Associated Press: Turkey And Saudi Arabia Helping ISIS, Al Qaeda

Secular Talk

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have come up with an aggressive new strategy to bring down Syrian President Bashar Assad: they are aiding extremist rebel groups.

Associated Press:

“The two countries — one a democracy, the other a conservative kingdom — have for years been at odds over how to deal with Assad, their common enemy. But mutual frustration with what they consider American indecision has brought the two together in a strategic alliance that is driving recent rebel gains in northern Syria, and has helped strengthen a new coalition of anti-Assad insurgents, Turkish officials say.

“That is provoking concern in the United States, which does not want rebel groups, including the al-Qaida linked Nusra Front, uniting to topple Assad. The Obama administration worries that the revived rebel alliance could potentially put a more dangerous radical Islamist regime in Assad’s place, just as the U.S. is focused on bringing down the Islamic State group. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues, said the administration is concerned that the new alliance is helping Nusra gain territory in Syria.”

Bashar al-Assad – the current leader of Syria – is an Alawite Muslim – related to Shia Muslims (also called Shi’ite Muslims).  He is aligned with Iran, a Shia-oriented nation.

Al-Assad, however, is considered a moderate. However some nations that are U.S. allies look at Assad as an enemy for political reasons.

So, is the situation in The Middle East becoming more of a train wreck?  Should the U.S. take a stand against its own allies?

Israel & Sunni Arab Countries: Do They Want Peace With Iran?

Secular Talk

Sources state that Iran’s president said recently that a framework for a nuclear deal was just the first step toward building a new relationship with the world. Iranians greeted the announcement of the new peace accord with celebrations.

How did Israel and Sunni Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and Jordan react?

(Updated article)

Are Sunni And Shia The Same?

Secular Talk

Are all Muslims the same? Does religion play a role in the Middle East?

Is ISIS and Iran on the same side, or are they fighting each other?

Is Bashar Assad on the same side as ISIS?

The turmoil in Yemen grew into a regional conflict Thursday, with Sunni Saudi Arabia and its allies bombing Shiite rebels allied with Iran, while Egyptian officials said a ground assault will follow the airstrikes.

Abercrombie & Fitch Refused To Hire Muslim Woman Due To Hijab, Now In Court

Abercrombie & Fitch, purveyor of preppy teen wear, is fighting out its latest hijab-related controversy in the Supreme Court, where the clothing store is currently facing a religious bias case for alleged discrimination against a potential hire who wore a traditional Muslim headscarf (“hijab”) to an interview, according to Vice News. The case has dragged on since 2008, when Samantha Elauf, then 17, allegedly resisted the store’s infamous “look policy” — which dictates staff guidelines on clothing accessories, and even makeup . She wore a black headscarf to her interview in a Tulsa, Oklahoma branch of the kids store.

“I learned I was not hired by Abercrombie because I wear a head scarf, which is a symbol of modesty in my Muslim faith,” Elauf said after oral arguments had been presented to the court Wednesday.

Abercrombie claims in a court brief that Elauf’s scarf infringed on company policy because the company explicitly forbids its “models” — as sales staff are called — from wearing the color black or from sporting headwear in store, which is why she was not offered the job.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which brought the suit on Elauf’s behalf, claims Abercrombie violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically aimed at stopping companies from refusing to employ someone based on race, color, sex, national origin, and religion, according to Vice.

TYT Network

Gunmen Kidnap 30 Men In Afghanistan

Gunmen in southern Afghanistan kidnapped 30 men from the Hazara ethnic community, authorities said Tuesday, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of attacks on Shiites in the predominantly Sunni country.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack Monday afternoon, police and officials said, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The gunmen kidnapped the 30 people, all men, from two buses on a major road in Zabul province, provincial Gov. Mohammad Ashraf said. He said all women, children and non-Hazaras were left behind.

Abdul Khaliq Ayubi, a local government official, said the gunmen all wore black clothing and black masks.  Others claimed they had “military clothes.”

“Their faces were covered and they were wearing military clothes,” said a witness, according to the BBC.

The Interior Ministry said the buses were driving from the southern city of Kandahar to Kabul when the kidnapping was done by “unknown armed individuals.”

Authorities were searching for the people who were kidnapped.  It is unknown whether they are still alive. Some of whom may be government officials, Ashraf said.

Sense Any Racism Around The Academy Awards?

TYT Network

The internet was a-twitter with racially-charged tweets on Oscar night.

The response by conservative cultural and political writers to the subject of race and gender at the 87th Academy Award ceremony was less than ideal, according to Raw Story.

Breitbart Hollywood’s Editor-at-Large John Nolte, for example, aimed to prove that liberals are the real racists by tracking every time anyone applauded anything related to the film Selma.

More:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/conservatives-complain-there-were-too-many-black-people-at-the-racist-oscars/

Presidential Contender Scott Walker Not Sure Of Obama’s Religion

Not only does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) not know whether President Barack Obama loves America, he also appears to be unaware that the president is a Christian.

In an interview with the Milwaukie Journal-Sentinel, Walker was asked, “Do you think the president loves America?”  This was in reference to former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani’s comments.

The possible 2016 White House candidate said he’s never asked the president about it.

“I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t,” Walker told the Journal Sentinel. “He can handle that himself. I know I do. And I know there are great people in this country who love this country and who … feel this country’s exceptional and it doesn’t necessarily align by party. I think there are Republicans and Democrats and plenty of people in between. I’ve never asked the president so I don’t really know what his opinions are on that one way or another.”

Walker told The Associated Press: “You should ask the president what he thinks about America.”

Recently, the Washington Post asked Walker if he thought the president is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” the potential 2016 candidate told The Washington Post at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said of Obama’s faith. “I’ve never asked him that. You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

“First and foremost, my Christian faith gives me a perspective and security that I don’t think I would have otherwise: that I am loved. That, at the end of the day, God is in control,” Obama said in a 2012 interview according to The Huffington Post.

According to an AP survey, 18 percent of Americans thought Obama is Muslim in 2012.   In 2010, 17 percent of Americans believed he is Muslim.

Click to access AP_Racial_Attitudes_Topline_09182012.pdf

Is The President Too Soft On The Muslim Religion?

Secular Talk

The fight against religious extremism is nuanced and complex.  There don’t seem to be easy, cut-and-dried answers.

During his remarks at today’s White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, President Barack Obama answered critics directly by laying out exactly why he and members of his administration do not use the word “Islamic” to describe extremist terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Perhaps religion is sometimes to blame, though that does not give Americans the right to jump in and immediately start a war.

Sister Of Muslim Dentistry Student Says ‘Parking Dispute’ Story Outrageous

The man who allegedly killed three Muslim students Tuesday near the University of North Carolina, Craig Stephen Hicks,  had reportedly harassed them by flashing a gun at them, according to the sister of one of the victims.

In a Friday morning appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Dr. Suzanne Barakat, whose 23-year-old brother Deah was killed allegedly by neighbor Hicks, disputed the initial motive that Hicks shot the Muslim students due to a long-running parking dispute.  This was the initial motive laid out by the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, police.

Barakat said she had evidence that police may not have seen indicating that Hicks had a deeper problem with her brother and his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, both of whom were shot dead.

“I think it’s absolutely insulting, insensitive and outrageous that the first thing they come out and say and issue a statement that this is a parking dispute,” Barakat said.

“I’m not sure who they spoke to, because it took me all of five minutes of talking to [Deah’s] former roommate, whom they had not reached out to, to give me details, information, text messages,” she said, adding that police hadn’t yet reached out to her family either.

Barakat said she believed Hicks, whose apparent Facebook page showed he had strong anti-religion beliefs and identified as an “anti-theist,” had been “harassing” the family since they first arrived at the apartment complex because the women wore headscarves.

Were the shooting victims found in the parking lot?

The police warrant for the shooting shows Deah Barakat was shot in the head, and that Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha wre shot inside the house, according to WKRG.com.

“When officers approached the apartment, they located a male subject that was bleeding from the head,” the warrant stated. “The male subject showed no signs of life,” according to WNCN.com.

Inside Apartment 272, the police found two bodies.

“One female was lying in the kitchen, near the dishwasher, and another female was lying in the doorway of the next room, near the kitchen. Both subjects showed no signs of life and were wearing Muslim headdresses,” the warrant said.

More:

http://www.wncn.com/story/28105951/warrants-man-accused-in-chapel-hill-shooting-had-at-least-12-guns

Friend Of Slain Muslim Students Tells GOP And Fox News: Stop Dehumanizing Muslims

A friend of the Muslim students who died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina recently talked to CNN about Fox News and Republicans demonizing Muslims.

“…speaking as an American Muslim, I can tell you that we cannot deny there’s a sentiment in the community that we feel we are being targeted for our faith,” said Shafi Khan.

“There are certain sections of the media and political apparatus that are constantly demonizing Muslims.  And I want to take a minute and ask people like Fox News and Bobby Jindal to stop the dehumanization of Muslims.  It’s really, really starting to take a toll.”

More:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/friend-of-slain-muslim-students-rips-gop-and-fox-news-stop-dehumanizing-muslims/