Al-Khaiwani’s appeal delayed till Nov 2008

The Court of Appeals, specialized in terrorism issues, delayed looking into a request by the defense lawyer of journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani to release him until November 2008.

The court took the decision in an appeal session on Tuesday on the case of 15 people, called Sana’a Second Cell, convicted by a primary court of forming an armed group to attack country’s interests and supporting rebels in Sa’ada, north of Yemen.

The first convict Jafar al-Marhabi was sentenced to death and other 13 were sentenced to different terms in jail. Al-Khaiwani was sentenced to six years term in jail over “writing articles against the president and possessing CDs supporting al-Houthi’s rebellion and threatening the country’s interests”. The court quitted one of the convicts after he died inside the detention unit.

NewsYemen.

If you are interested in receiving updates on Al-Khaiwani, please join “Campaign for a Free Media in Yemen” on Facebook.

Technorati Tags: Abdul-Karim+Al+Khaiwani, Sana’a+Second+Cell+process, Yemen,, Sa’ada,, Jafar+al-Marhabi, al-Houthi’s+rebellion

Bush praises ‘ally’ Pakistan

George Bush, the US president, has praised Pakistan for making a “very strong commitment” to combating “extremists” after talks with Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani prime minister.

The talks came as a missile attack just inside Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan killed at least six people, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Speaking at a news conference in Washington DC, Bush called Pakistan “strong ally and a vibrant democracy” (what had Bush had before the press conference???) and said that the US “supports the sovereignty of Pakistan“.

Gilani, who will be in the US for three days, said in turn that the country’s battle against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters was “a war … against Pakistan, and we’ll fight for our own cause”. (oh, yeah, that’s why they want dialogue with the Taliban while the latter install Shariah courts in the Bajaur tribal region because Pakistani institutions have NO strength there).

However he later said in an interview with CNN that Monday’s missile strike was “certainly” a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty “if it is proved”. (of course, the use of Islamist “militants” against India by the Pakistani Intelligence Service ISI is NOT a “violation of sovereignty”...).

The White House later said that Bush had also offered Pakistan $115 million over two years in food aid, of which $42.5 million will be available over the next six to nine months, during the talks.

Al Jazeera English – Americas – Bush praises ‘ally’ Pakistan.

Magnificent…

Technorati Tags: Bush, Gilani, Pakistan, USA, GWOT, Taliban, terrorism, Islamism, Al-Qaeda, Yousuf+Raza+Gilani, George+Bush

Al-Qaida commander urges killing of Saudi king

Abu Yahia al-Libi, who escaped from Bagram prison in 2005, said “bringing religions together … means renouncing Islam.”

Saudi King Abdullah sponsored this month’s dialogue in Madrid among Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, and encouraged all faiths to turn away from extremism.

But al-Libi said “equating Islam with other religions is a betrayal of Islam.” He called for “the speedy killing of this tyrant.”

Al-Qaida commander urges killing of Saudi king – Yahoo! News.

Don’t worry, al-Libi, he is just doing that out of publicity. Have you read what Saudi books say about the believers in other faiths?

Nevertheless, I imagine what this man would have said if the World Conference on Dialogue would have been held in Saudi Arabia, with the attendance of Jewish rabbis, and then of Christian priests…

Technorati Tags: Abu+Yahia+al-Libi, Saudi+Arabia, Saudi+King+Abdullah, Islamism, terrorism, Judaism, Christianity, Hindu, Buddhism, Al-Qaeda, World+Conference+on+Dialogue, Madrid’s+World+Conference+on+Dialogue

Morocco: the Islamist party PJD has a new leader

In the leadership contest at the end of the congress, Mr Benkirane received 684 votes, comfortably beating his nearest competitor, the outgoing secretary-general, Saad Eddine Othmani (495 votes), who had been expected to win. Mr Benkirane, who was the president of the PJD’s National Council, the party’s policy-making arm, is generally perceived as a pragmatic and consensus-making moderate, in particular in his relations with the monarchy. He has gained increasing popularity within the party, whereas Mr Othmani had been criticised for being vague and indecisive during his leadership. His standing had been affected by the relatively poor showing of the PJD in the September election—the party had set itself the target of winning up to 90 seats, but its eventual tally was only 46, leaving it in second place behind the conservative nationalist Istiqlal, which won 52 out of the total 325 seats.

The PJD was not included in the coalition government formed after the election. According to Mr Benkirane, the party had previously been offered the chance of joining the government in 1998 and 2002—offers which he said he had been inclined to accept. However, the PJD was obliged to adopt a lower profile after the 2003 terrorist bomb attacks in Casablanca, which was followed by a clampdown on Islamists of all stripes. The PJD now seems to be advancing on the road to rehabilitation. Mr Benkirane’s first big test will be the municipal elections in 2009, in which the PJD will be looking to wrest control of some of Morocco’s major cities, possibly in alliance with the Unions socialiste des forces populaires (USFP), a formerly dominant left-leaning party that was the biggest loser in the 2007 general election. Mr Himma is also courting the USFP as a potential ally for his party in the municipal polls.

Further ahead, the big prize for Mr Benkirane and the PJD would be victory in the next general election, which is scheduled to take place in 2012. Mr Benkirane has stated that, in the event of an election win, the PJD would have no objection to serving under a technocrat prime minister.

New face | Economist.com.

The new Secretary has changed so much his relations with the monarchy that the King Mohammed VI has phoned him to congratulate him after his victory.

The Islamist PJD wants to ally with the Socialist Union of Popular Forces to win some mayor cities and is not objected to serve (that is, to be in Government) under a technocrat (that is, someone who knows how to manage the Government but with no ideology, something which would be propvided by PJD, I guess). Why I am not the least surprised?

Technorati Tags: Benkirane, Islamism, Mohamed+VI, Morocco, PJD, Saad+Eddine+Othmani, Union+socialiste+des+forces+populaires

Why Afghanistan is not the only country to blame for the heroin production

“You often hear that Afghanistan is the root for all the evils in terms of drugs problems in the world,” UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) country representative Christina Oguz told reporters.

“I think this is wrong. It is not correct to blame Afghanistan alone for the heroin problem in the world,” she said.

Afghanistan produces more than 93 percent of the world’s opium and UNODC estimates that 60 percent of it was last year turned into heroin inside the country.

All the chemicals for this process are smuggled into Afghanistan.

“These chemicals originate from China, South Korea, the Russian Federation, Europe and some other countries,” Oguz said.

The UNODC estimates that about 13,000 tons of chemicals are required for the amount of heroin produced in Afghanistan, with opium output at about 8,200 tons.

Other countries helping Afghanistan make heroin: UN – Yahoo! News.

No, clearly Afghanistan is not the only one to blame in this process…

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, China, Christina+Oguz, Europe, Russia, Russian+Federation, South+Korea, UN, UN+Office+on+Drugs+and+Crime, UNODC

American Thinker: The Deobandi Fatwa Against Terrorism Didn’t Treat the Jihadi Root

The fatwa has two main targets:

Create a separation in the eyes of the public discourse between Islam (as a religion) and terrorism as an illegal violent activity.Such a move is legitimate and to be encouraged as it diminishes the tensions towards Muslims in non-Muslim countries, particularly in the West, as some are claiming that the Islamic religion is theologically linked to the acts and statements of the Jihadists. The logic of “we are Muslims and we are against Terrorism,” helps significantly the disassociation between the community and the acts of violence. However, without criticizing the ideological roots of this violence, the fatwa seem to state a wishful thinking, not an injunction. A more powerful fatwa should have openly and expressly said: “we reject the calls for violent Jihad regardless of the motives.” For the followers of Jihadism do not consider their Jihad as “terrorism.” Their answer has always been -to these types of fatwas- “but we aren’t performing terrorism, we are conducting Jihad.” Thus, at this crucial level, the Deobandi fatwa missed the crux of the problem.

Deny governments the ability to use the accusation that Islam condones Terrorism to oppress Muslims.

The fatwa is concerned with geopolitics more than theological reform. Concern for the safety of one’s co-religfionists is of course legitimate and should be addressed. But Jihadism, the legitimizing root of political violence, cannot be ignored in any effort to protect the lives of Muslims.

(…)

Who is “innocent”?

The fatwa defined terrorism as violence “targeting innocent people.” Such a definition is not new and doesn’t set clear boundaries. For the question at hand is what does “innocent” mean? On several web sites and on many shows on al Jazeera television, Jihadi apologists often use the Arabic term“bare’e”  for “innocent” and assure the audience that Jihad cannot target the latter.

But Usama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, and to some extent Hassan Nasrallah, all claim that innocence is relative.

(…) In short, the status of “innocence” doesn’t overlap fully with the status of “civilians.” It is a matter of discretion in Jihadi warfare. Hence, to claim that Terrorism is defined as targeting innocent people is to claim that not all civilians are innocent, and that not only breaches international law, but gives credence to Jihadi violence.

Who is a “terrorist”?

Moreover, still the fatwa doesn’t identify al Qaeda, or any other similar group, including the Taliban, as Terrorist organizations. And as of now, no subsequent fatwas based on this Deobandi fatwa have done so yet. Therefore, in terms of identification of terror entities, the edict has failed to show its followers who is the terror perpetrator.

This text simply doesn’t bring novelty to the debate about Jihadi-rooted Terrorism. For years, particularly since 2001, Islamist ideologues and militant groups have refrained from simply naming those terror groups as such. Spokespersons have constantly repeated that condemning terrorism in general is enough.

If the Muslim scholars followed this logic on the question of occupations, then neither Iraq nor Palestine should be specifically mention. But that is not the case.

American Thinker: The Deobandi Fatwa Against Terrorism Didn’t Treat the Jihadi Root.

People who thought Deobandis have changed are veeeeeeeery wrong…

Technorati Tags: Deobandi+sect, Islamist, terrorism, Deobandi+fatwa+against+terrorism

Indonesia: Christian teacher beheaded, Muslims storm Muslim school

First a Christian was beheaded in front of his family in Indonesia, while the killers were planning also the beheading of an American teacher before they were arrested:

Indonesian terror suspects executed a Christian teacher in front of his family and were planning to assassinate an American language teacher before their arrest this month, a top anti-terrorism official and the suspects’ lawyer said Monday.

The ten alleged militants have also told officers they were plotting to attack the Supreme Court to avenge the upcoming executions of the Bali nightclub bombers and attack a joint Singaporean-Indonesian military exercise, the security official said.

The revelations point to the resilience of Islamist militant networks in Indonesia despite a U.S.-backed crackdown that has netted more than 400 suspects in recent years and reduced the risk of more large-scale attacks on Western targets, most experts say.

Jihad Watch: Indonesia: Jihadists killed Christian teacher, had planned to kill American.

Police evacuated the Christian Theological Arastamar Institute (STT SETIA) which is located in an eastern district of the Indonesian capital after it suffered damages during clashes between Christians and Muslims over the week-end. At least 1,500 students were moved to nearby police headquarters and a local Christian-based political party. The situation remains critical and further violence between opposite factions cannot be ruled out….

Jihad Watch: Indonesia: Muslims storm Christian school, injuring 265 students.

The reason? a Christian student threw a slipper against a house owned by a local Muslim. An important thing you see…

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Islam, persecuted+Church, Indonesia, Jihadists+behead+Christian+teacher