Student Extremist Bites FBI Agents

A Penn State student charged with biting two FBI agents who arrested him Tuesday, has posted pro-jihad songs and statements online. Emerson Begolly, 21, was carrying a loaded gun with the safety off when agents approached him in connection with an unspecified investigation.

Begolly's posts included songs in praise of Osama bin Laden and calling for violent attacks. In one song posted to the Shumukh al-Islam jihadi website under his alias Asadullah Alshishani, he salutes Swedish suicide Bomber Taimour Abdaly and calls for murdering Western targets. "I am not afraid to die, Grab my gun and my ammo… I am soldier and we are at war, Grab my gun and my ammo," Begolly said. "Blow their heads right off their shoulders… Martyrdom is what I wanted best."

In a song posted to YouTube, Begolly calls Osama bin Laden the Amir of the Ansaar, or leader of the vanguard. "You fight AmeriKKKa and terrorize the Jews, You slay the murtadeen (apostates) and blow up the Hindus," the song states. "They call us 'terrorists' and terrorists we are! Allah commands us to terrorize the kuffar [disbelievers]."

In December 2009, he posted a poem called "A Tribute to Self-Sacrificing Mujahideen" on the al-qimmah.net website. "O my dear brothers who have joined the caravans, my deepest love and affection," Begolly wrote. "Asadullah Alshishani [Begolly's alias] is but a shadow in your light, a writer of poetry. But I desire to be a martyr."

According to his MySpace account, Begolly also went by the alias Gaot Lee on the defunct jihadi website http://clearinghouse.infovlad.net. The MySpace page and other internet postings show an interest in Nazi memorabilia alongside Arab and Muslim causes. In one photograph on his MySpace page, Begolly is dressed in a Nazi officer's uniform, while another pictures him at a rally holding a Palestinian flag at a rally.

Goldberg: Media Overlook Islamist Slaughter of Christians

Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for The Atlantic, criticizes the "lackadaisical" media coverage of the December 31 suicide bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt which killed 21 people and wounded 79. Jihadists are suspected in the attack, which occurred following numerous threats against Copts and other Middle East Christians by Al-Qaida linked groups.

"The Salafist war on Christians in the Middle East is intensifying fairly rapidly, with profound consequences not only for Christians…but for the rights of all ethnic and religious minorities in the greater Middle East," Goldberg writes, "but this attack seems like a watershed moment."

The Middle East is "a place historically intolerant of the rights of non-Arab Muslims. The black of Sudan, who are trying to break free of Khartoum's hold; the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, Christians in Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq; and the Jews of Israel," he adds. "In Saudi Arabia, of course, it is illegal to even build a church, and I'm afraid it will soon be illegal to build one in Iraq."

And where do Middle East Christians go to seek refuge from Islamists? Goldberg observes that in the wake of the October 31 attack by al-Qaida on a Baghdad Church which resulted in the deaths of 58 people, Iraqi Christians have "run for the protective embrace of another Middle East minority" (Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq), he adds, just as thousands of Sudanese Christians have fled to Israel.

Morocco Breaks Up al-Qaida Terror Cell

Moroccan authorities announced Wednesday that they have arrested 27 members of a terror cell headed by a member of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the terror group's North African affiliate.

Security forces captured rocket-propelled grenade launchers, handguns and Kalashnikovs at three sites in the Western Sahara – a territory on the Atlantic Coast, Moroccan Interior Minister Tayeb Cherkaoui said. The group may have been plotting bombing attacks against state and foreign security forces. Authorities are concerned that AQIM will try to exploit long-simmering ethnic and political disputes to get a foothold in the territory.

From 1975 to 1991, the Moroccan government fought a war with the Polisario Front, a separatist group based in neighboring Algeria. For close to two decades, the two sides have been deadlocked over who should be allowed to participate in a referendum to decide whether the Western Sahara should receive independence. Since then, violence has erupted occasionally in the area, most recently in November, when knife-wielding gangs killed 11 unarmed Moroccan security officers.

Analysts say AQIM has become increasingly bold in the region since September, when it kidnapped seven foreign contractors (five of them French citizens) in Niger.

The largest recent terror attack in Morocco took place in 2003, when 45 people were killed in a series of suicide bombings in Casablanca. Since then, Moroccan authorities say they have rounded up more than 60 radical cells. Mohamed Darif, who monitors Islamist radicalism in Morocco, told Reuters that the most recent arrest is the first to suggest there are links between the Polisario and AQIM. Polisario officials deny any involvement with al-Qaida and say they have been working to combat terror in the region.

Read more here and here.

Galloway Thanks Hizballah for Lebanese Tour

Viva Palestina's leader George Galloway lauded Hizballah in a speech delivered last summer in Lebanon, The Propagandist online magazine reported.

"You know the Hizballah are special people. I've been involved in the Arab world for 35 years exactly. And I can tell you, with all respect to all others, Hizballah are a special Arab organization," Galloway told a room full of students attending Viva Palestina Arabia's "Summer University of Palestine" on July, 28, 2010.

That day, Galloway mentioned, students of the Summer University attended Hizballah's museum, the Khiam prison, as well as Fatima's Gate, a former border crossing between Lebanon and Israel. The visits were made possible with the help of the terrorist organization Hizballah.

"I thank from the bottom of my heart our friends in Hizballah for everything they have done for us today, but more importantly, for everything that they have done to show that with the will, with the courage, and with the leadership, victory can be ours. Victory can be ours. Victory can be ours," Galloway told the students and others in the audience at a restaurant in Lebanon.

Viva Palestina Arabia is a branch of Viva Palestina (VP), an organization which has delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas regime in Gaza during its four land convoys to the region. The branch, based in Lebanon, ran its first Summer University of Palestine from July 25, 2010 through August 1, 2010 at the International University of Lebanon in Bekaa Valley. Speakers at the University included Galloway; Hizballah supporter Normal Finkelstein; Viva Palestina leader and Hamas supporter Yvonne Ridley, Azzam Tamimi, an advocate of Hamas, Hizballah and Islamic Jihad; as well as activists from the IHH Mavi Marmara ship.

Viva Palestina Arabia plans to host a Winter University of Palestine this month in Jordan, as well as another Summer University of Palestine in Lebanon in July.

Assassination Generates More Threats in Pakistan

Worries over Pakistan's future deepened dramatically after Tuesday's assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer by one of his own bodyguards. The guard says he did it because of Taseer's opposition to blasphemy laws which allow executions for people who insult Islam.

While some mourn the loss of "a voice of tolerance in society," an Islamist group considered moderate used the murder and Wednesday's funeral to issue a threat against Taseer's allies. The Jamaat-e-Ahl-Sunnat, which opposes the Taliban, issued a statement saying 500 of its scholars "have advised Muslims not to offer the funeral prayers" for Taseer. "Also, there should be no expression of grief or sympathy on the death of the governor, as those who support blasphemy of the Prophet are themselves indulging in blasphemy."

Taseer was shot 14 times as he got out of his car in Islamabad. Most of the bullets struck him in the chest and head. Some reports indicate his other body guards stood by as the shooting erupted. He had spoken on behalf of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of insulting the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. Islamist groups have called for her execution, but others are concerned the accusations are baseless.

The Jamaat-e-Ahl-Sunnat praised Taseer's confessed killer, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, as a hero. "Salman Taseer is a blasphemer and this is the punishment for a blasphemer," Qadri told Pakistani television.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, a leading Islamist political party, issued a statement saying "there wouldn't have been the need for someone to shoot him," had Taseer simply been removed from office.

In a column published by the Daily Beast, Newsweek Pakistan editor Fasih Ahmed mourned the loss of a friend and former colleague, and what it means for Pakistan. "Taseer's death closes the door on any discussion of the [blasphemy] laws," he wrote. "The mullahs and their sympathizers have probably succeeded in scaring reason and rationale into retreat."

British Consular Employees Involved in Hamas Plot

Two of the five Palestinian Hamas operatives planning an attack on Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium were employees of the British consulate general office in East Jerusalem. Britain's foreign office noted that it was "aware of reports" about the charges, but stated that their arrests had "no connection to their work at the consulate."

"We are aware of reports that they may be charged with the illegal sale of weapons. We are urgently seeking confirmation of the charges ,"a spokesman said. "We have been told by the Israeli authorities that the investigation into our two employees is unrelated to the work they do at the consulate."

The two men, Mohammed Hamada and Bilal Bakhatan, were employed as maintenance men and had been vetted in joint background checks by the British and Israeli governments, according to The Telegraph newspaper. Initial statements by Israel's security service, the Shin Bet, noted that the two men helped primary suspects Mussa Hamada and Bassem Omari acquire pistols for the planned terror attack.

Material Support Investigation Moves Forward

Despite unfounded charges that the FBI is using criminal investigations in an attempt to silence anti-war activists, a probe into potential American support for terrorist groups by anti-war activists is moving forward.

A new round of subpoenas has been issued in the three-month-old investigation into whether Americans in Chicago and Minneapolis have provided material support to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), both designated terrorist organizations, Politico's Josh Gerstein reports.

Maureen Murphy, the managing editor of the Electronic Intifada, received a grand jury subpoena from the FBI on December 21, ordering her to appear before a grand jury in Chicago on January 25. Murphy is reportedly one of 23 "activists" from the Chicago and Minneapolis areas who have been called to testify in the investigation.

News of the case first came on September 24, when the FBI carried out raids in the two cities seeking evidence of support for the two terrorist organizations. "The warrants are seeking evidence in support of an ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism," said Steve Warfield, an FBI spokesman in Minneapolis.

Following the searches, the Justice Department reportedly issued subpoenas to a number of individuals, including the Electronic Intifada's Murphy, in connection with the investigation. Many, if not all of those subpoenaed refused to testify. Within weeks, those subpoenas were cancelled. It now appears that prosecutors are moving forward with the investigation, reissuing the orders to appear before a grand jury.

"Along with several others, I am being summoned to appear before the Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 25th, in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago." Murphy said in a press release. "We are being targeted for the work we do to end US funding of the Israeli occupation, ending the war in Afghanistan and ending the occupation of Iraq. What is at stake for all of us is our right to dissent and organize to change harmful US foreign policy."

News of the September raids prompted a substantial outcry from civil liberties and Muslim-American advocacy organizations. The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) attacked the searches as "a fishing expedition" and claimed the U.S. government showed "no regard for nonviolent work." Absent evidence that the targeted groups were "planning terrorist operations," MPAC said the justification offered for the raids is "absurd."

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the FBI for searching the Chicago home of Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network. Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR's Chicago chapter, called the investigation "a waste of taxpayer dollars," "a new low," and "an example of FBI overreach when it comes to activism or commentary on the (Middle East) conflict."

As the IPT reported at the time, such comments show ignorance about what activity is barred under U.S. law. It isn't necessary for the government to show that someone was "planning terrorist operations" to demonstrate that the suspect is providing material support to terrorists.

The statute barring material support covers both violent and nonviolent help because Congress found foreign terror groups "are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contributions to such an organization facilitates that conduct. In upholding the law, the Supreme Court recently ruled that such support also "helps lend legitimacy to foreign terrorist groups – legitimacy that makes it easier for those groups to persist, to recruit members, and to raise funds – all of which facilitate more terrorist attacks."

Canadian Writer Explains Why Islamists Cannot Compromise

Violent Islamist extremism is akin to mental illness and not rooted in poverty, memories of Western imperialism, and anger over the Israeli-Palestinian situation, Robert Sibley writes in Monday's Ottawa Citizen. This is ignored by the chattering class, Sibley writes, which believes that "[i]f only the West would apologize, make reparations, abandon Israel, leave the Middle East and Afghanistan, all would be well."

He draws this from a new book, New Political Religions, by Barry Cooper. Cooper describes a "disease of the spirit" in which people "see themselves as specially chosen by God, or even as gods themselves." If they aren't psychopaths, "they most definitely are spiritually disordered."

According to Sibley, that disorder makes it impossible for Islamists to compromise. They contend that the Koran contains Allah's direct speech. "And because Allah's will and action is unlimited, the Koran, as his eternal word, must apply to all times and places. There is no need to look elsewhere in responding to the human condition, regardless of changing circumstances."

These views "augur ill for the presence of Islam within the secular West," Sibley writes. "If radical Islam is…rooted in the suppression of reason, it is hard to see how even moderate Muslims can achieve a deep and wholesome attachment to Western societies and their values. How can genuinely devout Muslims identify wholeheartedly with a modern society that denies the efficacy of their faith. And if they can't, what are they going to do about it?"

The Islamists believe genuine accommodation with the West is impossible. "Hence, they ultimately seek the transformation of the West to accommodate Islam," Sibley adds. "The challenge for Islamists, obviously, is whether they can achieve that transformation better through demographic domination over the next few decades or through violence. The challenge for Westerners, perhaps not so obviously, is whether they will awaken in time from their multicultural slumbers to protect their cultural heritage, and avoid, possibly, a new dark age."

Read Sibley's full column here.

Hamas Members Charged in Stadium Plot

Israeli police have charged five Hamas members with plotting terror attacks in Jerusalem, including a plan to fire a rocket into a Jerusalem soccer stadium during a game. The five, including two primary plotters, were arrested in November. The plot was only recently revealed following the lifting of an Israeli court gag order.

"From their Shin Bet interrogation… after Operation Cast Lead the two [primary plotters] began to plan a terror operation in Jerusalem, as part of which they examined the possibility of firing a missile at Teddy Stadium while a game was in progress," said a statement by Israel's security service, the Shin Bet. "The two went to a ridge overlooking the stadium in order to select the best place for an attack and carried out reconnaissance of the area, although the planning was not translated into action."

The two primary suspects, Mussa Hamada and Bassem Omri, were indicted on charges of "membership in and support for a terrorist organization, firearms offences and conspiracy to commit a crime." The plot was intended to be a revenge attack for Israel's January 2009 Operation Cast Lead, according to the indictment. The indictment also outlined their membership in Hamas, dating to 2000, and accused them of working with Hamas representatives at the al-Aqsa mosque for the past three years.

As part of the plot, Hamada and Omri also traveled several times to Saudi Arabia to meet with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Shin Bet statement. "During one of the meetings, the Saudi representative gave Mussa Hamada money for the purchase of weapons and asked in return that he gather information on Jerusalem," the statement said. The Brotherhood also asked the two to conduct surveillance on targets in Jerusalem.

In 2001, two Palestinians died in an explosion near Teddy Stadium, which Israeli police said was caused by the premature explosion of a bomb they were assembling.

Increasing Hate from Hamas

Hamas has increased its incitement to violence and genocide of the Jewish state, despite calls by the international community for Israel to open a new dialogue with the group, according to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

"Over the last few years there has been a steady drumbeat of calls from leading figures in the international community for Israel to open a dialogue with Hamas," writes Jonathan D. Halevi in a new paper. "Unfortunately, there is no evidence of a new pragmatism among the Hamas leadership, but only greater indications of a much harder line, which is expressed by its adoption of expressions of genocidal intent in its war against Israel and the Jewish people."

Recent statements by Hamas military leaders clash with the moderate line espoused by Hamas' English-language voice and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Yousef. "Gaza will always extend a hand of friendship to the international community; and will always welcome any dialogue that will help achieve stability, security and growth in the region," Yousef said in a Dec. 25 article on PalestineChronicle.com.

Halevi contrasts that with a statement issued by Hamas last month, marking the 23rd anniversary of its establishment with an official booklet entitled The Path of Glory (Darb al-ezza), which included statements from Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades. "The al-Qassam Brigades...are better prepared to continue on our exclusive path to which there is no alternative, and that is the path of jihad and the fight against the enemies of the Muslim nation and mankind...." Mohammed Def, head of Hamas' military wing, wrote. "We say to our enemies: you are going on the path to extinction (zawal), and Palestine will remain ours including Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Al-Aqsa (Jerusalem's central mosque), its towns and villages from the (Mediterranean) Sea to the (Jordan) River, from its North to its South. You have no right to even an inch of it."

"Our eyes will always remain focused toward Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa and (their gaze) will not be confined to the borders of Gaza. Our plan of struggle shall extend as always, sooner or later, to our entire plundered country," Ahmed al-Jaabari, the acting supreme commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, wrote. "The al-Qassam Brigades have never excluded and will not exclude from their considerations any possible option to activate resistance, liberate prisoners and subdue the criminal, thieving enemy, and as long as the Zionists occupy our lands, only death or exile await them."

For more, see Halevi's paper here.

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