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Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.
Berlin opposes ‘privileging’ victims of racist violence (DW, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-opposes-privileging-victims-of-racist-violence/a-37389492
“The government opposes extending residency rights for foreign victims of German anti-immigrant violence, media report. The Interior Ministry’s statement came in response to an inquiry from a Green deputy…”
AfD judge barred from ruling on ‘political’ cases (DW, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.dw.com/en/afd-judge-barred-from-ruling-on-political-cases/a-37388170
“A Dresden judge has been relieved of some of his duties after giving a speech declaring an end to Germany’s “guilt cult” about the Holocaust. The court said Jens Maier, who is running as an AfD candidate, is biased…”
He may very well be biased, but what about the red guards? Arent those biased as well?
Erdogan tells off Merkel for using phrase ‘Islamist terrorism’ (thelocal, Feb 2, 2017)
https://www.thelocal.de/20170202/erdogan-tells-off-merkel-for-using-phrase-islamist-terrorism
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday rebuked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for using the expression “Islamist terrorism”, saying the phrase was not correct and saddened Muslims.
Speaking after a critical bilateral meeting with Erdogan, Merkel spoke of the need for Turkey and Germany to cooperate even further to fight against terror, including “Islamist terrorism” and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.
“We spoke in detail about… the questions of the fight against Islamist terrorism, against every form of terrorism, also the terrorism of the PKK,” she said alongside Erdogan at his palace in Ankara.
“We agree we want to cooperate, we are all affected by this. We agreed to have closer cooperation in the future,” she said.
Erdogan, sitting next to Merkel, was stony-faced as she spoke…”
So what is it? Muslims killing muslims, muslims killing infidels…. all of it in the most gruesome ways imaginable. If it isn’t Islamic terrorism what is it? I would really like to know.
Aarhus bans popular women-only swimming session (thelocal, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.thelocal.dk/20170202/aarhus-bans-popular-women-only-swimming-session
“The Aarhus City Council on Wednesday night voted overwhelmingly to scrap a nearly ten-year old gender-separated weekly programme at a public swimming hall.
The Gellerupbadet swimming hall in Denmark’s second largest city has offered a few hours of female-only swimming every Saturday for nearly ten years. The programme is primarily used by Muslim women from Gellerupparken, a housing estate where four out of five are from immigrant homes.
The council voted 26-5 to end the programme.
National government party Venstre was behind the move, saying that gender-separated swimming has no place in Denmark.
“Children and adults need to learn that it is completely natural to swim together regardless of religious belief. Therefore it is a disservice and not an integration initiative when special offers are made [to minorities, ed.],” the proposal read, according to TV2.
The council’s vote is unlikely to be the end of the matter, however. The Institute for Human Rights (Institut for Menneskerettigheder) said ahead of the council’s decision that it would likely file a complaint with Denmark’s Anti-Discrimination Board (Ligebehandlingsnævnet)….”
Denmark Purchases a Clue
Act 1 — Scene 2 — Take 1
(Scene 1 was the Motoons)
Austrian terror suspect ‘planned to bomb Ramstein Air Base’ (thelocal, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.thelocal.at/20170202/austrian-terror-suspect-planned-to-set-off-bomb-at-ramstein-air-base
“A 17-year-old suspected Islamic extremist who was arrested in Vienna planned to set off a pipe bomb near Ramstein Air Base in Germany but changed his mind because he didn’t want to “kill so many people,” according to a report in the weekly newspaper Falter…”
“…he didn’t want to “kill so many people…”
So, how many (fewer) “people” did he really want to kill?!?
This matter of numbers means absolutely squat when it comes to the profound evil of jihad.
Egyptian Academic Describes Donald Trump as ‘Messenger from God’ (moroccoworldnews, Feb 2, 2017)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/02/207350/egyptian-academic-describes-donald-trump-as-messenger-from-god/
“Controversial Egyptian academic and philosopher Murad Wahba has described President Donald Trump as a “messenger from God, sent to save humanity from the Islamic State.”
Wahba made the statement during an interview on Egyptian state television this week. No stranger to controversy himself, Wahba said about the November election, “Without exaggerating, if Clinton had come into power we would have fallen into a civilizational disaster.”
This is the reason why Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is happy about Trump’s election win Wahba said, “he [Trump] has saved civilization.”…”
Trump Muslim Ban: US to Investigate Social Media Accounts of Travelers (moroccoworldnews, Feb 2, 2017)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/02/207326/trump-muslim-ban-us-investigate-social-media-accounts-travelers/
“US authorities are set to investigate social media accounts of individuals travelling to the U.S. from the seven banned countries….”
Italian UIL launches Lampedusa pact of Mediterranean unions (ansamed, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2017/02/02/italian-uil-launches-lampedusa-pact-of-mediterranean-unions_35b4eaf0-3d96-40d0-8339-53a30654fb9e.html
“Trade union leaders from eight Mediterranean countries including Italy gathered on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Thursday for a meeting to promote “a sea of peace and work”.
The meeting is in response to “those in the world who want to build walls and barriers”, said Carmelo Barbagallo, leader of Italy’s third biggest trades union confederation UIL, who organised the event. The meeting was also attended by union leaders from Israel and Palestine, Tunisia (including Hassine Abbassi, a member of Tunisia’s National Dialogue Quartet that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015), Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Libya (with Nermin Sharif, the first woman general secretary of a trade union in north Africa) and by representatives of four religions. The aim is to create a network of social forces capable of relaunching dialogue between countries that are experiencing “a crisis condition emblematically and sadly respresented by the exodus of people trying to flee from poverty and persecution across this sea”, a joint statement read. The parties called for “more courage and more determination” in tackling the migration crisis with a new, “inclusive” approach not “based on security alone”, but which brings together the economic, social and cultural dimensions accompanied by work to “create opportunities for growth and employment” in source areas. In future, Barbagallo intends to extend the initiative to other Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece and Spain, and also to Syria “as soon as the difficult conditions in the country so allow”. Meanwhile, the unionists on Lampedusa agreed to meet once a year in each of the countries represented on a rotating basis.”
US halts refugee resettlement program with Malta (ahram, Feb 2, 2017)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/257450/World/Region/US-halts-refugee-resettlement-program-with-Malta.aspx
“A decade-old program to resettle a fixed quota of refugees arriving in the small, southern EU nation of Malta to the United States is another casualty of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.
U.S. Ambassador G. Kathleen Hill told Maltese media this week that the refugee resettlement program has been suspended for 120 days under the order.
It isn’t clear what will happen after the four months have elapsed. Hill said that the U.S. government is “reviewing the program” and the embassy is awaiting “further guidance” at the end of the 120 days.
More than 3,110 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since 2007 to help ease pressure on Malta from the influx of migrants arriving by boat from northern Africa.”
UAE protests Iran’s arming Yemen rebels with ‘drones’ (ahram, Feb 2, 2017)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/257445/World/Region/UAE-protests-Irans-arming-Yemen-rebels-with-drones.aspx
“The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it summoned the Iranian envoy to protest Tehran’s alleged arming of Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen, including providing drones, in their fight against the government.
The foreign ministry handed the charge d’affaires a “protesting memorandum concerning Iran’s illegal arming” of Huthi rebels, according to state news agency WAM.
It said that “Iranian weapons, including unmanned drones targeted recently by the Arab coalition, represent a flagrant violation” of UN Security Council resolutions…”
Turkey’s TV watchdog introduces new measures limiting terror attacks broadcasting (hurriyetdailynews, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-tv-watchdog-introduces-new-measures-limiting-terror-attacks-broadcasting.aspx?pageID=238&nID=109257&NewsCatID=341
“The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has introduced new measures limiting broadcasting after terror attacks.
In a meeting with representatives of broadcasters on Feb. 1, RTÜK gave information on broadcasting bans introduced with state of emergency decrees and the measures it will take if the rules are broken.
The meeting was reportedly organized to address “confusion” that has occurred regarding broadcasting under the ongoing state of emergency, which was declared after the failed July 2016 coup attempt. The measures have been distributed in document form to broadcasters’ representatives.
According to the new measures, broadcasters will only be permitted to report terror attacks with statements from officials and tickers, without footage from the scene. The phrase “breaking news” will not be permitted in the tickers.
The broadcasters will not be able to use any video footage or photographs of explosions or terror attacks other than those provided by officials. The moment of terror attacks and scenes showing the aftermath of the attack will not be broadcast, as well as the footage that shows people’s fear and panic at the site of the terror attack.
The measures also state that correspondents and anchors will not be permitted to “use exaggerated statements involving agitation.”
The ban on broadcasting the scene of attacks includes showing fire department vehicles, police vehicles, ambulance footage, witness accounts, officials at the scene, and evidence-collecting work.
No information regarding where the incident took place and no map of the scene will be permitted to be shown, neither will be the names of terrorist organizations suspected of carrying out the attack.
Broadcasts “including criticism and commentary” will also not be permitted according to the new regulation, while regular broadcast streaming will not be allowed to be interrupted for news that is part of the gag order.
RTÜK has placed special emphasis on attacks on what it described as three “brand cities” – Istanbul, the western province of ?zmir, and the southern province of Antalya.
Penalties will be imposed for broadcasters who do not comply with the rules. These penalties are outlined as follows: Broadcasting of the station that violated the rule for the first time will be suspended for a day. If the channel repeats the same act within a year, its broadcast will be able to be stopped for up to five days. If the station repeats the violation for a second time in one year, RTÜK will be able to suspend the channel’s broadcasting for 15 days. If the station repeats the violation for a third time, its media service provider license will be cancelled…”
Turkish ruling party deputy head calls Trump’s travel ban ‘racist’ (hurriyetdailynews, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-ruling-party-deputy-head-calls-trumps-travel-ban-racist.aspx?pageID=238&nID=109273&NewsCatID=510
“Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chair Yasin Aktay has described U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries as “racist.” …”
Iran ‘tested nuclear-capable cruise missile’ (gulfnews, Feb 2, 2017)
http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/iran/iran-tested-nuclear-capable-cruise-missile-1.1972069
“Iran tested a cruise missile called “Soumar” that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt reported on Thursday, citing unspecified intelligence sources.
No comment was immediately available from Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency or from Iranian authorities.
The newspaper said the Soumar cruise missile was built in Iran and travelled around 600km in its first known successful test. The missile is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have a range of 2,000 to 3,000km, the paper said, citing intelligence sources…”
US to impose sanctions against Iran entities (gulfnews, Feb 2, 2017)
http://gulfnews.com/news/americas/usa/us-to-impose-sanctions-against-iran-entities-1.1972416
“The United States is expected to impose sanctions on multiple Iranian entities as early as Friday following Tehran’s recent ballistic missile test, but in a way that will not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about eight Iranian entities were to be sanctioned, or “designated” in US legal jargon, for terrorism-related activities and about 17 for ballistic missile-related activities under separate existing US executive orders. The source declined to name the entities.
The sources said the new sanctions had been in the works for some time and that Iran’s decision to test-fire a ballistic missile on Sunday had helped to trigger US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose them..”
Taliban leaders among 32 killed in clashes, Helmand officials claim (khaama, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-leaders-among-32-killed-in-clashes-helmand-officials-claim-02789
“At least 32 militants including three commanders of the Taliban group were killed in a 3-day fighting in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, local officials claim.
Local officials are saying that the Taliban group launched a coordinated attack on Sangin district which was repulsed by the Afghan security forces.
The officials further added at least 40 militants were also wounded during the clashes with the Afghan security forces.
The provincial government media office in a statement said the Afghan forces were receiving close air support in their fight against the Taliban insurgents.
The statement further added that the attack has been fully repulsed and the Afghan forces continue to their clearance operation…”
Militants kidnap 2 doctors in Badghis province of Afghanistan (khaama, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.khaama.com/militants-kidnap-2-doctors-in-badghis-province-of-afghanistan-02790
“The anti-government armed militants have kidnapped two doctors in northwestern Badghis province of Afghanistan.
Local officials are saying the two doctors were working for the public health directorate and were kidnapped from Qads district.
The officials further added that the two doctors were on their way to visit a clinic in Qads district when they were stopped by the militants…”
Taliban kill pregnant woman, execute another girl for rejecting marriage proposal (khaama, Feb 2, 2017)
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-kill-pregnant-woman-execute-another-girl-for-rejecting-marriage-proposal-02791
“Amid growing violence against the women across the country, the Taliban militants have killed at least two women on various charges only this week.
The Taliban militants executed a pregnant and a girl in northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan in an apparent honor killing.
The local government officials said the pregnant was killed in the residence of her father late on Tuesday night.
Provincial governor’s spokesman Ahmad Navid Frotan said the woman had visited her father’s house three days ago in Yamgan district.
In the meantime, the provincial government media office in a statement said a young girl was shot dead by the Taliban early on Wednesday in Khambel Yaftal village.
The statement further added that the girl was shot dead in the presence of her family after the girl and her family repeated rejected marriage proposal from a local Taliban leader Mawlavi Saifullah.
The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the execution of the pregnant and the girl so far.
Badakshan is among the relatively volatile provinces in northeastern Afghanistan which has witnessed growing violence, mainly due to Taliban-led insurgency during the recent years.”
OT-
Recovering from surgery since Tuesday, so I’ll be scarce here for a few more days. If I do manage to post, you may recognize my new best friend, Morpheus.
I hope it wasn’t serious.
I had been wondering where you were. Miss you when you aren’t here.
Thank goodness you are on the mend, Yucki.
That stuff is adictive.
New study: Italy very likely to leave Eurozone
The EU may be at war with everyone, it might soon have to demonise another nation. A recent report by Mediobanca shows the chance of Italy leaving the Eurozone increased every year. The reason? No real growth since joining the euro has investors increasingly on the fence about the sustainability of Italian participation in the euro.
The report suggests the increasing doubts are based on two aspects. First of all, it is noted that
This means unless there is real growth in Italy and it can act on its own on monetary issues, the current levels of debt will remain or become more unsustainable.
Please click through and read the rest of the article.
Romanians riot against pro-EU government for ‘decriminalising corruption’
Posted on February 2, 2017 20:00
The pro-EU Romanian government released a new ordinance to ease and roll back current anti-corruption measures. This caused Romanian citizens to take to the streets in numbers that haven’t been seen since 1989.
The ordinance was pushed through parliament where the Socialist Party (PSD) has an absolute majority. It was adopted on January 31st at 10 pm and will come into effect 10 days after its proclamation. As a consequence, corruption cases against PSD members will be dropped. Both in and outside of parliament protesters and representatives called for the resignation of the government.
People are suspicious of this development for several reasons. PSD Prime Minister Victor Ponta withdrew from political life in 2015, after being blamed for the death of 60 people in a Bucharest nightclub. Party leader of the PSD Liviu Dragnea could not become Prime-Minister because of a previous conviction of voting fraud. Kalus Iohannis, President of Romania had vowed not to swear in anyone as Prime-Minister who already had been convicted. The PSD then proposed and appointed Sorin Grindeanu as Prime-Minister, who is seen as a puppet.
The nation’s anti-corruption chief Laura Codruta Kovesi, who prosecuted over 1,100 cases of corruption in the past three years, says:
https://gatestone.eu/romania-corruption-riots/
Any government that wants to decriminalize government corruption is a very bad government.
Putin, Orban meet in Moscow, discuss sanctions & refugee crisis
Turkish AK Party Deputy threatens to “shoot” Greece over Islet dispute
Posted on February 2, 2017 13:30
Tensions are again on the rise in the Aegean Sea, where Greece is increasingly confronted by belligerent language from Turkey asserting its claim over some little rocks sticking out of the Mediterranean. A Member of Parliament of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday even threatened with violence in retaliation for “games” allegedly played by Athens.
“I am warning Greece: You were saved owing to a cowardly [Turkish] admiral in 1996. Do not play the Kardak game with us. We will shoot you!,” tweeted Hüseyin Kocab?y?k, the AKP deputy from the city of Izmir. Some 21 years ago the two countries almost went to war over the islets, located some seven kilometres from the Turkish peninsula of Bodrum. They are called Imia in Greek and Kardak in Turkish.
According to Kocab?y?k, the chief of the Turkish navy had in 1996 contravened orders from the then-Prime Minister Tansu Çiller to destroy ships flying the Greek flag, daily Hürriyet reports. “The Greek impertinence in the Aegean is continuing because the political order was not followed on that day. However, the Greeks should know that Turkey is not the country as it was in 1996,” the politician added to his hostile remarks on Twitter.
Just 3 days ago, a trip by the Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar and other high-ranking military officers by boat to the contested region led to a brief face-off, The Guardian reports. According to Athens, a Turkish navy missile boat, “along with two special forces rafts,” penetrated the Greek territorial sea close to the Imia islets. The Turks cleared the area several minutes after being “shadowed” by Greek naval patrols, the Greek defence ministry stated. In addition, Greece claims Turkey has violated Greek airspace 138 times in one day.
In Turkish media, conflicting reports on the incident emerged.
https://gatestone.eu/turkey-greece-dispute/
Ukraine to hold referendum on NATO, predicts it will soon join EU
Trump’s election sent shockwaves through the Ukrainian political establishment because a hawkish, anti-Russian Washington was its main ally in Ukraine’s (civil) war with Russia. Since that unwavering support might now change, the Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, in an interview this morning with the Berliner Morgenpost said his country is to hold a referendum on NATO membership.
He vowed to “do all I can to achieve membership in the transatlantic alliance,” further stating that:
https://gatestone.eu/ukraine-eu-nato/
****(BLM) TEACHER AT TRUMP PROTEST MUST SEE 29th JAN****
Language warning
To Secular Bangladeshis, Textbook Changes Are a Harbinger
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s Education Ministry was preparing to print the 2017 editions of its standard Bengali textbooks when a group of conservative Islamic religious scholars demanded the removal of 17 poems and stories they deemed “atheistic.”
By the time the books were distributed to schools on Jan. 1, the 17 poems and stories were gone, with no explanation from the government. Other changes had crept in, too: First graders studying the alphabet were taught that “o” stands for “orna,” a scarf worn by devout Muslim girls starting at puberty, not for “ol,” a type of yam; and a sixth-grade travelogue describing a visit to the Hindu-dominated north of India was replaced by one about the Nile in Egypt.
The changes were barely noticeable to the general public, but they alarmed some Bangladesh intellectuals, who saw them as the government’s accommodating a larger shift toward radical Islam.
Bangladesh has struggled to contain extremist violence in recent years, as Islamist militants have targeted secular writers and intellectuals. But equally significant, over the long term, are changes taking place in the general population: The number of women wearing the hijab has gradually risen, as has the number of students enrolled in madrasas, or Islamic schools.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
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Fear and Silence in Bangladesh as Militants Target Intellectuals NOV. 3, 2015
FEATURE
The Imperiled Bloggers of Bangladesh DEC. 29, 2015
That religious organizations now have a hand in editing textbooks, a prerogative they sought for years, suggests that their influence is growing, even with the Awami League party, which is avowedly secular, in power.
It is a shift that, increasingly, worries the United States. Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan in 1971, and in the decades that followed, it defined itself as adamantly secular and democratic.
For years, this ideology seemed to serve as an insulating force. Transnational jihadist networks that flourished in Afghanistan and Pakistan found little purchase in Bangladesh, despite its dense, poor Muslim population and porous borders.
But over the last several years, as extremist attacks on atheist bloggers and intellectuals became commonplace, secular thought was also fast receding from Bangladesh’s public spaces.
Islamist organizations, analysts say, are so skilled at mobilizing that it has become harder for the government to ignore their demands, especially with a general election coming in 2019.
Hefazat-e-Islam, a vast Islamic organization based in Dhaka, the capital, first called for changes to the textbooks during huge rallies in 2013.
“We went to the higher-ups in the government,” Mufti Fayez Ullah, the group’s joint secretary general, said. “The government realized, ‘Yes, the Muslims should not learn this.’ So they amended it. I want to add that all the political parties, they consider their popularity among the people.”
A spokesman for the Education Ministry would not comment on the changes. Narayan Chandra Saha, chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, said the revisions were routine and not made at anyone’s request.
“If Hefazat claims the changes were made per their demand, I have nothing to say in this regard,” he said.
A protest against the changes, held outside the textbook board’s offices on Sunday, drew a few hundred students and political activists. But there has been no criticism from the country’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh National Party, which typically pounces on any controversial move by the Awami League.
“It’s like there is perfect consensus between the ruling party and the opposition on these issues,” said Amena Mohsin, a professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka. “In a majoritarian democracy, you give in to populism.”
The divide between Islamist and secular Bangladeshis came into sharp, sudden focus in 2013, when tens of thousands of activists — mostly students at provincial madrasas — flooded into the center of Dhaka with a list of demands: punishment for “atheist bloggers,” the destruction of sculptures and mandatory Islamic education, including changes to textbooks.
The government, alarmed, put forward its own education overhaul. Beginning in 2014, education officials required the country’s 10,000 government-registered madrasas to use standardized government textbooks through eighth grade, in the hope of better integrating young people from conservative backgrounds.
Siddiqur Rahman, a retired educator leading the effort to revise government textbooks for use by madrasas, said the goal was “pushing them into general education.”
“There was a wide gap in beliefs and thinking and attitude,” he said. “We are trying to change the attitudes of people on the street. It is difficult, but not impossible.”
It has required many compromises with religious leaders.
Madrasa leaders, in written recommendations to education officials, requested that “beautiful Islamic names” replace Hindu, Christian or foreign-sounding names in textbooks used in madrasas, saying this was “the concrete right of the people of Islamic monotheism.” They also requested the omission of any conversation between boys and girls, saying, “It’s a great sin in Islam to talk to a young girl for nothing.”
The authorities, apparently, were quite receptive. In English textbooks for use in madrasas, all Hindu, Christian or foreign-sounding names have been replaced by Muslim names. Conversations between boys and girls have been omitted. Illustrations of girls with bare heads have been edited out. The word “period” was removed from a section on girls’ physical development. The name of the chairman of the textbook board, a Hindu professor, does not appear.
“The government was a little flexible in that regard,” Mr. Rahman said. “I think that for achieving the greater good, some sacrifice should be made.”
But the officials who oversaw the editing initially refused Hefazat’s demand to omit the 17 poems and stories from the general textbook, used in 20,000 secondary schools as well as madrasas, according to two officials on the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Mufti Fayez Ullah, of Hefazat-e-Islam, said he had been compelled to go over those people’s heads to high-ranking officials.
“If the government is willing to address this demand, bureaucracy cannot be that much of a hurdle,” he said. “We went to the Education Ministry. We went to the higher-ups in the government.”
Rasheda K. Choudhury, an activist who served as a government adviser to the Education Ministry under the previous administration, said it was unclear who made the decision to accept the Islamists’ changes.
“Nobody knew about it. Nobody is taking responsibility,” she said. “Parents are asking me, ‘Should we start teaching our children at home?’”
The leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam, meanwhile, are eager to suggest the next round of changes. Arts and crafts courses should not instruct children to depict anything living, which is proscribed by Islam, and should instead offer instruction only in calligraphy, said Abdullah Wasel, a member of Hefazat’s central committee. The group also wants to eliminate physical education textbooks that depict exercise by girls or young women, Mr. Fayez Ullah said…………..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/world/asia/bangladesh-textbooks-radical-islam.html
Switzerland is ‘arming itself for terror’ as cops investigate 480 suspected ISIS jihadists
SWISS authorities are investigating 480 ISIS jihadists they believe are operating or have links to the country.
The National Intelligence Sevice (NBD) has been on high alert since last November after a raid on a mosque in Winterthur, Zürich in northern Switzerland uncovered an ISIS sleeper cell.
Police swarmed on the An-Nur Mosque and made a number of arrests after it was claimed an Imam had been calling for the murder fellow Muslims who did not attend prayers.
Switzerland is “not one of the primary targets” for Islamist terrorists, however they are “part of the enemy” say experts who warn that the country’s famous red and white flag was recently shown in an ISIS propaganda video.
Law enforcement had been looking into the backgrounds of 200 people in 2015, but that number has shot up to 480, according to local reports.
And the NBD is now looking into around 100 incidents per day as they track suspects both on the ground and online.
Local reports suggest that the authorities are looking at lone wolf jihadis and trained ISIS operatives who may have returned from Iraq and Syria.
A new security operations team called Taskforce Tetra which works between different cantons has been successful.
A total of 70 cases have made their way to the criminal courts as a result of joint operations between the NDB, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Police Office.
Specialist units have also been training for terror scenarios using the Paris Charlie Hebdo massacre as an emergency planning example.
Officers are also being given protective suits, machine guns with target detection and new dgital equipment to analyse activity on the web.
Swiss based human rights expert and found of Forum for a Progressive Islam Saïda Keller-Messahli revealed the an’Nur mosque is not a unique example.
She said: “There is a whole network of radically-oriented mosques in Switzerland.
“The Muslim World League is behind it, training young imams and sending them out into the world.
“These are true wandering preachers, who are not only active in Switzerland, but also in Austria, Germany, Norway and Denmark.
The network is a hub for Salafists.
“The Swiss authorities make a big mistake of not looking into the mosques.
“The image of the pitiful backyard mosques is no longer true.
“Currently, new mosques are being built at the cost of several million francs, most recently in Volketswil, Netstal and Wil.
“The idea that these amounts come from members of the mosques is simply a lie – they come from the Muslim World League and its organisations, for example in Geneva, with the clear intention of spreading Salafist thought here”.
Last August French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the country is to shut down mosques, cut foreign funding and police the content delivered in sermons in a massive crackdown on Islamic fundamentalism.
The comments came following the murder of 86-year-old French Catholic priest Father Jacques Hamel who was killed on the altar during morning mass last Tuesday and three separate massacres in the country in just over a year.
In a newspaper interview Prime Minister Valls says the Republic has been forced to intervene to drive out the “poison” of radical Islamism.
He announced plans to shut down mosques supporting Salafism, an ultra-orthodox religious-political ideology based on a belief in “physical” jihadism practised by some followers of the Sunni faith. He said: “All Salafists are not jihadists … but almost all are jihadist are Salafists.
“Slowly, insidiously, on a background of influences from abroad and rising communalism, developed against a model of society, a model against the Republic and its values.
“Many Muslims in France are taken hostage by the fundamentalist Salafism, who worship a weapon against others.
“The places of worship that house preachers will be closed systematically.
“It is necessary to rethink the training of imams and chaplains completely.
“France must become a European centre of excellence in the teaching of Islamic theology.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/762253/ISIS-jihadis-Switzerland-security-services-armed-for-terror