Germany: Iranian death threat sends rapper underground

Germany: Iranian death threat sends rapper underground

Via DW:

A Germany-based rapper has cancelled his concerts and turned to the police for protection. An Iranian ayatollah proclaimed one of Shahin Najafi's songs blasphemy, opening the door for him to be killed.

Najafi said on Friday he had cancelled concerts in Europe, but that he wanted to continue working despite the threat to his life.

"I am young, and I am an artist, and I have to perform," the 31-year old told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, saying that he couldn't accept the idea of living underground for a long amount of time.

(source)

READ MORE - Germany: Iranian death threat sends rapper underground

France: Hollande's Algerian advisers

France: Hollande's Algerian advisers

Via The North Africa Journal:

In Rabat, the Moroccan government showed no significant worries as François Hollande was declared the winner of the Presidential race. However, we picked up some signs of concerns as usually Morocco finds a more open-door policy among France’s right wing leaders and lot less accommodating Socialists.

(...)

Also a point of concern for the Moroccans is the people who surround François Hollande, in particular his high-powered political adviser Faouzi Lamdaoui, a native of the eastern Algerian city of Constantine. Read this associated analysis on the “Rise of North Africans in French Politics.” 

Another person to watch in the Hollande circles is Kader Arif, a Member of the European Parliament for the south-west of France. He is a member of the Holland’s Socialist Party and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade. A third source of influence is the young Razzy Hammadi who presided over the Movement of Socialist Youth, before becoming a national secretary of the Socialist Party in November 2008.

Former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius is also an “Algerianist” who is likely to direct the new administration in favor of Algeria.

The Moroccans are not left without their strong cards too. In addition to leveraging their friendship with Martine Aubry, the Moroccans will count on a bi-national, French Socialist militant Najat Vallaud-Belkacem to play a counter weight to the Algerianists. 

(source)

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Belgium: Moroccan PM insults female minister, Moroccan-Belgian MPs want Belgian response

Belgium: Moroccan PM insults female minister, Moroccan-Belgian MPs want Belgian response

Via HLN:

Moroccan PM Abdelilah Benkirane recently met in Rabat with two Belgian ministers: Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders (MR) and Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom (Open Vld).  However, during the meeting he barely paid attention to Turtleboom, and instead focused on her male colleague, Reynders.  Benkirane praised Reynders' French, and told him he 'didn't have to come with an interpreter'.  Turtleboom made it clear who she was, but Benkirane continued to ignore her.
 

Turtleboom was upset, but swallowed the insult since she didn't want to cause a diplomatic row.  Moroccan-Belgian MPs say her reaction is unblievable, and that Belgium should respond.

Yamila Idrissi (sp.a) and Nadia Sminate (N-VA) say that Turtleboom should have walked out of the meeting.  But Idrissi says it's not too late for a response.  "Belgium shouldn't leave things like that and make a point of it," she told Het Laatste Nieuws.  "This is outrageous and unacceptable."

Sminate agrees.  "This is disappointing from a strong woman like Annemie Turtelboom.  If this isn't worth a row, than what is?  Turtleboom should have responded .. this is a bad message for Moroccan women in Belgium."

READ MORE - Belgium: Moroccan PM insults female minister, Moroccan-Belgian MPs want Belgian response

Wales: Islamic teacher under fire for calling on Muslims to support fight for sharia law abroad

Wales: Islamic teacher under fire for calling on Muslims to support fight for sharia law abroad

Via Wales Onlines (h/t EuropeNews):

An Islamic teacher whose group was at the centre of an anti-terror raid on a Cardiff community hall has come under fire for calling on Welsh muslims to “physically” support the fight for sharia law abroad.

Abu Hajar, of Grangetown, Cardiff, is one of the leaders of the Islamic group Supporters of Tawheed, which on its website says its core belief is the “domination of the world by Islam”.

(...)

In a video posted last month on YouTube called “Support the Muslims of Syria”, Mr Hajar said muslims should: snub western help abroad; demand an “Islamic solution” to problems in the Middle East; and impose sharia law there.

In the 14-minute video he addresses the people of Syria, saying: “Our money is with you and, if need be and if we are able to, our muslims will come and respond to your call physically as well.

(source)

READ MORE - Wales: Islamic teacher under fire for calling on Muslims to support fight for sharia law abroad

Iranian VP: European Leaders Fear Spread of Islam

Iranian VP: European Leaders Fear Spread of Islam


Via FNA:

The eye-catching growth in the number of mosques being built in Europe has made leaders of the European states deeply fearful of the rapid

spread of Islam and increasing conversion of their nations from Christianity, Iranian Vice-President Seyed Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini said. 

"Leaders of the European countries feel deeply endangered by the growing desire and conversion of their people from Christianity to the religion of Islam and the increasing number of mosques in their countries," Mir-Tajeddini said on Sunday. 

(source)

READ MORE - Iranian VP: European Leaders Fear Spread of Islam

Morocco: Italian fashion company upsets Muslims with madrassa pictures

Morocco: Italian fashion company upsets Muslims with madrassa pictures

Italian fashion designer Fornarina got Muslims upset by their latest advertising shoot in Marrakesh.  Fornarina used an abandoned madrassa to advertise their new collection, with their scantily-clad model posing in front of various Koran quotes on the walls.  Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya devoted considerable time to the incident, interviewing Moroccans at home and in Italy, who condemned the company.  Fornarina, who say they got all the necessary permits for the shoot from the Moroccan government, say they will remove the offending images. 

READ MORE - Morocco: Italian fashion company upsets Muslims with madrassa pictures

Belgium: Terror suspect doesn't show up for trial, is in Syria fighting Assad

Belgium: Terror suspect doesn't show up for trial, is in Syria fighting Assad
Via VRT:

In Brussels, a trial has started against 7 radical Muslims. The defendants are facing terrorism charges. They are suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Brussels, and of recruiting new members for Al Qaeda on Belgian soil for the "holy war" in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to their lawyers, there is no proof that they actually had plans to carry out a terrorist attack.

(...)

One of the suspects is the son of sheik Bassam, a radical imam who was recently convicted in Italy, receiving 8 years' imprisonment. The suspect did not show up in Brussels today, he is said to be fighting the Assad regime in Syria.

(source)

Sheik Bassam is Bassam Ayachi.  Abdelrahman Ayachi's lawyer told the court: "My client is originally from Syria.  He's currently there and is committing terrorist acts against the regime of president Assad. (...) He's doing in Syria, with support of the UN, the same things for which he is being charged here in Brussels today.  In Iraq he fought against the Americans.  That's not allowed.  In Syria he's fighting against Assad and that's OK.  Whether someone is a terrorist or a hero now depends mainly on the geo-strategic interests of our country."

Updated: Abdelrahim was previously convicted for inciting hatred against Jews, but some of the charges were dropped on appeal.

READ MORE - Belgium: Terror suspect doesn't show up for trial, is in Syria fighting Assad

Italy: Deportees on Alitalia flight with taped mouths

Italy: Deportees on Alitalia flight with taped mouths

A photo of two Tunisian men being deported from Italy on an Alitalia flight, their mouths sealed with duct tape and their hands cuffed with plastic bands, was posted by Italian film director Francesco Sperandeo on Facebook Wednesday. (ANSA)

READ MORE - Italy: Deportees on Alitalia flight with taped mouths

Cyprus: OIC welcomes Turkish Cypriot request to join

Cyprus: OIC welcomes Turkish Cypriot request to join

Via AFP (h/t DW)

The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference welcomed Saturday a request by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to open a permanent mission to the pan-Muslim body.

"The organisation welcomes this and is in contact with the host state (Saudi Arabia) to study and implement it," OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who is a Turkish national, told reporters after meeting Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

(source)

READ MORE - Cyprus: OIC welcomes Turkish Cypriot request to join

Morocco: Preacher calls Muslims to leave France

Morocco: Preacher calls Muslims to leave France

Via Telegraaf:

Omar al-Haddouchi, ideological leader of the Jihadist movement in Morocco, published a fatwa saying all Muslims should leave France for North Africa.

Al-Haddouchi says Muslims have no reason to stay in France, listing as reasons the burqa ban, the limits on the call to Friday prayers, and the stricter controls on Muslim radicals following the terror attack in Toulouse. He said non-Muslim countries where like a toilet, where you do your thing and then leave.

His 14-minute long video fatwa is currently circulating on Jihadi websites. Al-Haddouchi was sentenced to 30 years for his links to the attack in Casablanca, May 2003, but was pardoned last year by King Mohammed VI.

READ MORE - Morocco: Preacher calls Muslims to leave France

Spain: Real Madrid removes cross from UAE partnership logo

Spain: Real Madrid removes cross from UAE partnership logo

left: Real Madrid logo, right: new logo of the Real Madrid
resort island in the United Arab Emirates

Via Gatestone Institute:

The top-ranked football team in Spain, Real Madrid, has removed a Christian cross from its official logo as a way to strengthen its fan base among Muslims in Europe and the Middle East.

According to Spain's top sports newspaper, Marca, the change was made to "avoid any form of confusion or misinterpretation in a region where the majority of the population is Muslim."

Real Madrid says its decision to remove the cross from its logo (see image here) is simply a cost of doing business in a globalized world. But critics say the move represents yet another erosion of European culture and tradition in the face of encroaching Islam.

(source)

READ MORE - Spain: Real Madrid removes cross from UAE partnership logo

Morocco: Danish Hizb ut-Tahrir member suspected of terrorism

Morocco: Danish Hizb ut-Tahrir member suspected of terrorism

Via Politiken:

Danish newspaper Politiken reports that Thami Najim (37), a Danish Moroccan, was arrested February 3rd in Morocco and suspected of terror activities. According to Moroccan papers, he served as head of an active cell fighting the state. He's also suspected of receiving foreign funds for terrorist activities.

Thami Najim is one of the top members of the Moroccan branch of the extremist Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, and served as its webmaster and IT chief. Najim was born and raised in Denmark, and was very influential in the inner circle of the party's Danish branch. In 2007 he moved to Morocco with his family.

Najim and his family say he is not a terrorist. Najim says the 'foreign funds' are money transfers from his former Danish employers.

READ MORE - Morocco: Danish Hizb ut-Tahrir member suspected of terrorism

Switzerland: Government concerned with potential backlash in Muslim markets

Switzerland: Government concerned with potential backlash in Muslim markets

Via Sunday's Zaman:

Switzerland’s economy minister said on Wednesday that the Swiss government is concerned with a possible boycott of Swiss products overseas because xenophobic tendencies have found more ground in the wealthy European country.

Answering Today’s Zaman’s question in a written interview before boarding a plane to Ankara for an official visit on Thursday, Johann Schneider-Ammann,

the Swiss head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, said: “This is a big concern for my government. The key to solving this issue is dialogue; dialogue with Muslim communities in Switzerland and, on the international level, dialogue with Muslim countries.”

(source)

READ MORE - Switzerland: Government concerned with potential backlash in Muslim markets

Chechnya: First lady unveils Islamic fashion in Dubai

Chechnya: First lady unveils Islamic fashion in Dubai




Via AFP:

Chechnya's first lady, Medni Kadyrova, has displayed her Islamic fashion collection to a captivated audience in Dubai, faithful to the politics of her husband who has sought to impose Islamic dress codes in the Caucasus republic.

More than 20 veiled Chechen models paced the catwalk in a Dubai palace on Saturday evening, clad in silk and carefully embroidered muslin dresses that covered them from head to toe but also managed to outline their figures.

(source)

READ MORE - Chechnya: First lady unveils Islamic fashion in Dubai

London: Young Syrians travel to country to support protest

London: Young Syrians travel to country to support protest



Via the BBC:

As the violence and unrest in Syria continues a number of young Syrians raised in London are travelling to the country - and risking their lives - to support the protest movement aiming to topple the regime of President Assad.

'Mohammad' is in his early twenties and lives in west London. He is closely involved with activists both here in the capital and in the Middle East. But he is frustrated at being unable to do more.

"For me living in London, not knowing Syria and never having been there I never thought of going back to my country, but just seeing all the bloodshed whilst sitting here in London not doing anything, I feel like I'm useless," he said.

"I have to sacrifice whatever I can to help this revolution succeed."

(source)

READ MORE - London: Young Syrians travel to country to support protest

Pakistan: 85 Frenchmen training for Jihad

Pakistan: 85 Frenchmen training for Jihad

Via AP (h/t DW):

Approximately 85 Frenchmen have been training with the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan tribal area for the past three years, according to the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Most of the men have dual nationality with France and North African countries.

The Frenchmen operate under the name Jihad-e-Islami and are being trained to use explosives and other weapons at camps near the town of Miran Shah and in the Datta Khel area, the officials said. They are led by a French commander who goes by the name Abu Tarek. Five of the men returned to France in January 2011 to find new recruits, according to the officials. It's unclear whether Merah was among that group.

(source)

READ MORE - Pakistan: 85 Frenchmen training for Jihad

Berlin: Syrian Channels Aid to Embattled Countrymen

Berlin: Syrian Channels Aid to Embattled Countrymen

Via Spiegel:

A Syrian expat in Berlin has teamed up with Germans to launch a donation drive similar to long-distance "adoption" programs for children in poor countries. Though they fear the wrath of Syrian intelligence agents and for the safety of aid recipients in the country, they are determined to foster peaceful revolution on the home front.

Aktham Abazid and two German friends lead the way into an office that looks more like a storage room off a courtyard in Berlin. The men would like to keep this location secret because they are fighting against Syrian leader Bashir Assad from here. Even in Berlin, they believe that one can't feel completely safe.

Darkness falls as the men flip open their laptops. The seats are plastic, but they have Internet access -- and that's all they need. Abazid, 38, writes three names on a scrap of paper: Hama, Aleppo and Derik. In these three Syrian cities, people are sitting in clandestine offices waiting for their help. The men in Berlin plan to add these locations to the aid program they have devised for Syrian opposition activists.

(source)

READ MORE - Berlin: Syrian Channels Aid to Embattled Countrymen

France: EU should build wall at Greek-Turkish border

France: EU should build wall at Greek-Turkish border

Via EurActiv (h/t Turkish Digest):

The top French official responsible for immigration said the EU should build a wall along the 130-kilometre Greek-Turkish border, comparing it to the one between the USA and Mexico.

Arno Klarsfeld, recently appointed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to head the Office for Immigration and Integration, said in a televised interview that the proposed wall was a matter of "common sense".

The official appears to bring other ideas recently developed by Sarkozy, who has repeatedly called the Greek-Turkish border "a sieve". According to analysts, Sarkozy has turned to anti-immigration rhetoric in his campaign against Socialist challenger François Hollande in the 22 April first-round election that is likely to propel the two men to a run-off on 6 May.

(source)

READ MORE - France: EU should build wall at Greek-Turkish border

Bosnia: Muslim undertaking 3600-mile walking pilgrimage to Mecca

Bosnia: Muslim undertaking 3600-mile walking pilgrimage to Mecca



Via PRI:

Each year millions of Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to the Saudi city of Mecca.

The Hajj, as it is known, is still far away, at the end of October, but 47-year-old Senad Hadzic has already set off in that direction.

That's because he is on foot.

He started from his hometown in northern Bosnia back in December 2011 and is walking all the way to Mecca — a distance of 3,600 miles. He covers between 12 to 20 miles a day.

(source)

READ MORE - Bosnia: Muslim undertaking 3600-mile walking pilgrimage to Mecca

Prague: Syrian community protests against Assad's regime

Prague: Syrian community protests against Assad's regime

About 30 people gathered in Prague's centre Friday to protest against the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and present an improvised exhibition of photos of victims of the people's revolution in Syria.

READ MORE - Prague: Syrian community protests against Assad's regime