LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 10/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.june10.17.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14/27-31/:"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, "I am going away, and I am coming to you." If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way."

And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed
Acts of the Apostles 03,22-26//04,01-04/:"Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out from the people."And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, "And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed." When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.’While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 09-10/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions/Elias Bejjani/June 07/17
US position on Lebanese Army/Walid Phares/June 09/17
Hezbollah Operatives Scouted Targets in NY, Panama: Feds/Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette/New York News/June08/17
2 Americans led double lives as Hezbollah agents, officials say/By Ellie Kaufman, CNN/Fri June 9, 2017
Hezbollah Recruts Arrested For Planning Attacks Against Israel
Jerusalem Post/June 08/17
Attacking Hezbollah’s Financial Network: Policy OptionsTestimony for House Foreign Affairs Committee/June 08/17
Brotherhood and its forays in the Gulf region/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
Qatar crisis and individuals who influence relations between countries/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
Why do Muslims do this?’ Finding the right response/Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
Liberal Saudi Columnist On Arab TV Series 'Black Crows': It 'Addresses, In An Artistic Manner, The Terrible Atrocities Being Perpetrated' By ISIS/MEMRI/June 09/17
Jordanian Columnist, Fahd Al-Khitan: The Manchester Bomber Is A Product Of His Society's Culture Of Hate; Families Are Responsible For Their Sons' Actions/MEMRI/June 09/17
ISIS Sinai And Its Relations With The Local Population – Part III: Spreading ISIS Ideology And The Fight Against Sufism/By: R. Green/MEMRI/June 09/17
After rushing to Qatar's aid, Turkey may have to rethink its Mideast ties/Fehim Tastekin/Translator:Timur Göksel/Al Monitor/09/17
ISIS Sinai And Its Relations With The Local Population – Part III: Spreading ISIS Ideology And The Fight Against Sufism/R. Green/MEMRI/June 09/17
Egypt’s role in the push to cut off Qatar/Ayah Aman/Translator: Pascale el-Khoury/June 09/17
Hoodwinking the Kuffar/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 09/17
From "Not a Crook" to "Not a Liar": A Potted History of Political Denials/Daniel Pipes/Jun 09/, 2017
‘Kushner is Trump’s pet Jew'/Elad Zeret/Ynetnews/June 09/17
Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia: How Iran and the Brotherhood Tore the Gulf Apart
David Andrew Weinberg/defenddemocracy.org/June 09/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 09-10/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions
US position on Lebanese Army
Walid Phares to El Emarate: "Qatar attacked Donald Trump in US domestic politics, meddling"
Hezbollah Operatives Scouted Targets in NY, Panama: Feds
2 Americans led double lives as Hezbollah agents, officials say
US Arrests, Charges Naturalized Hizbullah 'Operatives'
Hezbollah Recruts Arrested For Planning Attacks Against Israel
State Security Arrests Syrian in Bekaa over Terror Links
Mashnouq on ISF Anniversary Calls for Restoring Capital Punishment
Health Ministry Closes Clinic Run by Unlicensed Doctors
Othman Marks ISF Founding Anniversary Vows to Bring Institution to International Levels
Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Member Wanted on Multiple Charges
U.S. government provides $30 million to increase access to education in Lebanon
Bassil meets with Adwan
Hariri congratulates ISF on its 156th foundation anniversary
One dies of severe gunshot wounds following Ain el Hilwe scuffle
Army Commander, interlocutors tackle overall situation
Hariri congratulates ISF on its 156th foundation anniversary
Lieberman: Senior Hamas commander moved to Lebanon/Yoav Zitun, Elior Levy/Ynetnews/|June 09/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 09-10/17
British PM Loses Majority, Faces Pressure to Resign
Arab nations add names to terror list amid Qatar dispute
US: Qatar must change after history of backing extremist groups
UAE: Published list of terrorists gives Qatar opportunity to review its policy
Qatari FM in Germany says Doha committed to diplomacy to ease tensions
Germany urges Iran to avoid any moves to exacerbate tensions in Gulf
Arab powers list 59 individuals as Qatar-linked terrorism supporters
Muslim World League supports decision to release Qatar-linked ‘terrorism’ list
Who are the al-Ashtar Brigades, latest Arab-designated ‘terrorist group’?
Saudi Arabia allows 200 Qataris into Mecca for Umrah pilgrimage
UAE minister says ‘Qatar’s inconsistent policies confusing’
Lieberman: Senior Hamas commander moved to Lebanon
One missile takes out ISIS command on Golan edge
Austria to ban burqas from October
Iran arrests 41 suspects over Tehran attacks ministry
Car bomb in southeast Turkey wounds three people governor's office

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 09-10/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions
العونيون في بلاد الإنتشار: انكار وضياع وأوهام عظمة
Elias Bejjani/June 07/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56048
It is very sad and extremely disappointing that certain top notch Aounists in Diaspora in general, and in the USA in particular, are currently entirely detached from reality, overwhelmed in denial, and still according to their derailed and frozen minds living in the pre 2005 era.
During the pre 2005 era, the Aounists were loudly, courageously and openly against Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy terrorist organization, and extremely active in opposing the Syrian Stalinist regime, as well as in exposing its bloody, criminal and oppressive conduct in both Lebanon and Syria.
In fact, the Diaspora Aounist activists were among the most influential and prominent groups that lobbied successfully for the passing of the USA, “Syria accountability and Lebanese sovereignty restoration act of 2003.”
The patriotic history and achievement record of these Diaspora Aounists seems to be 100% contradicting their current political affiliations, lobbying and agenda.
The FPM Lebanese Party, that they are officially or unofficially affiliated to, and since 2006 has boldly joined forces on all levels, and in all domains with both the Syrian and Iranian terrorists regimes.
At the same, the FPM Lebanese Party has adopted all the Iranian-Hezbollah anti Lebanese, anti Arab and anti Western doctrines.
Accordingly, The Diaspora Aounists at the present time are not mentally, intellectually or politically oriented to time, place and person, because falsely believe that they are still serving the independence and sovereignty of their homeland, Lebanon, and its people.
In the time disorientation domain, they are still living in the pre 2005 era, and unconsciously denying the fact that it is now the 2017 year.
In the person category of mental confusion, they are unable to see or grasp the actual shocking reality that their Lebanese FPM party’s leadership are not any more serving or representing the Lebanese Sovereignty, independence, Freedom, history, people or the common-coexistence living role of Lebanon.
They intentional blinded themselves in a bid not to recognize and not to admit that the FPM leadership has turned to be mere puppets and Trojans in the hands of the Iranian regime, and its terrorist Hezbollah armed proxy.
Their sickening denial and detachment from reality is making them politically confused and living in an Alzheimer mental like status, to the extent of total blindness.
In actuality and reality they are suffering from a chronic and ongoing sickening ailment of severe and devastating denial.
They are unconsciously denying the fact that their party, the FPM, and its leadership, that they are affiliated to, support, and lobby for are not serving Lebanon any more, but turned to be mere pro Iranian – Hezbollah tools and robots.
In conclusion, the Aounists in Diaspora did blemish and destroy all their pro Lebanese hard and genuine work record that took place in the pre 2005 era.
At the present time these Aounists are serving consciously or unconsciously (no difference) the Iranian-Hezbollah terrorist and expansionism agenda that aims to destroy any thing and every thing that is Lebanese, to keep Lebanon under occupation, and at the same time use Lebanon as a military and a propaganda base for their global terrorism, and their evil Anti Lebanese-Anti Arab schemes.
May Almighty God Bless Lebanon and its loving peace people

US position on Lebanese Army
Walid Phares/June 09/17
The commander of CENTCOM underlined after his visit to the Lebanese Army positions facing the Jihadi threat on the Lebanese Syrian borders, that the "only force defending Lebanon," in US perception, "against ISIS and all other terror forces" is the Lebanese Army. Hence in order to strengthen the partnership between the US and the Lebanese Army, there need to be a space in Lebanon where only the Lebanese Army and security forces have the sole and full control, at the exclusion of all other forces, militias, para-military or any other body, even if it is recognized by the cabinet as part of any so-called "resistance." The Lebanese Army is the partner of the US, not "the partners" of the Lebanese Army. Let it be clear

Walid Phares to El Emarate: "Qatar attacked Donald Trump in US domestic politics, meddling"
June 09/17/In an interview with El Emarate Yom daily, Dr Walid Phares said the US "will adopt a strategic approach to the Qatar-Gulf crisis." He said there are issues to be addressed but "Qatar attacked President Donald Trump in issues related to US domestic politics, which is meddling in America's internal affairs"Phares noted that Washington "has multiple issues to address with Qatar, including its rapprochement with Iran at a time the US is leading a large Arab Muslim coalition to isolate the aggressive behavior of the regime. Also Qatar's support to Jihadi groups in the region and dissemination of extremist ideologies." He added that "many US allies have also accused Doha of backing terror groups against them as well and used its media outlets to spread radical ideologies. Too many charges by allies. Hence it is normal that the US will have to adopt a strategic positioning towards Qatar asking the latter to change behavior."

Hezbollah Operatives Scouted Targets in NY, Panama: Feds
By Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette/New York News/June08/17
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/Hezbollah-Operatives-Charged-New-York-Terror-Targets-427280503.html
Two men with ties to Hezbollah conducted “pre-operational surveillance” on possible targets for attack in New York, as well as U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Jonathan Dienst reports.
Two men with ties to Hezbollah "pre-operational surveillance" on possible targets for attack in New York, as well as Panama, feds say
One of the men is Ali Kourani of the Bronx, who was arrested last week; the other man, Samer El Debek, was arrested in Michigan
Kourani specifically conducted surveillance of potential military and law enforcement facilities in NYC, feds say
Two men with ties to Hezbollah conducted “pre-operational surveillance” on possible targets for attack in New York, as well as U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
No specific plot was underway but the men were allegedly scouting the targets to assess their vulnerabilities, including LaGuardia Airport and FBI headquarters in New York.
The two men allegedly received weapons and bomb-making training in Lebanon. Ali Kourani, of the Bronx, was arrested last week on the terror-related charges. Samer El Debek was arrested in Livonia, Michigan, and sent to New York last week for trial.
Kourani attended Hezbollah-sponsored weapons training program starting at age 16, and lied on his immigration application, stating he had no ties to any foreign terrorist organization, the FBI said. He became a naturalized citizen in 2009.
Prosecutors said Kourani was an active member of the Islamic Jihad Organization – a branch associated with Hezbollah and had traveled to China Guangzhou where Hizballah in the past had been known to obtain bomb making materials for the group. They said he also sought to buy weapons in the U.S. to send to the group.
El Debek allegedly joined Hezbollah in 2008 and traveled to Lebanon for training on numerous occasions, officials said. Investigators said he undertook bomb-making training while there.
Officials said in 2009 he traveled to Thailand on his U.S. passport to help clean up explosive residue left behind in a safehouse used by members of a Hezbollah backed terror cell.
Alleged Mob Group Indicted Over 10,000 Pounds of Chocolate
In 2011, he allegedly went to Panama to photograph the American and Israeli embassies security measures. In 2012, he went back to scout vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal, officials said.
A search of Debek’s computer turned up over 250 searches for sites like “Hezbollah martyrs” and “martyrs of Islamic resistence.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim called the terrorism charges “serious,” adding Debek and Kourani "received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in the support of the group’s terrorist mission."
Top News: Former FBI Director James Comey, UK Election[NATL] Top News Photos of the WeekDrew Angerer/Getty Images
Kim said Kourani specifically "conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City.”
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said the men were involved in “pre-operational surveillance” in New York.
Hezbollah is a Shia organization in Lebanon founded in the 1980s after Israel’s invasion there. With support from Iran, the group has been involved in numerous terrorist attacks – some which killed Americans.
Latest Terror Attacks Put Spotlight Back on ISIS
At the request of law enforcement, NBC New York did not report news of the investigation last week because officials cited ongoing security concerns connected to the case. Documents associated with the case were made public Wednesday.
Debek’s family did not answer requests for comment at the Michigan home. Attempts to reach Kourani’s attorney Peggy Cross-Goldenberg and Debek’s attorney Robert Soloway were not immediately successful. Prosecutors said both men have already appeared in court and are being held without bail.

2 Americans led double lives as Hezbollah agents, officials say
By Ellie Kaufman, CNN/Fri June 9, 2017
Justice Department says two naturalized Americans had been working with Hezbollah for years
One is accused of gathering information about security operations at New York airports
(CNN)Two men traveled repeatedly to Lebanon for years, leading double lives as regular Americans and terrorist operatives for Hezbollah, according to US law enforcement officials.
Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, and Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, were arrested and charged last week by the Department of Justice with providing material support to Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization, the IJO.
Details of the accusations against them were revealed in criminal complaints made public in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.
Hezbollah, which has roots in Lebanon, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. The IJO wing of the group is "responsible for the planning, preparation and execution of intelligence, counterintelligence and terrorist activities," officials said.
Kourani, who came to the United States in 2003 with a Lebanese passport and became a citizen in 2009, is accused of being in contact with Hezbollah between 2002 and 2015, and of attending a 45-day Hezbollah "boot camp" in Lebanon at age 16.
According to the criminal complaint against him, Kourani described his role with IJO as a "sleeper." These undercover operatives were supposed to "maintain ostensibly normal lives but could be activated and tasked with conducting IJO operations," the complaint said.
Kourani was a student in the United States and received a bachelor's in biomedical engineering in 2009, the year after he was officially recruited by Hezbollah, officials said.
For the IJO, Kourani looked for weapons suppliers in the United States to support IJO operations, gathered information about security operations at New York airports and surveilled numerous US military and law enforcement buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the complaint said.
Kourani traveled between the United States and Lebanon almost once a year, and in 2011, he attended military training in Lebanon, the complaint said.
El Debek, also a naturalized US citizen, was recruited by Hezbollah in late 2007 or early 2008, according to the Justice Department, which said he conducted multiple covert operations in Panama and Thailand, but his home base continued to be the United States.
El Debek traveled to Panama twice for Hezbollah, once in 2011 and again in 2012, officials said. On his first trip, he located the US and Israeli embassies, gathered information about the security procedures at the Panama Canal and the Israeli Embassy and located hardware stores where explosive materials could be bought, according to the Justice Department.
On the second trip, he focused on the Panama Canal, finding areas of weakness in its construction and trying to figure out how close someone could get to the ships passing through it, the Justice Department said.
In 2009, el Debek traveled to Thailand to clean up leftover explosive material in a Hezbollah house the organization believed was under surveillance, according to the Justice Department.
Between 2008 and 2014, el Debek traveled from the United States to Lebanon to receive military training from Hezbollah multiple times, and he was extensively trained in "the creation and handling of explosives and explosive devices," the Justice Department said.
El Debek was trained to make landmines and other explosives, officials said. Part of that training taught him how to "gather many of the chemicals necessary to create an explosive device," a number of which were readily available in hardware stores, the complaint said.
Kourani has been charged with eight counts and el Debek has been charged with seven. The charges against both men include providing, attempting and conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah. Multiple counts have a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
CNN reached out to both el Debek's and Kourani's attorneys, but did not receive a response.

US Arrests, Charges Naturalized Hizbullah 'Operatives'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/17/Two naturalized Americans from New York and Michigan have been charged with terrorism, accused of operating on behalf of Hizbullah in the United States, Panama and Thailand, US officials announced Thursday. Ali Kourani, 32, and Samer el Debek, 37, were arrested on June 1 in the Bronx and just outside Detroit, respectively, US officials said. They appeared before US magistrates separately. Both were hit with a raft of charges that include providing material support to Hizbullah -- which Israel and the West consider a terror group -- weapons offenses and receiving military-type training from group. If convicted they could spend decades in a US prison. Debek, on Hizbullah's payroll for years, conducted surveillance in Panama, where he scoped out the US and Israeli embassies and assessed vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships passing through it, US officials said. Kourani allegedly monitored potential targets in the United States, including military bases in New York, acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim said. Hizbullah is the most powerful armed group in Lebanon. Although blacklisted as a terror group in the West, it enjoys widespread support in Lebanon because of its "resistance" to Israel and social welfare programs. US officials said Kourani received weapons training from Hizbullah as a teenager in Lebanon before moving to the United States legally in 2003, to obtain degrees in biomedical engineering and business administration. They alleged that he was recruited into Hizbullah's operations unit Islamic Jihad in 2008, and the following year became a naturalized US citizen. He communicated with his handler through coded emails, and received bouts of weapons training and drills on tactics in Lebanon, US prosecutors said.
In the United States, he allegedly scoured for firearms suppliers, Israeli military personnel, airport security information and surveilled US military and law enforcement facilities in New York, sending information back to Hizbullah. US officials say Debek visited Thailand in May 2009 on his US passport, tasked with cleaning up explosive precursors in a Bangkok house that had been abandoned by others because they were under surveillance. In 2012, he went on a Hizbullah surveillance mission to Panama, tasked with identifying areas of weakness at the Panama Canal and providing information about how close someone could get to a ship passing through the Canal, officials said. Panama's government expressed "satisfaction" over the arrests, saying "it maintains active cooperation with international intelligence bodies to prevent this type of threat." The statement said US authorities had alerted Panama in 2014 that Debek might try to enter that country, and "actions were immediately taken in line with the law to impede his entry." Debek allegedly told the FBI that he was detained by Hizbullah from December 2015 to April 2016, and falsely accused of spying for the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation believes that his military training included extensive instruction on bomb-making.

Hezbollah Recruts Arrested For Planning Attacks Against Israel
Jerusalem Post/June 08/17/Kourani and El Debek both have extensive history with the terrorist organization.
The US Department of Justice confirmed Thursday that two men were arrested for planning attacks against Israeli and US targets in Panama and New York. The arrests took place on June 1.
Ali Kourani was arrested in the Bronx, while Samer El Debek was arrested in Michigan. Both men were arrested for "providing, attempting, and conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah; and receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from Hezbollah." Both were also arrested for a related weapons offense, which involved explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns. Kourani and El Debek are both alleged to have been recruited to train and support the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), a part of Hezbollah. Kourani was born in Lebanon and legally entered the US in 2003, where he received a degree in biomedical engineering and an MBA. Prior to his arrival in the US, Kourani participated in a Hezbollah-sponsored weapons training program. According to the Justice Department report, Kourani's duties as a IJO operative included "identifying individuals affiliated with the Israeli Defense Forces." El Debek is a naturalized US citizen, who received Hezbollah training from 2008 to 2014. In emails, he wrote of his support for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The FBI allege that El Debek received "extensive" training as a bomb-maker. El Debek searched inflammatory terms on Facebook including "martyrs of Islamic resistance” and “Hizballah martyrs” more than 250 times. Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H. Kim said, "At the direction of his Hezbollah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the US and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hezbollah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.” Hezbollah is listed as terrorist organization by the United States and Israel.

State Security Arrests Syrian in Bekaa over Terror Links
Naharnet/June 09/17/State Security agents in the Bekaa region arrested a Syrian national who infiltrated Lebanon's territory and confessed to having links to terror groups in Syria, the National News Agency reported on Friday. The State Security managed to arrest the man who was identified by his initials as D.A., said NNA. He infiltrated Lebanon's borders and carried a fake identity card bearing the name of another Syrian. His original identity card was found at his place of residence.  The detainee admitted during the interrogation that he was in contact with armed terrorist groups in Syria and had been involved in fighting alongside their elements since 2012, and his task was to build fortifications for the militants.

Mashnouq on ISF Anniversary Calls for Restoring Capital Punishment
Naharnet/June 09/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq called on Friday for restoring the death penalty in light of the spiking number of crime and premeditated murder. “I hereby call for restoring the capital punishment in light of an increase in crime and deliberate killings, because judicial decisions do not deter the criminals,” said Mashnouq in a speech marking the 156th anniversary of the foundation of the Internal Security Forces under the patronage of President Michel Aoun. Representing Aoun, the Minister referred to the most recent crime that took the life of a young man, Roy al-Hamoush, who was murdered in cold blood at dawn on Wednesday. "I will do everything I can to protect the citizens' right to security," pledged Mashnouq. Intentional killings over “traffic priority”, personal disputes and other trivial encounters have spiraled lately in the country with the Minister describing it as a “mental disorderliness” that needs to be addressed through death penalty perhaps it might deter criminals. Hamoush was killed on Wednesday after a car accident that led to a dispute that soon escalated into a car pursuit. The suspects managed to intercept Roy and his friend in the Karantina area where Hamoush was shot dead. The last execution in Lebanon took place in 2004. At least 40 individuals and as many as 62 individuals were on death row as of January 2010. In 2010 there were 4 death sentences and no executions. Despite the significant time since the last execution, capital punishment continues to be a sentence in court.

Health Ministry Closes Clinic Run by Unlicensed Doctors
Naharnet/June 09/17/Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani ordered the closure of a clinic, in the Choueifat area southeast of Beirut, run by two unlicensed non-Lebanese doctors and referred two pharmacists to the Pharmaceutical Inspection Department for supplying the doctors with expired medication, the National News Agency reported on Friday. Information provided to the health ministry said the non-Lebanese doctors were practicing medicine without a legal permit. Health Ministry inspectors, accomplished by security forces, busted the clinic and found medical equipment, expired medications and baby formulas. Two pharmacists in the same area were found to be involved in the case as they were providing the doctors with expired medicines. Hasbani ordered the closure of the clinic and referred the file to the judiciary. He referred the pharmacists to the Pharmaceutical Inspection Department.

Othman Marks ISF Founding Anniversary Vows to Bring Institution to International Levels
Naharnet/June 09/17/Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman pledged on Friday to improve Lebanon's security institution to become one of the leading at the international level. Othman's comments came in an address he gave on Friday marking the 156th founding anniversary of the ISF, under the patronage of President Michel Aoun at the late Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan's Barracks in Dbayieh. Othman assured that the ISF's missions cover all Lebanese territories, “our missions do not only start at the border villages nor do they end in narrow streets of the city.”“We are a power of law and protection that represent the State's credibility. We ensure security to the entire state institutions,” he added. Referring to the situation in the region and how it affects the country, Othman said: “The prevailing circumstances have forced us to exert more efforts. In 2018, we will implement a strategy that upgrades our gear and trains our elements to become one of the leading security institutions worldwide.”

Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Member Wanted on Multiple Charges
Naharnet/June 09/17/The army's Intelligence Directorate has managed to arrest Faisal Hussein Mamlouk, a member of the jihadist group Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the army said on Thursday. The militant had taken part in the 2014 deadly assault on the eastern border town of Arsal, said an Army Command statement. He is accused of “carrying out acts of terror, encircling army posts, and storming the Internal Security Forces building in Arsal and clashing with its members, which resulted in the death of several servicemen and the wounding of others,” the army statement said. Mamlouk is also accused of “smuggling arms and ammunition to the terrorist groups” in Arsal's outskirts, the army statement added.

U.S. government provides $30 million to increase access to education in Lebanon
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, announced today a USAID contribution of $30 million to the United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) in Lebanon, a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut indicated on Friday. During a press conference today at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), she explained that this funding will support programs that provide education for vulnerable school-aged children. It will be part of the U.S. Government's ongoing commitment to providing assistance to ensure that all school-aged children in Lebanon, including those affected by the Syria crisis, have access to public education. Through the Access Pillar of UNICEF's Education Program, this assistance will contribute to the MEHE's Reaching All Children with Education (RACE) strategy. USAID will manage this contribution that will ensure that at least 100,000 Lebanese and Syrian refugee children attend public schools country-wide during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.
Following is the speech delivered by Ambassador Richard:
"Thank you Mr. Minister, and thank you all. Today's announcement is part of the U.S. Government's investment of over $280 million in Lebanon's education sector since 2010. Initiatives have included improving the quality of education in the public school system, training teachers and principals, equipping public schools with science laboratories and computers, and providing merit-based scholarships to disadvantaged public school students to access top American-accredited universities. This assistance is part of a larger commitment from many international donors who are joining efforts and contributing funds in response to the needs of vulnerable communities, especially those affected by the Syria crisis. I'm so delighted to be here with my friend, his Excellency the Minister of Education. The announcement today is the latest in the USG's contributions to education in Lebanon. Today it is a contribution of $30 million to UNICEF, for the education of children in Lebanon. The funding supports the Ministry of Education's program to provide an education for the most vulnerable children in the country. It will enable at least 100,000 Lebanese and Syrian refugee children to attend public schools in the next two years.
Through this three year project that USAID is running to support the Ministry's Reaching All Children through Education Program, which the Minister referenced, the U.S. government is providing a total of $61 million. The funding is supporting programs to keep children in school and to pay school fees for those who cannot afford it. The initiative reflects the U.S. Government's strong belief in the transformational power of education and it is a long-term commitment of ours to invest in the education of children in this country and therefore the country's future. No matter where they come from, how much or how little their parents earn, where they come from in the country geographically, with education, all children can succeed. Education opens opportunities for jobs, it contributes to their personal growth, and it prepares children to be a positive force in their community--and hopefully, on the national level, as the future leaders of this country. For this reason, the United States has been investing in education in Lebanon since 2010, to the tune of about $280 million. We have trained teachers, we have provided science and computer laboratories, we have provided over 200,000 Arabic language textbooks, and merit-based scholarships for children who cannot afford to go to school on their own. These are all ways that we are investing, we believe, in the future of Lebanon. Under the Minister's guidance, our goal is to have all school children reading at the appropriate grade level, their teachers armed with the needed tools to effectively deliver their lessons, and their classrooms well equipped for a modern learning experience.
Our contribution today is the American share of a much larger commitment of international donors who are supporting Lebanon through, often NGO's, but very much so through the UN agencies who are working so hard in this country to help with the relief that the country needs, to help what the country needs, to support the burden of the refugees who are here. We all appreciate that Lebanon has per capita the largest population of refugees right now in the world, and it is our duty and obligation to help Lebanon manage this problem, manage the crisis, manage the demands, and help these people so that they can maintain themselves during this period until there is peace in Syria, and they can go home.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Tanya (Chapuisat) and the team at UNICEF who are doing amazing work for the children. Both the Syrian refugee children, but also Lebanese children, are very much beneficiaries of what they are doing, and the great work that they are doing with teachers across this entire country. But I would really like to close and especially thank the Minister for your guidance, for your patience, for your absolutely untiring schedule and pace and absolute dedication to making sure that every child in this country, no matter their circumstances, that every child in this country gets an education. So thank you very much Mr. Minister, We appreciate what you and your entire team are doing."

Attacking Hezbollah’s Financial Network: Policy Options
Testimony for House Foreign Affairs Committee
8th June 2017
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/testimony/attacking-hezbollahs-financial-network-policy-options
I will be brief about the challenge we face, touch on the strategy I helped the previous administration develop against Hizballah’s illicit activities and finances, and then propose where we need to go next to achieve a long sought, but so far unattained, strategic effect against this pernicious, but highly capable, criminal resistance and terrorist organization and its state sponsors and partners.
Over the last decade, Lebanese Hizballah has morphed from being a terrorist organization and politico-military (pol-mil) resistance movement to becoming a transnational criminal terrorist resistance organization fueled by a large and global illicit financial and business apparatus.
Hizballah’s drugs-for-intelligence program has evolved into a massive drugs-forprofit initiative.
Hizballah, partnered with Latin American cartels and paramilitary partners, is now one of the largest exporters of narcotics from South and Central America to West Africa into Europe and is perhaps the world’s largest money laundering organization.
Organized crime—ranging from cocaine and heroin trafficking to selling counterfeit currency and cigarettes, along with massive money laundering via the Lebanese banking system—has become a much larger source of funding for Hizballah than support from Iran.
Hizballah’s External Security Organization (i.e. its terrorist wing) uses crime forexporting its influence, increasing followers around the world, and generating income.
Defending against, attacking, and defeating Hizballah’s growing military capacity requires defending against, attacking, and defeating its global financial and facilitation network.
We built the means to do this but for reasons that remain mysterious, elusive, and hard to comprehend, much of what we built was willfully scrapped toward the end of the previous administration.
Rebuilding this capacity and strategy will require significant resourcing, prioritization, and oversight by this Committee.
Beginning in the summer of 2008, I had the honor of advising the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of the Treasury, Special Operations Command, Department of State, and Customs and Border Protection on developing and spearheading the implementation of a strategy to pursue Hizballah’s web of illicit activities and finances, focusing on Hizballah’s rapidly expanding involvement in cocaine trafficking and money laundering of the proceeds.

Bassil meets with Adwan
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - A meeting is currently underway between Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil, and MP George Adwan.

Hariri congratulates ISF on its 156th foundation anniversary
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday congratulated the Internal Security Forces on the occasion of its 156th anniversary, saying the ISF has always proven that they stand beside the righteous causes, amid the existing challenges. Premier Hariri hailed via Twitter the ISF sacrifices for the sake of the country's wellbeing.

One dies of severe gunshot wounds following Ain el Hilwe scuffle
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - Samer Gh., AKA "Abu Azab," died this afternoon of severe gunshot wounds at Rahi Hospital, where he'd been admitted for treatment following a scuffle that erupted today inside the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain-el-Hilwe, National News Agency correspondent reported on Friday.

Army Commander, interlocutors tackle overall situation
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - Army Commander Joseph Aoun on Friday met at his Yarzeh office with Industry Minister, MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, in the presence of Baalbeck Municipality head, Hussein Lakkis. Talks reportedly touched on the overall security and situation and daily living conditions in the city of Baalbeck. General Aoun also met with MP Khaled Zahraman, with talks touching on the general situation in the country. The army commander then met with Miilitary Investigation Magistrate, Maroun Zakhour, where they discussed judicial affairs. Among Yarzeh's itinerant visitors had been Private Hospitals Syndicate head Sleiman Haroun, and head of the Catholic Information Center, Father Abdu Abu Kasem.

Hariri congratulates ISF on its 156th foundation anniversary
NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday congratulated the Internal Security Forces on the occasion of its 156th anniversary, saying the ISF has always proven that they stand beside the righteous causes, amid the existing challenges. Premier Hariri hailed via Twitter the ISF sacrifices for the sake of the country's wellbeing.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 09-10/17
British PM Loses Majority, Faces Pressure to Resign
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/17/British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on Friday after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loom. May called the snap election in April in an attempt to extend her majority and strengthen her position, but her gamble backfired spectacularly after she failed to win enough seats to form a Conservative government.
Sterling sank against the dollar and the euro as investors questioned who was now going to control the Brexit process. EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said May had "lost her bet", while the timetable for Brexit talks, due to begin in 10 days time, has been thrown into disarray, raising suggestions that it could be extended. She also faced pressure to quit from inside and outside her party after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks, although British media quoted party sources saying she had "no intention" of doing so. She is expected to give a speech at around 0900 GMT. After being re-elected with an increased majority in her own seat, May said Britain "needs a period of stability" as it prepares for the complicated process of withdrawing from the European Union.
She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and "it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability". - 'Lost confidence' -But Leftist opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour party surged from 20 points behind, urged May to quit, saying she had "lost votes, lost support and lost confidence". Former finance minister George Osborne, who was sacked by May, told ITV News: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."With a handful of seats still to be declared, the Conservatives were predicted to win 318 seats, down from 331 in 2015 -- yet another upset in a turbulent year since the EU referendum in June 2016.
They were mathematically unable to reach the 326 mark that would give them a majority, meaning they will have to form an informal or formal alliance to push forward their agenda. Labour is expected to increase its share from 229 to 262 seats, resulting in a hung parliament. May, a 60-year-old vicar's daughter, is now facing questions over her judgement in calling the election three years early and risking her party's slim but stable majority of 17. - 'Weak negotiating partner' -"It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position," said Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.
German EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said: "With a weak negotiating partner, there's the danger than the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides... I expect more uncertainty now."
Early newspaper editions reflected the drama, with headlines such as "Britain on a knife edge", "Mayhem" and "Hanging by a thread". In a night that has redrawn the political landscape once again, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which won 12.5 percent of the vote two years ago and was a driving force behind the Brexit vote, was all but wiped out, hovering around two percent.
The Scottish National Party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which has dominated politics north of the border for a decade and called for a new independence vote after Brexit, was tipped to lose around 21 of its 54 seats. - 'Another layer of uncertainty' - May, who took over after last year's Brexit referendum, began the formal two-year process of leaving the EU on March 29, promising to take Britain out of the single market and cut immigration.
Seeking to capitalise on sky-high popularity ratings, she called the election a few weeks later, urging voters to give her a stronger mandate. Officials in Brussels were hopeful the election would allow her to make compromises, but this has been thrown into question by the prospect of a hung parliament. "It creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA currency traders.
Despite campaigning against Brexit, Labour has accepted the result but promised to avoid a "hard Brexit", focusing on maintaining economic ties with the bloc. Barely a month ago, the centre-left party seemed doomed to lose the election, plagued by internal divisions over its direction under veteran socialist Corbyn. But May's botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which increased scrutiny of her time as interior minister, changed the game. - Terror attacks -Britain has been hit with three terror attacks since March, and campaigning was twice suspended. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a pop concert in Manchester on May 22, killing 22 people. Last Saturday, three assailants wearing fake suicide vests mowed down pedestrians and launched a stabbing rampage around London Bridge, killing eight people before being shot dead by police. The attacks led to scrutiny over May's time as interior minister from 2010 to 2016, particularly since it emerged that some of the attackers had been known to police and security services. Labor seized on steep cuts in police numbers implemented as part of a Conservative austerity program, although May insisted she had protected funding for counter-terrorism.

Arab nations add names to terror list amid Qatar dispute
Associated Press//Ynetnews/|June 09/17
While efforts to mediate between Qatar and the Gulf are still in full swing, the four countries who initiated the boycott are not budging; Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain announce in a joint statement 59 individuals and 12 organizations and institutions as operatives and terrorist entities receiving funding and support from Qatar.
Arab countries put 12 organizations and 59 people on a terror sanctions list early Friday they described as being associated with Qatar, the latest in a growing diplomatic dispute that's seen the energy rich nation isolated by Saudi Arabia and others.
Qatar dismissed the terror listing as part of "baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact," standing by earlier defiant statements by its top diplomat to The Associated Press that Arab nations had no "right to blockade my country."
The sanctions list further tightens the screws on Qatar, home to a major US military base and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and shows the crisis only escalating despite Kuwaiti efforts to mediate an end to the rift.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they sanctioned the groups and individuals because of "the continuous and ongoing violations of the authorities in Doha of Qatar's commitments and obligations."
Six of the organizations are already considered militant groups in Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled, predominantly Shiite island home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet and an under-construction British naval base. Bahrain has been gripped by a government crackdown on dissent for over a year now.
Among the individuals named is Youssef al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric considered a spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group. Al-Qaradawi has been tried and sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt since the 2013 military overthrow of elected President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member.
Other names involving Egypt include more Brotherhood members and those once belonging to Gamaa Islamiya, an Islamist group that carried out a series of bloody attacks in Egypt in the 1990s before renouncing violence in 2000s. One is the brother of the Gamaa Isalmiya assassin who killed Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Egypt separately has asked the United Nations Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar "paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to recently free 26 hostages, including members of its ruling family, saying it would violate UN sanctions.
Names involving Libya include militia commanders and the Benghazi Defense Brigade, which is battling forces commanded by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who has the backing of Egypt and the UAE amid that country's chaos. The sole Yemeni, Abdel-Wahab al-Humayqani, is the leader of a Salafi party whose has been accused by the US of financing al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group's branch in Yemen.
Qatar long has denied supporting or funding terror groups. However, Western diplomats accuse Qatar's government of allowing or even encouraging the funding of some Sunni extremists, like al-Qaida's branch in Syria.
Responding to the list overnight, Qatar issued a statement saying: "We do not, have not and will not support terrorist groups."
"We lead the region in attacking the roots of terrorism—by giving young people hope through jobs, replacing weapons with pens by educating hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funding local community programs globally to challenge extremist agendas," it said.
In a wide-ranging interview Thursday with the AP, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani repeatedly denied that his country funded extremists and he rejected the idea of shutting down its Al-Jazeera satellite news network, something suggested as a demand of the Arab nations.
He said Qatar, as an independent nation, also had the right to support groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, despite the fact that its neighbors view it as a threat to their hereditary rule.
Sheikh Mohammed's hard line mirrored that of a top Emirati diplomat who told the AP on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates believes "there's nothing to negotiate" with Qatar.
"If anyone thinks they are going to impose anything on my internal affairs or my internal issues, this is not going to happen," Sheikh Mohammed said.
Worried residents have responded to the crisis by emptying grocery stores in the capital of Doha, and Saudi Arabia has blocked trucks carrying food from entering the country across its only land border.
Doha is a major international travel hub, but flagship carrier Qatar Airways now flies increasingly over Iran and Turkey after being blocked elsewhere in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Emirati officials shut down the airline's offices in the UAE.
Al-Jazeera's offices have been shut down by authorities in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The network also said Thursday night that its websites had come under a sustained cyberattack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the other hand, has approved sending troops to an existing Turkish base in Qatar as a sign of support.
US President Donald Trump, who tweeted Tuesday about Qatar funding extremists, called Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday and offered to host leaders at the White House to resolve the crisis.
But Sheikh Mohammed told the AP on Thursday that Sheikh Tamim "is not going to leave the country while the country is in blockade," in effect turning down the mediation offer. Analysts have raised the prospect of a palace coup in Qatar, a hereditary monarchy ruled by the Al Thani family that has a history of such changes in leadership. Trump's administration later suggested US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who as Exxon Mobil's CEO had business with Qatar, as a possible mediator.

US: Qatar must change after history of backing extremist groups
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that it was time now to urge Qatar to halt its support to terrorism. US Secretary of State Tillerson said during a press conference earlier that Washington will back Kuwait’s mediation efforts between Qatar and Gulf states but said the former must stop backing extremist groups in the region, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. Tillerson described Qatar as having a “history” in backing to terrorist groups, urging Doha to change its course. He also said that Qatar has achieved some progress in curbing support to terrorists, but it needs to do more. The US official lent his weight to Kuwaiti mediation efforts, and said Washington will back these diplomatic efforts. Saudi Arabia gave Qatar a list of 10 demands it must meet, after Riyadh and other Arab powers severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Kuwaiti mediators, who were in Riyadh on Tuesday, were informed of Saudi demands, which included cutting off all links with Iran and expelling resident members of Palestinian militant group Hamas and the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood. Tillerson also urged for calm and dialogue to solve the tensions with Qatar. He called on Saudi Arabia and its regional allies to ease their blockade imposed on Qatar, saying it was harming the regional struggle against extremism. Tillerson added that Qatar must do more to crack down on support for terrorism but that the crisis must not disrupt action against ISIS. (With AFP)

UAE: Published list of terrorists gives Qatar opportunity to review its policy
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Friday that the publication of the list of terrorists is an opportunity for Qatar to review its policy, noting that the core of the problem is Doha’s support of extremism and terrorism.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced in a joint statement a list of 59 individuals and 12 entities on their terrorism lists, revealing those who are funded and supported by the state of Qatar with money and weapons. The joint statement by the four countries also confirmed that the list is linked to Qatar, and serves suspicious agendas in an indication of its double-sided national policy that declares fighting terrorism on the one hand and financing or supporting and harboring the various terrorist organizations on the other. Gargash added on his Twitter account that the solution through diplomacy is not to resort to the Iranian and Turkish allies. Gargash said that the “list” is an indicator to a policy that has slipped in search of the mirage of position and influence.

Qatari FM in Germany says Doha committed to diplomacy to ease tensions
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Friday during a press conference held with his German counterpart that his country wants to seek diplomacy and dialogue to solve tensions between Doha and Arab powers. Thani warned of negative consequences because of the tensions on the people of the region. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Qatar must increase its diplomatic efforts to ease tension while urging Gulf states to lift air and sea blockade imposed this week on Doha. The Arab world’s biggest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have collectively designated 59 individuals and 12 institutions that have financed terrorist organizations and received support from Qatar. But Qatar on Friday rejected the list, saying it has “no basis.”

Germany urges Iran to avoid any moves to exacerbate tensions in Gulf
Reuters, Berlin Friday, 9 June 2017/A German government spokesman on Friday urged Iran to avoid any actions that could further exacerbate tensions in the Gulf after key Arab states cut off ties with Qatar, and underscored Germany’s opposition to any state funding of militant groups. Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Gulf states believed that Iran was playing a role behind the scenes in the conflict, but Tehran should not do anything to increase tensions. “At any rate, it is important that nothing is done on the other side of the Gulf ... to pour oil on the fire. That is really the last thing that this region can use,” Schaefer told a regular government news conference. Schaefer said Germany would do all it could to promote a resumption of dialogue to resolve the crisis, but had no intention of becoming a key mediator despite meetings in recent days between German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “We must all be in agreement, in words and actions, that in fact, support and financing for terrorism cannot be a tool of any government’s policy,” he said.

Arab powers list 59 individuals as Qatar-linked terrorism supporters
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have collectively designated 59 individuals and 12 institutions that have financed terrorist organizations and received support from Qatar. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain are unified in their ongoing commitment to combatting terrorism, drying up the sources of its funding, countering extremist ideology and the tools of its dissemination and promotion, and to working together to defeat terrorism and protect all societies from its impact.,” according to a statement made available to Al Arabiya News Channel. “As a result of the continued violation by the authorities in Doha of the obligations and agreements signed by them, including the pledge not to support or harbor elements or organizations that threaten the security of states and to ignore the repeated contacts that they called upon to fulfill what they had signed in the Riyadh Agreement of 2013, its implementing mechanism and the supplementary agreement in 2014; The four States have agreed to classify 59 individuals and 12 entities on their prohibited lists of terrorists, which will be updated in succession and announced,” the statement added. The majority of those entities sanctioned are linked to Qatar and are a manifestation of a Qatari Government policy of duplicity, the statement read.
List of designated individuals:
1. Khalifa Mohammed Turki al-Subaie - Qatari
2. Abdelmalek Mohammed Yousef Abdel Salam - Jordanian
3. Ashraf Mohammed Yusuf Othman Abdel Salam - Jordanian
4. Ibrahim Eissa Al-Hajji Mohammed Al-Baker - Qatari
5. Abdulaziz bin Khalifa al-Attiyah - Qatari
6. Salem Hassan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari - Qatari
7. Abdullah Ghanem Muslim al-Khawar - Qatari
8. Saad bin Saad Mohammed al-Kaabi - Qatari
9. Abdullatif bin Abdullah al-Kuwari - Qatari
10. Mohammed Saeed Bin Helwan al-Sakhtari - Qatari
11. Abdul Rahman bin Omair al-Nuaimi - Qatari
12. Abdul Wahab Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Hmeikani - Yemeni
13. Khalifa bin Mohammed al-Rabban - Qatari
14. Abdullah Bin Khalid al-Thani - Qatari
15. Abdul Rahim Ahmad al-Haram - Qatari
16. Hajjaj bin Fahad Hajjaj Mohammed al-Ajmi - Kuwaiti
17. Mubarak Mohammed al-Ajji - Qatari
18. Jaber bin Nasser al-Marri - Qatari
19. Yusuf Abdullah al-Qaradawi - Egyptian
20. Mohammed Jassim al-Sulaiti - Qatari
21. Ali bin Abdullah al-Suwaidi - Qatari
22. Hashem Saleh Abdullah al-Awadhi - Qatari
23. Ali Mohammed Mohammed al-Salabi - Libyan
24. Abdelhakim Belhadj - Libyan
25. Mahdi Harati - Libyan
26. Ismail Muhammad Mohammed al-Salabi - Libyan
27. Al-Sadiq Abdulrahman Ali al-Ghuraini - Libyan
28. Hamad Abdullah Al-Futtais al-Marri - Qatari
29. Mohamed Ahmed Shawky Islambouli - Egyptian
30. Tariq Abdelmagoud Ibrahim al-Zomor - Egyptian
31. Mohamed Abdelmaksoud Mohamed Afifi - Egyptian
32. Mohamed el-Saghir Abdel Rahim Mohamed - Egyptian
33. Wagdy Abdelhamid Ghoneim - Egyptian
34. Hassan Ahmed Hassan Mohammed Al Dokki Al Houti - UAE
35. Hakem al-Humaidi al-Mutairi - Saudi / Kuwaiti
36. Abdullah al-Muhaysini - Saudi
37. Hamed Abdullah Ahmed al-Ali - Kuwaiti
38. Ayman Ahmed Abdel Ghani Hassanein - Egyptian
39. Assem Abdel-Maged Mohamed Madi - Egyptian
40. Yahya Aqil Salman Aqeel - Egyptian
41. Mohamed Hamada el-Sayed Ibrahim - Egyptian
42. Abdel Rahman Mohamed Shokry Abdel Rahman - Egyptian
43. Hussein Mohamed Reza Ibrahim Youssef - Egyptian
44. Ahmed Abdelhafif Mahmoud Abdelhady - Egyptian
45. Muslim Fouad Tafran - Egyptian
46. Ayman Mahmoud Sadeq Rifat - Egyptian
47. Mohamed Saad Abdel-Naim Ahmed - Egyptian
48. Mohamed Saad Abdel Muttalib Abdo Al-Razaki - Egyptian
49. Ahmed Fouad Ahmed Gad Beltagy - Egyptian
50. Ahmed Ragab Ragab Soliman - Egyptian
51. Karim Mohamed Mohamed Abdel Aziz - Egyptian
52. Ali Zaki Mohammed Ali - Egyptian
53. Naji Ibrahim Ezzouli - Egyptian
54. Shehata Fathi Hafez Mohammed Suleiman - Egyptian
55. Muhammad Muharram Fahmi Abu Zeid - Egyptian
56. Amr Abdel Nasser Abdelhak Abdel-Barry - Egyptian
57. Ali Hassan Ibrahim Abdel-Zaher - Egyptian
58. Murtada Majeed al-Sindi - Bahraini
59. Ahmed Al-Hassan al-Daski - Bahraini
List of entities:
1. Qatar Volunteer Center - Qatar
2. Doha Apple Company (Internet and Technology Support Company) - Qatar
3. Qatar Charity - Qatar
4. Sheikh Eid al-Thani Charity Foundation (Eid Charity) - Qatar
5. Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services - Qatar
6. Saraya Defend Benghazi - Libya
7. Saraya al-Ashtar - Bahrain
8. February 14 Coalition - Bahrain
9. The Resistance Brigades - Bahrain
10. Hezbollah Bahrain - Bahrain
11. Saraya al-Mukhtar - Bahrain
12. Harakat Ahrar Bahrain - Bahrain Movement

Muslim World League supports decision to release Qatar-linked ‘terrorism’ list
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/The Muslim World League has said it supports a decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in designating 59 Qatar-linked individuals and 12 entities with ties to terrorism. The four Arab countries announced on Friday a list of the individuals and entities and accused Qatar of supporting them in their efforts to finance terrorist organization across the region. "This list is connected to Qatar and serves suspicious agendas in an indication of the duality of Qatar policies," a joint statement released on Friday read. "The four countries agreed on categorizing 59 persons and 12 entities in their list of terrorism," they said, affirming "that they won't be lenient in pursuing" such persons and groups.
Along with 18 Qataris, many on the list are individuals and groups from Egypt, Bahrain and Libya.

Who are the al-Ashtar Brigades, latest Arab-designated ‘terrorist group’?
Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/The Saraya al-Ashtar, also known as the al-Ashtar Brigades in English, extremist group in Bahrain was added to a designated terror list by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on Friday. The list, which names 59 individuals and 12 entities, stand accussed of terror financing and having links with Qatar. In March, the United States government placed two affiliates of the Saraya al-Ashtar organization on its terrorist list. In a statement, Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised the US’ "positive and important decision", saying that its position reflects the US determination to confront all forms of terrorism and all those who support and sympathize with it. The US State Department had announced in a statement on its website that they designated Ahmad Hasan Yusuf and Alsayed Murtadha Majeed Ramadhan Alawi as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. “Today’s actions follow a recent increase in militant attacks in Bahrain, where Iran has provided weapons, funding, and training to militants. This marks yet another step in our continued effort to aggressively target Iran’s destabilizing and terrorism-related activities in the region,” the State Department said in a statement. “We will continue to stand with Bahrain in addressing these threats, even as we encourage the government to clearly differentiate its response to violent militia groups from its engagement with peaceful political opposition,” they added. Who are the al-Ashtar Brigades? Saraya al-Ashtar, also known as the al-Ashtar Brigades in English, have claimed responsibility for more than 20 attacks in Bahrain, mainly against police officers and security forces. The name “al-Ashtar” links the group to Malik al-Ashtar, a figure revered by Shiites from early Islam.
They are perhaps responsible for what many have called the “single worst incident of terrorism on Bahraini soil,” according to local activist group Citizens for Bahrain. The incident refers to the March 2014 attack that claimed the lives of Bahraini police officers Ammar Abdu-Ali al-Dhalei and Mohammed Arslan Ramadhan and Emirati officer First Lieutenant Tariq al-Shehhi. The three Bahrainis perpetrators with links to al-Ashtar Brigades were executed for their actions earlier this year. They told Al Arabiya English they strongly welcomed the designation and viewed it as an acknowledgment of Iranian involvement with terror groups in Bahrain. “In the recent past members of Saraya al-Ashtar have been found to have been trained and armed by Iran and some of their most senior members have taken refuge in Iran hence this can be considered a wholly Iranian proxy organization with aims that are hostile to Bahrain's security and sovereignty,” Mohammed Al Sayed, a spokesperson for Citizens for Bahrain, told Al Arabiya English.

Saudi Arabia allows 200 Qataris into Mecca for Umrah pilgrimage
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/Salwa border crossing customs has completed the procedures of 206 pilgrims coming from Qatar heading toward Mecca, Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent has reported. The Director General of Customs at Salwa border crossing, Othman al-Ghamdi, said that about 800 trucks were crossing the port daily to Saudi Arabia. Al-Ghamdi told to Al Arabiya that entry and exit procedures are in accordance with the decision of Saudi Arabia to sever ties with Qatar. He pointed out that Qatar imported more than 50 percent of cement from Saudi Arabia and more than 40 percent of fi valued at 310 million dollars annually. Qatar also has $ 178 million worth of vegetables and $416 million worth of livestock that cross over from Saudi Arabia, which will have a major impact on its economy. Saudi Arabia’s economy will not be affected by the closure of the land borders since it relies on exporting its surplus needs to the Saudi market. Saudi Arabia exempted pilgrims coming from Doha to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah from the recent decision to close the borders with Qatar after severing all ties on Monday.

UAE minister says ‘Qatar’s inconsistent policies confusing’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 9 June 2017/UAE’s Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs Noura Al-Kaabi has said that Qatar’s “inconsistent policies” over the years have confused and produced “unpredictable results” over the years.
“We have suffered 20 years from Qatar’s double standards at all levels,” Al-Kaabi said.
The UAE minister pointed out that Qatar was suffering from "small state complex” that push Doha to recently seek talk about possibility of Turkish forces deployment. On Monday, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen and the eastern-based government of Libya cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf country of supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.

Lieberman: Senior Hamas commander moved to Lebanon
Yoav Zitun, Elior Levy/Ynetnews/|June 09/17
The defense minister asks US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for her country's help in deporting Saleh al-Arouri from Beirut; Hamas leadership to visit Iran.
Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas commander who was recently deported from Qatar, has moved to Lebanon and intends to launch terror attacks against Israel from there, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the visiting US Ambassador to the US Nikki Haley on Friday.
"Action must be taken to deport him from there," he told Haley.
He said Arouri was joined by two other Hamas members. "The three, led by Saleh al-Arouri, will continue trying to perpetrate terror attacks against Israel from Lebanon, while at the same time strengthen the ties between Hamas and Hezbollah. All of this will be done under Iranian auspicies and with aid from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and (IRGC command) Qasem Soleimani," Lieberman said.
Arouri, the defense minister added, "is a dangerous terrorist who was responsibile for some deadly Hamas terror attacks against Israel, and he must not be allowed to continue with his actions."
"Lebanon is a sovereign country that maintains ties with the United States," he continued. "Israel views Lebanon as responsible for what's happening in its territory and the terror attacks launched from there. That is why it is important for the United States to work with the Lebanese government to deport the three Hamas members and prevent the establishment of another terror base in its territory."
Arouri, who used to be in charge of Hamas prisoners in Israeli jail, has been operating from Turkey over the last few years and was the brains behind many terror attacks, mostly in the West Bank. He remained on Israel's watch list after moving to Qatar as well.
Contrary to Lieberman's claims, however, inside sources say Arouri moved to Malaysia, while other Hamas members headed to Lebanon and Turkey.
Lieberman and Haley, who met in Jerusalem, discussed several other security and diplomatic issues, including the fight against terrorism and combatting attempts to delegitimize Israel. They also discussed further cooperation between the US and Israel at the United Nations.
Lieberman also asked for Haley's help in returning to Israel the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and whose remains are being held by Hamas, as well as of two living Israeli citizens, Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered the Gaza Strip of their own accord and are believed to be held captive by Hamas.
They further discussed the salaries the Palestinian Authority pays terrorists imprisoned in Israel and families of terrorists killed after attacking Israelis and Lieberman even presented Haley with a list of American citizens murdered in Israel by Palestinian terrorists.
Lieberman also gave Haley a unique gift—a statuette of a high-heeled shoe, in reference to a comment Haley made when she was first appointed ambassador to the UN, saying "I wear high heels, it’s not for a fashion statement, it’s because if I see something wrong I will kick it every single time."
Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation headed by leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to make a visit to Tehran in the near future, senior Hamas member Osama Hamdan said Friday. The delegation will also visit other countries.
Such a visit is unusual and indicates a warming of Hamas-Iran ties, which suffered when Hamas declared its support to the rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, Tehran's ally.

One missile takes out ISIS command on Golan edge
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/June 08/2017
A single mystery missile, which could have been fired from the ground or the air early Wednesday morning, June 7, wiped out the entire top Islamic State command on the Syrian Golan, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report. All 16 officers of the 2,000-strong Khaled Ibn al Waleed army, the ISIS operations arm on the Syrian Golan, were present in the targeted building in the town of al-Shagara, located in the triangle where the Israeli, Syrian and Jordanian borders meet opposite the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.
The unidentified missile blew up in the middle of a hall where the top command echelon were gathered to break their daily fast during the month of Ramadan and draw up plans. None of them survived.
Among them were the group’s chief, Gen. Abu Mohammed al-Makdessi; commander of operations, Gen. Abu Udai al-Homsi; and the group’s explosives expert who doubled as its religious leader, Abu Ali Shabat.
They operated under these aliases to conceal their real identities as former high Iraqi army officers who served in the late Saddam Hussein’s armed forces. They were also in senior command positions at the ISIS Syrian command center in Raqqa, when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi decided to transfer them to the Syrian Golan to spearhead attacks that were planned to take place inside Israel and Jordan.
It took Al-Baghdad just a few hours to replace Magdessi as Khaled Ibn al-Waleed chief with a new man, Mohamed al-Refaei-Abu Hshem al-Askari.
On Tuesday, June 6, the day before the mysterious missile decapitated the Islamic State’s Golan force, US warplanes acted on another front to bomb a convoy of Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah forces that were traveling eastward from the southern town of Derra in the direction of the Al-Tanf border crossing.
Al Tanf, where US and Jordanian special forces units have established a garrison, is located in the triangle where the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders converge. The US planes destroyed several tanks, troop carriers, artillery pieces and antiaircraft systems, causing also fatalities and injuries, and so halted the convoy’s advance on the strategic crossing.
This was the second US air strike in three weeks on a similar target. The first was on May 18.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report concerns in the US military worry lest Iranian general Qassem Soleimani decides to drop a division of Iranian special forces by helicopter, in order to catch the garrison off guard and capture the border crossing.
This concern increased after the Islamic State conducted a surprise bombing-cum-shooting attack on prize Iranian regime targets in Tehran on June 7. The Revolutionary Guards are bent on revenge and looking for an outstanding military success to cover this humiliation.
The US commanders are also under pressure on another score: the Iranians and Syrians have sent secret messages to Moscow complaining bitterly about the US air strike. They both made it clear that they command sufficient air and artillery fire power to overwhelm and wipe the ground with the American force in Syria. Both Damascus and Tehran appear to be spoiling for a major showdown between their armies, using Hizballah and other Shiite proxies, and the US-led contingent.

Austria to ban burqas from October
Fri 09 Jun 2017/ NNA - New Austrian legislation came into force Friday that will ban the full-face Islamic veil in public places from October 1. The outlawing of the burqa or other clothing concealing the face follows similar moves in other countries in the European Union, starting with France in 2011. In Austria, people who break the new law could be fined up to 150 euros ($168), according to the legislation approved by parliament in May and signed into law by the president this week.Other measures include a clampdown on distributing extremist material, and immigrants being obliged to sign an "integration contract". A 12-month "integration programme" will include courses in "values" and the German language. Failure to attend can result in cuts to social security payments. The legislation was hammered out by the centrist government amid strong support for the far-right and the arrival of 90,000 asylum-seekers since 2015. The "grand coalition" under Chancellor Christian Kern collapsed last month and early elections were called for October 15. The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), whose candidate came close to winning the largely ceremonial presidency last year, is riding high in opinion polls ahead of the vote. ---AFP

Iran arrests 41 suspects over Tehran attacks ministry
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - Iranian authorities have arrested 41 suspects in connection with this week's attacks in Tehran, the interior ministry said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings and gun attacks on parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, on Wednesday, that killed 17 people. "With the help of security forces and families of the suspects, 41 people linked to the attacks and to Daesh (Islamic State) have been arrested in different provinces," state TV quoted the interior ministry as saying. "Lots of documents and weaponry have been seized as well," it added. ---Reuters

Car bomb in southeast Turkey wounds three people governor's office
Fri 09 Jun 2017/NNA - Three people were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a gendarmerie station in Turkey's southeastern province of Batman on Friday, the local governor's office said. Two soldiers and one civilian were wounded in the attack, when a suspected Kurdish militant drove a stolen car through a police checkpoint and blew it up in front of the station in the Bekirhan district, the governor's office said. The militant who carried out the attack was killed, it said, without elaborating. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, although the governor's office said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was believed to be responsible. Two PKK militants earlier on Friday stole the car used in the attack and subsequently opened fire on a car belonging to the local mayor, who was not in the vehicle at the time, the governor's office said. A teacher in a separate vehicle was killed in the gunfire and a bystander was wounded, it said, adding the gunmen escaped with the stolen car. A ceasefire between the Turkish state and the PKK broke down in July 2015, plunging Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast into some of the worst violence in decades. The autonomy-seeking PKK first took up arms against the state in 1984. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, Turkey and the European Union. ---Reuters

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 09-10/17
Brotherhood and its forays in the Gulf region
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
Those who have watched the wonderful Kuwaiti play – Protector of the House – in 1986 at the al-Dasma Theater will remember the remarkable scene involving Saad al-Faraj. In one of the scenes, Saad al-Faraj played the character of the rich editor of a newspaper who had nothing to do with journalism. He gets involved in political conflicts in the country and receives a call from a religious group that he does not know, asking him to add a religious page to his newspaper. He tells them that there is already a religious page but their answer was that the existing page was for Salafis and not for them. He then asks them who they were and they told him that they are the Muslim Brotherhood... Surprised, the caught up editor-in-chief asks them in the beautiful Kuwaiti dialect: “good… so how are the brothers?”The relations between Qatar and the Brotherhood, the group’s funding and its media and political support, are all related to one person: the previous Emir Hamad bin Khalifa
Long history
The Muslim Brotherhood has a log story in the Gulf, mainly Kuwait. They have been there for so long. Their main existence now in the Gulf stems from Kuwait. The relations between Qatar and the Brotherhood, the group’s funding and its media and political support, are all related to one person: the previous Emir Hamad bin Khalifa, and perhaps 5 or 4 others, while the Brotherhood’s presence in Kuwait is deep and influential. May God protect Kuwait from problems and its people. Hence, the Brotherhood emerged in Kuwait, along with opposition allies of leftist and nationalists, to defend the national policies and reprimand those who are against them, claiming that they are maintaining the “unity” of the Gulf. For example, the famous Kuwaiti leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak al-Duwailah, wrote in Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper a few days ago (June 6, 2017) an article about the fearsome brotherhood and its Qatari allies. He said:
*“The justifications given to boycott Qatar were not convincing.”
* “They got angry from Qatar because of its policy advocating “justice for oppressed peoples and defending public freedoms.”
Renewed focus
He also said that “the Gulf citizens are surprised to see this tremendous focus on the Muslim Brotherhood a group that did not fire a single shot during its long history.”True that! The Muslim Brotherhood is supposed to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and they should put on the medal the image of Sayyid Qutb, Abdul Rahman al-Sindi, Abdul Hakim Belhadj, Saleh Sarria or Osama bin Laden. Others have also reacted to the propaganda of the Brotherhood in Kuwait, under the pretext of maintaining the unity of the Gulf. Duwailah has suddenly become sensitive toward this issue and started to attack the UAE in December 2014 in an interview with the “Majlis” channel, accusing the UAE and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of targeting Sunni Islam, fabricating accusations against the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE and having hostile personal stances.
The dispute on serious issue is real, including the role of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Houthi, ISIS, Nusra and Libyan groups. Mubarak is worried about this issue and it is understandable from the Brotherhood but they just can’t understand why would anyone justify the stances of those who are calling to end the chaos?
So… how are the brothers?

Qatar crisis and individuals who influence relations between countries
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
After God saved Moses and his followers from the Egyptian Pharaoh, they headed to Palestine. On their way, they saw people worshipping statues and not God. Moses’ followers then asked Moses to make them a statue so they worship it but he refused, and they continued their journey.
Moses had asked his brother Aaron to look after everyone in Mount Tabor during his absence. A deceitful and cunning man named Samiri took gold from Moses’ followers, melted it and turned it into a golden calf that was making a lowing sound and deceived them into worshipping it.
The Quranic Surah Ta Ha details this incident. Samiri misled and deceived Moses’ followers with his trick. We’ve seen people similar to Samiri throughout history. These characters are experts in sowing hatred among people. There’s a man named Abdullah ibn Saba in Islam whose character is similar to Samiri’s. However, it’s not possible to prove incidents related to him, like the case is with Samiri, due to the unreliable narrative of Sayf ibn Amr. Despite the fact that ibn Saba’s character is doubted, it’s worth noting that these characters are always present in all societies working on spreading hate. There is a reason I am brining this up now. These historical incidents remind how such characters influence relations between countries and people’s interests. Azmi Bishara’s name, the former member of the Israeli Knesset, has recently been brought up a lot after Arab and Islamic countries became impatient with Qatar’s behavior. Many maps which Qatar drew during the Arab Spring are attributed to him. There are hundreds of videos of him talking about revolution. In one of these videos, he angrily threatens Saudi Arabia. Azmi Bishara does not mix between his personal theoretical ideas and his political ideas. He encourages political Islamist groups in his analyses and during his media appearances
Playing on contradictions
Engineering Qatar’s relations with Israel and the latter’s communication with Hezbollah and Hamas are attributed to him. He’s the founder of the idea of playing on contradictions – a concept adopted by Qatar. Recent Qatari actions are related to increased cooperation with the enemies.
The Saudi cabinet’s statement noted Qatar’s “secret and public cooperation” with the enemy. In the Saudi statement about severing ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia accused the latter of supporting terrorists in Qatif. Azmi does not mix between his personal theoretical ideas and his political ideas. He encourages political Islamist groups in his analyses and during his media appearances. When Trump won the elections, he and his center published articles and studies “estimating the situation.” These pieces talked about the confusion which the region will witness after Obama’s departure and Hillary Clinton’s loss.
Some people did not quite understand the reason they attacked Trump as such. This is because they did not clearly understand the link between Azmi and political Islam groups whom Qatar harbors its symbols. Trump is not lenient with these criminal groups, such as the Brotherhood, Hamas, ISIS and Hezbollah, and thinks they are terrorist. When Trump tweeted saying that severing ties with Qatar is one of the results of his visit to the region and that severing ties marks the beginning of the serious war on terrorism, many finally understood why Azmi was angry when Trump won.
Pure communist
Azmi grew up as a pure communist. He was influenced by Marxism and its social theory. He almost never agreed on anything with the Islamists except for revolting and longing for totalitarian patterns. He disagrees with his students and allies regarding religion. In his book Religion and Secularism in a Historical Context, he does not hide his historical vision regarding religions. The book exposes Azmi’s ideas and shows theoretical pragmatism. Azmi is the friend of Islamists, Sahwa members and Sururists. He opened his center and office for them, granted them awards and used his connections to provide them with jobs. However, he’s also a communist who views these people’s convictions as “historical situations.”They overlook his philosophical ideas about religion, and they are thus used in a purely ideologically war that serves Qatar’s interests. They are recruited to work against their people, and they are in fact the disciples of the Israeli Knesset member as they are submissive to him because they cannot criticize his well-known opinions or theories about religion and they do not dare say they disagree with him. Azmi uses them as tools for a cheap price. Meanwhile, they simply wander blindly.
Qatar’s whims
Qatar’s whims have blinded those who are supposed to be rational and wise. They became hypnotized and worked against their state. They found jou in the criticism directed against their people who are loyal to their homeland. At times of war, they stood with “Qatar’s hostile policies” – as the Saudi cabinet put it – and “they put their fingers in their ears and covered themselves with their garments.”Their behavior is tantamount to saying: “‘Permit me [to remain at home] and do not put me to trial.’ Unquestionably, into trial they have fallen. And indeed, Hell will encompass the disbelievers.”
Don’t be misled by anyone no matter who he is or what he presents you with. Don’t be deceived like Samiri misled Moses’ followers who when Moses left them to speak with his God, they worshipped the calf! Addressing God, Moses said: “I hastened to You, my Lord, that You be pleased.”
It’s the conflict between right and wrong. Be careful and consider who you stand with. “And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know.”
This article is also available in Arabic.

‘Why do Muslims do this?’ Finding the right response
Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/June 09/17
After the past two tumultuous weeks in the UK that saw two separate attacks in Manchester and in London committed against innocent victims, I have been at a loss of words to describe my emotions. bIt took all of 12 hours after the horrendous London attacks before someone asked me “why do Muslims do this? Why do they kill innocent people?” as if I was the national spokesperson for Muslims in Europe. I was dumbfounded, and my heart sank to my stomach as I felt the innate need to explain, yet again, that these acts aren’t representative of what Islam preaches. Instead, I didn’t. Where does one begin with an explanation? For a start, we can break down the statistics of hate crimes that show that Muslims are not the leading offenders of hate crimes, according to the FBI. The argument can then be furthered by reciting any one of the countless verses form the Quran that condemn hatred and murder, perhaps 5:32 will suffice: “If anyone kills a person, it would be as if he killed all of mankind”. The truth is, I am as tired of repeating these ‘explanations’ as people are tired of hearing them. The truth is that I simply don’t know why people feel the motivation to kill people, and for once, I answered with the truth – “I don’t know why they did this, it’s not right. I feel your pain”
Structured answer
People who ask, “Why do (Muslims) kill innocent people”, aren’t necessarily looking for a structured answer; they are looking for sympathy and solidarity in that I, as a fellow Muslim who lives in the UK, share their feelings. If anything, I feel as broken, if not more so, because of the attacks.
These questions may make Muslims feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and irritated. Since 9/11, 1.7 billion Muslims around the world have been carrying the weight of the impact of terrorist attacks on their shoulders, having to repeatedly condemn, criticize, and denounce the attackers, all the while playing the same reel of explanations over and over again.
The truth is that I simply don’t know why people feel the motivation to kill people, and for once, I answered with the truth – “I don’t know why they did this, it’s not right. I feel your pain”.
This simple answer instigated echoing sighs of relief. The sentence, broken into three elements, is representative of years of research by Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt on what victims want following an attack: solidarity in sharing their feelings, action in speaking out, and protection.
Fighting hatred with love
The truth is that I do not have an answer what drove these attackers to kill innocent victims, but what I do know is that the response in the UK has been overwhelming. If the British public know anything better than they know tea, it is knowing and understanding how to truly fight terrorism and hatred: with love.
In addition to the ‘One Love Manchester’ concert, which raised $13 million for the victims, Ariana Grande has offered to pay for the funerals of the victims of the attack. David Sullivan, co-owner of West Ham football club offering the homeless men who helped aid the victims of the Manchester attack 6-months free accommodation. Muslim leaders from across the country refused to perform Islamic funeral prayers on the attackers. The public have rallied to explain what really “leaves Britain reeling” with dry humorous tweets showcasing every day life.
Britain can serve as a prime example to the rest of the world on how to respond to terrorism: love, music, and support. The five-fold increase in attacks against Muslims is upsetting – however, the only thing that the public can do is stand together to show solidarity, and give the authorities time to respond to the attacks across the country that are affecting everyone – be it Muslim, British, or both.

Liberal Saudi Columnist On Arab TV Series 'Black Crows': It 'Addresses, In An Artistic Manner, The Terrible Atrocities Being Perpetrated' By ISIS
MEMRI/June 09/17
In a June 2, 2017 article titled "Why [Does] 'Black Crows' Series Anger Extremists?" on Al-Arabiya.net, Mamdouh Al-Muhaini,[1] editor-in-chief of Al-Arabiya's digital platforms, discussed a scene from the Ramadan series Gharabib Sood ("Black Crows") that is currently airing on the Saudi-owned MBC channel. He explains that this scene, showing an Islamic State (ISIS) mother's instructions to her little daughter, "addresses, in an artistic manner, the terrible atrocities being perpetrated by this extremist organization and other militant groups. It also exposes the ways and means in which they pass their negative ideas to children by using methods such as intimidation and reprimand." The series, he adds, "focuses on the nature of extremist ideas and methods of introducing and disseminating them."
The following is the article, in the original English.[2]
"In a scene from Gharabib Sood ("Black Crows") series, which tackles the ISIS ideology and is currently being aired on MBC, a female ISIS leader talks to a little girl carrying a bag with the photo of Cinderella on it.
"She tells her that she should not put the photo of this 'infidel' with bare shoulders in her bag and asks her to paint Cinderella's face in black. The child simply follows the orders.
"This scene in this important series addresses, in an artistic manner, the terrible atrocities being perpetrated by this extremist organization and other militant groups. It also exposes the ways and means in which they pass their negative ideas to children by using methods such as intimidation and reprimand. They create a dark image of life in children's consciousness, which is meant to isolate them and to make them vulnerable to control by extremists.
"This is one of the most powerful elements of the series and I advise everyone to watch also, because it does not make a point at the back of [i.e. using] gory violence and beheading of people. The series instead focuses on the nature of extremist ideas and methods of introducing and disseminating them.
"Fighting Extremism
"This is important and should be tackled first because terrorism is a natural and expected outcome of extremism. Fighting terrorism is like pulling a gun out of a murderer’s hand. The intent to kill will remain, and all the extremist has to do is to find another gun to commit his crime.
"The same applies to terrorists. If they are prevented from committing their crime in Iraq, they will do it in Libya. The suicide bomber who fails to blow himself up in Riyadh will try to do it in Medina and maybe even near the Prophet's Mosque.
"When we keep asking the same question as if we were surprised to see the emergence of a new generation of suicide bombers – who were still infants when 9/11 happened – we are disregarding something important. We are disregarding the fact that it is impossible to see teenage suicide bombers, the last of whom was Salman Abedi, if there was no extremist incubating environment for them.
"The suicide bomber does not blow himself up because he wants to kill others in vain, but because he is usually imbued with an extremist ideology that convinces him of the state [of] bliss that will be achieved as soon as he pulls the trigger. They teach him that life is full of sins and reiterate that the world is dominated by 'infidels' and is doomed to collapse.
"They convince him that the easiest way to escape this in a dignified and beneficial manner is by killing the greatest number of misguided people. All this will happen in just a few seconds and after that, worldly sufferings will simply end for him.
"With all of this deliberate mobilization, we should not be surprised with the number of suicide bombers queuing up to achieve this 'noble' end. The suicide bomber Fahd al-Qabaa, who blew himself up at the Imam Al-Sadiq mosque in Kuwait, got his passport and used it only once, for a one-way trip. This cannot be done by someone unless he has a strong and radical idea that was completely leading and controlling him.
"Shallow Interpretations
"Gharabib Sood succeeds in presenting this aspect and does not succumb to shallow and oft-quoted interpretations such as stating that ISIS is a Western intelligence apparatus. Extremists and terrorists have existed way before intelligence apparatuses appeared on the horizon.
"How can an intelligence apparatus that is plotting such terrible secret conspiracies remain unidentified? There are those who argue that terrorists are marginalized on the social levels, but marginalized people get frustrated and angry and can only kill themselves. But why would they kill others?
"We have never heard so far that marginalized people turn themselves into suicide squads. And even if we believe the marginalization excuse, why don’t marginalized people in other societies choose to run over pedestrians on the streets?
"These are mere excuses to shuffle the cards. This series has managed to avoid these excuses and this is why it has angered the extremists that are working these days to distort and defame the series.
"The reaction is an only expected [one], as this series points to the weak spot, which is the extremist ideology. In the scene that we mentioned above, the girl blurs the image of Cinderella and distorts the beauty of the drawing, but in fact, she only defaces herself.
"This is the moment when the girl chooses to close her mind, blemish her soul, and blur her world for the sake of an extremist leader who can be found anywhere."
[1] For other MEMRI reports on articles by Al-Muhaini, see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No 354, Saudi Press Reactions to the Arrest of Seven Terrorist Cells in Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2007; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 2241, Saudi Columnist: How to Keep Your Son from Becoming a Terrorist, February 18, 2009; and MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5732, Leading Saudi Daily 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat': Jeb Bush Can Return The U.S. To A More Realistic Course, April 29, 2014.
[2] The English has been very lightly edited for standardization purposes.

Jordanian Columnist, Fahd Al-Khitan: The Manchester Bomber Is A Product Of His Society's Culture Of Hate; Families Are Responsible For Their Sons' Actions
MEMRI/June 09/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56116
Following the May 22, 2017 Manchester bombing, which has been claimed by ISIS, Fahd Al-Khitan, a senior columnist for the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, wrote an article in which he placed responsibility for the crime on the bomber's family and on the immigrant society in which he grew up, which adhere to a culture of hate instead of assimilating in British society and adopting its values. Rejecting the claim often heard in the Arab and Muslim world, that the West is to blame for the emergence of ISIS, Al-Khitan stressed that this organization is the product of the culture of rejecting the other that permeates the Arab and Muslim society and which will continue to produce terrorists even when ISIS itself is eliminated.
The following are excerpts from his article.[1]
"It was the natural outcome of the culture of hate. That is the only explanation for the heinous deed committed by the terrorist Salman Al-'Abedi in the city of Manchester. The terrorist's family fled the tyranny of [former Libyan ruler Mu'ammar] Al-Qadhafi and sought asylum in Britain, and Al-'Abedi was born and grew up there, in a civilized and pluralist society that respected his right to live in dignity. But hatred for the other, which he absorbed in his closed-off environment, overcame the humanistic values he learned in British society.
"He [came to] support the most benighted stream in history and quenched his thirst by going back to the roots of his former culture, [the culture] of his country of origin. He left Britain for Libya, but then returned there to commit his heinous crime. He had no particular target; all he wanted to do was kill those who differed from him in their culture and beliefs, otherwise why would he choose [to bomb] a concert attended by teenaged girls and boys? [He chose it] just because it was a possible target for practicing his hobby of murder. Had [this target] been unavailable, he would have run people over in the street or spilled their guts in museums or restaurants.
"Loyalty to ISIS is not enough to explain what happened. [The bomber] had deeper motivations. The culture in which he was raised allowed him to automatically find his place in an organizational framework that has become the authentic tool of expression for a wide stream in our societies, [a stream] that negates the other, defends [the act of] murdering him and is overjoyed whenever there is breaking news about a terror attack.
"The family of the terrorist Al-'Abedi, and the families of previous terrorists, are not innocent, because they played a central role in what happened to their sons. [The sons] imbibed the culture of hate at home and in the closed-off environment that millions of immigrants in the West inhabit. [The immigrants] have their own schools, and their communities keep themselves to themselves, [living] in their own world isolated from the wider society. Al-'Abedi is the authentic expression of the social schizophrenia that many [immigrants] suffer from and of the culture of seclusion that dominates millions of people in our societies.
"We are bound to hear [all kinds of] cheap justifications for his crime, most of them holding the West responsible for the current situation in our countries, and all of them falling into the rubric of treating murder and barbarity as normal...
"Al-'Abedi's case is perhaps the most typical example [of what I am saying], because his family members might have died or might have been jailed for life had they stayed in Libya. His father and mother fled [Libya] and sought asylum in Britain to save their lives and find some peace. Do the British deserve to have a member of this family, which was a victim of the Al-Qadhafi regime, repay it with such a cowardly action [as this bombing]? Al-'Abedi was born in Britain and was given a chance to build [the kind of] successful life that millions of his peers [in the Arab world] wish for themselves. But he remained loyal to his cultural roots and harbored intense hatred which exploded the minute he had a chance to fulfill his terrorist duty. 'Abedi's case [shows] that, in order to be a terrorist, one does not necessarily have to join ISIS physically. It is enough to drink from the well of the benighted ideology, because then ISIS becomes the predictable outcome...
"The ISIS caliphate in Mosul and Al-Raqqa will vanish soon, but Al-'Abedi and his fellow terrorists will long continue to exist among us. Their cultural enterprise will thrive and grow every day and in every place."
[1] Al-Ghad (Jordan), May 25, 2017.

ISIS Sinai And Its Relations With The Local Population – Part III: Spreading ISIS Ideology And The Fight Against Sufism
By: R. Green/MEMRI/June 09/17
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
In all areas under its control, the Islamic State (ISIS) has focused on proselytizing and on spreading its ideology among the local residents. Such efforts are being carried out by ISIS's “Sinai Province” as well, although they are less publicized than similar efforts in other areas. In any event, ISIS Sinai's ideological activity focuses primarily on uprooting Sufism, which has been widespread in the Sinai for centuries. The recently released ISIS Sinai video "The Light of Shari'a" presented examples of proselytization to the locals and dealt at length with the group's fight against the Sufis.
The following is a review of these efforts:
Preaching ISIS Ideology To The Locals
In a December 2016 interview with the ISIS weekly Al-Naba, the director of the ISIS Sinai hisba department outlined the group's activities in this area: "The Islamic State soldiers conduct religious lessons in order to preach to people and teach them about their religion in concert with the various da'wa and hisba centers, and we pray to Allah to make these lessons successful. Furthermore, we print and distribute da'wa leaflets and flyers on matters of faith, conduct preaching tours throughout the land that focus on establishing tawhid [Islamic monotheism] among the Muslim public, and warn [this public] against idolatry and the various forms of heresy."[1]
The Sinai Province video "The Light of Shari'a" provided glimpses of preaching, showing activists speaking to a crowd in a village or delivering a lesson on theology to locals at a mosque. A noticeable point in these images is that the preachers are accompanied by armed men, or are covering their faces.
The War Against Sufism
The Salafi-jihadi stream aims to purge Islam of what it considers polytheistic elements, and therefore vigorously targets the Sufi stream. Salafi-jihadis, including ISIS, see Sufis as heretics, particularly because of their veneration of saints, which is considered worship of others beside Allah. In all the regions under their control, ISIS has systematically destroyed the tombs of Sufi saints as well as ritual sites and buildings belonging to Sufi tariqas, or orders. ISIS Sinai's approach is no exception.
On November 18, 2016, Sinai Province released photos of the beheading of Sufi elder in Sinai Sulaiman Abu Haraz, who had been kidnapped a month earlier.[2] The photos, which sparked outrage in Sinai, Egypt, and the Arab world, constituted another milestone in the ongoing war waged by jihadis against Sufis, which includes destroying buildings, threatening members of Sufi orders, kidnapping and killing sheikhs, and more.
A mausoleum blown up by ISIS in Sinai as part of its war against what it deems un-Islamic worship
The interview with the director of the ISIS Sinai hisba department, which was published several weeks after the beheading, was largely dedicated to the fight against the Sufis.
Asked how the mujahideen in Sinai deal with the Sufis, the head of the hisba department said: "After the mujahideen fought a jihad war to make Allah's word supreme, they fought the leaders of unbelief, including the tyrants who rule other than by the laws of Allah and have risen to power in parts of Sinai and become influential there. They strove to establish Allah's religion there, to remove the symbols of idolatry and jahiliyya [the pre-Islamic period], and were sincerely determined to leave no Sufi orders in the land where the banner of jihad was flying. The mujahideen began preaching to these Sufis, whether they were members of the Ahmadi order or the Jariri order. Some responded to the preaching and repented immediately after the mujahideen explained the evils of polytheism. But some chose to distance themselves from Allah's religion and from the commandment to preach monotheism.
"At this point, ISIS soldiers deployed, established checkpoints on roads, captured all their leaders, and imprisoned them for three days to force them to repent. If they repented, [they would be released,] and if not, they would be executed.
"Praise Allah, they repented on the first day, and along with them, their followers atoned for their errors and heresy. This was after the mujahideen explained about the idolatry that afflicts them, and explained its evil to them, praise Allah.
"There are some large pagan Sufi centers outside the rule of the caliphate in Sinai and Egypt, and, with Allah's permission, they will become targets for the soldiers of the caliphate when they take over those territories, [and will be subject] to hisba and jihad operations in order to bring the people from darkness to light."
ISIS hisba operative Abu Mus'ab Al-Masri reading the verdict of two Sufi sheikhs accused of "sorcery," before their beheading
According to a member of a Sufi order in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, ISIS Sinai's conflict with the Sufis peaked in early October 2016, when "a group belonging to the Islamic State raided Sufi centers in southern Sheikh Zuweid and prevented them from performing dhikr ceremonies, as well as all activities and rituals unique to them. This reached the point of a scuffle and an exchange of blows, and the following day, ISIS activists kidnapped seven officials from one of the Sufi centers." They demanded that the officials "do what was demanded of them," that is, to refrain from all Sufi activity, and threatened them "and anyone else who refuses these demands" with "shari'a punishments." He added that the seven were released after meeting the demands, but that Sheikh Abu Haraz was nevertheless kidnapped a few days later.[3]
A Sheikh Zuweid resident said that Abu Haraz's kidnappers were two of his sons who had joined ISIS, and that they did this after urging him to refrain from performing Sufi rituals. Others said that his body had not been handed over to his family after the beheading for fear that a tomb would be erected for him.[4]
The targeting of Sinai's Sufis, especially in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and nearly villages, took several forms. Local residents have told how masked armed men kidnap people participating in rituals, how explosives are placed outside Sufi mosques, and how tombs of saints are blown up. Similar incidents also took place in the Bir Al-'Abd region, far to the west of the northeastern corner of Sinai, which is ISIS Sinai's usual area of operations. Local resident Abu Marwan said that gunmen in El Arish had fired RBGs at a Sufi mosque, adding that they "often warn people not to conduct any Sufi rituals in the mosques."[5]
A Sinai resident said that "Salafi extremists" had attacked a group of Sufis during a ritual in a mosque in Sheikh Zuweid, threatened to kill the worshipers if they continue to conduct Sufi rituals, and accused them of heresy and corrupt beliefs. He added: "We had to submit to them. What else could we do at gunpoint?"[6]
Forcing Sufis To Renounce Their Beliefs
The incidents described above by the members of the Sufi tariqas, and other incidents like them, are featured in the video "The Light of Shari'a," in which ISIS Sinai boasts about the violent means employed by its members against the Sufis. In the video, ISIS Sinai member Abu Mus'ab Al-Masr, from the hisba department, declares: "The phenomenon of Sufism is among the phenomena of polytheism and is bida', against which the soldiers of the caliphate in Sinai have come out... The first thing we did about these Sufis was to call on them [to adhere] to monotheism and to conduct themselves according to the Prophet's Sunna and to abandon polytheism. Some of them heeded this call, but others continued in their polytheism and their bida'. The soldiers of the Islamic State immediately went to stop them. We caught them and called upon them to repent."
The video shows one of the senior commanders of ISIS Sinai[7] briefing a group of armed men before they head out for an operation to kidnap Sufis and force them to renounce their beliefs. He tells them: "With the grace of Allah, we in the Sinai Province are implementing Allah's laws. We are going, with Allah's permission, to those Sufis who claim that Allah has partners, who pray to other [entities] besides Allah, who seek assistance from other [entities] besides Allah, and who communicate with those whom they call the righteous. We have approached them in the past, and explained to them that this is polytheism. This time we are going to them in force, since they have returned to their [errant] ways even though we repeatedly clarified to them that this is polytheism. We will go to them in force, take them, and call upon them to repent, and then wait a few days. If they repent – [fine], if not – they will be killed."
Following that, the video features the nighttime abduction at gunpoint of a group of Sufis engaged in a religious ceremony. They were taken to a building where they were lectured by an ISIS operative; he preached to them, explaining that they were accused of apostasy and demanding that they repent. The segment ends with the Sufis signing a document repenting of their sins and undertaking to abandon the Sufi customs and beliefs, and embracing the ISIS operatives.
The kidnapping of Sufis
ISIS operative lecturing to the Sufis who were kidnapped
[1] Al-Naba issue 58, December 8, 2016; p. 8-9.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Sinai Beheads An Elderly Sufi Sheikh, November 19, 2016.
[3] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[4] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[5] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[6] Al-Arab (London), October 25, 2016.
[7] The man's senior position is indicated by the fact that he was filmed in the dark and that his voice was altered.

After rushing to Qatar's aid, Turkey may have to rethink its Mideast ties
Fehim Tastekin/Translator:Timur Göksel/Al Monitor/09/17
The only firm opposition to the "Let's Teach Qatar a Lesson" operation currently underway in the Middle East is coming from Turkey. Even US President Donald Trump initially loudly applauded the campaign led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — though he has since taken a more conciliatory tone.Ankara, fearing it could be next on the Arab hit list, hastily approves sending troops to Qatar despite Turkey's poor history when intervening in Arab affairs.
The Turkish government, which had drafted a plan some time ago to send troops to Qatar to firm up a Sunni front against Iran, fast-tracked legislation needed to send troops abroad.
Turkish-Arab relations are passing through erratic times. Everyone was wondering what position Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would take in the Qatari crisis. Erdogan had won the hearts and minds of the Gulf emirs and kings earlier this year by declaring the need to "prevent the Persian nationalist expansion." Many observers thought he would take a pragmatic approach to avoid losing favor with many other countries just to please Qatar. Erdogan’s widely publicized but futile telephone diplomacy to solve the crisis was interpreted as a desperate attempt to avoid having to choose between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies. But at the end of the day, Ankara decided to interpret the actions against Qatar as if they had been taken against Turkey.
Erdogan said there are other motives behind what is being done to Qatar, but he wasn't specific.
It didn‘t take Ankara long to reach the conclusion that, after Qatar, Turkey is the likely next target. After all, just like Qatar, Turkey had become a staunch guardian of the Muslim Brotherhood and was in full harmony with Qatar in the proxy war raging in Syria. All the reasons cited by the Saudi king and the US president to declare Qatar a "supporter of terror" could easily be applied to Turkey. Full support of the sanctions against Qatar from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had toppled the Muslim Brotherhood in his country, no doubt played a key role in Erdogan's lining up with Qatar.
Turkey felt compelled to take a critical step, convinced that the developments were not confined only to Qatar. Turkey, which had earlier decided to build a base in Qatar, fast-tracked through the parliament this week two accords approving deployment of Turkish soldiers in that country and to train the Qatari gendarmerie. According to the first accord, which will be valid for 10 years and can be extended for five-year periods, there will be a Qatar-Turkey Tactical Division Headquarters to be commanded by a Qatari major general, assisted by a Turkish brigadier general. Some 500-600 soldiers will be based at the headquarters. Currently there are 95 Turkish military personnel in Qatar. An explosives demolition team with 25-30 members will also be going. The second accord will enable Turkey to train about 4,000 Qatari gendarmerie personnel.
Opposition parties in Turkey's parliament called for Turkey to remain neutral in the Arab world dispute, but their demands didn't prevent the ruling Justice and Development Party from passing the accords. In arguing the case, Ozturk Yilmaz, deputy chairman of the main opposition group, the Republican People's Party, said: “We know that some countries want to topple the emir and replace him with a new ruler. Who will our force confront? If [Qatar wants] to use those troops to preserve the Qatari ruling family, shall we be supporting that objective? Will we be involved in internal security operations of Qatar? Please don’t subject Turkey to this nasty nonsense.”
Filiz Kerestecioglu of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) accused the government of trying to drag the country into a quagmire to find new markets for the defense industry. HDP deputy Chairman Mithat Sancar warned that Turkey might soon be accused of cooperating with terrorists.
According to sources close to the Ankara government, although Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud had developed close relations with Ankara, Qatar has a special, distinct place in Erdogan’s heart and Turkey sees Qatar as its most important ally in the Gulf.
Turkey's government has yet come up with a satisfactory explanation of what its troops will be doing in Qatar, apart from noting that, after all, Turkey has gendarmerie cooperation accords with 18 countries.
There have been several striking examples of Turkey’s earlier attempts to assist with crises in the Arab world, all of which backfired. Turkey almost intervened to protect King Faisal II of Iraq against the uprising by Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim in 1958. Turkey almost ended up in Lebanon in 1958 upon invitation of President Camille Chamoun. Of course there is no need to elaborate here on how Turkey’s misguided actions in the Syrian crisis poisoned and complicated relations with Arab and Islamic worlds.
After openly taking sides with Qatar in the current crisis, Turkey might have to reshuffle its cards in regional relations. Against its best interests, it might have to warm up relations with Iran, just as Qatar is doing. Isn’t this why Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif immediately showed up June 7 in Ankara, saying he needed to consult with Turkey because of dangerous developments in the region?
When Turkey-Qatar military cooperation first appeared on the countries' agendas, pro-government news outlets in Turkey were regularly citing the threat from Iran. In April 2016, when then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was signing the military accords with Qatar at Doha, Turkish media interpreted Turkey’s setting up a base in Qatar as balancing the increasing influence of Iran. For those commentators, the Turkish base reflected a Sunni security alliance among Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
At that time, state-owned TRT Avaz TV did not mince words declaring Iran as the target. “Turkey and Qatar have taken positions very similar in Middle East crises. Their stances in assisting the opposition in Syria are the same. They took similar positions vis-a-vis the crises in Iraq and Yemen. This Sunni alliance is particularly important for Qatar. Sunni rule in Doha is uncomfortable, with the US melting the ice with Shiite Iran. Qatar doesn’t see the American forces on its land as a militarily adequate deterrent. Qatar is trying to close the gap by opting for cooperation with Turkey,” the statement said.
History has repeatedly shown that Turkey’s interventionist moves in the Arab world have always poisoned Turkish-Arab relations. We are, of course, aware that since the July 15 coup attempt, Ankara is engulfed by rumors of foreign forces plotting further coups. This is enough to explain Ankara's actions regarding Qatar today.

ISIS Sinai And Its Relations With The Local Population – Part III: Spreading ISIS Ideology And The Fight Against Sufism
By: R. Green/MEMRI/June 09/17
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM).
In all areas under its control, the Islamic State (ISIS) has focused on proselytizing and on spreading its ideology among the local residents. Such efforts are being carried out by ISIS's “Sinai Province” as well, although they are less publicized than similar efforts in other areas. In any event, ISIS Sinai's ideological activity focuses primarily on uprooting Sufism, which has been widespread in the Sinai for centuries. The recently released ISIS Sinai video "The Light of Shari'a" presented examples of proselytization to the locals and dealt at length with the group's fight against the Sufis.
The following is a review of these efforts:
Preaching ISIS Ideology To The Locals
In a December 2016 interview with the ISIS weekly Al-Naba, the director of the ISIS Sinai hisba department outlined the group's activities in this area: "The Islamic State soldiers conduct religious lessons in order to preach to people and teach them about their religion in concert with the various da'wa and hisba centers, and we pray to Allah to make these lessons successful. Furthermore, we print and distribute da'wa leaflets and flyers on matters of faith, conduct preaching tours throughout the land that focus on establishing tawhid [Islamic monotheism] among the Muslim public, and warn [this public] against idolatry and the various forms of heresy."[1]
The Sinai Province video "The Light of Shari'a" provided glimpses of preaching, showing activists speaking to a crowd in a village or delivering a lesson on theology to locals at a mosque. A noticeable point in these images is that the preachers are accompanied by armed men, or are covering their faces.
The War Against Sufism
The Salafi-jihadi stream aims to purge Islam of what it considers polytheistic elements, and therefore vigorously targets the Sufi stream. Salafi-jihadis, including ISIS, see Sufis as heretics, particularly because of their veneration of saints, which is considered worship of others beside Allah. In all the regions under their control, ISIS has systematically destroyed the tombs of Sufi saints as well as ritual sites and buildings belonging to Sufi tariqas, or orders. ISIS Sinai's approach is no exception.
On November 18, 2016, Sinai Province released photos of the beheading of Sufi elder in Sinai Sulaiman Abu Haraz, who had been kidnapped a month earlier.[2] The photos, which sparked outrage in Sinai, Egypt, and the Arab world, constituted another milestone in the ongoing war waged by jihadis against Sufis, which includes destroying buildings, threatening members of Sufi orders, kidnapping and killing sheikhs, and more.
A mausoleum blown up by ISIS in Sinai as part of its war against what it deems un-Islamic worship
The interview with the director of the ISIS Sinai hisba department, which was published several weeks after the beheading, was largely dedicated to the fight against the Sufis.
Asked how the mujahideen in Sinai deal with the Sufis, the head of the hisba department said: "After the mujahideen fought a jihad war to make Allah's word supreme, they fought the leaders of unbelief, including the tyrants who rule other than by the laws of Allah and have risen to power in parts of Sinai and become influential there. They strove to establish Allah's religion there, to remove the symbols of idolatry and jahiliyya [the pre-Islamic period], and were sincerely determined to leave no Sufi orders in the land where the banner of jihad was flying. The mujahideen began preaching to these Sufis, whether they were members of the Ahmadi order or the Jariri order. Some responded to the preaching and repented immediately after the mujahideen explained the evils of polytheism. But some chose to distance themselves from Allah's religion and from the commandment to preach monotheism.
"At this point, ISIS soldiers deployed, established checkpoints on roads, captured all their leaders, and imprisoned them for three days to force them to repent. If they repented, [they would be released,] and if not, they would be executed.
"Praise Allah, they repented on the first day, and along with them, their followers atoned for their errors and heresy. This was after the mujahideen explained about the idolatry that afflicts them, and explained its evil to them, praise Allah.
"There are some large pagan Sufi centers outside the rule of the caliphate in Sinai and Egypt, and, with Allah's permission, they will become targets for the soldiers of the caliphate when they take over those territories, [and will be subject] to hisba and jihad operations in order to bring the people from darkness to light."ISIS hisba operative Abu Mus'ab Al-Masri reading the verdict of two Sufi sheikhs accused of "sorcery," before their beheading
According to a member of a Sufi order in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, ISIS Sinai's conflict with the Sufis peaked in early October 2016, when "a group belonging to the Islamic State raided Sufi centers in southern Sheikh Zuweid and prevented them from performing dhikr ceremonies, as well as all activities and rituals unique to them. This reached the point of a scuffle and an exchange of blows, and the following day, ISIS activists kidnapped seven officials from one of the Sufi centers." They demanded that the officials "do what was demanded of them," that is, to refrain from all Sufi activity, and threatened them "and anyone else who refuses these demands" with "shari'a punishments." He added that the seven were released after meeting the demands, but that Sheikh Abu Haraz was nevertheless kidnapped a few days later.[3]
A Sheikh Zuweid resident said that Abu Haraz's kidnappers were two of his sons who had joined ISIS, and that they did this after urging him to refrain from performing Sufi rituals. Others said that his body had not been handed over to his family after the beheading for fear that a tomb would be erected for him.[4]
The targeting of Sinai's Sufis, especially in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and nearly villages, took several forms. Local residents have told how masked armed men kidnap people participating in rituals, how explosives are placed outside Sufi mosques, and how tombs of saints are blown up. Similar incidents also took place in the Bir Al-'Abd region, far to the west of the northeastern corner of Sinai, which is ISIS Sinai's usual area of operations. Local resident Abu Marwan said that gunmen in El Arish had fired RBGs at a Sufi mosque, adding that they "often warn people not to conduct any Sufi rituals in the mosques."[5]
A Sinai resident said that "Salafi extremists" had attacked a group of Sufis during a ritual in a mosque in Sheikh Zuweid, threatened to kill the worshipers if they continue to conduct Sufi rituals, and accused them of heresy and corrupt beliefs. He added: "We had to submit to them. What else could we do at gunpoint?"[6]
Forcing Sufis To Renounce Their Beliefs
The incidents described above by the members of the Sufi tariqas, and other incidents like them, are featured in the video "The Light of Shari'a," in which ISIS Sinai boasts about the violent means employed by its members against the Sufis. In the video, ISIS Sinai member Abu Mus'ab Al-Masr, from the hisba department, declares: "The phenomenon of Sufism is among the phenomena of polytheism and is bida', against which the soldiers of the caliphate in Sinai have come out... The first thing we did about these Sufis was to call on them [to adhere] to monotheism and to conduct themselves according to the Prophet's Sunna and to abandon polytheism. Some of them heeded this call, but others continued in their polytheism and their bida'. The soldiers of the Islamic State immediately went to stop them. We caught them and called upon them to repent."
The video shows one of the senior commanders of ISIS Sinai[7] briefing a group of armed men before they head out for an operation to kidnap Sufis and force them to renounce their beliefs. He tells them: "With the grace of Allah, we in the Sinai Province are implementing Allah's laws. We are going, with Allah's permission, to those Sufis who claim that Allah has partners, who pray to other [entities] besides Allah, who seek assistance from other [entities] besides Allah, and who communicate with those whom they call the righteous. We have approached them in the past, and explained to them that this is polytheism. This time we are going to them in force, since they have returned to their [errant] ways even though we repeatedly clarified to them that this is polytheism. We will go to them in force, take them, and call upon them to repent, and then wait a few days. If they repent – [fine], if not – they will be killed."
Following that, the video features the nighttime abduction at gunpoint of a group of Sufis engaged in a religious ceremony. They were taken to a building where they were lectured by an ISIS operative; he preached to them, explaining that they were accused of apostasy and demanding that they repent. The segment ends with the Sufis signing a document repenting of their sins and undertaking to abandon the Sufi customs and beliefs, and embracing the ISIS operatives.
The kidnapping of Sufis
ISIS operative lecturing to the Sufis who were kidnapped
[1] Al-Naba issue 58, December 8, 2016; p. 8-9.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Sinai Beheads An Elderly Sufi Sheikh, November 19, 2016.
[3] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[4] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[5] Alaraby.co.uk, December 8, 2016.
[6] Al-Arab (London), October 25, 2016.
[7] The man's senior position is indicated by the fact that he was filmed in the dark and that his voice was altered.

Egypt’s role in the push to cut off Qatar
Ayah Aman/Translator: Pascale el-Khoury/June 09/17
CAIRO — After four years of Egyptian-Qatari skirmishes since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi for his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, Cairo has now decided to respond to Qatar’s harassment by following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain and sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Summary⎙ Print With three Gulf states revolting against Qatar's regional policies, Egypt has found the perfect opportunity to sever ties with Qatar after four years of political bickering.
Qatar, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood, had mobilized its media outlets to attack the Egyptian regime and hosted a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders who had fled Egypt.
A statement issued June 5 by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained why Egypt has decided to break its ties with Qatar, citing the Qatari regime’s insistence to adopt an approach hostile to Egypt, support terrorist organizations — especially the Muslim Brotherhood by harboring its leadership — promote the Islamic State (IS) ideology in the Sinai Peninsula and interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs.
Although Cairo's announcement of shunning Qatar came after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s visit to Cairo June 4, the Egyptian position had appeared clear in the speech of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the US-Arab Islamic Summit in Riyadh May 21.
In his speech, Sisi specifically accused countries in the Arab region of supporting terrorism. Egyptian satellite stations on June 4 repeatedly showed a rerun of Sisi’s speech in addition to media reports attacking and criticizing Qatari policies as being behind instability in the region.
A diplomatic official at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry familiar with the developments in the Gulf told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "Egyptian diplomacy sees the strict Gulf stance against Qatar this time in its favor.”
He explained that “Egypt made several political and diplomatic attempts over the past four years to obtain a strong Gulf position against Qatar‘s policies. But Qatar’s repeated attempts of appeasement and containment prevented Egypt from obtaining tangible guarantees mitigating the risks ensuing from Doha policies on its national security. Qatar’s commitments to abide by the GCC's [Gulf Cooperation Council] decisions succeeded in calming the Gulf anger. Indeed, three Gulf countries reinstated their respective ambassadors to Qatar only nine months after deciding to recall them in March 2014.
The official added, “Diplomatically speaking, the decision to sever ties marks the highest level of escalation against Qatar's policies. Cutting ties and halting air and sea traffic between the two countries is a political maneuver targeting mainly the political system in Qatar and is not intended to harm the interests of Qatari nationals in Egypt or damage Qatari private investments inside Egypt whose fate is still subject of discussion.”
Responding to criticisms leveled against Egypt of taking a stance biased to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, he said, “Egypt had exerted concerted efforts to push Gulf countries to take such a unified position. We provided Gulf countries with several information reports proving Qatar's involvement in terrorist acts and its policies that harm Gulf interests and the security of the Arab region in particular in relation to the crises in Yemen, Syria and Iran.”
It is worth recalling that many Arab and African countries had cut or downgraded their diplomatic ties with Iran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia following the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in June 2016. Egypt, however, did not break its ties with Iran.
This shows that Cairo does not accord high importance to the Qatari-Iranian rapprochement, while it is this same rapprochement that further encouraged Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to cut their relations with Qatar against the background of statements attributed to the emir of Qatar, criticizing the Gulf hostility to Iran. Qatar has maintained that the statements — which appeared in a news ticker during a Qatari state TV broadcast — were the result of a hacking attack. Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed al-Quesni, the assistant foreign minister for Gulf affairs, told Al-Monitor, “Egypt's political gains ensuing from the decision to sever relations with Qatar cannot be determined now, but the Egyptian stance in line with that of three major Gulf states is an ideal move that serves Egypt’s position.”
He added, “Although most indicators of the situation in Qatar suggest so far that there are attempts to calm the situation, Egypt cannot settle for any temporary guarantees to stop any hostile activity taken by the Qatari administration against it.”“Egypt has the right to take action in any issue that has proven Qatar’s involvement in policies supportive of terrorism in all international forums,” he said.
The decision to sever relations with Qatar was widely welcomed by local Egyptian newspapers and media outlets, which have launched extensive media campaigns against Qatar and its emir, accusing the Qatari regime of being behind the terrorist threats to Egypt. The Egyptian parliament also welcomed the decision.
Kamal Amer, the head of the Egyptian parliament's National Defense and Security Committee, described in press statements June 5 the decision as a decisive step after Egypt has long been patient toward Qatar’s hostile efforts against Egypt.
In a press statement on the same day, Ambassador Mohammad al-Arabi, a member of the parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, called for an escalation of sanctions against Qatar should it not renege on its position. He called for taking measures that go beyond land, air and sea embargo only.
Ambassador Sayyed Qassim, an adviser to the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, told Al-Monitor, “The Gulf states’ sudden decision to sever relations with Qatar was excessive. As per diplomatic norms, sanctions are imposed gradually. However, this decision was meant to shock the Qatari administration.”
Qassim criticized the impact of political differences on the people’s public interests. “There is a diplomatic custom, whereby differences among Arabs should not harm Arab people. Saudi Arabia’s decision to expel Qataris from Saudi territories came in direct conflict to this custom,” he said.
In terms of gain and loss dynamics, Cairo has achieved great political and diplomatic progress by taking part in the Gulf’s decision against Qatar. It found a decisive response to Qatar’s practices, which the Egyptian regime has always regarded as a direct threat to its national security.

Hoodwinking the Kuffar
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 09/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10385/hoodwinking-kuffar
The implication is that Muslims too love Jesus -- an approach that is bound to attract Christian passers-by (including priests and nuns) if only out of curiosity. But the Jesus of the Qur'an is not the Jesus of the New Testament. For Muslims, he is not the Son of God, not one third of the Trinity, did not die on the cross, was not resurrected after death, and is not God incarnate. He is simply one of a long line of prophets, important -- yet inferior to Muhammad.
"We call them stinking kafir [non-Muslims], dirty. But, of course, akhi [brother], if that's going to run them away from al-Islam, we don't say that to them in front of their face." — Abu Usamah, an imam at the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham.
No one loves the kuffaar. No one loves the kuffaar! [unbelievers] ... Whether these kuffaar are from the UK, or from the US ... We love the people of Islam and we hate the people of the kufr. We hate the kuffaar. Whoever changes his religion from al-Islam to anything else kill him in the Islamic state. — Abu Usamah al-Thahabi, Channel 4 documentary, 2007.
When long-standing Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas met US President Donald Trump on May 7, he came out with what we British call a whopper, a huge lie. Here is what Abbas said with a straight face:
"Mr. President, I affirm to you that we are raising our youth, our children, our grandchildren on a culture of peace. And we are endeavoring to bring about security, freedom and peace for our children to live like the other children in the world, along with the Israeli children, in peace, freedom and security."
We expect politicians to lie out of all sides of their mouths, to use doublespeak in order to seduce citizens to vote for them. Whether they be government officials or opposition hopefuls, a certain amount of economy with the truth is par for the course. Political analysts and well-informed journalists know this, of course, and work hard to untangle these webs. Facts matter. Sources make a difference. And in democratic countries that value free speech and the freedom of the press, politicians are held to account. Not many falsehoods get off Scot-free, and serial liars are regularly brought to book.
Politicians and their spokespeople know this, however, and do their best to keep their lies within reasonable bounds, even when making promises they have no real desire to fulfil. Abbas's lies, however, are so gargantuan as to be in a league of their own. There, the exact opposite is true, and thousands of videos, texts, and recorded radio broadcasts show that the PA, the PLO, Fatah and Abbas himself have, over the years done their utmost to teach Palestinian children to hate and prepare themselves for violence against Jews.
There is a reason for this subterfuge. Muslims in general, especially those promoting extreme ideas, are growing more and more conscious of how they appear in the forum of public opinion. Even the terrorist group Hamas has issued a new Charter from which they have removed the explicit anti-Semitic passages of its 1988 version, in order to make it look better in Western eyes. In fact, Hamas has not changed its ways, and is still planning to use violence to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state.
The more that Islam, Islamic terrorism, Muslim extremism, and anxieties in Europe about Muslim immigrants receive a bad press, the more many Muslim organizations and individuals see a need to make a better impression on the public in America, Europe, Canada and Australia. This does not refer to genuine reformers who work hard to create a new Islam from which its most negative values -- jihad, corporal punishment, execution for adultery, female oppression and violence -- have been replaced by values closer to the Judaeo-Christian principles that inform Western civilization. The target here is the extremists who have taken lessons from the world of public relations management, and who see advantage in adopting at least an outward style of liberalization and peace activism.
To a large extent, this desire to present a positive image while holding extremist and conservative ideas is linked to the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya, which may be defined as dissimulation, and is used to protect a believer from criticism or attack. Historically, it was mainly used by Shi'i Muslims living in Sunni lands, who would pray, celebrate festivals, and speak as though they were Sunnis, to avoid persecution. Less commonly, it was and still is used by Sunni Muslims, especially when living in non-Muslim territory. Given the large numbers of Muslims now living in and entering Western countries, its use has not surprisingly become more commonplace, even if some anti-Muslim bigots wildly exaggerate its scale. With its roots in the Qur'an (3:28) -- "Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers" -- the term has also been interpreted to mean that a Muslim may be outwardly friendly to non-Muslims while remaining inwardly ill-disposed.
This in part explains why so many Salafi fundamentalist Muslims today engage in charitable and social work to assist their non-Muslim fellow citizens, stress their love for Jesus, and hold meetings to which they invite non-believers in order to learn what Muslims are really like. If you look at the community section of the website of the London-based Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), you will find links to the organization's several charity enterprises: "Helping the Homeless in London", "Warming up the Elderly in London", "Ongoing Neighbourhood Cleanup Efforts", "Good News from the 'Love Your Neighbour' campaign", "The Elderly Care Project: Winter Warmth Campaign", and "iERA at the Refugees Welcome here Rally".
My local Church of England vicar takes groups of his parishioners to visit Newcastle Central Mosque (a Salafi/Ahl-e Hadith institution), where they are regaled with warmth and good food. In return, members of the mosque have visited St. George's Church despite the presence of crosses and crucifixes and the vain images on the beautiful stained-glass windows. All buddies on the surface. But the real reason the Muslims are acting like this is in order to attract Christians to Islam. They do not, however, invite the rabbi and his congregation from the local Orthodox synagogue near where I live.
The UK alone hosts a number of organizations that present a seemingly friendly face to the public while harbouring beliefs and supporting individuals whose hatred for non-Muslims is palpable.
I do not wish to condemn this charitable work: quite possibly they do much good. It is quite likely that many homeless, elderly, and refugee people benefit from what they do, or that local neighbourhood campaigners appreciate their cleanup efforts. Superficially, their devotion to the needy is commendable, and much the same as the devotion shown by Christian charities such as the Salvation Army. In fact, a 2013 poll by ICM found that Muslims are far ahead of Atheists, Christians and Jews in the amounts they give to charity, something they deserve to be proud of. At the same time,
"JustGiving said religious charities such as Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief benefited most from money donated by Muslims, but many of their donations also went to the likes of Cancer Research, Macmillan and the British Heart Foundation."
Here, though, is the problem: Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief have been closely linked to funding Islamic terrorism around the world. Giving to cancer research is one thing, but giving to Hamas and other groups is quite another.
iERA, a British charity, was set up in 2009 by a Muslim convert called Abdur Raheem Green (formerly Anthony Green)[1], and its purpose from the beginning was to carry out da'wa, or proselytization, to win converts for Islam. That remains its primary purpose. On their website, where you will find references to "Dawah Training" and "Dawah Campaigns". A range of visual images appears on the screen, showing various missionary activities, notably giving out literature to Christians, with a link to "Giving Dawah to Christians". There is a photograph of a group of iERA workers sporting bright blue hoodies with the name "Jesus" prominently displayed next to a large box containing the book Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah, part of a Prophetic Legacy Series featuring books on Abraham and Moses.
This is itself disingenuous. The implication is that Muslims too love Jesus -- an approach that is bound to attract Christian passers-by (including priests and nuns, as shown in photographs) if only out of curiosity. But the Jesus of the Qur'an is not the Jesus of the New Testament. For Muslims, he is not the Son of God, not one third of the Trinity, did not die on the cross, was not resurrected after death, and is not God incarnate. He is simply one of a long line of prophets, important -- yet inferior to Muhammad.
If the deceptions used in da'wa work were the only cause for concern about iERA, it might not appear worrying; but iERA has long been censured for its extremist Salafi/Wahhabi basis. The several preachers who sit or have sat on its advisory board or its board of trustees are among the most hardline exponents of radical Islam in the UK and abroad. Many have been banned from the UK and other countries.
Green himself (chair of the Board of Trustees) is an anti-Semite who urges the death penalty [pp. 12-13] for homosexuality and adultery, has stated that we should not argue with al-Qa'eda's methods because "terrorism works". Hamza Tzortzis, a co-founder of iERA, has said that "we as Muslims reject the idea of freedom of speech, and even the idea of freedom". [And here, p. 16] He also wishes to criminalise homosexuality, which he compares to paedophilia and cannibalism. He was originally a member of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir[2]. He also supports the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy. [Also here, with a video; and here quoted by Nick Cohen.] He has supported child marriage under certain conditions. [Also here, with a transcript; here with a video.] In a Birmingham University debate, he refused to condemn shari'a punishments such as stoning and amputation.
A former member of iERA's board of advisors, Bilal Philips, has been deported or banned from the US, Britain, Kenya, Germany, Australia and the Philippines for his terror connections, including his support for the Taliban and Hamas. He justifies child marriage[3], severe punishments including execution for apostates and homosexuals[4]. It is worth adding that Philips is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and in the 1995 prosecution U.S. v. Omar Abdel Rahman, "in which almost a dozen people -- including Clement Hampton-El, an associate of Philips -- were convicted of conspiring to blow up the Lincoln and Holland tunnels in New York City, among other terrorism-related activities."
Other well-known names include Haitham al-Haddad, Zakir Naik, and Hussein Yee, some of whom are on record for their support of terrorism[5], some for their advocacy of extreme punishments[6]; and some for their hatred of non-Muslims[7]. These men and others stand out among the most problematic hate preachers in the Western world and occasionally elsewhere. Their motives are thoroughly questionable[8].
It could not be clearer that the "good works" of iERA have not seemed to revolve around true motives of care for human beings in need. Those who ran and still run the organization were perfectly happy to throw homosexuals off high roofs, stone adulterers, order suicide bombings of Jews in Israel, wage jihad against non-Muslims in general, treat their own women badly, and preach violence to young Muslims and Muslim converts. Writing in London's Daily Telegraph in November 2014, Andrew Gilligan stated:
"Others paid thousands of pounds of public money in Gift Aid [i.e. from the UK government] include IERA (sic), a charity closely linked to a number of the 'Portsmouth jihadis' - six young men from the Hampshire city who travelled together to fight for Islamic State (Isil) in Syria. At least two of the six, Mehdi Hassan and Ifthekar Jaman, and possibly as many as five, were members of the 'Portsmouth Dawah [Prayer] Team,' a group which proselytises in the streets of the port." Naturally, iERA denied this connection, but Gilligan added, "The group was last year described by Mission Dawah, part of IERA, as 'our team from Portsmouth.'"
Many unsuspecting people, little understanding just what and who stand behind the movement but impressed by the appearance of disinterested good works on behalf of the needy, given handouts on Muslim love for Jesus, or invited to iERA barbecues and get-togethers, will take everything at face value. A number of them will convert, assuming they have joined a religion of love, peace and charitable works. Some sociologists of religion have pointed out that neophytes attracted by friendly faces and warm words convert with little or no knowledge of the cults or faiths they join. But once inside, they are introduced slowly to the new beliefs they must hold, the rituals they must perform, and the laws they must obey[9]. This is one of the several paths that lead to radicalisation and all it entails. Charity may begin at home, but in instances such as these, it not infrequently leads to death.
The Salafi Central Mosque in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the largest city in North-East England, hosts an organization named the Islamic Diversity Centre. Like the iERA, whose northern centre it is, the IDC engages in charitable work. Among its many "Social Initiatives" are an "Elderly Community Lunch in Teeside", an "Elderly Care Project 2017", "Help the Homeless 2017", "Neighbourhood Clean Up 2016", "Love Your Neighbour 2016", "ECP Winter Warmth Campaign 2016", "Feed the Homeless 2015", a "Newcastle Blood Donation Campaign" and a bevy of similar projects, dating back to 2013. Another campaign has focussed on bringing toys to ailing children in North Tees and other hospitals. The Centre itself was founded in 2010 and appears to be the only body of that name in the UK. IDC Northeast has also launched a national campaign "Standing Against Racism and Against Hatred". In Newcastle itself, the organisation appears on the streets with a stall from which its members hand out soup or other foodstuffs to the poor.
Here again, we are presented with a series of projects about which we can scarcely complain. Which of us would not want to feed the homeless or warm the elderly? But the same criticisms that we applied to iERA apply here. The Islamic Diversity Centre seems to have modelled itself on iERA and is, similarly a da'wa centre aimed at the conversion of non-Muslims, mainly, it seems, impressionable youngsters. Speakers such as the highly controversial Abu Usamah al-Thahabi have addressed audiences there.
Al-Thahabi is an extremist figure, an imam at the extremist Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham[10]. Speaking of non-Muslims (including, one assumes, the elderly and homeless whom the IDC goes out to help) he has said:
"We call them stinking kafir [unbelievers], dirty. But, of course, akhi [brother], if that's going to run them away from al-Islam, we don't say that to them in front of their face.... So the non-Muslims, part of being a non-Muslim is that they are liars, usually".
Is that not a breathtaking indictment of this use of apparent goodness in order to bring unsuspecting people into the Islamic fold?
The only excuse he can find for living among the dirty kuffar (non-Muslims) is that it is necessary for missionary work:
"Dawah is one of the reasons that a person is allowed to live with the kuffar. But living with the kuffar is a major sin, ikhwan [brothers], and it closes the door for a lot of (us?) in our lives. As we sit here ikhwan we have to hate it in our hearts, living with these kuffar. And whether you realise it or not, it is impacting upon us."
In a 2010 report from the British Centre for Social Cohesion, then directed by Douglas Murray, one reads:
Dhahabee [al-Thahabi] advocates holy war in an Islamic state; preaches hatred against non-Muslims; that apostasy and homosexuality are punishable by death; and that women are inferior to men. In a 2007 Channel 4 documentary Dhahabee was recorded as saying the following to his congregation:
We ask Allah to bring about the means and the ways in which the Muslims will get the power and the honour of repelling the oppression of the kuffaar, where we can go out and perform the jihad. We ask Allah to bring that time so we can be participants in that.
No one loves the kuffaar. No one loves the kuffaar! [unbelievers] [...] Whether these kuffaar are from the UK, or from the US ... We love the people of Islam and we hate the people of the kufr. We hate the kuffaar.
Whoever changes his religion from al-Islam to anything else kill him in the Islamic state.
Do you practise homosexuality with men? Take that homosexual man and throw him off the mountain.
Allah has created the woman, even if she gets a PhD, deficient. Her intellect is incomplete, deficient. She may be suffering from hormones that will make her emotional. It takes two witnesses of a woman to equal one witness of the man.
IDC was founded and is directed by Abu-Tayeb Khair Deen, about whom not much is known. A close reading of his Facebook page, however, reveals that he shares material from Bilal Phillips (see above) of iERA (24 March, 13 March, Muhammad al-Munajjid[11] and Abu Eesa Niamatullah[12]. Munajjid is a Palestinian "refugee" brought up in Saudi Arabia. He describes Jews as the top enemies of Islam; he indulges in fierce anti-Jewish hate speech[13], calls for execution of anyone who blasphemes against the prophet Muhammad[14] and homosexuals[15], instructs women to cover themselves except for their eyes and hands or even entirely[16], and declares they must never be rulers, says that a Muslim man may have sex with a slave girl[17] and insists that churches, synagogues or the temples of other faiths must never be built in Muslim countries.
Abu Eesa, a Pakistani-British Salafi, has called British people "animals", attacks democracy, calls for restrictions on women, is an anti-Semite[18] and is vocally opposed to progressive Muslims who try to integrate within Western societies.. Abu Tayeb Khair Deen's Facebook page (dated July 31, 2014) carries anti-Israel, pro-Hamas videos shared with him by Abu Eesa.
Elsewhere, Khair Deen shares posts from Bilal Philips, Abu Usamah, Yasir Qadhi, and Green Lane Mosque, posts an anti-Prevent video, and an iERA video. Many of these links identify Khair Deen and the centre he runs with Salafi extremism. What genuine love can the members of the IDC have for non-Muslims they profess to care for when they are being thus instructed?
The Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, England. (Image source: Oosoom/Wikimedia Commons)
Dr. Denis MacEoin has spent a lifetime studying Islam and related matters. He has been a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute since 2014.
[1] For more on Green, see Sara Khan, The Battle for British Islam, London, 2016, pp. 64-66.
[2] See also Khan, Batttle, p. 64.
[3] Also here; here; and here
[4] Also here and here
[5] For Haddad, see here and here; For Naik, see here ("Home Office sources said Dr Naik had been filmed on a website making inflammatory comments such as "every Muslim should be a terrorist.") and here; for Yee, see here ("May Allah help all the mujahideen [jihad fighters], especially in Palestine, especially in Iraq, and wherever they are, who fight to protect human rights [sic]")
[6] For Haddad, see here ("It is a 'must' for all Muslims to establish hudood punishments") and here; for Naik, see here and here ("He urges Muslims in India to support the hudud punishments for all Indians. Needless to say, he believes in the death penalty for homosexuals and for apostasy")
[7] For Haddad, see here ('Non-Muslims/Kuffar) and here (In a sermon he refers to Jews and Christians, describing them as "swine eaters" and "cross worshippers", and saying that for Muslims, hating Jews and Christians is a "necessity"; for Naik, see here.
[8] For a full list, with descriptions, of leading iERA and other far-right Muslim activists past and present, go here and here. For fuller details about any of these, search alphabetically here.
[9] See, for example here, p. 156
[10] See also here and here.
[11] See here, 24 March
[12] See here, 31 July 2014.
[13] See also here and here: "The Jews are nothing but Jews: They are the most malicious nation, they have the dirtiest nature, they are the farthest from mercy, the nearest to Allah's Wrath. Their hearts are full of envy and grudge. They commit massacres one after the other."
[14] See also here and here.
[15] See also here and here.
[16] "if the woman's niqaab or burqa' does not show anything but the eyes, and the opening is only as big as the left eye, as was narrated from some of the salaf (companions of Muhammad), then that is permissible, otherwise she should wear something which covers her face entirely". And see here.
[17] See also here, here and here.
[18] See also here.
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From "Not a Crook" to "Not a Liar": A Potted History of Political Denials
Daniel Pipes/Jun 09/, 2017
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2017/06/from-not-a-crook-to-not-a-liar-a-potted-history
It's a handy rule-of-thumb that when a politician – usually in a press conference, where he's annoyed repeatedly with the same question about his judgment – announces that he is or is not something, well, he is that thing.
Richard Nixon set the gold standard in 1973 when he announced, "I'm not a crook," which the Watergate scandal then established he exactly was. Now, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House deputy press secretary, referring to Donald Trump, kept this tradition alive when she yesterday refuted James Comey's Senate testimony by stating, "I can definitively say the president is not a liar."
Nixon solemnly declaring "I'm not a crook."
In the 44 years from not a crook to not a liar, a number of other politicians have inadvertently acknowledged their faults by using the same or similar words. Here's a sampling of their denials, in chronological order, just from January 2010 to March 2017:
"I am not an ideologue": Barack Obama in January 2010, denying what he precisely is.
"I'm not the emperor of the United States": Barack Obama in February 2013, suggesting what he wants to be.
"I don't think we're stupid": U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, discussing the P5+1's indeed stupid Joint Plan of Action with Iran in November 2013, and referring to the Obama administration as a whole.
"I am not a bully": New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie, responding to revelations that his staff had used arch-bullying tactics.
"Je suis social-démocrate" ("I am a social democrat"): President François Hollande, precisely as he announced a series of anti-socialist spending and tax cuts.
"I don't really even need George Kennan right now": Barack Obama discussing his flawed and failed grand strategy which is very much in need of help.
"I'm not a bully" announced Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, when that term precisely describes who he (like Chris Christie) is.
"No, I was not being held hostage. No, I was not sitting up there thinking 'Oh my God, what have I done?' I wasn't upset, I wasn't angry, I wasn't despondent": So spoke Chris Christie about his weird appearance behind Donald Trump on Mar. 1, 2016, as the latter crowed about his Super Tuesday victories.
"His were the eyes of a man who has gazed into the abyss, and the abyss gazed back."
"I'm not ranting and raving": Donald Trump, the new U.S. president, stated this at the 47-minute point of a 77-minute news conference in which he precisely ranted and raved.
"I was not involved in any criminal action": U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (Republican of California) referring to the credit card for his political campaign being misused for such expenses as flying a pet rabbit cross-country, registering his daughters in an Irish dance competition, video games for his son, oral surgery, Disneyland, a family trip to Italy, repairs to a garage door, and purchases at grocery stores and at a surf & skate shop.
So, when a politician denies he is something, you can be sure he is that thing.

‘Kushner is Trump’s pet Jew'
Elad Zeret/Ynetnews/June 09/17
She comes from a former Israeli anti-Orthodox family, he grew up in an assimilated family, and together they embarked on a different kind of journey to connect to their Jewish roots. After years of criticizing Israel’s policy in the territories, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman—the supercouple of the American world of literature—are now trying to cope with a new reality in the United States.
Years before becoming the supercouple of the American literary world, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman embarked on a journey to connect to their Jewish roots. What began with occasional visits to the neighborhood synagogue continued with observing mitzvot and a search for their family's Diaspora past.
It was shortly before Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” which established him as one of the most important writers of our generation. At the time, Waldman wasn’t even considering writing as a profession, and it seems that something in the couple’s spirituality paved their way to the top.
Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon. ‘I started going to Friday night services at various synagogues, and then I met Ayelet and she sort of joined me on this exploration’
“My entire childhood,” she says, “I grew up thinking that we would be returning to Israel the following year. My father would always say, ‘Our residence in the United States is transient. We’re not Americans. We’re going back to Israel.’ And that’s how I grew up till I reached university. And even then, I had an Israeli boyfriend, and I thought, okay, fine, we’ll first of all take a trip to India and then we’ll go back to a kibbutz. Even when I was studying at Harvard Law, I thought that at the end of law school we would return to Israel and I would do my internship in Israel. And up until I broke up with that boyfriend at the age of 26, I thought that I was about to return to Israel. And suddenly, at the age of 26, I realized that there is no return and there is no Israel for me, and I’m American and I live here. Growing up like that affected me in so many ways, like in my lack of connection to the United States and my over-identification with Israel.”
Synagogue rock
This complex is still there. Waldman remains deeply connected to Israel. Decades after she left, she speaks English and sneaks in sentences in Hebrew. Chabon listens and agrees that the journey has been deeper for her.
They are different, but they complement each other. He is the son of an assimilated Jewish family who was raised in a typical American environment, the kind that celebrated the Jewish euphoria after the Six-Day War. She is a lively Israeli who was born in Jerusalem before that war, and whose family immigrated to Montreal and from there to Rhode Island.
“For a while we tried to find a Judaism that had to do with the actual religion,” Waldman says. “My parents raised me Zionist atheist, so I never went to synagogue. There was a hatred for all things Orthodox.
“But then we went through a period where we embraced Judaism with our family. All of our kids have been bnei mitzvah and there were beautiful ceremonies and they were really meaningful to us as a family. And we celebrated Shabbat, and we even went to the synagogue for a little while, occasionally.”
“For a decade,” Chabon notes.
“Yeah, we tried, we did our best,” Waldman says. “And then at some point, we both looked at each other and we were like, ‘Enough.’ It was the idea of: here we were trying to force these structures of Judaism into a sort of progressive spiritually meaningful rubric, when it’s like a joke. You know, you can rewrite the prayers over and over again. The real truth is this is a religion that is all about…”
“Chauvinism,” Chabon says.
Michael, in a way your process was different than Ayelet. Was there some moment in your life when you started to feel more connected to Judaism?
“It started actually just before I met Ayelet. After the end of my first marriage, I decided to explore my Jewishness overall and try to find ways of reconnecting to it and see what those ways might be. And one of those ways seemed to be by trying to find some way of being observant that felt comfortable to me, that made sense to me, that was meaningful to me, which I had never experienced at all growing up. So I started going to Friday night services at various synagogues and so on, and then I met Ayelet and she sort of joined me on this exploration.”
“Oh, it was boring,” Waldman says. “I’m telling you, all day in a synagogue on Yom Kippur.”
“No, it wasn’t always boring,” Chabon replies. “That’s not true.”
“Sometimes it was very moving,” Waldman agrees, “but if it was shorter, you know, if the services had been an hour.”
“If it was a rabbi that was an incredibly inspiring intellectual speaker and thinker, then the music was really boring and dull and horrible,” Waldman recalls. “Or if the music was incredibly moving and powerful, the rabbi was hideous, you know. So we could never quite find the right home. But while that was happening, at the same time, almost coinciding with that period, we had the rise of fundamentalism of every kind around the world. Not just the rise, but the kind of consolidations of power.”
Michael, can’t you separate between both of those things, religion and radicalism?
“No, in the end that’s what I decided. There’s a spectrum that runs from a Berkley synagogue that has two lesbian rabbis and they play Grateful Dead songs to a synagogue in Mea Shearim with the men and the women separated. And even way over at this end of the spectrum, I felt the presence of the other end of the spectrum. And like Ayelet was saying, what I started to feel was we were speaking these reinterpreted prayers, translated into English, that was non-sexist, non-hierarchical, that if it says ‘Hamelech’ in Hebrew, in English it would not say ‘king,’ it would say ‘ruler’ maybe. Or if it doesn’t say ‘ruler,’ it might say ‘power.’ Something non-masculine, non-monarchical, non-patriarchal. You have to avoid all those kinds of things. So you’re speaking this language that is attempting to soften all of the edges of the original Hebrew. And then you read these passages and it’s the slang of the firstborn of Egypt, let’s say. Or even worse is what precedes it, with Moses coming to Pharaoh and saying: ‘If you don’t let us out, God is going to kill all of your firstborn sons.’ And then what does it say in the Torah? It says, ‘Pharaoh was afraid, but God hardened his heart.’ So that it’s like God is intervening at that moment to say, ‘Actually, I want to kill all these people.’
“So when we come to a passage like that, a very difficult passage like that, in our context we start to say: ‘Well, I know it says this and God is killing all these babies, or God is telling the Israelites to go slaughter all the Amalekites and kill all of their babies. I know it says that, but we’re going to interpret that to mean that God wants us to challenge our internal enemy and to find all of the things in us that we project onto other people as the enemy, and that’s what we have to try to kill.’ You’re always reinterpreting in this way that over time started to feel really objectionable and impossible. I would compare it to someone who’s in an abusive marriage, and they’re like: ‘I know it seems like he hates me, I know he hits me and he beats me, but he really loves me. It’s just because he cares so much.’ You’re always apologizing for God, and I got tired of it.”
Connecting to the Diaspora past
While Chabon turned away from religion, he did come out feeling much more deeply connected to his heritage as an Ashkenazi Jew in the Diaspora, and specifically the American Diaspora.
“Over the course of the same period, that’s what I became connected to, and that’s where I did find meaning, and that’s where I did find significance—in Yiddish and Yiddishkeit and in American Jewish culture and in the immigrant experience of my grandparents and great grandparents and their families. And all of that, the Jewish-American story, is what I have always felt pretty connected to.”
Did you ever feel connected to a kind of group? I’m talking about the young generation—Paul Auster, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Jonathan Safran Foer, and many others?
“Yeah, but only in a way as part of a larger group that I see myself as part of, which is in a way my entire generation of American Jews, the grandchildren or great grandchildren of the immigrants. Jonathan Safran Foer is15 years younger than me, something like that? In that area, we were the generation who heard Yiddish spoken by our old relatives, by the great grandparents and the great aunts, but we weren’t taught how to speak Yiddish. We heard the sound of it, but they didn’t want us to learn how to speak it.
“We were the generation that grew up sort of post-assimilation, because our parents were the assimilated Jews who grew up in the American suburbs and went to public schools and tried to be as American as they could and were able very successfully to assimilate and become doctors and lawyers and find lots of success, and who sort of prospered after the American universities lifted all the restrictions on Jews, and so Jews were able to go to all the great universities and get first-rate educations and really become part of the American mainstream. And as their children, we started to look around and say, well, we are the incredibly grateful beneficiaries of all of their hard work, of our grandparents’ hard work, of the incredible sacrifices that they made and the dangers that they faced in leaving their homes and coming to America and living in poverty and working really hard and saving money and moving out of the cities and raising our parents and giving our parents their incredible opportunities, and our parents took advantage of that.
“But now, here we are. We’re the beneficiaries of all that and we’re grateful, but with something lost along the way. What was sacrificed in order to accomplish that and is there anything in what was sacrificed that we might be able to reclaim for ourselves to keep or to bring back? And for some Jews, I think it’s religious practice generally. For others, it’s Yiddish and klezmer music and other aspects of Yiddish culture. And for Jewish writers of our generation, for a lot of us it has meant looking back at the narrative legacy and seeing what there is, whether it’s everything from Torah to Mishna to immigrant stories and the families’ histories or comic books and Marx Brothers movies, or whatever it might be that is part of that narrative that we can shape our own narratives when we sit down to write.”
Chabon integrated the connection to his Jewish roots into his masterpieces, including “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, “The Final Solution” and “The Yiddish Policemen's Union,” which suggests an alternative history in which the State of Israel loses the War of Independence and Jewish refugees settle in Alaska. These days, the novel is being adapted into a movie by the Coen brothers.
“My family disregarded Yiddish,” Waldman says, “we disregarded the Diaspora, we disregarded everything that wasn’t Israeli. And reaching a situation that I suddenly realized that my personal history is the history of Europe, the history of Russia, of Poland, of Ukraine, I had to overcome the great disdain I grew up with.”
“And that is an authentic Jewish story,” Chabon adds, “that I don’t need to constantly be apologizing for and finding ways to excuse the misogyny and the chauvinism and the xenophobia and all of the things that are so deeply wired into religious Judaism. They are so deeply wired in it, that even two lesbian rabbis in Berkeley singing a Grateful Dead song can’t get rid of them completely.”
Where does Israel stand in all of this?
“The Jewish community in America is probably the most consistently progressive white community,” says Waldman, “in terms of abortion rights, civil rights, the constitution, equal rights, feminism, everything from healthcare to foreign policy. And Israel is like for previous generations—my parents’ generation, for example—there was this kind of like carveout for Israel. So they would have these progressive politics at home, they would march with Martin Luther King, but they had like a carveout for Israel, which was, you know, Israel can do what it wants because there’s that kind of anxiety, the Holocaust anxiety. But the youth of America, the young Jewish community, doesn’t have that same sense of carveout. They cannot tolerate the contradiction of politics, of their expression of American politics, and Zionism.”
So basically the American Jewish youth are disconnecting from Israel in a way.
“The best-case scenario is organizations like J Street, because J Street is overtly Zionist for the State of Israel, and they believe in the two-state solution. The truth that most American Jews experience is a complete disconnect, even Jews who desperately want to have a relationship with Judaism. I always feel like Israel has made this terrible error in vilifying J Street, because J Street is the best-case scenario. The next level is kids like my children, who just don’t want to hear about it. They don’t care, they’re not interested. Their values as Democrats in America cannot be aligned with what’s happening in the occupied territories, and thus they disconnect. We’re bringing two of our younger kids to Israel for the first time. I offered my older kids. They were like, ‘No.’ They would rather go anywhere else in the world. Completely disconnected. They don’t want to hear about it, to think about it, nothing.”
What about coming to see you working with Breaking the Silence?
“Yeah, so they’re proud of that. They look at me and the work that I’m doing with Breaking the Silence and the work that I’m doing with Peace Now, and they think that I’m moving deckchairs on the Titanic. But there are other kids, like the ones who are currently protesting at AIPAC. Israel should be embracing those kids, because those kids love Israel. They want there to be an Israel. My kids, honestly, they grew up with an Israeli mother and I raised them with this kind of—for lack of a better word—Zionism, for all that they wouldn’t bat an eyelash if Israel was just shut down and everybody deported to North Dakota. Each of them has said to me, ‘Hey, that would have been a better solution.’
“From my point of view,” she adds with a half-smile, “it should have been Berlin. Those are the people who murdered us. We are city people. Jews are urban in our souls. They should have just given us Berlin. Can you imagine? A wonderful Jewish city state.”
'No longer feel comfortable in the US'
While their comfortable home in California is far away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they still feel the need to get involved. A new book, “Fifty, 1967-2017,” which is being published these days, compiles essays by writers from around the world about the occupied territories. The writers include Nobel Prize laureate Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, Colum McCann, Geraldine Brooks, Colm Toibin and others. The Chabons also wrote about their experiences from a visit to the territories with Breaking the Silence. They were not happy with what they saw, but you won’t see them supporting the BDS movement. They are in favor, however, of boycotting the occupied territories.
What do you think about the new anti-Semitism?
“I actually think there’s been an up-tick in anti-Semitism,” Waldman says. “I think what there has been is an empowerment of the Right, a specific fringe right that’s very unusual. For example, I got a Twitter picture sent to me. It was like a Nazi caricature—someone spent a lot of time drawing it—of me with like fangs and claws and horns.”
Do you know who sent it?
“Just some random right-wing crazy person. And I do think that before Trump, there was a feeling among people like that, that they had to be silent. I think there was a feeling that it was not acceptable to speak the way they speak. And Trump has given permission to a kind of racism and anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim (sentiments) that we haven’t seen before in modern times in this country. I think it’s like the viciousness that people kept between themselves, they now spill out to other people.”
And you think that the fact that Jared Kushner is his son-in-law is not helping?
“You know, Jared Kushner is Trump’s pet Jew. There’s always been that character, like there were facilitators in the death camps and in the ghettos too. There’s always the Jew who will facilitate the agenda of the anti-Semite. I don’t think that Trump has a coherent ideology. I think he’s personally an anti-Semite, and you can see that with the things he says. Like when he says, ‘You people and your money’—I mean, those are anti-Semitic tropes, right? I think he cares only about personal power, and you don’t see anything wrong with striking a bargain with overtly anti-Semitic people. I think we’re lower on his list than Muslims, but I do think that that kind of vicious anti-Semitism now has permission to flourish. I feel safe in California, but I no longer feel comfortable in the United States.”
Is Ivanka and Jared Kushner’s position actually damaging the Jewish community in the US?
“Eventually I think it will. The vast majority of Jews voted for Hillary Clinton. They also voted for Obama in something like 76 percent.”
So where do you see Judaism going now?
“Fundamentalism is still on the rise,” Chabon says. “To me they’re all the same. Islamic fundamentalists are the same as Jewish fundamentalists are the same as Christian fundamentalists. It’s just a matter of who hates who and who’s more efficient at killing people and oppressing women.”
“When David Be’eri runs over a child in the road,” says Waldman, “it’s exactly the same thing as an Islamic terrorist on a suicide bus. The only difference is he’s not killing himself, he’s only killing the children. When the government gives him the Israel Prize, it’s fundamentalism as sponsored by the state, and that is no different than ISIS.”
Do you see yourself in some way writing prose about Israel?
“It’s funny,” Waldman replied. “Michael and I were just talking about this, and he said if his background had been my background, he would have already written about it, that he’s focused on the past and on history and on family, that he would have written the stories that I have not written.”
“It’s a goldmine, you’re sitting on a goldmine,” Chabon says.
Well, Jonathan Safran Foer just did it.
“Yeah, and she could have done a lot better,” Chabon jokes.
“Despite not wanting to feel this way, despite rejecting its claim on me, in Israel I feel a sense of home that I don’t necessarily feel anywhere else,” Waldman says. “It’s curious to have that sensation. And I don’t mean like the El Al flight is landing and everybody’s crying and singing ‘Hevenu Shalom Aleichem,’ but like it’s real.”

Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia: How Iran and the Brotherhood Tore the Gulf Apart
David Andrew Weinberg/defenddemocracy.org/
8th June 2017 - The National Interest
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56121
The Gulf monarchies face the most serious crisis in their history. It is largely being covered as a diplomatic spat, since several Arab nations terminated their relations with Qatar on Monday to protest its support for radical Islamists. But the crisis has an economic component as well. Saudi Arabia severed Qatar’s access to its only land border, across which roughly 40 percent of Qatar’s food needs are imported.
The story of how we got here dates back to 1990. It can be traced to Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s contrasting views on two dangerous forces: Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces conquered Kuwait in 1990, the move uniformly terrified the five other Gulf monarchies—but it also set some of them on divergent paths. Riyadh came under pressure from local Brotherhood-influenced preachers who demanded political concessions, including the end of the kingdom’s arrangement with the U.S. military. The Saudis terminated their cozy relationship with the Brotherhood.
Qatar, on the other hand, took a separate path. Saudi Arabia’s powerlessness in the face of the Iraqi invasion was a lesson to key Qatari leaders that their nation’s survival required building influence with great powers, and perhaps even nonstate actors, beyond the Arabian Peninsula. In time, Qatar emerged as the strongest backer of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region.
In 1995, Qatar’s Crown Prince Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani overthrew his father in a bloodless coup, seizing power while the ruler was vacationing in Europe. The following year, Saudi Arabia is thought to have sponsored a countercoup, in part out of concern over the precedent that deposing an established Gulf monarch could have set. That countercoup failed.
The Saudi-Qatari power struggle evolved into outright antagonism, particularly in the broadcasts of Qatar’s Al Jazeera Arabic, which Qatar’s Emir Hamad launched in 1996 with $150 million as the first truly powerful pan-Arab satellite station. By muckraking against established Arab regimes, Al Jazeera built up Qatari soft power while irritating fellow rulers. By granting frequent airtime to extreme Islamist ideologues, most notably Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Qatar gave an unparalleled platform to the Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2002, Al Jazeera broadcast criticisms by Saudi dissidents that led the kingdom to withdraw its ambassador from Doha for the next half decade. During that period, Qatar doubled down on its maverick foreign policy, lending a degree of political and even economic support to Iran and several of its proxies, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy became somewhat more conventional as a result of facing down an internal Al Qaeda insurgency from 2003 to 2006.
Qatar also jumped at the chance to profit from Saudi Arabia’s loss when Washington looked for an alternate location for its Combined Air and Space Operations Center, moving this crucial air base in 2003 from Saudi territory to Qatar’s Al Udeid. Since then, the base has provided Doha with a measure of impunity from U.S. pressure and considerably reduced Qatar’s reliance on any of its Gulf neighbors for defense.
By 2007 and 2008, however, the possibility of an American strike against Iran’s nuclear program—and the specter of Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces in Qatar—reportedly helped persuade Doha to mend fences with Riyadh. Al Jazeera toned down its criticism of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi ambassador returned.
However, with outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011, Qatar threw its full weight behind various Brotherhood movements, in a bid to challenge the existing order. This pulled Riyadh and Doha apart yet again.
Qatar’s support of Brotherhood militias or political parties across the region deeply alarmed other Arab actors, especially the United Arab Emirates but also the Saudis. These tensions were most visible over Egypt, where Qatar bankrolled Mohamed Morsi’s Brotherhood government, only to see it toppled by a Saudi- and Emirati-funded military regime.
Qatar, meanwhile, upped its support for the Muslim Brotherhood’s most violent regional branch, taking in senior Hamas leaders such as Khaled Meshal when the group’s leaders fled the growing turmoil in Damascus. Over time, military as well as political operatives for Hamas made their way to a comfortable safe haven in Doha.
Eventually, King Abdullah threw his lot with the Emiratis on a plan to bring Qatar to heel, withdrawing their ambassadors from Doha in March of 2014, and persuading tiny Bahrain to do the same. That Gulf crisis dragged on for most of the year, until Qatar caved when faced with the threat of a potential Saudi land and air blockade. Qatar shuttered a branch of Al Jazeera focused exclusively on critical coverage of Egypt, and expelled seven Muslim Brotherhood figures.
However, Qatar’s broader pledges—such as stopping incitement and ending its support for radical Islamists—have largely come to naught. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE noted this in their public statements severing ties with Qatar and imposing a blockade on Monday. To be fair, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, in the UAE, have their own problems with embracing hate preachers. There are also problems with both countries’ public lists of banned terrorist groups, but Qatar has not even taken such a basic counterterrorism step.
The current spat, while described by some as sudden, is therefore a long time coming. But what exactly prompted this eruption of diplomatic and economic hostilities is still up for debate.
President Trump, as well as some of his critics, have implied that his trip to Saudi Arabia last month—where he implored Muslim countries to “drive out” terrorists and extremists—provided a green light for Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to crack down on Qatar. Yet, it should be noted that President Trump also praised Qatar in his Riyadh speech as a “crucial strategic partner.”
More importantly, however, it seems the crisis was precipitated by Doha’s apparent failure to hold the Saudi line against Iran, giving the Saudis a new reason to join with the Brotherhood-averse UAE against Qatar.
According to sources cited by numerous outlets, Qatar allegedly paid an enormous ransom in April of this year in exchange for the release of some two dozen Qataris taken hostage in Iraq, including members of the royal family. A Gulf observer cited by the Financial Times called this episode “the straw that broke the camel’s back” for Gulf unity.
FT cited sources alleging that Qatar paid $200 to $300 million as part of the deal to jihadists in Syria—including a faction dominated by Al Qaeda—in exchange for hostages sought by Hezbollah and Iran. But Qatar has allegedly paid several past ransoms to Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch before. More pivotal was the allegation in FT that Qatar paid $700 million to Iran and its Shia proxies in Iraq, who claimed that Iran pocketed roughly $400 million of those funds.
Further, reports from the Saudi press that Qatar’s foreign minister met with Iranian terror master Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in mid-May provide an added explanation for Riyadh’s anger at Doha. Thus, while Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood has long been an underlying concern for the Saudis, it was the Iranian dimension that appears to have moved them in favor of confronting Qatar.
The trigger that pushed all of this into the open was a purported cyberattack on Qatar’s state news agency, which FBI officials suspect may have been conducted by Russian hackers. As a result of the hack, Qatar’s news agency carried what appear to be fraudulently planted comments attributed to the country’s ruler embracing Iran, the Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah. The remarks were repeatedly cited by pro-government media in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain without giving fair airtime to Qatar’s repeated denials. Those governments blocked Qatari news outlets such as Al Jazeera from their territory, and then severed relations with Qatar less than two weeks later.
The internecine Gulf conflict has worsened by the day, and it’s important that the United States help bring it to an end—but not before ensuring certain outcomes.
Washington should seek to ensure that Qatar ends its support once and for all for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other Sunni jihadists. It should not forget to press Riyadh to end misconduct of its own, such as ongoing religious incitement in government-published Saudi school books. But the United States must also work to resolve the current crisis to ensure that outside actors such as Iran and Russia are not able to exploit disunity among America’s allies in this crucial region.
David Andrew Weinberg is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @DavidAWeinberg.
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/david-weinberg-qatar-vs-saudi-arabia-how-iran-and-the-brotherhood-tore-the-gulf-apart/