Category Archives: Islamic State

The Historical Significance of November 13th in Islam

1 NovpmFri, 13 Nov 2015 22:28:20 -06002015-11-13T22:28:20-06:0010 2009 – 22:28

2000px-Osmanli-nisani

On November 13, 1918 the Allied troops occupied Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was the Caliphate, the Islamic State of its day.

By terrortrends | Also posted in France, Hostage taking, ISIS, Islam, Jihad, Kidnapping & Hostage-taking, Paris Jihadi attack, Terrorist attack | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

Profound Ignorance or Outright Dishonesty? Ignoring the Obvious in Merced County

1 NovpmSat, 07 Nov 2015 15:44:53 -06002015-11-07T15:44:53-06:0003 2009 – 15:44

faisal-mohammad

By Christopher W. Holton

On Wednesday, 4 November, Faisel Mohammad of Santa Clara, California went on a “stabbing spree” at the University of California at Merced in Sacramento. He stabbed 4 people before he was shot dead by police.

So far, press reports are littered with the usual “he was a quiet guy” garbage about Mohammad and the Sheriff of Merced County, Vern Warnke, who obviously knows zilch about Islamic doctrine and clearly hasn’t been paying much attention to Jihad in recent months, is insistent that this attack had nothing to do with “religion” or “politics,” but was the result of a personal vendetta because Mohammad was angry about being kicked out of a study group.

There are some facts that Sheriff Warnke is actively ignoring.

For example, the Islamic State issued a tweet acknowledging Mohammad’s attack and wishing that allah would allow him entrance into paradise. Last week this same Twitter account associated with the Islamic State posted tweets with videos calling for stabbing attacks.

We have now seen this over and over, the Islamic State, using both social media and internet bulletin boards and chat rooms, have made specific calls for acts of individual Jihad in the West and Jihadis are surfacing to carry out such attacks.

Stabbings have recently become the method of choice by Jihadis in Israel, with dozens of stabbings being carried out by Muslims. Does Sheriff Warnke even bother to watch the news?

In addition to this evidence, police have found a “manifesto” written by Mohammad and what does it contain?

• 5 references to praise for allah over two pages.

• A statement in which Mohammad said he wanted to behead someone. This is pure Jihadi doctrine, as anyone who has been paying attention the past several years knows.

The repeated denials by public officials in this country about the central role of Islamic doctrine in acts of violence are both irresponsible and obnoxious.

We are seeing the development of a “revolutionary Jihadist climate” as described by Jihadi ideologue Abu Musab al-Suri:

Successful jihad will only happen within an ummah [Islamic nation or community] in which the fighting creed is firmly established and clarified. This must happen in order to attain the “Revolutionary Jihadist Climate” that will spontaneously give rise to instruments of resistance.

Violent jihad is as an individual duty obligatory upon every Muslim. All the ulema have said this…”

Denying that individual acts of Jihad are exactly what they are is contributing to the slumber that this nation finds itself in and we will pay a dear price for it.

Sheriff Vern Warnke

Sheriff Vern Warnke

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Homegrown Jihad, ISIS, Jihad, Possible terror attack, stabbing, Terrorist attack, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Part of Al Shabaab Pledges Allegiance to the Islamic State

1 OctpmWed, 28 Oct 2015 14:55:13 -06002015-10-28T14:55:13-06:0002 2009 – 14:55

By Christopher W. Holton

The Islamic State continues to expand its murderous influence around the world, particularly in Africa.

Previously, Boko Haram of Nigeria pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Now, a faction of Al Shabaab in Somalia has also pledged allegiance to the caliphate.

Western news media seems to be treating this as if it is a positive sign of division in the ranks of Jihadis.

We have a different view.

As of our last count, 36 Jihadist groups from the Philippines to west Africa have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Meanwhile, we have seen multiple Islamic State-inspired attacks in the West, including here in the United States. This is something that never occurred much before the Islamic State arrived on the scene. Al Qaeda, for example, never inspired such widespread support and acts of individual Jihad.

Having part of Al Shabaab, which has members in the US and has carried out deadly attacks targeting Westerners outside of Somalia, pledge allegiance to the Islamic State escalates the potential for acts of violent Jihad in Africa and America.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/al-shabaab-terror-group-pledges-loyalty-isis-killing-150-christian-students-garissa-148465/#uM7jKK9hwZqLktZQ.99

 

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Al Shahab, ISIS, Jihad, Somalia | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Reality from the TV Series “Homeland”

1 OctamThu, 08 Oct 2015 04:47:02 -06002015-10-08T04:47:02-06:0004 2009 – 04:47

Quinn in Homeland

By Christopher W. Holton

I’m not much on watching television, not even the news. About the only time I watch TV news these days is when there is a breaking major news story, otherwise I get my news online.

I spend even less time watching “entertainment” on television. I have never seen the series “Homeland” on Showtime. But a colleague sent me this short video this morning and I was struck by its accuracy and honesty.

This is a brief clip from the season premier of “Homeland” and it’s important, because, in the clip, a CIA operative “speaks truth to power.”

In the video, the CIA operative explains that the Jihadists’ strategy is based on centuries-old Islamic doctrine to form a Caliphate. He also questions whether or not the US has any real strategy to combat the enemy threat doctrine.

I must warn you, the clip is NOT safe for work as it contains harsh language. But if you are not offended by bad language, I urge you to take two minutes and view this.

And then spread it to your friends and colleagues.

By terrortrends | Also posted in Caliphate, Islam, Quran, Sharia, Shariah | Tagged , | Comments (3)

Jihad in the USA Update for 30 September

1 SeppmWed, 30 Sep 2015 15:22:39 -06002015-09-30T15:22:39-06:0003 2009 – 15:22

20130317_jihad_usa_large

Below please find news stories covering Jihadi activity in North America over the past several days…

1. The Christian Science Monitor has published an in-depth series on Jihadist activity specifically pertaining to the Islamic State this week. There are 3 interesting articles worth reading in the series:

• Eight faces of ISIS in America

These are the stories of a few of the 58 men and women arrested in the United States so far this year on charges of providing material support or other assistance to the Jihadist Islamic State group…

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0929/Eight-faces-of-ISIS-in-America/Jaelyn-Young-raising-cubs-for-jihad

• ISIS in America: how doomsday Muslim cult is turning kids against parents

So far, 58 Americans have been arrested in 2015 for plotting violence or attempting to join the so-called Islamic State in Syria. More than half are under 25, and experts say recruits are getting younger.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0928/ISIS-in-America-how-doomsday-Muslim-cult-is-turning-kids-against-parents

• One Virginia teen’s journey from ISIS rock star to incarceration

Virginia honors student Ali Shukri Amin’s radicalization through his prolific use of social media represents a cautionary tale for American teenagers and their parents.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0929/One-Virginia-teen-s-journey-from-ISIS-rock-star-to-incarceration

2. Illinois man accused of trying to join Islamic State may face trial

Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 20, of the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook is charged with trying to provide material support to Islamic State militants after he tried to travel with his two younger siblings to the Middle East to join the group.

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_11119/Illinois-man-accused-of-trying-to-join-Islamic-State-may-face-trial.html

3. Ex-University of Texas student gets 10 years in prison for aiding terrorists

More than a year after he pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding overseas terrorists, Rahatul Ashikim Khan, a former University of Texas student, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Khan, 24, became the second of two young men convicted in Austin of the rare federal offense after admitting he connected an undercover agent with co-conspirators recruiting jihadi fighters to Somalia. His plea in July followed that of Michael Todd Wolfe, a Houston native, who confessed he had plans to travel to Syria to engage in jihad himself.

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/former-ut-student-faces-up-to-15-years-in-prison-f/nnnZw/

4. Revealed, AMERICAN jihadi is ‘top ISIS commander’: Yazidi slave reveals that she was beaten and held captive by US citizen who directs attacks and keeps vial of poison to kill himself if he is caught

A Yazidi slave girl has claimed the high-ranking ISIS commander who held her prisoner was a white American who directed the terror group’s attacks and received personal letters from its leader.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3253107/Is-ISIS-commander-AMERICAN-jihadi-Yazidi-slave-reveals-beaten-held-captive-citizen-directs-attacks-keeps-vial-poison-kill-caught.html

5. Imam told Portland Seven that combat against U.S. was ‘legitimate jihad,’ court papers say

The imam of Portland’s biggest mosque collected money from worshippers after 9/11, sending the Portland Seven to Afghanistan to fight against coalition forces, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges in its fight to deport the imam.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/09/imam_told_portland_seven_that.html

6. Congress Claims US Has Failed to Stop Americans from Joining ISIL’s Jihad

The US has failed to stop Americans from traveling abroad to enlist as Islamic State militants, according to a bipartisan congressional task force.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20150930/1027767229/us-congress-report-islamic-state.html

7. MAN ORDERED OUT OF COURTROOM AFTER OUTBURSTS IN TERRORISM CASE

A man accused of being a terrorist had to be removed from a federal courtroom Tuesday morning following outbursts.

Basit Sheikh was arrested at Raleigh Durham International Airport on November 2, 2013 trying to board a plane for Lebanon.

Sheikh is charged with providing material support to a terrorist group. Prosecutors say he tried to join a militant group linked to al-Qaida.

http://abc11.com/news/man-removed-from-court-after-outbursts-in-terrorism-case/1007939/

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Homegrown Jihad, ISIS, Jihad | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Map of Islamic State Terrorist Attacks

1 SeppmTue, 29 Sep 2015 17:51:56 -06002015-09-29T17:51:56-06:0005 2009 – 17:51

The map shown here shows locations of Islamic State attacks, including attacks by individual Jihadis inspired by the Islamic State…Note the 11 attacks here in the US and Canada, something that has been downplayed and/or ignored by the US news media…H/T: Jihad Watch

Islamic-State-map

By terrortrends | Also posted in ISIS, Jihad | Comments (0)

A Plan to Defeat the Islamic State

1 SeppmTue, 29 Sep 2015 17:34:17 -06002015-09-29T17:34:17-06:0005 2009 – 17:34

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It has become abundantly clear that there is no plan in the West to rid the world of the evil Islamic State.

Fortunately, someone has come up with just such a plan and has published a book about it…a book you should read.

Jim Hanson, Executive Vice President of the Center for Security Policy has written a book that details a plan to wipe the Islamic State off the face of the earth, something that absolutely needs to be done. It’s called Cut Down the Black Flag: A Plan to Defeat the Islamic State.

The longer the Islamic State is allowed to exist, the more it will grow and the stronger it will become. It’s time to apply Western combat power to destroying these barbarians.

 

You can learn more about the book here:

http://townhall.com/columnists/jimhanson/2015/09/28/finally-a-plan-to-defeat-the-islamic-state-n2058102

You can buy the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1517407737?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

 

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in ISIS | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

World Leaders Point Out Urgency of Islamic State Threat, Obama Administration Covers It Up

1 SeppmSun, 27 Sep 2015 19:17:35 -06002015-09-27T19:17:35-06:0007 2009 – 19:17

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By Christopher W. Holton

At the very best, President Obama is out of touch when it comes to the threat posed by the Islamic State. From the time he called them the “JV” to his comments a few months ago when he admitted that he still had not developed a strategy to confront them, President Obama has, for one reason or another, neglected the threat from the Islamic State.

As is often the case, the president’s neglect has influenced those serving underneath him as they take cues from the “commander’s intent.” So, what we now have is a brewing scandal in which an unprecedented number of Pentagon intelligence analysts have decided to blow the whistle on what they see as Obama administration political appointees watering down their analyses to make it seem that the threat from the Islamic State is not as serious as it actually is.

Multiple investigations have been launched into allegations that senior officials altered intelligence estimates about the Islamic State to indicate a more favorable impression of progress:

In addition to the Pentagon inspector general’s investigation into allegations by dozens of intelligence analysts, other inspectors general inside the intelligence community and two oversight committees in Congress have begun their own probes, according to senior lawmakers and intelligence officials. The Congressional investigations will expand the scope of the existing inquiry by examining allegations of intelligence tampering that predate the war against the Islamic State, some dating back years.

http://onlineheraldnews.com/multiple-investigations-launched-into-skewed-islamic-state-intelligence-allegations/

The roots of the intelligence scandal go back to July when the New York Times reported that the Pentagon’s inspector general had launched an investigation into allegations that intelligence products had been distorted by CentCom’s top intelligence officer. The Daily Beast earlier this month reported that 50 CentCom analysts backed up the allegations in the initial complaint, an almost unprecedented revolt inside military intelligence.

U.S. intelligence officials tell us the objections began when an analyst in charge of Iraq intelligence at CentCom for more than 13 years complained through intelligence community whistleblower processes that the assessments produced by his unit were being rejected or distorted before they reached decision makers.

Top officials like Secretary of State John Kerry have used isolated statistics to show progress, but those figures often do not stand up to scrutiny. Ret. Gen. John Allen, who will resign this fall as the president’s envoy to the collation against the Islamic State, used to say that half of the group’s leaders in Iraq had been killed. That was an exaggeration.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-declassified24-20150924-story.html

Interestingly, while the Obama administration has sought to downplay the threat from the Islamic State and exaggerate the effectiveness of the pinprick US-led air campaign, other world leaders are sounding the alarm, painting quite a different picture of the threat than the rosy scenario that Barack Obama and John Kerry would have us believe.

This week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India called the Islamic State among the “greatest challenges facing the international community.” Modi met with King Abdullah of Jordan, a leader who has taken a particularly strong stand against the Islamic State, to the point he was personally flying sorties against Islamic State forces.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/islamic-state-greatest-challenge-facing-international-community-pm-narendra-modi-1223101

Czech President Miloš Zema will be in New York this week where he will be continuing to “call for a joint struggle against Islamic State, now dominating a large part of Iraq and Syria during his speech in the United Nations.”

Zema is expected to call for the creation of an anti-terrorist unit under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council and for the cooperation of the international community in the struggle against Islamic terrorism.

http://www.praguepost.com/czech-news/49957-zeman-to-speak-against-islamic-state-in-un

We’re not crazy about his call for a UN-led anti-terrorism unit under the Security Council due to the UN’s atrocious track record of putting barbarians, savages and despots in charge of things like human rights, but we do agree that there needs to be a greater cooperation between world powers in the West to destroy the Islamic State.

That might mean cooperating closely with Russia and Putin in their campaign against the Islamic State, which is commencing largely because Obama has been so inept in attacking the Islamic State…

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/putin-to-un-let-us-help-you-crush-isis/story-fnb64oi6-1227546261952

If Putin is successful in leading a coalition absent the US in “crushing” the Islamic State, it will have certainly fulfilled one of President Obama’s goals of cutting American influence in the world down to size. That will be a terrible legacy for the next and future presidents to live down.

 

 

 

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in Caliphate, India, ISIS, Jihad, Obama, Putin, Russia, Syria, United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

France joins air campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria

1 SeppmSun, 27 Sep 2015 17:28:37 -06002015-09-27T17:28:37-06:0005 2009 – 17:28

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By Christopher Holton

France has joined the air campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria. Up to now France has limited its air strikes to Islamic State targets in Iraq.

Allowing your enemies any kind of safe haven is a bad idea, so this decision by France is a welcome one indeed. It’s also good because of the pathetically slow pace of the U.S. air campaign, which involves just a few air strikes a day, often on targets of dubious value.

Hopefully the addition of French aircraft will result in a better pace for the campaign going forward.

Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely that the Islamic State can be defeated by air strikes alone and defeating the Islamic State needs to be a top priority for Western powers.

By terrortrends | Also posted in France, ISIS, Syria | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Differing Views from Catholic Clergy on the Threat from Jihad and Shariah

1 SeppmSun, 27 Sep 2015 15:21:35 -06002015-09-27T15:21:35-06:0003 2009 – 15:21
Pope Francis and Turkey's Islamist leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Pope Francis and Turkey’s Islamist leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

By Christopher W. Holton

With the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, some attention has been paid to his views on Jihad in general and the September 11 attacks in particular.

On a visit to the September 11 memorial at Ground Zero, the pope made a statement that we find offensive and born of ignorance.

From USA Today:

In a remark some relatives of 9/11 victims may disagree with, the pope attributed “the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives” at Ground Zero to “the inability to find solutions which respect the common good.”

To what solutions could Pope Francis possibly be referring?

What “solutions which respect the common good” would have convinced Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed Atta that violent Jihad was wrong?

Al Qaeda and all Jihadist groups have as their goal the imposition of Shariah through violent Jihad. We can only assume that the pope is unaware of this. We must also assume that he is unaware that mainstream Islamic doctrine also calls for the imposition of Shariah worldwide.

Which Catholics and other Christians should be sacrificed to live under Shariah for the “common good?”

This was not the first time Pope Francis made statements that demonstrate an ignorance of Islamic doctrine.

In his The Joy of the Gospel, the pope stated:

Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalizations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence.

No one can study Islamic doctrine based on the Islamic trilogy–the Quran, the Hadith and the Sirah–and come away believing that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence.”

It should be noted that when it comes to commentary on Islam, Pope Francis is merely stating his opinion; this is not a statement that has the authority of the Catholic church behind it since it applies to the interpretation of another religion.

But all one has to do to see the folly in the pope’s assertion here is to review the too numerous to count examples of Islamic religious leaders and Shariah scholars admonishing their followers to violent Jihad.

We could fill volumes with examples of violent exhortations in the Quran, the Hadith and the Sirah. We could go into depth here about the principle of abrogation in the Quran. But rather than do that, we would like to point out that there are other members of the Catholic clergy and community who are more informed on Islam, Shariah and Jihad and they have put their thoughts in writing. In some cases, these good men are much closer to the tip of the spear in the clash of civilizations:

  1. Nigerian cardinal criticizes role of sharia, says Muslim leaders must ‘rein in their mad dogs’

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=20976&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CatholicWorldNewsFeatureStories+%28Catholic+World+News+%28on+CatholicCulture.org%29%29

Nigeria of course has been wracked for several years now by horrible violence committed by Boko Haram, which has recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Cardinal Onaiyekan has seen thousands of Christians in his country slaughtered at the hands of Jihadists and he knows that Boko Haram’s stated goal is the imposition of Shariah.

2. It’s Time to Take the Islamic State Seriously

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/time-take-islamic-state-seriously

Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. expresses a very different view from that of Pope Francis on the issue of the Islamic State and the role of Islam in violence.

3. Making Islam “As Banal as Catholicism”

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/2015/01/30/making-islam-banal-catholicism/

Robert Royal, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing, and president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., also expresses a far different view of Islamic terrorism than the one expressed by Pope Francis.

Why have these three men, two American and one Nigerian, two men of the cloth and one a prominent lay Catholic, one black and two white, reached such a different conclusion than that of Pope Francis?

To those of us who have studied Islamic doctrine over the past 15 years, the clear answer is that they have studied the Quran, the Hadith, the Sirah and Shariah. Pope Francis clearly has not. Francis is not alone in that state of being; few if any world leaders in the non-Islamic world have studied Islamic doctrine.

But those who have know what it contains and it isn’t all about peace, the “opposition to every form of violence” and “solutions for the common good.”

By terrortrends | Also posted in ISIS, Islam, Islamic Supremecism, Jihad, Sharia, Shariah | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)