Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbullies Resistance Fighters Ambush Nusra Militants in Arsal Barrens
2015-05-28
[ALMANAR.LB] Fighters of the Lebanese resistance ambushed a Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
group in Arsal barrens on Wednesday, killing all members of a Takfiri group operating there.
"Lebanese resistance," of course, means Hezbollah. Nobody else in Leb resists anything.
Security sources told al-Manar that the group belongs to "al-Ghurabaa" Brigade of Nusra Front, noting that the ambush was perfect and that the snuffies were observed through surveillance drone.

The Takfiris were planning a terrorist attack in Arsal barrens near the barrens of the Lebanese town of Nahle, the sources added.

Among the killed snuffies was a commander, the sources said, addding that the terrorists' vehicle as well as a room used by them were totally destroyed.

The Syrian army and the resistance fighters have been for weeks engaged in a wide-scale operation to secure the barrens of Qalamoun. This area lies on the border between Syria and Leb and is considered as stronghold for the Syria-based Takfiri Lion of Islams.

Controlling this area is of mush significance since it secures the Lebanese towns in Bekaa from the Terrorists' attacks.

The video below shows the ambush which targeted the terrorists.
Link


Olde Tyme Religion
Not Permissible for Muslims to Join Non-Muslim Parties- Omar Bakri
2010-03-02
Muslim preacher Omar Bakri, the spiritual guide of the banned extremist Islamist al-Ghurabaa movement told Asharq Al-Awsat in a telephone interview from Tripoli, Lebanon, where he currently resides that "engaging in the political process, meaning a Muslim joining a non-Islamic British [political] party, is something that is not permissible, and this is a sin and something that I do not encourage. However I do not doubt the sincere intentions of the Muslims who engage in the political process, and the Prophet peace be upon him told us that God will grant Islamic victory, even against the immoral."

Omar Bakri, who was the former leader of the now disbanded al-Muhajiroun movement, added that "the fundamentalist secularists will target Muslim preachers and youth regardless of whether they take part in the political process and [join] political parties in Britain, and this will have a positive impact on Muslim preaching in the future because people will realize that the al-Ghurabaa movement and the [al-Muhajiroun] movement and others have been banned as a result of a strategy to target Islam under the pretext of combating terrorism."

Bakri also asked "[what is] the meaning behind the West's fear of some Muslims becoming involved in non-Islamic political parties?"

Omar Bakri moved to Britain in 1986, where he went on to become one of the most famous radical clerics in the country. In 2005, following the London July bombings, Bakri left Britain for Lebanon, and the British government promptly banned him from returning after the British media launched a media campaign against him as a result of his extremist views. He once described the September 11 hijackers as "the Magnificent 19" and called on all Muslims to emigrate from Britain.

Bakri also told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the call to God is the message of the prophets, and the work of the Islamic organizations, and this is something promoted and protected by the Islamic faith, and God said 'Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious' [Surat an-Nahl; Verse 125]. We praise God according to His call that "Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says: I am of those who bow in Islam?" [Surat al-Fussilat; Verse 33]. Therefore it is not surprising that among those Muslims in the West, and in Britain in particular, there are those who are preaching Islam and working towards establishing divine Shariaa law. We have succeeded in sowing the seeds of preaching [the message of God] and Islamic concepts."
Link


Britain
Islam4UK banned in UK
2010-01-12
A radical Islamist group that planned a march through Wootton Bassett will be banned under counter-terrorism laws, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.
Whoa! How dramatic! About as dramatic as when they banned al-Muhajiroun, in fact...
Islam4UK had planned the protest at the Wiltshire town to honour Muslims killed in the Afghanistan conflict. The government had been considering outlawing the group - Islam4UK is also known as al-Muhajiroun.
Ummm... It's already banned?
A spokesman for Islam4UK told the BBC it was an "ideological and political organisation", and not a violent one.
"We only incite violence. We don't do it as an organization, only individually."
Mr Johnson said: "I have today laid an order which will proscribe al-Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, and a number of the other names the organisation goes by. It is already proscribed under two other names - al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect. Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly."
Whoopdy doo. Next week there'll be a new Islamic organization making faces and issuing threats and generating demands. Coincidentally it'll be headed by Anjem Chaudry.
Link


Iraq
Al-Qaida group in Iraq confirms death of spokesman
2007-05-03
BAGHDAD: The Islamic State of Iraq on Thursday confirmed in an Internet statement that its official spokesman has been killed but denied the killing of its leader, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
Nope. Nope. Never happened."
No comment from Abdul as to whether he thought his martyrdom was a good idea.
"We bring the good news today to you of the martyrdom of" Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri, said the statement posted on an Islamic Web site commonly used by the insurgents. It described the group's spokesman as the "one who fought injustice" and said that al-Jabouri was killed in an eight hour battle in bombing by U.S. forces. Four other "brother" insurgents were killed with him, it said.
I'd classify that as good news
The statement described the battle as having taken place Monday night. "On midnight Monday, God's enemies tried an airdrop operation on the house where sheik al-Jubouri was staying," it said. "But he and those with him waged battle with the aircraft, vehicles and the crusade soldiers. The battle lasted more than eight hours."
"The sky grew dark as their planes blotted out the sun. The earth itself shook as hundreds of tanks and thousands of soldiers marched on his position. But our brave warrior sheik with only a handful of pure minded men held their ground..."
"Curses!" cursed the infidel commander, General Drinkwine, flying safely high over the battlefield in his helicopter. "Foiled again!"
Abdul's heart was heavy. He'd held off the crusaders for hours, shooting down planes, destroying tanks and dispatching crusaders with pure-hearted zeal. But now he heard the omnious roar of B-52s and from the dying breath of an old patriot crusader the fateful words, 'Arc Light!' And he knew he was doomed ...
After failing in their "airdrop" operation, the U.S. troops "resorted instead to air bombing which killed sheikh ... al-Jubouri and those who were with him," the statement said.
"Hey, what's that whistling soun...KABOOM!"
The statement added that al-Jubouri has been "fighting injustice" since mid-1980s — insurgent shorthand for Islamic Jihad or Holy War fighters. It said he led an Islamic militant group called "al-Ghurabaa Company," which is Arabic for the Strangers Company, and met later with the leaders of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq.

The Shura Council subsequently announced their allegiance to the umbrella group and al-Qaida affiliate Islamic State of Iraq, which chose al-Jubouri to be its official spokesman. The statement sought to assure followers that the group's leader al-Baghdadi was alive and well. It gave no proof of this, nor offered insight into his whereabouts. "Let the nation be assured that our caretaker and guardian Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, God protect him, is safe amid the people of the Islamic State of Iraq and that what media reported about him being killed has no basis of truth," it said.
"Who you gonna believe, us or those lying infidels?"
Link


Britain
British Police Arrest 6 Terror Suspects
2007-04-24
LONDON (AP) - British anti-terrorist police on Tuesday arrested six people who were suspected of inciting others to commit acts of terrorism overseas and raising funds for terrorism. Five of the arrests took place in London and one in Luton, northwest of London, the Metropolitan Police said. ``The arrests form part of a long-term pro-active and complex investigation into alleged incitement and radicalization for the purposes of terrorism, as well as alleged provision of financial support for international terrorism,'' a police spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with force policy.

The men were being held at an unnamed central London police station. Police said a number of searches were ongoing in connection with the investigation. Police did not immediately identify the six.

The British Broadcasting Corporation said, however, that one of the men was believed to be Abu Izzadeen, also known as Omar Brooks, who heckled Home Secretary John Reid last year. Izzadeen, 31, is the spokesman for the al-Ghurabaa group, which the government banned in July. He disrupted a meeting between Reid and Muslim leaders in London, which Reid had called to ask Muslim parents to look out for signs in their children of brainwashing by extremists.
Link


Britain
Abu Izzadeen has been arrested for encouraging terrorism
2007-02-08
Abu Izzadeen, the radical Muslim who barracked Home Secretary John Reid last year, has been arrested for allegedly encouraging terrorism. Izzadeen, 31, was held this morning in Leyton High Road, east London, under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. Scotland Yard said it related to an "on-going inquiry".

It is understood to relate to a speech he gave in the West Midlands area - thought to be Birmingham - last year. That speech apparently pre-dates the widely publicised incident in September when Izzadeen heckled Mr Reid as he addressed a 30-strong group of Muslims in Leyton. Izzadeen is in custody at a central London police station.
The article here is trying to pin the arrest on his confrontaion with the government official. 'Burgers know better...he was arrested for his ties to the 'militants'.
Radical Muslim leader Anjem Choudhury predictably responded to news of his arrest by saying that Muslims were now the subject of a "witchhunt".

Izzadeen interrupted the Home Secretary and launched into an angry tirade. "How dare you come to a Muslim area when over 1,000 Muslims have been arrested?" he said. "You are an enemy of Islam and Muslims, you are a tyrant. Shame on all of us for sitting down and listening to him." Continuing his diatribe, Izzadeen said Mr Reid, Tony Blair and George Bush could "all go to hell". Izzadeen is a well-known Islamic extremist who has been investigated over controversial comments about the July 7 suicide attacks. He came to public prominence after refusing to condemn the 7/7 London bombings. Instead, he described the attacks as "mujahideen activity" which would make people "wake up and smell the coffee".
And bt the way:
Izzadeen, also known as Omar Brooks, is said to be a former spokesman for the radical Islamic group al-Ghurabaa, an offshoot of al-Muhajiroun - both of which are now banned in the UK.
Link


Britain
Basha related to banned Muslim cleric
2006-10-11
The Muslim policeman who refused to guard Israel's embassy in London has links to a banned Islamic cleric, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. Police Constable Alexander Omar Basha is related by marriage to Omar Makri Muhammad, leader of the now dissolved UK-based Islamic militant group, Al-Muhajiroun, the Telegraph stated on October 6.
Ain't that a coincidence...
On October 6, the Telegraph reported Bakri married Basha and his wife at the bride's London home three years ago.
They were living happily ever after, until this happened...
Bakri gained notoriety in Britain for praising the 9/11 terror attacks and for lauding the London 7/7 bombers as the "fantastic four". Bakri had also vowed he would never warn the police if he learned of plans of suicide attacks if they were to be carried out by fellow Muslims. The revelations of Basha's links to Bakri came the day after the Association of Muslim Police (AMP) defended his request not to be posted to guard duty at the Israeli embassy on the grounds that Muslim officers were under threat from Al-Muhajiroun and other British Islamist groups.
Seems like that's the sort of people policemen should be defending the public against, regardless of the policeman's religious affiliation. It's the old "cop first, [fill in affiliation here] second" problem. If you can't make that choice, then you shouldn't be a cop. I've met probably a couple dozen of my son's fellow officers, and I couldn't tell you what religion any of them are. Nor could I tell you what political party they belong to.
The conflicting explanations put forward justifying the Metropolitan Police's handling of the Basha affair have prompted concerns among community and political leaders that the police forces were being undermined by "politically correct" attitudes towards Muslim sensibilities, and that security was being ignored in pursuit of "diversity."
On the face of it, it sure looks that way. No doubt there's a another explanation, one too complicated for the likes of us to grasp.
Last week the London tabloid, The Sun reported that Basha, a member of the Metropolitan Police's Diplomatic Protection Group, was reassigned after he refused to guard Israel's embassy in Kensington, West London on "moral grounds." Senior police sources told The Sun that Muslim officer objected to the Israeli bombing campaign against Hizbullah. Basha, whose family immigrated to the UK from Syria and Lebanon, also told his superiors he had participated in London anti-war protests during the 34-day war in south Lebanon. Speaking on behalf of Basha, the AMP spokesman Superintendent Dal Babu offered a second explanation, saying the officer was in fear of his life. "There was heightened tension and al-Muhajiroun and al-Ghurabaa have targeted Muslim officers in the past and he didn't want to be in that position. This is an issue around the welfare of a particular officer" and not a political or religious protest.

After Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair promised an "urgent review" of the incident, Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson released a statement Thursday exonerating Basha and his superiors. The police encouraged its officers to "be up front and honest to highlight any matters that may impact on them conducting their duties," Stephenson said.

"At the height of the Israeli/Lebanon conflict in August this year [Basha] made his managers aware of his personal concerns which included that he had Lebanese family members." Whilst the Israeli Embassy is not his normal posting, in view of the possibility that he could be deployed there, a risk assessment was undertaken, which is normal practice. It was as a result of this risk assessment - and not because of the officer's personal views whatever they might have been - that the decision was taken temporarily not to deploy him to the Embassy," the October 5, the statement said.

Stephenson denied the decision to transfer Basha was "about political correctness. I want to make it clear that this decision was taken on the basis of risk and safety."

Link


Britain
'Martyrdom is praiseworthy'
2006-09-21
The men who barracked John Reid yesterday are leading Islamist radicals in Britain who have come to the attention of police on several occasions. Abu Izzadeen, the first to clash with the home secretary, attracted opprobrium and headlines when he refused to condemn the July 7 attacks on London. He has admitted attending camps in Britain and abroad to receive military training. Mr Izzadeen was spokesman for al-Ghurabaa, which its leaders now claim is disbanded. It was one of several successor groups to al-Muhajiroun, and both were believed to have been led by the extremist Omar Bakri Mohammed. Both groups are now banned.

He told the BBC that the tube bombings had been "mujahideen activity" which would make people "wake up and smell the coffee". He said: "What I would say about those who do suicide operations or martyrdom operations is they're completely praiseworthy. I have no allegiance to the Queen whatsoever or to British society." Mr Izzadeen, 30, is also known as Omar Brooks and converted to Islam aged 17. His comments on the July 7 attacks led to the possibility of treason charges being brought against him, though officials say no decision has yet been made.

Mr Reid was also barracked by Anjem Choudary, who was a spokesman for Omar Bakri's organisations. He now says he does not belong to any group, but lectures at the London-based School of Sharia. At a protest outside the Danish embassy in London earlier this year, he said: "The fact is that 7/7 was brought upon the people of London and Britain by the foreign policy of Tony Blair. There is no reason why there should not be more suicide bombings in London."
Link


Terror Networks
UK Dragnet For Abu Izzadeen, Jihadi Terrorist
2006-09-10
Radical Muslim Trevor Brooks Apparently in Hiding
Jeremy Reynalds - 9/11/2006
With the fifth anniversary of 9/11 just around the corner, you need to be concerned about what happened to Trevor Brooks. Why? Because he’s the former Jamaican electrician Trevor Brooks (also known as Omar Brooks, Abu Izzadeen and Abu Baraa) who hates those of us who don’t share his radical Islamic belief system. Let me explain. Brooks was the man who in a July 7 anniversary meeting of the British terror bombings, held in a community center in the city of Birmingham, dubbed the 7/7 bombers as being “completely praiseworthy.

The bombings killed 52 people and injured more than 770.

Brooks has also glorified the horrifying events of 9/11 and openly admitted he wishes to die as a suicide bomber. On other occasions he has arrogantly mocked non-Islamics and mimicked the dying Kim il Sun (the Korean who was beheaded in Iraq by al Zarqawi). Perhaps worst of all, he was the man who referred to a “7/11 attack” a week before the Mumbai 7/11 terror bombings killed 207 and injured over 700.

Brooks is also a leader of the now banned al Ghurabaa group (an offshoot of the banned Al Mujahiroun group, led by Omar Bakri – an Islamic radical who fled Britain when he was about to get arrested and now lives in Beirut, Lebanon.

Brooks also regrets having spent 17 years as a Christian before converting to Islam, as, like his fellow followers, he looks down on the kuffar (non-believers) as pigs and sheep.

The “Followers of Ahl Sunnah Wal Jamaah,” (ASWJ) one of the new names for these banned UK-based banned groups, has met regularly online in a chatroom belonging to the New York-based Paltalk network.

Before my last article, Brooks was the group’s most regular speaker and ranted about how it was every Muslim’s duty to kill the Queen of England, as well as breaking British anti-terror laws by preaching to listeners verbiage like this.

“...(Regarding) the jihad fought by al Qaeda, fought by OBL (Osama bin Laden), fought by Sheikh Abu Musaab Zarqawi we are obliged to support them in every single way however we can physically, financially and verbally… those who are prevented to fight physically …they must continue to support that war against kuffar financially with their money and this is a “fard” (obligation) it’s not a favor ...they must do it...”
Link


Britain
UK site: Can we help dying infidel?
2006-06-06
Jihadist websites discuss 'dilemmas,' respond to London anti-terror operation by attacking 'filthy infidels'

Internet sites run by young extremist Muslims in Britain and other Western countries have begun reacting to the anti-terror operation in London in which a 23 year-old suspect was shot.

"What filthy kuffar (infidels)," wrote one user on the Muntadaa jihadist forum. Similar messages expressing hatred for non-Muslims were echoed by other members of the site.

"There is little doubt left in the minds of the majority of Muslims that we are a community under siege," wrote Anjem Choudary, media secretary of the jihadist al-Ghurabaa website. "On the domestic front the British regime have brought in a range of draconian laws targeted specifically at Muslims and which facilitate the kind of oppressive tactics we saw employed on Friday (in the police raid)," Choudary said.

A protest against the shooting and arrests has also been organized by Islamist groups. "Make sure that you are there, we cannot watch the police shoot our brothers and remain silent!" A user said.

A leaflet advertising the protest, entitled "police target Muslims: Will you be next?" charged the British government with "occupying Muslim lands… the murder of innocent Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq, and (being) an active participant of torture experiments with the USA."

'Can we save dying infidel?'

Meanwhile, at the al-Ghurabaa website, a reader sent in a question, asking: "If a kaffir (infidel) is about to die on the road, can we help him?"

He was told that a dying 'infidel' could only be helped on the condition that he was called to Islam.

"If someone had covenant of security with the people he is living with, and the person was not at war with Islam and Muslims, it is allowed to help the person as part of his da'wah (Islamic spiritual awakening) to show his good character. But he must call him to Islam by it, and not do it out of love," the site's web team answered.

A man who wrote in to say he was offended by posters put up by the group in east London was told in response: "The way to better British society is to remove all the British values and to teach the people the Islamic values. If it wasn't for the man-made way of life in britain, we would never have seen such high levels of crime, rape, alcoholism, homosexuality, adultery, theft, burglary, exploitation and terrorism in the UK and the world today! Rather we must continue to struggle and change the British way of life and introduce and teach the Islamic values to all, so that all the people in Britain can flourish."

Members with usernames such as Zarqawi, and the base (al-Qaeda) continue to fill English-speaking Islamist forums with jihad rhetoric.

Quoting an Islamic medieval scholar, one forum member wrote: "The Jews are the cursed nation whom Allah is angry with. They are the people of lies, fabrications, treachery, conspiracies, and are murderers of Prophets and Messengers."

The same post describes Christians as "misguided cross worshipers. They are those who swear at Allah the Creator… and their biggest curse against Allah is the Trinity. According to the Christians, Mary is the lover of Allah and Jesus is His son. They claim the Almighty God came down from his great chair and melted in the womb of Mary, until he was killed and buried at the hands of man…They drink alcohol, eat pork, desert circumcision, worship with impurity and eat everything, even if it is filthy, whether that be the elephant or the mosquito."
Link


Britain
Jihadists issue threat to UK
2006-05-16
A new message appearing on a number of jihadi websites in the UK has warned the British government that "it is playing with a dangerous fire."

"Verily this Government needs to think carefully about the consequences of their action because they are playing with a dangerous fire, and the fire when played with will burn you or will give you a shock!" the message said. The warning was first posted on the al-Ghurabaa website, and later reproduced on the Saved Sect website. Both sites were created by followers of the Beirut-based cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, who was banned from Britain shortly after the London suicide bomb attacks, and who declared that Britain was a "land of war" a number of months before the attacks.

The most recent message accused the British government of carrying on a "crusade" against Islam, and cited the recent arrest of Anjem Choudary, an outspoken deputy of Omar Bakri. Choudary was arrested after being accused of organizing demonstrations in February in London against cartoons depicting Islam's prophet, Muhammad. During the protests, signs were held threatening terrorist attacks and murder. One sign held by a masked protester read: "Europe you will pay, Bin Laden is on his way."

"Following the recent provocation and animosity towards the Muslims, and in particular the arrests of Anjem Choudary and Abdul Muhid at Stansted airport on May 5 and then the attempted distortion and accusations against them by certain sections of the media, it has become crystal clear that the British government is continuing in her crusade against Islam and Muslims and is working tirelessly to silence the voice of any sincere Muslim," the online warning stated.

The authors of the message lamented what they described as a clampdown on Islamic scholars, and claimed that the UK government pursued a policy whereby "any Muslim scholar who teaches Islam will be deported, arrested or threatened with that in order to silence the voice of Islam from being heard!"

The al-Ghurabaa website contains another section entitled "The crimes of the British government," where it accuses Britain of "terrorist acts and crimes against Islam," including being "the main cause of the destruction of the Islamic State." The section also states that Britain "granted Palestine to the Jews by their Balfour Declaration… conspired against Muslims in the Balkans region… and fully support the barbaric killing of the civilian population of Iraq."
Link


Britain
Bakri's home raided
2006-03-19
Police raided the house of an Islamic militant cleric on Thursday and confiscated a number of items. No arrests were made.

Omar Bakri Mohammed, a Syrian born cleric, was barred from Britain in August 2005, after the Home Office deemed his presence was "not conducive to the public good". The former spiritual guide of al Ghurabaa and head of al Muhajiroun which disbanded in 2004 currently lives in Beirut.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed that police had searched the house in Tottenham, north London on Thursday.

In a telephone conversation with Asharq al Awsat, Bakri, aged 46, said the raid scared his children. They confiscated two computers, including a laptop used for personal use, and a number of books and articles about Salafi and religious discussions.

The raid took place as five of his followers were arrested, including the lawyer Anjam Choudry, secretary general of al Ghurabaa and al Muhajiroun who was released Friday without charge. Omran Jawid and Abdul Rahman Salim were charged with incitement for racial hatred, after they took part in angry demonstrations in protest at the publications of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

"I had abstained from speaking to the media because of the security pressure in Lebanon. But, when it comes to scaring my wife and my young children in London, I find myself obliged to speak to reveal the extent of the fragility of human rights that they boast about and the extent of feelings of hatred of the British authorities towards preachers and students of knowledge," the cleric said. He confirmed he would not return to London under any circumstance.

"The raid on my house was carried out in a very bad manner. Several police cars surrounded my house in the early morning and a large number of police officers searched my house. My wife and young children have lived alone since I left the country. My wife was mistreated and a female police officer refused to allow her to use the toilet alone and insisted on accompanying her."

"They are playing with fire," he added, in reference to the British authorities.

Bakri described the latest raid as intimidation and "part of an attempt by the British authorities to drum up charges against me." He revealed that the Metropolitan Police were aware that this wife and children were planning to leave Britain and join him in Lebanon .

The cleric attacked campaigns in the British media "that call for deporting my family from Britain despite my wife and children carrying British passports and have never been [politically] active. This is evidence of the hypocrisy of those calling for democracy and human rights."

Meanwhile, Choudry indicated that the police raided his house and

confiscated a personal computer and a leather jacket he was wearing during the cartoons protest. Jawid will appear in court on 7 April charged with incitement to kill by taking part in last month's protest. Abdul Rahman Salim and Omar al Zaheer were released on bail.

In the aftermath of the 7 July London bombings, Bakri caused controversy when he indicated he would not cooperate with the British police even to alert them of an imminent terrorist attack.
Link



Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More