'We Are Under Attack': Jamie Glazov on the Michael Coren Show

Via FrontPage Magazine:

VIDEO: Man Beheaded in Saudi Arabia for 'Sorcery'

At London's Daily Mail, "The moment man was publicly beheaded in a Saudi Arabian car park for being a 'sorcerer'."

Via Pat Dollard, "Footage Surfaces of Saudi Arabian “Sorcerer” Being Publicly Beheaded – With Graphic Video."

'Truth is the New Hate Speech' — Pamela Geller Speaks at Sugar Land Tea Party

Pamela's got lots of updates on her recent free-speech episode in Texas.

See, "Video: Pamela Geller in Sugar Land, Texas — The Speech That Was Banned by Hyatt Place."

Plus, "Liberty Counsel Demand Letter to Hutton Hotel," and "'Hyatt Place Regrets Decison'."

Springtime for Islamists in Tunisia?

At LAT, "Tunisia vote could shape religion in public life":

This nation that inspired revolution across the Arab world is facing another bellwether moment that may again foreshadow what happens throughout the Mideast in the intensifying battle between secularists and Islamists over the role of religion in shaping public life.

Tunisians will vote Sunday for a constituent assembly that will set the course for a new government and write the nation's laws. Islamists, suppressed for decades by autocratic rule, are poised to win big, a prospect that has liberals and secularists worried about the future of civil liberties.

The outcome will be the latest evolution in a tumultuous year of Arab rebellion that last week saw Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi killed and his half-naked body laid out in a souk's cold-storage locker, a gruesome show of contempt that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

But it has been a year of the unfathomable: Here in Tunisia, the suicide late last year of a desperate fruit seller launched an uprising that in January brought down President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. With quickening speed, revolt spread to Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown weeks later. Today, as the words "Arab Spring" have become the catchy lexicon of rebellion, the entrenched leaders of Yemen and Syria face gathering forces arrayed against them.

The pressing concerns facing Tunisia mirror those of other countries trying to advance beyond the grip of tyrants. Voters here say they do not want the vital issues of joblessness, economic problems and widening youth disenchantment to be eclipsed by an Islamic agenda.

But ambitions of Islamists have been simmering for years in a region where police states arrested their leaders and muffled the voices of fiery clerics. Freedoms brought by the Arab Spring are reigniting debates between Islamists and secularists, but also between ultraconservative and moderate Muslims over how deeply religion should permeate society.

Also at WSJ, "Large Numbers Turn Out for Tunisian Vote" (via Google):

Democracy activists across the region hope that a successful vote here could galvanize pro-democracy movements that have flagged amid violent regime crackdowns, as in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen, and by a pushback by old-guard counterrevolutionary forces, as in Egypt.

Among the countries that have overthrown leaders, Tunisia presents the most fertile seedbed for democracy, say analysts: It has a relatively large and educated middle class. Women enjoy a measure of equality unmatched in the Arab world. The country has a tradition of civil rule both before and after January's revolution. With a relatively homogenous population of 10 million, the country also suffers from few ethnic and sectarian rifts.

The question is the degree to which Tunisia's vote will apply to the likes of Egypt, Libya, Yemen or Syria, where uprisings have been bloodier and rife with internal tribal, sectarian or regional tensions. Tunisia may stand as an aspirational example, analysts say—or as a bar set too high.

Hyatt's Houston Sugar Land Hotel Cancels Tea Party Event on Islam

From Pamela Geller, "The Quisling Cowards at the Hyatt Place Sugar Land Caved to Intimidation," and "Across the Pond the Hyatt's Craven Quisling Cancellation Makes News."

And following Pamela's links takes us to London's Daily Mail, "Hotel cancels Tea Party event after learning that anti-Islam activist was due to be a speaker."

Senegal Abandons Female Genital Mutilation

I shudder to think of how extreme backwardness harms women. It's unconscionable.

At New York Times, "Senegal Curbs a Bloody Rite for Girls and Women."

Israel and Hamas Agree to Gilad Shalit Release

At NYT, "Israel and Hamas Agree to Swap Prisoners for Soldier."

And at Israel Matzav and Yid With Lid.

Pat Condell: The World Needs to Stop Pretending Palestine is About Justice and Human Rights

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Also from Linkmaster Smith, "Pat Condell Offering Simple, Sad Truth."

U.S. Jihadi Samir Khan Killed in Awlaki Drone Strike in Yemen

This really is an significant bonus to the story.

Background at WaPo, "A ‘proud traitor’: Samir Khan reported dead alongside Aulaqi":

A Saudi-born American of Pakistani heritage who was raised in Queens, N.Y., was reportedly among those killed in a U.S. drone strike targeting radical cleric and fellow U.S. citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi.

A self-proclaimed traitor to America, Samir Khan contributed to the efforts of al-Qaeda’s Yemen offshoot to promote itself among English-speakers. He was apparently a major force behind the widely-read English-language magazine Inspire, a mixture of ideology, first-person accounts of operations and do-it-yourself jihad advice. Copies of the magazine’s bomb-making and other sections have been found in the possession of several would-be attackers in the U.S. and Britain.

“I am proud to be a traitor to America,” wrote Khan, 25, in an article in the second issue of the online magazine, published in fall last year. He described his life as working in the “jihadi media sector” in North Carolina, before his beliefs turned him into a “rebel of Washington’s imperialism.” He believed FBI agents were watching him in America, including a man who feigned a conversion to Islam, and one who antagonized him, sparking a fist-fight about his online work.

And more background at this 2007 piece from New York Times, "An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers."

And don't miss Michelle Malkin's post, "Second U.S. jihadi reportedly killed in drone attack; Plus: Refresher course on American bloggers vs. Samir Khan." She honors the work of Jawa Report, the blog that's been on the trail of Samir Khan for years, and whose publisher Rusty Shackleford was targeted by with death threats. See the post there: "American Traitor Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen! Upd: SAMIR KHAN, Threatened Rusty's Family, Dead! Obama Confirms, Awlaki DEAD -- Now with More Cowbell, M.C. Hammer Online Jihadis Confirm: Samir Khan Dead! Fingerprints Confirm!"

Michael Coren Interviews Pamela Geller

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Pamela Geller on Sean Hannity's: Israel, the U.N. and War Against the Jews

I haven't had time to post, but Pamela's had a lot going on at Atlas Shrugs:

Pro-Terror Students Found Guilty in Michael Oren Protest Case at UC Irvine

At LAT, "'Irvine 11' jury finds all 10 students guilty." (At Memeorandum.)

Pamela has the background on the Irvine 11: "ACTION ALERT: PROSECUTE MUSLIM STUDENT UNION FOR FREE SPEECH ATTACK."

And I reported previouslly on Taher Herzallah, president of UCR's Muslim Student Union and Irvine 11 defendant: "UCLA’s Palestine Awareness Week: Students for the Extermination of Israel."

Tolerance of Islam

I'm telling you, this lady's good, via Blazing Cat Fur, "'Overall, there is substantial evidence which indicates that 9/11 was perpetrated by American neoconservatives'":

She had me fooled last time I posted her stuff. Shoot, I thought she was serious about "Millionaires and Billionaires." Well, that's okay. We all make mistakes. My bad. Good satire fools people. And speaking of neoconservatives, a long while back I wrote a hilarious but preposterously absurd essay, "A Neoconservative Hate Crimes Prevention Act."

I'm busting up just reading this again! I wrote:

Congress must act now to pass a Neoconservative Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Such legislation should give federal authorities increased capabilities to engage in hate crimes investigations against those motivated by left-wing hatred who intend to cause injury or death to neoconservatives. Such legislation should give the FBI power to gather data on progressive-leftists who excoriate neoconservative activists, writers, and organizations. Additional provisions could include federal grants to local agencies to investigate groups fomenting hate crimes against neoconservatives. Additionally, such legislation should include a concealed-carry provision allowing neoconservatives to carry handguns for self-protection; and the legislation should allow for the interstate transfer of weapons from one state to another in accordance with concealed carry laws. Recent proposed amendments to the Matthew Shepard Act may serve as a model.

Such legislation is now necessitated by evidence from yesterday's tragic Holocaust Memorial shooting that William Kristol's Weekly Standard may have been a target of suspected killer James von Brunn...

Pretty good, eh?

Jonathan Swift can't touch that!

So good, in fact, that the my deranged far-left progressive hate-blogger stalker W. James "Costanza" Casper = RACIST = Repsac3 actually fell for it, writing a self-douche "gotcha" post at his hell-hole of hate, American Nihilist: "'AmericanNeoCon; Donald Douglas envisions himself the real victim, here... Gimme a friggin' break..."

It was a joke, idiot W. James "Costanza" Casper = RACIST = Repsac3. You fell for it, hard. So STFU. Loser. And I've warned you a million times, stay the f*** away from my comment threads, creepy freak ass stalking criminal!

9/11, Ten Years After: American Muslims Join the U.S. Mainstream?

Last year, when protests erupted in Temecula over a planned mosque there, I wrote:

Are folks in Temecula a bit intolerant? Or are we now going to prohibit the construction of mosques whenever there's local opposition?

I didn't follow up so much, but the mosque was approved by the city council in January and construction could begin in February 2012. And while I could be missing some details of the local protests, I think it's good. Conservatives must affirm freedom of religion. What gets lost in the debate over New York's Ground Zero Mosque is that opponents never denied the developer's right to build. It's way beyond that, in fact. Clearly it's been a sham development all along, with the purpose of bilking government and erecting a center for Islamist supremacy. There's never been concern among Imam Rauf and Daisy Khan for the families of the fallen. The lies have been too blatant and unending. That mosque shouldn't be built. It's a question of what is right, not who has the right.

That said, I guess I'm still ambivalent, despite my commitment to constitutional principles. Americans aren't getting the whole story. And those who speak out are branded as vicious racists. For my part I want to be firm but fair. On the one hand, I want to place my trust in people like M. Zuhdi Jasser, who I met at the Horowitz retreat earlier this year. (Recall his essential article from September 2010, "Questions for Imam Rauf From an American Muslim," and here.) On the other hand is someone like UCLA’s Hamzah Baig, the lead organizer for Students for Justice in Palestine. I interviewed him earlier this year. He might as well have been working for Hamas. So, I've personally been engaging and interacting with people from the both sides of the religion (the extreme side in the case of UCLA's quasi-terrorists). At home, in the Irvine community, the Muslims I bump into at my kids' schools or the playgrounds are mostly to themselves, even self-segregating rather than integrating. And honestly, on occasion I'll see Islamic women with the full burqa. I literally would not be able to talk to a woman in a burqa, because I read lips and I obviously need to see someone's face. So of course the burqa is physically intimidating, and it's a symbol of religious repression.



For all that, I appreciate the efforts of some Muslims to work in their communities to build ties and friendships. Yesterday's Los Angeles Times had another feature in its 9/11 series, and it's worth a look, "Thinking outside the 'Muslim bubble'":

Maria Khani was at her computer that September morning, working on an Arabic textbook. The small TV on the desk was turned to Al Jazeera. Suddenly, news came: A plane had struck the World Trade Center. Minutes later, she watched the screen as the second plane hit.



Khani sat frozen, questions racing through her mind: "Oh, my God, what do I do right now? Is everything that I built … gone?"



For five years, she had been planting the seeds of goodwill with Americans of other faiths. What if it was all for naught?



Unlike many Muslims who hunkered down after Sept. 11 and let national religious organizations defend their rights and make their case in the public square, Khani resolved not to retreat into the safety of silence, but to press on with her efforts over the years to become a part of her community, one neighbor at a time.



When Khani walked out of her house that day in a well-to-do Huntington Beach neighborhood, on a block of large houses and palm-shaded driveways, neighbors approached with no hint of rancor or suspicion. Their message: "We know who you are, we know about your faith, and we support you and we will take care of your kids."



This was not the experience of every Muslim American. Many recall the first months and years after Sept. 11 with dread: the detentions, the airport searches, the suspicious stares, racist epithets and worse. In response, some sought safety in a low profile.



The decade since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon has seen a shift in the way many American Muslims negotiate their delicate position as a minority group associated, fairly or unfairly, with the perpetrators of the deadliest acts of terrorism in the nation's history.



As the years wore on and the hostility continued, even intensified, a number of American Muslims became disenchanted with the official campaigns for acceptance. They began to see that a voice — their voice — was missing from the conversation about Muslims' place in America.



They took matters into their own hands. Their efforts have been as idiosyncratic as the individuals involved. They have been as simple as inviting a non-Muslim neighbor to an iftar, the sunset meal that breaks the fast during the monthlong observance of Ramadan. They have been as life-changing as making a commitment to educate one's children in a religiously diverse public school instead of a Muslim private school.



Khani and others involved in such outreach attempts believe — and this is supported by opinion surveys — that Americans are less likely to harbor anti-Muslim feelings if they get to know even one Muslim.



When they do, they find that American Muslims, many of them immigrants or the children of immigrants, share with them many of the same values, including a rejection of extremist violence, appreciation of hard work and support for women taking an active role in society, according to polls.

RTWT.



I could quibble with a couple of the characterizations (President Bush went out of his way to remind Americans that we're not at war with Islam). But overall that sound about right to me, and I hope especially that we see more and more examples that Americans Muslims are indeed rejecting extremist violence. For example, at ABC News, "Cousin of Fort Hood Shooter Speaks Out Against Violent Extremism." And at the San Bernardino Sun, "Poll: American Muslims reject extremism." That's good news.



I'll have more on this in upcoming posts.

Aqsa Parvez Memorial

Via Reliapundit:

And see Atlas Shrugs, "AQSA IN ISRAEL," and Jihad Watch, "Aqsa Parvez Memorial Grove dedication in Israel, August 24."

David Letterman Responds to Death Threats

At NYT, "Letterman Responds to Death Threats in Monologue."

Is Rick Perry 'Pro-Sharia'?

I put "pro-sharia" in quotation marks since you'd have to be a Muslim extremist to favor sharia law over Western constitutionalism. But there's some big debate on Rick Perry's warm ties with the Aga Khan organization, which apparently funds some kind of Islamic awareness education program in Texas. And earlier I saw this big write-up at Bare Naked Islam, but didn't pay too much attention: "Don’t know if there’s any truth to the rumor that Rick Perry’s daughter is married to the Muslim son of the Aga Khan…but there sure is a lot of information out there about Perry’s Islamo-pandering in Texas as well as his not having a problem with construction of a tower of terror in the form of the Ground Zero Victory Mosque in NYC."



Anyway, I also saw Pamela Geller writing about all of this earlier as well, and now here's this: "PAMELA GELLER IN THE AMERICAN THINKER: SMEARING GELLER ON PERRY."

Lots of information so follow the links.



As I noted last week, Rick Perry's been under the radar and Americans are just now learning about him, which is the purpose of political campaigns. But Islam in America is largely driven by a subtererranean supremacy agenda that you won't learn about in the terror-coddling press. And if Perry turns out to be the GOP field's Grover Norquist, then I'll campaign against him aggressively.



Expect updates.

'NUTS!'

At Weasel Zippers, "Awesome: Allen West Responds To CAIR Demand He Distance Himself From “Anti-Islamic” Groups With One-Word Letter: “NUTS!”…"

This CAIR guy needs to learn some history. "Nuts" is clearly a reference to the Battle of the Bulge.

Hamas-Linked CAIR Freaks Over Pamela Geller's New Book: Stop Islamization of America

And Pamela laughs, "The review is a badge of honor. My favorite one yet!"

See, "PRESS TV: LEADING SPOKESMAN FOR ISLAMIZATION HAMAS-LINKED CAIR RIPS GELLER'S NEW BOOK: STOP THE ISLAMIZATION OF AMERICA: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE RESISTANCE."

Reactions to Fjordman's Coming Out

Peder Jensen, a.k.a., Fjordman, is covered at New York Times, "Blogger Cited by Norway Killer Comes Forward to Denounce Him."

Folks might want to read Gates of Vienna, "The Forced Resignation of Fjordman."

Also, Andrew Bostom, at Big Peace, "Fjordman, Fairness, And The Brevik Mass Murderer."

Added: At Blazing Cat Fur, "Breaking! Fjordman A Jew...or at least part Jew... or he looks kinda Jew..."