Islam - Current Day > Muslim Terrorist in Surrey, UK; Muslim charged with terrorism in Surrey, B.C.; 5 Terrorists Arrested - Sweden now a priority target; Bahrain jails men who question Islam

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Surrey, UK man convicted of terrorism offences

counterterrorbusiness

A man from Surrey has been found guilty of terrorism offences after being arrested in January 2021.

Asad Bhatti was charged at that time and a search was carried out at an address in Redhill.

The 47-year-old has now been found guilty of two counts of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism, and three counts of making or possessing an explosive substance under suspicious circumstances.

Bhatti came to the attention of Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) after taking his computer in to a shop to be fixed, where a member of staff found some concerning file titles which he reported.

Police carried out a search at his home and a storage container he rented, where the officers found chemicals, chemistry equipment, electronic circuitry and even an improvised explosive device, which was dismantled by a specialist explosive ordnance disposal team. At his home, police found items including a USB stick containing guides to make explosive devices.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of CTPSE, said: “The case against Bhatti was strong, I am glad the jury have found him guilty today.

“There was clear evidence of his extreme Islamist ideology and the danger he posed. He clearly hated those whom he considers do not follow his version of Islam, and he made a range of derogatory comments towards those he considers to be ‘unbelievers’.

As far as Islamist ideology is concerned, his doesn't seem to be so extreme compared to other Islamists/jihadists.

“I am especially grateful to the member of public who recognised the risks and took steps to call the police. This allowed Counter Terrorism Policing to stop Bhatti’s progress in manufacturing explosive devices which could otherwise have caused significant harm to the public.”

Bhatti will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 25 April.

Terrorism charges laid after knife attack on Surrey, B.C., bus

CBC

Mon, April 3, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. PDT·2 min read

Transit police say a man was stabbed on a bus by another man in Surrey, B.C., on Saturday morning.

(Shane MacKichan - image credit)

A B.C. man who allegedly slashed a man's throat on a transit bus in Surrey, B.C., on Saturday is facing terrorism charges.

According to court documents filed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the man is alleged to have committed the assault for "the Islamic State" — commonly known as ISIS.

Abdul Aziz Kawam, born in 1995, faces four terrorism charges for attempted murder, aggravated assault and two counts of assault related to the attack.

He was arrested after a stabbing on a bus travelling near the Fraser Highway and 148 Street in Surrey, B.C., just after 9:30 a.m. PT Saturday.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the suspect had threatened someone at a bus stop before allegedly attacking a different person after boarding.

Saturday, police say there was an "altercation" between two men on board the bus. According to transit police, the struggle happened near the back doors of the bus, and the driver heard what was happening and pulled over. Approximately 20 people were on board at the time.

"During that altercation, one of the men allegedly took out a knife and slashed the other male's throat," Const. Amanda Steed told CBC News on Sunday.

Police said the victim was able to push the suspect out the back doors of the bus after being slashed.

The victim was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries but is expected to make a full recovery.

Transit Police told CBC News that a nurse at the hospital told them the victim only survived because the knife used in the attack was dull.

Kawam also allegedly assaulted another victim before the slashing. According to Steed, he approached the victim at the bus stop on Fraser Highway and 152 Street and "brandished the knife, holding it to the victim's throat."

Kawam appeared in court in Surrey on Monday morning.

Ramadan in Sweden: Five Muslims arrested for plotting 

jihad massacre in revenge for Qur’an-burning

APR 4, 2023 8:00 AM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad Watch

How long before Sweden jettisons the idea of freedom of expression and outlaws blasphemy against Islam altogether?

Canada is working at it now!

Terror expert: Sweden a priority target

Translated from “Terrorexpert: Sverige en prioriterad måltavla,” 

Nyheter 24, April 4, 2023:

Five people have been arrested on suspicion of having planned a terrorist crime in Sweden. That the plans are linked to the protests after the Koran burning in January does not surprise terror expert Magnus Ranstorp. Sweden has become a priority target, he says.

Five people have been arrested in a coordinated operation by the police’s national task force in Eskilstuna, Linköping and Strängnäs. Those arrested are suspected of having planned a terrorist crime in Sweden.

“Five people is quite a lot, often it may have been two or three people, often also in one place, so it is quite unusual that there are many different cities,” says Magnus Ranstorp, researcher at the Norwegian Defense University.

The security police make the assessment that an attack was not immediately imminent. According to Säpo, the terror plans are linked to the protests after the far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s high-profile Koran burning in January – and the crime is linked to the terrorist group IS.

Ranstorp emphasizes that it is an expected development as a result of a changed security situation that both he himself and the Security Police have previously warned about. Information that is spread online that the Swedish social service kidnaps Muslim children also plays a role.

“Previously, it was the case that Sweden was a legitimate, but not a priority target. But now we have become a priority target because of the Koran burnings and the LVU campaign. It has put Sweden on the map, above all the recent Koran burning,” he says.

Several reports that have mapped the radical Islamist environment show that it is spread out in various Swedish cities, from north to south, says Ranstorp.

“In the bigger cities, it’s not about many people, but they do exist and the Security Police have a good idea of who these people are. In Linköping and Eskilstuna above all, there are individuals there who have this violent orientation, who are interested in assassinations.

“But as I said, the Security Police have an iron grip on these environments, so it’s not surprising that they’ve intercepted something here.”

Bahrain jails men over YouTube discussion of Islam

by Sebastian Usher, BBC, March 31, 2023:

Three members of a religious and cultural society in Bahrain that advocates open discussion of Islamic issues have been given jail terms.

They were prosecuted under a law that criminalises “ridicule” of any of Bahrain’s recognised religious texts, which include the Quran and the Bible.

Human rights groups say the men were persecuted for expressing their right to free speech and belief.

The society said the case had fuelled violence against it members.

In a series of programmes posted on YouTube, Al-Tajdeed Society has raised questions over Islamic legal theory and opinions issued by Islamic clerics.

The group is Shia Muslim, which accounts for the majority of Bahrain’s population, although the ruling family is Sunni Muslim.

But prominent Shia clerics have been the most openly hostile to the organisation, denouncing its work as blasphemy and calling for Al-Tajdeed members to be ostracised.

Of course, clerics know that Islam cannot stand up to scrutiny, and so must protect it from any questions. Biblical scholars will gladly address scrutiny of the Bible.

A lawsuit was finally submitted against the group, with the prosecution saying the case had been brought “in defence of our righteous religion” and to “prevent sedition within society”. It demanded the maximum punishment under Bahraini law.

Al-Tajdeed – which means renewal in Arabic – responded by saying in court: “Thoughts are to be challenged with thoughts, and words are not to be suppressed by the authority of the law”.

The court has now sentenced the three defendants – Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab and Mohammed Rajab – to a year in jail and a fine. The sentence is suspended, pending an appeal.

Al-Tajdeed has said that the court case has exacerbated an existing campaign at mosques and on social media, encouraging verbal and physical violence against its members…..

During the trial, Human Rights Watch had called for the charges to be dropped and for a halt to inflammatory public comments condemning Al-Tajdeed on religious grounds.

Bahrain has established a reputation in the Gulf region for being open to religious tolerance and pluralism. It inaugurated the largest church in the region, Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, in 2021. It also has one of the only remaining Jewish communities in the Gulf.

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

Jihad Watch

Bahrain is and has been touted for its friendliness toward Christians, which is to be commended, given that Christians are treated as inferiors in some Sharia states, and persecuted in others.  The Jerusalem Post reports:

While Christianity is fading in countries across the Middle East and North Africa, the tiny island country of Bahrain recently opened the largest Catholic church in the Gulf, giving a tremendous boost to the Christian community.

Last year, the pope was warmly received in Bahrain; he stated:

It is not enough to grant permits and recognize freedom of worship. It is necessary to achieve true freedom of religion.

The latest news, however, shows up that even in a country such as Bahrain, the Sharia, as the principal source for legislation, is shown up for its repressiveness and incompatibility with Western values. This is still little understood by far too many Western leaders.

Although “Bahrain has established a reputation in the Gulf region for being open to religious tolerance and pluralism,” it is characteristic of any Sharia-adherent country that freedom of speech is not allowed, further illustrating why Western countries need to adhere to their own principles in light of mass Muslim migration to the West. It also needs to be noted that insults to the Bible are included within the scope of the Bahraini law. However, Christians generally support the freedom of speech and free will; punishment for insults to the Bible or Christianity in general are not found in contemporary majority-Christian states. So here we see Bahrain is extending its Sharia tenets to Christianity. Bahrain is not the only Muslim country that attempts to expand its own Sharia principles regarding criticism, insults and blasphemy to apply to insults to all religions. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Turkey has for many years criminalized blasphemy or expression deemed insulting to religion or religious beliefs,” and Turkey seeks such laws to be international. It needs to be noted that blasphemy laws are indeed present but dormant in many Western countries, and dormant for good reason.

The violent and murderous reactions of some Muslims to insults of Muhammad and Islam are not found among adherents of other religions, so trying to draw other religions into efforts to criminalize the freedom of speech and expression must be firmly rejected by all Western countries. However, the “Islamophobia” subterfuge has already subverted most Western countries under Sharia principles. Criticizing Islam should not be illegal in itself, and if an irrational individual uses such criticism as an excuse to commit a crime, then he or she should be fully prosecuted and made an example of. It is a necessity that all ideologies and ideas be able to be scrutinized.

Bahrain has a much better reputation for religious freedom than many Islamic countries. Yet Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab, and Mohammed Rajab have been jailed for advancing discussion about, and criticism of, Islam. Their group’s members met with violence from Muslim individuals and rage from Muslim clerics.

Hysteria is so easily ignited in Islam!

Have you figured out what the purpose of your life is? You're wasting time if you haven't, and time is more precious than you know

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Thinking About Purpose

By Bob Jones, Life Formation, Life Stories

RevWords

Know your purpose and you will clarify your thinking.

In 2002, Rick Warren tapped into a universally felt need by writing a book that addressed the question, “What on Earth am I here for?” Fifty million copies of The Purpose Driven Life have been purchased.

One of them belongs to my sister, Nancy.

Thinking On Purpose

We talked about life at her kitchen table. I listened as she enthused about the book’s influence on making sense out of life. The picture below tells the story of a well read, well marked, and well loved book.

Nan lost her way after the death of our parents. Alone. Grieving. Confused about why God allowed her to be orphaned.

Here’s what she discovered:

Clarity About Purpose

Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which to base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. Without purpose you will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at the moment.

Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.

If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.

Begin With God

You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that you discover your origin, identity, meaning, purpose, significance, and your destiny.

When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just the here and now, and you realize that life is preparation for eternity, you’ll live differently. You will start living in the light of eternity, and that will colour how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance.

The closer you live to God the smaller everything else appears.

Change Your Thinking

Living the rest of your life for God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one.

Even Jesus struggled with this. Knowing he was about to be crucified, he prayed: “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”

Purpose Behind Problems

God has a purpose behind every problem. God uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, God depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible. The reason is obvious: You face circumstances twenty-four hours a day.

Every time you forget that developing good character is one of God’s purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. You’ll wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?” Life is supposed to be difficult. It’s what enables us to grow.

Remember, Earth is not Heaven!

Life’s Experiences

Experience is not what happens to you.

Experience is what you do with what happens to you.

Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.

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Islam - Current Day > 6 injured, 3 knife attacks in Lyons; Islamism Denmark's greatest threat; Muslim Apostates' view of Islam

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France: Muslim migrant teen held for stabbing,

three stabbings since Friday and six injured in Lyon

APR 2, 2023 5:00 PM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad Watch

Celebrate diversity! What happens when you bring in a large number of people who believe that violence can be holy under the right circumstances, and have contempt for the legal system of the “most vile of created beings” (Qur’an 98:6)?

Lyon: three stabbings since Friday at Guillotière,

at least 6 injured to deplore

Translated from “Lyon : trois rixes à coups de couteau depuis vendredi à Guillotière, au moins 6 blessés à déplorer,” Lyon Mag, March 20, 2023:

The arrival of spring is synonymous with heat stroke in the city center of Lyon.

This weekend, the police were repeatedly called upon to intervene in the Guillotière district, and in particular around Place Gabriel-Péri between the 3rd and 7th arrondissements of Lyon. According to our information, the police have thus mobilized over several stabbings in the sector, the first having broken out on Friday at midday.

Shortly before noon, two individuals were reportedly injured by stab wounds during a mobile phone theft, the circumstances of which remain to be determined. One of them would have received 8 days of ITT by a doctor. An investigation has been opened to shed light on these facts.

In the evening, three wounded were again taken care of by the Lyon rescue services after a new armed brawl in this area of the “Place du Pont.” At least two people were hit by stab wounds while the details of the facts remain to be elucidated.

Then, this Sunday around 2 p.m., yet another similar alert fell on the airwaves of the Guillotière police officers. A new brawl had just broken out, still in the area of Place Gabriel-Péri. The police managed to intervene quickly to arrest a young man. The latter, injured according to a source familiar with the matter, was allegedly stabbed during the fight, without his vital prognosis being engaged (I believe this means 'non-life threatening'). The alleged attacker, 15 years old and of Algerian nationality, was arrested and placed in police custody.

The investigations are continuing.

Denmark: ‘Militant Islamism’ continues to pose

the greatest threat to the country

What? Seriously? It's not Putin?

APR 3, 2023 11:00 AM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad Watch

There is no doubt that PET’s Center for Terror Analysis (CTA) would explain, if asked, that “militant Islamism” was something quite different from the benign and cuddly religion of Islam itself. But if you asked it to provide specifics about the differences between the two, it would change the subject.

Militant Islamism continues to pose the greatest threat to Denmark, 

PET assesses in a new threat assessment

by Poul Erik Andersen, Den Korte Avis, March 28, 2023:

While IS supporters with Danish citizenship continue to have free entry from Syria, PET states that Islamic terrorism continues to pose the greatest threat to Denmark.

From the new annual threat assessment, which the Police Intelligence Service (PET) has just published today, Monday, it appears, among other things, that:

“The terrorist threat against Denmark remains at the level of ‘serious’, and it is still militant Islamism that constitutes the most significant terrorist threat against Denmark and Danish interests abroad.”

This is what PET’s Center for Terror Analysis (CTA) assesses in the annual “Assessment of the Terror Threat against Denmark”.

A new form of threat has gained traction

“However, the nature of the terrorist threat is changing in these years, when new trends are emerging,” states PET.

As something new, CTA introduces the concept of ‘hybridization’ in this year’s threat assessment.

It covers a mixture of both traditional ideological and religious as well as non-ideological narratives, expressions and practices of contemporary extremists.

“We can see that it is a growing trend in the West and in Denmark, that individuals increasingly put together a cocktail of their own world and enemy images, which are characterized by ideological and religious ideas,” says Michael Hamann, who is the boss for CTA and continues

“But which is also supplemented by conspiracy theories, extreme fascination with violence and very close personal relationships such as, for example, mental disorders.”…

As Dr Wafa Sultan suggests - all believing Muslims are mentally ill. This seems obvious by the number of terrorists or jihadis that are found to be mentally ill. 

If European countries could grasp this fact, it might provide them a way to deal with terrorists before they strike.

Muslim Apostates' view of Islam and why they left

Here is a recent statement from a group of Bangladeshi apostates living in the UK, explaining the reasons why they have abandoned Islam:

One who claims to be a messenger of God is expected to live a saintly life. He must not be given to lust, he must not be a sexual pervert, and he must not be a rapist, a highway robber, a war criminal, a mass murderer or an assassin. One who claims to be a messenger of God must have a superior character. He must stand above the vices of the people of his time. Yet Muhammad’s life is that of a gangster godfather. He raided merchant caravans, looted innocent people, massacred entire male populations and enslaved the women and children. He raped the women captured in war after killing their husbands and told his followers that it is okay to have sex with their captives (Qur’an 33:50). He assassinated those who criticized him and executed them when he came to power and became de facto despot of Arabia. Muhammad was bereft of human compassion. He was an obsessed man with his dreams of grandiosity and could not forgive those who stood in his way…

The statement continues:

Muhammad was a narcissist, like Hitler, Saddam or Stalin. He was astute and knew how to manipulate people, but his emotional intelligence was less evolved than that of a 6-year-old child. He simply could not feel the pain of others. He brutally massacred thousands of innocent people and pillaged their wealth. His ambitions were big and as a narcissist he honestly believed he is entitled to do as he pleased and commit all sorts of crimes and his evil deeds are justified.

There is much more on this including many Quran references at: An Ex-Muslim Examines the Dilemma of Raising Children in Islam

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Islam - Current Day > Mosques in Vienna Obstruct Integration; Muslims stab Muslims for breaking Ramadan in Milan; They call me 'dirty' because I'm white and Christian

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Viennese mosques promote Islamic separatism and actively

obstruct integration of Muslims into Austrian society

APR 1, 2023 9:00 AM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad Watch

Anyone who is surprised by this is naive. The Qur’an teaches that non-Muslims are the “most vile of created beings” (98:6) and that Muslims are the “best of people” (3:110). Did anyone really expect that the best of people would adopt the laws and mores of the most vile of created beings? Only the willfully ignorant could ever have accepted such a notion.

Eyup Sultan Mosque,Telfs,Austria

Austria’s Mosques Work Against Muslim Integration

by Soeren Kern, 

Focus On Western Islamism, 

March 23, 2023

Viennese mosques are promoting Islamic separatism and actively obstructing the integration of Muslims into Austrian society, according to a new report about mosques and Islamic associations in the Austrian capital. The in-depth investigative study also reveals that foreign governments continue to exert enormous influence on the practice of Islam in Austria, even though a so-called Islam Law prohibits such meddling.

The research, which provides evidence of active support for jihadi and Islamist organizations at several of the most prominent and influential mosques in Austria, sheds light on the depth of the challenge posed by the encroachment of political Islam at mosques in the country. The report serves as an important wake-up call for Austria and other Western countries struggling with the integration of Muslim minorities.

The 113-page report — “Mosques in Vienna” (Moscheen in Wien) — was published on February 23 by the Austrian Integration Fund (Österreichischer Integrationsfonds, ÖIF), an agency tasked with integrating immigrants into Austrian society. The study evaluated randomly selected Friday sermons (khutbah) at 14 of Vienna’s most representative mosques to determine if they were encouraging or discouraging Muslim integration.

The study reveals that Turkish mosques are, collectively, by far the greatest obstacles to integrating Muslims into Austrian society. Most Turkish mosques “take a negative view of the social integration of their members,” according to the report, which adds that this is highly relevant to the integration process “because ethnic Turks comprise the largest subgroup of Muslims in Austria.” Not coincidentally, the Turkish government continues to try to expand its influence over the practice of Islam in Austria.

Nearly all Sunni Muslim mosques in Austria belong to the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (Islamischen Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich, IGGÖ), the state-recognized Muslim umbrella group that represents more than 250 mosques in the country. IGGÖ is effectively controlled by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. IGGÖ’s current president, Türkiye-born Ümit Vural, is closely linked to the Turkish nationalist Milli Görüş movement and IGGÖ’s mufti, Türkiye-born Mustafa Mullaoǧlu, is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. IGGÖ plays a “central role” in spreading the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Islamism expert Lorenzo Vidino. FWI reached out to IGGÖ for a comment on the report but did not receive a reply.

The report’s lead author, historian Heiko Heinisch, told FWI that “with the Milli Görüş movement, ATIB [the Turkish-Islamic Union for Cultural and Social Cooperation in Austria, which is part of the Turkish government’s Religious Affairs Directorate, known as Diyanet] and the Muslim Brotherhood, three major players of international Islamism are active in Austria.” He added that “our report shows that these major players are in part actively working against the integration of Muslims into society.”

Al-Hidaya Mosque, Vienna

Vienna’s single-most problematic mosque, the study shows, is the notorious Islamic Association of Austria (Islamische Vereinigung Österreich, IVÖ), commonly known as Al-Hidaya Mosque, which is controlled by IGGÖ and, by extension, the Muslim Brotherhood. All the evaluated sermons from this mosque were categorized as “extremist.” IVÖ “rejects, as a matter of principle, Austria and Austrian society, its values, its laws and its constitution,” the report says.

IVÖ, an Arabic-language mosque, has a long history of glorifying jihad and martyrdom and seeking to establish a parallel society in opposition to Austria’s liberal democratic order. IVÖ’s imam, 53-year-old Egypt-born Ibrahim al-Demerdash, is known for his support of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas. He has been accused of radicalizing a “new generation” of young Muslim males in the foundational doctrines, practices, and tactics of political Islam. FWI asked IVÖ for a comment but did not receive a reply.

Imam Ali Islamic Center, Vienna

Another subversive mosque is the Imam Ali Islamic Center (Islamischen Zentrum Imam Ali, IZIA), which cooperates closely with the Islamic Center of Hamburg (Islamischen Zentrum Hamburg, IZH), described by German intelligence officials as a leading “propaganda center” of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Europe. Both mosques are well known for spreading anti-Western, anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel extremist ideology.

On a more positive note, sermons delivered at the Arabic-language Islamic Center of Vienna (Islamisches Zentrum Wien) are described as “cosmopolitan” and “open to integration.” The mosque, the largest and oldest in Vienna, was built by Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s and is now jointly controlled by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Malaysia. “This mosque,” the report states, “scores in all categories as the most pro-democracy, the most open and the most tolerant.”

According to the report, none of the surveyed mosques — which cater to Muslims from Albania, Bosnia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye — openly identifies with Austrian society. With rare exceptions, sermons in Viennese mosques are not available in German, according to the study, and fully one-third of the evaluated mosques promote ethnic and religious segregation. Many of the mosques promote a dichotomous worldview that opposes ideological and religious pluralism and brands non-Muslims as enemies of Islam. They also appear to be directly or indirectly controlled by foreign governments….

He drinks during Ramadan and is stabbed: more blood in Central Station

translated from “Beve durante il Ramadan e viene accoltellato: ancora sangue in stazione Centrale,” 

by Francesca Galici, Il Giornale, 

March 27, 2023:

Crossing the areas surrounding Milan Central Station has become really dangerous. This has never been a particularly safe area, nor are the areas adjacent to the large railway buildings in all cities, but in recent years, thanks to indiscriminate immigration policies, the situation has seriously worsened, as demonstrated by the countless episodes of violence that are recorded almost daily at the hands of foreigners who live by their wits. Robberies, violence, fights and thefts have become a serious security problem, which the Municipality does not seem to be interested in noticing. The latest incident dates back to Sunday, when a knife attack on a man who was drinking beer was recorded.

Two Tunisians aged 47 and 39 were attacked by three other men of African origin because, despite Ramadan, they were seen drinking a beer. The holy month for the Arab religion, in fact, stipulates that from dawn to dusk neither food nor water is consumed. Moreover, practicing Muslims are usually abstainers, so the three attackers saw that gesture as a serious offense against religion and decided to intervene violently. During the ensuing dispute, the 49-year-old was hit in the side by a blade. His life is not in danger and he was immediately accompanied in yellow code to the Milan polyclinic to carry out the necessary checks, but his conditions do not currently cause concern.

The two attacked were identified by the carabinieri patrol which arrived on the spot after the report, but the three attackers disappeared before the uniformed police arrived, so it was not possible to stop them. Now the military are analyzing the images of the security cameras to try to trace their identity, also thanks to the description provided by the two victims. As much as the left wants to deny it, the perception of security in Milan is at an all-time low.

Just a few days ago, in that area, several people were stabbed by a North African who was attempting to carry out muggings. Residents are afraid, tourists do not feel safe among irregular immigrants and gangs of Roma pickpockets. 

The central station is no man’s land and the mayor doesn’t seem to care: evidently the ideological battles against the government are more important than the safety and decorum of the city he administers.

This is part of the warping of Swedish society by the high numbers of Muslim migrants taking over that once-peaceful country.

Sweden: “At school, the students say I’m dirty.

By ‘dirty’ they mean that I am white and Christian"

APR 1, 2023 3:00 PM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad WAtch

“O you who believe, the idolaters only are unclean.” (Qur’an 9:28)

What? The Qur’an considers Christians to be idolaters? Certainly:

“It is not fitting for Allah that he should take to himself a son. Glory be to him, when he decrees a thing, he says to it only, Be, and it is.” (Qur’an 19:35)

“They indeed have disbelieved who say, Indeed, Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say, Who then can do anything against Allah, if he had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He creates what he wills. And Allah is able to do all things.” (Qur’an 5:17)

Södertälje

The school’s new everyday life: Murder around the corner

translated from “Skolans nya vardag: Mord bakom hörnet,” 

Expressen, December 21, 2022:

The latest fatal shooting happened just a few hundred meters from an elementary school.

The place was Södertälje.

It was the 60th murder in Sweden this year.

It is a new everyday life for students and teachers who in several cases came close to gun violence.

“Parents come to the development talks in protective vests,” says a teacher who has worked for a long time in Järva, which, like Södertälje, has been hit hard by murders near schools.

“Gunvor,” who is in her 60s, has worked as a teacher in Järva all her professional life and got used to a violent and threatening work environment.

Being called “whore,” being told “I’m going to f**k your mother” and witnessing brutal fights is everyday for her and her colleagues, she says.

“I have considered wearing a protective vest. Everyone else has one. Even the parents, they come to the development talks in the West. It’s not strange, the stop at school is just one of many for them.

The hair is light and combed back in a tassel.

“At school, the students say I’m dirty. By ‘dirty’ they mean that I am white and Christian.”

She continues:

“Don’t touch me, you’re dirty,” they shout.

Every other teacher has been subjected to physical violence by students; seven out of ten in situations where students behaved aggressively or in a generally threatening manner.

In the report “Håll käften kärring,” it appears that threats and violence are common in leisure centers, preschool classes and grades 1-6.

Almost half of the upper secondary teachers and more than fifth upper secondary teachers have been exposed to a threatening situation by a student in the last two years. This is shown in the Teachers’ Association’s report When security is lacking.

She says that students sought her out at home after she reprimanded a student in the classroom.

“He started stalking me a couple of times after I worked in the evening. I don’t really care that much, but he said: ‘be careful’ and stuff like that.”

“At one point, he and his friends were standing outside the door,” she says.

“I heard how they tried to get in through the door. Then about 53 text messages came with the meaning that I should be careful, there were also pictures of me. They sent lyrics from rap songs.”

Basically, it is the money that keeps her working and she lives nicely at an exclusive address.

But she also feels a kind of revenge.

“I am not afraid at work, but it is unpleasant. The wages are very high and that helps. They won’t make me move, I’m enjoying myself anyway.”

Among the staff, people have resigned, she says, and the talk is going on between them about who to watch out for, she says. Who has dangerous family members or is active himself.

Have you tried to take this further and raise the alarm about the situation for yourself or the children in question?

“Never in my life would I make a report of concern. I don’t want problems. Second, there will never be a follow-up. It just stops there.”

“Gunvor” says that she would never take public transportation to work.

“It feels too unsafe.”

Instead, she has arranged her own garage space from a man who, for a fee, guards her car so that it does not get damaged.

Kerstin Aronsson is a school nurse and has worked at Rinkebyskolan in the Järva area for over 30 years.

She means that part of the job is dealing with “frogs jumping out of the mouths” of the children.

“And the frogs can contain things that can be perceived as threatening. We work with children. Their brains haven’t fully grown yet and they sometimes lack impulse control. Then they can eviscerate things, but this is best met with a low-affective approach.”

Do you feel unsafe at work?

“No. It is clear that there may be situations when people who do not belong to our school are in the entrance, for example, but then it is quite effective to simply ask what they are doing there and if they have no business, they can leave.”

For several years, Järva has been in the focus of shootings and gang conflicts. Recently, however, Södertälje has sailed around as the worst in the class with several fatal shootings and revenge attacks in a short time.

Seven murders – in a city of 100,000 inhabitants.

“Södertälje is Sweden’s most police-prioritized area right now,” says commissioner Gunnar Appelgren in Expressen’s crime podcast Krimrummet.

Both Järva and Södertälje are considered particularly vulnerable areas, according to the police’s assessments.

Expressen managed to produce this entire report without mentioning Muslims, migrants, Islam, the Quran, or anything else relevant to the motivation behind the violence. 

European Politics > Marine Le Pen's popularity surges as French are angry with Macron's reforms

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I don't often publish an article as long as this, but it is brilliantly written and very insightful into the politics of a rather unstable France.

The Beneficiary of Bedlam

Marine Le Pen Surges as Macron's Star Fades

The intense protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform in France have put him on the defensive. Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen is reaping the benefits.

By Britta Sandberg in Paris

Spiegel Int'l

28.03.2023, 12.14 Uhr

Adviser Renaud Labaye together with Marine Le Pen: "Our strategy is to win over voters,

not alienate them." Foto: Alain Guilhot / Divergence

Maybe the most notable thing about Marine Le Pen on this Thursday afternoon is her tone of voice. Calmly and earnestly, the right-wing firebrand accuses French President Emmanuel Macron of setting fire to the country.

In her raspy voice, Le Pen says that France is currently experiencing a deep political crisis: "This is a complete failure of the government. And a complete failure for Emmanuel Macron, since it is his reform.” She then demands the resignation of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.

Just a quarter hour earlier, Borne announced in parliament – her voice raised to be heard over the chanting and jeering from the left-wing alliance known as the New Ecological and Social People’s Union (NUPES) – that the government was not going to put the controversial pension reform plan up for a vote in the National Assembly. This would mean that it would be enacted without parliamentary support. The move, while seemingly undemocratic, is rooted in the country’s presidential democracy, as outlined in Article 49.3 of the constitution.

The article you are reading originally appeared in German in issue 13/2023 (March 25th, 2023) of DER SPIEGEL.

Since then, the mood in parliament has been feverish. Immediately after Borne’s announcement, representatives from the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) called for protests against the government to take place that same evening. The conservative Republicans appear to be facing a potential split after a number of lawmakers from the fraction refused to follow the party chair’s instructions to support the reform. The Socialists, who have been in shambles for years, have virtually no more influence. The Greens, too, are trying to find some form of relevance. Some observers even believe that the political meltdown could herald the end of the Fifth Republic, as the current constitutional order, in place since 1958, is called.

But Marine Le Pen, the 54-year-old leader of the right-wing populist Rassemblement National (RN) who has lost three separate bids to be elected French president, is in a cheerful mood as she stands before the marble busts in the Salle des Quatre Colonnes, speaking to gathered journalists. When asked how she plans to proceed in the face of the government’s move, she confidently states that she intends to file a complaint with the Constitutional Council and fight for a referendum. "And when I become president of the republic, I will replace this reform with our pension reform. And it will be a fair reform.”

It is her new promise – that she will get rid of this misguided reform at the top of France’s government once she is elected four years from now.

Never before have the prospects of France’s right-wing populists been as promising as they are this spring. No other party has profited from the battle over Macron’s pension reform to the degree RN has. Evening after evening, garbage dumpsters are going up in flames in French cities, with the televised news showing a seemingly endless reel of unrest on the streets. In Strasbourg, Nantes, Rennes and Paris, adolescents and university students are pushing the police to their limit with unannounced protests. It is exactly the kind of anger and paralyzed political atmosphere that benefits Le Pen and the RN.

The pension reform – and the manner in which the president has imposed it – unites all the elements that have always provided nourishment to right-wing populist movements, giving the impression of an out-of-control elite at the top that refuses to listen to the people and only pursues its own interests. This time, though, it’s not just Le Pen who is promoting this narrative, but also the unions, NUPES and the protesters themselves.

Unsettling Results

"It has put the Rassemblement National in the convenient position of not having to do much. The party can simply wait and then harvest the fruits of this conflict,” says Bruno Palier, political scientist at Sciences Po, the Paris university. Together with a colleague of his, Palier recently released an analysis for Tera Nova, a think tank, the results of which even he finds unsettling.

The two researchers set out to identify the milieus in which resistance to the pension reform is greatest. Two-thirds of all French citizens are opposed to the Macron plan, with workers and members of the lower-middle class feeling particularly affected by the increase of the retirement age from 62 to 64. In the second round of presidential elections last April, Le Pen received majority support from the two groups (67 and 57 percent, respectively). But a about one-third of voters in each group declined to go to the polls, representing a potential reservoir out of which Le Pen could attract new followers.

Palier says the current political climate in France is clearly in favor of Rassemblement National. And there is another factor as well, he says: "The partially inaccurate portrayal of the reform by the government served to promote the cliché that the elite always lie anyway.” That, too, is a key part of the narrative promoted by populists.

Polls confirm his prognosis: Macron’s approval ratings have plummeted in recent days, with just 24 percent of the country now believing that he is a good president, his worst result since the yellow vest movement in spring 2019. Le Pen’s ratings, meanwhile, have ticked up by three percentage points – but among the working class, she is up 18 points and among conservative Republicans, she has seen a gain of 11 percentage points. That makes her the sixth most popular politician in France, ahead of the prime minister, Macron and the left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Macron puppet at a protest in Paris against the pension reform. Foto: Gonzalo Fuentes / REUTERS

After yet again falling short as her party’s presidential candidate last April, Le Pen suggested that she might decide against running a fourth time, but now, she is full of confidence. It is apparent in every interview she gives and every televised statement she makes. In response to a question last week as to whether she would be prepared to take the post of prime minister in the event of a government shake-up, she answered: "I am not afraid of power, rather I am impatiently waiting for it.” Still, she said, the position of prime minister would not be the proper place for her, and that others from her party are a better fit, should it come to that.

There is one man who has long been working toward the day when eternally scorned Marine Le Pen can move into the presidential palace and her reviled colleagues from the Rassemblement National can become members of cabinet. His name is Renaud Labaye, referred to as the "eminence grise” by Paris newspapers. Labaye says that he works in the shadow, or the semi-shadow, of Le Pen – and that is how he prefers it.

The man who so loves to operate in the background has agreed to a meeting in Brasserie Bourbon, an institution located just a few meters from parliament and frequented by lawmakers and top government officials. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman is sitting at the neighboring table. Politicians from the traditional parties and those from the RN have, since the last election, become used to crossing paths in the same establishments and greet each other politely. Only the Greens, says Labaye, still refuse to say hello.

The 38-year-old is a bit of an outlier in the ranks of RN politicians with whom Marine Le Pen has thus far surrounded herself. A devout Catholic, Labaye grew up in a bourgeois family in Versailles, attending the prestigious Saint Cyr Military Academy before earning a master’s degree at an elite university for economic studies. He speaks quickly, is self-deprecating and has an easy laugh. Along with his fine, horn-rimmed glasses, he is wearing a marine-blue suit, a pink-and-blue tie and matching socks.

"Our political aim is the dissolution of the current government."

Renaud Labaye, adviser to Marine Le Pen

Reserved rather than boastful, he says he has always felt close to the nationalist right, but he has never actually become a member of the RN. "It’s the small bit of snobbery I allow myself,” he says, adding that it hasn’t ever bothered anyone.

Before he became an adviser to Le Pen, Labaye worked for four years in the Economics Ministry, a job he says he found rather boring. Since then, he has been part of Le Pen’s campaign team for presidential elections. And since last summer, he can be found at 8:30 every morning in his parliamentary office. In Paris, they say that there is hardly a speech held by an RN parliamentarian nor a proposal to amend a law that doesn’t cross his desk first. Labaye, they say, controls everything. It is a claim that he denies – allowing, however, that he does play the role of temple guardian.

Protesters at Place de la République in Paris Foto: J. Schmidt-Whitley / ZUMA Press / action press

"Our political aim is the dissolution of the current government. That is why I remove every sentence that could damage us and give others an opportunity to caricaturize us. Our strategy is to win over voters, not alienate them. That is why we have to be like those wrestlers covered in oil who are impossible for their opponents to grasp.”

It doesn’t always work: When an RN parliamentarian last November shouted, "back to Africa!” as a black lawmaker from La France Insoumise was speaking, the oil was suddenly gone. In terms of content, he was correct, insists Labaye, since the RN representative, as he says, was referring to refugee boats and not his colleague in parliament. "In terms of form, however, it was a disaster. A misstep that caused a great stir and must never be repeated.” The incident brought back memories of the Front National, as the party used to be called, and of Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine’s father, who used to run the party with an authoritarian dominance. Back then, a bit of open racism was seen as on message. When Marine took the reins in 2011, she sought to cleanse the party of such overt bigotry – and it is now Labaye’s task to provide the party with a patina of respectability. (Ouch!)

The Assemblée Nationale, French parliament, is now the party’s springboard to power, as French daily Le Monde writes. On that stage, the fewer mistakes the better. A lot has changed for RN since it became the largest opposition party last June, capturing 88 seats. The party is no longer on the fringes of the system: It is a central pillar. RN lawmakers hold positions on the committees, the party has a deputy parliamentary president, it can play a role in determining the parliament’s agenda and it receives guaranteed media time.

Right at the beginning of the legislative period, Labaye ordered male RN parliamentarians to always wear suits and ties and the women to wear dresses or pantsuits – and to consistently treat the institution of parliament with respect. This has resulted in recent months in a well-dressed RN fraction that largely sits in silence. During the battle over pension reform, they submitted fewer amendment applications than members of the governing majority, and they have rarely taken the floor in parliamentary committees. In numerous plenary debates, they have seemed surprisingly lackluster.

France's parliament, the Assemblée Nationale 

Foto: Paul Arnaud

"We Are Making Strides"

But Labaye’s strategy isn’t so much about being involved in the creation of as many laws as possible than of proving the party’s leadership credentials. Of demonstrating that the RN can be just as serious and sensible as their opponents. "We have to convince voters that France will not plunge into chaos if we win the next election, and that we will simply push through our platform,” says Labaye. "We have long been lacking in respectability. But we are making strides.”

In numerous surveys, the RN is now seen as the most credible opposition party – because it has been able to set itself apart from the bickering left-wing populists of the LFI and because it sometimes even votes together with the conservatives or the governing party if it has to. The highest praise for the party recently came from the government’s labor minister, who said that Le Pen has behaved in a more republican manner than the lawmakers from the LFI.

As a next step, says Labaye, he intends to have the party add to its palette of political issues. Things like immigration, security and criminality, which used to be the RN’s bread and butter, have long since reached the political mainstream, he says. "Others are now taking care of them for us, even if everyone knows who holds the copyright. We will now start talking about the protection of children, continue the debate over the purchasing power of French consumers and speak about energy issues.”

He then grabs his two mobile phones from the café table, bids a polite farewell and returns to his office to read draft laws and amendment applications.

The party has been in the process of reorganizing itself for the past several months. In November, Marine Le Pen relinquished the position of party chair to 27-year-old Jordan Bardella so that she can focus exclusively on her parliamentary work. Under his leadership, Bardella pronounced, the Rassemblement National is to become more modern, more female and more professional. On the day of his election, he established new party committees and appointed their members.

It's early December on a houseboat diagonally across from the Eiffel Tower. Bardella is hosting an RN youth organization on this rainy Friday evening as they search for a new name. A long line of people is waiting at Quais de la Seine to board the vessel, among them a number of young women in short skirts and blazers, and men wearing white shirts and ties over jeans. Or dark-blue quilted vests like their new party leader.

Marine Le Pen together with party chief Jordan Bardella. He wants to make the party younger,

more feminine and more professional. Foto: Alain Robert / Sipa Press / action press

"When you get involved, our promise to you is that you will become part of a new elite."

Rassemblement National (RN) party chief Jordan Bardella at an event for young party members.

Inside, pink-and-gray cocktail chairs await the party’s young generation as tourist boats sail by outside, their spotlights – normally used to light up the city’s sights – trained on the RN up-and-comers as they prepare the future of their party.

The official segment of the event takes place belowdecks, beginning with an appearance by Bardella. As he struts up to the microphone, he almost hits his head on the ceiling – Bardella isn’t just tall, his shoulders seem to have grown much broader of late as well. Marine Le Pen’s brother-in-law is said to have advised him to add a bit of muscle to his upper body. And now he is standing there, urging the crowd to avoid becoming fatalistic in the current political situation.

"Everyone here, each and every one of you, can become active in changing something. And when you get involved, our promise to you is that you will become part of a new elite. We need you. We will have a huge number of appointments to distribute.”

Attracting Younger Members

In "Anéantir” (Annihilate), the new novel by writer Michel Houellebecq, a young candidate from the RN wins the 2027 presidential election – a hardly disguised reference to Bardella.

Since last summer, the party says, it has been receiving 30 to 50 percent more membership applications from people under the age of 30. "They are coming to us because they believe we have a future,” says Pierre-Romain Thionnet, 29, who heads the party’s youth organization. Two other factors have also been fueling the trend, Thionnet believes: "Our success in parliamentary elections last June, and the appointment of a 27-year-old to lead the party in November.” Bardella is now seen as living proof that young people can end up in positions of influence in the RN.

Head of the party's youth chapter Pierre-Romain Thionnet: "They are coming to us because they believe we have a future." Foto: Denis Allard / Leextra / opale / laif

At RN party headquarters in the 16th Arrondissement, the offices of the two young politicians are adjacent, and they have known each other for years. Despite all of their protestations that they also focus on environmental policy, digitalization and housing shortages, the two of them pursue classic right-wing politics. Shortly after he became head of the party, Bardella moved to replace more moderate RN functionaries.

Furthermore, he has taken no steps to distance himself from the conspiracy theory known as the "grand remplacement,” which holds that there is a movement afoot to replace French people with other ethnicities. On the contrary: France, he said in his first speech as party chief, cannot become "the hotel of the world.”

Bardella skillfully serves two separate currents within the party, says right-wing extremism researcher Sylvain Crépon: "He is capable of advocating for radical, identitarian positions, while at the same time being seen as the young, modern face of the RN and, despite his young age, as a calming, balancing force. He intentionally plays both roles.”

Last Tuesday, the fifth day after Macron’s decision to push through pension reform without parliamentary approval, Marine Le Pen filed a complaint with the Constitutional Council in an attempt to block the reform. She is far from the only one to have done so. Because the government simultaneously cited several articles of the constitution when introducing this bill, thus reducing parliamentary debate to just 50 days, even moderate constitutional lawyers believe that an examination of its legality is justified.

That same day, hundreds again gathered in the city to demonstrate against the pension reform. By the time evening rolled around, the crowd on Place de la République had swelled to over 3,500. Police would later report that the propensity for violence among the protesters was even higher than within the yellow vest movement several years ago.

An anti-Macron protest in Rennes. Officials say that the propensity for violence is even greater than during the yellow vest movement. Foto: Jeremias Gonzalez / AP

At 6:30 p.m. that evening, the RN hosts an event to dedicate the party’s new training center, located in an 18th-century palace. The idea is to ensure that RN personnel are better prepared in the future. The guests include party members, parliamentarians and functionaries between the ages of 20 and 80. A lot of men, not so many women.

At 6:15 p.m., Marine Le Pen walks into the building in the company of her shadow, Labaye. She briefly greets party allies before heading for the corner of the entrance hall where three heavily armed officers of the Police Nationale are standing.

She asks them how things are going for them these days. The trio describe the situation on the streets, then they ask for selfies with the politician. Le Pen hands her overcoat to an assistant and gives him the mobile phones of the police officers so he can take a few pictures, then poses with each of them.

"I’ve heard that Emmanuel Macron has nightmares because I might succeed him as head of state. Is there anything better than knowing that you are in the nightmares of the president? I can tell you: There’s not much more I can ask for."

Marine Le Pen

When asked later why he wanted a photo with Le Pen, one of the officers says: "Because she listens to us, because she understands us and because she shows us genuine appreciation. Not just lip service like all the others. I have saved more lives than many others, and she knows how to show her appreciation.” The police and military are among the most reliable reservoirs of support for the right-wing populists. But they haven’t always been particularly open about it.

Le Pen is already on the way to the elevators so she can briefly freshen up before the event – an opportunity for a brief conversation with this season’s political profiteur.

DER SPIEGEL: Have you noticed that things are currently changing, Ms. Le Pen?

Le Pen: Of course. People are now coming to us who never previously wanted to be seen with Rassemblement National. Even our opponents see that we are closer to power than ever before.

DER SPIEGEL: One almost has the impression that you have been working specifically for this moment.

Le Pen: It’s not just an impression, it’s the truth. A road is now in place to lead us into the Élysée. Just that nobody knows, neither you nor me, how long this road will be. But at the end of that road is the Élysée Palace.

Le Pen stops in front of the elevators and then turns around.

"You know what is interesting? I’ve heard that Emmanuel Macron has nightmares because I might succeed him as head of state. Is there anything better than knowing that you are in the nightmares of the president? I can tell you: There’s not much more I can ask for.”

She then heads down to the basement – the woman who would so like to shake up this republic.