Libya and Mali: Salafi Islamists destroying shrines courtesy of Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Libya and Mali: Salafi Islamists destroying shrines courtesy of Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The “bomb democracy” Western and Gulf policy in Libya brought on the massacres of black Africans, killing of Gaddafi loyalists and creating a “new society” based on disorder which is currently ongoing. Indeed, the chaos which is engulfing Libya is now destabilizing Northern Mali and creating problems for Tunisia. This destabilization is based on vast quantities of military hardware being available and more dangerously the Salafi ideology is spreading because of money from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Salafi ideology is now intent on destroying Sufi shrines in Libya, Northern Mali, Somalia, and in other parts of the world, where this dangerous ideology fused within a faith is growing in power. In their worldview all other Muslim places of worship and Muslim shrines are deemed to be un-Islamic. This blind hatred can be seen in places like Somalia where all converts to Christianity face death by Islamists in this country.

This isn’t surprising because Saudi Arabia supports killing all apostates to Christianity and not one single Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Christian place of worship is allowed. However, just like old men marrying little children in Saudi Arabia and both Qatar and Saudi Arabia supporting terrorism against Syria. Nothing appears to raise the heckles when it comes to the policies of London, Paris, Washington and other governments which throw human rights out of the window when dealing with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The appeasement of institutional religious discrimination in Saudi Arabia and trampling down on the rights of women is a policy which is “cheapening” democracy. Likewise, this appeasement shames the United Nations and the various bodies connected with this major international institution.

Turning back to Libya and Northern Mali then currently Salafists are intent on destroying all Islamic thought patterns outside of their “blinkered monoculture” which thrives on hatred and fear. Indeed, in Syria some video evidence survives which makes it clear that the Western and Islamist “marriage of convenience” is now spreading this dangerous ideology within Syria. Therefore, mainstream Islam and religious minorities have much to fear in Syria but like usual political leaders in London, Paris and Washington will support any form of barbarity providing it meets their geopolitical ambitions.

Ongoing attacks against Sufi shrines which venerate Sufi Muslim saints in Libya are now under attack. The same Islamists destroyed a Christian graveyard in this country. These blatant crimes of destroying culture and attacking the diversity within Islam are now in full flow in the capital of Libya just like they reached Northern Mali.

The shrine of al-Shaab al-Dahmani in Tripoli follows on from the attack which took place in Ziltan against the tomb of a notable scholar who enriched the Sufi faith. In Ziltan the rich history of the tomb dedicated to Abdel Salam al-Asmar was attacked. Therefore, just like Northern Mali the history of the past is being eradicated by Islamists who obtain funding and indoctrination from their Salafi brethren in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Attacking “infidel” mosques and shrines is now part of the new “Islamist holy war” being funded and supported by organizations and wealthy individuals in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. One can only imagine what will happen to Alawites, Christians, the Druze and mainstream Sunni Islam in Syria if the same Islamists grow in power. If Saudi Arabia and Qatar remain unchecked then the richness of religious diversity within Islam will end up in some nations like Buddhism in Afghanistan in past history. This applies to being decapitated and destroyed by an ideology which seeks only a world based on monoculture.

In the BBC article about the attack against Sufi shrines in Libya one student commented that “There’s a large group of Salafists – they are the one with the bulldozers, and some military police are also present…They seem to be overseeing the process, rather than preventing it… There are some bystanders who seem to approve.”

Similar acts and much worse are now common in Northern Mali because Salafists are intent on destroying the beauty and wisdom of African Islam in Mali. Therefore, historical monuments, shrines and mosques which have been the envy of nations throughout the world, are now on the frontline of Islamism. Sadly, it currently appears that the liberal version of Islam in Mali is being torn apart by outside forces emanating from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

In a past article by Modern Tokyo Times it was stated that “The same foreign Islamists in Mali are akin to the Islamists in Syria. It is a direct mirror looking into another mirror and the Saudi Arabia angle can be seen along the way. In Syria it is much more open while in Mali it is more covert and through channels outside of the government. However, the same violence is the main theme and the same applies to the desire for a monoculture to oppress all alternative thought patterns.”

In other nations like Tunisia the confusion of recent events is enabling massive funding from wealthy individuals and organizations in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to spread their “Islamist Year Zero” policies. It is abundantly clear that an internal ideological war is being funded and supported to spread Salafi Islam. Therefore, the frequent attacks against Shia Muslims and other branches of Islam by Islamists is part of the same conflict which is destroying Muslim shrines in many parts of the world.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Afghanistan and Syria: Even funeral processions are attacked by FSA and the Taliban

Afghanistan and Syria: Even funeral processions are attacked by FSA and the Taliban

Joachim de Villiers and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

 

The Taliban and Free Syrian Army (FSA) have much in common when it comes to car bombs, attacking funeral processions and beheading people. In recent times the brutal nature of the Taliban and FSA can be seen by scores of people being killed during funeral processions by both terrorist forces. Neither the Taliban nor the FSA respect the living or the dead instead they both spread their hatred to every fabric of society which is deemed permissible to attack.

Organizations and wealthy individuals in Saudi Arabia and Qatar who sponsor terrorism will share much in common with both the FSA and the Taliban. After all, these terrorist organizations are deemed to be “the soldiers of Sunni Islamic jihad” within the stark militancy of the countries where funding is easily obtained.

Of course, with the vast majority of individuals who did September 11 coming from Saudi Arabia alongside the largest forces of international Islamists fighting in Iraq coming from the same country; then the Saudi connection to international terrorism is more than obvious. At the same time both Saudi Arabia and Qatar are spreading the dangerous Salafi ideology whereby other Muslims are deemed to be infidels like non-Muslims. This means that other Muslims and non-Muslims are deemed to be subhuman and worthy of slaughter providing Islamist clerics sanction this murder.

The mass contradiction of spreading hatred to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Mali, Somalia and a host of other nations, doesn’t apply to the policies of individuals and organizations which fund Salafi indoctrination and terrorism. On the contrary, the mass contradiction applies to nations like America, France and the United Kingdom which deem the same terrorist forces to be either friends or foes depending on the given situation.

Therefore, while the nation of Syria is on the frontline of protecting secularism, the rights of women and protecting all religious minorities against the forces of terrorism and Islamist ideology. The hypocrites in Washington, London and Paris are on the same side of the brutal forces of Islamist terrorism, car bombing, sectarianism and other evil deeds against the government of Syria. Yet in Afghanistan, the very same nations which supported Islamist terrorism in the 1980s and early 1990s are now fighting the same forces they once supported. It is this schizophrenic policy which is most alarming because these Western powers clearly have no morals.

Given this reality, it is now open season against the government of Syria. This means that car bombings, killing minorities, attacking funeral processions, killing journalists and other brutal deeds by the FSA and Islamist factions like al-Qaeda; are all glossed over and manipulated by language and a compliant media which is also inciting hatred. However, for the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria (and other nations) it is clear that all terrorist attacks are evil and should be condemned. Not only this, all ratlines which are maintaining the flow of funding brutal terrorist organizations like the FSA, al-Qaeda and the Taliban should be eradicated where it is possible. However, when it comes to Syria it is clear that nations like America, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, the United Kingdom and France are enabling these Islamist and terrorist ratlines to spread their sectarian hatred to the people of Syria.

The latest Islamist terrorist attacks against funeral processions and ceremonies in Nangarhar (Afghanistan) and Jaramana (Syria) which is a suburb which is mainly Druze and Christian; highlights the brutal reality of Islamist terrorism whereby nothing is sacred. The FSA in Syria and its Islamist cohorts were behind the brutal attack in Damascus in the suburb of Jaramana. Meanwhile, the Taliban was behind the brutal carnage in Nangarhar whereby at least 25 civilians have perished. However, for policy makers in Washington, London and Paris then clearly they are in a flux and rely on the mass media to manipulate reality.

After all, how can world leaders in America, France and the United Kingdom condemn the brutal terrorist attack in Afghanistan but remain silent about the same crime in Syria because it was done by FSA forces they support? Islamists clearly have no principles when it comes to killing innocents but sadly the same can be said for political leaders who govern in Washington, London and Paris. After all, nobody expects morality to come out of Saudi Arabia under its brutal monarchy which supports killing all apostates and child marriage to old men. Yet why are democratic nations being dragged down to the same depravity which is spreading so much evil far and wide?

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan by Sunni Islamists: singled out and murdered

Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan by Sunni Islamists: singled out and murdered

Joachim de Villiers and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The sectarian divide in Pakistan claimed the lives of more innocent Shia Muslims who were singled out and brutally murdered. Currently it is understood that 18 Shia Muslims were killed by Sunni Islamic fanatics after having their identity checked. This brutal incident took place in Kohistan which is in northern Pakistan.

It is reported that Sunni Muslims who were traveling with fellow Shia passengers were spared death because of their religious affiliation which was shared by the brutal Sunni Muslim terrorists. This applies to the militants checking the identity cards of all the individuals and then murdering the Shia because of their “blind hatred.”

This incident highlights the reality that you have no “Muslim religious brotherhood” which is often highlighted in the West. In recent years you have had untold massacres of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and other nations. The one common theme is that they are being butchered by Sunni Muslim fanatics who believe in enforcing their monoculture worldview. Also, in nations like Bahrain the Shia community is excluded from the engines of “real power” and in so-called moderate Malaysia the Shia faith is illegal.

Other religious minorities also suffer in Pakistan and this applies to Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. Not only this, when moderate Sunni Muslims openly rebuke militancy then they also face “the sword of Sunni Islam.” After all, Salman Taseer spoke out against religious discrimination but many Sunni Muslims celebrated the death of this brave moderate Sunni Muslim.

 

Bill Roggio in an article published by The Long War Journal highlights the fact that even moderate branches of Sunni Islam are turning against “all notions of justice and freedom.” The article states that “Lawyers showered the suspected killer of a prominent Pakistani governor with rose petals when he arrived at court Wednesday and an influential Muslim scholars group praised the assassination of the outspoken opponent of laws that order death for those who insult Islam.”

“Mumtaz Qadri, 26, made his first appearance in an Islamabad court, where a judge remanded him in custody a day after he allegedly sprayed automatic gunfire at the back of Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer while he was supposed to be protecting him as a bodyguard. A rowdy crowd slapped him on the back and kissed his cheek as he was escorted inside. The lawyers who tossed handfuls of rose petals over him were not involved in the case.”

“As he left the court, a crowd of about 200 sympathizers chanted “death is acceptable for Muhammad’s slave.” The suspect stood at the back door of an armored police van with a flower necklace given to him by an admirer and repeatedly yelled “God is great.”

“More than 500 clerics and scholars from the group Jamat Ahle Sunnat said no one should pray or express regret for the killing of the governor. The group representing Pakistan’s majority Barelvi sect, which follows a brand of Islam considered moderate, also issued a veiled threat to other opponents of the blasphemy laws.”

“The supporter is as equally guilty as one who committed blasphemy,” the group warned in a statement, adding politicians, the media and others should learn “a lesson from the exemplary death.”

“Jamat leader Maulana Shah Turabul Haq Qadri paid “glorious tribute to the murderer … for his courage, bravery and religious honor and integrity.”

Therefore, the recent massacre of Shia Muslims by Sunni Muslim fanatics in Pakistan highlights the complete indoctrination of individuals who believe that killing innocent people is the work of God. This brutal act is not only cold-bloodied and callous but it is a clear reminder that “year zero” which crushed all forces of Buddhism and Hinduism in Afghanistan, is now intent on creating “year zero within the Islamic faith itself.”

This applies to crushing the enormous diversity within the Islamic faith whereby vast numbers of different sects hold different thought patterns. Sunni Islamic radicalism is not only at war against the non-Muslim world but it is also at war against the “diversity of the Islamic world.” Therefore, the desire for Sunni Islamists is for a complete monoculture to crush different thought patterns. More worryingly, the death of Salman Taseer highlights that moderate forces within Sunni Islam in Pakistan are also turning against justice and freedom.

It is essential that all moderates in Pakistan, irrespective of religion or no faith, work together to crush all forms of radicalism because Islamic indoctrination is crushing the nation of Pakistan. The potential of this nation is enormous because you have so much vibrancy in many sectors. However, religion is being used by ideologists in order to crush this diversity and richness.

In simple terms, the light of “Salman Taseer” is based on a Pakistan of moderation and modernization. His light will continue to shine brightly providing people re-take the nation from zealots which want to crush diversity. Yet, the brutal murder of Salman Taseer, and the recent massacre of Shia Muslims by radical Sunni Muslim fanatics, is a clear indicator that the “forces of darkness” are bent on creating “a year zero.”

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/01/pakistani_lawyers_moderate_mul.php

http://moderntokyotimes.com

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

Syria and the mirror of Iraq: 55 people massacred in Iraq by Sunni Muslims

Syria and the mirror of Iraq: 55 people massacred in Iraq by Sunni Muslims

Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The international media on the whole is clearly taking sides in Syria and issues related to fanatical Sunni Islamists who desire to turn multi-cultural and multi-religious Syria into a “Taliban style” nation state is being brushed under the carpet. The last bastion of secularism in the Arabic speaking world is under threat from a combination of forces. This includes Sunni Islamic terrorists, Western covert intervention and training, outside meddling from Sunni dominated nations who sense a power vacuum in the favor of their co-religionists, and Turkey is clearly playing a clandestine role. Therefore, the usual “good” versus “evil” is being branded around with impunity.

Hillary Clinton like usual is at her propaganda best because she commented that “The obstruction of a few countries cannot be allowed to stop the world community from coming to the aid of the Syrian people.” This comment is clear evidence that international reporters are hand-picked because her eyes are closed to more fresh attacks against the Shia population in Iraq. Of course, the United States under President Obama did a “cut and run” from Iraq after the initial war was started by the past Republican led government.

Saddam Hussein was clearly despotic and massacres took place against the Kurds and Shia who were against his rule. However, since the America led invasion all the smaller minorities and the situation of women have collapsed dramatically throughout most areas of Iraq.

In an earlier article by one of the co-writers of this article it was stated that “The American led invasion of Iraq was meant to usher in democracy, liberty, freedom, and a revitalized Iraq. Sadly, from the outset other forces would be unleashed and this applies to radical Islam, terrorism, Sunni-Shia clashes, the persecution of Christians, and other negative forces. At the same time, an ancient religion was about to face a new wave of hatred and ethnic cleansing. This community, the Mandaeans, now faces virtual annihilation and now only a few thousand remain in modern day Iraq. So will this small community be forced to go into complete exile?”

“It is clearly apparent that all minorities, be they Assyrian Christians, Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yazidis, or others, face enormous persecution because the central government is too weak and complacent. Also, the leaders of America must be blamed for entering Iraq and then leaving the minorities to face persecution, torture, death, and ethnic cleansing.”

“If we return back to the Mandaean community, then clearly their suffering is great and this community is in complete shock and bewilderment. The promise of a new Iraq means little because the “real reality” is abundantly clear and this applies to systematic persecution at the hands of radical Sunni Muslims and by mainstream society at large.”

Therefore, the comment made by Hillary Clinton that“The obstruction of a few countries cannot be allowed to stop the world community from coming to the aid of the Syrian people” rings hollow because of several factors. Firstly, America sat back and did little to prevent the vast majority of Christians fleeing Iraq and the same applies to other minorities including the Mandaeans. Secondly, the invasion of Iraq led to a bloody civil and irrespective if the invasion was “right” or “wrong” – it was apparent that the death count was gradually being reduced in 2011. However, like the BBC comments “Attacks in Iraq have risen since US troops withdrew in December (2011)” when compared to figures throughout this year.

This means that a brutal sectarian conflict was unleashed by the power vacuum which America did not intend to do. However, once the power vacuum became a reality after the demise of Saddam Hussein then Sunni Islamic jihadists from neighboring nations like Saudi Arabia entered the equation alongside global terrorist networks. Since this time vast numbers of innocents have been slaughtered by the mainly Sunni Muslim insurgency. Therefore, terrorism and the fleeing of minorities like the Christians and Mandaeans is a reality which makes the words of Hillary Clinton seem not only shallow but out of step with reality.

After all, the nightmare power vacuum was gradually coming under control because the death ratio was reduced in the last few years. However, this moment of “hope” that the forces of sectarianism and terrorism had burnt itself out was thrown away by President Obama pulling forces out. This means that the religious cleansing of Christians, Mandaeans and others, alongside the deaths of thousands of American troops and untold numbers of civilians, was all in vain because now a new vacuum was opened and this can be seen by fresh massacres aimed against the Shia in Iraq.

Therefore, a war that many believed was wrong led to many internal convulsions and when it appeared that things were finally coming under control then America left. This means that outside meddling turned against a former ally and irrespective of good intentions or not, the conclusion is that over 100,000 people were killed and religious minorities have fled on mass.

The conflict in Syria is a conflict between civilizations and irrespective of all the emotions being branded about it is apparent that elements within the opposition desire to crush the Alawites and other minorities. Also, the liberalism of major cities like Damascus will become but a distant memory and the rights of women, just like in Iraq, will be reduced greatly. This can be seen by the growing number of honor killings and so forth in modern day Iraq compared with the old regime.

Another reason why Hillary Clinton is in “propaganda mode” is because clearly she desires to bash China and the Russian Federation in order to obtain political capital for America. However, when did America concern itself with the reactions of others in the international community?  Therefore, neither China nor the Russian Federation is holding the United States or other nations back in the “umbrella of intrigues.”

After all, the Russian Federation was against military intervention in Libya and Kosovo but this meant nothing in Washington, London, and Paris. Did the United States care when Vietnam was invaded or covert wars were being played throughout Latin America and Central America? Of course the United States did not concern itself with the views of other major powers just like in Iraq – therefore, the reasons why Obama isn’t supporting an outright bombing campaign is based on other factors or he is hoping that covert support will dismantle the current government of Syria.

In another article by Modern Tokyo Times called ‘Egypt and Syira: Two Civilizational Struggles’ it was stated that “The rapidly changing Middle East is witnessing convulsions which are indeed revolutionary when it comes to alliances. After all, in Libya you had NATO, Sunni Islamists and a mixture of other forces fighting on the same side against Colonel Gaddafi. Likewise in Syria which is the last remaining major bastion of secularism in the Arabic speaking world, radical Islamists and the West have joined forces. Therefore the opposition in both cases obtained military equipment at the drop of the hat.”

Further down in the same article it was stated that “Alawite Muslims, Christians, the Druze, and Sunni Muslims, who lived peacefully together, now fear radical Sunni Islamic forces and a future bloodbath. Therefore, in Egypt and Syria you have a civilization battle between secularism and political Islam and another civilization battle between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists. Likewise in Syria moderate Sunni Muslim forces face a civilization battle against Wahabbi minded Islamists who deem the Alawites and moderate Sunni Muslims to be infidels.”

“If Assad is overthrown by the opposition then the Alawites, Christians, women, liberals, and so forth, will fear that the “loss of all sanity is over” because whatever Assad may or may not be; he tolerated religious pluralism and the rights of women and so forth. The Levant isn’t Afghanistan and the richness of culture and diversity within Islam enabled Christian minorities and other like the Druze to survive.”

“Sectarianism nearly destroyed Lebanon in the past and Syria faces a bloody sectarian struggle if the demise of Assad occurs and it isn’t managed by all sections of Syria. However, forces within the opposition don’t desire a multi-religious Syria instead a new Talibanization awaits and religious bloodletting seems most likely within different Muslim communities.”

“Meanwhile, the Christians of Syria can always move to Lebanon or maybe like the majority of Iraqi Christians they will give up the ghost. If this happens, then the richness of the Levant and the diversity of Islam in this region may perish.”

In Syria just like in all civil wars both sides will be responsible for massacres and propaganda and the media war is part and parcel of the modern world. Nobody can predict completely what will happen in Syria at the moment but if the regime collapses and central forces are taken over by alienating the dominant political party – then, given the sectarian angle of Syria, it could well be that “the mirror of Iraq” awaits this country.

If so, the blood-letting will increase and some minorities will flee and alongside this the rights of women will be in free-fall. At the moment the only “democratic and liberal forces” in Syria belongs to politicians outside of Syria because on the ground it is very different.

Yesterday, many attacks in Iraq aimed against the Shia led to at least 55 people being killed and given the delicate sectarian and political nature of Syria then the worse is feared. The situation in Syria is complex and “honest brokers” need to be found in order to stabilize the situation internally and to prevent covert military support from instigating fresh violence.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Review of 2011 internationally and events in Japan (March 11 and Islamic terrorism)

Review of 2011 internationally and events in Japan (March 11 and Islamic terrorism)

James Jomo and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

In 2011 many political convulsions have challenged nations in North Africa and the Middle East. The optimism of the so-called “Arab Spring” remains to be unfulfilled because you have so much uncertainty in nations like Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia. At the same time the death of Osama bin Laden wasn’t the decisive blow to international terrorism because recent events in many nations show that this menace is still potent. This notably applies to the recent slaughter of Christians in Nigeria by Islamists belonging to Boko Haram.

Images of Christians, Muslims, and secularists, celebrating political change in Egypt seems like a distant dream. After all, many Coptic Christians have been killed and a sizeable minority of Muslims supported an Islamic party which seeks to restrict the role of Christians in Egypt.

President Obama, much like the ethical policy of Tony Blair (past leader in the United Kingdom), showed his hand clearly by announcing a huge military deal with Saudi Arabia. Therefore, any notion of democracy and supporting human rights was thrown out the window. In fairness to Obama this is a systematic reality within the body politic of America. However, it makes a mockery of his ethical stances because in the land of Saudi Arabia not one single Buddhist temple is allowed or Christian church and of course all apostates from Islam face death in this nation.

Meanwhile the Euro crisis and the foundations of the European Union have been challenged to the hilt. This applies to one economic crisis after another and monetary issues will continue to be a major issue in the early months of 2012. At the same time political leaders have lost power in Greece and Italy and European technocrats who have been unelected now rule the roost in these two nations. Therefore, the “Arab Spring” appears to be ushering in “a non-democratic new dawn” while in Europe new leaders can obtain power despite being unelected – not a pleasant thought.

On a more positive note you now have a new nation called South Sudan and providing the international community supports this new entity, then some “rays of sunshine” will have happened in 2011. However, the path ahead is fraught with danger because Arab Islamists in Khartoum still desire to rule the many different African ethnic groups which comprise of Sudan. This means that bloodshed will continue in 2012 in places like Darfur and the fear is that the Khartoum government may seek to create instability in South Sudan because of the delicate nature of this new nation. Given this, the international community must develop mechanisms with political leaders in South Sudan in order to help this new nation and to guarantee its future, while major obstacles are being challenged by central forces in Juba.

The Russian Federation and Kazakhstan are entering 2012 with certain levels of uncertainty. This applies to political challenges and outside meddling from international powers which seek to cause mayhem internally. Therefore, the world is waiting to see if Putin can remain all powerful alongside Medvedev or if “the house of cards” will collapse because of external and internal agitation.

The forgotten Serbian Orthodox Christians in Kosovo still face a bleak future because they can’t freely travel around Kosovo. At the same time, power processes are against the Serbian Orthodox Christians of Kosovo and political leaders in Belgrade have to walk a tightrope – but, if the current leaders could abandon their brethren in Kosovo, it would appear that they would do so in order to enter the EU club. However, internal events and a backlash could alter the political landscape in Serbia and this is the main concern of the current political leadership in Belgrade. This means that the ghettoization of an entire religious and ethnic group will continue in the heart of Europe and what does this tell us about the new Europe?

In Myanmar the international media is focusing on current positives because political elites in this nation appear to be opening up. Yet, despite this, many minority ethnic and religious groups are still being persecuted and Free Burma Rangers continues to highlight the reality on the ground. The fear is that these minority ethnic groups will be further abandoned in order to establish short-term goals. Also, if the regime turns away from China – then minorities have much to fear from further abandonment and isolation.

Therefore, the mainly Christian Karen elites and other ethnic groups like the Shan and Chin will continue to face an uncertain future. At the same time, the majority of the international media will give scant coverage outside of issues related to Aung San Suu Kyi and issues related to the current leaders of Myanmar.

Madness sadly hit Norway in 2011 when Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Oslo. The reason for this barbaric attack was then manipulated like a political football but the truth is that this individual was clearly deranged. He was neither a Bible thumping individual nor a regular churchgoer but this didn’t stop the anti-Christian brigade from having a field day. However, the bare fact is that the majority of people he killed were white Norwegians and Christian – this hardly matches the “mad racist” and “devout Christian” image which was being brandished about. Indeed, Breivik stated that  ”I’ve always been very pragmatic and influenced by my secular surroundings and environment.”

Sadly, the gruesome murder of innocents was lost and the massacre committed by Anders Breivik was clearly aimed at a political party he detested. The events of this day will never be forgotten in Norway because it highlighted the weakness of security agencies because one individual managed to throw the entire nation into deep shock. Hopefully, Anders Breivik will never be released from prison and different ethnic and religious communities will work more closely together in order to show the real spirit of Norway.

Natural disasters hit many nations, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and many others. Therefore, tens of thousands of people died because of natural disasters. The March 11 tsunami which hit Japan was felt all over the world because of the harrowing scenes which were caught on camera. Also, Japan became the first nation in history to be hit by a devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis, at the same time.

The reverberations of the nuclear crisis can still be felt today in Japan and throughout the world. Therefore, the nuclear energy issue became a hot topic and nations like Germany did a u-turn without much thought, irrespective if individuals agree with Germany or not. Ironically, this u-turn will not stop Germany utilizing the nuclear power stations in France but this is a different issue. Meanwhile, the government of Japan is caught between realism, business issues, energy concerns, the green movement, power shortages, a general public which is still divided, and other important factors related to the nuclear sector.

 

The March 11 earthquake which unleashed the tsunami was truly devastating because tens of thousands of people died. Also, the speed of events shocked people because the tsunami literally destroyed towns and villages that were in its path. Therefore, even today many people are still missing and vast numbers of people are without proper homes in areas hit by the tsunami.

Residents who reside (and who resided) near the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima continue to face a bleak future. Also, the tourist industry, fisheries, and other important areas which created jobs have been hindered by the devastating events of March 11. Given this, the central government needs to work closely with local governments and various agencies in order to get the region back on its feet.

It isn’t all doom and gloom because many communities have started to fight back and rebuild and this also applies to attracting new investment. Therefore, the picture is very mixed but clearly all positive mechanisms need to work together in order to resolve the major obstacles which people and the local business community still face.

2011 isn’t only based on negative events but clearly the political, economic, and natural disasters, have all unleashed convulsions which still can be felt. In this sense, the early period of 2012 will be a natural continuation. After all, the nuclear ill wind in Japan remains unresolved when it applies to radiation and its impact on the natural environment and on local people. The economic crisis in Europe remains and the same applies to other parts of the world but some positive signs can be felt in some nations. Also, the so-called “Arab Spring” may turn out to be truly democratic in the long-term or it may be a false dawn where Islamists take control and new despots emerge – it is impossible to say either way with confidence.

Nations like Nigeria and Somalia will continue to face the menace of radical Sunni Islamic terrorist attacks and attacks against central forces will continue. Issues related to democracy in China will be monitored more deeply given the current political climate and North Korea will probably remain on the same footing. However, North Korea may implement some economic reforms and the new leader may turn out to be more independent minded. Meanwhile, the political merry-go-round will continue in Japan whereby political leaders in the two main political parties will face internal struggles.

The Olympics in London in 2012 offer a positive note because this event will be watched by billions of people. Also, you have signs that China and Japan will focus on greater economic initiatives which will strengthen cooperation between these two powerful neighbors. Overall, 2012 looks like another stuttering year whereby economic issues and political convulsions will continue to create new major problems.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Western policy doing the bidding of Islam in Kosovo: destroying Orthodox Christianity

Western policy doing the bidding of Islam in Kosovo: destroying Orthodox Christianity

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Islamic forces entered Europe from Asia and North Africa in order to enslave, convert, persecute and either completely destroy Christianity or to enforce dhimmitude. Before this process began you had the complete annihilation of Christianity in many parts of North Africa and in various parts of the Middle East it was one long sojourn into dhimmitude, pogroms and massacres.

Christianity survived in some areas, for example in Egypt, however, numbers succumbed after Arab colonial and Islamic discrimination took route. Therefore, a complete Islamic inquisition took root in Arabia (modern day Saudi Arabia) and just like the Sunni Islamic inquisition against Buddhism and Hinduism in Afghanistan, you now have complete Islamization.

Of course the complete annihilation of Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism, in both areas didn’t lead to a greater civilization.  On the contrary, it led to the dark forces of Islamic Sharia law and the Shia also suffered countless massacres and pogroms.  After all, you had a complete Sunni Islamic inquisition in Egypt against the Shia. Also, in modern day Malaysia the Shia Muslim faith is forbidden and converts face systematic persecution.

Turning back to the Balkans the Orthodox Christian Serbs survived because Serbian Orthodox Church leaders remained strong and tenacious.  Under the Ottomans each rule was different but overall it was a period of Christian Orthodox boys being taken from their parents and converted to Islam because of the hated devshirme system.

John R. Schindler stated in his book called Unholy Terror that in the Bosnia “The most hated aspect of Ottoman rule in Bosnia, and the one whose memory lingers most sharply even today, was the practice of devshirme, the blood tax imposed on Christians.  For three centuries beginning with the conquest of Bosnia, the Ottomans annually levied male children as tribute; every year, up to one-fifth of Christian boys in Bosnia – usually aged fourteen to twenty, but some were younger – were forcibly taken from their families in contingents of a thousand and shipped to the imperial court at Istanbul to become warrior-slaves in the janissaries, the Sultan’s elite guard. They were converted to Islam….”    Page 23 – Unholy Terror

Of course the modern version in many universities in the West and in the mass media is to play down the slavery of Orthodox Christians in the Balkans, systematic pogroms and ignore the dark days of the Ottoman Empire – and this also applies to mass abuses of sexual slavery which was sanctioned by Islamic Sharia law. 

Not surprisingly the Islamic religion grew in Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo, and other regions of the Balkans. In the modern period you have the remnants of dhimmitude, systematic pogroms, the devshirme system, and other more recent factors in the twentieth century which led to either the weakening of Orthodox Christianity or turning a once majority region into a small minority.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire, slavery, dhimmitude, devshirme, pogroms, countless religious wars before the twentieth century and traitors who were the children of slaves all fought against the indigenous Orthodox Christian faith.  In the twentieth century Communist forces and Nazism further persecuted and altered the demographics of both Bosnia and Kosovo.

In my article called Bosnia: the myths of peaceful Islam and the hidden Islamic jihad I comment that “World War Two also witnessed the mutual support of the Muslim elites with Nazi Germany and Orthodox Christians faced the brutality of many forces.  This notably applies to the Croatian Catholic Ustasha regime which was genocidal towards the Serbian Orthodox Christians and it must be stated that Muslims participated fully within the military wing and police force of this brutal and barbaric regime.  At the same time Muslims served under the Nazi regime of Germany and the 13^th Volunteer Mountain Division of the Waffen-SS (Handschar) was famous for killing Orthodox Christians.”

John R. Schindler states that “Despite strong local support, Himmler’s Bosnian division ultimately did little to help the Nazi cause or defend the Bosnian Muslims…….the 13^th Division’s actual combat record was slight, while its depredations against unarmed Serbs were impressive; the Muslim troops spent more time killing and looting than actually fighting…….the 13^th Division ended the war ingloriously, plagued by war crimes and desertion.”  Page 36 – Unholy Terror

In recent times you still have no respite because Serbian Orthodox Christians still suffer systematic persecution and abuse. The simple question is do Serbian Orthodox Christians in Kosovo have the right to openly spread their faith throughout Kosovo and to build new Serbian Orthodox Churches throughout Kosovo?  The answer is no.

Next, do Serbian Orthodox Christians including small children have the freedom to travel throughout Kosovo without any hindrance and ill-will towards them?  The answer is no because in many areas they have to be protected by international forces.

The Kosovo conflict matters not a jot to this reality in modern Europe because the Serbian Orthodox Christians of Kosovo are innocent and their ancestors laid all the foundations of this land.  This applies to ancient Christian churches and monasteries.

If Kosovo Albanians claim differently, then are their Muslim places of worship much older than Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries?  Also, it was Islam which spread to Kosovo by systematic religious persecution and conquest and not the other way around.

Even if the international community wants to state that Serbia was the aggressor during the last Kosovo conflict this should not be an issue.  Or is the new world order based on communities having their land taken away from them because of one brief period of history?

After all, it was the Serbian Orthodox Christians for century after century which suffered massacres, systematic pogroms and the dreaded enslavement of their children under the devshirme system.  Not only this, the world also forgets about Muslim SS Units fighting loyally for Nazism in the Balkans and further changing the demographic reality of the Balkans by slaughtering Serbian Orthodox Christians.

However, in 2011 the Serbian Orthodox Christian community is still under siege in Kosovo and we all know that the Islamization of Kosovo is sanctioned by America which even supported Islamic terrorists during the wars in the Balkans.

Indeed, even the organ-tainted leadership of the Kosovo Albanians doesn’t shame the West and instead a more civilized Serbia is still trying to find a solution despite all the hatred towards the people of Serbia.

In modern Europe we are witnessing Islamization by Western powers who clearly hope that the Christian Orthodox Serbs will just leave Kosovo and then their “rubber stamp” will be complete.

Therefore, while history tells us that the Sunni Islamic inquisition eradicated Buddhism and Hinduism in Afghanistan. In our own lifetime, the de-Orthodox Christianization is being done in-front of the entire world without a murmur by churches in the West which have succumbed to liberalism, secularism and political correctness.

Western nations involved in this tragedy have certainly done a great media propaganda campaign because the organ scandal involving the Kosovo Liberation Army, destruction of Orthodox Christian churches, little Christian Orthodox children having no freedom to play openly throughout Kosovo, and so forth, appears to matter not one iota.

Of course, the same Western nations and mass media said little when two million mainly African Animists and African Christians were being slaughtered in Sudan by the Arab Islamic elites in Khartoum during the 1980s and early 1990s. 

However, unlike the Serbian Orthodox Christians of Kosovo, black African nations which are mainly Christian in Uganda and Kenya, and others, didn’t stand by and allow Africans to be crushed.

The new Europe and America is tainted by the ongoing reality of Kosovo and not even a simple solution of allowing the remaining Serbs　a free choice is on the table. Therefore, modern day Kosovo is about humiliating Serbia and for the remaining Serbs they either will be forced to accept Albanian Kosovo rule or they will just be marginalized to the point where economic necessity means that they will leave.

Serbian Orthodox Christianity in Kosovo is becoming a museum whereby famous monuments and monasteries are protected by Western forces; however, the faithful have no freedom to roam around Kosovo freely.

The Turkish Ottomans would be pleased with the bidding of America, the United Kingdom, and other Western nations. Not in their wildest dreams would they have envisaged a mainly Christian and non-Muslim West of offering Kosovo “on a Muslim plate” and with all aspects of Serbian Orthodox Christianity “being the final dinner.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lSRFC-jVPw (Islamists in Bosnia because of USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Islamist Alija Izetbegovic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03DQJ7skClg&feature=related (Islamists in Bosnia because of USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Islamist Alija Izetbegovic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyl5wxJPIQs (Muslim massacres of Christians)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rival-muslims-battle-on-in-bihac-1422695.html  (Inter Muslim fighting – Serbs supported moderate Muslims)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onbxpq3qI0c  (Henry Kissinger)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1w4p1J9fyg&NR=1 (Henry Kissinger)

http://moderntokyotimes.com please visit

 

The persecution of the Shia in Yemen and the regional Sunni-Shia divide

The persecution of the Shia in Yemen and the regional Sunni-Shia divide 

Lee Jay Walker 

Modern Tokyo Times

Shia children killed in Yemen

Currently you have many political and religious convulsions throughout North Africa and the Middle East.  However, for the Shia of Yemen it is apparent that the nation state of Yemen is at odds with many Shia Muslims who suffer systematic persecution.

Saudi Arabia is worried about the power base change in Iraq because after the demise of Saddam Hussein the Arab Sunni stranglehold was broken and now the main power brokers are the Shia and Kurds in the north.  Therefore, recent political tensions in Bahrain and Yemen are causing alarm in Saudi Arabia because the leaders of this nation desire to preserve a dominant Sunni political power structure throughout the region.

If we focus on Afghanistan then the Sunni Islamic fanatics of the Taliban and Al Qaeda shared the same Sunni Islamic theme of power and control.  This policy of victimizing and persecuting the Shia was factual and you had many massacres of the Shia by the forces of the Taliban and Al Qaeda before the invasion of Afghanistan.

Sunni Islamic extremists deem the Shia to be heretics and non-Muslim and the same hatred towards the Shia can be found in Pakistan.  Even in so-called moderate Malaysia the government is anti-Shia. However, unlike the massacres of the Shia which have taken place in other nations it is state sanctioned discrimination in Malaysia which holds the Shia at bay and forbids their religious buildings.

The Sunni-Shia issue is very potent and the Shia are second class citizens in Saudi Arabia because they face centralized policies which discriminate against them.  Therefore, Saudi Arabia is meddling in many nations and the people who suffer from this policy are the Shia and in Yemen many massacres have taken place in the past but most of these went unreported.

Also, while truces have been agreed upon in Yemen these truces rarely last and often it appears that the centralized state is just making the most of the breathing space in order to unleash more violence against the Shia minority.

James Haider, Middle East correspondent for The Times (UK), stated on November 5, 2009, that the Shia “…accuse Saudi Arabia, a conservative Sunni Muslim country, of backing the Yemeni army, fearing the emergence of a strong Shia militia similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon.” 

“In turn, the Yemeni Government in Sanaa has accused Iran, a Shia theocracy, of supporting the Huthi rebels as part of a campaign to spread Tehran’s influence across the region. The Government said last week that Yemeni troops had seized five Iranians on a boat loaded with arms in the Red Sea”. 

James Haider also comments about the fleeing Shia during a major military assault in late 2009.  This military assault led to 150,000 Shia Muslims fleeing their homes in order to escape the military clampdown against their community.

The military bombardments led to the killing of many innocent Shia Muslims who were caught up in the fighting.  Therefore, many civilians were killed and the blood flowed.

If we concentrate on the bigger picture it would appear that Sunni Islamic elites do not desire to build bridges with the followers of the Shia faith.  Instead the Sunni Islamic elites desire either the status quo or to maintain power by further marginalizing the Shia throughout the region.

Rannie Amiri’s, whose article was published in the weekend edition of Counterpunch, (Feb 19-21, 2010) called The Shia Crescent Revisited, commented that “Should the Arab Shia be prohibited from freely airing their grievances and demanding accountability for past injustices? Stopped from speaking out against the crimes perpetrated against them under Saddam (in which many in the Arab world were complicit)? Prevented from attempting to lift the heavy hand of institutionalized discrimination levied against them in Saudi Arabia? Barred from seeking an end to their disenfranchisement in Bahrain – where they make up at least 70 percent of the population yet constitute no part of the government or security services? Forbidden from asking why the language of sectarianism was used to justify and amplify the carnage in north Yemen?” 

It is a fair question and despite the “Iranian card” which is being manipulated and used in Saudi Arabia it is apparent that the global jihadist network is based on the followers of radical Sunni Islam.  After all, the terrorist attacks behind September 11, Madrid, Kenya, Bali, Uganda, and other global jihadist attacks, were all done by Sunni Islamic extremists.

Despite the Mahdi Army under Muqtada al-Sadr who attacked American forces in Iraq; it is clear that the Shia in Afghanistan and Iraq have gained from outside military forces taking action against Sunni Islamic zealots in Afghanistan and against the regime of Saddam Hussein which also played the anti-Shia card. 

Therefore, will Yemen become the next brutal war which will drag in outside forces and lead to the growth of radical Sunni Islam?  After all, it is clear that the al-Shabaab in Somalia desire to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist nation and this extremist Sunni Islamic organization often beheads the followers of Christianity and women also face being stoned to death for adultery.

The Somalia syndrome may happen in Yemen because it is obvious that outside Sunni Islamists have used Somalia in order to spread their version of Islam.  However, for the Shia of Yemen then they may face a “dual policy” whereby Sunni Islamic fanatics are allowed to enter the fray from many nations but at the same time the centralized state in Saudi Arabia will boost the nation state of Yemen.

Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, February 11, 2010, stated that “Even as it fights a U.S.-supported war against al-Qaeda militants here, the Yemeni government is engaging Islamist extremists who share an ideology similar to Osama bin Laden’s in its own civil war, adding new complications to efforts to fight terrorism.” 

The writer continues by stating that “Yemen’s army is allying with radical Sunnis and former jihadists in the fight against Shiite rebels in the country’s north. The harsh tactics of those forces, such as destroying Shiite mosques and building Sunni ones, are breeding resentment among many residents, analysts said, and given the tangle of evolving allegiances could build support for al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, which plotted the Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner.”  

Abdel-Karim al-Iriyani, a former prime minister is clearly alarmed by current events in Yemen.  He states that “Using these extremist people, if they are with you today, they are prone to be against you tomorrow.”

Therefore, the Shia inYemen will continue to suffer and Western nations will do little to challenge Saudi Arabia and the same applies to Bahrain because Saudi Arabia will do everything it can in order to prop-up the Sunni elites.

Saudi Arabia will use any means possible in order to preserve Sunni Muslim power and this also applies to state sanctioned policies which will encourage the forces of radical Sunni Islam in Yemen and boosting the military of Yemen. Therefore, the Shia in Yemen will be attacked by Sunni Islamic militant organizations and by the military of Yemen and this dual policy will be used in order to crush the Shia but in the past the Shia have been tenacious and events are unpredictable.

http://www.moderntokyotimes.com  (please visit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuJvqPuU-64&feature=related   (military action in Yemen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G132BS3Lzno   (Attacks against the Shia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHiTUbZ7o-k&feature=related  (Attacks against the Shia)