Islamic supremacists murder another Copt in Egypt, outside building Muslims feared would be used as a church

JihadWatch.com

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Another Copt Killed as Alleged Shooters Plead Not Guilty in Egypt," from Compass Direct News, February 16:

ISTANBUL, February 16 (CDN) -- Three men accused of killing six Coptic worshipers and a security guard pleaded not guilty on Saturday (Feb. 13) as the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another victim of apparent anti-Christian violence.

The three men allegedly sprayed a crowd with gunfire after a Christmas service in Nag Hammadi on Jan. 6. In addition to the seven that were killed, nine others were wounded. The killings were the worst act of anti-Coptic violence since January 2000, when 20 Copts were killed in sectarian fighting in Al-Kosheh.

Defendants Mohammed al-Kammuni, Qorshi Abul Haggag and Hendawi Sayyed appeared Saturday in an emergency security court in Qena, a city 39 miles (63 kilometers) north of Luxor.

In front of the packed courtroom, the three men said little at the hearing other than to enter their plea before Judge Mohammed Adul Magd, according to one attorney present at the hearing. The men are charged with premeditated murder, public endangerment and damaging property.

Numerous Muslim attorneys volunteered to defend them for free as seven attorneys representing the interests of the victims looked on. The next hearing is set for March 20.

Even as the men entered their pleas, the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another Christian, this one shot dead by police. On the evening of Feb. 9, Malak Saad, a 25-year-old Coptic carpenter living in Teta in Menoufia Province, was walking outside a meeting hall that police had seized from Christians when he was shot through his chest at close range. He died instantly.

Scant details are known about the shooting. Police surrounded the entire village and closed it to all reporters. In a statement, officials at the Interior Ministry said the Saad was killed by mistake when a bullet discharged while a police guard was cleaning his weapon. The Interior Ministry said the shooter has been detained and will be tried in a military court. Such courts are traditionally closed to the public.

One of Saad's cousins, who requested anonymity, disputed the Interior Ministry's version of the incident. He said that the guard had used the bathroom inside the meeting hall and had come outside of the building when he exchanged a few words with Saad and shot him at close range. The bullet went completely through Saad's chest.

The building in question had been Coptic-owned for 16 years, but two days prior to the shooting, police seized it after a group of Muslims started a rumor that the owners planned to convert the hall into a church building.

Disputes over worship venues are common in Egypt. Copts and other Christians are extremely restricted in opening or even maintaining houses of worship because of complex government statutes. Anti-Christian elements within Egyptian society often use the statutes to harass Christians, Christian leaders said....

Sharia forbids dhimmis to build new houses of worship or repair old ones. Even though Egypt is not a Sharia state, that is what is behind these "complex government statutes."

Posted by Robert on February 21, 2010 2:52 PM

Comments on Jihad Watch:

Hugh | February 21, 2010 3:44 PM | Reply

Egyptian law is required to be "modelled" on the Shari'a. That is, the Shari'a is the unattainable ideal -- but it's the ideal.

wakingwest | February 21, 2010 4:30 PM | Reply

Another murder that is directly attributable to islam, mohamed and the Koran, “The religion of peace and tolerance.” Exhibit #38999877790xz
Which channel and in which nation will they mention this casualty , fallen Christian in this unmentionable war which islam continues to wage across our globe?
Shame

traeh | February 21, 2010 4:38 PM | Reply

Are there Muslims out there who are ashamed of the Islamic persecution of the Copts in Egypt? Maybe not, or those Muslims wouldn't be Muslims anymore, they'd have left Islam by now...There seems to be little shame in Egypt over this long ongoing oppression and slow-motion destruction of the Copts.

In Sahih Bukhari, the most canonical of hadith collections, Muhammad said, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him."

Hugh | February 21, 2010 5:46 PM | Reply

Meanwhile, the latest news from Pakistan, as reported in the Indian Press:

Three Sikhs beheaded by Taliban in Pak

22 Feb 2010

NEW DELHI: In what threatens to cast a shadow on the upcoming Indo-Pakistan talks scheduled for February 25, three Sikh youths were beheaded by
the Taliban in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) region after they allegedly refused to convert to Islam. Their severed heads were dumped at a gurudwara in Peshawar.

The Sikh youths — identified as Jaspal Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Baronat Singh — had gone to realise the money owed to them by some people in the FATA region adjoining Afghanistan, when they were abducted by the Taliban militia. They were allegedly told by the Taliban to embrace Islam or face death. When the Sikh youth refused, their heads were chopped and sent to the Bhai Joga Singh Gurudwara in Peshawar.

A sizeable number of Sikhs lived in the tribal belt, particularly Aurakzai Agency, till the Taliban imposed jiziya or religious tax on them in 2009. Most members of the community, faced with increasing pressure from the Taliban to convert to Islam, have since fled to cities across Pakistan.

Jim Foster | February 21, 2010 7:15 PM | Reply

I once visited the central, modern Cairo synagogue. I also visited several churches. What disturbed me was the presence of soldiers outside every non-Muslim place of worship. The message was quite strong that Egypt poses danger for every non-Muslm present in the country. Maybe not from every Egyptian; but the message was strong that it's a dangerous country for al kufar.

Egypt's Christians usually have crosses tatooed on their wrists. Was this custom developed to identify those stolen as infants from Muslim "superiors"?

I met there a Copt who was visiting from Australia. He said "I am here because of people like THAT!" as he pointed to a huge, hijab-swathed Muslimah. "They make it very bad for us," he added.

I understand that Egyptian Christians can not even get a repair done to any of their places of worship without permission from the land's president. Don't even mention the erection of new churches.

Zorak | February 21, 2010 7:43 PM | Reply

Rest in peace, Malak Saad.

gravenimage | February 21, 2010 8:03 PM | Reply

Disputes over worship venues are common in Egypt. Copts and other Christians are extremely restricted in opening or even maintaining houses of worship because of complex government statutes.
...............

Straight from the 7th-century Pact of Umar, which forbids the building and maintaining of Christian and Jewish places of worship.

Hugh wrote, citing the article from Pakistan:

The Sikh youths — identified as Jaspal Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Baronat Singh — had gone to realise the money owed to them by some people in the FATA region adjoining Afghanistan, when they were abducted by the Taliban militia.
...............

This may of course be unrelated, but how often do you hear of some non-Muslim being attacked or murdered when they ask for money that is owed them by Muslims? Many Muslims believe that they should not be liable for any money owed to Infidels—that it is their right to pillage the goods and labor of any non-Muslims.

Here's just one such case, also from Pakistan:

"Pakistan: Abuse, death of 12-year-old girl highlights plight of Christian domestic workers

...reported the case of Shazia Bashir, 12, who was employed for the past eight months as a domestic worker in the household of Chaudhry Muhammad Naeem, a lawyer and former president of the Lahore Bar Association.

Local Christians say that during that period the girl was the victim of constant harassment, and that she was raped and tortured before she was killed...the girl worked under constant stress and experienced emotional and psychological trauma. She was also denied the agreed salary (Rs 1,000 or about US$ 12 per month).

Shazia "would get insults whenever she raised the subject of payment," the Christian activist said.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/pakistan-abuse-death-of-12-year-old-girl-highlights-plight-of-christian-domestic-workers.html

Jim Foster wrote:

Egypt's Christians usually have crosses tatooed on their wrists. Was this custom developed to identify those stolen as infants from Muslim "superiors"?
...............

I believe you're right, Jim—here's a claim that these tattoos serve to discourage Muslim abductions:

...but as our Coptic friends explained to us, those tattoos serve another purpose. They make it harder for Muslim extremists to kidnap their children and force them to convert to Islam, including forced marriages of young Christian girls to Muslim men. It’s hard to cut those crosses out of the thin skin over the veins in a human wrist.

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=19610

desidude replied to comment from Jim Foster | February 21, 2010 8:14 PM | Reply

No every Egyption will not attack a church, but remember the figure they keep trotting out? 95% of the muslims are peaceful. well the 5% are the ones you have to watch out. If egypt has a population of 100 million then 5% will be 5 millions muslims ready to cut your infidal throat at the drop of a hat. but the main problem is when these 5% violent muslims do attack the other 95% gets out the way, and ready to carry out the spoils

Jim Foster replied to comment from gravenimage | February 21, 2010 8:45 PM | Reply

Graven, thanks for the informative response.

Here is a blurb about Iraqi Muslims' destruction of Ezekiel's tomb:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832780,00.html

.

Egypt Drilling to Block Gaza Smuggler Tunnels Sparking Gunfire

Bloomberg
January 24, 2010, 07:01 PM EST
By Daniel Williams

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Three construction drills that look like giant corkscrews pierce the ground close to Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, part of an effort to disrupt smuggling tunnels that has led to shootouts.

Smugglers and sympathizers of Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules Gaza, say pipes inserted into the holes will house motion sensors to detect underground traffic. Residents of the Egyptian border town of Rafah say the Egyptians are also constructing a subterranean wall made of steel panels to block tunnels at a depth of 18 meters.

The moves reflect a new determination by Egypt to control smuggling into the coastal enclave, which Hamas has ruled since 2007. Israel and the U.S. regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and have pressured Egypt to block the contraband, which includes rockets that have been fired at Israel. Though Egypt supports Palestinian independence, it opposes Hamas, which wants to create an Islamic state.

“This is a sensitive problem,” said Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. “Egypt looks like it is doing Israel’s bidding and the Egyptian people don’t like that.”

The construction has set off violence along the 14- kilometer border. On Jan. 6, an Egyptian border guard was killed by a Palestinian sniper a day after a clash between participants of a private aid convoy and Egyptian police over delivery of goods to Gaza. On Dec. 18, shots fired from the Palestinian side hit construction equipment, Rafah police officials said.

Criticism

Opposition parties at home and detractors in other Arab countries have criticized Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for sealing his border with Gaza since the 2007 Hamas takeover. Israel has also shut its frontier with Gaza.

The blockade has crippled the economy in the coastal enclave, where 80 percent of the factories and shops are closed, according to Hamas officials. Palestinians rely on smuggled goods brought in through the tunnels for everything from cement to cigarettes to meat.

Egyptian Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi declined to answer questions yesterday about the construction. He referred instead to remarks made by Mubarak to a police gathering.

“Egypt does not allow chaos on its borders,” Mubarak said yesterday in a speech broadcast on state-run Nile TV, according to the BBC monitoring service. “The engineering works and fortifications on our eastern borders are an act of Egypt’s sovereignty, about which we do not accept any arguments or interference from anyone, whoever he is,” he said, referring to the region that abuts Gaza.

He also warned against “targeting” of soldiers and facilities at the frontier.

‘Death Wall’

Hamas has rejected “the death steel wall that Egypt is constructing under the borders of the Gaza Strip, and calls on Egypt to stop building it because it suffocates the Gaza Strip,” spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

The Israeli army invaded Gaza in December, 2008, in a move it said was aimed at stopping Hamas rocket fire at its southern towns and cities, and has frequently bombed the frontier to destroy the tunnels.

The Israeli army has said that more than 10,000 projectiles were fired from Gaza into Israel since 2001 and that 21 civilians and four soldiers have been killed by the rocket and mortar fire. The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza said that 1,450 Palestinians were killed during Israel’s invasion while Israel puts the number at 1,166.

In 2007, the U.S. government earmarked $23 million for “sensors, surveillance cameras, remote controlled robotic devices, seismic-acoustic tunnel detection equipment and the computers to process seismic data,” the Congressional Research Service wrote in a September 2009 report. The CRS is a research branch of the U.S. Congress.

U.S. Threat

Last January, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was “providing technical expertise.”

The U.S. Congress had threatened to reduce monetary assistance to Egypt because of alleged lax border control. The U.S. provides about $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt each year. Egypt stations 750 border guards along the frontier. Phone and e-mail requests to the U.S. Defense Department in Washington requesting information on American involvement were unanswered.

An Egyptian smuggler and Hamas supporter in Rafah, who would only identify himself as Islam out of fear of being arrested, said holes are being dug at intervals of about 50 meters and surveillance equipment is being lowered into the ground through the pipes.

“This is an escalation in technology,” said Islam. “Hamas will look for its own technology to defeat it.”

Egyptian police at Rafah declined to comment on the construction.

Sardines

Residents of the area just south of Rafah said Egyptian police have been cracking down on smugglers who sometimes earn 50 percent of proceeds from goods tunneled into Gaza.

“We can tell by the price of sardines,” said Ashraf, a smuggler who didn’t want to give his full name. “When smuggling is going well, there are almost no sardines in stores and if you can find them they cost 60 pounds ($11) instead of the usual six. There are plenty of sardines around now, so you know smugglers are having a hard time.”


--Editors: Louis Meixler, Peter Hirschberg.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Rafah at +2-010-330-2417 or dwilliams41@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at +972-2-640-1104 or phirschberg@bloomberg.net

MYTH: "The U.S. is maintaining Israel's qualitative edge."

FACT: Beginning with the 1968 Phantom jet sale, the United States adopted a policy of assuring that Israel would have a qualitative military edge over its neighbors. Ten years later that edge began to erode with the decision of Jimmy Carter to sell advanced fighter planes to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Since that time, even as the United States has continued to provide Israel with advanced weaponry, its advantage has diminished as successive presidents sold increasingly sophisticated systems to Arab states. Israel has not objected to the sale of arms to Egypt since the Camp David Accords, but the quantity and quality of those sales has become increasingly alarming given that Egypt has consistently directed its war games toward Israel and that President Hosni Mubarak is now in his eighties with no clear successor. While the prospects of a radical change in Egypt's policy toward Israel is currently viewed as unlikely, it cannot be discounted and therefore makes the continued arming of an Egyptian military that faces no external threats a matter of concern. While Egypt has signed a peace treaty with Israel, Saudi Arabia has not. For years, the U.S. secretly armed the Saudis and then began to openly provide the kingdom with more and better weapons. Starting with the 1981 sale of AWACS radar planes, the Saudis began to acquire some of America's most sophisticated weapons sales while at the same time buying advanced systems from countries such as Britain and France. For years the sales to the Saudis were justified on the grounds that they needed them to defend themselves against the Soviet Union. As Henry Kissinger noted, however, it was hypocritical to suggest that the arms could be effective against the Red Army but pose no threat to Israel.358 After 9/11, new sales were rationalized as necessities for fighting the war on terror even though the principal threat against the kingdom was internal and F-15s and other advanced weapons were useless against al-Qaida. Still, the Bush Administration agreed to the sale of even more advanced F-15 fighter-bombers and laser-guided "smart-bombs", advanced anti-ship missiles and electronic hardware for aircraft for Saudi Arabia, as well as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.359 Few people seriously believe these weapons are needed or would be effective in deterring any external threats. In fact, it was the Saudis' impotence, even after acquiring billions of dollars of arms, that necessitated U.S. forces coming to their rescue in 1991. More recently, arms sales have been made on the pretext of strengthening the Arab states against Iran, which, like Iraq, would have little trouble overrunning its neighbors in the absence of American troops. The trend has been alarming for a number of years and has now reached a point where Israel is seeking new assurances from the United States that the commitment to Israel's qualitative edge remains intact. In September 2009, Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited Washington to discuss the situation and U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones met with Israeli officials in Jerusalem in January 2010 to talk about ensuring Israel's qualitative edge over its Arab neighbors. Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, said that once Israel brought the matter up, the Obama Administration took immediate steps to correct the problem. "They said they are going to deal with this matter and ensure that the qualitative edge of the IDF is preserved," stated Oren. "Since then we have embarked on a dialogue [on preserving the IDF's qualitative edge]."360

³⁵⁸Yakovee, Rehavia. "Arms for Oil-Oil for Arms: An Analysis of President Carter's 1978 Planes 'Package Deal' Sale to Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia," Claremont, Ph.D. Diss., 1983, pp. 75-76, 86.

³⁵⁹Barak Ravid and Aluf Benn, "Bush Sold Arab States Arms in Violation of Deal with Israel," Jerusalem Post, (January 10, 2010).

³⁵⁷Ibid.

Hamas Leader Unwelcome in Egypt

Arutz Shevia.com
by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Cairo has rolled up the red carpet and announced that Damascus-based Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal is unwelcome in the Egyptian capital. Officials in the Egyptian capital are hoping the ban will exert enough pressure to force Hamas into reconciling with its rival, the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction.

Egypt has refused to meet with Mashaal until he cooperates with its efforts to re-establish a PA unity government. The last time external mediators – Saudi Arabian and Egyptian leaders – succeeded in forcing the two factions into a similar framework, the so-called “unity” lasted barely two days. Ultimately it dissolved into the bloody militia war that ended with Hamas seizing total control over Gaza, leaving Fatah as the ruling faction over the PA areas in Judea and Samaria.

Mashaal is also the Hamas official primarily responsible for repeatedly failed negotiations for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, held hostage in Gaza since he was abducted by Hamas-linked terrorists in June 2006.

According to a report published Tuesday in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jareeda, Egypt has made its position clear to a number of Arab states, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Mashaal had apparently appealed to both in hopes they would mediate between Hamas and Cairo.

However, Egypt maintained a firm stance in backing PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, who said he would not meet with Mashaal unless Hamas signed an Egyptian proposal for reconciliation between the two factions. Egypt maintained that it had no objections to receiving a Hamas delegation to sign the document, “as it is and without amendments,” the paper reported.

Kuwait has been working to arrange a reconciliation summit between the two factions as a follow-up to Egypt’s negotiations, Kuwait Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al Sabah told reporters on Sunday. He noted that Abbas and Mashaal had both been to Kuwait in recent weeks to visit separately with its Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Underground Egypt-Gaza tunnel dubbed 'wall of death'

ABC News
Anne Barker reported this story on Saturday, January 16, 2010 08:09:00

BRENDAN TREMBATH: There are mounting tensions on the border between Egypt and Gaza over plans by Egypt to cut off the tunnels Palestinians use to circumvent a strict Israeli blockade.

Egypt has begun building a formidable underground wall to block the tunnels once and for all.

A week ago the project sparked violent protests along the border which left one Egyptian dead and several Palestinians injured.

Now Hamas leaders are demanding Egypt stop construction of what they call the "wall of death".

Middle East correspondent Anne Barker reports from Gaza.

(Sound of machinery)

ANNE BARKER: I'm looking over the edge into a deep hole in the ground. Below me is a sheer 10 metre drop through a wooden shaft to a tunnel.

Suddenly a man is winched up on a hook and after him sacks of food products and new clothing.

This is the entrance to one of hundreds of underground tunnels between Gaza and Egypt used to smuggle everything from food and medicines to household goods, vehicles, even livestock.

But Israel says they're used to bring in weapons and it regularly bombs the area to stop smuggling and enforce the blockade it imposed on Gaza to punish its Hamas rulers.

The tunnels too are dangerous. Dozens of Palestinians have died here. But tunnel workers say there are no other jobs.

(Sound of Abu Omar speaking)

"At least 40 families rely on this tunnel," says Abu Omar, its owner. "There is no other work."

But now Egypt is set to cut off Gaza's main link to the outside world by building an underground wall to block the tunnels once and for all.

Across the border fence 200 metres away a row of huge machines are drilling into the earth, ramming thick sheets of steel into the ground 10 even 20 metres deep.

Seventeen-year-old Mohammed Ijhash works in the tunnels to support his family.

(Sound of Mohammed Ijhash speaking)

"Everything we eat, everything we have comes from the tunnels," he says. "If the tunnels stop, we'll die. There's not enough food without them."

The Israeli blockade stops everything but the most essential humanitarian supplies from entering Gaza as a means of punishing Hamas.

But in shops near the Egyptian border there's no shortage of luxury foods like chocolate and cheese, all courtesy of the underground tunnels.

Electronic shops too sell the latest in whitegoods and plasma TVs.

But if the Egyptian wall succeeds Gaza will lose its last commercial lifeline and become virtually dependent on humanitarian aid.

Some reports suggest Egypt is acting under pressure from Israel or even the US, although Egypt has its own motives for cutting supplies to Gaza and punishing Hamas.

Palestinians fear Egyptian authorities are even planning to fill the tunnels with water.

But Abu Omar believes that tunnel owners like him will always find a solution.

(Sound of Abu Omar speaking)

"If we can we'll cut through the steel wall underground," he says. "Or if we need to we'll just dig a deeper tunnel to go under it."

Humanitarian groups say the only long term solution is for Israel and Egypt to end their respective blockades.

This is Anne Barker in Gaza for AM.

Note: Any and all "groups" that cannot see the true purpose of blockades; the purpose being to protect the very lives of its citizens from terrorists in Gaza, has a lack of respect for the safety and security of its citizens. Let the tunnel rats dig deeper; let them dig hole to China, if necessary; but the blockades are a necessity because the evil intentions of terrorists are to kill, murder, and blow up anything they themselves do not know how to create; nor do they even care for their own peoples safety. These "humanitarian" groups must belong to the United Nations, or Obama's crowd! BeeSting

Secular tolerance for Arab and Muslim intolerence.

Israpundit

By Matthew M. Hausman

Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef recently took a public flogging for allegedly describing Islam as “ugly,” specifically with respect to its laws concerning marriage and divorce. The liberal blogosphere had a field day, calling the Rabbi a bigot and labeling his comments hate speech. But the bloggers provided no contextual counterbalance, such as a critical discussion of the defamation of Jews and Judaism that occurs routinely in the Arab press or the historical discrimination of Jews in Muslim society. Nor do they ever. Although these folks cry themselves hoarse concerning their right to free speech whenever challenged for their demonstrably biased reporting on Israel – or for lambasting comments such as those by Rabbi Yosef – they are silent whenever the subject is Arab or Muslim incitement or intolerance.

The story about Rabbi Yosef was reported on an Egyptian news website, which not surprisingly found his comments to be inflammatory. However, such expressions of moral outrage are curiously inconsistent with the Egyptian media’s routine publication of antisemitic content worthy of Der Stuermer. Egyptian media outlets commonly depict Jews as racially-distinctive, hook-nosed caricatures, report as fact a multitude of mythical Jewish conspiracies, exploit the antisemitic imagery of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and provide a forum for devotees of the blood libel. The government-sponsored newspapers Al-Ahram and al-Goumhuriyya regularly run articles and cartoons in the classic antisemitic tradition, as do other sources throughout the Arab world. The media rogues’ gallery includes most major press outlets, including:

• Al Jazeera, which broadcasts the rants of clerics who quote Quran and Hadith in calling for the destruction of Israel and the extermination of the Jews.

• Al-Arab al-Yaum, a Jordanian daily that has published such offensive articles as “Killing Children According to Jewish Faith,” (March 8, 2008), which reported that Jews kill Gentile children and use their blood for religious rituals. The Damascus Blood Libel is clearly considered historical fact.

• SANA, the Syrian Arab News Agency, which has run stories calling the Holocaust a Zionist myth and describing Jewish or Zionist plots to colonize the Mideast.

• Al-Riyadh, the Saudi daily, which has printed articles reporting the blood libel as historical fact. As reported by MEMRI, for example, the newspaper in 2002 published an article in which the commentator expounded on the holiday of Purim, stating among other things that:

During this holiday [Purim], the Jew must prepare very special pastries, the filling of which is not only costly and rare –– it cannot be found at all on the local and international markets . . .

For this holiday, the victim must be a mature adolescent who is, of course, a non-Jew – that is, a Christian or a Muslim. His blood is taken and dried into granules. The cleric blends these granules into the pastry dough; they can also be saved for the next holiday. In contrast, for the Passover slaughtering, about which I intend to write one of these days, the blood of Christian and Muslim children under the age of 10 must be used, and the cleric can mix the blood [into the dough] before or after dehydration. MEMRI, Special Dispatch No. 354, citing Al Riyadh, March 10, 2002.

Arab and other foreign media outlets have often disseminated stories about supposed Jewish plots for world domination, schemes to control financial institutions, and conspiracies to manipulate the media. Other popular themes have included “scholarly” claims of intrinsic religious corruption within Judaism, or pseudo-scientific reports suggesting that the Temple never stood in Jerusalem or that the Jews did not originate in ancient Israel, but rather were descended from non-indigenous peoples who usurped a country – Palestine – that never existed.

The mainstream media in the United States is quick to denounce any perceived affronts to Arab or Islamic culture, and just as quick to condemn any alleged expressions of Jewish or Israeli chauvinism. But the media is reluctant to criticize antisemitic expressions from Arab or Muslim sources, draw any connection between Islamism and terrorism, acknowledge the history of Arab expansion and colonialism, or discuss the supremacist implications of jihad – even as it openly plays out in Europe. Rather, liberal pundits often wax dreamily poetic when discussing the so-called “golden age of Islam” or the myth of Islamic tolerance. Moreover, they tend to rationalize any antisemitic or anti-Western expressions in the Arab world as reactions to Israeli intransigence or American colonialism.

In reality, there was no real sense of tolerance for “infidels” in the Arab-Muslim world. Historically, Jews in Arab lands were relegated to the status of dhimmi who often lived in ghettos, were endowed with few if any substantive rights, and were subject to the whim and whimsy of their hostile neighbors. Although many in the West believe that Jewish life was more tolerable through the ages in the Islamic lands, the general treatment of Jews there was in fact not much different than in Christian Europe, and sometimes was even worse.

During the early Islamic period, for example, Jews were required to wear distinctive badges or metal seals around their necks, and starting in the 9th Century the Caliphate in Baghdad required Jews to wear the yellow badge – a practice that was later adopted in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages. Starting in the year 1005, the Jews of Egypt were required to wear bells on their garments, and in Medieval Baghdad they were often physically branded. In many Arab countries Jews were required to live in ghettos and were not permitted to use the same public bath houses as Muslims. At various times throughout Islamic history, Jews of the Mideast and North Africa were subjected to pogroms, massacres and forced conversions just as they were in Europe.

Despite the fantasy of the “Golden Age of Spain” when Jews were supposedly free, equal and prosperous, Iberian Jewry often fared little better in Muslim Spain than in Christian Europe. The reality was famously evidenced by the experience of Maimonides. Despicable though the anti-Jewish policies of the Catholic Church may have been, the Rambam and his family were exiled from their native Cordoba not because of Christian persecution, but because the conquering Almohads gave the Jewish community the choice of conversion to Islam or death.

This is not to downplay the severity of historical European antisemitism, which found expression in, among other things, the anti-Jewish legislation of the Fourth Lateran Council, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Spanish Expulsion, the Chelmnitzky massacres, the Pogroms and the Holocaust. However, for those who might use the Holocaust as a measuring stick to say that hatred of Jews was worse in Europe than in the Muslim world, one could argue that it was only the expression that was more severe, not the doctrinal hatred itself. And in this regard, one must consider Arab-Muslim complicity with the Nazis, particularly where, as in Bosnia, Muslim Waffen-SS Hanjar units recruited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem assisted in exterminating Bosnian Jews. Moreover, in his testimony at Nuremberg, Dieter Wisliceny, Eichmann’s deputy and Hauptsturmfuhrer of Slovakia and Hungary, reportedly described the Mufti was an advisor to Eichmann and “one of the initiators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry.”

In light of this history, any censure of Rabbi Yosef, who was born into dhimmitude in Iraq, can have no frame of reference absent a critical analysis of the traditionally precarious existence of Jews in the Islamic world. Those who wish to criticize Rabbi Yosef, or any other Sephardim or Mizrachim who lived in Muslim society, must first understand how the historical treatment of Jews under Islam molded their collective psyche. And when critical neophytes analyze the history, they must look beyond the revisionist myth of religious tolerance and instead focus on the harsh realities of jihad, dhimmitude, and the pervasive cultural denigration of the Jews and Judaism.

Interestingly, Western Jews who buy into the myth of benevolent tolerance are generally secular liberals and typically not of Sephardic, Mizrachi or Yemeni ancestry. If they were, they would be more likely to know – either from their own experiences or those of their parents and grandparents – what Jewish life was really like in Arab lands. And the stark realities of that life preceded the current geopolitical tumult of the Mideast by centuries. Indeed, Maimonides in his Epistle to Yemen in the 12th Century addressed the issue of Arab intolerance and persecution at a time when the Jews of Yemen were subjected to gross abuse and unspeakable violations. This dark chapter in Arab-Jewish relations clearly predated the Arab-Israeli conflict, and certainly attenuates the assumptions of those who claim that Arab-Muslim hostility today stems solely from Israeli aggression and is not endemic to that society.

Moreover, those familiar with the Quran know that the blueprint for dealing with Jews and Judaism is anything but benevolent, involving as it does the seminal account of the slaughter of the Jews of Yathrib (al-Medina). And the eschatology reflected in the Hadith speaks of the extermination of the Jews at the end of days. Against this backdrop, the experience of the Jews in Islamic society and Arab lands was typically perilous and often marked by social and economic repression, institutional indignities, and general discrimination.

This reality is ignored by secular liberals, and also by cultural naifs who believe that interfaith dialogue will bring about greater understanding. However, the doctrinal differences between Judaism and Islam are vast. Theologically, Judaism incorporates the belief system of the Jewish People, and the concept of “peoplehood” implicates an identity combining ethnic and nationalistic components as well as religious ones. The Jewish religion is particular to the Jewish People and, consequently, it has no conversionary mission or imperative to impose its beliefs on other peoples. In contrast, Islam is a conversionary ideology that is in a perpetual state of conflict with those whom it considers infidels. And in the absence of something akin to the Reformation in Europe, it is questionable whether any amount of dialogue will bring about the philosophical change necessary to foster compatibility with western ideals or Jewish values.

The western media’s refusal to acknowledge the theological divide is puzzling given its seeming preoccupation with denigrating traditional religious beliefs in its own cultural backyard. Mainstream journalists routinely lampoon conservative Christians as ignorant and bigoted, and often depict observant Jews as fanatical, right-wing zealots. Yet, they are reluctant to apply the term “jihadist” to Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter with ties to al-Qaeda, to identify as an Islamist terrorist Umar Abdulmutallab, the attempted Detroit plane bomber, or to examine the doctrinal underpinnings of the acts of either.

The press instead takes its cue from President Obama, who refers to such terrorists as “extremists” so as to distance them from both the religious inspiration for their actions and their status as heroes amongst many within their faith community. Not surprisingly, the typical news analysis tends to ignore the religious motivations for their acts of terror, and instead focuses on “personal disaffection” or “loneliness” as mitigating factors. The media’s consistent refusal to acknowledge and condemn what is clearly religious-based terrorism leaves one to wonder whether its worldview is shaped by any affinity for western democratic values at all, or by a dogmatic political correctness that has become a dysfunctional secular religion.
While one may certainly disagree with Rabbi Yosef’s remarks, one cannot deny the history that may well inform his viewpoint.

Traditional Arab society never treated Jews with respect or tolerance as those concepts are understood in the West. Although Jews may be considered “People of the Book,” they are still considered infidels who occupy a dubious position within Islamic society. An objective review of the history shows that Arab-Muslim antipathy for Jews did not spontaneously arise in 1948 with the modern rebirth of Israel – any more than German antisemitism was created by the Nazis. And unless the Arab-Muslim world can change the way it regards Jews, and acknowledge their historic connection to and presence in the Land of Israel, there can never be true peace or acceptance, only a cold, Balkanized status quo.

Egyptian Chutzpah...(Building the wall!)

by Herbert I. London

How do you spell chutzpah in Arabic? The Egyptian government has railed against Israel for erecting a security fence in the West Bank for years, protesting, its construction in the United Nations and every other international body, and usually employing the phrase “apartheid wall.”

But now, mirabile dictu, Egypt is building a wall of its own along the border of the Gaza Strip -- and, as one might guess, will not entertain any criticism of this project.

The Israeli barrier was built to prevent suicide bombing and other terrorist activities against Israelis; by contrast, the Egyptian fence is designed to stop Palestinians living in Gaza from entering Egypt.

One might well ask why President Hosni Mubarak would want to keep his Arab brothers locked inside the poverty-stricken area of Gaza, among the most congested places on the globe.

He contends, with some legitimacy, that Hamas’s presence in Gaza could be a destabilizing factor in Egypt if the border were porous. Yet Hamas poses a threat to Israel even more formidable than its threat to Egypt. The stated Hamas goal is “Liberate Palestine,” not “Occupy Egypt.” Moreover, if Hamas were an existential threat to Egypt’s national security, why has Mubarak been negotiating with Hamas leaders for years, and why has he been at the center of talks over reconciliation with Fatah?

In fact, by keeping the border crossing into Egypt closed, Mubarak is sending the Palestinians to Israel for help. In the Byzantine world of Middle East politics Arab leaders want the Gaza Strip to remain exclusively an Israeli problem.

The irony, of course, is that the millions of dollars required to build the new fence could have been employed to build hospitals, schools and housing. Palestinians crossing the border generally do so in search of employment or to be reunited with families residing in Egypt. At the moment even medical and humanitarian aid cannot get through the Rafah border crossing and human rights activists are invariably stopped at the border as well.

Recognizing the potential embarrassment of this security fence, Egyptian leaders denied its existence, until photographs made such denials laughable. The Egyptian fence is actually a ten kilometer underground metal barrier that will cost approximately $500 million. Whether it turns out to be a real barrier remains to be seen. Palestinians involved in the smuggling of contraband material are extremely adept at bypassing barriers. If anything, the Egyptian wall will probably escalate tensions in Gaza: it is the cap on a boiling pot of soup.

Palestinians in this tiny strip of land suffer from Hamas terrorism, lack of jobs, lack of basic facilities, congestion, and a host of corrupt and misguided leaders. Nonetheless, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has defended Egypt’s right to build a separation wall. Irony of ironies: this is the same Abbas who condemned Israel’s “Apartheid Wall” and urged the international community to tear it down.

In the Middle East, lies are verbal instruments to manipulate opinion.

And as this event on the Gaza border suggests, this time oppression is not a matter of Israelis against Palestinians, but Arabs against Palestinians.

The next time an Arab ambassador rises at the United Nations to criticize Israel, he should be reminded of the manifold ways Arabs contain, constrain and exploit fellow Arabs. If the term “apartheid” is used as a condemnation of Israel, it should be hurled back at Egyptians who sanctimoniously - and hypocritically -- engage in the very actions they once condemned.

Herbert I. London

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Egypt's Steel Wall: An Attempt to Placate the U.S.?

Middle East Terrorism

By: Allison Kaplan Sommer

Egypt's decision to wall off Gazan tunnels is being condemned across the Arab world.

A Middle Eastern country is building a massive thick steel wall as a barrier between themselves and a Palestinian regime. The country is being condemned for its actions across the Arab world, denounced by Islamist figures like Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and facing angry demonstrations at its embassies around the world.

Signs with the president’s face daubed with a Star of David are waved, and furious slogans are chanted. The new construction project, written about critically in the world press as “choking” Gaza, has been dubbed the “iron wall” and the “wall of shame.”

Sound familiar? Nothing new? In fact, the situation is very new. The country that is being berated and condemned is not Israel. The wall is being build by the Egyptian government to separate territory controlled by Egypt and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel is routinely charged with inhumanely and heartlessly fencing off Palestinian Gazans in a “prison,” despite the fact that Egypt’s official crossing to Gaza is also clamped shut, with the exception of a few days each month. But with the construction of this new wall, Egypt is taking some powerful hits from within the Arab world.

The wall being constructed is designed to stop the flow of smuggling between Egypt and Gaza through the border town of Rafah, an underground economy that is not limited to — but certainly includes — major weaponry and ammunition being stockpiled for terrorist attacks and to help Hamas rearm for the next war between Gaza and Israel. Along with the weaponry brought in to replace the stockpiles decimated in Operation Cast Lead, millions of dollars worth of other commerce flows through the tunnels on a daily basis. Everything from food, to gasoline, to machinery, to farm animals. The tunnels are a major source of revenue for Hamas, which charges a premium for the construction and use of the tunnels and puts a tariff on any goods that are brought in.

The planned 10 kilometer-long wall will include steel sheets that will reach 60 meters underground — an attempt to cut off the tunnels and the commerce that flourishes there. In addition to weaponry, the tunnels are also a conduit for terrorists, both reasons that the tunnels themselves were targeted in Operation Cast Lead.

Construction of the wall began in early December, with the Egyptian government doing its best to keep news of it quiet for as long as possible. By mid-December, it became impossible to hide such a massive project, and news of the construction broke and began to spread. Even as reports began appearing in the media, Egypt refused to acknowledge its existence.

An AP article dramatically described the construction in the same judgmental terms normally reserved for accounts of Israel’s building of barriers:

A jackhammer pounded large steel beams side by side into the sandy soil on the Egyptian side of Gaza’s border, putting in place an underground wall that could shift the balance of power in this volatile area. Once completed, the steel barrier would cut off blockaded Gaza’s last lifeline.

In the wake of the media attention, demonstrations condemning the Egyptian action have ensued, beginning in Jordan, where an organization of unions and professional associations protested construction of the wall. Some 150 people gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman earlier this month and burned photos of President Hosni Mubarak. The photos depict Mubarak with a Star of David stamped on his forehead.

There was a similar scene at the Egyptian embassy in Lebanon, organized by an Islamist party loyal to Hezbollah and Nasrallah. And like the efforts against Israel’s wall, political activity is spreading to Europe, al-Jazeera reported:

A galaxy of Italian human rights organizations and dignitaries warned that the steel wall being built on the Palestinian-Egyptian borders would equalize Egypt with Israel in its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to be handed Thursday to the Egyptian ambassador in Rome, the Italian organizations and figures said that Egypt has the right to take measure to protect its borders, but the blockade and starvation of Gaza people would not lead to stability in the region or give Egypt prestige and dignity.

The letter warned that Egypt’s wall would spread hatred between nations and would serve Israel alone, adding that it would cause a deep pain to the free peoples of the world.

Certainly, Egypt is not taking such a controversial measure out of affection for or a desire to protect Israel from Hamas in Gaza. Clearly, it is doing so out of self-interest. The Hamas regime in Gaza may not be as direct a threat to Egypt as they are to Israel, but tied as closely as they are to those who would destabilize the current regime in Egypt and replace it with a fundamentalist Islamist regime, they are far from trusted allies as far as Egypt is concerned. Gaza would be a conveniently located base for groups to organize and launch attacks. (Currently, Egypt is trying 26 men charged with planning attacks inside their country, linked with Hezbollah.) Therefore, Egypt has no interest in seeing Gaza loaded with powerful weaponry.

The most public battleground that the controversy over the wall is being played in is the Islamic religious world. “Dueling fatwas” are being handed down, as clerics loyal to Hezbollah and Hamas and those connected to the Egyptian government argue as to whether the wall deserves the Islamic stamp of approval, or Islamic condemnation. A group of clerics affiliated with the government, the Islamic Research Council of Al-Azhar University, declared:

It is one of Egypt’s legitimate rights to place a barrier that prevents the harm from the tunnels under Rafah, which are used to smuggle drugs and other (contraband) that threaten Egypt’s stability. … Those who oppose building this wall are violating the commands of Islamic law.

A harsh backlash ensued in the wake of this ruling — led by clerics from inside Al-Azhar itself and then echoed by other Arab clerics. For now, officials like Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu-al-Ghayt are continuing to do their best to avoid addressing the issue when asked by reporters about the steel wall. Sounding defensive, the Egyptian minister declared:

Constructions Egypt is carrying out is to defend itself and defend its national security. This means the right of self-defense. … The secrets of the Egyptian state will not be material discussed on satellite TVs or the press.

The wall critics accuse Egypt of taking the step to placate the United States. Egypt’s blind eye to the smuggling activity has been costly in terms of its relationship with the United States, jeopardizes the millions of dollars in aid received by the regime, and has cast doubt as to whether Egypt can play the broker role it seeks in the Mideast peace process.

Cynics suggest that Egypt is playing for maximum advantage by building a wall to please the Americans and Israelis now. Later, once it is completed, there will be a wink to Hamas as they quickly construct new tunnel routes circumventing the wall, which will presumably silence the criticism in Islamist circles and allow Egypt to continue its tightrope act — balancing Western diplomatic respectability and Middle Eastern street credibility.

Allison Kaplan Sommer

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Note: Photo of tunnel on border added by BeeSting

Egypt's decision to wall off Gazan tunnels is being condemned across the Arab world.

Middle East and Terrorism

A Middle Eastern country is building a massive thick steel wall as a barrier between themselves and a Palestinian regime. The country is being condemned for its actions across the Arab world, denounced by Islamist figures like Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and facing angry demonstrations at its embassies around the world.

Signs with the president’s face daubed with a Star of David are waved, and furious slogans are chanted. The new construction project, written about critically in the world press as “choking” Gaza, has been dubbed the “iron wall” and the “wall of shame.”

Sound familiar? Nothing new? In fact, the situation is very new. The country that is being berated and condemned is not Israel. The wall is being build by the Egyptian government to separate territory controlled by Egypt and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel is routinely charged with inhumanely and heartlessly fencing off Palestinian Gazans in a “prison,” despite the fact that Egypt’s official crossing to Gaza is also clamped shut, with the exception of a few days each month. But with the construction of this new wall, Egypt is taking some powerful hits from within the Arab world.

The wall being constructed is designed to stop the flow of smuggling between Egypt and Gaza through the border town of Rafah, an underground economy that is not limited to — but certainly includes — major weaponry and ammunition being stockpiled for terrorist attacks and to help Hamas rearm for the next war between Gaza and Israel. Along with the weaponry brought in to replace the stockpiles decimated in Operation Cast Lead, millions of dollars worth of other commerce flows through the tunnels on a daily basis. Everything from food, to gasoline, to machinery, to farm animals. The tunnels are a major source of revenue for Hamas, which charges a premium for the construction and use of the tunnels and puts a tariff on any goods that are brought in.

The planned 10 kilometer-long wall will include steel sheets that will reach 60 meters underground — an attempt to cut off the tunnels and the commerce that flourishes there. In addition to weaponry, the tunnels are also a conduit for terrorists, both reasons that the tunnels themselves were targeted in Operation Cast Lead.

Construction of the wall began in early December, with the Egyptian government doing its best to keep news of it quiet for as long as possible. By mid-December, it became impossible to hide such a massive project, and news of the construction broke and began to spread. Even as reports began appearing in the media, Egypt refused to acknowledge its existence.

An AP article dramatically described the construction in the same judgmental terms normally reserved for accounts of Israel’s building of barriers:

A jackhammer pounded large steel beams side by side into the sandy soil on the Egyptian side of Gaza’s border, putting in place an underground wall that could shift the balance of power in this volatile area. Once completed, the steel barrier would cut off blockaded Gaza’s last lifeline.

In the wake of the media attention, demonstrations condemning the Egyptian action have ensued, beginning in Jordan, where an organization of unions and professional associations protested construction of the wall. Some 150 people gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman earlier this month and burned photos of President Hosni Mubarak. The photos depict Mubarak with a Star of David stamped on his forehead.

There was a similar scene at the Egyptian embassy in Lebanon, organized by an Islamist party loyal to Hezbollah and Nasrallah. And like the efforts against Israel’s wall, political activity is spreading to Europe, al-Jazeera reported:

A galaxy of Italian human rights organizations and dignitaries warned that the steel wall being built on the Palestinian-Egyptian borders would equalize Egypt with Israel in its blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to be handed Thursday to the Egyptian ambassador in Rome, the Italian organizations and figures said that Egypt has the right to take measure to protect its borders, but the blockade and starvation of Gaza people would not lead to stability in the region or give Egypt prestige and dignity.

The letter warned that Egypt’s wall would spread hatred between nations and would serve Israel alone, adding that it would cause a deep pain to the free peoples of the world.

Certainly, Egypt is not taking such a controversial measure out of affection for or a desire to protect Israel from Hamas in Gaza. Clearly, it is doing so out of self-interest. The Hamas regime in Gaza may not be as direct a threat to Egypt as they are to Israel, but tied as closely as they are to those who would destabilize the current regime in Egypt and replace it with a fundamentalist Islamist regime, they are far from trusted allies as far as Egypt is concerned. Gaza would be a conveniently located base for groups to organize and launch attacks. (Currently, Egypt is trying 26 men charged with planning attacks inside their country, linked with Hezbollah.) Therefore, Egypt has no interest in seeing Gaza loaded with powerful weaponry.

The most public battleground that the controversy over the wall is being played in is the Islamic religious world. “Dueling fatwas” are being handed down, as clerics loyal to Hezbollah and Hamas and those connected to the Egyptian government argue as to whether the wall deserves the Islamic stamp of approval, or Islamic condemnation. A group of clerics affiliated with the government, the Islamic Research Council of Al-Azhar University, declared:

It is one of Egypt’s legitimate rights to place a barrier that prevents the harm from the tunnels under Rafah, which are used to smuggle drugs and other (contraband) that threaten Egypt’s stability. … Those who oppose building this wall are violating the commands of Islamic law.

A harsh backlash ensued in the wake of this ruling — led by clerics from inside Al-Azhar itself and then echoed by other Arab clerics. For now, officials like Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu-al-Ghayt are continuing to do their best to avoid addressing the issue when asked by reporters about the steel wall. Sounding defensive, the Egyptian minister declared:

Constructions Egypt is carrying out is to defend itself and defend its national security. This means the right of self-defense. … The secrets of the Egyptian state will not be material discussed on satellite TVs or the press.

The wall critics accuse Egypt of taking the step to placate the United States. Egypt’s blind eye to the smuggling activity has been costly in terms of its relationship with the United States, jeopardizes the millions of dollars in aid received by the regime, and has cast doubt as to whether Egypt can play the broker role it seeks in the Mideast peace process.

Cynics suggest that Egypt is playing for maximum advantage by building a wall to please the Americans and Israelis now. Later, once it is completed, there will be a wink to Hamas as they quickly construct new tunnel routes circumventing the wall, which will presumably silence the criticism in Islamist circles and allow Egypt to continue its tightrope act — balancing Western diplomatic respectability and Middle Eastern street credibility.

Allison Kaplan Sommer

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.