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Hajjing A Good Time, Wish You Were Here

Hate to suggest anyone mix religion and politics. But how about religion and morality. More than two million Muslims in town for the Hajj, all due to head home with enhanced status as Hajjis. How about someone preaching a little peace. Terrorism is bad. Murder in the name of Allah is a sin. Something like that. Maybe they do. Doesn’t sound like it, though. UK Telegraph: 

Despite a ban on political activities at haj, a senior Iranian cleric gave a speech at Arafat to a group of pilgrims, who chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, Iran’s state television showed.

Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, head of Iran’s haj mission, told the pilgrims some Muslims had despaired “in the face of Western civilization’s onslaught” but that today there was a “resurgence of Islam”.

Sounds a little like that guy’s mixing religion and politics. So, I know the Sauds are more concerned with the pushing and shoving, but how about giving that guy the bum’s rush?

Gateway reports that the old goat likes ‘em young.

Meanwhile, in other resurgent Islam news, a minor setback in Pakistan. Mumbai “mastermind” among 12 arrested in a Muzaffarabad raid. No worries, even the infidels know it’s all for show. Times of London:

Pakistani security forces have raided a training camp used by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed for last month’s attack on Mumbai, and arrested at least 12 of the group’s activists, government officials said today.

One Pakistani official told The Times that among those arrested was Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, LeT’s operations chief, whom Indian officials have accused of masterminding the Mumbai attack.

The raid last night near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, was Pakistan’s first attempt to respond to mounting pressure from India and the United States to take action against LeT after the Mumbai strike.

It is unlikely to satisfy either Delhi or Washington unless Islamabad follows up by prosecuting those arrested and taking further action against other militant groups linked to attacks on Indian soil.

“We’ve seen before how Pakistan will arrest some militants, keep them for a couple of months and then release them when the world’s not paying attention,” said B. Raman, a former head of the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing (India’s MI6).

“It must not be allowed to do that this time. They have to prosecute these people and dismantle the whole terrorist infrastructure,” he told The Times.

Pakistani security officials refused to confirm or deny publicly the raid or the arrests of the activists from LeT, which is thought to have close links to Pakistan’s poweful Inter-Services Intelligence agency. But government officials, speaking off the record, said that Pakistani troops raided a large compound belonging to Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the parent organisation of LeT, about three miles outside Muzaffarabad.

Local residents said that they saw army helicopters taking part in the raid and heard gunfire and explosions.

Dingbats. The people you need to be arresting are in Rawalpindi and Islamabad! NYT has the background on that oand growing concerns about the terrorist organization known as ISI/Lashkar.

WASHINGTON — Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant group suspected of conducting the Mumbai attacks, has quietly gained strength in recent years with the help of Pakistan’s main spy service, assistance that has allowed the group to train and raise money while other militants have been under siege, American intelligence and counterterrorism officials say.

American officials say there is no hard evidence to link the spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, to the Mumbai attacks. But the ISI has shared intelligence with Lashkar and provided protection for it, the officials said, and investigators are focusing on one Lashkar leader they believe is a main liaison with the spy service and a mastermind of the attacks.

As a result of the assault on Mumbai, India’s financial hub, American counterterrorism and military officials say they are reassessing their view of Lashkar and believe it to be more capable and a greater threat than they had previously recognized.

Gateway with more news links on that also has new Mumbai vid.

Topics: Islam, terrorists

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:22 am on Monday, December 8, 2008

One Response to “Hajjing A Good Time, Wish You Were Here”

1. mojo Says:
   December 8th, 2008 at 10:47 am

   “Target-rich environment”

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