According to UN, Saudi Arabia is responsible for killing 60% of children and use of white phosphorus yet the media ignore its war on Yemen

According to UN, Saudi Arabia is responsible for killing 60% of children and use of white phosphorus yet the media ignore its war on Yemen

    Tuesday, September 20, 2016   No comments

ISR review comment: Media bias: Saudi Arabia is responsible for killing 60% of the children killed in Yemen and using illegal weapons. Yet, media outlets ignores the Saudi crimes in Yemen but report on the horrors of war in Syria, which was made worse by militant groups ideologically inspired and politically and militarily assisted by Saudi Arabia. it is this bias that allow the bloodshed to continue.

Yemeni children who survive Saudi bombs may not survive siege-caused famine

Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in its war in Yemen

Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in its war in Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media, raising concerns among human rights groups that the highly incendiary material could be used against civilians.

Under U.S. regulations, white phosphorus sold to other countries is to be used only for signaling to other troops and creating smoke screens. When the munition explodes, it releases white phosphorus that automatically ignites in the air and creates a thick white smoke. When used against soldiers or civilians, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

It is unclear exactly how the Saudis are using the munitions, but the government has already received widespread condemnation for its indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas since its campaign against rebel forces in Yemen began in 2015.

U.S. officials confirmed that the American government has supplied the Saudis white phosphorus in the past but declined to say how much had been transferred or when. After reviewing a social media image taken from the battlefield that showed a white phosphorus mortar shell, a U.S. official said it appeared to be American in origin but could not trace it to a particular sale because some of the markings were obscured.

“The United States expects any recipient of U.S. military assistance to use those items in accordance with international law and under the terms and conditions of any U.S. transfer or sale,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive issues. SOURCE

Media bias sample: WashPost coverage of ME ignores the Saudi war on Yemen as if Syria is the only war zone in the region.

ISIL calls ISIS calls Erdoğan, beheads one of his alleged spies

ISIL calls ISIS calls Erdoğan, beheads one of his alleged spies

    Monday, September 19, 2016   No comments

Screen-grab of ISIL's video

ISIL (ISIS, IS) issued a gruesome declaration against Erdogan calling him, tyrant and a slave of the crusaders. The group released another grisly video condemning Erdogan and the Syrian opposition forces collaborating with him, including al-Nusra and Jaysh al-Fath. The video, entitled fa-`tabiru [be forewarned], included statements by an individual accused of being one of Erdogan’s followers and spies. He was tied to pole, shot by firing multiple shots at him with machine gun, and then beheaded.

Screen-grab of ISIL's video showing the shooting and beheading of what ISIL says is a Syrian spy for Erdogan

170 new prisons will be built in Turkey to accommodate more than 100,000 inmates

170 new prisons will be built in Turkey to accommodate more than 100,000 inmates

    Thursday, September 15, 2016   No comments

Erdogan claims high-ground  when questioned about his support for armed groups fighting to overthrow the Syrian government: It is shameful to negotiate with the Syrian president who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives lost, he argues. But he shrugs off any criticism that he is authoritarian or dictator. Yet, the numbers that his own ministers are making public proves that he is just as cruel: since the failed coup, thousands of soldiers, teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers, students, and anyone suspected of being a follower of Gulen were arrested. It is estimated that nearly 200,000 people were arrested. To accommodate this large number of inmates, the government released thousands of criminals. Signaling the large number of arrests, the government revealed that it will build new prisons, not schools or research centers, prisons, 170 of them, in the next five years. 
 

More than 170 jails will be built over the next five years in Turkey, according to a statement from the Justice Ministry. The ministry’s move comes after the overcrowding in jails caused by the arrests linked to the July 15 failed coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ). Source

One could understand that soldiers who take part in a coup to overthrow an elected government should be arrested and punished. But arresting teachers, professionals, and ordinary citizens because they are suspected of being follower of Gulen is what dictators so. When these hundreds of thousands of inmates are added to tens of thousands of Kurdish people killed and tens of thousands imprisoned, Erdogan will be indistinguishable from the dictators he likes to criticizes.

"Islamic State" (ISIL. ISIS, IS) terrorists release sickening video depicting the slaughtering of people accused of spying in Deir al-Zour

"Islamic State" (ISIL. ISIS, IS) terrorists release sickening video depicting the slaughtering of people accused of spying in Deir al-Zour

    Tuesday, September 13, 2016   No comments

ISIL is desperately attempting to mask its losses with cruelty and depravity. 

On the day when Muslims around the world celebrate a religious holiday, ISIL, now self-named Islamic State, released its most despicable yet propaganda video depicting its members slaughtering people the terrorist group accused of being spies. In the 12:35 minute long clip entitled “the manufacturing of illusion”, the group claims that it identified individuals working for anti-ISIL coalition and released abhorrent footage depicting its fighters slaughtering these individuals—some of whom appear to be underage.

Mocking foreign intelligence agencies while singing the praise of the success of its own intelligence bureau named, Rasid, the group produced yet another piece of sickening propaganda that is self-incriminating. The video was released by the group's Alkhayr media, named after the province of Deir al-Zour, Syria.

Grozny Conference: The First International Conference Dedicated To Answering The Question: Who Are The Sunnis?

Grozny Conference: The First International Conference Dedicated To Answering The Question: Who Are The Sunnis?

    Sunday, September 11, 2016   No comments

On August 25-17, more than 200 Sunni Muslim scholars from around the world convened in Grozny, Chechnya, to answer the question: who are the Sunnis? Representing the most prominent Sunni institution of learning and religious guidance, al-Azhar, the Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb, opened the international conference with a statement stressing the importance of reclaiming the true teachings of Sunni Muslims (Ahl al-Sunna wa-‘l-jama`a), which, he argued, have been corrupted by extremists and terrorists. This important event did not receive wide coverage because of the coordinated attack by religious and political leaders of Saudi Arabia who contended that the conference was meant to exclude Wahhabi Salafism. 

Read the news story on Grozny Conference

Isis fighter reveals group's plan to spread even after defeat in Iraq and Syria and claims collusion with Turkey

Isis fighter reveals group's plan to spread even after defeat in Iraq and Syria and claims collusion with Turkey

    Saturday, September 10, 2016   No comments

Isis will flourish and survive even if it is defeated in the present battle for Syria and Iraq an Isis militant has told The Independent.

In an exclusive interview, Faraj, a 30-year-old veteran fighter from north east Syria, says that “when we say that the Islamic State [Isis] is everlasting and expanding, it is not a mere poetic or propaganda phrase”. He says the group intends to rebuild its strength in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, adding that “Isis has sleeper agents all over the world and their numbers are increasing”.

In his account of his life in Isis, Faraj makes plain that only a year after the caliphate was declared in the wake of the capture of Mosul in 2014, its leaders could foresee that it might be overrun militarily. He reveals hitherto unknown details of the apparent close cooperation between Isis and Turkey and the degree to which foreign fighters who flooded into Syria to fight for Isis alienated local people from the movement by ordering them about and interfering in their lives.  source

Does Saudi Arabia support extremism and terrorism?

Does Saudi Arabia support extremism and terrorism?

    Thursday, August 25, 2016   No comments

Is the world today a more divided, dangerous and violent place because of the cumulative effect of five decades of oil-financed proselytizing from the historical heart of the Muslim world? Or is Saudi Arabia, which has often supported Western-friendly autocrats over Islamists, merely a convenient scapegoat for extremism and terrorism with many complex causes — the United States’s own actions among them?
...
This NYT's article attempts to answer these questions, now, but where were the NYT and the rest of the Western media before it has become "fashionable" to criticize the Saudis, and when only few had voiced concerns?

Ahead of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set down for an interview with TASS

Ahead of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set down for an interview with TASS

    Thursday, August 11, 2016   No comments

Ahead of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with TASS commented on Moscow-Ankara relations, the military coup attempt, the Kurdish question, Syrian peace settlement and anti-terrorism efforts.

- Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity to have this meeting. We are talking literally hours before your visit to Russia, to St. Petersburg, where you are scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has already said that joint steps to restore relations between our countries, including a wide range of issues from the economy to Syria, will be in focus. There is a great deal for you to discuss. That’s Russia’s vision. What is your agenda? How do you foresee the forthcoming talks?

- Mr. Gusman, thank you very much. It is true that ahead of the visit scheduled for Tuesday I am very grateful for the opportunity this meeting offers to express our own viewpoint, how things look to us in Turkey.

It has been eight months since the tragic downing of the Russian jet. Over this period our cooperation continued along a number of lines. As you know, in the context of Russian-Turkish relations we had planned to build up bilateral trade to $100 billion. There’ve been difficulties with that. A number of our major projects, including the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, have been suspended. I am certain that we will have an opportunity to discuss all these aspects and that a new page in Russian-Turkish relations will be opened. This new leaf to be turned over will include cooperation in the military field, in the economy and in culture. Our countries are key players in the region and they are going to accomplish a great deal together. It is with this conviction that I will arrive in Russia on a visit. I don’t have the slightest doubt that Mr. Putin has been making preparations for the visit in the same fashion, and I would like to say this using the opportunities of your television channel.

I envision this visit as a new landmark in bilateral relations, a clean slate from which to start anew. On behalf of myself and the Turkish nation, I cordially greet Mr. Putin and all Russians.

- Mr. President, of course it is a great pleasure to hear what you’ve just said. You mentioned a tragic page in our relations – the death of our pilot. I know that this episode caused ache in the hearts of all Russians. You surely understand this, Mr. President. So my question to you is who in your opinion is to blame and will the perpetrators be punished?

- I’ve already had a chance to explain our stance in the letter I had sent. I said that this event was a great misfortune to us and it deeply upset us. The culprits in what happened in Syrian territory have been detained and brought to justice already. The investigation is continuing. In fact, I conveyed that in my message. As for the pilots, I ordered a probe into the circumstances that occurred beyond the bounds of our customary rules of response. You also know that the man who caused the Russian pilot’s death, who killed the Russian pilot, is now in custody. He is standing trial. I would like to emphasize that.

- Just recently Turkey, the people of Turkey, and you personally experienced a very dramatic moment, of course. There was an attempted coup against the government. As far as I understand, you managed to suppress the coup by relying on the will of the people, first and foremost. These days we can see rallies in your support. You managed to establish stability in Turkey. Very many people, tens of thousands are under arrest and investigation. In a situation like this how did you manage to quash the rebellion? On the other hand, the large number of those arrested may possibly indicate that “anti-government forces”, let us refer to them as such, could have taken deep root in Turkish society.

- Those who tried to stage this coup against the government and the people, failed to take into account key factors. Although they had penetrated deeply into government agencies, the army, the police and the judiciary, we have police and military servicemen who refused to join the coup plotters. There were also judges and prosecutors who refused to join, too. Yet, the most important thing that we have, is our nation, a people such as ours. The plotters never took into account the will of our people. They never even imagined that our people would not hesitate to stop tanks with their bodies. They failed to take that into account. Not once did the thought enter their minds that these people would stand firm despite bombs being dropped on them from planes, or helicopters opening fire on them. At the moment, 240 are listed dead and about 2,200 others injured. Some of the survivors are still in intensive care. These people’s hearts are filled with a burning love for their country; they were ready to sacrifice themselves. That’s why they took to the streets, women and even elderly people. The young as well, take a look at those killed –15-year-old youths were among them.

Amid these events, I received a phone call from Mr. Putin already on the second day. As we talked he said that he was against the coup and would remain on our side. I recall his high-principled position with gratitude and I thank him on behalf of myself and the Turkish people.

All world leaders must resist treason, government coup attempts and attacks on their own people. Mr. Putin acted quickly and practically without delay. Once again, I express my gratitude to him.

- In this connection there is one question I would like to make clear. As you may know some media outlets in and outside of Russia carried reports that Russia and its secret services had conveyed some sort of warning, that they had notified the special services that preparations for a government coup were underway. The question I want to ask you does this scenario conform to reality.

This is the first time that I have heard such a thing. Even if it had really been so, those concerned would have been obliged to inform me first thing. I received no such information, not from intelligence, nor through any other channels. We don’t know who said what and to whom. I believe that this is a groundless rumor.

- As far as I know, Turkey has asked the United States twice or possibly more to extradite Mr. Gulen, who, to my knowledge was one of the failed coup plotters. There’s been no response from the United States so far. If the US refuses to meet Turkey’s request, how do you see future relations with Washington?

- It would be wrong to approach this question from that standpoint. At the moment, the process of negotiations is continuing. Earlier, I addressed Mr. Obama with such a request. Whenever you demanded that we should extradite terrorists, I told them, we satisfied those demands. The head of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (led by Fethullah Gulen) has been in your country (the United States) since 1999.

Regrettably, at a certain point we had provided full support for him and his team. They were saying that they were involved in some activities in the field of education, and that they worked for the future of our country. Regrettably, they did not proceed along these lines. It was a cover-up. Then we realized that they were moving in a different direction. I had suspected there was something wrong about that from the very start. They were opening private schools. Moreover, the activities at such educational establishments were far from positive. In fact they were working in a very negative way. Their activity was entirely centered on profit-seeking. We failed to pay proper attention to that when I was prime minister.

Starting from 2010 we had begun to crack down on this problem, by closing down such establishments, but much more of them were cropping up. When such schools were shut down, we arranged to compensate people by setting up weekend courses. Our people started going there because they did not have to spend much money. Many of them are poor and we saved them. Also, it was a source of extra income for our teachers.

In reality, even though we have demanded this man’s extradition. They say if you regard this man as a terrorist, then send us the documents. We will study them first and then take measures in accordance with US legislation. True, there are some documents we had sent them before. By now we’ve sent 85 boxfuls of paperwork on this case. In the near future, the Turkish justice minister, foreign minister, special envoy and a number of prosecutors and judges who were in charge of this matter will go to the United States and brief the American authorities in person.

- I know, Mr. President, that you pay much attention to creating Turkey’s new fundamental law, the new Constitution. You are the architect of the new legislation. What fundamentally new features will the new Constitution have? Should the people adopt it at your initiative? And how will this Constitution reconcile the traditions of a secular Turkish state with the Muslim religion?


...read the rest of the interview at the source

Native Deen Uses Rap to Combat Stereotypes About Islam

Native Deen Uses Rap to Combat Stereotypes About Islam

    Tuesday, August 09, 2016   No comments

Summer camp may seem like an unlikely place to create a successful, internationally-acclaimed rap group.

But in the early 90s, during an era when the mix of rap and musical activism was at its prime, three amateur, Muslim-American artists saw an opportunity to blend the Islamic faith and hip-hop culture.

Roughly a decade later — the same year as the Sept. 11 attacks — the trio formed Native Deen, a Washington, D.C., based rap group,which celebrates the Islamic-American experience using a fusion of hip-hop and R&B flavor.

Native Deen meet with students during a trip with members of the U.S. State Department to a school in the Palestinian territories in 2006.


*****

"We grew up during the golden ages of hip-hop. This was the music and the language of young people," group member Naeem Muhammad told NBC News. Their mission? "To spread an uplifting message of Islam" to combat the misunderstanding of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, said group member Abdul-Malik Ahmad. The group now boasts sold out performances internationally and in 2006 won an Al-Mahabba Award, which celebrates Muslim achievements in the arts, in Dubai. "Our music came at a time where a lot of young Muslims were having issues with identity," Muhammad said, adding that Muslim youth often struggle with merging "their Muslim identity with all of their American identity" while growing up in a country that misunderstands their faith. Source

 

  

Who supplied the Syrian rebels with weapons and munitions?

Who supplied the Syrian rebels with weapons and munitions?

    Sunday, August 07, 2016   No comments

... an investigative journalism report concludes that it was CIA, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and UAE...
 Eastern European countries have approved the discreet sale of more than €1bn of weapons in the past four years to Middle Eastern countries that are known to ship arms to Syria, an investigation has found.

Thousands of assault rifles such as AK-47s, mortar shells, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons and heavy machine guns are being routed through a new arms pipeline from the Balkans to the Arabian peninsula and countries bordering Syria.

The suspicion is that much of the weaponry is being sent into Syria, fuelling the five-year civil war, according to a team of reporters from the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Arms export data, UN reports, plane tracking, and weapons contracts examined during a year-long investigation reveal how the munitions were sent east from Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania.


End-user certificates – official documents drawn up when receiving an export licence – issued by the Saudi defence ministry to a Serbian arms dealer, as well as a cache of contracts obtained by BIRN and OCCRP, revealed the scope of the buy-up for Syrian beneficiaries.

It ranged from hundreds of ageing T-55 and T-72 tanks to millions of rounds of ammunition, multi-launch missile systems and rocket launchers, although it is not clear what was delivered. Weapons and ammunition listed include materiel from the former Yugoslavia, Belarus, Ukraine and Czech Republic, much of which is present in large quantities in Syria. source