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Compiled by Steve Jalsevac
NOTE: There are alarming, rapid developments on this issue. The Middle East, Iran and Pakistan seem to be approaching a giant powderkeg situation that could threaten much of the world. As well, totalitarian Islamic extremism and jihadism are also growing within many democratic nations as a result of explosive immigration or Islamist influence on moderate Muslims. Paralleling this development is the continuing collapse of Western economies, culture, religious beliefs and will, leaving many democracies especially vulnerable to Islamist intimidation and violence. See also, Islamists and Christians, Pope, Obama
Iran builds new Eastern Front in Iraq against Israel, Jordan— Debka
Iran will in the coming months consolidate the Shiite takeover over Iraq. Hizballah will win a place in the sun and strategic depth after being squeezed between Syria, Israel and the sea. After US troops exit Iraq, the Iranians will be able to deploy their missiles and Hizballah’s rockets in the bases the Americans leave behind in Iraq and point them at Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The Taseer Assassination And The Tyranny Of Fear – Speroforum
Christian Caryl on why the assassination of Salman Taseer may well be an “epochal” moment in Pakistani politics. It’s one of those moments that makes you realize that a fundamental shift has occurred, that something has broken beyond repair. It has become extremely hard to see how anyone can pull the country’s political culture back from the brink. An imploding Pakistan promises immense pain and turmoil to itself and the world at large.
‘Blow up the churches while they are celebrating Christmas’ – Catholic Culture
A “Jihadi Encyclopedia for the Destruction of the Cross,” developed by al-Qaeda and widely circulated on the Internet, likely influenced the perpetrators of the New Year’s bombing of a Coptic Orthodox church in Alexandria, according to press reports.
The most eye-opening book of 2010 By Phil Lawler
If ignorance really is bliss, then no one should read The Closing of the Muslim Mind.
Reilly tells the sad story of how a great philosophical battle within Islam, between the Mu’tazilites and the Ash’arites, shaped the history of the faith and led inevitably to the crisis of Islam today.
The triumph of the Ash’arites, Reilly tells his readers, represents the final closing of Islamic mind. With Mu’tazilites, some inter-faith dialogue would have been possible. But with Ash’arites, there is no basis for a reasoned discussion because reason itself is held in disdain.
It is no coincidence, Reilly observes, that the great discoveries of the Arab world occurred before the rise of Islamic power. Nor it is surprising that the development of the Islamic nations lags far behind that of their Western counterparts. As things stand, the entire world is headed down a dangerous road, toward a confrontation between Islam and the West. It would be best, surely, to avoid a violent confrontation.
The real meaning of “Allahu akbar” – Jihadwatch
Growing numbers in Britain convert to IslamThe research suggests that the numbers converting to the religion may have nearly doubled by 2010 from the 60,669 converts in 2001.
Muslim World League declares jihad against cinematic depictions of Muhammad – Jihadwatch
Denmark, Sweden ‘waking up’ to terrorism – One News Now
A Christian convert and former member of the Palestine Liberation Organization says the recent arrest of five Muslim men in Denmark and Sweden illustrates that Europeans are finally rejecting the spread of Islam.
Widening cracks in Ahmadinejad’s grip on power – DEBKAfile
There are growing indications that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is facing his second epic struggle to stay in power since the 2009 popular riots against his election – with his back to the wall. Even the secretive revolutionary Islamic Republic of Iran has been unable to conceal the widening fissures in Iran’s ruling elite. Ahmadinejad sacked his 14 top advisers, breaking up the inner cabinet which virtually ran the country under his control.