Sears: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

Papa Ray sent us an email the other day which included several forwards. Given the sheer volume of mail we get, I don’t often dip into the forwards. But for some reason I opened this one and was pleasantly surprised to find some good news.

I’m passing this excellent bit of information on via this post because I’m so tired of the MSM emphasis on bad news, back-biting, out-of-context sound bites, and the trivial scandals generated by trivial people whose claim to fame is… simply fame. Usually these famous “personalities” are noted mostly for degraded sexual exploits or excessive substance abuse that makes a revolving door out of treatment centers. How long can you read about those narcissists before realizing they are trifling idiots who belong in an assisted-living home with round-the-clock caretakers?

Ahem… I digressed. Here’s some good news, via Papa Ray:

Everyone in the U. S. knows Sears Roebuck, right? It’s been around since forever: a good place to go for tools, appliances, and flannel shirts. No one expects haute couture or cutting-edge anything from Sears. It’s solid and stolid and that’s been the foundation of their success.


A few years ago, K-Mart bought up Sears. Then Sears turned around and bought up K-Mart [and, no, I don’t understand how they do that] The result was a hybrid renamed Sears Holding Corporation. This factoid isn’t a necessary part of the story, except to say that SHLD (its stock market designation) has a much-admired CEO, who the stock market hopes will make a grand success of all this merging and purging.

Meanwhile, though, what hasn’t been much publicized is Sears’ policy about any employees called up by the military. Evidently the story about their policies have been floating around the internet for a long time. The longer something is out there, the more questionable/mythical it becomes. Wally Ballou has instilled the in me the habit of checking with Snopes for verification when I stumble across a too-good-to-be-true tale before I embarrass myself by passing it on.

Here’s what Snopes says about Sears:
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Claim: Sears pays the difference in salaries and maintains benefits for their called-up military reservist employees.

Status: True.

Example: [(an email) collected on the Internet, 2003]

“I HOPE you have all seen the reports about how Sears is treating its reservist employees who are called up? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.”

That’s the claim someone sent in for verification. What follows is Snopes’ reply:

Origins: Although many employers look favorably on military service and even encourage it, there are some who find it burdensome to have an employee who spends time away from the job. Military reservists and National Guard members pose a particular challenge to employers because they’re subject to recall to active duty at any time - call-ups to active service during times of war may not occur often, but active duty recalls can occur even during peacetime, and nearly every reservist has to take occasional leave from his regular job for monthly drills and annual training.

In order to provide a measure of employment security to reservists subject to active duty recall and minimize the disadvantages that occur when reservists need to be absent from their civilian employment to serve in the uniformed services, the United States enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) in 1994. Codified in Chapter 43, Part III, Title 38 of the United States Code, this act mandates that “any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to reemployment rights and benefits.”

Of course, reservists give up more than just their jobs when they’re called up for active duty. Although the law may require that their former positions be waiting for them when they return, many reservists still have to deal with the financial hardships of the difference in pay between their civilian jobs and their military positions; as well, other job benefits they may lose out on while on active duty (such as medical insurance coverage or participation in employer bonus plans) are not guaranteed to them. Some employers voluntarily go the extra mile for their reservist employees, making up the difference between their regular pay and their military pay while they’re on active duty and ensuring that all employer-sponsored benefits associated with their jobs remain in force…

Sears is indeed one of the employers who take additional steps to show support for employees involved in serving their country (either in the Reserves or the National Guard) by guaranteeing the continuance of their civilian pay (for up to 60 months) and allowing continued participation in life insurance, medical and dental programs. Many other companies, large and small, do the same for their workers, but as one of the nation’s oldest and largest employers, Sears… gets the publicity for setting a prominent example.

The little jibe there - “as one of the nation’s oldest and largest employers, Sears gets the publicity for setting a prominent example”- isn’t warranted. Any company that has this kind of generous policy in effect is commended publicly by the government and is free to publicize their commitment in their stores, online, with advertising, etc.

You can find the Sears commendation here. If you click on the site you’ll see they do far more than simply providing pay and benefits and help with housing for military families.

Look here also for their project “Heroes at Home.”

Thanks for the heads-up, Papa Ray.

Theology, Repression, and Political Dictatorship: Part 2

I wrote last week about the virtually universal political despotism that has accompanied Islamic societies wherever they appear, citing Paul Marshall’s editorial in The Washington Post and juxtaposing it with the furor raised by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks and his depictions of Mohammed as a Rondellhund.

Any country with an Islamic majority tend to be repressive towards religious minorities, and reduces their numbers through discrimination, harassment, and violence. The Koran contains explicit guidelines about the treatment of infidels within the Ummah, and the best they can hope for is to be barely tolerated as despised inferiors.

But Islam is also hard on Muslims who fail to stay within the severe limits imposed by religious doctrine. Questioning any aspect of the Koran and the Hadith can cost an independent thinker his livelihood, or even his life.

In addition, the entrenched political establishment in a Muslim autocracy tends to justify its crushing of dissent in religious terms. Mr. Marshall gives some examples:

Egypt has been unusually active of late in imprisoning its critics in the name of Islam. On Aug. 8, it arrested Adel Fawzy Faltas and Peter Ezzat, who work for the Canada-based Middle East Christian Association, on the grounds that, in seeking to defend human rights, they had “insulted Islam.” Egyptian State Security has also intensified its interrogation of Quranist Muslims, whose view of Islam stresses political freedom. One of them, Amr Tharwat, had coordinated the monitoring of Egypt’s June Shura Council elections on behalf of the pro-democracy Ibn Khaldun Center, headed by prominent Egyptian democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Prominent Egyptian ‘blogger’ Abdel Kareem Soliman was sentenced earlier this year to three years for “insulting Islam.”

The question, as I noted in last week’s post, is whether a culture of political liberty is even feasible within a predominantly Islamic society. There are no such examples in the history of Islam; the best that the Ummah has managed is the modern secular state in Turkey, which has maintained a precarious democracy only with the support of the military.

But there are Muslim organizations that fight for political liberty; they just don’t exist in predominantly Islamic societies. Within the Western democracies, under the protection of the rule of law, Muslim dissidents can and do exercise their constitutional rights and propose alternative interpretations of the Koran and revised versions of Islamic theology.

Take, for example, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. In response to the recent (and brief) elevation of Dr. Esam Omeish to membership in the Virginia Commission on Immigration, AIFD had this to say: “The AIFD stands in opposition to the appointment and in support of the resignation on the ideological grounds that Dr. Omeish has repeatedly represented an Islamist agenda (political Islam) in his activism.”

The same article goes on to make a case for religious and political liberty from an Islamic perspective:
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While the engagement by government of the Muslim community is to be lauded and a necessary component of victory against the ideology of militant Islamism, that engagement must be done in the setting of clear ideological benchmarks. Those benchmarks could be articulated as follows:

I.		The Rejection of Islamism as a political ideology — Simply being ‘anti-terror’ does not make a Muslim necessarily moderate in the American context. It simply gives him or her a seat at the table of humanity. It is a core belief at AIFD that political moderation within the Muslim community is manifested most significantly in a rejection of political Islam (anti-Islamism).
II.		A Rejection of the concept of the ‘Islamic state’ — Islamist Muslims may endorse democracies, elections, citizenship, and the rule of law, but they are driven by an overriding vision of a Muslim majority society led by theologians (imams and clerics) who run government through their interpretation and enactment of Islamic law (sharia). Our government should engage anti-Islamist Muslims predominantly and at the minimum — non-Islamist Muslims. The ideology of Islamism — or the desire to put into place an ‘Islamic state’ — runs against the interests of the United States. Muslim moderates are those who embrace both Americanism and a spiritual Islam while wholly rejecting Islamism as a movement for the body politic and government of every nation, and not just the one they happen to live in as a minority.
III.		Identification of radical Islamist organizations by name as enemies of the United States — Moderate Muslims are able to both condemn terrorism as an act and condemn, by name, the individuals and organizations which utilize terrorism as a tactic for political change. Thus, a moderate Muslim should be able to identify radical Islamist organizations by name such as Al Qaeda, HAMAS, Hezbullah, and Islamic Jihad as ideological enemies of America. Similarly, moderate Muslims should condemn by name global Islamist organizations which seek to put into place Islamic states such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb ut-Tahrir, or Tabligh Jamaat. While these organizations may at times condemn terrorism they often offer apologetics to terrorism and seek the establishment of Islamic states and a caliphate which runs against the security interests of the United States and our Constitutional republic. Anti-Islamism is central to being moderate in the American context.
IV.		The acceptance that the root cause of terrorism is political Islam. Terror is only a means to the ends of the Islamic state. While many Islamists may be anti-terror, moderate Muslims accept the fact that the root cause of terrorism is the ideology of Islamism and its intoxicating dreams of the Islamic state poised against the ascendancy of western secular democracies. To blame American foreign policy and other conspiracy theories for terrorism is to live in denial and immoderation.
V.		To articulate the central impact which Wahhabism has had upon the radicalization of some members of the Muslim community.
VI.		To unequivocally recognize the state of Israel and its right to exist. Moderate Muslims accept the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian situation is not a religious conflict but rather a local Middle Eastern national conflict.

I’ve only quoted the first six of twelve points in AIFD’s list, but it’s worth reading the whole thing. Their response comprises a manifesto for liberty within Islam. They are not mealy-mouthed or equivocal in their stance, and I find myself in complete agreement with all their points.

Just as the Virginia Bill of Rights led to our national one, this early draft — written in response to a single event — of a possible Virginia Bill of Religious Responsibilities may have national import

We keep saying that Islamists use our constitutional liberties, especially freedom of religion, to advance their goal of a global caliphate through legal and illegal means. States can begin resisting that Islamist advancement, in the best federalist tradition, by adopting their own version of the Virginia Bill of Religious Responsibility.

What is most important about it is that it begins to change the terms of the debate. Up until now the focus has been on the religious sensibilities and privileges to be accorded easily offended Muslims. If we use this as a starting point, the argument can be reframed. This can give a us blueprint for the genuine integration into American political and social culture for a previously imperialistic religion, and show how to define the political terms of victory for authentic Muslim reformers who wish to become Americans, and who do not wish to colonize America for the Ummah.

I’m aware of the argument that AIFD and similar organizations are practicing a form of taqiyyah. But if they are, their methods are sophisticated and subtle enough to earn them a fatwa and may eventually cause them to be killed.

It’s easy to dismiss groups like this, with their relatively few members as marginal, to see them as unimportant and not representative of Islam in general. It’s easy to insist upon an uncompromising opposition to Islam in all its manifested forms. But doing so ignores the fact that there are courageous Muslims who retain their faith while rejecting political Islam, and who in the process risk their lives and their well-being.

The problem is how to help American Muslims who resist the imperative for a separate and parallel society of shari’a in the United States, and how to support their victory over the Islamists who have previously intimidated them.

The creation of a space in the United States where political liberty, religious freedom, and Islam can coexist would open possibilities for the liberalization of countries where Muslims form the majority. The chances are admittedly slim, but — given the number of people involved and daunting task the Counterjihad otherwise faces — we cannot afford to discard the idea preemptively.

Samizdat Humor

Back during the heyday of the Soviet Union, the truth could not be spoken in Russia. If a Russian wanted to know the truth, he had two choices: he could find some samizdat literature to read, or he could listen to his comrades’ jokes.

Under the Soviet regime, Russian jokes were the funniest in the world, because they packed that extra punch of suppressed truth. The same is true under the PC Multiculturalist regime now regnant in the West: we can’t speak the truth publicly, but its jokes are told among trusted confidants or passed around in emails.

The joke below just came this morning in our email. It looked like it had been forwarded ten or twelve times before it got to us.

WARNING: If ethnically-based humor offends you, then don’t click “Read further”.
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*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
Jose and Carlos are panhandlers. They panhandle in different areas of town.

Carlos panhandles for the same amount of time as Jose, but collects only eight or nine dollars every day.

Jose brings home a suitcase of ten-dollar bills every day. He drives a Mercedes, lives in a mortgage-free house, and has a lot of money to spend.

“Hey, amigo,” Carlos says to Jose, “I work just as long and hard as you do, so how come you bring home a suitcase full of ten-dollar bills every day?”

Jose says, “Look at your sign, what does it say”?

Carlos’ sign reads: “I have no work, a wife and 6 kids to support.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Carlos asks him.

Jose says, “No wonder you only get eight or nine dollars!”

Carlos says, “All right, so what does your sign say?”

Jose shows Carlos his sign. It reads, “I only need another ten dollars to move back to Mexico.”

Turban Bomb Meets the Modoggies

Lars Vilks, the Swedish artist behind the infamous Modoggies, paid a little visit to his cousins in Denmark.

Trykkefrihedsselskabet, the Free Press Society, convened tonight in Copenhagen to proclaim its solidarity with Mr. Vilks. To the great surprise of most of the participants, the artist himself was there as the guest of honor.

Steen was there with his camera, and has kindly given me permission to post these photos.

Also present was Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who drew the Turban Bomb Mohammed, the most well-known of the Motoons. He’s shown in the photo at right, with Lars Vilks standing on his left.

Naser Khader, the leader of the Democratic Muslims, was also there, as was Flemming Rose, the editor of Jyllands-Posten. Mr. Rose and his newspaper launched the Mohammed cartoon crisis in the fall of 2005 by publishing twelve cartoons of the Prophet.

You can see him at right, sitting with Lars Vilks.

Steen’s post is in Danish, so I can’t tell you much more about the meeting. One of my other Danish contacts was there, and sent this brief description:

Lars Vilks was relaxed and extremely funny. He made a lot of friends, too.

The secrecy was so tight, that I didn’t know ahead of time that he would be there. But it also meant that there was no TV, so there was no video report on the event.

Despite the humor and the festive nature of the occasion, it’s worth remembering that people are trying to kill these “blasphemers”. As the Danish blog Pundokraterne notes:
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During the trial at the Courthouse in Odense one of four individuals accused of planning terror attacks in Denmark divulged that he and the three others, together or separately, had discussed and/or worked on several planned bomb attacks. One of the ideas discussed included the construction of a remote-controlled bomb that should have been directed against Rose. The bomb would be planted in a car that was supposed to be driven into Rose’s private home. (It has already been uncovered that “A.K.”, the particular member of the group who suggested the idea, had considered killing one of the cartoonists. He also wrote letters in praise of Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab Zarqawi and offered himself: “Revenge, revenge! I am the first volunteer! God is great!”)

Lars Vilks can be seen below, holding the Modoggie that got him into so much trouble, the one that was published in Nerikes Allehanda.




Photos © Snaphanen/Sappho

For previous posts on Lars Vilks and the Roundabout Dogs, see the Modoggie Archives.

Vade in Pace, Mr. Forkum

For a variety of reasons, Forkum, of Cox and Forkum, has put down his pen. There will be no more of those C & F zingers we all so enjoyed. Mr. Forkum explains some of his reasons:

Let me start by saying that quitting editorial cartooning has been one of my toughest decisions. Having such a creative outlet for expressing my opinions is immensely satisfying. It’s an art form I’ve admired for decades, so I do not take lightly having the opportunity to work in the medium and to have that work seen by others. One of my proudest moments came soon after 9/11 when I held in my hands our first published cartoon. It was easy to feel useless, even helpless, in the weeks and months following the attacks. But to be able to fight in the battle of ideas was empowering.

The most powerful evidence of the truth of their illustrations is that Cox & Forkum's cartoons haven’t dated. In fact, because they have intuited the fault lines so well, their work won’t date until this battle with global islamofacism is history. Then they will enter the books reserved for things like, say, the WWII cartoons or the ones that sketched out the battle lines of the Cold War. When this is over, Cox & Forkum’s body of work will serve to evoke an accurate history of a dark and uncertain time.

Here are two of their cartoons we used at Gates of Vienna in 2006.

Good principles and eternal ideas stand up to the humor directed at them. One of the reasons that excitable muslims threaten fatwas on those who poke fun at their icons is a profound uncertainty that pervades their world view.

Uncertainty is not the same as doubt. The latter is a normal part of a belief system. It is what sends us back to ponder and reformulate those things which we consider foundational. Doubt is intrinsic to faith; the kind of faith which is so rigid and brittle that it cannot laugh at itself or allow others to do so is not authentic belief; it is magical thinking. Every time CAIR blows out of proportion some slight, or when Rage Boy, Inc. starts setting fire to things or issuing righteous fatwas, you know you are witnessing pathology, not an authentic loyalty to an idea or ideology. The more a group finds humor in its own foibles, the stronger and more resilient that group proves itself to be.

Islam has yet to lighten up.

Forkum goes on to say:

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The editorial work [those wonderful cartoons, he means - D] though intellectually rewarding, is not very rewarding financially. Furthermore, researching the cartoons, writing/designing them, managing the blog, publishing the books, marketing them, and running the business side all take an enormous amount of time.

All of that comes with the territory, of course, and John and I have done pretty well over the last six years. We’re fairly well known on the Internet, we have a few newspaper and magazine clients, we’ve self-published four books, and we’ve made some money, if not a living. But lately, for reasons I won’t go into here, I can no longer afford to divert so much time and attention away from my publishing business and other personal concerns, such as my family.

I also want to stop focusing so much of my creative energy on negative aspects of daily life. There’s still an ideological battle to be fought, not to mention an actual war, and I will stay engaged in some form and medium. But at this point, anything seems more appealing than immersing myself in the sewer of daily politics. [my emphasis - D.]

He goes on to add his gratitude to several people who helped Cox and Forkum become such favorites:

There are many people we’re grateful to for their support, from bloggers, to clients, to friends. I can’t begin to list them all here; hopefully you know who you are. But there are two “firsts” I want to mention by name. Robert Tracinski was the first to publish one of our editorial cartoons…in the November 2001 edition of The Intellectual Activist. And Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs was the first major blogger to regularly post our work on the Internet…They both saw value in our work, and we thank them for publicizing our cartoons when others wouldn’t.

You can buy their book, “Black and White,” here

Vade in pace, Mr. Forkum.

The New Italians

Italy now has three million resident foreigners, which is about five percent of its population. But even more significant than their numbers is their fecundity — they are breeding twice as fast as native Italians.

And, needless to say, most of these fertile foreigners come from Albania and other Muslim countries.

ANSA has the story:

The number of foreigners living in Italy rose by 10% to reach almost three million last year, according national statistics bureau Istat.

Figures also confirmed that foreign couples tended to have more children than Italian ones, with the result that for every 10 babies born in Italy, one now has foreign parents.

On January 1, 2007, some 2,938,922 foreign citizens were resident in Italy, Istat’s report said, noting that last year’s 10.1% increase was slightly less than in 2005. With 5% of its population foreign citizens, Italy still has a smaller immigrant community than other European countries such as Germany, which has 8.8%, and Britain, which has 6.2%.

Istat figures showed that Albanians were the largest foreign community, with 376,000 nationals now in Italy, followed by Moroccans (343,000), Romanians (342,000) and Chinese (145,000)…

The alarming news for “persons of Italian background” is that these foreigners are now flexing their political muscles, and have formed their own party:
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The recently formed New Italians Immigrants’ Party greeted the Istat statistics by calling for political representation for the foreign population.

“Now that the ‘New Italians’ have reached three million politicians cannot continue to ignore their needs,” said President Mustapha Mansouri.

“We’re asking for resident citizens to enjoy political rights. They pay taxes and contribute to the country’s wealth. This is a fundamental right”.

What this “fundamental right” means from a practical standpoint is the further Islamization of Italy. A bloc that large — depending on the number of adults, it could be as much as five percent of the voters — cannot be ignored. All the major political parties will compete for the favor of the “new Italians”, and the immigrants’ party will play a prominent role in any coalition government.

As a result, no matter whether the Center Left — the socialists — or the Center Right — the somewhat-less-socialists — form a government, the New Italians will carry the swing votes, and the ruling coalition will owe them favors.

It’s not unlike the situation we have here in the United States with the increasing flood of Hispanics. Both major parties are competing to enfranchise them and promise them lavish multicultural benefits in order to gain their votes.

It’s an ominous trend.


Hat tip: insubria.

Al Qaeda in Iraq — And Italy

I reported yesterday on the audio statement released by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the emir of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Later yesterday one of al-Baghdadi’s associates, Saber Fadhi Hussien, was arrested in Italy in connection with a plot to attack American military installations in Iraq. According to AKI:

Terrorism: Iraq suspect arrested in northern Italy

Venice, 1 Oct. (AKI) — Italian police have arrested an Iraqi man on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on US military bases in Iraq. Saber Fadhi Hussien, was detained near Venice last Friday during an early morning raid, Carabinieri paramilitary police said.

Hussien, a former member of late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s disbanded Baath Party, is allegedly the head of an al-Qaeda cell. He was arrested at the airport as he was boarding a plane bound for Damascus, via the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

The cell was allegedly planning attacks using suicide bombers, anti-tank weapons and ultra-light helicopters, according to investigators. They said Hussien was intending to travel to Syria and meet a contact for al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Police said he had been in touch with aides of the group’s founder, the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed last year in Iraq by a US airstrike.

The ultra-light helicopters can fly low enough to avoid radar and could transport up to 250 kilogrammes of explosives. It is believed to be the first time terrorist groups in Iraq have considered using light aircraft to overcome the tight security surrounding international forces in the country.

Ultra-light helicopters — this is either innovative and cunning, or grandiose and insane. How likely is it that terrorist groups could successfully manage to use such tactics? Maybe they’re more sophisticated than we give them credit for.

This next excerpt ties in with al-Baghdadi’s complaints about the “traitors” and “apostates” in Iraq:
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Hussien was also alleged to be planning a strike against a Sunni tribe in western al-Anbar province because it has turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq.

These were the guys that Al Qaeda used to be able to count on, but now they’ve switched to the stronger horse.

Here’s a reminder that the deadliest terrorists are being nurtured in the heart of Europe, and have been for a long time:

Venice prosecutors have been probing Hussien since the end of 2006. He has an elegant apartment in the centre of Padua, where he and his family ran a pizza and kebab shop. He has lived in Italy for 25 years.

Prosecutors said Hussien had been providing logistical support for an al-Qaeda cell in Iraq for some time, sending around 4,200 euros a month to Iraq for the purchase of weapons and to recruit suicide bombers.

Europe is thoroughly infested with Islamic radicals, many of them citizens of their host countries. They rely on social welfare programs for their support, gain the protection of a justice system which bends over backwards to accommodate them, pose as asylum-seekers, and use the useful idiots of the leftist NGOs and activist organizations to obtain aid and sustenance.

It’s insane and suicidal, and it can’t go on like this.


Hat tip: insubria.

The Modoggies Trip the Light Fantastic

The Art Project, as you may recall, was an attempt to extend the work that is Lars Vilks’ Modoggies. It was conceived by Conservative Swede and inspired by Every Kinda People and the Rondellhundar themselves.

According to Mr. Vilks, “Mohammed as a Rondellhund” is more than just a drawing; it’s an interaction between the artist and the viewer. It’s the work combined with the audience’s responses, and in that sense anybody who reacts becomes part of the work of art. Lars Vilks, the Modoggie, the nervous censors of the Swedish art establishment, the enraged Muslims, you and I — we’re all part of the Art Project.

And now Mr. Vilks himself is considering extending the Art Project into new media. According to the AP:

Lars Vilks, 61, told The Associated Press he might use the uproar over his drawings as the subject of a musical, with prominent roles depicting Iran’s president, Sweden’s prime minister and al-Qaida terrorists.

“The Muhammad cartoon project must be made into an art work,” said Vilks, breaking away for an interview during a business seminar in Klippan, a small town in southern Sweden. “A musical comes to mind … I think it would help the debate.”

The eccentric sculptor said previously that the cartoons weren’t meant to insult Islam but rather to test the boundaries of artistic freedom.

Mad Jad and Fredrik Reinfeldt capering across the stage! I can’t wait to see it.

And don’t forget Ol’ Mo — assuming an actor willing to brave the fatwas can be found, a dancing and crooning dogsbody Prophet will be the major draw of the show!

The threats of violence are also part of the Art Project, but the artist doesn’t let them control it:
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He purports to be unfazed by death threats over his caricatures, which rekindled the Muslim anger but not the violence that swept the world last year in fiery protests over a Danish newspaper’s publication of cartoons of Muhammad.

“Personally I’m not afraid,” Vilks said, although he admitted he starts his day by looking for bombs underneath his car. On the advice of Sweden’s security police, he now lives in a secret location under police protection.

“I think they are trying to frighten people. That’s their aim,” he said of the $100,000 bounty placed on his head by al-Qaida in Iraq. “Al-Qaida is far away, but it could be some sort of challenge for the extremists we have here.”

It seems that Mr. Vilks was expecting to épater les bourgeois, but not quite so far afield as eventually occurred:

Vilks said his drawings were meant to provoke, but only the Swedish art community, which refused to display the cartoons for security reasons. But the project took on a larger dimension Aug. 19 when a Swedish newspaper printed one of the cartoons, showing Muhammad’s head on a dog’s body in an editorial defending freedom of expression.

One would think the Motoon affair would have given him ample warning of what was to come.

Vilks said Muslims living in the West will have to get used to disrespectful drawings of their religious symbols, “because here in the West we mock everything.”

“I think also the Muslims will understand that this is the system we have and it’s not really against Muslims, it’s just the principle of being able to insult religions,” he added.

This system of free expression, the one which allows the insulting of religions, is the one that the crowd in Karlskrona demonstrated against yesterday.

It’s the system they are ready to overthrow.


For previous posts on Lars Vilks and the Roundabout Dogs, see the Modoggie Archives.

Islamizing Sweden

Remember the growth curve of Sweden’s immigrant population that I posted a few days ago? It seems that future versions of the same graph will likely show an even steeper slope.

Sveriges Radio has this report:

Family ties boost Sweden immigration

The number of immigrants coming to Sweden to join family members who have already moved here has doubled after changes to asylum legislation.

According to Sweden’s Migration Board, during the first six months of 2007, twice as many people applied to come to Sweden as was the case in the same period the previous year.

Applicants from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia accounted for the majority of the increase.

The Migration Board says the rise in applications is in large part due to a change in Sweden’s asylum laws which gave family members, many of whom were already in Sweden, a second hearing on their cases.

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The change has now created a wave of applicants seeking to join their families in Sweden.

Between January and August some 5,000 people applied to emigrate to Sweden to reunite with relations already living here - a jump of 118 percent on the same period last year.

So-called “love-emigration” has also shown a marked increase with 14,000 people wanting to emigrate to Sweden to live with their partners so far this year - an increase of some 4,000 during the same period in 2006.

“Love-emigration”, eh? I wonder how many persons of Swedish background love it…

Notice that the bulk of the new Swedes came from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia — that is, refugees from failed states and hotbeds of Islamist agitation on the one hand, and questionable asylum-seekers fleeing American military force on the other. A large chunk of the late Saddam Hussein’s Mukhabarat ended up in Sweden, and I dread to think what happened to some of those Taliban fleeing from Afghanistan.

Välkommen till Sverige!


Hat tip: Steen.

Attempted Terrorist Attack on U.S. Embassy in Vienna

LGF has a story up from Yahoo about a bomb attempt at the U. S. Embassy in Vienna:

A Bosnian who tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Vienna with a backpack filled with explosives, nails and Islamic literature was arrested Monday after the bag set off a metal detector and the man fled on foot, authorities said.

[…]

“There were a lot of nails in that bag. Had it exploded, it would have had an enormous shrapnel effect,” said Doris Edelbacher, of Austria’s federal counterterrorism office.

The explosives resembled hand grenades, she told reporters, but that munitions experts were still working to determine whether the device had been properly rigged to explode.

The suspect spoke broken German and appeared to ramble during an initial interrogation, Edelbacher said.

It was unclear how far he made it into the embassy. Public broadcaster ORF, citing unidentified officials, reported that a metal detector sounded an alarm as the man was passing through security checks and that he fled immediately.

The nature of the Islamic material he allegedly was carrying also was unclear.

Obviously it was bomb-proof Islamic literature. I would think that as a general rule, most terrorist brochures would need to be indestructible to be of any use as propaganda.

Or maybe he was looking for the confetti effect and didn’t want to use kaffir cootie-laden papers?

But in Vienna of all places! I take that personally, Mr. Bosnian Terrorist. Fie on you.

Hmmm...this reminds me that I hope never to have to enter an embassy or consulate. All the little nails hammered into my right shoulder will make those metal detectors sing anthems.

[That’s it]

Muslims in Karlskrona Protest the Modoggies

The Muslim demonstration in Karlskrona went off today as scheduled. The protesters were objecting to the publication of Lars Vilks’ depiction of Mohammed as a Rondellhund.


Our Swedish correspondent Carpenter has translated an article on the demo from this afternoon’s Blekinge Läns Tidning:

Demonstrators demand clearer press ethics rules

250 Muslim students gathered today at Stortorget, Karlskrona. They demanded that the Swedish media tighten the ethical rules for the press, and that the ombudsman of the press take note of the demonstration.

Today at twelve o’clock, 250 Muslim students of Blekinge Tekniska Högskola [college in Karlskrona] gathered at Stortorget, Karlskrona. They demonstrated against the publication of Mohammed depicted as a roundabout dog by the artist Lars Vilks.

The protest was silent, but the message of the demonstrators’ placards was unambiguous: the freedom of expression shouldn’t be at the expense of the religious faith of other people.

“We demand clearer ethical rules for the press, radio and television in Sweden. We also think that the ombudsman of the press should take a close look at the publication,” says Junaid Naseem, responsible for the demonstration.

For previous posts on Lars Vilks and the Roundabout Dogs, see the Modoggie Archives.


[Nothing follows]

We Have The Best Congress Money Can Buy

M. Simon has a strange tidbit posted this morning.

Gates of Vienna doesn’t usually write about sex, murder, et al - but when it involves our Imperial Congress - that august body that met for a total of 103 days last year - then I figure it’s worth a look.

Remember Chandra Levy, the young intern found murdered at Rock Creek park in Washington, D.C.? When her relationship with Congressman Gary Condit came to light, his career was also dead in the water.

The unsolved mystery went on for months and months, only puttering out when it was interrupted by 9/11.

Now Mr. Simon has some new information…

Funny what you can find when you begin prowling the ‘net.

[Nothing further]

More Bombs in the South of Thailand

This post is the latest in a series from our Bangkok correspondent, H. Numan.


An article from today’s Bangkok Post:

Coordinated bombings rock the South

Pattani — A string of 13 bomb explosions Monday morning in the troubled deep South injured at least nine people, including one Buddhist monk, a military source said.

The first batch of five bombs went off about 7 am local time in the morning market of Rangae town, Narathiwat province, 790 kilometres south of Bangkok, injuring a monk on his alms-gathering rounds and two soldiers guarding him, said regional army spokesman Colonel Akara Thiprote.

Five villagers were also injured in the first attack.

Another four bombs were detonated in Rangae at 8:10 am, injuring one person.

Rangue is classified as a “red zone” by Thai authorities, because of the close collaboration between separatists and the town’s inhabitants.

- - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, two more bombs went off in Waeng, and one each in Sisakorn and Sungai Padi, all in Narathiwat, leaving two people injured.

They were the latest of more than 6,000 violent incidents reported over the past three and a half years in Thailand’s troubled deep South, the majority-Muslim region comprising Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces and parts of Songkhla.

According to army data, some 2,500 people have died from the violence since January 1, 2004.

1 Jan 2004 — 1 Oct 2007 = 1281 days makes an average of 1.95 persons killed per day. Not bad, for a religion of peace.

This was Bangkok reporting,
H. Numan.

The Bounty on Lars Vilks

Our Swedish correspondent Carpenter sent us a link to a translation by the NEFA Foundation of the bounty placed on the head of Lars Vilks by Al Qaeda in Iraq. The full document is available on the NEFA website in pdf format.

The translation is a transcription in English of a long audio statement issued by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi on September 14th. His lengthy, florid, and orotund style is no doubt better represented in the original Arabic. In any case, here’s what he had to say about the artist who drew the Modoggies:

Others who had previously claimed to be neutral also have attacked the Muslims. An excellent example of this is the degenerate crusader country of Sweden, where they published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed portrayed as a dog… We are witnessing every single villain attacking us — from the worshippers of the cross all the way to the worshippers of the cows — we are witnessing our blood and honor being taken away. We are being stabbed in the back every time we try to stand up tall and fight to regain the price of our ancestors. We say now, to all of you — slaves of the cross and material possessions — that we are a nation blessed by Islam. You will learn how to kneel down in humiliation. You will learn how to officially apologize for your crime against our Prophet Mohammed. We know how best to force you to back down and apologize for your actions. We reserve the right to punish those who committed the crime. If you do not apologize, then your industrial giants will be attacked. Companies such as Ericsson, Scandia, Volvo, Ikea, Electrolux, and others will be legitimate targets. You have been warned… [Additionally], on this day forward, we call for the killing of the cartoon artist Lars who committed these despicable acts against our Prophet Mohammed. We announce a reward of $100,000 for anyone who kills that infidel criminal. The reward shall be $150,000 for anyone who beheads him as well. We also will give $50,000 to anyone who kills the chief editor of that newspaper. O’ Muslims, you shall seek this reward, ask for forgiveness, and kill these two infidels…

Christians and Hindus are specifically mentioned — “the worshippers of the cross all the way to the worshippers of the cows” — but nothing about the Zionist apes and pigs, for some reason.

The bounty on Mr. Vilks is just part of a very long document, almost an afterthought, near the end of an extended diatribe against the enemies of the mujahideen in Iraq. The author, like most of the Islamist terrorists who put out jihad videos, is well-acquainted with the political and social issues of the infidels, and has evidently spent considerable time immersing himself in the Western media.

Soldiers of the Muslim state and young Muslim men: we are about to enter a new era and a turning point for the regional and world map. We are witnessing the end of the lie of Western Civilization. We are also witnessing the awakening of mighty Islam and that is exactly what Bush has warned his soldiers about during his most recent speech: ‘This region is changing and moving in a way that shall endanger civilization’ — and by this, he was referring to the civilization of infidels, interest, prostitution, humiliation and defeat. Bush also added regarding the soldiers of the Islamic State in Mesopotamia that ‘they are seeking the return of the Caliphate from Spain to Indonesia’… Frankly, this has been the result of only a fraction of our actual capabilities because of the negative impact on our operations caused by agents and traitors.

However, the bulk of his venom seems to be reserved for his fellow Muslims, those whom he deems “traitors”, the people who fail to live up to his rigorous standards of what Islam should be. They are “hateful apostates”.
- - - - - - - - -
I’m not familiar with the internal politics of the Iraq insurgency, so it seems very strange to hear a hardcore mujahid spew invective against the “Muslim Brotherhood led by Hamas in Iraq”. Is this the same Muslim Brotherhood that is revered by Osama bin Laden? The same Hamas that enforces shari’a with the utmost brutality in Gaza? Or is there different nomenclature and taxonomy in Iraq?

Some of the author’s most bitter and scornful rhetoric is reserved for the fledgling Iraqi government and the “apostate National Guard”. Included among their heinous crimes are:

Legitimizing the institutions of the apostate [Iraqi] government by actively participating in them, from the infidel parliament and local municipal councils to their despicable crime of approving the secular constitution for the apostate state.

And:

Their continuing proclamations that the dangers posed by the Islamic State are greater than those posed by the Americans and apostates.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is particularly devoted to martyrdom and ritual slaughter. Speaking of a prominent Sunni official, he says:

[Professor Shaykh al-Dulaimi from the Accordance Front] — this man of Shariah — has never even once offered a compliment to a suicide bomber who has blown himself up at an American military base or sacrificed himself for the stolen honor of those held in prisons — especially Abu Ghraib prison.

And he admonishes his enemies:

Allah is on our side and you will certainly realize that the moment that we cut your head off…

Remember: these are the people with whom the antiwar Left would have us negotiate. Can you imagine negotiating with such a group?

Perhaps we could engage in a parity of reductions, the way we did with the Soviets. They agree to reduce their arsenal of suicide bombers by 500, and in return we agree to… what?

Shall we force 500 cross-worshippers to convert to Islam?

Promise to have 500 of our pop-tart music stars cover up their shamefully exposed flesh?

One thing that’s clear from this document is that Lars Vilks is just a minor front in the battle being waged by Al Qaeda, a sidebar note in the Scandinavian branch of the Great Jihad.


Below is the full text of NEFA’s translation of the September 14th Al Qaeda in Iraq audio:

Audio Statement from Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the “Amir al-Mumineen” (“Leader of the Faithful”) of Al-Qaida’s “Islamic State of Iraq” Released on September 14, 2007

[This document is the edited transcript of an Arabic-language audio recording obtained by NEFA investigators and translated into English on behalf of the NEFA TerrorWatch news service. This translation is provided for educational and informational purposes only. For more information on Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and the “Islamic State of Iraq”, see “State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: August 2007” (pdf).]

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful… During this month of Ramadan, Allah sent down his Quran as a tool of guidance to all people… Allah has told you in his holy Quran to fight… Those who are loyal amongst you shall bring jihad and victory over the enemies of Allah. Take care not to… waste your opportunity because of a political agenda or secretive agreements with the occupiers and his agents, because if you do so, you will be part of those who have decided to remain behind and disappoint.

Nation of Islam: presently, the jihadi project in Mesopotamia is facing a fierce attack by those who have decided to betray us. These people have a history of being agents and traitors. Every time a region awakens from its deep sleep, they make sure to attack back and eliminate its nascent awakening. They implement their agenda in the name of our religion and under the guise of preserving the interests of the Muslims. Both our local and international enemies benefit from these internal battles and use them to implement their own plans. We shall be frank with you no matter how bitter the truth sounds. Our nation should realize that the Muslim Brotherhood in Mesopotamia under the leadership of the Islamic Party is engaged nowadays in the ugliest campaign to bury the signs of Islam in Iraq, especially in the field of jihad. The Kurds are trying hard to establish their Kurdish state and the hateful apostates are trying to spread their control across the country, especially in the central and southern parts. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the Moslem Brotherhood under the leadership of the [Sunni] Accordance Front working hard to assist the occupation while ignoring the blood and resources spent in our battle. Additionally, they persistently request that the occupation should continue until the military and security apparatus of the apostate state in Iraq is fully and completely established.

They continue down their path by disregarding the sacrifices made by the dignified Sunni people. They declared war against the jihad and the mujahideen and were enthusiastic in establishing the Anbar [Salvation] Council. Moreover, Professor Shaykh al-Dulaimi from the Accordance Front attended one of the [Salvation Council] meetings led by the despicable criminal al-Rishawi. Shaykh al-Dulaimi even went on to congratulate al-Rishawi on the success of his venture. By contrast, Shaykh al-Dulaimi — this man of Shariah — has never even once offered a compliment to a suicide bomber who has blown himself up at an American military base or sacrificed himself for the stolen honor of those held in prisons — especially Abu Ghraib prison.

In addition, the same brothers from [the Anbar Salvation Council] proudly established the Diyala Support Center, or Council, that was used to strike at the mujahideen and to reveal their weaknesses across Iraq. Assisting them in their war were armed factions from the Muslim Brotherhood led by Hamas in Iraq and JAAMI [the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front]. These groups worked hard to uncover the concealed weapons of the Mujahidin and finally stood side-by-side with the occupiers and fought us while wearing their civilian outfits that carry a special identification mark for the occupiers to identify them with. These various factions were even complimented by the American commander in Baquba [Colonel David] Sutherland, who said ‘the 1920 Revolution Brigades are the actual guardians in Baquba, they are mostly leading the march to fight the terrorists and we trust them and their commanders deeply and we shall work on incorporating them into the police and Iraqi army.’ These 1920 Revolution Brigades are, in fact, units from Hamas in Iraq or similar groups that previously used other names. In addition, the 1920 Revolution Brigades have been very active in the districts of Abu Ghraib and Zuba and have worked closely with the Americans and the apostate National Guard. Their actions were noted more than once by leaders from the Association of Muslim Scholars, who frequently cautioned them about the deceptions of the Americans and asked those involved to join the resistance against the occupiers. However, they desired not to do so.

…We should look back at history and learn a lesson. Some of our former brothers fought hard to bring down the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and they engaged in a fierce propaganda battle lasting several years during which they misrepresented everything… and then when time came, they joined the American tanks in Kabul… However, soon enough, the Americans turned their backs on them and brought in their own trusted agent, turning a deaf ear to the one whom they had previously called the leader of the mujahideen, Abu Sayyaf. Afterwards, people began seeking the assistance of their former enemies in order to defeat the occupiers. Here we are today on the verge of that same situation in Iraq — the situation desired by those who want to eliminate the mujahideen and to end the Islamic state. The following is a list of crimes [committed by insurgent traitors]:

1.		Broadcasting false propaganda against the Islamic State — from questioning the faith of its soldiers to finally backstabbing them.
2.		Mobilizing some of the tribal Shaykhs against their mujahideen sons and justifying their actions based upon erroneous claims and by pointing out some of the actual mistakes committed by the mujahideen. Needless to say, these mistakes happen on every battlefield, even back during the era of the Prophet Mohammed.
3.		Establishing councils of treachery and betrayal across the cities of Iraq while providing support for them with political and Shariah principles. Also, inviting the public to join these councils and abandon their religion.
4.		Legitimizing the institutions of the apostate [Iraqi] government by actively participating in them, from the infidel parliament and local municipal councils to their despicable crime of approving the secular constitution for the apostate state.
5.		Aiding the occupiers and their government by putting constant pressure on Arab states to open embassies in Iraq and to support the peace process (i.e. the willingness of Saudi Arabia to open a new embassy in Baghdad).
6.		Extending the period of occupation by convincing the American administration that there soon will be a coming victory and an end to the armed conflict — and also by spreading fear amongst members of the American administration regarding the consequences of an early withdrawal and the impact of a mujahideen takeover.
7.		Ignoring all of the sacrifices of the Sunni people, especially the ones made by the mujahideen. For example, their attempt to convince people that what had happened at Abu Ghraib was all lies — until their efforts were undermined by the American confession. Afterwards, they still claimed the story of the pure, dignified woman [who was mistreated at Abu Ghraib] had been blown out of proportion.
8.		Their continuing proclamations that the dangers posed by the Islamic State are greater than those posed by the Americans and apostates.
9.		Being officially and directly involved in fighting both specifically the Islamic State and the mujahideen in general and implementing it by joining the Iraqi police and army forces, including in Baquba and Anbar. Another example can be found in Fallujah, where the local police chief — one of the top commanders from the 1920 Revolution Brigades — randomly executes any Salafi who is arrested, after they are first subjected to a long chain of inhuman torture.
10.		They have misrepresented themselves in the media. Not just merely expressing their public disapproval with our war — as Hamas and its sister armed factions have done — in reality, they were engaged in a fierce, multi-faceted war targeting us (the mujahideen). Several fighting brigades have joined this phony project and falsely presented themselves as Salafi organizations. These groups attended a dangerous meeting including some of the genuine fighting brigades that took place in an Arab nation (known to be under American supervision and which has a strong relationship with the Jewish State of Israel). During the meeting, they agreed to ‘establish an alliance amongst the participating organizations that aims to prevent the Islamic State from encroaching on their (the participating organizations’) areas of control — whether by directly fighting [the ISI] or by aiding the local tribes. In return, American forces promised to strike the Mahdi army and the Shiite insurgents. The Americans promised give these groups eventual political control, all under the unified state project that is based on honest and democratic elections.’ Indeed, these organizations have lived up to their commitments and promises and have initiated first a propaganda war, then followed by an armed one…

Free and proud Muslim nation: those who are attempting to bring down the young Muslim nation in Mesopotamia will not succeed thanks to the blessings of Allah. They are attempting all of this at a time when conniving individuals are attacking the Muslims. You all have heard about the dignified and pure Muslim woman Dua [Khalil Aswad] who was brutally murdered in broad daylight by a group of satan worshippers… As a result, a group of Muslim lions from the north swore to avenge her death — especially when [local Yazidis near Mosul] refused to turn in those who participated in the killing. We shall continue to launch strikes upon them until their satanic leader consents to the conversion of any Yazidi to Islam… The world has witnessed our actions — have we avenged your death, O’ Dua? I imagined you, Dua, whispering to me and me replying to you that it is not yet time to stop [our operations] because your murderers are still walking free on earth. I swear to you, sister, that we shall not stop our actions until they turn in your killers.

Others who had previously claimed to be neutral also have attacked the Muslims. An excellent example of this is the degenerate crusader country of Sweden, where they published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed portrayed as a dog… We are witnessing every single villain attacking us — from the worshippers of the cross all the way to the worshippers of the cows — we are witnessing our blood and honor being taken away. We are being stabbed in the back every time we try to stand up tall and fight to regain the price of our ancestors. We say now, to all of you — slaves of the cross and material possessions — that we are a nation blessed by Islam. You will learn how to kneel down in humiliation. You will learn how to officially apologize for your crime against our Prophet Mohammed. We know how best to force you to back down and apologize for your actions. We reserve the right to punish those who committed the crime. If you do not apologize, then your industrial giants will be attacked. Companies such as Ericsson, Scandia, Volvo, Ikea, Electrolux, and others will be legitimate targets. You have been warned… [Additionally], on this day forward, we call for the killing of the cartoon artist Lars who committed these despicable acts against our Prophet Mohammed. We announce a reward of $100,000 for anyone who kills that infidel criminal. The reward shall be $150,000 for anyone who beheads him as well. We also will give $50,000 to anyone who kills the chief editor of that newspaper. O’ Muslims, you shall seek this reward, ask for forgiveness, and kill these two infidels…

People of Mesopotamia: I realize that many of you were victims of a major disinformation campaign led by those who failed us filled with promises of peaceful living. As a result, many young men were tempted to join the campaign and became employed as agents and traitors for this government while buried under endless titles. This is a call for awakening and assistance… We have become aware that many of these young men have since realized the lie that they are serving under and wish to beg for forgiveness. However, they have been told that the Islamic State will certainly kill them if they decide to abandon their current actions… I inform those of you that are considering forgiveness… so long as your desire to abandon your current path is coming from Allah, we will welcome back any brother who decides to beg for forgiveness and join our path… O’ brothers, realize that working with the devil while forsaking your religion… shall bring hard times and miseries upon you. I promise you that hiding behind strong fortresses and driving armored vehicles… will not stop us from reaching you because Allah is on our side and you will certainly realize that the moment that we cut your head off…

Soldiers of the Muslim state and young Muslim men: we are about to enter a new era and a turning point for the regional and world map. We are witnessing the end of the lie of Western Civilization. We are also witnessing the awakening of mighty Islam and that is exactly what Bush has warned his soldiers about during his most recent speech: ‘This region is changing and moving in a way that shall endanger civilization’ — and by this, he was referring to the civilization of infidels, interest, prostitution, humiliation and defeat. Bush also added regarding the soldiers of the Islamic State in Mesopotamia that ‘they are seeking the return of the Caliphate from Spain to Indonesia’… Frankly, this has been the result of only a fraction of our actual capabilities because of the negative impact on our operations caused by agents and traitors.

I send my warmest regards — the regards of honor, dignity, and pride — to those soldiers who have been successful in humiliating the cross worshippers. Also, I send my regards to those who have established the Islamic State [in Iraq] with their blood and sacrifices. Allah has given you a blessing and made you witness how Bush screamed out in fear from your steadfastness, perseverance, and commitment to your beliefs. Do not waste the fruits of your actions and the blood of your brothers. Be strong and stand behind your religion… Be tough… the month of Ramadan has arrived and Allah will choose his men. Blessed are those who will die during this month. Blessed are those who shall meet their creator during these days of forgiveness… Seek death and spread fear amongst the enemies of Allah and continue along on your path to Paradise… The greatest reward goes to those who fight the enemies of Allah… especially during the nights of Ramadan.

To all those who are seeking an honorary divine medal in this month of goodness, jihad, compassion, and forgiveness, I proudly announce the beginning of Ramadan as the commencement for the ‘Expedition of the martyr Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’ which will end on the close of the seventh day of Shawwal [October 19, 2007]… So do not miss this opportunity to declare jihad during the best month of the year… I am pleased to repeat the words of the martyr [Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] on his way to avenge the death of his brother Abu Anas [al-Shami]. I pray to Allah that his words will be a guiding force for your actions… He said, ‘O’ lions of al- Tawheed across the dear land of Mesopotamia. I urge you to drench your swords with the blood of your enemies before the day is over… There is no point in living when our honor is being taken away and we are being ruled by the cross worshippers.’ I ask you, O’ soldiers of Islam — in the same way the aforementioned martyr ordered you before me — do not miss this chance to join the convoy of martyrs during these holy days… I ask Allah to grant us loyalty, perseverance and guidance.

For previous posts on Lars Vilks and the Roundabout Dogs, see the Modoggie Archives.