Germany: footballers may eat during Ramadan, Muslim council says

Ramadan lanters in Cairo. Image via Wikipedia

Germany‘s Central Council of Muslims said it was advising Islamic professional football players that they need not fast during Ramadan, ahead of the regular season resuming Friday.

“The professional player can make up the fasting days during periods when there is no match and in that way show his respect for God and the holy month of Ramadan,” council president Aiman Mazyek said in a statement.

During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Several Bundesliga players are Muslim, including many players of Turkish origin and Bayern Munich‘s French international Franck Ribery.

A dispute over the issue in Germany began when the second-division team FSV Frankfurt gave three Muslim players an official warning in October 2009 for fasting during Ramadan and failing to inform their managers.

The German Football Federation (DFB) reached an agreement with Muslim leaders on fasting in 2010 allowing players to respect one of the five pillars of Islam while fulfilling their professional obligations.

via German footballers may eat during Ramadan: Muslim council – Univision Wires.

Germany: Muslims call for imams in the military

Image via Wikipedia

Two of the main umbrella groups representing Germany’s estimated 4.3 million Muslims said in remarks published Wednesday that such a move would be a good step forward for integration.

“That would have a great significance for integration,” the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, told the online news portal, News.de.

While Protestants and Catholics have about 90 priests each providing spiritual support to soldiers, there is no Muslim imam or counsellor, even though there are about 1,200 Muslims serving in the Bundeswehr, according to website.

via Muslims call for imams in the German military – The Local.

Pravda writes:

Germany: when the main Islamist preacher is the convert

Pierre Vogel aka Abu Hamza

This is an important proof of two things: firstly, of the real danger we face, that is mainly an ideological one and, secondly, of the race playing no important role in this. If you support Wahabbism/Salafism, it doesn’t matter your origins. What matters is that support.

We can add that converts are specially dangreous because they have to proof that they are as harder as the hardest of their teachers, this guy being “educated” in Saudi Arabia:

Abu Hamza, born a German named Pierre Vogel in 1978, is a very popular Islamist preacher in Germany. The former professional boxer became Muslim in 2001 and is now among the most influential German representatives of Saudi-originated Wahhabi fundamentalism, which masquerades as “Salafism.”

His “kunya” or “Islamic nickname,” Abu Hamza, means “father of the strong.” He should not be confused with the notorious radical Muslim agitator currently locked up in Britain, Abu Hamza al-Masri, known for his missing eye and a prosthetic hook that substitutes for his right hand, or for the two late al-Qaida terrorists active in Pakistan and Iraq, who also used the same name. Vogel’s impact among German Muslims is no less ominous, however, even if his extremism appears more restrained.

Adherents of Wahhabism like Pierre Vogel, alias Abu Hamza, call themselves “Salafi” in claiming they emulate the prominent adherents of early Islam. “Salaf” is an Arabic noun meaning “predecessor” or “forefather,” and the first three Muslim generations are collectively referred to as “al-Salaf as-Saleh,” or the “Pious Predecessors.”

Vogel received his religious training in an Islamic school in Saudi Arabia. Through nationwide lecture tours and the creation of several websites, he has reached out to very religious young German Muslims, as well as to young non-Muslim Germans with identity problems.

Those who flock to him are impressed by Vogel’s apparent knowledge of Islam and his mastery of Arabic, the language of the Koran. Central to his teaching is the belief that Islam is the only true religion, while all Christians and Jews are “kuffar,” or “unbelievers.” In addition, Vogel sees “da’wa,” or calling others to Islam, as an obligation incumbent on every Muslim. He has fashioned himself as a missionary and argues explicitly that he possesses theological evidence for the superiority of Islam.

…Critics of Vogel describe his method as brainwashing. A young Pakistani studying in Germany comments, “There is currently no alternative for young people who want to learn about moderate Islam in Germany.” The Wahhabi “Salafis” have the best web sites and publish the most translations of Islamic literature. Unfortunately, Muslim university students are typically afraid to say anything about the situation. Whoever speaks against Pierre Vogel will be abused by his supporters, in online chat forums. “The success of this movement makes me very angry, because it has nothing to do with Islam as I understand it,” says the same Pakistani student in Germany. “I do not want to live in a society defined by Pierre Vogel. It would be a nightmare for all people.”

via Christians Under Attack : Radical Islam in Germany: The Convert as Missionary.

His former group was Invitation to Paradise (Einladung zum Paradies), which was investigated by the police and the home of their members raided.

Related articles

• Germany: State Interior Ministers warn about rise in Salafist Islam (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)
• German official: “Islam is a moderate religion” (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)
• Pierre Vogel – Abu Hamza Salahudin (GlobalJihad.net)
• Pierre Vogel speaks in Hamburg (fotos.lainformacion.com) “Vogel, a founder of the Germany-based Salafist organization Einladung Zum Paradies (EZP), or Invitation To Paradise, is known for his charismatic appeal to young Muslims, his diatribes against homosexuals, his rejection of religious diversity and his sympathy for former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden“. A peaceful guy indeed.

Austria: Convert to Islam and would-be bomber was dissilussioned or on a jihadi mission?

He is either an idiot or a Jihadi killer. We just have to wait and see…

…it is unclear when, and, most importantly, why, Yusuf O. left Afghanistan for Austria. Apparently he planned to travel to Germany but it remains uncertain whether he had become disillusioned with the combat operation or whether he was part of a DTM operation targeting Germany.

Both scenarios are plausible. Yusuf O. was born in Germany in 1985 but had a Turkish passport. He is thought to be a key member of the DTM. His friend Fatih T. was the boss, and he appeared in videos warning about planned attacks on Germany. Investigators know from other cases that, for a while at least, Yusuf O. maintained regular online contact with German-based supporters of the terrorist group. The DTM urgently needed “ammunition and money,” he wrote in one message. Whoever couldn’t help in person, should send money, he urged.

On the other hand, it is possible that Yusuf O. became disillusioned with the battle in Hindu Kush. There have been several recent cases of Jihadists hailing from Germany who have gone this route, including a married couple from Berlin who were associated with the DTM as well as a young man from Hamburg who had been part of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Evidence shows that life on the frontline is grueling and that new German recruits arrive largely unprepared for what awaits them. Statements from those arrested and other sources create a depressing impression of day-to-day life. Lack of food, poor hygiene and mistrust among co-fighters on the frontline were all routine problems, in addition to the ever-present fear of death.

via Terror Plot or Homesickness? Austria Detains Alleged Islamic Extremist – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.

Just one question: if you’re disilussioned, do you write letters asking for “ammunition”? Because I’m sure I don’t.

Related articles

• Austria: convert to Islam arrested for attempting to blow the Bundestag (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)
• Germany: State Interior Ministers warn about rise in Salafist Islam (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)

Germany: State Interior Ministers warn about rise in Salafist Islam

German state interior ministers are warning of a rise in radical Salafist Islam that poses a risk of home-grown terrorism, with one politician calling for changes to residency laws so “hate preachers” can be more easily deported. Hesse Interior Minister Boris Rhein of the conservative Christian Democratic Union told daily Die Welt that Salafism was a “centre and pivot for those who want to participate in so-called holy war.”

“Salafism can in this way lay the path to Islamist terrorism,” he said, adding that the law needed to be changed so that “hate preachers” can be more easily thrown out of the country.

“In future, this should be possible when someone spreads material that goes against the liberal democratic basic order or that fosters radicalisation or, as the case may be, terrorism recruitment.

About time…

Anyway, I would like to ask these guys: what about nationals who converted to Islam preaching hate? Those guys can’t be deported…

German official: “Islam is a moderate religion”

Image via Wikipedia

Herret ruled out the idea of decreasing German’s investments in Egypt if the Brotherhood come to power, stressing that the new political parties should implement a group of economic policies to boost investment and enhance the Egyptian economy’s competitiveness.

The German official played down the concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood winning the elections.

“Islam is a moderate religion, which encourages dialogue with the other and denounces violence and extremism,” he explained.

Herr Herret hasn’t read what Muslim Brotherhood leaders think about non-Muslims, has he?

Germany: Education Minister supports Islamic classes in schools, if taught by German-trained imams

Image by AndreasSchepers via Flickr

The German Minister of Education Annette Schavan wants imams teach courses in Islamic religions in schools, in an interview with the weekly Die Zeit to be published Thursday.

…They could be “used in schools” at halftime, as “priests,” said Schavan to Die Zeit. She nevertheless conditioned their hiring that they are trained at university in Germany.

Related: Germany: more universities to offer Islamic studies.

Germany: Imam faces jail for breaking bones of disobedient wife

Sheikh Abu Amad, the polygamous violent husband

According to BR the Islamic  clergyman has already abused one of its three wives one week ago. 

Sheikh Abu Adam (pictured) injured the 31-year-old badly. She suffered  several fractures and was taken into protective custody from police officers, away from the dwelling of the 40-year-old imam. The police received a distress-call from a lawyer called by the victim. In the meantime  the woman remains under police protection.

According to the report, the Islamic clergyman, who preaches publicly again and again against domestic violence and against jihad, was considered a gladly seen guest with the integration/multiculti-interfaith- rounds organized by well known social engineers . One week before his arrest he held a speech at the Catholic University Municipality of Munich.

via Munich: Imam Arrested For Breaking the Bones of His Third Wife — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami.

According to the German Herald (found here), the lecture he gave in Munich was titled “‘An Islam Which Distances Itself From Violence”.

While he was beating her, he was shouting:

“Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them.”

Well, he ended being a not very good supporter of a peaceful Islam, didn’t he?

Female genital mutilation is also an issue in Europe, activists say

Practiced in Africa as well as in certain countries in the Middle East and communities in Asia and Latin America, female genital mutilation is the internationally-acknowledged name for the practice of cutting women’s genitalia. Girls are subjected to FGM for a variety of reasons, explained Christine Loudes, director of the EndFGM campaign at Amnesty International.

“FGM is performed for non-therapeutic reasons,” Loudes said. “It’s done in the name of tradition, in the name of aesthetics and sometimes in the name of religion.”

FGM involves partially or completely removing the external female genitalia, and the practice is usually performed under unhygienic conditions and without anaesthesia on girls from their birth to 15 years of age. FGM represents a severe violation of human rights.

“It constitutes torture and degrading treatment; it violates women’s rights, and it violates rights to physical integrity as well as to children’s rights, to name a few,” Loudes added.

Africa is the most notable perpetrator regarding FGM, with some 30 countries subjecting girls to the practice. But girls are threatened by the practice on other continents as well. According to the European Parliament, roughly 500,000 girls and women in Europe have already been subjected to FGM or are in danger of becoming victims. That number includes 75,000 girls and women in the UK, 65,000 in France and 30,000 in Germany. As Loudes explains, it’s difficult to prove that FGM is actually being carried out on the ground in Europe, but Amnesty International does not want to rule out the possibility.

via Female genital mutilation is also an issue in Europe, say activists | Environment & Development | Deutsche Welle | 25.11.2010.

Me neither. In fact, there have been reports of “parties” to practise it in the UK.

Terror: suspects arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

More terrorists threatening to bomb/attack sites in Europe:

Police in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have arrested at least 10 Islamists suspected of plotting an attack in Belgium. Another 15 were arrested for allegedly recruiting insurgents for Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Police in Belgium and neighboring countries carried out two separate anti-terror raids on Tuesday, arresting at least 25 people.

Federal prosecutors in Belgium first announced the arrests of at least 10 Islamists suspected of plotting an attack on an unknown target in Belgium.

“Ten Belgian, Dutch, Moroccan and Russian nationals have been arrested,” a spokesman for the Belgian Prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. The Russian nationals were of Chechen origin, he said.

One of those Russians has been detained in the western German city of Aachen, close to the Dutch border. The others were arrested in Belgium’s second city Antwerp and in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

via Terror suspects arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 23.11.2010.

Germany: police seeking suspects in terrorist plots

German law enforcement officials said on Saturday that they were looking for two suspected terrorists thought to be in or around the capital city in one of several investigations aimed at thwarting what the authorities believe are myriad plans by Islamic radicals to attack the nation.

They have information that two men entered Germany six to eight weeks ago from Waziristan, in Pakistan, and were awaiting delivery of detonators, perhaps from Turkey, to carry out an attack, a German security official said.

Aspects of this suspected plot were reported in several German news outlets on Saturday, including on ARD television, which said that the attackers “are rotating their accommodation, staying in the homes of other people, are living together, not using the telephone, not going to the mosque and making sure they are dressed in Western clothes.”

Suspected Bomb Discovered In Suitcase of German Bound Plane

And again…

A suspected bomb in a suitcase checked in on a German-bound plane was intercepted in Namibia, Germany’s Federal Crime Office (BKA) said Thursday, one day after Berlin raised its terror alert level.The BKA said the suspicious baggage had been seized Wednesday at the international airport in Windhoek before it was due to be loaded on to a flight to Munich.

via Suspected Bomb Discovered In Suitcase of German Bound Plane : Homeland Security News.

First they were coming from Yemen adn were intercepted in UK, while the packages were being transported to US. Now Germany is the target. Unhappily this won’t be the last, at all.

Background:

1. German terror plot.
2. Islamic terrorism update: German and Austrian plots (…).
3. Terror Investigation: German Islamist resurfaces in video in Afghanistan.
4. Suspected leader of Sauerland terror cell confesses.
5. Sauerland cell planned bomb attacks on airports.
6. “Killing Germans is a duty”, Sauerland terror suspect says.
7. Sauerland terror cell sentenced.
8. Arrested man confesses in court to terrorism charges.
9. Germany: Terrorist suspect arrested in Sauerland region.

Germany: Terrorist suspect arrested in Saarland region

A terrorist suspect has been arrested in Germany’s Saarland region on Friday after posting three videos threatening to carry out terrorist attacks online.

The videos appeared on Youtube in mid-October, Saarland police said in a statement. The suspect had been under surveillance for several weeks, and was detained at his apartment on Friday morning.

The man demanded the release of an imprisoned member of the so-called Sauerland group which attempted to blow up US army bases in Germany in 2007.

Convict Daniel Schneider, who is serving his 12-year prison term in the Saarland region, was, like the arrested suspect, based in the town of Neunkirchen. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has been observing activities in the Neunkirchen area for some time.

Schneider‘s lawyer said his client opposes the videos and the attempt to free him.

via Terrorist suspect arrested in Germany’s Saarland region | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 05.11.2010.

Background:

German terror plot.

Islamic terrorism update: German and Austrian plots (…).

Terror Investigation: German Islamist resurfaces in video in Afghanistan.

Suspected leader of Sauerland terror cell confesses.

Sauerland cell planned bomb attacks on airports.

“Killing Germans is a duty”, Sauerland terror suspect says.

Sauerland terror cell sentenced.

Arrested man confesses in court to terrorism charges.

Bulletin of the Oppression of Women: Aug 12 – Nov 2, 2010

August 12, 2010
Iran
The ‘confession’ from a woman facing stoning.

August 13, 2010
India
A female engineer is facing threats for not wearing a veil.

August 15, 2010
USA
A Tulsa shelter helps abused Muslim women.

UK
Muslim parents are charged with beating and imprisoning their daughter over a facebook fling.

Opinion: Is Sarkozy ready to declare multiculturalism dead?

Is Nicolas Sarkozy ready to repeat the words of Angela Merkel on Saturday in front of the young Christian Democrats? The finding of a failure of multicultural system, according to the the Chancellor, is identical to that observed in France and throughout Europe and described in this blog regularly. “Multiculturalism has failed, absolutely failed,” Merkel agreed, driven by a view that is in the process of radicalization vis-à-vis immigration and especially of Islam. “We feel bound to Christian values. Whoever does not accept that has no place here,” she said. “We do not need an immigration burden on our social system,” she said, finding that training for the unemployed should take precedence over the recruitment of immigrant workers. She nevertheless considers it necessary to skilled immigration, adding that “Islam is part of Germany.”

Germany: Danger of terrorism on the rise, police chief says

Danger of terrorism on the rise in Germany, police chief says – Monsters and Critics:

“The danger of terrorism is ‘greater than ever,’ the head of Germany’s Federal police, the BKA, said on Wednesday.

The threat of militant Islamist attacks was a ‘high abstract danger for Germany,’ Joerg Ziercke told delegates at the agency’s annual convention.

He said the number of preliminary investigations into Islamist threats had risen constantly since 2001, to reach a current peak of 352. On top of this, Ziercke added that judgements had been passed in 26 high-profile court cases since 2003.

Security agents believe there are more than 1,000 militant Islamists in Germany who are prepared to resort to violence, and know of more than 220 people who have received paramilitary training since the early 1990s.”

Background:
Arrested man confesses in court to terrorism charges.
Afghanistan: 8 German killed while receiving terrorist training.
Kenya: German linked to terrorism alarms authorities.
Islamists aim to infiltrate Hamburg mosques.
Eight Islamist indicted for supporting terrorism abroad.

Germany: President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany in his visit to Turkey

Christian Wulff

President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 19.10.2010:

“In his speech, Wulff stressed immigrants need not give up their cultural identity or background. But those living in Germany should respect and protect the values of the German constitution, including freedom of speech, equality and the right to a religiously and ideologically neutral state.

‘Those who wish to live in Germany must follow these rules and accept our way of life,’ he said.

Wulff also touched on the subject of religion, calling on Turkey and other Islamic countries to be more open to Christianity. ‘We expect Christians in Muslim countries to have the same right to live their faith publicly, to educate their youth in theology and build churches [as Muslims do in Germany],’ he said.

‘Without a doubt, Christianity belongs to Turkey,’ he said, recalling his Unity Day speech from earlier in October, in which he stated that Islam had become part of Germany.”

Has he actually considered what Minister Faruk Çelik said only two days ago?

Background:
Germany: 69% against Turkish entry in the EU, poll shows.
CDU politician calls to stop Muslim immigration.
“Muslims should obey Constitution, not Sharia”, Merkel says.
Conservative leaders reject Wullf’s remarks on Islam.
Germany agrees in making easier for Turks to get visas.
President Wulff will visit Turkey on Monday, while Merkel criticizes multiculturalism.

Germany: Eight islamists indicted for supporting terrorism abroad

Germany indicts eight Islamists for supporting terrorism abroad – Monsters and Critics

Federal prosecutors in Germany said on Tuesday that they have indicted eight people for supporting foreign terrorism and being members of a criminal organisations.

The eight – seven men and one woman aged between 17 and 30 – are accused of supporting al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Kurdish group Ansar al-Islam, through their membership of the German chapter of the so-called Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF).

All but the 17-year-old, who is Turkish, are German citizens.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the suspects, all of whom remain at large in Germany, a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said.

A statement released by the office said that the GIMF was a ‘militant Islamist organisation that had the goal of supporting the global jihad through the internet.’

Background:
Germany: arrested man confesses in court to terrorism charges.
Afghanistan: 8 German killed while receiving terrorist training.
Kenya: German linked to terrorism alarms authorities.
Germany: Islamists aim to infiltrate Hamburg mosques

Iran: Germany is worried about the two detained journalists

IRAN: Germany steps up efforts to get detained journalists released | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times:

Guido Westerwelle

Germany is becoming increasingly concerned over two of its journalists who were detained in the Islamic Republic last week after allegedly interviewing the son and lawyer of a woman sentenced to stoning, but without having proper credentials.

German officials have begun stepping up efforts to get the two reporters released in a case that could lead to a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Manouchehr Mottaki

During a one-hour long meeting Friday in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle pleaded to his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki for Iran to show “mercy” to the detainees and for the foreign minister to personally intervene in the case, both Iranian state media and German media reported.

The Iranian foreign minister offered a simple response to the plea.

“The issue of the two German nationals would be pursued in framework of law and judicial system,” he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).

Westerwelle nevertheless appeared optimistic about the meeting, saying he got the “impression that foreign minister Mottaki will also take up this matter personally,” according to Germany’s Der Spiegel.

Foreign policy: Germany and Pakistan to boost mutual ties

General News – Pakistan and Germany agree to boost mutual ties: meeting held:

Shahbaz Bhatti

A 10-member German parliamentary delegation headed by MP Ute KOCZY called on Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, here on Saturday. The two sides discussed matters of mutual interest and possibilities of further co-operation between Germany and Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhatti said Germany is one of the important trade partners of Pakistani and bilateral co-operation between the two countries is increasing at different levels. German companies operating in Pakistan are increasing in number since 2010. He thanked the delegation for Germany’s aid for flood affectees, saying the two countries have traditions of friendly, good and amicable relations.

Ute Koczy

The minister further said interfaith harmony and inter-religious dialogues are instruments to counter trend of terrorism and extremism. He said sustainability of democracy could ensure rights of minorities, women and other marginalized communities, adding, “We are struggling to promote religious freedom, human dignity and rights for all.” He briefed the delegation of the steps taken by government to uplift and empower minorities in Pakistan.

Shahbaz Bhatti is Catholic (he converted when he was child) and wants to fight the blasphemy law. Anyway, I think that his appointment was more a “publicity” thing than something much more profound. I really don’t understand him: he really can’t challenge the existence of the blasphemy law and I don’t think Catholics’ situation (or any other non-Muslim minority) has improved since his appointment.