A Note on the Comments

I’ve just discovered that some would-be commenters are unaware of our new policy here at Gates of Vienna: We now moderate comments.

In other words, all comments have to be pre-approved by Dymphna or me before they appear on the blog. This helps screen out provocateurs, prevents vituperation, and limits the general trolling.

Since I was out most of the day, I’m busy reading the submitted comments now. Those which stay within our guidelines will appear on their respective posts shortly.

For future reference, bear in mind that wait times for comments may vary. The hours between 1:00am and 8:00am Eastern (7.00 to 14.00 CET) may be frustrating for night owls (or Europeans and Australians), because we are normally asleep then.

For an explanation of our guidelines for comments, see this post.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/15/2011

More and more analysts and governments — including the Dutch government — believe that it is inevitable that Greece will default on its debts, and either be forced out of the Eurozone, or bring the euro down with it. France and Germany, however, remain optimistic, and have reaffirmed their support for Greece.

In other news, France has banned street prayers as of midnight tonight. The interior minister does not rule out the use of force against those who fail to comply with the new law.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Erick Stakelbeck, Insubria, JP, KGS, Rembrandt, Srdja Trifkovic, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Danish Socialists Are Back in the Driver’s Seat

The Left did fairly well in today’s election in Denmark, and the Social Democrats to be able to form the next government. Helle Thorning-Schmidt will become the country’s first female prime minister.

Here’s an analysis from one of our Danish contacts, who was an observer at the polls earlier today:

The result is quite muddy. Social Democrats didn’t win, but will get the premiership anyway. Socialistisk Folkeparti (tougher left) lost heavily, hard left Enhedslisten won out big.

The centrist, pro-immigration Radikale Venstre also won big, as well as the new Libertarian party, Liberal Alliance.

Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People’s party) lost three seats. That’s not a disaster, but it’s their first loss ever.

It’s not as bad as I had reason to fear:

1.		The lefty majority is slim.
2.		It includes Radikale Venstre, who are fiscal conservatives.
3.		Bridging that with Enhedslisten is next to impossible.

My prediction: The new government can easily fall.

Danmarks Radio (state radio) notably didn’t bring up immigration in the final debate, and skipped asking anything EU-related as well. DR should be privatized, now.

Observations:

• Compared to the polls a week or two ago, the final result is a large improvement. The polls back then would have given a fairly stable leftwing government.
  
• Now they will have the chance to try out Keynes on steroids
  
• Dansk Folkeparti richly deserves some internal crisis.
  
• The Social Democrats will be responsible for the financial situation now.
  
• It’s worrisome that the hard left won so much.

Here’s a report from the Danish MSM, via the English-language Copenhagen Post:

The Systematic Destruction of Our Democratic State

Kirsten Heisig was a German juvenile court judge who believed in decisive action and significant sentences for youthful offenders (including “youths”), in order to interrupt their criminal careers at an early age. She disappeared a year ago, and when her body was eventually found, her death was ruled a “suicide”.

Not long after that, Thilo Sarrazin caused controversy by criticizing immigration, especially Muslim immigration, in his best-selling book Germany Abolishes Itself.

Now comes another Islam-critical author, Joachim Wagner, a retired lawyer. His new book Richter Ohne Gesetz (Judges Without Law) discusses the parallel system of Islamic justice that has emerged in Muslim ghettos in Germany.

Many thanks to JLH for translating this book review by Udo Ulfkotte from Kopp Online:

Judges Without Law: Too True to Be Beautiful

by Udo Ulfkotte
September 9, 2011

Steady drips wear the stone away. Perhaps there is more than a glimmer of truth in this proverb. Almost exactly a year ago the book by Judge Kirsten Heisig appeared: The End of Patience. It was about youth criminality and immigration. Then came Thilo Sarrazin. And now the renowned ARD journalist, Joachim Wagner.

Many people will remember Joachim Wagner from the NDR TV magazine Panorama or from the program Report from Berlin. Born in 1943, the fully qualified lawyer always appeared politically correct and never caused any scandal. Now he is retired and he can speak freely and openly, without risking his job. Joachim Wagner is now one more drop from a barrel concerning the dark side of immigration. As a lawyer, Wagner points out many alarming examples of the fact that there is already an parallel Islamic justice system in Germany that is canceling out our constitutional republic.

Don’t Burn It, Read It

When people become aware of the dangers of Islamization, they tend to take an interest in the Koran. Rather than rely on what the media or Muslims tell them, they decide to examine Islam’s holy book for themselves, and turn to the internet for help.

Needless to say, the best resources on the Koran are on Islamic sites. You can find anything you want from the Koran, in any language. However, the presentation at such sites is from a Muslim point of view, and doesn’t generally point the reader to the wife-beating or Jew-killing or infidel-beheading verses.

That’s not true of TheQuran.com. It contains detailed easy-to-use analysis of the Koran, produced by Arabic-speaking scholars from both Christian and apostate backgrounds. It is one of the more useful reference sites on the subject that I’ve come across: you can look up verses by topic, or you can search on keywords, or simply browse the contents. It also has a series of articles on particular suras and verses of interest.

As the main page says, it is “…a site for all things related to The Quran. This is the first site of its kind to provide a unique interpretation of The Quran unclouded by the myths and legends that surround Islamic heritage. TheQuran.com is the perfect site for anyone with the desire to study The Quran beyond the boundaries drawn by interpreters who are unwilling to contradict traditional Islamic teaching and refused to subject The Quran to literary and scientific critique, either due to their Islamic faith or weakness in understanding the Arabic language of the Quran.”

Also:

A new section has been added to this site to allow the visitor to view all the verses from the Quran relating to specific topics such as jihad, Christians, Jews, women, terrorism and others. You can view the list in different languages and translations.

On this site all registered users have the ability to comment on every abrogation, comparative reading, critical analysis and article. Registration is free.

Visit the Read section to read the Quran in multiple languages and view the commentary and analysis.

[…]

At the TheQuran.com you can:

• Examine many of the historical variant readings of the Quran
  
• Read The Quran more clearly and accurately
  
• See abrogated verses alongside explanations within the text.
  
• Learn more about the history of the Quran.
  
• Examine the current sequence of the Quranic chapters in comparison to other historical codices.
  
• Research many of the grammatical, historical, and scientific errors in the Quran.
  
• Examine a variety of internal contradictions within the Quran.
  
• Enrich your knowledge concerning the teaching of the Quran in areas such as; status of women; treatment of people of other faith; Jihad; and much more.

Plus, you will find many beneficial articles, resources and links to material that will increase your understanding of The Quran. Our goal is to make The Quran more easily accessible and understood while basing all commentary on authoritative Islamic sources.

In the future, visitors will be able to search for specific subjects and keywords within the text and participate in discussion boards! Due to ongoing scientific development and literary dialogue the content of our site will be continually updated with the latest articles and discussions related to The Quran. We welcome comments and suggestions from our visitors as we strive to make this site as user-friendly as possible.

The site’s owners are also promoting their book, The Qur’an Dilemma:

Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/14/2011

The debt crisis in Italy has intensified, with spreads on five-year bonds reaching new highs. Several news articles report that the Chinese are about to intervene and buy Italian bonds to ease the situation. Inside sources say, however, that China is actually planning to make commercial investments rather than buy bonds.

Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly negotiating with Cyprus to ease the island’s debt crisis by extending a five-year loan for more than €2 billion. It is hoped that this emergency loan will help the Cypriots get through the immediate crisis.

In other news, the British Home Office has decided against pushing for a new law criminalizing forced marriages. The decision is a disappointment to Muslim women’s rights activists in Lancashire, who fear that more women will be forced into marriages against their will if the new law is not passed.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to An EDL buck, C. Cantoni, CSP, Egghead, Gaia, Insubria, JP, KGS, McR, Nilk, Rembrandt, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Prison for Iranian Christians

Vlad Tepes just sent this translation of a news article about the punishment meted out to five Christians in Iran.

One of those imprisoned was originally charged with apostasy, but the purported crimes of the others are not mentioned in this article:

Five Christians Sentenced to Prison

Translated by Laleh Gillani ©2011

Last week, five Iranian Christians were sentenced to a total of five years in prison despite the fact that they were exonerated of all charges by a lower court. They were retried because the prosecutor had objected to the initial verdicts.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the Appeals Court of Fars Province has handed down a one year prison term for Behroz Sadeq Khanjani, Mohammad Belyad, Nazli Kamarian, Parviz Khalaj and Mehdi Forotan.

Terror Threat in Norway

On Monday I reported that the Swedish security police arrested four Somali mujahideen before they could carry out a terror attack. There were some indications that the artist Lars Vilks, who drew the infamous Roundabout Dogs, may have been their intended target.

Now a similar incident has occurred in Norway. This time the intended target was the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard (on the left in the above photo, with Lars Vilks). Mr. Westergaard is the creator of the iconic “Turban Bomb” cartoon, one of the twelve original Mohammed cartoons that were so offensive to the world’s 8.77 quintillion Muslims. He was visiting Norway earlier this week, but was forced to leave abruptly after the Norwegian authorities learned of a plan to kill him, and were evidently unable to guarantee his safety.

The official cover story was that the artist was taken ill, and had to return home, but this was not what actually happened. Here’s the story from yesterday’s Ekstra-Bladet, as translated by Henrik Ræder Clausen:

The Norwegian daily Dagbladet reports that the Norwegian intelligence service PST requested that Kurt Westergaard to leave Norway immediately.

The service — which corresponds to the FBI in the United States — is said to have received evidence of a planned assassination attempt, writes Dagbladet.

Kurt Westergaard is under permanent protection by the Danish police PET.

“I can confirm that Kurt Westergaard has been in Norway, and that he returned to Denmark yesterday,” says Trond Hugubakken, chief of communication for PST, to Dagbladet.

“Westergaard lives with constant death threats. Apart from that I have no comments,” says Trond Hugubakken.

Kurt Westergaard was in Norway to present a book and a CD he has illustrated for the Norwegian folk singer and author Geirr Lystrup.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/13/2011

In a special election for a New York congressional seat once held by former Rep. Anthony “The Bulge” Weiner (D), Republican Bob Turner has scored an upset victory, and will represent the traditionally Democrat district until next year’s election. Mr. Weiner had to resign earlier this year after he was caught sending photos of his — ahem — apparatus to young women on Twitter.

In other news, the Grand Mosque in Moscow was demolished to make way for a rebuilt version. The old one was not properly aligned with Mecca. The demolition was expected, and approved by Russia’s mufti, but Russian Muslims are upset that the it occurred on the anniversary of 9-11, and a Sunday to boot.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to An EDL buck, C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Diana West, Egghead, Insubria, JP, KGS, TV, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

A Win for Mosquebusters in Uxbridge

Gavin Boby of Mosquebusters (the action arm of the Law and Freedom Foundation) has scored a resounding success in the English town of Uxbridge, just to the west of London. His organization’s actions helped convince the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association to pull its planning application for a new “community center” in Uxbridge.

Here’s the story from Mosquebusters:

Round one to us in Uxbridge!

In June 2011, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association lodged a confident planning application for a — you guessed it! — “community centre” in Uxbridge.

But there is already a community centre next door! We all know how Islam has always bent over backwards to promote wellbeing in the country it inflicts itself upon (whoops! I mean “enriches with its presence”!), but building a new community centre smack next door to an existing one is too much even by their standards. Surely the mosque outfit are not being coy about a mosque proposal?!

Given their confident tone, imagine our surprise when this application was pulled a week ago, and an appeal lodged for “non-determination”. The mosque outfit didn’t want to wait for the Council decision. Fancy that!

Could this have anything to do with the number of objections coming in against the application?

Just to recap: in 2010 the Muslim Association applied to turn the Hillingdon Irish Centre members club into a “community centre”. They withdrew that application rather than get a refusal. But they reapplied in June 2011, this time offering 2 extra car spaces!

Local people objected, and the Law and Freedom Foundation helped them. More local objections went to the Council Planning Department, and the mosque promoters have now taken matters out of the Council’s hands by going straight to appeal. And it’s a “written” appeal, i.e. nowhere for awkward locals to show up and express their points of view.

Technically, you don’t have to wait for a decision in order to appeal against it. But this is rare, especially after the application is still new — less than 3 months old. This mosque outfit didn’t like the reception they were getting, and with good reason.

Round 1 to us. If you want to help us win round 2, then please click here, and find out how to register your objections to the Appeal. Make sure you do it — even if they don’t read them, they count them!

My Experiences with a Danish Sharia-Zone

Below is an article published last Sunday by a former Danish leftist, who writes about sharia-controlled zones in his old neighborhood in Århus.

Many thanks to Steen for the tip, and to Nemo for the translation.


My Experiences with a Danish Sharia-Zone
by Dan Ritto

On the front page of today’s edition of [Danish newspaper] Ekstra-Bladet you can see the headline ‘Here, sharia law applies’, and a map of the areas of the country where the imams and so-called cultural societies have established an alternative judicial system based on sharia law.

One of these areas is Gellerupparken, where I used to live and participate in what I thought was an effort to integrate immigrants into society. A feature article in the newspaper says that according to experts, these areas will, in the course of 10-15 years, be anti-democratic. I’ll stipulate that depending on what you mean by “democratic”, Gellerup has already turned that corner.

Unfortunately, the criticisms coming from Islam-sceptics like myself are almost always swept off the table with the remark that we are stupid and ignorant. Therefore in the following I will present my credentials and background for talking about conditions in Gellerup, so that the readers themselves can judge whether I am ignorant or not.

When I returned home from seminary in London in 2004, I had no possessions except for some boxes with my books in them — and the clothes on my back. I had no money and no place to live. A couple of months later I got my apartment — in Gellerupparken, because back then as now it was very quick and easy to get an apartment there. On top of that the apartments were actually surprisingly lovely, in spite of the reputation the area had.

After some time I became an active member of the society called ‘Multikulturel Forening’ [Multicultural Society]. I even became its vice-president. But before then, very soon after moving in, actually, I had new neighbours. It was a very nice guy who moved in along with his family — among them a son in a wheelchair. No one in the family spoke any language other that Arabic, so I never got to talk to any of them. But they always greeted me with big smiles and a lot of warmth, and they as well as the master of the house made a fantastic impression. His name was Shaykh Raed Hlayhel. Shaykh Hlayhel was imam in the mosque on Grimshøjvej, but that interested me little back then. Later, when the whole cartoon crisis erupted, I learned with amazement that my good neighbour was one of the imams who travelled and spread lies about Denmark throughout the Middle East.

One day, Hlayhel disappeared from the country. Literally in the dark of night. One day he was there — the next, he was gone. It said in the newspaper that it was because of dissatisfaction with the cartoonists not being punished by the Danish courts. Based on what I saw and experienced leading up to his disappearance, I am pretty sure it happened because he was put under pressure. My guess is that PET [Police Intelligence Service] was involved, but that is pure guesswork on my part.

Shaykh Hlayhel was a good and respected neighbor, but at the same time he was an enemy of my country. That was the first time I experienced the double nature of Islam!

How Do You Sleep?

Mujahideen carrying the black flag of jihad converged on the American embassy in London last Sunday. They announced the supremacy of Islam. They promised that democracy in Europe and the USA would be abolished and sharia would replace it. Their activities were aided and protected by Metropolitan Police.

Volunteers from the English Defence League arrived carrying the flag of St. George and the Union Jack. They planned a counter-protest in support of traditional British values and culture. Their actions were in solemn respect for the 3,000 people killed on 9-11. The police responded by reading them a Section 14 and forcibly removing them from the area.

It makes you wonder which side the Metropolitan Police are on.

The EDL has posted this video message directed at the police officers who protected the mujahideen so diligently at Grosvenor Square on September 11, 2011:


Hat tip: Gaia.

Robert Spencer on Michael Coren

Michael Coren interviews Robert Spencer on SUN TV about the failure to face the real issue, ten years after 9-11:


Hat tip: Vlad Tepes.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/12/2011

At least one person was killed today in an explosion at a decommissioned nuclear plant in southern France. The plant is used to process nuclear waste, and the explosion occurred in an oven used for drying radioactive material. The French authorities say there was no radiation leakage as a result of the blast.

Meanwhile, according to a new poll, 56% of Canadians believe the differences between Islam and the West are “irreconcilable”. Also, 62% say that water is wet.

OK, so I made that last one up. But still…

In other news, the United States government is promoting the idea of establishing an “embassy” for the Taliban in Qatar. The USA believes that it will improve dialogue between Western countries and the “students” of the Koran.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to an EDL buck, C. Cantoni, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, Janet Levy, JP, McR, Rembrandt, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.