganda win for the Taliban rebels, who have stepped up their insurgency in the past year.

In the months before U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001, it claimed Western aid groups were trying to convert Afghan Muslims. They arrested eight foreign aid workers for allegedly preaching Christianity, but later released them unharmed.