LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 31/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.july31.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Jesus cures the Caaanite Woman's
Daughter/Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And
her daughter was healed instantly
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 15/21-28/:"Jesus left
that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a
Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on
me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’But he did not
answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away,
for she keeps shouting after us.’He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.’But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help
me.’He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the
dogs.’She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from
their masters’ table.’Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let
it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly."
I pray therefore that you may
not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory
Letter to the Ephesians 03/01-13:"This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner
for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles or surely you have already heard
of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the
mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a
reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of
Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as
it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that
is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers
in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become
a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the
working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace
was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of
Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages
in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in
its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has
carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness
and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose
heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on July 30-31/16
Lebanon’s FPM party purges anti-Bassil
members/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/July 30/16
The right target for the U.S. in Syria: Hezbollah/Daniel Serwer/The Washington
Post/July 30/16
Will Europe Refuse to Kneel like the Heroic French Priest/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone
Institute/July 30/16
Hungary Blasts EU with Common Sense on Muslim Migration/Raymond Ibrahim/July
30/16
"The Battle against Islamism Has Not Yet Started"/Ralf Ostner
(interviewer)/Global Review (Germany)/July 30/16
Ignoring Bashar al-Assad with a few euphemisms/Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/30/16
Debates on the renewal of religious rhetoric/Fahad Suleiman ShoqiranRaed Omari/Al
Arabiya/30/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
July 30-31/16
Jumblat Criticizes Term Extension of
Qahwaji
Report: Moqbel Signals Extension of Army Chief Term
Fugitive and Supporter of Asir Turns Himself in
Saniora Warns Any Bid to Alter Political System would be 'Recipe for Explosion'
Lebanon’s FPM party purges anti-Bassil members
The right target for the U.S. in Syria: Hezbollah
Three Prominent Members Expelled from Free Patriotic Movement
Makari: Extending Parliament's mandate an unforgivable crime
Berri receives Boueiz, General Director of Statistics
Aoun calls on FPM partisans to preserve their institution
We Want Accountability' stages open sitin at Riad Solh Square until end of
dialogue sessions
Hariri receives German Charge d'affaires
Army delegations visit Lahoud, Aoun, Sleiman and Khoury relaying Kahwaji's
greetings marking Army Day
Khreiss: Political dispute an attempt at nation's unity
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
July 30-31/16
Dozens of Families' Leave Besieged
Aleppo
Toll Rises to 8 Dead in Deadliest PKK Attack since Turkey Coup
Crackdown on “un-Islamic” women’s clothes in Iran
‘Young Iranians desire freedom from religious tyranny’
Ken Blackwell: U.S. Policy Should Work to Transform Iran
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
July 30-31/16
Top Muslim Wall Street Journal reporter converts to Christianity
after jihadist attack on priest
Remembrance march for Nice, France jihad slaughter banned for fear of more
attacks
France: Church of priest murdered by jihadis donated land for mosque; “relations
are normally very good”
California to proclaim August “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month”
Belgium: Two Muslims arrested for plotting jihad massacre
Jamie Glazov Moment: 9 Steps to Counter Jihad (Steps #7-9)
In featuring grieving Muslim parents, WaPo, DNC imply all resistance to jihad is
bigotry
Dealing with Islamic supremacists: Italy expels imam who named daughter “Jihad”
North African team sent home after molesting girls in Sweden at
world youth football tournament
Mumbai police: Zakir Naik has been paying people to convert to
Islam
July 30-31/16
Jumblat Criticizes Term
Extension of Qahwaji
Naharnet/July 30/16/The Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblat criticized on
Saturday a suggestion to extend the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji
for another year and dubbed it as a step taken “at the law's expense.”“It is a
silly fad. Extending the term of some (military officials) is done at the law's
expense,” said Jumblat in a tweet late on Friday. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel
announced that extending the tenure of Qahwaji for another year is possible,
while extending the mandate of Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman is not.
Moqbel had in August last year postponed the retirement of Qahwaji, Salman and
Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir, extending their terms by
one year, after the political forces failed to reach an agreement on security
and military appointments. Qahwaji's tenure expires in September while that of
Salman will end on August 7.The army chief's term has been extended twice since
2013 despite political objections, especially from the Free Patriotic Movement,
which says it rejects term extensions for any military or security official.
Report: Moqbel Signals Extension of Army Chief Term
Naharnet/July 30/16/Defense Minister Samir Moqbel has given the approval to
extend the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji for an additional year in
light of the difficult circumstances Lebanon is passing through, the Kuwaiti As-Seyasah
daily reported on Saturday. Extending the term of Qahwaji is the “best option
and the most appropriate for Lebanon and the army in light of the difficult
conditions that the country is passing through and in the absence of a
president,” ministerial sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. “The
cabinet will approve the extension based on Moqbel's request any time soon
although there are objections. However, these objections will not hamper the
step,” stated the sources. Moqbel had in August last year postponed the
retirement of Qahwaji, Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman and Higher Defense
Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir, extending their terms by one year, after
the political forces failed to reach an agreement on security and military
appointments. Qahwaji's tenure expires in September while that of Salman will
end on August 7. The army chief's term has been extended twice since 2013
despite political objections, especially from the Free Patriotic Movement, which
says it rejects term extensions for any military or security official. FPM
founder MP Michel Aoun, had been reportedly seeking the appointment of former
Commando Regiment chief Chamel Roukoz, his son-in-law, as a successor to Qahwaji.
Fugitive and Supporter of
Asir Turns Himself in
Naharnet/July 30/16/One of the supporters of detained extremist cleric Ahmed al-Asir
turned himself in to the Lebanese army intelligence checkpoint in Taamir-Ain el-Hilweh
in the south, the National News Agency reported on Saturday. Hani Najem is
wanted on several arrest warrants, added NNA. He has been at large since the
deadly Abra battle in Sidon with the army in 2013. Three supporters of Asir
identified as Abou al-Abed Shmandur, Mahmoud al-Qarout and Bahaa al-Birtawi have
turned themselves in to the army recently. Several members of Asir's group had
fled to the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in the wake of the Abra battle. Al-Asir,
a firebrand anti-Hizbullah cleric, was apprehended in 2015 while trying to
travel to Nigeria via Cairo with a fake Palestinian passport. He is wanted for
his role in deadly clashes with the army.
Saniora Warns Any Bid to Alter Political System would be 'Recipe for Explosion'
Naharnet/July 30/16/Ex-PM Fouad Saniora, the head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary
bloc, warned Friday that any imminent attempt to change the current political
system would be a “quick recipe” for the “explosion” of the country. “All
remarks about amending the Taef Accord or holding a constituent assembly are all
quick recipes for an explosion and for further entanglement of Lebanon in the
region's conflicts,” Saniora said. “Lebanon is going through a real crisis, but
it is not a system crisis but rather a crisis of failure to implement this
system,” he explained. “Some parties are blocking the electoral process and when
no president is elected, state institutions would stop functioning and Lebanon
would be exposed to further threats,” Saniora noted. He also pointed out that
“some parties are trying to impose on the Lebanese an arbitrary appointment of a
president rather than an electoral process.”“We either elect the specific
candidate they want or there won't be an election,” the ex-PM lamented. Lebanon
has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014
and Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies
have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the
needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to
Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement
chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with
reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The
supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community. Speaker Nabih Berri has recently
stressed that “there is no alternative” to the 1989 Taef Accord that ended the
civil war while ruling out the possibility of holding a so-called constituent
assembly in the foreseeable future. “Commitment to the Taef Accord is final and
let no one think of any new constituent assembly. The Taef Accord is not a Quran
or a Bible, but changing it is out of the question,” Berri said. There are fears
in the country that the ongoing political and presidential vacuum might
eventually lead to introducing constitutional amendments or holding a
constituent assembly that would radically change the current political system
that is based on a delicate distribution of power among the country's sects.
Berri himself and Hizbullah have been recently accused of seeking a constituent
assembly aimed at altering the political system in their favor. In June 2012,
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah openly called for “a constituent
assembly elected by the people.”“Why don't we form a constituent assembly
elected by the people -- not on a sectarian or regional basis but on the basis
of competency -- in order to discuss all options. Let it discuss the Taef
Accord, a new social contract or a non-sectarian system,” he said.
Lebanon’s FPM party purges anti-Bassil members
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/July 30/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/07/30/joseph-a-kechichiangulf-news-lebanons-fpm-party-purges-anti-bassil-members/
Beirut: The founder of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the 82-year-old former
Lebanese Commander of the Lebanese Army General Michel Aoun, confronted a
defining challenge as the party he created in 2005 expelled three leading
members over policy differences. Media reports confirmed that a senior FPM
official sitting on the party’s disciplinary committee called Ziad Abs, Naim
Aoun and Antoine Nasrallah to inform them of their expulsions, after it
determined that all three tarnished the group’s reputation. In remarks made to
New [Al Jadeed] Television, Abs, a key FPM official in Beirut’s Ashrafieh area
corroborated that he had been expelled from the FPM along with Naim Aoun and
Antoine Nasrallah. Previously, Abs ran into an open confrontation with the FPM’s
current president, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jibran Bassil (who happens to
also be General Michel Aoun’s son-in-law), as he expressed a wish to run for
party office. Naim Aoun, a nephew of the founder, and the other two FPM founding
members were called before an FPM disciplinary tribunal because they criticised
Bassil during a television interview on July 16. Nasrallah, who fought alongside
General Aoun against the Syrians during the latter’s three-decades long
occupation of the country, was also reprimanded for publishing a scathing
article that Jibran Bassil did not approve of. All three refused to appear
before the FPM disciplinary tribunal but spoke openly on television against what
they alleged were undemocratic practices.
The latest media appearances apparently tipped the balance and led to the
expulsions, especially after Naim Aoun confirmed that he was expelled because of
his Wednesday evening television appearance on the MTV ‘Bi-Mawdu‘iyyah’
[Objectively] programme with Walid Abboud. Naim Aoun did not mince his words and
lambasted the FPM even if Abboud, playing the ‘Devil’s Advocate’ repeatedly
accused Naim Aoun of skirting the issues. The FPM had previously accused the
three rebels of “raising the FPM’s crises in the media”, according to a report
published in the Al Nahar newspaper, and the latest transgression was clearly
not tolerated. When Abs, Aoun and Nasrallah informed the FPM disciplinary
committee a few days ago that they would not attend their so-called ‘trial’
because they had concluded that they “did not violate the movement’s bylaws as
the leadership has claimed”, Bassil gave instructions to expel the three.
Unconfirmed media reports, which have been circulated since May 2016, hinted
that the FPM intended to purge the party of those who refused to accept Bassil.
At least 20 leading members, including Abs, were apparently targeted from the
get-go. Importantly, the latest expulsions occurred two days before the
scheduled FPM ‘internal party elections’ on Sunday to select candidates who will
run for parliamentary elections in 2017. Critics remained skeptical about the
envisaged process, as at least 10 contenders (out of 83) were forced to withdraw
because they did not meet the party’s criteria (to be a card-carrying member for
at least two years, have a college degree, and be over 30 years of age), even if
the Lebanese constitution does not require a college degree for eligibility for
any citizen to run for office. In reality, vetted candidates were expected to
back Bassil first and foremost, though it was unclear whether any of the 73
would be chosen by acclamation like the party president was.
The right target for the U.S. in
Syria: Hezbollah
By Daniel Serwer/The Washington Post/July
30/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/07/30/daniel-serwerthe-washington-post-the-right-target-for-the-u-s-in-syria-hezbollah/
The military situation in Syria has turned against the U.S.-supported opposition
over the past year, due mainly to Russian intervention. Now, the failed coup in
Turkey and subsequent crackdown there stand to reduce the capabilities of a key
U.S. ally. Without some rebalancing now in favor of the opposition to Syrian
dictator Bashar al-Assad, the prospects for a satisfactory negotiated political
transition are dim.
In a dissenting internal memo last month, 51 State Department diplomats
advocated attacks on Syrian government forces to end their aggression against
the country’s civilian population, alter the military balance and bring about a
negotiated political solution. President Obama has focused instead on fighting
terrorism in Syria, but U.S. targets are limited to Sunni extremists such as the
Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates.
There is also a Shiite terrorist organization in Syria: Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
It should not be immune.
Hezbollah was founded to resist the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in the early
1980s and takes credit for the eventual Israeli withdrawal from that country.
Tightly allied with and supported by Iran, it has become the dominant political
force among Shiites in Lebanon, where it not only participates in national
politics but also runs its own security forces and provides social services to
Shiite populations.
Covertly since 2012, and overtly since 2013, Hezbollah has deployed forces
inside Syria, where its thousands of fighters are aligned with Assad’s army and
mainly Shiite and Alawite militias against mainly Sunni forces that Assad
regards as terrorists. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps pays Hezbollah’s
bills and provides its command-and-control operations. Hezbollah forces have
been particularly effective along the border with Lebanon, which provides it
with strategic depth and supply lines.
Hezbollah is a major factor in the military balance in Syria. Along with the
Russian air intervention begun last September and the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard, Hezbollah’s fighters have enabled Assad to make progress against his
opponents, especially those associated with the Free Syrian Army fighters backed
by the United States. That progress has hardened Assad’s negotiating stance and
blocked the U.N. search for a political solution. Assad is winning, and he sees
no reason to accept a transition away from his rule.
A shift in the military balance is essential to ending the war, which is what
Washington says it wants. But Obama has steadfastly refused to go to war against
the Syrian, Iranian or Russian government. Even if he wants to, it is doubtful
he has authorization from Congress to do so.
But Hezbollah is a non-state actor. It is also a U.S.-designated terrorist group
that has murdered Americans, among many others. Most Republicans and Democrats
would applaud an attack on Hezbollah, even if some in both parties would bemoan
a move that suggested widening commitments overseas.
Washington could inform Tehran, Moscow and Beirut that Hezbollah should withdraw
from Syria by a certain date or the United States would target any of its troops
attacking non-extremist opposition forces in and around Aleppo and elsewhere. If
Hezbollah failed to withdraw, the United States would then need to be ready to
attack as soon as the ultimatum expired.
Hezbollah’s withdrawal or U.S. targeting of Hezbollah would send a strong but
still limited message to the Syrian opposition and its allies in Turkey and the
Persian Gulf: We are prepared to attack Shiite as well as Sunni terrorists, but
it’s up to you to take advantage of the opportunity and come to the negotiating
table ready to reach a serious political settlement. It would also send a strong
but likewise limited message to Iran and Russia: We will not continue to
tolerate your intervention in Syria without responding. The time for a political
settlement is now.
How would the players in Syria react? Hezbollah would likely try to strike at
accessible U.S. assets or citizens in neighboring countries, most likely in
Lebanon or Iraq. It might also launch rockets into Israel. The Islamic State,
which uses Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as a recruiting tool, would be
undermined. Russia and Iran could in theory up the ante, escalating their
involvement in Syria, but in practice they both appear to be close to the limit
of lives and treasure they are willing or able to expend there. Assad would be
outraged and promise revenge, but the Syrian government is even more clearly at
the limit of its capabilities.
Meanwhile, the non-extremist Syrian opposition would applaud and press hard
against the territory where Hezbollah is deployed. Gulf states would likewise
welcome the U.S. action and redouble their efforts to support the opposition.
Israel knows all too well how to react to Hezbollah attacks in order to
reestablish deterrence. Turkey might complain that the United States was not
also acting against the U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters whom Ankara regards as
terrorists, but the Turks would still benefit from any consequent military
progress against Assad by non-Kurdish forces.
In short, U.S. targeting of Hezbollah would mostly please and embolden
Washington’s friends and discomfit its antagonists. It would also reassert U.S.
commitment to fighting terrorism of all sorts, renew Washington’s commitment to
holding Hezbollah accountable, hasten an end to the Syrian civil war and make a
political settlement more likely. That is not a bad balance of risks and
benefits.
**The writer is a professor and director of the conflict management program at
the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, as well as a scholar
at the Middle East Institute. He is publisher of the blog peacefare.net.
Three Prominent Members Expelled
from Free Patriotic Movement
Naharnet/31 July/16/Prominent Free Patriotic Movement members Ziad Abs, Naim
Aoun and Antoine Nasrallah were on Friday expelled from the movement. “The FPM's
juristic council has informed the three activists of the decision to expel them
from the movement,” media reports said. In remarks to al-Jadeed television, Abs,
a key official in Beirut's Ashrafieh area, confirmed that he has been expelled
from the FPM along with the two other members. He also told LBCI TV that his
latest televised appearances are the reason behind his expulsion. The FPM had
accused the three members of “raising the FPM's crises in the media,” according
to An Nahar newspaper. Abs, Aoun and Nasrallah for their part had informed the
movement's juristic council that they would not attend their so-called “trial”
seeing as they “did not violate the movement's bylaws as the leadership has
claimed.” Media reports had said in May that the FPM leadership was studying the
possibility of expelling some 20 members, including leading official Ziad Abs,
for “rebelling against movement decisions.”The dispute had first erupted over
Abs' opposition to the FPM's alliance in Beirut's municipal elections with al-Mustaqbal
Movement. The dispute pitted him against former FPM minister Nicolas Sehnaoui.
Abs was reportedly not consulted over the alliance. FPM founder MP Michel Aoun
had vowed to “hold accountable” those responsible for the so-called “revolt”
within the FPM, a source close to FPM chief Jebran Bassil told al-Liwaa
newspaper in May.
Makari: Extending Parliament's
mandate an unforgivable crime
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - Deputy House Speaker, Farid Makari, told Voice of Lebanon
radio on Saturday that the extension of Parliament's mandate is an unpardonable
crime, calling for holding the legislative elections even if under current law.
Makari considered that by electing a new president "we avoid extending the
mandate of current Commander of the Armed Forces, General Jean Qahwaji,"
stressing that the president was the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and
appointing a new Commander in the absence of a president was unconstitutional.
He urged all political factions to conduct the legislative elections even by
applying the current law, stating that the law of individual electoral
districts, proposed by Kataeb Party, was the best law presented thus far. Makari
criticised the proportionality law, saying that it could only form the "worst
parliament in Lebanon's history." He highlighted the importance of agreeing on a
common electoral law that provided equitable representation for all, especially
for Christians, for the sake of the country. If there were no agreement over a
new electoral law, Makari expected heavy civil movements to take action.
Berri receives Boueiz, General Director of Statistics
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, met at his Ayn Teeneh
residence on Saturday with former Minister Fares Boueiz, who said that the
Speaker was sad by current state of affairs, and was doing everything in his
power to change the status quo.Berri also received the Director General of the
Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon, Maral Tutelian. Also among Ayn
Teeneh visitors was Fayez Al Shawabkeh, Secretary-General of the Arab
Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Aoun calls on FPM partisans
to preserve their institution
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - In a word to party members on the eve of the Free
Patriotic Movement's preliminary elections, Change and Reform Parliamentary Bloc
Head, General Michel Aoun, urged partisans to "preserve the institution" that he
founded."With these internal elections, the FPM passes on to a new democratic
stage where supporters will nominate their representatives," said Aoun, adding
that "elections are the right track to achieve change.""These elections will be
a unique model at the national level, encouraging various groups to adopt a
democratic system in their structure formation," Aoun underscored.
'We Want Accountability'
stages open sitin at Riad Solh Square until end of dialogue sessions
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - "We Want Accountability" civil campaign activists raised a
number of tents at Riad Solh Square in downtown Beirut on Saturday, in a move to
stage an open sit-in until the end of the dialogue sessions at Ain el-Teeneh
upcoming Thursday.
Civil Activist Abdo Saad pointed to the importance of holding parliamentary
elections on the basis of relativity, calling on all sides to reject the
currently proposed mixed law since it shall not allow for electing any new
deputy. In a word on behalf of sit-in participants, Campaign Activist Hani Fayad
said that "the only solution to change the lives of the Lebanese is through
changing the current political class by holding elections based on relativity."
He added that "laws and regulations should be to serve the people," and that
"the rights of the current authority rule in Lebanon can only be taken away by
force of the people."
Hariri receives German Charge
d'affaires
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Saturday afternoon
at the "House of Centre" with German Charge d'affaires ad interim Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen,
with whom he discussed the situation in Lebanon and bilateral relations. Later,
he received a delegation representing "Nights of Tannourine Cedars" Festival
Committee comprising its President Marlene Harb, President of the Social and
Economic Council Roger Nasnas, President of the Lebanese-French Chamber of
Commerce Gaby Tamer and Attorney Micky Tueini, in the presence of Future
Movement Coordinator in Batroun and Byblos Georges Bkassini. The delegation
handed an invitation to Premier Hariri to attend "Moulouk al-Tawaef" show that
will be held in August.
Army delegations visit Lahoud,
Aoun, Sleiman and Khoury relaying Kahwaji's greetings marking Army Day
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - Senior Army Officers visited on Saturday former Army
Commander-in-Chief's: General Emile Lahoud, General Michel Sleiman, General
Michel Aoun and General Victor Khoury, on the occasion of the 71st Army
Foundation Day. The delegations relayed the greetings of Army Chief Jean Kahwaji,
and his wishes for continuous health and exerted efforts for the sake of
Lebanon.
Khreiss: Political dispute an
attempt at nation's unity
Sat 30 Jul 2016/NNA - MP Ali Khreiss told visitors to his Tyre office on
Saturday that offensive domestic dispute among politicians is an attempt to
strike at the country's strength and unity, asserting that Speaker Nabih Berri
is only "biased for dialogue, the nation and its causes.""Attempts to defame and
target [Berri] will not deter him from gripping the reins of leadership to build
a strong Lebanon."
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/16
Dozens of Families' Leave Besieged
Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/16/
Dozens of families left the besieged opposition-held east of Syria's Aleppo city
on Saturday through a "humanitarian corridor" to the government-held west,
Syria's official SANA news agency reported. The evacuations came 48 hours after
regime ally Russia announced that three humanitarian passages would be opened to
allow civilians and surrendering fighters to cross from the besieged rebel-held
districts of the city to government territory.
"This morning dozens of families left via the corridors identified... to allow
the exit of citizens besieged by terrorist groups in the eastern neighborhoods,"
SANA reported.
"They were welcomed by members of the army and taken by bus to temporary
shelters," it added. It also said "a number" of women over the age of 40 had
left the rebel-held east and had been taken to shelters. The agency carried
photos showing dozens of people, mostly women and children, walking past
soldiers and boarding buses. State television also broadcast footage it said
showed residents crossing from the east to the west. SANA added that "armed men
from eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo" had turned themselves in to army soldiers
in Salaheddin district, without giving figures or showing pictures of the
incident. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor,
confirmed that "a number" of civilians had left the east of the city through a
passage in the Salaheddin neighborhood. It had no exact figures for the number
of people who had evacuated. Aleppo has been roughly divided between government
control in the west and rebel control in the east since mid-2012, and the
frontline runs through several neighborhoods, including Salaheddin. The
rebel-held side of the city has been effectively under government siege since
July 7, when regime forces advanced to within firing range of the only remaining
supply route to opposition neighbourhoods. The encirclement has led to food
shortages and spiraling prices in the east, with fears of a humanitarian crisis
for the estimated 250,000 still living there.
Toll Rises to 8 Dead in Deadliest
PKK Attack since Turkey Coup
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/16/Eight Turkish soldiers were killed in
clashes with Kurdish militants in the country's restive southeast, the army said
Saturday, raising the toll from the deadliest such attack on the military since
the failed coup. The soldiers were performing a security check when they were
attacked by militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in
Hakkari province on the road near Cukurca late Friday. The army said in a
statement another 25 soldiers were injured during the clashes in the area close
to northern Iraq. Previous reports late Friday had said that five soldiers were
killed. Eight militants were "neutralised" in the area after an air force
operation, the army added. Fighting between the military and the PKK has
continued since the July 15 failed putsch in which a rogue group within the
armed forces tried to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power. Turkey has
blamed the coup on followers of the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and
officials have made no attempt to link the plot with the PKK. Hundreds of
Turkish security force members have been killed by the PKK in attacks since the
collapse of a two-year ceasefire in July last year. In response, the government
has launched military operations against the Kurdish militant group, killing
thousands of militants. Activists claim innocent civilians have also been killed
in the military offensives. Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK --
proscribed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United
States -- first took up arms in 1984.
Crackdown on “un-Islamic” women’s
clothes in Iran
Saturday, 30 July 2016/NCRI – The Iranian regime is stepping up pressure on
clothes production and distribution lines in a renewed drive to swoop out
clothing deemed to be un-Islamic and incompatible with the mullahs’
fundamentalist regulations.
At least four clothing production and distribution units in Isfahan, central
Iran, have been closed down in recent days, according to a report on Wednesday,
July 27, in the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated to the regime’s Revolutionary
Guards (IRGC) Quds Force.
Ebrahim Khatabakhsh, the head of the clothes manufacturers’ union in Isfahan,
told Tasnim: “Clothes production and distribution lines in Isfahan that do not
conform to the standards of the Islamic Republic of Iran are being dealt with.”
He added: "Some of these production units have been ordered to adapt their
clothing with Iranian-Islamic culture and standards. There are less smuggled
foreign clothes being seen in Isfahan these days."
He added: “One of the plans currently underway is the rounding up of open-front
coats (manteaux) with designer patters from clothes stores” in the city.
He said that sting operations by the regime’s so-called “morality police” are
continuing throughout the city. “Currently joint inspections are being carried
out in the mornings and afternoons until all the areas have been inspected.”
In recent days, the regime’s police have stepped up their repressive measures
against women in Iran.
Iran's fundamentalist regime on Tuesday arrested a group of women for riding
bicycles in public in the north-western city of Marivan, in Iran’s Kurdistan
Province.
The incident took place on July 26 as a group of women were planning to
participate in a sports event to cycle from the city's Stadium Square to the
Zaribar Lake.
According to eye-witness accounts, suppressive state security forces (police)
approached the women and girls and informed them that based on a new government
directive cycling by women in public places is barred and considered “unlawful.”
The suppressive forces demanded that the women and girls sign written pledges to
not repeat their "violation" of cycling in public.
Several of the women who protested the regime's new misogynist measure were
taken into custody, witnesses said.
‘Young Iranians desire freedom from religious tyranny’
Saturday, 30 July 2016/NCRI – The young generation of Iran desire freedom from
religious tyranny, says a teenage dissident who recently fled Iran and has
joined the ranks of the Resistance movement.
Iranian opposition activist Paria Kohandel, 18, made the remarks at the “Free
Iran” convention in Paris earlier this month. Paria’s father Saleh Kohandel is a
political prisoner in the notorious Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj,
north-west of Tehran, over his support for the main Iranian opposition group,
the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin Khalq, MEK).
"I used to watch this gathering every year when I was in Iran. I used to tune
into the opposition’s television channel (Simay-e Azadi) to catch a glimpse of
the annual [Free Iran] gathering. I could only watch it on TV. But, being
personally present here and seeing the incredible size of it firsthand is
totally different than watching it on TV. It’s an absolutely different
experience," Paria Kohandel said at the huge gathering in Paris on July 9.
"I’m happy to have developed a relationship with you, friends of the Iranian
Resistance, who have gathered here from all corners of the world, forming an
endless sea that’s hungry for freedom. ... I’m here to be the voice of my
father, who is my source of pride and my hero. He has spent the last 10 years in
prison because of his commitment to bring freedom to our generation. He is
resisting and persevering in the clerical regime’s prisons."
"I was eight when they arrested my father. For 10 years, I could only see him
for 20 minutes at a time each week, with a glass panel separating us. But, we
made lots of memories together in those 20 minutes. He was with me when I was
sad, he was with me during happy times, and he laughed with every fiber of his
being. … The sound of his laughter still echoes in my ears."
"Even the static of the prison phone couldn’t censor his laughs. When I was sad,
it was my dad who consoled me. But, when he was sad, I had nothing to say to
ease his pain. Like the moments when the regime took his cellmates and friends
for execution."
"My dad used to say: In prison, there are lots of 17 or 18 year old teenagers
who have been sentenced to death or long-term imprisonment on petty charges. He
said he would see his own daughters in their faces."
"I wish those teenagers were here so they could freely scream the things they
haven’t been able to say under this regime … so they could say it without being
censored."
"This is a generation that has watched public executions and experienced the
pain of child labor through all its life; a generation that was unwittingly
thrown into a war that is still in progress. My country Iran is at war; a war
for freedom; a war for being able to breathe freely; a fight to create an Iran
without prisons and executions."
"The regime tried constantly to make us become our own enemies while trying to
convince us that we’re all alone in this fight. But we are not alone. We have
something to lean on, to count on, which taught us over these years ... that one
can rebel against suppression; that we can be free."
"In the process of leaving Iran, I met Iranian immigrants who were with me every
step of the way. In those though times, without much help, I didn’t even think
that I would be able to see them again. But, amazingly, I met some of them here
today. Like me, they’ve found what they’d been looking for."
"We want to show our commitment and accept new responsibilities to overthrow the
dictatorship. This is our responsibility. Because we have felt with every fiber
of our being what these henchmen have done to our country."
"We will free Iran. Because [Iranian opposition leader] Maryam Rajavi, whose
name is banned in Iran because it is a source of fear for the ruling regime, has
taught us that 'we can and we must'.”
"We can and we must take this glowing light to Iran," Paria Kohandel added.
Renowned Iranian dissident Saleh Kohandel was arrested on March 4, 2007 and
sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for supporting the PMOI (MEK).
The last time Paria saw her father was in Gohardasht Prison last year, one month
before she fled Iran.
Ken Blackwell: U.S. Policy
Should Work to Transform Iran
Saturday, 30 July 2016/NCRI/In the run-up to the U.S. Presidential elections,
Iran and Islamic extremism have become the main foreign policy challenges,
argues Ken Blackwell, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human
Rights Commission.
Writing in the American Thinker on Friday, July 29, 2016, Amb. Blackwell said:
In around 100 days America will be witnessing a crucial election. In the
meantime, much will be done on both sides of the national divide, and this year
we may see more than the usual political maneuvering in the run-up to this
election.
Regardless of the outcome, the next president will face the same unique national
security challenges. The Middle East is in a greater crisis than ever before and
according to various analysts, it is heading toward anarchy. The scenes of
defenseless people getting killed in Syria have only grown more painful over the
past year, even as they have become less prevalent on our TV screens. Islamic
extremism and the resulting terrorism is now targeting Western Europe, America,
and the Middle East with unprecedented barbarity, and there is no easy response
to it.
The issue of Islamic extremism brings to mind one of our main foreign policy
challenges: Iran.
This is a country ruled by a theocracy that plays an active and destructive role
in all major wars in the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq to Yemen. Tehran is
known as the main state sponsor of terrorism across the globe, as well as being
one of the originators of modern extremist Islam. And despite the nuclear
agreement with the international community, Iran continues its provocative
gestures toward the Western world, for instance by test-firing its ballistic
missiles.
In considering future U.S. policy toward such a totalitarian regime, it is
imperative to consider whether there exists an alternative -- a serious and
credible opposition to the existing government. The answer, in the case of Iran,
is clearly “yes.”
On July 9th in Paris the Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI), held a massive rally in which around 100,000 people
from all over the globe took part. An unprecedented bipartisan American group of
senior dignitaries and former military commanders attended the gathering, as did
hundreds of European dignitaries. And perhaps the most significant part of this
rally was the presence of Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, who stood before the
Iranian opposition and endorsed its call for a regime change for the first time
this year.
Turki’s speech conveyed a strong message of regional unity. The message of the
rally as a whole was that this unity can help Iran to achieve freedom through
regime change by the Iranian people and their organized resistance. Insofar as
the rally demonstrated international consensus regarding the legitimacy of the
NCRI’s cause, it also showed that there is indeed a domestically organized and
globally recognized force for change within Iran.
The seriousness of this resistance movement was made more obvious by the Iranian
regime’s hysterical response to the NCRI rally. Immediately after the “Free
Iran” gathering, a large number of Iranian officials including the first vice
president, foreign minister, judiciary chief and to the spokesman for the
Revolutionary Guard lashed out at France for hosting the event, at Western
politicians for supporting it, and at the Saudi government for apparently
raising the banner of regime change.
In the past, the Iranian regime has attempted to dismiss the resistance movement
as insignificant. But if Tehran has no concerns about its opposition and the
opposition has no impact in Iran, then what has motivated Tehran’s aggressive
response to a peaceful meeting held many thousands of kilometers away?
The truth is that this movement has roots deep inside Iran. About 120,000
members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), men and
women, and all Muslims, were executed as they refused to succumb in the face of
the ayatollahs' Islamic extremism, and as they persisted in defending human
rights and democracy. Subsequently, the effort to destroy the opposition came to
involve a campaign of demonization and the systematic spread of lies about the
group.
The PMOI is the main constituent of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
which is headed by Maryam Rajavi, a Muslim woman with deep anti-fundamentalist
beliefs. Mrs. Rajavi is an effective leader in coordinating pro-democracy
Iranians, especially the youth and women, in campaigns against the religious
fascism ruling Iran.
Iranians demand change. And Tehran’s reaction to calls for such change
demonstrates that the ayatollahs understand how near at hand it is. A democratic
and non-extremist Iran is the guarantor of peace and stability in the entire
region, promising good economic relations and the region’s achievement of its
maximum potential. It will improve development, growth, and cooperation with the
West. And once this has been achieved, we in the West can focus our regional
efforts on investments and transactions, instead of the impossible task of
trying to stabilize the region through short-sighted military interventions.
Let us hope our next president is willing to adopt a new approach to Iran and
support an era of domestically-fostered stability. More than ever before, both
Iran and America are eagerly awaiting a change in policy. And with adequate
coordination between the next administration and the existing Iranian
resistance, both nations can achieve what they desire.
*Ken Blackwell, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights
Commission, is the senior fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance
at the Family Research Council, in Washington, D.C. He is also a former
Republican Secretary of State of Ohio and mayor of Cincinnati.
Update: A version of this article also appeared in Townhall on Saturday, July
30, 2016: http://townhall.com/columnists/kenblackwell/2016/07/30/us-policy-should-work-to-transform-iran-n2200014
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
July 30-31/16
Will
Europe Refuse to Kneel like the Heroic French Priest?
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/July 30/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8576/europe-islam-kneel
Go around
Europe these days: you will find not a single rally to protest the murder of
Father Jacques Hamel. The day an 85-year-old priest was killed in a French
church, nobody said "We are all Catholics".
Even Pope Francis, in front of the most important anti-Christian event on
Europe's soil since the Second World War, stood silent and said that Islamists
look "for money". The entire Vatican clergy refused to say the word "Islam".
Ritually, after each massacre, Europe's media and politicians repeat the story
of "intelligence failures" -- a fig leaf to avoid mentioning Islam and its
project of the conquest of Europe. It is the conventional code of conduct after
any Islamist attack.
Europe looks condemned to a permanent state of siege. But what if, one day,
after more bloodshed and attacks in Europe, Europe's governments begin
negotiating, with the mainstream Islamic organizations, the terms of submission
of democracies to Islamic sharia law? Cartoons about Mohammed have already
disappeared from the European media, and the scapegoating of Israel and the Jews
started long time ago. After the attack at the church, the French media decided
even to stop publishing photos of the terrorists. This is the brave response to
jihad by our mainstream media
Imagine the scene: the morning Catholic mass in the northern French town of
Etienne du Rouvray, an almost empty church, three parishioners, two nuns and a
very old priest. Knife-wielding ISIS terrorists interrupt the service and slit
the throat of Father Jacques Hamel. This heartbreaking scene illuminates the
state of Christianity in Europe.
Father Jacques Hamel was murdered this week, in the church of St.
Étienne-du-Rouvray, by Islamic jihadists.
It happened before. In 1996 seven French monks were slaughtered in Algeria. In
2006, a priest was beheaded in Iraq. In 2016, this horrible Islamic ritual took
place in the heart of European Christianity: the Normandy town where Father
Hamel was murdered is the location of the trial of Joan of Arc, the heroine of
French Christianity.
France had been repeatedly warned: Europe's Christians will meet the same fate
of their Eastern brethren. But France refused to protect either Europe's
Christians or Eastern ones. When, a year ago, the rector of the Great Mosque of
Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, suggested transforming empty French churches (like that
one in Etienne du Rouvray) into mosques, only a few French intellectuals, led by
Alain Finkielkraut and Pascal Bruckner, signed the appeal entitled, "Do not
touch my church" ("Touche pas à mon église") in defense of France's Christian
heritage. Laurent Joffrin, director of the daily newspaper Libération, led a
left-wing campaign against the appeal, describing the signers as "decrepit and
fascist".
For years, French socialist mayors have approved, in fact, the demolition of
churches or their conversion into mosques (the same goal as ISIS but by
different, "peaceful" means). Except in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter of
Paris, and in some beautiful areas such as the Avignon Festival, France is
experiencing a dramatic crisis of identity.
While the appeal to save France's churches was being demonized or ignored, the
same fate was suffered by endangered Eastern Christian being exterminated by
ISIS. "It is no longer possible to ignore this ethnic and cultural cleansing",
reads an appeal signed by the usual combative "Islamophobic" intellectuals, such
as Elisabeth Badinter, Jacques Julliard and Michel Onfray. In March, the
newspaper Le Figaro accused the government of Manuel Valls of abandoning the
Christians threatened with death by ISIS by refusing to grant them visas.
Go around Europe these days: you will find not a single rally to protest the
killing of Father Hamel. In January 2015, after the murderous attack on Charlie
Hebdo, the French took to the streets to say "Je suis Charlie". After July 26,
2016, the day an 85-year-old priest was murdered in a church, nobody said "We
are all Catholics". Even Pope Francis, in the face of the most important
anti-Christian event on Europe's soil since the Second World War, stood silent
and said that Islamists look "for money". The entire Vatican clergy refused to
write or say the word "Islam".
Truth is coming from very few writers. "Religions overcome other religions;
police can help little if one is not afraid of death." With these words, six
months after the massacre at the magazine Charlie Hebdo, the writer Michel
Houellebecq spoke with the Revue des Deux Mondes. Our elite should read it after
every massacre before filling up pages on "intelligence failures."
It is not as if one more French gendarmerie vehicle could have stopped the
Islamist who slaughtered 84 people in Nice. Perhaps. Maybe. But that is not the
point. Ritually, after each massacre, Europe's media and politicians repeat the
story of "intelligence failures". In the case of the attack in Etienne du
Rouvray, the story is about a terrorist who was placed under surveillance.
The "intelligence failure" theory is a fig leaf to avoid mentioning Islam and
its project of the conquest of Europe. It is the conventional code of conduct
after any Islamist attack. Then they add: "Retaliation" creates a spiral of
violence; you have to work for peace and show good intentions. Then, in two or
three weeks, comes the fatal "we deserve it". For what? For having a religion
different from them?
We always hear the same voices, as in some great game of dissimulation and
collective disorientation in which no one even knows which enemy to beat. But,
after all, is it not much more comforting to talk about "intelligence" instead
of the Islamists who try, by terror and sharia, to force the submission of us
poor Europeans?
Europe looks condemned to a permanent state of siege. But what if, one day,
after more bloodshed and attacks in Europe, Europe's governments begin
negotiating, with the mainstream Islamic organizations, the terms of submission
of democracies to Islamic sharia law? Cartoons about Mohammed and the "crime" of
blasphemy have already disappeared from the European media, and the scapegoating
of Israel and the Jews started long time ago.
After the attack at the church, the French media decided even to stop publishing
photos of the terrorists. This is the brave response to jihad by our mainstream
media, who also showed lethal signs of cowardice during the Charlie Hebdo
crisis.
The only hope today comes from an 85-year-old French priest, who was murdered by
Islamists after a simple, noble gesture: he refused to kneel in front of them.
Will humiliated and indolent Europe do the same?
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Hungary Blasts EU
with Common Sense on Muslim Migration
Raymond Ibrahim/July 30/16
In “an astonishingly savage tirade”—to quote from the UK’s Express—Hungary’s
Prime Minister Victor Orban recently tore into the European Union “over
migration and taunted Angela Merkel for failing to protect German people from
Islamist terror.”
In the course of his speech, Orban made two important points that I habitually
make, and which explain the true reasons behind the unprecedented rise of
terrorism in EU nations: 1) Islam’s Rule of Numbers; 2) Western enablement of
Islam.
In regards to the first point, Orban
issued a stunning rebuke to Mrs Merkel on migration, blaming recent terror
attacks on the mas[s] influx of refugees… Migration, he argued, “increases
terrorism and crime” and “destroys national culture” in a thinly-veiled swipe at
Mrs Merkel’s decision to roll out the red carpet to millions of people from the
Middle East.
This is as simple as it gets. Over three years ago, in May 2013, a Muslim man
decapitated a British solider with a meat cleaver in the middle of a busy London
street. I explained it as follows:
It reflects what I call “Islam’s Rule of Numbers,” a rule that expresses itself
with remarkable consistency: The more Muslims grow in numbers, the more Islamic
phenomena intrinsic to the Muslim world—in this case, brazen violence against
“infidels”—appear….
Thus as Muslim populations continue growing in Western nations, count on
growing, and brazen, numbers of attacks on infidels—beheadings and such.
And so it has been. While EU leaders and Western media scurry to find pretexts
to explain the rise of terrorism—from “Muslim grievances” to wars for “money”
and “natural resources,” as Pope Francis recently claimed after Muslims
slaughtered a priest in France—reality is much simpler: Islam promotes hate for
and violence against non-Muslims.
Accordingly, wherever Islam is in power, such as the Muslim world for example,
non-Muslims are grossly persecuted—and not just by ISIS, but by “regular
Muslims”—from heads of state, to police, to educators, down to the mob.
If Muslims persecute non-Muslims where they are strong, is it any wonder that,
as Muslim numbers grow in Europe, as they have in recent times, attacks on
non-Muslims grow with them? Or, as Orban put it, Muslim immigration “increases
terrorism and crime.”
The Hungarian prime minister’s second important point agrees with another point
I’ve been repeatedly making, most recently last week in an article titled,
“Eject Western Traitors, Beat Islamic Terrorists”:
Those who seek to reverse this situation [growing Islamic terrorism] must begin
by embracing a simple fact: Islam is not terrorizing the West because it can but
because it is being allowed to….
oday [as opposed to historically], Muslim terrorists, rapists, and criminals are
not entering the West against its will but because of it….
Orban agrees:
We must make it clear that our problem is not in Mecca, but in Brussels [capital
of the EU]. The obstacle for us is not Islam, but the bureaucrats in Brussels.
We would be able to deal with Islam if we were allowed to deal with it in the
way we think we should.
Simply put, whatever Islam is or teaches—whether it is violent or not, whatever
it does “over there” in Mecca and elsewhere—is not the immediate problem.
Rather, the immediate problem is that EU “bureaucrats in Brussels” are imposing
Islam “over here,” or, as I had more bluntly concluded:
Western policymakers who insist that Islam is peaceful (despite all evidence
otherwise) and that the West is “obligated” to receive Muslim migrants, are 100%
responsible for the daily victims of jihad, most recently an octogenarian
priest…. The war begins with them. Kick them and their suicidal policies out,
and watch Islamic terror on Western soil fizzle out.
It’s all very simple: More Muslims equals more violence against non-Muslims.
This formula acknowledges that not all Muslims, or even the majority, are
inclined to acts of terrorism. However, as Muslim numbers grow in general, it’s
only natural that the numbers of “radicals” grow with them (e.g., 10 % of 100 is
only 10, but 10% of a 1,000 is 100).
And the immediate issue isn’t whether or why Islam is violent; the immediate
issue is that Western leaders are the ones enabling and importing it into the
West.
It still remains to be seen if Orban is right “that other European nations would
come around to Hungary’s no-nonsense way of thinking as the reality of regular
terror attacks set in.”
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/2016/07/29/hungary-blasts-eu-with-common-sense-on-muslim-migration/
"The Battle against Islamism Has Not
Yet Started"
Ralf Ostner (interviewer)/Global Review (Germany)/July 30/16
http://www.danielpipes.org/16851/the-battle-against-islamism-has-not-yet-started
Global
Review: Mr. Pipes, what do you think of Samuel Huntington's book Clash of
Civilizations? Are religions the defining moments of culture, despite the
Enlightenment and globalization? Where was Huntington right and where wrong?
Daniel Pipes: Huntington made some very major mistakes which have become
increasingly evident in the two decades since he aired his thesis. For example,
he thought U.S. tensions with Japan in the 1990s resulted from civilizational
differences; a decade later, those tensions disappeared, replaced by far more
severe problems with Europe, even though the United States and Europe form part
of the same civilization. The real divisions, as always, remain political, not
civilizational.
GR: Many people say that Islam is not a religion but a reactionary, totalitarian
and repressive ideology comparable to fascism and communism; and that Islam
cannot be reformed. Other people say that Islamism had nothing to do with
religion and Islam. What do you say about relations between Islam and Islamism?
DP: Both these statements are silly. Of course, Islam is one of the major
religions of the world; what is there to argue about? Islamism, a modern
movement, however, shares much with fascism and communism. Islamism is a form of
Islam. Denying this would be akin to saying that the Jesuits are not Christian.
GR: Some experts compare Islam with Confucianism and Hinduism. They note that in
the 1950s, Confucian societies were thought unable to develop economically and
socially, and that Confucianism was seen as an obstacle to progress; same with
Hinduism in India. Today, however, East Asia and India are economic powerhouses
and many people perceive Confucianism and Hinduism as drivers of this success
story. Could the same happen with Islam, that it will also reform?
DP: Yes, it is possible that Muslim peoples will recover from today's
predicament and go on to economic and political success. We have no way of
predicting such things. And no civilization or religion stays permanently down.
The Hong Kong skyline: No one any more sees Confucianism as an obstacle to
development.
GR: There is a broad spectrum of Islamists. Al-Qaida, the Islamic State, Boko
Haram, Al Shabaab, which want to occupy territory by military means and create
an ever expanding state. And then the Muslim Brotherhood, the Turkish AK Party
and the Iranian Khomeinists. Which of these Islamist groups are the greatest
danger for the West and which of these concepts do you think will be the most
successful?
DP: I worry the most about the subtle, infiltrating Islamists. When it comes to
force, we can easily defeat them. But when it comes to our own institutions –
schools, law courts, media, parliaments – we are far less prepared to defend
ourselves.
GR: In the Western countries many Islamophobic parties and politicians are on
the rise. Do you think this will help the spread of Islamism or will these
parties help the counter-jihad? Hillary Clinton said that Trump and his
anti-Muslim speeches are the best recruiters for the Islamic State. True?
DP: I do not recognize the term "Islamophobe" and do not know what it means
except, in the immortal phrase of Andrew Cummins as a word "created by fascists
and used by cowards to manipulate morons."
Your question reverses the sequence of events. Islamist ideology breads Islamist
violence, which starts the process and in turn inspires anti-Islamic sentiments.
Anti-Islamic views might also inspire more Islamist violence, but that is
incidental. The real dynamic here is Islamism creating anti-Islam parties. As
Norbert Hofer has shown in Austria, they are approaching 50 percent of the vote
and with it, political power.
GR: Focusing on the "Islamophobic" parties opposition to Islam ignores that they
are largely semi-fascist. Geert Wilders says that the Koran is comparable to
Hitler's Mein Kampf and that Islam is a totalitarian ideology. Can he be an ally
in the fight against Islamism? Maybe Obama and Merkel are weak on Islamism, but
do you support Wilders, Trump, Austria's FPÖ, Hungary's Fidesz or Jobbik?
DP: Anti-Islamic leaders and parties are unsophisticated and make many
mistakes. I hope that, as they get closer to power, they will get more educated
and serious. I do not support them but I do give them advice.
GR: The failed coup in Turkey helped Erdoğan establish his Islamist
dictatorship. Do you think NATO will accept an Islamofascist dictatorship as a
member state? Some experts say that Saudi Arabia is also a Islamist
dictatorship, but a partner of the USA and the West. Therefore realpolitik will
prevail. How do you think the relations between Erdogan-Turkey and the West will
develop?
DP: As I understand it, NATO has no mechanism to expel a member state; if that
is accurate, it has no choice but to work with Erdoğan. In the brief period
since the coup attempt, Erdoğan has been very hostile to the West. Perhaps he
will end up in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Turkey's president Erdoğan (R) shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg
GR: Besides Islamists, the West has to deal with Russia, China, and North Korea.
How can it deal with all these challenges at the same time? Which counter-jihadi
strategy do you find most promising?
DP: The strategic environment today is far easier than during the cold war;
there is no determined ideological enemy with the tools of a great power at its
disposal. The key is for the West not to go to sleep. Electing such leaders as
Obama and Merkel, however, means going to sleep. The best counter-jihadi
strategy is one that takes ideas seriously.
GR: It took the West two decades to get rid of fascism and 70 years to get rid
of communism. How long do you think will it take to get rid of Islamism? Are we
facing the zenith of Islamism right now or are we just halfway up the road and
will it get even worse?
DP: The battle against Islamism has not yet started. I cannot predict how long
it will take. It's still pre-1945 in communist terms and the 1930s in fascist
terms. I see Islamism as having peaked in 2012-13 and showing signs of weakness.
GR: Will the bad experience with Islamism and secular military dictatorships in
Muslim countries create a new democratic movement and a new Muslim spring in the
future after a catharsis? Or do you think these countries are all failed
countries which will disintegrate because they are incapable of changing course?
DP: Muslims are learning bitter lessons from the Islamist experience. I hope
they will put these to good use, though so far there is very little evidence of
this happening.
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Ignoring Bashar al-Assad with a few euphemisms
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/30/16
Before heading to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov,
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington and Moscow have an
“understanding” on what needs to be achieved in Syria. Stopping short from
giving further details on how to allow the "quiet business" of peacemaking to
continue on Syria”, Kerry said, following his meeting with Lavrov, that the
agreed-upon American-Russian steps on the Syrian war are not based “on trust”
but they define the “specific sequential responsibilities all parties to the
conflict must assume.” The American-Russian understanding on Syria, as clarified
briefly by Kerry, is on coordinating the fight against the al-Qaeda affiliate
Al-Nusra Front and halting the Syrian regime’s bombing of Aleppo and other
cities. But this understanding is definitely half-finished and will be
short-lived, simply because it is not focused primarily on the Syrian war’s most
complicated issue: Bashar al-Assad’s fate.
Agreeing to disagree?
Knowing that touching upon Assad’s fate now would add more complications to the
already-complicated peace-making efforts, Kerry has avoided to even hint at
Assad’s power grab, outlining the understanding to be on jointly fighting Al-Nusra
and ending hostilities. As such, Kerry’s assurances of an understanding with
Moscow are better to be viewed as a kind of ‘diplomatic euphemism’ than real,
concrete steps.
Certainly, there is no deal yet between the Americans and Russians on Syria or
even a deal in the making and the alleged or hoped-for ‘understanding’ is on
less problematic issues that, even if settled, make for a crumbling foundation.
It is, in brief, an attempt by Kerry to diplomatically, gradually and quietly
break up the Russians’ stubborn stance on Syria and Assad. Without resolving the
Assad issue, any American-Russian understanding on Syria will be incomplete . In
demanding the cessation of hostilities and the Syrian regime’s bombardment of
civilians, Kerry wants the Russians to pressure Assad to ground his jets or,
indirectly, their jets which target the U.S.-backed moderate opposition – an
envisioned objective that is also implied in his call on Moscow to join in the
fight against Al-Nusra.
But why is Al-Nusra, in particular, and not ISIS Kerry’s focus? Kerry is sure
that coordinating the fight against ISIS with the Russians is a lot more
sensitive because it would be inseparable from the rising NATO-Moscow tensions
and would mean that America and Russia, for the first time ever, would fight a
common ‘formidable’ enemy together and would exchange intelligence for that
purpose. The Turkish-Kurdish dilemma and Iran are also other sensitive issues
that will be incorporated into bringing Moscow to the US-led anti-ISIS, as well
as Russian pride that could halt all these efforts. That is why Al-Nusra was
Kerry’s major focus. In brief, Kerry is seeking to rearrange the overlapping
stakes of key players in Syria with the hope of creating a sustainable
foundation for a credible political transition shaped on American terms. But
could that be possible with the very few months left for Kerry in office? And
until Kerry manages to penetrate Moscow’s stubborn stances on Syria, if he ever
does, how many Syrians will die and how many terror attacks will the world have
witnessed? Without resolving the Assad issue, any American-Russian understanding
on Syria will be incomplete and will always obstruct peacemaking efforts in the
war-torn country. The Americans and Russians have again seemingly agreed to
disagree on Syria’s most troubling issue, which the whole ongoing conflict is
based upon.
Debates on the renewal of
religious rhetoric
Fahad Suleiman ShoqiranRaed Omari/Al Arabiya/30/16
In 1999, Lebanese news presenter Giselle Khoury, who hosted the show “Dialogue
of a Lifetime” interviewed Arab authors Nasr Hamed Abu Zayd, Radwan al-Sayyid
and Ali Harb. Abu Zayd was worried about the problems that have surrounded
religious rhetoric since the beginning of the 1990s. Many research and critique
papers have been written in response to his work, and Ali Harb was one of the
most prominent authors to criticize his concerns. During the interview, Harb
addressed the problem of Abu Zayd's ideas and described him as a "preacher." He
then said: "Abu Zayd wants to change people's understanding of Islam, and this
is impossible." Harb made his statements on a basis he has defended since he
began writing critique. These bases depend on making use of philosophies of
difference and dimensional modernity. He's a prominent thinker in this field. He
based his work on the concepts of differences as the rising modernity that
declares the death of classical modern philosophy. For example, this rising
modernity does not think changing the understanding of religions is an important
project because people's cultures and religions with all their content are
confined within a private space for those who believe in them. The concept of
rising modernity also raises the question of why French heritage is more
important than that of Brazil or Indonesia, for instance. Dimensional modernity
is not interested in religion as a standard for truth or an as introduction to
enlightenment. This is what led to the disagreement between two Arab thinkers;
one perspective believes it is possible to find other analyses that adapt with
the era, while the other does not attach importance to a universal intellectual
figure who's responsible for sabotage and destruction and who's obsessed with
himself and with the outdated facts he carries.
There's a fierce competition to not be traditional when terrorists execute their
plans
This topic has been addressed during a panel between philosophers Jacques
Derrida and Gianni Vattimo. Their discussion was published in a book called
"Religion in our world." Derrida, through the strict approach of going beyond
the dualism of the right and wrong, the light and darkness and the central and
the marginal, guards his necessary lack of methodology via examining, testing
and scandalizing other methodologies. He said: "Regardless of the relation that
links us with this or that religion, we are neither clerics nor an elite of
theologists. We are also not enemies of religion in the meaning which some
enlightenment philosophers may develop." This pattern goes beyond the
traditional understanding of concepts and examines religion within philosophical
analysis and addresses all the components of believers. Derrida then reviewed
Immanuel Kant's study on religion and rational theology.
The main point here is that religion in terms of dimensional modernity is no
longer a central topic that the philosopher is concerned with, as was the case
with Ludwig Feuerbach, Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Religion has become one of the topics which dimensional modernity has gone
beyond being concerned with. This is why Harb responded to Abu Zayd as such and
told him that if he wants to change Islamic religious rhetoric, he will be
introducing an alternative religious rhetoric.
Given the dangerous escalation of terrorist ideology since the late 1990s, which
rose to its peak with the 9/11 attacks, talking about Islam and religious
rhetoric has become essential during philosophical seminars and while conducting
research papers and studies. Derrida himself talked about terrorism and its
concepts during seminars, as seen during his panel with Jurgen Habermas, as well
as in his book about the 9/11 the peak of the deconstructive approach which
overcomes dualism and facts and the pattern where it's necessary to address what
people want to understand. During this latter phase, dimensional modernity with
its vivid trends was fading away in favor of methods which are more expressive
of humans' crises in their current era.
Terrorism in today's world
It's not possible to gain a sense of luxury when we're searching for the bases
required to create a vision about terrorism in today's world which is
intertwined, as seen during recent events. There's some sort of special
attraction to perform new and unique acts of terror. Most of this terrorism
includes a specific religious reference, and according to some news reports,
some of those who committed recent acts of terror suffer from certain
psychological or mental disorders. It's as if modern terrorist operations are
leaving their own special fingerprints among other producers of terrorism in a
manner which resembles competition between cola factories and global fast food
chains. There's a fierce competition to not be traditional when executing plans.
There are different images between one incident and another, from terrorism in
Nice to the Munich attack. Future attacks may be more dangerous and may be more
innovative when targeting civilians. Discussing this subject of changing ideas
is no longer a luxury but it's one of the most important subjects of our time.
Abu Zayd adhered to what Harb describes as “preaching till the end of his life.”
Meanwhile, Harb continues to oppose this cultural elitist orientation which
adheres to the truth. We've lived through a cultural path between Abu Zayd and
Harb but has any of their projects succeeded? And has any of them escaped from
preaching?
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on July 28, 2016.