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Recent Appearances...

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

My Father Is an Imam in Gaza. Hamas Kidnapped Him for Refusing to Be Their Puppet.

2024-01-05

[Free Press] RAFAH—On Saturday, December 30, our front door was busted down, and twenty masked men barged in and took my father, a widely respected and deeply learned imam here in Gaza.

One dragged him by his head, and another grabbed him by his beard. My younger brother tried to intervene and reason with the kidnappers, but they beat him. I have a medical condition that makes it hard for me to breathe, so all I could do was watch as the horror unfolded.

I know that if Hamas kills my father, they’ll say that the Israeli army did it. But my father was very keen that even if he died, we should make known the despicable demands they made of him. It was his last request to us, literally as he was being carried out of the door, that should he die, we should publicize the real reason for his death, and it is this:

He wouldn’t preach what Hamas told him to. He refused to tell Gazans that violent resistance and obedience to Hamas, is the best way out of our current hell.

This story starts before October 7, and even before 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza.

Our family has lived in Gaza for generations. Before 2007, my father worked for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. After Hamas took over, they forced him out of his position. This was a hard time for my family; my father was the sole breadwinner. Finally, after three long years, he came back to work first as a mosque servant, then a mosque guard, then an employee of the ministry and finally, he was appointed as a mosque imam. (My father is known throughout the Gaza Strip. He has a doctorate in sharia from Cairo’s storied Al-Azhar University, and is well-respected by his peers.)

For Hamas, being Muslim means supporting Hamas, and people who do not support Hamas aren’t Muslims. If you don’t abide by what Hamas tells you, you’ll lose your job or worse. To keep my father in line, ensuring that he would deliver only Hamas-approved Friday sermons and allow Hamas to use his mosque as a clandestine weapons depot, they arrested my brother and me at least ten times between 2016 and 2019. Sometimes they would speak politely, sometimes they would ask us to comply "for the sake of your sisters," but always the threat of violence loomed in the background. And several times we were beaten and humiliated in front of our father. They beat him, too, once nearly blinding him.

He was forced to do things for Hamas; move money around, store things, keep their secrets.

As an imam, my father keeps the keys to the mosque and is responsible for safeguarding large sums of money that Muslims give as zakat, the mandatory almsgiving of our faith. Hamas members would take advantage of his duties and use the mosque to stash money, weapons, and equipment.

Sometimes they’d bring a large, wrapped-up prayer rug, which they said had been donated—except my father wasn’t allowed to open the rugs; only special volunteers were allowed to open them or transport the rugs in and out. My father had to open and close the doors and allow the sacred space to be used as a warehouse for Hamas. What choice did he have? It’s a bitter truth that Hamas thinks of mosques as the property of their regime and that they store weapons there.

Once there were big boxes that were marked as food aid. There wasn’t food inside, but something made of iron.

The most egregious thing Hamas imposed on my father was the content of his Friday sermons. They instructed him to brainwash people with their politics, to stick with Hamas and with the "resistance," and that it’s the only choice. That those who died fighting would be rewarded with 72 black-eyed virgins. Patience, jihad, all of that stuff. Hamas exploits our religion, pretending to be modern-day prophets, likening themselves to the companions of the prophet Muhammad.

Nobody told my father there was a plan to attack Israel on October 7. There’s just this constant overarching message within the mosques, Islamic classes, sermons, and lectures, that the "resistance"—meaning Hamas and only Hamas—is the only way to liberate Al-Aqsa and the only way to alleviate our suffering.

They do all this brainwashing to make you think the cause of our suffering is Israel. But I see very clearly who causes our suffering.

Whereas most aid in Gaza is only accessible to Hamas’s loyalists or those who toe the movement’s line, my father would collect and distribute zakat alms to those who actually needed it. Some congregants would donate food, furniture, and household goods; and many among Gaza’s neediest would come to my father, who would see that they were distributed fairly. My father also strove to give pious Muslims unbiased spiritual guidance, not the propaganda Hamas clerics deliver.

We fled our homes in Gaza City on October 20, moving from place to place until settling at my sister’s home in Rafah several weeks ago. Her home was bombed as well, and now roughly forty people, including women and seniors, are sharing space in a building that is partly reduced to rubble.

Since the war, Hamas has put enormous pressure on imams to persuade the population that their only choice is "the resistance." Schools and universities aren’t functioning; the one thing that draws people in is prayer.

But now we have reached a time when nearly everyone in Gaza is saying Hamas caused the death of 20,000 people in Gaza and the injury of 50,000 more. So when the group demanded that my father go to a school where thousands of displaced persons are sheltering and urge them to stand with the "resistance"—to trust Hamas—he flat-out refused. My father knows the difference between right and wrong. He knew that refusing to act as a megaphone for Hamas could lead to his death, and yet he refused. He has a clear conscience. So does everyone who knows what really happened to him, and why.

This time, it’s not like the prior wars. This time, people are telling the truth.

Before October 7, people were afraid—and of course some people are still afraid—but ironically, when there is fighting, Hamas goes underground, and people can be more vocal about how Hamas has ruined our lives. People are starting to publicly violate the laws, rules, dictates, and orders of Hamas. They are openly cursing Hamas and its leaders in the streets and markets, and ignoring the directives of the few Hamas officials and police still above ground. They have caused so much damage, it’s undeniable. They’ve imposed themselves on our society, on my father, for too long. We’re all paying the price. People want freedom. We hope deeply that this war will end, and that Hamas will end with it.

I don’t know where my father is. I don’t know if I will ever see him alive again. My hope in telling this story to the public, and putting my name to it, is to somehow offer my father a measure of protection. Hamas may wish to release him and show the world that they would never harm an admired mosque preacher. God alone knows the future, but what I know is that, under no circumstances, would my father want to become a propaganda tool.

Link

-Obits-

Turkish lawmaker dies two days after collapsing while giving a speech saying Israel would 'suffer the wrath of Allah' for invading Gaza

2023-12-15

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks.

Video had showed Bitmez falling to the floor after giving a speech in the General Assembly Hall in Ankara - prompting other politicians to run over to his aid.

Rounding off a strongly worded speech, Bitmez had concluded: 'We can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history,' stating that 'Israel will suffer the wrath of Allah', as reported by The Yeshiva World.

At that moment, he stumbled and dropped to his knees before lying flat on his back. The Saadet Party Kocaeli Deputy had to be stretchered out of the hall after receiving chest compressions 'for a long time', Turkish media reports.

Turhan Çömez, a deputy from the Kemalist İYİ Party and a trained doctor, was reportedly the first to help his political rival.

Bitmez, who is married and has a child, was taken to the Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara where he underwent treatment in the intensive care unit while in a critical condition.

Koca said on Tuesday that an angiography revealed that the two main veins in his heart were completely blocked.

'His heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital' where medical machinery kept him alive, Koca had said on Tuesday.

But Koca revealed that Bitmez died today - two days after he suffered the heart attack.

A graduate of Cairo's Al Azhar University, Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had previously worked for Islamic non-governmental organisations, his parliament biography shows.

Shortly before he collapsed on Tuesday, Bitmez had been criticising President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) over Turkey's ongoing trade with Israel despite the war in Gaza, and despite the government's sharp rhetorical criticism of Israel's military bombardment.

"You allow ships to go to Israel and you shamelessly call it trade... You are Israel's accomplice," Bitmez said in his speech after placing a banner on the podium reading: "Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP".

"You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza," he told lawmakers during debate over the foreign ministry's 2024 budget.

After finishing the speech, Bitmez suddenly fell backward on the floor, with other MPs rushing from their seats to help. It has now been confirmed he died today after receiving treatment in hospital.

Bitmez was elected as the 28th Term Kocaeli Deputy in the elections of May 14, 2023. He served for the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, which is an Islamist Turkish political party founded in 2001.

After the Islamist Virtue Party was banned in July 2001 for violating secularist principles of Turkey's constitution, reformists founded the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP), a conservative party run by president Recep Tayip Erdoğan, while hardliners formed Saadet.

Turkey and Israel normalised ties only last year, but relations have soured since Hamas' October 7 strike into southern Israel.

Erdoğan - who only narrowly won the May election - has looked to widen his conservative base with backing from the country's religious fringe.

Since October, he has taken a strong position against Israel and both countries have recalled their ambassadors while remaining open to trade.

Prior to the war, Erdoğan had expressed political support for Hamas' political wing, seeing it as a viable government in the Gaza Strip. The war has seen a shift in rhetoric.

At the end of October, the president accused Israel's allies of creating a 'crusade war atmosphere pitting Christians against Muslims'.

'The main culprit behind the massacre unfolding in Gaza is the West,' he said at a rally of several hundred thousand Palestinian supporters in Istanbul on October 28.

Turkey has also pledged humanitarian aid to Gaza, with harrowing accounts of food, water, fuel and medical supply shortages coming out of the beleaguered enclave.

'A total of 51 containers of medical supplies, generators and 20 ambulances, with necessary permissions, were loaded onto a ship from Izmir's Alsancak port and sent to Egypt,' Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on November 10.

'As part of the aid, a fully equipped heavy-climate type field hospital with operating rooms and intensive-care units and inflatable type field hospitals were sent,' he said.

Link

Home Front: WoT

US sentences man to 18 years in prison for trying to support ISIS

2023-07-15

[NPASyria] The US authorities have sentenced a 26-year-old man from Florida to 18 years in prison "for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization," The US Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The man, named Muhammad Momtaz al-Azhari, was convicted for attempting to provide material support, including money, assets, and weapons, to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIS, the judge said.

Al-Azhari will be in prison for the next 18 years, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, the US State Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a release.

"In or around April 2020, al-Azhari began to plan to carry out an attack in support of ISIS. Around the same time, al-Azhari began to acquire multiple firearms. al-Azhari also researched and scouted potential locations for an attack in the Tampa Bay area. Since at least May 2019, al-Azhari also consumed ISIS propaganda and spoke favorably about ISIS, to which he eventually pledged his allegiance through a bay’ah (an Islamic oath of allegiance)" the release read.

The release added that al-Azhari pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2023. Although he is a United States citizen, he spent most of his life abroad and came to embrace dogmatic, Islamist/Salafist beliefs. "In 2018, al-Azhari was released from prison in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
following a conviction and sentence for supporting terrorism in Syria, after which he was removed to the United States."

In 2019, he returned to Tampa and less than a year later, in April 2020, he began trying to buy guns illegally on eBay, federal Sherlocks said. During this time, the FBI was monitoring him, officials said.

Court documents described al-Azhari as an ISIS supporter who "consumed ISIS propaganda and spoke favorably" about the terrorist group.

Local news site WTSP adds

In May 2020, when Al-Azhari was arrested, federal investigators said he was in the process of secretly buying high-powered guns and silencers and was also researching IEDs, suicide vests and explosive poisons. All of this was part of his plan to support ISIS, the release said.

Investigators said at the time he scoped out potential targets like Honeymoon Island and the FBI's Tampa Field Office, but also researched Clearwater Beach, Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

According to law enforcement, he even rehearsed parts of the planned attack.

At one point in 2020, Al-Azhari reportedly expressed "admiration" for the Pulse nightclub shooter and said he wanted to carry out a similar mass shooting.

In January 2022, a federal judge ruled Al-Azhari was incompetent to stand trial.

He apparently suffered from untreated schizophrenia with hallucinations, and spent months in a federal facility being treated before his trial.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Muslims and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church condemned the desecration of the Koran in Ulyanovsk

2023-07-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Mufti, chairman of the Regional Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Ulyanovsk region (RDUM UA) Ildar haji Safiullin and the Simbirsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church sharply condemned the mockery of an Egyptian citizen over the Koran in the Ulyanovsk region.

According to media reports, on July 1, the Egyptian Said Abu Mustafa , who moved to Russia , defiled the holy Muslim scripture on one of the streets of Ulyanovsk and filmed it on a video that he posted on the Web. The incident caused a wide public outcry. According to the governor of the Ulyanovsk region Alexei Russkikh, the attacker has already been detained.

Ildar Haji Safiullin called the desecration of the Koran a blatant and wild case. He doubted that a man of sound mind could do such an act.

“Apparently, this hot weather, which is now standing, has affected him. God bless him! He will be given a legal opinion. It will not be possible to kindle any inter-ethnic, inter-confessional strife, because we live in peace and harmony. We are in friendship and creation with all the peoples who live with us in the Ulyanovsk region, ” the mufti said in an interview with IA Regnum.

At the same time, the mufti noted that many foreign students are studying in Ulyanovsk today, including those from the Arab world and Egypt. Russian representatives of the spiritual Muslim community have collaborated with the followers of Islam in Cairo, where the oldest Muslim university, Al-Azhar, is located, and they know the locals as deeply religious and moral people.

Ildar Haji Safiullin admitted that the Egyptian who staged the provocation could be involved in any sects.

“We know that we need to protect our eyes, soul and heart. If this man (detained in Ulyanovsk - ed.) were a God-fearing person, then he would not look at sites and pages that are not needed, would not litter his brains and heart. Maybe he was a member of some sectarian formations on the Internet,” he said, commenting on the possible connection between Abu Mustafa and the Swedish provocateur who arranged the burning of the Koran in front of a mosque in Stockholm.

The actions of the Egyptian were also criticized in the Russian Orthodox Church. The Simbirsk diocese, after a request from IA Regnum , issued an official commentary in which it indicated that the Orthodox Church does not accept any actions and statements aimed at insulting the faith, desecrating sacred books and religious symbols.

“The video recording of the event that took place the other day in Ulyanovsk - mockery of the holy book of Muslims the Koran - cannot be perceived otherwise than with bitterness and indignation ... We express our sympathy to everyone who was offended by this trick. It is bitter that such events took place on Ulyanovsk land, ” the statement says.

In addition, the diocese reacted to the fact that Abu Mustafa, a man suspected of desecrating the Koran, posted his photos in Orthodox churches on the Internet.

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that there are many foreign students in Ulyanovsk - Christians of various denominations, many of them often visit the Savior-Ascension Cathedral in Ulyanovsk. These students often go to the cathedral, pray, take pictures in the temple.

“As you can see from the photographs of Said Abu Mustafa, he also went to the cathedral and other Orthodox churches. But he was not a permanent parishioner of any church in the diocese—that is, he did not attend church regularly, and did not participate in liturgical and parish life. The diocese does not know for certain about his belonging to any Christian communities, the fact of baptism, etc., ” they emphasized.

As emphasized in the diocese, the video recording of the provocation in Ulyanovsk raises doubts not only about the religiosity, but also about the adequacy of the person who committed such an act.

The general director of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, Alexander Darkovich , also made a call not to focus on the religion of the detained Egyptian . In his Telegram channel, he drew attention to the fact that the provocation could be aimed at creating interethnic and interfaith differences.

“History convincingly proves that an extremist, whatever nationality and whatever religion he may be, does not act in the interests and on behalf of his religion or people. He acts because of his personal weaknesses and sins: mental illness, pride, vanity or greed,” wrote Darkovich.

The Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, Alexei Russkikh, expressed confidence that the actions of the offender would be given the most stringent legal assessment.

“We respect each other, honor traditions, customs and are very sensitive to the religious feelings of believers. This is a crime against us all. Terrorism and extremism have no nationality and no religion... We will stand. Our strength is in unity! — Russkikh wrote in his Telegram channel.

The police of the Ulyanovsk region have now confirmed that Said Abu Mustafa has been detained, and an investigation is underway.

Link

Europe

Pak Foreign Office condemns Koran desecration in Denmark

2023-03-28

[Dawn] The Foreign Office condemned another abhorrent act of desecration of the Holy Koran in Denmark.

Referring to another incident of desecration of the Holy Koran in Denmark, the FO noted that the "recurrence of such wilful and vile acts is a troubling manifestation of growing hatred, racism and phobia against Moslems and their faith".

The incident took place on March 24 when far-right self-proclaimed genius Rasmus Paludan, who earlier staging a Koran-burning protest in Sweden on January 21, repeated the act in front of a mosque and ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen and vowed to continue every Friday until Sweden is admitted into NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
It said that repeated occurrence of such premeditated acts calls into question the efficacy of legal framework behind which Islamophobes hide and incite hatred.

"The exercise of the right to freedom of expression cannot be used as a smokescreen to deliberately denigrate the Holy Scriptures or personalities of any religion," the FO said.

"We call on all States to develop legal deterrence with a view to preventing and prosecuting such acts, in line with the responsibilities and duties enshrined in international human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
law. We also call upon the international human rights machinery to speak out against such intentional actions that constitute incitement to hate, discrimination and violence against Moslems solely because of their faith."

Al Ahram adds:

On Friday, members of the right-wing group “Patrioterne Går Live (The Patriots Go Live)” aired the burning of the Holy Book on a live Facebook broadcast in front of the Turkish embassy.

The group also burned a Turkish flag in the same broadcast.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Qatar, and Morocco, condemned the incident.

This is the second incident of its kind in less than three months.

Members of right-wing groups in Sweden and the Netherlands had set the Holy Quran on fire along with the Turkish flag.

During a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen two weeks ago in Cairo, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb asserted that freedom of expression must not violate the sacred beliefs of others.

The Imam condemned what he described as a direct insult to Islam in the West under the guise of freedom of expression.

Link

Olde Tyme Religion

Egypt's Al-Azhar calls on Arab, Muslim peoples to boycott Dutch, Swedish products

2023-01-28

[AlAhram] Egypt’s al-Azhar — the world's leading Sunni Moslem religious institution — has called on the Arab and Moslem peoples to boycott all Dutch and Swedish products and to take a strong and unified stance in support of the Koran, read a statement on Wednesday.

Al-Azhar's call for boycott, the statement added, is a proper response to the governments of the two countries that have offended 1.5 billion Moslems.

On Monday, Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the Dutch chapter of the German far-right group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident (PEGIDA), tore apart pages of Islam's holy book and walked over them in an anti-Islam protest.

The incident in the Dutch city is the second in Europa
Europa

...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
in less than a week after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, had burned a copy of the Koran outside the ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.

In its statement, al-Azhar criticised the Dutch and Swedish governments for "protecting the barbaric crimes" committed under the "specious inhumane and immoral banner of their so-called ’freedom of expression.’"

They ought to call it the dictatorship of chaos and evil manners against civilised nations adhering to Allah and the guidance of heaven, the statement continued.

Al-Azhar added that all Arab and Moslem peoples should join the boycott and educate children, youth, and women about it. Failure to participate in the boycott is a failure to support the religion chosen for them by Allah, it noted.

"These deviants" will never appreciate the value of the religion — about which they know nothing and which they provoke its Moslem followers through mocking it — or be deterred unless they face material and economic challenges, al-Azhar said.

This is the only language they know, al-Azhar said. "They venerate nothing but the laws of abundance, production, and consumption."

The statement concluded by a verse from the Koran: "They know what is apparent of the worldly life, but they, of the Hereafter, are unaware."

On Tuesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry condemned in a statement the "disgraceful incident" in the Netherlands a few days after condemning the incident in Sweden, warning that the incidents fuel hate speech.

"The disgraceful incident [of Netherlands] goes beyond freedom of expression, violates Moslem sanctities, and fuels hate speech between religions and peoples in a way that threatens communal security and stability," the foreign ministry's statement read on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the ministry warned that this "disgraceful act [of Sweden] provokes the feelings of hundreds of millions of Moslems around the world."

"These krazed killer practices are inconsistent with the values of respect of others, freedom of belief, human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
and human fundamental freedoms," the ministry stressed.

Link

Africa North

Raymond Ibrahim: 'Pray in the Rain!' Muslim Governor Denies Christians a Church Roof

2023-01-07

Al Ahram had nothing about this on their site.

[PJMedia] As recently reported, on Dec. 24, 2022, Moslems attacked a church and its Christians in Egypt, after authorities gave the Christians permission to fix their church’s collapsed roof, which had fallen on and hurt several worshippers.(According to strict sharia, churches must never be repaired but left to crumble over time.)

After police arrived and quelled the riots, they temporarily halted roof repairs, though with the promise to the Copts — who had waited for two years to receive formal permission to fix their roof — that they could resume work shortly.

Copts were skeptical because experience taught them that such promises were not to be trusted. But sure enough, and to the Copts’ great relief and surprise, on Dec. 25, they were permitted to resume repairs to the church’s roof, with the added protection of state security forces.

But then, on that same day, the local district governor came to "inspect" and quickly decided that roof repairs must halt, immediately and indefinitely, even though more than one-third of the work had been completed.

When the Christians present at the site complained, indeed pleaded, "How can we pray when the roof is in such a condition, especially when it’s raining?" the (Moslem) governor barked back — "Cover it with a tarp!" In fact, this is not an option as the partial repairs already made make it difficult to erect a tarp.

If they did not comply and continued to work on the roof, the governor angrily threatened that he would completely "demolish" the church.

When asked to explain his decision, or at least tell them what they needed to do to resume repairs, the governor gave no answer and left the site.

All the cement mixers and trucks that the church had hired left on the governor’s orders, resulting in a monetary loss of some EGP 100,000 that the church had paid for them to repair the roof.

And so, as Orthodox Christmas approaches (January 7), the Christians of this community will have to celebrate the Nativity exposed to the elements, with the possibility of rain pouring down on them.

For those unaware, what just transpired is the notorious "good cop, bad cop" routine — Moslem style. The authorities themselves are the ones against repairing this church, but they rely on the Moslem mob to riot, at which point they step in pretending to be the "good guys" who, nonetheless, need to do whatever is necessary — in this case, leave a church in a dilapidated and dangerous condition — to prevent violence and bloodshed from erupting again.

Discussing this incident, Adel Guindy, author of A Sword Over the Nile and former president of Coptic Solidarity, said:

It appears that the "hidden-hand" that orchestrates this kind of ugly incidents wanted to get out of the boring routine, and add some excitement, befitting the season’s festivities and celebrations. In all cases, the message remains unchanged: "Christian Copts need always to be humiliated as a reminder of their dhimmi status."

Remember This Whenever Muslims Demand More 'Rights' in the West

[PJMedia] Egypt’s Ministry of Endowments recently announced a new record: 1,200 new mosques were opened in the year 2022.

Moreover, in the two years between September 2020 and September 2022, a total of 3,116 mosques were opened (2,712 new; 404 renovated).

Since Abdel Fateh al-Sissi became president in 2014, the total number of mosques to be opened, repaired, or replaced — costing Egypt more than ten billion pounds — is 9,600.

What about the religious places of worship that, for centuries before Egypt’s conquest by Moslem Arabs, dotted that nation’s landscape — namely, Christian churches? How fare they?

As is well known, when it comes to any question concerning the indigenous Christians of Egypt, the Copts, and their churches, accurate information — especially by way of numbers — is difficult to ascertain from the official channels.

As such, I contacted and spoke with one of the most astute analysts on the so-called Coptic question, the Egyptian-born Magdi Khalil, an author and public debater (appearing in approximately 1,500 televised debates, including on Al Jazeera) who specializes in citizenship rights, civil society, and the situation of minorities in the Middle East.

During our phone conversation, Khalil offered up the best-known figures he has been able to ascertain, after making clear that, "as you know, there are no absolutely accurate numbers from Egypt that aren’t politicized."

He said there are a total of approximately 5,200 Christian institutions in Egypt, including all churches and monasteries from every denomination. As for Islamic institutions, there are 120,000 mosques and over one million prayer halls in the country.

This disparity alone underscores the extreme discrimination Christians face in Egypt. Considering that Copts of all denominations make up, at the very least, 10% of Egypt’s population of 104 million, there is one mosque or prayer hall for every 83 Moslems, but only one church for every 2,000 Christians.*

In 2016, a new Egyptian law was touted as "easing" restrictions on and helping many more churches to open. Since its implementation, however, human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
groups have noted that it has only marginally helped. Khalil agreed, and said that at best, the 2016 law has made a "5-10 percent improvement." But, by applying only to churches, as opposed to being a universal law for all religious places of worship, the new law has also formalized the Egyptian government’s divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
approach to its citizens. He is not alone in making this charge; even Human Rights Watch says that the new law ultimately "discriminates against the Christian minority in Egypt."

Along with the ease Egypt grants to the building of mosques, often overlooked is the fact that the government also completely subsidizes a great many, if not most, of Egypt’s mosques. (Over 4 billion Egyptian pounds are paid annually by the state to subsidize the Ministry of Islamic Endowments, which is charged with affairs related to mosques and Islamic da’wa [propaganda]. Moreover, 22 billion Egyptian pounds are annually paid to Al Azhar, which has a parallel educational system, or madrasa, from KG to university, with 2.8 million pupils and students.)

Conversely, not only does Egypt make it immensely hard for Christians to open or maintain churches, but the government does not contribute a "single penny" to their survival, said Khalil. Churches are even required to pay their utility bills, which no mosque in Egypt does, as the government happily picks up their bill.

Aside from the obvious discrimination and legal obstacles the government of Egypt has set up against churches, Khalil and I also spoke a bit about the Moslem mob violence that sporadically rises up against Christian places of worship. According to Khalil, "close to one thousand churches have been attacked or torched by mobs in the last five decades [since the 1970s] in Egypt." This is a much larger number than is commonly assumed.

Khalil closed by saying, "The persecution of Egypt’s Christian Copts is the longest ongoing persecution in the history of mankind, from 642, to today, 2022. Through all this time, maybe 70 years under British occupation were peaceful and good — the "golden era" for Copts in all this duration. Then [during the colonial era] there was much more diversity in the government, including some Coptic ministers, etc. But the overwhelming majority of the time witnessed the Copts’ persecution."

"I know of no group," concluded Khalil, "that has been persecuted for nearly 1400 years — with still no light at the end of the tunnel."

Link

Africa North

Raymond Ibrahim: Remember This Whenever Muslims Demand More 'Rights' in the West

2022-12-25

[PJMedia] Egypt’s Ministry of Endowments recently announced a new record: 1,200 new mosques were opened in the year 2022.

Moreover, in the two years between September 2020 and September 2022, a total of 3,116 mosques were opened (2,712 new; 404 renovated).

Since Abdel Fateh al-Sissi became president in 2014, the total number of mosques to be opened, repaired, or replaced — costing Egypt more than ten billion pounds — is 9,600.
(One can almost hear the "~~holy shit!~~ Allahu akbars!")
What about the religious places of worship that, for centuries before Egypt’s conquest by Moslem Arabs, dotted that nation’s landscape — namely, Christian churches? How fare they?

As is well known, when it comes to any question concerning the indigenous Christians of Egypt, the Copts, and their churches, accurate information — especially by way of numbers — is difficult to ascertain from the official channels.

As such, I contacted and spoke with one of the most astute analysts on the so-called Coptic question, the Egyptian-born Magdi Khalil, an author and public debater (appearing in approximately 1,500 televised debates, including on Al Jazeera) who specializes in citizenship rights, civil society, and the situation of minorities in the Middle East.

During our phone conversation, Khalil offered up the best-known figures he has been able to ascertain, after making clear that, "as you know, there are no absolutely accurate numbers from Egypt that aren’t politicized."

He said there are a total of approximately 5,200 Christian institutions in Egypt, including all churches and monasteries from every denomination. As for Islamic institutions, there are 120,000 mosques and over one million prayer halls in the country.

This disparity alone underscores the extreme discrimination Christians face in Egypt. Considering that Copts of all denominations make up, at the very least, 10% of Egypt’s population of 104 million, there is one mosque or prayer hall for every 83 Moslems, but only one church for every 2,000 Christians.*

In 2016, a new Egyptian law was touted as "easing" restrictions on and helping many more churches to open. Since its implementation, however, human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
groups have noted that it has only marginally helped. Khalil agreed, and said that at best, the 2016 law has made a "5-10 percent improvement." But, by applying only to churches, as opposed to being a universal law for all religious places of worship, the new law has also formalized the Egyptian government’s divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
— or in Khalil’s words, "racist" — approach to its citizens. He is not alone in making this charge; even Human Rights Watch says that the new law ultimately "discriminates against the Christian minority in Egypt."

Along with the ease Egypt grants to the building of mosques, often overlooked is the fact that the government also completely subsidizes a great many, if not most, of Egypt’s mosques. (Over 4 billion Egyptian pounds are paid annually by the state to subsidize the Ministry of Islamic Endowments, which is charged with affairs related to mosques and Islamic da’wa [propaganda]. Moreover, 22 billion Egyptian pounds are annually paid to Al Azhar, which has a parallel educational system, or madrasa, from KG to university, with 2.8 million pupils and students.)

Conversely, not only does Egypt make it immensely hard for Christians to open or maintain churches, but the government does not contribute a "single penny" to their survival, said Khalil. Churches are even required to pay their utility bills, which no mosque in Egypt does, as the government happily picks up their bill.

Aside from the obvious discrimination and legal obstacles the government of Egypt has set up against churches, Khalil and I also spoke a bit about the Moslem mob violence that sporadically rises up against Christian places of worship. According to Khalil, "close to one thousand churches have been attacked or torched by mobs in the last five decades [since the 1970s] in Egypt." This is a much larger number than is commonly assumed.

Khalil closed by saying, "The persecution of Egypt’s Christian Copts is the longest ongoing persecution in the history of mankind, from 642, to today, 2022. Through all this time, maybe 70 years under British occupation were peaceful and good — the "golden era" for Copts in all this duration. Then [during the colonial era] there was much more diversity in the government, including some Coptic ministers, etc. But the overwhelming majority of the time witnessed the Copts’ persecution."

"I know of no group," concluded Khalil, "that has been persecuted for nearly 1400 years — with still no light at the end of the tunnel."

*93.6 million Moslems divided by 1.12 million mosques and prayer halls, versus 10.4 million Christians divided by 5,200 churches.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

East Jerusalem quiets after hours of riots as police brace for more clashes

2022-10-13

[IsraelTimes] Fresh arrests as fighting spreads beyond Shuafat refugee camp; bigwig says Jerusalem situation ’liable to get out of hand’

A tenuous calm appeared to return to East Jerusalem on Thursday morning after hours of festivities in Paleostinian neighborhoods throughout the city, with Israeli security forces gearing up for the possibility of more fighting in the coming days.

Paleostinian protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails, launched fireworks and set tires and garbage dumpsters on fire in several neighborhoods through Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday, as riots over the closure of the Paleostinian refugee camp of Shuafat spread to other areas of the cities, sparking some of the heaviest fighting seen there in over a year. Police have been searching Shuafat for the suspected gunman behind a shooting attack at a nearby checkpoint Saturday night that left a soldier dead and another guard hospitalized at death's door.

Police are expected to bolster force numbers throughout the capital in the coming days, the Kan public broadcaster reported. Four Border Police reserves units are on notice of potential call-up to help secure the city, according to Haaretz. A decision on whether to deploy the units was expected to be made later Thursday morning, the report said.

"This is not Guardian of the Walls 2, but the situation in Jerusalem is liable to get out of hand," a senior security source told Kan, referring to the conflict between Israel and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
terror groups last May and its accompanying violence between Jews and Arabs in Israel.

Police said two officers were lightly injured by shrapnel from suspected improvised explosives in the neighborhood of Issawiya. Footage from the neighborhood later in the night showed an army jeep that appeared to have caught fire.

Officials said Thursday morning that 23 people were tossed into the calaboose in connection with the rioting in Jerusalem over the past days, with nine detained in raids on their homes in Issawiya on suspicion of involvement in the violence.

All through the night, the booms of fireworks and sound grenades echoed through parts of the capital, with festivities reported in neighborhoods throughout East Jerusalem. In Sheikh Jarrah there were reports of fighting between Jews and Arabs, both groups apparently armed with rocks. There were also reports of violence in Silwan, Kafr Aqab and A-Tur.

The violence came amid rising unrest in the capital and the West Bank, where sporadic festivities were also reported Wednesday night.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Paleostinian teenager was rubbed out by Israeli forces during festivities with troops near Hebron, and on Tuesday, an Israeli soldier was killed in a shooting near Nablus while securing a settler march.

Israeli troops reportedly came under fire in Nablus again early Thursday as they escorted a small group of Jewish pilgrims to Joseph’s Tomb in the city. The Jewish worshipers, including Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, reportedly arrived in armored personnel carriers, a change from previous visits in armored buses escorted by the military. There was no immediate comment from the IDF on the visit or possible injuries.

There have been several days of rioting in Shuafat, where Israeli forces have imposed a closure since Saturday night following the shooting attack at the nearby checkpoint. The rioting came as Jewish Israelis were celebrating the Sukkot holiday, which generally draws thousands of visitors to Jerusalem and its Old City, often raising tensions with Paleostinian residents.

In Beit Hanina, stone-throwers broke the windows of a car carrying a Jewish family, forcing them to flee the area. The father of the family told the Ynet news site that they had been on their way to visit Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem when he made a wrong turn and was instead set upon by an angry mob. On Thursday morning, he told the Kan public broadcaster that he believed he and his family were lucky to escape.

"They threw a stone that we only saw later had landed near the child’s feet, but miraculously nothing happened. The window next to the child was smashed and [rioters] tried to punch her," said the man, named only as Yaakov by the network.

Police said Thursday that two people have been arrested in connection with that attack.

Video from Ras al-Amud showed a hail of fireworks, reportedly directed at apartments owned by Jewish families who have settled in the area. A car carrying Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, on his way to a complex of Jewish-owned apartments abutting the neighborhood for a Sukkot celebration, was reportedly pelted with stones. Other footage showed a man in Jewish garb fleeing as fireworks explode on the ground all around him, and a video showed what appeared to be a police jeep surrounded by flames.

Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said police and Border Police were working to get the unrest under control.

"We have no intention of allowing this violence to continue and we are determined to act harshly against anyone who disturbs the peace and endangers residents or police," he said in a statement after meeting with police commissioner Kobi Shabtai and top Jerusalem cop Doron Turgeman.

Earlier:

An 18-year-old Paleostinian was killed by Israeli gunfire near the al-Aroub refugee camp on Wednesday, Paleostinian and Israeli officials said, as tensions spiked across the West Bank. According to the Paleostinian Authority health ministry, the young man, identified by Paleostinian media as Osama Mahmoud Adawi, was shot amid festivities with Israeli troops. The Israel Defense Forces said Adawi was hurling stones at Israeli cars. According to the IDF, several masked men threw rocks at cars driving on Route 60, the West Bank’s main north-south highway, near the refugee camp north of the Paleostinian city of Hebron.

"The IDF responded by shooting at them," the military said in a statement, adding that a "hit was identified."

The festivities came at a time of rising violence in the West Bank, where two soldiers were killed in shooting attacks on Saturday and Tuesday, one near Jerusalem and the second near Nablus.

On Wednesday evening, police said Paleostinian button men shot up a Border Police position at the Qalandia crossing near Jerusalem, without causing any injuries. The troops stationed in the area returned fire and were searching for the suspects who fired from the nearby town, according to police. There were no immediate reports of Paleostinian injuries in the exchange of fire.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday morning imposed a closure on Nablus following the Tuesday attack that killed Staff Sgt. Ido Baruch, as troops continued to search for the alleged gunman, who expeditiously departed at a goodly pace.

Police forces also clashed with Paleostinians in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem for the fourth day in a row, during searches for Udai Tamimi,

Oh lord, not another member of the troublesome al-Tamimi clan originally from the village of Nabi Salih — near Ramallah in the West Bank — that has for several generations waged war, both kinetic and propaganda as opportunity and individual temperament require, against Israel’s Jews. Members happily join the armed wings of Hamas, Fatah, the PLO — whichever group is nearest when they are ready to commence the family activities. Others go in for “political activism”...

allegedly the gunman who shot Sgt. Noa Lazar to death at a nearby checkpoint on Saturday.

In recent months, Paleostinian button men have repeatedly attacked military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.

Link

Olde Tyme Religion

Al-Azhar 'condemns 'Zionism's barbarism and racism' after burning of Holy Quran in Hebron

2022-10-12

[AlAhram] al-Azhar, the Sunni Moslem world’s top religious institution, has condemned Israeli settlers for tearing and burning copies of the Holy Koran in Hebron as an act of "Zionist barbarism and racism', decrying the international community's silence.

In a statement on Monday evening, al-Azhar said the silence of the international community on Israeli violations in Hebron is unacceptable.

The international community has failed to play a serious role in affirming the inviolability of peoples and their sanctuaries, it added.

Israeli settlers tore and burnt copies of the Koran near the Ibrahimi Mosque, the Paleostinian WAFA news agency reported on Monday, citing a local official in the old town.

The incident took place nearly a week after photos and videos were circulated over the past few days showing settlers dancing and singing inside the Ibrahimi Mosque, which Israeli authorities usually close to Paleostinians during Jewish holidays.

Al-Azhar said "the scene demonstrates Zionism's barbarism, terrorism and hateful racism."

Al-Azhar also stressed that these crimes fuel the sentiments of violence and hatred and contradict international conventions, calling on Arabs and Moslems to unite in the face of violations of sanctities.

"The Noble Koran will remain a sublime scripture that guides humanity and steers it to the values of goodness," al-Azhar added.

Hebron -- recognised by the UNESCO in 2017 as a world heritage site -- is the largest city in the occupied West Bank with a population of over 215,000 Paleostinians.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, established in 1320 AD and believed to be built over the tombs of Prophet Abraham and his family, is revered by Moslems.

Israeli settlers are concentrated in the centre of the city; they regularly attack Paleostinian residents and storm the mosque.

Link

Africa North

Egypt police arrest man who reportedly stabbed Coptic priest to death in Alexandria

2022-04-09

[AlAhram] Egyptian security forces have arrested a 60-year-old man who reportedly stabbed a Coptic archpriest to death in the city of Alexandria on Thursday evening.

Arsanios Wadid, the Priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos in the Karmouz neighbourhood of the Meharam Bek district, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria said on its Facebook page.

Wadid, 56, was transported to Mostafa Kamel Military Hospital in Sidi Gaber neighbourhood, but he departed this vale of tears, the church said.

Investigations are underway to disclose the stabber’s identity and motives, the church added.

"The church eulogises this blessed father who committed his life to God, and gave his life today to him in an honest martyrdom," it said.

The victim was stabbed with a knife while walking along the Mediterranean Corniche in the Sidi Bishr district, according to statement by the Ministry of Interior.

Wadid, born in 1966, was ordained to the priesthood in 1995 by the late Pope Shenouda

III, the former head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church holds funeral for late priest murdered in Alexandria

[AlAhram] The church held the funeral for the 56-year-old Wadid at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria.

On Thursday, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb condemned the crime and presented his condolences to the victim's family, the Coptic Orthodox Church and Egyptian Christians.

Link

Home Front: WoT

FBI 'secret spy plane surveillance' is outlined in case involving suspected terrorist

2022-01-03

BLUF: known criminal previously jailed for several years by Saudi Arabia for trying to join ISIS along with his father, whose sister got herself killed trying to knife a Tampa policeman after his arrest, protests during trial that the FBI paid attention to him.

[JustTheNews] The planes "followed him" and would circle his home "for hours on end," the defense argued.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) use of so-called "secret spy plane surveillance" is under scrutiny after the defense attorney for a Florida man accused of terrorism filed a motion to review the program.

The Department of Justice accused Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari of planning to carry out a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State, for which he was arrested in May 2020.

Al-Azhari's attorney filed a motion in August to suppress the FBI's aerial evidence.

"The FBI operates a secret spy plane surveillance program," federal public defender Samuel Landes wrote. The Associated Press first reported on the program in 2015, and the FBI admitted to it shortly thereafter.

The Baltimore Police Department used similar warrantless aerial surveillance, but in June, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the program's "warrantless operation [violated] the Fourth Amendment."

At least nine FBI planes were used to surveil Al-Azhari without a warrant, Landes alleged, creating more than 900 videos that were provided to the defense. The planes, mostly small Cessnas, would circle his home "for hours on end. When Mr. Alazhari left his home, the planes followed him, including when he drove his car, and including when he traveled long distances," Landes wrote.

Because the government did not obtain a warrant, the defense argues that the search was "unreasonable under the fourth amendment" and evidence obtained from the surveillance "must be suppressed."

The Epoch Times reports that the Department of Justice responded to the motion in September by arguing that the FBI's surveillance was mischaracterized.

"The surveillance conducted in this case is not novel, nor did it involve highly invasive or extensive monitoring that would raise constitutional concerns," prosecutors wrote, adding that even if it were a search, it would be legal.

The FBI was "leaving nothing to chance," prosecutors said. "At the time aerial surveillance ramped up, the FBI had every reason to believe that the Defendant was planning an imminent attack."
He
The defense filed another motion stating that Al-Azhari may be mentally unfit for trial.

Throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if any sticks.

They requested him to undergo a mental health exam, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The judge granted the defense's request earlier this month, The Epoch Times stated, adding that a "status conference is set for Jan. 18."

Link

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