Islam in America > Chicago Muslim convicted of supporting ISIS; Canadian NGO president chants Death to America outside consulate

 

Chicago: Muslim recruited for ISIS, urged Muslims to ‘spread terror within the hearts of those who disbelieved’

Jun 29, 2025 5:00 pm By Robert Spencer13 Comments

“Make ready for them all that you can of force and of warhorses, so that by them you may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy…” — Qur’an 8:60

Chicago man convicted of using social media to recruit for ISIS, and try to spread violent jihad

CBS Chicago, June 27, 2025:

A Chicago man has been convicted of using social media to recruit ISIS operatives and try to spread violent jihad, and encourage people to carry out attacks on behalf of the terrorist group.

Following a bench trial in federal court in Chicago, Ashraf Al Safoo, 41, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate commerce, one count of conspiracy to intentionally access a protected computer without authorization, four counts of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, and four counts of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization….

Federal prosecutors said he is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Iraq, and moved to the U.S. in 2008.

He was accused of working with ISIS to various social media accounts to spread propaganda supporting violent jihad and recruit operatives to carry out terrorist attacks for the Islamic State.

Prosecutors said he is a member of Khattab Media Foundation, an internet group that has sworn allegiance to ISIS, and spread propaganda online promoting violent jihad. Images and videos he created in coordination with ISIS allegedly included include images of violence during Christmas, celebrations of terrorist attacks, and mass shootings in the U.S.

In one social media post, Al Safoo allegedly encouraged Khattab members to post pro-ISIS information “to cause confusion and spread terror within the hearts of those who disbelieved.”

“Work hard, brothers, edit the issue into short clips, take the pictures out of it and publish the efforts of your brothers in the pages of the apostates. Participate in the war, and spread terror, the [Islamic] State does not want you to watch it only, rather, it incites you, and if you are unable to, use it to incite others,” Al Safoo allegedly wrote in another post.

According to the charges, one video created by Khattab featured a computer-generated image of a family standing around a Christmas tree, with a castle in the background, before cutting to images of explosions, featuring images of dead and injured children.

The video then cuts to the words “Now listen you dogs of hell. This is a message and more are going to follow. This is just the beginning. Our gifts are now ready,” before showing a Christmas present containing a ticking bomb. The video then cuts to a news clip of a mass shooting; an image of a soldier dressed in black, holding a detonator; then landmarks from various world landmarks; and the soldier detonating a bomb.

In November 2017, Al Safoo allegedly used a social media app to encourage people to help ISIS in any way possible….

 

Canada: Pro-Iran NGO president praises Khamenei, chants ‘death to America’ outside US consulate in Toronto

Jun 30, 2025 7:30 am By Christine Douglass-Williams2 Comments

The NGO, the so-called Canadian Defenders 4 Human Rights, has been stirring up antisemitism in Canada for some time.

Also last year:

And in 2019, the group was lobbying against Jewish rabbis, calling rabbis who support Israel a “danger” to Canada. Firas Al Najim is the founder and head of the organization, which has taken bold pro-Islamic republic stances publicly, such as lobbying the Canadian government during a committee hearing to remove the terrorist designation from the Iran-backed Hizballah group in Lebanon.

Al Najim also stated that the “deviant Jews” are treacherous, know how to bribe and steal, and “killed thousands of prophets.” He cried out: “Oh Khamenei, we respond to your call.”

Now Al Najim is glorifying the supreme leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and chanting death to America.

Islamic supremacists always escalate by degrees. 

The worst part is that Al Najim is operating freely inside Canada.

Canada has come out vehemently against “Islamophobia,” even punishing and labeling anyone who criticizes Islam. But antisemitism remains tolerated in a nation that is now internationally infamous for its antisemitism.

Pro-Islamic Republic NGO president chants ‘death to America’ in Toronto

by Walid Tamtam, True North, June 26, 2025:

A video going viral on Canadian social media shows Firas Al Najim chanting common Islamic Republic phrases in Persian, glorifying the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and chanting death to America in front of the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.

Al Najim is the founder and head of the Canadian Defenders 4 Human Rights organization, an NGO that has taken pro-Islamic republic stances publicly, such as lobbying the Canadian government during a committee hearing to remove the terrorist designation from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Last month, his organization called on the Canadian military to “send troops and arms to the Palestinian resistance in Occupied Palestine, Gaza” and pleaded with Prime Minister Mark Carney to “call on David McGuinty, defence minister, to assist the liberation process.”

Al-Najim spoke earlier this month with Press TV, an Iranian state broadcaster, where he shared his views on the Iran-Israel confrontation, warning that any U.S. military action against Iran would be a “foolish move.”

Canada is already grappling with concerns about potential Iranian sleeper cells and regime officials hiding in Canada who could potentially target Iranian dissidents, according to former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.

With growing anti-Israel sentiment in Canada, the Islamic Republic regime has seen increased support on Canadian streets.…

Global Economics > How badly does EU industry need Russian gas? Reuters; Something worse than recession quite likely - Dalio

 

EU industry bosses want Russian gas supplies restored – Reuters

German chemical companies and French utility firms have both suggested the necessity of importing cheap Russian energy

A view of the Leuna Chemical Park in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ©  Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany’s chemical industry is in a “severe crisis” and in dire need of a return to cheap Russian gas, Reuters reported on Monday, citing executives in the sector. French energy majors Engie and Total have also told the agency that they could see a restart of imports of  hydrocarbon from Russia.

With a turnover of €225.5 billion in 2023, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are Germany’s third-largest industry, behind automotive and machinery and equipment, according to the European Chemical Industry Council.

Is automotive and machinery and equipment another name for War Industry? Does the War Industry hide it's inventories among the cars, tractors, and various types of machinery?

The EU committed to eliminating Russian gas imports by 2027, following the escalation of conflict between Kiev and Moscow three years ago. Brussels aimed  to replace them with more expensive  liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the United States. 

And if you are looking for a reason for the proxy war in Ukraine, that is one of the major reasons. The top reason, however, is to keep that War Industry inventory moving and that filthy money rolling into War Industry Oligarchs' Swiss bank accounts.

Talks with Qatar have stalled however, and Washington’s shift away from the EU under US President Donald Trump, along with his tariff campaign, have left bloc chiefs concerned about the reliability of American supplies.

“We are in a severe crisis and can’t wait,” Christof Guenther, managing director of InfraLeuna told Reuters. InfraLeuna hosts Dow Chemical and Shell plants and is one of Germany’s biggest chemical manufacturing clusters.

READ MORE: US wants control of key gas pipeline in Ukraine — Reuters

“It’s a taboo topic,” Guenther added, saying that many of his colleagues have agreed on the need to go back to Russian gas.

Before 2022, Russia met up to 60% of Germany’s demand for natural gas. The loss of an affordable supply has led to increased energy costs, resulting in production cuts and job losses across the country’s industrial sector.

“We need Russian gas, we need cheap energy - no matter where it comes from,” said Klaus Paur, managing director of Leuna-Harze, a petrochemical maker at Leuna Park. 

French energy firms Engie and Total have also spoken out in favor of resuming gas purchases from Russia.

“If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic meters (bcm), maybe 70, annually…” Didier Holleaux, executive vice-president at Engie, told Reuters.

The EU used to import 150 bcm of pipeline gas from Russia every year, which covered 40% of its needs. After the Ukraine conflict is settled, the country could account for 20-25%, Holleaux said.

”Europe will never go back to importing 150 bcm…but I would bet maybe 70 bcm,” Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne suggested.

Russia has long reiterated that it is a reliable energy supplier, with the Kremlin saying in January that Moscow would resume gas deliveries to the EU, provided that there are buyers. 

Russian gas reached Germany and on to the wider EU via the Nord Stream undersea pipelines, which were damaged in a sabotage attack in 2022.  However, one string of Nord Stream 2, remains intact. 

Is a Russia-US Nord Stream revival really possible?

The EU still receives Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline, which runs through Turkey and the Balkans. 

A key pipeline that delivered gas to Italy, Slovakia and Hungary via Ukraine was closed after Kiev refused to extend a transit agreement in January, and blew up a gas metering station on the border.

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Head of world’s largest hedge fund fears global financial system collapse

Ray Dalio warns that US President Trump’s tariff strategy could trigger something much “worse than a recession”

The founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio ©  Getty Images / Dia Dipasupil

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has warned that the United States is facing economic risks far greater than a typical recession, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and ballooning debt could trigger a breakdown of the global financial system.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the founder of Bridgewater Associates said the world is at a critical juncture, marked by profound changes in the political, economic, and geopolitical order – factors which he says have historically led to severe crises.

“I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” Dalio said. “And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.”

Dalio explained that the US economy is confronting several overlapping challenges: rising debt, internal political divisions, growing geopolitical tensions, and shifts in global power.

READ MORE: ‘Economic heart attack’: Ray Dalio sounds alarm on US debt

“Such times are very much like the 1930s,” he warned. “If you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take the rising power challenging the existing power – those changes in the orders, the systems, are very, very disruptive.”

Asked about the worst-case scenario, Dalio pointed to a potential breakdown of the dollar’s role as a store of wealth, combined with internal conflict beyond the norms of democratic politics and escalating international tensions – potentially even military conflict.

“That could be like the breakdown of the monetary system in ‘71. It could be like 2008. It’s going to be very severe,” Dalio said. “I think it could be more severe than those if these other matters simultaneously occur.”

Xi warns US will isolate itself

While acknowledging that tariffs could serve as a useful tool to bring back manufacturing and generate revenue, Dalio cautioned that the method of implementation matters deeply.

READ MORE: Trump gives advice to nations displeased with US tariffs

“How that’s done – whether in a practical and stable way, with quality negotiations – or whether that’s done in a chaotic and disruptive way that produces great conflict, makes all the difference in the world,” he said.

Describing Trump’s recent tariff moves as “very disruptive,” Dalio said the real test will come after the current 90-day negotiation period ends. “What was put there is like throwing rocks into the production system,” he said, warning of “enormous” impacts on global efficiency and costs.

Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession within the next 12 months to 45% last week, following Trump’s April 2 announcement of a minimum 10% tariff on all imports – but before he placed a three-month hold on further “reciprocal” duties of 11% to 50% targeting dozens of nations. China, however, was still hit with a 145% import duty – and retaliated with a 125% levy of its own.

Just the other day, I was discussing the apparent madness of Trump's economic plan with a friend, and I came to the conclusion that the plan was basically sound for America, a disaster for the rest of the world, and a disaster for America if he continues to force it at a reckless pace and with the bullying attitude he has displayed so far.

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