Headlines:
• German Eurosceptics Embrace Anti-Islam Protests
• CIA Interrogations Report Sparks Prosecution Calls
• Egypt: ‘Revolution Insult’ Law Raises Concerns
German Eurosceptics Embrace Anti-Islam Protests
The wave of anti-Islam protests gripping the German city of Dresden have ignited a political row, after the leader of the country’s rapidly growing Eurosceptic party publicly backed the protesters. Ten thousand people took to the streets of Dresden on Monday in the latest in a series of weekly rallies under the banner of Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of Europe, or Pegida, to protest against what they say is the erosion of Germany’s Judeo-Christian culture by Muslim immigrants. Bernd Lucke, the leader of the anti-Euro Alternative for Germany party (AfD), provoked outrage when he backed the protesters on his Facebook page, saying it is “good and right” that people are giving voice to their fears. “It is a sign that these people do not feel their concerns are understood by politicians,” he wrote. The AfD, which opposes the single currency and further integration, but is not against the EU, has made considerable gains in recent state elections. [Source: The Independent]
The harbingers of freedom and democracy are again showing their true colors towards Islam. Yet despite all the vitriol and hatred, the leaders of the Muslim world are unable to highlight the inconsistencies in West’s secular ideology and its stance on tolerance. On the contrary, the rulers go out of their way to endorse West’s bigotry by turning a blind eye to the treatment of Muslims in the West.
CIA Interrogations Report Sparks Prosecution Calls
The UN and human rights groups have called for the prosecution of US officials involved in what a Senate report called the “brutal” CIA interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects. A top UN human rights envoy said there had been a “clear policy orchestrated at a high level”. The CIA has defended its actions in the years after the 9/11 attacks on the US, saying they saved lives. President Barack Obama said it was now time to move on. The summary of a larger classified report says that the CIA carried out “brutal” interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects in the years after the 9/11 attacks on the US and misled other officials about what it was doing. The information the CIA collected this way failed to secure information that foiled any threats, the report said. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism Ben Emmerson said that senior officials from the administration of George W Bush who planned and sanctioned crimes must be prosecuted, as well as CIA and US government officials responsible for torture such as waterboarding. “As a matter of international law, the US is legally obliged to bring those responsible to justice,” Mr Emmerson said in a statement made from Geneva. “The US attorney general is under a legal duty to bring criminal charges against those responsible.” [Source: BBC News]
Yet again, the world is seeing what it already knew that America only pays lip service to human rights. And what is the point of revealing such information if there is no prosecution of Bush, Cheney and others who instigated such practices. Unlike Western liberalism which changes its definition of human rights and torture to safeguard the interest of Western governments, Islam is clear about torture. Hisham said: I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, say:
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُعَذِّبُ الَّذِينَ يُعَذِّبُونَ النَّاسَ فِي الدُّنْيَا»
“Verily, Allah will torture those who torture people in this world.” (Source: Sahih Muslim 2613)
Egypt: ‘Revolution Insult’ Law Raises Concerns
A law, being drafted by the Egyptian government to penalise critics of the country’s recent popular uprisings, threatens to muzzle political dissent, rights advocates and political experts have warned. President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi said the law will be issued soon, criminalising what he called “insulting” the revolts that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and his successor Islamist Mohammad Mursi two years later. The law is seen as mainly designed to placate disenchanted backers of the anti-Mubarak revolt largely branded in pro-Al Sissi media as a foreign conspiracy. Specific penalties in the disputed law are not clear yet. The mere talk about incriminating insult to any revolution constitutes suppression of freedom and rights,” Najad Al Buraei, a rights campaigner, said. “Stipulations of this law will be vague because it is difficult to set rules for criminalising a certain opinion. Such a law will be used to restrict freedoms,” he added. Thousands of activists, mainly Islamists, have been detained and put on trial since last year when the army, led at the time by Al Sissi, deposed Mursi following enormous street protests against his one-year rule. Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has denounced his removal as a military coup and vowed to reinstate him despite a draconian security crackdown. Meanwhile, dozens of pro-democracy secularists, who mobilised the uprising that eventually forced Mubarak to step down, have been jailed for holding illegal protests amid a ferocious media campaign accusing them of being foreign agents. Staunch backers of Al Sissi like ex-lawmaker Mustafa Bakri is critical of the planned bill. “This law will mark a serious turning point in the course of freedom. It will place restrictions on historians who seek to evaluate this period,” Bakri said in a Facebook post. “I hope that President Al Sissi whom I trust as a defender of freedom and the truth will stop the issuance of this law.” Al Sissi temporarily holds legislative power until a new parliament is elected next year. [Source: Gulf News]
All those who thought Sisi would be better than Morsi for Egypt must now think that Sisi is worse than Mubarak. After releasing the tyrant Mubarak, Sisi is slowly moving towards using legislation to punish anyone that contemplates fomenting a revolution in the future. The only hope for Egyptians yearning for liberations from tyranny is in the re-establishment of the Khilafah. It is only through the Khilafah State that Egyptians can be safe from the likes of Mubarak and Sisi.