THE CLARION PROJECT

EXCLUSIVE: WHY I NEARLY BOMBED LONDO
Former extremist Sohail Ahmed reveals why he nearly carried out a terror attack in his home town of London
What drives Muslims born and raised in the West to carry out terrorist attacks against their countries of birth? We asked Sohail Ahmed, a former extremist who grew up in a strict household in London, why he had once considered carrying out a terrorist attack against the UK.
Watch the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRhFVbTGTi0
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/exclusive-why-i-nearly-bombed-london


ANTI-TRUMP WOMEN’S MOVEMENT TEAMS UP WITH ISLAMIST TERRORIST
The liberal left has teamed up with extremist and violent Islamists in its next salvo against newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.
The liberal left has teamed up with extremist and violent Islamists in its next salvo against newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, a follow-up event to the January 21 Women’s March on Washington, will be staged.
One of the co-authors of the “militant” manifesto behind the nationwide event is convicted Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Yousef Odeh.
Odeh was convicted in Israel in 1970 for being involved in two fatal bombings. Odeh spent 10 years in jail before she was released in a prisoner exchange in 1980.
She moved to the U.S. by omitting her terror conviction on her immigration papers and served as the associate director of the Arab American Action Network in Chicago and later as an ObamaCare navigator. In 2014, she was convicted in the U.S. for concealing her past and thus illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship.
http://www.clarionproject.org/news/anti-trump-women%E2%80%99s-movement-teams-islamist-terrorist


NEW DNC CHAIR PEREZ ENGAGED ISLAMISTS, IGNORED REFORMERS
By ignoring Muslim reformers, Perez's actions serve to make Islamist groups into the sole representatives of Muslims in the United States.
Tom Perez has defeated Rep. Keith Ellison in the race to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but don’t rest easy: Perez also has a concerning record and chose Ellison as his deputy chairman.
When he was the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, he included Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups and their allies in discussions about counter-terrorism training and investigations and laws punishing alleged “hate speech” against the religion of Islam. Muslim and non-Muslim critics of such Islamist groups were not a part of Perez’ outreach on these issues.
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/new-dnc-chair-perez-engaged-islamists-ignored-reformers



FEMINISM, HIJABS AND HYPOCRISY
Defending the rights of women to wear the hijab while failing to support women who do not wish to wear it is patently hypocritical.
Earlier this week, Dorsa Derakhshani, an 18-year-old female chess master, was banned from Iran’s national team for appearing without the Islamic headscarf (hijab) in a tournament in Gibraltar she competed in independently.
Considering it’s illegal for women in Iran to appear in public without properly covering their hair or bodies, I hardly found this story shocking.
What did surprise me was the deafening silence from all the “feminists” who took to the streets last month to participate in an unprecedented display of virtue signaling and hypocrisy better known as the “Women’s March.”
Then there was Sweden’s “first feminist government
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/feminism-hijabs-and-hypocrisy


IRAQ MILITIA CLAIM RESCUE OF PUPPY FROM ISIS SUICIDE BOMB FATE
A video has surfaced purporting to show Iraqi militiamen rescuing a puppy which they say was sent to kill them after ISIS strapped explosives to it
Iraqi militamen from the People's Mobilization Units (PMU) claim the puppy was loaded up with explosives and sent to attack them by ISIS.
Watch the heartwrenching video at The Express.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iraq-militia-claim-rescue-puppy-isis-suicide-bomb-fate



IRAQ 101: CHRISTIANS AND OTHER GROUPINGS
The latest in Clarion's series explaining the situation in Iraq. This time a look at the religious groupings with a focus on the Christians.
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Iraq 101: Christians and Other Religious Minorities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHQdSefjVQQ
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/iraq-101-christians-and-other-groupings


EVER HEARD OF IRAN’S “MUSCLE DRAIN?”
We have known about Iran’s brain and artist drain. Now, more and more Iranian athletes are fleeing the country.
Why are more and more Iranian athletes fleeing the country, or refusing to return after competitions abroad? We have known about Iran’s brain drain and artists leaving the country. Yet now we are faced with this new phenomenon. Gifted and talented young men and women with high potential for their society see no future in Iran under the mullah’s rule and are left with no choice but to seek a better opportunity in foreign lands.
Sports and athletic competitions are a medium to promote vitality, exhilaration and health throughout our societies. Athletes are also considered national treasures for each country
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/ever-heard-iran%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cmuscle-drain%E2%80%9D

NORTH CAROLINA ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOT: "CAN WE NOT KILL THEM ALL?"
A meeting of anti-Islamists turned ugly when one attendee began to make comments about killing all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry is always wrong
A meeting of an estimated 20 conservative activists to discuss the Muslim Brotherhood in North Carolina went much too far when one of those in attendance suggested killing all the Muslims.
The meeting took place in a room at a seafood restaurant in Kernersville. The meeting featured reading extracts from a popular book the Muslim Brotherhood and discussion of the Islamist group’s presence in North America. Clarion Project was not at the meeting and we do not know what was said and what ideas were discussed.
However, according to The Guardian, one attendee wanted to take more direct action.
A man by the name of Frank Del Valle reportedly asked, “Can we not kill them all?” about 15 minutes into the talk.
He asked again towards the end, “Do you have any recommendations as to how we could stop this? Because my only recommendation is to start killing the hell out of them.”
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/north-carolina-anti-muslim-bigot-can-we-not-kill-them-all

5 POINTS ABOUT NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER GEN. MCMASTE
General McMaster is known for winning the most difficult of battles. His warrior side will come in handy in dealing with Afghanistan and Iraq
President Trump has chosen General H.R. McMaster as the national security adviser and there’s plenty to be happy about. Below are five points to consider with his choice
General McMaster is known for winning the most difficult of battles. As explained in this lengthy New Yorker article from 2006, he performed an amazing turnaround in the city of Tal Afar in Iraq. I remember when he arrived in 2005 and shocked observers by needing only about six months to change the situation by building strong relationships with Iraqis on the ground to kick the jihadists out and to quickly build up the local police force.
His warrior side will come in handy as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan bluntly refers to the situation as a "stalemate" requiring several thousand more troops for progress to happen.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/5-points-about-new-national-security-adviser-gen-mcmaster




VATICAN, TOP SUNNI BODY TO JOINTLY COUNTER EXTREMIS
Pope Francis has commissioned a delegation of high-ranking clerics to strategize the roles of the Vatican and Al-Azhar in combating extremism
A delegation of high-ranking Catholic priests is travelling to Egypt to discuss how the Vatican and the world’s top Sunni institution Al-Azhar best partner to combat religious extremism.
The seminar is entitled “The role of al-Azhar al-Sharif and of the Vatican in countering the phenomena of fanaticism, extremism and violence in the name of religion.”
The president of the Pontifical Council For Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, leads the papal delegation. He is accompanied by Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Secretary, Msgr. Khaled Akasheh, Head of the Office for Islam and Archbishop Bruno Musarò, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt.
The seminar follows a year of high-level preparatory talks between the Vatican and Al-Azhar following last year’s visit to Cairo by Pope Francis to meet Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmad Al-Tayyib.
On February 17, Pope Francis gave an address in which he denied the religious roots of violent extremism.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/vatican-top-sunni-body-jointly-counter-extremism


MIDDLE EAST FORUM'S PLAN FOR TRUMP RADICAL ISLAM COMMISSION
Trump’s administration pledged to establish a commission on radical Islam. The Middle East Forum has a proposal ready.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the struggle against wiping out radical Islam is a priority for his administration. In August 2016, Trump announced “one of my first acts as president will be to establish a commission on radical Islam.”
The Middle East Forum (MEF), headed by Dr. Daniel Pipes, commissioned former congressional staffer Dr. Christopher C. Hull to put together a “comprehensive plan” for what that commission should look like, based on the MEF’s extensive experience in challenging radical Islam.
The MEF sets out the parameters of the commission as follows:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/middle-east-forums-plan-trump-radical-islam-commission

IRAN’S REGIME OF TERROR BY THE NUMBERS
In 38 years, the country's Islamist regime has taken the people into poverty and illiteracy while the leadership has gotten richer and richer.
The mullahs now ruling Iran were able to hijack the revolution that sacked the U.S.-backed Shah regime back in February 1979. However, the 38-year report card left by the mullahs has only raised extreme anger throughout the Iranian society.
Numbers are very vivid in revealing the undeniable atrocities caused by the mullahs’ disastrous policies.
The daily trend of continuous executions in Iran has raised anger amongst the international community for years. Iran is considered the number one executioner per capita.
The number of executions in Iran “paints a sinister picture of the machinery of the state carrying out premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale,” according to Amnesty International.
Suicides are also on the rise, especially amongst women, ranking Iran first in the Middle East and third in the world. There are also reports of a growing number of teenagers committing suicide.
Drug addiction is yet another disastrous result of the mullahs’ rule in Iran. The amount of drugs spreading amongst women and teenagers is skyrocketing and state-run media are citing experts estimating at least 8 million Iranians are suffering from this dreadful phenomenon.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/iran%E2%80%99s-regime-terror-numbers


YAZIDIS AND CHRISTIANS: SCAPEGOATS OF REGIONAL POLITICS IN IRAQ
Get up close with those who face the brunt of attacks in this war-torn country and get the real facts from Clarion's team on the ground
“They hurt Yazidis.” “They hurt Christians.” Both comments were made to me about the Kurds during my time in Iraq by differing political and interest parties.
Yet, it wasn’t from any Christian or Yazidi in the region that I heard such comments. A recent article titled “Kurds’ move to keep Yazidi, Christian refugees from their homes is hurting anti-ISIS alliance,” reported this to an American public that is hungry to know what’s going on in Iraq with the persecuted minorities.
So I decided to go there and visit them for myself. What I found was a stark contrast to the politically-tied voices that shout otherwise. And like most situations, the truth was found somewhere in the middle.
Historically, Yazidis have been a rural group – not well educated or organized in any capable capacity. They peacefully practiced their religion in their villages and raised families as most rural minority groups do. Then came the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). They were killed, kidnapped as sex slaves and scattered.
The world suddenly realized that the Yazidis existed and strove to help them. Germany offered millions of dollars to any organization that could rescue and bring Yazidis to Germany for restoration. Since Yazidis don’t know how to read German or any other languages (as most of us only speak the language of our heritage), they were forced to accept as interpreters help from whichever group reached them quickest.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/yazidis-and-christians-scapegoats-regional-politics-iraq


GITMO RADICALIZED OUR BOY, SAYS UK FAMILY
The family of an ISIS suicide bomber blamed American prison facility Guantanamo Bay for radicalizing him during his two years there.
Jamal al Harith is a British citizen who was interned in the Guantanamo Bay prison facility (Gitmo) for two years and recently killed himself in a suicide bombing for the Islamic State.
His family argues that if it were not for his treatment while in Guantanamo Bay, he “would not have become involved with a despicable organization such as so-called Islamic State.”
Born Ronald Fiddler, Jamal al Harith changed his name after converting to Islam. He went backpacking in Pakistan a few weeks after 9/11 but was captured by the Taliban who accused him of being a British spy. Later he was captured by the Americans, who took him to Guantanamo Bay.
They interrogated him for two years about the Taliban. Eventually he was repatriated to the UK following intervention by the British government and released in 2004. The Daily Mail claims he was awarded a one-million-pound settlement in 2010 by the British government in compensation. However the family denies this and says the payout was split between four people.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/gitmo-radicalized-our-boy-says-uk-family


NIGERIAN MUSLIM LEADER MOVES TO RESTRICT POLYGAMY
The Emir of Kano says polygamy leads to children who aren’t properly cared for and thus are more likely to become terrorists later.
Muhammad Sanusi, the emir of Kano, blames polygamy in part for the rise of the terrorist organization Boko Haram. He argues that men who cannot afford to adequately provide for even one wife are marrying numerous women and producing too many children, who then grow up neglected and in poverty.
“Those of us in the north have all seen the economic consequences of men who are not capable of maintaining one wife, marrying four," the emir said.
"They end up producing 20 children, not educating them, leaving them on the streets, and they end up as thugs and terrorists."
The Emir has introduced a law to the Kano state legislature to codify restrictions on polygamy and put in place other regulations concerning marriage. Currently the law is under review by a council of Islamic scholars.
“The law will address what Islam says on marriage, it will outlaw forced marriages, it will make domestic violence illegal, it will put in conditions that you need to fulfill before you can marry a second wife, it will spell out the responsibilities of a father beyond producing a child,” the emir continued, according to Nigerian media outlet Vanguard.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/nigerian-muslim-leader-moves-restrict-polygamy

Texas Pre-School Teacher Tweets ‘Kill Some Jews’
A member of Students for Justice in Palestine, Salem previously tweeted, 'How many Jews died in the Holocaust? Not enough … HAHAHAHA.'
Wed, February 22, 2017
After tweeting out messages such as “kill some Jews,” a pre-school teacher in Texas has been suspended from her job at The Children’s Courtyard.

As reported by The Algemeiner, Nancy Salem, was identified previously for expressing racist and violent messages online. A member of the University of Texas, Arlington chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and a supporter of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement against Israel, Salem previously tweeted, “How many Jews died in the Holocaust? Not enough … HAHAHAHA.”
Her Twitter account has since been disabled.
http://www.clarionproject.org/news/texas-pre-school-teacher-tweets-%E2%80%98kill-some-jews%E2%80%99

REFUSING TO DON HIJAB, MARINE LE PEN WALKS OUT ON GRAND MUFT
The National Front candidate for the French presidency refused to wear a required headscarf to meet the grand mufti during a tour of Lebanon
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Wed, February 22, 2017
National Front candidate for the French presidency Marine Le Pen refused to wear a required headscarf to meet the grand mufti of Lebanon during a tour of the country. In an exchange caught on video in front of the mufti’s office, Le Pen can be seen talking to reporters, telling them she will forgo the meeting instead.
“You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up,” she can be heard saying.
Noting that in her meeting in Egypt with the grand imam of Al-Azhar, considered the highest Sunni Muslim authority in the world, she had not been required to veil herself, Le Pen explains, “He did not have this demand.”
“But it’s not a problem,” she adds. “You can pass on to the grand mufti my considerations, but I am not putting the veil on.”
After being informed that the requirements are different in Lebanon than Egypt, Le Pen says to her entourage, “Allez! (Let’s go!),” and gets into her waiting car (see video below).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/refusing-don-hijab-marine-le-pen-walks-out-grand-mufti

Christians in Egypt: Mysterious Deaths, Soldier 'Suicides'
Christians make up 10% Egypt’s population and suffer grave persecution: denial of jobs, burning of churches and targets for assassination.
BY JENNIFER BREEDON AND SHELBY KAUS Tue, February 21, 2017
A woman cries as Christians pray in the street outside the orthodox church of the Virgin Mary during the official funerals for victims of a December church bombing that killed 25, mainly women and children.(Photo: © Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Christians have lost another fellow believer in Egypt. Ishak Ibrahim Fayez Younan, 37, had his throat slit in his Cairo home and was discovered by his brother, marking the fifth murder in only two weeks.. Younan is one of many Christians who have had throats slit and been murdered for their faith.
Despite being in his home, nothing was taken indicating there was no motivation to rob Younan. We can assume his death, which follows a similar pattern of other recent murders in Egypt, was the result of his identification as a Christian in Egypt.
Younan had been working at a local factory that distributes soft drinks to grocery stores to support his wife and two children, ages 10 and 12, who now have no father.
Many citizens of Egypt are calling on President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to do more for Christians in Egypt, but the underlying and deep-seated Islamist ideology and resentment against Christians seems to go beyond his capabilities as head of state.
Coptic Christians make up 10% Egypt’s population and suffer grave persecution, ranging from denial of jobs, burning of their churches and targets for assassination as in the case of Younan. In December 2016, a large number of churches were bombed and, according to CNN, more than two dozen people were killed with several more injured.
Likewise, many Christian soldiers in the Egyptian Army are facing the same fate because of their faith. Several Coptic soldiers have been the victims of mysterious deaths. In June of 2015, Bahaa Gamal Mikhail Silvanus, 23, was found dead in his office at the post where he was stationed. Silvanus suffered two gunshot wounds and critical blunt force trauma to his head.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/christians-egypt-mysterious-deaths-soldier-suicides

IRAN BANS TEEN CHESS CHAMPS OVER HIJAB, ISRAELI PARTNER
The siblings were banned from all future tournaments, one for playing without a hijab, one for playing against an Israeli.
An Iranian brother and sister who are both chess champions were banned from playing for their country.
Dorsa Derakhshani is ranked sixth in the world in under-18 games and, at 18, was a member of the Iranian Women's National Chess Team. She is ranked as a Grand Master.
She was removed from the team after she competed independently in the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival without wearing a hijab.
The festival was held in late January, early February 2017.
Her brother, Borna, 15, was expelled from the team for playing against an Israeli.
“The first step in dealing with them would be to deprive them from playing in Iran, and they won't have a chance to be in the national team,” Trend Media Agency quoted Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, head of Iran's Chess Federation as saying.
He said Iran will deal with the siblings in the “severest way possible” because it is a matter or “national interest.”
Dorsa is currently studying in Spain and participated in the Gibraltar games on her own. Her brother had also registered for the games on his own.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/iran-bans-teen-chess-champs-over-hijab-israeli-partner

LOUIS FARRAKHAN DENOUNCES JEWS AT NATION OF ISLAM EVENT
Farrakhan’s speech at the annual Nation of Islam Conference included a denunciation of Jews & white people
The Nation of Islam held its national conference in Detroit this weekend and leader Louis Farrakhan used his three-hour keynote address to claim Jews are trying to frighten and dominate the peoples of the world.
Thousands attended the conference.
“I want to disabuse the Jews today of the false claim that you are the chosen of God — that Israel or Palestine belongs to you,” Farrakhan said, to loud cheers.
“I want to disabuse you of that. I want to make it so clear and I’m going to tell you about your future. You that think you have power to frighten and dominate the peoples of the world. I’m here to announce the end of your time.”
Watch the speech. Comments on Jews begin at 01:12.00
Farrakhan has made many other anti-Semitic statements in the past. These include denouncing Jews as “bloodsuckers” and making claims such as “Zionists dominate the government of the United States of America and her banking system.”
Antisemitism is a feature of Islamist groups worldwide.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/louis-farrakhan-denounces-jews-nation-islam-event

BLIND SHEIKH DEAD BUT HIS NETWORK LIVES ON IN AMERICA
The Blind Sheikh’s jihadist collaborators continue to be active enough for the NYPD to gather intelligence on some of them.
BY RYAN MAURO Mon, February 20, 2017
The “Blind Sheikh” Omar Abdel-Rahman, best known for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, has just died in prison, but his “work” lives on. He was not only a U.S.-based leader of the Gamaa Islamiyya terrorist group, but part of the connective tissue of an interconnected jihadist network that still operates today.
The “Blind Sheikh” and his U.S.-based network were like a cornucopia of jihadist offerings. His Gamaa Islamiyya, Al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas, Jamaat ul-Fuqra (now known as Muslims of America) and other jihadist entities all overlapped “in a sort of terrorist ‘Internet,’” as one congressional testimony explained. It is through this “Internet” that the Blind Sheikh’s work lives on.
The best example is Jamaat ul-Fuqra, now known as Muslims of America, which is best known for its “Islamberg” headquarters in New York and its claim to having 22 such “Islamic villages” across the country. The Clarion Project has launched a comprehensive website about the organization at FuqraFiles.com.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/blind-sheikh-dead-his-network-lives-america


UK HEADTEACHER FORCED TO WORK FROM HOME IN FEAR
Clarion's editor Meira Svirsky explains the story of a UK headteacher who received death threats from parents over her clothes.
Mon, February 20, 2017
ISLAMIC AGENDA IN THE SCHOOL LISTEN
Forced outof :Public School.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/uk-headteacher-forced-work-home-fear

READERS RESPOND: SHOULD US PUT BOOTS ON GROUND IN SYRIA?
We asked for your opinions as Washington mulls the idea. Find out if others agree with you as we present some of the hundreds of responses
READERS RESPOND: SHOULD US PUT BOOTS ON GROUND IN SYRIA?
BY CLARION PROJECT STAFF Sun, February 19, 2017
Clarion website readers and across our social-media platforms overwhelmingly oppose a U.S. ground invasion of Syria. For every person who thinks American soliders should enter the mêlée, four oppose
Just shy of 79 percent of respondents said the U.S. should stay away.
While the Pentagon's obvious first target is Islamic State (ISIS / ISIL), any sojourn in Syria would likely put soldiers into conflict with the myriad other fighting forces in the wartorn country.
Here are just a few of the comments from readers on this issue:
“Not without a very clear strategy and the political willingness to follow through. History is not very encouraging on this scale.”
“No. Use drones to put bombs on the ground.”
“Other Middle Eastern countries need to step up with U.S. support!”
“No. Who they going to support? The Islamic groups against Assad and Russia as the U.S. has already been doing to create another Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt etc. Well it will achieve what the Progressive Left seem to be dying to get, a war with Russia.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/readers-respond-should-us-put-boots-ground-syria

INTERVIEW WITH PRIEST'S KILLER: MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES A 'THREAT'
A human rights lawyer accuses the police and intel units of having a hand in the murders of Christian clergymen in Turkey by turning a blind eye
BY UZAY BULUT Mon, February 20, 2017
Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian Catholic priest, was murdered on February 5, 2006 in the Santa Maria Catholic Church in the northern Turkish city of Trabzon, where he served.
Oguzhan Akdin, the killer of the 61-year-old priest, was 16 at the time. He was released on probation in August of last year.
The Turkish newspaper Karadeniz recently conducted an interview with Akdin, asking him about his motives for killing of the priest and whether he regrets it today.
“I regret it only because I put my state [Turkey] in a difficult situation,” Akdin replied, claiming that he killed the priest due to his “missionary activities.”
“I had been investigating topics about our religion for a long time. I had an admiration for nationalistic currents of thought. I read a manifesto titled The Confessions of Missionaries, which said that Anatolia would be Christian again and that Turks would be driven to the Central Asia. I was doing research on that continuously.”
Akdin said that he then learned there was a church in Trabzon and that he wanted to see what the church officials were doing there. He went to the church “out of curiosity” but shot his gun “in the face of a response he got from the priest.”
“When I went there, I saw Priest Santoro. My only purpose was to ask if they engaged in missionary activities. I asked him if he could explain why some young people are led [to believe] in Christianity
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/interview-priests-killer-missionary-activities-threat


IRANIAN HARDLINERS ATTACK SWEDISH DELEGATION OVER HIJABS
Sweden’s “first feminist government” wore hijabs while in Iran but were blasted by hardliners for taking them off to sign a trade deal.
Sun, February 19, 2017
A Swedish delegation to Iran was heavily criticized for a decision to wear hijabs while in the country, in deference to Iran’s modesty laws, despite attempting to brand themselves as their country’s “first feminist government.”
Yet they were also criticized by Iranian hardliners who found their conciliatory approach did not go far enough.
Iran and Sweden signed five memoranda of understanding during the visit. The signings took place at the Swedish Embassy in Tehran, rather than at an Iranian location.
“In an unexpected and questionable occurrence, the ceremony for signing trade contracts between Iran and Sweden was held at the residence of the Swedish ambassador and not our country’s official institutions,” Hossein Shariatmadari, the chief editor of the Kayhan media outlet wrote on February 12, according to a translation by Al-Monitor.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iranian-hardliners-attack-swedish-delegation-over-hijabs


OBITUARY: THE BLIND SHEIKH
Omar Abdel-Rahman aka The Blind Sheikh, who plotted to blow up the United Nations building and other targets in the 1990s, has died in prison.
One of the world’s most notorious terrorist leaders has passed away in a U.S. prison at the age of 78. We look at who he was and his lengthy career as an extremist.
Name: Omar Abdel-Rahman aka The Blind Sheikh
Distinguishing features: Blind from infancy due to diabetes. Memorized the Quran aged 11.
Born: 1938, al-Gamalia village, Nile Delta, Egypt
Died: 2017, Federal Correction Complex, Butner, North Carolina
Education: Al-Azhar University, Cairo
FaMily: Two wives, 13 children.
Immigration to US: 1990, under the name Omar Ahmed Ali
Religious career: Imam in oasis of Fayyoum, Egypt. Imam in New Jersey mosque. Spiritual leader to extremists.
US Imprisonment: 1993. Leading a terror cell which plotted bomb attacks against the United Nations building, the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and other targets in New York City. Six of his supporters were also convicted for a truck bombing against the World Trade Center which killed six people.
Terrorist Resume: https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/obituary-blind-sheikh


Details Emerge of Canadian Teen Lovers Alleged Terror Plot
The couple will stand trial in September, both charged with four offences including possessing an explosive substance and acting for a terror group.
Teenage lovers from Montreal planned to leave Canada to commit a terror attack, possessed an explosive substance and were acting under the direction of or for the profit of a terror organization. That’s according to new details released for publication by a Canadian judge.
Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali, now 20, were charged with four terror-related offences each in the spring of 2015. They pleaded not guilty and will stand trial before judge and jury in September 2017.
It’s emerged that Djermane’s sister contacted police officers just days before their arrest, saying she was concerned her sister was radicalized.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/details-emerge-canadian-teen-lovers-alleged-terror-plot


WHY IS THE WORLD FLOODED WITH WEAPONS?
The global arms trade is at the highest it’s been since the end of the Cold War, fueled largely by Middle-Eastern purchases, according to a new report.
Fueled largely by increased arms purchases from Middle-Eastern states, the global weapons trade is at the highest level it has been since the Cold War ended, according to a new study released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“Transfer of major weapons in 2012-16 reached their highest volume for any five-year period since the end of” the Cold War, SIPRI said in a statement.
“Over the past five years, most states in the Middle East have turned primarily to the USA and Europe in their accelerated pursuit of advanced military capabilities," Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme said. "Despite low oil prices, countries in the region continued to order more weapons in 2016, perceiving them as crucial tools for dealing with conflicts and regional tensions.”
Saudi Arabia has increased arms imports by 212 percent, according to the study. The Middle East region as a whole has increased from purchasing 17% of global arms to 29%.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/why-world-flooded-weapons

https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/poll-should-us-put-boots-ground-syria
POLL: SHOULD THE US PUT BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN SYRIA?
A Defense Department official told CNN that US ground forces could be deployed to Syria to fight ISIS. Is this a good idea?
The American government is reportedly weighing the possibility of sending soldiers into Syria to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), according to defense department officials
"It's possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time,” the unnamed official told CNN.
The Syrian Civil War has raged since 2011 and has been a humanitarian catastrophe. If the United States places boots on the ground, this is the situation they will be entering
Map of who holds what as of January 2017. (Photo: Creative Commons)
President Assad’s regime has repeatedly been accused of war crimes against Syrian citizens. It is most notorious for the tactic of indiscriminately dropping barrel bombs on civilian areas, dropping some 12,958 in 2016 according to one NGO. Amnesty International recently revealed at least 13,000 people were executed between 2011 and 2015 in just one military prison, Saydnaya.
The aftermath of a Syrian airstrike. (Photo: © Reuters)
The regime is backed by Russia and Iran. Chinese advisers have also been sent to aid Assad.
Russia is currently carrying out air strikes against rebel targets. America and France have called for investigations into possible war crimes, including during a UN Security Council session where American, British and French delegates walked out. In January 2017, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was killed by a jihadist terrorist shouting, “We die in Aleppo, you die here.”
The assassin of Russian Ambassador Andrew Karlov. (Photo: © Screenshot from video)
After the initial 2011 uprising, Assad initially lost large amounts of territory to secular and Islamist rebels. He was able to stabilize his position with the aid of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group which entered the war sometime in mid-2012 and fought its first decisive engagement with the Al-Qusayr offensive of 2013.
From left to right, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinjad. (Photo: © Screenshot from video)
Iran provided extensive lines of credit to finance the war and frequently resupplies the regime from the air. In 2015, a spokesman for the UN envoy to Syria said Iran was spending $6 billion annually on financing Assad. Elite Special Forces from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps supplemented by Basij militiamen provided supplemental troops.
Bolstering the official military are the National Defense Forces consisting of the paramilitary wing of the Baath Party and irregular militia groups, including specifically Christian and Alawite groups fearful of a massacre should jihadist factions win. Shiiite volunteers from around the region have also been recruited and sent in by Iran.
Iranian Basij militiamen marching. (Photo: © Reuters)
Assad and his allies stand accused of deliberately empowering jihadi factions so as to present the West with no choice but support him against jihadi factions. In 2011, he deliberately released extremists as part of an amnesty so as to empower jihadi factions, according to a former regime security official. In February 2015, then President Barack Obama called on Russia to stop bombing “moderate” rebels.
The regime holds the coastal strip, including the Russian naval base at Tartus. It holds the capital Damascus, despite partial rebel control of certain suburbs and recaptured Aleppo, Syria’s second city, in December 2016.
Syrian regime soldiers in the Aleppo offensive. (Photo: © Getty Images)
The rebels are split between a constantly fluctuating myriad of factions, with groups frequently changing their names, joining together or breaking apart to form new splinter groups or coalitions. Ideologically they range from the secular democratic to Salafi-jihadist. However, secular democratic factions affiliated with groups like the Free Syrian Army failed to gain enough support, arms and ammunition to gain and hold territory and are consequently almost irrelevant on the ground.
An FSA fighter dodges sniper fire. (Photo: © Reuters)
In the north, a coalition of rebel groups are advancing against Islamic State territory with Turkish support. They currently are in the process of capturing the strategically important town of Al-Bab. The Turkish army’s involvement is ostensibly about creating a “safe zone” to protect Turkish interests south of the border, however they have been accused of invading Syria in order to prevent the Kurds from consolidating gains they have made fighting against ISIS.
Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield began 500 years to the day after the original Ottoman invasion and conquest of Syria by Sultan Selim I, which many have argued is not a coincidence but rather points to Turkey’s neo-Ottoman ambitions.
Turkey has also been linked to a string of connections with ISIS, purchasing ISIS oil and failing to prevent jihadists from crossing its porous border to access Syria. During the siege of Kobane, Turkish forces did nothing to help the beleaguered enclave and instead actively prevented Kurdish men from in Turkey from joining the fight, firing tear gas at activists trying to cross the border.

Turkish tanks roll into Syria. (Photo: © NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/GettyImages

A pocket in the North-West around Idlib and an area in the South-West next to the Israeli border are held by jihadi factions, many backed by Saudi and Gulf donors who are under domestic pressure to help the rebels. Saudi Arabia and other countries are also interested in countering the regional influence of Iran.

In 2013, the Arab League gave members explicit permission to arm and back rebel factions.

Groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and the Islamic Front have formed various coalitions at different times to present a united front against Assad, whom they regard as the primary enemy.

These factions have also been accused of war crimes, such as executing civilians and deliberately burning buses sent to evacuate civilians from rebel held areas of Aleppo.

Fighters from what was then Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra stop a car at a checkpoint. (Photo: © Reuters)

To the east, Kurdish factions such as the YPG have successfully defended Kurdish areas against Islamic State encroachment, joined by a smattering of Western adventurists and anarchists. YPG battalions also form the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militia groups formed in 2015 which includes Arab, Syriac. Christian and Turkmen factions backed by U.S. logistical support.

However, Turkey oppresses the Kurdish minority within its territory. The (originally Marxist-Leninist) PKK and breakaway factions carry out terrorist attacks in Turkey to attempt to achieve rights for the Kurdish citizens of southern Turkey. Consequently Turkish involvement in Syria is partially to frustrate Kurdish dreams of an independent state. In October 2016, Turkey bombed a Kurdish militia affiliated with a U.S. backed force. For their part, Kurdish forces have vowed to fight Turkey directly against anything they regard as encroachment. The U.S. has to carefully balance supporting the most successful faction on the ground at fighting ISIS (the Kurds) without alienating its NATO ally (Turkey).

However, Amnesty International accuses the YPG of forcing ethnic Arabs and Turkmens to leave villages they liberate at gunpoint and razing houses on the grounds that these Arabs might support the Islamic State. Western foreign fighters have also been reported leaving the YPG because of the group’s socialist tendencies. Furthermore, some Assyrian Christians and Yazidis accused Kurdish factions of disarming them ahead of the ISIS onslaught in 2014 and of refusing to allow them to return home after liberating their villages.

Kurdish fighters in Kobane. (Photo: © Screenshot from video)

ISIS still controls a significant swathe of eastern Syria, centered around its de facto capital of Raqqa. Although they have been losing fighters and territory, they are still one of the most powerful factions in the war and retain thousands of soldiers. Even as the regime captured Aleppo, ISIS was able to retake the ancient roman city of Palmyra from the skeleton force left to guard it. Even though they are losing territory, ISIS is expanding their influence in refugee camps and seeking to carry out more attacks internationally.

Given this very complex ground situation, should the U.S. send ground troops into Syria?


MARYLAND MOSQUE MEMORIALIZES ISLAMIST ASSASSIN
A celebration was held at a mosque in Pikesville for Mumtaz Qadri who killed a Pakistani governor critical of the country's heinous blasphemy laws.
MARYLAND MOSQUE MEMORIALIZES ISLAMIST ASSASSIN
Thu, February 16, 2017
A mosque in Maryland held a celebration in honor of an Islamist assassin who killed a governor in Pakistan for speaking about against the country’s heinous blasphemy laws.
As reported by Rabwah Times, the Gulzar E. Madina Mosque in Pikesville, Maryland, hosted an Urs celebration, a traditional commemoration reserved for saints and holy people, for Mumtaz Qadri who killed the governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer in 2011.
Qadri was Taseer’s bodyguard and was incensed that Taseer called for the reform of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. Taseer had also expressed support for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman framed for blasphemy, arrested and sentenced to death in Pakistan.
Blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which carry the death penalty, are often used to exact revenge against Pakistan’s mistreated minority populations. Often, just the hint of a blasphemy accusation will spark mob violence resulting in death for the person charged.
After Qadri shot Taseer to death, he was lauded as a national hero. More than 100,000 people attended his funeral and riots ensued for weeks after he was arrested, tried and hanged for his crime. He is viewed as a saint by a large sector of the population and a shrine is being built in Pakistan to memorialize him.
The Urs event at the Maryland mosque was advertised in the Urdu Times, the largest Urdu newspaper in the U.S. Rabwah Times reported a robust turnout, with participants including young children and teenagers.
The speakers included Syed Saad Ali, an Islamic scholar based in New Jersey, who chastised the crowd, saying:
“Warrior Mumtaz Qadri kissed the noose in love for Prophet Mohammed When Qadri was in jail for five years. What did we do? What effort did we make (for his release? Why did we not go where he was being held? Qadri did everything for us and for the love of Islam and we could not even stand by him? People say Islam teaches peace…..I say Islam teaches us ghairat (honor). Who will now stand up?”
Ali also praised another killer, Tanveer Ahmad, a British-Pakistani man who stabbed to death Asad Shah, another British-Pakistani in Scotland. Shah, from the Ahmadi sect, made posts on social media that Ahmad deemed blasphemous.
Speaking about Ahmad, Ali said,
“Our warrior Tanveer, who is sitting in a jail in Scotland, I don’t know if someone knows or not, when that Mirzai (Ahmadi) spoke his ‘sacrilegious rubbish,’ he went there and stabbed him 27 times, and the police arrested him and right now he is in a jail in Scotland. So if we just take a step forward, angels will automatically come for our help. But what Mumtaz Qadri has done is something amazing, he has surpassed all these warriors.”
Another speaker, Baltimore-based Imam Ijaz Hussain, stated, “Mumtaz Qadri was not a terrorist and whoever says, “We are with you O Prophet” cannot be a terrorist.”
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/maryland-mosque-memorializes-islamist-assassin

Trump, Netanyahu Pledge to Challenge Radical Islam
At a joint news conference in Washington DC, the United States and Israeli leaders singled out ISIS, Iran and Palestinian incitement.
Thu, February 16, 2017
Trump, Netanyahu Pledge to Challenge Radical Islam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lrpdD_3xXk

WHAT MAKES WESTERN WOMEN WANT TO JOIN ISIS?
With over 40 Australian women lured into joining ISIS, a new study helps to better understand ISIS’ effective tactics in recruiting women.
BY CODI ROBERTSON Tue, February 14, 2017
A new report written by Sofia Patel at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute explores the persuasive techniques used by Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) on Western women. This is of increased importance as ISIS has lured over 40 Australian women into its ranks.
According to Patel, it is a mistake to view female ISIS members as taking on merely passive roles as jihadi brides. Their roles have evolved to warrant consideration as “perpetrators and preventers of terrorist attacks.”
The report also sheds some light on how ISIS has been successful in its recruitment of Western women. The group’s main strategy is to offer a narrative of empowerment. And it is not difficult to see why such a narrative would prove successful as women seek empowerment all over the world.
The terror group promises its female recruits missions of “divine responsibility and duty, [and] promise[s] liberation and an idealized, utopian existence in the caliphate.”
It is not uncommon for any person to seek greater meaning and purpose in their lives. But the kind of Westerners with whom ISIS has had the most success seem to have an even greater yearning for meaning and purpose.
It is telling that the report finds that these tactics do not actually express how ISIS really feels about women, which is a completely different story. In actuality, ISIS sees the primary value of women as helpers to maintain the male mujahideen (jihadists) numbers.
The report also found that women who are successfully recruited by ISIS are seeking a feeling of sisterhood that is based on shared experiences and goals. In addition, they seek adventure, romance and the reclaiming of spirituality
MORE .https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/what-makes-western-women-want-join-isis

WHY HAMAS' NEW LEADER IN GAZA IS MORE EVIL THAN THE LAST ONE
In secret elections, Hamas chose its senior military man Yahya Sinwar, who is described as ruthless and extremist even by Hamas standards.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Tue, February 14, 2017
In secret elections, Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar to head its operation in Gaza. Sinwar, described as ruthless and extremist even by Hamas standards, emerged from the military wing of the organization versus previous leaders who were chosen from the political wing.
He has been characterized as an “ideological purist” who killed Palestinian collaborators with his bare hands.
In his acceptance speech, Sinwar spoke of resorting to all measures to free Hamas prisoners from Israeli jails, recognized as code words for the green light to kidnap Israeli civilian and soldiers to use as bargaining chips.
“His victory indicates that Hamas’s military wing, which is more hardline and extreme than the political leadership, has taken charge of an important position in Hamas’s leadership,” noted expert Shaul Mishal, speaking to the The Jerusalem Post.
“Palestinians who have met with Sinwar characterize him…as someone who speaks in apocalyptic terms about perpetual war with Israel,” reported the Israeli daily Haartez.
Sinwar was arrested in 1988 by Israel for his role in killing Palestinian collaborators as well as his involvement in terrorism against Israel and sentenced to four life terms in prison. He spent 22 years in prison before being released in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit.
In that exchange, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released for just one Israeli soldier. Sinwar was against the deal, saying Hamas should have held out for better concessions from Israel.
While in jail, he was successfully treated in an Israeli hospital for a brain tumor, as Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Dani Dayan tweeted: “Israel saved the life of newly elected Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar from a brain tumor. Now he vows to annihilate Israel.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-hamas-new-leader-gaza-more-evil-last-one
NINE-YEAR OLD PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS IN UK

Meanwhile in Turkey, authorities are investigating a number of ISIS schools in Istanbul. Radicalization of children remains a key goal of ISIS
A nine-year-old British boy stood up in class and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, he told the media.
Teachers informed the government’s Prevent program, who came to the school and spent a year holding de-radicalization sessions with the child.
Identified only as Haroon and now aged 10, he told the BBC Radio Four’s Today program how he became entranced with the terrorist group following the Paris attacks in 2015.
Haroon began searching for information about the group over the internet. Initially, he found news stories and a Channel Four documentary, but then accessed Islamic State propaganda material directly, including beheading and torture videos.
He also said he had been bullied at school and called a “terrorist” by his classmates, which drove him to Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) propaganda.
"I saw men with hands behind their backs. They were hit and told to sit down. That's when they cut their heads off,” Haroon said.
"On a weekend, everyone was outside playing, so I would sit freely in the living room with the computer.".
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/nine-year-old-pledges-allegiance-isis-uk

FOUR MUSLIM GROUPS REJECT US COUNTER-TERROR FUNDING
For these groups, their image is a higher priority than actually fighting radical Islam and helping their communities
BY RYAN MAURO Mon, February 13, 2017
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Four Minnesota youth from the Somali community who were convicted of terrorism-related offenses.
In a revealing trend, four nonprofits groups involved with the Muslim-American community have rejected federal funding for countering violent extremism. For these groups, their image -- as well as making a political point – is a higher priority than fighting radical Islam and helping their communities.
The four Muslim groups had been privileged to receive Homeland Security grants to support their efforts to “counter violent extremism,” a generic and politically-correct term that the Obama Administration used to avoid verbiage related to Islam.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/four-muslim-groups-reject-counter-terror-funding


THANKS TO SECURITY OFFICIALS, THESE TERROR ATTACKS WERE STOPPED
Clarion Project thanks security personnel in the U.S. and abroad for preventing these five terror attacks.
Clarion Project thanks security personnel in the U.S. and abroad for preventing these five terror attacks.
Sun, February 12, 2017
1) Mohammed Jalloh, 26, of Sterling, Virginia was sentenced to 11 years in prison for providing material support to a terrorist organization. After two attempts to join the Islamic State overseas, Jalloh returned to the U.S. and talked to an undercover FBI agent about carrying out a Fort Hood-style attack. He also sent hundreds of dollars to an undercover FBI employee whom he believed was a member of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
2) Four people were arrested in southern France in a raid which French officials say prevented an “imminent attack.” The arrests included a 16-year-old girl who pledged allegiance to ISIS in a recent video posted on social media. The raid uncovered a bombing-making factory stocked with chemicals used in the November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by ISIS.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/thanks-security-officials-these-terror-attacks-were-stopped

GEORGETOWN PROFESSOR CONDONES RAPE AND SLAVERY UNDER SHARIA
No flap has ensued at Georgetown University after one of its professors declared, 'It’s not immoral for one human to own another human.'
A Georgetown professor of Islamic studies sent shockwaves through the academic and secular world for a lecture he gave essentially condoning Islamic slavery and nonconsensual sex (that’s academic for “rape”).
That would have been the opening sentence to comment on such a lecture if we lived in normal times – which we don’t. The lecture in question actually created very little stir – neither at the university where he is employed nor elsewhere save for some very astute blogs (see here and here) deconstructing the professor’s astonishing breadth of obfuscation.
In a lecture (see below) at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (a Muslim-Brotherhood-linked group) and in subsequent questions and answers following his talk, Georgetown Islamic Studies professor Jonathan Brown, a convert to Islam, declares:
“It’s not immoral for one human to own another human.”
He waxes poetic about the great life a slave has under sharia law (versus slavery under white men in the South) without actually defining that life. Perhaps, as Clarion Project has done, he should get his information from a Yazidi girl from Iraq.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/georgetown-professor-condones-rape-and-slavery-under-sharia

https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/poll-majority-europeans-want-halt-muslim-immigration
POLL: MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS WANT HALT TO MUSLIM IMMIGRATION
Poll: Majority of Europeans Want Halt to Muslim Immigration
The survey asked respondents in ten countries if “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped.”

The survey asked respondents in ten countries if “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped.”

A majority of survey respondents in eight out of 10 European countries agreed with the statement “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped” according to a recent poll.

The survey, conducted by leading international think tank Chatham House, polled over 10,000 respondents.

The strength of agreement varied by country, with 71% in Poland, 65% in Austria, 53% in Germany and 51% in Italy to 47% in the United Kingdom and 41% in Spain.

An average of 25% said they neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement. In no country did the proportion of people who disagreed with halting immigration from mainly Muslim countries exceed 32%.

The results are stark. They indicate a Europe which is fed up with the problems associated with Islamist abuses: terrorism, rape, inter-communal violence and a population which is willing to countenance measures which previously would have been regarded as extreme to halt it.

High profile terrorist attacks have rocked Europe over the past two years. Attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the Bataclan theatre, the Bastille Day parade in Nice and a Christmas market in Berlin are among a string of atrocities which have made people angry.

At a vigil following the Nice attack, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was booed by the crowd who shouted, “You are the terrorist!” at him. An IFOP poll conducted for Le Figaro indicated that 67% of French citizens did not trust the government to deal with terrorism.

This is despite the widespread of troops.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s warm welcome of refugees and migrants from all over the world has soured with her constituents. Events like the mass sexual assault attacks on New Year’s Eve the past two years, for example, have raised public ire. Opposition to Merkel’s open door refugee policy was instrumental in pushing the populist Alternative fur Deutschland party to victory in elections in Merkel’s home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Opposition to immigration was already high in Europe before the current wave of mass immigration due to issues not purely related to Islamism, but over concerns relating to the economy, the amount of available housing and over what it means to have a national identity in an increasingly diverse country.

For example, the 2013 British Social Attitudes Survey indicated that 56% of the public felt immigration should be “reduced a lot” while a further 21% felt immigration should be “reduced a little.” In 2011, an Ipsos poll recorded over 65% of respondents from Spain, Italy and the UK as either partly agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement “There are too many immigrants in our country.”

Racism should also not be ignored as a contributing factor. Maajid Nawaz, an ex-Islamist and now counter-terror activist, describes in his autobiography the horrific bigotry he and members of his Pakistani community were subjected to growing up in the UK.

A study done by Amnesty International recorded an 87 percent increase in hate crimes against racial, ethnic and religious minorities in Germany from 2013-2015. Similar increases were recorded by government officials after the Brexit referendum in the UK. A 54% increase in hate crimes was recorded in Austria from 2014 to 2016, which the Interior Minister explicitly linked to the migrant crisis.

While Europe has many issues besides the problem of Islamism to contend with that exacerbate anti-immigrant sentiment, the specifically anti-Muslim sentiment highlighted by this poll would be alleviated greatly by a more direct effort to tackle Islamist ideology as well as more concerted efforts to improve integration and build a more cohesive society.
The survey asked respondents in ten countries if “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped

FIVE REASONS THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS A TERROR GROUP
The bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization is experiencing pushback. Here’s why the detractors are wrong.
Please support Clarion Project’s campaign and petition your local elected representative to support the bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization
“For more than 30 years, Muslim Brotherhood associated movements and parties have been a force for democratization and stability in the Middle East.” Professor John Esposito, the Director of the Bridge Initiative, made this remark in a submission to the House Judiciary Committee, when asked to provide evidence concerning the proposed bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
Here are five reasons his claim is false and the Muslim Brotherhood should be listed as a terrorist organization.
1) Its stated goal is the establishment of an Islamic State
MORE
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/five-reasons-muslim-brotherhood-terror-group

According to the original bylaws of the Muslim Brotherhood, the stated goal of the organization is the restoration of an Islamic state as a system of government ruled in accordance with sharia. Article 2:E of the bylaws, as posted on the Muslim Brotherhood’s English-language website as recently as 2011 and recorded by the Investigative Project on Terrorism reads “The need to work on establishing the Islamic State, which seeks to effectively implement the provisions of Islam and its teachings. Defend the nation against the internal enemies, try to present the true teachings of Islam and communicate its ideas to the world.”
In 2012, when Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi was running for president, his candidacy was launched at a rally at which the man introducing him, Safwat Higazi, declared “We can see how the dream of the Islamic Caliphate is being realized, Allah willing, by Dr. Mohamed Morsi and his brothers, his supporters, and his political party.” Translation by MEMRI.

PENN. MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO AIDING ISIS, THREATENING MILITARY
Jalil Ibn Ameer Azaz, 20, tweeted a list of more than 100 service members with their pictures and addresses with instructions to kill them.
A young man from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty this week to two felony charges connected to aiding Islamic State and targeting U.S. military personnel.
Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz, 20, who was born in the U.S., published on Twitter a list of more than 100 service members along with their pictures, rank and addresses with the message: “Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their street.”
In addition, he sent out communications on close to 70 different Twitter accounts as well as on an encrypted messaging application spreading propaganda from Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and trying to help people travel to their “caliphate.”
Military personnel on Aziz’s lists were notified of the threat and precautions were taken.
Aziz was arrested in Harrisburg in December 2015. A search of his parent’s house where he lived netted five high-capacity magazines, a balaclava and other potentially incriminating belongings.
In one of his tweets, he expressed his desire to travel to Islamic-State territory, saying he would buy a Yazidi girl there when he arrived.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/penn-man-pleads-guilty-aiding-isis-threatening-military

ISIS Created Chemical Weapons in Mosul University
The Pentagon announced that Mosul University, ISIS' headquarters in the city, was used by the terror group to produce sulphur mustard.
Wed, February 8, 2017
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) used its headquarters in Mosul to make chemical weapons, the Pentagon announced January 7, reported Al-Monitor.
Coalition forces, in their steady assault to retake the Iraqi city, found chemicals inside the university, which the terror group had claimed as its control center.
The university was liberated last month. Booby traps set by the jihadis in the heavily-damaged buildings made a thorough investigation difficult.
However, tests confirmed the university was “central to the ISIS chemical weapons program,” stated Pentagon Spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis. “They have received positive samples; that is indeed what was going on there."
Davis said the chemical, sulphur mustard, was “used primarily as an irritant and something to scare people," rather than an agent of death.
Since the beginning of the assault on Mosul in October, coalition forces have captured most of the eastern parts of the city. The western part of the city still remains in ISIS hands.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-created-chemical-weapons-mosul-university

The Party’s Over: Treasury Dept. Clamps New Sanctions on Iran
Intent on holding Iran to the nuclear pact, the Trump Administration sanctioned Iran's burgeoning ballistic missile program.
Intent on holding Iran to compliance with the nuclear pact the Islamic Republic agreed to in 2015, the Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian companies as well as individuals who support Iran’s burgeoning ballistic missile program.
Ballistic missiles are mainly used to deliver nuclear warheads.
The new administration’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn declared the sanctions mark the end of “turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community,” as reported by The Hill.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/party%E2%80%99s-over-treasury-dept-clamps-new-sanctions-iran


‘BECOME A SUICIDE BOMBER’ Posters Hit London
The posters are an attempt to compare suicide bombers to the crew of a British naval nuclear submarine.
Posters calling on the public to “become a suicide bomber” have appeared at bus stops across London. The posters purport to be recruitment posters for the Royal Navy, but feature a picture of British naval servicemen in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle.
“The crew of our nuclear submarines are on a suicide mission," the text reads. "To launch their missiles means death is certain, not just for them, but for the millions of innocent people those bombs will obliterate, and for the rest of us too.”
The posters were made by a political activism group called Special Patrol Group and designed by the British artist Darren Cullen.
“The inspiration for the project came from finding out that the crew of a nuclear submarine would not survive the deployment of Trident,” Cullen told The Telegraph.
"I'd never heard this discussed before. When we think about Trident we don't tend to imagine the crew out on a suicide mission.
"It struck me as another example of the ethical double standard we have in the West when it comes to which types of violence we condemn.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/%E2%80%98become-suicide-bomber%E2%80%99-posters-hit-london

EGYPTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRST TO FIGHT AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF FGM
As the world commemorates the Int’l Day for Zero Tolerance for FGM, an Egyptian medical school becomes the first to teach against the practice
The head of the obstetrics department in the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Zagazig University Dr. Abd el-Majid Sarhan said he will not wait for the high council of the universities to include anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) course materials in the curriculum of the school.
He will begin to teach against it immediately.
Speaking to the well-known Egyptian news outlet Alyoum A-Sabi (The Seventh Day), Sarhan said he will include a series of lectures that include materials and different methods of combatting FGM to his sixth-year medical students, marking a first in Egypt.
The assistant secretary general of the high council of universities said he was open to receiving curriculum proposals against FGM from the heads of the departments of obstetrics and gynecology from medical schools across Egypt.
FGM is a brutal procedure involves the cutting out of all or part of the external female genitalia. The practice is normally carried out on young girls just before or after the onset of puberty, but is also performed on newborn babies and older girls.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/egyptian-university-first-fight-against-scourge-fgm

IRAN'S DOCTOR DRAIN
The economic reality of Iranian physicians is so bad they are now forced to live in poverty or leave the country for opportunities abroad.
Economic insecurity for physicians in Iran is an increasing problem in the Islamic Republic. After years of college and medical school, one would think that a physician would be considered a national asset, like in all other countries in the world.
Yet, in Iran, many medical professionals are forced to sell mobile phones or drive taxis part times to make ends meet -- or leave the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
Fifty percent of Iran’s general physicians are either unemployed or not active in their field, the state-run Alef website reported, citing head of Iran’s General Physicians Association, Alireza Zali.
Living conditions for physicians have deteriorated to an extent that many medical school graduates are even resorting to jobs in construction, according to a report posted on the state-run Tabnak website, working on projects belonging to former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaie.
“These physicians have very low incomes and live in poor conditions,” Zali said in a report by the official IRNA news agency. “Recently, the Health Ministry said the highest income some physicians are earning is around 18 million rials a month (around $465) … [even] after 20 years of experience there are physicians earning [only]12 million rials a month ($315).
The economic reality of Iranian physicians is so bad they are now forced to live in poverty or leave the country for opportunities abroad.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/irans-doctor-drain

VIDEO: Meet Lisa Miara - a Real Hero
After her son was wounded in two terror attacks Lisa Miara created Springs of Hope to help victims of Islamism. Today she works with Iraq's Yazidis
Lias Miara is an incredible woman. After her son was lynched and then narrowly escaped a second terror attack in Jerusalem, Israel, she created an organization to help others.
Join her in this short video at a camp for displaced Yazidis in northern Iraq.
VIDEO

MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/video-meet-lisa-miara-real-hero

https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-biting-women-death-metal-torture-devices
ISIS Biting Women To Death With Metal Torture Devices
The notorious all-female Al-Khansa Brigade is torturing women to death for minor infractions like not wearing black socks.
Sun, February 5, 2017
What scares residents of Mosul living under the Islamic State the most is when they see the Hisbah (morality police) in the marketplace and the narrow streets. They know they cannot avoid their head-to -toe checks.

Several chilling stories about the outrages perpetrated by the morality police were told to the press by a woman in her twenties identified only as S, who spoke to the Russian outlet Sputnik (Arabic) in Iraq on the condition of anonymity.

Faten (aged around 10) committed the crime of briefly stepping out over the threshold, while cleaning. Women and girls are not allowed to leave their houses alone. The Hisbah’s female al-Khansa brigade in Mosul made Faten’s mother choose who will receive punishment of being bitten – her or her daughter.

Thinking the bite would be a simple bite with teeth on the hand, the mother decided the daughter should receive the punishment.

But the ISIS women produced a hideous metal biting device, with poison on the teeth. The device tore Faten’s flesh in various places. The poison didn’t have even time to do its job as Faten bled to death from the wounds.

Similar punishments were administered for infractions including but not limited to:

Breastfeeding a child outside the house

Not wearing black socks or black sleeves
Lifting a full face veil
Wearing high heels
Wearing a jilbab (floor length robe) that isn’t black
Wearing shoes that aren’t black
Having a purse that isn’t black
S. also shared the story of a woman who went to the market and lifted her veil slightly to check the merchandise (she couldn’t see it properly). She was immediately set upon by members of the Hisbah, who ordered her to sit on the ground while they lashed her 30 times on the spot.

No one in the market acted to help her, because they were afraid they would get the same treatment.

The woman made it back to her house, but died from her injuries a few hours later.

S. told Sputnik that she’s tried not to leave the house for two years. Every time she puts on the veil she feels dizzy and nauseous and her blood pressure goes up.

“I never felt like I was a human being. Why all of this black clothing?” she told Sputnik. “It’s like I’m getting into a bag and it’s closed on me so I can’t even breathe or enjoy the sun. When I go out in the car or visit my relatives, … I don’t dare to wear the kind [of transparent veil] that shows the eyes because the people of Al-Hisbah focus on the eyes and can estimate the age of the girl. If she’s young she is more likely to be targeted for abuse. For

this reason, I prefer to cover myself totally.”

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LINDA SARSOUR
Linda Sarsour is a controversial activist now suing President Trump. Here are five things you need to know about he
Linda Sarsour is a controversial activist who co-organized the recent Women’s March protesting the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Now she, along with the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Council on American Islamic Relations, is suing the president over his recent executive order temporarily blocking travel into the U.S. for nationals of seven Middle-Eastern countries.



Here are five facts you need to know about her.
She Attacked Clarion’s Feminist Movie Honor Diaries

Linda Sarsour was one of those behind the campaign against Clarion Project’s interfaith award-winning movie Honor Diaries, which showcases the struggle of nine women’s-rights activists, some Muslim some not, as they campaign against honor violence and female genital mutilation.
Sarsour spread #DishonorDiaries on Twitter to tarnish the film, saying it was illegitimate because of who made the film.
“We don’t need Islamophobes to talk to us and tell the stories of oppressed and abused Muslim women," she told Al-Jazeera America. "It’s just disingenuous.”
Watch the trailer for Honor Diaries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WijI2U7dKY
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/5-things-you-need-know-about-linda-sarsour

U.S. EQUIPS KURDISH FORCES WITH ARMORED VEHICLES
The Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces have long requested heavier support from the U.S. and now they’re getting it
Wed, February 1, 2017
The new armored vehicles arrive. (Photo: © Twitter)
A shipment of armored vehicles has been sent to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) by the U.S. government to help the fight against ISIS. The SDF is a coalition of militia groups led by the YPG which fights against ISIS in northern Syria.
The vehicles called “Guardians” are manufactured by a Canadian firm.
“American armored vehicles have arrived for the Syrian Democratic Forces for the first time," SDF spokesman Talal Sello told media. "This happened after the new U.S. administration came to power.
He credited the change in support with the arrival of the new administration, saying “previously we didn't get support in this form; we would get light weapons and ammunition. There are signs of full support from the new American leadership - more than before - for our forces.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/us-equips-kurdish-forces-armored-vehicles

Trump's 'Muslim Ban'
It’s not a ban, and it’s not on Muslims. It’s about Region, not Religion. Have your say!
Clarion Project - Challenging Extremism | Promoting Dialogue
Published on 31 Jan 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8uOBO-6rz8


DON’T LET CAIR TAKE ADVANTAGE
In the aftermath of Trump’s executive order, groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations are trying to increase their support.
Many people across the political spectrum have voiced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order temporarily banning people from seven listed Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Foremost among these is the Council on American Islamic Relations, which presents itself as America’s foremost Muslim civil rights organization.
However, the organization is not solely interested in supporting the constitutional religious freedoms afforded to Muslim Americans. It is connected to the international Islamist organization the Muslim Brotherhood, which ultimately seeks to implement a system of sharia governance under a caliphate
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/don%E2%80%99t-let-cair-take-advantage

.WHY TERRORISM?
Terrorism is a specific strategy that’s employed to advance the strategic goals of the groups which use it. Here’s why.
Terrorism is often thought of as a plan to kill as many people as possible, lashing out in blind fury against anyone who does not share the extremist beliefs of the terrorist organization. But it isn’t. It’s a strategy of carefully-deployed violence that seeks to advance the goals of the terrorist organizations which choose that path.
Here are four reasons why terrorism has become the tactic of choice for Islamist groups which choose violence.
1) Defeating America Militarily is Almost Impossible
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-terrorism

ISLAMISTS CELEBRATE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY VICTORY IN FRANCE
As France readies to elect a new president, Islamists are rooting for the Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon, who just won his party's primary.
Benoît Hamon, the ’candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood,’ won the January 29 second round of the French Socialist Party primaries by a landslide 58.71 percent against former prime minister Manuel Valls, who gained 41.29%.
Hamon’s victory was met with an explosion of jubilation by French Islamists on their social media accounts.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/islamists-celebrate-presidential-primary-victory-france



GERMANY, MALAYSIA MAKE ISIS-LINKED ARRESTS
Germany, Malaysia Make ISIS-Linked Arrests
German police officers also raided a mosque thought to be used as a recruiting ground for Islamic State. One suspect is a guard with a national airline. Wed, February 1, 2017
While ISIS may be in territorial decline in the Middle East, the search continues elsewhere for its operatives, recruiters and supporters. Germany and Malaysia just announced the arrests of Islamic State-linked terror suspects.
In the German case, Berlin security personnel arrested three men who were planning on traveling to train and fight with ISIS. German police officers said there was no evidence the men were preparing to launch an imminent attack inside Germany.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/germany-malaysia-make-isis-linked-arrests


ISIS MEMBERS ARE BEING KILLED BY IRAQIS
Reports are emerging from Iraq that as the group loses ground, locals are taking revenge on Islamic State’s hated fighters.
A “mysterious blast” killed ISIS commander Abu Taha al-Iraqi and three other militants on the border between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces on January 30.
A day earlier, ISIS executioner Abu Sayyaf, who killed at least 100 people, was ambushed and stabbed to death in Mosul by unknown assailants.
Last week ISIS commander Abu Abdel Rahman was shot and killed by unknown gunmen.
These sudden attacks are thought to be revenge killings as ISIS loses its grip on control as it is driven back.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-members-are-being-killed-iraqis

PROMINENT CHRISTIANS OPPOSE PRIORITIZING CHRISTIAN REFUGEES
Some Christian leaders condemned Washington’s decision to start prioritizing Christians when considering refugee applications.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, January 30, 2017
Senior Christian leaders from various sects have spoken out against U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to give first preference to religious minorities when accepting refugees.
Trump’s recent Executive Order on immigration mandated that when the refugee resettlement program is restarted, following a 120-day suspension, it will prioritize Christian refugees and those of other persecuted faiths, as opposed to Muslims when dealing with refugees from Syria and Iraq.
Last year Christians made up almost half of the 85,000 refugees admitted to the United States. The U.S. allowed in 37,521 Christians and 38,901 Muslims in 2016, according to Pew Research. Of refugees admitted from Syria in 2016, 99% were Muslim and just 1% were Christian.
Those objecting include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the multidenominational Church World Service.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/prominent-christians-oppose-prioritizing-christian-refugees

TRUMP MULLS BANNING MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUP
Senior members of Trump’s transition team told reporters the White House is considering adopting the policy
The White House is mulling designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, according to unnamed members of Trump’s transition team who described a faction in favor and a faction against the move.
A senior member of Trump’s transition team, speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters, “I know it has been discussed. I'm in favor of it.”
A bill to designate the international Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood is gathering steam in Congress.
Clarion Project spearheaded a campaign to educate legislators and move the bill forward over the past year. The bill currently has bipartisan support.
In November of 2015, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the bill, which identifies three Brotherhood entities in the U.S. including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist organization in 2014.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/trump-mulls-banning-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-group



FIREFIGHTER IS 124TH FIRST RESPONDER TO DIE POST 9/11
Irish-born Brian J Masterson, 61, lost his battle against esophageal cancer making him the latest victim of al-Qaeda terrorism in the West.
BY DAVID HARRIS Mon, January 30, 2017
When Brian Masterson lost his fight against cancer, he became just another largely forgotten statistic.
He’s ‘just ‘ the 124th responder to die post 9/11. Not the 100th or even the 125th. Just 124th. That’s a forgettable number.
Irish-born Masterson’s funeral took place at Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in Walden, New York on January 27. The 61-year old died seemingly as a result of breathing in toxic air the day the Twin Towers came down.
Victim 123 died a day before Masterson. But he is already a forgotten number for most people. His name was and remains forever Kevin Rooney. He was a 23-year-old firefighter the day the Twin Towers came down.
So many young Americans cannot remember the day the Twin Towers came down. It’s now taught in history courses in the U.S.
But the legacy of 9/11 is still very much with us.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/firefighter-124th-first-responder-die-post-911

SIX KILLED IN TERROR ATTACK ON QUEBEC MOSQUE
At this time the motive of the perpetrators is unknown, police say two masked gunmen opened fire during services.
A terrorist attack took place in a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday night, killing six and wounding eight more. Masked gunmen burst into an Islamic Center in a suburban area and opened fire as worshippers were finishing their prayers.
Two suspects were arrested but the investigation is ongoing. Police have not yet announced a possible motive for the crime. Others have speculated the attack was motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.
“It seemed to me that they had a Québécois accent,” a witness told Radio-Canada’s French language service. “They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, 'Allahu Akbar!' The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head. There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”
The Quebec Islamic Cultural Center was targeted last year in a hate crime in which as pig’s head was delivered to the mosque along with a note reading “Bonne appétit.” The mosque reportedly has a small congregation of around 100 people, predominantly students from the nearby Laval University.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/six-killed-terror-attack-quebec-mosque

HEAD OF ISIS’ WOMEN’S BRIGADE FLEES WITH MILLIONS
Meanwhile, ISIS executes female fighters who refused to wear Afghani men’s clothing and carry arms in Ninveh Province, Iraq.
The leader of ISIS’ al-Hansa women’s battalion escaped with four of her assistants and millions of dollars, according to the Arabic-language al-Sumaria News.
ISIS members were reportedly chasing the quintet across Ninveh Province in Iraq.
Al-Hansa administers female suicide bombers and female prisons in areas controlled by Islamic State. Among the punishments meted out by al-Hansa is the biting of ‘offenders’.
“Four are Arabs and one is from Tajikistan,” an eyewitness told the news outlet. “The leader of the battalion is also considered ISIS’ minister of women’s affairs.”
The report suggests the women were headed for Syria.
Al-Sumaria also reports (Arabic) ISIS forcing women to wear Afghani men’s clothes and carry weapons to fight against the oncoming Iraqi military.
ISIS reportedly executed three women by gunfire because they refused to so do.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/head-isis%E2%80%99-women%E2%80%99s-brigade-flees-millions

CHANGING CHANGING-THE-GUARD AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Thanks to terror fears the ceremony will not take place every day, while the Saturday tradition is canceled at Windsor Palace.
Mon, January 30, 2017
The famous changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London has undergone changes because of fears it could be targeted for terrorism. Meanwhile, the similar Saturday ceremony at nearby Windsor Castle was canceled indefinitely.
The decisions were taken after recent terror strikes in Europe such as the truck attacks in Nice and Berlin last year.
Armed police officers now accompany the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, while checkpoints surround the area. The spectacle only takes place at Buckingham Palace on specific days rather than alternate days as was the custom for decades. It was also moved half an hour earlier so as not to clash with the extra traffic at lunchtime.
And just in case there isn't a ceremony next time you're in London here's a reminder:
Changing the Guard, at Buckingham Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPsTqfqfPIY
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/changing-changing-guard-buckingham-palace

IS TRUMP'S PLAN TO TEMPORARILY BAN REFUGEES JUST?
Clarion Project looks at the pros and cons of halting immigration to the U.S. from Syria indefinitely and from other countries for 120 days
Executive orders will be signed by newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump to temporarily halt refugees from coming to the United States, The New York Times reported.
In a preliminary draft of the order obtained by the newspaper, the plan calls for an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and 120-day ban on refugees from all other parts of the world. At the end of the ban, refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen would be barred an additional 30 days.
At the end of the waiting period, the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. would be cut roughly in half, from 110,000 to 50,000.
“It’s going to be very hard to come in,” the president said. “Right now, it’s very easy to come in.”
At the same time, Trump ordered a wall to be built on America’s border with Mexico and revived existent programs that provide for the federal government to work with local and state officials to track, arrest and deport illegal immigrants with criminal records.
“We are going to get the bad ones out — the criminals and the drug dealers and gangs and gang members,” he said. “The day is over when they can stay in our country and wreak havoc. We are going to get them out, and we are going to get them out fast.”
Although the plan is billed as an about-face from the previous administration’s approach, Obama deported millions of illegal immigrant workers during his first term.
Since then, plans were drawn up to give citizenship to many of the country’s illegal immigrants.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/trumps-plan-temporarily-ban-refugees-just


ISIS GRAPHIC VIDEO: KIDS' SHOOTING EXERCISE WITH LIVING TARGETS
As if all the other videos we've brought you weren't enough, now ISIS uses an empty building for its child soldiers to hunt and kill bound prisoners.
In its latest video, ISIS places bound prisoners in an abandoned building and then lets loose child soldiers to hunt and kill them.
Clarion Project condemns ISIS and its action with every fiber in our collective body but believes the truth must be told about the evil that is ISIS. That is why we decided to publish this video.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-graphic-video-kids-shooting-exercise-living-targets


WHERE IT’S A CRIME TO BLOG
We've collated painful stories of bloggers who are imprisoned or worse as their respective societies don’t respect freedom of expression
In Western countries bloggers merrily write and self-publish knowing that they are safe to so do unless they incite to violence. Not only do they espouse their own political views on a regular basis, they by and large welcome the cut and thrust of debate with those who hold differing views.
Not so in Islamist societies.
Here are just a handful of stories of those imprisoned or worse because freedom of expression is unacceptable and even forbidden in their respective societies:
Merzoug Touati. This young blogger was arrested in Algeria on January 22, according to Salah Debouz, president of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights. “I presume that is related to his writings. For now I have no more details,” said Debouz. Touati, who runs alhogra.com was scheduled to stand trial on January 25. The list of Algerian prisoners of conscience reportedly continues to grow.
Raif Badawi. Arguably the best known of the imprisoned bloggers, Badawi received 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes from a Saudi court. Badawi's "crime" was moderating an internet forum that encouraged participants to voice their opinion about religion in the kingdom. He founded the online forum “Free Saudi Liberals” in 2008 which encouraged open debate about issues that are normally considered taboo in the heavily-regulated Wahhabi kingdom.
Ahmed Douma. Ahmed Maher. Mohammed Adel. These gentlemen were among Egypt’s leading bloggers until they were sentenced to three years with hard labor in 2014. Between them they had four million followers on Twitter. Maher was released from jail in January 2017. They were arguably the lucky ones, when compared to Khaled Said. He was known in the early days of the Arab Spring by his penname Sandmonkey until he was tortured and murdered by two Egyptian police officers.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/where-it%E2%80%99s-crime-blog

GET TO KNOW IRAN’S TERRORIST 'AMBASSADOR' TO IRAQ
The appointment of Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi provides a clear insight into the terrorist nature of the mullahs’ intentions.
Iran’s new ambassador to Iraq is part of a terrorist network, an advisor of the notorious Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force. Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi replaces Hassan Danaii Far, himself a senior IRGC member.
“The Iranian embassy in Baghdad is considered a strategic post outside the country and the ambassador is a highly important figure,” notes the state-run Asre Iran daily.
Masjedi is often quoted by Iran’s media as a senior advisor to the terrorist Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani, also sanctioned by the West and under a travel ban.
According to the Saudi news site Al Arabiya, “The Revolutionary Guards considers the Iranian embassy in Baghdad of strategic importance within the states that are subject to Iranian influence.
“Since the fall of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, all the ambassadors of Iran to Iraq were members of the Revolutionary Guards.”
In contrast to international political norms, Iran’s embassy in Iraq is not under foreign ministry authority. The IRGC enjoys complete hegemony over this diplomatic post.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/get-know-iran%E2%80%99s-terrorist-ambassador-iraq

IS AFGHANISTAN AMERICA’S NEW VIETNAM?
There are still 13,000 U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan, including 10,000 soldiers. The Taliban says it killed 17,500 people in 2016
BY DAVID HARRIS Wed, January 25, 2017
Members of a U.S. Army carry team move the flag-draped transfer case holding the remains of Army Pfc. Tyler R. Iubelt of Tamaroa, Illinois, during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base November 15, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Iubelt, 20, who was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, died November 12 of injuries sustained from a suicide bomb attack at Bagram Airfield near Kabul in Afghanistan. (Photo © Alex Wong/Getty Images)
On April 30, 1975, the United States finally pulled out of Vietnam after 19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day.

On September 26, 2001, the U.S. planted its first boots in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. Fifteen years, 3 months, 30 days later, there are 13,000 members of the American military still in the quagmire that is Afghanistan. Five thousand and six hundred days fighting a battle that some say is simply unwinnable.

In 2016 alone, the Taliban claims it killed more than 17,500 people. In total, some 3,500 Americans gave their lives since the invasion with in excess of 20,000 wounded.

The reasons for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan are obvious and without them, the Afghan’s would slip back into the never-ending swamp of warfare.

Here are some more facts about the “Vietnam” of the 21st Century that came to light in the last few days:

Iran is supplying the Taliban with rockets, according to the governor of Helmand Province
The Taliban launched some 19,000 attacks over the last 10 months, says the Afghan Defense Ministry
As many as 50 people were killed in two explosions in Kabul
Up to 80 ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters were killed in foreign-nation airstrikes in Zabul Province
Germany sent dozens of Afghani refugees back to Kabul. The refugees fear they are returning to death
The problem for the Pentagon and White House is that as soon as America withdraws the last of its 10,000 soldiers and 3,000 trainers, Afghanistan will likely collapse and Islamists could well raise their flag once again over yet another country.
The Islamists are determined to achieve that aim and Afghanistan is ripe for the picking.
The dilemma for Washington is not just moral – the question of how many more Afghanis will die should the U.S. quit – but also strategic. Can the U.S. afford for Islamist ideology to spread even further and deeper in a part of the world that is often out of control and spreads its hate far and wide, including across the borders of Europe and North America?

On April 30, 1975, the United States finally pulled out of Vietnam after 19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day.
On September 26, 2001, the U.S. planted its first boots in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. Fifteen years, 3 months, 30 days later, there are 13,000 members of the American military still in the quagmire that is Afghanistan. Five thousand and six hundred days fighting a battle that some say is simply unwinnable.

In 2016 alone, the Taliban claims it killed more than 17,500 people. In total, some 3,500 Americans gave their lives since the invasion with in excess of 20,000 wounded.

The reasons for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan are obvious and without them, the Afghan’s would slip back into the never-ending swamp of warfare.

Here are some more facts about the “Vietnam” of the 21st Century that came to light in the last few days:

Iran is supplying the Taliban with rockets, according to the governor of Helmand Province
The Taliban launched some 19,000 attacks over the last 10 months, says the Afghan Defense Ministry
As many as 50 people were killed in two explosions in Kabul
Up to 80 ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters were killed in foreign-nation airstrikes in Zabul Province
Germany sent dozens of Afghani refugees back to Kabul. The refugees fear they are returning to death
The problem for the Pentagon and White House is that as soon as America withdraws the last of its 10,000 soldiers and 3,000 trainers, Afghanistan will likely collapse and Islamists could well raise their flag once again over yet another country.

The Islamists are determined to achieve that aim and Afghanistan is ripe for the picking.
Trump Inherits America's Longest War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eGUf_5e_to
The dilemma for Washington is not just moral – the question of how many more Afghanis will die should the U.S. quit – but also strategic. Can the U.S. afford for Islamist ideology to spread even further and deeper in a part of the world that is often out of control and spreads its hate far and wide, including across the borders of Europe and North America?
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/afghanistan-america%E2%80%99s-new-vietnam

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT ISIS COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WORSE
In the Al Hawija district of Iraq's Kirkuk province, which ISIS has controlled since June 2014, ISIS has devised the most horrific forms of execution
Mon, January 23, 2017
ISIS cut out a man’s heart and ate it while he was still alive, as well as executing seven people it accused of spying for the regime with a bulldozer.
Sources in the Kirkuk province who requested anonymity spoke to Al Sumariya News on Sunday relating the latest horrors perpetrated by Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
“Islamic State [ISIS/ISIL] used a bulldozer to execute seven people that were charged with contacting government forces. The bulldozer ran them over while they were alive. Among the people who were executed were people who belonged to the Iraqi security forces,” the source said.
In a separate incident, the source told how “one ISIS fighter cut out a man’s heart and ate it while the man was still alive. The man was charged with contacting government forces. ISIS executed the prisoners at the air force base in Bakara near the Al Hawija district located 55 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk and took photos of it.”
Since gaining control of Al Hawija in June 2014, ISIS has executed dozens of residents of the district for various “crimes.” The most common offense is cooperating with Iraqi security forces

SHOULD THE US LEAVE THE UN?
A bill to pull America out of the UN has been put before Congress. We look at the links between the UN and Islamism and debate the issue.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, January 23, 2017
A bill to pull America out of the United Nations has been proposed. The American Sovereignty Restoration Act would completely remove the U.S. from the United Nations and pull out all U.S. funding for the body.

According to Snopes.com there have been efforts to pull the United States out of the UN since the UN was created in 1945. This bill has been put before the house every year for the last 20 years, but has languished in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and never made it to a vote.

But it is a good idea?
While there are other reasons to support or oppose the UN unrelated to the issue of Islamist extremism, Islamist regimes and their supporters have used the United Nations as a means of advancing their agendas and covering up their human rights violations.
We assess the pros and cons of the United Nations through the lens of tackling radical Islam.
PROS
The United Nations re-elected Saudi Arabia to a seat on its human rights council (UNHRC) this November. This empowers Saudi Arabia to vote on issues of how the UN fights for human rights globally. This is a country where women are not allowed to drive, where critics of the regime face imprisonment, lashes or worse and where the state-sanctioned Wahhabi creed is allowed free reign to govern according to its draconian interpretation of sharia law.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/should-us-leave-un


TRUMP CHOOSES WRONG IMAM FOR NAT'L PRAYER SERVICE
In his first speech as president, Trump promised to eradicate ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ The job needs the right partners.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Sun, January 22, 2017
While the participation of Muslim clergy in the traditional interfaith National Prayer Service held the morning after the presidential inauguration is to be applauded, the imam chosen for the job should not.
January 21 saw Mohamed Magid take his place among other faith groups at Washington National Cathedral at a service in honor of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Magid is the executive director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center and former executive director of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
In September 2014, Magid endorsed a letter opposing the Islamic State terrorist group’s tactics, but endorsed sharia governance’s brutal hudud punishments, the recreation of a caliphate and the Islamist doctrine of gradualism. The letter also implied that journalists that are viewed as dishonest are acceptable targets for violence.
Declassified FBI memos reveal that ISNA was identified as a Brotherhood front as early as 1987. A 1988 U.S. Muslim Brotherhood document states ISNA is part of the “apparatus of the Brotherhood.” A 1991 U.S. Muslim Brotherhood document, which says “its work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within,” lists ISNA as the first of “our organizations and the organizations of our friends.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/trump-chooses-wrong-imam-natl-prayer-service


UNDER SHARIA LAW, THESE WOMEN ARE IMMORAL
A female bodybuilder in Iran, women horseback riders in Saudi Arabia and female bicyclists in Gaza have done all things to ire Islamist culture.
Sun, January 22, 2017
1) A female Iranian bodybuilder was arrested for publishing photos of herself in her work-out clothes, reportedShirin Nobahari (Photo: Instagram)
Shirin Nobahari (Photo: Instagram)
the Daily Mail. She was charged with violating the Islamic Republic’s laws on nudity and thrown in jail after being unable to post bail.
The identity of the body builder was not published but media speculated that the photos were of Shirin Nobahari, who, along with another Iranian woman, participated in an international competition last September.
After the women initially posted pictures of themselves online, they were issued a warning by Iranian authorities.
“Nude” in Iran is any body part that is not covered by the mandatory Islamic clothing – i.e., arms, legs or hair.
2).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/under-sharia-law-these-women-are-immoral


THE SUBJUGATION OF FRANCE: SALAFISM ON THE STREETS
A new collection of testimonials by civil servants, teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, police and mayors show France in transformation
BY LESLIE SHAW Mon, January 23, 2017
In Les Territoires Perdus de la République (The Lost Territories of the Republic), a prophetic book edited by historian Georges Bensoussan published in 2002, a group of French school teachers described the wave of anti-Semitism, misogyny and Islamism that was sweeping through schools in the suburbs surrounding Paris.
The book was met with a deafening media silence.
Fifteen years later, Bensoussann has edited a follow-up: Une France Soumise (A Subjugated France), a collection of testimonials by over 70 civil servants, teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, law enforcement officers and mayors.
The face of France has been transformed in the intervening years. What was a rippling wave back in 2002 has become a tsunami spreading out from the suburban zones that threatens to engulf the entire country.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/subjugation-france-salafism-streets


5 FACTS ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA’S MALE GUARDIANSHIP SYSTEM
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system is the biggest factor keeping women from being able to live full lives.
Mon, January 23, 2017
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system is the biggest factor keeping women from being able to live full lives.

1) Every woman in Saudi Arabia must have a male guardian. A woman’s “guardian” is typically her father or, husband, but it can even be her brother or son. In order to travel abroad, marry and sometimes to work or access health care, a woman must have her guardian’s permission.


2) A Human Rights Watch report called the male-guardianship system in Saudi Arabia “the most significant impediment to realizing women’s rights in the country.”


3)What having a male guardian essentially means is that a woman in Saudi Arabia is never recognized by the Saudi government as full legal adults. She is treated as though she is a minor unable to make many important decisions in her life on her own.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/5-facts-about-saudi-arabia%E2%80%99s-male-guardianship-system


TURKEY APPROVES NEW POWERS FOR ERDOGAN
The legislation will first be put to a nationwide referendum this spring after parliament voted its approval
Sun, January 22, 2017
Turkey’s parliament gave preliminary assent to sweeping constitutional amendments that would abolish the office of the prime minister and see Turkey’s president gain executive powers. The vote will be put to a nationwide referendum in the spring.
The amendments were passed 339 to 149. The vote required a three-fifths majority (330) before the legislation could be put to a referendum. [If the legislation had garnered a two-thirds (367), it would have become law straight away.]
One lawmaker handcuffed herself to the microphone in a last-ditch attempt to stop the bill from passing.
Prime Minister Binali Yilderim said the changes would create a “sole power that would be strong.”
In total, the parliament approved 18 separate amendments to the constitution which must now be ratified in a referendum slated to take place in April. However the country is still under a state of emergency since the attempted coup in mid-July.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/turkey-approves-new-powers-erdogan

https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/dear-president-trump-here-clarions-best-advise
DEAR PRESIDENT TRUMP: HERE IS CLARION'S BEST ADVICE
Clarion Project's National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro, Advisory Board member Raheel Raza and Legal Analyst Jennifer Breedon (l-r).
Clarion staff wishes President Trump success in fighting radical Islam and promoting human rights. We offer the new president a 'to-do' list.
Raheel Raza - Donald Tump's To-Dos List
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3PQvB9eVIg
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Exclusive clip for Clarion project's top tier supporters. Raheel Raza, a member of Clarion Project's Advisory Board, talks about president elect, Donald Trump's to-do list .

Jennifer Breedon - Donald Tump's To-Dos List
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w34mhNmTdJs
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Exclusive clip for Clarion project's top tier supporters. Jennifer Breedon, Clarion Project's Legal and Human Rights Analyst, talks about president elect, Donald Trump's to-do list .

Ryan Mauro - Donald Tump's To-Dos List
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdxGzQbkWzw
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Exclusive clip for Clarion project's top tier supporters. Ryan Mauro, Clarion Project's National Security Advisor, talks about president elect, Donald Trump's to-do list .


INDIANA MIDDLE SCHOOLERS INTRODUCED TO WHITEWASHED SHARIA
As one parent said: The sharia curriculum is like saying that Hitler was as an effective ruler leaving out that he slaughtered 6 million Jews.
A middle school in Indiana has come under fire for a worksheet teaching students about sharia law that whitewashes the many human rights violations inherent in the body of Islamic law reported the Courier-Journal.
“The way that the worksheet is left would be like describing how effective Hitler was at nationalizing Germany and creating patriotism but leaving out that he slaughtered 6 million Jews," said Dean Hohl, one of several parents who voiced his opinion at a recent school-board meeting.
The worksheet is part of the curriculum for seventh-graders at Highland Hills Middle School. On one part of the sheet is an account written by a fictional character, a 20-year-old Saudi woman named Ahlima, who writes that she feels "very fortunate" to live under sharia law in Saudi Arabia. She describes how she will soon become the second wife to a Saudi man.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/indiana-middle-schoolers-introduced-whitewashed-sharia


JIHAD: THE NEW 'VALUE' IN TURKEY’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Turkey is in the process of including the concept of jihad in compulsory school curricula beginning in the 7th grade.
BY UZAY BULUT Thu, January 19, 2017
Turkey is in the process of including the concept of jihad in compulsory school curricula. According to a recent statement by the Turkish Ministry of National Education, Turkish textbooks will be teaching “jihad” as a “value” in classes at Imam Hatip middle schools (schools that offer an Islamic curriculum to pupils).
The ministry has also removed a chapter on the theory of evolution from a textbook for 12th graders.
At a press conference on January 13, Ismet Yilmaz, the minister of national education, explained the details of the new curricula to members of the press. According to the newspaper Cumhuriyet, jihad will be taught in 7th grade while pupils study the fundamentals of “tawhid and wahdat civilization.” (Tawhid is the Islamic belief in the oneness of God and wahdat refers to Islamic unity.)
During 8th grade, jihad will be taught also under the title “Struggling on the path to Allah: jihad” and under the chapter “Worshipping Allah.”
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/jihad-new-value-turkey%E2%80%99s-educational-system

MANCHESTER UNITED TO EMPLOY COUNTER-TERRORISM MANAGER
The famous English Premier League soccer club created the full-time role to protect against terror threats.
Thu, January 19, 2017
Manchester United, one of the world’s most famous soccer teams, has hired a full time counter-terrorism manager to protect the club against jihad and other terrorist threats.
The club is the first in England to create such a role.
The announcement was made at a fan forum. The counter-terrorism manager will be a former inspector from Greater Manchester Police’s specialist search unit, according to The Guardian.
The manager will be responsible for increasing and adapting security measures in place at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/manchester-united-employ-counter-terrorism-manager


10 REASONS HAMAS SHOULD NOT BE IN ANY GOVERNMENT
Fatah and Hamas have formed a national-unity government following talks in Moscow. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.
Thu, January 19, 2017
Fatah and Hamas, which control the West Bank and the Gaza Strip respectively, concluded an agreement to form a national unity government. The Palestinian Authority, which is the official body that rules the Palestinian-controlled areas, as per the Oslo Accords, will now begin the process of forming a new national council. The P.A. president is Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas and Fatah also announced they will hold elections that will include members of the Palestinian diaspora. Elections were last held in 2007.
“We have reached agreement under which, within 48 hours, we will call on [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas to launch consultations on the creation of a government,” Fatah spokesman Azzam al-Ahmad told media.

Here are ten reasons why Hamas is not fit to be part of any government.
1) Hamas Is A Designated Terrorist Organization
Hamas is a terrorist group and is designated as such by Israel (obviously) but also the United States, the EU, Canada and Japan so this one should come as no surprise.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/10-reasons-hamas-should-not-be-any-government

FATWA IN QATAR: NO ANIMALS ON KIDS CLOTHING
A Qatari government body ruled it’s forbidden according to sharia law to have pictures of animals on children’s clothing.
Qatari clerics issued a ruling that children are not allowed to wear clothing with animals on according to sharia law.
The Center of Islamic Fatwas of Qatar, which is a government body, issued the fatwa in response to a question about the permissibility of putting pictures of animals on children’s clothing.
The center replied that pictures of anything with a soul or a spirit is haram, meaning forbidden according to sharia law. They quoted a hadith as saying Mohammed said, “The angels don’t come into a house which has a dog or a picture.”
The center said there are many in the ulema (Islamic scholars) who say it’s forbidden to have a picture of anything that has a soul or a shadow.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/fatwa-qatar-no-animals-kids-clothing


5 THREATS POSED BY RETURNING ISIS FIGHTERS
ISIS has reportedly offered its foreign fighters the chance to return home. Here’s what might happen if they do
Tue, January 17, 2017
Islamic State Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has reportedly given foreign fighters a choice of returning home or carrying out suicide bombings, according to a report by local media outlet Al-Sumaria News.
A source in Ninevah Province said the terrorist group had closed it’s “troops and migrants bureau” that administers foreign fighters and offered the men the chance to die as a martyr in a suicide bombing or to return to their countries of origin.
Here are five risks of what might happen if they did return:

1)They could carry out terrorist attacks in America and Europe
Returning fighters pose a clear national security threat. It only takes one security lapse for a returning jihadi to be able to launch a terrorist attack in their country of origin. Mehdi Nemmouche, the terrorist who murdered four people at the Brussels Jewish museum in 2014 spent time in Syria where he is believed to have been a torturer for ISIS.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/5-threats-posed-returning-isis-fighters

SHOULD CLARION SHARE ISIS VIDEOS? FACEBOOK SAYS 'NO'
After Facebook shut us down for a week for publishing an ISIS video, we asked our readers their opinion on this question. Here are your responses
There's an ongoing discussion about the validity of sharing graphic ISIS videos. Clarion Project firmly believes that it is necessary to share these videos to awaken the world to the horror of ISIS (Islamic State/ISIL) -- to show what this brutal group is actually doing.
As a matter of policy, we place the videos low in our articles, make sure they do not autoplay and always warn our readers of their content. We thus make it the reader's decision whether or not to watch them.
Last week, after we published on Facebook an ISIS video which showed a small child ready to execute a man on his knees in a ball pond of an amusement park (see image above), Facebook not only took the video down, but banned us from posting on our Facebook page for an entire week.
Should Clarion share ISIS videos? That’s the question we ask our readers. Here is a sampling of the hundreds of responses we received. We thank all who took the time to write to us.
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/should-clarion-share-isis-videos-facebook-says-no

GIRL POWER! MEET THE WOMEN WHO ARE FIGHTING BACK
1. Afghani women take up arms against the Taliban; Kurdish and Yazidi women fight ISIS; Saudi and Iranian women oppose repression.
Afghan women in the province of Jawzjan have demanded – and received – arms from the local police to protect themselves against the Taliban and the newly active Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in their area.
The women, most of whom have lost multiple family members to these jihadi organizations are determined not to go down without a fight - and if they can take the terrorists down instead, so much the better.
"I lost nine members of my family. The Taliban and Daesh (Islamic State) killed my five sons and four nephews," one woman told the news outlet Wion News. "I have taken up arms to defeat the terrorists so other people's sons won't get killed."
The local police commander, Sher Ali, said that the women asked him for guns and ammunition last month. "They came to me and said that if I didn't provide them with weapons they would kill themselves - before Daesh or the Taliban could," he said, speaking to Thomson Reuters Foundation.
One woman in her twenties, who requested anonymity, said her husband as well as many other family members had been killed by the Taliban. She is determined to fight back. "I hit the Taliban with this PK (machine gun), and the Taliban fled. Most of their men died. I will stand against Daesh and will hit them too," she declared.
2)
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/girl-power-meet-women-who-are-fighting-back


Pop Singer Saves Concertgoer From Groping
Famous singer Atif Aslam stopped his concert in Karachi to prevent an ongoing molesting attack on a woman in the crowd.
Wed, January 18, 2017
Pakistani singer Atif Aslam was in the middle of performing a concert in Karachi when he spotted a girl being molested by the crowd.
He immediately told his band to stop the music and went over to confront the culprits. “Have you ever seen a girl? She could be your mother or a sister,” he told them.
He then asked his band members to “rescue her” in English and they pulled her up onto the stage. As they did so the crowd chanted “Atif, Atif!”
“"If you behave yourself, you will get a proper show,” he warned the crowd before continuing with the concert. “Otherwise it will wrap up early ... be a human being.”
The singer received plaudits for his prompt actions on social media.
Pakistan is heavily influenced by Islamism and interactions between men and women are limited by convention. Women are treated as lesser than men because of this ideology, leading men to have a sense of unwarranted entitlement when it comes to women’s bodies.
Watch the heartwarming moment here:
Atif Aslam Stops Concert to Save Girl Being Harassed (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6TBXhOogFs
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/pakistani-singer-saves-concertgoer-groping


WHO EXACTLY HAS OBAMA BEEN RELEASING FROM GITMO?
As outgoing US President Barack Obama announces he will not be able to close the prison facility, we look at prisoners who went on to commit acts of terror.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Wed, January 18, 2017
Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo), the controversial U.S. prison facility in Cuba will remain open after outgoing President Barack Obama finishes his second term, despite his campaign pledge to close it.

Last week Obama transferred 10 prisoners to Oman. The transfer was part of his ongoing attempts to clear the facility. By contrast, incoming President Donald Trump has pledged to fill Gitmo up with “some bad dudes.”

In order to find out whom exactly Obama has been releasing, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced legislation yesterday which would require the government to declassify and publicly release information on the terrorist records of all Gitmo detainees who have been released since the November 8 presidential election.
What do we know so far about these former detainees?
Have those released from Gitmo gone on to commit acts of terrorism?
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/who-exactly-has-obama-been-releasing-gitmo


‘PATRIOTS DAY’ CRITICS: ARE THE ‘GOOD GUYS” NOW BAD?
The newly-released movie Patriots Day recounts the events of the Boston Marathon bombing and the race to apprehend the culprits.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Wed, January 18, 2017
Patriots Day, the newly-released movie recounting the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, is a straight-forward telling of the explosions set by the Tsarnaev brothers that rocked the city and the race to apprehend the culprits.
It noticeably doesn’t spend much time analyzing the jihadi aspect of the attack, rather focuses on, in the words of Mashable critic Jeff Sneider, a Boston native, how the attack “united a community and brought out the best in everyone — first responders, medical professionals and especially local law enforcement officials.”
PATRIOTS DAY Trailer 2 (2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL0chMRPOQA

READ MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/%E2%80%98patriots-day%E2%80%99-critics-are-%E2%80%98good-guys%E2%80%9D-now-bad

TEEN SHARIA PATROL BEHIND SAVAGE BEATINGS IN AUSTRIA
The gang, made of up six young people, is responsible for a brutal beating of a 15-year old Polish girl caught on tape as well as other attacks
A teenage “sharia patrol” responsible for a brutal beating of a Polish girl is believed to be behind a series of attacks in Vienna.
The attack against the Polish school girl, identified only as Patricia, which was taped by the gang, shocked Austria when the footage was posted and it went viral.
The “sharia patrol” is made of up six young people, some originally from Chechnya, ranging in age from 16 to 21. They have all been identified. In the taped attack, which took place in a shopping center, Patricia faces her accusers defiantly with her hands in her pockets. She takes 22 hits to her face and head. At one point, she can be seen spitting out blood.
After the attack, Patricia was taken to the hospital and treated for a double jaw fracture.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO of 15-year old being beaten by the sharia gang:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/teen-sharia-patrol-behind-savage-beatings-austria



MUSLIM STUDENTS GAIN GROUP PRAYER RIGHTS IN CANADIAN SCHOOLS
In addition, the students won the right to deliver their own sermons without screening even after some sermons were previously found to be problematic.
The educational director of Canada’s sixth largest city has decided to allow Muslim students in public schools to give Friday prayer sermons without prior screening of the sermon’s content.
The policy is a reversal of current policy, which was implemented after a number of student-written sermons proved problematic.
In addition, the education director is allowing Muslim students to gather in groups for daily prayers in the schools. At school prayer services, mosque rules apply, meaning genders are segregated and menstruating girls are permitted to watch but not participate.
The ruling applies to public schools in Mississauga (a city adjoining Toronto).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/muslim-students-gain-group-prayer-rights-canadian-schools



CHURCH SLAMMED FOR 'OFFFENSIVE' QURAN READING IN SERVICE
The passages selected included verses specifically refuting the divinity of Jesus and calling on Muslims not to worship him.
Glasgow Church Slammed For Quran Reading in Service
The passages selected included verses specifically refuting the divinity of Jesus and calling on Muslims not to worship him.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, January 16, 2017
A Quran reading from the pulpit in a Scottish cathedral has sparked outrage and anger. Passages from the Quran explicitly refuting the divinity of Jesus were read in Arabic from the lectern during the Epiphany service,which celebrates the arrival of the three kings in Bethlehem to bear witness to the birth of Jesus.
While a comparative reading of Quranic and biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus is a laudable and interesting event for a church to do for discussion purposes, to have the Quranic passages read out as part of the service is another matter entirely -- especially when the verses in question explicitly reject the divinity of Jesus at a religious ceremony during the festival that Christians believe marks the revelation of Jesus’ divinity to the world.
The church claims to have received 10,000 angry messages from Christians outraged about the reading.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/glasgow-church-slammed-quran-reading-service


WOMEN DETONATES SUICIDE BOMB WITH BABY STRAPPED TO BACK
The woman was part of three suicide bombers targeting an open market in Nigeria. Due to alert security, they blew up at a checkpoint instead.
Three female suicide bombers carried out an attack in Madagali, Adamawa State, Nigeria, one with a baby strapped to her back. Nine people were killed in the attacks, including two local vigilantes stationed at a checkpoint where all vehicles are screened before being allowed into the town.
Security personnel say many lives were saved because the women were intercepted at the checkpoint, where 14 others were injured. The women were reportedly targeting the town’s open market.
The attack marks the second time this month Madagali was targeted. The first attack killed dozens.
Although no one claimed responsibility for the attack, the Islamist terror group Boko Haram (which literally means “Western education is forbidden”) has waged a brutal war mainly in northeastern Nigeria to institute its radical brand of Islam.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/women-detonates-suicide-bomb-baby-strapped-back



TRIBAL GROUP FIGHTS RADICAL ISLAM IN UNIQUE WAY
A group of angry indigenous people stopped a racial Islamist from deplaning on the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo.
The incident occurred at the Sintang airport when a group of tribal Dayak, dressed in traditional clothes including their traditional weapon, met the plane carrying Tengku Zulkarnain, the current deputy secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s leading Islamic clerical organization.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/tribal-group-fights-radical-islam-unique-way


GERMAN COURT RULES SETTING SYNAGOGUE ON FIRE LEGIT PROTEST
The perpetrators received suspended sentences after the court ruled that the blaze was only intended to draw 'attention to the Gaza conflict.'
A German regional court ruled that the setting fire to a synagogue was not an anti-Semitic act, but rather was intended to draw “attention to the Gaza conflict.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/german-court-rules-setting-synagogue-fire-legit-protest

ISIS USING DRONES TO KILL CIVILIANS AND SOLDIERS IN MOSUL
The Islamic State’s innovative early adoption of emerging technologies shows that it’s not the tech we should be worried about but the ideology.
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is using attack drones to drop grenades while fighting to keep hold of the Iraqi city of Mosul. Captured by ISIS in 2014, Iraq’s second largest city is in the process of being recaptured from the terrorist group by the Iraqi army.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/isis-using-drones-kill-civilians-and-soldiers-mosul

SEATTLE MOSQUE TORCHED IN ARSON ATTACK
Police have confirmed the attack was arson but say they have not yet determined the motive for the crime
A mosque in Seattle was badly burned in what police believe was an arson attack, as reported by CNN. Isaac Wayne Wilson, 37, has been charged with malicious mischief and is being investigated for arson for setting the fire that burned down half of the Islamic Center of Eastside in Bellevue, Washington State.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/seattle-mosque-torched-arson-attack-0

WOMEN SCARED AS SUBURBAN FRANCE BECOMES RADICALIZED
Radicalization is happening through the funding of mosques by Qatar who is importing to France their radicalized version of Islam
BY CODI ROBERTSON Wed, January 11, 2017
Recent undercover footage shows two French women’s rights activists entering a cafe in the Paris suburb of Sevran. Upon entering the cafe, the two women were shocked as they were met with hostility from the notably all-male customers.
One of the male customers told the women, “It’s best to wait outside. There are men in here … In this cafe, there is no diversity.” Another customer explained, “In this cafe, there is no mixing. We are in Sevran, not Paris. Here there is a different mentality. It is like back home.”
Women in suburbs all over France are having similar experiences. After speaking to several women in a suburb of Lyon, journalist Caroline Sinz discovered that these women who now were hiding from the public used to be the ones out protesting the status quo.
“They are afraid, they have already spoken out in many cities, and were insulted and assaulted...So now to avoid threats, and being put under pressure, they censor themselves and keep quiet,” she reported.
Women in France protested these all-male cafes and areas where women are reportedly discouraged from wearing short skirts or walking alone in the evening. Groups like the prominent La Brigade des Mères (The Mother’s Brigade), which works to save children from crime and radicalization, are responsible for these organized efforts.
The attitude of some of these women is that while this way of living may be acceptable in countries like Saudi Arabia, it is not acceptable in liberal democracies like France.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/women-scared-suburban-france-becomes-radicalized

5 REASONS KIDNAPPING OF PAKISTANI ACTIVISTS MATTERS TO YOU
Up to nine secular activists have disappeared in Pakistan as families scramble for news. Here's why their disappearances matters
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Tue, January 10, 2017
Over the weekend, several prominent Pakistani activists disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Activists from Pakistan are speculating that the government is behind the spate of disappearances in which at least four but possibly up to nine activists were kidnapped. Supporters of the missing activists have taken to the streets to demand they are recovered. They are sharing messages of support on social media using #RecoverSalmanHaider and #RecoverAllActivists.
Here are five reasons we should all care about what’s happening in Pakistan:
1)
These are the people fighting against the ideology of extremism
Pakistan is a large country which in the past has sheltered radical Islamist groups such as the Taliban. It’s where Osama bin Laden was able to hide out for years before he was finally brought to justice. One of the two founding fathers of modern extremist Islam, Abu A’la Maududi, was Pakistani.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/5-reasons-kidnapping-pakistani-activists-matters-you


SAUDI WOMAN OFFERS DAUGHTER AS GIFT TO HERO POLICE OFFICER
A patriotic' Saudi mother offered her 22-year-old daughter to a policeman who killed a terrorist in a shootou
Thu, January 12, 2017
A Saudi woman named Umm Ahmad decided to give her 22-year-old daughter as a gift to policeman Jubran Awaji, after she learned Awaji had shot and killed a terrorist in Riyadh.
“I immediately announced to my daughter, Alaa, who saw a video of the incident, that I was proud of this man who risked his life and I wished that he would become my son-in-law and marry her,” Umm Ahmad told media.
She said she doesn’t mind if her daughter becomes Awaji’s second or even third wife and said that her offer was genuine and sincere. She said she doesn’t want the mahr (bride price) and will pay the expenses of the marriage.
When she told her husband about the offer he said, “Have you reached such an obsession with the country and with nationalism?”
However, he approved the offer and praised the bravery of Awaji. Marriages in Saudi Arabia are illegal without the consent of a woman’s male guardian, initially her father but later on her husband.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/saudi-woman-offered-gift-hero-police-officer

QATAR TO OPEN EMBASSY IN GAZA: REPORT
The oil rich nation plans to establish a permanent embassy in Gaza according to Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee.
Wed, January 11, 2017
The head of Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee Abd al-Halim al-Issawi announced on Monday that the country intended to build an embassy in the Gaza Strip.
The site has reportedly already been chosen, a 1.2 acre piece of land south of Gaza City. Issawi has greenlit the construction after visiting the proposed site with contractors, according to local news source Maan News.
Qatar has an office in Gaza, but it is not a full embassy. Most countries which recognize Palestine as a state have their consulates in the West Bank.
Qatar is a large financial backer of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliate Hamas, the Islamist jihadist group which controls the Gaza Strip.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/qatar-open-embassy-gaza-report


SYRIAN WOMEN GO TO WORK, GET DIVORCED
A sharia judge in Damascus has expressed concern that women are taking jobs in coffee shops and restaurants, which is leading to divorce.
Thu, January 12, 2017
With men away at the front, jobs in Damascus in coffee shops and restaurants are increasingly being filled by women, according to the highest ranking sharia judge of Damascus, Muhamad Maharawi.
He stated he was displeased by this change, since he has received many files for divorce from angry husbands who do not want their wives working in these occupations.
Maharawi argued that women working in coffee shops and restaurants was not appropriate for Syrian society.
He explained the reason for this shift in female occupations was due to the fact that men, who used to work in these occupations, have now migrated leaving a hole to fill.
He said that there are many jobs hat are not problematic for women and which are not prohibited under sharia law, noting that the principle which a sharia judge ought to use when considering whether or not an occupation is suitable for a woman is whether or not by working there the woman would damage their husband.
Traditional roles have a large influence in decision-making in these cases. In some areas of Syria, women working in these jobs is not considered damaging to their husband or society, he said, whereas in other areas it is. Therefore, it is very important to know each area.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/syrian-women-go-work-get-divorced


MOROCCO BANS THE BURQA
Although the decision was motivated by security concerns, the ban is also 'an important step in the fight against religious extremism.'
Thu, January 12, 2017
by Leslie Shaw
The Moroccan Interior Ministry has ordered garment-makers and retailers throughout the North African country to stop making and selling burqas. They have further been instructed to liquidate their stocks of the garment within 48 hours or risk confiscation.
On January 9, ministry officials visited markets to hand-deliver written notices informing sellers and tailors of the decision to stop production and sale of the garment. The notice was also posted on social media platforms.
“Following the observations of the authorities, we notice that you sell burqas. We are calling on you to get rid of these garments within 48 hours and to refrain from selling them in the future,” the notice read.
A senior official at the ministry was also quoted by media outlets as saying that they had “taken measures to completely ban the import, manufacture and marketing of this garment in all cities and towns in the kingdom.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/morocco-bans-burqa

THE DUPLICITY OF TURKEY: THUMBS UP TO ISIS
Recent events paint a picture of a government that is secretly facilitating the Islamic State while oppressing its own minorities and journalists.
Thu, January 12, 2017
Turkish courts have arrested several pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies and politicians including the party’s co-chairs since the July 15 abortive coup. The total number of HDP deputies under arrest is 11.
At least 72 co-mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish regions have reportedly been removed from their posts and been replaced by trustees appointed by Ankara and at least 60 Kurdish co-mayors have been jailed on terrorism charges.
In recent months, Turkey has targeted so many Kurdish co-mayors and politicians that it is getting harder to keep track of who among them has been arrested, jailed and released – particularly as a result of the government’s violent crackdown on the Kurdish and opposition media in Turkey.
One of the arrested politicians is Mehmet Ali Aydin, the democratically elected mayor of Diyarbakır’s Kayapinar district. Following the arrest of Aydin on December 6, former Kayapinar district governor Mustafa Kilic was appointed as trustee of the Kayapinar municipality.
Monument erected for Roboski victims in Diyarbakır removed upon order from trustee
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/duplicity-turkey-thumbs-isis

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: ISIS CHILDREN
Children, pulled away from an amusement park, execute ISIS prisoners by shooting and beheading. This is the face of the next generation of jihadis
Mon, January 9, 2017
This extremely graphic Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) video titled "He Made Me Alive With His Blood" features children as young as three years old executing ISIS prisoners from Deir Ez-Zor in Syria. The children have been "pulled away from their games" and sent to "do jihad" by "killing agents with their bare hands."
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/warning-graphic-video-isis-children


CLARION READERS ON FT. LAUDERDALE AND GUNS: HERE'RE YOUR ANSWERS
We asked our US readers: Is there a way to ensure terrorists can’t carry out attacks in airports while allowing legal weapons into airports?
Is there a way in future to ensure terrorists can’t carry out attacks in airports, while allowing citizens to legally bring weapons into airports?

Here are some of the 80 answers we received.

We urge our readers to get involved in educating the public and taking political action against radical Islam. Clarion’s full-length documentaries are all available to be screened – privately, for a group in your house or at a community function.

Get involved! For more information, please contact info@clarionproject.org

My opinion is we can't over react to every event. Yes, analyze if we can improve, but not at the expense of freedoms. You can't make every pubic place risk free.
M
At the end of the day, the non-secure section(s) of an airport are no different than any other public space, such as a mall. I am not sure that protecting people in these public spaces is more important than any other. Are travelers more important and/or more vulnerable than shoppers at malls or fans at a sporting event?
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/clarion-readers-ft-lauderdale-and-guns-herere-your-answers



SHOULD PARENTS RANSOM THEIR CHILDREN FROM TERRORISTS?
The parents of murdered journalist Steven Sotloff, killed by the Islamic State, said the US government prevented them from ransoming their son.
The parents of murdered journalist Steven Sotloff, who was killed in 2014 by the Islamic State, have spoken out about how the U.S. government prevented them from giving ISIS ransom money for their son’s life.
When ISIS spoke out saying they had Sotloff in captivity, they demanded the U.S. release all the Muslims in American captivity. They also issued a ransom demand for $137 million.
Art and Shirley Sotloff told 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl they initially tried to figure out how to raise the money. They were told by the Obama administration that the U.S. does not allow its citizens to pay ransoms to terrorist groups, nor does it pay ransoms itself.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/should-parents-ransom-their-children-terrorists


CHARLIE HEBDO JOURNALIST QUITS, SAYS PAPER HAS "GONE SOFT"
Zineb el Rhazoui quit Charlie Hebdo after accusing the paper of being too afraid to draw the founder of Islam, Mohammed, anymore.
Zineb el-Rhazoui avoided being killed in the massacre of 10 Charlie Hebdo journalists and cartoonists along with a police officer and a building maintenance worker in 2015 because she was in Casablanca. Now, two years after that massacre, she quit the publication, accusing it of going soft on Islamist extremism, arguing the paper will no longer draw the founder of Islam, Mohammed.
Charlie Hebdo was attacked by jihadists from the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who stated the reason for their attack was Charlie Hebdo’s depictions of the religious figure. Many Muslims find any depiction of Mohammed to be blasphemous.
To add insult to injury, the murdered staff of Charlie Hebdo was later given the Islamophobe of the Year award by Britain’s extremist-linked Islamic Human Rights Commission.
“Charlie Hebdo died on 7 January,” Rhazoui told AFP in an interview. She questioned whether the magazine still had the “capacity to carry the torch of irreverence and absolute liberty.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/charlie-hebdo-journalist-quits-says-paper-has-gone-soft


HOW EDWARD SNOWDEN HELPED TERRORISTS SUCCEED
An investigative journalist explains how Edward Snowden’s leaks enabled an entire generation of terrorists to circumvent government intelligence.
In his latest book, investigative journalist and former Harvard professor Edward Jay Epstein analyses how Edward Snowden’s massive leaks regarding U.S. security enabled an entire generation of terrorists to circumvent government intelligence.
In How America Lost Its Secrets: Snowden, the Man and the Theft , which will be released this week, Epstein explains how terrorists, whom the government was once able to track down and stop, have taken Snowden’s advice on how to evade security services. To our detriment, they have been successful.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/how-edward-snowden-helped-terrorists-succeed


'LIKE CHICKENS IN CAGES READY TO BE SLAUGHTERED'
Pakistan's blasphemy laws are usually used against the Christian minority to settle vendettas or force out entire communities. Here’s a fresh case
While Western countries send millions of dollars every year for the development of Pakistan, they are unwilling to ask the Pakistani government to repeal their archaic blasphemy laws.
Meanwhile, minorities in Pakistan are like “chickens in cages” always ready to be slaughtered.
Riaz Anjum, a renowned Christian Pakistani lawyer and chairman of the Pakistan Christian Movement shared a fresh and unfortunate blasphemy case, which was registered at the police station in Nishtar Town, Lahore.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/chickens-cages-ready-be-slaughtered

CHILD TRAFFICKING VICTIMS FORCED TO CONVERT TO ISLAM
Police uncover a crime ring which lures Christian and Hindu children and then converts them to Islam and trafficks them.
At least 72 children were converted to Islam and trafficked over the last seven years by a Bangladeshi criminal ring that preyed on impoverished, indigenous Christian and Hindu children, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
An investigation found an extremist Muslim group was going door to door among indigenous communities in the eastern Bandarban district. The group enticed impoverished families to hand over their children, saying they would receive better education and food. However, once the ring was in possession of the children, they shipped them across the country to Dhaka and other places, converted them to Islam and placed them in madrasas.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/child-trafficking-victims-forced-convert-islam

https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/istanbul-new-years-attack-could-inspire-attacks-us-west
ISTANBUL NEW YEAR'S ATTACK COULD INSPIRE ATTACKS IN US, WEST
Clarion Project's National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro tells national TV he fears the successful ISIS attack could well lead to copycats
BY RYAN MAURO Thu, January 5, 2017
Istanbul is still counting the cost of the New Year's Eve attack on a nightclub that left 39 dead and many more wounded.
Meanwhile, the West fears further attacks.
In this video, Clarion's Ryan Mauro explains why a "successful attack" in the eyes of ISIS is bad news for all of us.
See page.


CAIR LEADER TWEETS SUPPORT OF CONVICTED TERROR FINANCIERS
A petition calls for outgoing President Barack Obama to issue a pardon for those convicted in the largest terror financing trial in American history.
A petition calling for President Barack Obama to use his powers of clemency to secure an early release for terror financiers is circulating online. It gained the support of Imran Siddique, the executive-director of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
CAIR is designated as a terrorist organization itself, by the United Arab Emirates, as it is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Siddique tweeted a link to the petition, which gained 136 retweets (at press time). He also described the trial as a “political lynching.”
The trial was the largest terrorism financing trial in American history. Five senior executives of the Holy Land Foundation, at the time the largest Muslim charity in the United States, were convicted of funneling millions of dollars to Hamas in 2008. An earlier trial in 2007 was declared a mistrial, and an appellate court upheld the sentences in 2011.
CAIR itself was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator at the Holy Land Foundation trial, a designation which was upheld by a judge despite a legal appeal launched by CAIR to have it removed. Read more about the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/cair-leader-tweets-support-convicted-terror-financiers


'STERILIZE HOMELESS WOMEN': IRANIAN OFFICIALS
The highest female adviser to President Rouhani as well as a number of other officials have suggested sterilization 'to put an end to social catastrophes.'
The highest female adviser to President Rouhani as well as a number of other officials have suggested sterilization 'to put an end to social catastrophes.'
Thu, January 5, 2017
Iranian media outlets lashed out against Shahindokht Molaverdi, assistant to the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani for women and family affairs, for suggesting that homeless women who are currently living in graveyards should be sterilized.
Molaverdi’s position is regarded as the top advocate for women in Iran.
Her suggestion came after the media exposed a story about 100 poor homeless people who live in south Teheran and have made graves their homes (the graves provide shelter from the cold and rain).
According to the newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz, the recommendation also came from a number of officials in the Tehran province and representatives of the parliamentary health committee.
The proposal was also brought up in meetings held in the Health ministry, where the possibility of sterilizing women who have been discarded by society to prevent them increasing the number of homeless people was discussed.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/sterilize-homeless-women-iranian-officials


ISLAM AND THE FRENCH ELECTIONS: TABOOS BROKEN
During the election season, a prominent politician's recent statement about Islam and the workplace created a storm in France. He knew it would.
Jean-Christophe Lagarde, president of the French UDI (Union of Democrats and Independents) political party and mayor of Drancy, a northern suburb of Paris, stirred up a storm of controversy by claiming in a recent radio interview that the closure of the PSA Peugeot-Citröen auto plant in the neighbouring suburb of Aulnay-sos-Bois in December 2013 was partly due to omnipresent religious demands by Muslim workers -- including work stoppages for prayer -- that led to reduced productivity.
Lagarde claimed this information was given to him by senior executives during a lunch at the PSA headquarters at the end of 2011. The company had invited local and national politicians to announce and explain the reasons for the impending closure of the plant, which employed 3,000 workers.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/islam-and-french-elections-taboos-broken

FATAH HONORS ISLAMIST TERRORISTS FOR 52ND ANNIVERSARY
The ruling party in the Palestinian Authority celebrated its 52nd anniversary with Facebook posts glorifying bloodthirsty terrorists.
Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, celebrated its 52nd anniversary on Saturday. They used the occasion to heap praise on some of the most vicious Islamist terrorists in Israeli history, despite being ostensibly a secular organization.
Fatah praised Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood branch and jihadist terrorist organization Hamas, featuring his picture among those on a banner of terrorists who murdered Israeli civilians. Praise was also heaped on the founder of Islamic Jihad, Fathi Shaqaqi, along with several other secular terrorists.
“Fatah embraces its people and praises the Martyrs,” the organization posted on Facebook, as translated by Palestinian Media Watch.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/fatah-honors-islamists-terrorists-52nd-anniversary



NIGERIAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS BILL REJECTED BY SULTAN
The bill not only gives women proper inheritance and custody rights, it can help to prevent them from joining Boko Haram for financial reasons.
According the most senior Muslim cleric in Nigeria, the sultan of Sokoto, Mohamed Sa’ad Abubakar, new proposed legislation that aims to allow women a share in their family inheritance and give widows the right to custody of their children even if they remarry is banned by the Quran.
This reaction is in strong contrast to Nigeria’s other religious half, the Christians, which has embraced the proposed legislation. While it’s unclear how many of Nigeria’s Muslims are against the bill, that number is sure to increase given the sultan’s religious status and influence.
The sultan stated at a Quranic recitation ceremony in the northwestern state of Zamfara, “Our religion is total way of life. Therefore, we will not accept any move to change what Allah permitted us to do.”
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/nigerian-women%E2%80%99s-rights-bill-rejected-sultan


JAILBREAKS IN BAHRAIN, PHILIPPINES FREE ISLAMIST TERRORISTS
In the Philippines,
160 inmates escaped, while in Bahrain 10 escaped when their compatriots launched violent assaults on the jails where they were held.
n the Philippines, 160 inmates escaped when the North Cotabato District Jail was attacked in a pre-dawn raid by dozens of armed men who stormed facility located close to 580 miles southeast of Manila. According to local police, the attackers were believed to be members of the banned Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as well as other jihadis who broke off from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a group which signed a peace agreement with the government.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/jailbreaks-bahrain-philippines-free-islamist-terrorists



THROAT SLIT OF CHRISTIAN FOR SELLING ALCOHOL IN EGYPT
An Islamist terrorist snuck up behind a Coptic shopkeeper in Alexandria and slit his throat because he was selling alcohol, according to Arabic media.
A shopkeeper in Alexandria was murdered on the evening of January 3 when an Islamist snuck up behind him with a knife and slit his throat, according to Arab media reports translated by commentator Raymond Ibrahim. The murder was recorded on CCTV.
Adel Suleiman (48) murdered Joseph Lam’i (45) because he owned a shop that sold alcohol, according to an investigative report.
WARNING THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/christian-murdered-egypt-selling-alcohol

Christians Officially Most Persecuted Group of 2016
Islamists killed an estimated 30,000 Christians worldwide last year, out of a total of 90,000 Christians murdered for their faith.
Tue, January 3, 2017 Christians were the most persecuted religious group in the world in 2016, according to a new study conducted by the Center for Studies on New Religions, based in Turin, Italy.
The report said that 90,000 Christians were killed last year, of which 30% were killed by Islamists. The rest were killed by state and non-state persecution around the world, including in North Korea.
An estimated 500 to 600 million Christians were also prevented from practicing their faith last year. The number of deaths is down from 105,000 in 2015.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/christians-officially-most-persecuted-group-2016

This is the Face of Free Speech in Turkey
Renowned Turkish fashion design Barbaos Sansal is in Turkish custody after being deported from northern Cyprus over a video 'insulting' Turkey.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Wed, January 4, 2017
Renowned Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal, beaten and bloody, is in Turkish custody after being deported from northern Cyprus.
Sansal, an outspoken critic of the ruling Islamist AK party, was forced out of the self-declared state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus after making a video on New Year’s Eve deemed to be insulting to Turkey.
In the video, which was uploaded before the jihadi attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people, Sansal rails against the “scores of journalists in prison,” “corruption and bribes” and the increased Islamization of the country:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/face-free-speech-turkey


Fireworks Shot at Church, Police by Mob Shouting ‘Allah Akbar’
Although local authorities in Dortmund, Germany called New Year’s Eve a “quiet” and “normal” night, video footage of the night shows another story.
Wed, January 4, 2017
Although local authorities in Dortmund, Germany called New Year’s Eve a “quiet” and “normal” night, video footage has emerged of a crowd of reportedly close to a thousand men chanting “Allah Akbar,” reported Breitbart.
Some can be seen launching fireworks at the police and a historic church in Dortmund.
The roof of the St Reinolds, Germany’s oldest church, burned in the attack.
Breibart reported:
Already by 7 pm a man was hospitalized with first-degree burns to his face and hands after fireworks were hurled at a group of homeless people outside the city’s main train station. More than two dozen people were injured at festivities in Dortmund, some seriously …
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/fireworks-shot-church-police-mob-shouting-%E2%80%98allah-akbar%E2%80%99

House Homeland Security Chair Backs Brotherhood Ban
In total, 90 members of Congress have cosponsored or voted for the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, including two Democrats.
BY RYAN MAURO Tue, January 3, 2017
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and two other congressmen have endorsed the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. A total of 90 members of Congress have cosponsored or voted for the bill’s advancement, including two Democrats.
The other two new cosponsors are Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Glenn Grothman (R-WI).
The act passed the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year but was stalled when Republican leadership in the House did not schedule a vote. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), did not even schedule hearings. It was originally introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/house-homeland-security-chair-backs-brotherhood-ban


Son of Slain Gov. Faces Blasphemy Charges for Christmas Greetings
Shaan Taseer, son of Salman Taseer who was killed for calling for an end to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, sent X-mas greetings to Pakistan's Christians. BY KALEEM DEAN Tue, January 3, 2017
Shaan Taseer, one of the Pakistani business tycoons’ has been booked by the Punjab police after his Christmas video message to Asia Bibi, other faith prisoners and the general Christian community of Pakistan went viral.
The blasphemy case was registered against Taseer as a “hate crime” against the state and Islam.
Taseer is the son of Salman Taseer, the former governor of the Punjab province, who was assassinated by his bodyguard on January 4, 2011 for declaring the innocence of Asia Bibi, a well-known Pakistani Christian woman who has been the victim of Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Bibi has been languishing in a Pakistani prison on death row since 2009 for after false claims of blaphemy were made against her by Muslim women in her village.
Salman Taseer campaigned to abrogate Pakistn's blasphemy laws. He was shot and killed by his personal bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri who believed the governor’s stance was “blasphemous.” Qadri was hanged in 2016 after a judgment by the Supreme Court and the rejection of an appeal for mercy by the president of Pakistan. Qadri has since become a national hero among Pakistan’s many extremists.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/son-slain-gov-faces-blasphemy-charges-christmas-greetings