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THE QUEST FOR TRUTH
By Avi Davis
What has happened to the University? An institution that at one time propelled democracy’s emphasis on free inquiry and open debate is reportedly adrift, uncertain, a place of intimidation and indoctrination; a home, not to free thought and boundless optimism, but to growing cynicism, the location of a bitter culture war where the acquisition of knowledge is stymied and dissent barred.
Or is the reverse the case? Have the Universities’ critics overstated their case? Is the University, in truth, as free as it ever was - a place humming with intellectual curiosity and with a proven commitment to openness?
These conflicting perspectives are the central issues that this week’s international conference on academic freedom will address.
The institution of the Western University has passed through three significant phases of evolution. Founded in the Middle Ages, it was established first as a learning center whose concerns were purely ecclesiastic. For several hundred years, its central task was the training of individuals who would explain and interpret the word of God to man.
Change came in the 16th Century and early years of the Renaissance. This new period of learning distanced the University from strict religious inquiry by developing science, logic and reason as rigorous intellectual disciplines. The Enlightenment which followed, completed the transformation of the Academy into a humanist institution in which culture replaced God as the transcendental force that forged a unifying vision. It was during this period that the concept of the University as a trustee for the examination and criticism of accepted truths gained traction.
By the end of the 19th Century, it became apparent that only if the Academy remained an independent institution, free of political influence and affiliation, religious coercion or ideological dogma, would it be capable of producing creative and intellectually vibrant citizens committed to a pluralistic society. Academic freedom came to mean more than simply encouraging teachers to explore a range of views and teaching students to be open to them. It came to define progress itself. Western democracies looked to their universities for their next generation of leaders; and the Universities obliged – by supplying them in droves.
The concept of a free and open learning environment was enshrined in the principles of academic freedom, first fashioned in Germany and later adopted in 1915 by the Association of American University Professors. The twelve pages of the Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure were predicated on the notion that the acquisition of human knowledge involves a never-ending quest for truth and there is no humanly comprehensible truth which is not open to challenge. The argument that absolute truth is not the monopoly of any individual or group but the ultimate objective of all human beings – and that every individual is entitled to ascertain that truth in his or her own way - is in fact one of the great philosophical building blocks of modern democratic society.
One would consider these principles to be now so entrenched in the university system as to be immutable. But as we enter the first years of the 21st Century, it appears that the University has changed course yet again, entering a fourth phase of development and in the process becoming a deeply troubled institution. The University today is profoundly conflicted about its direction, defensive about its practices and resistant to addressing its own shortcomings. It is uncertain whether it should be a bullhorn to promote fringe causes – from radical egalitarianism to feminist empowerment to Afro-Centrism, or whether it should hew to its long cherished traditions of open inquiry and free debate on all issues. While there are many professors and administrators who proudly maintain a reverence for a balance of views and opinions, it is fair to state that they have become a dwindling minority for whom holding to their own positions requires considerable fortitude.
Is it therefore right to contend that this new period is one of intellectual suppression, not openness? Is it true that today the University is a place where tacit indoctrination and intimidation by radical professors, intolerant pressure groups and cowed administrations, goes virtually unchallenged? In their book, The Shadow University, Alan Charles Kors and Harvey Silverglate, outlined how several universities had developed speech codes so severe that merely talking about a controversial subjects might expose a student to censure. These extended to any comment or gesture that “annoys,” “offends,” or otherwise makes someone “feel bad”. Tufts University went so far to rule that attributing harassment complaints to the “hypersensitivity of others who feel hurt” is itself harassment. Although many of the codes came under legal challenge in the 1990s and were deemed overly broad by the Courts, that these codes still exist and are surreptitiously enforced by overly aggressive administrations, is a charge made by many instructors and their students. They maintain that the one complaint administrations fear more than any other – even more than assaults on academic freedom itself- is racist, sexist or homophobic conduct which is allowed to pass uncensored. Is this a correct understanding of the current state of the University?
More troubling than this development, however, could be the degree to which Universities throughout the Western world have become entranced by the lure of large donations from Muslim countries. Today, Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent by Saudi financiers to found centers for the study of Islam in the most prestigious schools of the West – Harvard, Georgetown and Yale in the United States, Oxford and Cambridge in the U.K. Is the effect of such funding to strangle criticism of Islam, Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world and to create an environment hostile to Israel and the West? And is there in fact even more to worry about? As Professor Anthony Glees of Brunel University in London has reported, there is clear evidence that British universities, after accepting more than £233.5 million from Saudi and Muslim sources since 1995, have become the most fertile recruiting grounds for home grown Muslim-British terrorists. International Muslim financiers are successfully employing British libel laws (although not yet as successfully in the United States) to thwart the publication of books deemed hostile to Islam; And now criticism of Islam itself can often be considered hate speech on campus. Can anyone doubt that if these allegations are proven correct, they pose a grave threat to the present and future security of Western democracies and the freedoms they safeguard?
The stakes are high. One can easily understand that if our institutions of higher learning become bastions of reflexive politically correct thinking, shunning contrary thought or opinion, we run the risk of producing a generation of future leaders whose narrowed vision and distaste for compromise can lead to disastrous legislative decisions – or non-decisions. It is not a stretch to imagine the descent of our own democracy into the vortex of an autarchy where sacrosanct speech codes, moral ambiguity, ideological uniformity and resistance to any discussion of the threats posed by the Islamic world, will govern our leaders’ thinking. Such rigidity may in fact strip them of the mental agility needed to cope with the daunting security and ideological challenges that lie ahead.
Where, then, are the guardians of academic freedom? Sadly, some of the very institutions whose mandate it has always been to protect academic freedom, no longer seem so interested in the job. It is disheartening, but perhaps symbolic, to note that when our office contacted the AAUP for a copy of the original Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom for use as a graphic in our brochure, the original – or any facsimile of it - could not be found. The wording of that document, in fact, no longer appears on the organization’s website – neither in its original form nor its later iterations.
Perhaps the concept of academic freedom has indeed slipped out of fashion, and is losing its struggle with political correctness and the ideological conformity it promotes. But the great quest for truth, the most important legacy of the University and its most significant contribution to Western civilization, cannot be sacrificed. For if it is, democracy and the freedoms it safeguards, will not survive. Those who champion academic freedom must therefore be prepared to fight for it, as if they are on a quest for truth itself, and the battle must be waged at the highest echelons of government. For as the historian Ariel Durant wrote: “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. Thereafter, it lingers on as a stagnant pool, left by once life-giving streams."
Academic freedom is one of those life-giving streams. We cut off its nutrient-rich flow at our own peril.
Avi Davis is Executive Director and Senior Fellow of the American Freedom Alliance and the coordinator of the How Free is the University? Conference.
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NEWS: EUROPE AND AMERICA
“THE TERROR ATTACK THIS MONDAY DO NOT CAUSE US TO WAVER. WE DO NOT FOLLOW THE FALSE WORLDVIEW OF THE LEFT AND DO NOT GROVEL IN FEAR BEFORE THOSE WHO CANNOT STAND SEEING A CARTOON OR HEARING WORDS THEY DISAGREE WITH. BOTH WITH RESPECT TO THE EU AND WITH RESPECT TO THE FIGHT AGAINST TERROR, THIS IS AN ISSUE OF FREEDOM.”
 Danish Constitution Day speech Morten Messerschmidt of Dansk Folkeparti
Last Monday (Pakistan, June 2nd 2008) we again experienced the tragic reality of the 21st century. Terror struck at Denmark — and we now find ourselves with such countries as UK, US, Spain, etc., singled out by Islamic fundamentalists as their main enemy. And why? Well, if you ask Radikale Venstre [centrist political party], we have only ourselves to blame. We shouldn’t have been sticking our necks out. If we had pursued a less active foreign policy, we would not have disturbed anyone, and thus no one would have disturbed us — this is the cheap world view on the Danish political left wing. Unfortunately, the world is more complex than this. When terrorists increasingly strike Western targets — in particular in those countries spearheading the fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law — this is due to the Islamic fundamentalists feeling themselves under pressure. They feel under pressure in Iraq, in Afghanistan — and in the countries they rule, where their model for society leads only to stagnation. On the other hand, they feel encouraged by the fact that never before have so many Muslims lived in non-Islamic countries. Their fingers are itching to declare Jihad.
At the beginning of the 21st century the citizens of the West constitute only 14% of the world’s population. By 2025 it is expected to be only 10% because our population is in decline. On the other hand, we see Muslim minorities having a significantly higher rate of birth than the Europeans. This is the hope the fundamentalists attach their aspirations to — the hope that Europe one day will have an Islamic majority and the Caliphate can be reestablished. This is by no means a remote utopian dream — and the independence of Kosovo has fueled that dream anew. (Europenews)
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"THE FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND MUSLIMS IS DRIVING A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE COMMUNITIES”
Malaysian president Abdullah Badawi calls for British Muslims to live under sharia law-Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent, In Kuala Lumpur
Muslim extremism in Britain will grow unless the Government and society learn to understand Islam, Malaysia's prime minister has warned.
Abdullah Badawi claimed that the legacy of Britain's imperial past has hampered its ability to appreciate its Islamic population. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the prime minister urged Gordon Brown to allow the country's Muslims to live under sharia law, but also said that they must prove their worth to society. His comments are set to fuel the debate over the role of Islam in Britain following the Church of England's attack on the Government for already giving more attention to Muslims than Christians. A report, commissioned by the Church and published today, accuses ministers of paying only "lip service" to Christianity and marginalising the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, while focusing "intently" on Islam. However, Mr Abdullah argues that the Government must do more to ensure Muslims don't feel discriminated against if it is to tackle the rise of radicalism. "The failure to understand Muslims is driving a divide between the communities," he said. (Telegraph)
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MUSLIM PARENTS FOSTER ‘EXTREMISM’ IN THEIR CHILDREN
 Muslim parents to blame for children turning to extremism- Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent, In Kuala Lumpur
British Muslim parents are to blame for leaving their children open to the lure of Islamic extremism, according to an influential academic
Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales, accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak English or supporting them in their education. He said this leaves them alienated from mainstream society and exposed to being groomed by radical Islamic groups. It is the first time Dr Nizami, the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, which has links with Oxford University, has spoken out about the failure of Muslims to integrate with British society. The academic institution, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, carries considerable influence and aims to build bridges between Islam and the West. His comments come just weeks after the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, warned that radical Islam is filling the "moral vacuum" created by the decline of Christian values in Britain. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Dr Nizami said Muslims would never play a full role in British society until they improved their education, language and aspirations. He warned that those who feel marginalised are most easily influenced by the rhetoric of extremism, and called on Muslim parents to do more to avert the danger of their children becoming fanatics. "Muslim families have to realise the importance of education for their children and make an effort to push them into achieving more," Dr Nizami said. "They need to make them aspire to things higher rather than just being self-employed and looking for small-jobs." (Telegraph)
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"IN MY CULTURE, NOT TO BE A VIRGIN IS TO BE DIRT"
For Muslim women in Europe, a medical road back to virginity-Elaine Sciolino and Souad Mekhennet
PARIS: The surgery in the private clinic off the Champs-Élysées involved one semicircular cut, 10 self-dissolving stitches and a discounted fee of $2,900. But for the patient, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent from Montpellier, the 30-minute procedure represented the key to a new life: the illusion of virginity. Like an increasing number of other Muslim women in Europe, she had a "hymenoplasty," a restoration of her hymen, the thin vaginal membrane that normally breaks during the first act of intercourse. "In my culture, not to be a virgin is to be dirt," said the student, perched on a hospital bed as she awaited surgery Thursday. "Right now, virginity is more important to me than life." As Europe's Muslim population grows, many young Muslim women find themselves caught between the freedoms that European society affords and the deep-rooted traditions of their parents' and grandparents' generations. Gynecologists report that in the past few years, more Muslim women are asking for certificates of virginity before marriage. That trend in turn has created a demand among cosmetic surgeons for hymen replacements, which, if done properly, they say, will not be detected and will produce tell-tale vaginal bleeding on the wedding night. The service is widely advertised on the Internet; there are medical tourism packages to countries like Tunisia where the procedure is less expensive. "If you're a Muslim woman growing up in more open societies in Europe, you can easily end up having sex before marriage," said Hicham Mouallem, a doctor in London who performs the surgery. "So if you're looking to marry a Muslim and don't want to have problems, you'll try to recapture your virginity." (IHT)
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VATICAN WARNS THAT WEST SHOULD NOT BE ‘HELD HOSTAGE’ BY ISLAM
West risks obsession with Islam, warns Vatican- Richard Owen in Rome
The Vatican has given warning that the West's efforts at inter-faith dialogue must not be “held hostage" by Islam and are in danger of becoming "obsessed" with it at the expense of other religions. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, said that the Church “has to have regard for all religions". He said that the council had this week discussed new guidelines for inter-faith dialogue. “What was interesting about our discussions was that we did not concentrate on Islam because in a way we are being held hostage by Islam a little bit," he told the Catholic website Terrasanta.net. "Islam is very important, but there are also other great Asiatic religious traditions. Islam is one religion." (TimesOnline)
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LIBERAL VALUES OF THE NETHERLANDS IN DANGER FROM ISLAM
Radical Islamic in Netherlands- Gaurav Tyagi
THE GENESIS of the fundamentalist Islam in Netherlands is a direct result of the short sighted policies pursued by the Dutch politicians in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Netherlands is a country well renowned for its liberal values and emphasis on individual freedom. The nation although small in size is densely populated with a population of approximately 16 million inhabitants.
The country has more than a million Muslims residents mainly from Turkey and Morocco. Netherlands faced a labour shortage during the 1960’s and 70’s, as a result they allowed a lot of Turks and Moroccans in their country during that period. This phase of work migration ended in 1973, but all these immigrants were allowed to bring in their families to Netherlands. Dutch politicians and society were of the opinion that subsequently these people will merge in the Dutch society. This turned out to be a false assumption.
It’s a well known global fact that birth rates in Muslim community is higher than other communities. Netherlands being a welfare society has a lot of benefit schemes for its citizens, which include child support, study financing, unemployment allowance etc. These Muslim migrants, thus got a lot of monetary support from the Dutch government but still they remain fundamentalists.
A lot of Turks and Moroccans openly praised the 09/11 attacks, but worse was in store for the citizens of The Netherlands. In 2004, Theo Van Gogh an eminent Dutch intellectual was brutally killed in Amsterdam by a Moroccan fanatic. Van Gogh was shot eight times and had multiple stab wounds on his body.
He produced a short documentary entitled, ’’Submission’’, which depicted the poor condition of women in Islamic societies. A lot of these Moroccans and Turks openly praised the attacker instead of condemning this lunatic. In fact one of a prominent Imam in The Netherlands during the course of his sermon called Van Gogh a ’’criminal bastard’’. Dutch cities and towns are full of Turks and Moroccans, who take social benefits from the Dutch government and yet keep criticising the Western societies. (Merinews)
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ACADEMIC FREEDOM
FLORIDA GULF UNIVERSITY AND FREE SPEECH
Partial Victory for Free Speech at Florida Gulf Coast University- Samantha Harris - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
In a victory for free speech on campus, Florida Gulf Coast University has completely revised its "Personal Abuse" policy, which FIRE named its April 2007 Speech Code of the Month.
That policy previously prohibited "lewd, indecent, racist, prejudice [sic], obscene, or expressions deemed inappropriate." As we wrote in April 2007:
This policy is unconstitutional on so many levels that it is almost hard to know where to begin. Let's start with what is perhaps the most obvious problem: "expressions deemed inappropriate." Who gets to do the deeming? Is it university administrators? If so, that's an awful lot of discretion just waiting to be abused. Is it the listener, such that the university is willing to punish anything that a particularly sensitive listener deems inappropriate? You get the point. This policy is so vague and so broad that it cannot be enforced across the board, so it will necessarily be enforced arbitrarily. Moreover, even most speech that a reasonable person would deem "inappropriate" is nonetheless constitutionally protected, and cannot be prohibited by a public university like FGCU.
The updated version of the "Personal Abuse" policy now prohibits only "Violence, threat of violence or disregard of potential harm to others or against oneself or actions which endanger any member or guest of the University community, including physical, verbal, or sexual assault and relationship/domestic violence." While "verbal assault" is still somewhat vague, there is no question that this policy is a vast improvement over its predecessor. (Studentsforacademicfreedom.org)
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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SAY THE WEST "PRODUCES HOMOSEXUALS AS WELL AS GAYS AND LESBIANS, WHERE THEY DO NOT EXIST”
More Insanity from Columbia University [incl. Joseph Massad [on Joseph Massad]
Jaime Sneider
The Blog of the Weekly Standard
Columbia University has more than its share of intellectual hacks, and high on the list is Joseph Massad. Professor Massad's controversial beliefs invite mockery. He believes the Iraq war stemmed from the sexual prowess of the American male ("In such a strategy, Iraqis are posited by American super-masculine fighter-bomber pilots as women and feminised men to be penetrated by the missiles and bombs ejected from American warplanes."); he condones terrorism against Israel ("This can be done by the continuing resistance of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories to all the civil and military institutions that uphold Jewish supremacy"); and lastly, he attempted to exile a student from his class who had the gall to disagree with him.
Massad's most recent work further supports the idea that Massad belongs on a psychiatrist's couch, not behind a podium. In Desiring Arabs, Massad asserts that the West "produces homosexuals as well as gays and lesbians, where they do not exist." But for colonialism, Massad contends, there would be no gay people in the Middle East for the tyrannical governments of Egypt and Iran to persecute. Although Massad says he opposes hanging gay people, he shifts the blame from the hooded executioners to the United States. (weeklystandard.com)
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FREEDOM OF SPEECH
BEWARE OF THE CANADIAN THOUGHT POLICE
Denmark: Journalists face legal action in Jordan for cartoons
Gagged in Canada: Speech Police Run Amok-Rich Lowry
At its best, Western Civilization has fostered freedom of speech and of thought. But Canada has a better idea. Last week, a Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia considered a complaint brought against journalist Mark Steyn for a piece in the Canadian newsweekly Maclean's. The excerpt from Steyn's best-selling book America Alone argued that high Muslim birthrates mean Europeans will feel pressure to reach "an accommodation with their radicalized Islamic compatriots." The piece was obviously within respectable journalistic bounds. In fact, combining hilarity and profound social analysis, the article could be considered a sparkling model of the polemical art -- not surprisingly, given that Steyn is one of North America's journalistic gems. The Canadian Islamic Congress took offense. In the normal course of things, that would mean speaking or writing to counter Steyn. Not in 21st-century Canada, where the old liberal rallying cry "I hate what you say, but will fight for your right to say it" no longer applies. (Realclearpolitics)
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ANTISEMITISM
BRITAIN IS A ‘HOTBED FOR RADICAL ANTI-ISRAELI SENTIMENT’
Ambassador in London: Britain is a ‘hotbed for radical anti-Israeli sentiment’
LONDON (EJP)---Israel’s ambassador in London claims that Britain has become a “hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views.”
“While the UK was once admired for its liberal fairness, decency and common sense, in recent years extremists have "hijacked" the debate over Israel, “ Ron Prosor said. Prosor became ambassador to the UK last year after having been an embassy spokesman between 1995 and 1998. In an article written for The Daily Telegraph and published on Tuesday, Prosor writes: “Fairness is all too frequently absent in a debate that has been hijacked by extremist. Israel faces an intensified campaign of delegitimisation, demonization and double standards.” He says Britain has become “a haven for disingenuous calls for a ‘one-state solution’, a euphemistic name for a movement advocating Israel’s destruction,” while terror attacks on Israeli citizens are ignored by both the media and public opinion. “No other country in the world is constantly forced to justify its own existence," he says. (EuropeanJewishPress)
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IRAN’S WARNING TO ISRAEL
Iran's defense minister warns Zionist regime of painful reaction-IRNA
Iran-Zionist Regime-Warning
Iran's Defense Minister branded as "foolish" here Monday Zionist Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz claims on "Iran threat", arguing if anyone would dare do such a silly thing they would face a painful reaction. Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar made the comment on the sidelines of the official seeing off of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maleki in a brief talk with the media reporters covering the event. He added, "The forged regime of Israel faced psychological problems following the humiliating defeat it suffered in its encounter with the Lebanese Hezbollah, as a result half of the youth residing there got inclined towards immigration to other countries." Brigadier General Najjar further reiterated, "That is because those people no longer believe that the regime would survive for much longer a period, and that is also the reason why the Zionist regime officials sometimes utter foolish remarks."
He said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is a well established, stable, and strong political system and our armed forces are at the peak of strength, and as a result, if anyone would venture to make such a foolish thing (as what Mofaz has mentioned) Iran's reaction would be very painful." (IMA.IR)
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LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR PUBLISHES PETITION DEFENDING CHARLES ENDERLIN IN AL-DURA CASE
French media critic calls on Sarkozy to intervene in Al-Dura French tv case-EJP
PARIS (EJP)---The head of a French media watchdog has called on French President Nicolas Sarkozy to help issue an apology from the state-owned TV channel France 2 “for broadcasting a staged killing of a Palestinian boy in 2000.”
While it did not issue any comment on the court decision, France 2 appeared to stand behind its Jerusalem correspondent and appealed against the latest ruling to France’s Supreme Court. "As the de facto CEO of France 2, President Sarkozy has the power to conduct an internal investigation of the TV station in order to separate the truth from the lies," Karsenty told EJP, stressing that the case has "far-reaching and universal implications" for media responsibility. "The next battle will be political," Karsenty says, adding that he is rather interested by the root of the matter than by the proceedings at the Supreme Court.
Observers in Paris noted that French newspapers, with rare exceptions like the daily Le Monde, didn’t report the Court of Appeals’s ruling, while the international press made a large coverage of the issue.
Petition in French weekly
Moreover, the weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur published last week a petition supporting Charles Enderlin against the court ruling and denouncing the “stubborn and heinous campaign against the France 2 reporter’s professional dignity.” It rejected the accusation of fraud and the notion that the incident was a staged scene. The petition has already been signed by some eighty important French writers and journalists. "These people have been visibly enrolled in a corporatist way without having the possibility to look into the dossier," Karsenty said. "This is something worrying for the freedom of the press," he added. "If we follow their view, Zola had no right to be interested in the Dreyfus affair because he knew nothing about military issues and was only a common writer."
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TERRORISM
ACCUSED TERRORIST HAD FILE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY
 Terror accused 'kept file on royal family'
Muslim "dedicated to violent holy war" had information about members of the royal family alongside instructions on how to kill "non-believers", a court heard today. Aabid Khan, 23, arrested after his latest trip to Pakistan two years ago, had details about their lives and "also where they lived", it was claimed. "Is he a royalist, is he fascinated by the royal family?" asked, Simon Denison, prosecuting. "Or is there some other reason why he has collated that information?" The barrister told London's Blackfriars Crown Court the material was among a "mass" of files, videos and other documents found on the 23-year-old when he was detained at Manchester airport. He said they were contained on two computer hard drives in his suitcase which were analysed by police experts. (Metro.co.uk)
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“I’D LIKE TO KNOW IF YOUR NEWSPAPER IS SATISFIED WITH WHAT IT HAS DONE AND WHAT IT HAS UNLEASHED?”
What the Cartoons Have Unleashed-Robert Spencer
Who is responsible for the June 2 suicide attack against the Danish Embassy in Pakistan that killed six people? An increasing number would say that the Danes themselves are responsible, or at least the Danish government, for its obstinate attachment to that irritating little principle of free speech. On Wednesday, June 4, a web posting claiming to be from Al-Qaeda said that the bombing was fulfillment of Osama bin Laden’s vow to exact revenge for the cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad that ran in a Danish newspaper in 2005. Fauzia Mufti Abbas, Pakistan’s ambassador to Denmark addressed a rhetorical question to the people of Denmark: “I’d like to know if your newspaper is satisfied with what it has done and what it has unleashed?” You read that right. Fauzia Mufti Abbas, after jihadist thugs and murderers in her country killed six innocent people because of some cartoons published in a newspaper half a world away, had the volcanic chutzpah to say to Denmark that “the people of Pakistan that feel they have been harassed by what your newspaper has begun.” Speaking strictly for myself, I feel more harassed by the murders of six people (who, by the way, had nothing to do with the cartoons, although even if they had been the cartoonists themselves this would be no better) than I do by any affront to my religion. If Fauzia Mufti Abbas or you or anyone else drew cartoons of people I revere and respect, people I think brought the best things to humanity, if you made fun of them, ridiculed and mocked them in the most outrageous terms, I might think you were a boor. I might think you were an idiot. But I would not kill you. I would not kill anyone else. I would not think anyone else was justified in killing you or anyone else. I would chalk it up to the fact that people differ in good faith about what is true and good, and we all have to live in the same world. (Frontpagemag)
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TERRORISM-INTERNET
WHY JIHADISTS LOVE SOCIAL NETWORKS LIKE FACEBOOK
Online Social Networks Expand a Sense of Community Among Members and Supporters of Extremist Groups- Madeleine Gruen
Hizbollah has a page on Facebook. So does Tanzeem-e-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood. Hizb ut-Tahrir has at least three pages on Facebook and another four on Orkut—And those are just the official pages. There are many more pages to browse that were assembled as paeans by devotees of these Islamist groups and others. Facebook, Orkut, and other online social networks, are designed to provide a way for people to maintain existing relationships and to make new relationships with others who share common interests in one tidy cyber environment. The social networks promote a sense of belonging that might not be available in the physical world. This is particularly true for members or sympathizers of Islamist groups who live in countries where participation is banned, such as in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Jordan. Through the social networks they can join communities specific to their interests or affiliations and befriend others who share their views. The virtual social network can also help maintain continuity of group activity in places where public demonstrations have been suspended, like Bangladesh, or in regions where Islamist group membership and support is relatively small. Even when there are not opportunities to meet publicly the social networks offer a sense of cohesion, and even provide applications for global participants to chat privately through instant messaging. (Countererrorismblog)
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JIHAD-INTERNET
JIHADISTS GROUPS ON THE INTERNET-Elisa Vandernoot
Below are just a few examples of how Jihadists are utilising the internet. Since 9/11 thousands upon thousands of jihad sites have appeared on the web, from forums in all languages, to video sites, to glossy jihad magazines, downloadable sermons and RSS feeds, the jihadists abound. As the internet and its technology become more sophisticated so do the jihadists. Their sites use the latest graphics and powerful visual images to indoctrinate the young, to bring them to the cause. Hamas’s latest magazine can be found on many jihad sites and forums downloadable from a plethora of free file sharing sites from around the globe along with videos and the latest interviews with leaders such as Al-Qaeda’s Dr. Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri which are then translated into English, French and other languages. While Hamas uses its propaganda and cries to the UN and inept journalists about Israel’s ‘crimes’ against Gaza and the need for ‘humanitarian assistance’, it’s rather obvious that it doesn’t lack funds in producing the latest jihad magazine or proudly boasting about their latest weaponry, the Dragonov Sniper rifle as well as their large stash of Kassam rockets. What’s frightening is how easy it is for anybody with a computer to find, at the click of a button, jihadist ideology and indoctrination which may inspire the next terrorist attack.
ISLAMIC JIHAD UNION MUJAHIDEEN JUNE 2008
 Islamic Jihad Union was founded in 2002 after the fall of Afghanistan Islamic Administration. In an interview in May 2007 Ebu Yahya Muhammed Fatih stated what their future goals were:
To day we proceed according to our targeted goals with all our means. Muslim youth in the republics of former Soviet Union who found the path of Allah and are ready to fight for their religion has been trained in various fields in the training facilities of the union, and we praise god for this. One of the armed forces of the union is activate in Afghanistan. Besides, we have been in contact and also been working on our common targets together with Caucasian mujahedeens. We have also been working together on plans and aims against infidel regime of Özbekistan which is one of our major targets. We wish god to bless and help us achieve our targeted goals. Prosperity only comes from God; Because, God is great and almighty. May god have his blessings and mercy upon you.
We Assalamu Alaykum Va Rahmatullahi Va Barakatuh!!
FATAH AL-ISLAAM
Fatah al-Islaam firing Villages in the Western Negev with two “al-Zarqawi” Rockets June 2008
Fatah al-Islaam firing Villages in the Western Negev with two “al-Zarqawi” Rockets June 2008
THE PICTURE ABOVE IS FROM THE LATEST MAGAZINE PUT OUT BY HAMAS’S AL-QASEEM BRIGADES.
ONE OF THE FEATURES IN THIS CURRENT ISSUE IS ABOUT HAMAS’S LATEST SNIPER RIFLE, THE DRAGUNOV –NDM-86. DRAGUNOV SNIPER RIFLE IS MADE IN RUSSIA BUT THERE IS ALSO CHINESE VERSION AS WELL.
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