Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Round-up on the race for Congress in the 10th District

by James Loewenstein from The Daily Review

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) have launched a bipartisan effort to make congressional approval of a proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia dependent on the president's written certification to Congress that smart weapons sold to the Saudis could never be used against U.S. or allied forces in the region, according to a press release from Carney's office ... "If JDAM technology falls into the wrong hands, it could significantly harm U.S. forces in the region and undercut Israel's qualitative military edge," the Carney-Kirk letter says. "Any sale of JDAM technology to Saudi Arabia must come with guarantees backed by strict conditions notified to Congress followed by regular reporting, tight congressional oversight and intense consultations with our ally Israel."

Evangelical Christian Leaders Seek to Establish Communications with Muslim Clerics

from The Christian Newswire

Howie Gardner, Pastor of Bel Air Assembly of God in Maryland, came in contact with Kamal Nawash, President of the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism (FMCAT), in Washington D. C. ... Our main goal has been to convince Muslim leaders, particularly those from the Muslim World League, to declare a fatwa against school curriculum being used in Saudi Arabia, Palestine and elsewhere which encourage small children to pursue the life of a terrorist. FMCAT posted Gardner's letter on their web site and allowed for a free exchange between him and other Muslims as well as Christians and Jews. "Much of the response was hostile" Gardner says. But there were positive signs as well. "One Muslim woman wrote saying 'Most of us agree with you but we do not have the courage to speak up.'" ... "Thus far the response from Christians has been slow" Gardner says.

Talking on corrupt nuclear deal is dramatic imagination: official source

from SANA'A & NewsYemen

The government has met during talks with the Power Corporation in Sana'a, Aden, Dubai, Washington D.C, Detroit and San Diego with tens of different businessmen, investors, technicians, Arab and foreign bankers, said the source. The source said the Powered Corporation was established for intvestment in field of power in general and in nuclear energy in particular. It said it has focuses on Middle East, especially Yemen, because there is a Yemeni partner in the corporation, as he said ... A Yemeni journalist in America, Muneer al-Mawiri, first published news of the deal in an article for MarebPress.Net He said that a Saudi lawyer Khalid al-Sunaid helps them in judicial procedures in favor of the corporation. The company was founded by a Yemeni-American Jalal Abdul Ghani and a US partner James Jeffery.

The camel in the tent

by Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen from The Washington Times

The arrival of the world's first Islamic stock exchange exerting unprecedented Islamic influence in the heart of the U.S. and Western economies that should raise our alarm. Dubai's handsomely paid Washington lobbyists see nothing wrong with that. Rather, they claim the deal benefits U.S. financial markets, giving "Nasdaq access to rich Mideast pockets." Unfortunately, the deal also increases the appeal and influence of Islamic financing in the West. What is "Islamic" finance? Islamic, or Shariah-based finance, is the 1920s invention of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna. He ordered the Muslim Brothers to create an independent Islamic financial system to supercede the Western economy, facilitating the spread of Islam worldwide.

Vatican urges Muslim respect for all faiths

by Riazat Butt from The Guardian

Cardinal Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, the newly-appointed president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Vatican's main liaison agency with the Muslim world, has previously expressed concern about the treatment of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. In one interview he highlighted the "extreme" case of Saudi Arabia where freedom of religion was "violated absolutely" with "no Christian churches and a ban on celebrating Mass, even in a private home" ... The cardinal's Eid greeting does not single out Muslims for criticism. Instead, he described it as the duty of believers to "reject, denounce and refuse every recourse to violence, which can never be motivated by religion, since it wounds the very image of God in man.

Be nice to your maids, Be kind to your guests

from The Manila Times

An advertising agency in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, plans to air public-service commercials to promote kinder treatment of domestic helpers in the kingdom. One ad shows a group of women having a meal and the hostess telling her Filipino maid to “get out of my sight.” Another commercial shows an employer abusing a maid and a driver who are obviously from an Asian country. The message to viewers is that kindness is part of the home and a hallmark of the Muslim faith. Reports reaching the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Labor complain that for every thoughtful boss, there are two abusive ones.

Maldives clears out 'extremist' mosque

by Ajay Makan in Male and Peter Foster from The Telegraph

Terrorism experts and senior local politicians have expressed concern that a small number of Maldives nationals have been travelling to Pakistan where they have been radicalised and even trained in terrorist techniques. More than 50 suspects were arrested at the Dhar-ul-Khair mosque on the island of Himandhoo which has been operating in defiance of Maldivian law which requires all mosques to be under government control ... The threat from the Wahhabi brand of Islamist extremism, evidenced by a marked increase in Islamic dress, is causing growing concern in the Maldives, a Sunni Muslim nation which has a long tradition of moderate Islam. A recent report states that the Maldives government had detained 400 suspected extremists in 2006.