--- In ppiindia@yahoogroups.com, Satrio Arismunandar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Islam's makeover > Sep 21st 2006 , From The Economist print edition > > > Why some Britons are embracing Islam
------------- Really? Here you are: Unclear and present danger The public is still not fully aware of the gravity of the threat posed by Islamist extremists, Britain's anti-terror supremo tells Patrick Walters --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- September 23, 2006 BRITAIN'S top counter-terrorist cop has no doubt the nature of the threat has changed dramatically. Peter Clarke, Scotland Yard's 51- year-old head of counter-terrorism, talks with quiet resolution about the challenge of Islamist terrorism and how it has turned British policing upside down. People often say to Clarke how well placed the British authorities must be to deal with Islamist terror given their long experience of Irish Republican Army killers. No, he responds emphatically. It's a whole new ball game with no defined rules of engagement or carefully delineated boundaries. "The current terrorist threat is almost the reverse of all those parameters," Clarke said in Canberra this week. "What we see is global in origin, global in ambition, global in reach. The networks are loose, they are fluid and they are incredibly resilient," Clarke told a security conference. Defeating the threat demands a level of resources, including sustained surveillance, unprecedented in modern law enforcement. "Unless you have pace and scale on your side, you will fail to deal with these terrorist conspiracies that we are currently seeing," he stressed. Clarke tells Inquirer the threat posed by radical Islamists in Britain is growing in scale and complexity. "I think the only sensible conclusion is that it is ... because if you look at the pace of terrorist activity since 9/11, it's clearly unabated and there appears to be a consistency, almost a regularity, in the attack patterns. "I don't want to sound unnecessarily gloomy, but I don't see many positive signs in terms of it being diminished." He points out that British authorities have managed to foil four or five attacks in the past 12 months. But the "sad probability" is that another attack will get through at some time. Clarke brings nearly 30 years of experience to his role as national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism investigations, having joined the Metropolitan Police in 1977 with a law degree from Bristol University. His postings included a stint in the late 1990s as commander of the royalty and diplomatic protection department, with responsibility for the security of the royal family, before taking on his present job at New Scotland Yard in 2002. Since 9/11 there has been a four-fold increase in the number of Metropolitan Police officers dedicated to investigating terrorism. In the next few weeks there will be a shake-up as Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch merges with the force's special branch to form a dedicated counter-terrorism command. "That will be quite a historic change. It's a big move for us to do that," Clarke says. "That will create a single large department as big as many medium-sized police forces in the UK, which will greatly enhance our capabilities." The Metropolitan Police will co-ordinate other counter-terrorism units across Britain's 43 separate local police forces, building surveillance, intelligence and analytical assets. Clarke says Britain's experience of Islamist terror, including last year's London bombings and the recently thwarted plot to blow up airliners flying to the US, is driving far-reaching changes in the way police now operate. It used to be that police would only intervene in the final stages of a terrorist plot, making arrests at or near the point of attack, with the strongest possible weight of evidence to put before a court. However, Clarke says the scale of the threat means "we can no longer afford to wait until that moment". "It's a complete shift in scale. Mentally we have had to completely change our response in terms of interdiction and intervention to prevent an increased risk to the public." Clarke says earlier action to pre-empt a mass casualty attack also dictates the need to engage closely with local communities as a key element of counter-terrorism strategy. He believes the British public is still not fully aware of the gravity of the threat posed by Islamist terror groups. This is despite the fact there are now 90 people awaiting trial on terrorism charges. "We have a whole series of trials which over the coming months and years will unfold in the UK. When that hard evidence is produced the public are able to see what has been planned over the last months and years, that will contribute to their understanding of the threat." When Metropolitan Police discovered a cache of military training equipment in the Finsbury Park mosque in January 2003, it took three years before the authorities could inform the public of the find because of contempt issues. "From a law enforcement perspective, the scale of these investigations is simply immense. The level of investigative activity has never been higher," Clarke says. He acknowledges that the number of people of interest to British authorities looking "right across the span of terrorist activity" is now in the thousands. These included at one end of the spectrum people prepared to mount attacks themselves, and at the other those who might simply facilitate travel or supply forged documentation, or those may one day join the jihadist cause. "The numbers of people we have to be interested in are in the thousands but I am not saying that we have thousands of people under surveillance or that there are thousands of terrorists in the UK." International co-operation between law enforcement authorities is critical and transnational intelligence sharing is growing all the time. "What we are looking at is a global movement that operates across borders. They are extremely mobile. Travel is a key feature of how terrorists are planning and organising themselves." Clarke says Britain is working closely with Pakistani authorities to better understand the extent of links with British groups, including the 2005 bombers. The July disruption of a plot to blow up airliners travelling to the US involved the arrest of 17 suspects, of whom 11 have now been charged with conspiracy to murder. Clarke warns it is vital that the aviation industry examines the implications of the foiled plot for air travel. The plotters had been planning to smuggle liquid explosives on board several planes. "I can't go into details about the methodology except to say its very innovative. That will give a clue to the fact that now in response ... new protective measures are required. The methodology is such that there must be an enduring threat to air transport." So a serious threat to aviation safety remains which has to be addressed? "Absolutely," comes the reply. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20459724- 601,00.html -------------------------- --- In ppiindia@yahoogroups.com, Satrio Arismunandar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Islam's makeover > Sep 21st 2006 , From The Economist print edition > > > Why some Britons are embracing Islam > > > CONVERTS to Islam have an image problem. Women who don > Islamic garb are often pitied for their submissive > lives behind the veil. And a handful of converts, > mostly men, have been implicated in terrorist plots. > Even the pope has waded in: on September 12th he > appeared to link Islam to "violent conversion" in a > speech. He apologised five days later, after riots in > many countries with Muslim populations. > > Some commentators in London , too, have taken to > worrying that the British establishment is enthralled > by Islam. They point to Joe Ahmed-Dobson, the son of a > former government minister, and Yahya Birt, the son of > a former BBC boss. These worries grew when it emerged > last month that three of the 25 Muslims arrested on > suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up planes > over London were new believers. And this, in turn, > appeared to bear out a government report, leaked in > July, which said that converts were being wooed by > radical Muslims. > > Yet statistics to substantiate the fear that "reds > under the bed" have been replaced by hordes of > traitorous new Muslims are sparse. The 2001 census in > Scotland , unlike the exercises in England and Wales , > included a question on current and former religious > beliefs. Yahya Birt, a research fellow at the Islamic > Foundation, a think-tank in Leicester , established > that 3% of Scottish Muslims were converts. He used > those figures to estimate that in Britain as a whole > around 14,200 believers are convertsonly 1% of the > country's 1.6m Muslims. Converting Britons to Islam is > hardly a boom industry, he says. "Islam is one of the > items in the supermarket of faiths, but the rate of > conversion is not spectacular." > > Unlike some Christian sects, Islam eschews heavy > proselytising. One group, the Islamic Propagation > Society, is typically low-key in seeking converts. Its > members set up trestle tables at weekends in several > big cities and hand out leaflets. Umar Tate, its > chief, says that media interest brings them "good > business". The pope's speech has attracted many to > their stalls, he says. > > Academic insight into why Britons convert is also > sparse. A researcher from Leeds University , Myfanwy > Franks, questioned converts before and after the > attack on America in September 2001. She suggests that > the appeal of Islam is changing. Before that date many > were drawn to Sufism, a mystical and relatively > tolerant strand of Islam. Her work since then suggests > that new converts prefer a more austere form of the > religion. > > Rebecca Masterson, once Catholic, became a Muslim six > years ago and has interviewed women converts for a > research project at London University . Some embrace > Islam, she said, because in an increasingly raunchy > Britain they dislike being seen as sexual objectsthe > veil frees them from the male gaze. Many male > converts, who include men of Afro-Caribbean stock, > prize the Muslim family model in which men are > idealised as dignified providers and protectors, she > says. Other studies suggest that Islam has helped > people escape from drugs and alcohol. Men are more > likely than women, it seems, to react against British > policy in the Middle East by embracing a violent form > of Islam. > > Many converts praise the recent mini-industry that has > sprung up to help them adapt. There are now > "New-Muslim projects" in most British cities. Miss > Masterson says that her life has changed completely > since her conversionshe wears a headscarf and gown, > and would rather socialise with Muslim "sisters" than > spend time unchaperoned with men. Luckily for single > converts, a number of matrimonial agencies offer help > to those seeking love. > > The New-Muslim project in Leicester offers advice on > "coming out" as a believer to non-Muslim relations, > who are often appalled by the news. It offers guidance > on dress and practices such as ritual washing and hair > removaland on including non-Muslims in weddings and > funerals. > > On September 20th the home secretary, John Reid, was > heckled at a meeting with Muslim parents by an angry > convert, Abu Izzadeenhardly the peaceful image of > Islam that most Muslims are after. Converts of any > sort tend towards an excess of zeal. But not all > doand they might be the very people to bridge the > increasingly dangerous gap between Britain 's Muslim > minority and its nervous mainstream. > > ======================================== > The pope and Islam > > When the heavens open > Sep 21st 2006 | ROME > From The Economist print edition > > An ill-judged quotation about Islam has obscured a > more serious message > > HE HAD to wait six centuries, but Emperor Manuel II > Palaeologus has his revenge. Manuel, who ruled the > Byzantine empire in 1391-1425, ended his days after > signing a humiliating peace with the Ottoman Turks, > the rising Muslim power of his day, who within three > decades of his death would destroy the empire > entirely. > > In a university lecture at Regensburg on September > 12th, Pope Benedict XVI conjured up the memory of the > emperor by recalling his views on Islam. Citing a > hitherto obscure 14th-century text, the pope quoted > Manuel as saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought > that was new, and there you will find things only evil > and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the > sword the faith he preached." > > The theme of the pope's lecture was a favourite one: > the link between faith and reason which, he said, > implied a rejection of any link between religion and > violence. The pope later insisted the whole point of > his address was to appeal for a dialogue with Islam. > But many Muslims concluded that this was a pretty odd > way to go about it, and demands for an apology soon > poured in. For a few tense days, it looked as if the > affair could spiral out of control, rather as happened > earlier this year after a Danish newspaper had > published cartoons lampooning Muhammad, when more than > 100 people died in violent protests round the world. > > he breadth of the front against the pope was > remarkable. Fundamentalist fanatics were there, raving > about conquering Rome and putting Christians to the > sword. But so too were representatives of some of the > more moderate governments in the Muslim world, > including those of Morocco , Turkey and Malaysia . By > mid-week, however, a swift response from the Vatican > seemed to have contained, if not neutralised, the > controversy. In a statement issued first on his behalf > and then twice in person, the pontiff expressed deep > regret for the offence that had been taken. He > vigorously denied sharing Manuel's view of Islam. > > In Somalia an Italian nun was shot dead. But it was > unclear if her murder was a reprisal for the pope's > remarks. The pontiff's critics grumbled that he had > not really apologised. But his protestations > nevertheless represented an unusual degree of > expiation by a pope, whose views on some issues can be > proclaimed infallible. > > The European Commission's spokesman made the obvious > point: that Pope Benedict should be free to say what > he wants. But freedom is one thing, advisability quite > another. The dust may be settling on this dispute more > quickly than it might have done. But there are reasons > to fear that the damage it has done could turn out to > be enduring. > > Until now the Vatican has been remarkably successful > in ensuring that, even if some sort of "clash of > civilisations" is in progress, it need not turn into a > clash of religions. Benedict's predecessor, John Paul > II, understood that what radical Muslims most resent > about the West is not its Christianity, but its > rampant secularism. Osama bin Laden may have blustered > that the American-led invasions of Afghanistan and > Iraq were a new "crusade". But, although George Bush > at one point played into his hands by carelessly using > that very word, the view that Muslims were victims of > a new holy war was impossible to sustain so long as > the most influential Christian leader was openly > critical of the fighting. By opposing both the bombing > of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq , Pope John > Paul made sure that the world's biggest Christian > faith was not linked in Muslim minds with its only > superpower. > > Pope Benedict's ill-judged quotation now risks > blurring, if not erasing, that carefully-constructed > distinction. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran 's supreme > leader, whose opinions carry some weight among the > world's 230m Shia Muslims, pounced on the pope's > remarks. He claimed they were just the latest > development in the "crusade against Islam" launched by > Mr Bush. > > Such an allegation will, unfortunately, seem all too > credible to many Muslims, because of the pope's > record. On the one hand he is a keen proponent of the > view that Europe 's identity is essentially Christian. > In 2004, while he was still a cardinal, he declared > that Turkey should not be admitted to the European > Union. On the other, since becoming pope, he has > repeatedly signalled a rejection of the unconditional > dialogue favoured by his predecessor. In particular, > he has packed the previous pontiff's top expert on > Islam off to Cairo and merged the Vatican 's > department for inter-religious dialogue into its > "ministry" of culture. > > Yet it has also become clear that Islam is near the > top of Pope Benedict's agenda. He is planning a visit > to Turkey in November. On the very day that the latest > crisis erupted, he confirmed as his new "foreign > minister" a Moroccan-born archbishop, Dominique > Mamberti, who has spent most of his diplomatic career > in Muslim-ruled countries. > When compared with John Paul II, the difference is not > that Benedict, who was once a professor at a German > university, rejects any discussions with Muslims. It > is rather that he seeks to fill them with meaty, > challenging substance. This is what he meant when, > after lamenting the reaction to his words on September > 17th, he added that he wanted a dialogue that was > "frank and sincere". > > There are two points he is especially keen to make. > One is that Christians in many Muslim countries do not > have the same religious freedom that is enjoyed by > most Muslims in the West. The other is that too many > Islamic clerics seem to sanction or at least tolerate > violence in the name of religion. This was central to > his Regensburg lecture in which, as he later said, "I > wished to explain that not religion and violence, but > religion and reason go together." > The value of that point in the present state of the > world can hardly be overstated. It is sad that it > should have been put in such an inept way that the > only answers came in the form of burnt effigies, > grisly threatsand a great deal of sincerely outraged > protest. > > ============================================= > Muslims in Minnesota > > Finding a voice > Sep 21st 2006 | MINNEAPOLIS > From The Economist print edition > > > Coming soon, the first minaret and the first > congressman > > > ON SEPTEMBER 8th ground was broken for the new Masjid > An-Nur mosque in north Minneapolis , from which the > first minaret seen in Minnesota will pierce the > prairie sky. A few days later one of the mosque's more > famous worshipers, Keith Ellison, won the state's > Democratic primary in the deeply Democratic 5th > District. In so doing, Mr Ellison will almost > certainly become America 's first Muslim congressman, > as well as the first black to represent anywhere in > Minnesota . > > In this once lily-white Lutheran state, these two > events point to deep changes. More immigrants arrived > in Minnesota in 2005 than in any of the past 25 years. > Immigrants from Muslim countries, especially Somalia > and Ethiopia , have made up a sizeable part of this > wave. Estimates of the number of Muslims in Minnesota > range from 40,000 to more than 100,000 and perhaps as > many as 150,000. > > These are big numbers for a state that had a tiny > Muslim population just ten years ago. All the same, > one might think that another state with a larger > concentration of Muslims Michigan , perhapswould > have produced a Muslim member of Congress sooner. Four > Muslims ran for seats in 2004, two for the Senate and > two for the House, but none made it out of the > primaries. > > The difference in Minnesota seemed to be a > sophisticated grassroots campaign, which turned out > thousands of new immigrants who had never before > voted, or done anything in politics, on a day normally > dominated by hard-core party insiders. That machine is > the political legacy of Senator Paul Wellstone, who > died in a plane crash in 2002. Within a month of his > death his supporters established Wellstone Action, > which has more than 100,000 members and has trained > almost 11,000 people in grassroots campaigning methods > and progressive political action. > New immigrants, many of whom were Muslims, seem to > have accounted for thousands of the voters who turned > up on primary night to support Mr Ellison. Without > those votes, he might well not have prevailed over his > closest opponent, Mike Erlandson, the former chairman > of the Democratic Farmer-Labour Party (DFL). > > Those Muslim connections, of course, are also fodder > for his rivals. Mr Ellison is a former criminal > defence lawyer and state representative who converted > from Catholicism to Islam when he was 19. In 1995 he > helped to organise the Million Man Marcha gathering > of blacks in Washington to proclaim unity and > responsibilityand thus found himself in the orbit of > Louis Farrakhan, the head of the Nation of Islam, who > is notorious for his anti-Semitic rantings. > > Mr Ellison says he has never met Mr Farrakhan. > Nonetheless, his Republican opponents and a cadre of > conservative bloggers are making merry with his past > associations. The Republican Party recently dubbed the > DFL "the party of Ellison." That may be close to the > truth. Progressives welcome him as a refreshing change > from the party stalwarts who, in recent years, have > tended to lose races. > > Muslim Democrats see in Mr Ellison someone who can > stick up for them as they face suspicion and > intimidation. Many of them supported him quietly, for > fear of a backlash. But his victory may bring them out > into the opennot only in Minnesota , but across the > country. > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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