Norway judges free Islamic extremist

The Supreme Court rules there is no reason to hold Arslan Ubaydullah Maroof Hussain in continued custody despite still standing indictments.

Mr Hussain was arrested at the end of last month initially for statements on his Facebook group that left Oslo’s Jewish community feeling threatened.

His remarks resulted in Ola Elvestuen, Oslo city councillor for the Liberal Party (V), calling for talks with police over security at the synagogue.

Police subsequently posted guards outside the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish pre-school near the synagogue just over one week ago in connection with events in the Middle East.

27-year-old Mr Hussain, of Pakistani origin, has been held on remand for four weeks total. He is also indicted for issuing threats against two journalists, as well as threatening an expert witness during trial proceedings.

Today’s verdict quashes Borgarting Court of Appeal’s continued custody ruling. Court of Appeal judges will now have to hear Arslan Ubaydullah Maroof Hussain’s case anew.

However, police have asked for Mr Hussain to remain in custody until this has been effecuated.

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Switzerland: Pupil Bullied Out of School by Classmates Because he Refused to Convert to Islam

H/t Cheradenine Zakalwe

Peter is a quiet, unremarkable school pupil. The sixth year pupil enjoys going to school, but for some time a classmate has been making his life in a Winterthur primary school difficult. This is not a matter of the usual teasing, but is, above, a question of religion. Ali (name changed) wants to convince Peter of his religious ideas and convert him to Islam. The teacher’s attempts to intervene remain without success, resulting in the sensitive Peter showing psychosomatic reactions.

In the 1st class Peter and Ali get on very well. It was not important that 14 of the 19 school pupils had a Muslim background. But later Ali, whose father is a Muslim priest, to give Peter religious instruction. If he was a Muslim, they could be friends, said Ali, whose zeal became ever more marked as time went on.

Ali made fun of Christianity. How is it possible that Jesus is the son of God, asked Ali maliciously. As the class visited a mosque during religious instruction, Ali demanded that Peter now pray to Allah. One day Ali gave his classmates a religious pamphlet of the German convert and hate preacher Pierre Vogel, who is banned from travelling to Switzerland.

Now Peter had the courage to tell the whole class that he wasn’t going to let himself be converted to Islam. Ali’s answer: “You are possessed by the devil”. Afterwards other Muslim classmates also turned away from Peter. The conflict climaxed in two classmates holding Peter while Ali threw ping pong balls at him, continually shouting: “Die!”

Peter suffered ever more often from headaches and stomach pains and developed anxiety disorders. For that reason his mother took him out of the school and taught him herself. As a teacher, she was able to do this.

For several months now, Peter has been receiving therapeutic treatment. His psychiatrist confirms that the psychosomatic symptoms were caused by “fear of classmates”. “Because of the adaptation disorder with anxiety and depressive reactions, Peter is currently seriously impaired in his personal and educational development,” writes the doctor in an expert opinion. “In the last three years similar reactions to school attendance were seen based on conflicts that were mostly caused by the sociocultural differences in Peter’s class.”

…It is undisputed however that, because of immigration and the mixing of cultures, religious topics are being discussed ever more often and can lead to tensions, as various teachers confirmed in interview.

TA is aware of another case in which a Muslim school pupil, whose female classmates wore short skirts and close-fitting T-shirts, delivered an ultimatum to them to dress more modestly.

Source: Tagesanzeiger.ch Via: PI

Saudis to build major Islamic centre in Afghanistan

Saudi Arabia will build a massive Islamic centre complete with a university and a mosque in Afghanistan, an Afghan minister said Monday, describing the project as "grand and unique".


Estimated to cost up to $100 million, the centre on a hilltop in central Kabul will house up to 5,000 students, Dayi-Ul Haq Abed, the acting Hajj and religious affairs minister told AFP.

It will be named after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the minister added.

"The agreement was signed last week in Jeddah. The construction will start next year, in couple of months or so," Abed said.


The mosque, similar to the Faisal Mosque in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad that was also built by oil-rich Saudi Arabia in 1980s, will hold 15,000 worshippers at a time.

The minister said the centre will be run jointly by the Saudi and Afghan ministries of religious affairs. Other universities in Afghanistan are run by the higher education ministry.


Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries -- along with Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates -- that recognised the hardline Islamist Taliban regime during its rule in Afghanistan from 1996-2001.

The Taliban were overthrown in a US-led invasion shortly after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington for harbouring Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but have waged an 11-year insurgency.

The US and NATO still have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan supporting the government of President Hamid Karzai, but they are due to pull out all combat forces by the end of 2014.

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“Die slowly, you Christian dog”

‘This is what they are like. One of the killers, the commander of the “Bara” brigade, was found with a syringe full of diesel. He injected it into a man, a Christian, saying, “Die slowly, you  

Christian dog

Come the peace there will be no allies to be had in Syria.

Somalian Shebab militants threaten British attack

Somalia's Islamist Shebab militia have warned Britain it would "pay the heftiest price" for its "war against Islam" and the extradition of radical cleric Abu Hamza to the United States.

In a series of eleven posts written by Shebab's Press Office on its Twitter page, the radical group threatened to inflict on Britain its worst-ever attack.

"The nightmare that surreptitiously looms on British shores is bound to eclipse the horrors of 7/7 and 21/7 combined," said one message.

The London bombings on July 7, 2005, were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks on the city's public transport which killed 52 civilians and the four bombers.

Two weeks later, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of the city's public transport system.
Another message read: "Britain will pay the heftiest price for its brazen role in the war against Islam and endless brutality against innocent Muslims."

The Al-Qaeda linked group also vowed to "go to every possible length to attain the freedom of imprisoned Muslim scholars."

A 17,000-strong African Union force, fighting alongside government forces, has in recent months wrested control of a string of Shebab strongholds including the bastion of Kismayo, a strategic southern port.
Radical preacher Hamza and four other terrorism suspects were extradited to the US earlier this month after a British court rejected their last-ditch attempts to block their removal.

A legal saga that dragged on for more than a decade in the courts of Britain and Europe finally ended when two senior judges at the High Court in London dismissed the men's pleas to be allowed a stay of extradition.

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The terrifying world of child brides

Devastating images show girls young enough to be in pre-school who are married off to older men 

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PLOT TO KILL BRIT KIDS AT EURO DISNEY DURING CHRISTMAS

A HUGE cache of weapons and bombs was found near Disneyland Paris yesterday.

Police fear Islamic extremists had been plotting a Mumbai-style massacre at the theme park at Christmas.

Disneyland is packed with British children and their parents over the festive season.

The devastating attack could have been more horrific than the commando-style raids on Mumbai in November 2008, in which 166 people died.

Armed police found the guns and explosives in a building in the eastern Paris suburb of Torcy near the park.

The raid came after 11 men were arrested and another shot dead during anti-terror swoops across France at the weekend.

Detectives believe extremists were planning a wave of deadly strikes in a twisted bid to turn France into a Muslim state.

Former Portsmouth football star Yann Nsaku, 19, was among those held. Anti-terror officers then swooped on the building used by the gang in Torcy.

Meanwhile, security chiefs have warned that al-Qaida could still stage a massacre in London after US spies rumbled a plan to target Britain, France and Germany in simultaneous strikes.

Sources claim London landmark buildings were targets and thousands could have died.

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Islamic extremist group in Cardiff radicalises young Muslim

A group of Islamic extremists in Cardiff has been involved in radicalising a young Muslim, a BBC Wales investigation has revealed.

For months, an undercover reporter for the Week In Week Out programme has been meeting with a member of a group called Supporters of Tawheed.

A man called Rofi attempted to radicalise the undercover reporter by directing him to extremist websites and videos that preach hate.

 

He denied radicalising the reporter.

The reporter said: "Going undercover has opened my eyes to their world and how dangerous it could be.

This is a very clear cut radicalisation and recruitment case”

Alex Meleagrou-Hitchins Kings College in London

 

"It's only when someone starts trying to radicalise you that you realise what it could lead to.

"And what really scares me is how they are influencing others with that hatred and disaffection."

The programme spoke to Alex Meleagrou-Hitchins, an expert in radicalisation from Kings College in London, and discusses the process the undercover reporter went through in his meetings with Rofi.

"This is a very clear cut radicalisation and recruitment case," said Mr Meleagrou-Hitchens.
Cardiff has been shocked by a number of incidents in the last 12 months involving Islamic extremists.

In October 2011, two teenagers were arrested by Kenyan police near the border with Somalia.
It is alleged they were trying to fight with Islamic militants, al-Shabab.

Then in January this year, anti-extremism police disrupted a meeting of Supporters of Tawheed at a Cardiff community centre.
 
Vulnerable people
 
And in February, two men from Cardiff received lengthy jail sentences for plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange.

Week In Week Out has seen a confidential police report which warns of vulnerable people being targeted by a group of Islamic extremists led by a Cardiff postman, Sajid Idris. Today, that group is called Supporters of Tawheed.

The Home Office has also recognised the threat of extremism and radicalisation in the city, and designated it a high priority.

Supporters of Tawheed want Sharia Law, determined by the Koran. They are opposed to democracy and freedom and they believe that Islam will dominate the world.

Mr Meleagrou-Hitchens said: "They've taken their cue from al-Qaeda. They use the same sources, they use the same religious interpretations.

There are people who are very naive... who could fall into the clutches of these individuals”

Saleem Kidwai Muslim Council of Wales

 

"The only real core difference is that al-Qaeda is very, very focused on promoting and organising terrorism acts on the West. 

"The group we are currently talking about, for its own survival, has to avoid doing that because they won't be able to operate otherwise."

There are also concerns about Supporters of Tawheed from within the 30,000-strong Muslim community in Cardiff.

Every mosque in the city has banned the group from handing out leaflets or holding meetings.
Saleem Kidwai, from the Muslim Council of Wales, said: "The Islam they were teaching is quite different to what real Islam is.

"There are people who are very naive... who could fall into the clutches of these individuals. That is why the community is concerned."

Counter-terrorism laws
 
Week In Week Out also showed some of its evidence to Lord Carlile QC, the government's former advisor on terrorism legislation.

 

 

 A police report warns of vulnerable people being targeted by a group led by Sajid Idris

He felt that some of the group's videos, and public declarations, could have broken the law.
"There is a real possibility that counter-terrorism laws are being breached by the glorification of the actions of those that have been found to be terrorists," he said.

Rofi denies radicalising the undercover reporter.

He told the programme: "I preach Islam the way it's supposed to be preached."
Sajid Idris says he is not involved in any radicalisation, and denies any criminality involving himself or his group.

South Wales Police confirmed they were concerned about the activities of "a very small number of people", but were able to take action with the support of the Muslim community.

Week In Week Out: BBC1 Wales Tuesday, 22:35 BST. The programme will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

'SHARIA' MOSQUE FOUR TIMES SIZE OF ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

BRITAIN could have its first Sharia-controlled zone if plans for a mega-mosque more than four times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral get the go-ahead.

The East London mosque, known as the Riverine Centre, will hold 9,312 worshippers, compared to 2,400 at St Paul’s.

The 16-acre site in West Ham will include 40ft minarets, an Islamic library, a dining hall, multi-use games areas, tennis courts, sports facilities and eight flats for visiting Muslim clerics.

Islamist group Tablighi Jamaat has submitted updated plans for what Cambridge-based architects NRAP are calling a “contemporary Islamic sacred space” the size of Battersea Power Station.

But last night campaigners against the proposal claimed the application was a smokescreen for wider intentions to create a hardline Islamic enclave in the capital.

They also insisted facilities for the wider non-Muslim community in East London would be minimal and disguise Tablighi’s real aim to establish a global base.

The group has been dubbed an “antechamber of fundamentalism” by French intelligence officials.

Two of the July 7 bombers, Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan, and failed shoe bomber Richard Reid, left, are believed to have prayed at a Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Alan Craig, campaign director of MegaMosque- NoThanks, said: “Newham Council wants a mixed use of the site with homes, shops and business units.

“The mosque trustees say they want to build a mosque the size of Battersea Power Station.

“Either way, it will be the UK’s first custombuilt Sharia-controlled zone.”

His comments follow the shelving of plans for retail units and 300 flats after the Muslim community said they did not want their donations going to a commercial venture.

The mosque will form the centrepiece and will include a prayer hall for 7,440 men and a separate prayer facility on an upper level for 1,872 women.

NRAP director Richard Owers said the site represented a “genuinely West Ham mosque” because, aside from the minarets which were a key requirement of the client, the design involved a “subtle underplaying of traditional Islamic architecture”.

Meanwhile, trustees of the Riverine Centre, which runs the Tablighi Jamaat site, said: “The feedback received from the general Newham community from the public consultation held in February this year clearly demonstrated there is tremendous and overwhelming all-round support for our vision of turning a barren post-industrial landscape into an oasis for the benefi t of everyone.”

A Newham Council spokesman said: “We can confirm we have received a planning application.

“As this is currently being processed it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

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London muslim protest muslims praying in Westminster Abby

H/T 1960str

 I nearly got arrested for filming this police asked if i found what they were doing offensive muslims praying in Westminster Abby grounds yes i did find it offensive can you imagine what would happened if we done this in a mosque . our kings and queen are buried in this cathedral wonder what they think of it all.

Two men on trial accused of racially motivated murder of William McKeeney

Two men have gone on trial charged with the racially aggravated murder of a 57-year-old man in a Glasgow street.

 

Asif Rehman, 20, and Adel Ishaq, 19, are accused of attacking William McKeeney and causing him to fall to the ground.

They are then alleged to have repeatedly punched and kicked him, and stamped and jumped on his head and body.

Both men denied the charges against them at the High Court at Kilmarnock.

Mr McKeeney was so severely injured after the incident yards from his home in Melville Street, in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, on 15 January that he later died at the city's Victoria Infirmary.
Mr Rehman and Mr Ishaq, both said to be prisoners at Polmont Young Offenders Institution, deny the racially aggravated murder of Mr McKeeney and showing previous malice and ill-will towards him.

Threatening language
Mr Rehman, who is said to have been on bail at the time, also denies attempting to defeat justice by changing out of the clothes he was was wearing at the time before returning to the scene, and possessing cannabis and diazepam.

Mr Ishaq further denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice by giving clothing and footwear to Umar Bhatti, who burned and destroyed them, and attempting to induce Bashir Ahmed to give him £500 so he could flee Glasgow.

And he is alleged to have acted in a manner likely to cause fear and alarm by using abusive and threatening language towards Ian Little in Kenmuir Street, Pollokshields, on the day before the alleged attack. He also denies possessing diazepam.

Mr McKeeney, a labourer and former lorry driver, was originally from Malin Head in County Donegal, Ireland.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

World Silent as Saudi Arabia Works to 'Destroy' Churches

 

Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has been the largest source of donations from Islamic states and royal families to British universities, much of which is devoted to the study of Islam, the Middle East and Arabic literature.

A large share of this money went toward establishing Islamic study centers. In 2008, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal donated £8 million (SR 48.5 million) each to Cambridge and Edinburgh for this purpose, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported yesterday.

Oxford has been the largest British beneficiary of Saudi support. In 2005, Prince Sultan, the late crown prince, gave £2 million (SR 12 million) to the Ashmolean Museum. In 2001, the King Abdul Aziz Foundation gave £1 million (SR 6.1 million) to the Middle East Center.

There are many other donors. Oxford’s £75 million (SR 454.6 million) Islamic Studies Center was supported by 12 Muslim countries. Ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, gave £3.1 million (SR 18.8 million) to Cambridge to fund two posts, including a chair of Arabic.

Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qassimi, has supported Exeter’s Islamic studies center with more than £5 million (SR 30 million) since 2001. Trinity Saint David, part of the University of Wales, has received donations from the ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

While Islamic studies are the most popular target for donors, support is certainly not restricted to the subject. The Saïd Business School at Oxford University was set up by Wafic Said, a Syrian-Saudi businessman, with a £23 million (SR 139.4 million) initial donation.
Donations are not the only financial links to the Gulf. According to the Observatory for Borderless Higher Education, of the 200 branch campuses opened by universities around the world, 37 are in the UAE and 10 are in Qatar.

University College London has an archaeology campus in Qatar. Bolton, Heriot-Watt, the London Business School, Manchester Business School, Cass Business School and Middlesex have bases in Dubai or neighboring Ras Al-Khaimah, the newspaper said quoting the Financial Times.

These satellite campuses have two purposes: for countries that need to expand their higher education rapidly, it allows them to build capacity. For the university – if they can make them work – it allows them to tap potentially lucrative markets.

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http://arabnews.com/british-universities-receive-saudi-funds

UK signs agreement on “religious freedom” with OIC

Concerns have been raised by the National Secular Society that the UK's stance on free speech could be compromised by an agreement signed at the United Nations between this country and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi – the new "Minister for Faith" - and pledges that theUKand the OIC will "work together on issues of peace, stability and religious freedom."

At present, the OIC is agitating at the United Nations for a global blasphemy law that would make criticising or satirising religion a punishable offence.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: "We are all for co-operation between nations to try to foster peace and understanding, but the concept of 'religious freedom' is one that the OIC has distorted to mean restrictions on free expression.

"We hope that by signing this document the UK will not in any way compromise its commitment to human rights – particularly the human right to free speech. The British Government has been steadfast in its opposition to the OIC's blasphemy proposals up until now. We hope that this document will not change that in any way."

Baroness Warsi's other remit – as well as being 'Minister for Faith' – is at the Foreign Office and includes being the lead minister responsible for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Central Asia, the UN, the International Criminal Court and the OIC, which is the largest multi-lateral organisation in the world after the UN.

She became the first British minister to speak at the OIC's conference in June 2011 in Astana, Kazakstan. Previously she had hosted the secretary-general of the OIC in London and visited its secretariat in Jeddah, while she was in Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj. This led to the appointment of Britain's first special representative to organisation and its 57 members. Baroness Warsi has visited Pakistan five times during the past two and a half years in government, a country, which was so central to the formation of the Islamic Conference.

In the landmark agreement there is a particular emphasis on promoting the "key role Muslims have played in shaping modern Britain" and encouraging Muslim communities to play a key role at all levels in public life.

Lady Warsi said: "When I addressed the OIC Conference in Kazakhstanin June 2011, I said we face the global challenges together. This agreement formalises that establishing our many, many areas of co-operation, from security to conflict prevention; from religious freedom to human rights. One of the central aims of my new role will be to strengthen this relationship further and I am looking forward to ensuring we continue to work closely to achieve our mutual goals."

She also praised the Framework Co-operation Agreement, signed with the OIC's secretary-general, for its focus on promoting inter-religious understanding and interfaith dialogue, especially as these are two vital areas in the senior minister's new governmental role.

Terry Sanderson commented: "There is certainly a need for some kind of inter-religious understanding among OIC member states, a number of which suppress Christianity and other religions in a brutal and merciless fashion.

"The blasphemy law which is being proposed by the OIC on behalf of its members would be an entirely dangerous and regressive step if it were to be approved at the UN. It is quite clear that it would be used to persecute and oppress non-Muslim minorities in Muslim-majority countries, as the domestic blasphemy law in Pakistan does at present.

Mr Sanderson continued: "In Egypt the blasphemy laws are also used to get rid of political opponents and are sometimes used as a means of revenge by neighbours or colleagues who are in dispute. We do not need this kind of primitive legislation in our democracies and we need reassurance from our Government that their resolve remains unaffected by the signing of this agreement with the OIC."

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Michael Coren: It is islam that should apologize

Honor Killing Caught On Film in Egypt

In the video below you will see a housewife being killed in broad daylight. Tthe horror occurred in Hariri's manor in eastern province while the crowds stood by and watched. A cellphone was available to film the gory details.

Notice how the killer is stabbing the woman with a small blade while she is laying helplessly on the floor. Honor killings are becoming more and more common in Egypt since the toppling of Mubarak. On April of this year, it was reported by Emirates24 that an Egyptian man murdered his three daughters with two cobras. These killings will increase as the days go by, and as Islamic Jihad ensues.

Viewer Discretion Is Advised.

RIP: Free Speech about Islam

 

 

(American Thinker) - The right of Westerners to speak  freely regarding Islam-related topics -- radical Islam or Islamism, Islamist terrorism, and Islamist terror funding -- is in jeopardy.  Islamists and their sympathizers try to silence any and all questions possibly critical of Islam with a vicious, multi-pronged assault until a critic is silenced, punished, or made an example of for others.

Islamists seem to use at least three different methods: 1) the initiation of legal proceedings, known as "lawfare" -- i.e., frivolous or malicious lawsuits which often do not even hope to succeed in court and are reluctant to reach discovery to avoid disclosing information, but which therefore seem intended, on charges of hate speech or defamation, to harass and financially crush the defendant; 2) threats of violence, or violence itself; or 3) pressure applied based on political correctness, as with attempts to smear reputations by alleging "racism," "Islamophobia," or other epithets.  Sometimes the Islamists use only one of these methods -- sometimes two, or all three.  Regardless, the assault is often successful.  

The Danish cartoon controversy, for example, began in September of 2005, after an author in Denmark stated that he could not find an artist willing, under his own name, to illustrate a book about the Islamic Prophet Mohammed's life.  In Islam, it is considered blasphemous to draw a picture of the prophet.  In response, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten ran twelve cartoons by various artists depicting Mohammed, with the editor explaining that the project was an attempt defend the Danish right to exercise free speech and to contribute to the debate regarding criticism of Islam and self-censorship.  The most controversial of these cartoons -- the "bomb in the turban" picture of Mohammed -- was drawn by Kurt Westergaard.  These cartoons were soon reprinted in magazines/newspapers in more than 50 other countries.  However, the only major U.S. magazines/newspapers to reprint any of the cartoons were the conservative Weekly Standard, the atheist Free Inquiry, and the Denver Rocky Mountain News.  Many organizations cited their unwillingness to publish them out of concern for the sensitivities of Muslim readers.  A fear of violence may also have been a significant concern.
 

Soon after the cartoons were published, Islamist, Islamic, or politically correct pressure groups swung into action.  In October of 2005, some ambassadors from Muslim countries sent a letter requesting a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, stating that they wished to discuss the "on-going smearing campaign in Danish public circles and media against Islam and Muslims."  They also hinted that the Danish government should legally prosecute the paper's editors.

At the same time, a nearly identical letter arrived in Copenhagen from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC -- now known as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation), an intergovernmental organization of fifty-seven Muslim states, also protesting the publication of the cartoons.  As noted here, "[t]he diplomatic protests aimed to use international disapproval to sanction the newspaper -- and the Danes -- for Islamophobia," an invented term patterned after the term "homophobia."  Coinciding with the arrival of the letters, three thousand Danish Muslims demonstrated in Copenhagen and demanded an apology from the newspaper for insulting Muslims. continue reading

Celebrity gets a taste of cultural diversity in the UK

Welcome to the wonderful world of the two tiered justice system , your white and British your guilty.

'I thought the innocent were protected ... it's been a hard lesson': Celebrity photographer kicked by Muslim woman she tried to help tells of pain at being charged as a racist

She has heard them many times over the past few days, but speaking the words 'racially aggravated assault' still causes Cinnamon Heathcote-Drury's entire body to shake and tears to stream down her face.

Her name may have been cleared, but it is obvious the scars of being accused of a vicious hate crime will be more difficult to erase.

Last Thursday, a jury at Isleworth Crown Court in West London took just 15 minutes to acquit her of shoving a pregnant Muslim woman to the floor and calling her husband a terrorist during a row in Tesco. Despite Miss Heathcote-Drury's relief at the verdict, her sense of bewilderment at what has happened remains her overwhelming emotion.

The investigation that led to the celebrated photographer - whose work hangs in the National Portrait Gallery - being tried was described in court as 'a shambles'.

To her, it often felt like being trapped in a dystopian world in which she could not make her version of events heard, no matter how hard she tried.

Although, in fact, she says she was the victim of assault, her own accusations were dismissed while her accusers' claims were pursued by police.

Today the elegant 41-year-old is exhausted, but grateful finally to have her chance to explain the truth about this strange and disturbing case. 

'I've been going out of my mind since this all happened,' she says. 'I've been on antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills because of the stress.

'I didn't even tell any of my friends about the charges until April, because I couldn't bear to say them; they were too hideous. I have a lot of friends of different ethnic backgrounds and I didn't want to plant even the smallest doubt in their minds about me.

'Before this, I believed that if you were innocent and told the truth, you would be protected by the system, but I've learned some very hard lessons.

'I kept waiting for my story to be investigated, and it never was. Of course it was an enormous relief to be acquitted so quickly, but I find it absolutely terrifying that the case against me could have gone as far as it did.

'The sense of powerlessness at what was happening was overwhelming.'

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Neighbours' fury as council allow tiny bungalow to be used as an illegal moske for 200 worshippers

The tiny two-bedroom property which has been used as a moske illegally for the last two years despite objections from neighbours in Westcliff, Essex

 News report here.

Al Qaeda plotting to bomb US airliner during London Olympics

A bit more info on the post I made a while back on this blog link

Al Qaeda is plotting to blow up an American airliner in the run-up to this month's London Olympics and has trained a Norwegian Muslim convert in an attempt to evade airport security, a media report said on Sunday.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has trained the Norwegian convert and is understood to have also selected a target, believed to be a US passenger jet, The Sunday Times quoted intelligence sources as saying.

"The Norwegian recruit goes under the name of Muslim Abu Abdurrahman. He is understood to be in his thirties and a 'clean skin', with no previous criminal record," it said.

"He converted in 2008 and quickly became radicalised. He later travelled to Yemen, where he has spent several months, to complete his training," the paper said.

The plot confirms fears among US and British intelligence agencies that al Qaeda is seeking to recruit radicalised westerners in an attempt to evade airport security, it said.

The Norwegian was believed to have been in the southeastern town of Azzan, the longtime home of AQAP, until last month. He then moved to Dammaj, a town in the north.

The new plot is the terror group's fourth to be detected since 2009, when AQAP sent a Nigerian-born British student on a plane with an underpants bomb. The bomb failed to detonate over Detroit and the man was arrested and jailed.

In 2010, it sent two bombs hidden in printer cartridges on cargo planes destined for Chicago. They were intercepted and defused in Dubai and Britain, the paper said.

Two months ago, a third plot was averted when a British undercover agent, who had infiltrated AQAP, volunteered to be a suicide bomber. He smuggled out the latest version of the sophisticated underpants bomb to US authorities.

"There is terrorist plotting going on irrespective of the Olympics (from July 27 to August 12). The only thing that connects this to the Olympics is the fact that they are about to happen," said a Whitehall official.

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Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/al-qaeda-plotting-to-bomb-us-airliner-during-olympics-report/1/203253.html

Fugitive Samantha Lewthwaite - the 'white widow' of 7/7 - writes chilling online blog

Brit is suspected of involvement in a deadly grenade attack in Kenya last week that killed three

Wanted: Samantha Lewthwaite's husband was a suicide bomber in the deadly 7/7 attack

The widow of one of the 7/7 bombers is writing a chilling web diary while on the run from police after being named as the prime suspect for a deadly terror attack in Kenya.

In the haunting blog, Samantha Lewthaite, whose husband Jermaine Lindsay blew up a Piccadilly Line train during the London attacks in 2005, says “fear can make you do many things” and warns she faces “many more challenges” in the months ahead.

Her blog Fears and Tears: the Confessions of a Female Muhajid is the first time Lewthaite, 28, has made any attempt to communicate with the outside world since she fled to Africa.

Its emergence comes amid a worldwide search for Lewthwaite – dubbed the “White Widow” – as she is hunted over claims she took part in a grenade attack in Kenya which killed three football fans watching the Italy versus England Euro 2012 game in a bar last Sunday.

Just three days before the blast she posted a lengthy message on her blog admitting she had “no regrets” about converting to Islam and waging Jihad.

She wrote: “My decision to revert to Islam is the most precious gift that my maker has bestowed upon me.

Party snap: Samantha with a friend before she became an Islamic extremist

 “From a previous life of sin and worshiping of worldly things I have lived for many years now as Muslim content with serving Allah with the knowledge that I have a place in Jannah [Paradise].”

Her rambling message goes on: “Like many revertees I have been tested and challenged but each time Allah has guided me towards the right path and ensured my faith in my religion remains constant.

“During the month of April and May I faced a great challenges (sic). Some friends have told me I have over-reacted because I’m a woman and weak.

“Yes, I am woman but I am woman who believes in Jihad and supremacy of Islam.
“With all this pressure I broke down in tears... Jihad is an obligation that we must accept – so today I’m over my fear and my tears are dry.”

The extraordinary diary has appeared on the website of the Muslim Youth Center – the Kenyan arm of Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab. On the morning of the attack in Kenya a message was posted on the site saying: “BOOM!!! Mujahideen making music.”

Hints about an attack were also posted on the MYC’s Twitter account, saying: “Tick tock there goes the count-down for the kuffar...”

It appeared alongside an image of a woman Hamas fighter brandishing an assault rifle.

Lewthwaite, originally from Aylesbury, Bucks, has been on the run since last year when police foiled a plot to blow up Western hotels in Mombasa.

She was charged in December with plotting to kill hundreds of British tourists after police found weapons and a bomb-making factory in her safe house, which also acted as a makeshift bank for the group.
Lewthwaite was released and is thought to have taken refuge in Somalia before her return to Kenya. In March the MYC announced that they were helping to shield her. Then, last week, officials in Africa said the mother of three was spotted near the nightclub targeted in the bomb attack.

A grenade was thrown into the Jericho Beer Garden, which was packed with tourists watching England play Italy. A young boy was among the three dead.

University dropout Lewthwaite is being hunted by the CIA, Kenyan police and Scotland Yard, which has a team in Nairobi to assist with the search.

Before her arrest in December, she had been travelling in Kenya on a false passport.
Lewthwaite was born in Northern Ireland, where her solider father Andrew met her mother Christine. She is the youngest of three children.

Her parents separated when she was 11 years old – the trigger for her seeking solace in Islam, and converting to the faith at the age of 15, say pals.

She met King’s Cross bomber Lindsay in an Islamic internet chatroom when she was studying religion and politics at the School Of Oriental And African Studies in Central London.

She married the Jamaican-born carpet fitter in an Islamic ceremony in 2004.

When her 19-year-old husband blew himself up in 2005, claiming 26 lives, she was eight months pregnant with their second child, a daughter. She had a second son by an unknown father in 2009. Her family in Aylesbury have not had any contact with her for years.

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