Thursday, April 28, 2011

London's Finsbury Park mosque a "a key transit facility," and "an attack planning and propaganda production base"

Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, two preachers who lived off state benefits after claiming asylum, are identified by the American authorities as the key recruiters responsible for sending dozens of extremists from throughout the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan via London mosques.

The leaked WikiLeaks documents, written by senior US military commanders at Guantánamo Bay, illustrate how, for two decades, Britain effectively became a crucible of terrorism, with dozens of extremists, home-grown and from abroad, radicalised here.

Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, is described as a “haven” for extremists. United States intelligence officials concluded the mosque served as “an attack planning and propaganda production base”.

The files will raise questions over why the Government and security services failed to take action sooner to tackle the capital’s reputation as a staging post for terrorism, which became so established that the city was termed “Londonistan”.

The documents show that at least 35 detainees at Guantánamo had passed through Britain before being sent to fight against Allied forces in Afghanistan. This is thought to be more than from any other Western nation.

Of those, 18 were originally from abroad. The other 17 were British nationals or citizens granted residency here after claiming asylum, who were indoctrinated before being sent to terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

The Government has paid millions of pounds in compensation and benefits to people regarded as highly dangerous by the US authorities.

Qatada, who was paid compensation under human rights laws for being “unfairly detained”, is described as “the most successful recruiter in Europe” and a “focal point for extremist fundraising [and] recruitment”. Hamza is accused of encouraging “his followers to murder non-Muslims”.

Four mosques in London and an Islamic centre are highlighted as places where young Muslim men were radicalised and turned into potential terrorists. Finsbury Park mosque “served to facilitate and training of recruits,” note the files, adding that it was “a haven for Islamic extremists from Morocco and Algeria.” [...]

Now, the key role that Britain and British-based preachers played in the lives of many of the Guantánamo detainees can be disclosed.

British intelligence services also provided information, including lists of suspected extremists seized from raids on Islamic centres, to the US military as it interrogated detainees. The information was passed on despite the Government publicly condemning the use of torture at Guantánamo. The leaked documents also reveal that:

• Sixteen detainees sent back to Britain are regarded as “high risk” by the US authorities and are liable to plan attacks against the West. However, they have been paid a reported £1 million each in compensation by the Government. For the first time, details of their alleged extremist activities, including travelling to Afghanistan to fight against British troops, are disclosed [...]

The top-secret documents show how Muslim men travelled to European countries such as France, from where they obtained fake EU passports. They then crossed the channel to take advantage of Britain’s generous asylum system.[...]

According to one document, Finsbury Park mosque was “a key transit facility for the movement of North African and other extremists in London to and from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan”....

Former Foreign Office minister admits that political correctness led Britain to shelter jihadis

Kim Howells, a former Foreign Office minister, said Tony Blair's government and other administrations had been afraid to criticise the conduct of radical preachers and others because they feared being accused of racism.

He said the policy had been pursued even though there was plenty of intelligence about the "evil" intent of such extremists and that it was only reversed after the 7/7 bombings. Mr Howells also said that he had been unable to find a single imam willing to say publicly that suicide bombers would go to hell. He further criticised a reluctance in Muslim communities to condemn the "murderous actions" of terrorists.

His comments came as a leaked diplomatic cable, published today by WikiLeaks, revealed Britain had been warned years before the London bombings to stop giving asylum to "very dangerous" terrorists.

The cable, sent by a former military attaché to the Algerian embassy in Washington on July 12 2005, told US diplomats that Britain had allowed extremists to raise money for terrorist causes.

"Did the English consider the risks of allowing Londonistan to develop?" the cable states. "The British thought that sheltering terrorists was a good solution, but they did not realise that one can never align oneself with the devil, and they did precisely that for years and years."...

Indeed.

Universities "turning a blind eye" to campus jihadists, endangering national security

Islamic fundamentalism is being allowed to flourish at universities, endangering national security, MPs and peers said yesterday.

Academics are turning a blind eye to radicals because they do not want to spy on students, a report claimed.

Despite "damning evidence" of a serious problem, little progress had been made in tackling the unsustainable situation, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security said.

They urged the Government to tackle the issue on campuses with "utmost urgency".

Such extremism "endangers our security at home and has international implications that are serious enough to threaten our alliance relationships", said the group, which includes the former home secretary Lord Reid.

Secret files obtained by The Daily Telegraph and WikiLeaks disclosed this week that at least 35 terrorists held at Guantánamo Bay were indoctrinated by extremists in Britain.

The leaked documents, written by senior US military commanders, illustrated how Britain effectively became a crucible of terrorism over the course of two decades.

The parliamentary group was set up two years ago to carry out research into homeland security issues.

Its inaugural report comes after a separate inquiry by the umbrella organisation for universities earlier this year said animal rights extremists posed a greater problem than Islamist radicals.

Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said it could do very little about extremism on campus. Instead it issued new guidance on the importance of freedom of speech. Their report followed the attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a former student at University College London, to blow himself up using a bomb in his underpants as a flight came in to land at Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009.

Abdulmutallab, an engineering student, was the Islamic Society president from 2006 to 2007.

The parliamentarians' report said Britain's homeland security strategy failed to address in sufficient detail how to tackle the threat of extremism at universities, how to strengthen businesses' ability to deal with a terrorist attack and how to ensure security over the internet.

The report said some universities and colleges had become sites where extremist religion and radicalism could flourish "beyond the sight of academics".

They also noted that there was a "reluctance to co-operate with the police on the part of some universities that did not want to be seen to be 'spying' on their students"....

Grandfather beaten to the ground by youths as he walked home in Leicester

A grandfather was beaten to the ground by a group of young men who had asked him for a cigarette.

Tom Carnegie, 74, was attacked by four or five men in Belgrave, Leicester, on Good Friday as he walked home from visiting his son.

Recovering at home yesterday, the retired hosiery worker and merchant seaman said: "I don't know why they did it. This is not the world I grew up in.

"It was a lovely evening and I'd been to see my son and his girlfriend.

"I left them, as I always do, at about 11pm. Everything seemed fine.

"On the way home, I saw this group and just assumed they were locals. They asked me for a cigarette and I said, 'of course', because I'm a bit of a softie.

"I don't really remember what happened next, but they just started hitting me.

"I tried to cover my face and head with my arms, but they got some blows in. I've got bruises all over.

"While I was down they went into my pocket and took my cigarette case and my wallet.

"I had £40 or £50 in it because I'd got my pension the day before."

Police have branded the attack, in Payne Street, off Checketts Road, as "callous".

They have urged the public to help them catch the gang.

"Hopefully, they will be caught before they do this to someone else," said Mr Carnegie, a Londoner who moved to Leicester about 20 years ago.

"I will get over this," he said. "I've got a good family around me and a lot of good friends. The wounds are healing, although I'm still a bit stiff."

an elderly Asian couple found Mr Carnegie in the street and helped him home.

Officers want to trace them as they believe they may be able to help identify his attackers.

John Boyce, of Age Concern in Leicester, said: "While crimes like this are rare, if they become more common we would be diminished as a society. The biggest concern in cases like this is that the victim can lose all confidence and ability to go out again."

The attackers were Asian, aged about 20 and all about 5ft 10in. They were all wearing black.

Detective Constable Sarah Poppleton said: "This was a nasty attack on an elderly man who was minding his own business. The people who have committed this callous crime need to be caught and we would appeal to the public to help us identify those responsible."

Anyone with information is asked to call Det Con Poppleton on 0116 222 2222, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

First I want to note the irritating, obfuscating and bordering on pathological use of the term "Asian" - by British newspapers in lieu of the more accurate muslim.Honest journalism has succumbed to dhimmitude and political correctness. I wondered - Do muslims refer to themselves as "Asian"? So I thought I'd check a few muslim online publications to see what people they consider to be "Asian":Al Arabya News Channel - Gulf Daily News - The Voice of Bahrain - Kuwait Arab Times -Crime - The Muslim News

In reviewing the above searches you will find that the vast majority - if not 100% - use the word 'Asian' in regards to China, Japan, Malaysia, etc.
The same countries and people that we all think of when reading the word 'Asian'. So clearly muslims do not refer to themselves as 'Asian'.
Isn't it time that British newspapers stop treating their readers like a bunch of dopes?

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Paan spitting in the UK: Filthy habit costs the UK a small fortune

The problem of paan spitting in the UK is said to be bad across the country. Until this week I had never heard of it or seen any of the detritus it leaves behind.

A press report highlighted the difficult job Brent council, in London, is having clearing away the residual filth from its streets. It now has a high profile advertising campaign aimed at stopping this habit from besmirching its streets. On the spot fines of £80 are liable to face offenders.

So what is paan spitting?

Paan is a tobacco leaf-based mixture. It is commonly chewed and spat out by some members of the Asian community. Paan is made of tobacco, nuts and spices and is wrapped in a leaf.

Once chewed and spat on the pavement, path or sidewalk a dirty dark red stain is left. It resembles dried blood. It is very difficult to shift the stains away.

People who object to paan spitting come from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. Paan spitting is not liked areaware in Wembley was spattered with the filthy stains at regular intervals.

Why chew?

Apparently some who chew paan believe it is a palate cleanser whilst for others it is just a habit I guess.

This habit though has largely passed me by. Perhaps it is the lower diversity of cultures where I live than in cosmopolitan London. However, with Brent council having to spend £20,000 a year to clean the mess up, and now spending £17,000 in an education drive to stop the habit, it is obviously an expensive problem for the UK as a whole.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Royal wedding: Muslim group's Abbey protest blocked

Scotland Yard says it has rejected an application by a radical Islamist group to protest outside Westminster Abbey on royal wedding day.

The group, Muslims against Crusades, was behind a poppy-burning protest on Armistice Day.

Officers said talks were continuing on whether protests at other nearby locations would also be blocked.

The English Defence League had said it would hold a counter- demonstration if permission were granted.

Five thousand police officers will be on duty on the day.

Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens said that negotiations with the groups were "on-going", but pledged that the wedding would not be disrupted.

She said there would be 70-80 close protection teams for VIPs on the day, 29 April.

Police have already begun searching central London for explosives.

fficers are scouring every inch of the route to Westminster Abbey, while dogs have also been checking bins and lamp-posts for bombs.

At a briefing on security arrangements, Ms Owens said 60 people currently on bail from prison would be banned from Westminster on the day of the wedding.

Criminal activity would be dealt with "quickly, robustly and decisively so that it's a happy event for everybody else who intends to be there", she added.

As well as the Royal Family, 50 heads of state are attending the ceremony, which it is anticipated will be watched by up to two billion people on television.

Scotland Yard said it had no intelligence of a specific terrorist threat to the wedding so was not currently in a position to impose anti-terrorism stop-and-search powers, said the BBC's Danny Shaw.

Police have powers to ban any major protests along the main route that Prince William and his bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, will take.

But they are unable to rule out "static" protests taking place at other nearby locations in central London.

Officers at Scotland Yard were contacted by the ultra-nationalist English Defence League, which said it wanted to protest if the Muslims Against Crusades' proposed action went ahead.

March this year a member of Muslims Against Crusades was fined £50 for burning poppies at an Armistice Day ceremony.

The group's website calls on Muslims to disrupt the wedding, describing senior members of the Royal Family as "enemies to Allah and his messenger".

Monday, April 18, 2011

'London Taliban' Target Women and Homosexuals...

Women who do not wear headscarves are being threatened with violence and even death by Islamic extremists intent on imposing sharia law on parts of Britain, it was claimed today.

Other targets of the 'Talibanesque thugs', being investigated by police in the Tower Hamlets area of London, include homosexuals.

Stickers have been plastered on public walls stating: 'Gay free zone. Verily Allah is severe in punishment'.

Posters for H&M which feature women in bikinis and a racy poster for a Bollywood film have been defaced.

It is believed Muslim extremists are behind a spate of attacks being investigated by police, according to the Sunday Times.

How they want to see women: 'Talibanesque thugs' have been threatening women including non-Muslims with violence for not wearing a headscarf

An Asian woman who works in a pharmacy in east London was told to dress more modestly and wear a veil or the shop would be boycotted.

When she went to the media to talk about the abuse she suffered, a man later entered the pharmacy and told her: 'If you keep doing these things, we are going to kill you'.

The 31-year-old, who is not a practising Muslim, said she has since been told to take holiday by the pharmacy owners and now fears she may lose her job.

She said: 'Why should I wear a hijab (headscarf) or burqa? I haven't done anything wrong.'

Other incidents reported include the placing of stickers across the white-minority borough which state it is a 'gay-free zone' and the daubing of paint on posters for clothing shop H&M featuring women in bikinis.

Ghaffar Hussain, of the anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, told The Sunday Times that the intimidation was the work of 'Talibanesque thugs'.

He added: 'This minority think they have the right to impose their fringe interpretation of Islam on others.'

Three men have been charged with religiously-aggravated criminal damage in connection with some of the incidents, which have mirrored crude attempts at censorship in Birmingham.

Borough Commander of Tower Hamlets, Paul Rickett, said: 'I am saddened that there are a small minority of people who do not wish to respect the lifestyle choices of others.

'I would like to reassure the people of Tower Hamlets that we are investigating these incidents.

'At this stage there is no information to suggest any of the incidents are linked. Anyone found committing such criminal acts will face criminal proceedings.

'We work closely with faith leaders in the community, the Tower Hamlets interfaith forum, our partner agencies and the local community to ensure that people feel safe in the borough.'

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Bar, said he had seen posters vandalised in Birmingham but was not aware of threats being made.

He said: 'I have seen posters defaced in Birmingham and it's just complete nonsense.

'If people choose to follow the religion they should be free to do so and we don't want to go down the route that the French have done, but these people have to accept other people.

but the freedom to do what you want, others should have the freedom to do what they want to do.

'It's the actions of a very small minority, and in Birmingham we have not seen people threaten women who are not wearing the burqa - if someone were to do that the police should be informed.'

Firebrand Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary said that he was aware of individuals who would speak up if they saw a Muslim woman without a headscarf, but insisted they were only giving advice about their views of Islam.

no threats would be made and described the allegations of threats of death as 'completely ridiculous'.

He said: 'There are groups who propagate Islam, and if they see a Muslim woman without a hijab they may say "sister, it's obligatory that you cover your hair".

'It's an individual intervention to propagate Islam. For non-Muslims, they may point out to them that women are being exploited in the West.

'It's about telling people about the preference of covering up, but nobody's going to say "you are going to be killed".'

Tower Hamlets has a reputation for being a centre of Islamic extremism in London.

recently it was revealed that Rich Dart, a middle-class former BBC worker, had converted to Islam and was living in Bow, east London in a £300,000 flat paid for by benefits.

Despite being unemployed, Mr Dart regularly attends Muslim rallies in which he was recently heard to say: 'When the Taliban defeat the allies we will establish sharia law and take the fight to the enemy.'

Before Christmas posters appeared in the borough claiming the religious festival was 'evil'.

The campaign's organiser was 27-year-old Abu Rumaysah, who once called for sharia law in Britain at a press conference held by hate preacher leader Anjem Choudary, the leader of banned militant group Islam4UK.

Mr Rumaysah said: 'Christmas is a lie and as Muslims it is our duty to attack it.

'But our main attack is on the fruits of Christmas, things like alcohol abuse and promiscuity that increase during Christmas and all the other evils these lead to such as abortion, domestic violence and crime.

'We hope that out campaign will make people realise that Islam is the only way to avoid this and convert.'

Wolfie Smith and the Tower Hamlets Taliban

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Muslim Council of Britain: Muslims who say that women need not cover their hair are guilty of rejecting Islam

The body which claims to be the voice of Britain's Muslims has told women that wearing the veil is "not open to debate".

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said that not covering the face is a "shortcoming" and suggested that any Muslims who advocate being uncovered could be guilty of rejecting Islam.

In a statement published on its website the MCB, warns: "We advise all Muslims to exercise extreme caution on this issue, since denying any part of Islam may lead to disbelief.

"Not practising something enjoined by Allah and his Messenger… is a shortcoming. Denying it is much more serious."

The statement quotes from the Koran: "It is not for a believer, man or woman, that they should have any option in their decision when Allah and his Messenger have decreed a matter."...

"There is no case for a French-style ban in the UK and virtually no serious person supports it," said Haras Rafiq, of the moderate Muslim think-tank, Centri.

"But by this statement, effectively suggesting that the veil is an obligation, the MCB have put themselves at the opposite extreme of the spectrum."

The statement is signed by the MCB's then secretary-general, Mohammad Abdul Bari, and his deputy, Daud Abdullah. It was published in the wake of an earlier controversy about the niqab but passed without notice.

It remains available on the MCB website as a statement of policy.

Other signatories of the statement include Imran Waheed, spokesman of the extremist group Hizb ut Tahrir and several other extremists including Haitham al-Haddad, who has denounced music as a "prohibited and fake message of love and peace". All 27 signatories, who describe themselves as "Islamic groups and scholars," are male.

Dr Bari stepped down as secretary-general of the MCB last year, but remains chairman of the hardline East London Mosque, whose chief imam, Abdul Qayum, also signed the statement.

Dr Bari is also a former president of the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe, which controls the mosque and which advocates a sharia state in Europe.

The MCB received significant funding under the previous government and was seen as the main representative voice of Britain's estimated 2.8 million Muslims but has not received any official money since February 2010....

For a far more extensive representation of muslim violence worldwide go to the Religion of Peace website

Thugs from "Muslims Against Crusades" intend to disrupt royal wedding

This is the same group that provoked public outrage by disrupting the traditional Armistice Day moment of silence and burning large replicas of the poppy, Britain's symbol of remembrance and respect for fallen soldiers, while chanting "British soldiers burn in hell," and holding banners proclaiming that "Islam will dominate." If you're not exactly charmed by that sort of behavior, you'll like it even less knowing the man charged and fined for disturbing the peace in that case works only part-time and takes in £792 a month in state benefits. For their next act of interfaith dialogue, they're targeting the royal wedding. With such behavior and propaganda like the graphic shown above, it is easy to ask: why are you even in Britain? If it's so awful, why not leave? But there are two answers to that: first, they are there to dominate, to remake Britain into an Islamic republic. The second answer: Why would they stop when they are being rewarded with womb-to-tomb benefits, all the while threatening and cursing the kuffar with their mouths full?

MUSLIM HATE CLERIC TARGETS KATE MIDDLETON'S AND PRINCE WILLIAM’S BIG DAY

AN INVESTIGATION was launched last night into more than £1million of Government contracts awarded to the brother of Britain’s most notorious hate cleric who is plotting to ruin the Royal Wedding.

Vince Cable’s business department is examining whether funds given to Yazdani Choudary for IT training and apprenticeship projects over the past seven years were “allocated properly”.

Mr Choudary, 48, is the wealthy elder brother of Anjem Choudary, 44, whose fanatical groups such as Al-Muhajiroun and Islam4UK, are banned in Britain.

Anjem, who wants a worldwide Islamic state and threatened a rabble-rousing march through Wootton Bassett to disrupt coming home ceremonies for dead British soldiers, is UK spokesman for Al Qaeda sympathiser Omar Bakri Mohammed.

The latest group with which he is involved, Muslims Against Crusades, is planning to cause chaos at next week’s wedding with a “forceful demonstration”.

The group has warned Prince William “and his Nazi best man” Prince Harry that unless they immediately withdraw from the military, the “day which the nation has been dreaming of for so long will become a nightmare”.

Prince Harry, depicted on the fanatics’ website with a swastika on his Army beret, is expected to become a greater target after being promoted to Captain yesterday. He will get extra training on Apache helicopters and learn how to use them in Afghanistan.

Scotland Yard fears violent clashes in London on Royal Wedding day with the extremist English Defence League, which staged a stand-off with a large Muslim march outside the US Embassy in London on Friday.

The Government’s inquiry came after a Sunday Express investigation into Anjem Choudary’s new teaching and recruiting wing, the Centre for Islamic Services. It operates from the basement of a three-storey building in New Road, Whitechapel, east London, bought by brother Yazdani on a nine-year lease for £26,000.

An application in Yazdani’s name to convert two floors for use as an “Islamic teaching centre” was refused last month by Tower Hamlets Council. We have also established that:

CIS placed 22 adverts for new pupils in Tower Hamlets Council’s weekly paper East End Life.

Yazdani lives with a GP in a £690,000 mansion in a rich suburb of Purley, Surrey.

He owns Best Training Solutions Ltd, which has been awarded seven years of Government funding to deliver Learn Direct IT training in London.

Yazdani hired Al Muhajiroun supporter Shah-Jalal Hussain, 28, who was jailed for two years in 2008 for trying to raise funds for overseas terrorists, to carry out work for Best Training.

Last year, Yazdani Choudary set up Master Printers Ltd on the ground floor above the CIS.

Over a period of weeks, the Sunday Express watched Anjem Choudary going in and out, as well as supporters including Muslims Against Crusades spokesman Asad Ullah and Shah Jalal Hussain.

Yazdani refused to answer our questions about graphic designer Hussain, or whether Master Printers produces leaflets or websites for groups involving Anjem.

Hussain rang us to complain we were “sabotaging” his business and warned: “Rot in hell or embrace Islam.”

Anjem Choudary said he was “too busy” to talk about the CIS.

We handed our findings to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

A spokesman said: “We take these accusations seriously. We will investigate.”

Last night, the Muslims Against Crusades website showed images of the Royal Crown burning, a smiling Prince William superimposed over a dead Afghan child, and captions of the Queen and other senior royals as “The Crusaders”.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Islamic Art Museum


Islamic Art Museum

It isn’t often that a building stuns – literally.  However, this is the case with the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the capital of Qatar.  Traditional Islamic architecture meets the twenty first century to spectacular effect.


the Islamic Art Museum

Nothing is done by halves here.  Even the palm lines entrance (and entrancing is perhaps the right word) fills the visitor with expectation.  Sublimely designed by IM Pei, the museum opened its doors to the public less than two years ago.


Islamic Art Museum - photos

The building is, as you might expect, heavily influenced by ancient Islamic architecture but its design is unique and there is simply no other building like it on earth.  Certainly as a museum of this king it was the first in the Persian Gulf and its sheer size alone, over forty five thousand square meters, is a testament to the ambition of its designers.


Islamic Art Museum 1

Sabhia al Khemir became the founding director of the museum in 2006.  A globally renowned Tunisian writer she is also expert in Islamic art and is best known for her work in bridging cultural divides and creating dialogue between the great civilisations of the world.  Certainly the Museum of Islamic Art (or QIA as it is known) is an incredible talking point.


Islamic Art Museum
Islamic Art Museum 3
Image Credit Flickr User websterkate


The idea that contemporary Islamic culture is inward looking was contradicted from the word go by the invitation to IM Pei to be the chief architect of the project.  The Chinese born American considered by many to be a master in his field was gently coaxed out of retirement to design the building.  Most agree he has done a stupendous job. You may know him for, among many other projects, the glass pyramid outside the Louvre.


Islamic Art Museum 4

One of the first things that Pei did was to politely decline all of the proposed sites for the museum.  This building – if it was to stand – had to stand alone.  Doha happens to have a corniche – a waterfront promenade which is paralleled by a road.  Perfect.  So it was that it was eventually built on a sixty acre island off the corniche.


Islamic Art Museum 5

But what lies within?  Surely something so spectacular on the outside must only be something of a disappointment on the inside.  chacun à son goût, of course, but this is not the case with this particular building – whatever your own taste, disappointment is hardly the word.


Islamic Art Museum 6

The foyer itself is a grandiose mix of marble, steel and glass.  As with the exterior the hard edges of modernism combine sublimely with the curves of traditional Islamic design.  Now, look up...


images of Islamic Art Museum
Islamic Art Museum 7

From one of the upper levels, the view down is just as staggering.  Just as the architecture is both traditional and progressive, so are the ideas behind the museum.  Although built with the children of Qatar in mind primarily, the museum’s aim is to educate people about Islamic art and indeed the heritage of the Islamic world in general.  What is often a misunderstood culture and history can be seen here and the visitor is, by being enabled to study the past then in more of a position to understand the present.  


Islamic Art Museum 8

In fact, the whole place is a mathematician’s dream.  The idea of the place is to give the visitor not only access to a wonderful and invaluable series of art works but to allow them to journey through time and across cultures, religions and eras.


Islamic Art Museum 9
Islamic Art Museum 10

Even the cafe has its own unique appeal. Oh, yes.  There are the exhibits to...


Islamic Art Museum 12

Once you are done gasping at the architecture you may want to turn your attention to the exhibits.  Here, too, you will not be disappointed. The museum is host to a significant collection of art which go from around the year 600 CE to the nineteenth century.  There is something for every taste, from precious metals and stonework to glass and textiles.


Islamic Art Museum 13
Image Credit Flickr User zenat_el3ain

An important collection of manuscripts, spanning over a thousand years of Islamic literature is a fascinating glimpse in to an ancient and literate culture.


Islamic Art Museum 14

Times of both war and peace are represented here.  This hugely important museum is little known outside of the Islamic world.  Perhaps we should help spread the word?


Islamic Art Museum 14

The concept of haram Mosque in 2020

The concept of haram Mosque in 2020

Town Makkah will continue to tear down the buildings around the Grand Mosque next week for the purpose of expansion and massive development in the Grand Mosque.

Major renovation that began galloping May 2008 on the orders of Abdullah, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Cities (Khadimul Haramain). King Abdullah wants to add 35% capacity of the Grand Mosque.

Mayor of Makkah, Dr. Osama Al-Bar, said that among the buildings to be demolished are the hotels in the Central Region. Some of them have been torn down last year by King Abdullah Extension Project to the Grand Mosque.

Al-Bar said that already some 1,000 buildings demolished. Al Bar also denied that the buildings in the district of Al Azizia also be demolished. According to him, in the region will only be held for the study of the eastern hemisphere.

The increase in area of Al Khansa and expand roads in the region had been in the plan, he said. Numerous roads will be opened in Malawi, including the main road that starts from the Tunnel King Fahd Road and ends at Al Masjid Al Haram before the Office of the Governor of Makkah. (tvone.co.id)

The project, expected for completion in 2020 it will absorb up to U.S. $ 100 billion (USD 920 trillion). Gelontoran superbanyak funds include the construction of skyscrapers, shopping centers, apartments, and new hotels in Mecca.

2020 Masjidil Haram Makkah Development [Video]

Makkah 2020

The idea of Umbrellas in Mecca isn't Good! We must experience the heat that prophet Muhammad pbuh did on his hajj!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Anjem Choudary banned from France after attempting to join burqa ban protest

A British Muslim radical has been permanently banned from France as the country steps up security before the introduction of a nationwide burka ban tomorrow.


Anjem Choudary, head of the outlawed Islam4UK which advocates Sharia law, was turned back as he tried to join an illegal protest in Paris on Saturday. Officials served Mr Choudary with a legal notice informing him that the French Interior Ministry was banning him permanently.


Abu Izzadeen and Omar Bakri, both also controversial figures based in Britain, both tried to get to the event but were stopped by police.


It eventually saw 61 people arrested, including 19 women wearing veils and an illegal immigrant who was carrying an offensive weapon.


France is on a high state of alert after Al Qaeda issued warnings that it would attack the country following the introduction of the ban, which imposes fines of £130 and 'civic duty' guidance to women caught wearing Islamic veils.


In October Jacques Myard, a senior member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party who helped introduce the burka ban in France, said Britain was 'losing the battle against Islamic extremism' and thus 'opened the door to terrorism'.


Mr Myard said he was shocked at the way radicals like Mr Choudary and Mr Bakri were allowed to make comments attacking British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.


Mr Choudary, 43, is a former solicitor who ran the outlawed Islam4UK group and who has appeared in court in Britain for organising marches.


He has frequently praised the terrorists who organised the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. and the 7/7 bombings in London.


He formed the group Al-Muhajiroun with Mr Bakri, 52, who became known as the 'Tottenham Ayatollah' because of his praise of extremism.


Mr Izzadeen, 34, is British spokesman for Al Ghurabaa, a Muslim group banned under the Terrorism Act 2006 for its glorification of violence.


Another man, Fouad Belkacem of the Sharia4Belgium group, was also arrested in Paris yesterday.


France is the second country in Europe, after Belgium, to introduce a full ban on a garment which immigration minister Eric Besson called a 'walking coffin'.


The rigorous new law, which was passed last October, makes it an offence to wear face coverings in 'public places'.


Exceptions include crash helmets and ski masks, with the government making it clear that garments favoured by Muslim women are the principal target of the legislation.


Al Qaeda has already issued warnings against France for introducing the law....


DR TAJ HARGEY: The burka is an alien, cultural monstrosity.... and it CAN be banned in Britain