Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/30/2011
In the wake of yesterday’s attack by “students” on the British embassy in Iran, the British government has ordered the closure of the Iranian embassy in London. It has also given Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the UK.In other news, the Fed and the central banks of the EU, Canada, the UK, Japan, and Switzerland have reduced the interest rate on dollar liquidity swap lines, which makes it easier for governments afflicted by the debt crisis to solve their liquidity problems. This action reassured the stock markets in the USA and Europe, which rose by more than 4%.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, LN, Mary Abdelmassih, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad, Part VI
This is the seventh of an eight-part history of the Transatlantic Counterjihad. Links to the first six parts are at the bottom of this post.
A debt of gratitude is owed to the Counterjihad Collective for its work on this project.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad
by the Counterjihad Collective
VI. Unofficial Opposition to the Counterjihad
In addition to official state opposition to the criticism of Islamization and sharia, there exists a wide range of ostensibly private organizations arrayed against those who resist Islamization. A brought coalition of Islamic groups and radical left-wing organizations, especially from the anarchist and anti-globalist Left, is frequently brought to bear against groups that publicly declare their differences with Islam.
In Europe the left-wing side of the coalition often includes rank-and-file members of the Socialists, the Social Democrats, the Communists, Labour, and other parties of the traditional socialist Left. Members of Labour parties have been observed marching arm-in-arm with Islamic groups while some of their fellow demonstrators could be heard in the background chanting “Hamas! Hamas! Jews to the gas!” The Labour Party in Norway — the same party whose younger members Anders Behring Breivik targeted for death on Utøya — strongly backs Hamas, and has suggested that the terrorist group should be supported with Norwegian taxpayers’ money.
Opposition to the Israeli “occupation” and strong support for Hamas and Hezbollah go hand-in-hand with widespread anti-Semitism on the European Left. Opponents of sharia and mass immigration are generally labeled “neo-Nazis” and “fascists”, but the uncomfortable truth is that anti-Semites are overwhelmingly found on the Socialist Left. Support for Israel is one of the common characteristics of the anti-Islamization parties in Europe. In Belgium, for example, the Islam-critical party Vlaams Belang is the only major party that staunchly defends Israel’s right to exist.
Efforts to silence the opponents of sharia and Islamization often turn violent. In Britain the group Unite Against Fascism deploys its members in carefully coordinated violence against the English Defence League during EDL demonstrations. On the Continent, a widespread movement known as Anti-Fascist Action (AFA, or Antifa) performs much the same function. When anti-sharia organizations stage rallies and demonstrations, the Antifas come from all over Western Europe to throw rocks, bottles, and fireworks at the demonstrators, and beat up those unfortunates who can be isolated from their respective groups.
The police — who are more than ready to arrest the anti-Islamization demonstrators on the slightest pretext — usually stand by and do nothing when the Antifas attack. Unless firearms are employed or lives are at risk, standing orders generally instruct the police not to intervene when the anti-fascists act violently against opponents of Islamization. In some countries, notably Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, the Antifas have at least the tacit support of the authorities, who presumably find them useful for disrupting the actions of anti-Islamization activists and demonstrators. In Sweden, members of the Sweden Democrats have had their houses vandalized, and have even been stabbed by “anti-fascist” thugs.
The current atmosphere in much of Western Europe resembles that of the 1930s, when various forms of fascism were on the rise in most European countries. The Antifas serve the same function as the brownshirts in Nazi Germany: they act as an organized mob tasked with quelling all forms of political dissent through targeted violence. Although their violent behavior has no official approval from the state, they may generally act with impunity.
Next: Part VII, Observations and General Conclusions
Previously:
Springtime for Qutb and the Caliphate
Forty-five years after his death, springtime has finally come for Sayyid Qutb and Egypt.
Mr. Qutb took over as leader of Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimeen — better known as the Muslim Brotherhood — in 1949. He succeeded its founder, Hassan al-Banna, after the latter was assassinated by King Farouk’s government. Mr. Qutb himself was hanged by Nasser regime in 1966, but by that time he had become a popular and influential writer, read by millions of Egyptians and other Muslims. He was the principal theoretician of the modern Islamic revival, and his works have continued to inspire Muslim readers since his death. From Yogyakarta to Casablanca, from Dushanbe to Abuja, in Arabic or translation, Sayyid Qutb remains the most popular writer of fundamentalist Islamic literature.
The patience of the Muslim Brotherhood has been rewarded at last. With the exception of Algeria — where the military is still keeping the fundamentalists from gaining control — Ikhwan regimes have been installed in power across the whole of North Africa. The Brotherhood took control in Libya thanks to NATO’s destruction of the Qaddafi regime, but the other countries have chosen it through the ballot box. Tunisia elected Ennahda, an MB affiliate, just a few weeks ago. But the country hasn’t settled into a stable, peaceful situation as a result — Islamic fundamentalists continue their violent demonstrations, demanding the abolition of the country’s remaining secular practices and institutions. As a result, the Tunisian government has extended the state of emergency until the end of the year.
Last week Morocco followed Tunisia’s lead, and yesterday the Moroccan king appointed an Islamist as prime minister:
Egypt is next in line. The Egyptian parliamentary elections are being held in stages, so the official tally will not be certified until January. However, initial results make it obvious that the Muslim Brotherhood will be claiming the largest share of the vote. According to The Daily Mail, the Ikhwan’s portion of the count is 40%, but ANSAmed projects it as significantly higher:
The next Egyptian government will be a coalition headed by the Muslim Brotherhood, and a spokesman for the Ikhwan reminded the public that sharia will be the basis of the government’s judicial system:
As far as The Guardian is concerned, the ascension of the Brotherhood is a good thing. It is a sign of true democracy in action, and should be welcomed by Western progressives (strangely enough, the same progressives don’t regard democracy so highly when Geert Wilders or the Swiss People’s Party win elections):
Bashar al-Assad of Syria is the next dictator that the “Arab Spring” hopes to topple. Despite his brutal ways, the Christians of Syria understand very well that he is the only force that stands between them and the Islamic mob. They’ve seen what happened to the Assyrian Christians of Iraq and the Copts of Egypt, and they’re in no hurry to share the same fate:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That’s an outline of the Arab Spring in the Maghreb. Now let’s take a step back and look at the larger picture.
The United States and the European Union actively abetted the overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to fill the resulting power vacuum. When the uprisings spread to Libya, Col. Muammar Ghedafi proved surprisingly resilient. After initial successes, the rebellion against him seemed to stall, and the wily Colonel looked like he just might manage to cling to power. The Europeans were having none of that, and, backed by President Barack Hussein Obama, they initiated a “humanitarian” air war (and covert ground war) against the regime, driving Col. Khaddafi from power and allowing him to be tortured and slaughtered by “freedom fighters”. Not only did this bring the Muslim Brotherhood into the new government in Libya, but an actual Al Qaeda veteran was put in charge of military forces in the capital.
From a geo-strategic point of view, does all this make any sense? Why behead the governments of half a dozen Arab dictatorships and allow the Muslim Brotherhood to take over? The earlier regimes, after all, provided what the State Department and Brussels have always claimed to value the most: stability.
One theory speculates that the “Arab Spring” revolutions were deliberately aided by the CIA and other Western intelligence services as part of a grand bargain with the Muslim Brotherhood. Pitch out the dictators, allow the Ikhwan into power, and in return the Sunni extremists will help the Western powers destroy the Shi’ite nuclear program in Iran.
So the story goes. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, but I’m not privy to all the intricate secret data that drives top-level foreign policy decisions. It might work; we’ll find out soon enough.
But step back a little further and look at the rest of the picture. The debacle in North Africa is unfolding as the Eurozone economic meltdown reaches its endgame. The United States and the EU have effectively neutered themselves in international power politics; they can no longer project a credible deterrent much past their own borders. Evidence of this impotence can be seen in the Iranian attack on the British embassy in Tehran — the mullahs are obviously confident that the Western response will be noisy but toothless.
Or consider the recent behavior of Russia. During the past week the Russian navy has entered the Mediterranean to help the Israelis guard the natural gas fields — which are coveted by Turkey — beneath the waters off the coast of Cyprus. The same Russian navy has also been deployed to Syrian ports to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
These two operations may seem to be contradictory from an Israeli point of view. However, like the Syrian Christians, Israel has an interest in keeping Mr. Assad in power. The Alawite thug is a known quantity, and the devil they know is preferable to the Beelzebubs of the Muslim Brotherhood. In this respect the Israelis are acting far more rationally than Europe or the United States.
The Western powers have backed off from any serious enforcement of their international interests. One may be forgiven for doubting whether they even recognize their international interests, caught up as they are in fighting global warming and increasing transsexual participation in their armed forces. Who cares about the Great Game, anyway?
Well, the Iranians do. The Russians do. So do the Chinese, and presumably the Indians. Now that the West has abdicated power, there is no one to stop the second-tier states from doing whatever they want, except for other second-tier states. Watch them circle each other warily like knife fighters, eyeing each other sidelong, picking temporary allies for the sake of expedience, and waiting for the chance to slip the blade into their likely victims.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood is planning to set up the new global Caliphate in the ruins of the old order.
We live in interesting times. Come back in ten years and see how things look — it’s not your Dad’s war anymore.
Hat tips: Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, and C. Cantoni.
Mr. Qutb took over as leader of Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimeen — better known as the Muslim Brotherhood — in 1949. He succeeded its founder, Hassan al-Banna, after the latter was assassinated by King Farouk’s government. Mr. Qutb himself was hanged by Nasser regime in 1966, but by that time he had become a popular and influential writer, read by millions of Egyptians and other Muslims. He was the principal theoretician of the modern Islamic revival, and his works have continued to inspire Muslim readers since his death. From Yogyakarta to Casablanca, from Dushanbe to Abuja, in Arabic or translation, Sayyid Qutb remains the most popular writer of fundamentalist Islamic literature.
The patience of the Muslim Brotherhood has been rewarded at last. With the exception of Algeria — where the military is still keeping the fundamentalists from gaining control — Ikhwan regimes have been installed in power across the whole of North Africa. The Brotherhood took control in Libya thanks to NATO’s destruction of the Qaddafi regime, but the other countries have chosen it through the ballot box. Tunisia elected Ennahda, an MB affiliate, just a few weeks ago. But the country hasn’t settled into a stable, peaceful situation as a result — Islamic fundamentalists continue their violent demonstrations, demanding the abolition of the country’s remaining secular practices and institutions. As a result, the Tunisian government has extended the state of emergency until the end of the year.
Last week Morocco followed Tunisia’s lead, and yesterday the Moroccan king appointed an Islamist as prime minister:
Morocco: King Appoints Head of Islamic Party as Premier
New Premier will listen to Feb. 20 Movement
(ANSAmed) - RABAT, NOVEMBER 29 - King Mohamed VI of Morocco has officially appointed the head of the moderate Islamic “Justice and Development” party, Abdelilah Benkirane as the country’s Premier. The PJD took 27% of votes in last week’s political elections, winning 107 of the 395 seats in parliament.
“The King has today nominated the General Secretary of the Party of Justice and Development, Benkirane, who now should form a coalition government with the other parties,” an official communiqué from the royal palace says. Abdellilah Benkirane expressed his willingness to listen to the militants of the February 20 Movement: “if they make serious proposals, one should listen to them. If one single Moroccan makes a serious proposal, they should be listened to. They are in their thousands”.
Egypt is next in line. The Egyptian parliamentary elections are being held in stages, so the official tally will not be certified until January. However, initial results make it obvious that the Muslim Brotherhood will be claiming the largest share of the vote. According to The Daily Mail, the Ikhwan’s portion of the count is 40%, but ANSAmed projects it as significantly higher:
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood in the Lead, Press
(ANSAmed) — Cairo, November 30 — The Muslim Brotherhood are the top party in Egypt according to the first reports by local press outlets. While vote counting continues for the uninominal part of the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, indications show that the Freedom and Justice party, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Salafi party coalition Al Nour are in the lead in six governorates, according to the daily paper Al Ahram. According to the daily Al Shouruk, Freedom and Justice raked in 47% of the votes while the secular and moderate Egyptian Bloc coalition received 22%. In the first round of voting, which ended yesterday, the residents of nine governorates cast their votes, including those in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Asyut and Port Said.
The next Egyptian government will be a coalition headed by the Muslim Brotherhood, and a spokesman for the Ikhwan reminded the public that sharia will be the basis of the government’s judicial system:
Egypt: Govt to be Chosen by Majority, Brotherhood Party
While announcing its lead after 1st round of voting
(ANSAmed) — Cairo — The next government will be a coalition, and it will be the parliamentary majority resulting from the elections to form the new government. This was explained by Mohamed Morsi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, according to Al Ahram online. Morsi also said that he could not imagine the Egyptian constitution without Article 2, which provides for the Islamic law of the Sharia to be the nation’s judicial foundation.
In a statement, the brotherhood confirmed initial rumours circulating this morning in the local press regarding the Justice and Liberty Party, stating that “based on preliminary figures” the party is leading after the first round of elections in 9 out of 27 governorates. In second place is al-Nour, a Salafi movement, continued the statement, while ranking third is the Egyptian Bloc, a moderate alliance, which includes the Free Egyptians Party of Coptic business tycoon Naguib Sawiris.
As far as The Guardian is concerned, the ascension of the Brotherhood is a good thing. It is a sign of true democracy in action, and should be welcomed by Western progressives (strangely enough, the same progressives don’t regard democracy so highly when Geert Wilders or the Swiss People’s Party win elections):
Those Who Support Democracy Must Welcome the Rise of Political Islam
From Tunisia to Egypt, Islamists are gaining the popular vote. Far from threatening stability, this makes it a real possibility
Ennahda, the Islamic party in Tunisia, won 41% of the seats of the Tunisian constitutional assembly last month, causing consternation in the west. But Ennahda will not be an exception on the Arab scene. Last Friday the Islamic Justice and Development Party took the biggest share of the vote in Morocco and will lead the new coalition government for the first time in history. And tomorrow Egypt’s elections begin, with the Muslim Brotherhood predicted to become the largest party. There may be more to come. Should free and fair elections be held in Yemen, once the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh falls, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, also Islamic, will win by a significant majority. This pattern will repeat itself whenever the democratic process takes its course.
Bashar al-Assad of Syria is the next dictator that the “Arab Spring” hopes to topple. Despite his brutal ways, the Christians of Syria understand very well that he is the only force that stands between them and the Islamic mob. They’ve seen what happened to the Assyrian Christians of Iraq and the Copts of Egypt, and they’re in no hurry to share the same fate:
The Tolerant Dictator: Syria’s Christians Side With Assad Out of Fear
Many of Syria’s 2.5 million Christians are supporting President Bashar Assad amidst ongoing protests in the country. They prefer a brutal dictator who guarantees the rights of religious minorities to the uncertain future that Assad’s departure would bring. The president is exploiting their fears of Islamists for his own ends.
[…]
The regime has killed at least 3,500 people since March. There are reports of torture, executions of unarmed individuals and mass executions of army deserters. But none of this has dissuaded members of the opposition. Shaky Internet videos show thousands continuing to march through the streets of Homs, Hama, Daraa and Damascus, chanting: “Down with Bashar!”
Christian neighborhoods and villages, meanwhile, have remained largely quiet, with no large demonstrations and little chanting or graffiti critical of the regime. Instead, there is silence. Or, worse still, expressions of open loyalty to the regime.
[…]
“We’re a nation of 23 million,” Tabé says, “and no law can ever satisfy everyone. That’s true in every country -- there are always 10 percent who are sacrificed.” It’s a state of affairs he can accept, as long as Christians aren’t the segment of the population being sacrificed.
That’s an outline of the Arab Spring in the Maghreb. Now let’s take a step back and look at the larger picture.
The United States and the European Union actively abetted the overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to fill the resulting power vacuum. When the uprisings spread to Libya, Col. Muammar Ghedafi proved surprisingly resilient. After initial successes, the rebellion against him seemed to stall, and the wily Colonel looked like he just might manage to cling to power. The Europeans were having none of that, and, backed by President Barack Hussein Obama, they initiated a “humanitarian” air war (and covert ground war) against the regime, driving Col. Khaddafi from power and allowing him to be tortured and slaughtered by “freedom fighters”. Not only did this bring the Muslim Brotherhood into the new government in Libya, but an actual Al Qaeda veteran was put in charge of military forces in the capital.
From a geo-strategic point of view, does all this make any sense? Why behead the governments of half a dozen Arab dictatorships and allow the Muslim Brotherhood to take over? The earlier regimes, after all, provided what the State Department and Brussels have always claimed to value the most: stability.
One theory speculates that the “Arab Spring” revolutions were deliberately aided by the CIA and other Western intelligence services as part of a grand bargain with the Muslim Brotherhood. Pitch out the dictators, allow the Ikhwan into power, and in return the Sunni extremists will help the Western powers destroy the Shi’ite nuclear program in Iran.
So the story goes. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, but I’m not privy to all the intricate secret data that drives top-level foreign policy decisions. It might work; we’ll find out soon enough.
But step back a little further and look at the rest of the picture. The debacle in North Africa is unfolding as the Eurozone economic meltdown reaches its endgame. The United States and the EU have effectively neutered themselves in international power politics; they can no longer project a credible deterrent much past their own borders. Evidence of this impotence can be seen in the Iranian attack on the British embassy in Tehran — the mullahs are obviously confident that the Western response will be noisy but toothless.
Or consider the recent behavior of Russia. During the past week the Russian navy has entered the Mediterranean to help the Israelis guard the natural gas fields — which are coveted by Turkey — beneath the waters off the coast of Cyprus. The same Russian navy has also been deployed to Syrian ports to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
These two operations may seem to be contradictory from an Israeli point of view. However, like the Syrian Christians, Israel has an interest in keeping Mr. Assad in power. The Alawite thug is a known quantity, and the devil they know is preferable to the Beelzebubs of the Muslim Brotherhood. In this respect the Israelis are acting far more rationally than Europe or the United States.
The Western powers have backed off from any serious enforcement of their international interests. One may be forgiven for doubting whether they even recognize their international interests, caught up as they are in fighting global warming and increasing transsexual participation in their armed forces. Who cares about the Great Game, anyway?
Well, the Iranians do. The Russians do. So do the Chinese, and presumably the Indians. Now that the West has abdicated power, there is no one to stop the second-tier states from doing whatever they want, except for other second-tier states. Watch them circle each other warily like knife fighters, eyeing each other sidelong, picking temporary allies for the sake of expedience, and waiting for the chance to slip the blade into their likely victims.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood is planning to set up the new global Caliphate in the ruins of the old order.
We live in interesting times. Come back in ten years and see how things look — it’s not your Dad’s war anymore.
Hat tips: Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, and C. Cantoni.
Will the Penny Ever Drop?
The following article was published today in Aftenposten, and has been kindly translated by our Norwegian correspondent NA. The translator includes this note:
Fjordman sends a reference to an article in Rights.no about the same author, noting:
Today’s article continues Mr. Sandemose’s earlier line of criticism, and is particularly notable for its Marxist viewpoint:
[This translation has been removed at the request of the author and the editors of Aftenposten.]
I read this article in Aftenposten which I hope every Norwegian — and every Westerner, for that matter — will read. I thought it was so good I just had to translate it.
Fjordman sends a reference to an article in Rights.no about the same author, noting:
The Marxist writer Jørgen Sandemose published an essay in the Danish weekly Weekendavis this November where he very severely criticized the Left for their excessively positive attitudes towards Islam.
The author is a long-time Communist who teaches at the University of Oslo. His name is well known in Norway because of his father, who defined the so-called jantelov, the “pattern of group behaviour towards individuals within Scandinavian communities, which negatively portrays and criticises individual success and achievement as unworthy and inappropriate.”
Today’s article continues Mr. Sandemose’s earlier line of criticism, and is particularly notable for its Marxist viewpoint:
[This translation has been removed at the request of the author and the editors of Aftenposten.]
The Political Persecution of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Part 1
The first part of my three-part series on the “hate speech” case against Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff has been published at FrontPage Mag. I’ll post all three parts as a single article over the coming weekend. In the meantime, here are some excerpts:
On February 15, 2011, the Austrian Counterjihad activist Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff was convicted of “hate speech” in a Vienna courtroom for what she said in a private seminar about Muhammad and Islam.
The original charge was “incitement to hatred”. On the second day of her trial, the judge at her own discretion added a second charge, “denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion.” Elisabeth was acquitted of the first charge, but convicted of the second. She was sentenced to pay a fine of €480. Her case is currently being appealed to Austria’s highest court. If the verdict is upheld, and she refuses to pay the fine, she will spend two months in jail.
How could this happen in a modern European democratic state which recognizes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enshrines the right to free speech in its Constitution?
Read the rest at FrontPage Mag.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/29/2011
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain failed to contain the “bimbo eruptions” in his campaign as effectively as Bill Clinton did twenty years ago. The latest allegations — concerning an Atlanta woman who says she had a 13-year affair with Mr. Cain — have made the candidate reconsider his bid for the Republican nomination.In other news, Russia has sent a warship to Syria to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad, whose government is attempting to crush an uprising amidst UN sanctions and international criticism.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to alcade, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JP, J-PD, KGS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Music is Haram
From Lebanese television earlier this month, an imam explains in an interview that all singing is categorically forbidden by Islam.
Many thanks to MEMRI for the original clip, and to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
Many thanks to MEMRI for the original clip, and to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad, Part V
This is the sixth of an eight-part history of the Transatlantic Counterjihad. Links to the first five parts are at the bottom of this post.
A big thank-you to the Counterjihad Collective for undertaking this project.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad
by the Counterjihad Collective
V. Official Opposition to the Transatlantic Counterjihad
The Origins of Anti-Islamic Sentiment
The Islamization of Europe was a (perhaps inadvertent) byproduct of the need to import foreign labor to the continent in the decades after the Second World War. The process fed on itself, as liberal immigration laws and “family reunification” policies brought ever-increasing numbers of unassimilable foreigners, most of them Muslims, into Western Europe. The official state policy of Multiculturalism allowed newcomers to disappear into ever-growing enclaves, where they could live and function as if they were in their native countries, without any requirement that they integrate into the host population.
These new urban ghettos put Muslims into direct conflict with native working-class and lower-middle-class people, who were their immediate neighbors. As immigrants and their descendants became more and more dependent on state benefits — which they drew far in excess of their proportion of the population — their seeming parasitism exacerbated the hostility between the indigenes and the newcomers.
To make matters worse, Muslim immigrants were far more likely than the natives to commit violent crimes, and an overwhelming number of their victims were indigenous Europeans. This disproportionate criminality was especially evident where the crime of rape was concerned. Muslim immigrants were apprehended and prosecuted for rape in overwhelming numbers. Over a five-year period in Oslo, every single stranger-rape in which the perpetrator could be identified was committed by a non-Norwegian Muslim.
The correlation between Islamic ideology and this disparity in criminal propensities is open to dispute. However, the statistics are telling: rape is an overwhelmingly Muslim crime in Western Europe. Its most brutal and barbaric form, gang rape, is almost entirely a Muslim phenomenon.
The wealthier and more privileged social groups have been mostly insulated from the worst of these phenomena through residential isolation in well-protected neighborhoods, and by their access to private schooling for their children. The brunt of immigrant lawlessness has been borne by the lower and lower-middle classes, who are subjected to harassment and violence on an almost daily basis.
Given these ominous trends, it hardly comes as a surprise that the resistance to immigration and Islamization originated mainly with the working class.
This issue has thrown ordinary citizens of modest means into serious conflict with the elite governing class. The latter do not experience Islamization in the same way as their less fortunate neighbors, and they continue to place their faith in Multiculturalism, “tolerance”, and the ever-elusive process of “integration”.
The class disparity is deepened by the political establishment’s dependence on and commitment to mass immigration and Multiculturalism. Immigrants now form an all but unified bloc of voters which national and local politicians must assiduously court. There is no going back: any attempt to put the brakes on Muslim expansion would threaten the political, social, and economic order.
Thus the only option for the establishment is to “double down”: more immigration, renewed Multiculturalism, and increased “tolerance”. This places the political class on a collision course with their own people.
Official Repression of the Counterjihad
The inevitable resistance by the working-class native population — along with parts of the literate middle class — prompted repeated attempts on the part of Western governments, the EU, and the UN to suppress what is variously known as “racism”, “xenophobia”, and “Islamophobia”.
As time went on, and gentler forms of suppression failed to have the desired effect, official efforts to eliminate the Counterjihad have become more overt. Harassment, public demonization, shunning, removal of police protection, loss of employment, withdrawal of public benefits, and legal prosecution: these are just a few of the methods that have been used over the last few years in an attempt to shut down the opposition to sharia and Islamization.
Five years ago the victims of official government repression could be counted on the fingers of one hand. As of November 2011, however, there are too many examples to enumerate. Below is just a small sample from across the Western world of people who have been legally harassed, prosecuted, or threatened with prosecution:
| Australia: | Andrew Bolt | |
| Martin Brennan | ||
| Danny Nalliah | ||
| Daniel Scot | ||
| Austria: | Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff | |
| Belgium: | Bart Debie | |
| Canada: | Ezra Levant | |
| Mark Harding | ||
| Damian Goddard | ||
| Mark Steyn | ||
| Denmark: | Lars Hedegaard | |
| Finland: | Jussi Halla-aho | |
| Tomashot | ||
| France: | Philippe Val | |
| Netherlands: | Gregorius Nekschot | |
| Geert Wilders | ||
| Zoka F. (a.k.a. Mohammed Rasoel) | ||
| Norway: | Fjordman (Peder Jensen) | |
| Sweden: | Carl P. Herslow | |
| Dahn Pettersson | ||
| Switzerland: | Avi Lipkin (alias Victor Mordecai) | |
| UK: | Paul Ray (alias Lionheart) | |
| Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) | ||
| Kevin Carroll | ||
| Many other members of the English Defence League | ||
| USA: | Derek Fenton | |
| Negreen Mayel | ||
| Dr. Nabeel Qureshi | ||
| Paul Rezkalla | ||
| Dr. David Wood | ||
| Pastor Mark Holick |
Official oppression is clearly a response to the “mainstreaming” of the Counterjihad. The political establishment is threatened by the growing public prominence of resistance to Islamization, and is attempting to suppress it through legal means.
This blatant totalitarian behavior can only serve to reinforce the need for volunteer groups that specialize in the legal defense of citizens whose civil liberties have been infringed.
Next: Part VI. Unofficial Opposition to the Counterjihad
Previously:
Wake up and Smell the Treachery
This is Pat Condell at his raging finest, discussing the blatant totalitarian aspirations of the European Union:
Hat tip: Vlad Tepes:
Hat tip: Vlad Tepes:
ACT! For America: A Report on the OSCE Meeting in Vienna
As reported here previously, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met twice recently in Vienna to discuss the need to fight “racism” and “xenophobia”. The following report on the OSCE meeting earlier this month was prepared by Bruce Lieske of ACT! for America.
Report on my Experience at the OSCE Meeting
10-11 November 2011, Vienna, Austria
Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting
Prevention of Racism, Xenophobia and Hate Crimes through Educational and Awareness-Raising Initiatives
by Bruce Lieske
It is my opinion that very few Americans know what the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is — when and why it was founded, and what it has done. The opportunity to attend this meeting presented itself because of my friendship with Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Austrian chapter head of ACT! for America, and the circumstance that my wife lives in Vienna.
Representing ACT! for America, I attended the meeting with Elisabeth (Pax Europa), Henrik Clausen (International Civil Liberties Alliance) and Gerhard Engelmayer (Freidenkerverband — Wien). There were approximately 175 people in attendance. The venue at the Hofburg, Vienna, was similar to a mini-UN. The inner ring of seats/microphones was reserved for some 70 participating countries, including the United States. The outer ring was comprised of NGOs. Most of the speeches were in English, but on occasion speakers from Ukraine, Russia and Austria spoke in their native languages and an immediate translation was available.
The four of us sat together and we spoke several times in response to a presenter. The response to a presenter is called an “intervention.” On one occasion my intervention addressed the issue of the definition of words. I said that if we truly intended to be united as different cultures, we needed to clearly and closely define terms, especially the term “Islamophobia.” I told the assembly that “Islamophobia” means different things to a Muslim and a non-Muslim — and illustrated my point with a story.
The OSCE is an opportunity for organizations like ACT! for America and The United West to influence governments. NGOs have virtually the same opportunity to speak as the representatives of participating States at these meetings. The representatives of participating States undoubtedly have influence over legislation in their countries, which means that ACT! for America and other similar organizations have not only the power of the press, but can possibly influence legislation.
Therefore, ACT! for America has a mini-pulpit in Europe and we ought to use it — in order to help our European friends stem the power of stealth jihad, and bring this problem out in the open. It must, however, be done tactfully, clearly and diplomatically. I recommend more people from ACT! for America attend these meetings in the future. It would be excellent if Brigitte Gabriel herself could attend.
In order to underscore the need to push back against the Islamization of Europe, let me add one other bit of information. On October 13, 2011 The King Abdullah Center of Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue was inaugurated at the Albertina Museum in downtown Vienna. The foreign ministers of the three founding states — Austria, Spain, and Saudi Arabia — attended. The center will be located at the Palais Sturany on the Schottenring in the heart of Vienna. This is patently a new Islamic propaganda center, which according to the protocols of founding, will have diplomatic immunity, pay no taxes, and is verboten to the Austrian police. The governing body will be staffed by two Muslims, three Christians, a Buddhist, a Hindu and a Jew. I read that the Jewish rabbi took a lot of flack for his participation, but I also read his interesting response. He basically said that he needed to know his enemy (not his words) — but actually that this is all about the Christians. Thinking Christians realize that Islam is the greatest enemy of Christianity, and I suspect that Muslims believe the reverse. History records two previous Islamic campaigns against Vienna. I think the third one is in high gear.
Rev. Bruce J. Lieske
VP, ACT! for America/Orlando
Previous posts about the OSCE and the Counterjihad:
Report on my Experience at the OSCE Meeting
10-11 November 2011, Vienna, Austria
Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting
Prevention of Racism, Xenophobia and Hate Crimes through Educational and Awareness-Raising Initiatives
by Bruce Lieske
It is my opinion that very few Americans know what the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is — when and why it was founded, and what it has done. The opportunity to attend this meeting presented itself because of my friendship with Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Austrian chapter head of ACT! for America, and the circumstance that my wife lives in Vienna.
Representing ACT! for America, I attended the meeting with Elisabeth (Pax Europa), Henrik Clausen (International Civil Liberties Alliance) and Gerhard Engelmayer (Freidenkerverband — Wien). There were approximately 175 people in attendance. The venue at the Hofburg, Vienna, was similar to a mini-UN. The inner ring of seats/microphones was reserved for some 70 participating countries, including the United States. The outer ring was comprised of NGOs. Most of the speeches were in English, but on occasion speakers from Ukraine, Russia and Austria spoke in their native languages and an immediate translation was available.
The four of us sat together and we spoke several times in response to a presenter. The response to a presenter is called an “intervention.” On one occasion my intervention addressed the issue of the definition of words. I said that if we truly intended to be united as different cultures, we needed to clearly and closely define terms, especially the term “Islamophobia.” I told the assembly that “Islamophobia” means different things to a Muslim and a non-Muslim — and illustrated my point with a story.
The OSCE is an opportunity for organizations like ACT! for America and The United West to influence governments. NGOs have virtually the same opportunity to speak as the representatives of participating States at these meetings. The representatives of participating States undoubtedly have influence over legislation in their countries, which means that ACT! for America and other similar organizations have not only the power of the press, but can possibly influence legislation.
Therefore, ACT! for America has a mini-pulpit in Europe and we ought to use it — in order to help our European friends stem the power of stealth jihad, and bring this problem out in the open. It must, however, be done tactfully, clearly and diplomatically. I recommend more people from ACT! for America attend these meetings in the future. It would be excellent if Brigitte Gabriel herself could attend.
In order to underscore the need to push back against the Islamization of Europe, let me add one other bit of information. On October 13, 2011 The King Abdullah Center of Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue was inaugurated at the Albertina Museum in downtown Vienna. The foreign ministers of the three founding states — Austria, Spain, and Saudi Arabia — attended. The center will be located at the Palais Sturany on the Schottenring in the heart of Vienna. This is patently a new Islamic propaganda center, which according to the protocols of founding, will have diplomatic immunity, pay no taxes, and is verboten to the Austrian police. The governing body will be staffed by two Muslims, three Christians, a Buddhist, a Hindu and a Jew. I read that the Jewish rabbi took a lot of flack for his participation, but I also read his interesting response. He basically said that he needed to know his enemy (not his words) — but actually that this is all about the Christians. Thinking Christians realize that Islam is the greatest enemy of Christianity, and I suspect that Muslims believe the reverse. History records two previous Islamic campaigns against Vienna. I think the third one is in high gear.
Rev. Bruce J. Lieske
VP, ACT! for America/Orlando
Previous posts about the OSCE and the Counterjihad:
It’s 1979 All Over Again
“Students” stormed the British Embassy in Tehran today, chanting slogans, burning the British flag, looting, pitching things out of windows, and generally recapitulating the 1979 takeover of the American Embassy.
Here’s a brief CNN report on the events. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
Interestingly enough, the Iranian government initially said that six hostages had been taken at the embassy, but that report was quickly withdrawn. According to Reuters:
Here’s a brief CNN report on the events. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
Interestingly enough, the Iranian government initially said that six hostages had been taken at the embassy, but that report was quickly withdrawn. According to Reuters:
Iranian Protesters Storm British Embassy
(Reuters) - Iranian protesters stormed two British Embassy compounds in Tehran Tuesday, smashing windows, hurling petrol bombs and burning the British flag in a protest against sanctions imposed by Britain, live Iranian television showed.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said protesters took six British diplomatic staff hostage from an embassy compound in the north of the city but it withdrew the story from its website minutes later without giving any explanation.
The attacks followed the rapid approval by Iran’s Guardian Council of a parliamentary bill compelling the government to expel the British ambassador in retaliation for the sanctions. A lawmaker had also warned Sunday that angry Iranians could storm the British Embassy as they did the U.S. mission in 1979.
Several dozen protesters broke away from a crowd of a few hundred protesters outside the main embassy compound in downtown Tehran, scaled the embassy gates and went inside.
Protesters pulled down the British flag, burned it, and put up the Iranian flag, Iranian news agencies and news pictures showed. Inside, the demonstrators threw stones and petrol bombs. One waved a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth, state TV showed.
Others carried the royal crest out through the embassy gate as police stood by, pictures carried by the official Fars news agency showed.
Anders Behring Breivik Declared Criminally Insane
Our Norwegian correspondent NA sends a brief translation of the latest on Anders Behring Breivik, as reported by Aftenposten:
A slightly longer report in English from The Local:
Several points are worth noting.
First of all, if Mr. Breivik is insane, then none of us “Islamophobes” can be blamed for his actions. However, since he remains a “right-wing extremist”, the obvious implication is that others who oppose mass immigration and Islamization are also insane — we just haven’t committed any crimes yet.
In other words, Norwegian “Islamophobes” should beware: the men in white coats may soon be paying them a visit.
In my own untutored opinion, however, Mr. Breivik is not insane, but rather a psychopath. Insanity manifests itself as an inability to reason and/or an inability to perceive reality. Based on his writings, Mr. Breivik doesn’t match either of those criteria. He can reason just fine, and has never been unaware of reality. He just has different motivations than the rest of us.
Rather than insane, he is evil. If the rest of us weren’t insane ourselves, we’d identify evil when we saw it, and act accordingly.
Unfortunately, as far as Western jurisprudence is concerned, the category “evil” no longer has any meaning. God has been entirely removed from public life, and scientific investigation cannot identify an entity or condition known as “evil”. Therefore evil does not exist.
So Anders Behring Breivik gets to spend a long, long time in an institution for the criminally insane. Are Norwegian loony bins as luxurious as its prisons?
Hat tip for the Local story: Fjordman.
Behring Breivik has been declared criminally insane. The psychologists conclude that he has developed paranoid schizophrenia over a long period of time thus making him the person he is today. This mental illness has symptoms such as delusions of greatness and persecution resulting in a drastic change of personality.
This conclusion will be followed up by a further nine specialists to ensure the quality of the report. This news will however yield minor consequence for the main negotiations. Behring Breivik must be declared guilty of his actions at the Ministry of Government and the murders at Utøya in order for the courts to transfer him to forced mental health care [also known as “lifetime” in Norway, seeing as though you have to be declared “not a threat to society” in order to be released].
A slightly longer report in English from The Local:
Norway Mass Killer May Avoid Jail: Prosecutor
Anders Behring Breivik, who carried out the July 22nd attacks that killed 77 people in Norway, may never go to jail after psychiatrists ruled him criminally insane, a prosecutor said on Tuesday. Instead, the 32-year-old gunman could spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh told reporters in Oslo.
The prosecutor was speaking after forensic experts submitted a psychiatric evaluation on Tuesday in which they found the gunman “insane”. “In such instances that the person suffers from such a serious disorder that it would not be warranted to sentence him to prison… he can be ordered to stay in mental health care institutions,” said Bejer Engh.
The 243-page psychiatric report found that Behring Breivik had over time developed “paranoid schizophrenia,” with two experts describing a person in his own “delusional universe,” another prosecutor, Svein Holden, said. Holden said the report also concluded that the right-wing extremist had “grandiose illusions whereby he believes he is to determine who is to live and who is to die.” He “committed these executions out of love for his people as he describes it,” Holden said.
Several points are worth noting.
First of all, if Mr. Breivik is insane, then none of us “Islamophobes” can be blamed for his actions. However, since he remains a “right-wing extremist”, the obvious implication is that others who oppose mass immigration and Islamization are also insane — we just haven’t committed any crimes yet.
In other words, Norwegian “Islamophobes” should beware: the men in white coats may soon be paying them a visit.
In my own untutored opinion, however, Mr. Breivik is not insane, but rather a psychopath. Insanity manifests itself as an inability to reason and/or an inability to perceive reality. Based on his writings, Mr. Breivik doesn’t match either of those criteria. He can reason just fine, and has never been unaware of reality. He just has different motivations than the rest of us.
Rather than insane, he is evil. If the rest of us weren’t insane ourselves, we’d identify evil when we saw it, and act accordingly.
Unfortunately, as far as Western jurisprudence is concerned, the category “evil” no longer has any meaning. God has been entirely removed from public life, and scientific investigation cannot identify an entity or condition known as “evil”. Therefore evil does not exist.
So Anders Behring Breivik gets to spend a long, long time in an institution for the criminally insane. Are Norwegian loony bins as luxurious as its prisons?
Hat tip for the Local story: Fjordman.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/28/2011
Moody’s is warning that every EU country having the euro as its currency may see its credit rating downgraded if a solution to the Eurozone debt crisis cannot be found. China, which previously declined to help the EU by buying additional bonds, is eyeing investments in European infrastructure such as railways and factories. European countries are desperate for cash, so the Chinese may be able to pick up some bargain items during the debt crisis.Meanwhile, some analysts believe that the only hope for Europe is a bailout by the Federal Reserve.
In other news, Germany has called for direct peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad, Part IV
This is the fifth of an eight-part history of the Transatlantic Counterjihad. Links to the first four parts are at the bottom of this post.
Many thanks to the Counterjihad Collective for all its hard work on this project.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad
by the Counterjihad Collective
IV. The Rosetta Stone Projects
Beginning in 2008, the Transatlantic Counterjihad has developed a streamlined system for the translation of texts and the subtitling of videos. The process we use has been dubbed the “Rosetta Stone Project”, in honor of the famous ancient Egyptian stele deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822.
When an important article, essay, or speech is published, a move is initiated among the various Counterjihad groups to have it translated into as many languages as possible. The influence of the text can be greatly extended if it is spread in multiple languages, and gives the author a much wider audience.If the text is needed for subtitling a video, the propagation of the resulting translations can multiply the impact of the original version far past its initial range. Generally speaking, the typical Internet user prefers videos over articles, and YouTube is particularly effective at the “viral” spread of video-based ideas.
The importance of any text or video is determined by reader responses. When a critical threshold is reached — say, requests for seven different languages — it triggers the convening of the Rosetta Stone Group, and word goes out to volunteer translators that their help is needed. Multiple translators are potentially available for all the major European languages, which increases the likelihood for a quick turnaround in any given project.
Rosetta Stone projects in the past have included Geert Wilders’ movie Fitna, several of Mr. Wilders’ speeches, Col. Allen West’s speech at the Freedom Defense Initiative in Washington D.C., one of Pat Condell’s videos, and the videos of Ann Barnhardt burning the Koran (see detailed list below).
Twenty-two languages (in addition to English) were used in these projects: Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, and Welsh.
After the translated texts and/or subtitled videos have been made available, their distribution is coordinated via a “ring” of Counterjihad websites: Europe News, Gates of Vienna, ICLA, Politically Incorrect, Snaphanen, Tundra Tabloids, Uriasposten, Vlad Tepes, and other news sites and blogs. By mirroring these important posts at multiple sites in Europe, Canada, and the United States, their reach has been greatly extended. Many thousands of readers or viewers are thus able to access Counterjihad material — the kind of material that their own media outlets rarely feature — in dozens of different countries.
Notable Rosetta Stone Projects
Fitna, March 2008
Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog (21 languages)
Posts:
Ehsan Jami, An Interview with Mohammed, December 2008
Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Italian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Swedish (13 languages)
Posts:
Speech by LTC (ret.) Allen West, February-April 2010
Speech given on February 19, 2010, at the launch of the Freedom Defense Initiative, organized by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
Albanian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish (15 languages)
Posts:
Geert Wilders, April 2010
Speech on March 5, House of Lords, showing of Fitna
Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Welsh (19 languages)
Posts:
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_02.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_03.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_05.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_06.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_08.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_09.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_10.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_11.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_14.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_15.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_18.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_21.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_25.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part-4.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/05/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/05/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_21.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/05/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part_25.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/06/rosetta-stone-for-geert-wilders-part.html
Pat Condell, November 2010, video on freedom of speech
Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish (10 languages)
Ann Barnhardt’s Koran-burning videos, April 2011
Albanian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, and French (7 languages)
Next: Part V, Official Opposition to the Transatlantic Counterjihad
Previously:
| 2011 | Nov | 24 | Part I, Introduction | |||
| 25 | Part II, Conferences | |||||
| 26 | Part III(a), The Transatlantic Counterjihad at the OSCE | |||||
| 27 | Part III(b), The Transatlantic Counterjihad at the OSCE (cont.) |
Intimidating the “Racists” of Lieksa
For many years Sweden was far ahead of Finland in its embrace of the joys of cultural enrichment. The Swedes were actively importing massive numbers of Third World immigrants — especially Muslims — decades before the Finns began. However, in recent years Finland’s ruling class has decided to catch up with Sweden and other multicultural utopias in Europe. Nowadays the benefits of mass immigration are relentlessly touted to Finish citizens.
Those who resist are being demonized as — you guessed it — “racists”. Like Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada, Finland has passed laws against “incitement against a religious or ethnic group”. The Finnish oligarchs are now using these legal means to ensure that their citizens accept their multicultural fate — or else.
The Finnish blogger Vasarahammer posted the following guest-essay at Tundra Tabloids about the increasingly totalitarian tactics employed against one particularly “racist” town in the north of Finland.
Finnish government fights internet racism
The Norwegian blogger Fjordman has sometimes described Sweden as softly totalitarian politically correct tyranny, meaning that dissidents who step out of line are punished by social exclusion or, at worst, by losing their job. However, there is no direct persecution by the state like in the Soviet bloc during the Cold War. Dissidents are neither sentenced to forced labor nor committed to mental hospitals like they used to be in the Soviet Union.
The Swedish way of controlling dissent is subtle. It does not rely on the state to carry out the actual punishment, but the media and the government organizations perform the task without resorting to force. In some cases, though, the self-styled anti-fascists do intimidate the opponents of the state ideology, but the state is not directly involved in the attempt to force the representatives of dissident political organizations to cease their activities.
It can be argued that the Swedes have had decades to fine-tune their methods of marginalizing dissent and keeping matters related to immigration outside of mainstream political discussion. Finland, on the other hand, still tries to learn the methods of controlling dissent, since the Finnish multicultural project began as late as in the early 1990s, when the arrival of Somalis from the Soviet Union spelled the end of the strict Finnish immigration policy of earlier decades.
Since then the Finnish authorities have tried to combat racism in different ways that are very familiar to everyone living in a politically correct society. The crude propaganda highlighting the positive aspects of multiculturalism is matched with demonization of racists, meaning those who do not embrace the multicultural project with adequate enthusiasm.
The Finnish way also relies more heavily on courts and law enforcement as a tool to suppress racist thought. This can be seen clearly in the case of Lieksa below, as well as in the several court cases in which internet bloggers have been convicted of incitement to ethnic hatred.
Lieksa — the “racist” city
The town of Lieksa located near the eastern border of Finland is famed for its natural beauty and the landscapes of Lake Pielinen. However, recently the town hit the headlines in Finnish media with allegations of racism.
Lieksa is a fairly typical town in the remote parts of Finland. The population is aging and the young people are moving out to the big cities in the southern part of the country to escape the high unemployment.
Lieksa has also had a high availability of empty municipally-owned flats. The political leaders of the town decided that by giving the flats to the asylum seekers from the nearby Kontiolahti asylum-seeker reception center they would solve the problem of empty flats. So two hundred asylum-seekers, mainly from Somalia and Iraq, were given municipal flats and got to stay in Lieksa mostly living on social security benefits.
Some local politicians openly questioned the long-term financial viability of the plan. They saw that asylum seekers would become a permanent drain on the municipal economy. It was then that the campaign against Lieksa was started. The main regional newspaper Karjalainen published several articles highlighting the racism in Lieksa and how it spoils the reputation of the town. The paper was backed by the chief of North Karelian police Kai Markkula who stated:
“What distinguishes Lieksa from Joensuu is the fact that negative attitudes towards immigrants are a lot stronger and visible in all social groups.”
Joensuu is the main city in the North Karelian region and had problems with skinhead violence in the 1990s. Those events were said to have spoiled the reputation of Joensuu, since they received a lot of media coverage at the time. In his statement Markkula implies that the local politicians in Lieksa are also responsible for the negative attitudes, not only the local youths. It must also be noted that the local politicians who have criticized the reception of asylum seekers are not members of the Finns party but Social Democrats and Center Party members.
By comparing the current situation in Lieksa to the events in Joensuu the chief of police is trying to stop the complaints about asylum seekers and make people of Lieksa accept the new multicultural reality.
This did not happen. Instead, some local young people from Lieksa launched a racist Facebook group, which did, in fact, contain some fairly unpleasant postings, most of which have been removed by now. The group attracted the attention of national media and the North Karelian police were forced to act. The police arrested nine people suspected of incitement of ethnic hatred, two of them with gross incitement of ethnic hatred, a new crime recently introduced to the Finnish law that carries the maximum penalty of four years imprisonment.
The police said that those arrested were between 15 and 51 years of age. One of the suspects was a 15-year-old girl. It must be noted that the suspects were taken into police custody solely because of the posts in the Facebook group. The suspects were not accused of actual violence or planning of specific violent acts.
Internet racism targeted
The North Karelian police were supported by the Chief police officer of Finland Mikko Paatero who congratulated them for the job well done. It is not yet clear whether the perpetrators of the Facebook crime will be prosecuted and on what grounds. However, the police did their best to intimidate the racists of Lieksa.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry recently published a report about the implementation of the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. In that report, the following was stated:
“Criticism of immigration and hate speech on the internet have increased that is fought against by monitoring of the internet. An essential part of the work to intensify the monitoring of the internet is also to educate the public to inform actively on crimes they observe on the internet through a system of hint via internet.”
Following the Norwegian example, Finnish police have launched a website that allows people to report racist content in the internet. Using that site anyone can turn in any website that the informer thinks is against the law. It is also possible to report anonymously.
According to the Finnish police, there have been 1028 tips on racism in 2010, out of which 22 led to measures. What is interesting in the statement above is the fact that the police are actively fighting against criticism of immigration as such. It is not just those who plan to carry out violent acts that are targeted by the police but also people expressing their opinion about immigration.
Meanwhile the crude propaganda advertising the benefits of immigration from countries like Somalia goes on. Newspaper Karjalainen published an op-ed, in which the paper expressed concern about able pairs of hands. According to Karjalainen, Finland needs immigration:
“The most attention to the job opportunities available for immigrants should be paid in Lieksa, in which the population is aging faster than average and the need for able pairs of hands is high.”
In the article Karjalainen is promoting the official lie saying that immigrants from Somalia and Iraq will rescue Finnish society from the impending labor shortage. This lie is repeated over and over again, even thought the fact remains that roughly ten per cent of Somalis work for a living and few have skills most needed in contemporary Western society.
Recently Finnish anti-racists have tried to borrow expertise from Sweden. Far-left anti-racist Lisa Bjurwald’s recent book about the European far right was published in Finnish recently. Bjurwald has allegedly monitored Finnish politics after the electoral success of the True Finns party. According to Bjurwald, the Sweden Democrats would not be stupid enough to express openly racist and homophobic statements like some representatives of the True Finns party have done.
There is an element of shame in supporting the Sweden Democrats openly. In addition, the support may turn out to be physically dangerous. However, such an element does not exist for the True Finns party. The conformism and the need to maintain a politically correct facade are part of Swedish society, but not so much in Finland. That is why Bjurwald’s flawed analysis, which is not based on actual understanding of Finnish politics but moral narcissism, will not benefit the Finnish anti-racists. That is why, they will have to rely on the law enforcement to do their bidding in the future as well.
A Message from Fjordman
People have been inquiring about the success of Fjordman’s recent fund-raising effort, and he sends this FAQ to answer some of their questions about the Fjordman Relocation Fund.
A message to all readers and donors to the relocation fund
— Fjordman
A message to all readers and donors to the relocation fund
| 1. | Yes, I have a bank account and I put all the donations there. Obviously I don’t want to publish my bank account number on the Internet. |
| 2. | Yes, I do get the money you donate to me via Vlad Tepes’ PayPal account. Just be sure to mark it “for Fjordman” so Vlad will know to set it aside for me. |
| 3. | Yes, People have been most generous. I am grateful for that. |
| 4. | Yes, I have been acknowledging your gifts. Due to the turmoil in my life, it will take time to get through all of them but all donors with a working email address will receive a response from me. |
| 5. | The primary goal of this fund drive was to find a safer place to live, thus the title for my fundraiser. Due to my donors’ generosity, I was able to cover the expenses associated with moving out of my old flat in Oslo. From there, I went to a safe location elsewhere. |
| 6. | Another expense has been legal costs. I never thought I’d receive enough funding to begin to pay for those. I hope people don’t mind that some of their gifts were allocated for this. Yes, I will have to deal with most of the legal costs later, but all of you have given me a good start. |
| 7. | Yes, I have been investigated and finally let go by the police. Technically I am only a “witness”, though what I was supposed to have witnessed is still a mystery. However this “witness” status entitled me to having my apartment ransacked and my computer equipment and personal belongings confiscated by the police. Ironically, had I actually been charged with something, I would’ve had the right to legal counsel. But since they simply “investigated” me without ever giving me a reason, I now have to pay all the legal expenses myself. |
| 8. | The reason for legal representation was the police investigation. Had my lawyer not been present, the police dealings with me might have been worse. Even my lawyer was taken aback at how I was treated in his presence. |
| 9. | The latest police information is that I have been “checked out” from the Breivik case. As I tried to tell them in the beginning, the police didn’t find anything to tie me to Breivik because there was nothing to find in the first place. I even got my socks back, after 100 days in captivity. |
— Fjordman
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/27/2011
The incident on the Afghan-Pakistani border yesterday in which NATO forces killed at least 24 Pakistani troops has caused civil unrest in Pakistan. Mobs took to the streets and burned President Obama in effigy, as well as American flags. Sources in NATO say that its troops were acting in self-defense, that the Pakistanis opened fire first.In other news, Moody’s has raised an eyebrow at Austria’s bonds, causing the Austrian government to take action to save its AAA bond rating. The issue is Austria’s questionable loans to its Eastern neighbors. Much of its investments in Eastern European debt consists of “toxic” assets, so Austria is pulling back its lending to Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and other countries in the former Soviet Bloc. Economists in the affected countries fear a credit crunch as a result.
To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Gaia, Insubria, Nick, Tartan Marine, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
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Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
The Arab Spring Sing-Along
Bob Dylan channels his astral self into a musically-inclined group of Palestinian activists.
The latest from Latma:
Hat tip: Steen.
The latest from Latma:
Hat tip: Steen.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad, Part III(b)
This is the fourth of an eight-part history of the Transatlantic Counterjihad. Links to the first three parts are at the bottom of this post. The section on Counterjihad participation at OSCE “Human Dimension” meetings had to be split into two posts, and this is the second of those posts.
A debt of gratitude is owed to the Counterjihad Collective for its efforts in this project.
A Brief History of the Transatlantic Counterjihad
by the Counterjihad Collective
III. The Transatlantic Counterjihad at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (continued)
Speaking in plenary sessions:
Session I:
From Commitments to Implementation: Freedom of Religion or Belief in the OSCE Area
At the beginning of the main session, speakers representing several NGOs made reference to a recent murder in Dresden, Germany, in which a woman of Egyptian descent had been stabbed by a Russian immigrant. They voiced the opinion that OSCE participant countries should be much more assertive in countering any form of racism or anti-Islamic activities. The representative of COJEP (originally rooted in Millî Görüs) reiterated the call for governments to stop racism and anti-Islamic activities everywhere.
More on-topic, several speakers commented on the increase in vandalism against Jewish and Christian buildings, in particular the destruction of some 150 Christian buildings in Kosovo.
Benjamin Bull of the Alliance Defence Fund raised several issues for Christian organisations:
The misapplication of hate speech laws to stifle any religious expression.
The misapplication of anti-discrimination laws to force religious organisations to hire staff with beliefs and viewpoints contrary to that of the organisation.
Revoking tax benefits on basis of the above, or banning Christian organisations from university campuses, thus severely hampering the activities of these organisations.
ICLA fought for — and won — the opportunity to make this comment:
Referring to several speakers, ICLA agrees that the increasing frequency of vandalism against Christian and Jewish interests is a problem. Examples of these incidents are frequent, from relatively benign harassment over desecration to the extensive destruction of cultural heritage in Kosovo, as the Serbian speaker noted. This is a severe problem in upholding genuine freedom of religion. ICLA recommends that OSCE participating states act to protect citizens against such acts of intimidation.
On the other hand, ICLA firmly believes that religions do not need or deserve protection against free speech and criticism.
On a supplementary note: In spite of this being off-topic for this conference, speakers have made reference to the recent brutal murder in Dresden. We have full confidence in the German legal system to handle this criminal act, and emphasize that such events, not matter now evil, should not be used as a pretext for assaulting freedom of expression or implementing draconian legislation.
After the session, the official representative of Denmark approached us, thanking for the fine statement. It is notable, however, that the government representatives paid to be there are not making clear statements defending our civil liberties. Such problems are key reasons that good NGOs need to participate at OSCE, or bad OSCE recommendations may eventually lead to bad national law.
Using printed material
At the conference, the Karl Martell Network representative brought 100 copies of Sam Solomon’s A Proposed Charter for Muslim Understanding. The Charter is a concise proposal for ironing out material differences between the Islamic and the Christian worlds. It was picked up by many, including representatives of the Holy See.
During the break Turkish representatives approached us, lamenting that the Charter text implied that there is some kind of connection between Islam and terrorism, a linkage they found absolutely reprehensible. While terrorism certainly is reprehensible as such, the fact that thousands of terrorists use Islam as a justification for their deeds does need to be addressed, and it should be no problem for moderate Muslims to unconditionally condemn terrorism, be it in the name of Islam or otherwise. The representatives apparently did not find our points of view convincing, so in the next plenary session they talked extensively against the ‘Islamophobic’ Charter and the inappropriateness of talking of any link between Islam and terrorism. Predictably, many more picked up the Charter to see for themselves, and by the end of the day, the stock of printed Charters was almost depleted.
Submitting papers
At the same conference, ICLA submitted a paper about the dangers of Islamic enclaves in the West, where Sharia law is being quietly introduced, the rights of women suppressed, and freedom of belief and expression undermined. This caused COJEP to immediately issue a press release condemning the ‘Islamophobic’ nature of the document. The document is available in the OSCE archive.
At the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 28 September 2009 - 9 October 2009, several more papers were submitted by the Counterjihad activists. For working session 12-13, Freedom of expression, free media and information, a paper entitled “Freedom of Expression: New challenges, new responses” was submitted. It took up issues of intimidation, misuse of “hate speech” legislation and in particular “Libel tourism”. Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, the main opponent of “Libel tourism”, was very helpful addressing this issue at OSCE. The recommendation that libel laws in Britain (specifically England and Wales) be reformed was included in the summary document from the conference, available in an OSCE document.
Freedom House has had libel tourism on the agenda for several years, and it was brought up at a side event “Freedom on the Internet”. That led to a heated debate with an English lawyer who did not like the pressure to change their libel laws, in spite of the abuse the laws were open to.
The consolidated pressure, however, led the British government to introduce the needed reforms less than half a year later. See the report from The Guardian.
The moves against libel tourism were applauded by the OSCE media freedom representative.
Doing something really controversial:
Speaking out against religiously sanctioned domestic violence
These participations and contributions may rattle a few nerves among those not committed to free speech and civil liberties as known in the West, but the OSCE also presents opportunities to bring seriously controversial material on the table. At the conference Gender Equality, 5-6 November 2009 (Warsaw), religiously sanctioned violence against women was taken up in the plenary session. By quoting scripture (Quran 4:34) used as justification to beat disobedient wives, the Counterjihad representative caused the room to enter pin-drop silence. The exact intervention was:
Thank you for a very powerful presentation. You mentioned the strain of migration in your report. Here in Europe we also face a huge influx of migrants, including many of the Muslim faith.
One issue that has been left out until now, it seems to me, is violence against women that is backed by principles of the Muslim faith. I do not have to tell you about the honor killings in Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, among other countries; as well as forced marriages, in addition to the Koranic verse 4:34, which says — and I quote:
You have rights over your wives and they have rights over you. You have the right that they should not defile your bed and that they should not behave with open unseemliness. If they do, God allows you to put them in separate rooms and to beat them but not with severity. If they refrain from these things, they have the right to their food and clothing with kindness. Lay injunctions on women kindly, for they are prisoners with you having no control of their own persons. (Guillaume’s translation, p. 651) (Ibn Ishaq)
Why are not discussing this issue here and at other occasions in a depth that does justice to this problem?
I therefore recommend that ODIHR urgently start a working group on violence against women in Islam in order to find out how to best approach this in the context of the OSCE human dimension.
Predictably, this caused a series of reactions, in particular from people and organisations who thought this should not be debated at all. COJEP pointed out that this came from the same people who demanded that Islam distances itself from terrorism, and called the intervention “hate speech”. This accusation was strongly countered by the country representative of Austria, who said:
I object to a certain debate culture which is employed more and more often by a certain group of participants. Disagreement with someone else’s opinion is immediately denounced as hate speech. The accusation of hate speech is a serious one. We have been dealing intensively with this phenomenon in these human dimension meetings for many years. We take part in these human dimension meetings precisely because we need to find solutions to the current grave problems. The localization and identification of the problems and their implications are an important prerequisite to finding a solution.
Now if a certain negative social behaviour — and here I am alluding to this meeting’s topic — such as FGM and forced marriages, is manifested only in very specific religious and ethnic migrant groups, it must be possible to identify this group. This is not stereotyping, but a fact, and definitely not hate speech.
To conclude, educating female milk farmers in [the Austrian state of] Styria on the dangers of FGM will not be helpful.
See the full report from the conference.
After the bulk of this report was composed, representatives of ICLA and BPE attended another series of OSCE “Human Dimension” meetings in late October and early November of 2011. These were particularly important events to attend, since the official title of these sessions was the “Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Prevention of Racism, Xenophobia and Hate Crimes Through Educational Awareness Raising Initiatives”. Needless to say, standing against “Islamophobia” was the sine qua non of this meeting, which was heavily attended by proxies for the OIC.
Extensive reports on the sessions may be found in the following articles:
- ESW: Liveblogging In Vienna
- Steering Public Discourse
- Fallacies That Deserve Correction
- Towards a “Responsible” Freedom of Speech in Europe
- Islamophobia, Islamic Slander, and the OSCE
- The OSCE Fights Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna
- When Good Intentions Go Bad
- ESW: The ACT! For America Interview at OSCE
- OSCE: The murky waters of political correctness
Below is a comprehensive list of reports from earlier OSCE conferences:
- europenews.dk/en/node/25169
- europenews.dk/en/node/26733
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/07/report-on-osce-roundtable.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/10/icla-meets-osce-round-2.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/11/hate-speech-accusations-at-osce-meeting.html
- gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/11/osce-islam-and-violence-against-women.html
- missioneuropakmartell.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/report-on-the-osce-supplementary-human-rights-dimension-meeting-november-2009
- www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/osce--what-is-a-message-crime.html
- www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/the-organization-for-security-and-cooperation-in-europe-osce-and-the-counterjihad.html
- www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/at-the-osce-straight-talk-about-womens-rights-in-islam.html
- www.libertiesalliance.org/2009/07/20/international-civil-liberties-alliance-at-the-organization-for-security-and-co-operation-in-europe-osce
- www.libertiesalliance.org/2009/11/07/pax-europa-at-osce-meeting-in-vienna-november-2009-gender-equality-and-the-threat-from-religious-law/
- www.libertiesalliance.org/conferences/vienna-osce-supplementary-human-dimension-meeting-9-10-july-2009
- www.libertiesalliance.org/conferences/vienna-osce-supplementary-human-dimension-meeting-on-gender-equality-5-6-november-2009/
- www.libertiesalliance.org/conferences/warsaw-osce-human-dimension-implementation-meeting-soffitel-victoria-28-september-2009-9-october-2009
- www.osce.org/odihr/39431
List of papers submitted to the OSCE:
- www.osce.org/odihr/38041
- www.osce.org/odihr/38042
- www.osce.org/odihr/38043
- www.osce.org/odihr/38941
- www.osce.org/odihr/39431
- www.osce.org/odihr/39489
Next: Part IV, The Rosetta Stone Projects
Previously:
| 2011 | Nov | 24 | Part I, Introduction | |||
| 25 | Part II, Conferences | |||||
| 26 | Part III(a), The Transatlantic Counterjihad at the OSCE |
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