Reader’s Links for November 27, 2018

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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.

About Eeyore

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

112 Replies to “Reader’s Links for November 27, 2018”

  1. Egypt Blacklists 161 Brotherhood Members as Terrorist (aawsat, Nov 27, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1480081/egypt-blacklists-161-brotherhood-members-terrorist

    “An Egyptian court upheld on Monday a sentence to blacklist as terrorist 161 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

    The suspects include 20 women, four of whom are related to prominent businessman Hassan Malek.

    The sentence was originally issued in 2014 and an appeal against it has since been filed.

    The appeals court rejected the filing on Monday and upheld the blacklisting of these individuals.

    The accused will now have their assets frozen and they will be barred from traveling.

    Separately, the court upheld a verdict on the sentencing of 77 suspects for their involvement in the storming of the Zagazig University.

    They were originally sentenced to ten years in jail for inciting violence, belonging to terrorist groups and killing protesters during the 2013 Rabaa sit-in that was held in support of former President Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

  2. Filipina dies after falling off Ajman building (gulfnews, Nov 27, 2018)
    https://gulfnews.com/uae/crime/filipina-dies-after-falling-off-ajman-building-1.60602336

    “Dubai: Ajman police is investigating the case of a Filipina who died after allegedly falling from a building in Ajman on Friday.

    The 22-year-old Filipina resident was reported to have fallen to her death from the third floor of a building in the emirate. She was taken to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

    Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes said the consulate has notified the deceased’s next of kin and is closely coordinating with Ajman authorities in the investigation of her death and in the repatriation of her remains.

    He declined to give further information as the case is under police investigation.

    Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs also conveyed its condolences to the Filipina’s family.”

  3. Persecuted Muslim Uighurs of China Call on Muslim Countries for Help (moroccoworldnews, Nov 27, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/11/258924/muslim-uighurs-china-help/

    “Speaking on the behalf of their community, a group of Muslim Uighurs have made a video to call on scholars, activists, and journalists in the Muslim world to draw more attention to the crackdown on their minor community.

    The world has criticized the government in western China’s so-called “re-education camps” targeting the Uighur ethnicity that mostly live in Xinjiang province, sometimes referred to as Chinese Turkestan.

    The mass detention of Uighur Muslims, and bans on certain Islamic rites and clothing, in the name of re-education and “de-extremification” of the Muslim minorities have made international headlines.

    To the community, the case remains somewhat forgotten by journalists from Muslim countries.

    “Muslims countries have economic and political interests, that is why official news outlets may no mind to this case. That is why scholars and organizations must at least deliver this message to all muslims,” a man representing the community said in the video.

    The speaker emphasized that the case of Uighur Muslims is that of “right and justice.”

    He stated: “[W]e, Muslims, in a short period, have become vulnerable to cruelty, persecution, murder, and a ban on Islamic religious practices.”

    In recent days, China has even issued a statement saying that any Muslims who think alcohol, cigarettes, or dancing are “haram” (forbidden) need to turn themselves in.

    The speaker in the video also stated: “When we tell Muslim people that China prohibits Muslim in eastern Turkestan from praying, fasting, going to Hajj pilgrimage, giving Zakat mandatory charity, and from following the Sharia dress code for women and long beards for men, many of them do not believe us and say that we have trouble with the government.”

    The man suggested that Muslims outside China, organizations, scholars, or activists send a delegation to investigate the condition of Muslims in the region if they did not believe in the persecution practised against them.

    The son of an elderly scholar who shed tears in the video was allegedly killed, and 40 of the scholar’s children and grandchildren have been detained.

    “It’s been more than two years and we still do not know what happened to our families, whether they are alive or dead, because they have prohibited us from contacting them,” the speaker said.

    More than one million Uighurs are currently being held in “re-education camps,” with allegedly no contact with their families, according to a United Nations report.

    Sending a plea for the Muslim world, the man stated that if none could help Uighur Muslims “directly,” they could “at least pray” for their Muslim brothers.

    The Chinese government has defended the use of camps by stating that the prisoners are also able to take occupational classes on topics such as hairdressing or commerce. Their purpose is mainly to remove possibilities of extremism and terrorism in the country.

    Many media outlets and activists around the world claim that the camps are in fact a means to strip the Uighur Muslims of their identity.”

  4. Turkey, EU to launch talks for Europol agreement (hurriyetdailynews, Nov 27, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-eu-to-launch-talks-for-europol-agreement-139230

    “Turkey and the European Union Commission will launch talks on Nov. 30 for an agreement between Ankara and the European Police Service (Europol) which is one of the benchmarks for visa free travel for Turkish nationals.

    Turkish and EU officials last week met in Ankara for High Level Dialogue meeting and the two sides reconfirmed their intention to continuing the visa liberalization dialogue to implement all pending benchmarks.

    Concluding and implementing an operational cooperation agreement with Europol is among the remaining six benchmarks to launch the visa talks as part of a refugee deal between Ankara and Brussels.

    “In the framework of the Visa Liberalization Roadmap benchmarks, Turkey has started to issue second-generation passports as of 2nd April and the negotiations for an operational cooperation agreement between the European Union and Turkey on exchange of personal data between Europol and the Turkish authorities competent for fighting serious crime and terrorism will start on 30 November,” a joint statement following the high level political dialogue between the EU and Turkey said…”

  5. Tunisia denies docking for NGO ship Sea Watch (ansamed, Nov 27, 2018)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/tunisia/2018/11/27/tunisia-denies-docking-for-ngo-ship-sea-watch_5d2bf09b-1dd2-4695-8a7e-6b82134e4412.html

    “Tunisian authorities denied entrance at the port of Zarzis to the rescue ship Sea Watch of the eponymous German NGO, said Chamseddine Marzoug, an activist and member of the Tunisian Red Crescent.

    Marzoug told local media that the ship is at the mercy of the waves about 20 miles off the coast of Zarzis, a city on Tunisia’s southeast coast.

    Two Spanish NGO ships – the Mare Jonio of the NGO Mediterranea and the Proactiva Open Arms of the eponymous NGO – have been docked at the port of Zarzis since last Saturday for a technical stopover, and are currently remaining there due to expected worsening weather.”

  6. Survey: 40 percent of Germans fear UN migration pact will result in more asylum claims (thelocal, Nov 27, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.de/20181127/survey-40-percent-fear-un-migration-pact-will-result-in-more-asylum-claims

    “Almost 40 percent of Germans fear the controversial UN migration pact will lead to more asylum claims, a new survey has found.

    A total of 2,062 people were interviewed between Friday and Monday on the topic in a survey conducted by the Insa opinion research institute on behalf of the conservation association Werte-Union.

    They were asked their feelings on the following statement: “I fear that the signing of the UN migration pact could lead to additional claims for asylum.”

    Almost as many respondents as those who had agreed with the statement replied with “don’t know” or gave no response.

    Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters, as well as Union supporters, were particularly worried, the survey found.

    However, a total of 22.7 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement and said they did not see any risk of additional asylum claims.

    The Werte-Union is an association made up of thousands of conservative members of the centre right Christian Democrats (CDU), led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the Christian Socialists (CSU).

    Werte-Union chairman Alexander Mitsch said it was the CDU and CSU’s task to take people’s concerns seriously and to ensure the government did not enter into any agreements it had no control over.

    He said there should be a protocol which means Germany can reject “any future legal obligation and consequence from the pact”.

    The CDU will discuss and vote on the agreement at its party conference which begins on December 7th.

    It’s a topic that’s proved hugely controversial in the run up to the conference, when Merkel will step down as leader.

    The AfD in particular is mobilizing against the pact, but there are also critical voices in the Union, including health minister Jens Spahn and Friedrich Merz, who are both candidates to take over from Merkel.

    However, the outgoing Chancellor has defended the agreement, saying it is the “right response” and that it will “solve global problems internationally and together”.

    The United Nation’s Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first time the world organization has agreed on a list of global measures to tackle the challenges involved in migration for individual migrants, and at the same time to maximize benefits for the countries taking in immigrants.

    The agreement, which is not legally binding, is being formed to deal with the huge number of people from across the world who are leaving their countries to seek refuge elsewhere because of conflict, poverty or other reasons. Germany played a key role in the height of the refugee and migration crisis in 2015, which has resulted in a polarization of opinions across the country.

    Among the calls, the pact urges countries to help improve the conditions in migrants’ countries of origin to help bring down the number of people who want to move, as well as helping migrants assimilate better in their new country.

    The pact is to be adopted by the international community at a meeting in Morocco on 10th and 11th December – directly after the CDU party conference.

    Among others, the USA, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Australia and Slovakia do not want to back the deal.”

  7. German Islam Conference reconvenes search for German Islam (DW, Nov 27, 2018)
    https://www.dw.com/en/german-islam-conference-reconvenes-search-for-german-islam/a-46479656

    “Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is convening the latest iteration of the German Islam Conference. The 2018 DIK will focus on integration, Islam and German law. Many new faces in attendance will make for lively debates.

    This year’s German Islam Conference (DIK) will be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Berlin. It has been over a year and a half since the last DIK. For this latest iteration, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), has invited some new faces to discuss a host of what he considers pressing issues. The overriding mission of the DIK remains unchanged: the “integration” of Germany’s 4.5 million Muslims into society, both in a religious and broader political sense.

    The two-day event will be inaugurated by Seehofer and then officially focus on efforts to promote integration and train imams in Germany. This latter issue will undoubtedly spark heated debates over the coming months and focus attention on what role Islamic theology should play in German universities, whether imams and mosques should receive funding from abroad, and what to make of Muslim congregations that make large financial contributions to certain causes.

    Earlier this week, Deputy Interior Minister Markus Kerber told the broadsheet Bild that “the goal needs to be to make sure German mosques no longer depend on foreign money.” It remains unclear whether houses of worship would be funded by an expansion of Germany’s church tax, which is collected by the state. This option, in Kerber’s opinion, would require mosques to meet several fundamental provisions of German law. Which could take a while to achieve.

    Seehofer made this thinking plain in the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, writing that Islamic congregations should govern themselves in ways that meet the principles of German constitutional law regarding religion so that they can cooperate with the state. Specifically, in Seehofer’s opinion, this would entail organizing and financing Islamic congregations from within Germany and requiring them to honor legal agreements entered into with the state.

    Several new faces will attend this year’s DIK. Indeed, it is customary that new members are announced before another conference is staged. Ever since the first DIK in 2006, lively debates ensued within Germany’s Muslim community over who should attend the conference and attempt to represent such a diverse population. Some groups boycotted the conference.

    Seehofer’s guest list

    Seehofer invited various speakers who are not affiliated with any major Islamic associations. They include Seyran Ates, who founded Berlin’s liberal Ibn Ruschd-Goethe mosque, and the psychologist Ahmad Mansour, who frequently addresses religious extremism; both are prominent proponents of secular Islam. They will face and debate Aiman Mazyek, who heads the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, and Abdurrahman Atasoy, of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), and other representatives of associations.

    The last DIK had only featured the representatives of Islamic associations. The conference focused on pragmatic Islam-related topics, such as welfare services, youth work and imams who provide spiritual council for inmates. By inviting a range of individuals who adhere to different understandings of Islam, this year’s conference will provide a forum for much more fundamental debates on religious freedom in Germany.

    Working underInterior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, Kerber was instrumental in convening the first DIK back in 2006. In 2011, Kerber took a break from politics and became the general manager of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), before somewhat surprisingly returning to the Interior Ministry at Seehofer’s request. Kerber, who is now responsible for the “Heimat” portfolio, will be eager to make this DIK a success. His experience could certainly prove essential.

    ‘Part of Germany?’

    Upon taking over the Interior Ministry in March, Seehofer announced that “Islam doesn’t belong to Germany.” His country, he said, has has Christian roots, and Muslims must integrate into “our” society, rather than live parallel — or even in opposition — to it. His words were broadly heard as campaign bluster ahead of Bavaria’s state elections. Several days after, Chancellor Angela Merkel, of the Christian Democrats (CDU), dismissed Seehofer’s statement. Though Merkel conceded that her country had “Christian and Jewish roots,” she said 4.5 million Muslims mean that “Islam is now part of Germany.”

    In recent times, Seehofer has somewhat moderated his language on Islam. He has announced that he will utilize all tools at his disposal to help Muslims “strengthen their German and Muslim identity, and to help them feel part of Germany.” The aim, he said, is to foster a genuinely national Islam.

    Though the DIK has generated controversy in the past, it is impressive that hardly any other country has convened a conference series quite like this. Only Austria is a little more advanced, as it passed a specific Muslim law over 100 years ago, which it reformed in 2015. It stipulates that Austrian imams must be funded through domestic Islamic congregations, rather than from abroad.

    An Interior Ministry spokeswoman told DW that countries such as Austria, the Netherlands, Britain and France “organize talks between the state, or state-run bodies, and Muslims or their associations.” But, she added, none of these formats comes close to Germany’s institutionalized Islam conference.

    Lluis Flaquer, a Barcelona-based sociologist, told DW that he was unaware of any such talks in his regions. In Spain and France, he said, the discussion tends to be about how Muslim groups can self-organize.

    It seems, then, that Germany is leading the way.”