Islamists

Source : RT | 11 Jan 2014

Almost 500 people, including 85 civilians, were killed during in-fighting between rebel groups and an Al-Qaeda branch in Syria in the past week, an activist group reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that at least 482 people were dead since the fighting between moderates and mainstream rebel factions versus Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) intensified on January 3.

The group added that 157 individuals were from the ISIL, 240 others were from more moderate factions and 85 were civilians.

By Mahmoud Habboush, Reuters/Dubai | 29 Oct 2013

Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has urged young Saudis to refrain from fighting in Syria.

The kingdom has backed the rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, publicly calling on the world powers to “enable” Syrians to protect themselves, but is wary that fighters could return home ready to wage war on their own dynastic rulers.

By Robert Fisk | The Independent | 24 Sept 2013

The Grand Mufti of Syria preaches a message of forgiveness

Source : Dina al-Shibeeb, Al Arabiya | 24 Jun 2013

The Egyptian army’s strong warnings on Saturday that they would intervene to stop the country “from plunging into a dark tunnel” were seen by political observers as directed towards both the Islamists in power and liberal opposition forces.

Political and activist groups opposed to Islamist President Mohammad Mursi are planning mass protests on June 30 to call for the president’s ouster. Last Friday, pro-government rallies were held in Cairo to denounce violence and show support for the president.

By Eman El-Shenawi | Al Arabiya | 19 MAr 2013

We’ve heard of the jinx of the Sphinx, mystic curses from the lands of Ancient Egypt and the odd sprinkle of magic over all things mysterious.

But recent claims from a prominent Egyptian preacher have perhaps reached new heights.

Beware, viewers watching Egyptian satellite channels – warns preacher Safwat Hegazy – for you could be “watching Pharaoh’s spell” at work.

This week, Hegazy called on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to watch the channels because they were “Pharaoh’s magicians.”

By Pepe Escobar | Asia Times | 07 Mar 2013

So Bashar al-Assad hath martially spoken - for the first time in seven months - predictably blaming the Syrian civil war on "terrorists" and "Western puppets".

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, he of the former "zero problems with our neighbors" policy, commented that Assad only reads the reports of his secret services. C'mon, Ahmet; Bashar may be no Stephen Hawking, but he's certainly getting his black holes right.

By Youssef Khazem | 04 Mar 2013

By Al Arabiya with Agencies / 13 Feb 2013

Mali risks descending into “catastrophic” violence, the U.N. rights chief warned on Tuesday after a string of attacks by Islamist rebels on French-led forces.

The crisis in the West African nation has been worsening since the beginning of the campaign to oust Islamic rebel forces.

By Andrea Germanos | Agencies | 22 Jan 2013

Cite terrorism, bomb, fuel terrorism, repeat.

While blowback from Libya is felt in Mali, and from Mali in Algeria, recent comments from British and French leaders lay bare western powers' perception of conflict in Islamic lands through the lense of the war on terror that sees "terrorists" that must be stopped through military force with little thought given to the price that will be paid for the involvement.

By Associated Press | 21 Jan 2013

The terrorist attack on an Algerian natural gas plant that left dozens of hostages and militants dead has demonstrated how a failing Algerian insurgency transformed itself into a regional threat, partly by exploiting the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring revolts.