THE CLARION PROJECT

Radical Islam and New Year’s Resolutions
The West must act now against radical Islam - not only dealing with terrorists but also seemingly more innocuous forms of Islamist extremism.
BY DAVID HARRIS Sun, January 1, 2017
So what’s your New Year’s resolution? A little less carb intake? Being nicer to your mother-in-law? Or if you are the leader of a Western democracy – making your citizens a little bit safer?
As if we needed another reminder, the Santa Claus terror attack in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve told us just how dangerous our enemy is.
Islamist extremism, radical Islam – call it what you will – has outstripped earthquakes, plagues and famines as the 21st Century’s number-one threat.
READ MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/radical-islam-and-new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions



MUSLIM ACTIVIST TO TRUMP: BROTHERHOOD SHOULD BE BANNED
Dr. Qanta Ahmed asks President-elect Trump to designate the Muslim Brotherhood -- like its Palestinian wing Hamas-- as a terrorist organization.
BY RYAN MAURO Sun, January 1, 2017
Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a Muslim activist who appeared in the Clarion Project’s Honor Diaries documentary about the oppression of women in the Muslim world, asked President-elect Trump to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in a new op-ed in Newsday.
She recommends designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, just like its Palestinian wing, Hamas, has been designated. This is a necessary step in waging a broader ideological war against Islamism rather than just against a few specific Islamist terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Dr. Ahmed writes:
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslim-activist-trump-brotherhood-should-be-banned



LINKS FROM BRITISH CHARITIES TO EXTREMIST GROUPS AT RECORD HIGH
The number of charities referred by the Charities Commission for extremist links has tripled in just three years.
Mon, January 2, 2017
The number of British charities investigated for extremist links is at an all-time high, according to the head of the Charity Commission, William Shawcross. He told The Sunday Times his organization spoke to police officers about concerns over extremist charities 630 times last year, up from 234 times just three years ago.
The commission opened eight compliance cases and four formal inquiries into charities for “allegations of abuse of charities for terrorist or extremist purposes, including concerns about charities operating in Syria and other higher risk areas, in which terrorist groups operate” in the year 2015/16.
Shawcross told The Sunday Times extremism was “the most potentially dangerous and deadly” problem facing charities in the UK.
READ MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/links-british-charities-extremist-groups-record-high



U.S. ISLAMIST GROUP: FAKE FRIENDSHIP WITH NON-BELIEVERS
Islamist who appear in the public usually hide behind their 'moderate' affiliation and don't mention the fact that they are part of this radical group as well.
BY RYAN MAURO Mon, January 2, 2017
The Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, an influential group that issues fatwas (Islamic religious declarations), teaches Muslims that they “are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly but never inwardly.”
The 2009 fatwa , which was originally brought to our attention by John Rossomando of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, cites Islamic scripture in its directive that Muslims must not befriend a non-believer over a Muslim except as a form of deception in response to a possible danger.
See the fatwa below:
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/us-islamist-group-fake-friendship-non-believers



FIDDLING WHILE 'ROME' BURNS: AN AFGHAN'S PLEA TO TRUMP
While the US concentrates elsewhere, Russia, Iran and Pakistan are helping the Taliban disrupt U.S. plans for Afghanistan and south-central Asia.
BY AJMAL SOHAIL Sun, January 1, 2017
The U.S. has been concentrating on the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Scandinavia region to segregate Russia. The U.S. has also been focusing on the Asia-Pacific region to contain China.
In addition, America and its NATO allies ended their combat operations in Afghanistan and pulled back their forces in order to protect the Middle East, Europe and South China Sea.
This implies that America is unable to simultaneously wage war on a number of fronts. Perhaps this is because of a military personnel deficit or lack of funding. However, with this decision, the U.S. lost its land superiority and air supremacy in south-central Asia, especially in Afghanistan, which it enjoyed for more than a decade.
According to a number of intelligence sources, a few months ago a Russian-made helicopter packed with officials from Russia’s Federal Security Committee,
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/fiddling-while-rome-burns-afghans-plea-trump

PERHAPS THE MOST BARBARIC ISIS EXECUTION VIDEO EVER
Please note this execution of two Turkish soldiers captured by Islamic State is of an extremely graphic nature. Help us stop Islamist destruction
Wed, December 28, 2016
From time to time, Clarion Project publishes these videos to educate the public and keep foremost in the world's consciousness the absolute evil of this Islamist terror group.
Warning: This video is extremely graphic
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/perhaps-most-barbaric-isis-execution-video



WATCH IRAQIS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN WAKE OF ISIS DEFEATS
The various fighting forces in Syria and Iraq have ISIS on the run. For the first time in years, churches were packed this Christmas in Iraq.
Here’s your chance to join Iraqi Christians as they celebrate Christmas in the streets and in church:
VIDEO WATCH
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/watch-iraqis-celebrate-christmas-wake-isis-defeats


Saudi Man Jailed for Campaigning Against Male Guardianship
A Saudi Arabian man has been sentenced to a year in jail for his activism about the kingdom’s law that requires all women to have a male guardian.
as reported by The Express Tribune quoting the Okaz Daily.
The man, who was also fined 30,000 riyals ($8,000), was convicted of “inciting to end guardianship of women.”
Authorities arrested the man while he was putting up posters in mosques calling for an end to the law. He was also behind a wide-spread online campaign to end the repeal the law.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/saudi-man-jailed-campaigning-against-male-guardianship


TWO CHARGED WITH PREPARING TERROR PLOT IN UK
A man and a woman were charged at Westminster Crown Court with preparing a terrorist attack.
Munir Hassan Mohammed, 35, and Rowaida El-Hassan, 32, were charged with terrorist activity in Westminster Crown Court in London. The actual charge is “preparing an act of terrorism between 7 July and 12 December 2016,” according to the BBC.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/two-charged-preparing-terror-plot-uk


HATE CRIME HOAXES AND FALSE CLAIMS OF VICTIMHOOD
Clarion has been at the forefront of condemning hate crime against Muslims, but when it’s a hoax, CAIR would do well to simply admit it.
larion Project often speaks out about the phenomenon of hate crimes against Muslims. All of these crimes, based on racism, bigotry and the like, should be robustly condemned by all people. They have no place in civil society or anywhere in the United States, no matter who is president.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/hate-crime-hoaxes-and-false-claims-victimhood

WHY DO EU POLITICIANS AND SECURITY SEE TERROR DIFFERENTLY?
The head of the European Commission and Europe’s border agency have very different attitudes to security and migration.
Europe must respond to terrorism with “openness” and increase the number of refugees allowed into the regional bloc in the wake of the Berlin attack, according to the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
Europe “must continue to offer refuge to people who flee from war zones and from terror,” he told Funke Mediangruppe on December 24. He added it “would be wrong to put all refugees under suspicion” and “hate and terror have no religion, no sex, no country of origin.”
He specifically targeted those calling for tighter border restrictions, saying “anyone who pounces on the rhetoric of exclusion is helping the extremists’ way of thinking, which strengthens their spiral of hate.”
Yet his comments were directly contradicted by leading figures in Europe’s security agencies, who called for increased vigilance.
“We have to be ready,” Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Europe’s border and coast guard agency Frontex told VOANews.
“Some people might get radicalized or manipulated or used or utilized by terrorist groups after they enter the EU,” he said. “This is something where I don't have clear indications.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-do-eu-politicians-and-security-see-terror-differently

CHRISTMAS UNDER RADICAL ISLAM AROUND THE WORLD
As Islamist terrorists strike around the globe, Christians are keeping the faith, marking Christmas in their traditional way
Pakistan:
Pakistan launched a special Christmas train to carry a message of goodwill and cheer around the country. The train was decorated in an appropriately-festive fashion, intended to promote tolerance of Pakistan’s minority communities. Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael and Minister for Railways Saad Rafique jointly opened the peace train for its departure from Islamabad on December 22.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/christmas-under-radical-islam-around-world


EXCLUSIVE: ISIS KILLED MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND
Dr. Zyad Fareeq, a Kakai activist from Iraq, spoke with Clarion Project about how ISIS beheaded his childhood friend.
Every death in Iraq’s ongoing carnage is a tragic personal loss to the people in their lives and has a knock-on-effect on everyone in the community.
In late October Islamic State fighters infiltrated the city of Kirkuk, in the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq. There they killed eight people before they were driven out of the city. Clarion Project spoke with Dr. Zyad Fareeq of Iraq’s beleaguered Kakai community about the recent strike which had devastating consequences.
Haqar Fateh Saeed was a member of the emergency services of the Kurdistan Regional Government. He was at home with his family when his friends called him to say that ISIS had attacked Kirkuk. Sadly along with other members of the emergency services, he was captured by ISIS. They were all beheaded.
After his capture his phone rang and the ISIS jihadi answered. Saeed’s wife had called him and the jihadi answered and told her he would kill her husband immediately.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/exclusive-isis-killed-my-childhood-friend


PHOENIX MAN ARRESTED FOR PLOTTING ATTACK ON MIDNIGHT MASS
Since 2014, he was been an “avowed jihadist,” posting on his Google+ account in October, “We need to get down with this ISIS S***.”
An Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) supporter was arrested in Phoenix last week for plotting a jihadi attack, very likely on a midnight mass.
Derrick Thompson, who goes by the name of Abu Talib Am-Amriki, tried to buy a gun to carry out attacks as early as January 2015, however, since he was a convicted felon, he was prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
Thompson was released in 2013 from prison after being convicted of committing two armed robberies in 2005. Thompson was armed with a handgun and an SKS rifle with a bayonet when he and two other men committed the robberies over a two-day period
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/phoenix-man-arrested-plotting-attack-midnight-mass


RELATIVES TRY TO STOP MARRIAGE OF 13-YR. OLD GIRL TO 56-YR. OLD
One relative took the girl to a Freedom Radio office in Nigeria, where a campaign was launched on behalf of the girl, who says she cries all the time about it.
a father in Nigeria outraged relatives by announcing his plans to marry off his 13-year-old daughter, Bilkisu, to his 56-year-old friend. The same day, he also said he planned to marry off another daughter, who is almost the same age as Bilkisu.
One relative took Bilkisu to the Freedom Radio office in Sharanda, Kano, where a media campaign was launched on behalf of the girl, who says she cries every time the marriage is mentioned.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/relatives-try-stop-marriage-13-yr-old-girl-56-yr-old


FATAH THANKS UN IN BLOOD FOR ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTION
The ruling party of the Palestinian Authority thanked each country who voted against Israel with a political cartoon of a blood-dripping knife.
The ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, thanked the countries of the U.N. Security Council who voted against Israeli building in territory captured in 1967 in its unique way – with a political cartoon showing a blood-dripping knife piercing Israeli communities.
As reported by Palestinian Media Watch a number of days before the vote, Fatah posted a picture on its Facebook page depicting the entire State of Israel colored like the Palestinian flag and in the shape of a knife. A hand was shown grasping the knife whose target was the word “settlements.”
After the vote, the same graphic was posted with slight alterations: above the knife was the word “thank you” and below a pool of blood. Down the side, the 14 countries that voted for the resolution were also written (Russia, Angola, Ukraine, Japan, Spain, Egypt, Malaysia, Venezuela, New Zealand, Senegal, Uruguay, France, China and the UK).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/fatah-thanks-un-blood-anti-israel-resolution


MUZZLING CRITICS OF ISLAMISM: FRANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The latest case against Georges Bensoussan, an expert on European cultural history, tries to stifle the discussion about Islamic anti-Semitism.
The Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) was set up in November 2003 by Samy Debah, a former preacher of Tablighi Jaamat, the global Sunni Islamic revivalist movement, after the French parliament banned the hijab in schools.
The association claims to be non-denominational and dedicated to combating “all actions or words directed at an individual linked in a real or supposed manner to Islam.”
Although it denies being associated with any political, religious or ideological groups, spokesman Marwan Muhammad has shared platforms with radical Islamists such as Imam Hassen Bounamcha and Salafist preachers Nader Abou Anas and Rachid Abou Houdeyfa.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muzzling-critics-islamism-france-21st-century


TUNISIA ARRESTS THREE LINKED TO BERLIN TRUCK ATTACK
After Anis Amri, who carried out a terrorist attack that left nine dead in Berlin, was shot and killed by Italian police, Tunisian authorities arrested three men they say are connected to him. All the men were aged between 18 and 27 and had been active in the town of Oueslatia, Amri’s home town, according to Reuters.
Amri’s nephew was arrested in Oueslatia while the others were arrested in Tunis.
Tunisia’s move following the attack is a demonstration it wants to be seen as tough on terror, even while struggling with the issue at home.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/tunisia-arrests-three-linked-berlin-truck-attack

6 REASONS ISLAMISTS WILL BE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR
From issuing death threats for having Christmas trees to pressuring employees or schools not to display or wear decorations, Islamists are making their mark
Omar Hussain urges his fellow ISIS supporters to knock out and mug drunken infidels and send the money to the front. (Photo: Video screenshot)
After his 14-year-old sister Safaa tweeted a picture of the family’s Christmas tree, the family of well-known former One Direction singer Zayn Malik started to receive death threats from extremists accusing him of “insulting Islam.”
Malik’s father is a Muslim, while his mother was born a Christian.
“Christmas is very important to [his mother] because she was brought up a Christian. The hate that Safaa received was just disgusting,” said a source close to the family. “How anyone can send threats to a child for posting a picture of a Christmas tree is beyond belief.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/6-reasons-islamists-will-be-celebrating-christmas-year


DISTURBING CLIP: FATHER URGES DAUGHTERS TO BLOW THEMSELVES UP
He encourages his two daughters to carry out suicide bombings in the name of jihad. One may have carried out the Damascus police attack
A fighter from the terrorist group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra filmed his two daughters preparing to blow themselves up. One of the children is thought to be the eight-year-old girl who carried out last week’s suicide bombing at a police station in Damascus. The child was the only person killed in the attack.
The video was widely shared on rebel-aligned social media on Wednesday.
“Why are you sending your daughters?” jihadist Abu Nimr asks the girl’s mother from behind the camera, according to a translation by The Independent. “One is seven and the other is eight, they're young for jihad.”
“No one is too young for jihad, because jihad is a duty for every Muslim,” she answers him.
MORE.https://www.clarionproject.org/news/disturbing-clip-father-urges-daughters-blow-themselves


HOW GERMANY BLUNDERED THE ARREST OF THE BERLIN ATTACKER
The many opportunities Germany had to arrest the suspect in the Christmas market attack (but did not) may have been because of 'institutionalized PC
Germany’s bungled handling of the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack – which began long before the attack itself – will most likely call into question the antiquated procedures currently in effect in this Western country that has found itself on the frontlines of Islamist jihad.
Hopefully, the current tragedy will prompt changes in the way Germany operates.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/how-germany-blundered-arrest-berlin-attacker

REFUGEE ARRESTED IN AUSTRIA FOR PLANNING CHRISTMAS ATTACK
Police in Austria arrested an asylum seeker from Morocco who is suspected of planning a serious attack in the city of Salzburg.
Police in Austria have arrested an asylum seeker from Morocco who is suspected of planning a serious attack in the city of Salzburg between Christmas and New Year’s, reported the Daily Express.
The man is believed to be a part of a terrorist organization.
A raid on his accommodations in Fuschi (located in the state of Salzburg) by police officers with sniffer dogs also netted the arrest of six other people for drug-related offenses.
According to the prosecutor’s office in Austria, "The police were informed in recent months that unidentified men had discussed an alleged terrorist attack in Salzburg in the period around Christmas/New Year.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/refugee-arrested-austria-planning-christmas-attack


SAUDI ARABIA FUNDING EXTREMIST ISLAMIST GROUPS IN GERMANY?
A newly-leaked German intelligence report says Saudi Arabia, among several other countries, is funding extremist Islamic groups in Germany
A newly-leaked German intelligence report states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar are funding extremist Islamic groups in Germany.
The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and Northern German public radio broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk saw the brief and raised concern regarding a reported increase in Salafism, an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam, within Germany.
The report, compiled by German domestic intelligence agency Bft and Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) allegedly accuses Saudi Arabia and the two Gulf nations of funding various Islamic institutions including mosques and religious schools, as well as individual strict preachers and conversion, or “dawah” groups.
The three countries supported missionary groups as a “long-running strategy to exert influence,” according to the report. More specifically, the report called out the Saudi Muslim World League, Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad al-Thani Charitable Association and the Kuwaiti Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (which is banned in both the U.S. and Russia for allegedly supporting al-Qaeda).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/saudi-arabia-funding-extremist-islamist-groups-germany


MURDER OF RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria takes responsibility for the assassination, saying it was in revenge for Russia's killing of women and children
Jaish al-Fatah -- formerly the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria -- claimed responsibility for the December 19 assassination of the Russia’s ambassador to Turkey. The group said they were helped by the Turkish nationalist and neo-fascist organization the Grey Wolves as well as the Turkmenistan Islamic party.
A statement released by the group read:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/murder-russian-ambassador-what-we-know-so-far

Merry Christmas - and Say It Out Loud
As Germany buries those who gave their lives for the sake of a family Christmas, Christians in the West must proudly celebrate the holy day.
BY DAVID HARRIS Tue, December 20, 2016
In Israel, a Jewish-majority state, Christmas is freely and openly celebrated. (Photo © Shoshana Palatnik)
I grew up in the United Kingdom - or Great Britain as we used to call it in our own politically-incorrect way. I am not a Christian, nor was I brought up in a Christian household. However, I was raised in a country with a strong Christian tradition.
I married an American - not a Christian, but a woman reared in a land that cherished both freedom and Christianity.
Neither of us celebrates Christmas. Nor do our children.
Once upon a time, some pretty bad things were done in the name of Christianity, but today, the religion merely preaches messages of love. And in a world where basic moral values are increasingly difficult to find, ‘Christian’ tenets such as loving one’s neighbor should be welcomed with open arms.
Yet it galls me to the very core that we in the West, country by country, are bidding Christmas farewell. In the Age of the Politically Correct we remove our Christmas trees, wish people a mere “season’s greetings” and Santa Claus and carolers often no longer bring yuletide joy in public.
Likewise, public schools increasingly remove pork from the lunchtime menu, prayers from the school day and Nativity plays from the annual calendar.
On the day Germany is burying its dead because a truck drove into a market whose sole purpose was to give people pleasure in purchasing items for the upcoming Christmas, it behooves the West to put aside this political correctness and proudly celebrate the holy day.
Of course, one should respect other beliefs and religions and encourage adherents of different faiths to celebrate their own festivals just as we did in the 1970s and ’80s in Britain, e.g., walking past the illuminated Christmas tree in City Square to return home to sing Chanukah songs.
The Jerusalem municipality hands out free Christmas trees.
This hiding of Christmas is the perfect, tragic example of the creeping Islamism or sharia you read about regularly on the pages of ClarionProject.org. Islamism does not only mean bombs and rabid preachers foaming at the mouth. Creeping Islamism is the challenge to Western customs and traditions be it via the courtroom or merely by social pressure. This willingness by the politically correct to surrender will eventually lead to the death of Christian-democratic society.

I am not a Christian but my parents chose to bring me up in a Christian society which respected my values as I respected its. Had I not, I could have chosen to leave - as could anyone today.

It’s time we stand up and wish one another a Merry Christmas. So please, if you do celebrate this holiday, enjoy it, spend quality time with your family, but don’t hide the holiday in your home. If there are still carolers in your town, go out and listen and look up to the public Christmas tree with pride and a smile.
Merry Christmas!
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/merry-christmas-and-say-it-out-loud

COULD A BERLIN-TYPE ATTACK TAKE PLACE IN AMERICA?
As Europe comes to terms with the attack on a Berlin Christmas market that left a dozen dead, we examine the implications for the United States.
BY RYAN MAURO Wed, December 21, 2016
Clarion Project's National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro explores this topic on Fox:
FOX NEWS VIDEO
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/could-berlin-type-attack-take-place-america

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ISIS INDOCTRINATING KIDS WITH APPS TO BLOW UP EIFFEL TOWER
The apps purportedly teach kids Arabic but reward the user if they are prepared to carry out attacks on the West, like the Statue of Liberty.
Devising new ways to indoctrinate the next generation of jihadis, Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is providing apps to teach children how to attack landmarks in the West, reported The Independent.
The apps are distributed through kiosks set up in territory controlled by the brutal terror group where children can read the latest issues of ISIS’ online magazine Rumiyah (a simpler version of their magazine Dabiq) and learn Arabic.
“[The app] is supposed to teach them Arabic. But the words they learn are related to violence and extremism such as tanks and grenades. The children are rewarded if they say they are prepared to carry out attacks on the West, the targets are places like the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower,” said Colonel John Dorrian, who is with the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.
“We are obviously very concerned about what they are learning through these apps turning to reality. But at the same time we need to take care of these children when the time comes, untold damage has been done to them which needs to be undone,” Dorrian added.
READ MORE
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-indoctrinating-kids-apps-blow-eiffel-tower


DEATH OF A DIPLOMAT AND WORLD WAR III
What are the global implications after the assassination of Russia’s man in Ankara on December 19? Meira Svirsky reports.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Tue, December 20, 2016
Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov a moment before he was shot (Photo: Video screenshot)
Scare mongers predicting World War III after a Turkish policeman assassinated the Russian ambassador to Ankara can relax. It won’t be happening.

Turkey and Russia have already both declared the killing – done in protest of Russia’s support of Syria’s brutal dictator Assad -- a “terrorist attack,” and Putin announced the unfortunate incident would not “undermine the improvement and normalization of Russian-Turkish relations,” which occurred last summer after Erdogan apologized for Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet on its way back from a bombing mission in Syria.

As a Tweet by Turkish columnist Mustafa Akyol succinctly stated, “No, this is not Sarajevo 1914,” a reference to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who was shot to death in Sarajevo, Bosnia -- an event said to have sparked World War I. “For Ankara and Moscow will not wage war. Quite the contrary, they may even get closer.”
Yet, while publicly Putin and Erdogan appear on the same page over the incident, it will not pass without consequences and concessions to Russia from Turkey.
Until now, Erdogan was toeing a fine line between his opposition to the Assad regime in Syria and his professed opposition to Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). In actuality, Erdogan facilitated the ascent of ISIS by buying or at the very least allowing the smuggling of its contraband oil and granting the group’s fighters easy access to Syria through Turkish territory.
Notwithstanding the occasional and annoying terrorist attacks perpetrated by ISIS against Turkey, when the time came that Erdogan could no longer turn his back on Western powers and refuse to join the fight against ISIS, the Turkish president used the opportunity to bomb one of his prime nemeses, the Kurds (whose persistent agitation for human rights and autonomy are a continual thorn in the side of Erdogan’s dreams of a renewed Ottoman empire).
Russia’s backing of Assad has put Turkey in a difficult position.
What are the global implications after the assassination of Russia’s man in Ankara on December 19? Meira Svirsky reports.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/death-diplomat-and-world-war-iii


BERLIN CHRISTMAS ATTACK – PART OF A LARGER PLAN
The attack in Berlin last night was a point in a trajectory of incitement by Islamist extremists against anything and anyone not Muslim.
The attack in Berlin last night, where a truck driven by a suspected Islamist terrorist plowed into a crowded Christmas market killing 12 and injuring at least 48, was a point in a trajectory of incitement by Islamist extremists against anything and anyone not Muslim.

Consider the following recent incidents across the world of late:

In Indonesia, considered to be a “moderate” Islamic country, a fatwa was just issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council prohibiting Muslims from wearing or using Christmas-themed clothing or decorations, saying, “Religious images and accessories are used intentionally to show the identity of a certain religion, and represent its tradition and rituals…[it is] a foreign culture with which we must not mingle.”
News reports explained the fatwa was primarily directed toward employees in shopping malls who often wear Santa hats, appealing to the nine percent of Indonesia’s population (21.2 million people) who are Christian.
Since the fatwa was issued, members of the extremist Islam Defenders Front escorted by police raided malls in East Java to check whether employees were abiding by the decree.
The fatwa prompted a warning by International Christian Concern, a human rights group, that the ruling could give license to extremists to attack non-Muslims and foster an “increasingly emboldened radical Islamic sub-group that is applying public pressure to adhere to conservative Islamic law.”
That not only has already happened, it is sanctioned and supported by the country’s police.
The raids follow protests last month in which more than one hundred thousand Muslims marched in the capital calling for the death penalty of the capital’s governor, a Christian accused of blasphemy.
In Greece, a Christian church in Crete was set on fire, before which the perpetrators wrote on the building’s wall “Allah is great.”
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/berlin-christmas-attack-%E2%80%93-part-larger-plan


CHELSEA BOMBER SUSPECT MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE IN COURT
After his arrest, police recovered a journal by suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami containing praise for known terrorist groups.
Ahmad Khan Rahami, accused of planting and detonating bombs in New York and New Jersey, appeared in court for the first time Monday.
Rahami is suspected of detonating a bomb in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan last September, which injured more than 30 people (none seriously) as well as a bomb that exploded on the route of a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey. Due to a delay in the race, no one was injured.
A third unexploded bomb was found in Manhattan not far from the Chelsea bomb.
Rahami was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times in shootout with police outside a bar in Linden, NJ.
He previously entered a plea of not guilty via a video hookup from his hospital bed in Newark.
After the shootout, police officers recovered a journal containing Islamist rhetoric and praise for known terrorist groups and ideologies.
“I looked for guidance came Sheikh Anwar, Brother Adnani, Dawla. Said it clearly – Attack the kuffar (non-believer) in the back yard,” Rahami wrote, referencing American al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in 2011 and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani, who was killed in August. (Dawla is an honorific term for a ruler or senior statesman.)
Adnani issued frequent calls to Westerners to carry out terrorist attacks within their home countries. Rahami also wrote, “The sounds of bombs will be heard in the streets.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/chelsea-bomber-suspect-makes-first-appearance-court

8-YEAR-OLD GIRL CARRIES OUT SUICIDE BOMBING IN DAMASCUS
The girl was strapped with a homemade bomb. When she entered a police station, the bomb was detonated by remote control.
Sun, December 18, 2016
Aftermath of the bombing of the Damascus police station by an 8-year-old girl (Photo: Video screenshot)
An eight-year-old girl carried out a suicide bombing attack at a Damascus police station, according to SANA (the Syrian Arab News Agency) and as reported by RT.
The agency cited a source in the Damascus Police Command that reported, “Terrorists sent an eight-year-old girl with a small homemade bomb to a police station in the Midan neighborhood. When she entered the building, militants activated the explosive device with a remote control, the child died at the scene, one police officer suffered light injuries.”
The bombing has not been claimed by any group as yet. The girl reportedly came to the police station and said she was lost.
The blast killed her and lightly injured one policeman.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/8-year-old-girl-carries-out-suicide-bombing-damascus

ANILA ALI: BEING MUSLIM IN TRUMP'S AMERICA
Anila Ali is a democrat and an Muslim public figure based in Irvine, California who spoke to us about the changed climate since Trump's victory
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Thu, December 15, 2016
Anila Ali was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and studied in London, where she became a volunteer in the All Pakistan Women’s Association. In 1996, she came to California. She is an active member of the Council of Pakistan-American Affairs (COPAA), the author of "Mommy am I a…?" and a contributor to the largest Pakistani paper in the U.S., The Pakistan Link.

Ali is the founder and board member of the American Muslim Women’s Empowerment Council, which is the only Muslim women's organization that works on the ground with law enforcement and interfaith leaders to counter radicalization and build capacity in the Muslim community do they can be the first line of defense against radicalization. She is also the founder of the Irvine Pakistani Parents Association (IPPA), a non-profit organization that promotes community involvement and leadership and raises money for the public schools in the city as well as promotes South Asian peace through the arts. Ali is also presently the OC chair of the International Leadership Foundation, a non-profit that promotes the civic engagement and leadership of Asian American youth.

Ali also serves on the board of the Olive Tree Initiative (OTI), a non-profit that promotes understanding and dialogue. A democrat, she is the recent recipient of President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award 2011.

She graciously agreed to speak with Clarion Project Dialogue Coordinator Elliot Friedland about being a Muslim-American since the election. The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Clarion Project. Ryan Mauro previously interviewed Anila Ali for Clarion Project.
1)Clarion Project: Since Trump's election many Muslim groups are feeling scared that he will implement repressive policies targeted at the Muslim community. How do you feel about such fears?
READ MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/anila-ali-being-muslim-trumps-america

Video of Destruction of Cathedral at Hands of Islamists

An explosion at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral killed at least 22 and injured 35 others. St Mark’s Cathedral is the headquarters of the Coptic Church in Egypt.
Thu, December 15, 2016
Earlier this week we reported on an explosion at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral that killed at least 22 and injured 35 others.
Now video has emerged of the moment the device detonated in St. mark's Cathedral, the headquarters of the Coptic Christian Church.
Get a preview of Clarion Project’s upcoming film, Faithkeepers, about the violent persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. The film features exclusive footage and testimonials of Christians, Baha’i, Yazidis, Jews, and other minority refugees, and a historical context of the persecution in the region.
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/video-destruction-cathedral-hands-islamists


KiDS: Inside the Terror Factory — Make this film a reality
Expose the incitement of children and youth to extremism, hatred and violence
KiDS CF (W)
Clarion Project - Challenging Extremism | Promoting Dialogue

ISIS REPORTEDLY INSTITUTES FGM IN KURDISH AREAS
After a law was passed in Kurdistan in 2011 making the barbaric practice illegal, the rate of FGM in the area fell by 60 percent. Now it's reportedly back.
Tue, December 13, 2016
Areas of Kurdistan under the control of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) are seeing an increasing and alarming rate of female genital mutilation (FGM), reported Al Sumaria TV.
Shirzad Mohammad, the head of a youth organization said that in the Kurdish areas, the rate of FGM was very high, but dropped dramatically after a law was passed by parliament outlawing the practice.
However, in the areas under ISIS control, the rate of FGM rate is very high because laws instituted by the terror group which mandate the cutting of women.
Dalshad Mohammad, a member of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, also noted that Islamic State jihadis have been instituting this “heinous crime against women.”
After a law was passed in Kurdistan in 2011 making the barbaric practice illegal, the rate of FGM in the area fell by 60 percent.
Mawlud Wirfa, an official with UNICEF in Iraq, said the goal is to put an end to the practice entirely. To this end, UNICEF is working with all official authorities and other organizations to stamp out misconceptions and completely stop the practice.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-reportedly-institutes-fgm-kurdish-areas


SAUDI ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR GOING WITHOUT HIJAB
The 21 year old activist shared a picture of herself on Twitter without a hijab on in a mid-calf length dress
Tue, December 13, 2016
A Saudi activist who posted a picture of herself outside without a hijab has been arrested. Malak al-Shehri, 21, posted a picture of herself on Twitter without her government-mandated abaya (long cloak), instead wearing a jacket and a mid-calf length dress. The picture was taken in downtown Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Someone filed a complaint with the police and she was arrested on Monday.
“Police officers have detained a girl who had removed her abaya on al-Tahliya street, implementing a challenge she announced on social media several days ago,” police spokesman Colonel Fawaz al-Maiman told local newspaper Al-Sharq.
Conservative twitter users demanded her arrest and punishment with some going so far as to call for her death.
“Kill her and throw her corpse to the dogs,” Twitter user @ab_alshdadi wrote. “We want blood,” another user, @ilQil posted.
Other Twitter users praised her courage in the face of repression and death threats.
Saudi Arabia enforces strict modesty dress codes on women and a host of other restrictions routinely decried by activists as gender apartheid.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/saudi-activist-arrested-going-without-hijab


NUMBER OF UK CHILDREN TRAVELING FOR JIHAD DOUBLES IN 2016
50 young people were stopped from leaving the UK to join the fight in Syria and Iraq, more than double the previous year’s figure of 23.
Wed, December 14, 2016
Fifty young people were prevented from leaving the UK this year to join the fighting in the Middle East. That number is more than double the previous year’s 23.
The figures were revealed by The Sun, which submitted a freedom of information request to obtain them.
Neil Doyle, a terrorism expert quoted in the Daily Express, noted, “The courts may have saved the lives of these children by preventing them from being moved to perhaps the most dangerous place on Earth. At least two British children have featured in gruesome videos and the group is increasingly relying on child fighters. It is short of manpower due to a very high casualty rate which has seen 50,000 fighters killed so far."
Children from the UK who travelled to Syria and Iraq to join radical Islamist groups include:
Isa Dare, who appeared in a propaganda video for Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in which four prisoners were executed by an exploding car
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/number-uk-children-traveling-jihad-doubles-2016


IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS JIHAD IS ONLY OPTION FOR PALESTINIANS
Iran’s allegedly moderate President Hassan Rouhani has called on Palestinians to take up arms against Israel and wage holy war.
Wed, December 14, 2016
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there was no alternative for Palestinians other than armed jihad. He made the remarks in a meeting with the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Rouhani is widely touted as a moderate by Western media outlets, despite continuing repressive policies and financing terrorist groups.
“Today, the world public opinion is faced with this strong argument that the Zionist regime has never been after peace, and this argument and reasoning should be used to show that there is no way, but jihad and resistance for the Palestinians against the usurper regime,” he told Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah, the head of Islamic Jihad, in a meeting in Tehran.
Despite literally being at a meeting in which he himself was funding and encouraging international terrorism, Rouhani accused Israel of funding terrorism and sectarian violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and North Africa, according to Fars news agency.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iranian-president-says-jihad-only-option-palestinians

FUQRA FILES EXCLUSIVE: FBI LINKS JIHADI CULT TO AL-QAEDA
For the first time you can read here the actual FBI documents showing the links between 22 radical Islamist villages in the U.S. and al-Qaeda. Mon, December 12, 2016
The Clarion Project has obtained newly-declassified FBI documents from 2003 revealing that the jihadist cult Jamaat ul-Fuqra, also known as Muslims of America (MOA), had ties with al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The group is best known for its network of about 22 Islamist compounds on American soil.
The disclosures come on the heels of the release of the Fuqra Files website, an authoritative database of information about the group.
The FBI reports show there was a counter-terrorism investigation into Jamaat ul-Fuqra / Muslims of America (MOA) in New York in 2003. One file has the heading, “American Islamic Radicals.” The reports point out, “Prior to assuming the name MOA, JUF has had a profound history of carrying out violent actions to include, arsons, bombings, shootings and assassinations.”
SEE THE FBI REPORT HERE
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/fuqra-files-exclusive-fbi-links-jihadi-cult-al-qaeda



DRONED: CHARLIE HEBDO PLOTTER TAKEN OUT BY US
The strike sends a strong message of deterrence to anyone considering carrying out attacks: the U.S. will find and kill them. An ISIS militant believed to have been involved in planning the terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7 2015 was killed in a US drone strike in Raqqa, Syria.
Boubaker el Hakim was killed last month, defense officials said in a statement on November 9. The attack on Charlie Hebdo saw gunmen murder 12 of Charlie Hebdo’s staff and wound 11 others. Although the Charlie Hebdo attackers Said and Cherif Kouachi claimed they were members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), ISIS also claimed responsibility for the attack
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/droned-charlie-hebdo-plotter-taken-out-us


WHAT IS JUSTICE? OHIO STATE STUDENTS PROTEST KILLING OF JIHADI
The protests were part of a larger gathering to eulogize people of color who have been killed by police since October.
Protests erupted at Ohio State University over the killing of terrorist Abdul Razak Ali Artan. Claiming he had reached a “boiling point” after becoming “sick and tired” of the treatment of Muslims, Artan injured 11 students when he drove his car over them and afterwards tried to stab them to death with a butcher knife.
The protests were part of a larger gathering organized by the OSU Coalition for Black Liberation meant to eulogize “people of color” killed by police since October, as reported by the student newspaper, The Lantern.
Artan’s name was added to that list.
As explained by Maryam Abidi, a fourth-year in women’s, gender and sexuality studies, “We broadened the scope of what today was supposed to be, to talk about the aftermath of what happened on the 28th.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/what-justice-ohio-state-students-protest-killing-jihadi


BOY KILLED FOR BEING GAY BUT NOT HIS LOVER - AN ISIS COMMANDER
ISIS theoretically has a zero-tolerance policy towards homosexuality unless it means the organization will lose out.
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) punished a 15-year-old boy for being gay by throwing him to his death from the roof of a building in Deir al-Zour, Syria. However, his lover, a commander in ISIS was merely flogged and sent to the front fight against the enemy.
“We’ve seen increasing signs of ISIS hypocrisy in recent weeks,” said Clarion Project’s Editor-in-Chief David Harris.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/boy-killed-being-gay-not-his-lover-isis-commander



PIG CARCASS DUMPED AT MOSQUE IN OKLAHOMA
For those truly concerned with extremist elements in the faith, civilization provides a plethora of moral tools to work towards positive change.
The carcass of a pig was dumped in the parking lot of a mosque in Lawton, Oklahoma, prompting police to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Although no suspects have been found as yet, a video surveillance camera showed a pick-up truck entering the parking lot of the mosque during the night. As the truck backs up, the pig’s carcass can be seen falling off the tailgate.
Ironically, the imam of the mosque, Hassan Ahmed, discovered the carcass on his way back from an interfaith event held with local Christians, Jews and Buddhists which focused on religious intolerance.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/pig-carcass-dumped-mosque-oklahoma


JIHADI CHILDREN RETURN TO EUROPE: 'PURER' THAN ADULT FIGHTERS
Intelligence and psychology experts reckon that it will take a generation to bring them back to normality.
The projected defeat of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for Europe given that it will result in the return of combatants trained to carry out attacks on the home front.
An ancillary issue is the repatriation of children who either travelled to Syria alone or with their parents, or who were born there. They are a key component in Islamic State’s strategy to develop the next generation of jihadists.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/jihadi-children-return-europe-purer-adult-fighters


WOMAN LEADER OF IRANIAN FEMALE MILITIA: GENDER EQUALITY ILLEGAL
The head of the women's Basij also opposes efforts to elect female parliamentarians as well as education to curb domestic violence. The woman who leads the female volunteers for the Iranian regime’s volunteer militia has spoken out against gender equality and efforts to increase the number of women in the parliament.
Minou Aslani, head of the Women’s Basij organization, also opposes activism to reign in domestic violence. This agenda, Aslani asserts, is against Iranian society and traditional family values.
“These activities are in fact against our laws and the judiciary should take action,” said Aslani, as quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency. Participation by more women in the parliament, she added, will “distort” the character of Iranian women.
“This is a path that has resulted in the solitude of women in the West,” she said. “Unfortunately some people in this country are following the outdated Western example — it is against human nature.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/woman-leader-iranian-female-militia-gender-equality-illegal


SCHOOLGIRLS IN NIGERIA KILL 56 IN SUICIDE BOMBINGS
Girls volunteer for such missions as a way to end their horrific lives under captivity, which include relentless hunger and sexual abuse. Two schoolgirls carried out simultaneous suicide bombings in the Nigerian town of Madagali. The attacks on a crowded market left at least 56 people killed and dozens wounded.
The attacks bore the marking of the Islamist terror organization Boko Haram, known for targeting civilians in northeast Nigeria as well as in neighboring Cameroon and Niger.
Although attacks by the group have been less frequent in recent months as the Nigerian army has been attempting a push back to its original stronghold in the enormous Sambia forest, this latest attack shows the group – which pledged its allegiance to Islamic State – is far from defeated.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/schoolgirls-nigeria-kill-56-suicide-bombings



AT LEAST 22 KILLED IN BOMB ATTACK ON COPTIC CATHEDRAL
At least 22 people were killed and 35 more injured in an explosion at St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, only days after six were killed near the pyramids. An explosion at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral killed at least 22 and injured 35 others. No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack.
St Mark’s Cathedral is the headquarters of the Coptic Church in Egypt. Pope Tawadros II, who leads the church, resides there. The explosion also hit St. Peter’s Church in the same complex.
Cairo’s security chief Khalid Abdel Aal inspected the scene, according to local media reports.
The explosion followed a bomb attack on Friday which killed six policemen near the pyramids at Giza. Three police officers and four civilians were also reportedly injured in the attack, which took place when a bomb placed in a bin exploded.
The Hasm movement, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lter in the evening a bomb killed one civilian and injured three policemen in the Kafr El Sheikh governorate in the north of Egypt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/least-22-killed-bomb-attack-coptic-cathedral

WHO WAS BEHIND THE DEADLY BOMBING IN TURKEY?
Erodgan would be well-advised to make peace with the Kurds but his ethnocentric Islamist ideology will most likely prevent that. Two bombs ripped through Istanbul December 10 killing at least 38 people and injuring 166. The first and most powerful bomb was detonated by remote control outside the Vodaphone Arena, the stadium of the top-division Besiktas soccer team, hours after a game finished.
The device appeared to be targeting police officers, as it exploded next to a police bus used to carry security personnel guarding the stadium. No fans were reported injured as they had previously left the area.
A second, smaller explosion occurred close to a half an hour later in a nearby park when a suicide bomber or possibly a car bomber detonated his charge.
Thirty of the dead were police officers, leading Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus to say, “The arrows point at the PKK (the Kurdish Worker’s Party). It is clearly a planned event. There will be an announcement once the investigations are over. We cannot say anything definite for now,” he said.
The attack comes two months after a similar strike outside a police station in Istanbul, which injured ten people. In July, Kurdish fighters were killed trying to storm a Turkish military base.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/who-was-behind-deadly-bombing-turkey

US FAILS TO VET 15,000 IMMIGRANTS DUE TO SECURITY ERROR
Before the Department of Homeland Security noticed the error, 175 immigrants were granted citizenship, the government admitted.
Thu, December 8, 2016
Fifteen-thousand applications for immigration were not vetted by the FBI’s name-check database due to an error by Homeland Security, The Washington Times reported.
Before the security error was noticed, 175 immigrants were granted citizenship, the government admitted.
Since the error was discovered, all naturalization ceremonies have been halted and officers working for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have been banned from approving new citizenship applications.
The error, caused by a computer code malfunction, was made public by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who said the problem was disclosed in an internal email to which he was privy
Earlier this year, citizenship was accidentally given to hundreds of criminals because Homeland Security had only checked their fingerprints through their electronic database and not with the thousands of fingerprints that are to date only recorded on paper.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/us-fails-vet-15000-immigrants-due-security-error


ABDIFATAH HASSAN ALI: CALLING OUT AL-SHABAAB HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
The founder of the human rights organization Witness Somalia spoke with Clarion about the difficulties of mapping human rights during war BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Thu, December 8, 2016
Abdifatah Hassan Ali is the founder of Witness Somalia, a human rights organization started in 2015 working to foster a culture of human rights and accountability in war-torn Somalia.
It describes itself as ‘built on respect of human rights where universal and democratic principles are practiced and valued.” The organization among other things conducts grassroots workshops aimed at countering the extremist narrative and thwarting recruitment efforts by terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab.
Prior to founding Witness Somalia Abdifatah worked for a number of different human and womens rights organizations in Somalia.
He graciously agreed to speak with Clarion Project For security reasons he requested that we not use any images of him in this piece. The views expressed herein are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the views of Clarion Project.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/abdifatah-hassan-ali-calling-out-al-shabaab-human-rights-abuses



EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW WITH KURDISH PKK COFOUNDER
'Kurds have been subjected to persecution in order to make them forcefully embrace the Turkish, Arab and Iranian ethnic identities.'
BY ZACH HUFF Thu, December 8, 2016
Riza Altun is a cofounder of the Kurdish PKK, and serves as PKK’s head of foreign relations and on the KCK executive council.

PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê‎ - Kurdistan Workers’ Party) is a left-wing, Kurdish organization based in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. Beginning 1984, the PKK waged an armed struggle against the Turkey for the right to self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey, who comprise between 18% and 25% of the population and have been persecuted for decades.
In 2013, the PKK declared a ceasefire and began withdrawing its fighters to the Kurdistan Region of northern Syria. However, in July 2015, the PKK cancelled the ceasefire after the Turkish government infractions. One month later, they accepted a ceasefire with Turkey with guarantees from the U.S.
Although designated as a Foreign Terror Organization by the U.S. in 1997, the crucial role of the PKK and their affiliated YPG* forces against ISIS is one of the many ironic dilemmas for Western powers engaged in the Syrian conflict.
The following is Mr. Altun’s interview with Clarion Project’s Kurdish Affairs Analyst Zach D. Huff:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/exclusive-interview-kurdish-pkk-cofounder


TERROR IN AMERICA: THREE ONGOING CASES
These three cases show that terrorist attacks continue to be a credible threat to the United States.
Tue, December 6, 2016
Two court cases and a terror plot tip-off highlight that terrorism is still a threat to the United States.
1) An Ohio man found guilty of a terrorist plot to attack the US Capitol building screamed “Allah is in control, not this judge!” as he was led from the courtroom after being sentenced. Christopher Lee Cornell, of Cincinnati was sentenced to 30 years in prison and lifetime probation following his release. He pleaded guilty to charges brought against him for his intentions to attack the Capitol during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address.
The would-be jihadist was arrested in January 2015. The authorities found two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition in preparation for the assault.
2) read
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/terror-america-three-ongoing-cases


TERROR IN AMERICA: THREE ONGOING CASES
These three cases show that terrorist attacks continue to be a credible threat to the United States.
Tue, December 6, 2016
Two court cases and a terror plot tip-off highlight that terrorism is still a threat to the United States.
1)
An Ohio man found guilty of a terrorist plot to attack the US Capitol building screamed “Allah is in control, not this judge!” as he was led from the courtroom after being sentenced. Christopher Lee Cornell, of Cincinnati was sentenced to 30 years in prison and lifetime probation following his release. He pleaded guilty to charges brought against him for his intentions to attack the Capitol during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address.
The would-be jihadist was arrested in January 2015. The authorities found two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition in preparation for the assault.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/terror-america-three-ongoing-cases


SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER COVERS UP ANTI-WHITE HATE CRIME
The SPLC branded counter-Islamist orgs. like Clarion Project as hate groups while covering up genuine hatred to support their political agenda.BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Tue, December 6, 2016
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been caught red-handed covering up evidence of anti-white hate being peddled in American schools, as reported in a searing expose by journalist Paul Sperry for the New York Post. The group, which styles itself an anti-hate group, recently released a report entitled “The Trump Effect: The Impact of the 2016 Presidential Election on Our Nation’s Schools” which collated the findings of a survey of some 10,000 educators of K-12 across the country.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/southern-poverty-law-center-covers-anti-white-hate-crime


UK MUSLIMS NOT INTEGRATING: NEW REPORT
A new report concludes that many UK Muslims are not integrating into British society causing concern for increased likelihood of radicalization.
BY CODI ROBERTSON Thu, December 8, 2016
A new British government-commissioned report has determined that despite a long and sustained effort by the British government to boost social integration of immigrants, there is a great degree of social segregation.
And while this is a blow to the strong desire for social cohesion and a strong British identity amongst its people, it also may have consequences in the security realm.
The head of the year-long study, integration tzar, Dame Louise Casey, criticised the government’s mediocre efforts. “The problem has not been a lack of knowledge but a failure of collective, consistent and persistent will to do something about it or give it the priority it deserves at both a national and local level,” Casey stated.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/uk-muslims-not-integrating-new-report



HORROR HYDRA: RECENT ISIS ATROCITIES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA
Although ISIS is taking a beating from coalition forces, the world’s premiere terror organization has still been able to wreak havoc.
Tue, December 6, 2016
Although Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is taking a beating from coalition forces in Iraq and Assad’s army in Syria, the world’s premier terror organization has still been able to function, wreaking havoc in its wake. Here are some of the latest exploits of the brutal group:
1) Special ops police from Italy are helping a father locate his six-year-old son who was taken by his mother to Syria and forced to join ISIS. The couple, both originally from Albania, were living near Milan when the mother abducted the son, changed his name to Yussuf, circumcised him and forced him to train in “body-to-body” combat so that he could become a “future fighter” for ISIS.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/horror-hydra-recent-isis-atrocities-iraq-and-syria




TECH GIANTS TEAM UP AGAINST INCITEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube will launch a shared database to track and remove terrorist images and videos more easily.
Thu, December 8, 2016
Facebook Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube have joined forces to tackle terrorist incitement on social media, reported USA Today. The companies will create a database of terrorist content which they say will enable them to remove radical content more swiftly when it appears on their platforms.
“Our companies will begin sharing hashes of the most extreme and egregious terrorist images and videos we have removed from our services – content most likely to violate all of our respective companies’ content policies,” the four companies said in a joint statement.
“By sharing this information with each other, we may use the shared hashes to help identify potential terrorist content on our respective hosted consumer platforms. We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online.” Read the full statement about countering terrorist incitement on social media here.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/tech-giants-team-against-incitement-social-media


FRANCE TO BUILD UNIVERSITY OF COUNTER JIHAD
The ministry of justice has budgeted over $30 million for a 25-acre campus dedicated to training wardens to deal with radicalized inmates. BY LESLIE SHAW Tue, December 6, 2016
In July 2016, Clarion Project published a piece titled French Prisons: Universities of Jihad.
Now a confidential document leaked from the French Ministry of Justice reveals that they are planning to fight fire with fire by building a University of Counter Jihad.
The Ministry has budgeted over $30 million for a 25-acre campus dedicated to training wardens to deal with radicalized inmates. The complex, which will be built in 2018-19 next to Fleury-Mérogis prison, will comprise four school buildings and a hall of residence for 105 full-time instructors who will train several thousand wardens each year. There will also be an administrative building to accommodate 250 staff redeployed from Fresnes and Fleury-Mérogis prisons.
The campus will host a base complete with an assault course and shooting ranges for ERIS, the dedicated prison SWAT team, which will be increased from 60 to 80 officers. There will also be a K9 training facility including an explosives depot.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/france-build-university-counter-jihad

FUQRA FILES: LEARN MORE ON WOULD-BE JIHADISTS IN THE US
National TV reports on Clarion Project's exposé of 22 Islamist villages around the United States where members are preparing for Jihad.
BY RYAN MAURO Sun, December 4, 2016
MUST SEE SHORT VIDEO
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/fuqra-files-learn-more-would-be-jihadists-us


TRUMP SEC OF DEFENSE PICK: ENEMY OF ISLAMISM AND IRAN
Marine Corps General James Mattis is deserving of positive attention for his emphasis on confronting political Islam and the Iranian regime.
BY RYAN MAURO Sun, December 4, 2016
President-Elect Trump has chosen Marine Corps General James “Mad Dog” Mattis for secretary of defense, eliciting widespread enthusiasm focusing on his status as the “most revered Marine in a generation” and factory of quotable quotes.
Deserving of more positive attention is his emphasis on confronting Political Islam and the Iranian regime.
General Mattis has advocated for significant changes in both the military fight against the specific Islamist terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, as well as the fight against the Islamist ideology that births them. Although ISIS’ caliphate is on the decline, General Mattis doesn’t settle for an encouraging positive trend. He wants to win quickly and decisively, yet humanely with care for civilians.
In August, he said the strategy still is “unguided by a sustained policy or sound strategy [and is] replete with half measures.”
Mattis was one of the chief architects of the counter-insurgency campaign that turned Iraq around so rapidly that it even surprises many of its supporters.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/trump-sec-defense-pick-enemy-islamism-and-iran-0

U.S. SENATE UNANIMOUSLY VOTES TO EXTEND IRAN SANCTIONS
A measure to extend sanctions against Iran for 10 years was unanimously approved in the Senate after passing the House.
A bill to extend economic sanctions against Iran was passed 99-0 in the Senate. Prior to its passage through the Senate on Thursday, the bill passed the House of Representatives 419-1. Having passed both houses of America’s bicameral legislature, the bill will be sent to outgoing President Barack Obama to sign into law.
It is not known if he will exercise his presidential right of veto over the legislation.
“Preserving these sanctions is critical given Iran's disturbing pattern of aggression and its persistent efforts to expand its sphere of influence across the Middle East,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The bill attained bipartisan support
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/us-senate-unanimously-votes-extend-iran-sanctions

Take a Look Inside the Shattered Churches of Iraq BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, December 5, 2016
As the Iraqi army liberates territory from Islamic State jihadists they are uncovering the damage done to Iraq’s ancient Christian heritage. The Islamic State has devastated the ancient heritage of Iraq’s Christians. Many churches, some hundreds of years old, were damaged or even destroyed, along with earlier archaeological treasures such as palaces belonging to the Kings of ancient Assyria.
Here is just a snapshot of ISIS crimes against Iraq’s Christian community.
(Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)
A portrait of Jesus Christ is seen inside the heavily damaged Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Christian town of Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniya, some 20 miles east of Mosul, on December 4, 2016, one month after Iraqi forces recaptured it from Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/take-look-inside-shattered-churches-iraq

New Jersey Imam Fights Deportation for Links to Hamas
Controversial Imam Mohammad Qatanani will appear in a U.S. court today to fight deportation for lying on his green card application.
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Mon, December 5, 2016
Controversial Imam Mohammad Qatanani will appear in a U.S. court today to fight being deported for lying on his green card application. The case centers around the fact that Qatanani did not disclose that he was convicted by Israel for being a member of Hamas, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/new-jersey-imam-fights-deportation-links-hamas


CHRISTIAN BOY BEATEN IN MOSQUE AFTER ASKING FOR WATER
Christian Boy Beaten in Mosque After Asking for Water
A Christian boy was beaten in Pakistan with sticks and shoes after going into a mosque and drinking from a water fountain.
Sun, December 4, 2016
A video allegedly showing a Christian boy being beaten by an angry mob after he drank from a water fountain in a mosque has been circulated in Pakistan, according to The Express Tribune. The video purportedly showed the boy screaming in pain as he was beaten with sticks and shoes by worshippers who were incensed that a Christian should have drunk water in “their” mosque.
Christians in Pakistan face serious discrimination. Currently, Christian woman Asia Bibi is on death row awaiting the final conclusion of her widely publicized blasphemy case. She was accused of blasphemy after drinking water from a well and being accused of contaminating it by a Muslim woman.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/christian-boy-beaten-mosque-after-asking-water



IRAN TO JAIL SON OF FAMOUS 'DISSIDENT' AYATOLLAH
Ahmed Montazeri disclosed audio tapes of his father criticizing the mass killings of political prisoners that followed the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mon, December 5, 2016
The son of a famous, “dissident” Iranian ayatollah was sentenced to 21 years in prison for disclosing audio tapes of his father criticizing the mass killing of his fellow revolutionaries during the years that followed the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A court in Qoms found Ahmed Montazeri, son of the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, guilty of compromising state security. On the tapes, one can hear the elder Montazeri – credited as a “founder” of the revolution – as denouncing the 1988 executions of thousands of leftists and members of the Mujahadeen e-Khalq (MEK).
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iran-jail-son-famous-dissident-ayatollah


BOKO HARAM RAPED THOUSANDS WHO NOW FACE AIDS FOR LIFE
A UN official reported some 5,000 HIV positive women who had been raped by Boko Haram living in refugee camps in Borno state.
Mon, December 5, 2016
At least 5,000 people across 27 refugee camps in the northern Nigerian state of Borno have the auto-immune virus HIV. Most of these are women who were rescued from or escaped Boko Haram captivity and were raped by the jihadist militia.
“We have heard of many supporting non-governmental organisations in Borno but none of them has approached us to offer assistance to the IDPs with the virus,” Hassan Mustapha, the Coordinator on HIV/AIDS told media. “The IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] with such ailment are constantly challenged; they do not go out to access drugs. Most of them are shy while some are afraid to be identified by others as carriers.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/boko-haram-terrorists-raped-thousands-who-face-aids-life

GETTING INSIDE THE HEAD OF THE OHIO ATTACKER
The ISIS strategy of mass propaganda calling on Muslims in the West to start killing is a numbers game that doesn’t need high conversion rates.
Islamic State media agency Amaq News released a statement calling Ohio terrorist Abdul Razak Ali Artan a “soldier of God” acting “in response to appeals to target nationals of the international Coalition,” reported The New Yorker.

Law enforcement are combing through the cellphone and laptop of Artan in an attempt to find out what motivated him to carry out Monday’s car-ramming and stabbing attack at Ohio State University. They say they found no clear links between him and specific terrorist groups.
MORE
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/getting-inside-head-ohio-attacker



YOUNG, RADICALIZED MAN FROM NC PLANNED MASS CASUALTY ATTACK
Justin Sullivan, 20, began watching gruesome ISIS beheading videos, converted to Islam and began destroying his parent’s religious objects. A 20-year-old supporter of Islamic State from North Carolina accused of planning a mass Islamist terror attack in the U.S. pleaded guilty in court to attempting to commit acts of terrorism, The Washington Post reported.
Justin Sullivan began watching gruesome Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) videos of beheadings and other acts of extreme violence in 2014, after which he converted to Islam, announcing his support for ISIS and began destroying his parent’s religious objects.
“I liked IS from the beginning then I started thinking about death and stuff so I became Muslim,” he reportedly would later tell an undercover agent from the FBI.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/young-radicalized-man-nc-planned-mass-casualty-attack


ANGRY ISLAMISTS SMASH INTO ALLEGED GAY SEX PARTY
50 members of a hardline Islamist group smashed down the door to get into what they thought was a gay sex party in Jakarta.
Around 50 furious members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) kicked in the door to an LGBT event in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, this weekend, suspecting a gay sex party was taking place, according to NBC News.
Instead of arresting the FPI members for breaking into a private event, police detained 13 people from the LGBT event for questioning. They later released them saying they had done nothing wrong, according to South Jakarta police chief Iwan Setiawan.
Gay rights campaigners condemned the government for not acting against FPI. “For a government agency to allow such thing to happen, it is terrifying,” Hartoyo, director of the gay rights organization Our Voice, told media. “It is a warning for this nation.”
Being gay is not illegal in Indonesia.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/angry-islamists-smash-alleged-gay-sex-party



ATLANTA MUSLIM HERO AWARDED FOR TRYING TO SAVE FRIENDS
Faraaz Hossain, 20, a Bangladeshi college student in the U.S., lost his life in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka trying to save his friends.
The 2016 Mother Theresa International Award for Social Justice was given to a young Muslim who gave his life in a horrific Islamist terrorist attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh when he refused to leave his “infidel” friends whom the terrorists had separated out from the Muslims.
Twenty-year-old Faraaz Hossain, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, was visiting family in Bangladesh and enjoying an evening at the Holey Artisan Bakery with two female friends – Abinta Kabir, a Bangadesh-born U.S. citizen, and Tarishi Jain, an Indian student at the University of California at Berkeley.
When Islamist gunmen stormed the café, they separated the “infidels” from the Muslims through giving a test from the Quran to the café’s patrons. Hossain passed the test and was told he could leave, but he refused, choosing instead to stay with the two friends he had brought to the café.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/atlanta-muslim-hero-awarded-trying-save-friends



GERMAN INTEL AGENT ARRESTED FOR PLANNING ISIS TERROR ATTACK
The man, 51, worked full-time for the BfV (the German equivalent of the FBI). Two years ago, he converted to Islam and pledged allegiance to ISIS. A German security agent was arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack “in the name of Allah,” reported The Independent. He is also suspected of leaking sensitive information about Germany’s security to Islamist networks.
The man, 51, married and with a family, worked full-time for the Bundesamt fur Vertassungsschutz (BfV), the German equivalent of the FBI. Two years ago, he converted to Islam and pledged allegiance to Mohamed Mahmoud, an Islamic State jihadi from Austria.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/german-intel-agent-arrested-planning-isis-terror-attack


FOUR SIMPLE REASONS NOT TO TRUST IRAN
Iran threatens its citizens yet again. It threatens the United States. It threatens its Arab neighbors. It says it will soon head a global caliphate.
1) Iran Predicts It Will Lead Global Caliphate Before End of Century
General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the top defense advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said a global Islamic caliphate led by Iran will be established this century. “Today, all world powers see the Islamic Republic and act toward it with respect, because they realize the magnitude of Iran’s … capabilities and their inability to confront it and stop its wheel of progress,” Safavi said, as quoted by the Iranian Fars news agency. He added the reason the U.S. has not attacked Iran was because of the “wisdom” of Iran’s leader.

2)Iran Threatens to Scrap Nuclear Agreement
Iran threatened that if the U.S. extends sanctions against Iran, it will scrap the nuclear deal. “We can reach a huge volume of [uranium] enrichment in 1.5 years. But we would rather not have the JCPOA marred,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, speaking to an Iranian news agency. The U.S. House of Representatives voted recently to extend the remaining U.S. sanctions against Iran – set to expire at the end of the year -- for another 10 years. The sanctions include longstanding measures imposed by the U.S. that are not connected to Iran’s nuclear program. The sanctions would also have to be approved by the Senate as well as U.S. President Barack Obama, who is expected to veto any such measure.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/four-simple-reasons-not-trust-iran


ISIS SETS EYES ON CREATING NEW ‘STATE’
Islamic State may be losing ground in Syria and Iraq but it is reportedly making inroads across southern Philippines and it could get worse. Despite taking heavy losses in a battle with the Philippines military, an ISIS-affiliate has reportedly raised its flag over municipal buildings in a southern city in the South-East Asian country. This led one expert to forecast Islamic State will announce a new province on one of Philippines largest islands.
Senior Analyst at IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre Otso Iho believes (Arabic link) it is only a matter of time before ISIS controls swathes of southern Philippines with its base on Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island with a population of 20 million.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/isis-sets-eyes-creating-new-%E2%80%98state%E2%80%99


FOUR THINGS FOR TRUMP TEAM TO CONSIDER ON PAKISTAN
Donald Trump spoke with the Pakistani prime minister about bilateral relations. Here’s what his administration needs to bear in mind.
Pakistani Prime Nawaz Sharif telephoned President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his electoral victory. According to an official press release from the Pakistani government, Trump said the following to Sharif:
“You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way. I am looking forward to see you soon. As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long. Your country is amazing with tremendous opportunities. Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people. I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems. It will be an honor and I will personally do it. Feel free to call me any time even before 20th January that is before I assume my office.”
Sharif invited Trump to visit Pakistan, to which Trump responded “he would love to come to a fantastic country, fantastic place of fantastic people.” He said “Please convey to the Pakistani people that they are amazing and all Pakistanis I have known are exceptional
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/four-things-trump-team-consider-pakistan



CHINA’S WAR ON ISLAMIST EXTREMISM: REAL OR SUBVERSIVE?
New reports claim that Islamist extremism is moving into inland China. Are these reports to be believed?
Perhaps not widely known is the fact that Western China is home to millions of Muslim minority peoples, most identifying as Uighur.
Recently in China, officials stated that Islamic extremism is beginning to move out of Western China and into inland China where the overwhelming majority is Han Chinese. Although the officials gave no details as to which provinces had extremist activity, Wang Zuoan, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, told the National Congress of the Chinese Islamic Association, “We should let Muslims know the boundaries between legal and illegal religious activities, to enable them to say no to illegal activities.”
China is officially an atheist country, allowing only certain recognized religions to be practiced -- and those practices, of course, are being overseen by the state. These limitations on religious practice have produced great tension between religious people and the Chinese government.
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/china%E2%80%99s-war-islamist-extremism-real-or-subversive



IRAQ INTEGRATES IRAN-BACKED SHIITE MILITIAS INTO ARMY
The Popular Mobilization Units are Iranian backed Shiite militia units accused of sectarian abuses. Sunnis fear it’s the end of a neutral army. The Iraqi parliament voted to fully legalize the Shiite militia groups aligned under the banner of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and bring them under government control.
The legislation, passed by 327 to 208, places the 100,000 men of the PMU under the personal command of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
He welcomed the legislation, adding the force will “will represent and defend all Iraqis, wherever they are.”
The new law defines them as “an auxiliary and supporting force for the Iraqi security forces.” Previously they were semi-independent bodies under the control of the “PMU Commission” which was technically answerable to the Prime Minister.
Sunni politicians opposed the passage of the bill which they said strengthened Shiite “dictatorship.” Osama al-Nujaifi, one of Iraq’s three vice-presidents and a Sunni, warned the move risked weakening the government by empowering a sectarian fighting force.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iraq-integrates-iran-backed-shiite-militias-army


ISIS CUTS OFF WATER TO CIVILIANS IN MOSUL
Islamic State shut off the water supply to areas of Mosul that may be liberated by the Iraqi army to keep civilians under control.
As the Iraqi army advances into Mosul, Islamic State’s last stronghold in Iraq, ISIS has cut off water and electricity from some of the districts which may soon be liberated by the Iraqi army.
"[ISIS] cut the electricity to the water stations that feed several neighborhoods where Iraqi troops are advancing," Zuhair Hazem al-Jabouri, an official for Mosul city responsible for energy and water told CNN. "They are depriving people of drinking water in eastern Mosul. They want to force people to retreat with them in order to use them as human shields."
The U.N. could not independently verify the reports, but said this strategy was in keeping with ISIS conduct in other places where it has gone to extraordinary lengths to retain control over civilian populations which it has no qualms about using as human shields.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-cuts-water-civilians-mosul


IRAN DENIES EXISTENCE OF 7% OF ITS POPULATION
Tehran’s latest report to the U.N. on its minorities completely fails to mention the existence of some five-million Ahvazi Arabs.
Five-million Iranians have simply disappeared. That’s if you believe the country’s latest report to the U.N. on its work with minorities within the country. The report’s authors chose to ignore the existence of one of the largest minorities, the five-million Ahvazi Arabs.
The human-rights organization of the Ahvazi people noted the omission of the Ahvazi Arabs, and indeed the failure to mention the existence of Arabs in the country at all.
This apparent neglect comes despite the fact that the vast majority of the Ahvazis are Shiites – which is the major religious denomination in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Iranian report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in the last week of November.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iran-denies-existence-7-its-population

GETTING INSIDE THE HEAD OF THE OHIO ATTACKER
The ISIS strategy of mass propaganda calling on Muslims in the West to start killing is a numbers game that doesn’t need high conversion rates.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Wed, November 30, 2016
Islamic State media agency Amaq News released a statement calling Ohio terrorist Abdul Razak Ali Artan a “soldier of God” acting “in response to appeals to target nationals of the international Coalition,” reported The New Yorker.

Law enforcement are combing through the cellphone and laptop of Artan in an attempt to find out what motivated him to carry out Monday’s car-ramming and stabbing attack at Ohio State University. They say they found no clear links between him and specific terrorist groups.

What they have found is lengthy diatribes on social media about the oppression of Muslims. On Facebook, Artan posted he had become “sick and tired” of the treatment of Muslims and reached a “boiling point.”

This is the purpose of ISIS propaganda: to provide a brand and a methodology to which to attach preexisting grievances, both perceived and real, about how badly Muslims are treated.

By nurturing these grievances and then providing a simple and cheap “action item” as a proposed solution, ISIS is able to motivate terrorist attacks remotely without any contact with the terrorists at all, beyond exposure to their narrative.

Like any form of advertising, it’s a numbers game. ISIS doesn’t need to radicalize everyone who sees their propaganda. They just need to show it to enough people that some of them believe it.

If enough young men come to believe the West is engaged in a war against Islam, of those a certain percentage will see a renewed caliphate (essentially a fascistic-revivalist concept) as a potential solution. Here the rhetoric of non-violent or semi-violent Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood or Hizb ut-Tahrir comes into play.

These groups want the same thing as ISIS but are willing to work within existing systems non-violently to get there.

In their propaganda, they contrast the idealized and romanticized vision of a caliphate as a pure Islamic state where Muslims are treated justly and are free to practice their religion against the secular, decadent and hypocritical West which oppresses Muslims (on the one hand) while pretending to give them rights (on the other).

Out of those, if enough see Islamic State propaganda telling them the only way to avenge one’s grievances against the West and to end the “suffering” is to take up weapons and begin attacking people, eventually someone is going to do it.

There is another factor: glory.

Islamism has the same utopian vision as fascism and communism, namely, there exists a perfect form of society and if we could just get there, everything, all of humanity’s basest impulses and urges, all the injustice, would simply melt away. It adds on an enemy -- the bad people who are standing in the way of this glorious new world order -- and declares that if they could only see the truth, there would be nothing stopping this utopian vision from becoming a reality.

Since these people will not see the truth, the only way to deal with them is with violence. Since the worldview that the person being radicalized wants to fight for is perfect, the ends therefore justify the means. This combination of the dehumanization of Westerners and the justification of collateral damage enables the psychological jump to violence against innocent civilians.

It legitimizes any and all actions in the service of the cause.

The idea of a legitimate cause as carte-blanche to perpetrate extreme violence has been a potent elixir for damaged young men for all time. We see constantly in our own popular culture; it’s the subject of every action movie and show from Die Hard to Independence Day to Game of Thrones.

It’s the same reason priests were murdered and churches burned by communists in the Spanish Civil War. It’s why Maximilien Robespierre, a leader of the French Revolution, sent thousands to the guillotine in just a few short months, including erstwhile political allies.

His words at the time could easily have been repeated by Castro or Franco or Pinochet or ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:

“If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the patrie.”

In other words, the only things standing in our way are these people. To get what we want we need to kill them, collateral damage be damned.

As long as there are angry young men, that message will always be appealing to some and will be repackaged by extremist groups in every generation.

ISIS is packaging that message in the 21st century, empowered by a 24/7 news cycle and the world’s ultra-connectivity offered by social media.

Like any advertising campaign, it’s just a question of numbers.
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/getting-inside-head-ohio-attacker

AMERICAN ISLAMIST GROUP PREPS FOR JIHAD AGAINST TRUMP

Multiple confidential sources in the powerful jihadi group say they have been told to arm them-selves in anticipation of raids by a Trump Admin.
BY MARTIN MAWYER & RYAN MAURO Mon, November 28, 2016
Khalifa Hussain Abdallah, (foreground) known as 'K1' within the group for his top ranking as an original founder, is said to be a key supervisor of these preparations for armed conflict.
Multiple confidential sources inside of a powerful jihadist group within the United States have informed the Christian Action Network and the Clarion Project that members have been told to arm themselves in anticipation of raids by the Trump Administration.
The Pakistan-based spiritual leader of Muslims of America (MOA), Sheikh Gilani, told top MOA officials (known as “khalifas”) to order all unarmed members to obtain firearms, licenses and hunting permits in order to resist raids on the group’s approximately 22 compounds that they expect to happen under the Trump Administration. Additional “security” was also called up and assault rifles have ben mentioned as desirable.
The group now expects the FBI “to reopen its cases against them as a homegrown terrorist organization,” one of the confidential sources told Martin Mawyer of the Christian Action Network and Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project.
The sources independently stated that members across the country were told of instructions from Sheikh Gilani to “be prepared to fight.” The message reportedly relayed to members was to “hear and obey,” using language identical to the oath of allegiance members sign when they join the group. He predicted, “You will be tested.”
The members believe that President-elect Trump is part of a satanic-Zionist conspiracy to destroy Islam, and that he is fulfilling apocalyptic End Times prophecies. Any action taken against MOA is seen as part of a war on Islam, a situation that permits violent jihad.
The preparations for armed confrontation are described as “self-defense measures,” but one source cautioned that the group could decide to take “offensive” action if it believes armed conflict is imminent.
MOA, previously known as Jamaat ul-Fuqra, refers to its compounds as “Islamic villages,” with its headquarters in New York known as “Islamberg.” Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro obtained footage of women getting guerilla training at the site, which was filmed in or around 2002. The group has a history of terrorist and criminal activity.
MOA members have a long history of terrorism, extremism and criminal activity including weapons trafficking. A 2007 FBI report obtained by Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project states:
“The documented propensity for violence by this organization supports the belief the leadership of the MOA extols membership to pursue a policy of jihad or holy war against individuals or groups it considers enemies of Islam, which includes the US Government.”
It warned that MOA “possesses an infrastructure capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns within the U.S. and overseas.”
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/american-islamist-group-preps-jihad-against-trump


WHAT IF YOUR HOLIDAY PARADE WAS A TERROR TARGET?After terror threats were made against the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, we asked our readers if the media should inform the public them beforehand.
Sun, November 27, 2016
THe NYPD guiads the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
A man was arrested in New York City for planning to attack the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. In France, a terror cell was arrested while planning a multi-city attack.
The State Department issued a terror warning for travelers to Europe, specifying attacks at holiday events and festivals.
These were just a few of the many stories in the media last week about the threat of terrorism during the holidays.
We asked our readers: “Should the media report terror threats, or is this just scaremongering?”
Here are some of the nearly 200 responses we received:
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/what-if-your-holiday-parade-was-terror-target


MUSLIMS DEMAND RIGHT TO PREACH IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CANADA
Student Islamists are mounting a coordinated campaign to expand Muslim religious services in the high schools of Canada’s sixth largest city.
BY JOHN GODDARD Mon, November 28, 2016
Friday prayers held during class hours at the Valley Park Middle School. Boys pray in front, girls pray behind them separated by a barrier and menstruating girls are obliged to sit at the very back to observe the service but not participate.
Student Islamists are mounting a coordinated campaign to expand Muslim religious services in the high schools of Canada’s sixth largest city.
So far, authorities are proving sympathetic, suspending a new policy meant to regulate student sermons.
“The school board should not be policing religion,” campaign leader Shahmir Durrani told one of two November board meetings in Mississauga, Ontario, that heard from imams, parents, high school students and university leaders of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), an organization founded for universities students by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1963.
“Many students are feeling stigmatized because of this.”
Talk of prayers and sermons might come as a surprise to those unaware of how widespread Muslim religious activity has become in some Canadian school jurisdictions, and how far the fundamentalist MSA has penetrated the public education system.
The changes started a decade ago, when the Ontario provincial government encouraged accommodation of an individual’s religious practice at workplaces and schools.
At first, Muslim students were denied Friday congregational prayers and were told they could only pray only as individuals.
Five years ago, however, the Toronto Sun reported that 800 students at Toronto’s Valley Park Middle School were converting the school’s cafeteria into a temporary mosque every Friday during class hours, with boys praying in front, girls praying behind them separated by a barrier and menstruating girls obliged to sit at the very back to observe the service but not participate
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslims-demand-right-preach-public-schools-canada


MOROCCAN TV SHOWS WOMEN HOW TO HIDE BRUISES WITH MAKEUP
A Moroccan lifestyle show has been forced to apologize after giving a tutorial on how to cover bruises from domestic violence.
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, November 28, 2016
The Moroccan lifestyle show Sabahiyat broadcast a tutorial on how to use makeup to “camouflage traces of violence.” The show aired as part of the campaign to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was November 25.
“Use foundation with yellow in it, if you use the white one, your red punch marks will always show,” makeup artist Lilia Mouline, who was conducting the demonstration, told the audience on the channel 2M.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/moroccan-tv-shows-women-how-hide-bruises-makeup



ISIS LOSES FOUR JIHADIS IN FIRST ATTACK ON ISRAEL
A Palestinian group which pledged allegiance to ISIS attacked Israeli soldiers in the Israeli Golan Heights and lost four fighters as a consequence.
Mon, November 28, 2016
An Israeli airstrike on Sunday wiped out four ISIS terrorists after they infiltrated the Israeli Golan Heights and opened fire on soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The action was the first time Israeli forces have come under fire from Islamic State jihadis.
The soldiers of Israel’s Golani brigade were in Israeli territory when they came under fire from militants from the Shuhada al-Yarmouk Brigade (Martyrs of Yarmouk), a Palestinian ISIS affiliate based in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. The group is also known as the Khalid ibn Walid Army.
After they exchanged small arms fire, the Israeli soldiers came under mortar fire. An Israeli airstrike then took out the four terrorists who were in a car mounted with a machine gun on the roof.
No Israeli soldiers sustained injuries in the attack.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-loses-four-jihadis-first-attack-israel


Crucifixion, Torture and Forced Conversion by ISIS in Iraq
As Christians have become liberated from their horrific life under ISIS, survivors have begun telling the reality of life under the jihadis.
Mon, November 28, 2016
An accused 'spy,' hanged by Islamic State on the streets of Raqqa, Syria
Iraqi Christian survivors of Islamic State’s brutal reign have been coming forward to tell the horrors they experienced as their land becomes liberated by coalition forces, reports Christianity Today.
One man, identified only as Esam, related how Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL) jihadis tortured and killed his brother-in-law while his wife and children were forced to watch.
"My wife's brother was crucified by Daesh [ISIS]," he said. "He was crucified and tortured in front of his wife and children, who were forced to watch. They told him that if he loved Jesus that much, he would die like Jesus."
For four hours, militants tortured the man, before crucifying him and cutting open his stomach. He was eventually shot and killed.
Esam also reported that two members of his wife’s family, a Christian couple, were kidnapped by ISIS. The wife “now lives with one of the Daesh emirs,” he said and the whereabouts of the husband are unknown.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/crucifixion-torture-and-forced-conversion-isis-iraq


FROM AMSTERDAM TO CAIRO, ISLAMISTS SEEK DOMINATION
From Amsterdam to Cairo, Islamists Seek Domination
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Sun, November 27, 2016
History has shown that appeasement in the face of endless aggression only emboldens those whose quest is for total domination
Coptic Christian attacked and set afire on the streetsof Cairo in 2013 (Photo: Mohamed El Shahed/AFP/Getty Images)
An Islamist mob attacked property owned by Coptic Christians in a village south of Cairo after rumors that a church was being opened spread through the area, reported the news outlet Wataninet.com.

The guest house of a Coptic Christian doctor was burned, the façade of 10 Coptic-owned houses were damaged and a house and shop were looted.
The village of al-Naghameesh is home to 2,000 Coptic Christians, with the closest church located eight kilometers away in the town of al-Kosheh. Despite the fact that the Egyptian legislature passed a new law last August codifying the rights of Christians to build and renovate churches, the Christian community in Nagameesh has not received permission to build a church.
The community has been using their community center, which houses a pre-school and a home for the elderly, for prayer services.
Earlier in the week the village’s priest had asked the bishop from Kosheh to preside over a memorial mass for the priest’s father. While in the village, the bishop visited the village’s mayor and gave him a copy of the Quran.
Local Islamist suspected that the bishop had come to the village to open a church and waged the attack after prayers on Friday. While the attack was underway, the mob blocked the road so that fire trucks could not reach the burning building and cut of all water and power supplies to the village.
Police were called and eventually were able to disperse the crowd. Twenty arrests were made.
Although unfortunately a common occurrence, Islamist attacks on non-Muslim places of worship are not limited to the Middle East.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/amsterdam-cairo-islamists-seek-domination


AL-QAEDA CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING ISRAEL FIRES
An Al-Qaeda-linked Salafist group claimed responsibility for setting fires which have ravaged Israel for close to a week.
Fires rage in Israel's northern port city of Haifa. (Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Ma’sadat al-Mujahideen, a Palestinian Salafist group, claimed responsibility for carrying out arson attacks that sparked colossal fires in the northern and central regions of Israel. Some 75,000 people were forced to flee the coastal city of Haifa as firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.
In a statement claiming responsibility the group said that Jews must “return from whence they came since they have no place among us.”
The group has not offered proof that it was involved in setting the fires and security services are unsure if their claim is true or not. Nevertheless, Israeli government officials said that an estimated 50% of the fires were set by arsonists. Officials in Israel on Sunday told the public that while some fires still remain, the wave of fires which have blazed for the past six days is now mostly over.
At least 35 people have been arrested for arson since Thursday.

The damage caused by the fires was extensive. Estimate suggested that between 400-700 homes in Haifa were destroyed by the blaze. Some 1,700 residents of Haifa who had been evacuated were unable to return on Saturday night since their homes were unlivable. At least 136 people were treated for smoke inhalation.
According to Israel’s Natural Parks Authority 7,400 acres of protected park areas were burned and 32,000 acres of natural forests were burned.
Ten nations including the United States, Greece, Russia, Cyprus and Turkey sent 15 planes to help Israel’s efforts to battle the fires, which involved some 2,000 Israeli and 69 Cypriot firefighters, backed up by 450 soldiers from the Home Front Command.
“Every fire that was caused by arson, or incitement to arson, is terrorism by all accounts,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) told the press. “And we will treat it as such.

"Whoever tries to burn parts of Israel will be punished for it severely."
The Palestinian Authority sent fire trucks and firefighters to assist in combating the blaze. Their willingness to help however should be taken with a pinch of salt, given the PA’s track record of using hateful Islamist rhetoric to incite its supporters to violence and then denying involvement in said violence.
For example, in May the PA lauded a terrorist who murdered a visiting U.S. army veteran. Rather than being seen as a humanitarian gesture, their assistance should be seen as a gaslighting tactic aimed at concealing their complicity in inciting Islamist terrorism. Gaslighting (from the black and white film of the same name) is an abuse tactic in which the perpetrator of abuse denies they are being abusive and tries to make the person being abused question their own sanity.

The Al-Qaeda linked group which claimed responsibility for setting some of these fires also claimed responsibility for setting the Mount Carmel forest fires (which killed 40 people in 2010), one near Jerusalem in 2011 and a fire in Nevada in 2012.
Al-Qaeda was also suspected of being behind a series of forest fires in Europe in 2012.
“One should note that setting fires to forests in the countries of the European Union is a new tendency in al-Qaeda's strategy of a 'thousand cuts'," the head of Russia's Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said in 2012, according to state news agency RIA Novosti, at a meeting of heads of security agencies.
"This method allows (al-Qaeda) to inflict significant economic and moral damage without serious preliminary preparations, technical equipment or significant expenses."
Bortnikov noted calls to “forest jihad” on a number of different extremist websites as evidence that the blazes may well have been set by terrorists. This shows the connection in the minds of Islamists such as Al-Qaeda between the war against Israel in particular and the war against the West more generally.
Globally, the response from the pro-Palestinian community was telling. #IsraelIsBurning trended on Twitter as self-proclaimed supporters of the Palestinian cause expressed their unrestrained delight in the suffering of Israelis. They did not seem to care that Palestinians would also suffer as a result of the fires.

“The welcome acts of arson are a part of the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist entity,” one Twitter user wrote, as reported by Truth Revolt.
The head of general security in Dubai tweeted, “Israel banned the muezzin and caught on fire. Blessed be God.” A Kuwaiti Imam tweeted, “Best of luck to the fires .”
The glee demonstrated as the fires raged, the number of separate arson attacks and the quickness of a terrorist organization to lay claim to the devastation shows that there is huge grassroots support among the pro-Palestinian community for any and all actions, no matter how damaging to Muslims or how limited the political gains, that will lead to the suffering of Israelis and Jews.
Islamists have stoked and lit these fires and hatred and will continue to do so until their hateful ideology is extinguished.
VIDEO 1.45 MINS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq92xPx0dnw
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/al-qaeda-claims-responsibility-starting-israel-fires

Iran Threatens U.S. With Retaliations If Sanctions Extended
Although Iran says new sanctions would be a violation of the nuclear pact, Iran itself has violated the agreement, says the IAEA.
Thu, November 24, 2016
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei threatened retaliations against the United States of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic are extended.

The U.S. House of representative voted last week to extend the remaining U.S. sanctions against Iran – set to expire at the end of the year -- for another 10 years. The sanctions also include longstanding measures imposed by the U.S. that are not connected to Iran’s nuclear program, including forbidding Iranian access to the U.S. financial system and the use of the dollar, which Iran claims have hampered the economic windfall it expected from the deal.

In addition, the House passed a bill that would prevent companies such as Boeing and Airbus from selling commercial aircraft to Iran.

The measure would also have to be approved by the Senate as well as U.S. President Barack Obama.
Obama is expected to veto any such measure.
"The latest is extension of sanctions for 10 years, that if it happens, would surely be against JCPOA [the nuclear agreement], and the Islamic Republic would definitely react to it," said Khamenei in a speech to a group of Revolutionary Guards
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/iran-threatens-retaliation-against-us-if-sanctions-extended



THESE FIVE MUSLIM COUNTRIES DISCRIMINATE AGAINST MUSLIMS
Here are five Muslim countries with laws that discriminate against minority sects of Islam.
Many of the countries which carry out religious discrimination against Muslims are themselves Muslim countries with an Islamic system of government. Here are five of the worst offenders.
1 Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran is ruled by a concept called Velayat e-Faqih, or “guardianship of the Jurist” in which political power is vested in the hands of a clerical establishment headed by the Supreme Leader. It calls its revolution “Islamic” and claims to have a government that safeguards religion.

Yet, despite this Islamic claim to legitimacy, Iran has repressive laws that restrict the religious rights of Muslims. Ja’afari Shiite Islam is the official state religion and all law is in accordance with the doctrines of that sect. Although the constitution states the Sunni schools of thought must be “accorded full respect,” Sunnis complain of discrimination at the hands of the regime. In 2015, “Security officials continued to raid and demolish existing prayer sites belonging to Sunnis” according to the United States Institute for Peace and “the government reportedly barred the construction of new Sunni mosques.”

Sunnis make up 10% of Iran’s population, but they say they are denied government jobs and are treated as second class citizens. Although there are one million Sunnis in the Iranian capital Tehran, Sunnis complain there is no Sunni mosque in the city, a charge which Islamic Republic media outlets deny, with one website claiming there are nine.

This year Iran, after a dispute with Sunni rival Saudi Arabia, banned Iranian pilgrims from going on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which takes place annually in September. This year, one million Iranian pilgrims instead marked the festival of Arafat Day in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, Iraq, during the same time as the Hajj

2 Saudi Arabia
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/these-five-muslim-countries-discriminate-against-muslims


SPECIAL BUS SERVICE FOR WOMEN IN POST-COUP ISTANBUL
The UN has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Amid a climate of growing violence toward women in Turkey, female passengers on public buses in Istanbul after 10 pm will now be able to exit the bus anywhere on the route, whether there is a bus stop or not.
The measure, instituted to increase the safety of women, addresses the reality that women face in the city of more than 14 million citizens.
Violence against women in Turkey – already at a crisis level – has dramatically increased since the failed coup attempt against Islamist president and AK party (AKP) member Recep Erdogan last July.
“The coup, the war, AKP’s backwardness or jihadist mobs … they all target women,” said the University Women’s Collective in a statement.
Women connected to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) pointed as the “male-dominated, militarist mentality” currently dominating Turkish politics as the cause for the uptick.
Since Erdogan’s Islamist party came to power in Turkey in 2003, violence against women has skyrocketed. Statistics taken between 2003 and 2010 by the Turkish Ministry of Justice indicate there was a 1,400 percent increase in the number of murders of women, including 300 cases per year where women had asked for a divorce.
By 2009, the minister of justice said that 953 women were murdered that year, and in 2010, the government stopped keeping statistics.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/special-bus-service-women-post-coup-istanbul


VERDICT IN CHRISTIAN BURNING CASE: RAY OF HOPE FOR MINORITIES
A Pakistani court announced convictions in the horrific case of the lynching and burning alive of a Christian couple on false charges of blasphemy. BY KALEEN DEAN Thu, November 24, 2016
BY KALEEN DEAN Thu, November 24, 2016
A Pakistani court announced the verdict of the horrific case of the lynching and burning alive of a Christian couple on false charges of blasphemy.
More than 100 arrests were made in the case, which occurred in 2014 at a brick factory in the Kasur District of Punjab, where a mob of 400 Islamists beat and burnt Shama Bibi and Shahzad Masih, a young couple in their thirties with three children.
Shama was five months pregnant at the time.
For the last two years, Christians in Pakistan were waiting to see the outcome of the case, but the courts took their time reaching a verdict. Yesterday, the court sentenced five people to death, nine people to two years in prison each for aiding and abetting the crime and let off close to 90 people for lack of evidence.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/verdict-christian-burning-case-ray-hope-minorities

BUTTERBALL TURKEYS FUNDING TERROR?
The largest producer of Thanksgiving turkeys is being investigated by the Justice Department for possible ties to the Lebanese Hezbollah
Seaboard is an international company which is the largest producer of Butterball turkeys in the United States, according to Fortune magazine. It is now being investigated by the Justice Department after allegations that the company has business relationships with senior figures blacklisted by the US government for financing the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Investigators a looking into a Seaboard milling subsidiary in Africa which is working with a businessman named Kassim Tajideen. Tajideen was blacklisted by the U.S. State Department in 2009 and 2010 for allegedly funneling tens of millions of dollars to Hezbollah.
A meeting allegedly took place in 2012 between a Hezbollah financier and Seaboard in which the two parties discussed how to use middlemen to conceal Seaboard’s ties to Tajideen. Federal investigators are trying to determine whether that meeting took place and what occurred there.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/butterball-turkeys-funding-terror


WOOLWORTHS IN GERMAN TOWN CANCELS CHRISTMAS
A staff member reportedly told inquiring customers, “We are a Muslim business now. We do not want to sell Christmas articles."
A local Woolworths store in North Dortmund, Germany has decided to skip Christmas this year. After receiving their entire Christmas sections – which included decorations, gifts and special holiday treats – the store, which is located in a predominately Muslim area, removed the entire display.
As reported by the UK’s Express, a staff member reportedly told inquiring customers, "We are a Muslim business now. We do not want to sell Christmas articles."
Diana Presisert, a spokesperson for the company said although Woolworths was not a Muslim company, “In this branch …, however, demand was too low. Therefore the goods were distributed to other branches."
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/woolworths-german-town-cancels-christmas


MACY’S THANKSGIVING PARADE, INAUGURATION NAMED AS TARGETS
The Islamic State and al-Qaeda magazines called for Nice-style attack on the iconic American events. The FBI has responded accordingly
Security in New York was boosted after both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda magazines urged attacks on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as other attacks during the holiday season.
At the same time, the FBI is warning police departments across the country about the increased possibility of terror attacks during the holidays. In addition, the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. has also been named as an impending target.
Rumiyah, Islamic State’s latest slick magazine published in a number of languages, called the parade an “excellent target” and suggested that its followers perpetrate a “Nice-style” attack on the event. That attack killed 86 and injured 434 when a 19-ton truck careened through crowds in Nice, France on July 14 during Bastille-Day festivities
MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/news/macy%E2%80%99s-thanksgiving-parade-inauguration-named-targets

STATE DEPT. ISSUES TERROR ALERT FOR TRAVEL TO EUROPE FOR HOLIDAYS
The alert comes just a day after seven people were arrested in France in anti-terror raids in Strasbourg and Marseilles, thwarting a planned terror attack.
The State Department issued a travel alert for Americans planning trips to Europe during the holiday season, CNN reported. The alert comes just a day after seven people were arrested in France in anti-terror raids in Strasbourg and Marseilles, thwarting a “new terrorist attack that had been planned for a long time on our soil,” according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
The State Department specifically named holiday festivals, with events and outdoor markets as places for particular caution. Strasbourg’s famous Christmas markets are expected to draw two million people alone. The markets were the target of a failed attack by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in 2000.
"Never has the terrorist threat been so high in our country. The anti-terrorist services are completely mobilized," Cazeneuve said after the arrests were made.
The suspects are believed to be members of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and are thought to be under control of a mastermind in Syria. Two other members of the same cell were arrested in June. The new suspects are from France, Morocco and Afghanistan and range in age from 29 to 37 years old. French authorities received a tip about the Moroccan suspect from what was called a “neighboring country.” Some of the suspects are believed to have travelled to Syria via Cyprus.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/state-dept-issues-terror-alert-travel-europe-holidays


FBI ARRESTS NY UBER DRIVER TRYING TO JOIN ISIS
The Uber driver arrested on Monday stands accused of travelling to Turkey and Yemen to join ISIS and supporting an attack on Times Square
The FBI arrested a man on Monday for allegedly attempting to join the Islamic State and expressing support for a terrorist attack using a garbage truck to mow down pedestrians in Times Square, according to the New York Post.
“As alleged, the defendant was persistent in his efforts to join ISIL and support its terrorist objectives,” prosecuting attorney Robert Capers said in a statement.
Mohamed Rafik Naji, 37, expressed his support for the Islamic State on social media and in conversations with an undercover FBI informant.
He spoke to the informant after the terrorist atttack in Nice, France, where 84 people were killed at a Bastille Day parade.
“They want an operation in Times Square, reconnaissance groups already put out a scene, the Islamic State already put up scenes of Times Square...I said that was an indication for whoever is smart to know,” he told the informant on July 19.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/fbi-arrests-ny-uber-driver-plotting-attack-times-square



ISNA PULLS BACK FROM MUSLIM-JEWISH ALLIANCE
The Muslim half of the partnership has backed away from full support of the new organization, citing ‘procedural errors’ and concerns over Israel.
The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) is a flagship collaboration between Jewish and Muslim activists and community leaders in America. The organization was founded as a collaboration between the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
The organization’s stated goal is to focus on protecting the shared interests of both communities and not allowing differences of opinion over Middle Eastern politics to forestall the possibility of creative partnerships between the two faith groups.
Now, however, ISNA has just done exactly that, allowing concerns over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to lead it to pull back from full-throated support.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/isna-pulls-back-muslim-jewish-alliance

BRUTAL EXECUTION VIDEO SHOWS CHILD CRUSHED UNDER TANK
Warning: Graphic! A video disseminated by ISIS shows the execution of a young teenager by a Shiite militia. 
BY ELLIOT FRIEDLAND Mon, November 21, 2016]
A young teenager was shot multiple times before being run over by a tank in a brutal execution video allegedly made by the Shiite militia El-Hashab el-Sharbi. The video was published on an ISIS website (ironically) to show the evils of their opponents.
It has not been independently verified which militia group actually carried out the execution, nor does it really matter.
War is always violent and brutal, but this glorification of ultraviolence -- even towards children -- has become a peculiar feature of Islamist terrorist groups.
Whether Sunni or Shiite, this level of cruelty shows the imperative to unite and act decisively to stop these terrorist groups once and for all.
WARNING: This video contains extremely graphic images  
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/brutal-execution-video-shows-child-crushed-under-tank


SHOCKING ANTI-MUSLIM RANT CAPTURED ON FILM IN NEW YORK
A man was filmed harassing an Arab-American Uber driver using foul language and racial slurs saying Trump would deport him.
A hate-filled anti-Arab rant was filmed in Queens, New York. A driver hurled abuse at an Arab-American uber driver, calling him a “F-----g terrorist” and a “sand-n****r.” The man says that “Trump is president a#!!?*e, so you can kiss your f*%$*&g visa goodbye, scumbag.”
He continues, “They’ll deport you soon, don’t worry, you f%^%&*g terrorist.”
Anecdotal stories about incidents of this nature have flooded social media since Trump’s election victory last week, leaving many Muslims feeling worried.
These are completely unacceptable instances of bigotry and abuse. There is never an excuse to attack another person because of their faith or their perceived faith.
Moreover, attacking ordinary Muslims not only punishes innocent people for the actions of their co-religionists, but it plays into the hands of extremists, by enabling the Islamic State and others to portray the conflict as one of Islam vs everyone else
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/shocking-anti-muslim-rant-captured-film-new-york


ISIS IN EGYPT BEHEADS 100 YEAR OLD FOR ‘WITCHCRAFT’
Islamic State-affiliate Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed it killed a respected sheikh in the Sinai peninsula after abducting him.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Sheikh Sulaiman Abu Haraz was kidnapped by Islamic State gunmen from outside his house in Arish city in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The sheikh, who was 100 years old, was reportedly a well-respected Sufi leader in the Sinai.  
He was accused by the group of practicing “witchcraft.” ISIS-Sinai (as Ansar-Bayt al-Maqdis now style themselves) released a series of pictures on social media of the execution. They  show the sheikh kneeling and surrounded by armed men and an executioner. The final image is of his severed head in the sand covered in blood.
MORE  http://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-egypt-kills-100-year-old-%E2%80%98witchcraft%E2%80%99



TRUMP CABINET-PICKS SUPPORT BANNING MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
The first picks in the Trump administration believe that the Brotherhood should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
President-Elect Trump’s first picks for his administration believe that the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent organization of Hamas, should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Clarion Project recently reported on comments by a senior foreign policy adviser, Dr. Walid Phares, indicating that the future Trump Administration would support the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. The legislation has passed the House Judiciary Committee and has the support of 87 members of Congress, including two Democrats.
See below video with Clarion's Ryan Mauro on the what are the most immediate national security issues facing President-elect Trump
The legislation outlines the evidence linking the Brotherhood and Hamas to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/trump-cabinet-picks-support-banning-muslim-brotherhood



MASSACHUSETTS PRISON INVESTIGATES INMATE RADICALIZATION
Six inmates at MCI Norfolk are being disciplined after reportedly preaching radical messages & trying to control other inmates.
Six inmates are being disciplined within the MCI Norfolk prison in Massachusetts for setting up a power structure and demanding allegiance and uniforms from other inmates. The gang was based in the prison’s Muslim chapel.
The prisoners were reportedly playing speeches by the late Al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki. Awlaki, an American citizen, was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
“It was determined that the ‘jihad’ that was being preached was in the context of personal spiritual struggle with regard to oneself, as opposed to a war against non-believers” a Department of Corrections statement said. They added there is “no evidence that their unauthorized activities were being used as a recruiting tool for any extremist ideology.”
The men are being disciplined for forming a gang rather than for radical recruitment.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/massachusetts-prison-investigates-inmate-radicalization




WHY NATO-MEMBER TURKEY WANTS LATEST MISSILES FROM RUSSIA
The move can be viewed as part of a global shift in alliances which has been occurring during the second term of the Obama administration.
NATO member Turkey is in talks with Russia to purchase Russia’s long-range air defense missile system, the S-400. The system is capable of shooting down a variety of targets, including conventional aircraft as well as America’s brand new F-35 stealth fighter, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.
Russia recently sold a similar system (the S-300) to Iran. A sale of the system to China was in the works but ultimately failed due to differences of opinions between the two countries as to the transfer of technology.
The move should be perceived as part of an on-going shift in alliance for Turkey, from the Western-based NATO to the Russia/Iran axis. The move also can be viewed as part of a global shift in alliances which has been occurring during the second term of the Obama administration.
“We have already made clear that we will be in cooperation with countries and companies that would lend support to us throughout this process. We have said our doors are open and that we are willing to cooperate,” Turkish Defense Ministers Fikri Isik said in regards to the potential purchase, as reported in Hurriyet Daily.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-nato-member-turkey-wants-latest-missiles-russia  


IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS’ AIRLINE WANTS TO FLY TO CANADA
An Iranian-born MP from Canada met with an Iranian delegation lobbying for the reopening of direct flights with Mahan Air.
An Iranian-born member of parliament met with a delegation from Iran lobbying for the reopening of direct flights between Iran and Canada on Mahan Air, as reported by Atash, a Persian news outlet in Canada.
The airline remains under terror sanctions by the U.S., which accused it of providing “transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services” to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Forces. The U.S. says the airline is used by Iran to transport fighters and weapons to Syria to train Hezbollah jihadis, Syrian army troops and others.
Majid Jowhari, a Liberal MP, is active in lobbying the Canadian government to re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran and reopen both countries’ respective embassy. He reportedly met with a parliamentary delegation from Iran to open a Canada-Iran parliamentary friendship group and push for the re-establishment of flights with Mahan Air.
"Our government's position is that Canada severing ties with Iran had no positive consequences for anyone, not for Canadians, not for the people of Iran, not for our Canadian allies, and not for global security," Jowhari said at a news conference. "An absence of diplomatic representation hurts the people of both countries," he added.
MORE  http://www.clarionproject.org/news/iran%E2%80%99s-revolutionary-guards%E2%80%99-airline-wants-fly-canada

MINNESOTA WOULD-BE JIHADIS GET UP TO 35 YEARS IN PRISON
The judge hired a deradicalization expert from Germany, Daniel Koehler, to assess the men before he handed down his sentences
Judge Michael Davis of Minnesota sentenced nine young men who were members of an Islamic State cell in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Pauls. Davis hired a deradicalization expert from Germany, Daniel Koehler, to assess the men before he handed down his sentences. His reports were taken into consideration when determining the sentences.
Although he considered using mandatory deradicalization programs as part of his sentences, Judge Davis instead gave all of those sentenced prison time, with terms ranging from 21 months to 35 years.
He sentenced the men in three batches, depending on their level of cooperation with the authorities.
The first set of three men was sentenced on Monday. All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
Abdullahi Mohamed Yusuf, 20, was sentenced to the 21 months imprisonment which he has already served while awaiting trial. He will now go to a halfway house.
Abdirizak Warsame, 21, who expressed remorse in an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes received two and a half years imprisonment.
Zacharia Abdurahman, 21, was handed down a sentence of 10 years, on the grounds that unlike the other two, he refused to cooperate with the government and testify against his co-conspirators.
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/minnesota-would-be-jihadis-get-35-years-prison 

WHY ARE MUSLIM YOUTH LOSING THEIR FAITH TO EXTREMIST GROUPS?
Many ISIS’ members are not raised with any sort of extremist religious views, but are college educated. This makes the trend even more disturbing.
A recent analysis written for the online Indian news outlet FirstPost attempts to provide some possible answers to a burning question around the world: Why are Muslims are losing their faith to extremist groups and joining Islamic State?  
Women who join ISIS are usually converts and neo-Muslims. The author states that they “are not fascinated towards the traditional spiritual Islam or progressive Islamic thinking. But rather, they are driven by a network of half-educated, misguided and extremist youths—most of them being males.
“Scores of bright students of science, medicine and engineering have reportedly terminated their education aiming for an Islamic state or shariah-controlled zone where everything is ‘pure’, ‘perfect’ and idealistic.”
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-are-muslim-youth-losing-their-faith-extremist-groups  


80 LASHES FOR DRINKING COMMUNION WINE
The Christians were subject to and sentenced by a sharia court, as their conversions from Islam to Christianity are not recognized by Iran.
Three Christians arrested weeks ago in Iran have been sentenced to be lashed in public for drinking communion wine.
The Christians were subject to and sentenced by a sharia court, as their conversions from Islam to Christianity are not recognized by the Iranian regime. Although it is legal for Christians to drink alcohol in Iran, it is illegal for Muslims.
The three --Yaser Mosibzadeh, Saheb Fadayee and Mohammed Reza Omidi – will each receive 80 lashes and plan to appeal the sentence.  It is reported that most people can only withstand eight lashes before they faint.
The men were arrested along with their pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and his wife Fatemeh Pasandideh, although the latter two were subsequently released.
All five were also charged with taking “action against national security” and are set to be sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Rasht.
Pastor Nadarkhani became an international symbol for religious freedom in Iran when he was arrested in 2009 for questioning the Muslim monopoly on religious education for children. 
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/80-lashes-drinking-communion-wine


GERMANY SHUTS DOWN RADICAL ISLAMIC GROUP
A Salafist group known as “The True Religion” has been shut down after the government said 140 of its supporters travelled to fight for ISIS.
Salafists hand out copies of the Quran in Germany. (Photo: © Reuters)
The German government banned a Salafist group known as “The True Religion” for allegedly recruiting for the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL). The group gained notoriety for handing out German translations of the Quran, although the government stated there was nothing wrong with distributing the Islamic holy book in any language.
“The organization brings Islamic jihadists together under the pretext of the harmless distribution of the Quran,” Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière told the press, stressing that the arrests were because the group acted as a “collecting pool” for jihadists.
“A systematic curtailment of our rule of law has nothing to do with the alleged freedom of religion” he added.
Police in Germany raided 190 locations around the country as part of the crackdown. No one was detained.
“The True Religion” is reportedly the sixth such organization to be banned since 2012. Maizière said that 140 supporters of the group travelled to Syria or Iraq to fight for the Islamic State.
The group is also known as “Read,” referring to reading the Quran. “The translations of the Quran are being distributed along with messages of hatred and unconstitutional ideologies,” Mr. de Maizière said. “Teenagers are being radicalized with conspiracy theories.”
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/germany-shuts-down-radical-islamic-group


CHRISTIANS, CHURCHES IN THE MIDDLE EAST: SAY NO TO GENOCIDE
Clarion Project's legal analyst Jennifer Breedon looks at the effect on churches of genocide in the Middle East.
VIDEO  
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/christians-churches-middle-east-say-no-genocide

CHECHENS BECOMING RADICALIZED IN AUSTRIA
Statistics show that 40 percent of Islamic radicals in Austria entered the country as immigrants. Many became radicalized after arriving.
Forty percent of those identified by the Austrian government as Islamic radicals entered the country as migrants seeking asylum, as reported by the Associated Press. A spokesman for the interior ministry said that most became radicalized after entering Austria.
Of that radicalized group, the largest number came from Chechnya.
Austria’s interior ministry announced that 287 individuals had been identified in the country as Islamic radicals. Of those, 44 are presumed to have been killed fighting in Syria, 87 have returned after fighting in Syria or Iraq and 50 tried to leave the country to fight but were prevented.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/chechens-becoming-radicalized-austria

Woman Ordered Raped to Settle Family Honor Case
After a man was accused of attempting to molest a young girl in Pakistan, the village council order that the girl's father rape the man's married daughter.
Tue, November 15, 2016
A married woman in Pakistan has set herself on fire after being raped on the orders of the local panchayat (village council) in the village of Dhillu Gharbi.
The woman, who was close to five month’s pregnant from the rape was the victim of an honor-based system of “justice” due to a crime committed by her father.
A number of months ago, the woman’s father was caught attempting to molest a young girl in the village and was arrested and booked by the police for attempted rape. However, he was subsequently released and then brought to the local council.
The council ruled that the father of the young girl would rape the daughter of the accused molester in retribution. The daughter of the accused molester happened to be living in her father’s house while her husband was working abroad. 
After the rape, the local council sent to woman to her in-law’s house where she set herself on fire before he husband returned from abroad. Before she died in the hospital, she gave birth to a stillborn baby.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/woman-ordered-raped-settle-family-honor-case


AHMATJAN OSMAN:WHY YOU CAN’T BE MUSLIM IN CHINA
The Uighur minority has long sought independence from China but all requests have been denied and Uighurs are routinely arrested and killed. BY RAN MEIR Tue, November 15, 2016
China has a large Muslim minority – its Uighur population numbers some 10-20 million. The area they live in they call East Turkistan or Xinjiang. It’s five times the size of France.
East Turkistan lies in northwestern China and borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Tibet.
In 1933, in a rebellion against the central Chinese government East Turkistan declared independence. Eleven years later, equipped with an army of 40,000 soldiers and supported by Russia, they began fighting for their lands against China – even reaching 10 miles from what they called their capital Urumqi. Stalin told them to stop because of the bigger diplomatic picture and forced the Uighur to negotiate with the Chinese.
The five Uighur leaders traveled across China to Peking and subsequently to Kazakhstan. Meanwhile the Chinese media reported the five had died in a plane crash. Subsequently, the East Turkistan culture minister signed an agreement to create an autonomous region within China for the Uighur. This was seen by Muslims living in China as treachery.
READ MORE http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/ahmatjan-osmanwhy-you-can%E2%80%99t-be-muslim-china


ISIS ‘BITER’ SQUAD VANISHES WHEN CALLED FOR SUICIDE BOMB DUTY
A woman from the all-female unit tasked with enforcing Islamic State’s strict modesty code was executed after refusing to become a suicide bomber. Tue, November 15, 2016
The feared all-female unit ISIS used to mete out stiff punishments to women caught breaking the group’s draconian modesty codes has disappeared and one of its members executed after the group refused to report for duty as suicide bombers, according to a local media outlet.
A local source in Nineveh province who requested to remain anonymous spoke on Sunday to Al-Sumaria News.  He said:
ISIS executed by shooting one of the “biters” in the area of el-Dawasa West of Mosul. This is the first time they’ve executed someone from that unit. They charged her with breaking her allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi [leader of ISIS].
The real reason why most of the “biters” of ISIS have vanished from the markets and most of them escaped to an unknown area inside of Mosul is because they were called to join the battalion of female suicide bombers which targets the Iraqi Security Forces currently advancing inside Mosul.
ISIS is searching for the “biters” inside the territory they control on the right shore because it would like to punish them after most of them escaped and did not join the suicide group which ISIS is wants to deploy with the progress of the government forces into Mosul.”
Abuses previously carried out by the ISIS unit reportedly included using a medieval-style torture device known as a “biter” to shred the breasts of women caught breastfeeding their babies in public. 
READ MORE  http://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-%E2%80%98biter%E2%80%99-squad-vanishes-when-called-suicide-bomb-duty




YOU NAME IT: RADICAL ISLAM? ISLAMISM? ISLAMIC EXTREMISM?
We asked our readers: “What is the best term to define the political project of attempting to impose Islam over society and implement sharia as law?"BY CLARION PROJECT STAFF Wed, November 16, 2016
We surveyed readers on our Clarion subscriber list to ask them: “What is the best term to define the political project of attempting to impose Islam over society and implement sharia as state law?
Although this was not a scientific poll, here are the results based on the 1,752 responses were received:
Radical Islam    27.97%   (490 people)
Islamism      22.6%   (396 people)
Islamist Extremism      20.78%   (364 people)  
Islamic Fundamentalism    19.35%      (339 people)
Political Islam   9.3%     (163 people)
The following are a sampling of some of the 789 comments we received:
In my opinion, “Radical Islam” should be used. It grabs your attention right away and tells you what it is, no second guessing.
My first choice is “Islamist Extremism”; however, it's clumsy to pronounce, a factor that is important to consider.
Radical Islam is the biggest threat to America 2016.
My previous cardiologist was a Muslim and turned the hospital upside down to help me. My current cardiologist is a Muslim woman who is terrific. The term “Islamist Extremism” then seems appropriate for doing so through violence.
For any political party or religion to impose their views on everybody else is extremism. I believe too many "peaceful Islamists" also would love to see sharia laws imposed on all people.
I think the word extremism should be included as the other terms sound less threatening.
Let us call it what it is so we can fight it.
All definitions are very good....could be all of them.
"Radical Islam" is short and to the point and most accurately describes this type of Islam!
Islamism is a movement within the greater Muslim culture that advocates for the imposition of Islamic rule over a total populace... pure and simple.
Sharia Law is terrible and should be completely banned in North America and Europe (in fact all over the world).
Use cautious common sense to deal with Islamic ideology and the refugee dilemma.
When a person moves to another nation, that person needs to adjust to the culture of that nation and not expect that the new nation adapt to the person's values, culture and religion.
Extremism creates the illusion of a fringe problem. Islamic Fundamentalism is too close to the Islamophil deflection of fundamentalism as the problem rather than Islam. Radical Islam emphasizes the unavoidable devastating and evil social and political restructuring that sharia would bring and how horrendous this idea is. That's why I like it best.
Islamic fundamentals have always been the core problem with Islam! And as we see today in our world, it still remains a problem!
I live in England. I have seen firsthand the March of the Muslims in a town called Dewsbury. They have caused bars to close down, they impose sharia law, our police are afraid to interfere, they cause existing residents to leave the community through damage and terror.
Totalitarian Islam, Islamic Fascism, Apocalyptic Islam
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/you-name-it-radical-islam-islamism-islamic-extremism



HOW MUCH FOR A CHEMICAL HIT? ISIS NOTEBOOK REWARDS LIST
Fighters were told to apply to their unit leaders "with the details of what he achieved with filmed evidence or witnesses."
As coalition troops move into former Islamic State (IS) strongholds, artifacts documenting the brutal terror group’s modus operandi have been found. One such document was uncovered in an underground structure, reported by  Sky News correspondent John Sparks in Bashiqa, Iraq.
Stashed among official papers, religious texts and personal diaries was a notebook apparently used to motivate fighters by listing military activities and their corresponding rewards for completion.
“Large sums were given for the destruction of enemy aircraft. Those firing rockets or mortars carrying chemical weapons were compensated for each individual munition and fighters faced bureaucracy when making their claims. 
“Interestingly, IS seemed to rate the death of an enemy soldier more highly than the propaganda value of capturing one alive,” Sparks writes.  
The rewards, listed as simple bullet points, were as follows:

Plane, helicopter or drone: seven golden dinars to the unit or individual which shoots it down 
Tank: seven golden dinars
Armored vehicle: four golden dinars
Other vehicles: two golden dinars
Snipers: one dinar if it is filmed or half a dinar with a witness
Hit any military target: one silver dirham on condition of footage or a witness
Using chemical weapons through mortars and rockets: 10 silver dirhams per rocket/mortar
Killing an apostate or "unbelieving" soldier: 10 silver dirhams (killing in any way except by sniper)
Capturing an apostate or "unbelieving" solider: one silver dirham
Fighters were told to apply to their unit leaders "with the details of what he achieved with filmed evidence or witnesses." 
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/how-much-chemical-hit-isis-notebook-rewards-list  



SAUDIS BAN INT'L SCHOOLS FROM MARKING NON-ISLAMIC HOLIDAYS
Specifically, schools are not allowed to be closed on Christmas or New Year's and the exam schedule may not be changed.
Tue, November 15, 2016
Saudi Arabia has banned international schools in the kingdom from designating non-Islamic holidays for school vacations. Schools have specifically been warned about marking Christmas and New Year’s, reported The Times of India.
In addition, schools are forbidden from changing exams so that they do not fall on these days, but rather the schools much stick to the state-mandated academic calendar for exams and holidays.
Schools found in violation of these bans risk having their licenses revoked, said the Saudi ministry of education.
Shiite holidays, such as the Ashura celebration are also not listed as state holidays in Saudi Arabia and the government has refused to allow Shiite teachers and students exemptions from schools or exams on Ashura, the most important religious day for Shiite Muslims
Protests over this ban have broken out in previous years. Shiites account for approximately 15 percent of the population in the kingdom
https://www.clarionproject.org/news/saudis-ban-intl-schools-marking-non-islamic-holidays



HATE CRIMES AGAINST MUSLIMS UP FROM 2014 TO 2015
The latest FBI stats show that all religiously-motivated hate crimes increased in 2015. Crimes against Muslims accounted for 22% of the total. BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Tue, November 15, 2016
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Tue, November 15, 2016
The FBI released its hate crime statistics report for 2015, which showed a significant increase in the number of hate crimes against Muslims. This increase was reflected in an overall increase of all religiously-motivated hate crimes.
In 2014, 177 incidents against Muslims were reported compared to 307 in 2015, representing a 73 percent increase. However, it should also be noted that religiously-motivated hate crimes increased 28 percent from the previous year, from 1,092 incidences reported in 2014 to 1,402 reported in 2015.
As with last year, by far, the largest number of these hate crimes were directed toward Jews (52.1 percent in 2015 and 58.2 percent in 2014). Although hate crimes against Muslims account for 21.9 percent of all religiously-motivated hate crimes, that percentage was up from 16.3 in 2014.
Overall religiously-motivated hate crimes in 2015 accounted for slightly less than a fifth of all reported hate crimes, which are broken down by the FBI according to the motivation: race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender-identity, disability and gender bias.
By far, crimes motivated by racial hatred are still the largest group of hate crimes in the U.S. (59.2% in 2015 and 43 % in 2014). These crimes are followed by religiously-motivated hate. Closely following are crimes targeting individuals because of their sexual orientation.
While the number of crimes directed against Muslims do not approach the number of crimes against Jews, it is significant that crimes against Muslim rose by six percentage points. Taken together with the fact that all religiously-motivated crimes rose by close to a third, the trend is worrying – both for Muslims and Jews
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/hate-crimes-against-muslims-2014-2015

TRUMP TO DESIGNATE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERROR ORG.
A bill that enjoys bipartisan support is already making its way through Congress. YOU can help speed up that process. 
Sun, November 13, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: © Reuters); Nihad Awad, founder and executive director of CAIR (Photo: © Getty Images)
Donald Trump will work to pass legislation designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, said Walid Phares, a foreign policy advisor for the president-elect.

Speaking to the Egyptian news outlet Youm7, Phares said the legislation, which was already approved by the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year and referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was held up due to the Obama administration’s support of the group.

Clarion Project spearheaded a campaign to educate legislators and move the bill forward over the past year.  The bill currently has bipartisan support.

See below for a list of senators and representatives and their stance on the bill and what you can do to move the bill forward.

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).

"We have to stop pretending that the Brotherhood are not responsible for the terrorism they advocate and finance … We have to see it for what it is: a key international organization dedicated to waging violent jihad," Cruz told the Washington Free Beacon at the time.

You can read Clarion’s thorough rebuttal of the Brotherhood's purported "non-violence" policy here.

The bill included is an unprecedented opportunity to educate members of Congress about the Muslim Brotherhood's involvement in terrorism.  It reviews the Brotherhood's terrorist history and how it is banned by the governments of Egypt, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Syria. Egypt released videos showing the Brotherhood's involvement in terrorism and the Egyptian government's website warns about the Brotherhood lobby in the United States.

The bill also outlines how the Brotherhood is linked to CAIR, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).

The U.S. designated the Brotherhood’s Palestinian wing—Hamas— in 1997, but the group a whole is allowed to operate in the U.S.

You can tell your representatives to support the legislation in less than one minute by using our online form.

 
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/trump-designate-muslim-brotherhood-terror-org

http://pamelageller.com/2016/11/muslims-brutally-beat-tv-chef-looked-like-mr-trump.html/
Muslims brutally beat TV chef because he “looked like Mr. Trump”
By Pamela Geller - on November 13, 2016
THE TRUTH ABOUT ISLAMmuslim-beat-trump-chef
Sweden: Muslims brutally beat TV chef because he “looked like Mr. Trump” By Robert Spencer, November 12, 2016:

Because, you know, Trump is supposedly going to victimize innocent Muslims, and so in protest of the possibility of that happening, innocent and peaceful Muslims are justified in victimizing innocent people. Got it?

vendel
anders-vendel

“Swedish TV chef brutally beaten by ‘Muslim men’ because he ‘looked like Mr. Trump,” FriaTider, November 12, 2016 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Inrikes. Anders Vendel, a famous chef, restaurant owner and TV star from Malmö, Sweden, was savagely beaten by three “Muslim” men because they thought he looked like “Mr. Trump”, Sydsvenskan reports.

In a Facebook post that was later removed, Mr. Vendel – who is a well-known anti-Racist figure and a star of the TV show “The Struggle of the Chefs”– described the brutal assault that took place early Saturday morning in a late-night fast food restaurant in Malmö.

“I am in the emergency room as of a couple of hours ago awaiting X-rays. I was beaten up by three Muslim men between the ages of 25-35. They thought I bore a resemblance to Mr. Trump.”

“Two of the men grabbed my arms from behind and the third one started punching me all over the face. I tried to defend myself with my legs. After receiving about 20 fists to my face, I fell down to the floor. All three then started kicking me as much as they could in my face and head. I now have a broken nose, bumps, a clogged eye, mouth, lips and jaw. Even a broken right thumb,” he continued.

Anna Göransson, press officer at the police control center in Malmö, confirmed to Sydsvenskan that the attack had taken place.

“The plaintiff was visiting a fast food restaurant and a stranger came up and started to hassle him. This resulted in a scuffle, and the unknown man hit the plaintiff with clenched fists. He fell to the floor and was kicked and received injuries to his face. He then was helped to the hospital,” she said.

Anders Vendel is one of the most famous people in the restaurant business in Malmö. He is known for having run the exclusive restaurant “Sture”. He sold that restaurant last spring and now works at “The More Bistro”.

FIVE POLICY ISSUES FOR DONALD TRUMP
Clarion Project's National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro examines some of the key challenges President-elect Donald Trump will likely face in office
BY RYAN MAURO Thu, November 10, 2016
VIDEO 
FIVE ISSUES FOR TRUMP ON RADICAL ISLAM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBMyd7nujNc
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/five-policy-issues-donald-trump


CALL FOR MUSLIM IMMIGRATION BAN NOW OFF TRUMP'S WEBSITE
During the campaign, Trump later said the ban addressed Muslims from countries with terror problems, not Muslims across the board.
President-elect Donald Trump removed the statement on his website calling on a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the United States, reported the Independent. The statement was apparently taken down on election day morning.
Less than a month after the horrific attacks in Paris in November of 2015, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering America until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
Trump cited a Pew Research poll, among others, that indicated “there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population."  
Defending the call, Trump said in a statement, "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine.
"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."
MORE https://www.clarionproject.org/news/call-muslim-immigration-ban-now-trumps-website


HISTORY IN THE MAKING: FIRST SOMALI-AMERICAN VOTED IN
Ilham Omar, who escaped Somalia and spent years in a Kenyan refugee camp, thanked her grandfather who taught her the importance of democrac
Making U.S. election history, a Somali-American was elected to public office as a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota. Ilhan Omar, 34, will represent district 60B, home to the largest Somali population outside of Africa.
After escaping the brutal civil war in Somalia, Omar and her family lived in a refugee camp in Kenya before immigrating to the United States some 20 years ago. The mother of three and a community activist, Omar is currently the director of policy initiatives at Women Organizing Women.
Three candidates had vied for the seat during the primary.  Running against Omar were the incumbent, Phyllis Kahn – who had held the office since 1972 and was tied for being the longest-serving legislator in Minnesota – and Mohamud Noor, a computer scientist and activist who is also Somali-American.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/history-making-first-somali-american-voted

WHY WAIT? ADDRESSING RADICALIZATION BEFORE IT HAPPENS
A program for students and their parents in London's East End uses a broad approach to counter the threat of online radicalization.
Countering the growing phenomenon of radicalization stemming from the internet, a local governing body in London is funding a broad-based program aimed at teaching young people the dangers of online extremism, reported the Guardian.
The council of Waltham Forest, a poor neighborhood and home to many immigrants, has devised the “Digital Resistance” project, which is being offered free to all secondary school and college staff and students in the borough.
“Our Digital Resistance project has really helped to improve knowledge and understanding of the risks we face,” said councillor Liaquat Ali, a cabinet member for community safety.
The project includes classroom activities, multimedia sessions, guest speakers, youth-led projects, parent engagement and staff training.  The program also covers social networks, learning how to check online sources of information and online programming for parents in a variety of languages.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/why-wait-addressing-radicalization-it-happens


ISIS WARNS OF END OF USA FOLLOWING TRUMP VICTORY
ISIS tells its supporters to rejoice in the “imminent demise of America at the hands of Trump.” This despite ISIS losing ground in its MidEast strongholds.
While Islamic State faces defeat after defeat in Iraq and Syria, the terror organization continues to pour out rhetoric and threats against the West and in particular the United States.
ISIS and al-Qaeda both promised Election-Day attacks on the American homeland but both failed, thanks in part to security personnel throughout the country.
As Americans woke to the news that the new president elect was Donald Trump, the ISIS propaganda machine was already hard at work in a bid to terrorize Americans.
"Rejoice with support from Allah, and find glad tidings in the imminent demise of America at the hands of Trump,” said ISIS-affiliated al-Minbar Jihadi Media network.
MORE  https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-warns-end-us-following-trump-victory

https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/president-elect-trump-where-he-stands-radical-islam
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP -- WHERE HE STANDS ON RADICAL ISLAM
Policies to watch once Trump has a perspective from the Oval Office: opposition to the nuclear pact with Iran and not arming Syrian rebels
Donald Trump, president elect of the United States, spoke out on the campaign trail against radical Islam. Trump opposed the Obama administration's pressure on former Egyptian president and U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak to resign. That resignation paved the way for the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East. Expect President Trump to support anti-Islamist regimes in the Arab world and those individuals in America.

Trump has also said he would shut down extremist mosques in America, which would be a welcome policy to stop radicalization of America's Muslims. He will need an expert team of legal experts to accomplish that goal since opposnents will argue that the line between freedom of speech and religion and incitement to violence is razor thin.

Policies to watch once Trump has a perspective from the Oval Office will be his stated opposition to the nuclear agreement with Iran and his opposition to regime change and arming the rebels in Syria. 

​Below is the platform that Tump campaigned on:

Domestic Islamists
Shut down mosques that preach extremism
Would revoke the passports of Americans who travel abroad to join the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). Initially advocated a temporary ban on all Muslim immigration and has since scaled it back to only Muslim countries with major terrorist activity. In his national security speech in June, he proposed using ideological vetting such as support for extremist beliefs or links to extremist groups (not necessarily terrorists) in deciding who gets to enter the U.S. He cited polls showing high levels of support for Sharia governance in countries like Afghanistan.
 

Egypt & the Muslim Brotherhood
Opposed the Obama Administration's pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to give up power.
 

Intelligence
Supports enhanced interrogation of terror suspects (considered torture by critics).


Iran
Opposes the nuclear deal with Iran, calling it "terrible," but "loves the concept" of a good deal.
Thanked by the wife of an American pastor imprisoned in Iran for bringing attention to his captivity.
Endorsed airstrikes on Iran's nuclear program in 2007.
 

ISIS, Iraq & Syria
Only candidate to support Russia's military intervention in Syria against rebels fighting ISIS, as well as ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Opposes involvement in the civil war and arming rebels.
Opposes a policy of regime change towards the Assad dictatorship.
“I say that you can defeat ISIS by taking their wealth. Take back the oil. Once you go over and take back that oil, they have nothing. You bomb the hell out of them, and then you encircle it, and then you go in. And you let Mobil go in, and you let our great oil companies go in. Once you take that oil, they have nothing left.”
“I would hit [ISIS] so hard. I would find you a proper general, I would find the Patton or MacArthur. I would hit them so hard your head would spin.”
U.S. should not get involved in Syria by supporting the rebels or launching airstrikes in retaliation for the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons.
Opposed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Opposed the invasion of Iraq and any policy aimed at removing Saddam Hussein from power.
U.S. should take Iraq's oil and reimburse the countries who were involved in the 2003 invasion and give $1 million to the family of every U.S. soldier who died in Iraq.
 
Libya
Would only support military action in Libya against the Muammar Gaddafi leadership if the U.S. gets to take the country's oil.
 
Gulf States
Would force Saudi Arabia and other countries to pay for the U.S. military presence that protects them.
 
Military Spending
Would increase military spending to foster deterrence.


https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/vice-president-elect-mike-pence-balance-his-boss
VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT MIKE PENCE -- A BALANCE TO HIS 'BOSS'
Pence is expected to be a staunch supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, even though their policies differed before they teamed up.
Vice president-elect Mike Pence is expected to be a staunch supported of President-elect Donald Trump, even though their policies differed before they teamed up. The following is a summary of where Pence stands on issues relating to radical Islam.
Iraq War
Voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple the Saddam Hussein regime and has never said it was a mistake. He also endorsed the 2007 “surge” and opposed the timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.
Libya
Endorsed the U.S. military intervention in Libya and overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi.
Iran
Opposes the nuclear deal with Iran
Muslim Immigration to the U.S.
Criticized Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration but opposes resettling Syrian refugees in the United States. 

http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/don%E2%80%99t-let-cair-be-sole-voice-muslim-rights
DON’T LET CAIR BE THE SOLE VOICE FOR MUSLIM RIGHTS
When the FBI questioned Muslims about a possible Al Qaeda attack, CAIR was there to offer legal advice. Where was everyone else?
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has heavily criticized the FBI for its questioning of Muslims in relation to a possible Islamic State or Al Qaeda terrorist attack on Election Day.
The FBI questioned various Muslims with family connections to Pakistan and Afghanistan across eight states over the weekend. No one was arrested and the FBI said they were simply engaged in an information-gathering exercise.
“The FBI actions . . . to conduct a sweep of American Muslim leaders the weekend before the election is completely outrageous and . . . borderline unconstitutional,” the executive director of CAIR Florida Hassan Shibly told The Washington Post. “That’s the equivalent of the FBI visiting church-going Christians because someone overseas was threatening to blow up an abortion clinic. It’s that preposterous and outrageous.”
Shibly did not comment on how the FBI was supposed to act to prevent terrorist attacks without questioning people. It is common for law enforcement to carry out broad investigations and to question people who are not criminals so they can gain more information.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has heavily criticized the FBI for its questioning of Muslims in relation to a possible Islamic State or Al Qaeda terrorist attack on Election Day.

The FBI questioned various Muslims with family connections to Pakistan and Afghanistan across eight states over the weekend. No one was arrested and the FBI said they were simply engaged in an information-gathering exercise.

“The FBI actions . . . to conduct a sweep of American Muslim leaders the weekend before the election is completely outrageous and . . . borderline unconstitutional,” the executive director of CAIR Florida Hassan Shibly told The Washington Post. “That’s the equivalent of the FBI visiting church-going Christians because someone overseas was threatening to blow up an abortion clinic. It’s that preposterous and outrageous.”

Shibly did not comment on how the FBI was supposed to act to prevent terrorist attacks without questioning people. It is common for law enforcement to carry out broad investigations and to question people who are not criminals so they can gain more information.