UK Wants Pakistan to Take Back Thousands of Migrants Who Overstayed Visas – Pakistan FM

This is the work of Sajid Javid, whom I consider the best candidate to be the next PM

Pakistani men are responsible for the systematic rape, gang-rape, drugging and sexual abuse of thousands of little British girls in several cities around England. Being able to deport them more easily is a good thing.

Revellers attend an event in Trafalgar Square to the end of Ramadan, June 8, 2019

© ZUME Press / Tom Nicholson

The British government has asked Pakistan to sign a treaty that would allow it to send thousands of Pakistani migrants with expired UK visas back to their home country, says Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Qureshi said he recently discussed the treaty with UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and appeared to support the measure, adding that it could be helpful for Pakistanis looking to stay in the UK on visas.

“We have initiated dialogue on this,” Qureshi told a press conference at the Pakistan High Commission in London on Tuesday. “This will help those who are genuine visa applicants. This will help Pakistan.”

Qureshi noted that an extradition treaty is also needed between Pakistan and Britain, which he said has been one of the “biggest obstacles” for the two countries. He stressed the need to build on a prisoner swap arrangement that already exists.

Tensions flared with Pakistan over the summer of 2018 when Britain, citing the lack of an extradition treaty, declined to deport former Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar back to his home country, where he was wanted in connection to a graft probe.

Though reliable estimates are notoriously difficult to obtain for illegal immigrant populations, a 2007 London School of Economics study estimated there were some 533,000 “irregular” or undocumented immigrants in the UK. The country also has the largest Pakistani expat population in Europe, totalling around 1.2 million legal residents, but it is not clear how many currently live in the UK without visas.

Germany Mulls ‘Mosque Tax’ to Help Distract Muslims from ‘Foreign Influence’

Islamization Backlash, in Germany?

It's about time and, possibly, too late

Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin

In a bid to curb a potentially radicalizing foreign influence on its Muslim residents, German lawmakers are considering a new “mosque tax,” intended to make Muslim communities self-reliant and under more control.

Many German mosques are sponsored and are de-facto controlled from abroad, leaving local authorities in the dark about what happens inside. Now, several MPs have come up with an idea that they call a “solution” for a problem that has become increasingly unnerving for Berlin in recent years.

The MPs’ proposal involves the introduction of a special tax to be paid by all practicing Muslims in Germany, which would then be redistributed by the state among all officially registered Islamic religious institutions. A similar tax already exists in Germany and some other European countries for Catholic and Evangelical Christians.

The initiative is aimed at helping “Islam in Germany free itself from the influence of foreign states and get a stronger domestic orientation,” Thorsten Frei, the deputy head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) faction in the German Parliament, said, calling the proposed tax “an important step in that direction.”

Frei’s idea immediately received support from other members of the ruling Grand Coalition. “Independent financing” would make the communities congregating in mosques in Germany more “transparent,” Michael Frieser, a legal expert and a member of the Bavarian Christian Social Union – a long-time CDU ally, said. A prominent member of the Social Democratic Party, Burkhard Lischka, called the suggestion “worthy of discussion.”

Other suggestions voiced by MPs include legally obliging the imams preaching in Germany to upload their sermons on the internet uncut. “The mosques must be open and transparent,” said Frieser.

One of the top figures in the CSU, Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party, has said Islam has no place in German society...

"Islam has no cultural roots in Germany and with Sharia as a legal system, it has nothing in common with our Judeo-Christian heritage," Alexander Dobrindt, the deputy leader of Bundestag’s biggest party, CDU/CSU, told Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

“Our ideas of tolerance and charity, freedom and equality,

cannot be found in the Islamic world." 

"These values are exactly the reason why so many people want to live with us,” he added, noting that migration from Christian countries to Muslim ones is almost non-existent.

However, any potential legislation on that matter has a long way to go before it could be implemented. Any draft bill should be first discussed with the German states as it falls within their jurisdiction, Lischka explained. So far, no detailed account of the future legislation has been presented.

Still, the idea also seemingly received backing from the Interior Ministry, which said “it can be a solution.” However, the ministry also said that the initiative would mostly rely on grassroots support from the Muslim communities themselves as it would still require a great deal of self-organization on their part.

Anti-Islam book becomes German bestseller less than two weeks after release — RT World News:

A new book highly critical of Islam and Muslims has been flying off the shelves in Germany to become a non-fiction bestseller. Mainstream media panned it for a simplistic approach to the religion.

The German Muslim community has so far remained conspicuously tight-lipped about the initiative. An outspoken unorthodox female preacher, Seyran Ates, founder of the first “liberal” mosque in Berlin, has been the only one to comment on the initiative so far. Ates backed the proposal by saying that “in the future everything that the community needs could be paid-for by its members themselves.”

For now, most Muslim religious institutions in Germany rely on foreign aid in some form. The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), directly controlled by Ankara, is considered to be one of the largest organizations contributing to German mosques as it exerts influence over 896 Muslim communities across the country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally opened one of the newly built mosques in the German city of Cologne during his visit in September.

DITIB might be one of the most influential Muslim organizations in Germany but the authorities are apparently more concerned about some other forces, which also seek to gain influence over German Muslims and which are much more radical. In 2017, German security forces warned that extremists from the Muslim Brotherhood –a radical Salafist organization established in 1928– were seeking to gain a “monopoly” over mosques in the eastern German state of Saxony and were even planning to “establish Sharia law in Germany.”

Earlier reports in the German media also suggested that Islamic religious groups from Gulf States such as Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are supporting the radical Salafist movement in Germany with the suspected approval of their governments. The activities of the foreign-funded Islamic NGOs have caught the attention of the German authorities following the 2015 refugee crisis, as Berlin grew increasingly concerned that their actions would lead to further radicalization of German Muslims as well as refugees, who arrived there in large numbers.

The German domestic intelligence service, the BfV, has also warned that the Salafist movement became one of the most rapidly growing extremist groups in Germany. In late 2017, the then-head of the agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, said that there is now a record number of Islamists in Germany, putting their number at roughly 11,000.

In January 2018, a report by the BfV said that the number of Islamists in Berlin has more than doubled since 2011 and is steadily rising as 100 new followers joined local Salafist groups since the spring of 2017.

Migration Not a 'Human Right': Austria Refuses to Join Global UN-Backed Migration Pact

FILE PHOTO © Reuters / Alkis Konstantinidis

Austria has announced that it would back out of a UN pact on international cooperation on migration, arguing that the document is inadequate for managing global migration flows and could undermine Austria's sovereignty.

"Austria will not join the UN migration pact," Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebstian Kurz announced, following a government meeting. "We view some points of the migration pact very critically, such as the mixing up of seeking protection with labor migration."

Officially known as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the document has been negotiated over two years and the draft was tentatively approved by all the UN member states –except for the US– in July. Washington withdrew from the talks on the agreement last year.

The pact aims at "enhancing cooperation on international migration in all its dimensions." The non-binding agreement is expected to create principles for dealing with refugees and migrants. The document is scheduled to be adopted at a UN conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakech in December.

It's funny. Very few Muslim countries accepted Muslim migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Gulf states did not accept any! While Qatar had housing for 70,000 people and needed that many labourers for their World Cup in 2022, they allowed none of the desperate migrants to enter their country. 

Europe should insist on seeing some balance rectified before entering into an agreement with Islam.

However, Vienna said it will not send its representative to Morocco and will abstain during the UN vote on the pact at the UN General Assembly next September, issuing a clarification statement instead. The pact, although non-binding, might still create "new rights and entitlements for migrants," the Austrian government said, adding that it might "water down" the distinction between legal and illegal migrants.

Vienna warned in particular that the adoption of the pact might threaten the nation's sovereignty and provoke a "massive resettlement of people." The Austrian government previously called the text of the document "too vague," adding that "it leaves important questions unanswered."

"The [Austrian] republic takes a sovereign decision on the admission of migrants to Austria. A human right for migration is not envisaged in the Austrian legal system. Creation of a non-existent category of 'migrants' in the international law should be rejected," a statement issued by the Cabinet says, as cited by the Austrian Kurier daily.

The 34-page document indeed calls migration "a source of prosperity, innovation and sustainable development in our globalized world" while repeatedly stressing "an overarching obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status."

It also says that "no country can address the challenges and opportunities of this global phenomenon on its own." However, it also "reaffirms the sovereign right of States to determine their national migration policy and their prerogative to govern migration within their jurisdiction, in conformity with international law."

The government's decision was met with mixed reaction at home. The ruling coalition supported the move, while the opposition sharply criticized it.

"Mixing asylum seekers with migrants is unacceptable," Karl Nehammer, the Secretary General of Kurz's People's Party of Austria said, commenting on the developments. "We must clearly distinguish between legal and illegal migration," he said, adding that Austria must protect its social welfare and healthcare systems as the pressure on them is already "extremely high" and "unlimited inflow of migrants" could "destroy" them.

The opposition accused the government of populism and "irresponsibility," arguing that the move might damage Vienna's image as a mediator on the international arena. "Such a move does not resolve any problems," Andreas Schieder, a foreign policy spokesman of the Austrian Social Democrats said, adding that the government just "closes its eyes" to the issue of migration.

"Migration and asylum are global issues and global cooperation within the framework of the UN is … needed," he added. The EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also expressed his regret over Austria's decision, as Vienna currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Juncker called a situation, in which the union is unable to form a unified position on such an important issue as the future of migration, an "absurdity."

Austria is not, however, the first country to back out of the pact. Hungary also said in July that it will withdraw from the agreement before its approval and called it a "threat to the world." Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at that time that the premise of the UN migration pact was that migration is "a good and inevitable phenomenon" but that Hungary considers migration "a bad process, which has extremely serious security implications."

He also complained that Hungary's proposals had been ignored during discussions about the document, which he claimed favored nations in Africa and Latin America, where migrants often travel from. The list of the opponents of the pact might grow even further as Poland, Australia and the UK are also skeptical about the document.

Love, Marriage & Divorce in 15 Minutes in the Gulf States

Groom divorces bride 15 minutes into marriage

Gulf News
Bassam Za'za', Legal and Court Correspondent

Dubai: The marriage between a couple lasted less than 15 minutes following a misunderstanding between the groom and his father-in-law, who was in a rush to collect his daughter’s bride price.

The newly-married man divorced his wife within 15 minutes after signing the marriage contract after he felt demeaned by his father-in-law who did not want to wait for him to bring part of the agreed-upon money from his parked car.

The man was believed to have an agreement with the bride’s father to pay Dh100,000 (about $27,000 USD) for the marriage and mention the amount in the contract, an Arabic news report said on Tuesday.

According to the father-husband agreement, the man was supposed to pay Dh50,000 at the time of signing the contract inside the Sharia judge’s office and the remaining amount upon leaving the court building.

Family members and friends accompanied the bride and the groom to the Sharia judge’s office to witness the signing of the marriage contract.

The groom paid the bride’s father Dh50,000 in the judge’s office at the time of signing, according to the news report, and as the bride, groom and attendees walked out, the bride’s father asked his son-in-law to pay the rest.

The groom asked his father-in-law to wait for a few minutes and assured him that the other Dh50,000 was in his car.

The woman’s father insisted the groom pay up immediately, even though the groom told him that he would get the money within five minutes after leaving the court building.

The father-in-law then told the man to send a relative or friend to get the money, a lawyer who is handling the case confirmed to Gulf News on Tuesday.

The lawyer, who wished not to be named, added, “The groom felt insulted and demeaned by his father-in-law. He told the bride’s father that he did not want his daughter as his wife and divorced her in less than 15 minutes from signing the marriage contract.”

I wonder if that was the real story? I wonder if the bride's father suspected that the groom would run off with the bride without paying the remaining Dh50,000? In fact, I would bet money that such was the case which just goes to show you what kind of man the father was selling his daughter to. I presume the father kept the first Dh50,000. 

Erdogan Practicing for Retirement with Comedy Routine?

Dirty scenario realized to split Islamic world

– Erdogan lashes out at West

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan © Kayhan Ozer / Reuters

The West is exporting the worst elements to Islamic countries in an attempt to ensure its own future, the Turkish president has said. 

Say what? Don't you have that backwards? Jihadists, terrorists, Muslim extremists, criminals, child rapists are flooding into Europe from the Middle East, south Asia and Africa.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that Islamophobia, neo-Nazism and racism are replacing values such as democracy and human rights in the West.

He makes that claim as he Islamifies what was once a fiercely secular government in Turkey.

“Unresponsiveness to the violence that has been going on in Syria for seven years, to the inhumane treatment refugees are subjected to at border gates, and to the genocide of the Rohingya have revealed the true face of the West,” Erdogan said as cited by Anadolu.

“Islamophobia, neo-Nazism, and racism [are] beginning to replace values such as democracy, human rights and freedoms more and more” in the West, he added.

I'm sorry, how many millions of refugees has Europe taken in, virtually without any vetting? How much money is Turkey receiving from Germany to care for those refugees in Turkey? Did you notice that the Gulf States have not taken a single refugee, even though they are Islamic brothers? Also Myanmar is not a 'western' country.

“The West has exported all kinds of sick elements to Islamic nations (astonishing) in an attempt to ensure its own future,” the Turkish leader said. He specifically mentioned Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Kurdish YPG and the supporters of exiled Turkish cleric Fetullah Gullen – whom Ankara blames for a failed coup attempt last summer – saying that those groups have “transformed our entire region into a large blood bath.”

“The West has exported"!!! Seriously!? Exported would mean that they originated in the West and were transported to the east. It would deny that Islamic State and Al-Qaeda began in Iraq, Boko Haram began in Nigeria, the Kurdish YPG are actually Kurds, and Fetullah Gullen is actually a Turk.

I wonder if Erdogan has got his east & west confused - perhaps he is standing on his head and it all appears backward to him.

Erdogan warned that “a scenario is being realized of splitting the Islamic world, Muslims, of destroying their values and, most dangerously, their future.” And the Islamic world, according to Erdogan, has been going through a period of hardship in recent years, “literally an era of instigation."

The splitting of the Islamic world began with the death of Mohammed when they could not agree on who should succeed him. It has continued ever since. Of the nearly 600 wars Islam has been involved in in the last 1400 years, many of them have been within Islam as hard-liners refuse to accept a more moderate Islamic culture. Peace and tolerance are not Islamic virtues.

Despite being a NATO member and a strong Western ally for decades, Turkey has had tense relations with both the US and the EU in recent years. Among a host of issues, the rift with Washington is mainly characterized by Washington’s unwillingness to extradite Gullen to Turkey, in addition to its support of the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara considers to be an extension of the banned Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).

Turkish ties with Europe have been compromised by the refugee crisis and the stalled talks on visa free travel for Turks to the EU, which Brussels put on hold, citing Ankara’s refusal to amend its harsh anti-terror laws. Heated words were also exchanged after some European countries, notably, Germany, banned the public appearances of Turkish ministers in the run up to Turkey’s April referendum on constitutional reforms which significantly expanded Erdogan’s powers.

Last week, Turkey blamed NATO for smearing its leaders – past and present – and withdrew its troops from the Trident Javelin drills in Norway after Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Erdogan were listed as enemies during a computer-assisted exercise. NATO apologized for the incident, which it blamed on a Norwegian civilian contractor who was fired for his anti-Turkish stunt.

Saudi Arabia Will ‘Return to Moderate, Open Islam’ – Crown Prince

This is an astonishing statement from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia! Islam very rarely becomes less radical in countries where they are the majority and in the Kingdom, Muslims make up 100% of the population. It is usually the reverse and, consequently, the Crown Prince's life is in some danger as hard-line Muslims will not agree with a less strict Islam.

The Prince also gives us a reason for the proxy wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. He believes that Iran wants Mecca, and, it would appear, they are trying to surround Saudi Arabia with their proxy wars and growing influence in the smaller Gulf States. The Prince's plan to soften Islam may be playing right into Iran's hands.

Aerial view of Kaaba at the Grand mosque in Mecca © Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to restore “moderate” Islam that is open to all religions in the world. Saudi Arabia is known for its ultraconservative rule.

“We are returning to what we were before – a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,” he said at an economic forum in Riyadh, as quoted by AFP. “We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today,” he added. “We will end extremism very soon.”

Riyadh is known for its adherence to ultra-conservative norms of Islam and strict segregation of men and women. It has long been the only state where women are officially forbidden to drive.

Earlier this year, the crown prince accused Tehran of promoting an “extremist ideology” and having ambitions to “control the Islamic world.” Asked if there is any room for dialogue with Iran, the 31-year-old prince replied: “How can I come to an understanding with someone, or a regime, that has an anchoring belief built on an extremist ideology?”

He said that the primary objective of the “Iranian regime is to reach the focal point of Muslims [Mecca] and we will not wait until the fight is inside Saudi Arabia and we will work so that the battle is on their side, inside Iran, not in Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi government enforces a strict, conservative version of Sunni Islam. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ruled by a Sunni monarchy known as the House of Saud, while the Islamic Republic of Iran is overwhelmingly Shia. The divisions between the Sunnis and the Shia are based on a long-running religious conflict that started as a dispute over the Prophet Mohammed’s successor. While Shia Muslims believe the prophet’s cousin should have filled the role, Sunnis support the selection of Muhammad’s close friend and adviser, Abu Bakr, as the first caliph of the Islamic nation.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, following the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister responded by accusing Iran of setting up “terrorist cells” inside the kingdom. Iran then issued a warning that “divine vengeance” would come to Saudi Arabia as a punishment for Nimr’s execution as well as for Riyadh’s bombing in Yemen and support for the Bahraini government. In February of this year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, while on a visit to Saudi ally Kuwait, said that Tehran would like to restore relations and improve ties with all its Gulf Arab neighbors.

‘Terrorism, Meddling in Affairs’: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia & Egypt Cut Diplomatic Ties with Qatar

Yikes! In the, 'I never saw this one coming' category...

Traditional Arab ships with the flag of Qatar © Frank Rumpenhorst / Global Look Press

Bahrain announced early Monday that it is severing diplomatic relations with neighboring Qatar and cutting air and sea connections with Doha, accusing it of meddling in its internal affairs. Saudi Arabia then did the same, citing “national security.”

Bahrain’s state news agency said in a brief statement that Qatari citizens have 14 days to leave the country.

It accused Doha of supporting terrorism and meddling in Manama’s internal affairs.

Citing “protection of national security,” Riyadh then announced it was also severing ties with Doha and closing off all land, sea and air contacts, the Saudi state agency said in a statement, cited by Reuters.

Egypt was next to join the diplomatic war, with Cairo announcing it is cutting relations with Doha, according to Sputnik news agency.

The Saudi-led coalition has announced that Qatar’s participation in its joint military operation in Yemen has been canceled. The coalition’s statement accused Doha of supporting the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorist groups.

EU to Help Mali Economy in Exchange for Easier Migrant Repatriation

Finally, a sane, rational, and reasonable approach to the migration problem. It needs to be a template for other African countries.

© Andreas Solaro / AFP

The EU and Mali have reached an agreement on repatriating asylum applicants who are denied entry by European authorities. In exchange for Mali accepting the migrants back, the EU will invest funds to help it and its neighbors improve border security.

“It is the first time the EU establishes such a precise mechanism with an African country with regards to returning failed asylum seekers,” a statement from Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, who signed the agreement on the EU's behalf, said on Monday, as cited by Deutsche Welle. Koenders, who was on an official visit to the Malian capital Bamako, called the deal “necessary,” explaining that it aims to fight the root causes of illegal migration.

“There is support for the way in which we want to do a partnership with Mali, which involves very much working on the root causes in Mali, on why people are leaving,” he said, as cited by Reuters.

“We've worked a lot on the battle against trafficking, now we can work together to ensure that no people are dying on the road to Libya and Algeria,” he told the news agency.

Under the agreement, the EU will provide funds to Mali to help it create more jobs and improve border management, including by introducing biometric passports and advancing security in the northern part of the country, which borders Algeria.

In return, Mali promised to repatriate its citizens who have reached Europe but were deemed ineligible for asylum there, and also aid the EU in the fight against people smugglers.

The deal comes as the EU looks to collaborate on migration with the countries from which most asylum seekers originate. Some 1.4 million people have arrived in the EU since last year, many of them taking a dangerous route across the Mediterranean Sea. According to the latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), this year has seen an estimated 4,733 casualties among migrants trying to reach Europe via the sea, which is 1,148 more recorded deaths than at the same point in 2015.

    Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali

As of December 7, more than 350,000 migrants had entered Europe by sea since the beginning of 2016. Most came from Syria, where the civil war has claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and displaced some 12 million others since 2011, UN figures show. Asylum seekers have also come in large numbers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Eritrea, Mali and other countries in the region.

The flood of migrants and refugees has in many cases caused a mixture of anger and uncertainty among European nations, and the bloc has made curbing immigration a priority. EU states have been strengthening their common external borders and adjusting legislation, and are now working on similar deals to the Mali one with Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger and Afghanistan.

In March of this year, the EU reached a landmark deal on migrants with Turkey. The sides agreed to return all illegal migrants reaching Greece from Turkey's shores in exchange for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and giving Ankara €6 billion ($6.8 billion) in funding over the next five years. The deal, however, has recently been threatened by Turkey itself, as it aimed to gain visa-free travel within the Schengen Zone for Turkish citizens, but no moves in this direction have been undertaken by the EU.

Nor should there ever be; it would become a highway for terrorists!

Apart from Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon host most of the refugees from the Syrian war. These have also been receiving more EU funds as help in coping with the newcomers, as well as means to prevent them from moving on to Europe.

Is anyone curious why Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Gulf States, and North African countries are not taking refugees? Anyone besides me?

"What Happens in the Middle East, Will Happen in Europe"

Isa Gürbüz, the Syrian Orthodox Church leader in Switzerland, calls Christians to be vigilant. The agenda of Islam is to take power.

Controversial views: "In 20 or 30 years there will be in Europe a 

Muslim majority", predicts Isa Gürbüz. Picture: Sabina Bobst

Michael Meier, Religion expert 

This article is translated from German by Google. 

Please forgive the errors that I have missed.

"In 20 or 30 years there will be in Europe a Muslim majority. Half of European women will then wear a hijab. "This prediction comes from Dionysos Isa Gürbüz, the Syrian Orthodox bishop in Switzerland.

He resides in the idyllic Lake Zug Arth Capuchin monastery, two monks and two nuns. From the monastery Mor Avgin out, as it is called today, he manages the 10,000 Syrian Orthodox faithful in Switzerland and 4000 in Austria.

Isa Gürbüz is busy preparing for the Easter services, which are celebrated in his church in late April. Then his coreligionists will flock in their hundreds to Arth. Together they will pray, sing and debate - in the Aramaic native language, the sacred language that Jesus spoke. The Syrian Orthodox Church is the oldest ever. In her home in the former Mesopotamia - today Syria and Iraq, they are persecuted. "Arth has therefore become a center for the preservation of our endangered religion and culture," says Gürbüz.

The fate of the Christians occupied the bishop.

Easter joy may not quite rise to the bishop. He is too busy with concerns of the fate of Christians in the Middle East: "What today cause thousands of terrorist groups of IS, Taliban or al-Qaida, is the extension of the genocide of 1915." At that time nearly two million Christians - Aramean, Syrian, and Greek - Orthodox - perished; millions converted to Islam.

The Bishop continues: "What happens to us today, began 1,300 years ago in the 7th century. The genocide of Christians began, then in the dark, now in the media spotlight. The Agenda of Islam has remained always the same for him, namely to expel the Christians from the Middle East. Also, in the coming years there, the spirit of terror will reign.

UN protection zone for Christians

As most Syrian Orthodox Christians living in Switzerland, the 51-year-old bishop comes from the eastern part of Turkey, which formerly belonged to Syria. At the beginning of the century still 230,000 Syrians lived at Turkey's border with Syria; today there are virtually no more. Turkey is the enemy of Christians, says Isa Gürbüz.

He was first a monk at the famous monastery of Mor Gabriel, left in 1989 to teach Syrian and liturgy at the theological seminary in Damascus . In 1997 he became the first Syrian Orthodox bishop in Germany, before he came to Arth decade ago.

Turkey is the enemy of Christians,

says Isa Gürbüz 

400 to 500 Aramean families living in Switzerland came from Syria, he says. In recent years, only just 50 Christian refugee families had come to Switzerland. Most lived in Ticino and Aargau. With collections of clothes, eatables and money to try to help the brethren in Syria, says Isa Gürbüz. He wished that Switzerland would take more Christian refugees, which he explained in an interview with Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter last year.

For 20 years the Bishop has a vision in his head, after which the two million Christians in the Middle East - could be set up a protection zone under UN mandate - in a safe place in Syria or Lebanon like that set up in Kosovo in 1999.

A future without Assad Syria?

How many Christian bishops and patriarchs from the Middle East see a future Syria without Assad, Isa Gürbüz can hardly imagine. A better man is not easy to find. Before the war, Syria was the only country in the Middle East, were Christians lived their faith undisturbed. "If Assad were eliminated, could the same thing happen as in Iraq, where, after the fall of Saddam Hussein democracy broke (was there ever democracy under Saddam? I don't think so) and Islamist groups took over the reins." The Arab Spring was for Isa Gürbüz just a game, an interlude. "Because Islam ultimately does not accept democracy, but wants to impose Sharia law."

"Why don't the Gulf states, the Emirates and Qatar

 take any refugees?" Because it was their agenda 

to convert Europe to Islam.

The bishop is traumatized by the persecution in the Middle East so that it is a matter of urgency, a call for vigilance, especially those churches intent on political correctness. It is naive to think that the millions of refugees who would now come via Turkey to Europe, will all adapt and live with the Christians in Europe in peace. Also among the refugees there were terrorists. "Why don't the Gulf states, the Emirates and Qatar take any refugees?" Because it was their agenda to convert Europe to Islam.

Of course, we westerners are too stupified 

by political correctness to be able to see this.

"Islam does not accept democracy, but wants to impose Sharia law."

Isa Gürbüz already looks Eurabia in his mind's eye: The number of child-rich Muslims would grow rapidly, to take power and begin the persecution, he believes. "What is happening today in the Middle East, will happen here in Europe." He does not call for hatred, insists the bishop; only for him 1,300 years of history of persecution have taught him not to trust Muslims. He sees the beginnings of fateful proselytizing in Europe by the Wahhabi Saudi Arabia and the Turkish Ministry of Religion building Diyanet mosques in this country.

The Old Catholic Bishop of Switzerland, Harald Rein, knows Bishop Isa Gürbüz and would not describe it as Islamophobic. Like other Christian bishops and patriarchs from the Middle East he was suspicious of Muslim groups in Syria. It was a traumatic experience when neighbors with whom they had once lived together, suddenly fell upon them says Rein.

Straddling the Fence with a Grimace, on Migrants

What to do with Syria's migrants?

Moral imperative
Refugee immigration is a very polarizing subject in many countries right now, except the oil-rich Gulf states where there are no refugees, in spite of the fact that Qatar needs and has accommodation for 70,000 right now. But they will draw workers for the construction of Olympic venues from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc; none from Syria.

My own position on the whole migrant issue is very firmly straddling the fence - that's probably why I find it so painful! The need for rescuing people from war-ravaged Syria and Iraq is obvious and God help us if we ignore that need - we will have to answer to Him.

Which begs the question, Why are American Christians so dead-set against it? Well, some of the answers are below, nevertheless I can't help but be perplexed as to why Americans would fear a mere 10,000 immigrants. Americans own at least 25 guns for every one of those immigrants. Christ's command to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and house the homeless, leaves me very concerned that American Christians are acting less and less like Christ every day.

Farkhunda

Concerns
But there are many concerns beyond the refusal of Gulf states to accept any refugees. These concerns are not sufficient for me to be emphatically opposed to refugee immigration, but they should certainly not be ignored.

Terrorists embedded
The first concern is the probable embedding of ISIS operatives among the migrants. France has identified at least two of the suicide bombers who blew themselves to Hell outside the Stade de France last week, as having come through Greece and being processed as migrants. The other day Sweden arrested another migrant who arrived in that country in September, for plotting an act of terrorism in Sweden. 

That's three that we know about, which is a pitifully small number compared to the hundreds of thousands of migrants entering Europe over the past few months. However, most migrants have yet to find even a semi-permanent accommodation, so it would be much too soon to expect such operatives to plan and execute an act of terror. Also, it does verify that there are terrorists among the migrants as expected.

Thorough vetting needed
This, however, need not be a problem with thorough vetting of asylum seekers. Applicants have to be questioned about their religious beliefs! If done properly, it should be possible to identify those Muslims who have been radicalized. Perhaps a cartoon picture of Mohammed would reveal a persons true character. (That's going to stir up some comments). This may require some changes in immigration laws to be able to question applicants in such a way, but is necessary in my opinion.

Single young men, or married young men without children need to be vetted much more vigorously than those with children. There must be adequate proof of paternity in such cases. Women with children probably need little vetting and pre-teen children none at all. This last group, children and their mothers, and the elderly should be quickly processed, while the remainder investigated much more thoroughly.

One of the things for which they should be investigated is whether they are true war refugees or just economic refugees. There are many among the migrants who come from countries other than Iraq or Syria, who simply want a better way of life than possible in their own countries. Most African applicants fall into this category, although Christians from some Islamic countries definitely deserve asylum. For proof of that simply look at the number of Christians who have been tossed overboard into the Mediterranean by Muslims on their boat.

It's slightly crazy that Muslims would leave Muslim countries where there is poverty and war, and come to Christian countries where they hate everyone to the point of murder, for the opportunity to better their lives. And they bring their failed religion that is responsible for the poverty and war in their home countries, to countries with working economies. This cannot be a good thing for some European economies or peacefulness.

Cultural traditions
They also bring their cultural traditions like child brides (Mohammed approved pedophilia); honour killings, female genital mutilation, and a penchant for instant mass insanity should someone suggest that another has burned a Quran. It is this remarkable volatility that instantly turns moderate Muslims into murderous fanatics that frightens me more than anything - instant mass radicalization.

In Britain, they have determined that the latest generation of youth and young adults are considerably more devout than their parents. A devout Muslim is one who is much more easily radicalized than than a nominal Muslim.

Another cultural tradition they have brought to Europe is the idea that they have a right, if not the duty, to gang-rape any girl who dresses immodestly in public. Immodesty to Muslims is anything a girl wears that does not render her invisible.

Rape
They also have the right, under Mohammed, to do whatever they wish to a girl who is "in their right-hand"; that means under their power. So any Muslim man who manages to get an European girl into his car or apartment, has the right, from Mohammed, to do whatever he wants with her, whether rape, beating, or trafficking to other Muslims.

It's not a coincidence that Sweden went from a country with one of the lowest rates of rape in the world to  the second highest in 30 or 40 years. Nor is it a coincidence that that ratio has increased in nearly perfect parallel to the increase in immigration from mainly Muslim countries. Police in Oslo, Norway have stated that every single violent rape that occurred in that city over the past 5 years, was committed by a Muslim.

Muslim nation
Do you see why I don't particularly want an increase in the Muslim population in western countries. There is also the fact that many radical Muslim clerics have stated quite willingly that Islam will absorb all of Europe, simply by immigration and birth rates. Such is the case in France and Belgium, and some even say Britain, where Muslims will be a majority within one or two generations - without increased immigration! Most of Europe is recklessly driving at break-neck speed toward cultural extinction and the imposition of Sharia law.

Most fgms are done by non-
professionals without anesthetic

Germany is confident that the Muslim migrants will be quickly absorbed into society, and Germany will not be greatly changed by the flood of refugees that are entering. I wish them luck with that. But we have seen, even this past week, that French and Belgium societies have already  been changed by the rapidly increasing rhythm of acts of terror. Neither country will ever be the same again; and both countries will be under Sharia law by the middle of this century - in the life span of your children or grandchildren, unless something dramatic is done to stop it.

Trouble is, taking any kind of action against Muslims just increases their argument of victimhood. That, in turn, incites more 'moderates' to become radicalized, and encourages new Muslims to take action against the common enemy - everybody that isn't them.

Sounds pretty hopeless, I know. I won't try to convince you that the situation isn't very serious. As a Christian, I believe we are in the 'last days', prophesied by many Biblical writers, and, as such, things will get worse, much worse, before it gets better at the return of Christ. Deterioration may not occur linearly; we may be able to hold off much of it for decades; the answer to  that may  lie in whether we can reduce the increasing rhythm of fear and terror, along with the increasing number of countries so affected. 

I hope I have made you aware of the danger, at least; its imminence will reveal itself soon enough. 

Qatar Opens ‘Labor City’ for 70,000 Migrant Workers - No Syrians; Madness

A picture shows the new labour city in the Sanaya Industrial Area in Doha
© Stringer / Reuters

An enormous worker complex in Qatar has been opened just outside of Doha. ‘Labor City’ can accommodate some 70,000 foreign workers, who come to the Gulf state to participate in its grand construction projects, such as those for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The country’s Special Engineering Office officially presented the $825 million housing project which is set to house some 68,640 workers.

Sunday's ceremony in the capital, Doha, was opened by Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani and the Labour Minister Abdullah al-Khulaifi, who reiterated that improving living standards for migrant workers has become the country’s priority.

Labour City, which lies just 14 kilometers from Doha and covers an area of 1,100,000 square meters, is just one of seven house complexes that the government is building to house almost 260,000 labor migrants.

The new “model” project has two sections with residential apartments, and another which includes the entertainment and business district. Residents can enjoy a 17,000 seat theater on the premises. The city offers a commercial center and a market with 200 shops. It has four cinemas and a cricket field.

To make it feel more like home, Labour City has two mosques, including one that is the country’s second largest.

The second section contains 55 residential buildings, places of worship, a medical clinic and parking lots. Labor City is equipped with public telephones and Wi-Fi centers. So far around of 40 percent of the site is still vacant, the other is occupied by laborers from other countries including Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

This is just amazing! A city of 70,000 migrant workers and not one of them is from Syria! Why?

When migrants in Europe are desperate for homes, work and a safe environment; and here we have all three in abundance already made; why aren't the Syrians coming here? Is it because they want the migrant workers to go home after the Fifa World Cup? That isn't until 2022! By then they can return to Syria; it will be peaceful there because there will be nothing left of it.

I realize the cities are not built for families but that can be rectified easily enough. 70,000 worker and their families could be so easily absorbed into Qatar so as to not hardly be noticed in the rest of the country. 

Meanwhile, Germany, Sweden and other European countries are suffering through all kinds of contortions trying to deal with migration on a Biblical scale. It makes no sense. Europe should put most of the migrants on planes to Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, etc.

To offer security, two police stations are working on the premises with the help of an integrated network of surveillance cameras.

Am I Nuts, or What?

This is for all my friends and family who can’t understand how I can vote for Stephen Harper

There are probably 100 reasons to not vote for Stephen Harper. I am very much aware of every one of them, and I don’t disagree with very many. I am sympathetic with those of you who will vote other than Conservative, and cannot fault you in any way; in fact, for most of you the desire for a Prime Minister with higher standards of character is very admirable.

There are just a few reasons why I will vote for Stephen Harper and, in my opinion, they trump (no Donald intended) all the other reasons for not voting for him.

The first reason requires a bit of a story:

In December 2007, I saw a year-end interview with Stephen Harper. He was asked if a national daycare program was on the horizon. Harper’s answer was that there was not, that it was a time to be cautious and prudent with our finances for there may be difficult times ahead.

In February or March 2008, Harper was interviewed about the budget that had just been presented to the House. Again he was asked about a national daycare program, which, by the way, would cost in the billions of dollars every year. His answer was the same as a few months before, they (the Conservatives) saw difficult economic times ahead and it was a time to reduce debt and deficit.

Fast forward now to the fall of 2008 – it is in the middle of a general election. The Liberals, the NDP, and even the Bloc Quebecois were hammering Harper for not starting a national daycare program. It was the main plank in the Liberal and NDP platforms.

Smack in the middle of the election campaign, the wheels fell off the American economy and it was obvious that Canada’s economy would be very much affected. On that fateful weekend, the opposition parties were still pushing their national daycare programs Friday and Saturday. It was a Sunday that the US economy tanked.

Suddenly, Monday came and there was no mention of a national daycare program by any of the opposition parties. Nor was there any mention of it the rest of the campaign. That centre plank in their platforms simply disappeared over the weekend.

So the point is the Liberals and the NDP did not see the downturn coming even 48 hours ahead. They, in fact, didn’t see it until it happened. They didn’t see it in spite of Harper telling them it was coming at least 9 months in advance. These are not the people we want running the economy of the country and we would be financially irresponsible to put them in charge of it.

Without financial stability, there can be little or no progress in so many of the areas where Harper is criticized, in fact, we could lose ground in many worthwhile portfolios simply because we can’t afford it.

That’s reason number one!

Reason number 2 is Harper’s commitment to Israel. We are the best friend Israel has right now, and it would not surprise me if in a couple years’ time, we were the only friend Israel has. I don’t want to be one of those countries that abandons the Jews again in their hour of need. Even if there is little we can do to help them, not abandoning them is the right thing to do for the sake of our conscience and for the sake of our souls. 

Thomas Mulcair, Justin Trudeau

While I’m not sure about Mulcair, I am sure Trudeau will align himself with the Palestinians against Israel. If you are pro-Palestinian, you have been duped, they are terrorists who do not want peace but only the annihilation of the Jews. If you align yourself with them, you are supporting terrorism.

Reason Number 3 – Harper is the only party leader with any understanding of the end-game that Islam is playing. Endless numbers of leaders in Islam have only one purpose in mind – a global caliphate where Sharia would be the law of the land and women would be invisible. In fact, it is the national goal for Iran. If you don’t believe me Google it; there is video after video of Muslim clerics and Imams preaching that very thing. While you are at it, check out some of my posts on Sweden and see what horrors Islam has brought to that once innocent country.

I know the vast majority of Muslim migrants are peaceful people who just want to get away from war and have a chance to get a job and raise their family. I know that! But, as the British have learned, the next generation of Muslims are far more religiously intense than their parents. And as I have documented on my blogs, even ordinary Muslims can be roused to hysteria in a matter of seconds. Harper is right to be cautious in letting Muslims into the country. We should peg the number of immigrants from Syria, etc. to the number that the Gulf States take in, which, right now, is zero. Does that seem odd to you? Or is it just me?

Astonishing - Saudi Arabia Won't Let Syrian Migrants in Because They Might Change Society

Gulf states under fire for not accepting Syrian refugees

A man carries children through a bombed-out city in Syria.

© AFP | 
Text by Khatya CHHOR

Gulf states are under fire from human rights groups for not doing more for Syrian refugees as Syria’s neighbours struggle to house those fleeing across their borders and the EU grapples with its worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The UN estimates that more than 4 million Syrians have fled the country’s civil conflict so far, with 3.8 million of these having temporarily sought refuge in just five countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq (mainly Kurdistan) and Egypt.

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Turkey has taken in almost 2 million Syrian refugees while Lebanon has registered 1.1 million refugees within its borders – an influx that now accounts for 20 percent of the Lebanese population. Jordan, likewise, has received almost 630,000 asylum-seekers, Iraq close to 250,000 and Egypt another 132,000. Many other Syrians have crossed into these countries but have not been officially counted.

But while Syria’s neighbours struggle to accommodate the influx, an Amnesty International report from December noted that the six Gulf states — Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar — “have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees”.

The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, underscored this point in a blunt tweet last week: “They're wealthy, Muslim and not taking ANY Syrian refugees: Saudi Arabia & other Gulf states,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Gulf states do provide significant financial help to those affected by the conflict. The United Arab Emirates has donated more than $540 million in humanitarian assistance and funded a refugee camp in Jordan as well as another in northern Iraq, a UAE government official told Bloomberg.

Saudi Arabia has donated $18.4 million to the Syria fund of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs so far this year while Kuwait has given almost $305 million, making it the third-largest international donor behind the United States (at $1 billion) and the United Kingdom ($475 million).

“If it wasn’t for the Gulf states, you would expect these millions to be in a much more tragic state than they are,” Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political science professor in the United Arab Emirates, told The New York Times. “This finger-pointing at the Gulf that they are not doing anything, it is just not true.”

But critics note that the Gulf states' aid does not involve opening up their borders to help deal with the crisis.

“Burden sharing has no meaning in the Gulf, and the Saudi, Emirati and Qatari approach has been to sign a check and let everyone else deal with it,” Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch for its Middle East and North Africa division, told the Times. “Now everyone else is saying, ‘That’s not fair.’ ”

'Shameful'

Nabil Othman, acting regional representative to the Gulf region at the UNHCR, told Bloomberg last week that there are currently 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia. But many of these may have entered the country before or in the early days of the Syrian conflict as migrant workers.

The UN refugee agency’s own figures as of December 2014 put the number of international refugees welcomed by the kingdom at 561 along with another 100 asylum-seekers; it did not specify how many of these were Syrians.

"The bottom line is that in terms of resettlement, the Gulf states have not stepped up in accepting refugees," said Geoffrey Mock, chairman of Middle East specialists at Amnesty International USA. "They have offered zero resettlement places ... and this is shameful," he told USA Today.

A CARTOON BY SAUDI ARTIST ABDULLAH JABER FOR MAKKAH NEWSPAPER SATIRIZES THE GULF STATES' RESPONSE

"Shame on you EU, open your doors"

Some analysts point out that not only is Saudi Arabia wealthy enough to accommodate a significant number of refugees, but it also has the logistical capability to do so: Each year the kingdom receives an influx of millions for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. And the construction companies that have built the mega malls and opulent skyscrapers of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh could be contracted to create temporary shelters, said one Quartz commentator, adding: “There’s no reason all this know-how can’t be put to humanitarian use.”

More welcome in Europe?

Syrians are required to obtain visas to enter all Arab countries except for Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan and Yemen. The process for requesting a tourist or work visa is expensive, and Gulf states have cracked down on the number of foreign work permits they grant in recent years.

Many have taken to social media to urge the Gulf states to do more for those who need asylum. The Arabic hashtag #Welcoming_Syria's_refugees_is_a_Gulf_duty has been tweeted more than 33,000 times in the past week, the BBC reports.

Two other hashtags in Arabic – “Open your doors” and “Welcoming Syrian refugees is the people’s demand” – are also making the rounds on Twitter. These were created the same day that the image of a Syrian toddler who washed up on a beach in Turkey made headlines across Europe, bringing home to many the human tragedy of a conflict that once seemed far away.

Domestic social and security considerations have underpinned some of the Gulf states' hesitation to allow large numbers of refugees to cross their borders. Concerns have been raised about newcomers taking jobs from locals or that jihadists might enter the country posing as asylum-seekers.

Astonishing!

"Saudi Arabia stopped issuing work permits to Syrian nationals at the beginning of the war in 2011," said Stéphane Lacroix, a researcher specialising in the Arab world at the Centre for International Research at SciencesPo university, in comments to FRANCE 24.

Lacroix said the response – or lack thereof – by authorities in Riyadh has been largely motivated by concerns over its own political stability.

As a Sunni monarchy, it cannot help but support the Sunni Syrian rebellion, he said. But Saudi Arabia also fears that "by welcoming outsiders it will, at the same time, import new ideas and new rhetoric that will contaminate Saudi society”.

Even more astonishing! Germany and Sweden have not asked themselves any of those questions, or addressed any of those concerns. Arabs use them as excuses to keep out other Arabs, almost all of whom are Muslim, while Germany and Sweden whose societies are already beginning to collapse under the weight of Islamic immigrants, don't seem to care about the consequences.

The irony is astounding! The stupidity of some of those European countries will precipitate the complete collapse of European societies bringing Sharia law much closer to reality than it was just last week.

The unique demographics of some Gulf states also make the authorities hesitant to allow in vast new numbers of foreign nationals, wrote Michael Stephens, head of the Royal United Services Institute Qatar research centre, in a contribution to the BBC. UAE and Qatari citizens account for just over 10% of their respective populations; the vast majority of residents are temporary foreign workers.

And many refugees themselves express a desire to make the journey to Europe instead of opting for resettling in Arab states.

“In Europe, I can get treatment for my polio, educate my children, have shelter and live an honourable life,” said asylum-seeker Yassir Batal in comments to Bloomberg. “Gulf countries have closed their doors in the face of Syrians.”

The EU is now struggling with its own migrant crisis, with an estimated 330,000 asylum seekers entering Europe so far this year. But as Amnesty International points out, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey alone is more than 10 times the number of asylum applications received from Syrians by all 28 EU countries in the past three years combined.

Over 100,000 air-conditioned tents empty
Meanwhile, there are reports that there are over 100,000 air-conditioned tents in Saudi Arabia sitting empty. These tents were erected for the Hajj which starts next week. The Hajj is that insane circling of hundreds of thousands of people in the mosque at Mecca. 

Saudi Press Agency also claims that the Kingdom has accepted 2.5 million Syrians since the conflict began, but because they don't label them as refugees, some reporters claim that they have not taken any. Also, Saudi Arabia, as well as other Gulf States have given many millions of dollars to other countries and agencies to assist with caring for the refugees.

Saudi Arabia – which has taken in precisely zero migrants – has 100,000
air conditioned tents that can house over 3 million people sitting empty.

So that's the story, whether you believe the Saudi Press or whether you believe Amnesty Int'l and Human Rights Watch, is up to you.