News, Prophecy and other

[Soldier4Christ]

Absorption Minister plans to work on bringing Israelis home

New Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Boim wants to see 60,000 new olim arrive in time to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday and droves of the 700,000 Israelis living abroad to come home.

The latter number is higher than previous government estimates of Israeli passport holders who don't reside in Israel, and include 500,000 who live in North America alone.

He stressed, however, that more Israelis returned to Israel in 2005 (4,195 according to official statistics) than those who made aliya from North America (3,100).

His ministry estimates that the total number of returning citizens is actually 40 percent higher, since not everyone was in contact with the ministry about their repatriation.

"We need to encourage these people who left the country" to come back, he said Wednesday at his first appearance before the Knesset Immigrant Absorption Committee.

"We have a second generation and in some cases a third generation growing up whose connection to Israel is slipping away or in some cases does not even exist."

Boim listed his other priorities as securing jobs and housing for new immigrants, helping at-risk youth and strengthening newcomers' use of Hebrew.
Those testifying at the committee meeting also drew Boim's attention to the issue of providing pensions for immigrants, giving more money to the immigrant associations and speeding up the rate of Ethiopian aliya.

In February 2005, the government decided to double the rate of immigration for Falash Mura (Ethiopian descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity and have since returned to Judaism) from 300 to 600. That followed a decision two years ago, and was never implemented, to bring all of the Falash Mura to Israel immediately. More recently, flagging momentum on increasing the immigration rate had been attributed to the change in government. But on Wednesday Boim alluded to a government meeting on the subject to be held next Tuesday.

"There's a new government that needs to make a decision [now]," he said. The government is "dragging its feet" on the issue of the Falash Mura, charged Avraham Neguise at the meeting. Neguise co-founded South Wing to Zion, which lobbies for the absorption of the Falash Mura.
He said he was pleased, however, that there was an imminent meeting.

At a Knesset Education Committee meeting also held Wednesday, Committee Chairman Michael Melchior (Labor) declared that, "The government must implement its decision. Absorbing Ethiopian Jews is a national project."

[Soldier4Christ]

Text of al-Zarqawi Safe-House Document

Text of a document discovered in terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's

hideout. The document was provided in English by Iraqi National

Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie:

___

The situation and conditions of the resistance in Iraq have reached a point that requires a review of the events and of the work being done inside Iraq. Such a study is needed in order to show the best means to accomplish the required goals, especially that the forces of the National Guard have succeeded in forming an enormous shield protecting the American forces and have reduced substantially the losses that were solely suffered by the American forces. This is in addition to the role, played by the Shi'a (the leadership and masses) by supporting the occupation, working to defeat the resistance and by informing on its elements.

As an overall picture, time has been an element in affecting negatively the forces of the occupying countries, due to the losses they sustain economically in human lives, which are increasing with time. However, here in Iraq, time is now beginning to be of service to the American forces and harmful to the resistance for the following reasons:

1. By allowing the American forces to form the forces of the National Guard, to reinforce them and enable them to undertake military operations against the resistance.

2. By undertaking massive arrest operations, invading regions that have an impact on the resistance, and hence causing the resistance to lose many of its elements.

3. By undertaking a media campaign against the resistance resulting in weakening its influence inside the country and presenting its work as harmful to the population rather than being beneficial to the population.

4. By tightening the resistance's financial outlets, restricting its moral options and by confiscating its ammunition and weapons.

5. By creating a big division among the ranks of the resistance and jeopardizing its attack operations, it has weakened its influence and internal support of its elements, thus resulting in a decline of the resistance's assaults.

6. By allowing an increase in the number of countries and elements supporting the occupation or at least allowing to become neutral in their stand toward us in contrast to their previous stand or refusal of the occupation.

7. By taking advantage of the resistance's mistakes and magnifying them in order to misinform.

Based on the above points, it became necessary that these matters should be treated one by one:

1. To improve the image of the resistance in society, increase the number of supporters who are refusing occupation and show the clash of interest between society and the occupation and its collaborators. To use the media for spreading an effective and creative image of the resistance.

2. To assist some of the people of the resistance to infiltrate the ranks of the National Guard in order to spy on them for the purpose of weakening the ranks of the National Guard when necessary, and to be able to use their modern weapons.

3. To reorganize for recruiting new elements for the resistance.

4. To establish centers and factories to produce and manufacture and improve on weapons and to produce new ones.

5. To unify the ranks of the resistance, to prevent controversies and prejudice and to adhere to piety and follow the leadership.

6. To create division and strife between American and other countries and among the elements disagreeing with it.

7. To avoid mistakes that will blemish the image of the resistance and show it as the enemy of the nation.

In general and despite the current bleak situation, we think that the best suggestions in order to get out of this crisis is to entangle the American forces into another war against another country or with another of our enemy force, that is to try and inflame the situation between American and Iraq or between America and the Shi'a in general.

Specifically the Sistani Shi'a, since most of the support that the Americans are getting is from the Sistani Shi'a, then, there is a possibility to instill differences between them and to weaken the support line between them; in addition to the losses we can inflict on both parties. Consequently, to embroil America in another war against another enemy is the answer that we find to be the most appropriate, and to have a war through a delegate has the following benefits:

1. To occupy the Americans by another front will allow the resistance freedom of movement and alleviate the pressure imposed on it.

2. To dissolve the cohesion between the Americans and the Shi'a will weaken and close this front.

3. To have a loss of trust between the Americans and the Shi'a will cause the Americans to lose many of their spies.

4. To involve both parties, the Americans and the Shi'a, in a war that will result in both parties being losers.

5. Thus, the Americans will be forced to ask the Sunni for help.

6. To take advantage of some of the Shia elements that will allow the resistance to move among them.

7. To weaken the media's side which is presenting a tarnished image of the resistance, mainly conveyed by the Shi'a.

8. To enlarge the geographical area of the resistance movement.

9. To provide popular support and cooperation by the people.

The resistance fighters have learned from the result and the great benefits they reaped, when a struggle ensued between the Americans and the Army of Al-Mahdi. However, we have to notice that this trouble or this delegated war that must be ignited can be accomplished through:

1. A war between the Shi'a and the Americans.

2. A war between the Shi'a and the secular population (such as Ayad 'Alawi and al-Jalabi.)

3. A war between the Shi'a and the Kurds.

4. A war between Ahmad al-Halabi and his people and Ayad 'Alawi and his people.

5. A war between the group of al-Hakim and the group of al-Sadr.

6. A war between the Shi'a of Iraq and the Sunni of the Arab countries in the gulf.

7. A war between the Americans and Iraq. We have noticed that the best of these wars to be ignited is the one between the Americans and Iran, because it will have many benefits in favor of the Sunni and the resistance, such as:

1. Freeing the Sunni people in Iraq, who are (30 percent) of the population and under the Shi'a Rule.

2. Drowning the Americans in another war that will engage many of their forces.

3. The possibility of acquiring new weapons from the Iranian side, either after the fall of Iran or during the battles.

4. To entice Iran towards helping the resistance because of its need for its help.

5. Weakening the Shi'a supply line.

The question remains, how to draw the Americans into fighting a war against Iran? It is not known whether American is serious in its animosity towards Iraq, because of the big support Iran is offering to America in its war in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Hence, it is necessary first to exaggerate the Iranian danger and to convince America and the west in general, of the real danger coming from Iran, and this would be done by the following:

1. By disseminating threatening messages against American interests and the American people and attribute them to a Shi'a Iranian side.

2. By executing operations of kidnapping hostages and implicating the Shi'a Iranian side.

3. By advertising that Iran has chemical and nuclear weapons and is threatening the west with these weapons.

4. By executing exploding operations in the west and accusing Iran by planting Iranian Shi'a fingerprints and evidence.

5. By declaring the existence of a relationship between Iran and terrorist groups (as termed by the Americans).

6. By disseminating bogus messages about confessions showing that Iran is in possession of weapons of mass destruction or that there are attempts by the Iranian intelligence to undertake terrorist operations in America and the west and against western interests.

Let us hope for success and for God's help.

[Soldier4Christ]

Iraq Announces Info From Al-Zarqawi Raid

Iraq's national security adviser said Thursday a "huge treasure" of documents and computer records was seized after the raid on terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's hideout, giving the Iraqi government the upper hand in its fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.

National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said he believed the security situation in the country would improve enough to allow a large number of U.S.-led forces to leave Iraq by the end of this year, and a majority to depart by the end of next year. "And maybe the last soldier will leave Iraq by mid-2008," he said.

Al-Rubaie said a laptop, flashdrive and other documents were found in the debris after the airstrike that killed the al-Qaida in Iraq leader last week outside Baqouba, and more information has been uncovered in raids of other insurgent hideouts since then.

He called it a "huge treasure ... a huge amount of information."

When asked how he could be sure the information was authentic, al-Rubaie said "there is nothing more authentic than finding a thumbdrive in his pocket."

"We believe that this is the beginning of the end of al-Qaida in Iraq," al-Rubaie said, adding that the documents showed al-Qaida is in "pretty bad shape," politically and in terms of training, weapons and media.

"Now we have the upper hand," he said at a news conference in Baghdad. "We feel that we know their locations, the names of their leaders, their whereabouts, their movements, through the documents we found during the last few days."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, pressed forward with his initiative to crack down on violence in Baghdad. Government forces fanned out across Baghdad for a second day, setting up checkpoints and frisking motorists.

Al-Maliki has promised the crackdown would not target any ethnic or sectarian group.

Gunmen killed an engineer and kidnapped another, and a detergent factory worker was shot to death as he was headed to work elsewhere in western Baghdad, police said, but no major violence was reported in the capital, a day after al-Maliki's major security operation was launched.

Elsewhere, however, gunmen stormed a Sunni mosque near Tikrit, killing four people and wounding 15, including a fundamentalist Sunni cleric who has spoken out against the killing of Iraqis as part of the insurgency.

In addition to announcing the security crackdown, al-Maliki opened the door Wednesday for talks with insurgents opposed to the country's political process as part of a national reconciliation initiative, but he said any negotiations would exclude terrorist groups. The plan could include a pardon for some prisoners.

A senior White House official said the Iraqis have indicated that they are looking for "models" in national reconciliation. Another official said al-Maliki had inquired whether Bosnians or South Africans might be able to provide expertise.

"There is also a space for dialogue with insurgents who opposed the political process and now want to join the political process after offering guarantees," al-Maliki said. "But on the other hand we are not going to negotiate with the criminals who have killed the innocent."

A top al-Maliki adviser told The Washington Post the plan could include pardons for those who had attacked U.S. troops. gotcha98 Ali al-Kadhimi told the Post "there is a patriotic feeling among the Iraqi youth and the belief that those attacks are legitimate acts of resistance and defending their homeland. These people will be pardoned definitely, I believe."

The security crackdown in Baghdad includes a curfew extended by 4 1/2 hours - from 8:30 p.m. until dawn - and a weapons ban. The government did not say how long the crackdown would last and declined to give precise numbers about checkpoints and troops.

Operation Forward Together, involving 75,000 Iraqi army and police forces backed by U.S. troops, began Wednesday at a crucial time - one day after Bush visited Baghdad to reassure Iraqis of Washington's continued support and exactly a week after al-Zarqawi's death in a U.S. airstrike.

During Bush's visit, Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi asked him for a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, the president's office said.

"I supported him in this," President Jalal Talabani said in a statement released Wednesday. Al-Hashimi's representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Bush made it clear that a U.S. military presence - now at about 132,000 troops - would continue, although he stressed the fate of the Iraqis was in their own hands.

Al-Hashimi also said there were "promises to free about 3,500 detainees" by June 26, the statement from Talabani's office said. That number that would be above the 2,500 to be freed as part of a bid by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to soothe Sunni Arabs over allegations of random detentions and maltreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government.

More than 450 detainees were being released Thursday as part of al-Maliki's national reconciliation efforts, according to the U.S. military.

Many Baghdad residents were hopeful about al-Maliki's efforts, although some were clearly impatient as they waited for 15 minutes or more to get through the checkpoints.

"The reconciliation plan should exclude those responsible for bloodshed of the Iraqi people," resident Abdul-Sada Ali told AP Television News. "It is a very good step by Mr. Nouri al-Maliki."

The security operation was al-Maliki's first major action since his new government of national unity was sworn in on May 20, and a week after he gained the consensus he needed from Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups to fill three key posts - defense, interior and national security.

[Soldier4Christ]

Afghan Offensive Begins; Bus Bomb Kills 7

More than 10,000 Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces began a massive anti-Taliban operation across southern Afghanistan on Thursday, while a bomb killed seven people riding a bus to a coalition base for work.

Military forces are "moving forward with large-scale operations" in four southern provinces, Uruzgan, Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul, the U.S. military said in a statement. It is the largest offensive since the 2001 invasion that toppled the Taliban regime.

As the offensive began, however, suspected militants continued their attacks.

A bomb hidden in a bus headed to a coalition base in southern Kandahar city exploded during morning rush hour, killing seven people and injuring 17, coalition officials and the Interior Ministry said. Afghan police initially said 10 people were killed.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Quentin Innis blamed the attack on Taliban militants and said it clearly targeted Afghans working for the coalition. Among the dead were interpreters and workers for the air base, Afghan officials said.

"It's the first time Afghans working here have been deliberately targeted by the Taliban. These are local guys trying to support their families," he said.

The military offensive, dubbed "Operation Mountain Thrust," is part of a major push to squeeze Taliban fighters responsible for a spate of ambushes and suicide attacks against coalition forces and Afghan authorities in recent months.

The operation was also timed to coincide with the upcoming transfer this summer of command in the south from the U.S.-led coalition to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

"There is no scheduled end date to Mountain Thrust. The Coalition will continue operations well into the summer and until objectives are met," the statement said.

The offensive is focused on southern Uruzgan and northeastern Helmand provinces, where the military says most of the militant forces have gathered. Operations also will be conducted in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and Zabul.

Troops on Wednesday built sand barriers and guard outposts around a small forward operating base in the Helmand district of Musa Qala, while others fired rounds from 119-millimeter howitzers deployed to the base's perimeter into the vast desert expanse.

"We do it so they know it's here and they know it could be pretty bad for them," said Lt. Col. Chris Toner, commanding officer at the base located 180 miles from the nearest permanent base in Kandahar. "This terrain up here favors the defender. I'm sure they know how many vehicles we have here, that we have artillery here, but that's OK - I know what they know."

Limited operations began May 15 with attacks on Taliban command and control and support networks. According to U.S. military and Afghan figures, about 550 people, mostly militants, have been killed since mid-May, along with at least nine coalition troops.

The operation will involve 2,300 U.S. conventional and special forces, 3,300 Britons, 2,200 Canadians, 3,500 Afghans and coalition air support, said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan, who briefed The Associated Press on the offensive last week.

The operation is the largest launched since 2001. But U.S.-led troops have conducted large-scale operations elsewhere in Afghanistan involving several thousand soldiers, particularly in the east near the Pakistani border where Taliban forces routinely attack U.S.-led troops from towering mountain ranges.

On Wednesday, coalition and Afghan forces killed 26 suspected Taliban fighters in an attack on mountain positions in the eastern Paktika province, said provincial Gov. Akram Khelwak. Helicopter gunships and artillery fire supported ground troops and one Afghan police officer was wounded.

Afghanistan has been wracked by its bloodiest violence since the U.S.-led coalition invaded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and toppled the Taliban government for harboring Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida supporters.

[Soldier4Christ]

Wisconsin officials seek to block Hitler memorial

A former Nazi officer living on a Wisconsin farm has built a memorial to Adolf Hitler in his bunker-like tractor storage shed, much to the chagrin of local officials.

A court order was being sought to stop Ted Junker, 87, from opening to visitors a 30- by 50-foot (9- by 15-metre) concrete building that he has spent $200,000 outfitting with photos of Hitler, a swastika-emblazoned flag and other items.

Five years ago, officials denied Junker's request to create a more elaborate Hitler memorial and information centre. Instead, he got a permit to build the tractor storage shed on his farm in southeastern Wisconsin, which now houses the memorial.

"With the attention that is drawn to this, I am concerned about people's safety," said Michael Cotter, Walworth County's director of land use and resource management, who is seeking the injunction.

"This is a very small area half a mile (km) down a narrow dirt lane with not a lot of places to move. And, if people don't agree with each other and you put them in a small, confined area ... ."

Junker, who came to the United States in 1955 and worked as a janitor in Chicago before buying his farm, has told local media that he believes Hitler was a great leader who is misunderstood. He said he joined the Nazi SS in 1940 and served on the Russian front in World War Two.

No one answered the telephone listed for Junker.

"When people such as Junker say that no one was gassed in the Nazi concentration camps, they are completely overlooking the facts. It's an attempt to try and disprove history," said Kathy Heilbronner of Milwaukee's Jewish Council for Community Relations.

"He's a mixed-up old man, and he's hellbent to do what he is doing," said Loren Waite from the nearby town of Sugar Creek. "I fear for what kind of element this might draw to our area, and I know that we are making preparations for having a problem on our hands."

[Shammu]

Seized documents deal blow to al Qaeda: Iraq official

By Omar al-Ibadi Thu Jun 15, 7:30 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Security forces have seized al Qaeda in Iraq documents giving key information about the militant group's network and the whereabouts of its leaders, the country's national security adviser said on Thursday.

"We believe this is the beginning of the end of al Qaeda in Iraq," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told a televised news conference.

Rubaie told Reuters earlier this year that the Sunni Arab insurgency against the U.S.-backed, Shi'ite-led government had been defeated. But violence has continued to rage across Iraq, killing hundreds of people and showing no signs of abating.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have also in the past said al Qaeda, blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago, was on the defensive.

They have hailed last week's death of al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air raid as a major blow to the militant group, while cautioning that it would not end violence.

"We believe al Qaeda in Iraq was taken by surprise ... the government is on the attack now ... to destroy al Qaeda and to finish this terrorist organization in Iraq," Rubaie said.

He said on Thursday that some documents were found in an al Qaeda hideout where Zarqawi had been, but did not make clear whether this was the place where the Jordanian militant was killed last week.

Holding what he said was one of them in his hand, he added:

"I present to you a document that was found in one of Zarqawi's computers that reveals many dangerous things and gives details on strategy and plans of the al Qaeda terrorist organization in Iraq."

But a copy of the unsigned document, whose authenticity could not be independently verified, did not identify the anonymous author as an al Qaeda member or give specific information about any planned attacks.

Instead, it suggested that insurgent forces were being weakened by U.S. raids and propaganda and proposed ways to counter this, for example by infiltrating Iraq's armed forces, recruiting new members and manufacturing more weapons.

It also said the best way to get out of "the crisis" was to foster conflict between the United States and another country, like Shi'ite Iran, and by stirring U.S.-Shi'ite tension in Iraq.

Rubaie said the confiscated material showed that al Qaeda's central strategy was to "divide, destroy and rule."

He added: "These documents have given us the edge over al Qaeda and (they) also gave us the whereabouts of their network, of their leaders, of their weapons and the way they lead the organization and the whereabouts of their meetings."

Al Qaeda has vowed to fight on and its new leader in Iraq, little known Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, vowed in a Web statement earlier this week to avenge Zarqawi's death.

Seized documents deal blow to al Qaeda: Iraq official

[Shammu]

Bible Distribution Continues Downward Trend
World Figures Dropped by 41 Percent Since the Year 2000

By Wolfgang Polzer
Special to ASSIST News Service

READING, UK (ANS) -- The worldwide distribution of the “Book of Books” continues its downward trend. According to the United Bible Societies (UBS) in Reading, England, 372.6 million Bibles, New Testaments, Scripture portions and selections were distributed by Bible Societies in 2005.

The numbers were down by 4.6 percent (18 million copies) compared with 2004. Since the year 2000 the distribution of printed Scriptures has dwindled steadily by 41.2 percent. In the Millennium year 633.3 million copies were handed out. The only rise was recorded from 2001 to 2002.

Last year the Bible Societies in the Americas were the most successful distributors with almost 263 million copies handed out. Runners up were the Societies in Asia and the Pacific region (87.6 million) followed by Africa (12.6 million) and Europe and the Near East (8.5 million).

As a UBS spokesperson explained to the evangelical news agency “idea”, the declining distribution of printed Scriptures does not mean that the spread of the God’s word is going down. Bible Societies were increasingly making use of electronic media like the Internet, CDs, radio and television.

These methods were, however, not recorded in the statistics. The Bible Societies were continually seeking funds for these modern means of Scripture distribution.

Sheer numbers were not as important as the effectiveness of conveying the Gospel message. But UBS has not found a way of measuring this. The UBS fellowship has 141 Bible Societies or offices in more than 200 countries and territories.

Bible Distribution Continues Downward Trend

[Shammu]

 UN told of mass Darfur killings
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he has documented evidence of thousands of killings of civilians in Sudan's Darfur region.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, investigating alleged crimes against humanity, says the killings include large-scale massacres and hundreds of rapes.

In a report to the UN, he also criticised Sudan's own investigations.

The report is seen as significant as the court may only prosecute if Sudan has not provided justice for victims.

Investigators from the ICC have not been able to travel to Darfur but they have managed to collect information about thousands of alleged murders in the western region of Sudan.

 Unveiling his report, Mr Ocampo told the BBC his team had faced "serious obstacles".

He added: "We are now entering a new phase where unconditional co-operation will be essential to complete the investigation and identify those most responsible for crimes committed in Darfur."

A "Darfur crimes database", collated by investigators from the court, lists thousands of alleged murders, including massacres of hundreds of people at a time.

Prosecutions

Eyewitnesses recounted the attackers saying things like: "We will drive you out of this land".

 Mr Ocampo's report to the UN Security Council says some two million people have been displaced by violence in Darfur.

The first few months of 2006 saw increases in people forced from their homes in several areas of Darfur marked by increased violence, according to the document.

The Khartoum authorities insist they are continuing to set up courts and that the Sudanese judiciary will investigate allegations of abuse, but the ICC prosecutor says they do not appear to have done that.

But Mr Ocampo adds that the government has agreed to interviews with officials, to begin in August this year.

Violence

Some 200,000 people are thought to have died in Darfur, a vast region in the west of Sudan, in a three-year conflict.

Most have died in attacks by pro-government militias against civilians.

Rebel forces took up arms in February 2003, accusing the government of discriminating against Darfur's black Africans in favour of Arabs.

A partial peace deal was agreed in May, but not all sides signed the agreement and fears have grown over worsening conditions in camps home to displaced people.

The International Criminal Court was set up by the UN in 2002 to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

UN told of mass Darfur killings

Read the report from the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court <--- You will need a pdf reader.

[Shammu]

Israel, Egypt Jordan on alert for al-Qaeda attack

Fears of retaliation high after al-Zarqawi killed in Iraq. Israeli security official: Main fear for Israel is border attack, but we are also on alert for attempts to infiltrate country
Aaron Klein, WND

Egypt, Jordan and Israel are on high alert for possible large-scale attacks by al-Qaeda members in response to last week's killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the global terror group's leader in Iraq, security sources said.

The sources said Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian Arab intelligence officials have held several meetings the past few days to share information and coordinate anti-terror measures in light of the new threats.

Israel has beefed up border security for fear al-Qaeda could try to penetrate from neighboring territories or attack along the border. There is also information the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza-based terror group, is looking to carry out an attack inside Israel to avenge al-Zarqawi's death and the assassination on the same day of its own leader, Jamal Abu Samhadana.

Al-Zarqawi was killed when two 500 pound American bombs blasted his hideout northeast of Baghdad. His declared replacement, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, this week threatened regional violence and vowed in an internet message to "defeat the crusaders and Shiites" in Iraq.

According to some reports Jordanian intelligence officers operating in Iraq provided important information that led to the assassination of al-Zarqawi.

"Jordan is on particularly high alert for revenge attacks because of the government's involvement in his killing and al-Qaeda’s known infiltration of the country," said a security source.

Al-Zarqawi, born in Jordan, previously spent time in Jordanian jails for conspiring to overthrow the country's monarchy in hopes of establishing an Islamic caliphate there. He was sentenced to death in absentia for allegedly plotting to attack the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman, Jordan, where Israeli, American and British tourists frequently lodge.

Al-Qaeda widely blamed for several Sinai attacks

Al-Qaeda, under the direction of al-Zarqawi, carried out a series of hotel bombings in Amman in November, 2005 killing 60 and injuring over 115 others. The Radisson was among the hotels attacked.

While Jordan has had some successes fighting al-Qaeda cells, security officials fear the terror group still maintains a significant infrastructure there capable of carrying out attacks.

Egypt has had difficulty eliminating al-Qaeda cells, particularly those operating among Bedouin villages in the Sinai desert bordering the Gaza Strip.

Al-Qaeda has been widely blamed for several Sinai attacks the past two years including the bomb blasts this past April that killed 24 people and injured over 85 in the Sinai town of Dahab and deadly bombings in the resort centers of Taba and Ras ****an in October 2004 and in Sharm el-Sheik in July.

Also this past April, al-Qaeda was blamed for two bombings near multinational peacekeeping force in the Sinai adjacent to Gaza. Almost simultaneously inside Gaza the Popular Resistance Committees attempted to carry out a large-scale car bombing at the Karni Crossing, the main cargo passageway between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The attack was foiled at the last minute after Palestinian forces became suspicious and opened fire at an approaching vehicle.

Immediately following the attacks, Palestinian security officials, including the chief of a Palestinian Authority intelligence agency, told WND the suicide bombing in the Sinai and thwarted Karni attack were coordinated and were the handiwork of groups working on behalf of al-Qaeda.

"Al-Qaeda came just a few feet from attacking Israel for the first time (at Karni)," said the intelligence chief, speaking on condition his name be withheld.

Israel has for now refrained from connecting the attempted Karni attack to al-Qaeda. It said the attack was directed by a senior Hamas leader.

'We'll hit with an iron hand'

But both Israeli and Palestinian Arab leaders, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas has warned al-Qaeda infiltrated Gaza.

In March, Israel released information it had arrested two West Bank Palestinian Arabs charged with membership in al-Qaeda. The militants, arrested on their way to the West Bank from Jordan, were suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and seeking financing from Jordanian al-Qaeda cells to carry out a large-scale al-Qaeda attack inside Israel.

An Israeli security official said, "Egypt and Jordan fear attacks in their country now. The main fear for Israel is a border attack. But we are also on alert for attempts to infiltrate, particularly by the Popular Resistance Committees."

Samhadana, the Committee' leader who was also a Hamas national security minister, was assassinated the same day as al-Zarqawi. Terror leaders speaking at his funeral vowed revenge. Sources close to the group told WND pictures of al-Zarqawi were prominently displayed last week at mourning services for Samhadana held at his family's residence.

The fears of al al-Qaeda-linked attack in Israel also follows the distribution in Gaza last month of a pamphlet by group claiming to work on behalf of al-Qaeda announcing it has set up shop in the Palestinian territories and will soon target Americans and "Zionists."

"We'll hit with an iron hand all those who take part in the American Crusader and Zionist campaign against Islam," read the pamphlet, which was signed by the al-Quds (Jerusalem) Islamic Army. The leaflet said the new group will "start operating in Palestine" and threatened suicide attacks against "Zionist and Crusader targets."

The Islamic Army identified itself as an arm of al-Qaeda and stated it was established in response to calls by global jihad chief Osama bin Laden as well as al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq.

Israel, Egypt Jordan on alert for al-Qaeda attack

[Shammu]

U.S. Baptist Minister Derogatory Remarks Sparks Anger

Vines says America’s problems could be blamed on religious pluralism

WASHINGTON, June 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Florida minister from the Southern Baptist Church sparked anger in the U.S. Muslim community earlier this week with derogatory remarks concerning the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Reverend Jerry Vines, speaking at an annual church conference in Saint Louis, Missouri, attacked Prophet Mohammed and said that the “the man who founded Islam had 12 wives, the last of which was a nine-year-old girl.”

Vines claimed in the speech that many of America’s problems could be blamed on religious pluralism.

Pluralists "would have us to believe that Islam is just as good as Christianity, but I'm here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that Islam is not just as good as Christianity," said Vines.

“And I will tell you Allah is not Jehovah either. Jehovah's not going to turn you into a terrorist that'll try to bomb people and take the lives of thousands and thousands of people," he continued.

During Vines’ address missionaries handed out green ribbons to encourage Baptists to pray for Muslims' conversion to Christianity.

Speaking on the issue of the Prophet’s marriages, prominent Muslim Scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi said that before the advent of Islam, it had been the habit of men to marry an unlimited number of women. The Old Testament states that David had 100 wives and Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. However, Islam nullified marriage to more than four women.

“Allah Almighty granted Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, something that is not allowed to any other Muslims. He Almighty allowed him to keep the wives that he had married and did not order him to divorce, replace any of them, or to marry anymore women,” he said.

“This is because the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, have a special status: they are mentioned in the Qur`an as Mothers of the Believers. Allah Almighty says, " “The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers.” (Al-Ahzaab: 6).

“Due to this honorable position, they were forbidden to remarry after the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Allah Almighty says, “And it is not for you to cause annoyance to the Messenger of Allah, nor that ye should ever marry his wives after him.” (Al-Ahzaab: 53)

As to why the Prophet married nine women in the first place, Sheikh Al Qaradawi said that he did not marry any of them for the reasons that the orientalists falsely claim.

“It was not carnal desires, which made the Prophet marry any of his wives. If he were as they claim, he wouldn’t have been the young man married to a woman 15 years his senior. He was 25 when he married Khadijah who had been married twice before and had many children.

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, lived all his youth with her in happiness. When she died, he called that year " The year of grief." He loved, respected and kept praising her so much even after her death.

“He did not marry any of his wives for lust or worldly desires, but for the good of Islam in order to strengthen the ties between the people and the new religion, especially because kinship and blood relations were well respected among the Arabs.

“In conclusion, by marrying those women, the Prophet aimed at unifying the Arabs and solving many problems. His wives became the Mothers of the Believers, teachers of the Muslim Ummah in family and women’s affairs, and related a lot about his family life even in the most private situations,” said Al Qaradawi.

Another Muslim Scholar, Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti said that the marriage of A'isha was Allah's plan for the Prophet.

“Allah usually is not the one who we are allowed to argue with for any ordinance or commandment. The Qur'an says, "He is not questioned for what He does, but they (people) are questioned for what they do."

”A'isha got married when she was 9, when the Prophet (SAAWS) died, she was 19. Her 10 years were of the life of a fully dedicated deciple, trainee and scholarly student with the Prophet (SAAWS). She was the source of knowledge for almost every companion. She was of the main sources for revealing knowledge and information of the private life of the Prophet (SAAWS). She was a big celebrity in politics and the best example of generosity. Her life is a token of a person who lived on earth, but never liked anything of dunya. She was always looking forward to joining the Prophet (SAAWS) in heaven. What is wrong in her marriage of six or nine or whatsoever?,” said Al Hanooti

In response to Vines’ comments, an indignant Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on U.S. President George W. Bush, Christian and Jewish leaders to condemn the minister's "reckless, Islamophobic statements."

"Reckless Islamophobic statements from individuals regarded as leaders in their faith community will harm America's image and interests worldwide and will serve to divide Americans at this time of national crisis," said CAIR president Omar Ahmad.

He said that such rhetoric from "respected leaders" could motivate hate crimes against some of the seven million Muslims living in the United States.

Eric Erfan Vickers, executive director for the American Muslim Council (AMC), in a statement noted the Southern Baptist Church’s historical legacy of supporting segregation between whites and blacks, said, Vines’ remarks “not only reflect unpardonable ignorance, but also indicate at a growing climate of religious prejudice in America.”

“Any failure by our nation’s political and religious leaders to condemn Vines’ bigotry will only give license to other hatemongers,” Vickers asserted.

Shakur Bolden, president of the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, called Vines' comments misinformed and said they unfairly painted Muslims as if they were all religious extremists.

"We don't let the bad eggs define our way of life," Bolden said to the Florida Times-Union, "just as he would not let the Ku Klux Klan or the IRA [Irish Republican Army] or other fanatic Christian organizations define mainstream Christianity."

"It's really unfortunate that a top leader in a mainstream Christian church ... would use such hate-filled and bigoted language in describing the faith of one-fifth of the world's population," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.

"This is the level of bigotry that requires a clear statement from the top leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention," he added.

A spokesman for the Southern Baptist Committee executive committee said it was not the organization's place to comment.

"The Southern Baptist Convention does not by habit renounce things as said in pastors conferences," said William Merrell to the Times-Union. However, he said he did not ''want to give the sense that we are not sensitive or caring about this issue.''

However, the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Rev. Jack Graham, seemed to back Vines' comments.

"His statement is actually a statement that can be confirmed," said Graham, a Texas pastor. "I believe the statement is an accurate statement."

Graham went on to say people should be careful about "who you are following and what you believe."

"The God they worship is a God of works and a God of fear. The God we worship is a God of hope and grace and love and mercy," Merritt continued.

However, in St. Louis, where the Southern Baptists were meeting, religious leaders distanced themselves from Vines.

"In the name of God, we condemn the hateful statement made in our city about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad," said Episcopal Bishop George Wayne Smith.

"We are to be about the business of tearing down walls, rather than building up walls," said Baptist minister Rev. Scott Shavers.

American Jewish leaders also condemned Vines’ statements.

In a statement released by the Anti-Defamation League, national director Abraham H. Foxman, commenting on Vines’ remarks said that “offensive, demeaning, and damaging to the American ideals of religious diversity and intergroup civility. They strike a troubling note of discord at a time when Americans of all faiths are striving for unity based on shared values and mutual respect.”

"We call on the current leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention to publicly reject Rev. Vines' remarks about Islam," said Foxman.

The Southern Baptist Church, which has 15-16 million followers in the United States, the most famous of whom is former president Bill Clinton, has triggered controversy in recent years by publishing a series of conversion manuals targeting Muslims, Hindus and, most recently, Jews.

U.S. Baptist Minister Derogatory Remarks Sparks Anger

[Shammu]

Centre for extremist studies established
   

14 June 2006

AMSTERDAM — A new centre for the study of radicalism and extremism has been established in Amsterdam.

The Centrum voor Radicalisme en Extremisme Studies (CRES) is being hosted by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and will bring together researchers from various universities to advance the study of religious radicalisation in the Netherlands.

Researcher Frank Buijs of UvA's Institute of Migration and Ethnic Studies decided there was a need for the new academic centre while he was researching radicalisation of Moroccan youth on behalf of the Ministry for Immigration and Integration.

The study found 40 percent of the Moroccan youth in the Netherlands reject western values and
democracy. Six to seven percent are prepared to use force to defend Islam.

The majority are opposed to freedom of speech for offensive statements, particularly criticism of Islam. Buijs is the first director of CRES, which will provide information to people who come into contact with radicalism as part of their work.

Buijs said on Wednesday that the government must provide alternatives for Salafism, a contemporary movement in Sunni Islam that seeks a return to the 'pure Islam' of the days of Mohammed.

Salafism is a gaining ground in the Netherlands and Buijs said the government must do more to stimulate a more pluralistic form of Islam. Buijs and his colleagues discuss the issue in a new book 'Strijders van eigen bodem - radicale en democratische moslims in Nederland' (home-grown warriors - radical and democratic Muslims in the Netherlands).

Centre for extremist studies established

[Shammu]

 Bali bombings God's will: Bashir
By Rob Taylor in Ngruki, Central Java
15jun06

THOSE killed in the 2002 Bali bombings had been destined to die by God, radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir said today.

The families they have left behind should now convert to Islam, he said.

Conversion would give the bereaved relatives "salvation and peace".

"For the Bali bomb families, those who are non-Muslims, my suggestion is just convert to Islam so they can be saved and find some peace from Allah," he said at his home inside his Ngruki Islamic boarding school near the city of Solo in Central Java.

Bashir was released from a Jakarta jail yesterday after serving 25 months for his association with the 2002 Bali bomb blasts, that killed 202 people among them 88 Australians.

But he denies any involvement in terrorism or allegations that he is the spiritual head of militant group Jemaah Islamiah.

He said the families of the dead should understand that they were killed by bombs, not bombers, and that it was "God's will".

Earlier Bashir called on Australian Prime Minister John Howard to convert to Islam or face eternity in hell.
Today in Canberra, Mr Howard told Parliament he had written to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono insisting that authorities closely monitor Bashir and abide by obligations resulting from the United Nations declaring the cleric a terrorist.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also asked the UN's World Food Program not to channel food aid for Indonesian earthquake victims through an Islamic group co-founded by Bashir.

In reaction, Bashir said: "I hope Australia will not interfere with Indonesia's internal matters."

He also praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed in a US air strike last week.

"I didn't know him personally. But I heard he was a good leader," Bashir said of the man blamed for some of Iraq's bloodiest terrorist attacks.

In Jakarta, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said authorities could not arrest Bashir for "his thinking and opinions", but said they would act if he broke the law.

Bali bombings God's will: Bashir

[Soldier4Christ]

Israel's weapons
used against Jews
Terrorist tells WND rifles given to Abbas
for 'security' employed in shooting attacks


JERUSALEM – Weapons transferred last week by Israel to Force 17, the presidential guard units of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, will be utilized for attacks against Jews, a senior member of Force 17 told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview today.

The militant, Abu Yousuf, hinted the weapons already were used in two shooting attacks the past few days that killed one Israeli civilian and wounded another.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced earlier this week he had approved a shipment of weapons and ammunition, which reportedly include over 370 assault rifles and were destined for Force 17. The shipment reportedly originated in Jordan and needed Israel's approval for transport.

Olmert said the shipment was meant to bolster security forces loyal to Abbas amid an increasingly violent power struggle between the PA chairman's Fatah party and Hamas, which won recent Palestinian parliamentary elections.

"I did this because we are running out of time and we need to help Abu Mazen," Olmert told reporters Tuesday.

The weapons reportedly were escorted by Israel to Ramallah and to the Gaza border where they were received by Force 17 members.

Abu Yousuf said the weapons will be fired at Israelis.

"These weapons will not be used in an internal war but against Israelis," he said. "Force 17 is proud that we were the first to lead the Palestinian people during tough times such as resistance operations [against the Israeli army during large-scale operations in northern Samaria in 2002]. We will also be the first to lead the Palestinians in the current struggle against Israeli occupation."

Several Force 17 members, including Yousuf, also are members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terror group linked to Abbas' Fatah party responsible for scores of suicide bombings and shooting attacks.

Yousuf himself previously participated in anti-Israel terrorism, including recent shootings, attacks last month against Israeli forces operating in Ramallah and a shooting attack in northern Samaria in December 2000 that killed Benyamin Kahane, leader of the ultranationalist Kahane Chai organization.

After the Kahane murder, Yousuf was extended refuge by Yasser Arafat to live in the late PLO leader's Ramallah compound, widely known as the Muqata. Yousuf still lives in the compound.

Abbas earlier this week appointed Mahmoud Damra to head Force 17. Damra, who is on Israel's most wanted list of terrorists, was offered shelter in Arafat's compound in Ramallah in 2002 after Israel accused him of masterminding a string of terrorist attacks.

Israeli security officials say that since September 2000, Damra has led a terror cell based in Ramallah that has carried out deadly attacks, including shootings at Israeli vehicles, attacks against Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and the planting of roadside bombs.

Yousuf told WorldNetDaily Israel transferred the weapons to his Force 17 unit "for its own political purposes. We are not concerned with the reasons. The weapons will not be used against our brothers, only [against] Israelis."

Sources close to the Al Aqsa Brigades told WND assault rifles transferred by Israel to Force 17 already were used in two separate anti-Israel shooting attacks in recent days. One attack killed a 35-year-old Israeli Arab on a major West Bank highway on the outskirts of Jerusalem this past Sunday. Israeli security officials say the shooters likely mistook the victim for a Jew. The second attack, which occurred Tuesday on the same highway, lightly wounded an Israeli.

Yousuf refused to confirm whether Israeli weapons were used in the recent spate of highway shootings, but he hinted the information was accurate. He told WND members of Al Aqsa Brigades live with him in the Muqata and that "resistance tools" are shared regularly.

[Soldier4Christ]

North Korea Preparing Missile Test

North Korea is accelerating preparations for a long-range missile test, a U.S. government official said Friday, declaring that a launch may be imminent.

The official said administration officials are very concerned about activities that point toward a test.

[Soldier4Christ]

‘Modesty parade’ protests gay parade

 

Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak expects thousands from around world to attend Modesty Parade, scheduled for 2 days before WorldPride parade in Jerusalem this summer, to negate ‘abomination and defilement’ of pride march and ‘demonstrate the extraordinariness of the way of the Torah’
Neta Sela

 

Battle against holding the annual gay WorldPride parade in Jerusalem this summer heats up: Repentance Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak announced that he plans to hold a “modesty parade” in response to the gay pride parade scheduled to march through Jerusalem August 11. The event is planned to precede the WorldPride parade by a few days, and expects an attendance of over 20,000 people.

 
The event is being planned by the “Shofar” group and is being publicized, among other places, on their website. Shofar, founded by Rav
Yitzhak, is devoted to promoting the "return to religion" (hazara be’tshuva) amongst secular Jews. According to the site, “Two days before the date on which the vile souls are planning their World ‘March of Abomination,’ thousands of Jews whose souls have been saved and have chosen God’s path will hold a ‘Modesty march’ of incredible proportions. Its very occurrence will denunciate the abomination and defilement, will vomit out its participants from among us and will set fire to their infection. Thousands of Jews from Israel and the world, to whom the purity and sanctity of Jerusalem is important, will demonstrate the extraordinariness of the way of the Torah chosen by thousands.”

 
The Modesty Parade will also mark 20 years of Shofar’s activities. “It’s time to show the whole world that in the last 20 years we have changed the face of Judaism unrecognizably and those loyal to God and his Torah have become the leaders, against the disseminators of darkness. The fact that the Torah of Israel commands us to act modestly and self-deprecatingly has given this raucous and rebellious minority an opportunity to act out their pride and boastfulness all the way to Jerusalem, the holy city, in order to soil it.”

 
Rabbi Yitzhak’s website promises that the demonstration will include “pyrotechnics shows with light defeating darkness as never seen before.”

 
Petition against parade

 
Meanwhile, objectors to the gay pride parade are threatening to file a petition to the High Court of Justice against it. During a city council meeting this week, National Religious Party Councilwoman Mina Fenton introduced a petition calling for the march to be cancelled. Twenty-three out of the 31 council members signed the petition.

 
“I am sure that the first 100,000 signatures will prove to the High Court the position of the majority, and the risks and humiliation of letting the parade happen,” Fenton said.

 

“Holding the gay pride parade, especially in Jerusalem, severely harms the city’s unique Jewish character and constitutes an act of defiance, purposeful disrespect and a challenge to everything holy in the city of Jerusalem in the eyes of the whole world. This will be wept about for generations and we must prevent it now,” the petition read.

 

A center of tolerance, pluralism and humanity

 

A member of the city council from the Meretz party, Saar Natanel, said in response to Fenton’s initiative: “The delusional attempts by Mina Fenton and the rest of the Orthodox-Religious coalition members in Jerusalem won’t succeed. Gays and lesbians have a place in Jerusalem too. It is the community’s right to hold the march. This right is legitimate, legal and democratic. The pride parade is important to Jerusalem to show that Israel’s capital has other voices as well that support democracy, pluralism and equality. Jerusalem cannot be represented by religious extremists alone.”

 

Noa Satat, Chairman of the Jerusalem House for Pride and Tolerance , a gay and lesbian foundation in the capital, explained the importance of holding the pride parade in the city. “The World pride event will take place in Jerusalem because we believe Jerusalem should be a center of tolerance, pluralism and humanity. Unfortunately, there are those who prefer Jerusalem to be fanatical, dark, pursuing strife and hatred. Those same people ignore the Torah’s greatest rule: Love thy brother as thyself.”

 

“The many participants who will take place in the pride activities – from Israel and the world – will best answer this demonstration of darkness that is shaming Judaism and Jerusalem. We invite Mr.Yitzhak and his disciples to take part in the inter-religious gatherings in the framework of World pride events. Religious figures from gay, Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities will partake in the assembly and will represent a religious voice that respects all mankind created in the image of the lord, and committed to the traditional Jewish values of tolerance and love of humanity,” Satat said.