Austrian Police Chief Fears Radical Infiltration

The police chief in Austria's second largest city is worried that radical Islamists will infiltrate his otherwise peaceful Muslim community.

Graz police director Alexander Gaisch told a local newspaper that foreign funding for mosques, particularly from Saudi Arabia, could bring a more radical message. He advocated increased legislative efforts in Austria to counter such foreign funding.

Muslims were believed to constitute about 6 percent of the Austrian population in 2009. However, as with many European countries, issues of assimilation and radicalization within the Austrian Muslim population have been a concern. Radical Islamic organizations such as the Lebanon-based Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood not only have a presence in Austria but have been linked to threats and violence.

Gaisch, in his interview published Monday by the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, was careful to distinguish between his existing community and the outside forces he sees moving in. "It'll never be an obvious radicalism," he said. "There won't ever be sword-fighters coming. We will be slowly infiltrated."

The interview reflects a rare candid assessment by a senior police official about the threat posed by radical Islam in Europe.

Shabaab Media Evolution

The development of al-Shabaab's media arm has transformed an insurgent Somali militia into a full-fledged al-Qaida branch, says McGill University's Christopher Anzalone. Flashy videos have given the group a propaganda tool to counter battlefield setbacks and a severe famine, as well as an effective way to recruit Western Muslims.

The group's media arm was launched in 2007 and initially consisted of "simple productions produced with often shaky, probably handheld cameras." In 2009, the group made a "revolutionary leap" with professional video "Labyk Ya Usama" ("We Heed your call Usama"), a polished media piece that united the group with al-Qaida. By 2010, al-Shabaab's Media Department had evolved into the "al-Kata'ib Media" group and in July of that year announced the formation of a "news channel."

Despite a production focus on battles with African peacekeepers and the Somali government, the sophistication of al-Kata'ib Media shows the maturation of al-Shabaab. The media team's videos balance al-Qaida ideology with some concern for the group's international image, particularly in relation to Somali's devastating famine. The multilingual clips have also attracted recruits from Somalia's Diaspora, East Africa, and Western Islamists, but have also allowed al-Shabaab to steer terrorist activities abroad.

Palestinians Agree to Elections

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to hold elections in May, with a caretaker government running things in the interim, the Israeli daily Haaretz reports. The move would end years of power-struggle between the secular Fatah movement, which now controls the West Bank, and the Islamist Hamas, which governs Gaza.

In one of the biggest breakthroughs, Fatah acceded to Hamas' demand for the dismissal of pro-Western Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad.

Palestinian sources reportedly hammered out the deal during secret talks in Cairo. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal are expected to finalize the deal at a planned meeting later this month.

The move is believed to be part of Fatah's renewed effort to win support for a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations Security Council. A highly-touted ploy in September fell short of the necessary votes due to the divide nature of Palestinian governance. If the new coalition government were to gain U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, it would effectively empower Hamas as an internationally-recognized entity around the world.

Fayyad, who will likely be replaced by a compromise candidate nominated by Fatah, yielded to calls for his removal but argued he was not the problem between the factions. "I have always called for ending the split," he said. "I call upon the factions to find a new prime minister and stop claiming that I'm the obstacle, because I was never an obstacle and will never be."

Although extensive obstacles remain to implementing the unity plan, the coalition government is likely to run into major funding issues. "Dismissing Fayyad would be a huge gamble," the Associated Press reports. The U.S.-educated economist is widely respected in the West and is considered key to ensuring the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars of international aid." Both Israel and the United States will also shun any government including Hamas, as both brand it a terrorist organization which has not renounced violence or embraced negotiations.

Norquist Hit for 'Iran Lobby' Link

A new report highlights ties between Republican activist Grover Norquist and the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI), an organization that opposes tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic and lobbies against U.S. backing for opposition forces.

The report, written by Clare M. Lopez and David Reaboi of the Center for Security Policy, examines how Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform has supported CNAPI's efforts to achieve a softer U.S. policy approach toward Tehran.

CNAPI pushed successfully for the "do-nothing" policies adopted by President Obama's 2008 campaign and his administration, Lopez and Reaboi write. That includes unconditional negotiations with, and loophole-ridden sanctions against, the Islamist regime. Washington has also been reluctant to provide aid to Iranian pro-democracy forces.

The authors see U.S. policy toward Iran "in shambles," with the administration appearing "more concerned with limiting Israeli self-defense than halting the Iranian nuclear program."

Norquist has played a behind-the-scenes role "through support for a second organization, the American Conservative Defense Alliance (ACDA), a founder and leader of the CNAPI campaign."

ACDA hosted the November 2007 CNAPI formation meeting, which involved representatives of "approximately 30 largely left-wing and Islamic organizations" including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Lopez and Reaboi write. The meeting took place at the Washington headquarters of ATR, where Norquist serves as president.

ACDA's friends in Congress included Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., a close ally of CAIR, along with representatives Barbara Lee, D-Cal., and Ron Paul, R-Tex. Its partners included George Soros' Open Society Policy Center, the left-wing Jewish group J Street, and the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran.

CNAPI members held a January 2009 meeting at Norquist's ATR headquarters in which they pushed for an end to U.S. support for Iranian resistance groups, Lopez and Reaboi write. While Norquist never joined CNAPI, his wife Samah served as both an officer and a director of the ACDA.

Read the full report here.

British Arrest Four for Terrorism

An ongoing British counter-terrorism investigation netted the arrests of four young men in raids early Tuesday. At least 12 people have been apprehended during the past three months in "Operation Pitsford." The latest suspects were picked up for raising funds for violence and planning travel to Pakistan for terrorist training.

"Today's arrests were pre-planned and not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety. Officers were unarmed," said a statement from the local British police detachment. The four are being held under Britain's Terrorism Act 2000, which gives investigators 48 hours to charge, release, or apply for additional detention time to detain the suspects.

In September, authorities nabbed three suspected suicide bombers before they went operational. The group is reported to have planned "mass murder" on the streets of Britain, and made "martyrdom" videos stating their intentions.

Schwartz: Stuck in the Middle on Islamophobia

Islamophobia is a real and dangerous phenomenon, but not to the degree that American Muslim Brotherhood organizations claim, argues Muslim writer Stephen Schwartz for the site Islamicpluralism.org. False, racist images of Islam do not protect non-Muslims from extremists or even the appeal that Islam has to its converts, he adds, but only strengthens bigots on both sides.

"The foundation of Islamophobia is, then, the will of the Islam-hater to claim authority to define Islam for the Muslim," says Schwartz. Real Islamophobia may manifest itself in forms unique to the hatred of Islam, or may reassign racial or religious stereotypes about other minorities to Muslims.

Those who condemn all of Islam as extremist, characterize its existence as a problem for the world, and demand inauthentic theological changes, reassign hatred previously cast on Jews. Accusing all Muslims of having superior loyalty to a Muslim super state is merely a repetition of bigotry previously used against Catholics and their adherence to the Vatican.

Critically, non-Muslims cannot and should not deny hate against Muslims, which is seen as a real issue by practicing Muslims of many streams. So anti-radicalism narratives proposed by Muslims or non-Muslims cannot ignore the existence of stigma or hate directed at Islam. Moderate Muslims compete best against radicals by proving that they both more knowledgeable and more authentic to traditional sources, and by dealing with real social problems like hate and ignorance.

However, calling out Islamophobia does not mean bending to false and manipulative interpretations of the idea.

"The Wahhabi lobby, and especially CAIR, has been grossly irresponsible and, in traditional terms, un-Islamic, in loudly and prolifically comparing the current situation of American Muslims with those encountered in the past by indigenous Americans, Black slaves, or the ethnic Japanese relocated in camps during the second world war," Schwartz argues. He also laments that this lobby "still monopolizes the American Muslim voice in the halls of government and in the pages of media."

CAIR has traditionally used false images of hate to manipulate the relationship between moderate Muslims and law enforcement, harming counterterrorism efforts. The Associated Press recently cited CAIR officials instructing young Muslims "not to speak with police even if their parents, imams, or Muslim clerics urge them to cooperate."

Read Schwartz's full column here.

Iranians Attack IAEA Nuclear Report

Iran has responded with violent threats as well as anti-American and anti-Semitic conspiracies to the International Atomic Energy Association's latest report on Iranian nuclear development. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports on the reaction among Farsi-language Iranian articles, which matches hostile English-language rhetoric in Iranian government media wings, Press TV and Fars News Agency.

Iran has pursued a "two-pronged approach" to deal with increasing pressure about its nuclear weapons program and its planned assassination of the Saudi ambassador in Washington. "It is threatening to carry out a forceful military strike against the U.S. and its allies if attacked, and even to destroy Israel, while at the same time engaging in diplomatic activity, relying on the support of Russia and China," MEMRI notes.

On Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei threatened "absolute force to any aggression and even to threats," during a speech to at an officers' commencement ceremony at a military academy. Iranian Armed Forces deputy chief of staff Masoud Jazayeri warned a day earlier that "war might break out at any moment," and would not be limited to chaos in the Middle East and strikes on Israel. "Iran holds many cards, which are not limited to the region, and they will be used when the time is right," he added.

Even harsher threats have been directed at Israel, and many contain an anti-Semitic tone. A report by the semi-official Fars News Agency warned Israel of 30,000 suicide bombers trying to infiltrate its borders. Iranian website Bultan News, which MEMRI describes as close to Iran's intelligence ministry, threatened to obliterate Israel with help from Hamas, Hizballah, and Syria. It also claimed the attack would send Israel's Jews back to Europe, part of a long-standing Iranian policy to deny a Jewish claim to Israel. There are also claims of Israeli "tentacles" leading anti-Iranian terrorist groups, and reports that "pro Zionists, who dominate the US Congress" are responsible for threats to Iran.

Other articles speculate on American conspiracies against Islam and Iran. They claim that America and Israel are conducting a "psychological war on Iran," and that American "divide and rule" tactics are targeting Islam and promoting "Iranophobia."

Rather than counter IAEA claims, Iranian media has accused the agency of "playing into U.S. hands" and argued for a review of Iran's ties to the organization. They have also accused the author of the report, IAEA director-general Yukiya Amano, of being "Washington's Toy."

Accused Terrorist to Use Insanity Defense

Defense attorneys for a Saudi Arabian student arrested in February for plotting attacks against dams, nuclear plants, and the Dallas residence of former President George W. Bush will argue he is not guilty by reason of insanity.

In a motion filed Monday, Khalid Aldawsari's defense team claimed their client "appears to be suffering from a mental disease or defect or other mental condition" that leaves him unable to understand the case and unable to help in his own defense.

Federal agents searched Aldawsari's residence in February with a warrant filed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and found bomb-making materials, including concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids, glass beakers and flasks, wiring, clocks, and a Hazmat suit.

Agents also found a journal showing that Aldawsari had been planning a terrorist attack in the United States for years. According to one entry, Aldawsari acquired a scholarship from a Saudi corporation to enable him to come to the United States and plan jihad.

The scholarship "will help tremendously in providing me with the support I need for Jihad, God willing," he wrote. "And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for jihad."

A search of Aldawsari's computer showed that he researched potential targets for attack. Agents, for example, found an e-mail with a subject line saying "Targets," containing names and contact details for three U.S. military personnel who had served at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Another e-mails titled "NICE TARGETS 01" listed the names of 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and California. Aldawsari also e-mailed himself a document titled "Tyrant's House" that listed former President George W. Bush's Dallas address.

His trial is scheduled to begin in January.

In an Oct. 25 statement that was filed with the court Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder cited national security concerns for barring FISA-related evidence from being disclosed publically.

"I hereby claim that it would harm the national security of the United States to disclose publically or hold an adversarial hearing with respect to the FISA materials," Holder wrote. "The FISA materials contain sensitive and classified information concerning United States sources and methods and other information related to efforts of the United States to conduct counterterrorism investigations," he added.

Aldawsari's lawyers have questioned the legality of the FISA-related evidence and have sought to suppress such evidence from being used at his trial.

Hizballah Silencing Syrian Dissidents in Lebanon

Hizballah and the Turkish terrorist group PKK are doing Syria's dirty work in Lebanon, causing 12 Syrian dissidents to disappear since September, according the Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper. The group's actions point to Syria's reliance on foreign terrorists organizations to control dissent and prevent the flow of weapons to Syrian protesters.

"Hizballah and the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] have surveyed several Lebanese areas looking for Syrian opposition members, [and] Hizballah has surveyed Beirut's southern suburbs where many cases of disappearances have been reported," said Nabil Halabi, head of the Lebanese Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. According to the Daily Star, Hizballah's efforts have focused on Syrian Arab dissenters, and the PKK has been used to "blackmail and threaten Syrian Kurds" in Lebanon. Both have passed information to Syria's embassy about the activities of expatriate dissidents.

The report comes after enormous pressure has been exerted on the Syrian regime, which has killed more than 3,500 people since anti-government demonstrations began earlier this year. The head of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces Maj-Gen Ashraf Rifi released a report last month implicating the Syrian embassy and members of the ISF of involvement in the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members.

Syria has also tried to silence expatriate dissidents as far away as the United States, which was detailed in the indictment of a suspected Syrian intelligence mole in Virginia last month. The regime has also been threatened by crippling sanctions by the EU and America, who have called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Hizballah has remained silent about the accusations against it, with no comment appearing on the group's media website.

Brits Ban Controversial Islamist Group

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May is banning "Muslims Against Crusades [MAC]," the latest name used by a British Islamist group that has been banned several times before. The action comes in response to the group's planned protest of the United Kingdom's November 11^th Armistice Day, which honors the fallen of the nation's armed forces.

"It is not allowed for Muslims to mourn the death of any Muslim," said Muslims Against Crusades leader Anjem Choudary in a video address about the group's protest. "The one who stands with them, he is one of them," he added, before calling the honoring of British veterans "an insult against Islam and Muslims." Last year's protest saw Islamists burning a symbolic sign of British remembrance and chanting "British soldiers burn in hell" during the moment of silence.

The banning of the organization makes membership or support of it a criminal offense. May claimed that she was satisfied that MAC was "simply another name for an organization already proscribed under a number of names." The group was originally banned in 2006 for its glorification of terrorism, including the honoring of the 9/11 hijackers as the "Magnificent 19."

MAC also recently threatened British MP Mike Freer who he was meeting voters at a London mosque, forcing him to be evacuated by police escort. Ahead of the event, the group warned that an Islamist stabbing attack last year on MP Stephen Timms, should serve as a "piercing reminder" to politicians that "their presence is no longer welcome in any Muslim area."

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