28 July 2012, Mail Online
A Muslim preacher who tried to strangle his 16-year old daughter after she refused to enter into an arranged marriage with her cousin has avoided jail.
Has Russia truly changed its ways on human rights? Certainly its new law restricting public protests fuels grave and widespread concerns. Moreover, in at least one key area, religious freedom, Russia has not changed in many respects. This assessment should provoke serious discussion as the United States faces decisions about its relationship with its former Cold War foe.
BBC News, July 28, 12
Syrian forces have kept up a day-long ground and air attack against rebels in parts of the city of Aleppo.
The BBC’s Ian Pannell, who is in Aleppo, has seen fierce battles, with a number of rebel fighters killed.
Syria has expanded its chemical weapons arsenal in recent years with help from Iran and by using front organizations to buy sophisticated equipment it claimed was for civilian programs, according to documents and interviews.
The buildup has taken place despite attempts by the United States and other Western countries to block the sale of precursor chemicals and so-called dual-use technology to Damascus, according to the documents.
Syria has expanded its chemical weapons arsenal in recent years with help from Iran and by using front organizations to buy sophisticated equipment it claimed was for civilian programs, according to documents and interviews.
The buildup has taken place despite attempts by the United States and other Western countries to block the sale of precursor chemicals and so-called dual-use technology to Damascus, according to the documents.
By Tarek Fatah
Huffington Post
7/27/12
It started as a letter by five members of the U.S. Congress to various security agencies asking them to investigate whether there was undue influence exercised within the U.S. government by staff influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood.
General who swapped sides says regime can last ‘two months at most’ as troop morale sinks and petrol trucks are ambushed Bashar al-Assad’s military machine is on the brink of logistical meltdown and collapse, because it lacks petrol and food, and is having problems resupplying its soldiers, according to a Syrian general who has defected to the opposition.
After interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, conventional wisdom has it that our country is turning inward. But with dramatic global events that often unfold on the Internet, the public seems to have a heightened awareness of the risk of genocide and other kinds of mass atrocities — and want our leaders to act.
A new poll we worked on together suggests that Americans in fact care very much about preventing genocide in other countries, want our government to be actively engaged in stopping it and are willing to employ military force under certain conditions.
The findings emerge from a random telephone poll of 1,000 Americans conducted by Penn, Schoen, and Berland for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We wanted to gauge how Americans think about the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities, an oft-neglected element of our foreign policy agenda.
Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gregg Edgar
Gordon C. James Public Relations
602-690-7977
Syria has reached a critical tipping point as tanks head for Aleppo
Syria heads towards genocide as U.S. stands on the sidelines
PHOENIX (July 26, 2012) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the co-founder of the Save Syria Now! issued the following statement regarding the chaos ensuing in Syria:
“As fighting continues in Damascus, a military column with hundreds of tanks is rolling toward Syria’s second city Aleppo. While some are characterizing the situation as a civil war, that term would imply that there are two relatively equal sides. This is not a civil war. It is genocide. With hundreds of thousands of armed personnel and one of the Middle East’s heaviest armamentariums, the brutal Syrian government is able to willfully destroy and obliterate its courageous free Syrian opponents and inflict retribution on everyday citizens who have had the courage to stand up to Assad’s thugs. Over 20,000 innocent men, women and children have already lost their lives and hundreds of thousands are suffering from the now 17 month uprising against the fascist Assad regime.
The Syrian conflict has reached a tipping point and the United States can no longer afford to be seen sitting on the sideline of this battle. With over 500,000 Syrian expatriates living on her shores whose families are being slaughtered in the streets of Damascus, Homs, Hama, and now Aleppo, the U.S. has a moral obligation to engage the Syrians and come down on the side of freedom and liberty by openly and rigorously supporting the opposition to Assad’s brutal regime. Assad and his generals are in the process of exacting a “final solution” upon the Syrian people whose only crime is the desire for freedom. As pollsters Mark Penn and Mike Abramowitz describe in their latest poll on “Ending Genocide,” “Americans want their government to do something about preventing genocide. A strong proportion — 69 percent — believes the United States should prevent or stop mass atrocities from occurring in another part of the world. Substantial majorities also said they think the United States should have taken military action in cases such as Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.” So many American Syrians came to the US to escape persecution and celebrate freedom. That freedom has a price and a moral obligation that comes with it. Today, we are begging our fellow Americans to help those seeking freedom in our motherland against one of the most evil regimes on the planet today.
Apprehension over the impact that engagement will have on November’s presidential race will firmly ensconce President Obama on the wrong side of history watching a genocide unleashed from a tyrant like few we have seen in the world to date.
Leaders must lead. The U.S. has the opportunity to reboot our old failed policies in the Middle East and show that we don’t always have to take the side of the “strong horse” or the “safer bet” but rather the side of righteousness and moral good. As the Middle East is reshaped these inflection points will not come again, and the role of the United States will not be forgotten for generations to come. If we can only find the courage to act. No result can be guaranteed, but our inaction is resulting in a certain guarantee of genocide, antipathy for American courage, and endearment of Syrians to those who help them from Iran to Russia to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. None of which are in American or NATO interests.
The writing is on the wall for Assad’s regime, it is simply a question of how many people he will slaughter on his way to history’s trash heap. Fears of an Islamist regime following will be a self-fulfilling prophecy if we do not get our hands dirty and engage and empower Syrians who share our visions of liberty and a free Syria.
As freedom loving Americans of Syrian decent we implore this administration to openly enter the fray in the following ways.
1. Immediately impress upon NATO the need to establish a no fly zone to stop Syrian helicopter gunships from indiscriminately attacking the Syrian people.
2. Employ a Kosovo style air assault to stop Syrian troops, tanks and artillery from converging on city of Aleppo or any other target where they will employ their brutal assault on the Syrian people.
3. Use all imaginable diplomatic pressure to halt Russia’s efforts to rearm Assad’s regime and neuter Russia and China’s impact by entirely stepping away from the impotent UN processes and focusing on the work that needs to be done with willing moral nations.
4. Force the regime to admit International Media and NGO’s like the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch so they can care for the injured and accurately document human rights violations for eventual prosecution.
5. Begin the process of building the political infrastructure of Syrians who share our values and our faith in liberty so that when this regime goes, the vacuum can be filled by more than just the strong horse of the Islamist parties like the Syrian National Council.
6. By all means also stop empowering the Islamists – there is a thriving diverse community in Syria that longs for freedom empower them!
The stakes in Syria could never be higher and the opportunity for a lasting impact in the region could never be greater. President Obama please do not let the United States become irrelevant to a new Syria.”
About Save Syria Now!
Save Syria Now! is a group of Americans of Syrian descent organizing to put pressure on the United States to call for immediate action to be taken against the regime of Bashar Assad of Syria and to bring true liberty to the people of Syria. We stand with the Syrians protesting in the streets to end the tyranny of the Assad family. For more information please visit our website at http://www.savesyrianow.org/.
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Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHOENIX (July 19, 2012) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) issued the following statement regarding the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan:
“Today, we begin the daily commemoration of our Islamic holy month of Ramadan. We wish all Muslims a ‘Ramadan Kareem’ and a blessed and rewarding month of fasting and self-reflection.
During this, the ninth month of our lunar calendar and the holy month of fasting, we are all reminded of the truly important elements of our lives and how we can strengthen them. We are reminded of our good health, our family, a renewal of faith, and our personal relationship with God.
We are reminded of the sanctity and safety of this great nation which we call home and gives us the comfort and freedom to engage in every facet of the humble spiritual renewal that is Ramadan.
These are the values we all hold dearly, but may often come to take for granted.
As we abstain from food and drink during the day, we are reminded of our brothers and sisters of all faiths in Syria who are dying in the thousands in the streets of their homeland at the barbaric hands of their own government. May our prayers and our works be dedicated toward ending their misery and helping to bring them as quickly as possible the freedom that we are blessed with. It is an appreciation of the Syrian people’s plight against evil and the uncertainty of whether they will have a meal, a home, or a family with which to live which lies at the heart and soul of Ramadan.
The fast of Ramadan is a symbolic equalizer for all Muslims from every part of humanity. From the very rich to the very poor, the fortunate or the less fortunate, during this month we find common goodness in the challenge and rewards of the daily fast. At the end of every day of fasting, the hunger and thirst we share is a deep humility that allows us to share a common appreciation for the gifts we have at home and in this nation.
We will in this month renew our daily efforts to remind our brothers and sisters of all faiths that we as America Muslims not only cherish western freedoms, but that the solution to global Islamist radicalism must come from moderate, liberty minded Muslims from around the world.
The daily hunger and thirst and recitation of scripture in the month of Ramadan remind us that all human beings are created equal. It is an equality that not only crosses social, economic, and cultural boundaries, but religious, political and geographical as well. It is a reminder of our shared humanity with every individual around the world.
It is with these thoughts and prayers in mind that we wish Muslims a blessed Ramadan and a rewarding and spiritually fulfilling fast this coming month beginning today.”
About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gregg Edgar
Gordon C. James Public Relations
602-690-7977
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