The eternal horror of the Islamic mind: Links 1 on July 6 – 2015

1. Tied to a tree and shot at nightfall: ISIS releases chilling video of two activists being interrogated and then executed for handing out anti-Shariah leaflets in Raqqa

ISIS have executed two brave media activists in Raqqa, releasing a graphic video of their interrogation and brutal execution in an attempt to deter other activists in the Syrian city.

The 21-year-old media activists are named as Bashar Abdul Atheem and Faisal Hasan Al Habib, local residents in Raqqa, who were working against ISIS.

Unconfirmed reports claim the two men were working as part of the renowned Syrian activist group, ‘raqqa is being slaughtered silently’.

In the video, the two young men are accused of being ‘informants’ and were allegedly caught handing out anti-Shariah leaflets in ISIS’s de-facto capital city, Raqqa.

Following their arrest, the activists are shown wearing orange jumpsuits. They appear to sitting in a dimly lit interrogation room, where they are questioned about their activities.

(I’m no expert but if I had to guess, I would say that the Islamic State is a little past the anti sharia flyer stage of resistance)

2. Canadian woman and actual feminist (exceedingly rare such that it is) goes to fight for human rights against the Islamic State with the Kurds

A former model who swapped her comfortable life to fight ISIS in Syria has told of the horrors of her time in battle on the frontline.

Stunning Tiger Sun said she saw a little girl, who had been blown up by a landmine, die because the Kurds have no medical training.

She also revealed how, on patrol, she trod on a charred finger and looked round – but couldn’t find the body it belonged to.

The former model, 46, fought jihadist fighters from Islamic State for four months with the Kurdish YPJ (People’s Protection Units), until her legs buckled under the weight of her kit and malnutrition forced her to return home to Canada.

(Photos and videos at site)

3. Egypt looks set to approve disputed anti-terror law

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to approve the law this week, after pledging tough measures against militants who have bedevilled the country since the army’s ouster of his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The former army chief has led an extensive crackdown on the Islamist opposition and militants, vowing to eradicate Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement and jihadists.

But one year into Sisi’s rule, his government was stunned by the assassination of state prosecutor Hisham Barakat on June 29.

Barakat’s killing in a car bombing was followed by large-scale attacks on soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula, prompting the cabinet to rush through the law over the objections of rights groups.

“It’s a disaster to see the state pass such a law in an atmosphere charged with calls for revenge,” said Gamal Eid, a lawyer who heads the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

4. Jordan foils Iran terror plot

BEIRUT – Dramatic reports have emerged in Jordan that the country’s security forces have stopped an Iranian terror plot following the arrest of a man affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Jordan’s leading Al-Rai newspaper first broke the story of the thwarted terror plot early Monday, reporting that security forces had arrested an Iraqi-Norwegian national in possession of 45 kilograms of explosives in the north of the country.

A source told the daily that the man was affiliated with an Iranian group and was plotting terror attacks in Jordan.

“This case is the largest in ten years in terms of the amount of explosive materials and their quality,” the source explained.

The Jordanian paper later took down the story, replacing it with a newer version explaining that Jordan’s State Security Court issued a decision banning the publication of stories related to the issue of the arrested man.

Later in the day, AFP cited a judicial source as saying that “security services thwarted a terrorist plan at the last minute which was going to be carried out by an Iraqi on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force,” the special forces branch of the IRGC.

5. Euronews video on the Turkish protests of Chinese resistance to Islamic reshaping of their society

6. Chinese embassy issues travel warning for Turkey

(But it should probably by the Korean government)

7. The Islamic State is crafting videos which are much more sophisticated than just good editing and effects. They are getting training at a Hollywood level

(Well they are getting first rate weapons and US help to disarm those who fight against them, so this shouldn’t be a surprise)

Yes, ISIS videos are of far higher quality than are those of other groups – we would say they are, technically, a generation ahead of most others. But there’s something else going on here that people are cueing on. We would argue that, visually, ISIS videos mimic what could be called a “Hollywood visual style.” And this is being done so systematically and carefully that, while its entirely possible that it’s accidental, we find that very unlikely.

While there has been a great deal of work done on the way ISIS uses Social Media to distribute their materials, our focus is on the content of their output, specifically, on their visual material. We believe this focus is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the enormous amount of empirical research that argues that visual material, in many contexts, can actually be more powerful than textual. That is to say, the image can trump the word: it more effectively draws the viewer’s attention, it is remembered more accurately and for a longer period of time.

8. Canada’s immigration services fail again as they let in Hanoi Jane to rabble rouse for communists in Toronto

Thank you Buck, Richard, M. and all who sent in materials. More to come shortly.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

16 Replies to “The eternal horror of the Islamic mind: Links 1 on July 6 – 2015”

  1. Given what passes for intelligence in many of our Hollywood types the fact that they are teaching (or possibly making the videos) ISIS how to make better propaganda videos is not surprising.

  2. DAILY MAIL – ISIS sends another child to his violent death: Suicide bomber, aged just FOURTEEN, kills 50 Kurdish fighters’ in Syria

    ISIS named the deceased boy as 14-year-old Omar Hadid al-Muhammadi
    Claim he slaughtered 50 members of Kurdistan Worker’s Party last night
    Last month, Talha Asmal became UK’s youngest suicide bomber at 17
    Attack happened in Ras al-Ayn, Hasakah, which ISIS has tried to conquer
    Thousands of Christian families recently fled the area, anticipating attack

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3150991/ISIS-sends-child-violent-death-Suicide-bomber-aged-just-FOURTEEN-kills-50-Kurdish-fighters-Syria.html

  3. Lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev file motion for new trial

    BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – Monday afternoon lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev formally filed an appeal for a new trial.

    The filing comes just a few weeks after Tsarnaev was formally sentenced to death by a judge.

    According to paperwork filed by his lawyers this is a preliminary motion based on the sentencing.

    http://ftpcontent3.worldnow.com/wfxt/pdf/150706-Tsarnaev-new-trial.pdf

    http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/29483832/lawyers-for-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-file-motion-for-new-trial

  4. Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Jos blasts kill scores (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33406537

    “Two bomb attacks on the central Nigerian city of Jos have left at least 44 people dead, the authorities say.

    A restaurant and a mosque were targeted on Sunday night.

    No-one has claimed responsibility but militant group Boko Haram has attacked Jos before, even though it is not in north-east Nigeria where the Islamists normally operate.

    The blasts are the latest in a series of deadly attacks in recent days which have seen more than 200 people killed.

    The attacks came shortly after the Ramadan fast was broken, with both sites full of people.
    Of the 44 dead, 23 were killed at the restaurant and 21 at the mosque, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says….”

  5. Moroccan women in Inezgane court over dress (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33410759

    “Two women have gone on trial in Morocco on charges of “gross indecency” for wearing skirts.
    The two were arrested in Inezgane last month, after a market trader drew attention to what they were wearing and a crowd gathered round, reports say.

    An internet petition calling the arrest an attack on personal freedom has attracted thousands of signatures.

    There was controversy in May when a Jennifer Lopez performance in Morocco was considered “sexually suggestive”.

    There have been a number of demonstrations over the case in Morocco, with protesters saying that women should be free to wear what they want.

    Activists also gathered at the court house on Monday to support the detainees.

    The two women, 23 and 29, are being tried under an article in the penal code which says that anyone found guilty of committing an act of “public obscenity” can be jailed for up to two years.
    The judge will give a verdict on 13 July.”

  6. Greek island of Lesbos struggles to cope with migrant influx (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33413051

    “Record-breaking numbers of migrants are arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos, overwhelming local authorities, local police say.

    About 1,600 landed on the island on Saturday alone, the island’s chief of police said. Police said they were working 24 hours a day to process the new arrivals but can only manage 300-500 per day.

    More migrants landed on the island in June than in the whole of the previous year, according to the UN.

    There were approximately 15,000 arrivals in June, compared with 12,187 in 2014. Lesbos has a population of just over 86,000….”

  7. Islamic State ‘recaptures north Syria town from Kurds’ (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33413049

    “Islamic State militants are reported to have regained control of a town near their northern Syrian stronghold of Raqqa from Kurdish-led forces.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said jihadists overran Ain Issa and nearby villages before noon on Monday.

    But a spokesman for the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) said it was still resisting the IS assault.

    YPG fighters and allied Syrian rebels only seized Ain Issa two weeks ago….”

  8. Yemen crisis: Many die in Saudi-led coalition air strike (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33408473

    “An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition has killed at least 30 people in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, witnesses there have said.

    It is unclear how many of the dead were were civilians or Houthi rebels who the coalition planes have been targeting.

    The rebels captured the capital, Sanaa last year, forcing President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi into exile.

    Some 3,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led campaign began in March, the UN says.
    The latest strike hit a marketplace in Fayoush, a suburb of Aden, witnesses there said.

    “[There was] blood from people mixed with that of the sheep and other livestock at the market,” one resident told the Associated Press news agency…”

  9. Iraqi air force jet accidentally bombs Baghdad (BBC, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33412997

    “At least eight people have been killed after a “technical problem” caused a bomb to fall from an Iraqi military plane over Baghdad.

    The Iraqi air force say the Russian-made Sukhoi jet was returning from a bombing raid against Islamic State (IS) militants.

    The pilot made six attempts to dislodge the bomb after it became stuck during the attack, according to the military.

    It then fell as the plane overflew the capital, destroying several houses.

    “One of the bombs became stuck because of a technical problem, and during its [the aircraft’s] return to base it fell on… houses in Baghdad Jadida,” security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told the Associated Press news agency.

    The agency also reports that at least three children are among the dead.

    Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led airstrikes, have been fighting IS militants who control much of the west and north of the country.”

  10. Mali Extremist Traded for French Hostage Killed in Attack (abcnews, July 6, 2015?
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mali-extremist-traded-french-hostage-killed-attack-32258396

    “A Malian special forces spokesman says an Islamic extremist who was released last year in exchange for the freedom of a French hostage in Mali has been killed.

    Modibo Nama Traore said Monday that French special forces killed Mohamed Ali Ag Wadossene in an early Sunday morning operation in the Tigharghar mountains in north Mali’s Kidal region. A dozen others were arrested, he said.

    An official with the French special forces, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press, confirmed the operation.

    Ag Wadossene was among the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb members who kidnapped Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic in northern Mali in 2011. Ag Wadossene was captured, and then released in December 2014 for the freedom of French hostage Lazarevic.”

  11. Beijing issues travel warning after Turkey protests target Chinese (CNN, July 6, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/06/asia/china-turkey-warning/index.html

    “Beijing (CNN)China’s embassy in Turkey has issued a travel warning to its citizens after some tourists were “attacked and harassed” during anti-Chinese protests in Istanbul.

    The Chinese and Turkish governments are at odds over China’s treatment of the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group that live in China’s far western Xinjiang province.

    In a statement on its website, the Chinese embassy told Chinese tourists to be aware of their safety and avoid going out alone. It also advised them not to get close to protesters or photograph them….”

  12. Lawyer: 2 missing British girls believed married in Syria (CNN, July 6, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/05/middleeast/uk-isis-missing-girls-married/index.html

    “(CNN)Two of three British teenage girls who left the country in February, apparently to join ISIS in Syria, may now be married — but to whom?

    The Guardian newspaper, citing family members, is reporting that the pair have married men approved for them by ISIS. But a lawyer for the girls’ families told CNN he could not verify all aspects of the report.

    The lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, said that two of the girls are believed to now be married “to people in the territory of Syria. … We don’t know if they are ISIS fighters at the moment.”

    Akunjee said that one of the girls had called her family to tell them she was married. The other girl used a social media platform, he said, without giving more details….”

  13. Those self-radicalized, well-networking Lone Wolves…

    After Sousse, Tunisia struggles to contain jihadist groups (CNN, July 6, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/05/africa/sousse/index.html

    “Sousse, Tunisia (CNN)Ten days after Saif Al-Deen Al Rezgui’s rampage on the beach in Sousse, the Tunisian government is uncovering a terror network that reaches far beyond its borders. At the same time it is trying to rescue the country’s image among tourists while striking a balance between tougher security and preserving Tunisia’s democratic gains….”

  14. FGM app launches in Britain as school holiday danger zone nears (reuters, July 6, 2015)
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/06/us-britain-fgm-apps-idUSKCN0PG2IS20150706

    “LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A new app designed to educate young people about female genital mutilation (FGM) was launched in Britain on Tuesday amid a government crackdown on people who take girls abroad to undergo the practice during the summer holidays.

    Britain’s first FGM app, “Petals”, presents facts and information about the practice, offers a quiz to test the user’s knowledge and provides details on where young girls can receive help – including a direct link to an FGM advice line.

    FGM involves the partial or total removal of external genitalia and can cause serious physical and psychological problems and complications in childbirth.

    Some girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM, which is often seen as a gateway to marriage and a way of preserving a girl’s purity, when their parents take them abroad during school holidays to visit extended family, British security forces say.

    “Everyone has the right to live their life free from the fear of violence and abuse, and without experiencing the lasting trauma of female genital mutilation,” Nicky Morgan, Britain’s minister for women and equalities, said.

    “We need to raise awareness of this barbaric practice and ensure people know it is unacceptable and illegal,” she added in a statement ahead of an event in Westminster to launch the app, which was developed at the University of Coventry.

    The app was released a month after British Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to fast-track new FGM protection orders in time for the school summer holidays in Britain.

    The new legislation would see people suspected of trying to take a girl abroad for FGM asked to surrender their passport and travel documents, while those who breach the orders could face up to five years in prison….”